Pats from the Past: Episode 6, Steve Nelson

the members of the Patriots Hall of Fame. Number fifty seven on your scorecard, but number one in your heart, the great linebacker Steve Nelson Nelly, thanks for joining us all, Thanks for having me, Matt as good to see us always see. Nice to see you, Nice to see you. How's life? Tell everybody what you're doing right now, Steve? For Patriot fans who want to know what's Steve Nelson

up to these days? Well, for the last last fifteen years, I've worked for Lighthouse Computer Services out of Lincoln, Rhode Island, and now we've kind of transitioned to Spyglass. We sold off our IBM part of the business last year and now we're kind of we're concentrating on our Microsoft business and we're a goal partner of Microsoft. Something Matt I'm telling you, I am not very technical. So every I'm in these meetings, I'm listening to acronyms, and there are

all these acronyms going on. I'm trying to figure out what the acronym stands for. So by the time I kind of get like, if there's a five letter acronym, I got two of the letters. You know, they they you should have told you. That's a real generally a findable offense to have your phone on. But we'll let it go this time, first time defense. Yeah, so I'm just trying to figure out the acronyms. Anyways, And uh, but it's been really great, and UH met a lot

of nice people. And I work for like I we're talking earlier, I worked for one of my best friends. So it's it's been very good. Do you like it? I do. I like interacting with the people what we And again there's no stress, there's no you know, I don't I don't have to make certain numbers and make certain phone calls or whatever. So you like this business better than the restaurant business you after you retired with

bill en Ki that was a different deal. That was a different deal, Brian, that was that was interesting again and and it's it's not a business to get into if you've never been in a business before, because you know, obviously there's uh, you don't realize how many partners you have and you gotta make a number in that business. Yes you do, Doc and nellis Doc and Nelly's, but you don't realize that one of the bartenders is your silent partnering he silently takes money. You don't know that

he did it. But again, that was fun too. That was that I got, uh, you know, I worked with billing Kitis and my old teammates, so that was cool. But no, gosh, no, don't no, I'm not not that I know. I meant the one thing, Matt, that that one thing I do remember, it was very uncomfortable, was when the orth Winders getting his group to buy the Patriots. Uh, we boycotted Budweiser than you know, as I just to get publicity. It wasn't you know, we weren't doing very well,

so let's get some boot boots. You know, it was we're boycotting, you know. But ab and I happen to have a really good friend who ran the distributorship in Massachusetts and he'd done me a lot of favors and I felt awful. But I was like the minority minority owners, so I didn't make I wasn't making the calls and

called me, I was were you doing? You know, you're talking bad about Budweiser now and stuff, and goes, no, it's not me, it's you know, it's my partner link, you know, and uh so it was very uncomfortable, but it was interesting. That's interesting. Tough to stay in business too. When the Patriots games you can't even show him. I blacked out. Absolutely. We used to sneak some feed in once in a while and then get a letter from

the league saying, you know, what are you doing? But well, here's one that my guess is most Patriot fans who follow the team and everything probably don't know this about Steve Nelson. Let's start at the beginning, other than it's in North Dakota. Where is North Dakota State? And how do you get to New England Steve from North Dakota State? Like, that's not it's not George, it's not all of them. I'm surprised at such a well traveled guy you are.

You have to ask that question. You know, North Dakota State when I was. When I was, you know, going to school there, we were the third largest nuclear power in the world. We had all those missiles pointed at Russia there. So if we were succeeded from the Union, you all would have known where North Dakota was. But uh, yeah, it was. It was the best decision I ever made. I grew up outside of Minneapolis, and I got recruited

by Minnesota. And I had a kind of an incident at Minnesota during my recruiting trip that I really turned me off. You know, the coach basically called me a different name. And I'll tell you the whole story. He brought me in and sat me from him and his big desk he had, and he said, son, if you come to this school, we'll beat Ohio State, we'll beat Michigan, we'll go to the Rose Bowl. We'll be nationally ranked. And then he said, come here, I'm home. And take

him down to the to the to the field. And we walked down the stadium steps and got down to the bottom and he said, can't you hear eighty thousand people channing, Go Pete, Go Pete. I said, coach, my name is Steve. He goes oh yes, right, go Steve, Go Steve. So I kind of figured out that I wasn't that really highly recruited guy he wanted. And I went to North Dakota State, which was the best thing

I ever did. Great cult trip. I'm incredible culture that what that's a good decision, by the way, to not go to that school if they don't know who my name is, like probably given that speech to multiple people if you can't remember the name, right, right, So Steve, take us through your draft situation. Because back in nineteen seventy four, and while scouting was was a big deal.

You know again, North Dakota State, my guesses, is not necessarily where you're going to find a lot of football players. So somebody had to dress some work on Steve Nelson, right, And they had they had a I don't know what they call them. They had calm. They didn't have combines, but they had they had a group of teams that would get together and share the scouting. So they had blessed Stow was yeah, yeah, And so they came around

and they did all the physical things. They time you and you do some you know lifting, and do some you know footwork and all that stuff. Um, but I, uh, again, I played on really good teams and I had Ron Earhart with my my head football coach, and here when I was a sophomore, he said, you know, you've got a chance to be in the NFL. And coming from him, who I you know, man, I really respected. I took that to heart and I really kind of focused on not just graduating, but you know, giving it a shot.

And I was very surprised that, you know, the Vikings brought me down during the fall because I had hurt my shoulder and they wanted to look at me and make sure the shoulder was all right, and they kind of they were a very good team at the time, and you know, one of the guys said, you know, we're thinking about making your first round raft choice and they were going to be drafting thirty second or thirty first or whatever. But that didn't happen. And then I

got drafted by the Patriots, number thirty four and second round. Wow. So Fargo, North, Dakota Fargo his coach and really maybe your your benefactor for your mentor to say this guy can play in the NFL. That's pretty interesting. Who then, by the way, comes along and coaches you in the pros later on. So and it was a head coach here. Yeah. Absolutely. So what I'm saying is there a bigger Steve Nelson fin maybe than Ron Earhart? Or was how instrumental was

Ron Earhart making sure that Steve Nelson the man? It was huge, you know, and I'm you know, coach has passed away, and he was probably, outside my dad, the most significant coach I ever had. You know, I not even questioned about it. Wow wow. Through college and then you know with the early times with the Patriots, I know he had kind of change his style because you know, back in college he'd grabbed one of the running backs and kind of shake their you know, grabbed by the

mask and shake their head and tripped him or whatever. Well, you know, when you're running backs are Sam Cunningham, you don't do that. So Ron had a kind of changes is a modus. But uh, yeah, he was a great coach and a great man, and obviously I'm very thankful for all the things he did for me. And Chuck Fairbanks hired him here, right, he did. And so what

was it like playing for Chuck Fairbanks? Who really you know, Bill Parcels gets a lot of attention around here for sort of helping to change the culture in the early nineties.

Chuck Fairbanks really did that here in the early seventies, absolutely absolutely, and I think, uh, I think coach Fairbanks, Uh, he he had a great coaching staff, and I kind of, I think, kind of showed all the players that, um, he was willing to have guys who knew more about positional play and you know, courting offense and defense than he did. And he wasn't at all intimidated by it. You know, he wanted guys around him who were smarter than he was. And uh, I think in this business

that doesn't happen very often. You know, it's it's it's it shows you that that person is confident, absolutely right, right, yes, absolutely, And he he he didn't say a lot, you know, he wasn't a guy that would would say a lot of you know, have a lot of stories or you know, messages for us, but you knew who was in charge, and he, uh, you know, he made it known that

he was the decision maker. And uh that's when back in seventy eight, when he decided to move on to Colorado and he came in and said, you know, I'm the head coach through the playoffs. We all knew that he was going to be gone, so he didn't have

that same you know stick that he had before. You know, So it was you know, that was unfortunate, uh, you know, for for all of us players and and for all the coaches too, because you know, we had a good team at that time, We had home field advantage and first sure first playoff game, and just didn't get done. You know, a person on that staff I think I'm right on this, so please correct me if I'm not. But a person on that staff that Patriot fans today

are very well aware of is Ernie Adams. Yes, right, Yes, What were your impressions, you know, as a player on that team with Ernie Adams, who was just a young kid back then, wasn't he he was? He was? Ernie was you know when you look at a bunch of guys and you look at one guy and you see him and he looks like he's out of place guy of Arnie. But Ernie was obviously Ernie. Uh. He brings

a lot to coaching staff. And uh again I think it was because Fairbanks, you know, again, had that insight that he is going to make a difference down his staff that he got he got Ernie. So Ernie worked for Chuck, he worked for Bill Belichick, works for Bill Belichick. Can you compare? I know you haven't played for Bill Belichick, but he certainly brought some of those Chuck fairbanks defensive philosophies are part of Bill Belichick's defensive philosophies. Can you

compare the two at all? Well, I think I have. You know, one thing Brian too, is they both they both were they had all decisions done personnel. You know, back then, Chuck was a GM as well as a head coach, and one thing he was really good at was finding players. You know, his first draft he got Hannah Cunningham, Darrell Stingley. You know, he really knew how to good good players, Stanley Raymond. Yeah, and I think Nelson.

I think Belichick's like that too. You know, I think he's got a you knows X and os, but he also and I think Bill is much more. You know, he's so he takes a deep dive in the both sides of the ball. Where coach Fairbanks, you know, he ran the wishbone at OU and then he came up here and he hired you know, guys who run to install a professional offense and defense. So obviously their their backgrounds and everything else. You know, Bill was a background

in pro football. You know, Chuck was a college coach. So it's it's different in that regard, but there's a lot of similarities on the way they put things together, how they formed their staffs, what they thought was important, and they're both very They rant like a business, you know,

and that's what you got to do. As much as you'd like to, you know, develop friendships and relationships with players, it doesn't really work out well in the end because you know, they get players, their talents get reduced and everything else. You gotta make tough decisions. It ends for everybody, right, it ends for everybody. Yeah, absolutely, Steve, you rattled off a bunch of names. Um, Today's Patriot fans are spoiled.

You know, they've seen six Super Bowl championships. They've seen some unbelievable teams, teams that really absolutely should have won the Super Bowls, and maybe some teams that caught people by surprise. But you rattled off some names. Hannah Stingley, Uh, see him, Cunningham, Raymond, Clayboy came that nineteen seventy six team. I can tell you as as a kid growing up in New England, always will have a special place in

my heart. Can you tell the fans out there how loaded that team was and how good that was a team? What was the score when you beat Oakland at home that year in the regular season? I think it was forty six to ten, right, I know it was. That was that was a super super Bowl score right, by the way, yesterday was the anniversary of the Super Bowl game. We'll get to that January twenty six. But you you beat the bag out of the Raiders in the regular season,

steve that team domination so right. I was at that game, by the way, I remember it as a kid. I was sitting in the end zone. Yes, And then we play him out there, and you know, they gotta they lost one game all year, right, and that that was a game they play against up us up here, and we went out there and we just matched up against him, and we just we just and we had Russ Francis, you know another guy. Yeah, you had Russ Francis, Leon Gray, John Hannah billing Kite. It's I mean, those are pretty

that's pretty good side of the ball, absolutely know. And then again it was guys like Cunningham and Donnie Calhoun and Andy Johnson and so a lot of really great players. Um, but that was that was one of the things that that's ill. You know, there's not a lot, not a lot of things I remember about playing outside of my teammates and stuff like that, but that's one game that I'll always really regret the outcome up because it was not right. It was just, you know, it was an

awful call at the worst time of the game. And uh thine third and nineteen third night in the game roughing the passer on Ray Hamiltons. Now, let me ask you a question. We call it the phantom roughing the passenger. When you do you ever watch that play if you watched it since, and do you think it would be roughing the pastor today? Yes, okay, absolutely be roughing the battle. He breathed on him. Yeah, he didn't get a hand to the head. But it wasn't like, oh no, it

was inadvertent. It's kind of following through. Yeah, yeah, it wasn't it. It was like I'm trying to block the pass. Hey, you would you would play you play against that team, especially they were playing right, you know, when when the ball is shrown on one numbers on the other side, on the other hash mark I got like Tatum or Atkinson his clotheslining guy who's just running down the field. You know. So it was a different, you know, a

whole different game back then. But that was tough. And again, I think when when I was on that team, I was, you know, it was my third year and we had you know, had Steve Grogan was a second year quarterback, and he had Rush France as a second year player, and and all and again all these great players, and he said, well, we'll get other shots. It didn't happen, you know, So it really that's that's what really kind of hurt. You mentioned Steve, Tatum and a and Brian.

I didn't have this in my notes, but it's hard to talk about Tatum and Atkinson and not bring up the other person that Steve mentioned a little while ago. And you talk about tough things, Steve is seeing what happened to Darryl that that I think that was probably at the time, the most traumatic thing I ever went through. And uh, you know, again, I've been very lucky in my life, you know, And but that ride we got on.

You know, obviously we knew Daryl was severely hurt, and uh, it happened in the first half, and they got you know, we played the game and Coach Fairbanks he said, don't shake their hands. Get the locker room. I got to

talk to you guys. So we just immediately ran into the locker room and he told us, how you know Daryl, you know, the first kind of prognosis of Daryl's situation, and he's Darrell's going to stay in the hospital obviously out there, and he's in the coaches I think he said, a couple of coaches are going to stay with him.

And then we got on that plane flight you go from Oakland to Boston, which is for four and a half hours, and we got about Las Vegas and we had to turn around because of engine failer or something wrong with the plane. So now it was just more thinking about Darryl and I can I can never I'll never forget how quiet that plane. You know, no one was talking, I mean just it was just dead silence. Because Darrell was a great player, but he was a better person. He was just such a just a you know,

a person. When he came into a room, y'all, you know, started smiling because you know he was, you know, going to be kind and nice and everything else, and and smart and great player and great athlete, um and great teammate. And it was just the worst thing that you can possibly imagine. And then what the family endured was you know,

I couldn't imagine. You talked about roughing the pastor with Ray Hamilton, and you know, I sort of mentioned like how that would be been called in today's modern NFL. I mean for Patriot fans out there that aren't familiar with it, and you I'm not I'm not advocating to go and look at the video, but if you see what happened, um, I mean, that person would probably be incarcerated today, Steve, if something similar happened in today's game.

As to what happened. That's how violent it was. Yeah, you know, and it was a preseason game, right, you know, and these two guys were veteran players, right, you know, you'd think he'd have a little expect for the other player. And I think, you know, you don't, you don't, he doesn't see it comment and all that stuff. So yeah, that was you can't see that play at the Page's Hall of Fame. Yeah, no, no no, no, no, no no, I'm talking about I'm talking about Stingley. Yeah, we don't have

that play. It's it's here's a guy who had a phenomenal NFL career, you know, and it is talking about all the blessings that he has in life and no regrets or anything like that. And to this day, to hear that something like that, that Daryl Stingley, it stayed with him and affected that team. How could it not?

Steve have affected that team absolutely absolutely? And you know, uh, when Daryl made his first U turn visit to the stadium, I don't know if you remember that played the Steelers on Monday Night football the next year and the wheelchair wave into the crowd and no, they would not stop cheering for him, right, and you know we're all saying, you know, cheer forever man this he deserves it, you know.

And uh, but that was really um okay, he's what he how he turned his life around after that incident and and made such a positive impact and so many people is awesome. And I think it's I think the kid that plays else for else you now that his grandson. I'm not sure what the relation is, but I think it's a family relation. I think I googled it at one point during when I saw him playing, and I think, yeah, I think that's a relationship. He was like the number

one cornerback coming out of high school. Yeah. Yeah. So the the disappointment of seventy six, and I don't want to say that it was a window closing, but if we look back in hindsight, maybe that's the case. You know, in seventy eight, were you floored that Chuck came in and was the team floor that Chuck came in and said, Hey, by the way, I'm going to Colorado? Yeah? That was

that was that really divided the locker room too. I mean that was you know, guys who were kind of you know, uh supportive of coach Fairbanks and his decision to move on, and uh, you know, I guess there had been some type of button heads with the Sullivan's or something, I don't know, and then the players who were really uh you know, thought he was you know, walking out on us, and and so there's a real division in the locker room and uh and the Sullivan's

they first of all, they suspended him and the last game of the year was a Monday night game in Miami, and that was you know, we had no head coach, and ron Erhart ran the offense and Hank Low ran the defense, and you know, we had two pregame speeches, but he was like an audition, you know, it was coming to the next coach. And then a half time we had two coaching making adjustments. And then so it's kind of a you know, you don't stend a chance against Houston, then Steve, do you? I mean, how do

you get that team together ready to play? Yeah? Right, yeah, and you know, and I think if it would have been a more of a skill on skill game, you know, but they were you know, they were Earl Campbell run the ball thirty times, So it was more of a you had you had to be, you know, physically and mentally into it to play well against him. So yeah, it was tough to come over. But again, and and that's the one thing you learn, if you have an

excuse to lose, you'll lose, you know. And and that's that's a lot of coaches don't want to have any excuses to lose because they know how players think, and that's your mentality sometimes and that one was put on a silver platyf for you guys. Basically yeah right, yeah. So then Ron Hairhart takes over you later play for Ron Meyer. Raymond Barry talk about the different head coaches that you had. You spoke about Ron Ron Earhart already

Ron Meyer. You know, funny story. I was doing radio down in Providence and we had Ron Meyer on the radio and he was talking about Billy Sullivan and this is his words, not mine. He talked about lining up at his grave to piss on it. So that's the relationship he had with the owner at that time. I

assumed that was after you got fired. Oh this was like two years ago, well after and coach Meyer's no longer with us, he was, and again it was it was yeah, I got I gotta tell one story though, that about that that Oakland Raider game, and uh we had Russ Francis was a tremendous athlete and he I think he what did Howard Coachell Collins chief he the uh all world all world tight end, a world all world tight end and was that legit? That was close? You know that caspern and you know they had another

good ones round. But uh, he also I think was a national record holder of the javelins. Yes, so he could throw a football sixty five seventy yards in the air. And we had this little tight end reverse pass, you know. He had one receiver you know, kind of stockwalk and then run like a post. And Russ would get this tight end a round like and really sell it like a running play and just throw the ball as far as he could and then had you know, the receiver

run under it. And I remember Russ runs to play and we all knew it was coming, and he hesitates, and then he really doesn't throw it. He kind of runs and tries to you know, tries to tries to act like a quarterback, you know, and he gets gets tackled and he comes off the field. It was a third down play and one of the coach goes, wait, what do you do when it? He goes, I was reading the coverage. That's that's Russ. That was Russ. You know, he was he was very serious. He took himself very seriously.

A day later on broke his nose in the game and he came off the sidelines and Steve Zabel grabbed his knows that you know, you know, he shoved some cotton up his nose and kind of straight, and I wasn't get in there. We need you. Absolutely, and Russ grew up Patriot fans today understandably Rob Gronkowski going into the Hall of Fame. Whenever his time goes, he'll go in in the first ballot. Everything like that was Russ

Francis Rob Gronkowski before Gronk ever came around. The brute strength maybe that Gronk had, but wacky, yes, and unbelievably talented, right they had, They had their own deal. You mean, they were individuals. Um. I watched Gronkowski. I'm just amazed that a guy he just he just I'm sorry about that. That's a fine. Um. Listen, these new these new electronics kill me. But I think I think at the time

there was no one like Gronkowski. I think, you know, he can rental seams and and just it just you know, and Russell was a lot like him. But I just there, you know, I'd take Gronkowski just from the mental aspect, and Russ didn't like to practice. Russ kind of has his own him. I love Russ, but Russ, you know, kind of did his way and he was a great talent. But Runkowski is just such a better player, I think my opinion, So foot to your side of the ball here,

talk about tight ends. You were an inside linebacker in an era where the running game was certainly more prominent in the passing game, although that probably changed later in your career when Marino was was coming of age. Seventeen career interceptions, Now, what a player like you? And you know I was young, So forgive me here, what a player like you even be on the field for three downs today? And why why were you so able to be so effective in coverage because you're known as a

run stopper. Two hundred and seven tackles nineteen eighty four, seventeen hundred and seventy six tackles in your career, but seventeen interceptions. Yeah, I to answer your question, No, I'd be like a one or two down player right now. And uh um, but I know most of my interceptions were in zone defenses. You know, I was not a

great man and man cover guy. I that's again the way that the game has changed so much now, you know, they kind of just you got five eligible receivers and you try to spread them across the field and then run patterns that you know, the quarterback and read and and and then distribute the ball. So it was much

different game, you know. And you look back at those those stat lines, Brian, it was like, you know, I played Joe Nate against Joe Namath, you know, thinking through the ball eleven times the first time he played against us. You know, these like six eleven for ninety four yards, and it was kind of a typical day, you know. And and when you saw that stat line, you realize how bad you got beat too, because all they do is run the ball um. So yeah, it's much different

game now. And you know, I I like watching I really do enjoy watching and seeing the athletic abilities guys, But I don't think it's strategically like it was before when you had to step the running game, then you ran play action off that, and then you you know, you didn't all these personnel categories weren't you know, weren't

like that back then. You may take a tight end off the field and put a wide receiver in, or you take a backup and put a wide receiver in, and it's not the five wides and all that stuff. Do you appreciate a team like San Francisco who sits here and goes, hey, we're averaging six yards of pop. Oh, yeah, you know what, We're just going to continue to run it. Yeah, you can't stop it, then we're gonna run it, right. And I think they was an inside linebacker that you

don't stop it. But if you can't stop it, we're just gonna run it down your throat right right, and you really break them. And I think that's what you saw against Uh, you know, and I don't know what the Packers were doing. You know, I thought for sure they stopped you know, make Garoppolo beach and uh. But yeah, back back in the day, it was much different. And

you know, again, players you adapt. Obviously, you adapt because the college game has changed so much, and the pros have taken a lot from the college game too, so you kind of, you know, would adapt, I assume. But to answer the original question, I'd be a one or two down player. Is it just is it just that the game isn't as physical in that at the line of scrimmage generally speaking? Today? I mean back when you're talking about teams routinely lined up and ran the ball.

You're in nineteen seventy eighteen ran for three thousand, one hundred and fifty six yards, a record that stood until this season when the Ravens broke it because their quarterback ran for over a thousand yards. But you knew that was coming, and yet sometimes you couldn't stop it. Is it just a matter of sometimes the other team, just

as more physical breaks your will, breaks your spirit. Yeah, And I think again it's you know, you back when I played, the emphasis was on being physical and running the football, establishing the running game. And you know in our conference, we in our division, we had you know O. J. Simpson, you know, you had a lot of marquee backs. And defensively, what you first thing you did, we practiced was defeating a block. You know, and in the offensive line instead

of pass pro, they did run. They learn how to run a run block and you know, the different schemes run blocking, and that became a real priority. So I think when the priority from the offensive line went from running the ball to throwing the ball, I think the defensive priority kind of changed from you know, taking on a blocker and defeating a block to you know, kind of what happens when it was passed. Do I have a man it covers you. I have a zone. We

know what do I do? So I think the kind of whole the whole change philosophically, of of of the offense. UM kind of just changed little thing. So we're you're listening to Pats from the Past podcast. Matt Smith, along with Brian Morin, were joined by Patriots Hall of Fame

linebacker Steve Nelson. This podcast is brought you by who but WB Mason, who delivers all of your business essentials for free with no of a mortar, break room, furniture, facilities, maintenance, office applies, and so much more for the fastest delivery of business products. Nobody does it better than who but WB Mason. Okay, Steve my fault, I apologize. I bring up Darryl Stingley, I bring up the loss in seventy six, I bring up the lost in seventy eight. So let's

talk about what I gotta believe failed restaurant. Um I gotta believe is no, no, not yet, not yet your happiest moment. And I see the picture of you standing on the sidelines looking up UM and saying New England, we love you. Squish the fish. Yeah, which up until two thousand and one was the greatest moment of New England Patriot fan had ever experienced. At that time. I talked about these things. You said, I regret we didn't win in Oakland, and you know, too bad about in

nineteen seventy eight. Can you describe how great it was squishing the fick, squishing the fish and breaking the Orange Bowl jinks that year in the act Piship game. Well, I think obviously it was. It was. It was the best team victory I've ever been associated with, and just from the history of it because we had never beat them down in in um Miami. Uh, you know how important the game was AFC Championship game And what was so cool about that it was a third game in

the in the playoffs. We had beaten the Jets on the road. We then went out and played the Raiders out in Los Angeles and beat them, and then we came back and played them played the Dolphins. And I think because we were familiar with the Dolphins, and we're familiar with both really the Jets, you know, we played them twice year and the and the Raiders we played them also. Uh, you know, the familiarity really helped us. And uh, but the one thing I'll never forget was

the crowd. Man. It was seemed like it was you know, fifty percent in New England was down there, and they were loud, and you know, they're going through the whole experience like we were. You know, the first time we were in an AFC championship game, you know, let's we win. This were in the Super Bowl and and uh so that was so kind of inspiring to me that so many people were down their cheerings on. And you know, again it was it was a game that we we

just matched up well against that that team. You know, we didn't match up well against the Bears, but we matched up well against the Dolphins. Right. But you said, was a young kid when you're playing against so oh, you know this group, we'll get him again, right, We'll get him again. And on the flip side of that, you played against the guy who's a Hall of Fame quarterback named Dan Marino who had gone to the Super Bowl the year before in his rookie year or second

year or something like that. And oh, Marino, he'll go back. It's gonna happen with him. We'll go back up you know a hundred times. And you guys stopped him in the ANC Championship game. The guy never goes back to the Super Bowls. I know, there's nothing guaranteed in this game. It's not and uh, you know that that's probably the greatest example of a guy who played early and then, like I said, he played another fifteen years with Duper and Clayton, you know, two great wide receivers and never

had a chance to go back. And so it is very special. And that game was incredibly just incredibly cool because Raymond Claiborne played the best game I've ever seen in one player playing the game because he took Duper or Clayton, the guy who lined up on his side man for man all day long, and we just kind of pushed the defense towards the other receiver and kind of doubled everybody else. But but Raymond was on an

island and just played incredibly well. And uh, you know, I I one really great debate, and I think if you talked to a bunch of teammates, they'd probably wouldn't know the answer to it. But you know was Mike Haine's a better corner than Raymond Claiborne. Wow, that's a big statement. Steve and I'd tell you I played, you know, I played again with him both, and they both were incredible athletes and everything else. Raymond Claiborne just didn't know how fast he was. I mean he was. He was

as fast as he had to be. It's one of those guys that you know, his coverage, he would be like a rubber band. He'd you'd be five years off and when that ball was in the air, he would just that that you just collapsed on that wide receiver. And uh, you know, they both were long, they were they were they were great man and man guys. They they they tackle. You know, I think Raymond Claiborne has the record for returns as touchdown returns to kickoff returns

tied for the franchise league with interceptions. Yes, with Hall of Fame cornerback Ty Law. So that's pretty good company. Yes right, yeah, And so, Brian, that gives you an opportunity to then, I mean, today's Patriot fans no disrespect. You know, they don't know who Raymond Claiborne is. Yet three years ago, you know, when Claiborne was on the ballot, and tough competition with some of the recent guys you

know who've played and won Super Bowls. You it was heartening, I would think for guys like you to see, you know what, the fans actually gave Raymond his due and realized that kid belongs in the Patriots Hall of Fan It is it is And uh, you know, I think you said it very well, Matt, because you know he

does deserve to be in it. And when you have the success you had obviously with the team in the last twenty years, and players are retiring and they've have won three or four Super Bowls, they've been on three or four Super Bowl teams. Uh, that's that's quite a

bit for your resume. And uh, it was good to see Raymond get his due because he I say, he played, I think he played fifteen years and we went to Cleveland for his last year, which you know it all this kind of looks weird when a guy plays his whole career one button with some team and then he might see me leading right now, that's gonna happen. What

could you be talking about? He was talking about Stanley He was talking about Stanley Morgan going to Indianapolis, Yeah, exactly, or Joe Namath going to Chargers or no, the Rams. Yeah that's right, Yeah, yeah, O J. Simpson going to San Francisco. Do you remember that? Yes? I do? All right, so we good buy the joy of Miami. Let's talk about Super Bowl twenty You had beat you had lost to Chicago twenty to seven early in the year, Miami

had dealt them their only loss of the season. And I think on Monday Night football right late in the year, did you guys feel like you had a real chance going into that game or was it We're gonna have to do something special here to beat this team. You know, I thought we had a real chance. Again. You know, we played him in Chicago twenty seven, and you know, defensively we played pretty good against them, and our offense

didn't have a lot of things going on. But I thought if we got a couple of breaks, we could beat him, absolutely absolutely, And you know it's it's we couldn't. We couldn't kick field goals, we had any touchdowns, you know, all these little things that you have to do to win. We just didn't do it. We weren't, you know, capable

of doing it that day. So that's why that first drive, that's why that first drive killed Ji Ball goes off Morgan's hands on either, you know, so you get to turn over on the first series of downs and hey, bang, we're in good field position here, let's go. Ball goes off Morgan's hands. I think that was first down. Lynn Dawson breaks on second down, yeah, you know, and then you incomplete flashed on throws down. All right, well, you kick a field goal and you're saying you can't kick

field goals against this team. In fact, my my, my memory of that game, more than anything else is I don't is when we line up to kick the field goal. Tony Franklin with the barefoot kicks the field goal and they put up a stat on the screen like the team that scores first has one out of nineteen Super Bowls whatever the number was, and I was like, yes, you know, And then they scored forty six unanswered. Oh man, that that was a long day. It was. But my

dad and my dad went down from Minnesota. He and my mom went down to watch the AFC Championship game in in Miami, and uh, he likes to put a little money on the game. So he said, what do you think, I said, Dad, you match up with Miami, you know, I can guarantee obviously you win, but it's gonna be a great bet, you know. So he wins a couple bucks. Two weeks later, we're in New Orleans. He goes, what do you think? I said, geez, dad, I think we match up with these guys pretty good.

What are you gonna say'll make the bed? So Steve Hindsight's twenty twenty. The NFL is celebrating this year. You know, it's one hundredth the anniversary, and it's the best this, it's the best that. And they talk about best teams. You've got a pretty good perspective on this. You you know, we're talking about jeez, you're gonna talkbout forty six to ten that was the Super Bowl score? Are they the best team that you can think of that you played

that eighty five Bears team? Uh? Probably they had the best defense, you know, and it's remarkable that they never won another Super Bowls. Yeah, you know, it's just crazy because that year they played I think the Rams in the playoffs and they just destroyed They destroyed everybody. But then the next year they come back and I think

thy quarterback to one of their playoff games. In the next couple of years because McMahon was hurt, right really, yeah, yeah, I you know, and um, it's a fragile it's the fragile nature of it, Steve. It's hard to keep it together. It's when you look at this team and see what they've been able to do for twenty years, it's just so remarkable because it's Richard Dent, it's um Otis Wilson, it's that defense, single Tarry. You know how many Hall of famers, NFL Hall of Famers, that defense? How do

they not just come back and stifle everybody? You're right, I mean everybody wants to get paid. Everybody's the reason why we want it. You know, Buddy Ryan leaves, you know. And so it's just tough to keep it together for so long, right yeah. And you know Walter Payton, Yeah, you know who incredible player, and uh yeah, it's uh, it is tough to repeat. And I think once you smell and get that success, you know, it becomes more difficult. But even back then though, there was no free agency, right,

so it was actually easier to keep it together. I just wonder about does the attitude change. Is there some sort of do you lose a little bit of that, yeah, because you've won it and you and you get a little arrogant and cocky and maybe don't maybe you used to commit at six am and now you command at six thirty, right, that kind of thing, you know. So

I don't want to leave the witness here, Steve. But you mentioned Walter Payton, who was the best player that you ever played against, the best runner I I played against with Earl Campbell, and you know, I I was you know, you know, we talked about our just our division. You had Old J. Simpson, you had John Riggins, you know, you had some really outstanding backs. But I think Earl Campbell for that three or four year window, you know, he was just something else. He was just he was.

He took that team on his back literally and ran, you know, and and uh, you know, bum Phillips just give the ball to the Earl. And they had you know, Tim Wilson, Ice Wagon. Wilson was his lead back, and you know, you knew where they're going to go, you know, but it was just uh and we played him one

time out here. I think it was it might have been the playoff game, might have been just a regular season game, but it was fourth and short, and you know they're you know, we're going to run, you know, Wilson's you know, they're in a kind of an eye offset eye, and Wilson's going they're going to run right behind Wilson and giving the ball to Campbell. And so I back up about four or f our yards. We're in short yards, and I said, I'm going to hit

hit him right in the face this time, Campbell. And they had a wing on my side, and the wing went in motion and the safety went with him, and instead of going around that second layer of defense like you're supposed to do, he went in front of me and kind of hit my face mask and the ball was snapped kind of the same time, and I kind of readjusted, and here comes Campbell running at me full speed, and I go, oh god, And it's amazing how fast your mind can can think, because I said, this is

going to beyond every highlight show ever. He's going to run right over me, you know. And luckily Tim Fox kind of came and hit both of us and we kind of kind of fell to the side because it would have been really ugly and embarrassing because he would have literally ran right over me. That I mean that's pretty high praise. Who's the best runner. And he's sitting here and he's talking about, you know, mentions Simpson. I mean O J. Simpson was a great, great NFL player.

Yet he's talking Earl Campbell over O J. Simpson. That's that's pretty interesting insight there, Steve. Yeah, well, and you mentioned you know, so if he gets run over though, you become Brian Bosworth, right, exactly right, you know? And that was right? So was was Earl the best player

you ever played against? Steve? Or as you're thinking about it, is there an offensive lineman that you think was a was a tougher matchup for you, or a better player or somebody like that that you can think of, you know, as far as best players that you ever played against, Uh, you know, I would I would think in that short period of time, Campbell was the most most dominant player. You know, he was just and Pittsburgh had some players. I mean they had like seven or eight Hall of

Famers on that team in the seventies. You know, they had he had three linebackers that all went in Hall, Andy Russell, Lambert and Ham. You know, he had Mel Blunt, did Frankel, Lynn Swan, John Stalwarth, Terry Bradshaw. You saw Mike Webster. You might have got Webster. How about that for draft class? That was my year that the Pittsburgh had Mike Webster. He was like a ninth rounder. Swan was the number one, Lambert was number two, Stalworth was

number three. They had Donnie Shell just got into the Hall of Fame? Did Donnie Shell get in the Hall of Fame? And then I can't remember. I think who was in the centennial class. I think Donnie Shall might have just gotten in and that expanded Hall of Fame class. I'll let you look that up. Okay, So best player you played against, best player I'm not saying necessarily teammate,

best player that you played with. John Hannah wasn't even hesitated. Nah, he just he was a special, special player and he Uh do you think today's Patriots fans have any appreciation Tom Brady is might be the greatest player, might be the greatest player that's ever played the game, and deservely gets all the accolades. But when you say John Hanna is the best player not named Tom Brady and Patriot's history, Yeah,

that's a fair statement, isn't it. I think so, I think, you know, you can argue Gronkowski maybe at his position too, but but John was just such a you know, he had such an individual ability and then he was such a team player. And he, uh, he was. He was one of those guys that, you know, if he didn't play perfect, he thought he played bad, badly. He wanted

to play the perfect game. His his goals were so much different than most of us, you know, he was and that's that's why he was such a different player than we were. But John was man. He was what was practiced like Steve against full speed, you know. Back then again when when when you running the ball again, you play a lot of nine on seven and you don't have a lot of guys on your roster, you know, you don't have any type of pup team or whatever.

So you you're going against her once you know quite a bit, and it's all about timing, and so you gotta go full speed to get your timing down. And you know, when you got your taking on Cunningham and you're taking up John and you know, and Leon and all those guys this all day. And but John was special. John was just uh, he's just just the best the best player. I mean I've ever been around, having a goal against him in practice every single day. Did he

make you a much better player because of that? Steve? Oh yeah, I used to get him mad too, Matt. I used to you know, old lay him. He'd come firing out, you know, I'd give him the old old lay and have him fall down. He'd yelled at me, and then I'd then I'd signal from some rookie to come in, you know, take my place, and he'd go in here and not knowing what was happening, and John

would come off and just you know, nail him. And but yeah, it was he made that playing against that whole offensive line, that whole offensive line was was great. And you know they set a record obviously with the rushing yards. But yeah, it was good. So okay, so I think one guy who can block was Russ Francis. Yeah, Russ. We played We played the Cowboys one time and Henderson was there outside linebacker, was given Russ crap before the game and he's just, you know, I'm gonna chew you up, Francis,

you pretty boy or whatever. Well, Russ went into the locker room and he got the tape with the rolls of tape him on and putting him foil. He wasn't a goon, but he put him on his fingers and take them all up and went out and just just chase. I'll tell you Henderson, you know, I wish he had never said a word, just been invisible because Russ is absolutely you know, played not like he usually played. You know, when the balls away from him, you'd give you wouldn't

take the down, but Russ was. Russ filled his potential up that game and he was just incredible. Okay, So on that note, cold weather games up here in New England, do you play better if you don't wear sleeves? Like, what's why is it so tough to just not wear sleeves? Well, you know, I again where he came from, you know, Brian, it was it was that weather and you know around Halloween was we get snow. So it was uh. I was used to that and I didn't want to sew

myself down either. This added stuff on me. But you told me a story once about a guard from Miami late in the season. Yes, share that with us, Ed Newman. He came out acting like he was. It was a tough it was a tough day. I don't know what the wind show was. But he came out. Uh no,

it wasn't a John Smith game. Uh, but ed and he was as a good player and he came out and he didn't have any uh any you know this bare arms and he was big, and you know he he warms up and uh he goes into you know, before the game, comes out with sleeves on stuff because you know it was it was colder than he thought he wasn't he you know, he wasn't going to be make the statement that he thought he was gonna do. Yeah. That was. That was and that and that John Smith kickoff.

That was a great game. Yeah, three points in a professional football game. I think it's the lowest total ever. Right. And another great memory is Steve Nelson as the as Mark Henderson is driving the little John deer out to clear the spot on the video, Nelson looks over and times fist like yes we got this. Yeah. Coach their home fuel advantage, right. So Nelly, you've decided, Um, you

played your entire career here for the Patriots. You've decided to make your home and your families here in New England. You stayed in New England the whole time. I'm not here to bash the this, this group of people, but you mentioned briefly, you know, the Sullivan's. You look at what this franchise has become as you've lived your post football life right here in New England, do you get

a little jealous? Maybe? Do you wish that the stability that exists with the franchise today had existed when you were playing for the Patriots back then? I wish we were getting the cash they're getting, right, you say again, I think I think for me it was it was a perfect perfect spot to land out of college. You know. It was, uh, the stadiums in Foxboro, which is you know,

a suburban h For me, I felt more comfortable. And no, I the Sulivans were you know, they did the best they could and uh, you know, I gotta have the utmost respect for the family. Um, and it was good to see when when you know, the Craft bought the the the franchise that they had been fans at one time and so they had something invested, you know, just not capital, but they had kind of feelings invested. So UM, yeah, I don't get jealous. Yeah, good good? Can you are

you are you amazed at this franchise. Amazed, amazed at this franchise that you played with, and you talk about me and we went to the super Bowl, and you know how great the AC Championship Game is Miami, Like they went to the AC Championship Game, Steve, until this year, eight straight years. It doesn't happen in this does it. So are you amazed at the success that the that this organization that you laid the groundwork for. By the way,

you're part of the foundation. You're why the Crafts bought the team, because you know, if it wasn't for guys like Steve Nelson and Steve Grogan and see him Cunningham, there's no Patriot's asset that Bob Kraft wants to buy. You're you're the reality of why he wanted to buy that. And now look at what they've done, taken that foundation and built it what it is into today. Well yeah, and I appreciate that. I think, Um, you know this, Frank, No,

no team's going to see that. That's you know, score of years, twenty years that the Patriots have enjoyed and um, you know it's it comes when the coach was there, Kim. You know coming in in a player and the you know, the debate which which guy is more important? And I personally think they compliment each other, you know, that's I don't think there's one guy more important. But yeah, this our area is so spoiled with all the sports teams.

And again it was you know, I got some buddies back in Minnesota and I call him Loserville because they're the last major franchise, major city that has four franchises to win a championship, you know. And I'm talking about the you know, the six times, the last twenty years of Patriots and one the you know, the Red Sox their success, the Celtics and Bruins, you know back there, the Twins and Vikings and that's not the North Stars, a wild now and Wolves. They haven't won it since

the eighties. So maybe I asked a question wrong. I asked you, if you're jealous that you didn't have the stability when you played, um, are you prideful, Steve that this team that you put so much sweat equity into has now turned itself into And you could say, you know what, I played for that franchise and I'm proud to have played for it. Then and I'm proud to see what they've developed into today. Oh absolutely, yeah, I was. I was always proud to be part of, you know,

the Patriot family. And uh I I've just amazed at these players and you know, their ability to come up weekend and week out, and when you're in a you know, a single elimination tournament which the playoffs are, you know, the success they've had and you know, not having a bad day and you know, like like the Ravens had this year, you know, just shows you how just zeroed in they are and how well they're coached, and the commitment on the players. But yeah, it's it's it's been great.

And Steve, you know, we we love still having you around. You come over to the Hall of Fame quite a bit. How does it make you feel that the fans still come out and really appreciate what you did as a player, even though today's team has all the success as a team that had had. Well, I think that it tells me how how educated the fans are. I mean they you know, they know what happened in the seventies and eighties.

You know about Parcels coming in the nineties, they know Pete Carroll they know everything had happened, and you know, I think they're really educated fans. And I think for a while he kind of got a bad rap about but being football fans being new in New England because I and I think because the success of the Red Sox and you know, they had right right and uh, but they got really good football fans out here, and uh, you know, it was a great place for me to land.

And uh, I'm just so grateful as I was able to go in, come in as a patriot, and go out as a patriot, and uh that worked out for me. Do you get it? Do you get it daily? Do you get it weekly? Where you're running into whatever you're doing as far as business concern if you're going to the store, you're going out to eat, Hey that's Steve Nelson once in a while, Yeah it's number fifty seven. Yeah. Do you like it? I do? I do? I do? And uh, yeah, it's you know, it's kind of fun

to be recognized once in a while. And when the NFL networked did the top ten Patriots of all time a couple of years back, you were number eight, I had to feel good. Yeah I did, you know, And again I don't. I don't really care you know about you know, because it's all personal opinions and stuff like that, you know, so it's you know, I no control over you know, but uh and and it's it's it's yeah, just to be included in that group is I'm very

proud of that. But again it was you know, people's opinions. So patriot fans go to YouTube look for number fifty seven right in the middle of the field. Not only is in the Patriot's Hall of Fame, but he's probably one of the classiest players to ever wear a Patriot's uniform, one of the best guys to ever run through this franchise. Steve, it was a pleasure talking football with you today. Thanks.

And you know, when I was transitioning out of this game and doing some stuff for Channel five with you and Lynchy, that was really special for me. You know, you really not only professional, but you're just a good classy guy. And Brian YouTube you just the way. You know, you've taken the hall and made it what it is. It's you should be very proud of yourselves and and

thanks for having me. You're kind. But how great is it that we can sit here and just talk football with one of the greatest players to ever be in this franchise. Nobody's luckier than us, right, nobody's luckier the next Steve Best. De Wish is going forward. Thanks to you, all right, Thank you for downloading this podcast. Subscribe on Apple, Google Play, and everywhere else you listen. Like the show,

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