Matt Bowen played from 2000 to 2006 in the NFL as a safety and special-teams ace. A sixth-round pick out of Iowa, Bowen was a three-sport stud at Glenbard West HS in Glen Ellyn, Ill. I covered his high-school football and baseball career. That’s why I know him and was able to get this interview Monday, the day of the vote on the NFL rule changes.
He was a spectacular centerfielder and option QB and also started at safety, then when he switched from QB to safety at Iowa, he had to give up baseball. He was an all-area hoops player in high school as well. Bowen started with the Rams the year after St. Louis won the Super Bowl, and so shared a logo with folks like Pace, Warner, Faulk, etc.
Next was Green Bay, then Washington, where he had his best years (and shared a backfield with Champ Bailey and the late, great Sean Taylor), and finally Buffalo. Injuries and dedication to family made his decision to retire in the 2007 offseason. Bowen got a BA in journalism, and at every stop in his career, had a guest column at the local paper. He earned a masters degree in writing/publishing at DePaul after his career, and started the National Football Post. He also writes regularly during the NFL season for the Chicago Tribune.
“One of the most refreshing things for me in the transition from being a pro athlete was getting my Masters at DePaul because none of my classmates cared about football,” said Bowen. “Very different environment, more focused on literature. Football, my classmates were intrigued by it, but they could really care less. It was refreshing to see that—you come from where you’re put on a pedestal, and then you realize, ‘Not everyone was watching me play, it’s not that big of a deal to a lot of people.’”
Me and Sparty decided that instead of editing an hour-long conversation, we’d just run this in two parts, today and tomorrow. I tried to get him to drop by for awhile one of the days to answer any further questions, chat-room style, but he had a previous commitment. I will note which commenter suggested any questions I used, and thanks for the help, fellas.
First, some stuff from him that didn’t fit the Q&A format—I’m not going to make up a question I really didn’t ask just for the format. Then we’ll go Q&A.
In high school Bowen kept a memento of one of his grandfathers in his helmet and added personal items to the collection through college and pro.
Bowen: World War II ID card. I never met my grandfather, he passed before I was born. He played back in the 40s, played some football at Northwestern, played high school ball at Leo, in Chicago. Always felt like there was some connection there. He was a big man too, a lot bigger than me—6-4, 230—big man. I added stuff over the years. My cousin Andrew was one of my idols growing up; played baseball at Butler, was a big football player at Peoria Richwoods. One of my buddy’s father passed while I was in college, real good friend of mine, so I had something from the funeral there, funeral card. A little note from my wife.
(The ID card) was pretty beat up. I added stuff over the years. It was always in there. One time, I got my helmet knocked off on the field and the thing went flying out and I’m out there scrambling during the game trying to pick it all up and stuff it back in my helmet. I have it in my desk right now. I was a very superstitious guy. I wore a St. Christopher necklace all the time. St. Christopher is supposed to protect you; obviously it didn’t work all the time. I ate the same pregame meal for seven straight years—chicken breasts, spaghetti, oatmeal and cantaloupe. Always sat in a window seat on the plane. If I didn’t do those things, I’d feel really uncomfortable getting dressed for the game. I had to have that stuff in my helmet.
Vez: Tell me about yer family (wife, three boys, aged 4, 3 and 1).
Bowen: My first son was born a week after my final game, the 2006 season in Buffalo. I had options to go to two teams, but my eldest boy was born with Down’s Syndrome, and I decided at that point what was more important, playing an eighth year in the NFL, covering kicks and maybe playing in some third-down packages, or being at home with my family and my wife and son and his doctors and his therapists. I chose my family.
I wrote a letter to the league and told them I was officially retiring and it wasn’t as hard as I thought. I thought I’d have a hard time mailing it off, and hanging up the football cleats so to speak, but I figured, I was in my 30s, I’d had three knee surgeries, multiple concussions, one of the surgeries was a complete ACL rehab, it was time to try something else.
Wherever I was, four teams in seven years, you get to know a lot of people. I wrote for the paper everywhere I was. That’s how I got started, having those contacts. I was in the NFL as a sixth-round pick, I wasn’t guaranteed anything. I had to struggle to make the team as a rookie. You always think, ‘How long’s this gonna last, how long’s this gonna last?’ When you get to a certain age, for me being in my 30s, and when I started having those injuries, and having a little boy with special needs, it was time for something else.
The injuries can be debilitating. My little brother–he’s a finance guy in Chicago–when I retired I told him, ‘I’m gonna retire,’ he told me, ‘I wish you would have retired three years ago.’ To hear that from your brother, who looks up to you a lot, you kind of know the family’s getting tired of seeing you get hurt.
Vez: The knee injuries, were they plant and twist, or was there contact?
Bowen: The ACL was just plant and twist. I have no idea why it happened, it wasn’t supposed to happen, just one of those things. We were playing the Ravens Sunday night. I was a starter but even when I was a starter in the NFL I still played on special teams, that’s how I got my foot in the door. I was covering a punt, went one way, my knee went the other way. I remember watching it on tape, I wasn’t sloppy with my footwork or anything, it was just time for the knee to go. I had a surgery on it the year before, a meniscus surgery. Any time you take something out of your body, it weakens it.
It was my fifth year in the league and I think that’s a point for all veterans. You hit that fifth-year mark, your body just starts to go, it doesn’t matter what position you play. Obviously, QB is an exception, but especially on defense, your body really starts to go if you play a position that requires you to be physical and hit. I just planted, and it buckled and right away I was done. We were playing the Bears the next week, too, at Soldier Field. That just piled on.
Vez (channeling clayton): How many concussions did you have? (This was on the assumption that concussions are as simple as clearing the cobwebs, not just being KTFO).
Bowen: It’s gotta be over 50. I’ve been told if you see stars (that’s a concussion)—that’s every day during training camp. I remember when Coach Gibbs came to Washington after Coach Spurrier left, and that training camp was like a blast from the past. Constant hitting, constant. Two-a-days in pads. It was old-school training camp. You don’t see that in the NFL anymore. Doing inside run drill without a football. No running back, just a fullback coming downhill, line up about eight yards, come downhill, and meet his ass in the hole. After awhile you start looking at the other guys and say, ‘We can’t do this for five weeks.’
I had a play in the 03 season, I hit Seattle fullback Mack Strong on the goal line, we both fell back like dominoes going opposite directions. My bell was rung. Next thing I know I was making a tackle in the second quarter against Koren Robinson. It was a deep 15-yard dig route. I didn’t even break on the ball, he just ran into me, because I didn’t know what was going on. You have that amnesia, it’s serious, but I started the next week against Carolina. Steve Smith ran a post route, Champ Bailey was on him outside coverage, I drove to the middle of the field and hit him as hard as I could. Right when I hit him I knew I shouldn’t have been on the field. I could feel it through my head, down my neck, through my back, I was foggy. I was down on the ground. I came off for two plays and went back in.
I don’t think the NFL has even hit the tip of the iceberg yet when it comes to concussions. I really don’t.
Vez (channeling cabbage): Are yer boys going to have to beg you to play this game?
Bowen: After going through what I’ve been through, I’m not a big supporter of Little League football. I don’t think little kids should be having helmet-to-helmet contact before high school. When they get to high school, if my two younger boys want to play football, I’m not going to prevent them from playing football. But when they’re younger? No, I don’t want them out there, having helmet-to-helmet contact. The way I view it after being a professional athlete, you’re not going to pick up any skills playing Little League football that are going to make or break you as a high school player. If your kid’s a ballplayer, he’s going to be a ballplayer whether he plays Little League or not. Play basketball, play baseball, run track, play soccer, you don’t need to be hitting each other in the head.
Vez: What can you tell me about fear on the field?
Bowen: I don’t think there’s fear on the field, I think it’s off the field, when it comes to having a head injury. When you’re on the field, especially in the NFL, there’s no time for reaction, there’s no time to think, you just go out and play. The speed of the game is so fast on Sunday, if you do take a false step, or if you hesitate, you’re going to get beat. The fear comes the following week if they’ve had a head injury, the fear comes for their job, their livelihood. They’re thinking, ‘What am I supposed to do, tell the coach my head hurts?’
Coach’ll say, that’s fine, we’ll get someone else in. That person comes in and has a big play you might never see the field again. That’s the majority of the NFL. Too often, fans look at the NFL, they see Brady, Breese and Manning. That’s not the real makeup of the league. The makeup of the league is guys like me. You bounce around a couple teams, you make some good money that’ll set you up for life, but it’s not a free pass. So if you’re going to step out and put yourself in the shadows by saying your head hurts, 1) someone’s going to replace you, and 2) you can’t prove it.
You get a sprained ankle, you get a torn MCL, you put that under an MRI, they’ll say, ‘This kid’s hurt.’ The head? No way to judge these things. That’s the problem. That’s why I think the NFL is trying to implement safety rules at the same time pushing an 18-game season, which contradicts itself. You’re not going to prevent concussions. What you have to do is heighten player awareness, but then that problem comes like what I’m talking about now. Guys will do whatever it takes to stay on the field. Sometimes that means playing when you should be sitting down, with a head injury.
Vez: What can you say about the point of view of the guys who are worried about not playing for a year, if that what it comes to?
Bowen: My deal with Washington was for $6 million, and I got the majority of that. That is a lot of money, don’t get me wrong. I made enough money where my kids can go to Northwestern if they want to. That was always my goal playing pro football, pay for college for my children. I don’t think money’s a factor, unless you’re making Peyton Manning money; 99 percent of the league isn’t. Those contracts aren’t guaranteed. I signed a four-year deal in Washington, and played three years of it. I didn’t get the last year of the contract because I got released, coming off of a knee injury.
Nothing’s guaranteed, and that’s on the players’ minds always. Your health is the last thing on your mind. When I was coming off a concussion in 2003, there was no doubt I was playing the next week. No doubt. Even though I had a new contract, it’s a one-year contract, really. You’ve got to prove yourself to get the second year. It isn’t like baseball or the NBA, where you get cut they write you a check. You get cut in the NFL, they put your stuff in a box and say, ‘See Ya.’
Vez: Was it always in yer mind to do smart things with yer money and put away a big chunk, but still live like you made some good money?
Bowen: I bought a new F-150 when I played. That’s as much as I splurged on myself. But I knew guys that blew through money like you wouldn’t believe. That’s why I know there are guys supporting this lockout but at the same time hoping it ends, because when the season comes and they don’t have a paycheck, they’re in trouble. We’re talking about big-time players, too. It’s unfortunate.
Vez (channeling jpmanahan): Can you tell us about yer time with Sean Taylor?
Bowen: I’ve had the privilege of playing with some really good players. Marshall Faulk’s the best football player I’ve ever seen. Kurt Warner, Brett Favre, Isaac Bruce, Orlando Pace; phenomenal leaders and football players, but when it comes to pure athletic ability, I’d never seen anything like Sean. I’d never seen someone that big move like that, hit like that. He could have played any position he wanted to, in the NFL. Could have played corner, safety, wide receiver, running back, tight end, linebacker– put on some weight, he would have been an outstanding defensive end, too. Just from the sheer fact that when he came to Washington he was 6-2, 235—I thought he was a linebacker. ‘No, that’s a free safety.’ You gotta be kidding me—I’m playing strong safety and I look like this guy’s little brother.
He was a great guy to play with, passionate about the game, passionate about (the U), and a great teammate. Some of the stuff he did on Sunday, you would see it in front of you and say, man I can’t wait to see that on tape. When there was a ball in the air, or a ball on the ground, and he picked it up, you were expecting him to bring it back for a TD. He was so good in the open field.
One time we brought our high school highlight tapes in. We had the video guys download them onto the computer, so we could watch them in the meeting room. You got me out there running the option against York and Oak Park. They put Sean’s on, it was like watching Gale Sayers in the backfield and Steve Atwater on defense. The guy was unreal. He was so much bigger than everyone and so much faster. He’d hit guys and they wouldn’t get up, the film would just go to the next play, and no one ever knew if the guy got up.
I was a teammate of Sean’s, we weren’t best friends. We played together in the same backfield, depended on each other when I was playing strong and he was playing free. At first when I heard he got shot, I was stunned, but when I heard he passed the next morning, I was speechless. I still don’t know what to say about it. The guy could have been one of the best football players the NFL has ever seen. He was a good person too. Had a good family. Just became a father. Now I’m pretty sure his daughter’s going to grow up without that.
Vez (channeling my buddy Andrew): Any chance you’ll donate your brain?
Bowen: (nervous laughter) I haven’t thought about it, because that means I’m going down. It’s not something I think about now. I’ve got diapers to change now.
More to come tomorrow, on Dave Duerson, kickoff changes, danger, best memory on the field, the bowl system, college athletics, what shape his body is in, and which RB intimidated him.
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