With the offseason upon us, I thought I would start and keep going a memory lane post to talk about past Giants glory (likely going to lean heavily on Big Blue VCR)
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1757766660419981685?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1757585452331123059?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1757525055817515417?s=20
Lorentzen was fun to watch
Probably the most athletic big man of all time. and had a great arm.
Quote from: BluesCruz on February 15, 2024, 09:42:55 AMLorentzen was fun to watch
Probably the most athletic big man of all time. and had a great arm.
sadly after battling obesity all his life (at one point he was over 500 pounds):
Lorenzen died on July 3, 2019, at age 38, from an acute infection, complicated by heart and kidney problems
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1758491430463619454?s=20
Quote from: MightyGiants on February 15, 2024, 08:50:29 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1757525055817515417?s=20
It is great to see the original #10 in action again, Brad Van Pelt. On a good team he would be in the HOF.
We already had the makings of a good defense with Carson, Van Pelt Martin, Jeter among others.
I LOVE that George Martin play. Such a great player and human and my favorite part is LT running alongside and just as excited as Martin must have been. Those defenses had such a special bond.
Quote from: LennG on February 16, 2024, 11:38:03 AMIt is great to see the original #10 in action again, Brad Van Pelt. On a good team he would be in the HOF.
We already had the makings of a good defense with Carson, Van Pelt Martin, Jeter among others.
Since we are going down memory lane and maybe for some of the so-called 'younger' folks here who never lived thru that horrible period of mid 60s thru early 80s. In fact, as I had noted, by 1980 we had some pretty good players already in place on defense. It was the offense that needed as much help as they could get.
Defense in 1980
LDE George Martin 27 5 16 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
NT Curtis McGriff 22 Rook 11
RDE Gary Jeter 25 3 16 0 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered
LOLB Brad Van Pelt* 29 7 14 3 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered
LILB Frank Marion 29 3 6 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered
RILB Harry Carson 27 4 7 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
ROLB John Skorupan 29 7 10 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered
LCB Mark Haynes 22 Rook 11 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered
RCB Mike Dennis 22 Rook 10 5 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered
SS Beasley Reece 26 4 14 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered
FS Gary Woolford 26 Rook 8 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
But then the magic happened in 1981, we drafted LT and Brian Kelly became a starter (the Crunch Bunch) f or those,a gain, who need a bit of Giants memories.
1981 defense
LDE Curtis McGriff 23 1 14
NT Bill Neill 22 Rook 16 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
RDE Gary Jeter 26 4 11
LOLB Brad Van Pelt 30 8 13 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered
LILB Brian Kelley 30 8 16 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered
RILB Harry Carson* 28 5 16 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
ROLB Lawrence Taylor*+ 22 Rook 16 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered
LCB Mark Haynes 23 1 16 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered
RCB Terry Jackson 26 3 16 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
SS Bill Currier 26 4 14 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
FS Beasley Reece 27 5 16 4 interceptions, 5 fumbles recovered
Look at the names on that defense. It was setting the stage got highlight reels for years to come.
(https://i.postimg.cc/4dGq0z6q/crunch.jpg)
Quote from: MightyGiants on February 15, 2024, 08:50:29 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1757525055817515417?s=20
Mark Moseley kicked the game winner in this one but, ever since the beards came off in 1976, when the curse of George Allen was finally broken, the Giants fared better with the Redskins in sweeping 1977 and splitting 1978, 1979 and 1981. Both games in 1980 were close losses. 1982 and 1983 were Redskin sweeps while 1984 and 1985 were splits. Giant dominance began in 1986 and continued through 1990, with the strike season being a Redskin sweep, and one game was a strike game.
The Giants-Redskins rivalry of the 1980s was one of the NFL's best in that decade.
Peace!
Quote from: LennG on February 16, 2024, 04:57:54 PMSince we are going down memory lane and maybe for some of the so-called 'younger' folks here who never lived thru that horrible period of mid 60s thru early 80s. In fact, as I had noted, by 1980 we had some pretty good players already in place on defense. It was the offense that needed as much help as they could get.
Defense in 1980
LDE George Martin 27 5 16 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
NT Curtis McGriff 22 Rook 11
RDE Gary Jeter 25 3 16 0 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered
LOLB Brad Van Pelt* 29 7 14 3 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered
LILB Frank Marion 29 3 6 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered
RILB Harry Carson 27 4 7 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
ROLB John Skorupan 29 7 10 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered
LCB Mark Haynes 22 Rook 11 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered
RCB Mike Dennis 22 Rook 10 5 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered
SS Beasley Reece 26 4 14 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered
FS Gary Woolford 26 Rook 8 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
But then the magic happened in 1981, we drafted LT and Brian Kelly became a starter (the Crunch Bunch) f or those,a gain, who need a bit of Giants memories.
1981 defense
LDE Curtis McGriff 23 1 14
NT Bill Neill 22 Rook 16 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
RDE Gary Jeter 26 4 11
LOLB Brad Van Pelt 30 8 13 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered
LILB Brian Kelley 30 8 16 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered
RILB Harry Carson* 28 5 16 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
ROLB Lawrence Taylor*+ 22 Rook 16 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered
LCB Mark Haynes 23 1 16 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered
RCB Terry Jackson 26 3 16 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
SS Bill Currier 26 4 14 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
FS Beasley Reece 27 5 16 4 interceptions, 5 fumbles recovered
Look at the names on that defense. It was setting the stage got highlight reels for years to come.
(https://i.postimg.cc/4dGq0z6q/crunch.jpg)
One of my favorite posts. You win the prize, Lenn. Thank you for stirring up the old memories we used to live out in the old Giants Stadium I've come to miss more and more with each passing year.
Peace!
Chris
Even in those days we saw a light at the end of that tunnel with good players on defense. We drafted Simms but because of injury and other assorted things, he was middling at best. It was the offense that was our main defect.
Liken to these past few years and the teams we have been putting out on the field, and I look at our roster and really see none of that same light on either side of the ball. We have a player here and there, but we also had several of those players during those dark days I spoke of. There was Bob Tucker and Homer Jones on offense, we had John Mendenhall and Van Pelt on defense, but they had no help. Little by little we drafted guys who fit and our defense started to form. We added Carson, Jeter, Mark Haynes, and Beesley Reese. Then the real pieces started to fit in when LT was drafted. Again, like that to today's team but we see no such pieces after basically a 10-year futile period. Yes, we have a few stars, but overall, this team of today is a mess and I, as a fan, see no real hope for a quick future reversal of trends. Yes, today with FA we can get a few pieces, draft a few, and put a decent team on the field, but overall, we do not have a consistent 4-5 guys as a foundation to build on.
https://x.com/Prez/status/1758687040684564684?s=20
Quote from: LennG on February 17, 2024, 12:11:59 PMChris
Even in those days we saw a light at the end of that tunnel with good players on defense. We drafted Simms but because of injury and other assorted things, he was middling at best. It was the offense that was our main defect.
Liken to these past few years and the teams we have been putting out on the field, and I look at our roster and really see none of that same light on either side of the ball. We have a player here and there, but we also had several of those players during those dark days I spoke of. There was Bob Tucker and Homer Jones on offense, we had John Mendenhall and Van Pelt on defense, but they had no help. Little by little we drafted guys who fit and our defense started to form. We added Carson, Jeter, Mark Haynes, and Beesley Reese. Then the real pieces started to fit in when LT was drafted. Again, like that to today's team but we see no such pieces after basically a 10-year futile period. Yes, we have a few stars, but overall, this team of today is a mess and I, as a fan, see no real hope for a quick future reversal of trends. Yes, today with FA we can get a few pieces, draft a few, and put a decent team on the field, but overall, we do not have a consistent 4-5 guys as a foundation to build on.
I lived the last five or so years of "The Wilderness Years" and appreciate exactly where you're coming from. My late father, at the time, was as die-hard as they came and was tied into the organization through the "Touchdown Club" and even the "Pat Hughes Fan Club" (NOTE: yes, there were other players before LT who had a following who wore the #56 jersey, and I'm not talking about Jim Clack!).
You mention names of very good to great players, but there were others whose great promise was cut short by tragedy. Dan Lloyd was a promising linebacker for a number of years until lymph cancer cut him down in 1980, which effectively ended his football career. Fortune's, for him, he won the battle against the big bad "C" and went on to full recovery. One not so fortunate, and who had the potential to be one of the greats alongside Harry Carson, was DT Troy Archer, who played for three seasons and, in 1979, was killed in an auto accident. Surely, had he not been involved in that accident, it is very possible he would have accomplished even more than what Jim Burt, the man who ultimately replaced both him and Bill Neill, another with great potential lost to injuries, and today we could be discussing Archer and his Hall of Fame career; a most unfortunate tragedy which set the Giants' defense back a few seasons.
Peace!
https://x.com/bigbluevcr/status/1759272818179518475?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ
We also have to remember who was the Giant's DC in 81 and 82, our Savior, Bill Parcels.
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1759578595716944038?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1759397393827844406?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1755801192830284184?s=20
https://x.com/bigbluevcr/status/1760061766904553614?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1760484556342239516?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1761028134260838729?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1761073432995762381?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1761386747433271536?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1761209332224426169?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1761749135236206797?s=20
Good morning, Rich
@MightyGiants .
These are great and I've had this gentleman's website bookmarked for years. He really has done well with this project which I wanted to do, myself, but never had time once I truly settled down.
I wanted to offer a recommendation. May I ask that you make only a single game video summary for each post? That way, it is a little easier to provide comments and memories on it without having to preface it with "In the first video ... " or something like that.
Keep these coming. They make great for great discussions.
Thank you, again!
Peace!
Quote from: kartanoman on February 25, 2024, 10:19:39 AMGood morning, Rich @MightyGiants .
These are great and I've had this gentleman's website bookmarked for years. He really has done well with this project which I wanted to do, myself, but never had time once I truly settled down.
I wanted to offer a recommendation. May I ask that you make only a single game video summary for each post? That way, it is a little easier to provide comments and memories on it without having to preface it with "In the first video ... " or something like that.
Keep these coming. They make great for great discussions.
Thank you, again!
Peace!
I will do on the single posts.
I actually heard him interviewed on a podcast. There is actually a community out there that trades and shares old NFL videos. It's interesting that neither the NFL nor the Giants have gone after him for copyright infringement. The gentleman figures it's because he doesn't make any money off his endeavor. I suspect the NFL likes that he isn't making money, while also boosting their brand for them.
Quote from: MightyGiants on February 25, 2024, 10:24:51 AMI will do on the single posts.
I actually heard him interviewed on a podcast. There is actually a community out there that trades and shares old NFL videos. It's interesting that neither the NFL nor the Giants have gone after him for copyright infringement. The gentleman figures it's because he doesn't make any money off his endeavor. I suspect the NFL likes that he isn't making money, while also boosting their brand for them.
I'll send you a PM later about it and much more.
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1762160601982504975?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1762862726010036290?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1761888811422777453?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1763746048768364665?s=20
I used to call him stone hands Gray
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1763923462815662317?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1764376447211516280?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1765014403379019920?s=20
Quote from: MightyGiants on March 05, 2024, 10:19:33 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1765014403379019920?s=20
Zeke Mowatt caught the pass that recorded our first TD in a Super Bowl.
Since we are going down Memory Lane and some of these clips are just great, I thought many would love to relive the final 2 minutes of Super Bowl 42.
Quote from: LennG on March 05, 2024, 02:14:16 PMZeke Mowatt caught the pass that recorded our first TD in a Super Bowl.
I still remember Zeke tearing his ACL and not being happy because he was one of my favorite players.
I'm surprised we even bothered to show up
New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 10 of the 1986 season. Prior to the game rumors circulated that Buddy Ryan had placed a bounty on Lawrence Taylor. Just 4 weeks earlier Taylor had shutdown the Eagles offense, recording 4 sacks, 7 QB hits and 11 tackles en route to a 35-3 Giants win.
Buddy was out for revenge.
He wouldn't get it.
Quote from: LennG on March 05, 2024, 04:15:20 PMNew York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 10 of the 1986 season. Prior to the game rumors circulated that Buddy Ryan had placed a bounty on Lawrence Taylor. Just 4 weeks earlier Taylor had shutdown the Eagles offense, recording 4 sacks, 7 QB hits and 11 tackles en route to a 35-3 Giants win.
Buddy was out for revenge.
He wouldn't get it.
Different times! I remember the Eagles' defenders turning QBs as they landed on them so the QB would slam their arm/shoulder into the turf
Quote from: LennG on March 05, 2024, 04:07:45 PMI'm surprised we even bothered to show up
The post game show was the most unprofessional thing I have witnessed on a NFL broadcast*. They had almost nothing to say and were so silent that the mics picked up the sound of papers being shuffled as if it was a WWF show that went off script. It was like the had to ditch the Cowboys victory teleprompters and couldn't ad-lib to praise what the Giants did.
* Until 2 months ago when Jimmy Johnson disregarded that he was on an un-biased national broadcast and screamed into the camera at the Cowboys like he was still their Head Coach after 30 years. :boooo:
Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_AbNLwQXn8&ab_channel=johnsmith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RsKNUCYMOw&t=3s&ab_channel=johnsmith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnNP7mWAP5k&ab_channel=johnsmith
I understand times have changed, but after watching 1/2 an hour of great clips, I noticed one thing, LT never did a sack dance, never mugged for the camera, never even did anything to bring any attention to himself over the team. Every once in a while he pointed. but even that was few and far between. Let's leave it at that.
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1765557982606295047?s=20
Quote from: LennG on March 06, 2024, 03:18:56 PMI understand times have changed, but after watching 1/2 an hour of great clips, I noticed one thing, LT never did a sack dance, never mugged for the camera, never even did anything to bring any attention to himself over the team. Every once in a while he pointed. but even that was few and far between. Let's leave it at that.
I watched all the clips before posting them. What I found remarkable was LT's intercept/closing speed in pursuit of QB/ball carrier.
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1766460177547489411?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1766932041382408292?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1767536023876378984?s=20
Remember DJ Fluker
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1767943704013164838?s=20
Quote from: MightyGiants on March 09, 2024, 08:45:28 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1766460177547489411?s=20
What comes to mind watching this was that before Davis Meggett, I had never witnessed a Giant return neither a punt nor a kickoff for a touchdown. Meggett took care of the punt return TD in 1989 against the Raiders, and again in the 1990 season opener against the Iggles. But Rocky Thompson's 1972 record was still hanging out there until 20 years later, the game in 1992, when it finally was replaced by this play. I always thought it bizarre that Giants' special teams never had any big plays back then. I think Bobby Hammond had a punt return TD called back against the Browns in 1977, but never had there been anything close to a kickoff return for one.
Ever since then, the Giants have yielded better results on scoring TDs from kickoffs but the last one was in 2015 by Dwayne Harris against Dallas. His 100-yard return proved the difference in the 27-20 victory for the Giants. Perhaps ironically, this TD occurred under the watch of head coach Tom Coughlin, whose teams delivered six (6) kickoff touchdowns during his 12-years as Head Coach of the Giants (2004-15). Prior to Coach Coughlin, Jim Fassel's (1997-2003) teams delivered four (4) kickoff touchdowns during his era, with two (2) of them coming during the 2000 NFL Playoffs and one (1) in Super Bowl XXXV. Finally, in the Dan Reeves era (1993-96), one (1) kickoff touchdown was scored in 1995.
Prior to 1972, it wasn't that the Giants couldn't return kickoffs for touchdowns, as Rocky Thompson managed his first in 1971. Prior to that, you have to go back to Clarence Childs in 1964 and 1966, Johnny Counts in 1962, a little pause dating back to Jimmy Patton in 1955, Emlen Tunnell in 1951, Jack Salscheider in 1949, Joe Scott in 1948, Harry Newman in 1934, Jack Hagerty in 1929.
So, it was that anomaly between 1972 and 1992 where there was a kickoff touchdown drought for the Giants where I wondered if Rocky Thompson would be immortalized if they'd never score another one again. This video is living proof that Rocky could finally get some peace away from the New York spotlight.
Peace!
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1768079603325636944?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1770072739644407980?s=20
Quote from: MightyGiants on March 19, 2024, 10:55:20 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1770072739644407980?s=20
One of the great TD runs in Giants' history. If you watch the play closely from the TV angle presented, it's as if it's a wintry mix of rain and snow when Bradshaw takes the handoff. By the time he starts to break away around the 30, it's become a flurry turning into snowfall. As he charges towards the end-zone, it's a full-out blizzard! Just one of the coolest phenomenon caught on tape during a playoff-securing touchdown run.
Great memories, and only the beginning of memories which remain burned vivid in our minds today and shall forever.
Peace!
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1771880896469090346?s=20
Quote from: MightyGiants on March 24, 2024, 09:12:59 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1771880896469090346?s=20
Tom Flynn, yes, remember him well! He scored the other two blocked punt TDs on the opening game if the next two seasons (1987 @ Chicago, 1988 vs. Washington).
Flynn was a depth roster spot at safety and, sadly, his final play as a Giant came in the 1988 season's mind-blowing loss to the Jets as a depleted Giants'secondary had him trying to cover Al Toon who caught the winner for Gang Green. That loss cost the Giants the Eastern Division Championship, and the 49ers rolling over like dogs to the Rams later that night eliminated the Giants from the playoffs altogether. It took me several decades to get over the frustration and angst of 1988.
But back to Tom Flynn, I actually went to college with his younger brother. He stopped coming over my dorm when his brother was having a rough go on the field. I think he transferred to Albany State the next semester. Never heard from him again.
Peace!
https://x.com/bigbluevcr/status/1771929974729330998?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1772247064317231292?s=20
Quote from: MightyGiants on March 25, 2024, 02:47:24 PMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1772247064317231292?s=20
Gosh, he hasn't aged at all????????
47 WOW.
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1773696621575905781?s=20
https://x.com/bigbluevcr/status/1771518508368863272?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1774417611016552888?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1774829082024308851?s=20
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1777124196415688942?s=20
Quote from: MightyGiants on April 01, 2024, 12:02:48 PMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1774829082024308851?s=20
I/w/t. Upstairs in the end zone, Hasselback caught the TD in front of me.
Quote from: MightyGiants on April 08, 2024, 09:59:18 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1777124196415688942?s=20
In his final regular season game, he carries the Giants into the Wild Card game while breaking the Giants single game rushing record. Simply one of the most incredible games I've ever watched by a running back.
This is what Barber should have been remembered for. This and all the big running performances in the Coughlin era which launched him into the discussion of legend status. Looking past the issues he created for himself, which drove the rift between him and the organization, he was the most productive running back in the long history of the Giants and his runs were the stuff of legend, in spite of past issues.
Such a bittersweet story which I hope and pray will find healing, reconciliation and peace one day.
Peace!
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1778226463604371577
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1780038400487399784
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1781820138872033413
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1784628647128941018
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1784930639206355414
Quote from: MightyGiants on April 28, 2024, 01:56:21 PMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1784628647128941018
Mark Bavaro is my second all-time favorite Giant. What I see in this video is something that was a staple in the Giants' offense for all the years Simms and Bavaro were there, that deep seam pass up the middle and it always seemed to have worked. I have been crying, begging, and shouting as to why the Giants don't use that play today.
Quote from: LennG on April 29, 2024, 12:23:38 PMMark Bavaro is my second all-time favorite Giant. What I see in this video is something that was a staple in the Giants' offense for all the years Simms and Bavaro were there, that deep seam pass up the middle and it always seemed to have worked. I have been crying, begging, and shouting as to why the Giants don't use that play today.
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1784749445436866978
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1786017801242923226
https://x.com/DanSchneierNFL/status/1786773298220556667
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1787648545538928726
Quote from: MightyGiants on May 07, 2024, 10:46:28 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1787648545538928726
Why do I never tire of watching that?
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
Quote from: LennG on May 07, 2024, 01:58:43 PMWhy do I never tire of watching that?
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
He needed to make up for that first quarter interception he caused. That was Eli's only blemish in the playoffs that season.
Just came across this clip and thought people might enjoy it and 'learn' something about one of the all-time great NY Giants
I remember how our best weapons was punter Dave Jennings and the D in the 70s.
You talk about godawful offenses, those mid 70s teams were as bad as you could get. Terrific players Brad Van Pelt and Brian Kelley never got the success they deserved.
One of my all-time favorite pictures. I used to have it hanging in my basement for years
(https://i.postimg.cc/GmcTHYjk/crunch.jpg)
Quote from: spiderblue43 on May 08, 2024, 04:52:56 PMI remember how our best weapons was punter Dave Jennings and the D in the 70s.
You talk about godawful offenses, those mid 70s teams were as bad as you could get. Terrific players Brad Van Pelt and Brian Kelley never got the success they deserved.
My idol!
https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1788916908861063247