Posted on 09/16/2021 9:23:28 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Hi.
Two words:. George Blanda
5.56mm
He will very likely outlive the NFL.
RE: Two words:. George Blanda
Ahh yes, I remember him. He played till he was 48, close to Brady’s desired age to retire (50), but not quite.
I think Blanda still holds the record for most extra points made (943) and attempted. He played in his last game at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium in 1976 if memory serves me right.
What’s sad is that had Blanda played one more year, he would have gotten a Super Bowl ring.
let's say Brady keeps going for a few more years - and is continuing to win - at some point competitors might just say screw it, we're gonna go all 60's on his a$$.
I disagree. There are far more prospects with 1st round grades then there are NFL teams so the odds of snagging some in the upper half of the 2nd round are pretty good. As I said, I’d trade down in the 1st, acquiring picks and even trade right out of the first round.
Another reason I favor this is that prospects in the 1st, especially in the top ten, can eat up a lot of the rookie cap.
As for the late rounds, I’d use those picks as compensation to teams I had been able to sign RFAs from
Up until the 90’s only the Raiders and another couple of old AFL teams would draft a player from a small school. Al Davis could look at a guy working out in gym shorts and accurately evaluate the players talent.
Al went to watch a workout of college players but the weather was so bad the guys worked out on the basketball court in sneakers, shorts and T shirts. When he got back to Oakland he told coach John Madden that he had found their next running back, working out in shorts. Madden wanted to know what Davis could tell from such a workout. Al said “he did things I like, we’re drafting him.”
That is how Mark Van Eeghan from Colgate (hardly a football powerhouse) was drafted in the third round by the Raiders.
Al Davis had been an assistant coach at The Citadel and knew there was talent in the small schools.
The Raiders had drafted Marv Hubbard out of Colgate in 1968.
Phil Villapiano, Bowling State, Raiders.
Willie Brown, Grambling, Denver\Raiders.
Gene Upshaw, Texas A&I, Raiders.
Willie Lanier, Morgan St, Chiefs.
Dick “Night Train” Lane, Western Nebraska Community College-Scottsbluff (doesn’t get much smaller than that.
The one player who had the most to do in making the 90’s Cowboys was Herschell Walker, whom Dallas traded to Minnesota in an arrangement that came out to 18 trades, including conditional trades. Jerry Jones figured that over time the Walker transaction generated about 50 trades for Dallas.
https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/cowboys/2019/10/12/its-been-30-years-since-the-cowboys-traded-herschel-walker-to-the-vikings-fueling-a-dynasty/
What about Otis Sistrunk from the “University of Mars.” Hee Hee!
Ok, for those who don’t know the story:
During a Monday Night Football telecast, a television camera beamed a sideline shot of the 6’5”, 265-pound Sistrunk’s steaming bald head to the nation. That, along with the Raiders’ listing of his educational background in the team program as “U.S. Mars” (shorthand for United States Marine Corps), prompted ABC commentator and ex-NFL player Alex Karras to suggest that the extraterrestrial-looking Sistrunk’s alma mater was the “University of Mars.”
Another thing is coaches finally figured out great athletes were going to small schools for a variety of reasons.
College coaches got realistic about their talent and relayed it to the scouts. As colleges started running pro offenses instead of the option offenses or the three yards and a cloud of dust, college coaches went to pro training camps and rubbed shoulders with the pro coaches. That also led to good relationships that got players from small schools into the NFL.
Tom has the body of people 20 years younger.
He also trains for how to take hits. He refers to it as being ‘Gumby’. Watch him be tackled: He goes down easily, and virtually never goes down awkwardly.
In any given draft year there are likely to be no more than 5-10 players who can dominate their positions at the NFL level in their first one or two years as a starter. It’s very uncommon for those guys to get selected outside the top half of the first round.
“What about Otis Sistrunk from the “University of Mars.” Hee Hee!”
DEFINITELY smaller than Night Train Lanes Western Nebraska Community College.
I think the U of Mars only has one alumni...SISTRUNK!
Back then a team would trade a player for any reason.
Player wouldn’t wear a tie and jacket on a flight? TRADE HIM!
Player wouldn’t bulk up like the coach wanted? TRADE HIM!
Most of those players were listed as malcontents and traded for little in return. Al Davis got most of those guys.
Ted “The Mad Stork” Hendricks was one such malcontent. He spent one day at the Raiders camp and said he felt at home for the first time in his life.
Back then the Raiders were a team of characters coached by a character and led by the ultimate character, Al Davis.
I miss the old NFL. :(
After last year, I’m not betting against him. The man keeps doing it somehow year after year. As long as he doesn’t get seriously injured (like blow an ACL or something) I could see him playing up into his Blanda years.
}:-)4
George Blanda played QB at the age of 48.
Tom can do it. The system they have that favors a style that is risk averse for a QB.
I like the guy. I like him because he has great work ethic and still understands his good fortune. He has a great attitude for a competitor. He is a true winner. Unlike some who have come into the NFL expecting to be worshiped day one.
I think this is a good point. Recovery when you are over 40 is more difficult. Ask Tiger Woods.
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