commentary...

when Pro Football Hall of Fame members David "Deacon" Jones and Dick Butkis played in the mid-60's and early 70's,the game was much different... they had attitudes that the opposing teams were "the enemy",and tried to beat them anyway they could... i quoted them both in a previous blog post from separate interviews from about fifteen years ago saying that,when they both played they meant to tackle the ballcarriers harshly... the quotes are factually correct,with my paraphrasing the exact quotes of "ripping their heads off"(Jones said that in referring to sacking the quarterback;he also meant to tackle the quarterback hard*) "and breaking their backs"(Butkis said that,in referring to tackling the ball carrier,meaning that he wanted to tackle him hard),but that is what they said in an interview,because that is how the NFL was played back then... off the field,they were gentle giants,but on the field,they were animals,and they would agree to that... *according to many people,Jones holds the quarterback sack record,but back then the NFL did not count that as a record...