I think I'm going to throw Up

[NeMesiS]

I hope to God this isn't true...

 

http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/How-Reggie-White-almost-became-a-Giant/38d78fd2-08e6-4c11-ac2b-354771eabf33

 

 

 

 

How Reggie White almost became a Giant

Posted 9 hours ago

Dan SalomoneStaff Writer@NYGsalomone Read Daily Blitz Blog

A look at how Hall of Famer Reggie White almost played for the Giants

What if the Giants had drafted Reggie White and teamed him with Lawrence Taylor?

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It could have happened. The rest of the NFL is thankful it didn’t.

With hindsight always being right, the draft season raises these types of hypotheticals. It’s fun to go back and play “what if.”

In its “Caught in the Draft” series, NFL Network did exactly that. One installment highlighted the 1984 Supplemental Draft, in which the Giants selected offensive lineman Gary Zimmerman with the third pick. At No. 4, the Philadelphia Eagles took White.

“Gary Zimmerman was there,” Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, who led the Giants from 1983-1990, said in the feature. “I know I had a particular interest in Reggie White, too. I tried to put my two cents in, but we wound up taking Zimmerman.”

White went on to 13 straight Pro Bowls and retired as the NFL's all-time sack leader with 198. Meanwhile, Zimmerman had a career that also landed him in Canton, but not with the Giants. Zimmerman's signing rights were eventually traded to the Minnesota Vikings for two second-round picks in the 1986 draft.

He never played a game as a member of Big Blue.

However, this twist of NFL history would not derail a Giants team which won two Super Bowls with Taylor at the core.

But to be greedy, what if the combined 330.5 sacks, 22 All-Pro selections, 23 Pro Bowls, and six NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards all came in a Giants uniform?

“Holy cow, that would have been illegal,” former Raiders general manager Ron Wolf said.

“It would be incredible,” said former linebacker Carl Banks, who was drafted by the Giants in 1984 and won two championships alongside Taylor. “It would absolutely be incredible. [Then-Giants defensive coordinator Bill] Belichick probably would have had a ball with that.”

Parcells added, “It would have been something special.”

 

 

 

[fishgutmartyr]

Eh, Zimmerman was a HOF'er, too. Wasn't a bad choice, if he had come on board.

 

We wound up with 2 2nd round picks in 1986 for Zimmerman's rights: That second round gave us Mark Collins, Greg Lasker, Erik Howard, and Pepper Johnson.

 

That's not bad at all.

[gmenroc]

Didn't White play as a 4-3 DE? Giants were running a 3-4 back then. I could be wrong there, but I just don't remember the Eagles ever running a 3-4.

 

Don't get me wrong, it would have still be a dominant force of a defense...but if the scheme had to be changed to allow for White to play as a 4-3 DE or if he had fewer sacks as a 3-4 DE...there could have been some hiccups is all I'm saying...to keep the what ifs in check a bit.

[BleedinBlue]

Coulda, shoulda, whoulda can be said over and over if one wants to dig into it......hell, we've done worse.

 

Take the 1977 draft for instance: "and with the 143rd pick in the 1977 NFL draft, the New York Giants pick Bob Jordan, offensive tackle out of Memphis State". (60 seconds later), "and with the 144th pick in the 1977 NFL draft, the New York Jets Pick Joe Klecko, defensive end out of Temple University".

 

Bob Jordan never played a snap in the NFL. Klecko went on to be multiple winner of defensive player of the year and perennial pro-bowler and all-pro.

 

The draft is a crap shoot.

[JMFP]

Eh, Zimmerman was a HOF'er, too. Wasn't a bad choice, if he had come on board.

 

We wound up with 2 2nd round picks in 1986 for Zimmerman's rights: That second round gave us Mark Collins, Greg Lasker, Erik Howard, and Pepper Johnson.

 

That's not bad at all.

 

Good perspective, Fish.

 

Side note.....love how Parcell parsed that......basically he said "I wanted White, but that bastard George Young overruled me."

[Treehugger]

Who would have been the salary cap casualties of keeping those two guys? Just having another superstar player wouldn't necessarily mean the team would have the same or better success.

[fringe]

Who would have been the salary cap casualties of keeping those two guys? Just having another superstar player wouldn't necessarily mean the team would have the same or better success.

no cap back then.

[fishgutmartyr]

Didn't White play as a 4-3 DE? Giants were running a 3-4 back then. I could be wrong there, but I just don't remember the Eagles ever running a 3-4.

 

Don't get me wrong, it would have still be a dominant force of a defense...but if the scheme had to be changed to allow for White to play as a 4-3 DE or if he had fewer sacks as a 3-4 DE...there could have been some hiccups is all I'm saying...to keep the what ifs in check a bit.

 

That's a really good point--what side do you play him? Do you change the defense, where you weaken Taylor's impact? 1986 was Taylor's MVP year...

 

Also, down the road, do the Giants draft Strahan if they have White?

[Nas]

Coulda, shoulda, whoulda can be said over and over if one wants to dig into it......hell, we've done worse.

 

Take the 1977 draft for instance: "and with the 143rd pick in the 1977 NFL draft, the New York Giants pick Bob Jordan, offensive tackle out of Memphis State". (60 seconds later), "and with the 144th pick in the 1977 NFL draft, the New York Jets Pick Joe Klecko, defensive end out of Temple University".

 

Bob Jordan never played a snap in the NFL. Klecko went on to be multiple winner of defensive player of the year and perennial pro-bowler and all-pro.

 

The draft is a crap shoot.

You're showing your age , young man

[BleedinBlue]

You're showing your age , young man

Naz...I am getting old. I honestly don't remember the '77 draft as there was no such thing as ESPN or televised drafts. You read about it the next morning in the newspaper. There was no internet to familiarize yourself with players, no shitload of magazines revealing what scouts had found, etc. Not to mention, I was a full-time student at college and took 21 credit hours in that semester. There was no time for anything except reading, studying, writing, and taking notes at lectures. One of my professors told me no one could successfully carry 21 credits in one semester, but I did and had a 3.96 GPA. Never did that again...limited myself to 16 credit hours a semester after that.