Giants
Schwartz NYP: Breaking down the Giants’ NFL free agency haul
https://nypost.com/2020/03/28/breaking-down-the-giants-nfl-free-agency-haul/
Rosenblatt NJ.com: Why Giants’ free agency moves mean they likely won’t have compensatory draft picks in 2021
https://www.nj.com/giants/2020/03/why-giants-free-agency-moves-mean-they-likely-wont-have-compensatory-draft-picks-in-2021.html
Schofield BBV: COVID-19 could impact Daniel Jones and the Giants’ draft
https://www.bigblueview.com/platform/amp/2020/3/29/21197161/covid-19-and-its-potential-impacts-on-daniel-jones-and-new-york-giants-draft
Lombardo NJ.com: NFL Draft 2020: Do Giants pass on most ‘pro-ready’ player in favor of filling glaring need? | Latest mock draft projection
https://www.nj.com/giants/2020/03/nfl-draft-2020-do-giants-pass-on-most-pro-ready-player-in-favor-of-filling-glaring-need-latest-mock-draft-projection.html
Valentine BBV: Ed’s 7-round New York Giants mock draft, version 8.0
https://www.bigblueview.com/platform/amp/2020/3/29/21197028/eds-7-round-new-york-giants-mock-draft-version-8-0-nfl-draft-2020
TE
Dunleavy NYP: Giants signing Eric Tomlinson to bolster tight end depth
https://nypost.com/2020/03/28/giants-signing-eric-tomlinson-to-bolster-tight-end-depth/amp/
NFL
Volin Boston Globe: Sunday Football Notes:
What Brady and Jameis Winston have in common (and Stidham almost does, too)
Gostkowski is statistically one of the best kickers ever
Sunbelt teams could have a significant advantage on non-Combine and small college prospects for this year's NFL Draft.
Plus a look at Tom Brady, Jameis Winston and the pick-6, an appreciation for Gostkowski, and more https://t.co/v5cHOYnZSe
Cam and Jameis better be patient
Stadiums in LA and Vegas move ahead
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/28/sports/nfl-draft-will-go-will-some-teams-have-an-unfair-advantage/
Leonard NYDN: Sunday NFL Notes/
Will the NFL season actually start on time?
Could the 2020 #NFL season be delayed or cancelled?
How James Bradberry unknowingly described Giants’ free agent process
What Daniel Jones is up to in Charlotte (and which entrance he used at the Garden!)
“When new Giants corner James Bradberry said Friday that the team “came out of nowhere” with a lucrative offer at the start of free agency, I wasn’t surprised and here’s why: this is the Giants’ M.O. They are well known for waiting until the start of the league’s legal tampering window to pick up the phone and make that first offer...”
“Jones said developing a routine as a pro starting quarterback was one of his primary takeaways from starting 12 games as a rookie in 2019.
“Those first few weeks you’re kind of developing your process, your weekly routine. I’d never done it before so I didn’t really have one,” he said. “But I think by the end of the season I had a better, more consistent routine on how I would go about my week, how I would study, how I would watch film and take notes and plan for certain things. And I think by the end of the season I had a pretty good routine.”
https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/ny-nfl-season-coronavirus-20200329-zrfmsdjl2vadxmyguh5l4dvx5u-story.html
Belson NYT: Help for disabled NFL players is sacrificed for pension deal
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/national-sports/sns-nyt-disabled-nfl-players-sacrificed-pension-deal-20200328-jmozmr2tyvhslajryczszmqy5y-story.html
ATLANTA
Wilson Houston Chronicle: Falcons signing Roughnecks linebacker Edmond Robinson
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/texans/article/Sources-Falcons-sign-Roughnecks-Edmond-Robinson-15162127.php
BALTIMORE
Shaffer Baltimore Sun: Ravens set to sign defensive end Derek Wolfe to one-year deal, quickly finding replacement for Michael Brockers
https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-derek-wolfe-20200328-6lhb3yetnrep5cowu6uvvhc2bu-story.html
CINCINNATI
Dragon Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals have 'no reservations' about Joe Burrow's skills translating to the NFL
https://amp.cincinnati.com/amp/2926232001
CLEVELAND
Cabot Cleveland Plain Dealer: Would the Browns consider using Kareem Hunt in a trade up in the NFL draft? Hey, Mary Kay!
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/03/would-the-browns-consider-using-kareem-hunt-in-a-trade-up-in-the-nfl-draft-hey-mary-kay.html
Pluto Cleveland Plain Dealer: Something being ignored in excitement over Cleveland Browns off-season
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/03/something-being-ignored-in-excitement-over-cleveland-browns-off-season.html
Cabot Cleveland Plain Dealer: How Case Keenum and Kevin Stefanski speaking the same language will help during this challenging offseason
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/03/how-case-keenum-and-kevin-stefanski-speaking-the-same-language-will-help-during-this-challenging-offseason.html
Doershuck Canton Rep: Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz thinks Browns, any NFL team wise to draft ’freakish’ Tristan Wirfs
“"You need a little bit of really good luck to have two good tackles," Ferentz said. "If you come across that luck, it can make a big difference for your team."
Ferentz is well familiar with young veteran Jack Conklin, who signed with the Browns as a free agent recently.
The 22nd-year Hawkeye head coach imagined Conklin paired with Tristan Wirfs, who would have to be acquired in the draft (April 23-25). Wirfs started as a true freshman at Iowa in 2017 and was Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2019.
Conklin was a No. 8 overall pick (Michigan State/Titans) in the 2016 draft. Wirfs is projected as the No. 8 pick (Cardinals) of the 2020 draft by analysts Daniel Jeremiah and Mel Kiper.
"You know how the draft is," said Ferentz, who is adjusting to his university being shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic. "Funny things happen. Tristan could go No. 4. He could go 24."
Ferentz doubts the Browns will be sorry if they get their hands on Wirfs at No. 10.
"He's a tremendous young person who has very rare ability," said Ferentz, who was an O-line position coach at Iowa years before who joined the staff of Bill Belichick's Browns. "He improved each year, and he was a Combine phenom, which was no surprise to us.
"Some of the things he does at his size (6-foot-5, 320 pounds), you just shake your head. Freakish is the word."
Ferentz said Conklin and Wirfs could compare notes on getting overlooked coming out of high school.
"We played against Jack in the (2015) Big Ten championship game," Ferentz said. "He's a tremendous player. He was a walk-on at Michigan State, wasn't he? (Conklin was a walk-on.) Tristan wasn't recruited very heavily, either."
Ferentz said a Big Ten rival he chose not to name brought in Wirfs as part of a mass recruiting visit in which no one seemed to know who he was. Ferentz's Hawkeyes were in tune with Wirfs partly because his Iowa high school is 25 miles from the Hawkeyes' Kinnick Stadium.
"We had a good visit on campus with Tristan," Ferentz said. "He was on his way home when he called to tell us he was committing. He wanted to go somewhere where he knew he was wanted.
"That happens for us sometimes. We're fortunate to get some good players who don't get heavily recruited. And in Tristan's case it's the type of player who would be targeted by Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson ..."
Wirfs grew up with his single-parent mom, a sister, and plenty of family and friends in Mount Vernon, Iowa, which once made Budget Travel magazine's list of "America's 10 coolest small towns"
The Lincoln Highway runs through Mount Vernon, 30 miles west of Massillon, an unincorporated community in Iowa's Cedar County. The Lincoln Highway connects Massillon, Iowa, with Massillon, Ohio, where Bob Commings worked before jumping straight into the head football coaching job at Iowa in the 1970s.
Wirfs was born in January of 1999, two weeks before the Browns' expansion draft was conducted in Canton. Ferentz had just been hired as Iowa's head coach. Eric Steinbach, who became a Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, had just committed to Iowa.
Wirfs' was committed to baseball for a while. His life ambition, MLB, seemed reachable when he launched two home runs in a varsity game as a freshman for the Mount Vernon Colts. He was a big first baseman with conspicuously natural footwork and a penchant for talking to baserunners.
He migrated away from baseball but wound up as a three-sport dynamo — good enough to be named Iowa's high school athlete of the year for 2015-16 by the Des Moines Register, big enough to be the subject of an eight-part series by the Cedar Rapids Gazette in 2018.
Wirfs became a state heavyweight wrestling champ, which earned him points with Ferentz, who admired his diligence in cutting more than 30 pounds to make the 270 weight limit. In track and field, Wirfs drew crowds at the Drake Relays, where in his senior year he won the shot with a 66-foot bomb and the discus with a 190-foot UFO.
His high school's launch pad for the discus had been at a safe distance from the tennis courts until he arrived. His better throws would sail over a fence protecting the tennis team.
"You don't want anyone getting hit by that thing," one of his coaches told the Gazette, noting he eventually was banned from the discus while tennis was going on.
Wirfs went to Iowa as a tackle. Ferentz figured it could be on either side. It became both sides, but mostly on the right, and not because he wouldn't have been (in Ferentz's mind) just as good on the left.
"I would play him at left tackle if I was still in the NFL," Ferentz said. "Maybe that's why I'm not, but that's where I'd play him. Tackles are such a valuable commodity ... at any level."
Ferentz explained why Wirfs' regular spot at Iowa became right tackle.
The Hawkeyes prepared for their 2017 season with two bright prospects at tackle, but neither slated to start. One was Alaric Jackson, who got to Iowa a year before Wirfs and took a redshirt in 2016.
Both Iowa starting tackles got hurt early in '17. Jackson, who wound up making second team All-Big Ten in 2019, had been with the program longer and got first shot at left tackle.
Ferentz is good at recruiting and developing offensive linemen and prefers not to use kids fresh out of high school, but when the right tackle job soon came open, Wirfs plugged in and played most of the season, emerging as Ferentz's first true freshman to start in the offensive trenches.
Wirfs wound up playing three games at left tackle in 2019 when Jackson was hurt.
"It really doesn't matter to me," Wirfs said at the Combine. "Coach Ferentz doesn't think there is much of a difference. I played right most of the time, and if I needed to flip to left, I would do it in the middle of the series, in the middle of drives.
"If playing guard is where I'm needed, then I'll play that."
Suppose the Browns draft Wirfs and pair him with Conklin. Who plays left tackle?
Conklin, who will be paid like a left tackle, mostly played right tackle for the Titans, but he started 35 games at left tackle for Michigan State.
It is unknown whether the Browns' new coaches will consider keeping eighth-year pro Chris Hubbard at right tackle, in which case Wirfs could fill a hole at right guard while playing between veterans Hubbard and JC Tretter, the center.
Ferentz can picture Wirfs as a guard, saying, "You play a guy like that inside, he's basically going to destroy guys."
An embarrassing hiccup for Wirfs, much discussed at the Combine, stems from his getting arrested in Iowa City in the summer of 2018 for operating a motor scooter while intoxicated. According to the arrest report, Wirfs and two passengers were on his Yamaha Zuma when police noticed them horsing around.
Wirfs never heard the end of it during Combine interviews with teams. He stuck to a contrition-based message including the admission it was "a stupid thing to do."
"That was a kid mistake," Ferentz said this past week. "There were consequences, and he learned from them. Tristan is a model kid with great values. He's exactly the kind of guy you want in the room."
NFL Network scout Lance Zierlein sees Wirfs' traits as similar to Brian Bulaga's. That might draw winces from those who recall departed Browns GM John Dorsey comparing 2018 draft bust Austin Corbett to Bulaga, but Bulaga himself is pretty good, having recently signed (at age 31) a three-year, $30 million contract with the Chargers as their new left tackle.
Bulaga was a No. 23 overall pick by Green Bay out of Iowa in 2010. He was 21 when he became the youngest offensive lineman to start in a Super Bowl (a Packers win over Pittsburgh).
Wirfs' scouting report from Zierlein, whose father, like Ferentz, once was a Browns O-line coach, includes these snippets:
"Weight-room monster who can squat a bus. ... has tools to handle gap blocking while thriving in outside zone. ... Elite body type. ... Quick out of his stance. ... Dominant traits, but doesn't consistently dominate with them."
Ferentz's scouting report is simpler:
Take him.
https://www.cantonrep.com/sports/20200329/iowas-kirk-ferentz-thinks-browns-any-nfl-team-wise-to-draft-freakish-tristan-wirfs?
DENVER
O’Halloran Denver Post: Broncos Draft Board: “All-around” receiver Jerry Jeudy would be able to contribute immediately
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/28/broncos-draft-board-jerry-jeudy/amp/
O’Halloran Denver Post: NFL Journal: Graham Glasgow’s football IQ on display when discussing difference between guard, center
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/28/graham-glasgow-football-iq-broncos-nfl-journal/
DETROIT
Lions agreed to terms with former Packers’ WR Geronimo Allison
Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
GREEN BAY
Silverstein Mil JS: Packers wise to be prepared in case another Aaron Rodgers falls into their lap
https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2020/03/29/packers-wise-prepared-case-another-aaron-rodgers-falls-into-their-lap/2908754001/
HOUSTON
McClain Houston Chronicle: To replace DeAndre Hopkins, Texans will spread passes around
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/john-mcclain/amp/McClain-To-replace-DeAndre-Hopkins-Texans-will-15162681.php
KANSAS CITY
Teicher ESPN KC: Chiefs re-signing WR Demarcus Robinson for one year, source says
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28965967/chiefs-re-signing-wr-demarcus-robinson-one-year-source-says?
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Miller LA Times: What the Chargers’ draft needs are at each position
https://www.latimes.com/sports/chargers/story/2020-03-28/chargers-nfl-draft-needs-at-each-position
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Bell USA Today: Rams have become experts at disaster response, are drawing on experience to face coronavirus crisis
https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2935134001
Thiry ESPN LA: Rams' path forward remains unclear following initial moves in free agency
https://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/41489/la-rams-path-forward-remains-unclear-following-initial-moves-in-free-agency?
Klein LA Times: What the Rams’ draft needs are at each position
https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2020-03-28/what-the-rams-draft-needs-are-at-each-position?
MINNESOTA
Tomasson Twincities.com: Against backdrop of coronavirus challenges, pressure on Vikings’ Rick Spielman to have quality draft
https://www.twincities.com/2020/03/28/against-backdrop-of-challenges-related-to-coronavirus-pressure-on-vikings-rick-spielman-to-have-quality-draft/amp/
NEW ENGLAND
Reiss ESPN Boston: Quick-hit thoughts/notes around the Patriots and NFL (Stephon Gilmore takes offseason changes in stride; tight to salary cap; trade suggestion at TE; Brady the holder; Patriots theme — together while apart; Shelton vs. Allen contracts; Professor Cope etc.)
https://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4819637/stephon-gilmore-takes-the-patriots-offseason-changes-in-stride
Guregian Boston Herald: Patriots likely to see historic AFC East dominance end in 2020
https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/03/28/patriots-likely-to-see-historic-afc-east-dominance-end-in-2020/amp/
Daniels Providence Journal: Will Patriots find their next QB in the draft?
https://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20200328/will-patriots-find-their-next-qb-in-draft
NEW ORLEANS
Johnson Nola.com: Saints' secret weapon in free agency? A winning culture: 'I wanted to be a part of that'
https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/article_85c079fa-703e-11ea-be5e-0bb1b403b1df.amp.html
NEW YORK JETS
Cimini ESPN NY: A look at what's happening around the New York Jets:
Jets' one-year approach sets stage for potential monster 2021 offseason
“Nine of the 13 contracts are one-year deals, most notably linebacker Jordan Jenkins and wide receiver Breshad Perriman. Of the four players with multi-year agreements, three can be released after one season with minimal cap implications. The only player with enough guaranteed money to have roster security is center Connor McGovern.
Why so many short-term commitments?
Because of depth issues on both sides of the ball, Jets general manager Joe Douglas is attacking free agency with a quantity-over-quality approach. Some of that can be attributed to a semi-tight cap situation, as New York began with an estimated $50 million in room. The Jets have missed out on some big-game players, but Douglas was willing to sacrifice that for long-term flexibility.
It creates an intriguing situation in 2021. They have only $121 million committed to the '21 cap, which gives them $81 million in projected cap space, per overthecap.com. The cap will get a nice bump once the NFL negotiates its new TV contracts. You also have to think running back Le'Veon Bell won't be around, which would add another $11.5 million in the kitty.
The Jets will have plenty of room to re-sign star safety Jamal Adams (if he still doesn't have a long-term extension) and perhaps do something with quarterback Sam Darnold, who will be eligible for a new deal in 2021. There aren't many huge contracts looming on the Jets' horizon -- safety Marcus Maye is their only prominent free agent in '21 -- so Douglas will have the ability to be a big player in free agency if he decides to go that route.”
https://www.espn.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/82682/jets-one-year-approach-sets-stage-for-potential-monster-2021-offseason?
Serby NYP: Dynamic Henry Ruggs III could force Jets’ hand at NFL draft
https://nypost.com/2020/03/28/dynamic-henry-ruggs-iii-could-force-jets-hand-at-nfl-draft/
PHILADELPHIA
Hayes Phil Inquirer: Carson Wentz, Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson see larger leadership roles with exodus of veteran Eagles
https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/eagles-carson-wentz-fletcher-cox-philadelphia-20200329.html
Grotz Reading Eagle: Quarterback Nate Sudfeld confident in his role with Eagles
https://www.readingeagle.com/sports/eagles/quarterback-nate-sudfeld-confident-in-his-role-with-eagles/article_17c325fc-7119-11ea-a6c4-87c59fd61e61.html
Spadaro Eagles.com: LB Jatavis Brown: 'I'm ready to fly high' in defense
https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/lb-jatavis-brown-ready-to-fly-high-in-defense
PITTSBURGH
Curti Pittsburgh Tribune Review:
Char Valley grad Christian Kuntz ready for 2nd chance with Steelers after XFL run
https://triblive.com/sports/char-valley-grad-kuntz-ready-for-2nd-chance-with-steelers-after-xfl-run/
SEATTLE
Condotta Seattle Times: What are Seahawks getting in CB Quinton Dunbar? ‘A young Richard Sherman,’ says a former coach.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/former-uw-standout-on-new-seahawk-quinton-dunbar-what-you-are-getting-is-a-young-richard-sherman/?
Colleges/Draft
TE
I think this TE group is the worst positional group I've ever scouted. I've landed on Day 2 grades for only three players. Difficult to see anyone becoming anything more than a good TE2
Benjamin Solak
@BenjaminSolak
C
Pauline PFN: 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report
Cesar Ruiz, C, Michigan Wolverines
https://www.profootballnetwork.com/michigan-cesar-ruiz-scouting-report-2020-nfl-draft/
DE
Pflum BBV: 2020 NFL Draft prospect profile: A.J. Epenesa, iDL, Iowa
https://www.bigblueview.com/platform/amp/2020/3/28/21197172/2020-nfl-draft-prospect-profile-a-j-epenesa-idl-iowa-scouting-report-ny-giants
LB
Can I compare Isaiah Simmons to Zion Williamson?
Just too big, fast, smart and athletic for anyone
Matt Miller
@nfldraftscout
If I draft Isaiah Simmons, you can bet he's playing some goal line tight end too
Matt Miller
@nfldraftscout
My concern when it comes to Simmons and Giants is that the defense is not in position to play backyard football, and his strength might not have the desired impact because of how they will need to use him. Love the player, having doubts about the fit at the moment with NYG
Art Stapleton
@art_stapleton
My initial point, and I said it was a concern: it’s not about Simmons fitting Giants, it’s about Giants fitting him and asking him to do too much because of what isn’t around him. He’s a chess piece. Will the queen be exposed too soon on this defense? Something I’ve thought about
Art Stapleton
@art_stapleton
Clemson had so many position-less players in 2019. Simmons, Wallace, Muse...dudes just matchup and almost play backyard football on defense. Athletes freed up to make plays
Matt Miller
@nfldraftscout
CB
Pflum BBV: 2020 NFL Draft prospect profile: Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama
https://www.bigblueview.com/platform/amp/2020/3/29/21198028/2020-nfl-draft-prospect-profile-trevon-diggs-cb-alabama-scouting-report-ny-giants
S
Edholm Yahoo Sports: 37. LSU S Grant Delpit
6-foot-2, 213 pounds
Yahoo Sports draft grade: 5.98
“TL;DR scouting report: Tackling issues a legit concern, but Delpit’s range, instincts and athletic traits make him a projectable starting safety
The skinny: A 4-star Rivals recruit (and top 100 nationally), Delpit selected the Tigers over several schools from around the country, including SEC programs such as Alabama. (He even was recruited by academic powers such as Harvard.)
As a true freshman in 2017, Delpit played in 13 games (10 starts), and in 2018, Delpit emerged as one of the best defensive backs in the country, earning unanimous first-team All-American and first-team All-SEC mention. Delpit had surgery to repair a broken collarbone he suffered in LSU’s 2018 spring game.
Despite taking a step backward in his play in 2019, Delpit won the Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back and was voted second-team AP All-America and first-team all-conference. He notched 65 tackles (4.5 for loss), two sacks, two interceptions and seven pass breakups in 14 starts for the national champs.
Delpit, who turns 22 in August, declared early for the 2020 NFL draft. He attended the NFL scouting combine but only participated in weigh-in, medical eval and interviews, opting to wait for his pro day (which never happened) to be 100 percent healed from the high-ankle sprain he suffered in October.
Upside: Ideal height and weight for the position. Fluid athlete who carries his weight extremely well. Outstanding range to play single-high coverages and patrol the middle of the field. Very good instincts for the position. Strong football IQ and knowledge of the game.
Coverage awareness is advanced for an underclassman. Breaks on throws in a flash, even those outside the numbers, and arrives with good timing. Smart, disciplined and instinctive in coverage — only four penalties in nearly 2,500 career snaps, and only one was a pass interference call. Seldom beat deep.
This is the kind of play from 2018 that still gets evaluators excited. Watch as Delpit starts the play between the far-side hashmarks, keys on the eyes of Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta'amu and breaks on the sideline pass the moment Ta'amu commits to throwing it — and the diving INT is just the icing on the cake:
Plus-level ability to carry tight ends down the seam in man coverage. Played in the “quarters” spot extensively in 2018 where he showed he can man up vs. tight ends, cover the slot, blitz and help as a run defender. Also can play single-high or split-safety look, as he did more of in 2019. Nice versatility to act as back-half chess piece. Perfect addition to “big nickel” packages.
Aggressive player who smells blood in the water. Nose for the ball — eight interceptions, 32 passes defended, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 40 career games. Ball skills of a receiver. Times up blitzes well — seven career sacks, plus 13 total pressures (per PFF) on 39 pass-rush reps in 2018.
Physical, urgent and energetic run defender who will throw his body into the mix. Better health allowed him to play more freely and confidently. Tough player who fought through early-season ankle injury that lingered and late-season shoulder pain that cropped up.
Downside: Well-documented tackling concerns not overblown — 20 missed tackles in first 11 games. Often fired into ball carriers with shoulder-tackle attempts (often right shoulder) and would fail to wrap up — appeared to favor surgically repaired left side. Here’s a great example of Delpit crashing down hard on the quick screen to Texas WR Devin Duvernay but failing to bring him down in space:
Can be hyper-aggressive — three personal foul calls past two seasons. Comes flying into the action a bit recklessly and will take suspect angles to the ball at times. Tackling consistency not just a 2019 thing and can’t be blamed on the ankle — 16 missed tackles charted in 2018 season as well. Likely requires technique breakdown at next level.
Playmaking leveled off last season — only two interceptions, five passes defended. Alabama, Ole Miss and Clemson were not afraid to go after him in coverage. Guessed wrong on some RPOs past two seasons — aggressiveness will work against him. Occasional busts in coverage. Might lack top-end speed to match with NFL deep receivers.
Might not have the sheer bulk to be a full-time box safety. Can do better job taking on blocks. Durability is a lingering concern. Isn’t the alpha-dog, fiery leader that predecessor Jamal Adams was. (Leadership likely will come in other forms, however.)
Best-suited destination: Delpit’s strange 2019 season makes his evaluation trickier, but we’re still talking about a top-shelf talent who should emerge in a starting role. He’s versatile enough to play up or back and can emerge as a very good player if he cleans up his tackling.
Among the teams we think could be interested in Delpit’s services include the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Did you know: Delpit was honored with the right to wear the prestigious No. 7 jersey in 2019 — joining a select group in recent years that included Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Leonard Fournette and D.J. Chark. It’s annually given to the player who is deemed to be the team’s best playmaker.
The honor will be passed on to WR Ja’Marr Chase — perhaps the top returning wideout in the country —in 2020.
They said it: “He won the Thorpe, which just shows people vote for names they recognize at certain positions. If you just showed me [his 2019 tape], I’d say he was a third-rounder, maybe a fourth. He’s a good player, and you have to watch 2018 tape as well to get the full picture. The staff really likes him and advocated for him, but it’s going to take a team that trusts he’s going to improve as a tackler and be that same player again.”
— AFC area scout
Player comp: As a center fielder, Delpit shows some traits similar to the Saints’ Marcus Williams. As a box safety, he has skills similar to the Packers’ Adrian Amos.
Expected draft range: It still feels likely that Delpit will crack the top 50 picks, but his stock has stagnated a bit. It would not at all be stunning if he is the third safety drafted.”
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/yahoo-sports-top-2020-nfl-draft-prospects-no-37-lsu-s-grant-delpit-164920204.html
Life
Farrar Touchdownwire USA Today: Former NFL DB Myron Rolle now treating COVID-19 as a neurosurgery resident
https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/2020/03/28/former-nfl-db-myron-rolle-now-fighting-covid-19-as-a-neurosurgery-resident/
History
PFJ: Mike Stratton LOOKING BACK
By Jeffrey J Miller
http://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/2020/03/mike-stratton.html
Giants Birthdays 3-29
Chris Calloway WR BFA-PIT 1992 NYG 1992-1998 3-29-1968 (11-
Pennington NYT: Giants' Calloway Blossoms Into a Very Feared Receiver (11-07-1997)
“He is quiet in the locker room, quiet in the huddle, quiet just before the football is snapped, even if the cornerback across the line of scrimmage is chattering away or when the linebacker he is assigned to block is making menacing threats.
The Giants wide receiver Chris Calloway's stoicism in the game's most turbulent moments never ceases to impress his teammates because they know another side to Calloway.
''In the meeting rooms when we're going over film,'' Giants wide receiver Kevin Alexander said, ''Chris is always the one talking. He's got a very active mind. He's always asking the most questions.''
Or in the words of the Giants receivers coach Milt Jackson: ''Most good players aren't afraid to ask questions. They think of 'what if?' And that's why they're ready when 'what if?' becomes the 'what now?' ''
Prepared, steady and consistent, for the last two seasons Calloway was the best receiver on the worst passing offense in the National Football League. This year, he is again the best receiver on the Giants, and though statistically the team's passing attack is only slightly better (the Giants currently rank 23d in the league), Calloway is suddenly a feared weapon.
He is averaging 15 yards on his 37 receptions this year, and his 555 receiving yards place him among the conference leaders. He had a touchdown catch that won the Giants' game with the Detroit Lions, and has three receptions for touchdowns, which gives Calloway a chance this season to score more touchdowns than any Giants receiver since Mark Bavaro had eight in 1987. He is also on a pace to have the first 1,000-yard receiving season for a Giant since Lionel Manuel had 1,029 in 1988.
And quietly -- how else? -- Calloway is ascending the Giants' career list in receptions. With 251 catches, he is already sixth, having just passed Aaron Thomas at 247. Bavaro is next, at 266.
After that, the remaining players are all prominent names in Giants history: Joe Morrison with 395 career receptions, Frank Gifford (367), Bob Tucker (327) and Kyle Rote (300). If Calloway can remain healthy, and if Giants quarterback Danny Kanell continues to make him his favorite receiver, the 29-year-old Calloway could become the franchise's top receiver in less than two seasons. All of which obscures Calloway's most valuable skill, if you ask his teammates. ''He's an amazing blocker for a receiver,'' said Alexander. Quarterback Dave Brown said: ''Chris is the best blocking receiver in the league. I don't know too many receivers who want to be known for that, but it's vital for our running game.''
Calloway, who grew up in Chicago and attended the University of Michigan, is soft-spoken and restrained when the subject is himself. He will tell you he is playing much the same this year as any other year.
''Mostly, the entire offense is improved,'' he said. ''I'm just riding along with it. The offensive line is protecting the quarterback, which gives the receivers more time to execute their routes. And we're running the ball better, which means we pass in situations that aren't always obvious passing situations. That makes it easier to beat the defensive backs.''
Again, Calloway's teammates tell a different story.
''Chris studies his opponents,'' Alexander said. ''He learns their tendencies. And then he runs routes that twist those defensive backs in knots. He has them all confused out there.''
Calloway, at 5 feet 10 inches and 190 pounds, is not large for an N.F.L. receiver. By pro football standards, his speed is considered at best average. ''But he may be the most underrated receiver in the league,'' Giants Coach Jim Fassel said. ''He's dependable. He runs precise routes, which is more important than people realize, and he's clever. He gets open not because of luck, but because of skill and guile. And he will catch the ball in traffic and take the hit.
''I always thought he was a very good N.F.L. receiver. We just had to cut him loose.''
Brown said: ''He views the game like a quarterback views the game. He doesn't just learn what his responsibility is on a play, he learns the entire play. So when he gets out there and has to adjust, he's not a robot, he makes a smart choice.''
Or, as Alexander said: ''He asks all those questions in the meetings so he's never surprised. That's what makes him seem calm out there.''
Which, of course, lets Calloway do what he does best. ''He keeps quiet,'' Alexander said. ''He thinks. And most of the time, he's open.''
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/07/sports/pro-football-giants-calloway-blossoms-into-a-very-feared-receiver.html
Johnathan Hankins RDT D2-Ohio State 2013 NYG 2013-2016 3-29-1992
Bob Lurtsema RDT/LDE TR-BAL 1967 NYG 1967-1971 3-29-1942
1968 Giants Profile
BOB LURTSEMA
Defensive Tackle
No. 71
Western Michigan
"Off his work in the last six games of 1967, Bob Lurtsema won the coaching staff's praise as the Giants' best defensive lineman.
Bob is the hulking, blond 6-6, 250-pound tackle the Giants grabbed after the Colts were forced to cut him early last season. By his own admission, he was as confused in his first three games as a visitor caught in Times Square traffic. But he learned to read his guard after a while, and stopped going with a fake. He plugged up running plays to the inside and also learned to use his bull strength to break through to the passer.
The former Colt taxi-squader was originally signed as a free agent."
-Jack Zanger, Pro Football 1968
1969 Giants Profile
BOB LURTSEMA
Defensive Tackle
No. 71
Western Michigan
Bob started all 14 games for the Giants in 1968 and his work earned him a nod as a Sporting News first team All-Pro. With an impressive combination of quickness and strength, head coach Sherman once again looks to Bob to help continue the improvement of New York's pass rush.
In his college days, he was Western Michigan's MVP in 1965 and was twice All-Conference.
1970 Giants Profile
“1970 Profile: Bob Lurstema
Defensive End
No. 71
Western Michigan
"A 6-6, 250-pound defensive lineman, he joined the Giants in '67 after spending the previous season on the taxi squad of the Baltimore Colts. The Colts had drafted him out of Western Michigan University.
In '67 and '68, Lurtsema gave the Giants their most effective pass rush, showing tremendous strength and determination. In '69, however, he was less effective in defending against running plays. With the acquisition of experienced tackles Jim Kanicki and Jerry Shay, 28-year-old 'Lurts' will in all likelihood be converted defensive end. He's tall enough and strong enough.
Lurtsema is a versatile all-around athlete. He played basketball and baseball at Western Michigan and is now a low-handicap golfer. When not playing football, he's a mechanical engineer."
Jim McCann P W-SF 1973 NYG 1973 3-29-1949
Frank Sutton T UDFA-Jackson State 1987 NYG 1987 3-29-1963
Steve Tobin C UDFA-Minnesota 1980 NYG 1980 3-29-1957
Justin Tuck DE/LDT D3-Notre Dame 2005 NYG 2005-2013 3-29-1983
Giants.com: Giants Chronicles: A Look back at Justin Tuck's Career
A look back at the career of Giants Defensive End Justin Tuck
https://www.giants.com/video/giants-chronicles-a-look-back-at-justin-tuck-s-career-19609607
In Memoriam
Emlen Tunnell LDH/LS UDFA-Iowa 1948 NYG 1948-1958 Born 3-29-1925 Died 7-23-1975
Carroll PFR: EMLEN TUNNELL: A GIANT OF DEFENSE
“Emlen Tunnell he would never play football again; twenty-five years later, he became the first Afro-American to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tunnell was born March 25, 1925, in Bryn Mahr, PA. After his graduation from Radnor (PA) High School, he entered the University of Toledo in 1942 but soon suffered the broken neck that seemed to end his football career. Although he was able to play basketball and help Toledo reach the finals of the National Invitational Tournament, he wore a neck brace for a year and was turned down in his attempts to enlist in the army and navy. Undaunted, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard where he served until early 1946.
Upon his return to civilian life, Tunnell enrolled at the University of Iowa and went out for football along with 300 other candidates. He began as the 21st halfback but soon became one of the Hawkeyes' most important players, excelling on defense. In 1947, he asked Coach Eddie Anderson for more time on offense, but surprisingly, he was demoted to the third team. The coach felt his skills would best be used in spot situations. Tunnell fumed, and considered not returning for his senior year. Then an eye operation forced him to drop out of school.
In the summer of 1948, Tunnell hitch-hiked 150 miles to the offices of the New York Giants and asked for a tryout. The Giants had never employed an Afro-American player and none of the coaches had ever heard of Tunnell, but team owner Tim Mara told him, "Since you had enough guts to come over and ask for a tryout, we'll give you one."
He so impressed the Giants coaches, he earned a $5,000 contract along with a $1,000 bonus. There were only a few Afro- American players in the National Football League at the time and the Giants' roster was heavily laden with players from southern schools, but Tunnell always insisted he had no racial problems with his new teammates. In part that was because of his own personality; he quickly became one of the most popular players on the team. However, most of his acceptance no doubt came from his teammates' realization that he could help them win. In his first appearance in a Giant uniform, an exhibition game against Green Bay, he intercepted four passes.
Although he continued to lobby for time on offense, New York coach Steve Owen quickly decided he was too valuable on defense to waste. At 6-1 and weighing nearly 200 pounds, Tunnell was bigger than most defensive backs of the time, yet he was also faster and a devastating tackler. His greatest attribute was his ability to "read" his opponents and put himself in the right place to make a tackle or interception. He spent long hours each week studying film until he knew exactly what to expect from each opponent. Teammate Frank Gifford said of Tunnell's knack for being in the right spot, "At first I thought he was just lucky. Then I realized he was just great."
Tunnell was a key member of Coach Owen's "Umbrella Defense," a strategy that revolutionized pro defenses in the early 1950s. Owen's scheme called for the defensive ends to drop off the traditional six- man line and become linebackers while four defensive backs formed a near impregnable umbrella against passes. In its 1950 unveiling, the defense shut out the high-powered Cleveland Browns for the first time in their history.
Tunnell also became the NFL's top kick returner, combining exceptional hands, good speed, remarkable toughness, and marvelous elusivemess. Although kick returners live on the edge in the NFL and injuries are common, Tunnell ignored the bruises and a few broken bones to play in 158 consecutive games.
Known as the Giants' "offense on defense," he scored three touchdowns on punt returns and a fourth on a kickoff return in 1951. His runbacks of interceptions and kicks in 1952 gained 924 yards, thirty more than the league rushing leader. The next season, his 819 return yards were topped by only two offensive backs.
He starred on the Giants' 1956 NFL championship team and on the 1958 Eastern Division champs. In 1959, he went to Green Bay where he helped former Giants assistant coach Vince Lombardi win a division title in 1960 and a championship in 1961.
At his retirement after the '61 season, Tunnell held NFL career records for interceptions with 79, yards gained on interceptions with 1,282, punt returns with 258, and yards gained on punt returns with 2,209. He played in nine different Pro Bowls, and, although All-NFL selections did not include defensive backs until 1951, he was subsequently chosen at safety four times.
After retiring as a player, Tunnell served as a Giants assistant coach and scout from 1962 through 1973. He was the first Afro-American to serve as a regular fulltime coach in the NFL since the early 1920s. In 1974, he became New York's assistant director of pro personnel, but a year later, he suffered a fatal heart attack in training camp. He was survived by his wife Patricia whom he married in 1962.
In 1969, he was picked at safety on the All-Time NFL Team covering the league's first 50 years. Two years earlier, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not only the first Afro-American to be so honored but also the first player to be elected for purely defensive contributions. When informed of his election to the Hall by then-curator Dick McCann, the modest Tunnell asked, "Who should I thank?"
"Thank yourself," McCann told him.”
http://www.profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/16-05-578.pdf
Pennington NYT: Emlen Tunnell: The Giants’ Greatest Packer (2012)
“Emlen Tunnell, a star defender for the glittering, magnetic Giants, had been summoned to Green Bay. It was 1959, and the new Packers coach, Vince Lombardi, traded for Tunnell, ending his run of 11 record-setting seasons in New York.
A longtime Giants assistant, Lombardi was plotting a thorny overhaul of the bumbling Packers and needed allies from his roots. Tunnell, a dynamic safety and a Manhattan fixture in the golden era of New York sports, gamely made the trip halfway across the country to northeastern Wisconsin.
On arrival in his new home, Tunnell was told he had just doubled the black population in Green Bay. The city’s other African-American, Tunnell heard, was the shoeshine man at the Hotel Northland.
“Well, I’ll live there, then,” Tunnell said.
And so he did. Lombardi paid the rent, which seemed well worth it to ensure Tunnell’s contentment.
Tunnell, then 34, was brought to Green Bay to help instill the tenacious Giants defensive philosophy in the Packers, to school them in the confrontational ways of their new coach and, not insignificant, to make it possible for Lombardi to entice more African-American players to nearly all-white Green Bay.
And how did Lombardi know Tunnell could handle all that? Because Tunnell had performed many of the same duties for the Giants, beginning in 1948, when he was the first black player to suit up for them — and then, in a game against the Packers, intercepted three passes.
In the N.F.L., where the sidelines always seem crowded with helmeted, faceless warriors whose careers are often brief, the everlasting worth and contribution of even gifted players can pass unnoticed, especially for those from the era before television. As the Giants and the Packers prepare for their divisional playoff game here Sunday, the remarkable life of Emlen Tunnell is a rarely recalled tale of a landmark player for each franchise.
Raised in the 1930s in an atypical multiracial neighborhood outside Philadelphia, Tunnell, who died of a heart attack in 1975 at age 50, sprinted through life with an uncommon daring, a sense of duty and an acquired conciliatory style. That personality mix allowed him to survive a broken neck that nearly killed him in a college game, to become a decorated war hero and, in a pivotal moment, to find the fortitude to hitchhike from Philadelphia to New York, where he showed up at the Giants’ offices unannounced to ask for a tryout.
In the decades that followed, he became the first African-American inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the N.F.L.’s first full-time African-American assistant coach. He remains second in career interceptions even though he played when the running game was dominant. His last game with the Giants was the 1958 N.F.L. championship, widely known as the greatest game ever played. His final game was Green Bay’s victory for the 1961 league title, the first of five for Lombardi, whose teams had several black stars in the mid-1960s.
Tunnell’s last job was in the Giants’ scouting department. Last week, the team’s co-owner John Mara, who was with Tunnell the night of his death, said, “It’s fair to say that Emlen was the most beloved member of our organization, perhaps in its history.”
A Different Upbringing
Tunnell’s mother, Catherine, was a housekeeper for the wealthy who lived along Philadelphia’s suburban Main Line in the 1920s and 1930s, and like many domestic workers in the area, she settled in the Garrett Hill neighborhood.
Tunnell’s sister, Vivian Robinson, now 89, recalled: “It was a different kind of upbringing, with Italians, Polish and blacks living together — right near all the big homes and three blocks from Villanova University. We went to the local, mostly white schools, and everybody mingled. I think that had a significant effect on Emlen. He learned from his environment — be yourself, but adapt to others who might be different in the group.”
Robinson, who still lives a few miles from her childhood home, said her parents divorced when she and her three brothers, all now deceased, were young.
A multisport star at Radnor Township High School, Tunnell, who stood 6 feet 1 inch and weighed 190 pounds, chose to attend the University of Toledo because it offered the largest athletic scholarship. As a freshman football player in 1942, Tunnell was knocked unconscious by a collision that broke a neck vertebra and left in him critical condition. When he awoke in the hospital, a priest was administering Last Rites.
“We weren’t even Catholic,” Robinson said. “But they weren’t waiting to ask.”
Tunnell returned to Garrett Hill in a neck brace that he wore for several months. Told he would never play football again, Tunnell played basketball at Toledo instead, but the next year, like many American men, he wanted to enlist. The Army and the Navy rejected him because of his neck injury. With persistence, he was accepted into the Coast Guard. Before that, Tunnell had never been on a boat, and he could barely swim.
On the night of April 27, 1944, Tunnell was aboard the cargo ship U.S.S. Etamin as it unloaded 6,000 tons of explosives and gasoline while at anchor after an invasion at Aitape Harbor, New Guinea, in the South Pacific. The Etamin was attacked by Japanese aircraft, and a torpedo opened a gaping 27-square-foot hole on its starboard side. Gasoline sprayed over the ship and eventually caused an explosion in the engine room.
Fred Shaver, a machinist who had remained in the lower deck shutting many of the ship’s functions to prevent a larger explosion, was soon engulfed in flames. He hurried up a ladder and ran onto the ship’s deck. Tunnell, one of five African-Americans in the crew of about 200, had befriended Shaver, a white man with whom he had spent hours at sea talking sports.
“I really don’t know how I knew the horrible figure running toward me in the darkness was Freddy,” Tunnell wrote in his autobiography, “Footsteps of a Giant,” published in 1966. “There was almost nothing recognizable about him. He was covered with fire.”
Tunnell chased Shaver, picked him up and carried him to shelter, beating out the flames with his hands. Shaver sustained burns over nearly 80 percent of his body, but he survived, unlike two other machinists in the engine room. After the war, Shaver returned to the Washington, D.C., area. where he worked as an auditor for nearly 40 years.
“It was an amazingly brave thing for Emlen to do,” Shaver, now 88 and living in Panama, said in a telephone interview Thursday.
Tunnell wrote in his book that he did what any other crew member would have. All these years later, Shaver chuckled at that thought.
“Emlen ran after me across that deck like he was chasing a halfback,” he said. “Then beat the flames out with his bare hands. He was burned, too. Emlen didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. But he is the one who helped me when I needed it.”
Two years later, another Tunnell shipmate, Alfred Givens, fell off the dock of the Coast Guard cutter Tampa near Newfoundland. Tunnell jumped into the 32-degree water to rescue Givens. Tunnell was treated for hypothermia and shock.
“I said to him one time, ‘You could have drowned; you’re not that much of a swimmer,’ ” Robinson said. “He looked at me and said: ‘I had to take the chance. My buddy needed me.’ ”
Tunnell almost never spoke of his wartime exploits — teammates contacted last week, for example, were unaware. In 1946, he was nominated for a Silver Lifesaving Medal, but when he left the Coast Guard soon after, the commendation was never pursued. Last year, the Coast Guard honored Tunnell posthumously in California. Robinson and her daughter, Catherine, attended the ceremony, as did Fred Shaver’s daughter, Nancy, who flew there from Washington.
“All my life, I wanted to thank Emlen for saving my father’s life,” Nancy Shaver said last week. “And if not him, then his family. And so I did.”
Catching Like Willie
By the late 1940s, the University of Iowa had developed a reputation for having a big-time football program whose black players were given an equal chance to play. When he left the Coast Guard, Tunnell made his way to Iowa, and made the team as a substitute running back He worked his way up the depth chart quickly and also returned kicks and punts.
Tunnell played offense and defense, scored three touchdowns in a win over Indiana and delighted crowds with the distinctive way he caught kicks — at his belt, à la Willie Mays in the outfield.
“Just like Green Bay later in life, he was one of the few black people for miles around,” Vivian Robinson said. “He told me kids would come up and run their fingers through his hair because they had never seen hair like his.”
In 1948, although he had a season of eligibility remaining, Tunnell decided to turn pro. A few months earlier, he received a questionnaire from Wellington Mara, the son of the Giants’ founder, who had mailed the form to every senior college player. Tunnell did not fill out the questionnaire, but he went to see Mara.
With $1.50 in his pocket, he started hitchhiking. Tunnell was having trouble finding rides and was stuck in New Jersey when a West Indian immigrant driving a banana truck picked him up and dropped him off several blocks from the Giants’ headquarters at the Polo Grounds in Harlem.
Asking for Wellington Mara, Tunnell instead met Tim Mara, his father.
“The story is that my grandfather said, ‘Well, if you’re here, you might as well try out,’ ” John Mara, Wellington’s son, said.
Vivian Robinson recalled her brother’s call from the Giants’ offices.
“He was very excited and kept saying into the phone that he made the team — that he was going to be a Giant,” Robinson said.
Tunnell signed a one-year contract worth $5,000. A few weeks later, Robinson went to watch his first game in New York.
“It was the most horrible situation I had ever seen,” she said. “The fans were chanting ‘Go home’ at Emlen. They were yelling all kinds of things at him. They didn’t want a black player. I sat there thinking how upset Emlen must be.
“When I saw him afterward, he kind of shrugged it off. He said: ‘Those guys don’t know what they’re doing. And it’s just a few. They’ll get over it.’ And you know, I went back a month later after Emlen was playing so well, and the same fans were cheering him.”
John Mara said last week that he did not believe the Giants were trying to make a statement about integrating the team, but in the end, Tunnell’s signing had a drastic impact.
“I had plenty of black teammates in college” at Southern California, said Frank Gifford, who began his Giants career in 1952. “But it was different in the N.F.L. Most of the guys playing pro were from the South, and so were the coaches. It wasn’t easy being black at the time. But Emlen seemed to ease through it. He had a way of drawing people to him.
“My roommate was Charlie Conerly, who was from Mississippi. We would go for beers with Emlen all the time. Charlie and Emlen were best buddies.”
Tunnell became the mentor, counselor and guru for a series of black Giants stars including the future Hall of Famers Rosey Brown and Rosey Grier, and Mel Triplett.
Brown was 20 years old when he joined the Giants from Morgan State. Tunnell insisted that they room together at the Henry Hudson Hotel on West 57th Street.
“Within two months, Emlen had introduced me to every cabby, maître d’hôtel, barber, teammate, cop or politician I needed to know in New York,” Brown said years later. “There was no fuss to it. They were Emlen’s friends.”
Vince Lombardi Jr., a ball boy for the Giants in the 1950s, recalled last week that at the team’s training camp in Vermont, some nights the players would wander into the local bars.
“But the black players had nowhere to go,” Lombardi said. “Emlen would have them gather on the dorm porch, and he just kind of told stories through the night. He wanted them to feel part of something too, I think. And he commanded total respect because of who he was on the football field.”
Tunnell was a nine-time Pro Bowler, and his play revolutionized the safety position. He was the first N.F.L. defensive player to be thought of as an offensive threat, returning interceptions for touchdowns or setting up scoring drives. He was known as “offense on defense,” and he returned hundreds of punts and kickoffs, occasionally accumulating more total yards in a season than the team’s leading rusher.
“He was also a contradiction as a person and a player,” Gifford said. “He was so easygoing off the field, but once he put on that jersey, he was ferocious. He could do it all — outleap a receiver for an interception, then come up and fill the hole for a big hit like a linebacker.
“He would hit people so hard, he would knock himself out. Then after the game, he would be the guy cracking most of the jokes on the bus ride home. Nobody on those Giants teams had ever met anyone like Emlen.”
‘Don’t Put Up With That’
When Tunnell arrived in Green Bay in 1959, he immediately knew one of his roles was to act as an interpreter for his new teammates in the ways of Lombardi, who could be demanding and truculent.
“Em had been through the wars with Coach Lombardi,” said Jerry Kramer, who was in his second year with the Packers when Lombardi took over. “When coach would be screaming at us, most of us would be looking at our shoes. Em was looking coach in the eye. He knew that Lombardi’s yelling was half performance and half message, and he knew which half was which.
“He would tell us later: Don’t worry about how mean or mad he was because that doesn’t mean anything. But you better make sure you run those two plays exactly like he was telling you to run them. Not sort of like he was saying; do it exactly like he was saying.”
A year after Tunnell became a Packer, defensive lineman Willie Davis was acquired in a trade with Cleveland.
“I showed up looking for somewhere to stay, and the only rooms people showed me in Green Bay were pretty run-down,” Davis said Thursday. “Emlen heard about that and made me room with him for the entire season. He told me, ‘Don’t put up with that.’ And he went to Coach Lombardi about it too.”
Lombardi worked to find more suitable lodging for his African-American players, like the future Hall of Famer Willie Wood, who joined the Packers the same year. And Lombardi stepped into the social void the black players often felt.
“He went to the bars in town and told each one that if they discriminated against his black players, then the bar would be off limits to all Packer players,” said David Maraniss, author of the definitive Lombardi biography, “When Pride Still Mattered.”
Lombardi’s distaste for discrimination was personal. He had felt it as an Italian-American growing up in the 1920s.
“My father had a keen sense for what discrimination felt like,” Vince Lombardi Jr. said. “He had not experienced it like black people, but his antenna was really out for it. He felt he missed out on a few head-coaching jobs because of his Italian heritage.”
Davis, one of the N.F.L.’s greatest defensive players, said that Tunnell became an extension of the coach in most ways, and that his presence eased racial tensions within the team and within the league.
“Emlen would not take anything from anybody, but he could be an important mediator when tempers got out of hand,” Davis said. “Without him, cooler heads might not have always prevailed and there would have been a situation no one really wanted. It happened in practice, it happened in games and it happened in social settings. Emlen could defuse anything just by talking to people.”
Kramer recalled the aftermath of the 1961 championship game, a 37-0 Green Bay victory over the Giants.
“Em knew he was at the end of his career,” Kramer said. “He loved seeing us go from nowhere to champions. He had brought that standard with him. He had taught us so much. He was our big brother, but he had to move on.”
Shared as a Scout
In keeping with his Giants-Packers legacy, Tunnell became a scout for both teams at the same time. He moved back to the Philadelphia area in 1962 and married Patricia Dawkins. (She died in 2010; they had no children.) Soon, Tunnell started coaching part time for the Giants, and by the mid-1960s Coach Allie Sherman made him the full-time defensive backs coach.
“He was a popular coach,” John Mara said. “His guys loved him and he made practice a lot of fun. I know as a young training camp ball boy, we all wanted to be working around Emlen.”
In 1967, Tunnell was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
“As we were getting ready to go to Canton,” Robinson said, “some civil rights leaders in Canton were getting ready to demonstrate because there weren’t any black players in the Hall of Fame. ‘Emlen Tunnell’ didn’t sound black to them. But my mother and I went there and met with them, and you know, they were very happy to see us.”
Tunnell broke down five sentences into his acceptance speech. After thanking his family, his teammates, his coaches and the Mara family, he had begun to thank the banana truck driver who picked him up in 1948.
By the 1970s, Tunnell had returned to scouting, but he was growing tired of the travel that job entailed. At the Giants’ training camp in July 1975 at Pace University, 30 miles north of New York City, Tunnell was rooming with Jerry Shay, a scout and former Giants defensive lineman.
“It was nighttime, and we had just come from a meeting where they told Emlen he was getting a pro personnel job so he could stay home more,” Shay said Wednesday. “Emlen was as happy as a lark. He was coming off the road, going to scout N.F.L. players and evaluate more film in the office. It was just what he wanted.
“We were walking up to the dorm, and Emlen stopped at a drinking fountain to swallow some of the pills he took for his heart.”
Shay and Tunnell stopped in the dormitory lounge where John Mara was watching a baseball game.
“Emlen watched with us for a while, making a few jokes as usual, and then I remember saying goodnight to him,” Mara said.
Shay said they retired early.
“Some nights we used to leave the light on and talk until we fell asleep, but that night I was tired and we shut the light off,” Shay said. “Not long after that I heard Emlen making some ugly sounds and kind of gasping. I went over to his bed, but really, it was like he was gone.
“I ran down the hall and got Rosey Brown. I did CPR. The trainers and doctors came. The ambulance was there pretty quick. But they told us he had died instantly.”
For the two-day viewing at a funeral home near Tunnell’s boyhood home, Vivian Robinson said: “People came from everywhere. The line stretched outside. There were people from Iowa, from Toledo, from all around Philadelphia, from New York and all around the N.F.L. There were Giants. There were Packers.
“There were all kinds of people I did not know but that Emlen had met. There were people from every background. There were little kids that Emlen had met just once, for one day, but they remembered him and wanted to come say goodbye.”
Tunnell is buried a few miles from Garrett Hill, not far from a ball field named for him.
At Lambeau Field, in a prominent spot near a ramp to the upper deck, hangs a poster-size photo of the 1961 Packers championship team — the forebears of Titletown’s modern era. Standing near the center, smiling broadly, is No. 45, Emlen Tunnell.
For decades at Giants headquarters, Wellington Mara, who had sent the questionnaire in 1948, kept a framed oil portrait of Tunnell in a place of honor outside his office. Mara died in 2005, and the Giants moved to new offices at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in 2010.
John Mara moved the oil portrait, too, which is now prominently displayed outside his office.
“It just seemed fitting, knowing how much Emlen always meant to my father and to everyone here,” Mara said. “I wanted it close to me.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/sports/football/emlen-tunnell-the-giants-greatest-packer.html
