A Trip Down Big Blue Memory Lane

[MightyGiants]

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

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1757525055817515417?s=20

[BluesCruz]

Lorentzen was fun to watch

Probably the most athletic big man of all time. and had a great arm.

[MightyGiants]

Lorentzen 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

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1758491430463619454?s=20

[LennG]

https://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.

[PSUBeirut]

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.

[LennG]

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.

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.

[kartanoman]

https://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!

[kartanoman]

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.

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!

[LennG]

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.

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/Prez/status/1758687040684564684?s=20

[kartanoman]

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.

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!

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/bigbluevcr/status/1759272818179518475?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ

[brownelvis54]