The Return of Sweetness?

I can't say I've ever been anything but suspicious or even contemptuous of the sons of players and coaches who make their way to the big stage.

Is that fair of me? The offspring of coaches and legends never have it easy. Saul Smith had it rough playing basketball at Kentucky. Pete Rose, Jr. was often heckled and never accomplished much with his baseball career. The list goes on.

I guess the thinking is, even if the son does prove himself (the quickest example I can think of is Bobby Bonds) son, we still wonder, "Would they have been given the opportunity to excel if not for the famous dad?"

If USC is weighing whom to offer baseball scholarships, and it's between my kid, who bats .450, and Joe Legend's kid, who bats .425, who do you think gets the scholarship?

That injustice (or rather, just the mere possibility of it) rankles me and leads me uncharitable, heckling thoughts to these kids.

But of course, it's never Joe Legend's fault, or his son's. It's the system. USC knows that Joe Legend, Jr. will put more butts in the seats and more crisp bills in the Athletic Department's coffers. The old (well, not really so old) adage of "Don't hate the player, hate the game" applies here.

And I think I've found a Joe Legend, Jr. to like.

You probably know him, and you definitely knew his dad.

He has a very tenuous grip on a roster spot with the Tennessee Titans, where he spent all of last year on the practice squad.

He's being asked to slug it out and prove himself overseas.

And that's what he's doing, with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe.

His dad, Joe Legend, in addition to being arguably the best running back ever, was also one of the most beloved figures of the game. He even hosted "Saturday Night Live." And then he died way too young of something called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis.

You know by now that I'm referring to Jarrett Payton, son of Walter.

I don't know if the University of Miami did anything for him that they wouldn't have done for the average kid, but the fact of the matter is, they didn't hand him the starting tailback job when they felt they had better options.

Fact of the matter is, he didn't gripe when he went undrafted in 2003, despite leading the Hurricanes in rushing his senior season.

Fact of the matter is, he didn't gripe when he spent the whole of last year on the Titans taxi squad.

And now he's making the most of his opportunity in Europe. How does 6.2 yards per carry, best in NFL Europe, grab you? Or fifth in the league in overall rushing yards? Or tied for second in touchdowns? Third in total yards from scrimmage?

The stat that really jumps out at me is that 6.2 YPC. The next best out of the top-10 rushers in NFL Europe is 5.3, which is impressive enough. 6.2 is the kind of number high school kids post when they're far better than anyone else on the field.

It still won't be easy for Payton to latch on to the Titans and get carries. Besides the fact the the Titans retain 1,000-yard rusher Chris Brown, as well as Robert Holcombe, who had a couple nice years with the Rams, but Tennessee also holds the rights to the leading rusher in NFL Europe: Rhein rusher Joe Smith. He's considered a longshot to even make the roster.

But considering what he's done on the field, under the circumstances he's done them, dealing with the shadow of a legendary father and then the death of one, who would bet against him?