PIONEERS: Outside Linebackers Joe Fortunato & Matt Hazeltine

LOOKING BACK
By T.J. Troup

Learning a position that had never existed is sure going to be a challenge. NFL teams transitioned from the 5-2 defense to the 4-3 during the mid-fifties. Though the middle linebacker was a key to the change, it was not the only change. The "Men in the Middle" were the ones who got the lion's share of the publicity there were other elements. My book The Birth of Football's Modern 4-3 Defense: The Seven Seasons That Changed the NFL covers when each team converted and the key players in those scheme changes that, literally, affected the entire NFL.

Today, however, I felt it was important to detail some of the things the other linebackers, the outside 'backers did to contribute to the success of the 4-3 scheme.

Rather than use charts detailing alignments, and description, explaining the inherent responsibilities of the outside linebacker position; the simple explanation is as follows: a man must possess the strength and size to defeat blockers and take on running backs with size, while also being able to run well enough to "cover" backs used as receivers in either man to man or zone coverage. Finally, if quick enough, the outside linebacker could be sent as a pass rusher. Initially this was called a "red dog", yet for many years now it is simply known as a blitz.

For sake of discussion, let's say the ball is on the left hash mark. The right linebacker, most of time, will not have a blocker aligned directly in front of him. The left linebacker has much more territory to cover, and many times would be faced with a blocking end directly in front of him. If the offense called a sweep to the wide side of the field, and as such the left linebacker must defeat the closed end's block, and "force" the sweep so the runner cannot get outside of him and gain big yardage.

Since the league was in transition, so was the teaching element. How do you teach a young man to play a position that never existed before? Many men attempted to play either one or both of the outside linebacking positions during this transitional time.

When his military service complete Joe Fortunato joined the Bears in 1955. He played both ways his rookie year as a back-up fullback, and saw plenty of action at linebacker. A Clark Shaughnessy defense requires the ability to think on your feet since he asks so much of his linebackers. How so you ask?

Since the pass rush is the key element; linebackers will have large amounts of territory to cover. Fortunato usually played on the right side, and was learning on the job with the help of teammate Bill George. Known as "The General" from Tom Bennett's fine book  The Pro Style: The Complete Guide to Understanding National Football League Strategy  George was a combination of middle guard pass rusher, and stand up 4-3 middle linebacker.

Matt Hazeltine had a storied career at the University of California-Berkeley, and the 49ers sure needed help on the defensive side of the ball during this era. Hazeltine played some on the left side, and some on the right side during his rookie year of 1955. Phil Bengston coached the San Francisco defense, and also used exotic alignments, and many times would send his linebackers on a "red dog".

Hazeltine, just like Fortunato, was learning on the job. Both men had new head coaches in 1956 and continued to improve as they quickly learned the nuances of the new position. Fortunato contributed to the Bears winning the Western Conference in 1956, and Hazeltine down the stretch in 1957 was a major factor for the Niners in earning a playoff berth. The 1958 season finally brought some league-wide recognition for Fortunato as an All-Pro.

Hazeltine earned some All-Pro recognition in 1959 as a right linebacker. The Bears acquired talented but off-injured Larry Morris to play right linebacker, and as such Fortunato moved to left linebacker. He settled in quickly and began to demonstrate that he may actually be better at his new found post. The writers that selected the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams had a penchant for choosing only middle linebackers, and virtually ignoring outside linebackers. In fact, sometimes the All-Pro Linebackers would be Joe Schmidt, Sam Huff, and Bill George.

Here are a couple of examples of how the All-Pro voting went in the late-1950s.

1958 All-Pros, Compliation

1959 All-Pros, Compilation

As can be seen, the Middle Linebackers have the First-teams locked up and the outside linebackers are the Second-team selections or honorable mentions.

The one exception, as the Lombardi Packers began to dominate the Western Conference, was right linebacker Bill Forester. He was truly the first right linebacker to excel in all facets of the position and was rightfully honored in the voting (coached by Bengston). Forester was a veteran on the downside of his career while Hazeltine & Fortunato still had plenty of football left in them.

From 1961 through 1963 either Matt or Joe, and sometimes both would receive All-Pro recognition or a Pro Bowl berth. Fortunato, finally, was voted First-team All-Pro as the George Allen defense of the Bears won a championship in 1963, and Fortunato called the defenses.

Defensive players came and went in San Francisco as Hazeltine labored on with a seemingly new cast each year. The 49ers had sunk to last place in 1963.

In January of 1965 and I was in the Coliseum in Los Angeles for the annual NFL Pro Bowl and was able to witness Fortunato and Hazeltime live. At that time the Pro Bowl game actually was played with a lot of fervor and both Fortunato and Hazeltine played very well for the winning Western Conference team. Experienced, savvy, and skilled would describe both men at this point in their careers and it was exciting for me, as a young man to witness their abilities. Fortunato played through the 1966 campaign, then retired, while Hazeltine remained a fixture in the City by the Bay. His final year in San Francisco saw a quality defensive coach in Dick Nolan arrive.

A year away from the game and Matt realized he still had the desire to play. He lacked speed to play the position, yet his guile, and experience were assets for his new team. The New York Football Giants were in contention for the first Wildcard berth in Hazeltine's final year in 1970. But they fell short. A young Fred Dryer has always contended that Hazeltime was his "Rock of Gibralter" that season, guiding him, teaching him and helping him maximize his abilities and covering for his errors.

Hazeltine, No. 64 tackles Larry Brown  Credit: Spokeo

So, though the post-season honors may be light for these outside or "corner" linebackers as they were sometimes called, their contributions to the new 4-3 defense should not be taken lightly. They were integral to the success and longevity of the 4-3 defense.

By this time if a linebacker coach was attempting to teach one of his young players, he could certainly put on game film of Joe Fortunato and Matt Hazeltine and have them take notes.

Hazeltine, No. 64 tackles Larry Brown  Credit: Spokeo

R.I.P. Julius “The Jewel” Adams

REMEMBERING
By John Turney

When Jack Youngblood arrived in Chicago for the 1971 College All-Star game practices he thought he was in the wrong place. He saw Lyle Alzado, who could "bench press the world" and was 280 pounds. He was already familiar with Grambling's Richard Harris, who he'd seen at the Senior Bowl and Youngblood thought Harris has "Reggie White athleticism". Harris was "270 and could run a 4.6 forty". He, too, was in Chicago. 

Also in camp was Julius Adams, who Youngblood had never heard of before, but he saw a 6-3 260-pound man with amazing natural strength and quickness. At that point, Youngblood, at 242 pounds, felt like "someones kid brother".

That same Julius Adams passed away on Thursday, March 24, 2016. He was 67 only years old. Adams was among the most beloved New England Patriots and one of the most effective. He was named to the Patriots 1970s All-Decade Team, the 1980s All-Decade Team, the 35th Anniversary Patriot Team and the 50th Anniversary Patriot Team. His outstanding play and leadership  enabled him to win the Jim Lee Hunt Memorial Award, given to the outstanding Patriot lineman, which Adams won in both 1980 and 1982.

Adams. Colorization by John Turney

The "Jewel" was an All-Rookie selection in 1971, but he rarely achieved post-season honors after that. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1980 and was named one the NFL's top defensive linemen by Pro Quarterback magazine in 1974 and was All-AFC as chosen by the New York Daily News that same season, but other than that, he was limited to honorable mentions by the AP, UPI, etc. in various seasons.

In 1971 he played very well for a rookie, as mentioned making All-Rookie Teams and he was also the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12 in 1971 in an upset win of the Miami Dolphins. Coach John Mazur said "Julius Adams was to the defense what Jim Plunkett was to the offense." Adams was so active, that in fact Mazur mused that Adams could be moved to linebacker (which happened for a very short stint).

Julius Adams. Colorization by John Turney

Though he played mostly defensive tackle his first few years he also played at defensive end and it was there Adams settled for the bulk of his career. Adams was most effective as a 3-4 defensive end, which the Patriots began using full-time in 1974, though they used it some in 1973. He was stout at the point of attack and had really good athleticism as a pass rusher. In 1974 he forced four fumbles and had 8 sacks to go with 86 tackles and was a major cog in making that scheme work. The Patriots were the first to go to that scheme full-time, though the Dolphins used in 1972 and 1973 and several others. The Oilers used it full-time in mid-season in 1974 after they secured the services of nose tackle Curly Culp.

The 1974 Pats defense helped them to a 6-a start, including upsets of the Miami Dolphins, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Minnesota Vikings in that span. Those teams AVERAGED a 12-2 record in 1973. However, the luster may have worn off as the Patriots ended 7-7. In any event Adams's 1974 season will be at least an honorable mention the  Patriots version of the All Career-Year series PFJ is posting.

Julius Adams. Colorization by John Turney

He was nicked in 1975 with a foot injury but came back strong the following two seasons. He was out for 13 games in 1978 with a shoulder injury and returned in 1979 to a new role, a designated third down rusher. He and Tony "Mac the Sack" McGee would come in in likely passing downs in the Fritz Shurmur scheme, McGee on the left and Adams on the right. Adams finished with 5½ sacks as part of the Patriot defense that led the NFL with 57 sacks. Adams also led the team with four forced fumbles in 1979, matching his career-high in that category.

Julius Adams sacks Bert Jones. Colorization by John Turney

The following season, 1980, Adams resumed his starting role and he had a stellar season. He was named to the Pro Bowl and recorded 8½ sacks. Adams continued his career through 1985 and after Super Bowl XX he hung up his cleats.

Adams in his classic 3-point stance. Colorization by John Turney

But the years between 1980 and 1985 were not easy all the time. Adams felt like the Ray Meyer staff that "came in from college" didn't allow him to do things that suited his skills. In 1985 he took particular joy in tutoring Garin Veris, the rookie defensive lineman that was going to get the Patriots sack attack back in the groove and he also was part of the Super Bowl run that took them to Super Bowl XX.

Among the changes was in 1983 when he was asked to moved to defensive tackle in the Patriots nickel scheme and did so without complaint and responded with 8 sacks, though he always felt he was a better outside rusher. Part of the changes in that era under Meyer was not just the move to tackle in nickel but that in the base 3-4 the Patriot ends were asked to "flex" off the ball a half-yard. Most defensive linemen will say they'd prefer to be close to the line, giving them the advantage to get "into" the blocker rather than having to "catch" the block. See below:

In 1984 Adams became a second-stringer (''Meyer put me on the bench because I didn't play his type of football'').  However Meyer was fired and Adams became a starter in the final game of the 1984 campaign.  

In 1985 he was not the starter at the beginning of season, but with Toby Williams getting injured in Week 5 of the 1985 NFL season he was the starter, all the way through the Super Bowl. As the Big Game got closer he stated:

Here is a clip of two back-to-back sacks the "old pro" had in 1984 versus the Jets

Fair use claim, for education and criticism.

Upon retirement, Adams said: 

However, due to injuries to the Patriots defensive line, Adams did what Gino Marchetti did in 1966, came back to fill-in for the franchise that meant so much to him (and did so wearing #69 for several weeks until his usual #85 was available). He didn't play much at all, but the official records show he did force a fumble.

So, after that 1987 season Adams was back to Macon, Georgia and his Angus bulls.

Chart Credit: Pro Football Journal

A Couple of Nuggets in the Punt, Pass, and Kick Competition

LOOKING BACK
By John Turney

As a follow-up to the Chris Willis article on The Punt, Pass, and Kick Library Series we also wanted to show a couple of gems from ABC's Monday Night Football that would often show the PPK as part of their halftime show.

The first is well-known, the Brobdingnagian Andy Reid in the 1971 competition. The next is lesser known, it's future NFL quarterback Chris Miller, who appeared in 1974 during the Rams at 49ers MNF game. Miller also had a stint with the Rams in his playing days

1971, Redskins at Rams, MNF. Fair use claim

1974 Rams at 49ers, MNF, Fair use claim

Little Sports Library Books: Pro Football (1948)

LOOKING BACK

By Chris Willis, NFL Films

In 1948 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company published a set of  four small books on how to play pro football under the series “Little Sports Library.”

The Ziff-Davis Publishing Company was founded in Chicago by two friends- William Ziff and Bernard Davis. 

In its early years the company published mainly magazines, including well-known titles such as Popular Aviation, Radio News and science fiction-fantasy titles Amazing Stories and Fantastic Adventures. But in 1948 they published several sets of “little” how-to-play books covering such sports such as football, baseball, golf, and table tennis.

The Little Sports Library books measured 5 x 6.75 inches and were usually between 90-127 pages in length. In 1948 Ziff-Davis published both a hardcover and a paperback version with the hardcover costing $1.25 and the paperback 50 cents. Since Ziff-Davis was located in Chicago they stuck to the two NFL teams in the Windy City and their players to help write their little books. The four football titles consisted of:

Playing the Line by “Bulldog” Turner (Chicago Bears Center)

Passing for Touchdowns by Sid Luckman (Chicago Bears Quarterback)

Tricks in Passing by Paul Christman (Chicago Cardinals Quarterback)

Backfield Play by Charles Trippi (Chicago Cardinals)

Playing the Line by Clyde “Bulldog” Turner, Chicago Bears center, was 123 pages in length, with 19 chapters and 37 photos by photographer Arthur Haug. Playing the Line also featured 8 diagrams of defensive fronts and how to block them.  

Turner demonstrates how to get into a proper stance and techniques on how to block defenders from all four different line positions- end, guard, tackle and center. In his Forward Turner tells a great story about his coach George Halas and how he knew that Turner was one of the smarter players on the team.

    “Once in spring practice, Coach Halas was telling us about a particular way he wanted a tackle handled on a specific play. He offered $100 to any player who could tell him the five plays to throw at this tackle.

    However, before I could open my mouth, Halas added, “with the exception of Sid Luckman and Bulldog Turner” This was a great boost for my ego, although I was almost sorry he excluded me. I could have used that $100.”

Passing for Touchdowns by Sid Luckman, the Bears All-Pro quarterback, was 127 pages with 14 chapters on passing and featured 30 photos. The demonstration photos, taken by Haug had Luckman posing on how to handle the snap; how to grip the football; the different type of passes; when to pass; pass receiving, as well as how to throw the football. 

In the Pass Receiving section Haug shot several poses of Bears end Ed Sprinkle on how to catch-and-catching the football.

Ed Sprinkle catching psasses

Tricks in Passing featured Chicago Cardinals quarterback Paul Christman, who had just guided the Cards to a victory in the 1947 NFL Championship Game. The third book in the series was 90 pages in length and featured Christman in 45 different photos (once again shot by Haug). 

Christman posed in photos on the different throwing methods, types of passes, and more specific skills, “tricks,” that included eye faking, arm faking, goal-line passing, working with receivers, and ability to pick receivers downfield. Tricks in Passing also features 11 different diagrams of football plays.  

Backfield Play by Charles Trippi, the Cardinals All-Pro halfback, was 108 pages in length with 42 photographs, this time by photographer John Coffee. Trippi writes 13 chapters that include knowing the different offensive formations (Punt, T-Formation, Single-Wing, Notre Dame, and the Double-Wing); signal calling; carrying the ball, faking, kicking, preparing to pass; executing the pass; pass receiving; blocking; tackling; and the four different backfield positions (quarterback, right halfback, left halfback, fullback).

Three of the four players who helped write the books for Ziff-Davis ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Turner, Luckman, and Trippi), while Christman was twice named Second-team All-Pro by the UPI in 1946-1947 and later became an announcer for all three of the networks, and did color at Super Bowl I for NBC.

Ziff-Davis Publishing didn’t publish any more football books and went on to produce mainly hobbyist magazines devoted to expensive, advertising-rich hobbies such as cars, photography and electronics. Some of their more recent titles included PC Magazine and Popular Electronics. They are still in business.

This four book set is a little tough to find but can be found on abebooks.com or Ebay for around twenty dollars apiece, although Amazon.com had the Luckman and Turner books listed for nearly fifty dollars each. The “little” books are definitely worth the price.

1995-2005 All-Mid-Decade Teams

OPINION
By John Turney

A couple of weeks ago we chose a  2005-2015 All-Mid-Decade Team to represent the best players from that era, realizing that just an All-Decade team that began in 1960, 1970, 1980, etc. was a bit arbitrary.

Now, here is our 1995-2005 All-Decade team:

Here is the reasoning behind the selections. You may or may not agree.

Warren Sapp was Second-team All-Decade for the 1990s. He didn't deserve it, for one, he only played five years in the decade and the first two seasons were not stellar. However, here he is right in his prime and deserves a First-team selection along with Bryant Young. Ditto Strahan (who didn't warrant first-ballot in HOF voting because he wasn't a two-time All-Decade choice and Sapp was). Well, Strahan was in his prime from mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. 

Simeon Rice feels he is a HOFer and in this decade, he was as good a blindside rusher as there was. Kevin Carter had great seasons, though he was a little up and down. According to one scouting firm, he was excellent for a few years prior to his 1999 All-Pro season and was a "blue" rusher for the Titans and Dolphins when he reduced to defensive tackle. So very close, though was Robert Porcher but he just didn't have any First-team All-Pro selections but he was at that level but others always edged him out. It was a good 10 years for edge rushers.

L'Roi Glover was the poor man's three-technique for this mid-decade and Ted Washington was the shade technique of this All-Decade team.

Ray Lewis was a no-brainer, two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and all the other credentials, Zack Thomas was next in the line of MLBers. Seau and Brooks were the every-down backers and in a decade where the 3-4 defense was less common, Gildon and Brown were the best pass rusher, though their sack totals were less than 80. Other decades previously had over 100 sacks for several rushbackers, but not this one.

Law and Williams were the top CBs, Deion Sanders retired, taking him out of the mix even though he came back as a nickel for the Ravens. Dawkins was the best safety with Lynch next/

We checked the stats and honors for the kicker and punters and these are the tops. Gardocki and Hentrich were the best placement punters, though you might find a couple with higher gross averages. The returners were the ones who could take it back all the way most often.

We realize Peyton Manning has a case for being here, but we went with Gannon, who was really excellent in this 10-year period, gaining lots of All-NFL and Player of the Year awards, Favre was an easy choice for First-team.

The fullbacks were based primarily on awards and long-term service. Fred Beasley was an honorable mention as a fullback. Marshall Faulk is an All-time great and this was his best 'decade'. 

The same goes for the receivers and tight ends. There was stiff competition for those spots. Jimmy Smith was hard to leave off, but the others were just slightly ahead in our criteria. We tried to decide what happened in those decades, based on honors, statistics, post-season success, key games, signature plays, and testimonials. Testimonials are the comments made about other players by other players and coaches. Ike Bruce was the "When he's well, he's hell". And his touchdown to win Super Bowl was key. 

Marvin Harrison had the most TDs (110) from 96-05 he's also first in catches and yards and was a six-time All-Pro. T.O. did most of his damage as a player so he takes a Second-team slot. Tim Brown, always a Steady Eddy. was excellent, but his "impact" just didn't seem as strong as the top two. The impact of Randy Moss got him on the Second-team over Brown who is an honorable mention.

Tony Boselli was a great tackle, and this was the decade that he played all of his football, but can picking him over Roaf be justified? Maybe. Over the three in front of Roaf? No. Larry Allen was a Second-team All-Decade guard for the 1990s and 2000s. However, when you go from 1995-2005 he is the best guard by far. Shields, Faneca, and Brown are very close, but none were the menace to defensive linemen and linebackers that Allen was in his prime. Mawae and Nalen were fairly easy.

If we were to pick one returner for both kicks and punts it would be Tamarick Vanover. He's an honorable mention for both punt- and kick returns. Darren Bennett is an honorable mention as a punter as is Jeff Feagles and Chris Gardocki. Matt Turk had the best net average for this period (37.6) and Craig Hentrich was second at 37.0 with Bennett third at 36.9. 

We don't feel that our selections are better than anyone else's. We hope that the AP, HOF, and PFWA will task their voters to pick their own mid-decade teams. We suppose that is a long shot, but feel strongly that it would be a worthwhile endeavor. 

Agree or disagree? Post below to let us know our mistakes.