Category Archives: The Soul of The Game

The Soul of The Game: Jack Tatum

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When it comes to the soul of the game, purists like our CEO thinks of games being dominated by fierce and aggressive defense. One player that embodied that spirit was Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders.

tatum.whiteXIWhen his name is brought up it’s hard to not think of the unfortunate paralysis injury suffered by Darryl Stingley in 1978. However he was much more than that.  During the 1970’s he made the Oakland Raiders defensive secondary the forceful equivalent of the Pittsburgh Steelers front four.

tatum

Jack Tatum, one of the NFL’s hardest hitters ever.

The Raiders weren’t a great defense from a statistical standpoint. In fact their highest ranking against the pass during the 1970’s was 5th in 1975, and 8th in 1973. As a matter of fact the year the Raiders went 13-1, won Super Bowl XI & the Raiders were 22nd against the pass. However for a record 5 straight years (1973-1977) the Raiders made it to the AFC Championship Game and Jack Tatum was a main reason why.

It was his physical style of play the Raiders fed off of and his mentality became that of the Oakland Raiders defense. Even SS George Atkinson, who began his career as a corner with the Raiders in the late 1960s’, had Jack’s playing style rub off and become his style of play. Nowhere in football history were there ever more cases of “alligator arms” than there were going across the middle when Jack Tatum was on patrol. His hits were like car collisions.

One of his most famous hits occurred in what has been called the single greatest touchdown in NFL history, The Immaculate Reception. The famous Franco Harris touchdown with :22 left in the 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff the Steelers won 13-7. Initially on 4th and 10, Terry Bradshaw was trying to complete a pass to John “Frenchy” Fuqua when the ball and Tatum all arrived at the same time.

NFL rules at the time didn’t permit a pass to be tipped by a receiver then caught by another receiver. Had that occurred the play would be ruled incomplete and penalized for “illegal touching”. The problem was it was so close you couldn’t call what happened from the naked eye.

When the Steelers were awarded the touchdown it touched off a bitter 5 year playoff rivalry and controversy over that play rages to this day. Tatum had another famous hit that you saw in the first video when he knocked Sammy White of the Vikings out in Super Bowl XI. It was the fourth quarter and the Vikings were forced to pass and the Raiders knew it.

However, 11 months later in what would be John Madden’s last playoff game as coach of the Raiders, another Tatum hit was in the middle of another controversy. It was during the 3rd quarter of the 1977 AFC Championship with Oakland trailing the Denver Broncos 7-3. The Raiders had fumbled to put the Broncos in business inside the Raiders 20 yard line. Several plays later when it was 1st and goal with the momentum teetering toward the Denver sideline, Tatum comes through with a thunderous shot…

 

Another case of the Raiders coming up on the short end of the stick and was one of the reasons they lost 20-17. Although our CEO lived in Denver at the time and was cheering for the Broncos, he believes they were robbed. Rob Lytle clearly fumbled. Had they won they would have gone to Super Bowl XII with a chance to defend their Super Bowl title. They could have beat Dallas and would have been crowned a dynasty had they made it there. Jack Tatum would play two more years with the Raiders before joining the Houston Oilers in 1980.

He and quarterback Ken Stabler were traded to the Oilers to help Bum Phillips “Kick In The Door” which was the slogan used that year. Ironically they didn’t face Pittsburgh in the playoffs, instead they lost in Oakland to the Raiders in the 1980 AFC Wildcard Game 27-7. For his 10 year career, he did intercept 37 passes with a high of 7 in the lone year he played in Houston. Yet it was the fierce way he hit that brought Tatum his notoriety.

Epilogue: However fame and memory of his play has been purposely obscured by NFL Films selectively after the event where Darryl Stingley was paralyzed. For every fearsome defender that has come through the NFL, there are videos of these tough players, many of which we feature here, yet Tatum is a glaring omission. Contrary to popular belief he did try to see Darryl Stingley while he was in the hospital in Oakland but the family turned him away. John Madden chronicles it in one of his books. Former Ohio St teammate John Hicks said Stingley’s paralysis had an affect on Jack Tatum, saying he became a recluse.

Tatum would have looked sick in a black helmet.

Tatum would have looked sick in a black helmet.

He seemed to be be caught between the tough guy persona and the humanity that did lie within. He’s been quoted from his book They Call Me Assassin that “I like to believe that my best hits border on felonious assault.” Trying to capitalize on his bad boy persona since that was what he had to go off of in future years. We don’t know what was said to Jack Tatum by the Stingley family that night in that hospital.

Yet defensive players using hyperbole to describe what they perceive as the perfect hit isn’t anything new. In the Soul of the Game article with Dick Butkus, he describes a scene from Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte. Where he describes how a decapitated head rolls down the stairs and he liked to project those things happening (to his opponent) on the football field.

In other writings and videos we celebrate the over the top intensity and meanness of an Ed Sprinkle, a “Bulldog” Turner, a Wilber Marshall, a Hardy Brown, a Cliff Harris, a “Mean” Joe Greene, a “Mad Dog” Mike Curtis, or what about the comments and actions of a one Jack Lambert?? None of these men were asked to apologize for the way they played nor should they have to.

Well, neither should Jack Tatum. The question remains: Did  Jack Tatum handle the whole situation with Darryl Stingley the right way?? In my opinion he could have done more to make amends with him but it’s not up to me to be the complete judge on all that took place. Again we don’t know what was said between the Stingley family to him that fateful night. Understand I’m not trying to make the villain into the victim, but it’s high time that someone says something in Tatum’s defense. Quit treating him like a pariah, almost like he didn’t exist.

From THE Ohio State University, Jack Tatum!! RIP

From THE Ohio State University, Jack Tatum!! RIP

Ronnie Lott, Kenny Easley, Todd Bell, Dennis Smith, Dennis Thurman, Leonard Smith and the generation of NFL Safeties that came onto the scene as he was retiring patterned much of their game after his. On July 27, 2010, Jack Tatum passed away, but the way he played lives on as the generation who saw him play share memories of him with grandchildren like a Paul Bunyan type. There isn’t a lot of footage on him so the stories have to be told of how he was such a hitter. Well he was an intimidating performer and definitely a Soul of the Game defender.

Dedicated to the memory of Jack Tatum (November 18, 1948 – July 27, 2010)

RIP Darryl Stingley (September 18, 1951 – April 5, 2007)

RIP Rob Lytle (November 12, 1954 – November 20, 2010)

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Taylor Blitz Times new logo!!

Taylor Blitz Times new logo!!

The Soul of The Game: Kenny Easley

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Kenny Easley rocks former Raider TE Todd Christensen

Kenny Easley rocks former Raider TE Todd Christensen

Some of the best players in NFL history are those who had their careers cut short due to injury. Yet they had great seasons that had them on the path to Canton. Such was the case with former Seattle Seahawk Kenny Easley. At 6’3 and 205 lbs, he was tall, fast, had range and could hit.

He was the team’s first true superstar, one that teammates looked up to for big hits, big plays, and leadership. Until the Seahawks drafted RB Curt Warner to be his offensive equal on the other side of the ball, never had a team followed the lead of a safety before. At his peak he may have been the best safety in the last 25 years of pro football.

In 1981 Seattle drafted Easley in the first round out of UCLA. He was one of the new breed of safety coming into the NFL. Everyone points to the new breed of linebacker that hit at the same time, but along with Easley came the Dennis Smiths, the Joey Browners, and the Todd Bells who were taller and more physical than the prior generation of NFL safeties. The game was evolving after the 1978 rule changes favoring the passing game. Teams were going to more multiple receiver sets and safeties were being asked to do more. Especially in the hey-day of the AFC West.

Kenny Easley was a ball hawk and a big hitter. A rarity among safeties.

Kenny Easley was a ball hawk and a big hitter. A rarity among safeties.

This was the time of “Air Coryell” with Dan Fouts, the defending NFL champion Raiders with they’re deep passing game, and the Denver Broncos would soon draft John Elway to add to the prowess throwing the football within the division. It was Easley that brought the team superior confidence with his strong hits and leadership that changed the culture of the organization. He started gaining notoriety when he picked off 4 passes and was named AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year. The following season saw him intercept 7 passes and 3 sacks as he made the Pro Bowl for the first time as well as making the All Pro team for the first of three times.

Before his arrival, the Seahawks hadn’t made the playoffs or even been competitive within the AFC West going back to their 1976 inception. Easley led Seattle to their first playoffs in his third year. Once there they topped rookie John Elway and the Broncos 31-7 at home in the wild card round. The following week Easley and the defense led the way in a 27-20 victory over rookie Dan Marino and the Dolphins in Miami. They fell to the eventual champion LA Raiders, whom they swept during the season, in the AFC Championship Game 31-14. Many experts believed Easley’s Seahawks were primed for a Super Bowl run with a healthy Curt Warner coming back.

Easley had his greatest season in 1984, picking off 10 passes returning those for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns on his way to NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. Yet it was his thunderous hits and reckless play that set him apart. In most instances you have ball-hawks that are tacklers but not great hitters. Easley was both. Yet the 12-4 Seahawks lost the rematch to Miami in the AFC Divisional round 31-10, and wouldn’t get any closer for the rest of his career.

This video in microcosm showcases his great 1984 season.

As you look at the first 20 years of the Seattle Seahawks history (1976-1995) they didn’t make the NFL playoffs until Easley led them there in 1983. They were among the league’s elite for the next five years but couldn’t capitalize on the momentum of that first AFC Championship appearance. The Seahawks did make the playoffs in 1988, but would return to the playoffs only once in the next 18 years following his retirement.

Easley’s career was cut short due to kidney failure before the 1988 season. However he had left thunderous hits and many broken tackles and spirits along with 32 interceptions, returning 3 for scores.  He was a five time Pro Bowler and voted All Pro 3 times, yet is  he a Hall of Famer?? That’s a debate for another day and another article, for Kenny Easley was the prototype safety of the modern era. The skill-set and intensity that he brought to the secondary was equal to what Lawrence Taylor brought to the fore for outside linebackers.

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Epilogue – November 16, 2025: With Kenny’s passing yesterday we lost a true warrior who took years to get his due in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I wanted to write an article to advocate for him but time just didn’t permit. Thank God Ronnie Lott stepped up and advocated for the player he was compared to the most coming out of their 1981 NFL draft. However I wrote this article in 2013 as I was a huge fan and wanted something to showcase how great a player he was.

I was able to catch him in a game once in Ohio Stadium when his UCLA Bruins faced the Ohio St Buckeyes while he was in college back in 1980. Was able to see Easley, Todd Bell, and Ray Ellis deliver big hits one glorious fall afternoon. I remember recalling the game with Easley’s late UCLA teammate Luis Sharpe who passed earlier this year. Undoubtedly Sharpe was there to greet him at the pearly gates.

RIP Kenny Easley – Pro Football Hall of Famer

The Soul Of The Game: The Late 80’s Houston Oilers

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houston-oilers-authentic-pro-line-throwback-full-size-helmet-3350235When you think back about the Houston Oilers of yesteryear many thoughts come to mind. Some think of Warren Moon and the Run & Shoot offense that thrived from 1989-1993. Some think back to those Bum Phillips teams that made the 1978 & 1979 AFC Championships. Others flash back to the days when Earl Campbell was terrorizing defenses while playing for those late 70’s squads. Our CEO remembers them all but really perks up to the style of defense that hit the Astrodome in the 1987 season.

This was the era right before Warren Moon and the Run & Shoot started to make a name for themselves. Under Jerry Glanville, the Oilers became a super aggressive blitzing team. What he was doing was re-creating the “Gritz Blitz” when he was defensive co-ordinator of the Atlanta Falcons back in the late 1970’s. One little known fact about the Falcons under Glanville is they established the league record for fewest points allowed in a 14 game season with 129 in 1977. Better than the Pittsburgh Steelers teams that won 2 Super Bowls before that, the great 1976 Steelers defense, and better than the 1968 Colts who once held the record at 144 on their way to Super Bowl III. Who’s record did they break?? Try the Minnesota Vikings “Purple People Eaters” who gave up 133 on their way to Super Bowl IV.

Yet the rule changes of 1978 changed much of what was happening bef0re. No longer were cornerbacks , linebackers, or safeties able to hit receivers down-field before a pass was thrown. They now had the 5 yard “chuck” rule and it took awhile to adjust but the Oilers took on that tough persona and were an in your face team. They hit hard, talked big, and had a lot of fights during that time. Their defense gave a franchise an identity that had been badly searching for one. The ringleaders were SS #25 Keith Bostic (from Michigan), FS #31 Jeff Donaldson, and LB #93 Robert Lyles.

Yet all that bravado, cheap shots and attempts at intimidation came at a heavy price. The NFL is an eye for an eye league and punishment will be meted on the field of play. By the time the Oilers nicknamed the Astrodome “The House of Pain” they produced bulletin board material for all who played against them. Much like teams facing the Dallas Cowboys and their “America’s Team” mantra, every other team brought their “big boy” pads to dish out some hits on the Oilers as well. It was great theater.

One of the most vicious games in NFL history was when the Oilers went to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in 1988. What preceded the game was the late Toby Caston walking around Veteran’s Stadium with that Army helmet on. Buddy Ryan’s Eagles were ready and both teams passed out highlight reel hits all game long. In the video, you saw #21 Evan Cooper completely knock out Oiler receiver Ernest Givins with a shot to the chest. Apparently time doesn’t heal all wounds because when these two matched up again in 1991, The House of Pain Game, is where a nation got to see it up close and it was brutal. Except the Eagles handed out the best hits in a 13-6 epic.

The Oilers were not great sportsman but they made you watch. Heavy hitting group that played hard. Were they dirty???

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The Soul Of The Game: Todd Bell

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When you talk about the NFL’s greatest defenses ever, our CEO’s pick is the 1985 Chicago Bears. When asked why he tells us “they set the modern standard for great defense without they’re best player.” How can this be?? Hall of Fame players Richard Dent, who went on to be Super Bowl XX MVP, and Mike Singletary (1985’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year) were front and center. Then you have blitzing linebacker Otis Wilson, Dan Hampton, Wilber Marshall, and Gary Fencik. To know who their best player was you have to return to the season before and a player that defensive co-ordinator Buddy Ryan raved about… SS Todd Bell

Bell was a hard-hitting strong safety drafted out of Ohio St in 1981. The Chicago Bears were an average team with one superstar, the incomparable Walter Payton. Who at the time, was being recognized as he approached 10,000 yards and the inevitable question began: Could Walter break Jim Brown’s all time rushing record of 12,312?? As the media glare intensified following Payton’s pursuit of Brown’s record, some attention was being paid toward a very aggressive nickel defense that featured lots of blitzing.

Buddy Ryan was the architect of the 46 defense and he had a young safety coming into his own. He was a ferocious hitter and much like Ronnie Lott in San Francisco he was the emotional leader of that group. After finishing the 1983 season winning 5 of 6 games and with Payton on the cusp of history, media descended upon Soldier Field for 1984. Bell shined in 1984 as the Bears set an NFL record with 72 sacks (still stands) and finished #1 in defense.

For all their blitzing they needed a safety who could cover, adjust on the run and be a good open field tackler. He amassed 4 sacks, 4 interceptions and delivered countless big hits as the Bears fought for league wide respect. Not only was he voted to the Pro Bowl, in some circles he was in discussions for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

As the season went on, media attention shifted from Payton breaking Jim Brown’s record to a confusing defense wreaking havoc and…could the Bears win their first division championship since 1963??  A question that seems goofy now but back in 1984, you have to remember Chicago was thought of nationwide as the Cleveland Browns or Buffalo Bills are now. Twenty one years without any distinction as a team will do that for you. The current Bills and Browns have been like that ONLY 13 years… so you have to understand.

What made Todd Bell was not the statistics but the moments. Those where a football game is teetering when it comes to balance…momentum, or who is going to dominate?? Who is going to establish tone?? The only way to do so in contact /collision sports of yesteryear was to have your main player deliver a thunderous hit to intimidate the opponent, and this was where Bell established himself.

In a week 10 win over the defending champion LA Raiders, it was Todd Bell’s fight with Todd Christenson that got the Bears going. They went on to sack Raider QBs 9 times in a 17-6 win. Four weeks after a rousing win against Minnesota, the Bears traveled to Minnesota with a chance to win that first division title since the merger. It was Todd Bell that sent the message that Chicago came to dominate. In the vignette below, on the second to the last play shown, you’ll see Bell’s hit on Vikings RB Ted Brown that broke his ribs and the Vikings spirit where Chicago went on to win 34-3.

After this win came the FIRST gatorade shower in the NFL between Head Coach Mike Ditka from Todd Bell, Dan Hampton, and Steve McMichael. It was the 1984 Chicago Bears that first performed this…not the 1986 Giants the New York based media has fed to the nation….yet we digress. It was Bell’s hit that changed the course of the game. Yet now they made the playoffs for the first time and NFL pundits thought the Bears reached as far as they could go. With a 10-6 record they were relegated to traveling to Washington for the divisional playoff.

The Redskins were two-time defending NFC Champions and had they won Super Bowl XVIII, would have gone back to back as one of the great teams in NFL history. So they had won it all once and played in the Super Bowl the year before and here they were on their way to possibly a third straight Super Bowl against the overmatched Bears at home. A season before, they had the highest scoring offense in NFL history (541 points) …surely they could best the #1 defense the following year right??

Well the Redskins were ahead 3-0 and driving in a tense game where they were about to wrest control over Chicago. The had crossed midfield when at the 35 yard line Bell struck with the single greatest hit of the last generation. Had this hit happened in New York and not Washington it would be as famous as Chuck Bednarik’s hit on Frank Gifford in 1960.

The Redskins offense was intimidated the rest of the day and we didn’t see of Joe Washington any after that. His team gained so much confidence from that shot they went on to win 23-19 and moved on to the 1984 NFC Championship Game. Shamefully he and Bears management couldn’t agree to terms on his demands in 1985.

He sat out the season and the Bears, whom he helped give ultimate confidence to soared to new heights without him. Bell’s story is a cautionary tale. To what heights would he have gone to had he been there for the 1985 season??

As they used to do before every Bears game during player introductions, the late Walter Payton and Todd Bell used to high five as Payton was introduced last. This high five was when Bell was the first to greet Payton at midfield after he became the NFL’s All Time Leading rusher during a game against the Saints on October 7, 1984.

How many fewer points and shutouts would they have achieved had they had their hatchet man patrolling the secondary?? For 1984, 1985, and 1986 the Bears fielded the NFL’s #1 defense. They set the NFL record with 72 sacks in 1984. They led in nine of fourteen defensive categories as the great ’85 team won it all. Then they were 14-2 in 1986 and the team set the NFL record for fewest points allowed with 187 in the new 16 game season format. How would Todd Bell’s career have gone had he stayed on the field and gained momentum from his 1984 season leading into 1985?? Leaves you to wonder how his meteoric rise would have played out.

Prologue: Bell returned to the team in 1986. During his holdout, many Bears were disgruntled by management’s unwilling to negotiate agreeable terms to such a proven player yet could give a $1.35 million contract to William “Refrigerator” Perry for being a 1st round draft choice. To which Defensive Co-Ordinator Buddy Ryan scoffed “We should have given the money to Todd Bell and the pros we know who can play and we should have forgotten about Perry.”

After his contract was up Ryan signed Bell to play for his Philadelphia Eagles where he was converted to linebacker just to get him on the field. A safety converting to linebacker in the pros?? That is a rarity and shows what kind of confidence Ryan had in Bell. The Eagles played the Bears in the 1988 playoffs and Bell starred intercepting two passes in what has come to be known as the Fog Bowl. Yet Bell’s career ended the following year (1989) with a broken leg ironically at Soldier Field again.

Todd Bell left us in 2005 after he suffered a heart attack… Bell was 46, the same number of the defense he helped make famous in Chicago. A ferocious hitter. Gone but not forgotten.

 

todd.bellwayDedicated in memory of Todd Anthony Bell: (November 28,1955 – March 16, 2005)

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The Soul Of The Game: 1986 Conference Championships

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When we say “The Chancellor never sleeps”, we mean there is always football on. Whether we’re talking about the Hall of Fame exhibition game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints, or a former landmark game, there is always football on in the imagination. Although I’m writing a football book based upon the Super Bowls, my favorite week are those of the AFC and NFC Championship Games.

There you will find the last of the games between passionate fans of the home teams versus the sterile groups that attend the Super Bowl. The season ticket holder who has been cheering and screaming for 4 months… it leads to a contrast that can’t be matched by the corporate Super Bowl ticket holder.

86TaylorWhen the home team wins the conference championship the celebration reverberates throughout the stadium. The fans don’t want to leave and in some instances players take a victory lap long after the cameras are gone. On the other hand the silence that can overcome a stadium when the home team goes down can be deafening. It’s almost like something has gone wrong with your ears. How can 80,000 people go that silent?? Yet you remember last January how quiet it got in Candlestick Park when Lawrence Tynes kicked the New York Giants to the Super Bowl.

In 1986, the Championships were two tightly fought games. The New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins 17-0 and did so based upon good field position with a fierce wind in the first quarter. In Cleveland a defensive battle gave way to John Elway coming of age with “The Drive”. From there the Broncos, who had gained 216 total yards throughout the first 54:00 of the game, drove 98 yards to the tying score. Then won it in overtime.

These fiercely contested game made Super Bowl XXI anti-climactic. They had intensity that bordered on the Hatfields and the McCoy’s and all four defenses played terrific football that day. The two games before the Super Bowl are normally better games than the Super Bowl and my love for the conference finals started with these fiercely fought games.

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The Soul of The Game: Remembering Joe Delaney

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On this date in 1983, the Kansas City Chiefs and the football world were shocked to hear Joe Delaney had died. He had been a lightning rod of excitement for two years as their featured back after being drafted out of Northwestern State. The Chiefs franchise had been down for the better part of a decade when Delaney burst onto the scene in 1981.

He ran for 1,121 yards on 234 carries with 3 TDs while winning AFC Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors. He was the team’s lone legitimate star. He set the Chiefs all time rushing record of 196 yards against the Houston Oilers with Earl Campbell on the other sideline.

The strike shortened year of 1982 saw his numbers cut down significantly having only played 9 games. He was nicked with injuries and defenses were better prepared for him as he rushed for only 380 yards. He had the same injury that Sugar Ray Leonard made famous a year earlier, a detached retina. Yet what was going to be a bounce back year in 1983 for him didn’t come to be.

Aside from his untimely death, it’s sad to think what might have been. How great could he have possibly become as a player, father, or man of his community. As you’ll see in the short film he was one to donate his time to the youth of Houghton, Louisiana.

His loss was felt all around the NFL as teammates and foe alike all pondered what might have been. On October 7, 1984 at the press conference when Walter Payton broke Jim Brown’s NFL All Time rushing record, Joe Delaney’s name was the first he mentioned when he spoke of those with the same spirit that were unable to complete their careers who died before their time.

Joe Delaney left us 29 years ago today. His number 37 was retired for the Kansas City Chiefs and his #44 from Northwestern State was also retired. He was enshrined in the Chief’s Ring of Honor and team Hall of Fame. Gone but never forgotten and definitely a hero always.

Dedicated in remembrance of Joe Delaney (October 30, 1958 – June 29, 1983)