Weather Bones!

[MontyJ]

Too funny Marshall. I was a defensive end in high school. I don't know how many quarterbacks I blind-sided

 

[897tgigvib]

Monty, I remember that play well! I'm left handed, so swinging right did leave my throwing arm exposed. I saw the double rush, but it was so fast I only knew I lost my protection, but I also knew my faithful tight n right should be open for at least a little ground. I did get the ball off, a tight spin, flat and straight, but as the ball departed the final aim of my fingertips,,,yes, I'm a touch type passer,,,it was so sudden. My left arm crushed to my body and I received an all out determined tackle. Thumb crushed back on my body somewhere.

Yes, we got first down outa the deal, but the guys told me not to wimp out and finish to a touchdown. Oh crap. Ok, next play we'd make them think we'll do a handoff or a screen because I'm hurt. That was the plan! Instead, I want 3 of you guys converging to receive a 20 yard pass that can well be off target, one of you get it, the other 2 make sure he goes all the way in. That's what we did. Defense stayed near the line real hard, I got tons of protection, and tossed, lobbed painfully, a 20 yard pass over heads. Craig got it to the one yard line. Couple dives later we got it.

Defensive ends! They always are the ones who hurt me! One crushed my calf in 76. Ends have that high speed bulky momentum...BAM!

 

[Jared77]

Got me one of those too Marshall. My right index finger has a nice quarter turn to the inside. If I point it straight out or you look at it with my hand flat on something you can see the twist to it. The nail literally is at a 45* angle towards my middle finger. It doesn't tingle that much as the sensations a little less in it, and once it gets cold it takes FOREVER to warm up if it does at all. Rest of my right hand will be warm but folks can feel the temperature difference if I put my hand on them.

The orthopod (orthopedist) when I was 14 or 15 told me and my mom who took me to the ER about it that it was a bad break and they'd have to rebreak it and put a pin in it, and there was no promise that it would be any better. Mind you I broke it horsing around and I didn't get it checked out for 72hrs since I thought I just jammed it and figured it would get better. It was still swollen up like a vienna sausage and getting uglier and more painful so I told my parents, x rays confirmed a break. I'm also the guy who as a kid the summer I was going into 4th grade managed to break both his arms in the same accident and waited 4 days to get those in casts too since I couldn't turn a door knob because my wrists hurt too much. I had fallen off a tire swing went to brace myself and my wrists are what took the brunt of the impact. I finally told my parents and the X rays came back with fractures to both wrists.

I had 19 ER visits before I was 18 years old (including 1 hospitalization for almost a week) so yeah I was always doing something that managed to get me there.

 

[canesisters]

Wow Jared. Your childhood ER sounds a little like mine.
I started out school by falling off of the monkey bars on the first day of first grade and snapping both of the bones in my arm. They stuck out the back of my wrist. I thought it was cool (wasn't feeling anything at all... shock maybe) but the teacher very nearly passed out - then the nurse got all spastic - then my Mom LOST it.
From there it was several years of barn and horse & bike related accidents that required various stitches or splints.

 

[Jared77]

Yep I was that kid too. Mostly stitches or breaking something since I couldn't shake them off like I could when I got a good or concussion would.

I remember trying to sneak away because I didn't stop my bike in time and ended up hitting the back of his pick up truck. He didn't have a tailgate (it was an old work truck) and I ended up in the bed of his pick up with a doozy of a laceration on my chin. That was 23 stitches. Bent the frame on the front tire and had to limp my bike home. Neighbor came out when he heard the crash, saw the blood and helped me get back home. I felt so stupid with a hankerchief up to my chin to try to stop the blood and my bike in the back of his pick up. He was a really nice guy but I sure felt dumb.

Or when I was wading in the creek looking for crayfish and lacerated my foot from my base of my toes all the way to my heel on a broken bottle on the creek bed. The water was ice cold so I never felt it happen. No idea how long I was walking around bleeding in the creek. I walked up the bank and my Dad saw a nice streak of blood behind me. I was 8 or 9 at the time. A couple with a brand new baby gave me a blanket they had brought to wrap my foot up and we went to the ER. My parents somehow tracked down the couple and bought them some nice stuff for their baby girl. I was more embarrassed that I had a pink blanket around my foot than I was that I cut it!

Yep that's how it was for me growing up. I just hope my kids take after my wife in that regard!

 

[MontyJ]

I know what you mean Marshall. I was really too light to play the end. I was originally the left corner, but got moved to the end when our starting left end got hurt. Speed and agility over the tight ends and tackles helped me alot. I could get around the line and into the backfield pretty quick. The worst part for me was sweeps to my side. I just wasan't big enough to take on pulling linemen. I was willing to get in there and tangle them up long enough to allow the linebackers to come and help though. The school I went to was small enough so that I had to play both sides of the ball. On offense I was a wide receiver. While I loved nailing an unsuspecting QB or catching the RB in the backfield, I much prefered the corner. Way-laying a receiver on a crossing pattern was one of my all-time favorite things. There was one thing that really threw off other teams. Our safeties were identical twins. There were several times I would swear I saw a receiver do a double take as he passed the weak side safety only to be taken up by...the same guy! The after game handshake was always pretty comical.

 

[bobm]

I played at a small high school of 22 players on our team. I played Left Guard/ Linebacker 5''9" at 155 lbs.( no fat). However I worked out manhandling about 90 research 200-300 lb. rams all summer at UCD during the summer. So notwithstanding my light weight, I was very strong and very quick... at linebacker I was always in the oponents' backfield tackling the running back for a loss or sacking the QB so I was almost always doubleteamed. We were always outmaned by at least 50% and were outweighed by at least 20 -40 lbs at each position. always scored 2 - 4 times more touchdowns than our oponents and won the Championship.

 

[897tgigvib]

I was not on the high school football team. They had me practicing with them though! Ya see, I'm the guy who came up with the plays. And, I'm the guy who did not miss the receiver. It was Ken Stabler, yep, who showed me how to pass. Raiders. Santa Rosa. Where they trained. After training they sometimes played with the kids, and I was one of the kids. Fred Biletnikoff and Dave Caspar each showed me how they liked the balls to get to them. Caspar was unusual. His secret you probably don't know: He watched for the shadow of the ball! Then he'd grab the ball like he was gonna kill it. Fred, he liked the ball over his head. His powerful arm and hand muscles vice gripped the ball and he tucked it tight.
Ken. He held out his throwing hand and asked if any of us could do "this". The first joint of his first three fingers he could bend in, with the other joints locking. I raised my hand with my fingers like that. Gene said, there's another one! Sir Lester was laughing! Ya see, Lester is a Neanderthal too.

So Ken proceeded to show me how to quarterback, just like that. Sir Lester stammered something about I'd never be a quarterback. That made Ken determined. Weekends passed. Wow, neighborhood kids from all around town showed up for our flag football games. One day we insisted on full tackle. Oh! I am proud to say, I have been rightly tackled by Gene Upshaw, but he was sooo careful not to hurt me, picking me up immediately and checking almost with tears to make sure I was alright. You alright, you ok? Turn your head this way, that way...Ha! Someone was calling him mean!

The game I was talking about was years later, when sonoma state's band and santa rosa junior college's bands were having a picnic together along with the 2 football teams...different leagues, so it was cool...and we all decided to have us a football game and split the teams up evenly as possible, mixed schools, football players and band players. Girls who'd never been cheerleaders got to be cheerleaders. Took only a bit of warmup and playing around for a consensus I'd be a quarterback once they saw my pretty touch passes hitting the mark every time. See, when you can do that thing with your fingers you have a long draw on the ball before it releases while you curl it to spin. With practice you learn where to aim, not at the spot, but to the left of it some degrees.

Yea BobM, It has always been my opinion that the most important person on my line is the center. Needs to know who to knock off balance, and needs to know how to be an impenetrable object. Next most important is my tight n right. Always needs to be ready to take an emergency ball. Guards are the all important big help, and need to be super smart.

Oh. Sure enough, it's raining

 

[digitS']

You don't suppose . .

. that Marshall's flu has made him delirious . .

. do you?

digitS'

 

[897tgigvib]

I could not play a single down right now! Besides, how many hippys play football? I was a rare one, lol!

Oh wow man, catch this one!