How about a salute to the grunt workers of the gory years?
First, the term "essential workers" might be timelier and more endearing, but we're talking football, so grunts it is.
Having covered the Packers for most of the 24-year drought from 1968 to 1991, I always felt the players were better than the coaches running the show.
Granted, the Packers were short on playmakers. The only star who endured was James Lofton. But, again, that was mostly due to bad decisions at the top of the Packers' football operation (Ted Hendricks), bad judgment on the coaching front (John Brockington), injuries (Willie Buchanon and Eddie Lee Ivery) and bad drafting (Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott).
Yes, there also were quarterback issues that overrode all others for most of those 24 seasons, but those, too, were caused largely by bad trades, bad drafts and bad decisions.
As lousy as the Packers' overall record was during that stretch – 146-281-9, the fourth-worst winning percentage among 28 teams – only four of their own No. 1 draft picks were top-five selections. In other words, they never really bottomed out. Never went winless or won fewer than four games.
That was because they had a number of hardworking and hardnosed players who didn't know the word quit. Here's a high five of the most unsung based on toughness, durability and undervalued talent.
Only offensive and defensive linemen were considered. Players inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame, Pro Bowl selections and all-pro (first-team) picks were ineligible.
1. Alden Roche, DE, 1971-76 – Roche epitomized the scrappy, unheralded players of that period. Showed up every day, worked hard, highly competitive, solid contributor, dependable teammate. In six years, he missed one game. A second-round draft pick by Denver in 1970, Roche was traded to the Packers as part of the Don Horn deal. He played all but the first play of his first game in Green Bay and started the second for an injured Mike McCoy, but wasn't inserted into the starting lineup until the last eight games. When it became obvious Roche was maybe the Packers' best defensive lineman and sitting the bench, he proved to be versatile enough to start wherever needed – for Lionel Aldridge at right end, McCoy at left tackle and Clarence Williams at left end – and was chosen the team's most valuable defensive player at the end of the season. Thereafter, Roche became a fixture at right end. Although better against the run, he was relentless and had just enough quickness to be a decent pass rusher. He was a key player on the NFL's second-ranked defense when the Packers won the NFC Central Division in 1972 and shared the team lead with 8½ sacks in 1976. "Roche is the type of guy you'll have to beat," said his coach, Dave Hanner. "He never beats himself. He gives such a great effort and that's the name of the game."
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October 01, 2020 at 09:32PM
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The best of the gory years' grunts - Packers.com
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