School a Youngster: What Made John Hannah So Good?

[Vindicate]

Hey guys, I'm a '93 kid who thoroughly enjoys wasting time in the late hours of the night looking up questions such as "What made playerX so good?". These players tend to be people who were from before my time, or just in a sport to which I don't pay much attention. This is one of those "I wasn't alive yet" scenarios, and I could've looked it up on Reddit, but I figured there'd be some folks here who'd have better input

So - lay it on me - what made John Hannah so good? I've read that he might be the best offensive lineman of all time. Was he a freak athlete? Was he incredibly smart? Did he excel more in run or pass blocking? Are there any players he stonewalled who'd normally steamroll most o-lines?

Figured this Chiefs - Texans game was getting boring so maybe a gush fest for a fellow Patriot might be interesting.

 

[Joker]

I was a basketball player when I was young...worked on my thighs to get big time hops, doing squats...Hog Hannah's thighs were easily three times the size of mine and I'm 6'3"...just superhuman below the waist.

 

[RASTAN99]

A brobdingnagian helping of both intellect & work ethic --- a lethal combination.

 

[Wax Frog]

just superhuman below the waist.

 

[Joker]

well...they DID call him "Hog" if you get my drift...

 

[Patriot Missile]

Put it this way. The Patriots owned the single season team rushing record for 40+ years with a great team and a lot of his help. Teams knew they were going to run it and it didn’t matter. They were that good. I give the Ratbirds credit for breaking it but it was a gimmick. Pats flatout just handed the ball off and ran over you.

I can’t imagine how good he would be with todays surgical advances, nutrition and training.

 

[JayNM]

I was a basketball player when I was young...worked on my thighs to get big time hops, doing squats...Hog Hannah's thighs were easily three times the size of mine and I'm 6'3"...just superhuman below the waist.

Man, i wish i was superhuman below the waist

 

[fnordcircle]

He was a garbage teammate who disparaged his own QB in the press and gets a free pass from people who had spasms of rage about Peyton saying far less damning things about his teammates.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Great run blocker, great mover. He could really move at full speed and weave around the field no problem. Really compact but great balance. He was really good in space and could run with almost anyone on the field. Very physical. He started when offensive lineman couldn't use your arms/hands so pass pro wasn't his specialty but he wasn't bad.

He was someone you would look at and not want to hit anywhere. His head was like a fire hydrant. Body like a fridge. Played at 265 and was always punching above his weight class.

 

[Clonamery]

He was a garbage teammate who disparaged his own QB in the press and gets a free pass from people who had spasms of rage about Peyton saying far less damning things about his teammates.

Just a reminder, we were all too young to read then.

 

[1960Pats]

I remember how mean he was. When he'd pull and come around the end he was looking for someone to crush, not just block. I can still picture DB's seeing him and trying to duck to get out of his way. Hannah would have none of it though and would just bury the poor soul into the ground.

He was also very intense. There's an old video of him sitting on the sideline while the other team's offense was on the field and he was rocking back and forth with his jowls flexing. He looked like he couldn't wait to get back on the field and do more damage.

 

[PatriotsReign]

He was a garbage teammate who disparaged his own QB in the press and gets a free pass from people who had spasms of rage about Peyton saying far less damning things about his teammates.

Nothing better than a God fearing mean offensive lineman that loved to hurt people though

wish we had one or two now

 

[Ring 6]

Great run blocker, great mover. He could really move at full speed and weave around the field no problem. Really compact but great balance. He was really good in space and could run with almost anyone on the field. Very physical. He started when offensive lineman couldn't use your arms/hands so pass pro wasn't his specialty but he wasn't bad.

He was someone you would look at and not want to hit anywhere. His head was like a fire hydrant. Body like a fridge. Played at 265 and was always punching above his weight class.

I think the biggest thing that separated him was technique. His strength was legendary but in the 70s blocking had so much to do with technique. Watch film of him firing out and run blocking, or pulling are form blocking on the edge, then watch today’s players and it’s like they are playing a different game, because of rule changes and legalizing hand use.

 

[Ring 6]

He was a garbage teammate who disparaged his own QB in the press and gets a free pass from people who had spasms of rage about Peyton saying far less damning things about his teammates.

Well it was Tony Eason

 

[everlong]

He makes some HOFers look ordinary in this.

 

[scott99]

A brobdingnagian helping of both intellect & work ethic --- a lethal combination.

Great technique and a mauler mentality as well.

 

[Wax Frog]

His head was like a fire hydrant.

Maybe it's bad form to go back to the same joke twice, but...

 

[Vindicate]

A brobdingnagian helping of both intellect & work ethic --- a lethal combination.

Thank you for both your insight and introducing the word "brobdingnagian" to me.

 

[Vindicate]

Put it this way. The Patriots owned the single season team rushing record for 40+ years with a great team and a lot of his help. Teams knew they were going to run it and it didn’t matter. They were that good. I give the Ratbirds credit for breaking it but it was a gimmick. Pats flatout just handed the ball off and ran over you.

I can’t imagine how good he would be with todays surgical advances, nutrition and training.

I always enjoy the mental exercise of "How good would they be in this era" and now that I'm looking more into it, this dude was a damn California Redwood tree-stump of a human. I could only imagine he'd be even better in this era.

 

[Vindicate]

He was a garbage teammate who disparaged his own QB in the press and gets a free pass from people who had spasms of rage about Peyton saying far less damning things about his teammates.

Please, tell more. I've seen nothing but glowing praise, including that he was a "sweetheart" off the field.