Tag Archives: Denver Broncos

NFL

Wyman, Dave

Card: 1992 Stars & Stripes, ProSet 1989
Acquired: 2012 Canton Acquisition

Dave Wyman was a fixture at linebacker for the Stanford Cardinals. A tackling machine, who was named the team’s most valuable player in 1983, he blew out his knee so badly in 1984 that the upper part of his leg was pointing one direction and the lower another. He spent the entire year out of football rehabilitating the knee and getting back up to playing speed. It paid off as Dave led the team in 1986 with 169 tackles.

The Seahawks made Dave their second round choice of the 1987 draft.  He again established himself as a fixture at linebacker for the Seahawks by 1988, occupying first the RILB position and them moving to MLB. Over a 6 year career at Seattle, Dave had 3 100+ tackle seasons, before moving in 1993 to Denver where he finished his career after the 1995 season.  Wyman is torn by the current NFL attempt to cut down on players leading with their helmet where he was quoted as stating that, “My head was my weapon of choice”.

When the Stars & Stripes set came out, I flat out avoided it. I just didn’t get the idea of merging patriotism with football and really it came off as sort of trashy and generic to me. They were also a bit expensive too. When I received the S&S cards as part of the Canton Acquisition, I almost wanted to reject them, because I have no interest in them still. The Pro Set cards of course were above and beyond what were in the market at the time and here we have another excellent action shot that gave a regional player some exposure to a larger fan base, galvanizing you to read more about him on the back of his card.

G/Gs  92/83     Tac 540      Sac 5.5       Fum 6     Int  3       Yds  33     Avg   11.0    Td  0     Lg 22

NFL, University of Texas

Hager, Britt

udut11 hagerCard: UT Upper Deck 2011
Acquired: 2/16/2013, Longhorn Neighborhood Foundation Bowling Tournament

Britt Hager was a ferocious tackling machine over his three years playing for the Texas Longhorns from 1986-1988. He is the school’s single season leader in tackles (195- 1988) and also the school’s career leader with 499. Hager was named All-SWC in 1987 and 1988. Declaring for the NFL draft in 1989, Britt was taken in the 3rd round, with the Eagles’ second pick of that round. With a motor that never quits, Britt fit the mold of the type of tackle stuffing monster that coach Buddy Ryan envisioned in his 46 defense. Added for depth, Hager spent time on the bench behind incumbent middle linebacker Byron Evans making only 11 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries his rookie season. Evans held out for the 1990 season, so Britt started the first game of the season. Evans quickly returned and Hager was sent back to the bench and finished with only 7 tackles that year. Hager didn’t get his chance to start until 1993, and in 7 games recorded 78 tackles, a pick, and a sack.

Hager signed with Denver and started 5 more games in 1994, and then made the conversion to right linebacker in 1995. He spent another season with the Broncos, before retiring with the Rams after the 1997 season.

I talked to Britt at the Bowling Tournament about the concussions lawsuit that he was a member of and told him that they were doing the right thing. He told me that it was paramount that the NFL really put the time and the money into the problem and try to fix it. We also talked about his number, which I also wore in high school. He told me it was a great number. 🙂

G/Gs 121/18     Tac 198        Sac   2.0    Fum 4       Int  3     Yds  38     Avg  12.1   Td 0   Lg 19

 

NFL

Ramsey, Patrick

Card: Topps Finest 2002
Acquired: 2012, Target Autograph Memorabilia

The Washington Redskins had been struggling for years to find a quarterback for the team, going back to the days post- Mark Rypien. Patrick Ramsey was supposed to be the answer to those woes, and coach Steve Spurrier had him pegged as their pick after the expansion Texans took David Carr with the first pick and the Lions went with Joey Harrington. Ramsey was the 3rd quarterback taken off the board with the 32nd pick of the 1st round during the 2002 draft.

Patrick had a phenomenal career playing for the Tulane Green Wave, helping re-energize the college’s program, and set 20 passing records while with the school.

After being drafted by the Redskins to play in their Fun & Gun offense, Ramsey struggled to maintain the starting job, frequently yielding to backup Danny Wuerfful and Shane Matthews.  Still, Ramsey posted a 2-3 record in the 5 contests he started, leading the league in yards per completion with a 13.2 yard average. In 2003, the offensive line collapsed, and Ramsey was frequently under siege but with a 4-7 starting record and 14 TDs under his belt, it looked as though Patrick was beginning to mature. 2003, however turned out to be head coach Steve Spurrier’s final season in Washington. With Joe Gibbs returning to the franchise in 2004, he brought in Mark Brunell and demoted Ramsey back to second string. Ramsey ended up relieving Brunell during the season, and completed 62.1% of 272 passes. Patrick was named as the starter for 2005, but against the Bears in the opener he suffered a neck injury, and found himself sitting on the bench the remainder of the year. It would be Patrick’s final season in Washington and begin the Jouneyman phase of his career.

Traded to the Jets to provide quarterback competition for incumbent Chad Pennington, he failed to unseat Chad and was cut following the 2006 season. Moving on to the Broncos, Patrick saw limited playing time backing up Jay Cutler through 2009. Ramsey has been on and off rosters since that time as pretty much a camp arm of the Titans, Lions, Saints, Jaguars, Dolphins, and Vikings.