In the wake of the underhanded way the Baltimore Ravens handled the Maxx Crosby trade, he should sue them for what happened. Now his value as a player has been sunk behind a bogus “he failed the physical” which was the copout they could use. They had the ink dry on the Trey Hendrickson deal in less than 18 hours and the fallout is he has to go back to Las Vegas.
Now the market has been completely blown up for Crosby
DE Trey Hendrickson signed by Ravens $114 million
DE/Edge Bradley Chubb signed by Bills $43.5 million
DE/Edge Joseph Ossai signed Jets by $36 million
DE/Edge K’Lavon Chaisson signed by Washington $12 million
…and all this before we bring up his Raiders signed both DE/Edge rushers Kwity Paye & Malcolm Koonce anticipating replacing him. The Dallas Cowboys pulling the trigger on a trade with DE/Edge Rusher Rashan Gary with the Green Bay Packers. Now he was robbed of a year where his market was at its highest for his services and now the Ravens reneged. He is forced back to a team he had said goodbye to and looking forward to a new start in Baltimore.
Think not? The pic at the head of this article was from his Instagram page thats since been deleted. Crosby should sue for potential financial and professional loss. He now has to live with the scarlet letter of a failed physical that will follow him and bring down his value the rest of his career. He should do it to force the players association to act upon his behalf for players who will be stuck in limbo if the NFL doesn’t step in and stop franchises from doing what the Ravens have done. On purpose or inadvertantly they labeled a player from outside their organization that will cause every team to lowball him if there are contract negotiations moving forward.
After this happened, the 1st thing I went to look for is if the Raiders played the Ravens this year but they don’t.
What happened to Maxx Crosby was completely wrong and I would sue them. Just have to figure how much value he lost in this situation with his attorney and agent.
Never has a quarterback been paid so much to deliver so little. Two measly playoff appearances in 14 years for a quarterback to be paid $331 million? You’d have thought I was talking Joe Montana type performance when you see scratch like that. His last playoff appearance was facing off against then Giant QB Daniel Jones and lost at home 31-24 in the ’22 NFC Wildcard. Seriously??
That Giant team has imploded with Head Coach Daboll disgraced & fired by New York. He jettisoned QB Daniel Jones and drafted another QB while Saquon Barkley went on to a 2,000 yard season and a Super Bowl LIX championship in Philadelphia. Cousins hasn’t even returned to the playoffs or even played at a Pro Bowl level. Yet he secured a guaranteed $100 million from the Atlanta Falcons & gave 2 8-9 seasons and Coach Raheem Morris fired.
Everyone wants to talk about the disastrous contract of DeShaun Watson and rightfully so but Kirk Cousins never showed promise to reach a Super Bowl as Watson did early on. See 2019 playoffs..
No one has stolen this much money since Sam Bradford. Sam is the poster boy for the capped rookie deals we see now for 1st round QBs. Owners scoffed at having to spend $50 million (in 2010} for a rookie who didn’t deliver, injury or otherwise.
In the next bargaining agreement between the NFL & players Kirk Cousins will stand as the poster boy for what they will want to avoid as contracts have escalated out of control for “C” level journeymen quarterbacks.
When I came up with The Legends of The Fall, my thoughts were to remember Hall of Fame players of yesteryear, and those whose “what if” legacies due to injuries or circumstances that kept them from becoming all time greats. Yet we still talk about them because they were supernovas that burned bright in our collective mind when we think of their transcendent play. One of those players was Thomas Henderson.
Now everyone remembers Henderson as one of the most flamboyant players of the 1970’s and he was. However lost in why he was so acclaimed were the distinctions he brought to pro football many observers obscure. Not this historian…and we’re going to take you through a few today.
One of those was his becoming one of the social icons of his times as a man of the 1970’s. A black cultural icon of transcendent play, outspoken black identity, and a reach that went beyond the football field.
In 1974 the NFL instituted several rule changes, the most visible had been the goal post moved to the back of the endzone. A more subtle change was the narrowing of the hashmarks which eliminated the short side of the field as you still see in college football. This called for Outside Linebackers with greater lateral speed and range play after play to either side.
Artwork by Clarence Pointer signed by Hollywood Henderson available.
Another subtle NFL rule change in 1974 made it illegal for all but the outside players on the punt team to leave before the ball was kicked. Enter Thomas Henderson. The Cowboys second #1 draft pick in 1975 who had been discovered out of Langston by Red Hickey. It was his speed and athleticism that led to his being used to help revolutionize the game from a tactical standpoint. This gave birth to the modern gunner where Henderson was also used. His size allowed him to bull through the two DBs as he came off the ball in pursuit of the punt returner
He was a special teams standout on a veteran laden ball club that had to get him on the field. He flashed downfield to make tackles and was used on reverses. A Linebacker on reverses?? Do you remember his reverse on the opening kickoff of Super Bowl X??
It was one of the first glimpses into what he was doing down in Texas. By 1977 Henderson had become the starting OLB where his speed was on display to match with some of the NFL’s best athletes covering backs out of the backfield and covering TEs out in space. The NFL was speeding up as a sport on astroturf and Henderson was among the new breed of athletes being moved to defense.
What most pundits don’t realize is how 1 penalty altered the perception of Hollywood Henderson.
Over the next four years Henderson’s Cowboys were the best team in the NFC as they became Super Bowl champions in 1977 and repeated as NFC Champions in 1978. In those two seasons the Flex defense was ranked #1 and #2 in the NFL and going into Super Bowl XIII were ranked higher than the #3 ranked Steel Curtain. If they win they become a dynasty as back to back champions and Henderson, who had made his 1st Pro Bowl, would have been lionized instead of the team being scrutinized because of the loss.
We all remember Super Bowl media day when Henderson claimed Terry Bradshaw was so dumb he couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the “c” and the “a”. Well think back to the game. Henderson made a huge play when he sacked Bradshaw and Mike Hegman stole the ball to give the Cowboys a 14-7 lead. Their only lead of the game.
In what became known as a seesaw game it really was one the Cowboys defense had taken over. They dominated the 2nd half as Pittsburgh couldn’t move the ball. It was the bogus pass interference penalty on Benny Barnes that changed the field position and put the Steelers in scoring position at the 22 late in the 4th quarter. Then a fumbled kickoff, two quick scores and they were up 35-17 en route to a 35-31 win.
That pass interference, which is now called incidental contact and no penalty, caused Henderson and the Cowboys to be scrutinized because of the loss. He had played a tremendous game but now pundits pointed to the press conference and even an on field altercation with Franco before his 4th quarter touchdown as turning points. Great story telling but very…very inaccurate accounting of the facts.
The history books don’t tell you Dallas had set a record holding the winning team to just 75 second half yards. Nor the fact Henderson is the only person in the 51 year history of the Super Bowl to be involved in scoring plays in both the conference championship and subsequent Super Bowl on defense. In the video above when he scored against the Rams, it was the finishing touch on a 28-0 win out in Los Angeles.
That Benny Barnes pass interference penalty made the Steelers the Team of the Decade and sent 10 Steelers to the Hall of Fame and only 4 of the Cowboys from that era.
Henderson smashes into Denver QB Norris Weese in Super Bowl XII.
We know of the pressures and build up to his release in Dallas but where would he have been had they become back to back champion?? Greatest defense in history?? No one has been #1 on offense and #1 on defense and champion since his ’77 Cowboys. How much did the fallout from Super Bowl XIII lead to his dismissal in Dallas??
Keep in mind Tom Landry in his A Football Life episode said on stage had he handled the situation with Henderson differently we could have won 6 or 7 Super Bowls. Dallas went on to lose the ’80, ’81, & ’82 NFC Championships without him. When you look back at those losses Dallas didn’t have a defensive playmaker on the field. Not like they had in 1977 and 1978. In fact he would have been in his prime going into his 6th, 7th, and 8th seasons. Lawrence Taylor & Bruce Smith recorded defensive player of the year honors in that 6th season.
Would Joe Montana have all that time to scramble to the sideline and find Dwight Clark with The Catch in the 81 NFC Championship had Hollywood been chasing him??
I’m still mad at him for this…he ruined 2nd grade for a kid in Denver.
Henderson was still in the NFL…just not in Dallas where they would have featured him. What could have been?
Epilogue: Last Saturday on February 10, 2018, Thomas Henderson was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. An incredible honor. If you think I was waxing hyperbole when I opined he would have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame had his career stayed on the same arc…guess where the BCFHOF is moving to?? Try Canton, Ohio inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Congratulations on your induction Thomas Henderson!! A supernova! A Hall of Famer!
“In this study every season’s #1 defense, record setting defenses, trend setting defenses, and every Super Bowl & NFL championship defenses dating back to 1960. The nod would lend to those post the AFL/NFL merger of 1970. That wasn’t enough as now lets take each defense and cover what they did vs Pro Bowl QBs that season, 1,000 yard rushers, and playoff teams and talk about their effectiveness along with their statistics. Here turnovers forced is a big marker. Nothing watered down so a favorite team can be given favor. So The Chancellor of Football took over 200 defenses and boiled it down to this 11 article series and this salutatorian is the 10th in this countdown”
The bludgeoning Baltimore Ravens in 2000 was one of the greatest defenses in NFL history and lands at #2 on The Chancellor of Football’s list. Aside from winning Super Bowl XXXV, their greatest accomplishment was setting the record for fewest points allowed in a season with 165. Do you realize allowing 3, 10, and 3 in the AFC playoffs, that in 19 games they still bested the old 16 game record of the ’86 Bears 187 points with only 181?? Remember the Giants touchdown in Super Bowl XXXV was a kick return and not allowed by the defense. Still that is 188 points in 20 games!!
To fully appreciate the Ravens season as a whole you have to understand how anemic an offense they carried. Their 16th ranked offense was the 2nd lowest of all Super Bowl champions.
For the season they were ranked 2nd overall allowing 247.9 yards per game. Yet #1 against the run setting the record for fewest yards allowed rushing in a 16 game season with only 970. Yielding a paltry 2.7 yds per carry when league average was 4.0. Baltimore held 11 of their 16 regular season opponents to 10 or fewer points. Four of which were shutouts. By the way, they also held all four of their postseason opponents to 10 or fewer for a total of 15!!
2000 Baltimore Ravens allowed 970 yds rushing
1985 Chicago Bears allowed 1,319 yds rushing
1991 Philadelphia Eagles allowed 1,136 yds rushing
1976 Pittsburgh Steelers allowed 1,457 yds rushing *14 games
1977 Dallas Cowboys allowed 1,651 yds rushing *14 games
This was a physically imposing defense that started with mountains in the middle in DTs Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams. Keeping blockers off 2000’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year in Ray Lewis. Who roamed free garnering 137 tackles, 3 sacks and an interception. It was one of the most dominating performances by a defensive player in league history. From The [[_]]
Fellow Linebackers Jamie Sharper (72 tackles /5 forced fumbles) and Peter Boulware clogged passing lanes, stuffed the run, and blitzed effectively. Boulware had 7 sacks as a Nickle rushing end. DE Rob Burnett led the team with (10.5 sacks) was a holdover from the Cleveland Browns days. He and fellow DE Michael McCrary were steady rushers that couldn’t be moved off the ball.
The most underappreciated aspect of this defense was the secondary. Led by Hall of Fame Safety Rod Woodson (77 tackles/ 4 forced fumbles /4 ints) this group was never out of position. They ranked 8th against the pass in 2000 yet were 2nd in passing TDs allowed with 11 while snatching 17 of the team’s 23 interceptions. Chris McAlister (4ints) and Duane Starks (6ints – The [[_]]) were top shelf corners and SS Kim Herring, Corey Harris, and Robert Bailey (The [[_]]) pounded TEs and slot receivers when teams went to multiple receiver sets.
During the season the Ravens were 1-1 against Pro Bowl quarterbacks and 2-0 against top 10 offenses. They held the NFL’s #2 offense to 3 points in their AFC Wildcard win. Yet this group was ranked #2 in 2000 and on their way to Super Bowl XXXV when they took on the #1 defense in the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round.
After vanquishing the Titans the Ravens had to go on the road to face the Oakland Raiders for the AFC Championship. In Oakland they faced the 6th best offense in football and the #1 rushing offense with 154.4 yards per game. Strength vs strength in a battle to make it to Super Bowl XXXV.
With their 16-3 win, you do realize this was only the 2nd time in the Super Bowl era a team hosted the conference championship and couldn’t score a touchdown, right?? Only the Los Angeles Ram did this with their 9-0 win over Tampa Bay in the 1979 NFC Championship Game prior to Super Bowl XIV. That is only twice in 70 games!
Oh… by the way, that #2 defense againt the Raiders and the #1 rushing attack averaging 154.4 yards per game?? Baltimore suffocated Oakland holding them to 24 yards rushing in the AFC Championship Game. Yikes!
The 2000 Baltimore Ravens were the greatest defensive 11 in NFL history and are #2 on The Chancellor of Football’s list. Why weren’t they #1?? That will be explained in the next article.
At the 2016 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, ran into current Cincinnati Head Coach Marvin Lewis. The Defensive Coordinator of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens record setting defense.
Ray Lewis locker at PFHOF enshrinement weekend 2018 w Super Bowl XXXV jersey.
When Ray came out with the wireless mic… sigh. My dude! LOL
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“In this study every season’s #1 defense, record setting defenses, trend setting defenses, and every Super Bowl & NFL championship defenses dating back to 1960. The nod would lend to those post the AFL/NFL merger of 1970. That wasn’t enough as now lets take each defense and cover what they did vs Pro Bowl QBs that season, 1,000 yard rushers, and playoff teams and talk about their effectiveness along with their statistics. Here turnovers forced is a big marker. Nothing watered down so a favorite team can’t be given favor. So The Chancellor of Football took over 200 defenses and boiled it down to this 11 article series and this was the 7th..”
A recurring theme that seems to be running through these greatest defenses were they had to carry anemic, inefficient offenses through the season. One such incident took place when the Philadelphia Eagles lost the 1990 NFL MVP Runner Up Randall Cunningham in the first week 1991. All appeared to be lost as they attempted to go on without their #1 weapon. This defense turned in one of the last truly great performances finishing #1 against the run, #1 against the pass, and obviously #1 overall.
When you carry a team that played five quarterbacks during the season, you’ve done something. We’re sure you remember that renowned NFL quarterback Brad Goebel or Pat Ryan, right?? Who?? Brad Goebel not Stan Gable…that’s a fictitious character from Revenge Of the Nerds.
As for real quarterbacks they had two games against the Redskins Mark Rypien, that year’s Super Bowl MVP. Two more against Hall of Famer Troy Aikman then one against Steve Young and Warren Moon. Also Hall of Fame members. All but Young made the Pro Bowl in 1991. They went 3-3 against them and held Young’s 49ers (#3 offensively) and Aikman’s Cowboys (#9 offensively) to less than 100 yards passing in two complete games that year.
Remember, Aikman and Young went on to face each other in 3 consecutive NFC Championships starting the following year and won the next four Super Bowls.
They faced 6 top 10 offenses going 3-3 against them. Defensively they held 6 opponents to 10 points or fewer. Two of those games were against top ten offenses as we mentioned earlier. Counting match-ups with divisional foes as individual games, 8 times they held their opposition to their lowest offensive output for the season.
1991 Pro Bowl members of the Eagles defense.
Half the defense made the Pro Bowl starting with the late Reggie White, the late Jerome Brown, and Clyde Simmons from the defensive line. These three accounted for 37 of the Eagle’s 55 sacks. Those 3 alone had just 7 sacks fewer than the 2013 NFL champion Seahawks had as a team. OLB Seth Joyner (110 tck / 6.5 sacks / 6 ff /3 ints) and PFHoF CB Eric Allen who picked off 5.
The only reason SS Andre Waters didn’t make the Pro Bowl was his reputation.
Amazingly the late SS Andre Waters didn’t make the Pro Bowl even though he had 156 tackles. It was he and FS Wes Hopkins that sent the early message in their signature game against the Oilers. Did you know starting the very next week, when others used their 13-6 destruction against Houston as a blueprint, stats diminished for the Run & Shoot?? This historic performance was the impetus for the abolition of the Run & Shoot as a complete offensive approach in the NFL.
In winning 7 of their last 8 attempting to make the playoffs, the quarterback rating allowed was around 40.0. For the season, 206 of 467 (44.1%) for 2,807 yards 16 TDs and 26 interceptions would get a quarterback cut and ripped by NFL Network or ESPN shows. Well this was the passing given up by the 91′ Eagles all year.
Or think of it like this: Look at the ’91 Eagles performance against 6 top 10 offenses and 4 HOF QBs. Compare those stats to Geno Smith who was the worst rated starting QB last year. Yes 32nd!!:
’13 Geno Smith – 247 of 443 (55.8%) 3,046 yds 12tds 21 ints
’91 Eagles – 206 of 467 (44.1%) for 2,807 yards 16 TDs and 26 interceptions
One of the best in history and #5 on The Chancellor of Football’s list..
Dedicated to the memories of: Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Andre Waters, Wes Hopkins, Mike Pitts, Buddy Ryan, and Bud Carson.
This has been long overdue. The NFL has been 67-72% black annually since the AFL/NFL Merger in 1970. In fact the 1st leaguue champion that had a majority of black team was the Kansas City Chiefs who won Super Bowl IV 56 years ago. Yet only coach’s sons who couldn’t play are the only one’s who can lead a team?? Know the “Xs” and “Os”?? Have meetings and teach techniques? Give me a break and now the branch of nepotism extends with the Cardinals hiring Mike LaFleur as their head coach. He is the brother of Packer Head Coach Matt LaFleur. All this to go with John & Jim Harbaugh with the Giants & Chargers respectively.
Especially given our political climate of black erasure our current President has spearheaded, the hiring of all 10 NFL HC openings and not one black coach named is a travesty and a choice. Its much more nefarious than that as mainstream media has turned into white writers backing white OCs pretending their all quarterback whisperers.
Funny but 6 months ago I wrote an article and showed that EVERY MAJOR NFL PASSING RECORD was held by quarterbacks led by defensive coaches with none held by any of these guys being touted. I had first described the media’s role of selectively omitting genius of black coordinators and here we are. What happened to Eric Bienemy in this race to anoint the next offensive mind if that was the real reason.
Bienemy was the Chiefs OC from 2018-2022 when Patrick Mahomes won 2 MVPs and Super Bowl LIV & LVII under his watch. Remember that team?? They scored a team record 565 points (’18) and Mahomes threw for a team record 50TDs. Wait I thought y0u were after offense? Wasn’t the 565 points 3rd most in NFL history? Yes right behind the ’13 Broncos (606 pts) & the ’07 undefeated Patriots (589 pts). So why wasn’t he hired again? Who do you think spread that rumor he didn’t interview well?
So you want offense but don’t hire the Offensive Coordinator of a record setting offense?? Hmmm?
He interviewed well enough to be hired back to the Chiefs as OC where ’18-22 his Chief offenses were 1st, 6th, 1st, 3rd, & 1st in his tenure. Yet they plummeted to 9th in ’23, 17th in ’24 & 20th in ’25 under OC Matt Nagy but he parted ways believing he would get a 2nd Head Coaching job? Hmmmmmmm…when Bienemy couldn’t?? So it isn’t about offensive prowess then huh? Didnt Bienemy have the NFC’s 5th highest passing yardage leader in Sam Howell (who?) with 3,946 yds passing in their only season together?? Wasn’t Matt Nagy the same quarterback whisperer who failed with 1st rounder Mitch Trubisky in Chicago? The best Trubisky ever threw for was 3,223?
On what planet would Nagy’s resume look better than Bienemy’s? You’re right… Nagy didnt get hired but a lot of others like him did. Ok Show me where their resumes outdo Bienemy’s?
What about Byron Leftwich who was Tampa’s Offensive Coordinator (7th ranked offense) that won Super Bowl LV?? Of course supremist detractors will just point to Tom Brady but he didnt call plays. How do we know this? For one he wouldn’t have been signaling 4th down looking for a play to come to him from Leftwich in that Thursday Night debacle in Chicago when he forgot the down. Remember that? Just reverse image search the Brady pic…
So if black offensive coordinators can’t get the nod you don’t even need me to bring up black wizard DC Brian Flores who has been covered by Taylor Blitz Times on multiple occasions as why he should be a Head Coach again.
The truth of the matter is NFL players are going to have to collude themselves and go play for the black coaches in the NFL only when it comes to free agency. They need to voice their opinion through their union and then force teams hands when they all consolidate their prowess on just a few teams. Once teams start losing top free agents and they start gathering only with those teams with black coaches will they bring other teams to the table.
Some players may have to sacrifice a few dollars but the greater good for the rest of the black players who wish to be taken seriously as coaches after their playing days will be the long term benefit. We either start our own league or consolidate all your power on just a few teams forcing Owners out of their prejudiced/racist edict of hiring just white coaches.
Just imagine if WRs George Pickens, Rashid Shaheed, Mike Evans, and RBs Kenneth Walker III, Travis Etienne, TE Kyle Pitts, & David Njoku all signed with Head Coach Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets. Then go get DE Josh Sweat, CBs DJ Reed, and Asante Samuel Jr. Since these are the biggest free agents of this year. What would happen if this happened over the next two years? Two years? Yeah…the 2nd offseason come back and snatch WR Justin Jefferson, Khalil Mack, and Patrick Surtain II next year.
When they can’t sign important black free agents because they don’t have a black coach how fast do you think they’ll cave?
Its time to send American Football League sized shockwaves through the NFL Owners and front offices. Those that forced the NFL to merge and operate differently with the respect they had to afford the new league. Several of the coaches just hired are good coaches and wish them well… not Kevin Stefanski. Definitely not Kevin Stefanski… You’ll have to bring the current owners to their knees in much the same fashion. They won’t leave their placist/racist ways without being forced kicking and screaming. Its the only way…
Just sick of the prejudiced attitudes… time to make a move guys and the time is now!!
In the wake of the underhanded way the Baltimore Ravens handled the Maxx Crosby trade, he should sue them for what happened. Now his value as a player has been sunk behind a bogus “he failed the physical” which was the copout they could use. They had the ink dry on the Trey Hendrickson deal in less than 18 hours and the fallout is he has to go back to Las Vegas.
Fellow Linebackers Jamie Sharper (72 tackles /5 forced fumbles) and Peter Boulware clogged passing lanes, stuffed the run, and blitzed effectively. Boulware had 7 sacks as a Nickle rushing end. DE Rob Burnett led the team with (10.5 sacks) was a holdover from the Cleveland Browns days. He and fellow DE Michael McCrary were steady rushers that couldn’t be moved off the ball.
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Placism is still racism…
Bienemy was the Chiefs OC from 2018-2022 when Patrick Mahomes won 2 MVPs and Super Bowl LIV & LVII under his watch. Remember that team?? They scored a team record 565 points (’18) and Mahomes threw for a team record 50TDs. Wait I thought y0u were after offense? Wasn’t the 565 points 3rd most in NFL history? Yes right behind the ’13 Broncos (606 pts) & the ’07 undefeated Patriots (589 pts). So why wasn’t he hired again? Who do you think spread that rumor he didn’t interview well?
What about Byron Leftwich who was Tampa’s Offensive Coordinator (
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