TUESDAY TIDBITS: "Don't Confront With My Failures, I Had Not Forgotten Them"

By TJ Troup 

The title of today's narrative comes from a song by Clyde Browne—we all know him as Jackson. Mr. Browne celebrated his 75th birthday yesterday, and the above-titled lyrics could be used many times this season by a coach or player after a losing performance, or a play when the athlete did not get the job done. 

Learned years ago on my first visit to NFL Films that Steve Sabol's favorite player was Dick Butkus, and Richard Marvin Butkus will always be my favorite player of all time. So much has been written about him, and there sure is plenty of footage of him at middle linebacker. 

Was so very fortunate to have seen him play against the Rams in the Coliseum, and in Pro Bowl games. Butkus's performance against the Rams in December of '68 still stands out to me in the Bears upset victory. 

His greatest game you ask? So many games where he played at an elite level, yet when the Bears shut out the Browns in 1972 in Cleveland he made tackle after tackle. Not sure how many he actually had that day, and we all know that tackle charts are sometimes embellished, but boy oh boy Mr. Butkus roamed side line to side line and filled every gap that afternoon. 

Read an article online by Bryan DeArdo in which he attempts to list the 25 greatest players of all-time and he has Butkus on his list. We all could make a list of who we think are in the all-time top 25, and we would probably see the same names but in a different order on those lists. The problem with Mr. DeArdo's article is simple, he is not worth a damn on historical research based on how many errors there are to be discovered. 

More on that later.

 Usually, Dick Butkus is prominent in any article on who the greatest middle linebackers of all time are, or even just the greatest linebackers whether they are positioned inside, middle, or outside. The Bears have sure had a handful of truly great middle linebackers, and while watching the 49ers dominate Dallas on Sunday night; Chris Collinsworth was effusive in his praise of Fred Warner. 

San Francisco from 1950 through 2006 had many men attempt to play the position of middle or inside linebacker, and very few of those players held the position for very long or played the position very well. 

Of course, there were a few men who stood out, and would relish hearing from all of you who you believe were the best inside or middle linebackers in 49er history. Film study for me can tell you there were plenty that were not going to keep the position for very long. 

Patrick Willis joined the 49ers in 2007, and he caught my attention very early in his career and can make a case that he would rank in the all-time top ten of inside or middle linebackers. Never thought San Francisco would have anyone even close to Willis's level of play, and now we have Warner. 

Back to Mr. DeArdo and his article. He tells us that Gale Sayers scored 20 touchdowns in 1965? Really, sure thought the Kansas Comet scored 22? 

Mr. DeArdo tells us that Emlen Tunnell played in 158 straight games in his career. Let's do some simple math, called addition. Tunnell played in the last six games of his rookie season in 1948, then for 12 years he took the field every week for a total of 144, and then in his final campaign in '61 he played in the first 10 games before he missed on Thanksgiving day against Detroit. 

Anytime there is math to be done want to call upon my friend who earned a math degree from Northwestern -- ok Eric Goska help me out -- 6 plus 144 plus 10 equals 160 correct? Not 158? 

Mr. DeArdo tells us that Lenny Moore scored a touchdown in 17 consecutive games. On page three of the "NFL Record Manual" of 1966 lists Mr. Moore as having scored a touchdown in 18 consecutive games. Why was his article not proofread? Why was this guy even hired? 

Since I mentioned Lenny Moore and scoring in consecutive games, and he was one of the most versatile players of all time—it is time for me to take you back down the historical trail for outstanding performances for the date of October 8th. 

Ready? 

Here we go...and if you are a Packer fan all the better. Paul Hornung scored a team record 33 points in a 45-7 victory over the Colts at City Stadium in Green Bay in 1961. 

Hornung gains 111 yards rushing on just 11 carries, which included one of the longest runs of his career, a 54-yard score in the first quarter. Paul scored four touchdowns, kicked a field goal, and added six extra points. The all-time Packer great had now scored 240 points over the course of his last 16 games. No one will ever surpass that mark, no one. 

Hornung did lead the league in scoring that year and helped St. Vince win his first championship in Green Bay. The Chicago Cardinals are at Wisconsin State Fair Park in Milwaukee to play the Packers on October 8th, 1939, and in the first quarter Don Hutson scores on the longest reception of his career—92 yards. Green Bay goes on to win 27-20 and yes that Packer team also played for the title. Many players from the earlier eras had nicknames; some are strange to say the least. However, some just have that certain ring to them. 

One of my favs is "The Commanche Kid" which was Billy Grimes's nickname. Though he was drafted by the Bears in 1949, he chose to play in the AAFC, but with the dispersal in '50, he became a Packer. Grimes and the Packers will lose on October 8th, 1950 to the contending New York Yanks.

But in the loss the Commanche Kid gains 167 yards rushing on just 10 carries to set a new league record for yards per carry, alas he will not hold the record for very long as some guy named Motley will ramble through the Steelers defense later in the season to establish a new record. 

Grimes at this point in the season has gained 237 yards on 10 punt returns, and will set a new yardage record in this category(he will hold the record for punt return yards with 555 for seventeen years). Grimes gained 1,896 all-purpose yards in 1950 the most ever in a 12-game season. 

How impressive was Grimes's ability to gain yardage in different ways in 1950; later in the decade the NFL would have Matson, McElhenny, Gifford, Moore, and Brown, and none of them could outgain Grimes. 

Though Grimes's career is short, when you see him on film you wonder why the Packers could not have found a way to keep him around longer. Being a revisionist historian who enjoys strategy—for a moment contemplate Rote in a spread formation at tailback/quarterback, with Howton split right, a tight end aligned left with Grimes aligned as a wing outside of the tight end left. Align another back in the slot to the right, and have the fullback stationed to right of Rote. 

This alignment would be viewed as "doubles", yet send Grimes in motion to the right and we now have trips. Give the ball to Grimes on a "jet sweep" to the right. 

Endless possibilities...only problem with this is I was three years old in 1954 and would have had a problem drawing up the plays with my crayons. See ya next week, and enjoy the games.