Clarke more than happy to pass touchdown torch to T.O.
By CHAREAN WILLIAMSStar-Telegram Staff Writer
Frank Clarke says his Cowboys' receiving touchdowns record was made to be broken by Terrell Owens.
Owens' 15 touchdown catches in 2007 broke Clarke's 45-year-old team record. Clarke said Owens recently sent him a note, acknowledging what Clarke had done with the Cowboys in 1962 when he made 47 catches for 1,043 yards and 14 touchdowns in only 12 games.
"The letter was really just icing on the cake for me," Clarke said in a telephone interview. "He was pleased. I just think it's wonderful that he is the one who broke it. I think so much of him. If I had had half of that intensity that he has, Jerry Rice would have been chasing my records."
Bob Hayes had 13 touchdown catches in 1966, but no one else -- not Lance Rentzel, Tony Hill, Drew Pearson or Michael Irvin -- came close to erasing Clarke from the record book until T.O.
"I'm flabbergasted that the record stayed that long, considering all the great receivers we've had in Dallas," said Clarke, who played with the Cowboys from 1960-67. "... I was pretty nonchalant about it when it happened. It was only the Cowboys' third season, and we weren't thinking about records. It's just such a great honor for me that it was T.O. who broke it."
Specialists feeling left out
Jan Stenerud can't understand how, after all of these years, he still is the only specialist in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ray Guy, a seven-time Pro Bowler and nine-time All-Pro who averaged 42.4 yards per punt, is on the list of finalists again this year. He is in his 17th year of eligibility, having retired after the 1986 season.
"Ray Guy's name has come up so many times," said Stenerud, who was in the Class of 1991. "I have no idea why he's not in. He is a great, great punter, the greatest who ever lived."
Stenerud also put in a plug for Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, who Stenerud said "made the biggest kicks on the biggest stage." Vinatieri just completed his 12th NFL season and is considered the best clutch kicker in the history of the league.
"There are a lot of kickers who have played a lot of years and done a lot of amazing things," Vinatieri said last week in a telephone interview. "A lot of them deserve to be in there.... I still have five, six, seven, eight years left. I have a lot of chapters left in my career. It would be a huge honor if and when it happened."
Bad company
The Cowboys have not won a playoff game since 1996 when they beat the Vikings 40-15 in a wild-card game. Only the Lions have a longer drought among NFC teams. The Lions' last playoff win came in a 1991 divisional game against the Cowboys.
Got rings?
The Patriots have 19 players with Super Bowl rings. Nine of them have three, having won with New England in 2001, '03 and '04. They are linebacker Tedy Bruschi, linebacker Mike Vrabel, quarterback Tom Brady, left tackle Matt Light, receiver Troy Brown, running back Kevin Faulk, linebacker Larry Izzo, long snapper Lonie Paxton and defensive lineman Richard Seymour.
Lewis plays a part
Mo Lewis never played for the Patriots. Yet, he inadvertently played a part in the Patriots' dynasty.
It was Lewis' hit on Drew Bledsoe in 2001 that jump-started the career of Tom Brady. Lewis, who retired in 2003, crashed his shoulder into Bledsoe's chest, leaving Bledsoe with a sheared blood vessel in his chest.
Brady has started every game since, going 100-26, including the postseason.
"After talking to somebody for a few minutes, nine out of 10 will say, 'Hey, you're the guy who hit Bledsoe and started Tom Brady's career,'" Lewis told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. "I always say I never knew it was going to happen like that. I guess we're kind of bonded together now.
"Anytime the Patriots are on television, my friends will say, 'Mo, your team is on.' I'll say, 'The Jets?' And they'll say, 'No, the Patriots.'"
Frank Clarke says his Cowboys' receiving touchdowns record was made to be broken by Terrell Owens.
Owens' 15 touchdown catches in 2007 broke Clarke's 45-year-old team record. Clarke said Owens recently sent him a note, acknowledging what Clarke had done with the Cowboys in 1962 when he made 47 catches for 1,043 yards and 14 touchdowns in only 12 games.
"The letter was really just icing on the cake for me," Clarke said in a telephone interview. "He was pleased. I just think it's wonderful that he is the one who broke it. I think so much of him. If I had had half of that intensity that he has, Jerry Rice would have been chasing my records."
Bob Hayes had 13 touchdown catches in 1966, but no one else -- not Lance Rentzel, Tony Hill, Drew Pearson or Michael Irvin -- came close to erasing Clarke from the record book until T.O.
"I'm flabbergasted that the record stayed that long, considering all the great receivers we've had in Dallas," said Clarke, who played with the Cowboys from 1960-67. "... I was pretty nonchalant about it when it happened. It was only the Cowboys' third season, and we weren't thinking about records. It's just such a great honor for me that it was T.O. who broke it."
Specialists feeling left out
Jan Stenerud can't understand how, after all of these years, he still is the only specialist in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ray Guy, a seven-time Pro Bowler and nine-time All-Pro who averaged 42.4 yards per punt, is on the list of finalists again this year. He is in his 17th year of eligibility, having retired after the 1986 season.
"Ray Guy's name has come up so many times," said Stenerud, who was in the Class of 1991. "I have no idea why he's not in. He is a great, great punter, the greatest who ever lived."
Stenerud also put in a plug for Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, who Stenerud said "made the biggest kicks on the biggest stage." Vinatieri just completed his 12th NFL season and is considered the best clutch kicker in the history of the league.
"There are a lot of kickers who have played a lot of years and done a lot of amazing things," Vinatieri said last week in a telephone interview. "A lot of them deserve to be in there.... I still have five, six, seven, eight years left. I have a lot of chapters left in my career. It would be a huge honor if and when it happened."
Bad company
The Cowboys have not won a playoff game since 1996 when they beat the Vikings 40-15 in a wild-card game. Only the Lions have a longer drought among NFC teams. The Lions' last playoff win came in a 1991 divisional game against the Cowboys.
Got rings?
The Patriots have 19 players with Super Bowl rings. Nine of them have three, having won with New England in 2001, '03 and '04. They are linebacker Tedy Bruschi, linebacker Mike Vrabel, quarterback Tom Brady, left tackle Matt Light, receiver Troy Brown, running back Kevin Faulk, linebacker Larry Izzo, long snapper Lonie Paxton and defensive lineman Richard Seymour.
Lewis plays a part
Mo Lewis never played for the Patriots. Yet, he inadvertently played a part in the Patriots' dynasty.
It was Lewis' hit on Drew Bledsoe in 2001 that jump-started the career of Tom Brady. Lewis, who retired in 2003, crashed his shoulder into Bledsoe's chest, leaving Bledsoe with a sheared blood vessel in his chest.
Brady has started every game since, going 100-26, including the postseason.
"After talking to somebody for a few minutes, nine out of 10 will say, 'Hey, you're the guy who hit Bledsoe and started Tom Brady's career,'" Lewis told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. "I always say I never knew it was going to happen like that. I guess we're kind of bonded together now.
"Anytime the Patriots are on television, my friends will say, 'Mo, your team is on.' I'll say, 'The Jets?' And they'll say, 'No, the Patriots.'"
posted by The Gryphon at 10:11 AM
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