Category Archives: NFL

AFL, NFL, NFLE, WLAF

Taylor, Lionel

Card: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 6/4/14  Received: 8/13/16  (801 days)

Lionel Taylor had an amazing career that began in 1959 playing for the Chicago Bears.  He didn’t record a reception for the team during his rookie year and opted to join the upstart American Football League during its inaugural season in 1960 for the Denver Broncos. Taylor went on to endear himself as one of the most dominant receivers in the history of the league, leading the AFL in receptions 5 of the next 6 years.  In 1961 he set a modern era record with 100 receptions (which was broken in 1964 by Charlie Hennigan at 101). He played for the Broncos through 1966- joining the Oilers for the 1967 and 1968 seasons.  Lionel retired from the gridiron in 1969.

Taylor established himself quickly as an up and coming assistant coach with the Steelers as a receivers coach in 1970.  He’d remain there through 1976, cultivating a reputation as a Super Bowl winning positional coach.  He joined the Rams from 1977-1979, where he was offensive coordinator in 1980 and 1981.  Lionel then applied his trade at the college level for Oregon State, and then as head coach at Texas Southern through 1988.  Returning to the NFL in 1989, Taylor worked with the Cleveland Browns tight ends and as a pass coordinator.

Taylor joined the World League of American Football in 1995 as offensive coordinator to the London Monarchs. As the league rebranded to the NFLE, he’d take over as head coach of the franchise in 1996 and shepherd the franchise through to become the England Monarchs. It was a tough run for Taylor as head coach at the end, as his team was a vagabond franchise playing all over England looking for a new home. Since there was no established fan base, this gave the Monarchs no home field advantage.  The Monarchs finished with a 3-7 record during their swan song season.

Taylor has fully retired from the sport and lives in New Mexico.  At a clip over 800 days, I had fully given up on getting a response from Lionel, so this one came as quite a surprise to get back. It’s a shame, as with many American Football League players, Lionel has gotten little to no traction in Hall of Fame circles, despite his impressive numbers.

AFL
G/GS 121/NA      REC 567     YDS  7195    AVG 12.7   TD 45    LG  80T

NFLE
W  11     L 17       PCT .393

NFL

Amos, Adrian


Card: Sage 2015
Acquired: 2016, Hobby Box Breaker

At Penn State, Adrian Amos hit the field early for the Nittany Lions at safety. He played in 12 games as a backup in 2011, and started all 37 games over his last three years at the school.  He finished with 101 solo tackles and 48 assists, 9 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 5 interceptions for 192 yards and 15 pass deflections.  Amos had impressive pro day demonstrating his athleticism and showcasing ability to run with the big dogs, with 21 reps of 225 pounds, and a 4.37 40.  Adrian also was the top performer at the 20 yard shuttle at 4.03 and the 60 yard shuttle at 11.33.  He’d be selected in the 5th round of the 2015 draft by the Chicago Bears.  He ended up turning heads in camp and starting every game his rookie year, as Adrian finished with 57 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 pass deflections.  He’s been a nice bright spot in an otherwise bad team.

 

NFL

Willis, Patrick

Card: Score 2009
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Work
Sent: 7/11     Received: 7/30   (19 days)

Patrick Willis played collegiality for Mississippi from 2004 to 2006. Over his final two years at the school, he posted a whopping 265 tackles, 21 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, and 7 pass deflections.

Considered the complete package entering the 2007 NFL draft, he was drafted 11th overall by the San Fransisco 49ers.  During his career with the ‘9ers, Willis played a combination of middle linebacker and right linebacker through the majority of his starts.  A highly durable linebacker, Patrick earned All Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 5 of his first 7 seasons in the league.  It’s hard to agree on what season serves as Willis’ best year. During his rookie year he had a career high 135 tackles.  Later in 2009, Patrick had 3 interceptions for 33 yards and a TD, and then in 2010 he posted a career high 6 sacks.

After an injury shortened 2014, Patrick elected to retire from the sport after years of wear and tear on his feet.  He went into business where he joined a Silicon Valley startup. I wrote him in 2016 through his company, where he signed this card for me and included a nice metal business card.

G/GS  112/112       TAC  732        SAC  20.5           FUM  5
INT   8         YDS 131         AVG   16.3         TD  2         LG 86T