NFL Films Top 100 Greatest Players #83 Norm Van Brocklin - HD, HQ

NFL Films Top 100 Greatest Players #83 Norm Van Brocklin - HD, HQ

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• NFL Films
• Top 100
• Greatest Players
• #83
• Norm Van Brocklin

[yusufu9]

the dutchman was a great qb, but the guy presenting him here -- sonny jurgensen -- should clearly be in this top 100 list. a revealing anecdote from the eagles receiver, tommy macdonald, who commented that in the 1960 title game against the pack, that if sonny had been in the game, the eagles would have won going away. his 32 td passes the next year showed what he could do.

[ShinobiMusashi1]

Even though I dont agree with the rankings this countdown has some great footage, and some nice interviews.

[yusufu9]

@AllPro777 Agreed. I lived in Houston in the Bum Phillips era, with the magnificent Earl Campbell and Dan P firing some very tight spirals -- you're right, he did hang in there under the rush, and did throw the untimely interception every once and awhile.

[AllPro777]

@yusufu9

George wasn't a leader either. I mean, once you start taking swings at your coach you don't exactly inspire leadership maturity, lol.

Yeah, Pastorini was no technician. But he had heart. He probably lasted as long as he did moreso because of how he would hang in the pocket to that very last second and take an explosive hit just to make a play. Often times, it turned out to be a dumb decision of holding the ball too long, or throwing a disrupted pass. But I respect his toughness.

[AllPro777]

@yusufu9

Bradshaw would've likely been out of the league after 3 years had he gone anywhere else. He fell into an incredible situation. Yes, Archie got screwed, and even from that he still managed 2 Pro Bowls.

[yusufu9]

@AllPro777 George had a gun for an arm, but that was all. Didn't have touch, couldn't read defenses. Pastorini had a gun too. Remember the hilarious anecdote about him, involving Sonny and Johnny U. At a pro-bowl one year, Sonny and John were there for commentary. At the hotel, Pastorini was firing balls up to the 10th floor balcony or something, and Sonny says to #19: "John, can you believe that arm on that kid?" Johnny U replies, "Yeah, but his receivers are on the 5th floor". Priceless!

[yusufu9]

@AllPro777 Understood. For me, a classic example of the individual talent vs. team success factor is someone like Archie Manning. This guy was supremely talented in every way: great arm, powerful and elusive runner, tremendous courage in the pocket, dedicated to the game. And yet his teams were dreadfully bad, and so that made him look mediocre to many critics. Imagine a trade: Archie goes to the Steelers, Bradshaw to the Saints. Who then makes it to the Hall of Fame?

[AllPro777]

@yusufu9

And yes, I realize it's a team game and Sonny didn't exactly play on a lot of good teams. But history is unforgiving of that fact. All history knows is that a guy either won or lost. 'Why' is never recorded in those stats.

[AllPro777]

@yusufu9

Sonny was a better pure passer than most QB's from any era. That's a given. But I also studied Jeff George long enough to know that he too could throw with the best of them, and he had a golden arm that was 80 yards dangerous... throwing off of his BACK FOOT, But that doesn't make Jeff George a better QB than a guy who was a deadly accurate passer & student of the game like Joe Montana or Peyton Manning, or a QB who had the leadership and clutch abilities of Montana, Elway or Unitas.

[robhondenkop2]

@yusufu9 hey thanks for the info !

[yusufu9]

@robhondenkop2 Dutch ancestry. But probably also because of aerial fireworks that distinguished van Brocklin as a premier passer in the 50s -- the "flying Dutchman" theme.

[AllPro777]

@yusufu9

I have a big library of Football films dating back as far as 1925. I've seen just about every game Sonny Jurgensen ever played in. You're preaching to the choir. I know he was great, he just wasn't the best.

And you're misunderstanding my "lucky" comment. As I said, a guy with a losing record and a non-existent postseason legacy pretty much never gets into the HOF no matter what. You think John Elway would've made it if he had a losing record & never started a playoff game? Nope.