How good was Majkowski??

[Bossman641]

I'm only 22 so my first Packer memories are of the very early 90's right before Favre emerged. I remember the Majik Man a little, but nothing specifically.

Was he actually a Pro-Bowl type player, or was it more of a fan favorite with a cool nickname on a crappy team type of thing?

What player, from today or the past couple of years, would you compare him to?

Just wondering...and trying to pass the days til training camp

[HarveyWallbangers]

Re: How good was Majkowski??

I'm only 22 so my first Packer memories are of the very early 90's right before Favre emerged. I remember the Majik Man a little, but nothing specifically.

Was he actually a Pro-Bowl type player, or was it more of a fan favorite with a cool nickname on a crappy team type of thing?

What player, from today or the past couple of years, would you compare him to?

Just wondering...and trying to pass the days til training camp

He was a fan favorite who had a cool nickname and was very good for a Cardiac Pack team for one year. Unfortunately, it was the year before they added a third Wild Card team, and they missed out on the playoffs at 10-6. I have nothing against Majik, but it really made the Packer Hall of Fame look bad when they let him in.

[Iron Mike]

He was good enough so that thousands of kids in NEW in the early '90s got cheesy mullets, just like the "Majik Man"

[Patler]

Majkowski was a much better QB than Harvey lets on, unfortunately, he had shoulder problems even in college and ultimately injuries brought down his career. He started to really come into his own in 1989:

353 completions in 599 attempts for 4318 yards and 27 TDs. He also rushed 75 times for 358 yards and 5 TDs. He was a legitimate running threat as a QB. He was a Pro Bowl player in 1989 and finished second in the MVP voting to Joe Montana.

That was his last healthy season. The shoulder problems came back. He had a significant leg injury etc. But he was always a dynamic leader.

Majkowski played in 68 games for the Packers over 6 seasons, and is 5th all time in career passing yardage for the Packers and 4th in career completions behind only Favre, Starr and Dickey. He brought no shame to the Packers HOF by being admitted.

[Badgepack]

I remember the feeling that the Packers were finally going in the right direction during the Majik years. Other than the strike year playoffs, that was about it. The rest of the years, it was basically try to beat the Bears to make a season.

[Patler]

I remember the feeling that the Packers were finally going in the right direction during the Majik years. Other than the strike year playoffs, that was about it. The rest of the years, it was basically try to beat the Bears to make a season.

You are right about that. I also remember the great disappointment when Majkowski's injuries started becoming routine in 1990 and 1991. It felt like the QB to build around was there, but injuries were preventing it from happening.

[Row 67]

He was good. He had an air of confidence about him and his play lifted the play of those around him. Favre is known for 4th QB comebacks, but Majik seemed to bring them from behind every game.

I still remember the play he got hurt on, which effectively ended his career. It was actually a cheap shot out of bounds at Arizona. The guy rode him out of bounds and landed on him, driving him into the ground.

Majik was no Favre, but he was without a doubt, a bona-fide starting quality NFL QB.

[Deputy Nutz]

You are right about that. I also remember the great disappointment when Majkowski's injuries started becoming routine in 2000 and 2001. It felt like the QB to build around was there, but injuries were preventing it from happening.

Shamrock you might want to edit this part. I guess you could be right, but the injuries weren't from playing in the NFL, more like at a country club in Georgia.


Majik was an ok QB, but until 89, he was always in a battle for the starting job with another 2nd rate QB, Blair Kiel, or Anthony Dilweg. He had one good year for the Packers, then he held out and then got injured. He couldn't throw the ball over 50 yards, weak armed QBs that throw picks just don't stick in the NFL.

[KYPack]

Re: How good was Majkowski??

He was a fan favorite who had a cool nickname and was very good for a Cardiac Pack team for one year. Unfortunately, it was the year before they added a third Wild Card team, and they missed out on the playoffs at 10-6. I have nothing against Majik, but it really made the Packer Hall of Fame look bad when they let him in.

I'd disagree with Harve on his Pack HOF statement (more on that later).

Any discussion of Majik has to include his great comeback win over the Bears in their first meeting in '89. In the last 32 seconds of the game, Don tossed a 14 yd pass to Sterling Sharpe that "won" the game. An official on the field ruled Majkowski was over the line of scrimmage and flagged the play. The call was eventually overturned by the Replay Official and the Pack won the game 14 - 13. Ditka went absolutely berserk. For many years the Bears media guide had an asterisk next to the game and listed "Instant replay game" next to the win.

For that & that alone, Majik deserves to be in the Pack HOF.

But also, Don had a briliant season in '89.

He had a good career, fifth all time in GB history behind, Favre, Starr, Dickey, and Tobin Rote.

Team HOF's also include players with great years (Travis Williams) or fan favorites (Elijah Pitts, Max McGee). Don qualifies on both counts. He deserves to be in the Packer HOF.

[The Leaper]

I agree KY...Majkowski is a reasonable selection to the HOF. Starr, Dickey and Favre are no-brainers...guys who do not fall in this category need to have either a lengthy career in team colors or took part in significant events in team history. The entire 1989 season was noteworthy in Packer annals...and Majkowski was the primary reason. The team HOF isn't supposed to have the same rigid criteria as Canton.

I can understand people who would disagree with his inclusion...but I don't see how you can label it as being "bad" for the HOF.

[FavreChild]

Majikowski is in the Packers Hall of Fame for what he symbolized. Majik represented a significant turning point in team history, after two decades of nearly uniform futility. Especially for someone my age, the Majikowski years were the first time I was ever interested in the Packers, because growing up in the 80s....well, there wasn't much of a reason to take an interest before the Majik Man.

Sure, in retrospect, the Majik-lead teams didn't accomplish all that much, but weren't we filled with hope and excitement during those years? And luckily, the Favre era carried us to more than a decade of consecutive winning seasons. Add the fact that every time the history of Favre's career is recounted, you can't go without mentioning the Majikowski injury...

Majik is part of Packers lore. Pure and simple.

[Patler]

Majik was an ok QB, but until 89, he was always in a battle for the starting job with another 2nd rate QB, Blair Kiel, or Anthony Dilweg. He had one good year for the Packers, then he held out and then got injured. He couldn't throw the ball over 50 yards, weak armed QBs that throw picks just don't stick in the NFL.

It wasn't quite as Nuts implies either. Majkowski was a rookie in 1987, and played enough in place of Randy Wright to get 127 attempts. Wright of course was in his 4th season at the time and had been the #1 QB exclusively the year before in 1986. Kiel and Dilweg weren't even there. In Majkowski's second year, 1988, he took over as the #1 QB in game 6, played in 13 games and had 336 attempts to Wright's 244. Time wasn't as divided as it looks statistically, because as I said Majkowski became the starter in game 6, but missed a game late in the season, Wright started and had 52 attempts. In Majkowski's third season, 1989, he was the exclusive QB, having 599 attempts to Dilwegs 1 (yes, one attempt). No other QB played in 1989.

So, the only QB Majkowski competed with was Randy Wright, the incumbant starter. It was a fairly rapid transition. He had a lot of playing time as a rookie in 7 games, and became the starter in game 6 of his second year and was the clear #1 after that.

Dilweg, Kiel and Tomczak got playing time in 1990 and 1991 only because Majkowski was injured. Majkowski was the clear #1 QB ever since early in his second season.

Majkowskie didn't have a great arm, but he could make plays with his arm and his legs. A guy doesn't throw for 4,300+ yards in a single season without being a decent passer.

[Fritz]

He really was a good quarterback. I think lots of people's opinions get jaded because we've been spoiled by #4, but if you compare Majik to other QB's around the league at the time, he was definitely in the top five of the league for that wonderful year, and there's no reason to think it was a fluke. Injuries just did him in.

I don't think he was as good as Lynn Dickey, but he was better than Tobin Rote, in my estimation.

[retailguy]

[quote="FavreChild"]Especially for someone my age, the Majikowski years were the first time I was ever interested in the Packers, because growing up in the 80s....well, there wasn't much of a reason to take an interest before the Majik Man.

/quote]


AAAAHHHHHHHHHH! No reason for interest? HERETIC!

[Fritz]

Uh, maybe that "top five" was a slight exaggeration. There was Marino, Moon, Esiason, Montana, Kelly. I'd put him in the next tier, though, with the likes of Randall Cunningham and Bernie Kosar.