The Power of a Deacon Jones Headslap
This is what I imagine a concussion feels like.
If you are like me, you probably became acquainted with Deacon Jones via top ten lists on NFL Network. For almost every top ten list they did, one of the random talking heads they’d get to offer a take for fluff was this old mean black guy who never had anything nice to say about quarterbacks. His name was David Jones. According to this profile on him, he called himself Deacon because he thought David was too common. I am personally offended but he’s not wrong. It’s like he’s headslapping me from the grave.
Deacon was before my time, before the time of most people outside boomers. As such I think he’s been overlooked a little bit. He never won a championship, he wasn’t a heralded pick, and he played in the era before sacks were a legitimate stat. But when you take a moment to examine his career, there is a pretty good argument to be made he’s the best pass rusher of all time. At least among the best. He was part of the fearsome foursome and his legendary move was whapping you upside the noggin while he charged. He figured out that slapping people would cause them a brief moment of disorientation, and he’d use that brief moment to leave you in the dust. Naturally, this is not legal today. The headslap was outlawed a long time ago, even before the modern concussion crisis of the mid-2010’s.
The headslap is kind of Deacon’s best known legacy, but I wanted to make a comic about him because Pro Football Reference recently went and added unofficial pre-1982 sack data to their website. Sacks were not a stat before 1982, and a lot of people have wondered how well players like Jones would have held up if it was modern. Notably, Michael Strahan’s controversial single-season sack record would sit behind Al Baker, who got 23 in 1978, during a 14 game season. Jones also played in the 14 game era, and his numbers make that knowledge even more striking.
Jones got over 20 sacks 3 times. He reached 22 twice. In a 14 game season, that likely means he’d probably hold the record if he played in a 16 game season. The sack record is likely to fall soon thanks to the extra game (and presumed move to 18 in the near future) but if Deacon Jones played 18 games he’d probably still hold the record. The dude was a monster.
On the unofficial career leaderboard, Jones (173.5) sits at #3, behind Bruce Smith (200) and Reggie White (198). Thing is, Bruce Smith played 88 more games than Deacon did. Reggie played 41 more games than Deacon did. Both Bruce and Reggie played in a more pass-friendly era than Deacon did. Deacon Jones was an absolute beast and deserves to be better remembered as one of the best of all time. If you didn’t know who he was, or much about him before you read this post, I hope you understand him now. He literally coined the term “sack”. He was a pick in the 14th round, so eat shit Tom “Wah I’m a 6th rounder” Brady.
Jones passed away in 2013. RIP to a legend of the game.
He might’ve been picked in the 14th round but he was still picked earlier than Brady (186th vs 199th)
I had to double take at the second to last panel because, honest to God, this is probably the absolute last place I would have ever expected to see an Evangelion reference. Spit my damn drink out. I’m guessing the whiplash I felt is what a headslap feels like.
All joking aside, I would agree that getting a concussion/CTE probably does feel like watching The End of Evangelion. Constant confusion for hours and a feeling of emptiness when it’s over.
I came to write a similar comment, but you couldn’t have said it better. I don’t want to watch The End of Evangelion ever again. And, by extention, getting a concussion.
it’s been on my mind recently so when i saw the giant football eye i thought “oh lol that’s like vaguely Third Impact”
and then i kept reading and THAT WAS ACTUALLY WHAT IT WAS
lmao didn’t expect an evangelion-nfl crossover today, but here we are
Evangelionfl
Ooh, now do Turkey Jones!
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DelightfulNauticalAcouchi-size_restricted.gif
Packers have a new unofficial sack leader over Clay Matthews, now Willie Jones with 93.5 sacks, exactly 10 more than Clay’s 83.5 sacks as a Packers player.
The Browns’ career leader is now unofficially Bill Glass (77.5). The official leader, Clay Matthews, Jr. (75.0), is now second, with Jerry Sherk (70.5) third. Myles Garrett (42.5) is currently 7th, but will likely overtake Glass within four years, barring unforeseen circumstances.
For reference, I fractured my skull early May.
I saw my eyes flash before my eyes, but only weird parts that I didn’t quite remember earlier. And it was only of small moments with people I was close to. I was very much lucky to be alive.
Deacon Jones is actually the one who invented the sack, as in, he coined the term and started using it to refer to tackling the QB behind the like of scrimmage.
Are we just going to not mention that he was the singer for the band that would become War?
I once heard a sports radio host lead in to an interview with Deacon Jones with a wonderful minute-plus long recap of his career, accomplishments, and many accolades for which Jones complimented him on. Jones then went on to say that he was Deacon Jones the former Major League Baseball player and longtime baseball assistant coach who was on the program to talk about a local minor league team he was working with. I’m sure it was a prank on the host arranged by Jones and someone else at the radio station, but darned if it wasn’t hilarious.
Football Deacon Jones acquitted himself pretty well in his acting and singing roles in addition to his great football career. He was less successful on ABC’s Superstars competition in 1978.
There was some guy that played in the 40s-50s that had something like 16 sacks in a game.
He played before TV / film footage was regularly used.
I think he was a Redskin. There was an NFL Films piece about him years ago.
Just this unassuming skinny old man, and he basically made the Power I formation a necessity just so you could block.
Might have been the guy that said he figured out the defense out-numbers the offense by 1.
Norman Willey, a Philadelphia Eagle from 1950-1957, claimed to have 17 sacks in a 1952 game against the Giants. He said he was paid a $10 bounty for each sack and collected $170 after the coaches reviewed the game film the next week at practice. As the NFL did track net passing yards back then, the game’s box score does note that that Giants lost 127 yards to sacks… whether all of those came courtesy of Willey or if there were actually 17 can’t be definitively determined, though.
Hey Dave, Kelvin Benjamin got into a fight with Joe Judge and apparently Judge already laid down the sentence. They cut him.
Headslapped his so hard he sent him into the eclipse to visit the God Hands.
Offensive linemen were severely limited in how they could block back then, as I recall. Blocking rules weren’t liberalized until 1978. Jerry Kramer opines here
https://greenbaybobfox.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/jerry-kramer-talks-about-the-nfl-blocking-rules-in-his-era/
Well yeah, I guess getting a concussion is like watching the back half of End of Evangelion. That makes sense.
I remember the interview in which Mr. Jones said why he called tackling a QB behind the scrimmage line a “sack”. He said that it was like putting all the hopes and dreams of the opposing city in a sack and then beating that sack with a big stick. I really enjoy watching his interviews. For whatever reason it seems that he absolutely hated quarterbacks on a personal level; like their presence was an offense to the game of football.
i also remember “it’s like devastating a city”
Tight end Jake Butt retired, and this is a sad day for everyone as immature as I am.
You know, I’ve never seen a concussion visualized so well..
over on the sidelines coach gendo mutters “get up and get back in the f***** huddle shinji”
i know of deacon jones from a Cypress Hill reference. sack you like deacon jones, rolll you up and smoke you like clones, no im not the rolling stones, but i get stoned with a little help from my friends etc
from black sunday, forget which track, maybe the opener – i wanna get high
David Bowie also changed his name from David Jones, for the same reason.