Link:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19860106&id=RnEQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N4sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5812,4197138

That may have been the best secondary and pass rush in Pats’ history. They had 50+ sacks with the trio of Garin Veris, Andre Tippett and Don Blackmon providing constant heat on opposing QBs, and the secondary picked off about two dozen passes that year, not including playoffs. Lippett and Clayborn were a dynamic duo at CB, and I don’t think the Pats have ever had a better ballhawking saftey than Fred Marion, who seemed to come up with big INT after big INT that year (yes, Rodney Harrison was a better overall player at safety, but Marion was a pure ballhawk, no doubt about it).

It’s unfortunate that they ran into such a juggernaut in the Super Bowl. People like to blame Eason a lot for what happened but the reality is that the defense, which had played so well that season, did not have a very good game either. The Bears were just clicking on all cylinders that day.

That team was relatively young and could have accomplished a lot more in the years to come, but injuries short-circuited the careers of guys like Blackmon, Veris, Craig James and Ken Sims, and of course, the Sullivans went bankrupt in the late 80s too.

If Lin Dawson had held onto that pass and didn’t blow out his knee…

This year is why Grogan remains a hero in my eyes (always loved the naked bootleg). What he lacked in talent he made up for with brains and heart.

Yes, Millen and Long were thugs, but don’t tell me Billy Sullivan didn’t talk trash: http://books.google.com/books?id=1o3w92PdgkwC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=billy+sullivan+matt+millen&source=bl&ots=Utb7BIdKby&sig=Gz62UxGHSHbyYjZHF3IpfOEdu1Y&hl=en&ei=CObVSrn4BJXyMbnQvZQD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=billy%20sullivan%20matt%20millen&f=false

I am loving these write-ups!!