NFL Hall Of Fame DE Deacon Jones, Dies At 74

Discussion in 'NFL General Discussion' started by Sweets, Jun 4, 2013.

  1. Sweets

    Sweets All-Pro

    David "Deacon" Jones, the Hall of Fame defensive end whom some consider the greatest defensive player in NFL history, died Monday at the age of 74.

    The Washington Redskins, for whom Jones played his final NFL season in 1974, posted an obituary on their website Monday night after announcing the news.

    He died of natural causes in his Anaheim Hills, Calif., home, the Los Angeles Times reported. The newspaper cited his stepson.

    Jones' NFL career started in 1961, when he was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 14th round (186th overall) out of Mississippi Vocational (now known as Mississippi Valley State). Jones spent his first 11 seasons in Los Angeles, where he teamed with Merlin Olsen, Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy to form "The Fearsome Foursome" -- one of the most famous defensive lines in NFL history. Jones was selected to seven consecutive Pro Bowls with the Rams from 1964 to 1970 and made eight overall.

    Source: NFL.com
     
  2. Steve12

    Steve12 The night is dark and full of terrors

    Oh man that's a big one. RIP.
     
  3. ragman

    ragman Pro Bowler Fantasy Guru

    The man who invented the term sack and the main reason the NFL outlawed the head slap.

    RIP.
     
  4. 86WARD

    86WARD -

    Would still hold the record for the most sacks in a season if they counted them back then.

    RIP.
     
  5. Sweets

    Sweets All-Pro

    Rosie is the only one left from the "Fearsome Foursome"...RIP Deacon, you've earned your rest...
     
  6. TheDuke

    TheDuke Breast Man

    Damn shame. He was such a nice guy. I met him at a dinner right after Strahan beat the single season sack record and he talked some major smack on him. It was kind of funny. Rest In Peace Deacon! Heaven has quite the DLine at this point.
     
  7. Walnuts

    Walnuts All-Pro

    Second best player ever from Miss Valley State
     
  8. Diesel44

    Diesel44 Serial Killer

    jerry rice was great,but deacon meant more to defense than jerry rice did to offense.
    the guy invented a stat in a sport! how many other guys do that? also was the reason there is a personal foul and the reason the headslap was banned by the nfl. probably had more sacks than anybody,but the league did not keep stats back then.other than LT,probably the most influential defensive player in nfl history!
     
  9. Walnuts

    Walnuts All-Pro

    Well, for one, Jerry Rice did...and he did far more to revolutionize the passing game and the wide receiver position than Jones did for defense or the defensive end. Sacks are nice but they dont have a fraction of the impact on a game that touchdowns or offensive yards do, and Jerry Rice has more of those than anyone else in history.

    The Bell Tolls: Jerry Rice reaches immortality in Canton - USATODAY.com
     
  10. DawkinsINT

    DawkinsINT Tebow free since 9/5/2015.

    There's no way for any of us that did not see Deacon play to determine who made a bigger impact on the game, but Jones was a monster. Sad to hear he passed.
     
  11. Crowned

    Crowned Doesn't give a shit.

    Damn that sucks, dude was a freaking monster from what I seen.
     
  12. SeanTaylor21

    SeanTaylor21 TheKingofKind

    The guy was an animal a sad day in the NFL community.
     
  13. Tarkus

    Tarkus The Thread Stalker

  14. 86WARD

    86WARD -

    One of the few players that could transfer his size and play from that era to this era...
     
  15. Diesel44

    Diesel44 Serial Killer

    do anybody ever see the old nfl films segment where he said every time he hit somebody he was aiming to put them in the cemetery? the guy was an absolute monster on the field,but i got friends who saw him in and around redskins training camp over the years and they said he was the nicest guy in the world as long as you were not wearing a qb jersey,then he would pick at you for it,no matter who the qb or the team was.other than maybe lawrence taylor,best defensive player to ever play!
     
  16. Diesel44

    Diesel44 Serial Killer

    I Did see him play,and he was by far the reggie white of his day.the only defensive player i saw that had more of an effect on the game was lawrence taylor. DJ was the reason the head slap was banned and the refs started calling holding and personal fouls more.

    you saw jerry rice play,but you did not see deacon play,there is really no way for you to fairly determine that.
     
  17. JEMicklos

    JEMicklos Captain

    Always was a treat when he would visit the Tampa bay area. Great speaker. He is missed