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The Suburbanites.

TC : 8/20/2019 8:02 pm
Who else remembers Parcells' mocking nickname for his OL of Oates, Ard, Godfrey, Nelson and Benson? I loved those guys! Individually, they were of varying talent, but collectively, they were one hell of an OL!

Parcells said they were lunch pail guys who came to work every day and treated the game like a job. I.e., they were pro's. And you could see it in their demeanor, and the way they played the game.

Now, I don't want to jinx the current OL, but watching it come together, and watching the body language of Zeitler, Remmers, Solder, Halapio and Hernandez in the pre-season I felt I caught some of the same vibe. These guys are pros. They're here to do their job. And they've begun to trust one another.
Brad Benson and his cut nose.  
No Where Man : 8/20/2019 8:33 pm : link
In that season of 1986, Benson won the NFL Offensive Player of the week for shutting out Dexter Manley in a pivotal game against Washington. I believe he is the only OL to ever win that award.
RE: Brad Benson and his cut nose.  
jvm52106 : 8/20/2019 9:21 pm : link
In comment 14537528 No Where Man said:
Quote:
In that season of 1986, Benson won the NFL Offensive Player of the week for shutting out Dexter Manley in a pivotal game against Washington. I believe he is the only OL to ever win that award.


That was a great performance. That line was very good but 1990's owned the LOS. Elliott completely destroying Richard Dent was a highlight never to forget.
I'm not..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 8/20/2019 9:28 pm : link
sure you really wanted to use the word "mocking"
...  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/20/2019 9:31 pm : link
"Let Ard be your guard!"
The USFL was very, very good to us.  
Emlen'sGremlins : 8/20/2019 9:58 pm : link
It gave us Oates and Godfrey for the Suburbanites O-Line, plus the best blocking FB (Carthon) and Punter (Landetta) in football.
Oates belongs in the HoF  
Optimus-NY : 8/20/2019 10:40 pm : link
Great Center.
RE: The USFL was very, very good to us.  
FatMan in Charlotte : 8/20/2019 10:45 pm : link
In comment 14537600 Emlen'sGremlins said:
Quote:
It gave us Oates and Godfrey for the Suburbanites O-Line, plus the best blocking FB (Carthon) and Punter (Landetta) in football.


Could have been even better for us if we had gotten Gary Zimmerman!
Parcells  
Matt in SGS : 8/20/2019 11:19 pm : link
also gave them that name because they actually had jobs outside of football (that was a time that these guys used to work 2 jobs before the big money came in.) . The jobs they had were suburban type jobs and Parcells called that out. Brad Benson talked about this in The Giants Among Men 1986 championship video

He said that Karl Nelson was a stock broker, Bart Oates was an attorney, and Benson was a Car Dealer. I think he said Billy Ard was a salesman. And the said that Godfrey was the "philosopher" of the group. So all kinds of jobs you saw in the suburbs.
I don't know what you are talking about.  
robbieballs2003 : 8/20/2019 11:53 pm : link
I miss the days of Pugh telling everybody how good they were and how well they would play. I miss the days of everybody saying Ereck Flowers will get better because he's young. Those were great times.
As I recall, and as research seems to indicate,  
GeofromNJ : 8/21/2019 12:42 am : link
Parcells referred to these guys as the suburbanites because they lived on tree-lined streets in the suburbs with a barbecue in the back yard and were kind of laid back in that the defensive line showed more energy during scrimmages than these guys. By implication, the term also applied because all five starters were white. No way this term could be applied to the current group of starters, nor to last year's starting O line.
RE: As I recall, and as research seems to indicate,  
PatersonPlank : 8/21/2019 1:02 am : link
In comment 14537691 GeofromNJ said:
Quote:
Parcells referred to these guys as the suburbanites because they lived on tree-lined streets in the suburbs with a barbecue in the back yard and were kind of laid back in that the defensive line showed more energy during scrimmages than these guys. By implication, the term also applied because all five starters were white. No way this term could be applied to the current group of starters, nor to last year's starting O line.


It was because you have 5 boring family type guys who went home every night. They weren't out with LT partying, and they just did their job in a boring, workmanlike fashion. Not sure why skin color has to come into it.
Don't forget  
Allen in CNJ : 8/21/2019 6:47 am : link
Willie Roberts!

LARD was my favorite Giant name of all time. Being 9-12 when these guys were really prominent and good, and being an adolescent approaching teenage years, I routinely called Billy Ard LARD to get my friends to crack up when we played ball. Wasn't really that funny though.
and Brad Benson  
Allen in CNJ : 8/21/2019 6:48 am : link
was one helluva Left Tackle!
You should bite your tongue  
micky : 8/21/2019 8:05 am : link
for even putting that group in same with these group of players. Shameful
RE: I don't know what you are talking about.  
TyreeHelmet : 8/21/2019 8:33 am : link
In comment 14537675 robbieballs2003 said:
Quote:
I miss the days of Pugh telling everybody how good they were and how well they would play. I miss the days of everybody saying Ereck Flowers will get better because he's young. Those were great times.


Could Pugh be any further from that group of guys? The Giants have made a lot of mistakes in recent years but letting Pugh walk was a great move. Guy was soft as tissue paper.
I do not have the information now because I am in Dallas.  
Marty in Albany : 8/21/2019 9:07 am : link
But if you look at the heights and weights of the suburbanites you would be very surprised at how small they were compared to our current offensive linemen.
all linemen were smaller back then  
Greg from LI : 8/21/2019 9:13 am : link
Joe Jacoby was a monster tackle in the 1980s. He played at an even 300 pounds. He would be one of the lighter OTs in the league now.
In the 80's..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 8/21/2019 9:18 am : link
you still could find OL under 250. That simply wouldn't work today.

It is also one of the main reasons nearly every lineman in the league is on some sort of PED.
Centers mainly, I think  
Greg from LI : 8/21/2019 9:22 am : link
Dwight Stephenson was a perennial All-Pro and he was 250.
Yeah..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 8/21/2019 9:24 am : link
centers have always been the lightest group. Tackles were still in the 270 and above range in the 80's.
The Giants Ray Wietecha, arguably  
Big Blue '56 : 8/21/2019 9:32 am : link
the best C we ever had after Mel Hein and one of the top Cs in the league when he played, I believe weighed 220-225
If all those guys played today they would be the same size as players  
PatersonPlank : 8/21/2019 9:34 am : link
today, due to the improvements in conditioning, diet, and drugs (both legal and illegal).
Thanks to all for the added detail!  
TC : 8/21/2019 12:36 pm : link
I knew Benson had a dealership, and it still exists. And that Oates was an attorney. In '86 I actually worked with Billy Ard's cousin. And unlike her massive cousin, she was a pretty and petite young lady.

If the current OL jells, and approachs their game with similar attitude it will be a delight.
hey Benson has the goalposts at his dealership  
gtt350 : 8/21/2019 5:04 pm : link
I believe from the Championship redskin game
RE: Brad Benson and his cut nose.  
djm : 8/21/2019 5:40 pm : link
In comment 14537528 No Where Man said:
Quote:
In that season of 1986, Benson won the NFL Offensive Player of the week for shutting out Dexter Manley in a pivotal game against Washington. I believe he is the only OL to ever win that award.


All week long leading up to the giants game at RFK it was Dexter Manley this and Dexter Manley that and there’s no way the giants will be able to block him. Benson stoned his ass all game long. Basically the NFL world issued benson a mea culpa with that award.
RE: Don't forget  
djm : 8/21/2019 5:46 pm : link
In comment 14537715 Allen in CNJ said:
Quote:
Willie Roberts!

LARD was my favorite Giant name of all time. Being 9-12 when these guys were really prominent and good, and being an adolescent approaching teenage years, I routinely called Billy Ard LARD to get my friends to crack up when we played ball. Wasn't really that funny though.


Roberts was drafted first round in the mid 80s but really didn’t cement himself until 1989 when the giants moved him to guard. He was struggling at tackle up until that point and was really more of a backup player. He and pepper doing the dance on the field following super bowl 21 was glorious. Weird that Roberts was drafted way back in 1984. He played in 3 Super Bowls, 2 with NYG and one with the pats. Roberts also had a cameo appearance in “the Super” with joe Pesci in the lead role.
The King...  
bw in dc : 8/21/2019 5:47 pm : link
at this best...
King - ( New Window )
RE: The King...  
djm : 8/21/2019 5:52 pm : link
In comment 14538523 bw in dc said:
Quote:
at this best... King - ( New Window )


Indeed. If ever a HC earned that moniker it was parcells.

I still remember the 83 preseason when parcells was a rookie HC. I was 11 and my football fandom was growing into monstrous proportions. His demeanor on the sidelines was different than the parcells we would come to know and love, even a bit animated. I remember thinking wow this new HC seems so excited or hopeful maybe the giants will be good this year. We kind of expected good things that year only 2 years removed from the 81 miracle run. 3-12-1. Ouch. Glad the giants stayed the course.
Not that parcells wasn’t animated  
djm : 8/21/2019 5:53 pm : link
But I remember him raising his arms and signaling TD after every score. He didn’t do that crap later on.
RE: Thanks to all for the added detail!  
Coach Red Beaulieu : 8/21/2019 7:24 pm : link
In comment 14538198 TC said:
Quote:
I knew Benson had a dealership, and it still exists. And that Oates was an attorney. In '86 I actually worked with Billy Ard's cousin. And unlike her massive cousin, she was a pretty and petite young lady.

If the current OL jells, and approachs their game with similar attitude it will be a delight.

Brad Benson Ford has ads running on NYC radio all the time.
All the Suburanites were about the same size (260-265)  
ArtVandelay : 8/21/2019 9:01 pm : link
except for Nelson who was 285 and a few inches taller.
Of course defensive lineman were also a lot smaller. I don’t recall anyone over 300 pounds other than William Perry.
I remember a refrigerator with a painted #72 being dropped off on Billy Ard’s front lawn a few days before playing the Bears.

Another thing I remember is when Parcells was asked who is the best run blocker on the team he said Bavaro followed by Nelson and Godfrey.
You have to say it in order  
Davisian : 8/21/2019 9:05 pm : link
And it MUST be in Pat Summerall voice.

Benson Ard Oates Godfrey and Nelson
RE: You have to say it in order  
FatMan in Charlotte : 8/21/2019 9:06 pm : link
In comment 14538705 Davisian said:
Quote:
And it MUST be in Pat Summerall voice.

Benson Ard Oates Godfrey and Nelson


Gives me chills!!
RE: RE: I don't know what you are talking about.  
robbieballs2003 : 8/22/2019 10:36 am : link
In comment 14537784 TyreeHelmet said:
Quote:
In comment 14537675 robbieballs2003 said:


Quote:


I miss the days of Pugh telling everybody how good they were and how well they would play. I miss the days of everybody saying Ereck Flowers will get better because he's young. Those were great times.



Could Pugh be any further from that group of guys? The Giants have made a lot of mistakes in recent years but letting Pugh walk was a great move. Guy was soft as tissue paper.


The point was Pugh talking. It was tiresome. Same shit every year.
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