Knights of Andreas 2.10: To Our Attention

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Knights of Andreas

Part II

 

Chapter Twenty-Two – To Our Attention

 

Merle finds her car on the side of the road thanks to what little sunlight peaks through the clouds. He parks behind her, approaches the driver’s side window, and taps on the glass. Trisha stirs. Merle opens the unlocked door, lugs her into the passenger seat of his car, and drives for home.

 

“I only wanted a few drinks,” she says after a few miles, eyes closed and groggy. Merle knows that feeling all too well.

 

“Did you have any problems before you pulled over? Do you remember?”

 

“I don’t…I don’t...I don’t think so.”

 

“Why didn’t you call your mother?”

 

She doesn’t answer, and it doesn’t matter. Merle has asked that question plenty of times, and the answer has always been the same, whether Trisha admits it or not.

 

“I could have been here sooner,” Merle says, keeping his eyes on the road, “but our damn flight got delayed. If it were a home game—”

 

“Did you…did you win?”

 

“Yeah. Somehow.”

 

“Oh…okay.”

 

“This is my fault, Trish. I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, dad.”

 

No, it’s not. Merle knows his daughter inherited this sickness from him, and he takes full responsibility for it. All he can do is keep picking her up in situations like this, making sure she’s safe, which is more than his parents ever did for him. But Trisha is twenty-three now. How much longer can this continue?

 

“Dad, when are you…when are you leaving football?”

 

“I’m not, Trish.”

 

“But you always said you would. I thought maybe…maybe this year. That’d be nice.”

 

In his sixteen years as a high school coach and eight years in college, Merle never felt pressured by the workload, never felt pressure to retire. That changed when he took the defensive coordinator job in Carolina, but it was manageable. Something is different about L.A., and Merle has felt closer and closer to retirement every season. With his contract expiring, the opportunity is certainly there.

 

He wants to respond but can’t find the words. He notices Trisha has sunk into a comfortable looking position, apparently asleep, and the rest of the drive passes without a sound.

 

 

 

With Thanksgiving a few weeks away, playoff talk heats up around the league. The gap between contenders and pretenders grows larger every week. Analysts look ahead to key December games and debate teams “in the hunt.”

 

If the playoffs started today, the Knights, at 7-2, would earn the second seed and a first-round bye in the AFC. Still on a winning streak, the Broncos lurk at 6-3. The 3-6 Chargers appear to be collapsing and the 2-7 Chiefs are a non-factor, so the AFC West is a two-team race.

 

The Knights prepare for a home game against the Saints, in the middle of an unusual season. With Sean Payton suspended from Bountygate, the Saints opened the year 0-4 but have since won four of their last five games to reach 4-5. Whatever their record, any team with Drew Brees is dangerous, and the Knights know that.

 

Offensively, players ride the momentum from Jefferspin-Wilkes’ insane fourth quarter performance against Baltimore, which sent shockwaves through the league. Orchestrated by Penner, Maverick and Wilkes sit down Monday night and have a few beers. The details of their conversation are never spoken of to anyone else.

 

Defensively, Harden prepares for another elite quarterback. This time, however, his defense faces a truly great offense all around, including a dominant offensive line and one of the league’s best tight ends in Jimmy Graham. Representing a new wave of athletic tight ends in the NFL, Graham is the first player of his kind the Knights face this season.

 

To handle Graham, Harden goes against his style and complicates his strategy. The initial plan is Randall covering Graham on passing downs. If that doesn’t work, he’ll go to Flash or Rose, backup options he doesn’t care for. He wants Flash downfield covering the vertical routes Brees loves, and Rose covering a tight end doesn’t seem the best use of his talent.

 

Randall gets some reps covering Jefferspin-Wilkes on a few basic routes that Graham typically runs. Coach Daniel doesn’t mind Wilkes losing offensive reps; he’s expecting him to receive double coverage on Sunday and open things up for everyone else. The Saints defense is one of the worst in the league, so the Knights should have no trouble exploiting it.

 

Known for being reliable in coverage, Randall continuously gets outmuscled by Wilkes. Harden doesn’t waver; it’s only the first day of practice, and Randall is one of the most coachable players he’s ever worked with.

 

Wednesday, Randall’s struggles continue. Harden lets Flash and Rose take turns covering Wilkes, and they seem much better, though Flash gets beat multiple times. Harden tinkers his plan as the week goes on.

 

Friday’s practice ends, and Logan Bishop is on his way out for the day when he spots his copy of Friday Night Lights in Wilkes’ locker.

 

“Hey,” he says to Wilkes, still taking off his pads, “did you finish it?”

 

“What? Oh, yeah.” Wilkes grabs the book and hands it back. “It was just like the movie. I liked it.”

 

Bishop takes the book and walks away, frustrated. Wilkes didn’t even bother reading it. So much for helping out teammates. Besides, the Baltimore game probably gave Wilkes whatever confidence he needed. Still, Bishop keeps thinking until he reaches the door, then gets an idea. He approaches Brock and Rose, who are chatting about something.

 

“Hey,” Bishop says, “you guys hang out with D-Jam, right? At clubs?”

 

“Sometimes,” Brock says. “Why?”

 

“Next time, give me a heads up. I’ll join.”

 

“Oh! L-Bish gonna go clubbing with us?”

 

“First of all, L-Bish is terrible. Never say that again. Second, I could use some unwinding time.”

 

“I didn’t think it sounded so bad. What about just L.B.?”

 

“Fuck, Sean,” Rose says, “give it up. We’ll let you know, Logan.”

 

 

 

The cheers of Saints fans sticking around to celebrate victory reaches the home team’s locker room, too silent to drown out the noise. Among them is Jay Cooper, who never leaves a game early, too stunned by the beating he just witnessed to escape his seat.

 

Coach Daniel surveys the aftermath: everyone’s head down, no energy whatsoever. No one angrily slams their helmet against the locker. No one regretfully apologizes to their teammates for a mistake. No one delivers a “we’ll get ‘em next time” spiel. The players just let the result sink in, nothing else to do about it.

 

This is unquestionably the most defeated Daniel has seen his players. He thought their low point was the Atlanta game, but today was far worse—outplayed and outcoached in every way, plain and simple. He replays a lot of mistakes in his head and can’t block out the final score: Saints 52, Knights 6.

 

When the reporters come in, a crowd of microphones flocks to Randall to ask about covering Jimmy Graham.

 

“I didn’t do my job,” Randall says. “Too many plays I got beat, especially on third down early in the game. I just didn’t execute in coverage, and that gave their offense a hot start that really set the tone for the rest of the game.”

 

Not far away, Jonathan Maverick also draws a healthy dose of difficult questions.

 

“Mav, what was it like to get benched and see Chad Henne out there in the fourth quarter?”

 

“I didn’t get benched. Coach decided with the score the way it was, he didn’t want to risk anybody getting hurt. If the game were closer, I would’ve been in there. Believe that.”

 

At his post-game press conference, Coach Daniel fields plenty of negative remarks.

 

“Coach, the Broncos are playing the Chargers right now; if they win, you guys are tied for the division at 7-3. How does that—”

 

“We’re not worried about that,” Daniel interjects. “We can only worry about who we play. As for Denver, however the division shakes up, we beat them once, and we have another game against them in a few weeks. So we’ll deal with them later.”

 

Over the next few hours, Denver and San Diego play a close, back-and-forth game, but Denver wins, 30-23. They and Los Angeles are now 7-3, though the Knights own the head-to-head tiebreaker, still technically in first place.

 

 

 

Tuesday morning, the coaches have a game plan and practice schedule (adjusted slightly for Thanksgiving) ready for Cincinnati. The players arrive, and Daniel can’t tell whether the New Orleans game still weights on their minds. He’s ready to head onto the practice field when Chance Phillips stops him.

 

“Schneider needs to see us,” Phillips says.

 

“Now? Chance, we’re about to start practice. I need to address the team about what happened on Sunday.”

 

“I know, I’m sorry. He insisted it was urgent.”

 

 

 

Adam Javad spends some time on Twitter answering fan questions. Social media exploded during and after the Saints thrashing on Sunday, and Javad does his best to correct the extreme reactions of fans and address the more logical questions. Increasing rapport with fans through social media is one of his strategies to boost his reputation, anyway.

 

His phone vibrates with a new text from one of his league sources: “Something breaking w Knights. U know anything?”

 

He hasn’t heard as much as a rumor, so he doesn’t respond. What could be breaking on a Tuesday morning in November? A few Knights went down with injuries Sunday, but none of them was serious; he’s double-checked.

 

His phone vibrates again. It’s another, better-placed league source. Javad reads the text but can’t believe its contents.

 

He goes back to Twitter and sees it update with new tweets: a few major reporters break the news.

 

“Holy shit.”

 

 

 

“I apologize for the short notice and the inconvenient timing,” Schneider says to Phillips and Daniel, who sit across from him in the owner’s office, “but this absolutely cannot wait. If the media doesn’t have this already, they will any minute.”

 

Phillips feels very uneasy, though at least everyone is sitting down for whatever Schneider is about to say. “What’s going on, Wayne?”

 

“I think it would be better if I just read the letter.”

 

“From who?” Daniel asks.

 

“The league office. And I quote… ‘It has come to our attention that one of your players, Chet Ripka, during a game against the Denver Broncos, may have played while suffering from a concussion. The league intends to investigate this matter fully,’ etc. It goes on, of course, but I think you get the point.”

 

Daniel and Phillips get the point indeed. They both run scenarios in their head about how this happened and how to proceed.

 

“Hang on a second,” Phillips says. “How could they have found out he had a concussion? He didn’t seem dazed when he came back into that game, I remember. It’s really not our fault we missed it.”

 

Schneider: “The league would have had to hear it from somebody.”

 

Phillips: “But only five people knew about this.”

 

Schneider: “And three of them are in this room.”

 

Phillips: “Where’s Dr. Evans?”

 

Schneider: “I wanted to speak to you two before bringing him in. Now, listen, press leaks happen all the time. We all know that. But we also know that we have to use discretion in certain cases, and this is definitely—”

 

Daniel: “I don’t think any one of us would leak that story. Too many consequences.”

 

Schneider: “I agree. Far too many consequences.”

 

Phillips: “Maybe Chet told one of the teammates and one of them leaked it, not knowing how damaging it would be?”

 

Schneider: “We can try to determine that later. For now, let’s talk response.”

 

Daniel: “What options do we have?”

 

Phillips: “At this point, I think it’s too late to admit we missed the concussion.”

 

Schneider: “It certainly is.”

 

Daniel: “What if the league has proof of that already?”

 

Schneider: “If they did, this letter would have a much different tone, I assure you. So our only option is to make sure they don’t find any proof.”

 

 

 

Practice commences normally, albeit delayed a few minutes. During a break, Phillips pulls Ripka aside and summarizes what has happened.

 

“Chet,” Phillips says, “did you tell anybody about this? About what really happened, I mean.”

 

“No, sir. Not that I recall.”

 

“What about your wife? Kids? Any chance the media picked it up from them?”

 

“No, sir. Not in a way I can think of, anyway.”

 

Practice concludes hours later. Before releasing players for the day, Coach Daniel briefs them on the ongoing situation and instructs them on how to handle the media: nobody says anything until weekly press conferences and locker room interviews tomorrow. As players and coaches head to their cars, they face a mob of reporters but stick to their “no comment” strategy.

 

By Tuesday night, the concussion cover-up is the story of the league. ESPN and NFL Network show countless replays of the Demaryius Thomas touchdown from week 4 when Malik Rose’s shoulder struck Ripka’s helmet, and they point out that Ripka was listed as questionable with an ankle injury the next week, despite never showing an ankle injury during the Denver game.

 

This feeds plenty of conspiracy theories, which leads to discussion about what consequences the Knights could face. Prominent pundits insist that, if proof of wrongdoing is found on Los Angeles’ part, they will face fines and potentially forfeit draft picks.

 

Wednesday afternoon, all eyes focus on Coach Daniel’s weekly press conference. The first question deals with the concussion investigation.

 

“Unfortunately, I can’t comment on that at this time,” Daniel says. “What I can tell you is the league is looking into it, and we are cooperating with them fully, essentially just letting them do their thing until a ruling is made. As long as their investigation is open, I will not make any official comment on the matter, nor will any other coaches or players.”

 

Daniel faces plenty of other related questions anyway and deflects them all without growing frustrated—visibly, at least. Many media members are quick to point out that Daniel’s “We’ll let the league decide” response is similar to Bill Belichick’s comments after Spygate hit the headlines.

 

By now, players have had time to think about the story, but they practice for Sunday’s game all the same. In fact, Daniel suspects the story has shifted the players’ focus just enough to make them forget about the Saints game, an ironic development.

 

In the locker room, plenty of players ask Ripka about the incident.

 

“I just felt a little foggy,” he says. “Had no idea it was a concussion.”

 

“So then a few days later, an ankle injury suddenly flares up?” a teammate asks.

 

“That’s what happens when you get old,” Ripka says, half-truthful.

 

 

 

Thursday night, the Harden household enjoys a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, though nobody speaks much. As things wind down, Trisha excuses herself.

 

“I’m heading out with friends,” she says.

 

“On Thanksgiving night?” Melinda asks.

 

Trisha doesn’t respond, walking upstairs to her room instead. Merle grabs a beer from the fridge and strolls onto the front porch. Melinda starts cleaning up by putting a few plates in the sink, stops, and joins her husband on the porch.

 

“I’d stay on call if I were you,” she says.

 

Merle keeps staring east at the marvelous view of the Santa Ana Mountains, his favorite part about this house.

 

“She’ll be fine,” he says, taking another sip of beer. Melinda sits down next to him.

 

“I still don’t understand. She picks up this sickness from her father and somehow you’re always the one she calls.”

 

“This conversation again?”

 

“No. Actually, I’d like to have a different one.”

 

“Oh? Which one?”

 

“The one about retirement.” Merle scoffs and takes a deep swig of beer. “This wouldn’t happen if you were around more, you know. Wouldn’t happen as much, at least.”

 

“I am around.”

 

“In the offseason.”

 

“I’m a football coach, Melinda. It’s my job. I limit myself as much as I can, and believe me, I’m stretching it as far as possible.”

 

“For how much longer? We’ve got enough money saved up.”

 

Merle takes another swig and gathers the words in his head before speaking. “I know it might not seem it, but these last few years here in L.A. have been great for me. I took a bunch of young guys and turned them into something. The defense I got now—the whole team, really—they got something. I know it may not seem it based on last Sunday, but they’re going somewhere.”

 

“What are you saying, Merle?”

 

“I’m saying…” He takes another sip. “Well, I’ve been thinking. I got the feeling this is my last hurrah. Lead these guys to the promised land and go out a champion. Then spend some time at home.”

 

“Do you really believe that?”

 

Merle knows it won’t matter what he says, so he finishes the bottle and grabs another.

 

 

 

24-14, Knights, 1:13 to go. The Bengals line up for third and goal from the seven-yard line in a bunch formation with A.J. Green out wide; Rose stares him down. Remaining fans at Paul Brown Stadium cheer on the comeback. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Knights led 24-7, prompting some fans to head home early. No one considers such a thing now.

 

Andy Dalton takes the snap and lobs it for Green. Rose sees it; they both jump at the same time and get their hands on the ball. They jostle for it and come down in the end zone. The nearest official runs in for a better view, then calls joint possession. Touchdown, Bengals. Fans cheer as loud as they have all day as Cincinnati kicks the extra point. 24-21, Knights.

 

The Bengals only have one timeout, so an onside kick seems likely. Daniel sends out the hands team after a commercial break. Players on the Knights sideline watch nervously, a game they had won suddenly hanging in the balance.

 

Mike Nugent jogs in, and taps the ball with his foot. It bounces along then grass, then hops into the air and towards a pile at the forty-yard line. A Knights player gets his hands on it, drops it, and a frantic lot of bodies pile on, struggling for possession near the Cincinnati sideline. Bengals players and coaches scream “Our ball!” while officials pull players away desperately, trying to reach the bottom of the pile.

 

An official finally breaks through and delivers a ruling: Bengals ball. The stadium booms in celebration as the Knights defense trots back onto the field. Thankfully, the Bengals only have 1:04 and one timeout to work with. Harden gets ready to crank up the heat on Dalton, who has thrown two interceptions so far.

 

Dalton takes the snap and looks to Green again as the Knights blitz. Rose has him covered. Dalton throws over the middle to Jermaine Gresham. He catches it and gets hit by Randall for a six-yard gain.

 

Dalton hurries everyone to the line and takes the snap. Everyone’s covered. He looks deep and bombs it to Green, also covered, but the pass sails out of bounds. The clock stops at 0:39.

 

Third and four. Dalton looks left to Andrew Hawkins, but the coverage is tight. Pressure comes off the edge. Dalton rolls out and throws it away.

 

Fourth and four, 0:32 to go. The Knights are one stop away from a win. Harden calls an inside blitz. Dalton takes the snap from shotgun; Randall and Martin blitz, and Martin comes free. Dalton runs right helplessly. He can’t see an open receiver and heaves the ball toward the middle of the field. Mohamed Sanu spots the pass and catches it, no Knights around him. He runs until Flash brings him down at the thirty-two.

 

Deafening cheers rock the stadium as the Bengals call timeout with 0:24 left, in field goal range. They run the ball to place it in the middle of the hashes, and Dalton spikes it with three seconds left.

 

Daniel, not a believer in icing the kicker, refrains from calling timeout. Mike Nugent lines up for the forty-eight-yard kick and gets it away cleanly. It sails down the middle and through the uprights. Tie game, 24-24, end of regulation.

 

 

 

Harden gathers his defense on the sidelines as the Knights offense prepares to get the ball, having won the coin toss.

 

“I know how we feel right now,” he says. “But we haven’t lost this one yet. Hopefully the offense goes out there and wins it, but if not, we play our game. We redeem ourselves by playing Knights defense, and we win this football game.”

 

The Knights run the ball a few times with Jaxson and get a first down. Daniel knows there’s no reason to rush things yet.

 

Maverick fakes a toss to Jaxson and looks downfield. A lineman comes free on the rush and he jukes him, steps up, and spots Bishop over the middle. He shovels it to him—Rey Maualuga comes out of nowhere and catches it. The stadium rocks as Maualuga runs the other way until Maverick wrangles his facemask at the twelve-yard line. The personal foul gives the Bengals the ball on the six.

 

Wasting no time, Cincinnati sends out the field goal team again for the presumable chip shot from the left hash.

 

The snap is high. The holder corrals it, puts it down, and Nugent boots it over the hands of Knights blockers. It splits the uprights, and the Bengals win, 27-24.

 

A final round of incredulous celebration dominates the stadium as the Knights head to the locker room as soon as possible, not sure how this one slipped away.

 

As players ride the bus to the airport and fly home, word spreads about Denver’s victory over Kansas City—and its implications. The Knights are 7-4 and, for the first time this season, no longer in first place in the AFC West.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sarge+ 3,436]

Ironic that this was your best-written chapter so far, and yet, for the Knights, it's our worst. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Welp, we're getting wrecked. The lights are darkening on us. I wonder who leaked the concussion story though... It could be anyone of you!

[GA_Eagle 595]

It wasn't me.

 

edit: or at least I don't recall it being me.

Edited January 23, 2015 by GA_Eagle

[Vin+ 3,121]

These are dark times in the kingdom.

 

L-Bish is such a sean nickname, and I think that's a very me response to it.

[Sarge+ 3,436]

L-Bish pls

[Vin+ 3,121]

[BwareDWare94 723]

More like...

 

L

Bitch

 

Great chapter. You really are covering all the bases with this project. I'm not really sure what to comment, but I'm glad I've been able to get caught up.

[Zack_of_Steel+ 3,014]

You've got a knack for making me think to myself, "hey, this technique is used in real books!".

I love that you forced us to ask a question ("why does she call Merle?"), then came back around to it later in the scene with the Hardens.

I'm digging the way we're faltering. I feel like we'll end up a Wild Card team that turns it on in the playoffs, but falls short before winning it next year. Or maybe we'll just win it now and have to sustain the success next year, idk.

Friday crept up on me and when I got home yesterday and saw the new thread on the main page I was all, "awww shit, it's Friday?! "

[BigBen07 285]

Ooh, boy. Turmoil off the field, turmoil on it! This is getting better with each chapter.

Edited January 24, 2015 by BigBen07

[Cherry 1,302]

Time for Briggs to maniacally watch film.

[Bangy 19]

another great chapter. The Harden story is interesting I look forward to more of that down the line. Also I wonder who the snitch is? The hunt is on.