First, to be clear: I'm not drawing any equivalence between Dave Brown and Dwayne Haskins. To be honest, the Brown Era is a blur for me; he was done by the time I forgave the Giants for cutting Phil Simms.
Still, I remember a lot of speculation that one extra handicap for Brown was the burden of expectations on a local QB. The narrative was that he had grown up a Giant fan, knew what the team meant to North Jersey, and felt the weight of the community on his shoulders.
I understand that he also kind of sucked, and that the team sucked too. What I'm wondering is whether there's any merit to the "Local Kid Collapsed Under the Pressure" story. Also, is it a general concern that might apply to somebody like Haskins, if he's asked to replace another Super Bowl MVP / Giant Legend, or does it seem like more of a specific Dave Brown issue?
I think Dave Brown just sucked.
On the other hand, coke addict Darryl Strawberry couldn't want to get out of New York and get back to Los Angeles -- then crashed and burned in L.A., making enemies with some quip about "Let it burn" when there were fires. Then he went back to New York and had a solid run with the Yanks. He thought going home would solve his problems, but he was the problem and needed to get himself right.
The Knicks haven't had great success lately with hometown players, but it's the Knicks, not sure what to make of that.
Wow is that place still there? Was in the National Guard in Westfield. We would cut out on Sunday afternoons and go there to watch the Giants. Dating myself. Talk about the dark days Randy Johnson was one of many QB's and Ron Johnson was the running back. We referred to them as the Baby Powder backfield! Booooo!