I was thumbing through some research books relative to the Pro Football Hall of Fame recently, and I saw a note that a sportswriter and voter once said that Doak Walker is the least deserving Hall of Famer ever selected.
I realize that many of you readers do not know who Doak Walker was, but many of you have in fact heard of the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the best running back in college football.
The connection, and the reason for this blog, is that Doak, one of the most elegant gentlemen anyone could ever meet, was a special assignments coach back in 1966 for the Denver Broncos, helping out (I am told, as even I was not here then) just by giving his opinions on who could and who could not play. A lot of guys on the Broncos in those days could not play, but Walker could, and I just shook my head when I read the writer’s comment on his worthiness for the Hall of Fame.
So, since you probably do not know, if you choose to keep reading, I will tell you a little about the guy they give the running back award to.
First of all, I think the world is waiting for that award to go to another Doak Walker, which in many ways seems very unlikely-not because the backs today lack talent, but because Doak was one of those special guys who ascended from greatness to legend and still seemed undervalued.
A great prep player in Dallas, he was a consensus three-time All-American at Southern Methodist-that is, every All American team for three straight years only listed one halfback, and it was Walker-one year he appeared on the cover of 47 magazines, and ne was “Life”!!
Even most astonishing than being a three-time All-American is this: consider that his three All-American years were interrupted by World War II era military service. An amazing feat.
He played running back, defensive back and was the placekicker at SMU, taking time along the way to letter to baseball and basketball at SMU. Can you imagine the publicity today if the best running back in the country, a three-time All-American, ALSO lettered in two other major sports? He was “pin-up” handsome, blond, blue-eyed, with great teeth and so much humility you never would have thought he was a big man on campus. He was, in fact, the only man on campus in America.
He won the Heisman Trophy in 1948 and his impact on SMU football was so great that for many years the Cotton Bowl was called “The House that Doak Built.”
I personally think he is the most famous individual in American sport to ever have worn uniform number 37, which by the way is retired by the Detroit Lions.
He was voted All-Pro four time with the Lions, and while his career was short-he said he retired early “while I still have my own teeth”, which by the way, were perfect-but he was selected to the Hall of Fame in spite of a short career, because he was so impactful for the Lions. Detroit won two NFL titles in that time and was the dominant team in pro football in the mid-1950′s. He led the NFL in scoring twice (1950 and 1955) and scored 534 points in his career.
The stories just go on and on about Doak Walker and I won’t bore you with them-same after game with the winning touchdown, the unbelievable run, the winning kick, the key interception, he was transcendant of football, relaly.
Walker married his high school sweetheart, had a family and later in life married Olympic skier Skeeter Werner. He was a Steamboat Springs resident and legend by then, and it was a loss to all. The mountain on which he had his fatal accident, by the way, was Mount Werner, named for Skeeter’s brother Buddy, who was America’s best Alpine skier at the 1964 Winter Olympics.
He died suddenly on September 27, 1998 after that devastating ski accident in Colorado just days before.
I can’t say I have left out the best stuff, I have truly tried not to, but you have to edit somewhere. Truly, Doak Walker was bigger than legend.
Hollywood would have to tone down the facts to make it seem realistic.
So, the next time you hear about the Doak Walker award being given to someone, that’s who the man behind the award was.
maybe next year we can get rid of Clady and Dumerville for a couple of late round picks too.
no I just wanted to say your mom to someone and you stuck out like a sore thumb with puss and blisters
ARGHHH!!! I don’t even know what to think any more. I hoped all along that Marshall would stay but I guess I knew it was coming. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t try to get a really good WR as compensation. Like trading him to Detroit for Calvin Johnson and a draft pick or something. I feel like I don’t even know this team any more. If McDaniels’ ego continues its reign and he does whatever he wants, this team is doomed. He could be a great coach, but he needs to work WITH his players, not against them, and he can’t let things get personal.
I think we all forget that we’re not GMs or HCs sometimes, if we we’re we would be working in the NFL right? We have some WRs now that haven’t been given a fair chance to showcase…Gaffney can be the dark horse here now that Marsh is gone. You know I won’t say that Gaffney and Royal will replace Marsh’s production, but I will say you never know what someone can do until you give them the chance. McCafferey is an all time great Denver Bronco right? If that man stayed in SF the world would’ve never knew how good he was…lets give these guys a chance…you never know we may have a gem somewhere on our roster. Gaffney did ball out against KC last year. We all know what Royal can do when given the rock…Stoke is Stoke and is always gonna be reliable.
I say we take dez bryant with the 11th pick and trade our 2 second round picks in this draft and maybe some late rounders to get another pick in the first round and take Pouncey
Good luck to Marshall, hope he does well in Miami. Good trade, after sheff is gone all the drama will be gone and the team can get to work. Yes, I will say it. This is going to be a good draft. (now im on a limb) Get the beef in here and another good receiver. Its going to be a good year.
Go Broncos
I was pretty pissed off about this all too at first this morning. However, my friend told me something pretty interesting today during clas…He told me that rumors that have circulating that Marshall was one of the main contributers to that bs fight back a few years ago during the darrent williams mess…It was said the gangs wanted to shoot him mainly;….And also this whole fiasco with the wanting to be traded and antics happened around they caught those people and made the whole court date…Weird? Also Marshall has bee straying away from going on the stand for the murder trial..
Lets think about this, if marshall is scared about his life and his fiance, wouldnt he want to pull a javon walker too? If i was scared for my life and my families i wouldnt want to be around…SO, just a little info i thought i might wana put out there..Because if thats true, im not so angry, and its not like he can come out and say that, so maybe mcdaniels and bowlen knew this..Cuz didnt bowlen promise if he had a good year he would get a “substantial pay raise”
Im not sure myself what to think about this, and im more twoards he is in it all for the money, and now since he is the highest paid reciever in NFL history, it makes sense.
eternalorangeandblue:You’re an a**hole,my mom has cancer,and is dying,if you where in my face I’d knock your teeth out.
Weather or not I agree to the terms of Marsh leaving I still believe in this team. The compensation may not be what we believe to be correct for the talent that Marsh possesses its still better then other teams had gotten for their WR’s. The biggest thing is that we got something for him and he didn’t just walk next year with nothing for us to show for it. Seeing our needs in this years draft and having three picks with in the top 45 will assist in adding talent to the roster. This is a deep draft and we all need to remember Shanny isn’t here anymore this is a new brand of Bronco football. As long as we maintain character and class as an organization I can handle the changes.
what if we trade a sixth round pick for roy williams? he is 6-3 and 215 pounds. haha probably wouldnt be great but would be a bigger target for orton.
Just an idea here…What if we were to sign TO to a one year deal to address our need for a WR this year. We can put a bunch of clauses in his contract. Thus we can address the other needs in the draft and wait till next year to work out the need for WR. There are no real takers out there and his minimum asking price is 6.5M. Yes hes a diva but if you look at his first year with every team he stays away from the diva roll.
Here’s a few undisputable facts about BM and his history:
1) His flashing gang signs were a major contributing factor in the sad outcomer of that night.
2) Instead of this being a wakeup call, BM continued to act juvenile.
3) His conduct during training camp was infantile and a major distraction for the whole team.
4) Despite medical findings to the contrary, he continued to claim an injury.
5) He showed up late for a planned activity.
Is a player of his calibre worth the distraction? Just ask the FOUR, yes FOUR, teams about TO. What’s one of BM’s nicknames? Baby TO. Enough said!!! Sorry, but TO did not stay away from his diva roll at Buffalo, it just wasn’t as bad as usual.
Hi oldsouthstander..
good points..
There’s a new thread at the top of the page under “Schedule to be announced Tuesday”. I don’t know why it is not available from the home page…
Good points oldsouth except
He threw no gang signs. The murderers did. According to a testifyer that shared a jail cell with the killer, because the killer and his friend thought Darrent and his texas friends were froma rival Texas gang.
and number 4. Well his hip had been misdiagnosed before so i dont blame him. A players health is his lively hood. Especially if a team is quick to cut u or not pay your because of an injury.
The rest for the most part is accurate.
I understand some of the anger here. Brandon Marshall is a talent, and it’s tough to lose talent. I think this decision was more of an economic one than not wanting a talented player on the team. The problem was that Marshall deserved a new contract, but Marshall is one off the field infraction away from being suspended for eight games. That is a huge risk in my opinion especially in light of what Marshall is to be paid under the terms of the deal he reached with the Dolphins today–making him the highest paid wide receiver in NFL history. That contract includes almost $30 million guaranteed. That’s a chunk of change for any talented player but especially one, who can explode at a moment’s notice. I just think that when it came down to it, the Broncos’ organization took a long hard look at Marshall by weighing the costs and the benefits he presents. The costs obviously outweighed the benefits, and Marshall was traded.
I think Denver got good value in two second round picks for Marshall especially considering what the market value is for wide receivers right now in the NFL (see Anquan Boldin to the Baltimore Ravens for a third round pick and Santonio Holmes to the New York Jets for a fifth rounder). I think things will work out for Denver. I wish Marshall the best, and if he proves everybody wrong about his past character issues, great. I just won’t hedge my bets that Marshall will.
Humm. Now things are get interesting going into the draft. Some here are posting with emotion about BM. I say thanks Brandon for what you did for the Denver Broncos on the field. I hope you grew up a bit here and have a great career with the Fish that breathe air (Dolphins)!LOL
Time to move on and drop all the drama of Cutler and Brandon!!! It is what it is so let’s move on!! Let’s remember D-Will with his smile and play! Not with what BM said on the stand!! As D-Will would have said lets get “All Ready”
Just me!
FTR
GO BRONCOS
2 second round picks are better than 1 first rounder. Ray Lewis, Brett Farve, Derrick Brooks, etc. etc. You get a player that is more hungry with less money.
If you look at the Draft Value Chart #45 and #43 is worth 450 + 470 = 920
Jets where going to do # 29 valued @ 640
I thought they could work it out but we need to move forward now. Patriots have not won a SB with Randy Moss. PHI lost with TO. Nobody is above the team. Lets pay DOOM and get this party started.
This is a very deep Draft and we have some serious fire power!
Don’t be such a Gerhart hater BLUM. lol We do have other needs but the “Doak Walker” award winner (the best college running back) would definately not hurt us. Just my opinion.
#1 pick A Benn WR ILLINOIS
#2 Pick GerHart RB Stanford
#2 Pick Asamah OG ILLNOIS
#3 Pick Tennant C Boston College
#4 Pick Middle Linebacker From Nebraska
Bones,
Denver is not taking Benn with the 11th pick. If they take Benn, it will be by trading down or if he falls to them using one of their second rounders.
McD’s ego is gonna destroy this team…….
You know at first i was screaming at my tv when I heard the news but alot of you guys made some great points and i belive there were many other factors to the BM deal that were’t showed in the media. But c’mon, its not like we haven’t already dealt with this type of situation before (Cutler trade). We actually really did get good value for Marshall considering todays liquidation market for recievers.
We have good picks and McD drafts well, so lets see what happens, I want us to get a big target to replace Marshall but Im not sure if I like Bryant simply because of the off the field issues. Thats only going to get worse once he’s paid. But i really like WR- Shipley out of Texas. He reminds me of a Stokley, Wess Welker type player and we need him because Stokley’s like 32.
Some people would disagree with the statement- There are no guarantees in life!
Marshall has 29 million of em!!!
Trade down get pouncey. Use the extra pick from that trade and a number two, move back in to get tate, then grab gerhart with the other second.
On second thought, draft defense. Because before McD is fired, he will get rid of Champ…
Man what has happen to the Broncos faithful? Posting all these negative posts is just not helpful for anyone. I remember when Shanahan traded Portis for Baliey plus a 2nd and 4th round pick. Everyone’s arms went up in the air “OMG Shanahan is stupid…blah, blah” But man…it has never got this far. I will get straight to the…
KEY POINTS
1) If it weren’t for the CBA we would have nothing in return for Marshall and he would still have got his 50 Million as a free agent. (TWO 2nd round picks represent serious value. -Doom and Marshall were 4th round picks)
2) 2 second round picks are better than 1 first rounder. Ray Lewis, Brett Farve, Derrick Brooks, etc. etc. You get a player that is hungry with less money.
DRAFT VALUE CHART
#45 (450 points) and #43 (470 points) = 920
The Jets where going to trade # 29 (640) = 640
PLUS YOU GET 2 SHOTS AT IT –If not more if you trade back-
3) The Patriots have not won a SB with Randy Moss. PHI lost with TO. I could go on and on but the best team wins this game and nobody is above the team.
I like Marshall on and off the field and I hoped the Broncos and Marshall could work it out but there are other big things that factor into the issue and or solution.
1) If Marshall took up 49.5 Million of the Broncos Salary or other positions would suffer. (Doom, Kuper, etc)
2) Marshall is a wanted man by the gang that shot D Will. So as much as everyone wants to hate on our Coach, he was not in Denver when Brandon and his Cousin’s started that fight on NYE.
3) His passion for the game is not up to the bar our Coach’s and Owners have set. –God Bless Them-
THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT IS THAT BRANDON MARSHALL AND JAY CUTLER HAVE NEVER BEEN IN A PLAYOFF GAME
Has much has everyone is throwing out numbers of catches, numbers for Orton and numbers of TD’s the real number everyone should have a really easy time remembering is…
ZERO – With the Gods of Football on our team with the best coach on the planet we did not see the postseason.
It is time to move forward now. Give the new régime a chance before you guys call them names you haven’t used since middle school. They want to win much more than you do and though we all think we are experts we are not.
This is a very deep Draft and we now have some serious fire power!
GO BRONCOS!!!
1.Renaldo McClain
2.Golden tate
those are future reasons why we don’t need Marshall lol i just think that a guy who fights with BRIAN DAWKINS in the locker room and stabs his girl friend with a kitchen knife should not be on our team.We got way better value then anyone could get this close to the draft and were in perfect position to take some great players who don’t have off and on the field issues.and anyone who thinks with the way mcdaniels is that he is going to draft Dez Bryant is crazy im telling y’all that’s who it’s going to be unless someone drops a couple spots lol
I can’t wait till Brady Quinn hoists that Lombardi trophy
I’m just trying to picture Fabio with the Lombardi, LMAO…Jk/
sndvl, about the guarantee thing, what if god forbids he died tomorrow, hence there are no guarantees, all just an illusion….
I’m upset to see BMarsh go but at the same time I understand that this team will not deal with dramatics. Thats how my teams were when I was growing up and playing college ball. If you want dramatics go play romeo and juliet… If you wanna play ball get you tail on the field and do your job. Marsh did his job on the field but couldn’t keep his nose clean. Maybe Bill Parcells can teach him a thing or two about profesionalism. Maybe
Parcells couldn’t do it with TO, maybe he can do it with baby TO? The jury will be out on this one for quite a while is my guess, it’s a time bomb, for Miami they better defuse it for good or they won’t have their star receiver for at least eight games with another infraction. Huge 50 million gamble in my view that I’m glad we did not take.
So, let’s just for sake of argument look over the league and who wins Championships. Is it character teams or teams with talent. Character teams raise money for the United Way Talented teams raise the Lombardi. Brandon Marshall was the talent on offense. Jabar Gaffney is a MARGINAL player at best. he caught 16 passes against a pourus KC defense that played zone the entire game, let him catch it because they knew thye caould tackle him after he caught it. Did anyone notice that we also get BLOWN OUT that game. Every team in the AFC is getting better, by signing YOUNG talented players, and Denver is doing the exact opposite. Are people kidding me by saying Cutler and Marshall didn’t win playoff games. After how many years did Elway win? Manning (pick one)? Brees? they are what you call foundations. TALENT!!! You don’t trade them away because your immature coach can’t deal with them. We got 1 2nd rounder this year and 1 next year. Don’t fool yourself into thinking this was a good deal. It was as horribly bad as trading our first ronder for Alphonso Smith. Or signing an old washed up nose tackle (again). McDaniels wants to get rid of all of Shanny’s guys. Has anyone noticed that NO ONE gets along with McD? Nolan COMPLETELY changed that D and made it respectable, and you disagree with him philosophically? Why because he wanted to win? He did it witht he players McD and Xanders brought in. Made dinner with their groceries and you can’t respect that. I will not agree with anyone bashing our BEST by a mile offensive weapon (well former). 100 catches. 3x in a row. SINGLE HANDEDLY making that play against Dallas. Remember when the “character” guy Orton threw ANOTHER bad pass that the “talent” had to go and OUTJUMP a Pro Bowl corner, then put moves on the rest of the defense. Feigned an injury you say, says who? How do you know if I have a headache? That dude never slacked on the field, played hurt and produced. Now this egomaniac has broken up a team on the rise. It is hard to get back to the level of success we have enjoyed as a team (ask the Raiders and Niners) I hope you folks enjoy another great “character” year under McD. We will win when we get some talent.
thought I would stop random ranting and address thing
@atwaters there is no cap…that money would have no effect on Doom (who we have not signed) or Kuper. Regardless of who started the fight, do you think gang memebers can’t catch a flight. If they were going to cause him any harm, don’t you think they would have done so in the YEARS following the unfortunate DWill incident. Was Marshall the only one in the club that night? Has he not had 100 reception Pro Bowl years since then? Did the gangs stop him from catching passes? AND YOU QUESTION HIS PASSION FOR THE GAME!!!! Have you ever seen him play. Have you ever seen him get taken down by the first man? His PASSION for the game. Did you not see him celebrating and near tears v. New England. His passion for the game 2 of the 3 highest catch totals for a game in NFL HISTORY are owned by Marshall. His passion is unquestioned. The fact that the team did not want him UNFANTHOMABLE
RSH: I Agree with you about Benn. I am not saying he is the 11th best player. But Pittsburgh is very high on this kid so he will not make it to the second round.
I am not passing judgement on the B Marsh trade until I see the draft.
IF McD trades one of the early picks to move up in the draft and reach like he did last year with Smith than I will be very upset.
If they trade back in the first round and get additional picks I will be happy. The thing that stinks is he didn’t have the foresight to know that this draft is much better than last years.
Remember fans they draft the new england way which is shrink the pool
of draftable players to a small number and go get those players even if it means reaching for guys like Quinn TE and Smith CB.
I say Pouncey, McClain, Benn.
vabroncoguy
Don’t get TALENT and PASSION confused. Marshall is a incredible TALENT. Passion is what drives you when no-one is there to babysit. Marshall put it on and off like LA Traffic. Did you see him out of breath on one knee in the huddle allot of the times. I sure did. Shanahan even called him out about pretending to have a pulled hamstring when he just didn’t feel like working out. He is not the type of player that can say “I have not missed one off-season workout”…he missed hundreds. He counted on his 6’4 height and his god given talent to do the very MINIMUM he could before the game. We need guys like Knowshawn, Dawkins, Bailey, Ayers and yes Smith who are working year round to improve.
“No matter where you go, there you are.”
If you look for negativity it is all around you. If you look for positivity it is all around you. Marshall decided to complain and not work hard which is the only reason he didn’t have a new contract before McD got there in the first place.
Secondly just because there is no cap does not mean teams are operating as if there is no cap. Actually if you do your research most teams are spending less than when there was a cap so dropping 50 million on one player will effect the other 52 players on the team.
Look I would have liked to see him stay but he is gone so you can go buy your Miami Marshall Jersey once he overcomes his first problem -less than 24hrs I might add-which is Bess will not sell him #15.
Go Broncos!!
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