Ram Tough: The Long History of Unhappy LBs, Money, Injuries and Departures

By John Turney

When the Rams traded LB Ernest Jones to Tennessee, fans were surprised. They shouldn't have been. It's been their history.

Earlier this week, Los Angeles Rams' fans saw something that caught most of them by surprise: According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Rams' inside linebacker Ernest Jones had been given permission to seek a trade. They knew Jones was in the final year of his rookie contract and that, because the Rams historically haven't valued the inside-linebacker position. he'd likely go elsewhere to find the money he wanted. 

But now? No way. Conventional wisdom said that 2024 was going to be his audition for a life-changing contract.

Conventional wisdom was wrong.

Two days later after the ESPN report aired, Jones was traded to Tennessee, along with a 2026 sixth-round draft choice, for a 2026 fifth-round pick.  That's not much for a linebacker whom Pro Football Focus ranked as the NFL's seventh-best at his position, contract year or not.

Not only was it a surprise to fans; it was a surprise to Jones, who said he expected to be with the Rams this year. But that didn't happen, and maybe it had something to do with a problematic knee that caused him to miss practice or perhaps he irritated coach Sean McVay. No one knows, including Jones.

What is known, however, is that it's not the first time the Rams have let quality linebackers go, either by not signing them as free agents or, as here, trading them away. There's a history there, so let's take a look.

Perhaps the first notable exit was by Larry Morris. a two-way player who was a good fullback and an even better linebacker. The Rams chose him in the first round of the 1955 draft, but he couldn't stay healthy. So, they gave up and traded him to Washington for the rights to Gene Brito.

Larry Morris

So what happened? Brito was injured in 1959, had a very good year in 1960, then fell ill with a muscle degenerative disease that eventually caused his death. Meanwhile, Morris couldn't come to an agreement with Washington owner George Preston Marshall, so he was shipped to the Chicago Bears. where he excelled. He became the most valuable player of the 1963 NFL championship game and respected enough that Hall-of-Fame voters named him to the NFL 1960's all-decade team.

Then, in 1971 George Allen, who coached the Rams from 1966-70, became Washington's new coach and wanted a pile of his former players. So he engineered a trade with the Rams that sent a linebacker to Los Angeles plus seven draft picks for linebackers Maxie Baughan, Jack Pardee and Myron Pottios, plus defensive tackle Diron Talbert, guard John Wilbur, running back Jeff Jordan and a draft pick.

The 35-year-old Pardee had been the Rams' left linebacker, and he played well in 1971 (five interceptions, All-NFC) and OK in 1972 before he retired. Middle linebacker Myron Pottios, who was 32, started for a year and parts of two more. He was experienced and smart but lacking in range. 

Jack Pardee

And then there was Baughan.

For five years he'd been the Rams' right linebacker, but after the trade he retired and didn't play for Washington. He hurt a foot, spent time on the taxi squad and injured reserve, then went into coaching. But four years later, when injuries depleted Washington's linebackers, he was called back after two years coaching at Georgia Tech. He joined Allen's staff in 1974, with Allen coaxing the 36-year-old to play if there were further injuries. But he contributed little in terms of trade value.

Now look what the Rams gained in return.

Marlin McKeever, the linebacker Washington included in the big trade, started two years for the Rams and was good in 1971 and, like Pardee in Washington, more like average in 1972. The real prize, though, was the player the Rams chose with the first-round pick they acquired: Isiah Robertson, who became one of the NFL's best outside linebackers and one of the best linebackers, period, in club history.

Eight years later, though, that all changed.

In 1978 Robertson, by then a six-time Pro Bowler, thought he was underpaid and made that clear to the Rams, the media and anyone else who would listen. In return, he was accused of not playing hard and dividing the team with his commentary on his contract. Eventually, he lost his starting job that season to second-year linebacker Bob Brudzinski and served only as a coverage specialist in passing situations. 

Isiah Robertson

The next spring the Rams remedied the situation by trading him to Buffalo, which welcomed him with a four-year $1 million contract, and Robertson responded with several good seasons, including 1980 when he played at a Pro Bowl level.

Now, back to Brudzinski. 

He played great in Robertson's place until he had contract problems of his own in 1980 when the process was repeated. But he didn't complain. He just up and left after midseason. You heard me. He walked out on the Rams and never played for them again.

The following year, they sent him to Miami on Draft Day in a complicated multi-pick deal that, in the end, netted them inside linebacker Jim Collins, who had several solid seasons. But it was George Andrews who replaced Brudzinski at right outside linebacker, and while he was good, he wasn't as good as Brudzinski. 

With the Dolphins, Brudzinski became one of the "Killer Bs" and was a solid, albeit unheralded, member of those defenses.

Winner? Loser? You tell me.

Bob Brudzinski

There was another Rams linebacker who departed in 1981. That was Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds who'd been their starter at middle linebacker since 1973. However, the "book" on Hacksaw, who was going on 34 years old at the time, was that he was "too old, too slow and couldn't cover anybody" -- something that offended Reynolds so much that he had a T-shirt made with that on it.

Reynolds wanted a no-cut contract for more money than the Rams were willing to offer for someone they thought was declining in skills. 

But was he? 

The San Francisco 49ers didn't think so. They signed him and all he did in the Bay Area was start for the Niners for four seasons and help them win two Super Bowls - -something the Rams would not do until nearly two decades later.

Jack Reynolds

But the most costly offload of a linebacker in Rams' history happened in 2002 when middle linebacker London Fletcher became a free agent, and the Rams let him walk ... to Buffalo, where the Bills gave him a five-year, $17.1-million blockbuster deal.

Meanwhile, the Rams replaced him with a middle linebacker named Jamie Duncan who played for Tampa Bay, which is significant to the story. The Rams' defensive coach was Lovie Smith, and he'd brought the so-called Tampa-2 defense with him when he went to the Rams the year before. But he did more than that. He convinced the team's front office that Duncan could replace Fletcher and that Fletcher would not be missed.

He was wrong. Fletcher's absence was felt.

The Rams lost one of the best linebackers they'd had in a long time, with Fletcher playing another 12 NFL seasons -- five in Buffalo and seven in Washington -- and playing so well that he deserves Hall-of-Fame consideration.

London Fletcher

Since then there have been a couple more linebackers the Rams let go, but none on the scale of the Fletcher misjudgment. In 2018, for instance, they traded away Alec Ogletree, their starting middle linebacker who was second-team All-Pro in 2016. Oddly, the Rams seemed to have liked him, giving him a four-year, $42.8 million extension in 2017.

But the following spring they shipped him to the Giants for two mid-round picks, and it's uncertain why. Maybe he didn't live up to expectations of the new Rams' regime, which included the newly-hired McVay. No one knows. What is certain is that Ogletree was one of the few at his position to gain top dollar from the Rams.

Alec Ogletree

He had a terrific initial season in New York, with five interceptions -- including two returned for touchdowns -- but his play eventually dropped off, and he bounced around to a couple of teams after that. In L.A., meanwhile, he wasn't missed. The Rams had special-teams standout Cory Littleton waiting, and coaches believed he was ready to start in their base defense. 

They were right. 

Littleton had two outstanding years as a starter (and continued to play top-level special teams), averaging 130 tackles, two interceptions and four sacks annually, and he did it more cheaply than Ogletree. But a couple years later, it was his turn to get paid -- to the tune of $35.2 million over three years (with $22 million guaranteed) -- but it wasn't with the Rams. It was with the Las Vegas Raiders, who signed him as a free agent.

Cory Littleton

However, Littleton was little more than adequate and, after failing to live up his contract, followed Ogletree's path and bounced around with others after the Raiders released him.

Then, two years later, in 2021, our story comes full circle when the Rams drafted Ernest Jones out of South Carolina. He became a starter at midseason of his rookie year, helped the Rams win the Super Bowl and remained a starter through 2023. 

So, what now?

Jones's replacement -- at least at the moment -- is Troy Reeder, and let's just say he's not a favorite in Los Angeles. He's been a part-time starter for the Rams the last several years (minus a year he played for the Chargers), and the results haven't been great. Nevertheless, Rams' coaches seem confident in him, which is all that matters. So he's the guy for now.

However, the eventual replacement for Jones could be a 2024 UDFA out of LSU named Omar Speights. He's been lights out so far-- with Pro Football Focus ranking him as the NFL's fourth-highest off-ball linebacker this preseason -- but he isn't the starter. Yet.

Time will tell, as it will for Ernest Jones in Tennessee. 

Ernest Jones

Will he go on and offer the Titans the kind of elite linebacking that London Fletcher brought to Buffalo in 2002, or will he fade into mediocrity, as Ogletree and Littleton did for the Giants and Raiders? Or, maybe, as we've witnessed, it will be somewhere in between.

No matter what happens, we know that what happened this week with Jones and the Rams shouldn't have surprised the club's fans. It's just the latest in a long history of a team's decisions that involve linebackers, injuries and money.

It's Time the Hall Heard About Harvey Martin's Career

By John Turney 

With the revised voting rules, maybe the Dallas Cowboys' defensive end finally gets his chance to be enshrined. Maybe.

The NFL's best player in 1977 was Hall-of-Famer Walter Payton. He was the league's MVP and led in most rushing categories. But any idea who was its second-best? A quarterback? Another running or receiver?

Nope and nope. 

In an era dominated by defense, in 1977 it was a defensive end.

Granted, it's a matter of opinion, but the case is strong that the Dallas Cowboys' Harvey Martin was the NFL's second-best player that year -- above all skill players and defenders. He was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, a consensus All-Pro and a Pro Bowler -- proof that his peers and media recognized him as elite.

But the 6-5., 250-pounder also left a remarkable statistical trail that season -- albeit unofficial. He had 20 sacks in the Cowboys' 14 regular-season games, the most by any player. Of course, the NFL didn't recognize sacks as an official stat until 1982, but gamebooks recorded them. 

And 20 are there.  Gamebooks also showed that he had three more sacks in the Cowboys' three playoff games, for a grand total of 23 sacks.

Martin sacked quarterbacks so frequently that the scoreboard operator at Texas Stadium would flash the message "MARTINIZED" on the huge screen when the star defensive end took an opposing passer down. Two of those "Martinizations" were part of his performance in Super Bowl XII when he delivered one of the most memorable defensive performances in Super Bowl history. Not only did he produce two sacks; he was a constant presence in the Denver Broncos' backfield, helping the Cowboys to a 27-10 victory.

Martin's performance was so dominant that he was named the game's co-MVP, sharing the honor with teammate Randy White -- the first time in Super Bowl history that defensive linemen won the award.

"Outside of Bob Lilly," coach Tom Landry once said, "Harvey is the best pass rusher we've ever had."

Martin had 114 sacks in his 11-year career, with 97-1/2 of those as the Cowboys' starting right defensive end from 1975-83 -- the second-most in the NFL during that time. But it wasn't just regular-season games where he gave left tackles fits; he came up huge in big games, too.

In 22 playoff contests, he produced 17-1/2 sacks -- more than the NFL's official postseason leader, the Patriots' Willie McGinest with 16. Again, they were "unofficial," but official or not, they happened ... and that's what matters.

Ask Washington quarterback Billy Kilmer. He called Martin "the NFL's premier defensive end." Better yet, ask Denver's Craig Morton. He's the quarterback who, prior to Super Bowl XII, kept staring at Martin during the coin toss -- something that didn't escape the notice of Martin's teammate, Ed "Too Tall" Jones.

"(It was almost as though) he KNEW something BAD was about to happen," Jones said.

If so, he was right. Morton spent most of the afternoon trying to escape Martin.

That season, plus all others Martin spent in Dallas, raises an intriguing question, one that I've often asked here: Why has he never been a finalist or semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 37 years as a modern-era and senior candidate? Seven times he was on the preliminary list, but that's as far as he got.

And let's be honest: His career deserves better.

Hopefully, with the Hall's new voting process, it will gain the necessary attention, and voters finally will have a conversation about the greatness of Harvey Martin.

Because they should.

Here's why: Aside from 1977 when he was everybody's All-Pro, he was named to three other Pro Bowls and was a second-team All-Pro in 1976, 1979 and 1982. In 1980, the Hall's board of selectors voted him to the 1970s' all-decade team -- an honor that Hall-of-Fame defensive ends Claude Humphrey and Elvin Bethea didn't achieve.

Plus, Martin wasn't a dog on his own hunt. Though his forte was pass rushing, he played in Landry's "Flex" defense on likely running downs and contributed to one of the best run defenses of that, or any era. During his 11 seasons, the Dallas defense -- dubbed "Doomsday II" -- allowed the NFL's second-fewest rushing yards, had the most quarterback sacks and allowed the third-fewest yards and fourth-fewest points. 

A well-known NFL axiom asserts that "defense wins," and the Cowboys were a prime example. During Martin's tenure, Dallas won 73 percent of its regular-season games (best in the NFL) and 59 percent of its playoff games (third in the NFL).

That's quite a list of accomplishments for someone from such humble beginnings; someone who was shy, awkward and even bullied through school -- that is, until a growth spurt made him tower over classmates and caused him to try out for football as a high-school junior.

He didn't play much at first, but when his school finished one victory short of a Texas state championship in his senior year, Martin earned a scholarship to East Texas State University. And it was developed into a standout player -- learning so much from upperclassman and future Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive lineman Dwight "Mad Dog" White that he told himself he'd follow him to the NFL.

And he did, after making honorable mention All-American as a junior and Little All-American as a senior while leading East Texas to the NAIA Division I national championship. 

The Cowboys grabbed the youngster (who could run a 4.7 40) in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft and immediately made him their designated pass rusher -- someone who entered games on third-and-long snaps. It was a smart move. He finished second on the team in "traps" -- the Cowboys' term for sacks -- and just missed All-Rookie recognition.

Serving the same role the following year, he led the team in sacks before becoming a starter in 1975, moving from the left side to the right. Then he went on to lead the Cowboys in sacks six times in the next nine seasons, establishing himself as the team's all-time sack leader -- a position he held until 2013 when Hall-of-Famer DeMarcus Ware eclipsed his franchise record by three.

In the process, he overcame his shyness and developed an on-field persona of "Too Mean" Martin, a play on teammate "Too Tall" Jones' nickname, by playing -- and acting -- so aggressively. He wasn't above giving a swift kick to an offensive lineman who went after his knees, for example, or delivering a quick slap to Conrad Dobler to send a message.

But along the way, he became involved in charity work, businesses and the media, even having his own radio program called "The Beautiful Harvey Martin Show". In short, he became a big deal in Dallas, where fans loved him and NFL left tackles and quarterbacks feared him.

So, given all that, why no love from Hall voters?

Perhaps his early death (Martin died of pancreatic cancer in 2001 at the age of 51) caused them to forget. Or maybe it's that other Dallas Cowboys were prioritized -- players like Bob Hayes, Rayfield Wright, Cliff Harris and Drew Pearson, all of whom were voted into the Hall this century.

Then there are those from the 1990s' Cowboys -- Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, Charles Haley, Larry Allen, coach Jimmy Johnson and owner Jerry Jones. And let's not forget Darren Woodson. He was a Top-10 finalist this year, joining a cadre of former Cowboys who may be sucking some of the oxygen out of the room for Martin.

Twenty-three players, coaches and executives who were predominately Cowboys are in Canton, and some voters -- perhaps suffering from "Cowboys' fatigue" -- may view that as a fair representation of the franchise.

But this is what puzzles me: His own team has yet to put him in its Ring of Honor. It's unclear why Jerry Jones has withheld that recognition for Martin, but he has. And that can't help his cause. 

As I mentioned, there's a new voting process for the Hall's Class of 2025 seniors' committee, with the group reduced from 12 to nine voters, including two non-selectors -- one of whom is an historian. Maybe that makes a difference. Maybe not. My hope is simply that Harvey Martin gets from the Hall what he's never had.

And that's a chance to be enshrined. 

Mike Kenn—The Consummate Left Tackle

By John Turney

Starting in the 1980s, the print and broadcast media spent time and energy on how important it was to protect the blind side of a quarterback with a talented left tackle. And the reason was apparent to anyone who followed the NFL.

That's where the most effective pass rushers were.

Like ancient maps that demarked uncharted waters for ship captains with a warning phrase, "Here there be monsters" and, perhaps, dragons -- so was it for waters of the left side of an offense. Right-side pass rushers were as feared as though they were actual "monsters." 

These "dragons" had names like Lawrence Taylor and Chris Doleman, Richard Dent, Lee Roy Selmon Bruce Smith, Fred Dean and Charles Haley -- Hall of Famers all. Then there were All-Pros like Harvey Martin, Clyde Simmons, Al "Bubba" Baker, Pat Swilling and many more.

In response, teams wanted tackles with great footwork, balance and long arms to fend off those "monsters," and the Cincinnati Bengals had one who could do it -- Hall-of-Famer Anthony Munoz. The Bears did, too. His name was Jimbo Covert. Later in the 1990s and 2000s, Willie Roaf, Jonathan Ogden, Tony Boselli, Walter Jones and Orlando Pace took their place among the great dragon slayers, and all earned Gold Jackets for their labors.

But the Atlanta Falcons had one, too, only few remember him ... especially the Hall-of-Fame's board of selectors. And that's a shame. Because there were few left tackles better than Mike Kenn.

Let's start with availability. He was always in the lineup. Kenn missed just 10 games in his career, with five in 1985 when he was sidelined by knee surgery. He played in the NFL 17 years, only he didn't just play; he was a starter for every ... single ... season. Only one NFL tackle started that many seasons: Lomas Brown. Granted, there were several who had more years of service -- Jackie Slater, Jason Peters and Brown, for instance -- but all sat on the bench for one or more years. 

Not Kenn. He was a starter from the cradle to grave; from the season opener in 1978 through the final week in 1994. What's more, no tackle started more games than Kenn, who is tied with Brown at 251. In fact, only one offensive lineman -- Hall-of-Famer Bruce Matthews -- started more games, and he spent more time as an interior lineman than as a tackle.

But earning a Gold Jacket goes beyond durability; it goes to filling a position ... and Kenn did just that. He played at a level worthy of the Hall-of-Fame attention he isn't getting. He was a five-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler for a franchise that had little success.

ADAPTING TO CHANGE

The NFL was starting to change when the Falcons chose Kenn in the first round of the 1978 NFL draft. At that time, it was still a running league, and running is what the Falcons emphasized the first part of Kenn's career -- and they ran it well. From the time, then-coach Leeman Bennett drafted Williams Andrews in 1979 through Dan Henning's last year in Atlanta (1986, with Gerald Riggs), only the Bears, Rams and Steelers ran for more yards -- and only the Rams had a higher yards-per-carry average.

After Andrews stepped in as a rookie, he ripped off-season rushing totals of 1,023 yards; 1,308 in 1980; 1,301 in 1981; 573, in the strike-shortened 1982 season year (which projects to a 1,000-yard season) and 1,567 in 1983. Then, when he was sidelined by a knee injury, Riggs stepped in to rush for 1,486 yards in 1984, 1,719 in 1985 and 1,327 in 1986. That's eight straight 1,000-yard seasons (counting the projected total of 1982), including six for over 1,300. 

During that time, Kenn was rooting out so many defensive ends he was described by one publication as "a strong drive blocker who pulls well to lead wide runs. In goal-line situations, the Falcons usually will try to chunk out the necessary yardage behind Kenn."

It is also noteworthy that the two rushing-oriented offenses were not the same. Under Bennett, it was a traditional two-back offense, like the one Bennett ran under Chuck Knox. After he was gone Henning brought the Washington one-back offense to Atlanta and each had their own unique blocking scheme that had few things in common.

It presented new challenges for the linemen especially for the tackles, who were asked to pull in the famous "Counter Trey" play that Joe Gibbs's Redskins made famous. Kenn and the Falcons line adjusted and didn't miss a beat.

Translation: While Kenn was one of the Falcons' five offensive linemen, he was recognized as the best. In both 1981 and 1982, he was voted the NFLPA Offensive Lineman of the Year and was a Pro Bowler from 1980-84. He was also a first-team All-Pro in 1980.

That was his introduction to the NFL. 

Near the end of his career, however, his priorities had to change ... and they did, virtually 180 degrees from how they began. The Falcons were no longer "pounding the rock," the majority of the time. They threw the ball. And threw it. And threw it some more. For Kenn and his linemates, it was pass-blocking all the time in an offense that featured four wide receivers on most downs, only one back and no tight end.

It was called the "Red Gun."

In Kenn's final five years, only two teams passed the football more than the Falcons, and only one (Houston, with the Run-and-Shoot) ran it fewer. It was a new world order, but Kenn adjusted and excelled. In 1991, for instance, he surrendered a single sack (coaches' report) and was named first-team All-Pro 11 years after the first time he made it.

Eleven. Years.

Think about that one for a moment. Only one modern-era tackle named first-team AP All-Pro was older, and that was the Rams' Andrew Whitworth in 2017. Plus, when Kenn first made the AP All-Pro team at 24, he was among the youngest ever. Only nine modern-era tackles are listed as 23 or younger. But no tackle ever blocked for such extreme offenses and was so elite at both ends to be named All-Pro. Furthermore, no one did it so early and so late in his career. 

That's completeness. It's also unprecedented, which didn't escape the Rams' Slater. 

"The thing I've been most impressed with," he said of Kenn in 1994, "is adaptability. He played well when they were primarily a running team, and he has played well in this wide-open offense."

But that's what happens when you play 17 years. Offensive trends change, but you stay. You adapt. You overcome. Or you leave.

Kenn did not go.

Things were almost different, though. It was possible that he'd not be an NFL tackle, but a tight end. That is where the Green Bay Packers were going to play him if they got a chance to draft him in the 1978 NFL Draft.

That was because during workouts for scouts before the draft the 6-foot-7, 257-pound University of Michigan All-American tackle ran a 4.67-second forty-yard dash. Not believing their stopwatches they made the lanky Wolverine run it again. He did. Result: 4.69. 

Shortly after that, former Colts center Bill Curry arranged a private workout for them to see if Kenn could catch. He's been recruited out of high school as a tight end so he did have some hands and at the workout he proved it, catching all the balls thrown his way. 

He, however, was chided for not running proper routes. To which Kenn retorted, "I've never been taught all these routes." Curry told him that the Packers would fix and if he was available when it was time for their second first-round pick (the 26th overall) he would be playing for Bart Starr, the Packers coach.

But Kenn was gone long before that. The Falcons took him with the 13th overall pick in the 1978 NFL draft. Two teams that took tackles passed on him. The New York Jets and the New York Giants grabbed Chris Ward and Gordon King respectively.

One has to wonder what might have happened if one of the two teams from Gotham took Kenn and he'd have had the kind of career he did in Atlanta. Would being in a major media center helped him get more exposure? Would the Hall of Fame have been a fait accompli?

Absolutely. 

But the Falcons were sure glad the New Yorkers didn't get their man. And rather than convert him to tight end they left him at tackle. 

Brilliant move.

As a rookie, Kenn shored up a position that was a problem for the Falcons since the team's inception in 1966. Though he took his lumps his first year, as most rookies do, he was voted to the All-Rookie team. Then he progressed so quickly that by his third season he was arguably the best tackle in the NFL. 

"I've never had anyone with his agility and quickness," said position coach Bill Walsh, who tutored great Kansas City Chiefs offensive linemen from the Hank Stram era. 

During that time, Kenn added size (around 20 pounds). He took up weightlifting to become the club's strongest player and one of the NFL's strongest tackles, bench-pressing 450 pounds. That gave him upper-body and leg strength which, as Walsh noted, was "a big help to him" as a pass protector.

So much so that when the Raiders' John Madden was asked to name his personal "Dream Team" after the 1981 season, he said, "I'd put Atlanta's Mike Kenn at one tackle. He may be the best technical pass-blocker in the league right now."

The scariest "monster" of that era, of course, was Hall-of-Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, and he and Kenn met five times in their careers. In those five games, Taylor produced a single sack. But the story gets better: Video proves that Kenn's assignment on that play was not Taylor but right defensive end Gary Jeter.

Monster slain. 

"HIS CAREER OUGHT TO BE BRONZED"

Kenn was a marvel to players and coaches -- even late in his career, with admirers saluting him in Kenn's fabled 1991 season.

-- Pro Bowl right end Leslie O'Neal told Sports Illustrated's Peter King (a current Hall-of-Fame voter) that playing Kenn "was like playing against a human textbook."  

-- When Pat Swilling, the 1991 AP Defensive Player of the Year, was  asked if his divisional rival knew "every trick in the book," he said, "To tell you the truth, he might have written the book."

--"I marvel at what he's done," said legendary coach Jim Hanifan. "You're talking about a guy who knows and thoroughly understands his craft so well (that) if someone ever sits down to write a textbook about all the little intricacies and components of pass-blocking, for instance, they'd have to start by talking to Mike. Someone ought to put the films from this year into a time capsule. His career ought to be bronzed."

So far, it hasn't been. Not with a bust in Canton, it hasn't. And that perplexes Hall-of-Fame tackle Art Shell, who didn't hesitate when asked about Kenn.

"He's a future 'Hall' guy, sure," Shell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "If the folks who do the voting have any sense about them, he'll walk right in when it's his time."

 

But when it was time ... when Kenn was a modern-era candidate ... he didn't walk right in. In fact, he was barely noticed. A semifinalist once, he never made the cut to the final 15. Worse, after his 20 years of modern-era eligibility expired, Kenn moved into the seniors' category ... and you know how deep that pool is with Hall-of-Fame quality candidates.

So does Kenn.

"There are an awful lot of good football players in that category," he said.

That's an understatement. Over 50 all-decade seniors have never been discussed by the Hall's board of selectors. Kenn was never all-decade, but so what? That shouldn't be an impediment. The last six senior inductees weren't, either, and Kenn has the endorsements of some of the great defensive linemen in NFL history: 

-- "He, Munoz, and Covert were simply the best left tackles in all of football," said Hall-of-Famer Dan Hampton. Munoz and Covert have been inducted. Kenn is still waiting.

-- "He was the prototype at the time," said Hall-of-Famer Chris Doleman. "He moved well, great technique. He had great success against some great players. Hall of Famer? Yes, in my opinion."

"If Mike was in a major media market like New York," said Hall-of-Famer Clyde Simmons, "the world would have known of how great a player he was. He wasn’t a flashy player, which draws so much attention, but consistency was Mike Kenn. In my opinion. whatever standard there is to be a Hall of Famer, Mike Kenn has met."

You could also pour through the records of Proscout, Inc., the independent scouting group that's evaluated all NFL players since the mid-1970s. There, you'd find Kenn's name in its annual rankings for tackles nine times -- six of them in the top five and twice as number one in the NFL.

However, as Clyde Simmons stated, as great as Kenn was, he still was underrated and didn't pull as many major accolades -- like AP All-Pro teams -- as he might in more favorable circumstances. Maybe that was a factor of where he played. Atlanta was not a major media market. Maybe it was a factor of whom he played for. The Falcons lost a lot more than they won.

Whatever it was, Kenn didn't receive the acclaim he deserved, 

Kenn's off-field work for the players' union almost certainly is part of that narrative. As president of the NFLPA, he was a key figure in the 1989 decertification of the union, the 1992 Freeman McNeil antitrust lawsuit, the Reggie White class-action antitrust lawsuit, the settlement of all court cases in August, 1993 and the finalization and signing of the 1993 collective bargaining agreement.

But all that contributed to the NFL we have today -- where players receive a much higher percentage of the NFL's revenues and true free agency. Not only did Kenn protect quarterbacks; he protected all players from a different "monster" -- one that held them captive to teams that drafted them, with no ability to escape. 

Also worth mentioning is that Kenn was awarded the NFLPA's 1980 Byron "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award as the NFL player who best served his team and community.

Those things should matter. And they do ... to some people. Kenn is in the Falcons' Ring of Honor and was named to the Hall of Very Good by the Pro Football Researchers Association. But Canton? You already know.

As I said, one possibility is the lack of success. Kenn's teams only made the playoffs four times and won just two of six games.  But, if that were true, look no farther than recent inductee Joe Thomas. He was a first-ballot choice with a team that never went to the playoffs.

Another possibility is that a few old-school voters who have passed on were put off by Kenn's work with the Players' Association, believing he caused problems for NFL owners and executives, many of whom were friendly with them.

No matter what it was, the takeaway from this deep dive into Kenn's career should be this: It's time for the Hall's voters to rethink his case and do what's right: Make Mike Kenn a finalist for discussion.

1950 -- New York Giants vs New York Yanks

Colorization of the Day

 

It's Reggie Wayne's Time

By John Turney 

For six seasons after entering the NFL, Indianapolis wide receiver Reggie Wayne sat second chair to pass receiving-virtuoso Marvin Harrison. Now, over two decades later, he's in a similar position. He's in his sixth year as a Hall-of-Fame finalist, sitting second chair to former Rams' receiver Torry Holt.

The two have been finalists dating back to 2020, but only one has momentum ... and it's not Wayne. Where Holt was a Top-10 finisher this year, Wayne was not. Failing to make the first cut from 15, he took a step backward from 2023 when he and Holt each were in the Top 10.

So here's the question: Can Reggie Wayne escape the shadow of Harrison ... or even Torry Holt ... for the Hall's Class of 2025?

He certainly has the credentials. In 14 seasons and 211 games, he had 1,070 receptions (10th all-time) for 14,345 yards (also 10th all-time) and 82 touchdowns. Furthermore, he was first-team All-Pro once, second-team All-Pro twice and named to six Pro Bowls.

In short, he played second fiddle to no one.

However, that's the role in which Wayne was cast after Indianapolis made him a first-round draft pick in 2001, and it's easy to see why. He played opposite Harrison, a Hall of Famer who averaged over 100 receptions, over 1,300 yards and nearly 13 touchdown receptions in the first six seasons the two started together.

Yet, by Wayne's fourth year, he was putting up Pro Bowl-type numbers -- 77 catches for 1,210 yards and a dozen scores. By his sixth year, he joined Harrison in the Pro Bowl and helped take the Colts and Peyton Manning to a 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. And when Harrison missed 11 games in 2007, it was Wayne's turn to be the star ...

-- In 2007, he led the NFL with a career-high 1,510 yards, 104 receptions and 10 touchdowns, was named second-team All-Pro and made his second Pro Bowl.

--  Three years later, in his 10th season, he was first-team All-Pro and went to a fifth consecutive Pro Bowl after catching a career-high 111 receptions.

-- Two years after that, he made his final Pro Bowl on the strength of 1,355 receiving yards, the third time he finished a season with 1,350 receiving yards or more.

That resume made Wayne a Hall-of-Fame finalist five consecutive times, locked with Holt in a logjam of wide receivers until Andre Johnson broke through this year. His election should make Wayne and Holt among the favorites for the Class of 2025, except for one potential glitch.

Momentum.

As I said, Holt has it. He didn't budge this year from the Top 10. Wayne did, moving in the wrong direction. But before counting him out, consider this:

-- His six Pro Bowls are more than Hall-of-Fame receivers Michael Irvin, Charley Taylor, Raymond Berry, Isaac Bruce, Don Maynard, Harold Carmichael, Bobby Mitchell, Cliff Branch, Art Monk, Charlie Joiner, Bob Hayes, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, as well as old-timers Elroy Hirsch, Dante Lavelli and Tom Fears. All had five or fewer invites to the annual All-Star game.

-- His resume as a one-time All-Pro and three first-or-second teams is equal to or superior to Irvin, Carmichael, Tim Brown, Stallworth, Tommy McDonald, Joiner, Isaac Bruce and Andre Reed.

-- He produced a 1,000-yard season eight times and a 100-catch season four times. He had 10 or more catches in a game 15 times and exceeded 100 yards in a game 43 times

-- He caught nine more touchdowns in the playoffs, which is tied for 10th all-time in the postseason -- and that includes a 53-yarder against the Bears in the Colts' Super Bowl XLI victory.

-- Speaking of the playoffs, his 93 receptions are the sixth most and his receiving yardage -- 1,289 -- seventh all-time. Wayne got it done like few others when it mattered most.

"One of the greatest route-runners in history," gushed former New England coach Bill Belichick, who called Wayne one of the NFL's greats of the past two decades. "A true professional who represents every positive attribute a player should emulate."

Belichick's comments were made after the Patriots signed Wayne, then 37, to a one-year contract in the late summer of 2015. However, he never played in the regular season, was released less than two weeks later and retired the following January. For someone who was the 30th overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft, Wayne accomplished nearly everything

At the University of Miami, he set receiving records as a four-year starter. Though he wasn't the biggest (6-0, 198) nor the fastest receiver (4.55 in the 40), he produced like one. A steady performer, he then went on to be part of one of the NFL's best-ever receiver duos.

But he was more than that. Where he began as a complementary receiver, he became a true number one -- a go-to guy -- and he's waited long enough on Canton. It's time Reggie Wayne wins his Gold Jacket and bronze bust.

The man earned it. 

Colorization of the Day: Buddy Young

Buddy Young (who was 5-feet-4 inches) of the New York Yankees vs Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium, 1947

State Your Case: Separating Fact from Fiction with HOF Worthy Lomas Brown

By John Turney 

It didn't happen. I'm telling you, it just didn't. 

I'm talking about an unprofessional act that a player confessed happened, but that the film ... OK, the video ... demonstrates did not. Nevertheless, it's cited as evidence when the player's career is evaluated by Hall-of-Fame selectors and was mentioned as recently as last week by a national football writer.

So let's just make this clear: It ... did ... not ... happen.

The player is former Detroit Lions' tackle Lomas Brown (who also played for the Cardinals, Browns, Giants and Buccaneers in his 18-year NFL career), and the play is one where he contends he once intentionally whiffed on a block so that his quarterback -- Scott Mitchell -- would get hurt.

Which, indeed, he was.

"We were playing Green Bay in Milwaukee," Brown told ESPN radio over a decade ago. "We were getting beat, 24-3, at that time, and [Mitchell] just stunk up the place. He's throwing interceptions, just everything. 

"So I looked at Kevin Glover, our All-Pro center, and I said, 'Glove, that is it.' I said, 'I'm getting him out the game.' So I got the 'gator arms' on the guy (my opponent) at the last minute, he got around me, he hit Scott Mitchell, he did something to his finger and he came out the game. Dave Krieg came in the game."

The interview became a big deal in the Detroit media, though the Detroit Free Press only disputed the score of the game when Mitchell exited. It didn't dispute the story but followed by getting the thoughts of Mitchell and former Lions' coaches. OK, fine. Except it did not happen.

Not on that play. Not in that game. Not in that year.

How do I know? The game is available online where you can watch it. In fact, there's a clip on X, which is from the right game, the right year, the right opponent and the right city. There is zero question on what play Mitchell was hurt -- a blitz, with the Packers rushing seven and the Lions in a six-man protection. So someone had to go free.

General pass-protection rules are to protect from the inside out, and that's what the Lions did. Brown took the blitzing inside linebacker, and he did the right thing. The hit on Mitchell cannot be pinned on him. It might be something else, like Mitchell not throwing to the hot receiver or the running back failing to recognize an exception to the inside-out rule on his dual read. But that's unknowable.

What is knowable is that Brown did not get "gator arms," and his opponent did not blast Mitchell with the hit that forced him from the game ... which is what he told ESPN radio.

Brown takes the inside linebacker reading "heels" -- the ILBers' feet were past the DE's heels, telling Brown 

to take him. If anyone might be at fault, likely Barry Sanders who probably had a dual read and could have 

decided that the DE was the bigger threat than the inside guy, but we'll never know that. It would be an exception 

to the 'inside-out' protection rule. In no case, though, would Lomas Brown be at fault on this play.

So why did he say it? Good question. Maybe he imagined it. Maybe there was another play where he didn't give a full effort, and Mitchell wasn't hurt. As I said, all speculation is unknowable.

All we do know is that the story he told isn't accurate.

I wanted to straighten that out because Lomas Brown had a career worth considering for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was the top blocker for one of the best-ever running backs -- Barry Sanders -- who, as great as he was, needed exceptional blockers, just as Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith did. Seven of Sanders' 10 years and over 10,000 of his 15,000 rushing yards were when he and Brown were teammates. 

No, the Lions were not a great team, but they were among the NFL's better clubs. In those seven years, they had four winning seasons, including three with double-digit wins -- producing a 12-4 record in 1991 when they won the NFC Central division. Four times they made the playoffs, but three times they were one-and-done after beating the up-and-coming Dallas Cowboys in 1991.

Maybe the Lions' failure to do more in the playoffs has something to do with Hall voters not giving him more attention. I know that Brown believes it does.

"If I'm brutally honest," he told the Free Press, "I just think it’s the Lions. I just think (voters) didn’t put the respect on our team like the Dallas Cowboys.

"I look at myself, my records or my accomplishments ... and I look at some of the guys that are in there ... and I think mine is comparable to some of the guys that had gotten in. But a lot of it's off the team that you played off of. I know a tremendous amount is off playoff success."

BROWN VS. HALL OF FAMERS

Maybe. But that's not as absolute as he might think. Some of the linemen enshrined recently in Canton did not have much postseason success -- with Kevin Mawae, Joe Thomas, Tony Boselli, Steve Hutchinson and Will Shields among them. Voters today are more objective than those in the past when playing for the Packers or Steelers was a boost to a Gold Jacket. 

But Brown is right on one thing: His career is on par with other Hall-of-Fame tackles. He compares well with his peers. For openers, only one offensive lineman in the history of the game played and started more games, and that's Hall-of-Famer Bruce Matthews. That means something. It means Brown had durability and availability. 

As far as comparisons, check this out:  Brown's career is eerily similar to Jackie Slater, the longtime Los Angeles Rams' tackle. Slater played 20 seasons; Brown 18. Brown played 263 games, with 251 starts, while Slater played 259 and started 211. Both were three-time All-Pros, but Brown was a consensus All-Pro (making the majority of the major organizations' teams) once. Slater never was one. If you extend personal honors to years they made first-or second-team All-Pro, the tally is six for Brown and five for Slater.

Both went to seven Pro Bowls.

There's more, and the envelope, please.

-- Neither were all-decade.

-- Slater was a starter for seven playoff teams and a backup for three. Brown was a starter for six playoff teams -- the Lions, Cardinals and Giants -- and a backup for one, the 2002 Buccaneers.

-- Both started in a Super Bowl, and both of their teams fell short. But Brown returned to the Super Bowl as a backup for the 2002 Bucs, where he won a ring. 

-- Both blocked for record-setting runners: Slater for Eric Dickerson and Brown for Barry Sanders.

But when it comes to Hall of Fame consideration, the similarities end. Slater was a first-ballot selection, voted into the Class of 2001, while Brown has never been a finalist or semifinalist. Heck, he was so far off the radar that there were a couple of years he wasn't even on the preliminary list!

It seems unfair for two players with nearly identical resumes to have two vastly different outcomes ... and it is. Lomas Brown deserves better.

His seven Pro Bowls compare favorably to other Hall-of-Fame tackles. It's the same number that Ron Yary, Gary Zimmerman, Orlando Pace and, yes, Slater, were selected. And it's more than Bob Brown, Dan Dierdorf, Rayfield Wright, Mike McCormack, Tony Boselli, Bob St. Clair and Jimbo Covert.

In terms of first-team All-Pro selections, the 6-4, 282-pounder (at the beginning of his career, anyway) also has similar credentials: His three All-Pro seasons not only match Slater; they're the same number as Boselli and St. Clair and more than McCormack, Covert and Winston Hill.

Other Halls of Fame get it. The Detroit Lions' Hall of Fame (2023) picked him as a member. So did the College Hall of Fame (2020). His alma mater did, too. He was named to the University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995. Even the state of Michigan inducted him to its Hall of Fame in 2013.

Along the way, Brown was decorated at every level. He was on the Florida High School All-Century Team and the Detroit Lions' 75th and 100th anniversary teams, as well as the University of Florida's All-Century team.

Yet Canton hasn't called.

An All-American at Florida in 1984, Brown was the first pick of the Lions -- and the sixth overall -- in the 1985 NFL draft, and he became a starter immediately. You already know what he did for Barry Sanders and the Lions' running game, but he was even better pass blocker. 

Quick and athletic for a man his size, he excelled while spending a significant part of his Lions' career in a run-and-shoot offense that often included  '10' personnel, with four wide receivers and a running back. The scheme could send all five eligible receivers into pass routes,  leaving just five offensive linemen to block without help from a tight end of fullback.

That meant Brown was on his own vs. the top pass rushers in the NFL, and he rose to the challenge.

He left the Lions for Arizona in 1996 as an unrestricted free agent and was named to  his seventh Pro Bowl. A couple of years later, he was the starting left tackle on a 9-7 Cardinals' playoff team that beat Dallas, 20-7, in an NFC wildcard game. From there, it was on to the expansion Cleveland Browns for a year, then the New York Giants for two seasons before winding up his career in Tampa.

Perhaps playing for four teams the last seven years of his career may cause Hall-of-Fame voters to overlook Brown when submitting their ballots. I don't know. What I do know is that his time is running out on his Hall-of-Fame candidacy. He has three more years of modern-era eligibility before moving into the seniors' category, sometimes call "the abyss" for the overwhelming number of Hall-worthy candidates who can get lost there.

It's time for Lomas Brown to have his case heard because his body of work demands it. No, he didn't intentionally get his quarterback hurt, but he did play for nearly two decades at an elite level ... for teams that usually were winners ... and with enough success that he was decorated as much ... or more ... accolades as other Hall-of-Fame linemen.