The 1970's NFL Top 10 Most Underrated Offensive Linemen

Check out chop blocks, the old high/low block, and other blocking styles from the 1970's that are illegal today. Awesome game footage showcasing the best linemen who didn't get their proper due is featured.

[@jpkillibrew1638]

Thank you for recognizing these great football players

[@markgardner9460]

You're welcome. I appreciate that!

[@neubert500]

Thank you Good Sir! Linemen RARELY every get attention yet there would not be a game without them!

[@markgardner9460]

Couldn't agree more! I miss viewing footage like this. Now it's seemingly a game of grab & hold.

[@williamparker8840]

Fine job again buddy. I commented many months ago on this subject and mentioned VAN NOTE then. I was happy to see that you put him on the thumbnail photo. Thanks.

[@markgardner9460]

Thanks for the idea! It was a toss-up for me regarding who graced the thumbnail: Van Note or Kunz

[@Roterhals]

What a great video, fantastic topic and great tidbits (high-low blocking seems like an eternity ago). Van Note is probably my favorite all time Falcon and a great guy to boot. Loved seeing him and Kunz on here.

[@markgardner9460]

Thanks for sharing! I wish the story of Van Note was told on a major media platform because it's astounding how he propelled his career overnight from a "minor league" team to the starting line-up over a long period of time at a very high level of play. The odds against him succeeding in that manner after being an 11th round draft pick and playing in a "minor league" are astronomical.

[@Classicrocker6119]

Outstanding footage as always! The isolation break down of plays is off the charts. You have to give these guys credit who played back then. Coming back from injuries and making the money then the players make today.

[@markgardner9460]

The blocking back then was SO much different than now. Today it's more like rugby, in my opinion.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

​@@markgardner9460Definitely a more hard -nosed game then amazing how some of these players were so durable!!

[@markgardner9460]

There were a few aspects of the game that played into that durability. One year contracts, small roster sizes, the feeling that you'd lose your job if you didn't play, and medical properties that would most likely be frowned upon being used in today's game.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

@@markgardner9460 very true!

[@keithsowder4308]

Great stuff again ! I can't believe that Gillingham isn't in the HOF...he was a beast ! One of the best OG's I ever saw play !

[@markgardner9460]

I realize that the Packers from their glory days are well represented, but he was the only one who effectively crossed over into the '70's. He's the lineman most responsible for Brockington gaining 1,000 yards three consecutive years when the Packers had no passing game and defenses were stacking the line.

[@keithsowder4308]

@@markgardner9460 100%

[@jammininthepast]

A fine job of highlighting these great players. O-line, blocking fullback's (e.g. Braxton/Bills) never get any attention and they ARE the essential building blocks. Show me a potential SB team and I'll show you solid O & D lines. I loved all of those guys in this great vid. Thanks brother, you're appreciated.

[@markgardner9460]

Back in the day, if a team was a contender, then you knew that they had to have solid offensive and defensive lines. I'd hate to be a voter for offensive linemen today. Everybody legally holds - do they pull Guards anymore? To me, there's very little to differentiate a great blocker from an average one. Anyway, as always, thank you for your comments - much appreciated!

[@kevincostello3856]

Being a Steeler fan we had a pair of guards and a Right tackle that converted from TE to Tackle and that's Larry Brown TE 71 Through 76 , Tackle 77-84. Our two guards : LG Sam Davis 67-79 and " Moon" Mullins RG 71-79 . Massively underrated , we ran the trap and those two paved roads for Franco Harris. Also our LT Jon Kolb 69-81. There are really so many, Besrs Guard Revie Sorey whom Walter Payton did some of his best years in the 70s when Chicago had little else. Cardinals had Bob Young played 1966-1981 , and his fellow teammate Conrad Dobler the " dirtiest player " in the NFL in the 70s was his rep. but Dobler went to 3 straight Pro Bowls. To name a few. As usual here just great effort on this, please keep'em coming.

[@markgardner9460]

Thank you for bringing up those names - good stuff! I remember watching Bob Young carrying a fridge on his back during The World's Strongest Man competition sometime around '78.

[@Paul11B2P]

Great video 🎉

[@markgardner9460]

Thank you 😁 Overcoming technical difficulties was a challenge in getting this video published, so I'm glad that you liked it!

[@fringephoto]

GREAT!!!!!!! Please keep them coming!

[@markgardner9460]

I'll do my best. Thank you!!

[@MichaelPiz]

Always appreciate some lineman love! Lots of names in this one that I'd forgotten until now.

[@markgardner9460]

Glad you like them!

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

I also remember Jerry Sisemore another very consistent player i actually remember every player on the list! You did a excellent job here Mark! Every player here was very good to great..another fine production Mark!

[@markgardner9460]

Thanks you, Steven! I've been wanting to do a video like this for a long time, but I knew that it was going to be a daunting challenge. I'm glad that I finally published it and that you enjoyed it.

[@Fell214]

Been watching since the 60s. Enjoy your videos.

[@markgardner9460]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@tombarbeausr7022]

Thank you again for a great video. All of these linemen would be "3" blockers in Strat-O-Matic. Cheers

[@markgardner9460]

Is "3" the top rating?

[@Boomhower89]

It’s a shame how injuries would cut the careers of so many great players short back in the day. Knee injuries were pretty much career ending for so many,not to mention back injuries. Another great job on the making of a video.

[@markgardner9460]

Surgery was in it's prehistoric stage compared to today. Just think of how many careers could have been saved and/or enhanced. Namath with 2 somewhat healthy knees? Fahget about it!

[@harryschnepp5907]

I use to play APBA Football all these lineman were top of their games, nice work, my main man though, Conrad Dobler, thanks again for the memory's

[@markgardner9460]

Amazingly, I have not played APBA football. I did however play, seemingly, thousands of hours playing another baseball board game as a youth. Thanks, Harry!

[@harryschnepp5907]

@@markgardner9460 Strat-O-Matic fanatic still Baseball . thank you

[@markgardner9460]

I still have all the pages and pages of statistics that I compiled from 40+ years ago. To say that I was addicted was a gross understatement.

[@mhlaw229]

Another great video! I was a Jeff Van Note fan too. He anchored a terrific offensive line by the late 70s

[@markgardner9460]

Thank you! Yes, that Falcons offensive line was somethin' else back then. Not only were they terrific run blockers, but also pass blockers. They were a main contributor to the big numbers that the "skill" positions posted.

[@mhlaw229]

@@markgardner9460 Yes, around 1980, they were probably the best in pro football. Bartkowski took a hell of a beating early in his career before that line came together. 1975-1977 were pretty brutal for Falcons QBs.

[@markgardner9460]

Kim McQuilken: 4 years with Falcons, 4 td passes & 28 interceptions, and a 39.9 completion percentage.

[@mhlaw229]

@@markgardner9460 Ha, yeah. Obviously the Falcons didn't have a talented QB before Bartkowski, but those other guys just didn't have a chance. The Rams in particular demolished the Falcons twice a year back then. It's hard to watch clips of 70s games between the Rams and Falcons, what beat downs

[@markgardner9460]

He played with the Falcons from '74-'77. I remember the Falcons beating the Rams on 5 Nick Mike-Mayer field goals in '73, but other than that I don't recall them beating 'em much, if at all, in the '70's.

[@LesterMoore]

The NFL is missing the promotional vote, BIG TIME.. More spotlighting of the offensive and defensuve lineman should be brought to the viewing fan's notice. The stellar running back, strong armed QB, the lithe swift wide receivers, flankers and multi-skilled tight ends, eagle eyed defensive half-backs and exciting safeties would have scant opportunities if their respective linemen failed consistently in their roles. There used to be a magazine (bring back sports magazines with their great articles and exciting splashy pictures) that covered only the linemen. It was great. The lineplay, their thoughts on opponents ... all was well received. Anyways, thank you for this presentation. It's grand.

[@markgardner9460]

Thank you very much for your take; it's much appreciated. Playing in "The Pit" is not a glorious aspect of an offensive lineman's job and they're certainly not recognized nearly to the degree that they should, in my opinion.

[@NigelIncubatorJones]

Another great video.

[@markgardner9460]

Glad you enjoyed it (this time with video footage)

[@alfonsecoppola5938]

forrest blue was really good

[@thomasgallagher7092]

Randy Rasmussen played from 67-81 with the Jets and was a blue collar lineman that played in the trenches for a long time

[@markgardner9460]

Thank you for bringing up his name! He only missed 2 starts in the '70's! I considered him for inclusion in this video, but was looking for players who had at least one Pro Bowl or All-Pro season.

[@surfshack2]

Being an Eagles fan , I knew all the offensive linemen in the late 70’s. Guy Morris, Stan Walters and of course Jerry Sizemore.

[@markgardner9460]

I remember the '79 and '80 All-Pro cards of Stan Walters. Those All-Pro cards were cool every year in the '70's...except they didn't have 'em in '70.

[@RL3sports]

I spent some time around Jack Rudnay in the mid 80's. He was a great guy.

[@markgardner9460]

That's cool! Just think, he started in Pro Bowls over Mike Webster who is a Hall of Famer.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

Forrest Blue was kinda a sad story he started out gangbusters and looked to be a long time Pro Bowl and possibly HOF material but as you said,Mark he had a lot of injuries and he declined quickly.. from what I have heard he had health issues in her later years and passed away in a assisted living facility of CTE...

[@markgardner9460]

Yes, it's sad. With all of the headbutting that linemen did back then with those flimsy helmets, it undoubtedly lead to a lot of concussions.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

@@markgardner9460 Indeed it did.

[@tonytaylor8198]

Good stuff all tough guys.

[@lucabrasisleepswiththefish77]

I liked it much better w/ video...Thanks.

[@markgardner9460]

Yes! It was intended to be published with video action, but there was some technical difficulties that prohibited it (glad that's squared away!)

[@jstube36]

How about Grady Alderman. Playing LT for 15 seasons mostly with the Vikings. Protected the blindside for both Fran Tarkenton and Joe Kapp. Grady went to 6 Pro Bowls. Milt Sunde could be another mention.

[@markgardner9460]

They were good players, no doubt, but neither had a Pro Bowl or All-Pro season in the 1970's...which is the decade in question. I thought of doing an Honorable Mention, but that would have been far too time-consuming and labor-intensive for me. Thanks for bringing 'em up!

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

8 sacks allowed by the Cardinals was incredible! Young was part of a great offensive line with Dobler,Finnie Dierdorf!

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

Reggie McKenzie never made a Pro Bowl? I didn't know that! And the Bills had one of the first great nicknames for offensive lineman " The Electric Company!"

[@markgardner9460]

Upshaw and Larry Little were regulars and back then I think they only carried 3 Guards on each Pro Bowl roster, so it was tough to make it.

[@denisceballos9745]

Good to see the big guys in the trenches getting some props. That’s really where the games are won or lost IMO, especially in that era. The only other O Lineman I would add would be Cleveland’s Doug Dieken (73) - 14 year career with the same team and a Pro Bowl in 1980. I just checked; From 1972 to 1984 he did not miss a start.

[@markgardner9460]

Nice addition with Dieken. He falls in the Sisemore catagory, IMO. Never missed games with few, if any, accolades. I gave the nod to Sisemore cuz he had 1 Pro Bowl in the '70's where Dieken did not - super dicey - both are super underrated. How those guys were able to play every week back in that tough decade with rock-hard artificial turf fields is beyond me.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

Dieken didn't make a Pro Bowl? He seemed so solid and consistent!

[@denisceballos9745]

@@stevenzimmerman4057 He made one Pro Bowl in 1980, the year of the Cardiac Kids. BTW, Dieken scored a TD in 1983 - on a fake FG where he lined up as the TE.

[@markgardner9460]

That 1980 club was so fun to watch (mainly highlights back then, unless they were a nationally televised team game).

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

@@markgardner9460 if you were a Browns fan it was definitely a roller coaster ride!

[@thomasgallagher7092]

As a NYG fan, I always thought that Doug Van Horn was an excellent, solid and reliable offensive lineman

[@markgardner9460]

Great call. He only missed 5 starts in the entire decade of the '70's! He didn't make any Pro Bowl or All-Pro teams, so he didn't make my list, but I certainly appreciate you bringing up his name. He was a very solid player, as you stated.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

Russ Washington very imposing very physical another excellent player! John Niland " Johnny Night Life?"didn't know that!

[@markgardner9460]

Washington was the heaviest NFL player for at least one year and maybe more. I remember that I did a search one time as to how many players weighed over 250 pounds and I think there were on 26 in 1973 with Washington being the heaviest at 289 pounds.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

@@markgardner9460 He was definitely a big dude!

[@surfshack2]

Yes Mark!

[@markgardner9460]

Sorry for the wait - experienced techical difficulties

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

Gary Larson was no slouch,but Gillingham pushed him back seemingly effortlessly! He was obviously very powerful! I vaguely remember Devine switching him to defensive tackle! What was he thinking?

[@markgardner9460]

...and just 5 days before the start of the season! Come on, man!

[@kevinkranz9156]

ED WHITE VIKINGS GILLINGHAM GOPHERS AND PACKERS RON YARY VIKINGS

[@docnoc66]

Hi Mark - going to throw on my 1969 Rams gamer # 64 Mike LaHood ….started in Rans vs Vikings division playoff at the Met - he’s in the hilites wearing the jersey and yeas it has the crotch piece

[@markgardner9460]

The blue and white! Nice!!

[@wyliesmith4244]

I loved seeing Reggie McKenzie pulling on a sweep and hitting two different players.. I did not like Lombardi's packers, but I sure admired the way Vince plotted his sweeps. In the early sixties, all I could see was the local games (Giants 58 - 61, Browns 62 - 65, and Steelers 66- ...). But Thanksgiving Day games were on which led to a love of the Lions (Plum, Barr, Cogdill, Studstill, and Gibbons made for an interesting passing game while DT Roger was the first 300 poind player in the NFL. or so they said. I have a 1963 book, "The Game" by Tex Maule, which my father gave me. It has a good - but quick - overview on the league's teams, but most revealing to me was the piece on Lion RB Nick Pietrosante and his using the off-season to train/prepare for a real job in the real world after football. Times have changed, but thanks for posting footage of the football that i loved.

[@markgardner9460]

In the '62 Thanksgiving Day game, the Lions sacked Starr 11X. Roger Brown had 6 or 7 sacks. Thank you for your comments; I enjoyed them.

[@wyliesmith4244]

@@markgardner9460 If memory serves (dubious), Green Bay canceled further Thanksgiving games (after the already scheduled '63 game). And I think that both Karras and Hornung, the Golden Boy from Notre Dame, were suspended for all of '63 for gambling.

[@markgardner9460]

Yes, they did not play the Lions again on Thanksgiving until 1984. The Packers even hosted a 2015 Thanksgiving day game when they played the Bears.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

I definitely remember George Kunz.I think he was a heck of a player!

[@markgardner9460]

I remember as a kid getting his football cards every year and seeing All-Pro on almost every one. Too bad that his career was cut short.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

As you stated possible in the HOF if he stayed healthy.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

Mike Livingston showed good wheels on his run 11;50 but he wasn't a great quarterback! I believe he started his career 10-0.but that was mostly behind Kansas City's great offensive line and superb defense! Once the Chiefs got older he got exposed! I think his career record after that was 21-43-1 with a horrible TD to interception ratio 56-83!

[@markgardner9460]

I think he played for the Vikes in the '80 pre-season, but was cut. Can you confirm?

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

@@markgardner9460 You are correct sir! He didn't play in the regular season at all!

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

I see Cardinals great Pat Fischer passed away yesterday. . RIP sir.

[@markgardner9460]

Oh, man. So many fine players. I'm 100% for him making the HOF. I just don't get what the voters have against him. A 17th round draft pick, he played 17 years and picked off 56 passes. More impressive than that, I think, is that he averaged 16.8 yards per return! He took four int's to the house. Of course his battles with Harold Carmichael are incredible. His tackling technique was unparallelled.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

@@markgardner9460 I agree he should have been in the HOF years ago! And his battles with Carmichael were indeed epic!

[@markgardner9460]

Fischer effectively utilized leverage in bringing down ballcarriers. He was almost a wrestler on the playing field, in that regard.

[@sandyboggs8099]

Redskin

[@Boomhower89]

Jeff Eby channel has the 1960 pro bowl Worth a look. I think you will enjoy it.

[@markgardner9460]

I checked it out - cool to see players that I've never seen in action before!

[@steelking22]

How could you ignore the team of the decade's offensive captain, guard Sam Davis? Also, how does a team win four Super Bowls in six years and hardly anyone talks about never miss a game LT Jon Kolb? Rayfield Wright, Leon Gray, Norm Evans and the Saul brothers all deserved more recognition than they received.

[@markgardner9460]

In comprising my list, I did not ignore any offensive lineman from the '70's. The fact is, other than Sam Davis being a Captain and 4X Super Bowl champion, he never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team - likewise with Jon Kolb. While I have included Honorable Mentions in previous videos, doing so for this position would have been a painstaking proposition. I spent nearly 25 hours producing this video as it was, so I elected to exclude that aspect. Thank you for bringing up those fine players, however, as nearly every offensive lineman who ever played is to be considered underrated, in my opiinion.

[@steventhorson4487]

❤

[@jjw56]

George kunz never got the credit he deserved!! And Tom banks!!! Nobody ever mentioned his name! Great list, no argument here

[@markgardner9460]

Poor Tom Banks of the Cardinals - everybody either talked about nice guy and future Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf or Conrad "Dirty" Dobler.

[@stevenzimmerman4057]

@@markgardner9460 I remember Banks he obviously was a excellent player!

[@donaldcampbell9219]

O.J. Looks like he was running thur the airport, jumping over luggage on his way to Hertz.

[@markgardner9460]

"The superstar in rent-a-car". I remember hearing that more than once.

[@AmishEcstasy]

Norm Van Brocklin smoking a dart LOL

[@markgardner9460]

Kinda surprising that he didn't have a glass in the other hand.

[@Boomhower89]

🇺🇸👍

[@tomstevenson7940]

Basically TE's in todays NFL. Def not LM.

[@williamcoolidge9884]

You have to be a special kind of stupid to move an offensive guard coming off 3 Pro Bowls, a first team All-Pro, and a second team All-Pro to defense.

[@markgardner9460]

True, yet the guy still made the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach. Go figure.