John Mendenhall—Another Good One Laid to Rest

 By John Turney 

Credit: NFL Films

The Giants website announced that defensive tackle John Mendenhall passed away last Friday at the age of 72.

In 1972 Mendenhall was drafted by New York Giants in the 3rd round (55th overall) of the draft. He became an immediate starter (and an All-Rookie selection) for the Giants at what they called 'middle guard' and recorded 2½ sacks and displayed good discipline in the middle—enough to allow Gregory to roam free in his "rover" position, which put additional pressure on all the other defensive linemen, including rookie Mendenhall but the scheme worked well in 1972. Mendenhall's 6-1 255 build seemed ideal for that position. And for that era, it was, 255 was more than big enough for a middle guard/nose tackle especially one with Mendenhall's quickness. 

The next year Mendenall was hurt but Mendenhall showed that he had grown into his position, recording six sacks in eight games before going down to a left knee injury but he clearly was always around the ball from what film is available and was a force at the middle guard or "nose tackle spot' in the Giants unique rover 4-3. 

Certainly, the Cowboys were impressed—

Mendenhall played almost all the games in 1974 and recorded seven sacks and got some recognition, gain Second-team All-pro honors from PFWA and First-team All-NFC from UPI.  

With Bill Arnsparger's defense, he played both nose tackle and three-technique because the defensive lines shifted rather than 'flopped' depending on if they wanted to run an overshift or undershift, which freed Mendenhall some and got him away from double teams some. 

Mendenhall still drew extra blockers but often he whipped them both and he also drew praise from his new coach—

However the following season he missed half the season with another injury and it set him back. Even when he played early in the season he did so with a severe ankle injury and was not effective and eventually the Giants shut him down. 

Mendenall was healthy in 1976 and 1977 and he had excellent seasons recording six sacks and 112 tackles (an amazing number for a defensive tackle) in 1976 and ten sacks and 99 tackles in 1977 and the Giants coached credited him with seven forced fumbles. 

However, in 1978 new defensive coordinator Dick Modzelewski employed more and more 3-4 fronts and Mendenhall was not pleased. He was back to being on a center full-time (like in 1972-73) and he simply didn't like it. He felt it was too demanding on the defensive linemen and that the Giants linemen were not built for the 3-4. "You have tho have the right people for the 3-4", Mendenhall told the papers. His tackle total fell to 73 and sacks dropped to 4½ in the mixed scheme—some 4-3 and some 3-4.

In 1979 it was much more 3-4 and nose tackle almost all the time for Mendenhall and in 1980 he was traded to the Lions who were running a 4-3 under Floyd Peters, who had coached him when Arnsparger was the coach. The Lions needed a replacement for Doug English who retired to go into the oil business. Mendenhall played well, recording four sacks on a team that recorded 44. It was Mendenhall's last NFL season.

In his career, Mendall played 116 games with 110 starts and record 42½ sacks was Second-team All-pro and All-NFC in 1974, and was honorable mention All-NFC in 1976 and 1977. 

In college, Mendenhall was selected All-Louisiana in 1971, Little All-America by the AP and was was also an All-NAIA selection, and was the team's defensive MVP. 

According to Giants.com: "John Rufus Mendenhall was born in Cullen, LA. on Dec. 3, 1948. He is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and daughters Zandra and Kendra."

Irv Cross—A Gentle Man But Not a Gentle Football Player

 By John Turney 

Irv Cross was as nice as you can imagine he was—based on what we all saw on television. He was kind, smart, witty. 

We got to know him over the phone a little bit in about twenty years ago. He was working on a project to memorialize football's part in popular culture. Once, I mentioned Colonel David Hunt's comment on Fox News about the "Shock and Awe" bombing of Baghdad to begin the second Gulf War. Hunt said it was definitely an attempt to kill Saddam Hussain to "sack the quarterback". 

Irv told said that was exactly the kind of comment he was collecting for his project. We wish we knew what became of that project because in some ways Pro Football Journal covers some of that same beat with our dedication to NFL Art, NFL Ads, NFL and Hollywood, etc.

Cross spent his first five NFL seasons (1961-65) with the Philadelphia Eagles (he was a seventh-round pick of the out of Northwestern in 1961) his last two going to the Pro Bowl. He was a tall (6-2) corner with long arms and a strong, wiry body who was solid in all phases of the game. In that era, a corner had to give good run support and Cross did. he could also cover well and had a skill that is no longer legal that he was as good as anyone in performing, the wide receiver "ax". 

A corner could press a receiver at the line of scrimmage and rather than cover him the corner could just roll block the receiver to the ground. it was a risky move because if the defensive back missed the receiver was free with no one on him. But, if the corner could execute it, that receiver, was out of the pass pattern, his route was dead. Irv was special at that—no one did it better.

He could also stick to a receiver and had good ball skills as well. And—he could lay a lick on a receiver. He was a great tackler and would hit you—hard. 

When George Allen took over as the Rams head coach Cross was one of the players he coveted and traded Aaron Martin and Willie Brown. Now, the trade was awful for the eagles, but at the time both Martin and Brown were considered young and talented prospects but Allen preferred experience and experience he got with Cross. 

Cross played right corner opposite Clancy Willians (one young player Allen did like) and contributed mightily to the best defenses in Rams history up until that point and maybe through now. 

In the three seasons Cross was in Los Angeles the Fearsome Foursome put pressure on the quarterback and the defensive secondary with Cross, Williams, and Eddie Meader kept opponents to a combined 49.6 defensive passer rating (third-best in pro football and second-best in the NFL over that span). In fact, in 1967-68 their defensive passer rating was 47.4 best in pro football for those two seasons combined.

With the Rams, Cross was a very good kick returner and a tremendous kick-blocker (we rank his seventh-best all-time) with sixteen blocked kicks in his career. In 1966 he tied the Rams record for most kicks blocked in a season with four blocked field goals and ended his Rams career with seven (good for fourth on the Rams leader board in that category). 

In the summer of 1969 Cross wanted to get into coaching and had an opportunity to be a player-coach with the Eagles and Allen included Cross in a deal that sent him and Joe Carollo and  Don Chuy for disgruntled Bob Brown and defensive back Jim Nettles. 

Cross even helped his Eagles obtain speedster receiver, Harold Jackson. George Allen wanted fullback Issy Lang and was offering rookie defensive end John Zook and change, and some of that change was a receiver, presumable of his choice. 

The story goes is Allen had Wendell Tucker and Harold Jackson run a race, maybe forty yards, we are not sure, and Tucked edged Jackson and that is what made Jackson expendable. They were supposedly that close in skills and ability. 

So, the Eagles coach approached Cross as asked his opinion of Jackson who had just arrived in Philly and Cross said "If you can get him, do it. He can fly". Jackson, went on to have four excellent seasons in the City of Brotherly Love.

In his career Cross had registered 22 interceptions 9returning two for touchdowns), 14 fumble recoveries. Cross also averaged 27.9 yards on kickoff returns and returned punts as well. In 1967 Cross forced three fumbles and had 10 passes defensed and 47 tackles. In 1968 he made 70 tackles and in 1966 he had 61 tackles with 16 passes defensed. 

Cross didn't get any honors for those years (honorable mention All-Pro in 1966 and 1967 by UPI) but he was more than solid even without the "Alls". 

Cross coached for a couple of seasons then resigned and got into broadcasting doing games in 1971. Then in 1975, he joined The NFL Today pregame show and Americans became familiar with his easy-going, smooth style. 

Don Criqui (center) in between Gale Sayers and Irv Cross for CBS, 1972

Later, in the mid-1990s through mid-2000s Cross was the athletic director for Idaho State and Macalester College.

Cross graduated from Hammond (Indiana) High School in 1957 where he was an All-Conference Halfback in 1956 and the Calumet Region Times Athlete of the Year in 1957.

He graduated from  Northwestern University and he played both fullback and defensive end there and was a team captain in 1960, earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten that year. As a junior, in 1959, he caught a 78-yard pass—which is still tied for tenth all-time in Northwestern annals for longest passing plays. 

He was also chosen as Northwestern's Male Athlete of the Year in 1961.

In 2009 he was given the Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Award and is a member of the Cross is an inductee of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.

Media reports indicate he dies in Roseville, Minnesota at the age of 81 and is survived by his wife Elizabeth; children Susan, Lisa, Matthew, and Sara, and many others.

R.I.P. Mr. Cross. You were a great man. 

If, At First, You Don't Succeed—Try, Try, Again

 By John Turney

What do four Hall of Fame defensive ends have in common? Other than being great defensive ends? 

Give up?

They were poor left tackles—

Gino Marchetti (upper left) played left tackle his second season in the NFL. He credits that as helping him become a  better defensive end when he returned full-time to d-end in 1954. He said he learned what was hard to block and then he replicated that. He did play some defensive end in 1953 as well, but mostly he was an offensive tackle.

Willie Davis (upper right) played both tackles in 1959 after being a defensive end his rookie season (same pattern as Marchetti). Injuries to Lou Griza and Mike McCormack (both Hall of Famers themselves) put Davis in a position to fill in at left and right tackle.

On the lower left is Deacon Jones. He began his career as a left tackle. It lasted about a half. He was benched and didn't play the second half. He did play some more in the next couple of weeks at tackle but was quickly moved to defensive end and the rest is, as they say, history. 

The lower right is a shot of Elvin Bethea who played left tackle in the preseason and perhaps some regular-season but he did play guard in the regular season before being moved to defensive end late in his rookie year of 1968 where his career took off.

Deacon Jones' Stance in the Early Years

 By John Turney 

We had many opportunities to ask Deacon about his stance switch in 1962 and 1963 from a right-handed stance (1961) to a left-handed one (left hand down) those two seasons and then back to a right-handed one in 1964 through the rest of his career. 

We do know he admitted he was raw as a rookie, and that he "didn't even know how to get into a proper stance" early on. But that is from his biography and we don't know if it means his rookie year or if it meant his first few years.

Here are shot shots from 1961 in a stance with this "tail" low in a crouched position—

In 1962 and 1963 he had his left hand down, though he brought his tail up in a track position if you will. Some coaches preferred that defensive ends have their outside hand down to prevent a false step in attacking a tackle, but it was usually up to the defender to choose—

FYI: This is interesting because Rams tackles are flexed and
one of those tackles is usually end Lamar Lundy

1963—

In 1964 he got his right hand down and his tail up (track stance), and this stand didn't change much the rest of his career—

1965—

1966—

Anyway, you get the point. We will always wonder why the switch—was he coached to do it? After all, it was often preferred by coaches to have that outside hand in front. Or, did he find it more comfortable or effective? And if so, why switch back to his right-hand in the dirt stance in 1964, when he began his dominance as an NFL defender. 

It likely had something to do with his more common use of the head slap in 1964 and beyond, much more than before. It was not something he brought to the NFL or invented, he learned it from Rosey Grier but Deacon, as he said himself he "perfected it" he never claimed to have invented it.  

Hashtag "things we wished we'd asked when we had the chance". 

Hardy Nickerson Thumbnail Career Review

 By John Turney 

Hardy Nickerson was quite a good player, one we never hear much about anymore. He was super-solid in Pittsburgh and then when he got a chance for free agency (thank-you Reggie White et al) he signed with Tampa and helped them in their building of a super defense—making All-Pro that initial season in Tampa and also going to the first of five Pro Bowls.

Here are his career stats and honors—

Nickerson was Second-team on the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, so, in addition, two his two First-team All-Pro seasons and his two Second-team All-Pro years, he had his share of honors and he racked up 1,525 tackles in his 225 games (200 starts). 

After his NFL career he coached at high school, collegiate levels as well as being a linebacker coach for the Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Francisco 49ers.

Yeah, we'd say Hardy had a heckuva career, one worth remembering.

Doug Betters—A Worthy Career

 By John Turney 

Not everyone who plays a decent amount of time in the NFL is worthy of the Hall of Fame and not even of the Hall of Very Good but they can still have a worthy career—one worthy of mentioning and praise. 

Doug Betters is one of those kinds of careers.

He had a big year in 1983, one in which he outpolled a wide field for the AP Defensive Player of the Year, though it was not consensus. Jack Lambert won the NEA Defensive Player of the Year Award. 

But the AP Award voting was interesting no less than 22 players garnered votes with Betters getting 19 to take the award.

Doug Betters, DE, Miami (19)

Randy White, DT, Dallas (15)

Dave Butz, DT, Washington (7)
Lawrence Taylor, OLB, N.Y. Giants (6)
Jack Lambert, ILB, Pittsburgh (5)

Chip Banks, OLB, Cleveland (5)

Mark Gastineau, DE, N.Y. Jets (4)

Mark Murphy, FS, Washington (3)

Fred Dean, DE, San Francisco (3)

A.J. Duhe, ILB, Miami (3)

Lance Mehl, OLB, N.Y. Jets (2)

Rod Martin, OLB, L.A. Raiders (2)

Randy Gradishar, ILB, Denver (1)

Howie Long, DE, L.A. Raiders (1)
Doug English, DT, Detroit (1)
Lee Roy Selmon, DE, Tampa Bay (1)
Dexter Manley, DE, Washington (1)
Ted Hendricks, OLB, L.A. Raiders (1)
Ronnie Lott, CB, San Francisco (1)
Raymond Clayborn, CB, New England (1)
Johnnie Poe, CB, New Orleans (1)
Matt Millen, ILB, L.A. Raiders (1)

Here are the stats for Betters in 1983—

And his career stats—

In addition to being the AP Defensive Player of the Year, Betters was a consensus All-Pro in a year where Mark Gastineau and Howie Long were playing great football and even though he had another excellent season in 1984 Betters got zero support for All-Pro. In fact, he got nothing in terms of honors in any other season.

However, he was not a one-year wonder, he was a good run defender in his early years, even moving right defensive AJ Duhe out of his right defensive end position in 1979. 

But his legacy will be that of a member of the Dolphins Killer B’s Defense and his 1983 DPOY hardware and his 1982 Super Bowl appearance but ultimate defeat to Washington. 

In 1998, Betters suffered a spinal cord injury while skiing in  Montana and now is involved with charities helping those with similar injuries. 

So, again, not everyone is going to be All-Everything, but many have interesting careers as solid football players and did their job. Betters did that. 

Well done. 

NFL Colorization of the Day

 By John Turney 

This is a colorized shot of the 1937 NFL Championship game between Washington and Chicago.