re: Jim Taylor Was Tough to Tackle

One thing you would never see , Taylor running out of bounds at the end of a play to avoid the hit. He would go out of his way just to make contact with tacklers. Sam Huff was Dick Butkus before Butkus got to the league. Stories of what he did during pile-ups were legendary.

I saw a championship game, Packer vs. Giants. The entire game Huff and Taylor fought, bit, kicked and scratched. There was as much action in the pile after the tackle as during the pkay. Great example of pro football when it was pro football.

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Is he enshrined in Canton?

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Yes - LINK

Y. A. Tittle and Steve Van Buren

LINK

I would think Faneca and Mawae will eventually be inducted. They are both deserving.

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I heard Urlacher say on BSPN radio one day; he absolutely hated going against Mawae.

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For comparison, Dwight Stephenson (C from Bama who played for the Dolphins in the 80's) is in the NFL HoF. Here's his resume:

5× Pro Bowl (1983–1987)
5× All-Pro (1983–1987)
2× AFC Champion (1982, 1984)
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Walter Payton Man of the Year (1985)

Here's Mawae's:

8× Pro Bowl (1999–2004, 2008, 2009)
7× First-team All-Pro (1999–2002, 2004, 2007, 2008)
Second-team All-Pro (1998)
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
New York Jets All-Time Four Decade Team
LSU Athletic Hall of Fame

And Faneca's:

Super Bowl champion (XL)
9× Pro Bowl (2001–2009)
6× First-team All-Pro (2001, 2002, 2004–2007)
2× Second-team All-Pro (2003, 2008)
Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame (2012)
2× NFL Alumni Offensive Lineman of the Year (2004, 2008)
Tuesday Morning Quarterback Non-QB Non-RB NFL MVP Award (2001)
Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team

Note: these were taken from Wikipedia

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Taylor has a philosophy, and puts it in basic terms: "Football is a contact sport."

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Football isn't a contact sport. Ballroom dancing is a contact sport. Football is a collision sport. --Vince Lombardi

I think he only played 1 year with the Saints, than retired. So this would have to be '67.

Don't know if I would attempt tackling that!



Great picture.

Jim Taylor would go out of his way to run over a defender. It was a thing of beauty to watch him run.

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One thing you would never see , Taylor running out of bounds at the end of a play to avoid the hit. He would go out of his way just to make contact with tacklers.

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I went to LSU in '56 and loved watching Taylor play. When he went to the Packers they became my favorite Pro team. I remember one game when Taylor got a rare open field long TD run where he had the angle to the end zone by veering to the left, but instead veered right, meeting the defender at the 5 yd line and carrying him into the end zone with a big impact.
Lombari asked him after the game why he did that, and he said "You gotta hurt 'em a little, coach."

Back when football was football!!