Soo.... just how fast was Darrell?

[Zen-like Todd]

That Randall Williams thread got me thinking about Darrell. So I went looking. And of course I know he won every single "NFL's Fastest Man" competition he entered. And he ran a 10.08 100m when he was a senior in high school, second only to Carl Lewis. 10.08 would be considered world-class even today, even though at their best, sprinters like Maurice Greene and Jon Drummond regularly clock in the 9.8-9.9 range. But Darrell was just a high schooler, and sprinters arent even close to peaking at that age.

But then I saw this thing about a "World's Fastest Athletes" competition, apparently in 1991, which he also won. I don't remember it for some reason, but apparently he ran the 60-yard dash in 6.08 seconds. So I looked up the world record in the 60-yard dash. It's an indoor event (I have no idea if Darrell was running indoors). The current world record in the 60-yard dash (55m), is 5.99 seconds.

Given that Darrell didnt spend the last 20 years keeping himself in perfect TRACK shape, and going to competition after competition, where he'd have a ton of shots at getting his "best" time, I find his performance all the more amazing. What a speedy little man.

[CowboySuck]

i gotta agree with you about darryl. the man can just fly up and down that field, and continued to do so even when he was the oldest guy on the grid. so who's your favorite all time redskin? i saw the list of 75 best skins in history or whatever. i think sonny j came in first, though i am not certain. what's the general consensus?

[Mad Mike]

Darrell, Darrell, Darrell, Darrell !!!!!!!

:wave:

Best damn corner the NFL has ever seen. He was making plays and smothering receivers when Deon was still in diapers. Deon is vapor and Darrell is still making plays. How cool was it to see Darrell rush the QB last year?

Here's to you Darrell! You are and always will be, Da man.:notworthy

[fish]

I gotta concur with you Mad Mike,

#28 was flying around there last year. Open field tackles, INTs and rushing the QB.......INCREDIBLE!!

I think he had something to prove..........and DID!!

YDM DG, YDM!! :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

[OrangeSkin]

Wow, it sounds like he could've been a world class sprinter had he wanted to. He's probably still able to burn that Williams kid from the 'Pokes.

[scottb]

One of my favorite memories was watching Darrell come out of nowhere and run down Tony Dorsett from behind. My God he was fast.

[indyskinsfan]

Couple his NFL Fastest Man results with who he ran against and it's eye poppin!

The time he ran last year, will be a marker for years to come for any man, in any sport at 40 years old!

CowboySuck, Darrell Green's my fav. I have to put SonnyJ, Larry Brown, John Riggins, Art Monk, Monte Coleman right up there too. The more I try to hang on to anyone else, someone else comes to mind.

[mojo]

20 years playing what many consider the most difficult position on the field. Absolutely amazing!:notworthy

And you're right on about last years efforts, he threw his body around like a rookie and dished out some serious hits. Darrell has to be considered the best all around cornerback to ever play the game, there's no question IMHO.

As for the Darryl/Deon debate. Darrell IS a great football player who happens to be a world class athlete. Deon WAS a great athlete who happened to play football.

[W&M]

I remember Darrell being invited to train for the Olympic track teams, and I even remember him saying that if he trained purely for track for 6 months, that he beleived he could rule the 55 and 100 meter events.

Also, during one of those fastest man competitions, Darrell ripped off a 55M time that would have been good for a world record, but the the timing officials wouldn't confirm the accuracy of the machinery or the results, so he wasn't given credit for the record. But without a doubt, he could and can still fly.

By the way, be careful how you compare times between races. 55 meters is a little more than 61 yards, so you can't really compare 60 yard dash times to 55 meter times. The problem is, it's hard to know what the proper distance of a race actually is, because people frequently confuse the two.

[NavyDave]

Not only did he do that to Dorsett he did the same thing to Eric Dickerson that also had my mouth hit the floor.

[Zen-like Todd]

Interesting... I never bothered to convert the two, but the 60yd (55m) reference came directly from the record books at the us track and field website.

[bulldog]

Darrell played with one team his entire career and took the winning with the losing. He was easily the team's MVP on defense during that time and the team would not have won the SB in either '87 or '91 without him.

Deion, on the other hand, cherry-picked his teams to try and get to the Super Bowl and yet in 12 years didn't manage to get on any more SB teams than Darrell.

In fact Darrell played on 3 and Deion 2. and both players were in their SBs in the first 10 years of their careers, so the additional longevity of Darrell at the end is not a factor there.

so, my contention is if Deion had stayed in Atlanta or even in San Francisco, where he was on his first SB team, he wouldn't have made it back for a second visit.

certainly no one can say that Deion was the straw that stirred the drink in Dallas in 1995 when the team had already won 2 Super Bowls in 92 and 93 and had made it to the Conference title game in 1994 with largely the same cast of veterans at the skill positions.

[Om]

Just so our newer members know ... we do have at least a little history with Darrell around here.

Back in January, when Darrell was unsure about returning for the 2002 season, some of the members were considering possibly buying ad space in the Post to try to help convince him he was still very much needed and wanted. At the suggestion of a couple of folks, I started drafting something that might go in the ad (about this time, somebody contacted the Post and found out that the kind of ad space we were talking about costed like 11 billion dollars ... but we won't let that get in the way of our story.)

Before it got much further, though, DG announced he was returning, and there was much rejoicing.

After some further discussion, we ended up sending him a version of the "Tribute" anyway because ... well, just because. In retrospect, perhaps it was a little bit over the top, but I stand firm behind the sentiment.

Here's the thread documenting how it played out.

(I've "cleaned up" my posts on the old thread, which you'll notice was from before the software conversion, because it was pretty hard to read with all the formatting codes.)

[CowboySuck]

hey there skins fans.

great group of stories on darryl green there, guys. but after seeing deon sander's name bandied about, i just had to chime in. here's a guy who's got absolutely no class. he represented, to me, all that was and is wrong with the nfl, as well as other sports. never a 'team' player, no alligence to any one team, always concerned with his image, suits, flashy cars, and dumb pizza hut and other crappy commercials.

yes, mr. big ears could play ball, but so can many other jackasses in countless other sports. (l. sprewell, a. iverson and the original blabber mouth mohammed ali come to mind here) see, it's the little things both on and off the field that stand out and makes some athletes shine. darryl green, by all accounts is a true class act. deon sanders was a greedy, obnoxious jerk who had a few good years before letting down everyone around him. who cares about his suits, hats, flashy jewelry, and all that crap anyway? he treated the redskins, who welcomed him with open arms, like garbage. in fact, when he did play, he hardly lived up to the hype. reminds me of a certain mr. westbrook- another overrated player. makes one catch and starts showboating like a fool. (isn't that like, what they're PAID to do anyway?)

i say just play the game and keep your mouths shut, guys.

thanks for letting me vent, fellas.

WF

[indyskinsfan]

NFL's Fastest Man competition also had Green with Pads on and he also won that one as well, beating out Denver's, Green Bay, LA Raider's, Chicago's, and LA Rams fastest players among others. Incredible that he still is there, putting em on one at a time. Here's to the Man.

[Joey T]

Remember Darrell going against Willie Galimore of da Bears?

Now that was world class NFL speed, vis y vis:high:

[theposse]

Watching Darrell cruise by his own teammates to catch a guy like Dorsett, Gault, etc. from behind looked a lot like watching Speedy Gonzalez! Out of the blue this tiny guy just comes blowing by everyone else and nails the ball carrier. Amazing. Also impressive was how great he was returning punts/interceptions. He was not just unbelievably fast, he made great cuts/leaps to get open so he could turn on the speed burners. I remember wishing Gibbs would let him return punts more often because he was so unstoppable at it.

[redman]

You may get your wish, posse, because he's taking reps as PR in camp so far.

Also don't forget that just a few years ago, he caught Nap Kaufman on the Raiders from behind, and Kaufman wasn't exactly a tortoise. And that was when Darrell was 37 or 38. Amazing! :laugh: :notworthy

[BlitzFiftySix]

Darrell was my favorite Redskin until I had the misfortune of meeting him.

I had heard that he only turned on the charm when the cameras were on him. I never believed that until I witnessed it first hand. It was quite unfortunate and left me shocked and in disbelief.

There is a saying, "Never meet your heroes", this could not have been a more accurate statement in my case as his behavior was nothing short of rude and cruel in the presence of a few young boys when their polite requests for a picture or an autograph were declined in a very private setting. He was waiting for an elevator by himself - with no other fans around when my son and 2 of his friends approached him at the team hotel a few years back.

[indyskinsfan]

Sorry you had to experience that, and I can't speak for him. I do know the human element in him may have been transpiring at the moment (a heated argument, a very bad, bad moment or the horror of his name and likeness being used and only litigation to resolve the issue - may be why he prefers another person who can vouch for "his" actions when signing an autograph or giving authority of such.

I myself rarely ask for autgraphs, but shake hands, or say hi, please to meet you or an honor to meet you and go on my way.

Wes Unseld I met in an elevator at the Sheraton Hotel in New York City back in 1975 or 76 and after shaking his hand I felt God had short changed me a bit :laugh: However, the moment excited my girlfriend so much it was a shinging moment just to be in his presence. The next shocker came when going out that night and encountering one Sugar Ray Leonard.

I guess that was more exciting and important to me. I do understand and I would be miffed too, with my kid and all. Just hope you can see, sometimes these guys are in binds like us at strange and odd moments of their life. It's tougher to have to say it I guess, cause, so many recognize them, so the hurt for theim is as far reaching.

[mojo]

Since this thread is still around, maybe someone can answer a question for me?

Everybody remembers the famous '83 Mon. night game in Green Bay when Lynn Dickey pulled a Boomer and threw for a couple miles against the Skins(a game we still should have won, damn Mosely).

Didn't Darrell run down Phillip Epps from behind, another world class runner turned receiver?

I may be completely off base on this:high:

Now that I think about it , maybe Boomer pulled a Dickey:doh:

And no, I'm not a writer for the Hollywood Squares

[indyskinsfan]

No you aren't. The funny thing about that game, is it was like the other Monday Night game (was it the body bag - BUddy Ryan - game?- 1990), in which we had one of those over "40" scores and close also - we tanked on a 20 fourth qtr lead - but it was all kinds of huge plays for both teams, fun to watch and hard hitting with balls popping all over the place.

Lofton was one of those Darrell Green beat in the NFL Fastest Man competition I edited the part about Epps, because it would be better for me to confirm with proof, but it could have been John Jefferson, just as well. I beleive we were 12-4 that year while returning to the SB in back to back fashion.

Here's the RECAP of that game:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/redskins/longterm/1997/history/allart/pack83.htm

[mojo]

Thanks for the link Indy:D