Big Blue Huddle

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1913936941256499297

remember him well. he was like a breath of fresh air the RB position for Giants.....a real running back with running back moves and results the Giants had not had for some time.

Good Giant for several years..but oh that fumble to start the game in Chicago..ouch ..never really could do anything after that with the punt whiff and chippy fg miss..could have been a tighter game .turnovers.. mistakes..loss..but showed they were closer

 Years ago, when we were still in Albany for training camp, we had Harry Carson as our guest one year. He basically said that the game in Chicago set the entire stage for the following year and our first Super Bowl. That loss, he said, hung with the team for the entire off-season, and when they went into camp the following year, every player had revenge on their minds. Yes, it was a horrible loss, but that loss led us to bigger and better days.

I remember him just gashing the Eagles in the playoffs that season. We got ahead and then just had Carpenter run the ball down their throats. 161 yds on 33 carries

https://x.com/bigbluevcr/status/1914091714698203251?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ

One of my early fan day favorites.  Steady 4 to 5 yards and a cloud of dust. Enjoyed watching his tough guy style a lot

LT was the best defensive "add" to the Giants in 1981, as Rob Carpenter was the best offensive add, also in 1981. Both were catalysts in helping get the Giants into the playoffs that season.

We sometimes forget that both LT played hurt in 1982, as Carpenter held out most of that year, for contractual purposes, which derailed the momentum from 1981.

Carpenter incurred a knee injury in 1983, which curbed his services, in an otherwise lost year, and seemed to take a toll on his play. Butch Woolfolk, the #1 draft pick from Michigan, was showing little as a feature back to the point John Tuggle ended up starting a couple of games! By the end of the season, a forgotten Joe Morris was finally given a chance and stunned Parcells with the game we came to love from Joe.

So, in 1984, Carpenter returned to start the season, with Morris backing him up, and Tony Galbreath now on the team as a third down specialist. This lineup became Parcells' bread and butter for his running game while Phil Simms' return to the starting QB position became the feature of the Giants' offense with new, unheralded wide receivers Lionel Manuel, Bobby Johnson and Phil McConkey joining the speedster Byron Williams and veteran Ernest Gray, as well as promising Tight End, Zeke Mowatt, and a young offensive line, slowly coming together, for Simms to launch an aerial attack never seen before in Giants Stadium. As you would expect, as the season wore on, and the weather became a factor, the Giants running game began to feature more prominently. Joe Morris wasn't quite there yet to step into the spotlight but Rob Carpenter still had a few steps left. It was the tag-team effort of Carpenter, Morris, Simms and the Giants' defense, as well as a redeeming performance by Ali Haji-Sheikh, who went back to Anaheim, CA, to face the Rams in the Wild Card, and come away with a solid, if not impressive, performance which kept Eric Dickerson off the field and allowed the Giants to control the tempo of the game. The 16-13 triumph was the culmination of all the hard work of Parcells and his coaches, in rebuilding the team in Parcells' image. It was the injection of youth in the locker room. Finally, it was keeping the veterans, such as Rob Carpenter, around whom Parcells felt were "his guys." Carpenter surely was one of them as the Giants made their way back up the NFL ladder.

With the inevitable collapse of the USFL, and the NFL signing players and the "draft" once it finally ceased operations, the Giants picked up talent which arguably rounded off the group of men who would make their run for Super Bowl XXI. For Rob Carpenter, his days as a Giant were becoming limited after the team signed Maurice Carthon away from the NJ Generals. It limited Carpenter to a backup after Joe Morris supplanted him as the starter roughly midway during the 1985 season. While he continued to contribute to the team's offense, he would have to fight for playing time between Galbreath and rookie Lee Rouson whom the Giants believed was the future third down back and possibly Morris' backup.

After the 1985 season, Carpenter wanted to leave the Giants, and was granted his wish, and signed with the Rams, and played sparingly in 1986 before retiring. His reason for wanting to leave the Giants had nothing to do about his age or performance. It had everything to do with John Tuggle's story. The two became close friends in 1983 and Carpenter pleaded with Parcells to give Tuggle a roster spot, which he ultimately did. Seeing what eventually happened to his friend, and how that roster spot might have impacted his reputation with Parcells, Tuggle's death in August 1986 was too much to bear and he wanted out.

A sad ending for a man who gave so much for all of us on Sundays, for the cause, falling short due to inner guilt. But make no mistake, for in the final analysis, Rob Carpenter was one of "Parcells' guys."

Peace!

My first Favorite Giant.

Loved his toughness

I almost pulled the trigger on a Carpenter throwback jersey I saw on EBay but the details on the uniform weren't right. The early 80s jersey was very odd.

Quote from: kartanoman on April 21, 2025, 11:16:54 AMCarpenter incurred a knee injury in 1983, which curbed his services, in an otherwise lost year, and seemed to take a toll on his play. Butch Woolfolk, the #1 draft pick from Michigan, was showing little as a feature back to the point John Tuggle ended up starting a couple of games! By the end of the season, a forgotten Joe Morris was finally given a chance and stunned Parcells with the game we came to love from Joe.

So, in 1984, Carpenter returned to start the season, with Morris backing him up, and Tony Galbreath now on the team as a third down specialist.

Peace!

Carpenter was the starting fullback in '84 & '85. Woolfolk was the starting halfback for the first half of the '84 season. The team finally got over the hump when Parcells benched Woolfolk and Joe Morris took his place.

Quote from: Giant Jim on April 22, 2025, 07:54:16 AMCarpenter was the starting fullback in '84 & '85. Woolfolk was the starting halfback for the first half of the '84 season. The team finally got over the hump when Parcells benched Woolfolk and Joe Morris took his place.

Thank you for the details, Jim. The main point in my mind, as I typed the above, without going back to fact-check the history books, was that Woolfolk ran himself into the doghouse and, eventually, the outhouse. Simultaneously, Carpenter continued on as one of Parcells' guys, but now the Tony Galbreath acquisition (in the Brad Van Pelt trade), and Morris becoming a part of the running game in the back half of the season. The running game was beginning to evolve towards that final product we witnessed in Pasadena. The Redskins blow-out at home, where Jim Burt started the Gatorade bath on Parcells, was arguably the turning point where it all started.

Peace!

Quote from: kartanoman on April 22, 2025, 09:08:10 AMThank you for the details, Jim. The main point in my mind, as I typed the above, without going back to fact-check the history books, was that Woolfolk ran himself into the doghouse and, eventually, the outhouse. Simultaneously, Carpenter continued on as one of Parcells' guys, but now the Tony Galbreath acquisition (in the Brad Van Pelt trade), and Morris becoming a part of the running game in the back half of the season. The running game was beginning to evolve towards that final product we witnessed in Pasadena. The Redskins blow-out at home, where Jim Burt started the Gatorade bath on Parcells, was arguably the turning point where it all started.

Peace!

Parcells made 3 big moves in the middle of the'84 season that to me was the end of the wilderness years. The game was against the Redskins. Morris started in place of Woolfolk. I think Brad Benson was moved to tackle, I forget the 3rd. Simms was finally settling is as THEE QB. Before that, it was only LT and the tease of '81 with Carpenter. 

Quote from: Giant Jim on April 22, 2025, 12:15:40 PMParcells made 3 big moves in the middle of the'84 season that to me was the end of the wilderness years. The game was against the Redskins. Morris started in place of Woolfolk. I think Brad Benson was moved to tackle, I forget the 3rd. Simms was finally settling is as THEE QB. Before that, it was only LT and the tease of '81 with Carpenter.

Let me take a guess. Perry Williams starting over Mark Haynes?

Quote from: kartanoman on April 22, 2025, 06:35:12 PMLet me take a guess. Perry Williams starting over Mark Haynes?

I tried to look it up. Perry Williams started all 16 games and Haynes started 15. I really don't know. Could be Chris Godfrey or Bill Currier. William Roberts is listed as starting 8 games at left tackle, so maybe Roberts out at LT, Godfrey in at RG in. Woolfolk out, Morris in and Benson from RG to LT. So 2 new starters and 1 player moved, total-3 changes.