DSB's Favorite Football Bad Asses of All Time
I’m old enough to admit that I grew up watching The A-Team television series and no matter how they tried to convince me and my friends, we knew the B.A. in B.A. Baracus stood for Bad Ass (and not Bad Attitude). So to mark today’s release of The A-Team movie on DVD (and god, how I wished we were being paid by 20th Century Fox for that plug), we wanted to compile DSB’s favorite bad asses from the world of pro football (in no particular order):
Chuck Bednarik (left)
"Concrete Charlie" was the last two-way player in the NFL and even in his eighties, Bednarik is still critical of today's players calling them "pussyfoots" for playing on only one side of the ball. He also questions the modern football player "suck(ing) air after five plays" and that they "couldn't tackle my wife Emma".
Ray Nitschke
A metal tower on the Packers' practice field once fell over on top of Nitschke and Lombardi barely stopped practice, "He'll be fine. Get back to work!" Savage and ferocious as a middle linebacker, Nitschke was also rumored to have been able to take the lugnuts off a car with his teeth.
Rocky Bleier
Bleier was drafted into the Army after his rookie season and endured shrapnel wounds to his right leg that doctors told him would prevent him from ever playing football again. After working his ass off for 2+ years, Bleier did indeed return to the Steelers and the NFL and played on four Super Bowl champion teams.
Bronko Nagurski
Nagurski was the only person to ever earn All-Pro status at three non-kicking positions as he was a dominant running back, a standout defensive lineman, and a powerful offensive tackle. In his prime and because of money, Nagurski became a professional wrestler and was a three-time heavyweight champion. After six years away, Nagurski returned to the Bears for one more season and carried them to the 1943 Championship.
Ronnie Lott
Instead of rehab or surgery which would have caused him to miss games late in the 1985 season, Lott had a team doctor amputate the tip of his injured, right pinky finger.
Dick Butkus (right)
Butkus was one of the angriest, most ferocious, feared and intimidating players to ever play the game of football. Steve Sabol said of Butkus, "His career stands as the most sustained work of devastation ever committed on any field of sport, anywhere, any time."
Jim Marshall
Marshall played defensive end for 282 consecutive games in 19 straight seasons despite pneumonia, an ulcer, and a shotgun wound to the side. In 1971 and in the middle of his career, Marshall also survived being stranded in deep snow in remote Wyoming as one of 16 people on a snowmobiling trip. He described the experience as "the toughest thing I’ve ever encountered in my life."
Jack Youngblood
During the first half of a divisional playoff game against the Cowboys, Youngblood's left fibula snapped above the ankle but he got the trainers to tape him up so he could play the second half (even recording a sack). Youngblood proceeded to play in the NFC Championship game and Super Bowl the following two weeks using a leg brace. If that wasn't bad ass enough, the future Hall of Famer also played on the broken leg in the Pro Bowl as well.
Marion Motley
Besides being a fearless runner who punished tacklers and still holds the all-time record for yards per carry (5.7), Motley was also an outstanding pass blocker and played linebacker on defense.
Jim Otto
Otto competed in 308 consecutive games and never missed a single game including pre-season, regular season and post-season due to injury. Otto’s body has paid the price as he has had nearly 40 surgeries, including 28 knee operations and multiple joint replacements. In retrospect, he says he wouldn't change a thing if given the opportunity to do it over again, "Football is tough. You want to spell football: T-U-F-F. It's not for weak-hearted guys. It's a tough sport. If you want to get into something else, play with the girls."
Jack Lambert (left)
Lambert personified the Steel Curtain defenses of the '70s with his extreme tenacity, toothless snarl, hitting ability, and intimidation.
Pat Tillman
In the wake of 9/11, Tillman turned down $3.6M to enlist in the Army Rangers with his brother. While serving multiple tours of combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Tillman was tragically killed by friendly fire.
Lawrence Taylor
Before Nutrisystem and Dancing with the Stars made him a shell of his former self, LT was the most dominant defensive player of his generation like a caged animal waiting to get out. John Madden once said of Taylor, "Defensively has had as big an impact as any player I've ever seen. He changed the way defense is played, the way pass-rushing is played, the way linebackers play and the way offenses block linebackers."
Deacon Jones
Jones defined the position of defensive end in the NFL and was the first pass rusher to use a vicious and lethal head slap (since banned) to give himself a headstart on rushing the quarterback.
Jim Brown
Brown played football and lived by the philosophy, "Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts." If I was headed down a dark alley in the wrong section of town, there are very few men other than Brown I would want leading the way.
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy's Sugar Ball...
Chuck Bednarik (left)"Concrete Charlie" was the last two-way player in the NFL and even in his eighties, Bednarik is still critical of today's players calling them "pussyfoots" for playing on only one side of the ball. He also questions the modern football player "suck(ing) air after five plays" and that they "couldn't tackle my wife Emma".
Ray Nitschke
A metal tower on the Packers' practice field once fell over on top of Nitschke and Lombardi barely stopped practice, "He'll be fine. Get back to work!" Savage and ferocious as a middle linebacker, Nitschke was also rumored to have been able to take the lugnuts off a car with his teeth.
Rocky Bleier
Bleier was drafted into the Army after his rookie season and endured shrapnel wounds to his right leg that doctors told him would prevent him from ever playing football again. After working his ass off for 2+ years, Bleier did indeed return to the Steelers and the NFL and played on four Super Bowl champion teams.
Bronko Nagurski
Nagurski was the only person to ever earn All-Pro status at three non-kicking positions as he was a dominant running back, a standout defensive lineman, and a powerful offensive tackle. In his prime and because of money, Nagurski became a professional wrestler and was a three-time heavyweight champion. After six years away, Nagurski returned to the Bears for one more season and carried them to the 1943 Championship.
Ronnie Lott
Instead of rehab or surgery which would have caused him to miss games late in the 1985 season, Lott had a team doctor amputate the tip of his injured, right pinky finger.
Dick Butkus (right)Butkus was one of the angriest, most ferocious, feared and intimidating players to ever play the game of football. Steve Sabol said of Butkus, "His career stands as the most sustained work of devastation ever committed on any field of sport, anywhere, any time."
Jim Marshall
Marshall played defensive end for 282 consecutive games in 19 straight seasons despite pneumonia, an ulcer, and a shotgun wound to the side. In 1971 and in the middle of his career, Marshall also survived being stranded in deep snow in remote Wyoming as one of 16 people on a snowmobiling trip. He described the experience as "the toughest thing I’ve ever encountered in my life."
Jack Youngblood
During the first half of a divisional playoff game against the Cowboys, Youngblood's left fibula snapped above the ankle but he got the trainers to tape him up so he could play the second half (even recording a sack). Youngblood proceeded to play in the NFC Championship game and Super Bowl the following two weeks using a leg brace. If that wasn't bad ass enough, the future Hall of Famer also played on the broken leg in the Pro Bowl as well.
Marion Motley
Besides being a fearless runner who punished tacklers and still holds the all-time record for yards per carry (5.7), Motley was also an outstanding pass blocker and played linebacker on defense.
Jim Otto
Otto competed in 308 consecutive games and never missed a single game including pre-season, regular season and post-season due to injury. Otto’s body has paid the price as he has had nearly 40 surgeries, including 28 knee operations and multiple joint replacements. In retrospect, he says he wouldn't change a thing if given the opportunity to do it over again, "Football is tough. You want to spell football: T-U-F-F. It's not for weak-hearted guys. It's a tough sport. If you want to get into something else, play with the girls."
Jack Lambert (left)Lambert personified the Steel Curtain defenses of the '70s with his extreme tenacity, toothless snarl, hitting ability, and intimidation.
Pat Tillman
In the wake of 9/11, Tillman turned down $3.6M to enlist in the Army Rangers with his brother. While serving multiple tours of combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Tillman was tragically killed by friendly fire.
Lawrence Taylor
Before Nutrisystem and Dancing with the Stars made him a shell of his former self, LT was the most dominant defensive player of his generation like a caged animal waiting to get out. John Madden once said of Taylor, "Defensively has had as big an impact as any player I've ever seen. He changed the way defense is played, the way pass-rushing is played, the way linebackers play and the way offenses block linebackers."
Deacon Jones
Jones defined the position of defensive end in the NFL and was the first pass rusher to use a vicious and lethal head slap (since banned) to give himself a headstart on rushing the quarterback.
Jim Brown
Brown played football and lived by the philosophy, "Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts." If I was headed down a dark alley in the wrong section of town, there are very few men other than Brown I would want leading the way.
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy's Sugar Ball...
Posted by Max Power at 12/14/2010 1:00 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: The ATeam Chuck Bednarik Ray Nitschke Bronko Nagurski Ronnie Lott Dick Butkus Jim Marshall Jack Youngblood Marion Motley Jim Otto Jack Lambert Pat Tillman Lawrence Taylor Deacon Jones Jim Brown
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: The ATeam Chuck Bednarik Ray Nitschke Bronko Nagurski Ronnie Lott Dick Butkus Jim Marshall Jack Youngblood Marion Motley Jim Otto Jack Lambert Pat Tillman Lawrence Taylor Deacon Jones Jim Brown
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