Good GOD, I almost forgot how Tomczak just _could not_ look off. He just locked onto the guy he was throwing to immediately.

@trevorhembrough1290

Жыл бұрын

You were right about Walter’s toe, too. You can clearly see him laboring as he runs and tries to cut on it, especially late in the game.

@SECRETARIATguy224

Жыл бұрын

@@trevorhembrough1290 Absolutely. McCaskey thought he was just getting old and was ineffective, which is what led to him demanding that Anderson start in 87. Truth is that Walter could still play; he was fine when healthy. The thing that was heartbreaking to Walter was that he never complained about the toe injury publicly. He just played through it and played hard, and his "reward" for that was to be told that he wasn't gonna be the featured back anymore, and the Bears wanted him out after the 87 season.

@SECRETARIATguy224

Жыл бұрын

@@trevorhembrough1290 Ditka would've been fired immediately had he refused to start Anderson in 87, so he had to do that. However, Ditka had known about the toe injury in 86; he knew Walter could still play, and felt McCaskey was out of line, so he absolutely refused to bench Payton. The downside to that was that Anderson just wasn't a fullback, and it deprived Walter of a solid lead blocker, something he he'd had since he first came into the league . . . Roland Harper, then even Dave Williams in 1979 when Harper was hurt, then Matt Suhey.

@trevorhembrough1290

Жыл бұрын

@@SECRETARIATguy224 For all intents and purposes, Walter pretty much ended up being the Fullback himself in ‘87 because Neal got more touches and Walter (of course) was the better blocker.

@SECRETARIATguy224

Жыл бұрын

@@trevorhembrough1290 Not quite. What happened was that when they saw early on that Anderson couldn't lead block effectively [which wasn't his fault . . . he was a halfback, for goodness sake], they started running Payton and Anderson in a lot of traps, counters, and misdirections. Anderson was faster than Payton, so he could benefit from those types of runs. A lot of those kinds of run plays depend on what they call "influence blocks", when a lineman starts one way in order to get the defender to follow him and, in the process, get him out of position. Then in that small space of time, the back runs right by. Thing is, the back has to be fast enough to _actually_ get by. Anderson was fast enough to do that consistently. Payton wasn't. Payton's bread and butter was _playing off_ of lead blocks. In the 87 season, just watch the final 3 games, after Anderson was shut down for the season and they put Suhey back in. Prior to that, most of the only times that Payton got any solid yardage on the ground was when Calvin Thomas subbed in for Anderson and led for him. But after Anderson was shut down and they brought Suhey back, they got back to running in the style that Payton had been accustomed to for his whole career, and it showed, because it was very clear that Walter could still play. Now, I want to make it clear . . . Walter was _not_ as great as he once was. For instance, he no longer had the speed he showed in that touchdown run in wk9 in 85 vs Green Bay. _That_ Walter Payton _was_ gone forever. However, when he was healthy, he was still quick, he was still strong, he could catch the ball, and he could still block. He was _not_ washed up.

At 10:45 Otis Wilson knocks Louis Lipps unconscious with a forearm shiver. At 17:20 he gets another personal foul. Charlie Jones said Otis ought to be arrested. Afterwards Otis was wearing a fur coat in the locker room & said he was gonna sue Jones for defecation of character.

@bryanburnap4537

6 ай бұрын

Good story!

@bryanburnap4537

6 ай бұрын

Good story!

@chad3452

Ай бұрын

defecation of character lmao 😂

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