Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Posted: 10 a.m.
By Ray Didinger
CSNPhilly.com
Last weeks All-Philly Tough team drew a record number of e-mail responses from readers who had questions or nominations of their own. Here is a small sampling.
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Q. I seem to remember Wes Hopkins being a bigger hitter than (Andre) Watersno?
Lee MortonMedford, N.J.
A. I received the most e-mails about Wes Hopkins, fans asking why he was not on the All-Tough defense. It wasnt easy to leave him off, believe me, because I do appreciate what a toughand intimidatingplayer Hopkins was. But at free safety it came down to a choice between Hopkins and Brian Dawkins. I picked Dawk. Waters was my strong safety.
Q. I just read your all-time tough Eagles team. Ron Jaworski should be there, but dont you think (Donovan) McNabb deserves some consideration because of the game where he played with a broken ankle? You included multiple guys at other positions. I think that game alone should put (McNabb) on your list.
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Michael Weithenauer
A. I picked an offensive team and defensive team, 11 players on each side, which meant just one quarterback. I did consider McNabbs gutsy performance against Arizona when he threw four touchdown passes on a broken ankle, but I just felt Jaworskis streak of 116 consecutive starts was the greater accomplishment.
Q. I love Jaws and cant argue with that pick. But Roman Gabriel took on Charlie Young, the brashsome would say arroganttight end from Southern Cal who was his own teammate. Gabriel rarely took a step back from any fight he felt was righteous. Honorable mention?
Arthur Sprague
A. If I had an honorable mention category, I would have included Gabe. He took some awful poundings behind a porous offensive line. Gabe and Young got along well, but they did go nose-to-nose once in the meeting room. The coaches intervened. Gabe was a veteran who said what was on his mind and the younger players didnt always like it. But they did listen.
Q. I would add Irv Cross at defensive back. No one hit harder than Irv. Ive got (another) good one. The Eagles put linebacker Bob Pellegrini on the head of a rookie tight end from Chicago who was eating up the leagueMike Ditka. By halftime, Ditka was crying to the refs like a Girl Scout because of the way he was being handled. Tough? Id say so.
Richard M. Green
A. Those are good names. I limited myself to 11 players on each side of the ball so there were some tough guys that didnt make the cut. Cross was a hard hitter. So hard, in fact, he had an issue with recurring concussions. He switched to a leather helmet and found it absorbed more of the impact.
Pellegrinis toughness was well-established, on and off the field. If quarterback Norm Van Brocklin was in a bar and it looked like trouble was about to start, he would tell the bartender, Call Pelle. When the 6-2, 240-pound Pellegrini came through the door with his deep-set eyes and hands the size of phone books, things had a way of quieting down.
Q. I agree with all positions, especially Keith Krepfle since his name on special teams was Captain Crunch. I remember Bob Brown very well. He was one nasty tackle. Perhaps you can award honorable mention to Bill Romanowski, Mike Zordich and one of my favorites the Heat Seeking Missle, Tim Hauck.
Jim AmariMedford, N.J.
A. There were quite a few write-ins for Tim Hauck, many referencing his tackle of Dallas receiver Michael Irvin in 1999. Irvin suffered a career-ending neck injury on the play.
Q. I would have given consideration to Guy McIntyre at guard, although he wasnt here that longand although I love Wilbert (Montgomery), the toughest halfback I ever saw in an Eagles uniform was Duce Staley. Wilbert was a better player, but Duce was a straight up, hardcore football player.
Albert Hall
A. Staley was a tough guy, no doubt about it, but what Montgomery accomplished at his size (5-10, 195) was remarkable. He finished his career with more carries and more rushing yards than any player in franchise history. His performance in the NFC title game when he limped out of the training room and ran through the Dallas Cowboys for 196 yards stands was one for the ages.
Q. (Ron) Jaworski was the medias boy. It is no shock he is now a card-carrying member: Mr. Glib. So it came as no shock to me when I got down to who you thought was the toughest QB. I knew you had chosen (Jaworski) before I even looked.
Ray, Randall Cunningham took more blindside, head-on and from-behind shots than any QB in Eagles history. He had no Wilbert, no (Jerry) Sisemore and (Stan) Walters, no Guy Morriss to take the pressure off him. Randall never flinched either. He continued to throw and run regardless. He was so smooth and effortless that he didnt come across as tough. He was invincible until (Green Bay linebacker) Bryce Paup took him out with a borderline cheap shot to the knee.
I dont question Jaws toughness, his intelligence as a quarterback nor his arm. I just think you see him and covered him with a jaded eye. We all have our favorites.
Arthur Brown
A. You make a good point. Cunningham never was given credit for being as tough as he was. People talked about his talent, but they rarely talked about his toughness. I can recall him hobbling around the locker room late in the 1990 season and then hurdling two tacklers to score a touchdown in the next game. So I do respect Cunningham for his toughness, but I cant ignore the fact that Jaworski had the league record for consecutive starts by a quarterback until it was broken by Brett Favre. Thats not favoritism, its just fact.
Q. I like your team, it brings back great memories. Somehow Id try to find a place for Bill Bradley. Maybe he could be your punter or punt returner or possibly The Most Versatile Tough Eagle because of all the positions he could play.
TomMissouri
A. I thought about Bradley, but the free safety position was the deepest with both Dawkins and Hopkins. I also should mention Don The Blade Burroughs, the safety on the 1960 championship team, who played part of that seasonand intercepted nine passeswith a broken bone in his hand. If I was selecting an all-versatile team, Bill Bradley would be on it for sure.
Q. Surprised that Pete Retzlaff didnt make the team at tight end. Didnt he play most of one season with a broken arm?
Stewart G.Newtown Square
A. Retzlaff did play part of the 1962 season with a broken arm (he wore a cast covered with foam padding). He also played the 1965 season with a heel injury that required pain-killing shots before every game. If you favor Retzlaff, I cant argue, but Krepfle was one of the toughest players, physically and mentally, on the first Super Bowl team.
Q. Terrific list. I saw all but Bucko Kilroy who was a few years before my time. I barely remember Mel TomI seem to recall Maxie Baughan was tough, but maybe he was just good. And I also would give Jeremiah Trotter at least an honorable mention.
Jack MurrayNewark, Del.
A. If I had honorable mentions, both Baughan and Trotter would have made the list. Baughan was the only rookie to start every game for the 60 championship team, but he wasnt going to beat out Chuck Bednarik or Seth Joyner, the two outside linebackers on this team.
Q. Dude, seriously, no Harold Carmichael? He was tough and could block and a one-on-one monster in the end zone. The first and original cherry picker wide receiver.
Buzz Jellett
A. Carmichael deserves mention for playing more games (180) than any position player in team history other than Dawkins. He had to be tough to do that. But I could only pick two wide receivers and Tommy McDonald made it for playing so fearlessly at 5-9 and 172 pounds and Terrell Owens made it for his gutsy performance in the Super Bowl.
Q. Andy Reid called Jason Short the toughest player he ever coached. While he may not have been tougher than Louie Giammona pound for pound, he brought 250 pounds to the coverage as compared to 180.
Marty Heiligman
A. Short was a wild man, but Giammona did it longer and contributed in more ways as a special teamer.
Q. There is not much to disagree with on your list, but a few players need to be acknowledged. Wes Hopkins, no explanation needed. (Defensive tackle) Jesse Richardson, how many shots to his unprotected face did he take? (Linebacker) Tim Rossovich, just the glass eating alone should qualify him. (Defensive end) Norm Willey. I put him on all of my all-time Eagles lists. (Tackle) Stan Walters, for the same reasons you gave for Jon Runyan. (Special teamer) Vince Papale, for the monumentally tough effort he made just to make the team. And, last but not least, there should be a special Toughness Award for those of us who sat through freezing weather at Connie Mack Stadium to watch the horrible teams of Hugh Devore.
Henry Goldman
A. Some good names on that list, Henry, especially Norm (Wild Man) Willey. Also, it is a good point about the Hughie Devore years (1956-57). The Eagles were 7-16-1 in those two seasons and the fans who suffered through itonly 12,555 attended the 57 finaledeserve mention here. (I was one of them).
E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net