Tony Eason's son no. 7 rated recruit in country signs with Georgia

Clonamery · Feb 5, 2016

Deus Irae said:
Being a ball-less wonder didn't help him much, either

Yeah but he had the Happiest feet I've ever seen in a Patriots uniform.

RobertWeathers · Feb 5, 2016

Froob said:
How was Grogan? Wasn't alive for those days. Sounds like he wasn't great but, he was tough and the players respected him.

If you looked at his numbers and compared them to today's you would think he absolutely sucked.

If you compared his numbers to QBs of that era, you would say he was slightly below average QB.

Folks in these parts loved him one minute and hated him the next.

IMO he was a leader and extremely tough. Great running/scrambling QB but as a "pure" passer he was below average.

Zeus · Feb 5, 2016

Steve Grogan (16 seasons):

1886 completions /3593 attempts (52.3%) for 26,686 yards
182 TDs, 208 Ints
passer rating 69.6

Joe (Hall of Fame) Namath (13 seasons)

1886 completions/3762 attempts (50.1 %) for 27,663 yards
173 TDs, 220 Ints
passer rating 65.5

I'm not saying Steve Grogan was a better player than Joe Namath but the numbers show the extent to which Namath was and is overrated, especially when you consider the widely held reputations of the two players. How many Sports Media Talking Heads would know that Grogan's numbers are even comparable to Namath's?

Grogan was one of the toughest competitors I have ever seen. He was absolutely fearless. Early in his career, his athleticism made him the best running QB in the league. From 76-79. he averaged over 400 yards rushing per season. In 1976, he scored 12 TDs in a 14 game season, which I believe was a record for QBs at the time.

As a passer, he struggled with consistency and accuracy. At times, the ball would sail when it came out of his hand with the nose up. He was streaky and when he got the hot hand was nearly could be nearly unstoppable. A bit too often, he would force a throw into coverage with predictable results.

Late in his career, with Raymond Berry as coach, Grogan called his own plays and was pretty good at it. He may have been the last QB to do so.

Grogan's fiery demeanor and toughness made him a much respected player with teammates and foes. It was a stark contrast to the laid back Eason to be sure. But before Eason got there, the fans rode Grogan very hard.

Eason did have a lot of abilty. His footwork and release were quite good. I don't know about his work ethic and his toughness has been questioned (although almost anyone would suffer by comparison to Grogan). I've wondered what would have happened had Eason been coached by Bill Walsh. Tony was made to run the West Coast offense.

Chevy · Feb 5, 2016

Tough ... That's Grogan. Didn't he spit in LC Greenwood's face after a hit? And his 12 rushing TD's stood at the top of the list until Cam broke it with 14 in 2011.

PittPatriot · Feb 5, 2016

I was too new to the game to really "get" the true nuances with Eason and Grogan...my apologies for making the earlier assertions. The more knowledgeable guys on the board who really lived through that era definitely have some great, useful anecdotes.

I can't believe we drafted Eason ahead of Marino...

Zeus · Feb 5, 2016

Chevy said:
Tough ... That's Grogan. Didn't he spit in LC Greenwood's face after a hit? And his 12 rushing TD's stood at the top of the list until Cam broke it with 14 in 2011.

One of Grogan's favorite things in short yardage was to call a running play to the right side and then tell the RB on the way out of the huddle that he (Grogan) was going to keep the ball. It was the definition of the "naked bootleg" because 10 players went right and Grogan kept the ball and went left.

The way I remember the "spit in the face" incident, it was Mean Joe Green. It was something like 4th and 2 and Grogan ran the naked bootleg to pick up the first down. Green tackled Grogan and then reached down to help him up. As Grogan got up, he spat in Green's face.

This was a game in Pittsburgh in 1976. The Steelers were the defending champions. The Patriots won 30-28. The story you alluded was told in a column by the old Globe writer Ray Fitzgerald. I'll never forget the headline - "Gambler Named Grogan Puts Patriots in the Chips."

That newspaper is somewhere in my attic ...

Patsrock · Feb 5, 2016

Shows how much the league has changed in 30 years

In the 3 games plus a bit in Super
Bowl XX threw 48 passes.(16,14,12,6)

Brady last 3 playoff games 50,42,56

RobertWeathers · Feb 5, 2016

PittPatriot said:
I was too new to the game to really "get" the true nuances with Eason and Grogan...my apologies for making the earlier assertions. The more knowledgeable guys on the board who really lived through that era definitely have some great, useful anecdotes.

I can't believe we drafted Eason ahead of Marino...

No apology necessary.

The fact that some of us can comment in detain how schizophrenic, disorganized, desperate and disastrous the Pats' QB situation was from 1981 to 1992 is not a good thing.

Pretty incredible to think about it. In Drew, Scott Secules, Zo, TB and Matty C the Pats have had ONLY 5 players start at the Qb position in the last 22 years. Incredible.

Patsrock · Feb 5, 2016

robertweathers said:
No apology necessary.

The fact that some of us can comment in detain how schizophrenic, disorganized, desperate and disastrous the Pats' QB situation was from 1981 to 1992 is not a good thing.

Pretty incredible to think about it. In Drew, Scott Secules, Zo, TB and Matty C the Pats have had ONLY 5 players start at the Qb position in the last 22 years. Incredible.

And another one is Kicker only 5 in that time frame also, Missing Sisson,Bahr, AV,Gostkowski and Graham.

Zeus · Feb 5, 2016

robertweathers said:
No apology necessary.

The fact that some of us can comment in detain how schizophrenic, disorganized, desperate and disastrous the Pats' QB situation was from 1981 to 1992 is not a good thing.

Pretty incredible to think about it. In Drew, Scott Secules, Zo, TB and Matty C the Pats have had ONLY 5 players start at the Qb position in the last 22 years. Incredible.

You left out Hugh Millen, who teammates called Huge Millions after he got the big contract from Sam Jankovich. I think Millen also dated the cheer leader coach Lisa Coles.

I am told by friends in Seattle that Millen does a talk show gig out there (he went to University of Washington). His schtick is to brutalize Russell Wilson.

Guy's gotta make a living somehow ....

Joker · Feb 5, 2016

I lived through THIS.......1970 season

1-9-0 w/l

98 completions 219 attempts

44.7 passer rating

Joe freakin' Kapp

RobertWeathers · Feb 5, 2016

Zeus said:
You left out Hugh Millen, who teammates called Huge Millions after he got the big contract from Sam Jankovich. I think Millen also dated the cheer leader coach Lisa Coles.

I am told by friends in Seattle that Millen does a talk show gig out there (he went to University of Washington). His schtick is to brutalize Russell Wilson.

Guy's gotta make a living somehow ....

Ah. I was referring to the years 1993-2015 which is 23 years- not 22. My bad on the math but the great Hugh Millen did not start during that period.

Yep- Lisa Coles is Lisa Guerrero.....She married fmr MLB pitcher Scott Erickson

I remember during the Deflategate crap they interviewed Millen and hes some kind of sporting goods/football manufacturer.

Zeus · Feb 5, 2016

Joker said:
I lived through THIS.......1970 season

1-9-0 w/l

98 completions 219 attempts

44.7 passer rating

Joe freakin' Kapp

Of course, Kapp was the league MVP in 1970 and led the Vikings to the Super Bowl. Isn't he the guy who made the term "macho" part of the American vernacular?

Patriots with Kapp at QB played the Vikings at Harvard Stadium - it was the last home game of a 2-12 season that led to the drafting of Jim Plunkett.

It had snowed the night before but no one cleared the stands. The Vikings players on the field and on the sideline got pelted with snowballs throughout the entire game. Every time any of the officials turned their back to the stands, more snowballs flew at them from every direction.

Never figured out why no one threw any snowballs at the Patriots that day. They were brutal.

RayClay · Feb 5, 2016

Froob said:
How was Grogan? Wasn't alive for those days. Sounds like he wasn't great but, he was tough and the players respected him.

Eason was a better passer. They would have run through a wall for Grogan, though.

Grogan had a strong arm, but no touch. Eason could drop the ball in your hands like it was a snowflake.

RayClay · Feb 5, 2016

Zeus said:
Steve Grogan (16 seasons):

1886 completions /3593 attempts (52.3%) for 26,686 yards

182 TDs, 208 Ints

passer rating 69.6

Joe (Hall of Fame) Namath (13 seasons)

1886 completions/3762 attempts (50.1 %) for 27,663 yards

173 TDs, 220 Ints

passer rating 65.5

I'm not saying Steve Grogan was a better player than Joe Namath but the numbers show the extent to which Namath was and is overrated, especially when you consider the widely held reputations of the two players. How many Sports Media Talking Heads would know that Grogan's numbers are even comparable to Namath's?

Grogan was one of the toughest competitors I have ever seen. He was absolutely fearless. Early in his career, his athleticism made him the best running QB in the league. From 76-79. he averaged over 400 yards rushing per season. In 1976, he scored 12 TDs in a 14 game season, which I believe was a record for QBs at the time.

As a passer, he struggled with consistency and accuracy. At times, the ball would sail when it came out of his hand with the nose up. He was streaky and when he got the hot hand was nearly could be nearly unstoppable. A bit too often, he would force a throw into coverage with predictable results.

Late in his career, with Raymond Berry as coach, Grogan called his own plays and was pretty good at it. He may have been the last QB to do so.

Grogan's fiery demeanor and toughness made him a much respected player with teammates and foes. It was a stark contrast to the laid back Eason to be sure. But before Eason got there, the fans rode Grogan very hard.

Eason did have a lot of abilty. His footwork and release were quite good. I don't know about his work ethic and his toughness has been questioned (although almost anyone would suffer by comparison to Grogan). I've wondered what would have happened had Eason been coached by Bill Walsh. Tony was made to run the West Coast offense.

Not really an apt comparison. Namath had about 7-8 healthy years. Not normal healthy, but two bad knees before modern surgery adequately healthy.

If you watched football back then, you knew who the great QBs were. Gayle Sayers didn't deserve the hall of fame, but he was great. there are guys who pile up statistics in a mediocre career who were never great.

RayClay · Feb 5, 2016

Joker said:
I lived through THIS.......1970 season

1-9-0 w/l

98 completions 219 attempts

44.7 passer rating

Joe freakin' Kapp

There's a case where the stats aren't nearly as bad as the reality. Any one in the stands could have thrown a football better than Kapp. It was fun watching him pickup up linebackers and toss them aside, though.

Mike Taliaferro was the essence of "no hope for the future" at QB.

Off The Grid · Feb 5, 2016

Zeus said:
The way I remember the "spit in the face" incident, it was Mean Joe Green. It was something like 4th and 2 and Grogan ran the naked bootleg to pick up the first down. Green tackled Grogan and then reached down to help him up. As Grogan got up, he spat in Green's face.

Feltcher ~ to such extent as you can believe'm ~ tells a far far different Story:

It won't let me quote it, but evidently it was Dwight White, not one'f the other Steelers, and it was him trying to spit at Grogan, not the other way around...and evidently failing, if Feltcher is quoting John Hannah correctly!!

And as Hannah is said to've said: Grogan just stared'm down.

Now that's how I remember Grogan: Tough as Nails.

bobbutts · Feb 5, 2016

As a kid in Urbana, IL I went to the games and became a big Eason fan. I moved to NE right around when he did too, it was what first got me into NFL.

Tony2046 · Feb 5, 2016

wheresmosi said:
Yeah, I just saw that--is one able to delete a thread? I saw editing but not delete.

Geez, If Volin reads this thread before it's deleted........

RobertWeathers · Feb 5, 2016

Off The Grid said:
Feltcher ~ to such extent as you can believe'm ~ tells a far far different Story:

It won't let me quote it, but evidently it was Dwight White, not one'f the other Steelers, and it was him trying to spit at Grogan, not the other way around...and evidently failing, if Feltcher is quoting John Hannah correctly!! And as Hannah is said to've said: Grogan just stared'm down.

Now that's how I remember Grogan: Tough as Nails.

I think Willie McD wrote once that Grogs - on a few occasions had plenty of "in your face" moments with Steve 'Big House" Moore and challenged him to a fight after practice once.

If anyone knows about fights & the Pats (see Raymond Clayborn) its him.

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