Tag Archives: nfl playoffs

Idiots on Television & The Quarterbacks Need An Offensive Head Coach Argument

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Did you know Peyton Manning set the NFL record for points scored (606 points) passing yards (5,554) & touchdowns (55) while playing for defensive coach John Fox in 2013? Fox was the Defensive Coordinator for the NY Giants in 2000 when they went to Super Bowl XXXV.

Yet 13 years later he returned to Giants Stadium for Super Bowl XLVIII with a record setting Manning as his QB. Yet every time I turn around I hear Colin Cowherd & FS1 / ESPN talking heads state QBs have to have Offensive Coordinators as Head Coaches to get the most out of them. This has been b.s. from the word go and lets prove it to you and no… “that was a different era” argument is just a copout for one who is losing an argument.

Keep in mind all these Head Coaches were defensive position coaches with most rising through as Defensive Coordinators. Not only this but wait until I show you the NFL offensive records these coaches were a part of:

  • Peyton Manning from 1998-2001 played for Colts HC Jim Mora (Linebacker & DB Coach) then Tony Dungy (DB Coach) 2002-2008.
  • Tom Brady from from 2000-2019 played for Patriots HC Bill Belichick (Giants DC & LB Coach).
  • Warren Moon in The Run N Shoot rose to PFHOF status with HC Jack Pardee (former Charger DC & long time NFL Linebacker)
  • Dan Marino shattered NFL records for TDs (48) and yards (5,084) in ’84 playing for Don Shula (Former DB Coach Baltimore Colts)
  • Josh Allen just won NFL MVP in ’24 playing for Sean McDermott (Eagles DC & Panthers DC) accounting for 40 touchdowns.
  • Jayden Daniels won ’24 NFL Rookie of the Year taking Wash to the NFC Championship with Dan Quinn (DC Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas)
  • CJ Stroud won ’23 NFL Rookie of the Year winning 45-14 in the AFC Wildcard for HC DeMeco Ryans (DC 49ers)
  • Cam Newton won ’15 NFL MVP throwing 35TDs and rushing for 10 more taking HC Ron Rivera (DC Bears, Chargers) to Super Bowl L.
  • Lamar Jackson won ’19 & ’23 NFL MVP with Ravens HC John Harbaugh (DB & Special Teams Eagles).

Marino’s stats in 84 courtesy of CBS.

Aside from the 7 Super Bowls won from this list, you have 22 conference championship appearances, 12 NFL MVPs, and the last 3 single season passing TD record holders. Dan Marino ’84 (48TDs) Peyton Manning ’04 (49TDs), Tom Brady ’07 (50Tds) and as mentioned earlier Manning ’13 (55TDs). Keep in mind this isn’t accounting for Peyton’s Super Bowl XLIV run where he won league MVP under offensive HC Mike Caldwell and not Tony Dungy. Nor does this account for Brady’s 7th Super Bowl win with Bruce Arians.

So 3 of the last 5 NFL MVPs have played for defensive coaches and 2 of the 3 winningest coaches of all time Don Shula and Bill Belichick were defensive coaches. On top of that these two accounted for the only undefeated regular seasons in NFL history in 1972 & 2007. There were over 100 NFL records before counting 4 Super Bowl MVPs. Of those records the ’07 Patriots (589 points) & ’13 Broncos (606 points) are the highest scoring teams in NFL history. Not these so-called offensive gurus.

The Super Bowl champion Eagles & Kansas City Chiefs withstanding, the Bills, Ravens, Washington, and Houston Texans are all predicted to have late playoff runs. In fact the Bills and Commanders, on the strength of their offenses were in last year’s conference championship games with a defensive coach.

The issue is media laziness that pushes this narrative setting the climate where NFL Execs believe the noise they need the next “offensive mind”. A young innovative play caller with 800 pick plays that don’t work. I can remember Steve Spurrier “The Old Ball Coach” who was going to conquer the NFL. He got laughed out of the league in 2 years. Urban Meyer? Marc Trestman? Chip Kelly? All these gurus, even Sean McVay and his wizardry fell in Super Bowl LIII 13-3 to Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Remember that?? They lined up in the “I” Formation and ran it down the Rams throats.

Championship Gatorade Bath in ’21

Its cheating the game as defensive coaches know that balance is what wins football games. Taylor Blitz is pulling for Aaron Glenn in New York to have a great career with the Jets. I want to see and hear the pathway for former Jet Linebacker Marvin “Shade Tree” Jones to move up to the NFL ranks. He is head coach of the Tulsa Oilers just a few seasons removed from winning the ’21 Indoor Football League Championship with Omaha Beef. This is a league with a wide open style of offense and showcases his chops to adust philosophy to a different style of play then what he emerged from as a player.

This isn’t new as I mentioned Houston Oiler Coach Jack Pardee earlier. Keep in mind he was a 15 year Middle Linebacker in the NFL. As a coach he ushered in The Run & Shoot offense in the NFL that eliminated the position he played for most defenses that faced his Oilers! Opponents routinely deployed 7 defensive backs and no Middle Linebacker.

One aspect of this issue is this is being done to keep the NFL coaching ranks from having too many black coaches. I’ve written about this before back in ’22 “The Media’s Role Selectively Omitting Genius of Black Coordinators” where media is a willing partner nefariously working toward this narrative. In the same manner we saw Shedeur Sanders name tainted in NFL circles before the draft, we saw this with the way 2 time Super Bowl champion Offensive Coordinator Eric Bienemy was “sidelined” with his coverage in his head coaching search.

So the next time you hear the b.s. narrative and why defensive coaches don’t win, remind whoever the highest scoring teams in league history and all the NFL’s passing records came from QBs led by defensive coaches. The reigning NFL MVP & the last 2 Rookie of the Year recipients are quarterbacks on defensive coach’s teams as well.

If I hear it again, I’m throwing a brick through my television and suing FS1 or ESPN for damages.

Thanks for reading and please share the article.

By the way… I didn’t even bring up Mike Tomlin (Tampa DB Coach) 18 non-losing seasons in Pittsburgh, Jimmy Johnson HC in Dallas (DC and Defensive Line Coach) or Bill Cowher 16 seasons in Pittsburgh (DC with Chiefs/Special Teams Browns) which brings you another 4 Super Bowl championships in 6 appearances. Now if I throw in Tom Landry HC in Dallas (DC New York Giants) it goes up to 6 more Lombardis and 10 total Super Bowl visits.

Ok… I’m done… bring your argument… wait Chuck Noll of the Steelers was DC for Baltimore Colts who lost Super Bowl III.

Now… I’m done. Walk your weak ass argument on over.

Wilber Marshall Belongs In The Pro Football Hall of Fame

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While watching a young Derrick Brooks play linebacker with his explosive hitting style and speed, it made me think “Who does he remind me of?” Immediately my mind thought he was a Generation Y version of Wilber Marshall.

Marshall’s famous hit on Joe Ferguson in 1985… Ferguson landed in ’87.

He was a collision waiting to happen. Easily one of the most exciting football players I ever watched. Marshall was sudden and arrived at the football with a swiftness and anger rarely seen even in NFL circles. He made big plays…hits and turnovers that changed games. Something today’s soft NFL doesn’t allow. Any routine play could explode into a big moment when #58 was on the field.

Circling back to compare Marshall’s greatest season against that of D Brooks, keep in mind Hall of Fame member Brooks won ’02 NFL Defensive Player of the Year:

  • ’91 Marshall -135 tackles 5.5 sacks 4 FF, 1 FR 5 ints – 1 TD return
  • ’02 Brooks – 118 tackles 1 sack 1 FF, 1FR -1TD, 5 ints – 3TD returns

One might respond Brooks led his Bucs to a Super Bowl XXXVII win, just keep in mind Marshall led the Redskins to the XXVI title in his. Yet in this spectacular season Marshall didn’t make the Pro Bowl when he should have been up for the ’91 DPoY. Even in that voting he came in 6th. Something was definitely wrong.  Stats gainst those NFC OLB contemporaries:

  • ’91 Marshall -135 tackles 5.5 sacks 4 FF, 1 FR 5 ints – 1 TD return
  • ’91 Seth Joyner – 110 tackles 6.5 sacks 6FF, 4FR – 2TDs, 3 ints
  • ’91 Pat Swilling – 60 tackles 17 sacks 6FF, 1FR, 1 int – 1TD
  • ’91 Charles Haley – 53 tackles 7 sacks, 2FF & 1FR

Sack and forced fumble on Jim Kelly

Somehow Charles Haley bumped him from the Pro Bowl roster. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys after the season for being a malcontent in the Niners locker room and this wasn’t close to one of Haley’s best seasons. Come on now…

All Marshall could do was leave his mark on the playing field in the playoffs. First he tied the NFC Championship Game sack record with 3 in their 41-10 win over the Lions. Then in Super Bowl XXVI Marshall recorded 11 tackles, 1 sack and 2 forced fumbles to lead the Redskins to a 37-24 triumph. He was the best player on the field, winning his 2nd World Championship. We’ll cover his 1st in a minute…

Did you know the reason you enjoy free agency in the offseason can be traced to this man?? His talent was so sought after the Washington Redskins broke an unwritten rule & signed him away from the Chicago Bears after the ’87 season. Not since John Riggins in the mid 70s had this happened with any player. Plan B Free Agency started in the NFL 2 years later but that was 2nd teamers and special teams guys. Not stars.. you didn’t see that for another 5 years.
Do you also realize the animosity Marshall built up within NFL ranks that kept him from being voted to the Pro Bowl is one of the reasons fans get to vote on it now? The chatter began leading up to XXVI on how a player of Marshall’s caliber wasn’t being recognized. This prompted Tom Jackson on NFL Countdown to help push this as he had this piece touting who he thought was the best linebacker in football the following season:
The season Jackson is referring to was Marshall’s 92 campaign where he finished with a career best 138 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 3 recoveries along with 2 ints with one returned for a TD. He was an All Pro for the 2nd time and was 3rd in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting. This was his 6th with over 1oo tackles. It would have been his 7th straight but in the strike shortened season of ’87 he only played in 12 games and garnered 93 combined tackles.
Marshall could play Will, SAM over the TE, cover backs and slot receivers and blitz the QB like no other player. He also produced highlight reel hits where you heard the collective “Ooooh!!” reverberate through the stadium. Other linebackers loved watching him play as I found out “Hollywood” Henderson was a big fan of Marshall along with The Chancellor when we were talking about OLBs of the past.
Don’t take our thoughts as gospel. In the 1st part of his career he was a rising star on the greatest defense in NFL history. The ’85 Bears. Listen to Mike Singletary, Dave Duerson, Gary Fencik & Mike Ditka’s describing his play:
Another visceral look:
Marshall was Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan’s enforcer who would make plays all over the field. Look up any highlights on the ’85 Bears and Marshall is the one who flashed before your eyes making big hits and knocking out quarterbacks. As he did later in his career he showed up big in meaningful games.

Marshall forcing an Eric Dickerson fumble during the ’85 NFC Championship Game.

Against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, Singletary’s hit on 4th and 1 and two forced fumbles by Eric Dickerson, one by Marshall below, and the complexion of that game changed. I can remember when Marshall crushed Henry Ellard on a shallow cross knocking his own chinstrap sideways.Then to ice the game Marshall recovered a fumble forced by Richard Dent and returned it 52 yards for the TD that punctuated their 24-0 victory.

In Super Bowl XX Marshall set the tone sharing the first sack of the game with MVP Richard Dent. He finished the game with 4 tackles, 1/2 sack and a fumble recovery.

Wilber was the enforcer on 2 teams lauded as 2 of the greatest champions of the Super Bowl era in the ’85 Bears & the ’91 Redskins. He finished as the 1st defensive player in the modern era (sacks being recorded as an official statistic beginning in ’82) to finish with over 40 sacks & 2o interceptions. His 45 sacks, 23 interceptions, 24 forced fumbles and 16 fumble recoveries illustrate how well rounded he was.

Fans are still making highlights on his exploits as one of the most destructive forces in NFL history. He helped shape two of the greatest champions of the last half century. His play was so sought after the Redskins ushered in the age of true free agency to acquire his services from Chicago. The era of excellence for the Bears ended with his defection. OLB Ron Rivera nor Jim Morrissey brought playmaking to the position as the 80s concluded. Not Jack Tatum level hits nor level of play.

In fact Randall Cunningham was interviewed on “All The Smoke Podcast” and watch how fast he answered this question and circled back to Marshall’s impression on him:

He finished with 2 All Pro Seasons and 3 Pro Bowls but helped usher in an era where fans along with players are able to voice who should be honored with a Pro Bowl trip. Marshall’s excellent play was the impetus as to why this has come to be.

The ’85 Bears are being honored with DT Steve McMichael being enshrined this August. Yet the most unforgettable player from that defense remains on the outside looking in. This needs to be corrected. His standoff with the Bears organization over past finances shouldn’t be a deterrent for the team to keep him from being honored also. So The Chancellor of Football will help make that push.

Please write & nominate #58
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention: Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, 
OH 44708

For induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I present Wilber Marshall.

Coaches and players from the past advocated for on Taylor Blitz Times in order:

Robert Brazile 2011 (inducted 2018)

Ran into Robert Brazile after the Gold Jacket Dinner. Great time.

Kevin Greene 2011 (inducted 2016)

With Kevin Greene after the Induction ceremony.

Sterling Sharpe 2011

Terrell Davis 2011 (inducted 2017)

Jerry Kramer 2011 (inducted 2018)

“Hey big guy!” The laughs at the Hall of Fame party were priceless.

Everson Walls 2011

Randy Moss 2011 (inducted 2018)

Cris Carter 2011 (inducted 2013)

Tom Flores 2012 (inducted 2021)

Lester Hayes 2012

Chuck Foreman 2012

Edgerrin James 2013 (inducted 2020)

Andre Reed 2013 (inducted 2014) 

Roger Craig 2013

Corey Dillon 2014

Ken Riley 2015 (inducted 2023)

Ken Stabler 2015 (inducted 2016)

Drew Pearson 2016 (inducted 2021) 

Cliff Branch 2016 (inducted 2022)

Todd Christensen 2017

Hardy Nickerson 2020

Tacitly Different Negotiations – The Topic of Black Running Back Contract Negotiations

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Lets take you back… the Cowboys had just won Super Bowl XXVII and Emmitt Smith had led the NFL in rushing the last 2 seasons. He had to holdout, miss the preseason, the Cowboys started 0-2 and only after Charles Haley threw his helmet into the wall in Jerry Jones direction did they sign Smith to a $13 million contract.
Seven weeks later with no holdout, no tension in the media, no negative press to sway public attention about the greedy athlete “who should be grateful”… Troy Aikman gets his $50 million extension. Yup…right in the middle of the season!
Same team…both 1st round draft picks…same champion…same management…tacitly different negotiation tactics.
Didnt running backs get hurt and have inconsistent seasons later in their career then too?? Emmitt was going into year 4 and the avg career for a running back is 4 years. Didn’t Emmitt take a lot of hits?? So kill that noise about being scared the running back will get hurt. Emmitt led the league in rushing 2 of the next 3 seasons after signing this contract and they won 2 more Super Bowls.
Yet I keep hearing all these b.s. armchair GMs trying to justify this on television and social media but I know where the bodies have been buried. Keep your eye on the reasons why you keep hearing “Running backs devalued” over and over by corporate controlled media and the propaganda peppering of “Its a passing game” shoved down your throat. Think about what Kwame Brown was saying was the role of Stephen A Smith and to a degree what I think Emmanuel Acho is doing.
This is nefarious…and it runs deeper than you think….I love the x’s and o’s of football, the players, stories and life lessons. Its the business and racial /political dynamics that bring you back to reality and let you know its not “just a game”

Legend of The Fall: Weeb Ewbank

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I heard on a few occassions had the Super Bowl trophy not been named after Vince Lombardi it would have been named after Tom Landry. Uhhhhhh… no. Not when George Halas won 7 NFL Championships and then there was this man…. Weeb Ewbank. If you asked who is he don’t ever try to talk football history with authority again.
Weeb won the NFL’s two biggest landmark games in league history. The 1958 NFL Championship 23-17 win when his Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in the 1st overtime championship game. Then returned a decade later to defeat the 13-1 Baltimore Colts 16-7 with the New York Jets in Super Bowl III.
Weeb was fired in Baltimore and replaced by Don Shula as Head Coach. Then he was able to get revenge on his former assistant in the biggest game and upset that solidified the AFL/NFL merger.
Keep in mind his Colts went back to back winning in 58 and 59 when the media scoffed his Colts were ruining the league passing the way they did. Johnny Unitas in 59 threw for a league record 32TDs in a season then another becoming the 1st 3,000 yard passer in 1960. Joe Namath became the first to go over 4,000 yards in 1967 with his Jets. Are you getting the point??
These firsts and 3 NFL championships including a back to back set of titles…
In the annals of Pro Football very few figures held the importance Weeb Ewbank had and very few can top his impact. So the next time someone wants to talk greatest ever coaches, don’t forget the short pudgy guy with the funny hat on the sideline.
The league never would have been where it was without these two significant games. He doesn’t get his due….

Legendary Days: Barry Switzer’s 4th & 1 Nearly Sinks Dallas’ Season and Dynasty

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In the long history of the NFC East one of the most hated rivals are the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. Their disdain has grown into a feud expressed by players and fans all year around and the advent of social media has taken it to absurd levels. Yet its fun to go back in time and wonder what social media would have been like had it existed at key moments in the rivalry.

One of which was an epic game that took place in 1995.

Dallas was in the 2nd season of the Barry Switzer era after Jerry Jones let go of Hall of Fame Coach Jimmy Johnson. In ’94 the Cowboys had just missed on their chance to threepeat when they lost the ’94 NFC Championship Game out in San Francisco. Switzer morphed into the goat not because he lost in that game, but more from incurring the 15 yard penalty that became the indelible mark ending Cowboys come back attempt.

Switzer had to answer questions about his shortcomings from 1994 during a contentious summer. Was he the right coach and could he win on the NFL level were what pundits were asking. Or in other words “Was a once retired Barry Switzer in over his head?”

For the 2nd straight season the team endured free agent defections that eroded the game’s most talented roster. FS James Washington, WR Alvin Harper were the most notable defections, yet once you lose offensive linemen Mark Stepnoski, Kevin Gogan, John Gesek, LB Ken Norton Jr & FS Thomas Everett before the team was changing. A 2nd straight awful draft signaled 1995 might be the last great year from the roster Jimmy Johnson originally constructed. They hadnt adequately filled all the holes and were a top heavy team that had played an additional half season more than the rest of the NFL over a 3 year period with the additional postseason games. They were running out of gas.

All was not lost as T Erik Williams returned from injuries stemming from an auto accident and they did draft future Hall of Fame lineman Larry Allen. When they plugged in a 300 plus pound C in veteran Ray Donaldson, Emmitt Smith would be behind a complete wall of 300 pounders. Troy Aikman still had a prime Michael Irvin and Jay Novacek to throw to but lost a dynamic physical athlete in 6’3 Alvin Harper signing with Tampa.

Diminutive former KR Kevin Williams would replace him but gone was a 1st rate athlete who could high point the football with the best the decade had to offer. This brought more to bear on the rushing attack and with a team who couldn’t back you off with the deep throw to Harper how would it affect their approach late in the season? Especially once the season wore on with an older team.

In Philadelphia, the Eagles were searching for an identity. The last few years had seen the Buddy Ryan/ Richie Kotite era players that were first rate performers leave the team. Reggie White, Seth Joyner, Clyde Simmons, Keith Jackson, Keith Byars were the heart of that ball club. Couple their departure with the inability to replace 1st round and Pro Bowl DT Jerome Brown who died a few years before and you couldnt recognize the team anymore.

Needing a complete reboot the Eagles hired C Ray Rhodes from the Super Bowl champion 49ers. Not only had he been the DC who throttled Dallas twice in ’94 but he had a defensive approach and pedigree to build tough minded defenses. Since the Eagles were retooling on the fly they brought in a series of grizzled old veterans not only to their roster, but fit Rhodes no nosense street tough gritty approach to football.

In comes G Guy McIntyre, LB Bill Romanowski, LB Kurt Gouveia, DE William Fuller, S Greg Jackson, and CB Barry Wilburn. Barry Wilburn?? The corner who led the league in interceptions in 1987 helping the Redskins win the Super Bowl 8 years before?? The guy who picked off John Elway twice in Super Bowl XXII?? Yes… that Barry Wilburn. All but Fuller had played for previous Super Bowl champions and brought professionalism to a team trying to find itself.

Although Charlie Garner had emerged as a runner, Eagles brass pulled a coup and lured RB Rickey Watters away from the 49ers in free agency. It was this move that crippled the world champions 49ers and kept them from returning to the Super Bowl the rest of the decade. Even more than Dallas signing Deion Sanders away. Watters (1,273 yds 11 TDs) was eager to prove he could be the #1 offensive weapon was stepping out of the shadow cast by Jerry Rice, Steve Young and John Taylor. But both proved vital to the turnarounds of their new teams in 1995.

The season began with the Cowboys hellbent on returning to the winner’s circle exploding out of the blocks with an 8-1 start. But an inexplicable 38-20 loss to the 5-4 49ers sent their season off kilter. The game where they could have delivered the killing blow to San Francisco sapped some of their confidence and the 49ers went on to win 6 straight.

Dallas was then upset by the Washington Redskins and were 10-3 when they had to travel to cold Philadelphia to take on a surprising 8-5 battle hardened Eagle team. Randall Cunningham had been replaced by journeyman Rodney Peete at QB and no way they should be able to beat Dallas. This hodge podge Eagles team? No way…

Well Barry Switzer pulled the gaffe of the season with his dual 4th and 1 attempts and NFL shows were unmerciful the following weeks. The chasm between Jimmy Johnson running the Cowboys was never greater than it was at this time.  From his meltdown after the Deion Sanders non pass interference call in the previous championship game to these calls, pundits and fans had their doubts when it came down to Switzer’s decision making  in a close game. When you think back to his winning in Oklahoma, he just had the best athletes. He never outsmarted his competition or came up with great game plans. It was just “The Wishbone” with more superior athletes than his lesser opponents in an era of unlimited scholarships.

Then Switzer was thrown a life line when the 49ers lost homefield advantage losing to the Atlanta Falcons 27-24 after winning 6 straight. Dallas was able to regain homefield with a win in the season finale against Arizona.

Dallas went on to win Super Bowl XXX in Phoenix and that game mirrored their season. They came out of the blocks taking a 13-0 lead and held on for dear life winning it 27-17 thanks to 2 horrible Neil O’Donnell interceptions. The Cowboys set a Super Bowl record for fewest 2nd half yards for a team that won the Super Bowl with just 61 yards. They were older and the wear and tear caught up to them late in games as it did late in the season. Hell it happened in the upset loss to the Eagles when Aikman & Emmitt Smith combined for just 55 yards of offense in the 2nd half! In the midst of that he went for 4th and 1 twice at his own 30?? Inexplicable…

This kept Jerry Jones from having to eat his words “any of 500 coaches could have won Super Bowls with the rosters the Cowboys had.” Well he almost hand selected the coach that couldn’t. Had they not won the Super Bowl it would have opened the door to Denver, San Francisco or Green Bay being able to make a claim as Team of the 90s. The Cowboys won 1 playoff game the remaining 4 years of the decade. They were out of the playoffs and an NFL afterthought by the time we make it to 1999. Would John Elway have retired before 1999 had the Broncos the shot at 3peating and possibly becoming “Team of the Decade” as the only 3 time champion of the ’90s?? Something to think about…

Thanks for reading and please share the article.

 

Kevin Greene Belongs In The Pro Football Hall of Fame: War Damn Eagle!

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Originally Published 3, March 2011 w/ Postscript 10, August 2016 

Link to original: Here

There are players that come along and break the mold and there are those that totally destroy it.  Enter Kevin Greene, one of my personal favorite players and one of the reason I love football (all sports) in the first place.  He broke molds, stereotypes, changed perceptions as much as any player over the last 25 years.  What am I talking about? Do you realize that of all the outside linebackers, the player with the most sacks in a career is Kevin Greene?  Do you realize that Kevin Greene had double digit sacks for FOUR different pro football teams? Yet I digress…

As the 1980s beckoned, the 3-4 defense became the choice of many teams as the best way to attack NFL offenses.  All that changed with the 1985 Chicago Bears march to the Super Bowl. As teams started to revert back to the 4-3 defense as a staple, a lessor known talent started to lay his foundation out west with the Los Angeles Rams in 1986.

Kevin Greene started to rush as an outside linebacker in 1986 and recorded 7 sacks that year. Yet he didn’t gain notoriety until 1988 when he bested Lawrence Taylor with 16 1/2 sacks to 15 1/2 for the NFC lead at linebacker.  Whereas the majority of the modern age athletic linebackers were black, Kevin Greene was a white defensive player who broke that mold and with his crazy “War Eagle” Auburn attitude he was a great pass rusher from that season on.  A player that other Rams looked to on game day to lead them on and off the field.

Kevin in 1994 during his Blitzburgh days.

However by the time we move to 1993, very few teams employed the 3-4 defense. Then the Steelers went looking for a linebacker to match Greg Lloyd that would be more effective than Jerrol Williams.  Kevin Greene signed, and Pittsburgh became Blitzburgh.

The Steelers had two outstanding linebackers to crash the pocket.    The last bastion of 3-4 defense at the time and Greene was the impetus of a chaotic defense.  Who should blitz? Who should drop? Dick Lebeau, Dom Capers, and Bill Cowher tinkered with different zone blitzing schemes that became the scourge of the league.  He helped the ’94 and ’95 teams to the AFC Championship and Super Bowl XXX respectively.  During his 3 years in Pittsburgh he recorded 12.5 sacks in ’93,  14 sacks in ’94, and 9 sacks in ’95.  It was Kevin Greene’s arrival that made the Steelers defense lethal.

Even after outplaying the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX and poised to return to the title game from a personnel standpoint, the Steelers let Greene go for a younger Jason Gildon. He rejoined Dom Capers who moved on to become head coach of the expansion Carolina Panthers. There he tag teamed with Lamar Lathon, formerly of the Houston Oilers, to form a 1-2 linebacker punch equal to that of Blitzbugh.

In his single season in San Fran, Greene helped the ‘Niners to the 1997 NFC Championship against Green Bay.

He recorded his second highest career sack total, at the time, with 14.5 in Carolina. He led the league with Lathon coming in second in sacks with 13.5.  Again he was the impetus of a veteran laden defense that dethroned the champion Dallas Cowboys in a divisional playoff and made it to the 1996 NFC Championship Game where they lost to Green Bay.  The Carolina Panthers made it to the NFC Championship Game in only their second season.  Wow.

After a falling out with Carolina brass following that 1996 season, for which owner Jerry Richardson later apologized, he signed a 1 year deal in San Francisco where he was a pass rushing specialist and only started four games.  Yet amazingly he still compiled 10.5 sacks and helped the 49ers to the 1997 NFC Championship game where they fell to the Packers 23-10.  See a pattern here?  After the apology from Richardson, Greene re-signed with Carolina and played on for two more years for them recording 15 sacks in 1998 and 12 in 1999.

Kevin Greene was a street fighter tough player who brought that attitude to any team he played for.  He was a blood and guts player that teamed with Greg Lloyd and Lamar Lathon, each had their best years across from Greene.

What was the most puzzling aspect of Kevin Greene’s career was how teams kept thinking they’d replace him even though he was super productive and I wonder would he have moved around so much had he been a black outside linebacker.  I don’t think he would have.  You can’t tell me race had nothing to do with it either.  He was athletic, strong, tenacious and for the life of me can’t figure why teams  thought they’d replace him.  Do you realize that for 4 straight years, Kevin Greene was a defensive stalwart on 3 different teams that made it to the conference championship game?  Twice is a coincidence, four is a pattern.  He was a winner.

Greene, making his presence felt early in the 1994 AFC Championship Game.

How do you gauge impact?  The most sacks in NFL history for a linebacker with 160 and third all time behind Reggie White and Bruce Smith.  He was a 5 time Pro Bowl participant and made the All Pro team twice. He led the league in sacks twice during his career. If that’s not enough… Add the fact Greg Lloyd and Lamar Lathon’s best sack totals of their careers came when they teamed with Greene.  Lloyd had 10 sacks in 1994 and the aforementioned Lathon’s 1996 total of 13.5 in Carolina.

Each team he left had a defensive dropoff in production and wins.  The ’96 Steelers barely made the playoffs and were run out of town in New England when they got there, thanks to Curtis Martin’s 166 yards rushing, losing 28-3.  The 97 & 2000 Panthers didn’t make the playoffs. The 98 49ers were scored upon heavily even though they made it to the divisional round.  Even then they needed Steve Young’s miracle throw to T.O. to beat the Packers in the Wildcard Game to get there.

So if the greatest defensive player in NFL history is Lawrence Taylor, rightfully so, who finished with 132 sacks in his career, where does that put Kevin Greene and his 160?? Happened in the same era, so that can’t be argued.  Quite simply he belongs.

For induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I present to you, Kevin Greene.

EPILOGUE:  I am getting the greatest kick out of watching the growth of Clay Matthews III.  Its like watching some weird Frankenstein thats part Clay Matthews the father (Browns) and Kevin Greene.  The style of play and to watch them interact.

I was fortunate enough to be on the Ravens sideline pregame and front row seats behind the Baltimore Ravens bench when they played the Arizona Cardinals in 2003. I watched how Mike Singletary and Ray Lewis interacted and see much the same in Greene and Matthews.  When the television mic caught Greene conveying to Matthews during the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLV that it was time for him to put his imprint on the game.  Then to watch him force the Mendenhall fumble two plays later gave me goosebumps.  To watch him so in tune with his protege’ is cool and can’t wait to watch their encore.

Greene and protege’ Clay Matthews III

Postscript August 10, 2016: Fast forward 5 years and here we are a couple days removed from Kevin’s enshrinement into The Pro Football Hall of Fame. I had the great opportunity to be there at both the Gold Jacket Ceremony and The Enshrinement as his guest. For the small role I had in advocating his candidacy may have been the sole reason for Taylor Blitz Times in the first place. It was an honor to do it and I am grateful to Kevin and his wife Tara for inviting me.

kev.ticketHowever they set a football fanatic loose on the unsuspecting city of Canton. I had the chance to meet with former teammates and coaches that have known him over his football life. His coaches from high school all the way through to the NFL. I jumped in and made sure to get down into where the fans were and wound up becoming the 1st person to pay for his authenticated by the Pro Football Hall of Fame autograph.

chancellor.kevTo watch him receive his Gold Jacket was an emotional moment as a big time fan. To hear his impassioned speech gave credence to all that I knew and heard over the last few days from his Auburn, Rams, and Steelers’ teammates, his father at the airport with Coach Vermeil, his high school freshman coach Nick Petrillo, to meeting Lamar Lathon at the after party who was recalling this very article with Thurman Thomas.

It was great to see Kevin take his rightful place and become one of the giants of the game and one of it’s great ambassadors. It’s been an unbelievable 5 year ride as you’ve taken your place as one of pro football’s immortals. Congratulations Pro Football Hall of Famer Kevin Greene!!

As for that ticket… he signed a white Steelers #91 Greene jersey. The whereabouts of the ticket?? I gave it to Kevin who put it in his Hall of Fame Gold Jacket interior pocket… Mission accomplished.

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