Howard Balzer's NFL Notebook: With retirement over, Mason passes a milestone

Derrick Mason is proving he is more than just a possession receiver. (Photo by Tomasso DeRosa)

He retired briefly in the offseason following the death of former teammate Steve McNair, but wide receiver Derrick Mason has come back with a vengeance.

 

Mason became the 23rd player in league history to catch at least 800 passes in his career during Baltimore’s Sept. 23 game against Cleveland. He had already passed the 10,000-yard mark.

 

In that game, Mason scored on a 72-yard play and used that accomplishment to lash out at those that persistently consider him merely a possession receiver.

 

Said Mason, “I'm tired of arguing with people and trying to convince people that I'm more than just what you want to try and label me as. You're the ones that try to put me in a box. If I was to listen to everyone out there, I'd be stuck in a box.

 

“I can do just about anything, you know, and when you have a quarterback like Joe (Flacco), you can run a five-yard route, or you can run a 50-yard route, and he can get the ball to you. That's all that matters.”

 

Ravens coach John Harbaugh is glad he has Mason, especially after he appeared he might not play anymore.

 

“He's a playmaker, and he does it in so many different ways,” Harbaugh said. “I've said it before: He's the best route-runner that I've seen in the time I've been in the National Football League. He can get open against anybody in just about any way. And it's not just the underneath stuff. You can put him in the slot. You can put him outside and he can get deep, make a play ... shake off a tackle and score on a play like that.”

 

NO TALKING FOR GARRARD

It’s an understatement to say that NFL coaches love to control as much as they can. Some things, though, do make you scratch your head.

 

That was the case recently when Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio put a kibosh on a radio show that quarterback David Garrard was doing on Friday each week. Seems Del Rio believes the show was too late in the week, thus making it too close to game day.

 

Said Garrard, trying not to sound upset about it, “I liked parts of it, parts of it I didn’t like. I understand the reasons for why things went down the way they did. I don’t have any ill effects from that. It wasn’t a big deal. Coach really felt passionate about it. I’m happy to see him want to step up and say, ‘Let’s just think about the team.’”

 

Garrard acknowledged not getting permission to do the show.

 

He said, “I didn’t run things past people. It was just a radio show. I think he tuned in one time. He just said, ‘As a father figure I think I’m just trying to tell you this isn’t good this late in the week like this.’”

 

Said Del Rio, “It’s very important for a football team, when you’re less than 48 hours from the game, to make sure your attention is on the game, your focus is on the game. If you’re not studying film, you ought to be relaxing with the family. It makes no sense (to be doing a show on Friday).”

 

Really? Is talking on the radio so horrible? Maybe talking on the phone is bad two days before a game. Go to a movie Friday night? Can’t have that. Relaxing with the family is OK if you’re not studying film?

 

Can’t imagine this has anything to do with winning or losing.

 

COACH SPEAK

Tennessee Titans coach Jim Schwartz verbalized explicitly the mindset of coaches that try to be as circumspect as possible when discussing injuries to their players.

 

Talking about his time as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator, Schwartz said, “I could click on every coach's press conference on Monday, and I would sit there with my notepad, and I would start my game plan. I don't know how many times I caught things like, ‘Oh, yeah, we got the MRI back, it was clear and he's going to be ready this week,’ or, ‘It doesn't look good for him. He's out this week.’

 

“It happens a lot of times. I always said in the back of my mind that, ‘You know what? That gave me an advantage and helped me through the week. We're going to report our injuries and be upfront with everything the league requires, but we aren't into giving competitive advantage to other people.’”

 

OVER-ANALYSIS FROM THE TV BOOTH?

Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme played the entire season in 2008 after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow and little was said about his arm strength.

 

Delhomme passed for 3,288 yards last season and averaged 7.94 yards per attempt and 13.4 yards per completion. Yet, when Delhomme threw short on a long pass to Muhsin Muhammad during the Panthers’ Monday night game against Dallas on Sept. 24, an ESPN analyst questioned Delhomme’s arm strength since having the surgery.

 

Said Delhomme, “My arm's stronger since I had the surgery. There's no question. It's not even close. Yeah, since at least '05, '06, no question the arm's a lot stronger. I haven't heard that, but when you're 0-3, questions are going to be raised. I haven't played that well. That's part of it. You have to win to keep people quiet. We all know that.”

 

As for the pass in question, Delhomme explained, “You know what, honestly I tried to place the ball. I didn't just let it rip and let it fly. Like Moose told me, he said, ‘I lost it, I did not find it until too late.’ Yeah, I wish I would have gotten that a little out more, but it just wasn't good on my part.”

 

JEREMIAH’S COMEBACK

The football world had moved on from linebacker Jeremiah Trotter until he suddenly reappeared and was signed by the Eagles last week. Trotter was released by the Eagles in Aug. 2007, played three games for Tampa Bay that season, and then went unsigned for 2008 after becoming an unrestricted free agent.

 

Trotter, who is 32, had knee surgery last year, and kept working out. He said, “At some point, like last year when I was sitting home, I was like, “Should I give it up and start doing something else?’ Something just kept telling me to work out. I just trained the whole time I was out. I was able to get my body rest. I rehabbed and just stayed in shape. I changed my workout regimen, lost some weight, and did a lot of praying. (The surgery) really helped me get my explosion back. I feel better now than when I went to Washington (in 2002).

 

“I'm just happy to be back in green. I was raised in this system, in those colors, in this city, and I feel like I'm just as much a part of this city as anyone who ever played here.”