28
Apr
2012
The NFL draft sure was different back in 1981 (VIDEO)
As we resume with day three of the 2012 NFL Draft, it’s worth looking back on the humble beginnings of the event, to get some perspective on just how far things have come.
This awesome video of ESPN’s 1981 draft coverage does just that, showing us a loosely organized get together inside a hotel ballroom, struggling with technical difficulties … as opposed to the multi-million dollar Radio City Music Hall spectacle it is today.
Watch as Pete Rozelle kicks things off with the selection of George Rogers and Lawrence Taylor, while a young Dr. Z (SI’s Paul Zimmerman) provides the pre-Kiper-era draft analysis:
Watch Part 2 after the jump:
12
Nov
2011
Watch this Giants-49ers Monday Night Football Game from 1990 … in it’s entirety
(Photo via forums.49ers.com)
In preparation for tomorrow’s game featuring the same two teams, and just because it’s awesome, we bring you this classic 1990 defensive struggle between the 10-1 New York Giants and 10-1 San Francisco 49ers.
In it, we get a brilliant MNF broadcast with Michaels, Gifford and Dierdorf, featuring (among other greats) Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Jerry Rice, Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. And although the game didn’t see a lot of touchdowns, you’re watching one of the great offenses of its time squaring off against one of the best defenses in what would be a preview of that year’s NFC Championship game. It just works on so many levels.
So settle in and enjoy the full game … via YouTube user DaveMeggett, in all 13 glorious parts:
[H/T Reddit.com/r/NFL]
18
Nov
2010
25 years ago today: Lawrence Taylor ends Joe Theismann’s career (VIDEO)
Do you remember where you were when this happened?
Today marks the 25th anniversary of perhaps the most gruesome moment in NFL history. On November 18, 1985, Redskins QB Joe Theismann dropped back to pass against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football … it would turn out to be the last snap he would ever take at quarterback.
As we all know by now, the play was a flea flicker, with John Riggins pitching the ball back to his QB. The Giants pass rush closed quickly, and LB Lawrence Taylor leaped at Theismann, with the full force of his body weight landing on the quarterback’s right leg. It was a clean hit, but there was a loud POP on the field (described by some as a “shotgun blast”), and Theismann’s leg had been nearly destroyed. He had a shattered fibula and a compound fracture of the tibia with one end protruding from his skin. It was one of those moments you couldn’t stand to look at, but just couldn’t turn away … and I bet most of us remember where we were when it happened. (I was in the 6th grade, doing homework while watching the game with the sound down. I didn’t need to hear it to know how bad it was)
Watch the grainy VHS tape of the incident after the jump
5
Nov
2010
Is Jerry Rice really the NFL’s Greatest of All Time?
Last night, the NFL Network unveiled the final ten of their Top 100 NFL’s Greatest Players, which was determined by a “blue-ribbon panel” of voters (plus Rich Eisen). After all the build-up, Jerry Rice was revealed to be the #1 player of all time, and the controversy began almost immediately.
Here are the Top 10, according to the panel:
- Jerry Rice, WR
- Jim Brown, RB
- Lawrence Taylor, LB
- Joe Montana, QB
- Walter Payton, RB
- Johnny Unitas, QB
- Reggie White, DE
- Peyton Manning, QB
- Don Hutson, WR
- Dick Butkus, LB
There are plenty of great players in there, and you could make a solid argument for everyone in the top six being the “greatest” (if there can really be such a thing). But the reality is that Rice won by virtue of the voting process. On the NFL Network’s ballots, players were categorized by era, and then by position. So whoever was determined to be the best at their position, and by the largest margin, would be named greatest of all-time by default.
Rice was undoubtedly the best WR ever, but look at it this way: there were only five other receivers in the top 100, and only two of those are from the modern era. Don Hutson was dominating player in his day, but Randy Moss (#24) and Michael Irvin (#92) are the only other guys that most voters probably ever saw play live. The competition was much greater at other positions, so the votes naturally got split up among more players.
The primary argument against Rice is that he was a product of his system who played with two of the greatest QBs ever to play the game (Montana and Steve Young). The other big criticism has always been his toughness … it’s no secret that Rice wasn’t a physical player. Wouldn’t you think that the one player chosen to represent the league would at least sort of be a tough guy? And don’t even get me started on the whole Dancing With the Stars thing …
For our money, we’d put Jim Brown at #1, Joe Montana at #2 and Lawrence Taylor at #3. Rice probably falls in around 5 or 6. Discuss …
WATCH THE CASE FOR RICE AFTER THE JUMP
21
Oct
2010
Reminder: We LOVE The Violence With Our Football. Always Have, Always Will
Jack Lambert is the NFL's archetypal linebacker ... does this look like a "clean" hit to you? (Photo: Walter Iooss Jr./SI.com)
(This is the second in our unintentional series of reminders to our loyal audience that the NFL is, in fact, a violent sport. Check out the 1st installment from last season, featuring even more highlights of now illegal hits!)
The sports world has been in a general state of hysteria this week over the shocking fact that violent collisions take place in football. All of the sudden, everyone is horrified over the notion that vicious hits and injuries are an inherent part of the game … as though this was anything new.
NEWS FLASH: Football has always been a violent sport. The NFL has not-so-subtly branded itself for decades around its hard-hitting, violent image. From the time we were very young, we were regaled with stories and NFL Films footage of old-school players like Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert, Deacon Jones and Jack “The Assassin” Tatum. We saw the black & white images of players standing over lifeless bodies, and listened to these men tell of the pure joy & satisfaction of driving an opponent into the ground and hearing the breath exit their bodies. It’s one of the most highly revered traditions of the game.
“I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can’t take it, you shouldn’t play”
– Jack Lambert
In our youth, we watched guys like Ronnie Lott, Lawrence Taylor and Mike Singletary, and found ourselves appreciating a bone-crushing hit by a defender more than an offensive touchdown. We learned the power of intimidation on the field, and when we played football from Pop Warner through High School, we aspired to play like those guys. To this day, some of my most vivid football memories as a fan involve a devastating tackle. Go ahead, stop and think about it for a minute …
dJack Tatum's hit on Darryl Stingley is widely considered to be the most violent hit of all time (Photo: Riesterer/AP via NYDailyNews.com)
Over the years as fans, we’ve been taught to value the big hit as a defensive weapon, and have come to understand that injuries are just a job hazard for those who choose to come across the middle. In recent days, guys like Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins and Patrick Willis have nobly carried that tradition forward. But now, they’re being asked to change the way they play the game? Veteran Seahawks S Lawyer Malloy invoked the memory of Lott when discussing the challenges defenders could face in light of the league’s heightened stance:
“When I came into the league you really didn’t have to worry about how you hit, and I’m proud I came in in that era because it’s definitely getting harder and harder for myself and some of these young guys on defense.”
Can I have the ‘Wooo!’ hits like Ronnie Lott use to talk about? They’re really taking that out of the game and it’s really a shame.”
7
May
2010
UPDATED: Lawrence Taylor arrested on rape charges
Lawrence Taylor leaves the Ramapo, NY Police department on Thursday night (Photo: NY Daily News/Willens/AP)
2nd UPDATE: The NY Daily News spoke with the alleged victim’s sister, who says that Taylor didn’t know that the girl he had paid $300 to have sex with was underage:
Accused pimp Rasheed Davis beat the teenager before taking her to Taylor’s hotel room and warned her “she would get a worse beating if she tried to tell Mr. Taylor anything,” the sister said.
“She said she had no choice but to go along with it,” the sister said. “She doesn’t blame Mr. Taylor because he had no idea (she was a minor).”
As more details emerge in this case, it’s becoming clear that the real dirtbag here is this Rasheed Davis. I mean, LT definitely shouldn’t be paying shady pimps to find young girls for him to have sex with, and he still has some serious explaining to do in this whole debacle. But according to TMZ (who has been all over this case), the alleged victim told police that she told Taylor she was 19 years old. And now, the FBI is investigating Davis on suspicion of human sex trafficking, who reportedly forced the girl to “engage in multiple commercial sex acts with various individuals”.
————————————
UPDATE: Via the NY Daily News, LT has been officially charged with third-degree rape and soliciting a prostitute. Taylor, who was just arraigned and released on $75,000 bail, has been cooperative according to police. He allegedly paid the 16-year-old girl (not 15 as previously reported) $300 for sex.
From Ralph Vacchiano’s blog, The Blue Screen:
Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence indicated that police do not suspect Taylor of beating the 16-year-old girl. In fact, he said, the black eye she suffered “occurred prior to her entering the room.”
Ramapo Chief of Police Peter Brower would not say if Taylor knew the girl was underage, but said “Ignorance is not an excuse to an individual’s age.”
Taylor could be facing up to four years in prison.
————————————
(Photo: Paul Spinelli/Getty Images)
The hit parade of current and former NFL athletes making the headlines for all the wrong reasons continues. WCBS-TV is reporting that former New York Giant Lawrence Taylor was arrested this morning after being accused of rape in a NY hotel:
Taylor, 51, was taken into custody by the Town of Ramapo police after being accused of raping someone in the Holiday Inn Holidome Hotel in Suffern.
Details surrounding the rape have not yet been released other than the location and that it occurred early this morning. Charges against the Hall of Fame linebacker will be filed once police complete their investigation.
Taylor – unarguably one of the greatest NFL players of all time – is no stranger to trouble, having been suspended by the league several times for cocaine use, followed by three trips to prison on drug charges after he retired from football.
But by all accounts, LT had been sober for over 10 years, and this is the first real trouble he’s seen in quite a while (except for a minor traffic offense last year).
24
Apr
2010
POST-DRAFT WRAP-UP … WAIT, THAT’S IT?
Oregon's LeGarrette Blount went undrafted ... but well rested. He later signed with the Titans as an undrafted FA (Image: Deadspin.com)
Is anyone else uncomfortable that the draft is over and it’s only Saturday? What the hell am I supposed to do with the rest of my weekend? Go outside or something??? Oh well … since Thursday night was the highest-rated draft ever, we’d better get used to this new format.
Now that Mr. Irrelevant has been picked, it’s time for armchair GMs everywhere to start second-guessing NFL executives and handing out their annual draft grades. Nevermind the fact that we’ll have no idea how this draft is going to pan out for at least 2-3 years … these type of knee-jerk assessments are what the draft is all about! At first glance, we really like what the Raiders, Seahawks and 49ers did over the last 3 days. In case you’re interested Pete Prisco at CBS has graded every single pick of the draft, and Shutdown Corner has their Best & Worst of the 2010 draft.
And just because the draft is over doesn’t mean teams are done adding players. Keep track of all this Undrafted Free Agent Signings list to see what camp fodder each team is bringing in. For your reference, here’s NFL.com’s list of the best players available after the draft.
In case you missed them through the sweat dripping off of Berman’s huge cranium, here are a few more stories of note from the weekend:
- The Raiders got QB Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins [ESPN.com]
- The Seahawks traded for RB’s Leon Washington of the Jets and Lendale White of the Titans [NFL.com]
- The Jets released all-pro G Alan Fanceca [NY Daily News]
- The Jaguars traded for Raiders LB Kirk Morrison [PFW]
- Lawrence Taylor’s memory of the day he was drafted in 1981 is a little bit fuzzy … probably because he had 41 Coors Lights [SI.com]
9
Nov
2009
Lawrence Taylor arrested, sober
(Photo: Miami-Dade Corrections)
Former NY Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor was arrested in Miami on Sunday night for leaving the scene of an accident. And despite the bloodshot eyes in the mug shot to the right, police say that Taylor – who has a history of drug abuse – was completely sober at the time of his arrest.
Although, if Taylor was sober, I’m not sure how he’s going to explain driving 2 miles without his right-front tire, which was separated from his car during the crash. Taylor told police he thought he hit a guard rail and continued driving on just the axle … that is, until he must have noticed the sparks and flying chunks of pavement coming from the right side of his Cadillac Escalade.
Taylor was found 2 miles from the scene of the accident while talking on his cell phone, and police said he was so coherent they didn’t feel the need to give him a sobriety test. He was released on $500 bond.
8
Aug
2009
Let’s Go Out There Like a Bunch of Crazed Dogs and Have Some Fun!
The 2009 NFL pre-season officially kicks off this weekend, and lately I’ve been watching a lot of NFL Network to get myself in the proper frame of mind. This week they’ve been running their Top 10 Pass Rushers of All-Time, which is a fantastic way to get yourselves fired up at the prospect of quarterbacks being pummeled on Sundays.
Here are video highlights of the top 3 from the list:
#3 Lawrence Taylor
The greatest pass-rushing LB of all time. Taylor not only revolutionized defensive football, but as we see in this clip, he also gave NFL Films some of its greatest unfiltered “mic’d up” footage of all time. The headline of this post is classic LT, along with gems like “Son, y’all gotta do better than this”. Taylor must have been absolutely terrifying to line up across. At the 2:06 mark where he threatens a player on the opposing team, I peed myself a little.
CONTINUE AFTER THE JUMP FOR THE #1 AND 2 PASS RUSHERS OF ALL TIME
