Answer: Tiger Woods, Chad Johnson, and Lindsay Lohan

Question: Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen? (long live Cliffie)

It has been a while since the Skins had a truly great player wear #20. Alvoid Mays, Justin Tryon, Skip Hicks...we'll let history judge each of these men. One man who has already been judge by history and his peers is our choice for #20:

Cliff Battles

via footballcollectible.com

He was a running back for the team back when they were the Boston Braves, and had an incredible (albeit short-lived) run. In 1932, Battles captured the rushing title as a rookie. During his second year, he dropped 215 yards rushing on the Giants, becoming the first player to go over 200 yards in a game. The dude was a beast. When the team finally got to D.C., and Sammy Baugh was added to the lineup, the two became an unstoppable duo. In 1937, they owned the league, winning the first NFL title for the franchise.

Battles was a six-time All-Pro selection (1932-1937), a member of the NFL's All-decade team of the 30's, and of course was included on the 70 Greatest Redskins list. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

An old-school player out of the far away past, but the story has a very modern ending. He wanted more money out of the Redskins' owner, George Preston Marshall. When the owner refused to go any higher on his offer, Battles hung up his cleats and went on with his life.

#20

Cliff Battles

*****

I found myself talking to a Ravens fan last week and despite the usual lack of any reason or logic in his arguments, I was yet again amazed at the lovefest that town has with its owner, Steve Bisciotti. And it got me wondering...

Think about how much you WANT to love the owner of our team, just in general. I am not saying Snyder is a douchebag because I don't know the guy and there could very well be a dude in there somewhere that is lovable. But we simply can't ignore what amounts to the "perceived douchebaggery" in his Reign of Zero Championships, right?

It seems in recent years--most notably the Second Coming of Joe Gibbs era--Snyder has figured some things out. In addition to at least appearing to take a more back seat approach to the management of the team, he has quietly engaged in massive charitable efforts over the years. My question to you out there:

When do we love our owner like Baltimore loves theirs? Is it as simple as winning a championship? Is it tied to the level of patience he has with Zorn, and the extent of the success Zorn enjoys? Will it ever happen? I am not suggesting he gets Ted Leonsis-love, or even Abe Pollin-love (a lesser love to be sure, but not the creepy old-man love that Kevin envisions when he reads this.) But certainly Snyder is crawling out of the Peter Angelos category right? I would love to hear you guys ring in on this one.

If Facebook and Gmail gags are the home runs for Hogs Haven, and the By the Numbers articles are the base hits, then the #19 slot is like a hit batsman. It gets us on base, but when you watch the replay, you can see that we make no attempt to get out of the way of the inside fastball. But the show must go on. Here are a few guys who suited up in the #19 jersey for the burgundy and gold:

Chuck Malone: He was a two way player from 1934-1942, making the jump from Boston to Washington where the team changed cities. I feel like I am being disrespectful by acting like I know a lot about this player when I really don't. The name 'Chuck Malone"  is a great football name, though. Sounds tough. I would also have accepted cop, fireman, martial arts instructor, or boxer with a name like that. The two-way combination of positions he played is also note-worthy to me. Receiver and defensive line. Reminds me of backyard football.

Joe Aguire: Another old-school player (early 40's), this guy caught 97 balls from Sammy Baugh in four seasons with the Skins. But he left town to play in another city (L.A.), and ultimately wrapped up his football-playing days in Canada.

Anthony Mix: During that playoff run two years ago, you couldn't talk about our receiver situation without somebody saying, "I think Anthony Mix has a real shot to crack our starting lineup for years to come." Based on what again? Oh yeah, his size and his relationship with Jason Campbell. I will say this for Mix--he made some special teams plays down the stretch that helped us secure wins when we had to have them.

Been a while since the By the Numbers staff pulled an interview for you guys. When you have a guy like Tom Tupa spend some time in burgundy and gold though, you have to go to any length to get the hard-hitting feature interview. Fortunately, we were able to reach Tom Tupa by phone--enjoy.

via cache.deadspin.com

Sugar: May I speak with Tom Tupa?

Tom Tupa:This is Tom Tupa.

Sugar: Tom! How are you doing today? My name is Ken Meringolo and I write for a Redskins site and we were hoping we could ask you a few questions about your football career--specifically your time as a Redskin.

Tom Tupa: You got the wrong Tom Tupa. I'm his dad.

Sugar: (pause)

Tom Tupa's dad: If you give him a call, leave him a message and I'm sure he'd be happy to answer some of your questions. (this turned out to be patently false; I still have not heard back from our former punter)

Sugar: Hmmmmm...Would it be okay if I ask you a few questions? (I am not exactly Edward Murrow, but I do have a killer instinct when it comes to nailing down an interview. I had a former punter's father on the line. My gut told me this was the best I was going to do.) 

Tom Tupa's dad: (pause)

Sugar:Mr. Tupa, what was the city you most enjoyed watching your son play in?

Tom Tupa's dad: Well you know, I always liked Boston, where the Patriots played. But when he got down to Tampa, that wasn't hard to like either.

Sugar:As a kid, Tom was pretty good at basketball, baseball, and football. (Tom got deep in the Punt, Pass, and Kick contest, winning it once, was a letterman in basketball and was both a pitcher and shortstop on the high school baseball team.) What sport did you see Tom having the best chance to further his career in?

Tom Tupa's dad: Oh, definitely football. He could always punt that ball a ton.

Sugar: Were you surprised that he got all the way to the NFL as a QB and not as a primary punter?

Tom Tupa's dad: No, no...not surprised at all. Tom was a great athlete.

Sugar: Thanks for your time and we wish you the best.

 #19

Tom Tupa (father not pictured)

I have actually been looking forward to #18. Such a tough one, right? With names like Frank Akins and Ed Berrang dangling out there, this has all the makings for a snoozer (no disrespect to Frank or Ed). We have already tapped both Sonny Juegensen and Billy Kilmer in this series, so you wouldn't expect a third quarterback from that roster. And then Sammy Wyche jumps off the page.

#18

Sam Wyche

via jpeventscincinnati.com

He suited up for the Skins from 1971-1973, and was the backup quarterback behind both Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer. Shockingly, little game footage exists, at least none that I could find.

On sheer entertainment value alone he wins it. But he was also a pretty good coach, and left a lasting impact on the landscape of the NFL. This guy pushed the no-huddle offense out of the last two minutes of the game. He popularized it as a fundamental component of his potent offensive philosophy. As the winningest coach in the history of the Bengals, he led the team to Super Bowl XXIII. They came within 34 seconds of winning, ultimately being unable to stop Joe Montana in crunch time.

He has, by far, one of the all-time greatest post-game quotes--it is easily one of the funniest things you have ever heard a coach say after a game. Wyche had a very public feud with Jerry Glanville, who at that time was the head coach of the Houston Oilers. One Sunday their teams met and Wyche made it clear how little respect he had for Jerry Glanville. With the Bengals leading 45-0 in the 4th quarter, he called for an onside kick and recovered. They executed a fake field goal. They ran a fake reverse halfback option pass for a TD while leading by 40+ points. And in one of the all-time "F' you" moments between coaches, Wyche called a timeout with 21 seconds left in the game so he could kick a field goal. The score was 61-7, and by the time it was over, Jerry Glanville was pregnant with Sam Wyche's baby.

Wyche said his biggest regret in the game was that they failed to hit one of their extra points. When he was interviewed afterward about possibly running up the score, he had this to say:

"They've got their tails tucked between their legs and they're going home, which is just the way it should be. They're the dumbest, most undisciplined, stupid football team we've ever played. We don't like their team. We don't like their people. And when you get a chance to do it, you do it. I wish it was a five-quarter game."

#18

Sam Wyche

It's been 20 years since either one of these guys has made news on the football field. But while wearing the burgundy and gold, both Doug Williams and Billy Kilmer drew the love and attention of every Redskins fan out there.

Billy Kilmer:He was before my time, but you can't grow up in this town without learning of certain players you never saw play. Kilmer was one of these players. His teammates called him "Ol' Whiskey" on account of his famous (or infamous) nightlife. I recall an evening as a kid talking Redskins with my parents, grandparents and their friends. In that small group, it was evident that Kilmer was a very polarizing figure. There was the Sonny Jurgensen camp, and then there was the Billy Kilmer camp. Both sides talked passionately about their favorite. When speaking about Kilmer, the Sonny fans would offer a roll of their eyes, asserting their belief that Kilmer pulled the carpet out from underneath Jurgensen. The response from the Kilmer guy was that Sonny's shoulder couldn't make it, and that without Kilmer, the Redskins would have been held hostage to the bum shoulder. These people didn't argue politics this aggressively.

Thanks to a love of NFL Films, I learned all about Kilmer and his style of play on the field. Did he throw the beauty spiral that Sonny did? Nope. He was a the kind of scrappy player who got it done however he could, by hook or crook. He came into the league as a running back for the 49ers but his career was changed forever by an auto accident in which he drove his car into the San Francisco Bay. The resulting leg injury limited his running back abilities, and the 49ers let him go in the expansion draft, where he was picked up by the Saints. He became their starting QB, but as we all know, the Saints didn't do squat. He requested a trade, and he joined up with George Allen to back up Sonny Jurgensen.

Then Sonny's shoulder started acting up and Kilmer got the chance to get on the field. He spent the majority of the season as the starter (giving way to Sonny midway through the season before his shoulder was hurt again). The Skins made the playoffs that year, getting a playoff win over the 49ers. One year later, Kilmer led the Redskins to an 11-3 record, and a Super Bowl appearance (Super Bowl VII, the loss to the perfect Dolphins.)

George Allen clearly leaned toward Kilmer at this point. But after Allen's departure, Kilmer took a back seat to Joe Theismann.

Billy Kilmer was a scrapper, not afraid to use his legs to gain yardage, and he commanded the respect and loyalty of his teammates. Sonny Jurgensen continues to downplay the perceived animosity between him and Kilmer to this day. It is simply amazing that the Sonny vs. Billy controversy remains a topic of conversation so many years later.

Doug Williams:Another journeyman football player. Another story of heart, guts, and seizing the opportunity given to him. He was a first round draft pick out of Grambling for a Tampa team that, well, uhhhhh....come on, do I have to say it? They were bad to be sure, but those orange jerseys are simply among my most favorite of all time.

via www.joebucsfan.com

His record of 31-34-1 in the regular season, as well as his 1-3 record in the postseason made him (at the time) the greatest QB in Bucs history. He led that team to the playoffs three times, yet he was being paid like a backup. Less, in fact, than a dozen backups in the league. The owner of the Bucs at the time (Hugh Culverhouse) would not budge from an offer that still would have kept Williams among the lowest-paid QB's in the league. So Doug jetted to the USFL and enjoyed moderate success, though he never made the postseason there.

The USFL shut down in 1986 and thanks to having worked with Joe Gibbs in Tampa, he re-joined his former offensive coordinator in Washington, serving as the backup to Jay Schroeder. That season, Williams would come off the bench not once, not twice, but THRICE to lead the Skins to victory. When the Redskins made the playoffs, Coach Gibbs decided to go with Doug as our starter (even though in his two starts that season, the Redskins had lost.)

The rest, as they say, is history. The team fought their way into the Super Bowl, and peed all over John Elway's parade. As the Super Bowl MVP, Williams threw for 340 yds, and 4 TDs. He became the first African American to play in and win a Super Bowl, and he was an absolute hero to all Redskins fans.

Interestingly (because of the company he keeps in this article), he found himself in another of Washington's quarterback controversies, this time between him and Mark Rypien. Williams peaked in the Super Bowl, and injuries kept him from really being a huge favorite in the competition between him and Rypien. Instead of the bitterness and vitriol that had been such a mainstay of these QB controversies, what transpired between Rypien and Williams was nothing short of a love-fest. They wore T-shirts that expressed support for the other--a twist on the "I'm for Sonny" and "I'm for Billy" slogans that divided Redskins fans in the 70s. This picture will always stand out as the lasting memory of Doug Williams for many Redskins fans:

via www.bet.com

There were other #17's in our history. In fact, there is one out there right now--Jason Campbell. As much as I love JC, I can't include him in there with Billy Kilmer and Doug Williams. But I also wouldn't lump him in with Danny Wuerffel (here is a link to a Sportscenter bit on Wuerffel that paints him a little better than the memories we have), Rob Johnson, or John Friesz! I can't believe John Friesz was a QB here, sandwiched nicely between the Mark Rypien/Cary Conklin/Rich Gannon era and the Gus Frerotte era.

I will say this about JC (cue the dead horse)--I think we will find out this year that he is not only good enough to be our starter, but good enough to get this team into the playoffs and into contention for a title.

via www.nflgridirongab.com

As always, we are eager to hear your favorite moments and stories about these players and any others who wore #17.

Who do you guys like at #18-#20?

Cop-out time.

There are a few #16's out there worth considering. There are a few that I simply don't know enough about to passionately argue for on this list. I'll put some of these out there, and you can decide.

Stan Humphries: The Redskins drafted him in the '98 draft. With Rypien sidelined in 1990, he came in and played seven games for us, amassing just over 1,000 yards and 3 TDs. As a Redskin, he did not amount to much. After he was traded to the Chargers however, he became a six-year starter, during which the Chargers won 62% of their games. Humphries led the Chargers into the playoffs three times, and got into the Super Bowl in the 1994 season.

Norm Snead: Norm (NORM!) was a #2 overall pick for the Skins and played in D.C. for three seasons. He is notable because he was the man the Redskins traded to Philly to get Sonny Jurgensen. I like these kinds of players (a la Jay Schroeder and his Jim Lachey credit.)

Richie Petitbon: He wore #16 as a Redskin, playing safety in 1971 and 1972. He played in Super Bowl VII and was a member of George Allen's "Over the Hill Gang", a group of older players that Allen collected to win now rather than later. Petitbon's biggest contribution to the Washington Redskins was obviously as defensive coordinator under Joe Gibbs. His ability to prepare his unit during the week was strong, but that staff's halftime adjustments are of course legendary. While it is somewhat of an unfair comparison, it is worth noting that Joe Gibbs' second stint in town did not include the same kind of halftime magic as the first tour of duty. I am willing to attribute at least some of that to the coach that Petitbon was and his intimate knowledge of his system and personnel.

Steve Slivinski: A two way player in the late 30's/early 40's, Slivinski contributed to the Redskins' 1942 NFL Championship. I would be ecstatic if anyone out there had a great Steve Slivinski story.

Babe Laufenberg: Wasn't the Babe #16? I won't include him in the vote due to me not being 100% on that, as well as his current and longstanding affiliation with the Cowgirls. But he was a preseason legend for the Skins. It always seemed like he would come in the game and bring the team back from behind to a big win, but he never really played in the regular season and was released by the Skins after a few seasons.

Rodney Peete: Really in town for nothing more than a cup of coffee in 1999, Peete is most notably one of the first of many stud QB's to come out of USC. He preceded Leinart, Palmer, and Sanchez (to name but a few) as stars from that program. He lost the Heisman to Barry Sanders, but he beat Troy Aikman's UCLA squad in both of opportunities (this I respect a great deal).

There you have it. Today's mission: choose our #16.

I was able to get a jpeg of the book on Kevin's shelf that has the most wear and tear of any book I have ever seen. Seriously, priests don't have Bibles that have seen as much action as Kevin's Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen book collection. The bent corners were one thing, but the highlighted sections just creeped me out. Anyway...thought it seemed fitting for today's post:

via www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

We continue to appreciate all of your contributions on the comments section. Thanks in advance for adding your own stories of the players who wore these numbers and filling out the ranks. We have not given the old-timers their full due yet in this continuing piece, and unfortunately for all those leather-heads today is no different.

Which isn't to say our #15 is a fresh-faced youngster. Wait...he actually is a little fresh-faced. You would be too if you went 10 years between starts.

#15

Todd Collins

With Al Saunders as our offensive coordinator on the staff, the Skins brought in Collins in 2006 to help install the offense. It was a rather robust playbook, and he was relied upon to be an extra coach for the quarterbacks specifically. As you all know, we did not net any Super Bowl rings under the Al Saunders system. But we did manage to secure a player who would take the helm of one of the more enjoyable and exciting stretches of football we have seen in recent years.

The Redskins were 5-7, nine days removed from the death of Sean Taylor, and going into a Thursday Night game against the Chicago Bears. I was at this game. It is the coldest home game I have ever attended. Since evening rush hour traffic is a bear in the DC area without game traffic, they tend to open the gates a little earlier than they otherwise would to help people get to the stadium ahead of the gridlock. For an 8 o'clock game, this meant I was in the parking lot at about 2 PM (in cities around the NFL, this is nothing, as FedEx is one of only a few that restrict the tailgating time--something that really bothers me). I had brought with me a full complement of layers of clothes to put on as the sun went down. We were expecting a cold night. We did not bring a cooler to the parking lot--we set out all the beer on the Beirut table. Cups of beer were freezing solid before we could drink them. As each hour went by, the temperature dropped in a way that you could physically notice. It was not gradual, rather, all of a sudden the air would just feel a LOT colder and you would reach for the next layer. Well, I ran out of layers just before 6 PM. Clothes layers that is. Thankfully, I had brought a few extra liquor layers.

When Jason Campbell left the game that night with a knee injury, I did not have the benefit of instant replay to show me the nature of the injury. I did not need it. I could see it plainly from  my seat. You figure at 5-7, the QB goes down, and it is not as immediately depressing. But it was as deflating as it could have been. As Todd Collins came out on the field, all I could remember thinking was, "Jim Kelly's backup is coming in." His age was all I could focus on. How was he going to handle that Bears defense? Bore them to death?

But he came in, went 15-20 with 224 yards and two touchdowns. We improved to 6-7 and in that limited action, everyone could see that in place of youth and athleticism, Collins brought an understanding of where the ball is supposed to go, and he did it calmly and efficiently. At 6-7 in December, your team gets on the board as a bubble team. Although our team was mentioned as a wild card hopeful, we had to listen to the talking heads tell the world that we were pretenders and not contenders. After all, we were about to trot out a QB who had not started a game in over TEN YEARS, on the road, against the same Giants who would upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl a couple months later. In a game where the wind refused to be tamed, Collins out-dueled Eli Manning and we found ourselves set up for a match-up against the Vikings, in Minnesota, with a lot on the line.

You remember this game, right? As crushing as those two Joe Gibbs timeouts against Buffalo were, the red flag challenge for Minnesota having 12 men on the field was simply brilliant. The game was absolutely not over. In fact, it appeared the Vikings were gaining the upper hand, and had we not gotten that call right, we would have lost the momentum completely and probably the game as well.

So we are 8-7 now, on TOP of the wild card list, with a huge home game against the Dallas Cowgirls. If you recall, this game was not close. While the final score was 27-6, the game was never in doubt. Collins finished that season with a 106.4 quarterback rating and was the NFC Offensive Player of the Month.

What else could you possibly ask of a backup quarterback? Take over the team at one of the worst times not just in the season, but in the history of the franchise. Your best player is tragically murdered, your quarterback of the future goes down with a knee injury and your Hall of Fame coach is showing very obvious signs or mortality. Yet Todd Collins comes in and just takes it one play at a time on the way to getting the team into the playoffs.

This one was easy.

#15

Todd Collins

Additional Note: Someone created a quite comical Todd Collins blog imitating his greatness.

We (sort of) covered Jeff Hostetler in the Gus Frerotte post. Hoss was a great quarterback in his own right, but when he came off the bench in the headbutt game, he was no Todd Collins. We actually tracked down Hostetler for an interview, who currently lives by WVU, but the phone number turned out to be a fax number. Ah well. Who else do you guys like at #15?

Image via i.a.cnn.net

It is at least a little fitting that we get to #14 on the heels of the departure of Jon Jansen. It gives us a chance to talk about how this franchise has handled the jettisoning of players over the years.

Jon Jansen's dismissal continues to be a big story because, prior to his release, he was the longest tenured Redskin on the roster (can you name the player who takes over that honor?) I don't know about you but since the news broke on Friday, I have not come across too many people who are beside themselves in shock. The timing of the move is what ends up dominating the debate. It did seem at least slightly odd--middle of a Friday afternoon, before June 1st. But if the team was serious about moving on without Jon Jansen, and they were genuine about Jansen having a chance to make it somewhere else, you could make the case it made sense. After all, it only took him a day to find a home right? He was able to beat all the guys (assuming there will be a few) who are about to hit the street this week. Don't get me wrong--I am sure that the team did not unnecessarily imperil its own situation to help Jon. But clearly Jansen will have his opportunity to spend a whole summer with his new team in the hopes he can crack the lineup.

Secondly, this move says a ton about Jim Zorn, and the responsibility and authority he clearly has in this organization. While making the call to cut Jansen was probably not the most difficult decision he ever faced, I have to believe there were people in the organization that were prepared to fight for Jansen to have a chance to show himself in camp. Bugel comes to mind. I could be wrong. Everything coming out of Zorn since Friday has been all about his evaluation process and the reality that Jansen simply was not wanted in the "competitive" phase of determining who the right tackle was going to be. I take that to mean that Zorn felt Jansen was not in line to compete for the starting tackle spot, and the depth chart at other positions were and needed to be manned by younger players.

So why have I hijacked the #14 post? Because today's #14 made an exit from D.C. that was handled in a completely absurd and utterly senseless way. And I thought it worth mentioning that in light of the way things are being handled lately, there is a sense of direction that seemed lacking in recent years.

#14

Brad Johnson

We let Brad Johnson escape to Tampa Bay...so that Jeff George could start. Think about that. He was 2 years removed from 4,005 yards passing, 24 TDs, 13 INTs and a playoff win. The next year the team suffered a setback to be certain. An 8-8 record, and more INTs than TDs. We all remember when Brad left town right? Jeff George ended up getting benched and we went with Tony Banks! Brad Johnson went to Tampa Bay and got a Super Bowl ring.

I know there were salary cap issues, and if I remember correctly, Brad Johnson was pretty fed up with the Redskins' organization. This was right at the height of the insanity that was the Redskins franchise (though one could argue that this peak lasted for several years.)

Does anyone remember Brad Johnson flexing on the Jumbotron in the playoff win against the Detroit Lions (is there a better feeling in the world than playing Detroit in the playoffs for a Skins fan?).

What about the year he came back to town starting for the Vikings...a game which I believe they won in OT? I never saw it myself, but it was rumored that Brad wore his Redskins jersey as he left the stadium that night.

We do have some other notable #14's. Eddie LeBaron was drafted by the Skins in the 1950 NFL draft and played seven seasons (off and on) before becoming a footnote in the great history of the Redskins/Cowgirls rivalry. George Preston Marshall had forgotten to protect his Pro Bowl QB in the expansion draft and the Cowgirls took him. Inconceivable!

Finally, as you all know, we do our best to reach out to former Redskins who have worn these numbers and bring you some hard-hitting interviews. That legacy continues today with our recent sit-down with none other than #14 himself, Max Zendejas:

Sugar: Max, thanks for sharing your time with us. Let's get right to it...what stands out about that 1986 team you played on here in DC?

Max: Well you take the good with the bad. Replacing a guy like Mark Moseley is tough, but you do your best. That team was full of winners, and it was a winning team. I recently ran into Joe Theismann at a golf tourney out in Virgina.

[kind of an odd answer to the question...or not really an answer at all]

Sugar: Are there any stories that stand out to you from that year?

Max: Well I remember playing Green Bay and it was so cold. I said after that game that no matter what they paid me, I would never play in Green Bay. The next year, I was playing in Green Bay.

Sugar: I recently had the opportunity to speak with Ali Haji-Sheikh and I asked him about the burgeoning problem the NFL is dealing with.

Max: What's that?

Sugar: I can pronounce pretty much every kicker's name in the league, and I could probably spell 90% of them correctly on my first try. What happened to your once proud profession?

Max: (laughs) Haji-Sheikh...hehehe. Well, you know what is happening is that kids want to kick now. I run a camp for kids (http://www.zendejaskicking.com/) and I am seeing just some incredibly talented athletes pursuing kicking. Back in my day, we were kind of flaky, hippie guys. Now, kids want to kick the game-winning field goal, and they are going after it.

Sugar: Who was your favorite guy on the roster of that Redskins team?

Max: You know, that roster was jammed with good guys. I loved Dexter Manley, Mark Rypien, Gary Clark. I was very close with Eric Yarber (WR). Other guys who made an impression on me were Charles Mann and Darrell Green, both very religious guys, both always doing everything they could to help out a teammate.

Sugar: What are your thoughts on the current Redskins team?

Max: I do pay attention. The thing about the Redskins when I played there...they were used to winning. They were all winners. Those guys in the that locker room simply went after wins like you wouldn't believe. Coach Gibbs, the hardcore fans. You did your job and all those fans waited for you after the game to congratulate you and get your autograph. I wish I had stayed there longer.

Sugar: Last question: Who was the best Zendejas?

Max: (laughs) Well you know we were all different. Tony played the longest, working his way through the CFL, the Arena League and of course the NFL. Luis was just a fighter. We were very competitive with each other. We would compete against each other constantly, with the loser having to buy hamburgers. I was the only one of us who was drafted and I had the strongest leg.

So there you have it. "The Greatest Zendejas"...keep your eyes peeled for the major motion picture.

Joe, I am disappointed in you. You indicated that at #13, it was Ed Justice or nothing. For shame! How could you overlook one of the greatest ball-hawking safeties and original badasses of the 70's:

#13 Jake Scott

He was more of a Miami Dolphin than a Redskin career-wise. I will grant you that. In fact, as a Dolphin he was the Super Bowl MVP of Super Bowl VII, a 14-7 victory over the Redskins. He had two picks in that game. The following year he factored in the Dolphins' second straight Super Bowl victory. If you recall, that defense was pretty stingy. And that 1972 team was of course the only undefeated team ever (suck it Patriots.)

But Jake Scott basically divorced himself from the Dolphins. Him and Don Shula had some terse exchanges. The story goes coach Don Shula wanted players to attend a banquet after the 1975 season. Scott informed Shula he would not be there. They fined him and he requested a trade. He refused painkillers in a preseason game later that summer and was shipped to Washington the next day.

He was a tough guy. As a rookie for the Dolphins, he was not asked to sing his college fight song...because nobody messed with him. He was famous for playing through injury. He broke his wrist in Super Bowl VI (if you're keeping track, he played in three straight Super Bowls.) He played with a broken hand and wrist, and even returned punts in that game. In his rookie season, he played the last 11 games with a separated shoulder.

He came to the Skins and paired with Ken Houston for three seasons. We have gone here before already in this series with another former Dolphin, Reggie Roby, but it bears revisiting. A great player comes to town and then...lives up to expectations. He played in every game for the three seasons he was in D.C. Actually, he started in every one of those games. They didn't keep tackle stats at that point, but he was no slouch in bringing down opponents. He had an uncanny ability to be in position for turnovers it seems--he had 5 fumble recoveries in 1976, leading the league. In 1978, he led the NFL in interceptions, with seven. Not exactly Adam Archuleta folks.

It is rumored that he drank 43 beers in one sitting, and got more girls than Joe Namath. All of his trophies and plaques gathered over his career full of accolades collect dust at his mother's house--an indication that they mean very little to him. He lives in a remote area of Hawaii most of the year and sits in the same barstool every day at 5 PM (according to the article I pulled that from, it is the third barstool in.)

I was a little concerned about #13. I did not know 95% of this stuff about Jake Scott before scouring the internet during the Cavs-Magic Game 5. I am pretty confident that if Jake Scott played for the Magic, Lebron would be in a hospital. Seriously, all those Chuck Norris rules could easily have been written about Jake Scott.

I could lie and say I tried to contact Jake Scott for an interview. I could lie and say I didn't try because I am 100% certain he can only be found by somebody he wants to be found by. The truth is that in my heart of hearts, I think that if I was successful in reaching one of the few phones on his island and he found out it was me asking for him, he would track me down and kill me. (By "me", I mean Kevin, since I would leave his name and address on the message.)

If that doesn't get you on this list, what does?

Sorry Ed Justice.

#13 Jake Scott

I am too young to have watched him play. If any of you out there have any Jake Scott stories, please for the love of God share them in our comments.