Big Blue Huddle

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1803842751420862975

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1803888049211793640

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1804495803886498125

Quote from: MightyGiants on February 15, 2024, 09:55:58 AMsadly 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

yes and amazingly despite his weight he was very mobile for such a big man.  Very fun to watch

Brad Van Pelt also.  He was awesome at LBer, coming to us as an All American Safety from Michigan State.  Died shockingly young.

I was shocked to hear he had died......way too soon

What's the saying- Seize the day!  Tomorrow may never come

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1806368141108515284

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1806069933706551467

Quote from: MightyGiants on June 28, 2024, 07:29:50 AMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1806069933706551467

The 1983 Giants were absolutely cursed with injuries on both sides of the ball. So much so that, even if Phil Simms could have made it through the season, such a proposition would have been unlikely given that Jeff Rutledge, the QB who replaced Brunner, ended up getting banged up in the second game after taking over for Brunner (NOTE: a dislocated kneecap from the Dallas Cowboys putting a 12-sack performance on Giants' quarterbacks in a 38-20 win for the visiting Cowboys). Brunner held onto the job until the 15th week when Rutledge returned and actually began playing better against Seattle in a game they could have won (NOTE: if not for a holding penalty which denied the game-winning TD run) and pushed NFC Champion Washington to the brink in the Saturday season finale at RFK before the Redskins settled down and brought the game under their control late in the second half.

The only vague moments worth remembering in this largely forgettable season was rookie kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh set the Giants' team record (at the time) for scoring in a single season (127 points) as well as breaking the record for the longest field goal in team history (56 yards, accomplished twice, both on Monday Night Football, different games; one vs. Green Bay, the other at Detroit).

The other moment was the performance of "The Irrelevant Man," RB John Tuggle from Cal, taken with the final pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, whom Parcells was so impressed with that he made special teams and continued to improve to the point he was getting playing time at RB. Such a success story turned tragic when Tuggle, the following summer, following a car crash with his RB buddies on the Giants, experienced unusual shoulder pain he believed wasn't released to the accident, had it examined at a local hospital. The results came back as a rare form of a cancerous sarcoma; the type which spreads very rapidly and often results in death. Without rehashing the story, we know John did everything in his power and will to fight the good fight, despite going through a recent divorce, and inspired an entire team, and a now-Hall of Fame Head Coach. I share with you below a NY Times story from a decade ago which was a nice tribute to the man:

Once Mr. Irrelevant, a Giant Remains an Inspiring Force

I just turned 14 in 1983 and John was an inspiration to me as well. Every time his name comes up, and I am reminded of his story, I become overwhelmed with emotion to tears. So moving was everything he was about that he would have been another catalyst for the Giants en route to their first Super Bowl. But even death could not prevent the impact he had on Bill Parcells, Rob Carpenter and the New York Giants as they went on, the following season, to right the ship and bravely take on the gauntlet which, in the end, would land them to the world where dreams come true. So it came to pass, on January 25, 1987, that the Lombardi Trophy was given to Wellington Mara, who placed it in the rightful hands of Bill Parcells, and lifted it before "his guys," his players who happened to have the number "38" on the backs of their helmets that day, as they did all season, to show the world that John Tuggle was never "Mr. Irrelevant" to them.

I once told Phil McConkey that his timing of joining the Giants couldn't have come at a more perfect moment, in 1984. I said that he was a man of his own aspirations, but you filled a gap in becoming a spiritual leader of the team with your natural excitement and relentless hard-nosed approach to the game which is what John left open after his illness took him from the team. He said he never thought of it that way. That so many great leaders were in that locker room and that he was a nothing. He looked up to Phil, Harry, George Martin as the real leaders. But John was an inspiration whose memory they kept alive and Coach Parcells would often tell stories about John to the younger players.

1983 was a season to forget, by all accounts and measures. But buried in the rubble of the disaster are stories of men of great courage and inspiration who rose from the ashes. Bill Parcells and Phil Simms survived to guide the team and prove to naysayers the Giants made the right choice in selecting them as Head Coach and starting Quarterback, respectively. New players such as Leonard Marshall, Andy Headen, Terry Kinard, Perry Williams, Karl Nelson and Robbie Jones, drafted in 1983, all became part of the Super Bowl XXI Championship team. Then, the final pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, John Tuggle, made the Giants' team, was named starting RB in Week 12 of the season, and was voted by the team as Giants' Special Teams' Player of the Year. In less than three years, his mission on Earth would be complete but his inspiration continued to help carry his team all the way to Super Bowl XXI and a glorious first Super Bowl Championship for the New York Football Giants. Just like the day he received the phone call from Bill Parcells, on the day he was drafted, it is easy to envision John smiling down over The Rose Bowl that January evening knowing the mission was finally complete.

Rest in peace, and thank you for the memories and inspiration,

John Davis Tuggle
01/13/1961 - 08/30/1986

Quote from: kartanoman on June 28, 2024, 08:14:32 PMThe 1983 Giants were absolutely cursed with injuries on both sides of the ball. So much so that, even if Phil Simms could have made it through the season, such a proposition would have been unlikely given that Jeff Rutledge, the QB who replaced Brunner, ended up getting banged up in the second game after taking over for Brunner (NOTE: a dislocated kneecap from the Dallas Cowboys putting a 12-sack performance on Giants' quarterbacks in a 38-20 win for the visiting Cowboys). Brunner held onto the job until the 15th week when Rutledge returned and actually began playing better against Seattle in a game they could have won (NOTE: if not for a holding penalty which denied the game-winning TD run) and pushed NFC Champion Washington to the brink in the Saturday season finale at RFK before the Redskins settled down and brought the game under their control late in the second half.

The only vague moments worth remembering in this largely forgettable season was rookie kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh set the Giants' team record (at the time) for scoring in a single season (127 points) as well as breaking the record for the longest field goal in team history (56 yards, accomplished twice, both on Monday Night Football, different games; one vs. Green Bay, the other at Detroit).

The other moment was the performance of "The Irrelevant Man," RB John Tuggle from Cal, taken with the final pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, whom Parcells was so impressed with that he made special teams and continued to improve to the point he was getting playing time at RB. Such a success story turned tragic when Tuggle, the following summer, following a car crash with his RB buddies on the Giants, experienced unusual shoulder pain he believed wasn't released to the accident, had it examined at a local hospital. The results came back as a rare form of a cancerous sarcoma; the type which spreads very rapidly and often results in death. Without rehashing the story, we know John did everything in his power and will to fight the good fight, despite going through a recent divorce, and inspired an entire team, and a now-Hall of Fame Head Coach. I share with you below a NY Times story from a decade ago which was a nice tribute to the man:

Once Mr. Irrelevant, a Giant Remains an Inspiring Force

I just turned 14 in 1983 and John was an inspiration to me as well. Every time his name comes up, and I am reminded of his story, I become overwhelmed with emotion to tears. So moving was everything he was about that he would have been another catalyst for the Giants en route to their first Super Bowl. But even death could not prevent the impact he had on Bill Parcells, Rob Carpenter and the New York Giants as they went on, the following season, to right the ship and bravely take on the gauntlet which, in the end, would land them to the world where dreams come true. So it came to pass, on January 25, 1987, that the Lombardi Trophy was given to Wellington Mara, who placed it in the rightful hands of Bill Parcells, and lifted it before "his guys," his players who happened to have the number "38" on the backs of their helmets that day, as they did all season, to show the world that John Tuggle was never "Mr. Irrelevant" to them.

I once told Phil McConkey that his timing of joining the Giants couldn't have come at a more perfect moment, in 1984. I said that he was a man of his own aspirations, but you filled a gap in becoming a spiritual leader of the team with your natural excitement and relentless hard-nosed approach to the game which is what John left open after his illness took him from the team. He said he never thought of it that way. That so many great leaders were in that locker room and that he was a nothing. He looked up to Phil, Harry, George Martin as the real leaders. But John was an inspiration whose memory they kept alive and Coach Parcells would often tell stories about John to the younger players.

1983 was a season to forget, by all accounts and measures. But buried in the rubble of the disaster are stories of men of great courage and inspiration who rose from the ashes. Bill Parcells and Phil Simms survived to guide the team and prove to naysayers the Giants made the right choice in selecting them as Head Coach and starting Quarterback, respectively. New players such as Leonard Marshall, Andy Headen, Terry Kinard, Perry Williams, Karl Nelson and Robbie Jones, drafted in 1983, all became part of the Super Bowl XXI Championship team. Then, the final pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, John Tuggle, made the Giants' team, was named starting RB in Week 12 of the season, and was voted by the team as Giants' Special Teams' Player of the Year. In less than three years, his mission on Earth would be complete but his inspiration continued to help carry his team all the way to Super Bowl XXI and a glorious first Super Bowl Championship for the New York Football Giants. Just like the day he received the phone call from Bill Parcells, on the day he was drafted, it is easy to envision John smiling down over The Rose Bowl that January evening knowing the mission was finally complete.

Rest in peace, and thank you for the memories and inspiration,

John Davis Tuggle
01/13/1961 - 08/30/1986

Those injuries inspired the Giants to hire Johnny Parker as their strength and conditioning coach.  They also let go of some of their more injury-prone players.   Suddenly the team's injury issues were a thing of the past

Quote from: MightyGiants on June 29, 2024, 07:22:16 AMThose injuries inspired the Giants to hire Johnny Parker as their strength and conditioning coach.  They also let go of some of their more injury-prone players.   Suddenly the team's injury issues were a thing of the past

You are correct, Rich @MightyGiants . One of Bill Parcells' first off-season proposals to team leadership was to invest in state of the art equipment and hire one of the best in the world for athletic training. Johnny Parker actually studied some of the old Soviet Union training methods from a decfector who came to the USA and implemented them just in time for the Giants to make their final Super Bowl run under Bill Parcells in 1990.

He is now in the USA Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame.

Johnny Parker

Peace!

Quote from: kartanoman on June 28, 2024, 08:14:32 PMThe 1983 Giants were absolutely cursed with injuries on both sides of the ball. So much so that, even if Phil Simms could have made it through the season, such a proposition would have been unlikely given that Jeff Rutledge, the QB who replaced Brunner, ended up getting banged up in the second game after taking over for Brunner (NOTE: a dislocated kneecap from the Dallas Cowboys putting a 12-sack performance on Giants' quarterbacks in a 38-20 win for the visiting Cowboys). Brunner held onto the job until the 15th week when Rutledge returned and actually began playing better against Seattle in a game they could have won (NOTE: if not for a holding penalty which denied the game-winning TD run) and pushed NFC Champion Washington to the brink in the Saturday season finale at RFK before the Redskins settled down and brought the game under their control late in the second half.

The only vague moments worth remembering in this largely forgettable season was rookie kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh set the Giants' team record (at the time) for scoring in a single season (127 points) as well as breaking the record for the longest field goal in team history (56 yards, accomplished twice, both on Monday Night Football, different games; one vs. Green Bay, the other at Detroit).

The other moment was the performance of "The Irrelevant Man," RB John Tuggle from Cal, taken with the final pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, whom Parcells was so impressed with that he made special teams and continued to improve to the point he was getting playing time at RB. Such a success story turned tragic when Tuggle, the following summer, following a car crash with his RB buddies on the Giants, experienced unusual shoulder pain he believed wasn't released to the accident, had it examined at a local hospital. The results came back as a rare form of a cancerous sarcoma; the type which spreads very rapidly and often results in death. Without rehashing the story, we know John did everything in his power and will to fight the good fight, despite going through a recent divorce, and inspired an entire team, and a now-Hall of Fame Head Coach. I share with you below a NY Times story from a decade ago which was a nice tribute to the man:

Once Mr. Irrelevant, a Giant Remains an Inspiring Force

I just turned 14 in 1983 and John was an inspiration to me as well. Every time his name comes up, and I am reminded of his story, I become overwhelmed with emotion to tears. So moving was everything he was about that he would have been another catalyst for the Giants en route to their first Super Bowl. But even death could not prevent the impact he had on Bill Parcells, Rob Carpenter and the New York Giants as they went on, the following season, to right the ship and bravely take on the gauntlet which, in the end, would land them to the world where dreams come true. So it came to pass, on January 25, 1987, that the Lombardi Trophy was given to Wellington Mara, who placed it in the rightful hands of Bill Parcells, and lifted it before "his guys," his players who happened to have the number "38" on the backs of their helmets that day, as they did all season, to show the world that John Tuggle was never "Mr. Irrelevant" to them.

I once told Phil McConkey that his timing of joining the Giants couldn't have come at a more perfect moment, in 1984. I said that he was a man of his own aspirations, but you filled a gap in becoming a spiritual leader of the team with your natural excitement and relentless hard-nosed approach to the game which is what John left open after his illness took him from the team. He said he never thought of it that way. That so many great leaders were in that locker room and that he was a nothing. He looked up to Phil, Harry, George Martin as the real leaders. But John was an inspiration whose memory they kept alive and Coach Parcells would often tell stories about John to the younger players.

1983 was a season to forget, by all accounts and measures. But buried in the rubble of the disaster are stories of men of great courage and inspiration who rose from the ashes. Bill Parcells and Phil Simms survived to guide the team and prove to naysayers the Giants made the right choice in selecting them as Head Coach and starting Quarterback, respectively. New players such as Leonard Marshall, Andy Headen, Terry Kinard, Perry Williams, Karl Nelson and Robbie Jones, drafted in 1983, all became part of the Super Bowl XXI Championship team. Then, the final pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, John Tuggle, made the Giants' team, was named starting RB in Week 12 of the season, and was voted by the team as Giants' Special Teams' Player of the Year. In less than three years, his mission on Earth would be complete but his inspiration continued to help carry his team all the way to Super Bowl XXI and a glorious first Super Bowl Championship for the New York Football Giants. Just like the day he received the phone call from Bill Parcells, on the day he was drafted, it is easy to envision John smiling down over The Rose Bowl that January evening knowing the mission was finally complete.

Rest in peace, and thank you for the memories and inspiration,

John Davis Tuggle
01/13/1961 - 08/30/1986

Just an excellent tribute Chris, thanks for posting it.

From the ashes comes the good, so we tanked in 1983 and if we win another game we probably don't get Banks as our #1 draft pick in 1984, along with William Roberts and even Jeff Hoestetler. Maybe don't get Gary Reasons either.
It's too bad some of our recent horrible seasons haven't been rewarded with great draft picks.

Quote from: LennG on June 29, 2024, 12:11:30 PMJust an excellent tribute Chris, thanks for posting it.

From the ashes comes the good, so we tanked in 1983 and if we win another game we probably don't get Banks as our #1 draft pick in 1984, along with William Roberts and even Jeff Hoestetler. Maybe don't get Gary Reasons either.
It's too bad some of our recent horrible seasons haven't been rewarded with great draft picks.

Thank you, Lenn. The memories from younger days left such an impression on me which, looking back from five Super Bowls, and four Super Bowl Championships, to see the beginning where it started to take root, are some of the most cherished moments I hold dearest to me as a Giant fan. In fact, the 1984 season has been nominated as one of the team's greatest in its 100-year history. Banks and William Roberts both as #1 picks. Jeff Hostetler in the third. Gary Reasons and Conrad Goode (Depth Offensive Tackle) in the fourth and Lionel Manuel in the seventh. The absolute peak of George Young in signing the building blocks that became the foundation to the Super Bowl XXI journey took place prior to the 1984 season when he signed first year Free Agent Bobby Johnson, traded Brad Van Pelt to the Vikings for Tony Galbreath, signed Navy Pilot Phil McConkey, gave the Raiders a draft pick for Kenny Hill, then missed the boat with the USFL Supplemental Draft by mistakenly selecting Gary Zimmerman, who refused to play in New York, and sued the NFL and lost, when another Hall of Famer, Reggie White, was still available, and taken by their rivals, the Eagles. Neither players the Giants selected in rounds two or three (James Robinson, DT from LA Express; Kirby Warren, RB, LA Express) panned out either; however, the Giants did sign Kenny Daniel, a Defensive Back from the Oakland Invaders, who played in a reserve role in 1984 (NOTE: fortunately, for Young, his 1985 USFL signings more than made up for the gaffe with Zimmerman by signing Maurice Carthon, Sean Landeta and Bart Oates; the latter two producing multiple Pro Bowl seasons for the Giants and Carthon the reputation as one of the best hard-nosed leading blockers in the game for Giants' star running backs Joe Morris, Ottis Anderson and Rodney Hampton.

1984 was a halcyon off-season for the Giants with nearly no peer (NOTE: season 2005 may very well be the closest in comparison but, in my opinion, its impact was very good, but not to the significance of 1984).

It is unlikely we will ever witness an off-season with that level of impact ever again.

Peace!

https://x.com/bigbluevcr/status/1808107602993447333?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1808531145513996645

Quote from: MightyGiants on July 02, 2024, 12:25:40 PMhttps://x.com/bigbluevcr/status/1808107602993447333?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ

A piece of the hubris of the Giants' offense in the late 1970s was Patterson Plank Joe to Jimmy Robinson. This long TD play, a lone bright spot in a soggy, depressing output by the rest of the team, was one of several big plays the two would connect on in 1977 and 1978.

Had the Giants been a more competitive team in this era, Jimmy Robinson would have received more notice as a play-making receiver in the NFL. His legacy with the Giants includes scoring the first Giants' touchdown in the (then) first game at Giants Stadium in 1976. His four-year career with the Giants included leading the team in receptions for 1977 and 1978. He also returned to the Giants in 1998 to coach the receivers under Jim Fassel and helped them achieve, at that time, the greatest productivity by Giants' WR in team history.

Jimmy Robinson always deserves a mention as a true Giant who, despite his diminutive frame, stood out during the darkest era in Giants' history.

Peace!

Quote from: MightyGiants on July 03, 2024, 12:02:36 PMhttps://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1808531145513996645

This was a game for the ages, even in defeat. That Cowboy team, destined to repeat, versus a Giant team, fighting the good fight for the last time with its champions of yesteryear, to regain their pride after two humiliating seasons where they fell from champion to broken in a "winner-take-all" for the NFC East Championship and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

There were heroes on both sides of the ball and watching Simms and Taylor inspire the team in their second-half comeback was one of the great moments in Giants Stadium history.

In the end, when the plays needed to be made, the Cowboys made a few more than the Giants which resulted in a climactic overtime defeat. While painful to watch Eddie Murray kick the game winner, and to realize a chance to win was within the Giants' grasp, the loss did not diminish the fact they earned back their pride as a force in the NFC East in 1993 and that their venerable leaders, in their final season, provided a definitive example to the young players what leadership at the highest level was all about.

Several years later, players such as Michael Strahan and Jessie Armstead demonstrated that they learned their lessons from their leaders, in their rookie season, as they led their team to Super Bowl XXXV and Strahan, in his final season, to his long-awaited championship in Super Bowl XLII.

Peace!