Good Things Can Happen When History Repeats Itself Especially in the NFL

When Bill Parcells was Coach of the Giants, he recruited from University of Notre Dame, a 6’4”, 255-pound Tight End named Mark Bavarro, an Italian-American who hailed from Massachusetts. Known for his blocking skills and his ability to hold on to even the toughest passes, Bavarro was a key reason why the Giants won the 1986 Super Bowl.

Fast forward 20 years to 2006. Bill Parcells set up shop as Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys. In the draft, the Cowboys picked a 6’4”, 245-pound Tight End – another Italian- American and another Notre Dame grad named Anthony Fasano. Fasano proved to be a capable Tight End although he did not post as many impressive stats as Bavarro. However, Fasano was part of the Romo-Owens offense which also included another stellar Tight End named Jason Whitten. This talent pool left little room for Tight End super performances by Fasano.

Now, two years later, Bill Parcells is Head of Operations of the Dolphins and guess who came with him to Miami? Anthony Fasano. How do we think Fasano will fare in Miami? We think pretty well. He is on an offense with Chad Pennington who is not quite the long passer that Romo is. Could this mean that Fasano will have more opportunity to make game-altering receptions and possibly become Parcells’ next Mark Bavarro?

Rookie Running Back Steve Slaton was a force to be reckoned with in the Catholic High School League in Philadelphia. In his senior year, he accepted a scholarship to University of Maryland. However, a few weeks before he was set to go play for the Terrapins, he got word that the school reneged on his scholarship. After a quick and desperate search for a new school, Slaton found a home at West Virginia University. Although relieved that he found a team who liked his talent, Slaton knew his playing time would be limited at best. He was the number four Running Back on the team. But that crafty fickle finger of fate was not about to give up on Slaton. Within the first weeks of the start of the season, injuries sidelined all those players who were ahead of Slaton on the team bench. By week four, Slaton had entrenched himself as a starter for West Virginia.

Fast forward three years. Steve Slaton entered the NFL draft after his junior year. In the third round, he was taken by the Texans. Again, Slaton realized that he was pretty far down on the Running Back depth chart. In fact, he was the fifth Running Back of the Texans. Some experts thought Slaton would get the axe before the season opened. At PossessionPoints.com, we referred to Slaton as our “Super Sleeper” having watched him climb through the ranks to become a well-deserved star at West Virginia. We wondered if history would repeat itself again. Guess what? It did. The Texans lost their “starters” to injuries and, lo and behold, Steve Slaton will get another chance to showcase his amazing talent. Isn’t it funny how history or fate or luck can make or break a career?