Part 2:
I wanted to talk to you about L.C. and some of those other guys. L.C. actually called me to talk about why he felt he should have made the Hall of Fame. Do you think he and others were overlooked?
Oh yeah, sure they were. But there’s a fine line from being a good, very good, great, and Hall of Fame player. What a Hall of Fame player is today gets muddled because of TV, newspapers and the internet. Guys see faces on screens and names that are out there more often and think they are great or Hall of Fame players. Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends – there’s no comparison to the numbers today versus guys 20-to-30 years ago. Now when people talk about quarterbacks no one says anything about Johnny Unitas, but I dare say no one was better than he was. Griese was an unbeaten quarterback and never threw more than 17 passes.
It’s a hard task then to judge guys by stats – especially for ones that haven’t played in years. But I can tell you L.C. was the guy that allowed me to do all of the things I could. I counted on him to get to the plays I couldn’t get to. He was 6’6″, 238 pounds and ran a 4.6. He played with great leverage and had those strong, long arms. He’d zoom by me many times to catch players on the opposite side of the field I couldn’t get to. And we did line stunts as well as anyone ever did. He’d cover me and I’d cover him. So I’d say, yeah. no doubt about it. L.C. should be in the Hall of Fame.
There were a lot of outstanding players. I’d argue L.C. and Andy Russell should both be in the Hall of Fame. Maybe a couple of others. But I don’t want to diminish the others that played integral parts in our success. You can’t all be Hall of Fame players.
When you became a coach, what influences really helped shape the way you approached the job?
I tried to share my experiences I had as a player – what were disappointments and what was joy. And how to prepare yourself. How to study, work out, and prepare yourself for the rigors of the game. I talked about the importance of working out even though I didn’t love to workout myself. But I knew it was necessary.
I taught them to study as well and practice technique, technique, technique. To learn the proper stance and to understand alignments and reading keys. To look at the offensive line and backfield, the formation, and to know the responsibility of the guy next to you. That’s how you help each other. I tried to share with them that you have to play like you’re not the only guy on the field. Trying to make a play is not good enough. You have to do your job. If everyone does their job someone will make a play. If everyone is where they are supposed to be someone will make a play. It’s like dominos. If they’re all lined up correctly and you push them over they will all fall and there will be no gaps between them. They’ll make a perfect line. That technique allows you to play connected with your teammates. It’s all about fundamentals.
What are your thoughts on the way the game has changed since you played and coached?
The game is changing a lot. The majority of the higher-ups in the NFL think TV is the driving force of the league and that everyone wants to see offense. They made the rules favor the offense. Seemingly every year the rules would help the offense more. We’d catch up on defense then the rules would change again.
Anybody that played the game – offensive tackles and guards – they would never let you slap them in the head – they wouldn’t take that from anybody – not the ones worth their uniform anyway.
They also took away contact after five yards. And wide receivers and tight ends can run down the field unencumbered. There was no tight end as good as John Mackey, and he knew he’d get hit catching the ball in the middle of the field. Now, they’re protected. It’s not that difficult now. If you hit them high it’s a penalty and hit them in the knees it’s not ok.
I do agree where we are with targeting – when and if that happens – and concussions. Taking away unnecessary hits from the game – that we need to do. Right now we’re just at a bad point. We’re in transition in the game. Once we’re out of this stage we’ll be ok.
Football will always be a contact sport. You take the contact out it’s not football anymore. When a running back puts his helmet into the chin of a linebacker and runs over him, it’s ok. But when the running back goes wide and the linebacker comes from the inside and earholes him, that’s a penalty. They have to get that cleaned up.
And what lunacy came when they let these guys celebrate, I don’t know. I abhor that. That’s not team football.
But some have argued players like Lambert celebrated in your day.
If Lambert pointed his finger at someone it wasn’t to celebrate. He was telling someone he wanted to kick their ass! He was just being demonstrative.
Any fun memories of your time there you can share?
Putting Lynn Swann in one of the grocery carts we used for dirty laundry, yes. Tying him up so he couldn’t get out and spraying shaving cream all over him, then rolling him into Chuck’s office. I pushed the cart into Chuck’s office and his desk was about 15 feet from the door, so I moved away and he didn’t see me when the cart hit his desk. But he just raised his head up, looked at Swann with the shaving cream all over him, then just went back to work. It was always something with Swann.
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