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- Candid Cam: Inman's insight into Bay Area sports
NOT ALL NFL players retire with the fanfare of a Brett Favre (or as many times as him, for that matter).
A trio of Bay Area high school products recently bid adieu to their careers, and did so rather quietly. Commend them on their successful tenures. But also admire how well they represented the Bay Area at a time when the NFL is petrified of miscreants.
Offensive linemen Jeremy Newberry (Antioch High) and Marvel Smith (Skyline) have called it quits after one final summer romance with the NFL. Miramonte High product Drew Bennett also has made his final NFL reception, several years later than most predicted.
The same might come true with Amani Toomer, a De La Salle High product and the New York Giants' all-time leading receiver. Released Tuesday after nary a month with the Kansas City Chiefs, Toomer's status is unknown. A 13-year veteran, he still could upgrade the Raiders' or 49ers' receiving corps, if they let him.
The common theme when reviewing all the above NFL careers — not to mention the broadcasting tenure of ex-Raiders coach John Madden — is how we proudly call them our own. Rarely do we produce bad seeds (notable exception: O.J.).
"A part of the problem with guys in trouble is they come from such small cities and small places," Newberry said. "Every football market is a big place. They go to these big cities, they don't know how to act. It's the first time they go to big
"You become more street smart in the Bay Area, where there's so much stuff presented to do, both good and bad."
That good-boy torch can pass to a plethora of other Bay Area high school products. It's a surprisingly large pool with over 40 active players, highlighted by the New England Patriots' Tom Brady (Serra High) and the Jacksonville Jaguars' Maurice Jones-Drew (De La Salle).
The Buffalo Bills' Marshawn Lynch (Oakland Tech) may be a Pro Bowl running back, but his recent run-ins with the law earned him a three-game suspension from the league at the start of this season. That is not the representation the Bay Area wants. At least Lynch still held his annual youth football camp here in July.
Leaving the NFL fraternity is the hardest decision Smith has made in his life. A lingering nerve issue in his back curtailed plans for a last hurrah as the 49ers right tackle. He retired Monday, taking with him two Super Bowl rings from his previous nine years on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"The biggest thing to me was going back to my high school and showing all the kids it is possible to be successful coming out Oakland," Smith said. "I was in the same shoes growing up."
Smith lives in Southern California but plans to come up and help out youths at his alma mater, as well as throughout the Bay Area.
Newberry is living in Brentwood, coaching linemen at Antioch High and doting on his daughters, ages 5 and 3. He's also getting ready for his annual toy drive, which benefited 400 families throughout Contra Costa County last December.
Newberry evoked a tough-guy image coming out of Cal and throughout his 11 NFL seasons. But he never ran afoul with the league or his teams, starting with the 49ers from 1998-2006, the Raiders in '07 and the San Diego Chargers in '08. Knee problems flared up after offseason workouts with the Atlanta Falcons and he retired before training camp, a message he casually posted on Facebook.
"I'm not into ego stuff. I had a great run," said Newberry, a physical force and extremely astute center. "I'm thankful to the 49ers for drafting me. I root for them, and I watch football. All that having a press conference and getting media attention, I don't ever do that."
Nor does Bennett. He retired in a statement through his agent in late July, eight years after crashing the league as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans. He played six seasons there, then the past two with the St. Louis Rams. He abruptly retired after aggravating a knee injury in a workout with the Baltimore Ravens in late July.
Fellow Miramonte graduate Ken Dorsey hasn't given up on his six-year NFL career despite getting cut in February from the dysfunctional Cleveland Browns. He's living in Florida, coaching quarterbacks at a Bradenton high school and hoping the NFL beckons. If not, he says he'll officially retire in a year.
It's nice having had Bay Area products who've represented us well. They help us realize "not all football players are meatheads," to quote Joe Tafoya, a 1996 Pittsburg High graduate who spent eight seasons in the NFL before a foot injury ended his career last year.
"When you're born and raised in a town that supports you," Tafoya said, "the last thing you want to do is make a fool out of yourself and them."
That would make a nifty mantra for all NFL players — or anyone, for that matter.
Contact Cam Inman at cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com.
