The Soul Patrol
There are many ways to compare the games of Old School receivers like Fred Biletnikoff, Clifford Branch, and Dave Casper with the WR of today (e.g., Tim Brown).
Brown has the most receptions of any Raider, but is he the greatest of all time?
Nope. Why? Because number of receptions ain't the Raider Way to count.
Why? 'Cause of the man - Jack Tatum - and the style of play he represents.
Lemme 'splain what it was like...
Back in the day (before Brown, anyway) there used to be these crazy b@$+@rd$ roaming the backfield like Horsemen of the Apocalypse on PCP.
These DBs didn't have pansy, candy-@$$ed names like "Showtime" and "Primetime" and "Lifetime Network" or what not. No, on the contrary, they were called "Night Train" and "Hit Man" and "The Assassin".
Why? Because Dick Lane had this clothesline...like the signature move in wrasslin', but real...and perfectly legal under the rules of the day.
Ball control run offense was all teams did at the time, 'cause if you threw to your wide receivers every play like the '9ers did in the '80s, you literally would run out of receivers by the end of the game.
There was no "pass interference" called if you got beaten down 15 yards from the line of scrimmage. There was no "unsportsmanlike conduct" if the DB drilled you so hard your hat came flying off like--better yet, watch this , and keep an eye on the forearm. Atkinson and Tatum called it "The Hook" and they really didn't care much if the ball came loose or if your head came loose like the old school Rock'em Sock'em Robots.
And if you want to see what it was like even before the '70s, watch this one and keep and eye out for the black & white footage. Watch how Lane and the headhunters completely focus on decapitation.
Timmah and Terrell Owens and none of the current receivers have to deal with that type of mayhem over the middle.
Oh, and by the way, Timmah Brown should keep his mouth shut about "John Madden should have gotten the Raiders to the Super Bowl more often".
How many times did you win it, Timmah? Then keep yer piehole shut, Timmah, unless you've proven that you can do better, Timmah.
Check your calendar under Saturday August 5, 2006, Timmah. This is the day Madden is going in the HOF. See how that works, Timmah?
That is why Freddie B and Cliff Branch and their predecessors have bronzed cojones and us old geezers laugh when someone like Brown spouts off at the mouth about being "Mr. Raider".
The pirate on the shield is missing an eye for a reason and it ain't 'cause he shot it out with his Red Rider BB gun neither
Brown has the most receptions of any Raider, but is he the greatest of all time?
Nope. Why? Because number of receptions ain't the Raider Way to count.
Why? 'Cause of the man - Jack Tatum - and the style of play he represents.
Lemme 'splain what it was like...
Back in the day (before Brown, anyway) there used to be these crazy b@$+@rd$ roaming the backfield like Horsemen of the Apocalypse on PCP.
These DBs didn't have pansy, candy-@$$ed names like "Showtime" and "Primetime" and "Lifetime Network" or what not. No, on the contrary, they were called "Night Train" and "Hit Man" and "The Assassin".
Why? Because Dick Lane had this clothesline...like the signature move in wrasslin', but real...and perfectly legal under the rules of the day.
Ball control run offense was all teams did at the time, 'cause if you threw to your wide receivers every play like the '9ers did in the '80s, you literally would run out of receivers by the end of the game.
There was no "pass interference" called if you got beaten down 15 yards from the line of scrimmage. There was no "unsportsmanlike conduct" if the DB drilled you so hard your hat came flying off like--better yet, watch this , and keep an eye on the forearm. Atkinson and Tatum called it "The Hook" and they really didn't care much if the ball came loose or if your head came loose like the old school Rock'em Sock'em Robots.
And if you want to see what it was like even before the '70s, watch this one and keep and eye out for the black & white footage. Watch how Lane and the headhunters completely focus on decapitation.
Timmah and Terrell Owens and none of the current receivers have to deal with that type of mayhem over the middle.
Oh, and by the way, Timmah Brown should keep his mouth shut about "John Madden should have gotten the Raiders to the Super Bowl more often".
How many times did you win it, Timmah? Then keep yer piehole shut, Timmah, unless you've proven that you can do better, Timmah.
Check your calendar under Saturday August 5, 2006, Timmah. This is the day Madden is going in the HOF. See how that works, Timmah?
That is why Freddie B and Cliff Branch and their predecessors have bronzed cojones and us old geezers laugh when someone like Brown spouts off at the mouth about being "Mr. Raider".
The pirate on the shield is missing an eye for a reason and it ain't 'cause he shot it out with his Red Rider BB gun neither
posted by Stick'em at 8:20 PM
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