Bretsky
10-31-2006, 08:01 AM
Favre has sleeper hold on list of toughest
Posted: Oct. 25, 2006
NFL Grapevine
Once upon a time there was a fellow by the name of Larry "The Axe" Hennig.
This burly 275-pounder always had a lot to say. In fact, he took the opportunity to tell Marty O'Neill and anyone else who would listen that: "Every year they send Christmas cards to the 10 toughest guys . . . and every year my name is at the top of the list."
Nobody bothered to take the time to debate "The Axe" over this boast. This probably was due to the fact that he was "Big enough to go bear hunting with a switch," according to Roger Kent at ringside.
These days "The Axe" is a little long of tooth. He's not giving any very capable opponents "The Axe" or a flying elbow smash anymore. He's probably just a shell of himself now. Let's just say he's a hatchet now.
Now before he became "The Axe," Hennig was known as "Pretty Boy."
It's hard to imagine someone named "Pretty Boy" being one of the 10 toughest guys.
Nonetheless, in the wide world of professional football, one does not have to look like Bronko Nagurski, Ray Nitschke or Dick Butkus to be considered tough.
There's a guy who works for a living in Green Bay who hardly looks like one of the toughest guys in the National Football League. After all, he's usually clad in a tee shirt with shorts and a beat up baseball cap. He's usually sporting a goofy Huck Finn grin to go with that ensemble.
Brett Lorenzo Favre is living proof that you don't have to dress for success - as a tough guy. You just have to start 227 consecutive National Football League games at quarterback.
Favre might not look tough, but he sure is. Just ask Miami defensive end Kevin Carter, who is fifth in line with 183 consecutive starts.
"I hope to have that reputation as a tough guy," Carter said when asked about Favre. "I've built one, but man, you look at him, and you say, 'That guy is a warrior.' "
Neil Reynolds, author of the new book "Pain Gang: Pro Football's Fifty Toughest Players," knows a tough guy when he sees one. Reynolds recently rattled off the five toughest guys in the NFL today.
Here's his list and ensuing comment:
1. Brett Favre, QB, Packers. "His consecutive starts streak is very impressive. Add in the fact that he has spent close to 40 weeks of his career on Green Bay's injury list but never missed a game, and the sure-fire Hall of Famer's feats become truly amazing."
2. Roy Williams, S, Cowboys. "A punishing, smiling assassin who takes the Ronnie Lott and Jack Tatum approach to pass defense: If it moves, hit it and hit it hard."
3. Hines Ward, WR, Steelers. "Can do so much more than catch passes. Defenders need to have their heads on a swivel when Ward's on the field. His crackback blocks are devastating."
4. Rodney Harrison, S, Patriots. "Has a knack for separating a receiver from the ball in painful fashion. Battled back from torn knee ligaments to once again lead the New England defense."
5. Steve McNair, QB, Ravens. "Is there any part of his body that has not been battered and bruised? Keeps on trucking when lesser men would at least have considered a career change."
Favre might not be big enough to go bear hunting with a switch, but he adds to his tough-guy legend every time he steps onto the gridiron. He has proven to be much tougher than a Waffle House pork chop.
So in the future when they talk about tough guys getting Christmas cards, Favre's name will be at the top of the list.
And nobody should have an Axe to grind about it.
A dirty job
Harrison ranked No. 4 as far as tough guys go, but he was No. 1 on a rather dubious list.
Sports Illustrated polled 361 players during the exhibition season and the New England safety was the runaway winner in the "dirtiest player in the NFL" competition.
According to the poll, Harrison garnered a whooping 23% of the vote to rout Joey Porter of the Steelers and Jon Runyan of the Eagles. Porter and Runyan could only sway 6% of the voters despite their dastardly deeds on the field.
The victory by Harrison was rather impressive since he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third week last year.
"Do I take perverse pride in this?" Harrison told the Boston media. "All I can say is as many guys as say I'm a dirty player, just as many come up and tell me they admire how I play, the hard work, the commitment, the toughness. That's the pride you're looking for. I take pride in that.
"But dirty? I don't think you guys can look in my eyes and say I'm a dirty player."
The rest of the candidates posted some Harold Stassen-type totals.
Warren Sapp of the Raiders was next at 5%, followed by Kyle Turley of the Chiefs (4%), Hines Ward of the Steelers (4%), Sean Taylor of the Redskins (3%), John Lynch of the Broncos (3%), Kevin Mawae of the Titans (3%) and Olin Kreutz of the Bears (2%).
Squeaky-clean Tom Brady managed to bring home one vote. There must have been a dangling chad.
This development baffled Brady.
"Dirty? I don't even get to touch anybody out there," Brady said. "I don't know what they're talking about. It must be a Jet or a Dolphin or something like that who hates me."
Take that
Jerry Porter is trying to get some sweet revenge against the Oakland Raiders - a team that was paying him big bucks just to sit around.
The idle wide receiver has been honing his gridiron skills on the small screen. Porter, who was recently suspended for four games after being inactive all season, plays against Raiders safety Jarrod Cooper in "Madden NFL 07" at least twice a week.
Cooper, who appears to be a budding Art Shell, said he is always the Raiders and he benches Porter on the game in favor of Ronald Curry just for grins.
Too bad. Cooper should let Porter use the Raiders so he could crack the lineup.
So, which team does Porter use anyway?
"He always plays with the team we're playing that week," Cooper said.
VineLines
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: "August Voegl, 59, a roofer from Jennersdorf, Austria, slipped on the job and nailed one of his testicles to the roof with a nail gun, ananova.com reported. As if that wasn't bad enough, rumor has it he's an Arizona Cardinals fan." . . .
Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: "A Wisconsin grocery store clerk, Jake J. Brahm, faces charges involving his false Internet hoax regarding radioactive 'dirty bombs' going off at seven NFL venues, including Dolphin Stadium. Brahm also faces an additional federal charge of being really, really stupid." . . .
Quincy Morgan on why the Cleveland Browns were bad when he played for them from 2001-'03: "A lot of guys were more into women. We had guys having a competition to see who could bring the best-looking chick to the game. That's true, man. We had one to see who had the nicest car. It was a mess." . . .
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning on producing his first two rushing touchdowns since 2002: "I'm just trying to keep the fantasy people happy." . . .
Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Wayne Gandy: "If we score a touchdown, the running back gets the credit. But if we give up sacks, we get the blame. We can't win. That's why we kind of like to stay anonymous." . . .
Among David Letterman's Top 10 ways to make the baseball playoffs more interesting: "Figure out a way to get that wacko Terrell Owens to play baseball." . . .
Fox NFL analyst Howie Long, on what the Tigers' advancing to the World Series means to Detroit: "Any headline that's not about the Lions in Detroit is a good headline." . . .
Sheldon Spencer of ESPN.com, on the official cologne of the Oakland Raiders: "Eau-for-16." . . .
Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer when asked if he saw the Arizona Cardinals, his former team collapse against Da Bears: "I always seem to forget to watch football on Monday night. I heard about it. I feel for those guys. But I tell you what, 'Amadeus' was great." . . .
Arizona coach Dennis Green on his tirade: "I just let off some steam. The best thing to do with steam is let it out." . . .
Charles Barkley on what he thought of Terrell Owens as a teammate: "I don't think it would have worked with me because I would have hit him in the head a long time ago. He's a great player, obviously. I like T.O. But if I was a teammate, I would have hit him in the head with something." . . .
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News: "Troy Polamalu just now realizes that opponents aren't afraid to run their fingers through his Diana Ross hairpiece in an effort to take him down?" . . .
Randy Hill for Foxsports.com: "Despite checking into the bye week with a 6-0 record, Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman plans to scrap his split-fingered fastball."
Posted: Oct. 25, 2006
NFL Grapevine
Once upon a time there was a fellow by the name of Larry "The Axe" Hennig.
This burly 275-pounder always had a lot to say. In fact, he took the opportunity to tell Marty O'Neill and anyone else who would listen that: "Every year they send Christmas cards to the 10 toughest guys . . . and every year my name is at the top of the list."
Nobody bothered to take the time to debate "The Axe" over this boast. This probably was due to the fact that he was "Big enough to go bear hunting with a switch," according to Roger Kent at ringside.
These days "The Axe" is a little long of tooth. He's not giving any very capable opponents "The Axe" or a flying elbow smash anymore. He's probably just a shell of himself now. Let's just say he's a hatchet now.
Now before he became "The Axe," Hennig was known as "Pretty Boy."
It's hard to imagine someone named "Pretty Boy" being one of the 10 toughest guys.
Nonetheless, in the wide world of professional football, one does not have to look like Bronko Nagurski, Ray Nitschke or Dick Butkus to be considered tough.
There's a guy who works for a living in Green Bay who hardly looks like one of the toughest guys in the National Football League. After all, he's usually clad in a tee shirt with shorts and a beat up baseball cap. He's usually sporting a goofy Huck Finn grin to go with that ensemble.
Brett Lorenzo Favre is living proof that you don't have to dress for success - as a tough guy. You just have to start 227 consecutive National Football League games at quarterback.
Favre might not look tough, but he sure is. Just ask Miami defensive end Kevin Carter, who is fifth in line with 183 consecutive starts.
"I hope to have that reputation as a tough guy," Carter said when asked about Favre. "I've built one, but man, you look at him, and you say, 'That guy is a warrior.' "
Neil Reynolds, author of the new book "Pain Gang: Pro Football's Fifty Toughest Players," knows a tough guy when he sees one. Reynolds recently rattled off the five toughest guys in the NFL today.
Here's his list and ensuing comment:
1. Brett Favre, QB, Packers. "His consecutive starts streak is very impressive. Add in the fact that he has spent close to 40 weeks of his career on Green Bay's injury list but never missed a game, and the sure-fire Hall of Famer's feats become truly amazing."
2. Roy Williams, S, Cowboys. "A punishing, smiling assassin who takes the Ronnie Lott and Jack Tatum approach to pass defense: If it moves, hit it and hit it hard."
3. Hines Ward, WR, Steelers. "Can do so much more than catch passes. Defenders need to have their heads on a swivel when Ward's on the field. His crackback blocks are devastating."
4. Rodney Harrison, S, Patriots. "Has a knack for separating a receiver from the ball in painful fashion. Battled back from torn knee ligaments to once again lead the New England defense."
5. Steve McNair, QB, Ravens. "Is there any part of his body that has not been battered and bruised? Keeps on trucking when lesser men would at least have considered a career change."
Favre might not be big enough to go bear hunting with a switch, but he adds to his tough-guy legend every time he steps onto the gridiron. He has proven to be much tougher than a Waffle House pork chop.
So in the future when they talk about tough guys getting Christmas cards, Favre's name will be at the top of the list.
And nobody should have an Axe to grind about it.
A dirty job
Harrison ranked No. 4 as far as tough guys go, but he was No. 1 on a rather dubious list.
Sports Illustrated polled 361 players during the exhibition season and the New England safety was the runaway winner in the "dirtiest player in the NFL" competition.
According to the poll, Harrison garnered a whooping 23% of the vote to rout Joey Porter of the Steelers and Jon Runyan of the Eagles. Porter and Runyan could only sway 6% of the voters despite their dastardly deeds on the field.
The victory by Harrison was rather impressive since he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third week last year.
"Do I take perverse pride in this?" Harrison told the Boston media. "All I can say is as many guys as say I'm a dirty player, just as many come up and tell me they admire how I play, the hard work, the commitment, the toughness. That's the pride you're looking for. I take pride in that.
"But dirty? I don't think you guys can look in my eyes and say I'm a dirty player."
The rest of the candidates posted some Harold Stassen-type totals.
Warren Sapp of the Raiders was next at 5%, followed by Kyle Turley of the Chiefs (4%), Hines Ward of the Steelers (4%), Sean Taylor of the Redskins (3%), John Lynch of the Broncos (3%), Kevin Mawae of the Titans (3%) and Olin Kreutz of the Bears (2%).
Squeaky-clean Tom Brady managed to bring home one vote. There must have been a dangling chad.
This development baffled Brady.
"Dirty? I don't even get to touch anybody out there," Brady said. "I don't know what they're talking about. It must be a Jet or a Dolphin or something like that who hates me."
Take that
Jerry Porter is trying to get some sweet revenge against the Oakland Raiders - a team that was paying him big bucks just to sit around.
The idle wide receiver has been honing his gridiron skills on the small screen. Porter, who was recently suspended for four games after being inactive all season, plays against Raiders safety Jarrod Cooper in "Madden NFL 07" at least twice a week.
Cooper, who appears to be a budding Art Shell, said he is always the Raiders and he benches Porter on the game in favor of Ronald Curry just for grins.
Too bad. Cooper should let Porter use the Raiders so he could crack the lineup.
So, which team does Porter use anyway?
"He always plays with the team we're playing that week," Cooper said.
VineLines
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: "August Voegl, 59, a roofer from Jennersdorf, Austria, slipped on the job and nailed one of his testicles to the roof with a nail gun, ananova.com reported. As if that wasn't bad enough, rumor has it he's an Arizona Cardinals fan." . . .
Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: "A Wisconsin grocery store clerk, Jake J. Brahm, faces charges involving his false Internet hoax regarding radioactive 'dirty bombs' going off at seven NFL venues, including Dolphin Stadium. Brahm also faces an additional federal charge of being really, really stupid." . . .
Quincy Morgan on why the Cleveland Browns were bad when he played for them from 2001-'03: "A lot of guys were more into women. We had guys having a competition to see who could bring the best-looking chick to the game. That's true, man. We had one to see who had the nicest car. It was a mess." . . .
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning on producing his first two rushing touchdowns since 2002: "I'm just trying to keep the fantasy people happy." . . .
Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Wayne Gandy: "If we score a touchdown, the running back gets the credit. But if we give up sacks, we get the blame. We can't win. That's why we kind of like to stay anonymous." . . .
Among David Letterman's Top 10 ways to make the baseball playoffs more interesting: "Figure out a way to get that wacko Terrell Owens to play baseball." . . .
Fox NFL analyst Howie Long, on what the Tigers' advancing to the World Series means to Detroit: "Any headline that's not about the Lions in Detroit is a good headline." . . .
Sheldon Spencer of ESPN.com, on the official cologne of the Oakland Raiders: "Eau-for-16." . . .
Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer when asked if he saw the Arizona Cardinals, his former team collapse against Da Bears: "I always seem to forget to watch football on Monday night. I heard about it. I feel for those guys. But I tell you what, 'Amadeus' was great." . . .
Arizona coach Dennis Green on his tirade: "I just let off some steam. The best thing to do with steam is let it out." . . .
Charles Barkley on what he thought of Terrell Owens as a teammate: "I don't think it would have worked with me because I would have hit him in the head a long time ago. He's a great player, obviously. I like T.O. But if I was a teammate, I would have hit him in the head with something." . . .
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News: "Troy Polamalu just now realizes that opponents aren't afraid to run their fingers through his Diana Ross hairpiece in an effort to take him down?" . . .
Randy Hill for Foxsports.com: "Despite checking into the bye week with a 6-0 record, Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman plans to scrap his split-fingered fastball."