7 Comments

1. mojo  •  Jul 28, 2010 @8:11 am
   

   What about “Refrigerator” Perry driving the broken end of Theisman’s thigh bone into the dirt on national TV. Even I heard the *snap*…

2. Patrick  •  Jul 28, 2010 @8:24 am
   

   That was Lawrence Taylor.

   Perry probably couldn’t have broken another man’s leg, unless someone was foolish enough to venture close to Perry’s event horizon, in which case Theismann would probably have wound up in another universe, legs and all.

3. Charles  •  Jul 28, 2010 @9:54 am
   

   You can’t compare tacklers across eras like that. If LT were allowed to do what Tatum was allowed to do there would be an ‘In Memoriam’ exhibit in the Canton for LT’s victims. It is also weird to compare a DE to a DB in terms of tackling styles; they are typically approaching the ball-carrier from such different angles.

   As for the hit on Theisman, it would have been a clean hit in any era under any rules; Theisman happened to have his cleat stuck in the turf. LT was so mortified he started screaming for medical attention immediately.

4. Patrick  •  Jul 28, 2010 @10:06 am
   

   Jack Tatum retired in 1980, while Lawrence Taylor debuted in 1981 Charles.

   I’ll admit that the Muppet Show was cancelled and John Denver’s career went into a nosedive and probably all sorts of other catastrophes occurred during that time frame, but I wouldn’t call one season a new era.

   The Oakland Raiders who won the Super Bowl in 1980 were playing pretty much the same game as the Los Angeles Raiders who won it in 1983. Not to mention the New York Giants.

5. Charles  •  Jul 28, 2010 @10:34 am
   

   The Stingley hit was in 1978. After that, the league began instituting new rules to rein in the kind of hits that fill the Tatum highlight reel. LT entered the league under the new regime.

6. Patrick  •  Jul 28, 2010 @10:37 am
   

   To be fair, you probably have a better point on Butkus (who definitely played a more lawless game than Taylor), and the rules on receiver tackling were amended in large part because of Tatum, but I still think the comparison stands up, among all three.

   Taylor, and Butkus for that matter, were great linebackers in part because they were able to cover and deal with receivers. A lot of Taylor’s greatest plays involved wiping out wide receivers. Taylor was faster than many receivers. Tatum, on the other hand, was a great blitzer. He’d go to the line, and he was feared by linemen as well as quarterbacks and running backs.

   Since all three were all-around defenders, albeit at different positions (Butkus played middle for a lot of his career), I think the comparison stands.

7. Patrick  •  Jul 28, 2010 @10:39 am
   

   Jinx! Buy me a Coke. I was typing my second reply while you were writing your mumbo jumbo Charles.

   I’m quite aware of the history of football. The only true football master here is Grandy, and I’d like to hear his take on this.

   You and I are but earth.

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