RIP Jack Tatum

Thanks for this, Spnited. Tatum was the first guy I saw who actually caused fear in the secondary. Receivers wanted no part of him. As Boom mentioned, that collision with Campbell is the stuff of legend.

I always considered him to be the Dick Butkus of DBs. I was thrilled when the Browns had his type of hammers at safety with Don Rogers and then Eric Turner.

RIP to a great former Buckeye and Raider.

 

And Dick Butkus is still celebrated for his playing style

 

Obviously you're being sarcastic, but there are rules in most sports about blowouts. In baseball, you don't bunt or steal. In basketball, you don't take 3s. However, I'm not sure I agree with this football one. You still hit. I guess you don't throw 50-yard bombs.

I was eight months old, so I certainly don't remember the play, but from reading accounts, it sounds like Stingley was off balance when he was hit. Add that to a guy coming full speed and it could have just been incidental that he got paralyzed. Meaning it could have been anyone to hit him.

Still, the way he handled it years later was horrendous.

 

As you said you were 8 months old . Football was a different game back in 1978. Tatum played for Woody Hayes who no doubt conditioned him to make every play count.

 

Heaven needed wideouts to feel a little less safe coming across the middle?

 

Don't forget, back then, preseason games were taken more seriously than they are today. With all the money involved today, teams take it easy, and the starters only really play the majority of one out of the four games

Back then, starters played most of the preseason games, and rarely came out, unless they were in a position battle.

 

Never gets old.

 

I agree Boom and, to clarify, I was not saying he should not have been playing that hard in an exhibition game. That is the way he played every game of his life. Others villified him more because it was an exhibition game.

As I said, I saw Tatum in high school and he played that way then. In fact, they had to calm in down in practices so his teammates didn't get hurt.

 

We actually had a local angle on that story. One of Tatum's teammates is from this area and I interviewed him last night. He said it was never Tatum's aim to hurt anyone and that he was a good teammate.

 

The NFL has been dumbed down changed way too much to protect offensive players.
Some of the change was necessary, I agree.
But, can you imagine being a receiver on gameday when your team had drawn the Raiders, running routine routes, knowing in the back of your mind that this guy was lurking out there somewhere, likely coming from your blindside.

RIP Jack Tatum