European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 12, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse The stars and stripes Page 19 co Mentaw Tarkenton is Hof s shiniest ornament Tiik ca1.1.kd him frantic Francis. Jicy could t keep him in the pocket not two generations of coaches not relay of 250-Pound defensive ends bluing line backers not life itself in club icily a Kvil dimm sinn. The eyes give him away fit s Nui physically prepay pcs sin. At 5 feet ii inches and 190 pounds. But the eyes Are the eyes of i Fores creature on he prow i for food and on the look jul for enemies. Or of u Guy Wilh his own deck looking for suckers. They arc survivors eyes wary inquisitive Quick. This is the look of i Guy Askco logo through Indian territory at night with Only a map and a canteen which is a fair description of his life in the nil. You can Tell that every sense is Alert. Me looks like a Guy who never sleeps and rarely islands still. He is football s equivalent of drugs Bunny. His whole career was a saturday Falc Nuon serial. He made the perils of Pauline look like Rebecca of sunny Hook farm in Che nil. The suspense is supposed to he whether he would Ever throw it he ran for Mure Yards than any quarterback who Ever lived. And that was Only the ones beyond the line of scrimmage. If you counted inc Yards behind he has More than any running Back who Ever lived. Me was t fast he did i have inc strongest Arm. He ended to Dart Duck twist and squirm. Hit pm where they aint was baseball player Willie Keeler s motto. Francis threw it where they weren t. By any yardstick you want to use Francis Asbury Tarkenton was the Best quarterback pro football Ever had. He threw for More touchdowns 342 More Yards 47,003. And Nwe completions 3.68fi. Than any other quarterback who Ever lived. He took his team to Ihrck super bowls in four years. He ran for 30 More touch dawns and 3,669 Yards. Which makes you wonder Why fran Tarkenton did t get into the pro football Hall of Fame till this year three years after his initial eligibility. He threw for 52 More touchdowns than any quarterback who Ever played had nearly 1,000 More completions and almost 7,000 More Yards you would think the Hall of Fame would have come to him. The rap against fran Tarkenton has been thai he threw Short passes that hit completions Urc just Riani offs the spurious pcs of this argument can be seen in inc Yards rolled up 4 i 20 Miles More Hun of her Hall of Fame quarterbacks like Johnny Unitas. Sonny Jurgensen or Roger Subach. Tarke Jiin rebuts inc charge in inc first Jilich inc Long Ball is Llie to throw he . Tie 11.ill Mary is a test of Luck not skill. It s like pulling a note in n bottle and launching it Over the Side. If Llie Arm were All there were to quarterbacking. A Guy named Rudy Tukich was the greatest quarterback who Ever played. He could throw the Ball Tarkka Nten also says that his scrambles were actually artful Geometric patterns. They Lou cd on paper like i Chart of a Rube Goldberg invention i layer a takes bpm to Point a where he bumps into j end c and reverses his Field to Point d. Where Waler is dripped into Hole which make linebacker n slip and allows player a to Duck under Arm f and release Ball g into air where it skids off helmet h of Cor Norback i into waiting arms of tight end a who Falls Over safely k into end zone for touchdown. I was never out of control Back there says Tarkon Ion. You see what the drop Back quarterbacks would do they would Peel Back 20 Yards or Roll right 15 Yards then they would throw to a hideout who had gone Down the Field 1 5 Yards and ran an out to the left sideline. So what you re talking about is a 50 or 60 Yards pass 10 make 10 or 15 Yards. I would scramble to a prepared location. I would never release a Ball 30 or 35 Yards behind the line of scrimmage my purpose in scram ing Way whoa or lire out the pass rushers and psych out the secondary. So the theory gained credence if Tarkenton has to scramble and run. He Musi nol be a very Good Nasser. If you can punch Why by one Lime Flie Fireck Hay fuckers decided of we Wun l Rii h him they stopped their pass Rush. I picked them the next time they came in Wajih their ears l id Mcva and Geml inc again. A quarterback is a passer Mil a Thruber i Coli inn does t need .1 div Mali . I Uii Ine the Bill where you want it is Mure important Idun pulling it in no Tine was belter it sunni Llie so arc he Ianird it than not so frantic i rinds. The worhol still can t keep him in us Pil Kel n ton came through los Angeles the other Day and he still to i thigh a in incl Lnch is of ii Here slicked with Deacon Joneses who used to say he trained for a game against Turkenton by linking him self in a roomful of Mosquito. And turning uni he lights. You find Tark Nuhi by he Kinu for the Cloud of dust. Fie looks Ai the interviewer As if Fie were dividing whether a Down and out single Swine pass or a Quarter Hack sneak were called for. His be Leisum career that s incredible and sunday of a h o
