By Cold, Hard Football Facts contributor Tim Sullivan
Chad Pennington needs to look no further than his head coach to find someone who can relate to his shaky situation with the media. Herman Edwards lashed out at New York reporters with his now-famous "You play to win the game...Hello?" spat in 2002. He turned a bad relationship with the media into a motivational factor for his club.
After the "You play to win ..." speech, the Jets recovered from a 2-5 start to win the AFC East with a 9-7 record. They humiliated the Colts, 41-0, in the wild-card round before losing at Oakland, 30-10, in the divisional round.
Oddly enough, in that turnaround 2002 season, the comeback gained steam when Pennington replaced starter Vinny Testaverde after Week Four. Pennington was 8-4 as a starter, 9-5 including the playoffs.
The speech became such a cliché around the Jets that Edwards co-authored a motivational book with Shelly Smith, titled "You Play To Win The Game: Leadership Lessons For Success On and Off The Field."
Tim Sullivan is the deputy sports editor of the New York Post.
