Trevor Lawrence Follow Up

October 14, 2024 by The Chancellor of Football

Trevor Lawrence is not a bust… he’s just not a $252 million quarterback. He isnt what he was hyped up to be. Not even close. Just a middle of the pack quarterback. He is completely getting outplayed by rookie Caleb Williams. Lawrence in season 4 should be improving to a championship game level.

Elway in season 4 made it to Super Bowl XXI
Bradshaw in season 5 won Super Bowl IX (3rd trip to playoffs)
Marino in season 2 dazzled on the way to Super Bowl XIX
Montana in season 3 won XVI
Doug Williams in season 3 had Bucs in NFC Championship
Bernie Kosar in season 3 had Browns in AFC Championship
Mark Sanchez in season 2 had Jets in 2nd straight AFC Chmp
Aikman in season 4 won Super Bowl XXVII

Lawrence now has the Jaguars at 1-5. Sucks teeth and Williams yesterday demonstrated his up and coming arm making all the throws.

Its about improvement and knowing when to reach for heroism and make game winning plays, not just take a check down. If you dont start making these plays Doug Pederson may follow Robert Saleh’s example in coming home from England and being fired.

The 2024 Minnesota Vikings Are For Real

October 8, 2024 by The Chancellor of Football

We have an old axiom here at Taylor Blitz Times: “At some point you have to believe what your eyes are seeing.” The Minnesota Vikings are for real! Sam Darnold is the early season comeback player of the year.

Everyone was giving Brian Flores hell for his treatment of Tua when he was in Miami and scoffed at his discrimination suit… yet he brought Van Ginkel (#43) from Miami and he had a pick 6 today. He has a Top 5 defense and is a Belichick disciple… and remember defenses stay well coached all season not just for stretches.
Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gillmore ended Aaron Rodgers last drive with an interception. It looked like the same route when he made a huge 4th quarter interception in Super Bowl LIII for Flores’ Patriot defense. Oh…you forgot Brian Flores and Gilmore were there together.

Time to believe it…Minnesota is for real.

There are many ways to excel on defense in the NFL. Right now they lead the NFL in sacks and are 4th in points allowed with 82 through 5 games, but where they excel is timely defense. As I have alluded to you can do it with brute strength or opt for speed and confusion. Cue the past …some history if you will.

Flores is a disciple of Bill Belichick who was a confidante of the late Fritz Shurmer. Remember my precious article “Birth of The Zone Blitz“? This was the 1989 run where the Rams 2-5 “Eagle Defense” almost stole an NFL title with a confusing defense with 5 linebackers on the field. Lets take you back to Aaron Rodgers 1st quarter pick six.

Who is the Mike? Who is blitzing and who will drop out of those 5 linebackers? Notice 5 of the front 7 standing up as linebackers? All we need is Kevin Greeene’s blonde locks sticking out of his helmet on the corner. Well Van Ginkel will have to do… At the snap he dropped from his blitz ploy into the slant lane where Rodgers “hot read” should be.

The game Bill Belichick learned of the 5 LB concept when he was with the Giants and Fritz’s Rams ran it.

Pick six… 7-0 lead and complete strategic control and competitive advantage in the game. Flores opted for speed and confusion and Rodgers being hit often had his clock sped up. He tossed 3 interceptions with Gilmore’s game sealing steal.

At 5-0, this defense will be a problem all season as its a staple from the Patriots dynasty that lives on. However we should pay homage to the late Fritz Shurmer and the evolution of defensive concepts he pioneered.

The Vikings and this defense are for real and are confusing offenses

Thanks for reading and please share the article!

Trevor Lawrence Is The Most Overrated Player in the NFL

September 17, 2024 by The Chancellor of Football

Now that the Jaguars have started 0-2 its time to take a hard look at Trevor Lawrence. In year 4 his play has been stagnant when this is when he should be ascending to the ranks of best young signal callers with a championships in his sights.

The Browns formidable defense withstanding, Lawrence was 14 of 30 220 yds 0TDs and sacked for a safety. He missed a series of throws in the game and had the look of a rookie. Even on the safety his internal clock should have signaled him to get rid of the football.

The safety put the game out of reach in a defensive struggle where the Jags had only found the endzone once losing 18-13. Had the safety not occurred, the Jags could have tied it with a field goal and gone to overtime. Now at 0-2 Jacksonville has a 9% chance to make the playoffs.

Well… the ink just dried on Lawrence’s $255 million contract signed 2 months ago.Now its time to take a look at a few things when it comes to a #1 overall pick at QB.

John Elway led the Broncos to Super Bowl XXI in year 4.

Troy Aikman won Super Bowl XXVII in year 4.

Steve Young won Super Bowl XXIX in his 4th season as a starter in San Francisco.

Brett Favre won Super Bowl XXXI in his 4th season as a starter in Green Bay.

Of course Steve Young and Brett Favre weren’t #1 overall selections but they further illustrate my point. Lawrence came to the NFL with more press clippings thsn any player in recent years. He did endure a horrible rookie season with Urban Meyer but showed incredible improvement with Coach Pedersonin year 2.

However the training wheels have come off and now the Jags have scored just 17 & 13 in their 1st two games. As for Lawrence:

These woes date back to last season and the Jaguars signed him to his huge contract extension. At this point great quarterbacks and their play are on an ascending arc. It may be early to say the Jags have buyer’s remorse but clearly these arent the expected results. Whether its his play or the Jaguars offensive performance thus far.

Is he the most overrated player in football? The Chancellor of Football says yes.

DeShaun Watson’ Career May Be Over

September 9, 2024 by The Chancellor of Football

DeShaun Watson you have 4 more games to save your career. By week 5 if you’re not the reason the Browns are winning, it’s over. The Browns will have to make a move at QB to save the season. You’ve had years to recover from the issues in Houston. You’ll have Nick Chubb back but you have to be the reason the team is moving the football.
Not just playing from the hip but completing passes in the progression of the offense.

No excuses to look as poor as you did today. Sure the Cowboys have a decent defense but you werent facing the 85 Bears or the 2000 Ravens.

At this point you dont look competent. Yes many of us are pulling for you but at some point you have to develop and progress in the offense and right now you look as lost as if my 54 year old ass got off the couch and just arrived in Cleveland and suited up. You have been there years now… its time. You dont turn this around by the trade deadline your career is over.

The Soul of The Game: The Essence of the Game Will Always Be Hitting

July 25, 2024 by The Chancellor of Football

The NFL has been around for 105 years and the essence of the game has been the hitting and collisions. Recent changes have been made to make the game safer however that has come at the expense of what many fans found intoxicating about the game and the wars former players regale participating in. The rough and tumble play to hold that line or make a big hit that changed games.

The litigation and subsequent concussion settlement is why the NFL started to change the game. This was borne not in the name of player safety, but the decades long dodgeball they played to keep from paying former players and their families on disability claims. While its imperative the game be made safer, many fans believe the essence of the game is being lost. This game was predicated on toughness, endurance and physical play. Taking the unnecessary blows to the head out of the game needed to happen but the collisions.. the WOOO hits need to remain.

I enjoy quarterbacks being assaulted. Go hit the quarterback and strike fear in the offense you’re facing! Hit your opponent with all your might. This is what we were all taught and I’m not giving in to this softer way to look at the game. I love the hitting…the collisions.. Its late summer and its time for training camp and some hitting. The smell of grass and “nutcracker” or “Oklahoma drill” time.

Wilber Marshall Belongs In The Pro Football Hall of Fame

July 9, 2024 by The Chancellor of Football

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. 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.

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)