Beyond Broadway Joe by Bob Lederer
Author:Bob Lederer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-07-24T16:00:00+00:00
JOHN ELLIOTT
* * *
DEFENSIVE TACKLE #80
6'4"
244 LB.
Only three new Jets broke into the 1968 lineup; John was one of them and he became an AFL all-star.
As the 1967 season closed, it was irksome to some Jets, like Don Maynard, that third-year defensive tackle Jim Harris had not been in shape at the end of the schedule. Warned by Weeb Ewbank to spend the off-season doing something about it, Harris reported overweight to 1968 training camp and immediately lost his starting job.
First up with an opportunity to replace Harris was Dennis Randall, a 6'7", 250-pound 1967 third-round draft choice out of Oklahoma State. He had suffered a season-ending knee injury his rookie year, showed up at Hofstra training camp, and left in July 1968 without a public explanation. Next up could have been 1968 second-round draft choice Steve Thompson, an angular 6'2", 240-pounder out of the University of Washington, but he injured a knee in a controlled rookie scrimmage with the Baltimore Colts.
Darrell John Elliott, the Jets’ seventh-round 1967 collegiate pick, was the next option. A Texas high school high hurdles champ, John had been a respected University of Texas offensive lineman and linebacker. Pro teams didn’t drool over him, but at Jets camp, his speed, quickness, and hustle at defensive tackle were numbing. It didn’t surprise Carl McAdams, who remembered playing against Elliott in college. “I intercepted a pass for Oklahoma against Texas and cruised towards the goal line on my way to a touchdown,” he recounted. “I was shocked to be caught from behind by John Elliott.”
As something of a tryout, Weeb had thrown Elliott into the Jets’ defensive line—replacing Harris—in the team’s final games of 1967. That postseason, Elliott put on twenty-five pounds, raising his playing weight to 246. Elliott started the second half of the Jets’ first 1968 preseason game and was so effective that by the second exhibition, he had sealed the deal for a starting DT role.
His rapid ascent in the lineup was completely unforeseen. At the end of the preseason, Ewbank told the New York media, “We’ve really got something in this kid. He can be an All-Pro.” John’s insertion improved a defensive unit with tremendous unity, pride, and continuity, plus familiarity with everyone’s role from years of playing together. Not far into the 1968 season, the Jets’ defense leaped to the top of the AFL rankings and Elliott began to be known on Jets broadcasts as “Big Bad John.”
Paul Zimmerman wrote, “John Elliott’s meteoric and unexpected rise at right tackle threw the whole operation into high gear.” Three-quarters into the 1968 season, Zimmerman selected John to his personal 1968 all-AFL team, and wrote, “He pursues better than anyone at his position, rushes the passer and won’t get caught on traps.” In the days leading to Super Bowl III, defensive line partner Gerry Philbin credited Elliott’s season-long improvement for the defense’s year-end number-one AFL ranking.
Elliott’s partner at defensive tackle, Paul Rochester, gets a lot of the credit for John’s improvement. Rocky recognized John’s natural talent but shook his head about Elliott’s technique.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Baseball | Basketball |
Boxing, Wrestling & MMA | Football |
Golf | Hockey |
Soccer |
Imperfect by Sanjay Manjrekar(5660)
Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi(5278)
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson(4538)
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom(4355)
Unstoppable by Maria Sharapova(3389)
Crazy Is My Superpower by A.J. Mendez Brooks(3182)
Not a Diet Book by James Smith(3125)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer(3099)
The Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant(3069)
The Fight by Norman Mailer(2651)
Finding Gobi by Dion Leonard(2601)
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom(2546)
My Turn by Johan Cruyff(2479)
The Ogre by Doug Scott(2476)
Unstoppable: My Life So Far by Maria Sharapova(2362)
Accepted by Pat Patterson(2201)
Everest the Cruel Way by Joe Tasker(2110)
Open Book by Jessica Simpson(2094)
Borders by unknow(2091)
