What do people remember about past teams? What do you wonder about?

[MrJL]

We bring up the past in idle comments on threads all the time, but we don't really talk about what people knew or remembered.  I'd like to do that more

 

like in 1981, we were obviously doing an OL overhaul.  We drafted Darryl Grant as a guard and shifted him to DT.  Was he ever actually considered as a guard?

 

Were fans in the early 80s disappointed the Smurfs only lasted a couple years?

 

Why was Monte Coleman so rarely a starter?

 

Were fans in 1989 surprised when Mark Schlereth, a 12th round pick,  earned the starting RG spot, presumably over guys like Mark May and Raleigh McKenzie.  Also in 89 Ed Simmons was our top backup tackle, I see looking at records that both Lachey and Jacoby missed two games and Simmons started four.  Was Simmons a true swing tackle for us and he replaced each guy at their spot, or did we consider Jacoby good enough to still play LT if he had to and he swung over while Simmons played RT in all four games

 

Did fans regard Jamie Morris as a starter going into that season?  Were Byner and Riggs considered absolute needs

Edited August 13, 2023 by MrJL

[hail2skins]

Just noticed your topic and its a shame that ones about the glory days aren't around as much. I miss Kleese's threads about the history of our games against specific teams.

 

I always wonder about what a 1991 NFCCG against the Cowboys would've looked like if they had beaten Detroit. Also 1992, if we had beaten SF.

 

And the 1984 divisional round loss to the Bears remains one of the more underrated losses as far as being depressed after the game.

[Koolblue13]

I always knew we were going to win every game, so when we lost, I knew the other team was great too and just outplayed us.

 

Every week.

[RVAskins]

I always knew Gary Clark would ball out on Sundays even though he was limited in practice because of his hammies.

[88Comrade2000]

Past is past. I hope to have new memories in the future that either match the past or surpass it:

[Koolblue13]

7 minutes ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

Past is past. I hope to have new memories in the future that either match the past or surpass it:

match what past?

 

[88Comrade2000]

1 hour ago, Koolblue13 said:

match what past?

 

The successful past. The Sammy Baugh era. George Allen and Joe Gibbs eras.

[petey hodge]

... What do you wonder about?

 

[xxprodigyxx]

i wondered why wilbur marshall never got the recognition he deserved while he was with us.

[Renegade7]

I wonder what woulda happened to Laron Landry if Sean Taylor didn't die.

 

Sometimes I feel asking him to replace Sean ruined him, that Taylor's sense of growing humility off the field mighta rubbed off on Landry before he became David Boston at safety.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Renegade7

[Skinsfan1311]

There are far too many great memories from back then.  Here are a random few...

I was in High School in the early 80's and remember always being confident that we would win.  I didn't pay attention to the nuance of the game, like I do know, but I was kid.  

I didn't have season tickets, but we had friends who had four, and we got to go when they weren't using them.  

 

At RFK I watched Brett Favre throw his very first pass in the NFL and his first TD pass in the NFL.  It was the same pass😂   He played for Atlanta.  It was a pick 6 to Andre Collins.

I remember sitting in those end-zone seats and watching Mark Rypien rear back and throw a pass, seemingly straight up in the air, to see it drop like a dime into Gary Clarks hands as he streaked down the field.   I remember the fun I remember the ass-whipping we we put on the Lions in the 91 NFC Championship game and, right in front of us,  watching Erik Kramer getting popped by Charles Mann, who forced a fumble that we recovered near the goal line.  We destroyed the Lions and it was one of the best days of my life.

 

We had a hard-hitting safety, Alvin Walton, who absolutely crushed people.  He was one of my favorites and I always thought he was overlooked.

I remember going 11-0    I remember, somehow, ending up on the sidelines after halftime, when we wandered on to the field with the band, and watched the entire 3rd quarter on the sidelines and almost getting trucked by Earnest Byner when he was knocked out of bounds.  We were chased out of there shortly after that.     I remember tailgating in lot 8.  

 

Like I said, there are far too many fond memories, but the main thing is that we had a lot of good to great teams, we won  and we were very well respected.  I have nothing but respect for the generation of fans who have seen nothing but a ****-show, but continue to support this team.

 

 

  

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by Skinsfan1311

[RFK Lives]

So many things, a different game and era when a lot of us were growing up, before free agency.  You knew you could build a team and keep the core without the threat of a rebuild possible every year.

I miss Joe Gibbs.

I miss competency.

I will never forget those teams from 77 on that I watched, lived and died on every snap.  Cried losing to the Cowboys in 79 and just missing the playoffs.  Cheered and lit off fireworks when Riggo took it to the house against the Dolphins.  Ran out of fireworks in the 2nd quarter of Super Bowl 22.

I miss the quiet confidence I had when at the beginning of 1991 season watching them trounce the Lions 45-0 while I was a freshman at VCU and turned to Art (yes the Art from here) and the other guys in my apartment that night watching the game, after Brian Mitchell lept into the endzone and said, this team is winning the Super Bowl.

I wonder if I will ever get to experience that same passion again, I doubt it as age, incompetence and rebranding have taken its toll.

[SkinsFTW]

I remember back in the 80's that the Redskins were always winning despite what the magazines predicted each year. They always picked the 49ers or the Bears or even sometimes the Cowboys or Eagles to be the team to beat yet the Redskins went to 4 Super Bowls and won 3 of them. Super Bowls that nobody in the media expected them to be in. They also played in another NFCCG and that team was almost as good as the great 1986 Giants team despite not having a good QB. Any of the top 4-5 NFC teams would have beaten those Broncos SB teams. 

 

[dunfer]

if robert's knee hadnt gotten fubar..would we be hoistin

[Darrell Green Fan]

On 8/12/2023 at 5:54 PM, MrJL said:

We bring up the past in idle comments on threads all the time, but we don't really talk about what people knew or remembered.  I'd like to do that more

 

like in 1981, we were obviously doing an OL overhaul.  We drafted Darryl Grant as a guard and shifted him to DT.  Was he ever actually considered as a guard?

 

Were fans in the early 80s disappointed the Smurfs only lasted a couple years?

 

Why was Monte Coleman so rarely a starter?

 

Were fans in 1989 surprised when Mark Schlereth, a 12th round pick,  earned the starting RG spot, presumably over guys like Mark May and Raleigh McKenzie.  Also in 89 Ed Simmons was our top backup tackle, I see looking at records that both Lachey and Jacoby missed two games and Simmons started four.  Was Simmons a true swing tackle for us and he replaced each guy at their spot, or did we consider Jacoby good enough to still play LT if he had to and he swung over while Simmons played RT in all four games

 

Did fans regard Jamie Morris as a starter going into that season?  Were Byner and Riggs considered absolute needs

 

I'll answer a few of these as best as I can.

 

Jamie Morris was never considered a starter, he was a "scatback" and would have never held up to the pounding. The Gerald Riggs trade was a panic move when Riggins held out, he never really was the man in Washington. Byner of course was an excellent all around RB.

 

Monte Coleman got hurt a lot early in his career.  He started with Olkewicz and Millot for a few years but not sure why he didn't remain a stater. Olkewicz by the way may be the most underrated Redskins of all time. He was a monster at stopping the run at a time when that was really important,

 

Most fans understood the value of Ed Simmons.  Sure would be nice to have a backup swing tackle that good now. 

[MrJL]

1 hour ago, Darrell Green Fan said:

 

I'll answer a few of these as best as I can.

 

Jamie Morris was never considered a starter, he was a "scatback" and would have never held up to the pounding. The Gerald Riggs trade was a panic move when Riggins held out, he never really was the man in Washington. Byner of course was an excellent all around RB.

 

Monte Coleman got hurt a lot early in his career.  He started with Olkewicz and Millot for a few years but not sure why he didn't remain a stater. Olkewicz by the way may be the most underrated Redskins of all time. He was a monster at stopping the run at a time when that was really important,

Most fans understood the value of Ed Simmons.  Sure would be nice to have a backup swing tackle that good now. 

 

thank you, but I do think you're mixing up Riggs and George Rogers.  Riggins had been retired four years when Riggs was traded for and Riggs came in the same year as Byner

[Darrell Green Fan]

12 minutes ago, MrJL said:

 

thank you, but I do think you're mixing up Riggs and George Rogers.  Riggins had been retired four years when Riggs was traded for and Riggs came in the same year as Byner

 

Thanks for the clarification. It was actually Wilbur Jackson, the team overpaid and gave up 2 second round picks because the Niners knew they were desperate to replace John Riggins who was holding out in 1980.  

[MrJL]

5 minutes ago, Darrell Green Fan said:

 

Thanks for the clarification. It was actually Wilbur Jackson, the team overpaid and gave up 2 second round picks because the Niners knew they were desperate to replace John Riggins who was holding out in 1980.  

Is that how we got that guy.  I have his 1982 football card but never really heard of him doing anything with us.

 

The 1980s version of TJ Duckett I suppose

[Command The 414]

Awesome Post

 

Heres mine, back in 1993 when Reggie White was a FA, what if JKC would have matched the 17m deal the Packers offered him, here’s a clip from a article detailing it. Sexton being Whites agent, and the 3 teams were the Pack, 49ers and us.

——————————————————————————-

 

“Sexton said Green Bay's offer of $16 million for four years stood until the $1 million increase Monday. It was the best offer of the three teams, but sources indicated the agent fully expected free-spending owner Jack Kent Cooke of Washington to match it, at least.

 

Cooke, however, recoiled at the idea of offering a 31-year-old defensive lineman more than $13 million over four years. One source said the high-payroll Redskins never made a formal proposal for even $14 million.

"Washington is close to home, but we just could never get onto the same page financially," Sexton said.”

 

 

[Koolblue13]

When I see the "what do you wonder about" this is what I imagine the OP looked like at the time.

[The Hangman- C_Hanburger]

Dallas Week with George Allen and the Over the Hill Gang whipping all of Washington up for Beat Dallas Weeks. 1983 getting off the bus in Camo Fatigues and boots... 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1983/12/11/the-game-redskins-vs-cowboys/0e0c5aff-02af-492e-9e8d-19f8ec89af59/

 

Took ALLOT to kill that vibe.

[DWinzit]

What I remember about past teams...always starts with the HOGS!

 

Watching them bully the defenses, especially with the counter trey. 

 

They took total control of the game grinding the defenses and the clock. 

[Darth Tater]

Our first team guys that disappeared from the NFL and there is no information about. For example, Melvin Jones started at guard in 1981 and then wasn't even on the roster in 1982 (May was moved to guard that year and his backup was some journeyman) nor ever played for anyone ever again.  Pretty sure that has to do with injury but no confirmation.

 

My big what-if. What if the ownership group in 1999 that included Joe Gibbs had won? Would Joe have become HC? While I have my worries on him running the FO (either official or de facto), I like to think the period between 1999 and maybe 2007 would have been awesome for a Redskin fan.

 

BTW, Monte Coleman was considered very raw. He did not play much HS ball IIRC and was a Safety for most of college. While he didn't start much, he did seem to get a lot of playing time, often more than the guy who started in front of him. Petitbon learned how to run defense from George Allen (so lots of nickel, aggressive play and situational defense) and was one of the first to heavily rely on defensive situational packages.

[MrJL]

1 hour ago, Darth Tater said:

Our first team guys that disappeared from the NFL and there is no information about. For example, Melvin Jones started at guard in 1981 and then wasn't even on the roster in 1982 (May was moved to guard that year and his backup was some journeyman) nor ever played for anyone ever again.  Pretty sure that has to do with injury but no confirmation.

 

 

guys, especially young guys, who managed to disappear from football in the early 80s are just weird to me.  In 1983 there were 40 pro football teams, 46 in 84 and 44 in 85

[Conn]

2 hours ago, MrJL said:

 

guys, especially young guys, who managed to disappear from football in the early 80s are just weird to me.  In 1983 there were 40 pro football teams, 46 in 84 and 44 in 85

They weren’t making much money at all. Many probably couldn’t keep turning down other opportunities to try to get a decent contract as a pro football player. It wasn’t a full-time gig for everyone back then.