Tag Archives: los angeles rams

NFL

Green, Aaron (TCU)

Card: Sage 2016
Acquired: 2016, Gunderson Acquisition

Aaron Green played at TCU and while he set the NCAA on fire with 7.1 YPC on 129 carries and earned Second Team All Big 12 in 2014. His numbers increased to 1,272 yards on 244 carries, but because of a bevy or RB talent in the conference, he only received Honorable Mention.  Considered undersized at 5’10, 203, scouts were not impressed with Green, and he went undrafted. Aaron signed with the St. Louis Rams after the 2016 NFL draft.

He made the squad in part to his hard running during the preseason. With Todd Gurley resting, Green logged 23 carries for 111 yards and a TD.  He also displayed some handiness in the passing game catching 9 receptions for 76 receiving yards and another TD in only 3 preseason games.  Aaron was released during final cuts, but quickly assigned to the practice squad.

With a loggerjam at runningback heading into the 2017 season, Aaron was released in May.  Currently he’s a free agent.

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Humphery, Bobby (2)

Cards: Topps 1985, Topps 1987, Pro Set WLAF 1991 Update
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent:  5/31   Received:  6/14  (15 days)
See Also: Bobby Humphery

Bobby Humphery was an enforcer for the San Antonio Riders during their 1992 season. Selected in the 11th round of the WLAF draft, he really provided veteran leadership to the young defensive backs. The Riders pass defense was ranked first in the league that year, and they were one of the few teams that could go toe to toe with the eventual World League Champion Sacramento Surge and a key reason for that was Bobby.

It was a shame that Pro Set pulled the plug on their WLAF set for the 1992 season. While Ultimate and Wild Card filled the vacancy as best as they could peppering  their sets with veterans and rookies, for some reason they both omitted the highly decorated Humphery.  I had to look hard to find any photography of Hump from his days in the WLAF.

Apparently he noticed that too, so when Bobby received the custom card I created he wrote me an extremely nice thank-you note.

Thank you Lee, for the Rider cards. I always wanted these cards but I could never find them. I will honor these.” – Bobby Humphery

The custom WLAF 1991 entry that I made of him was based off of a Gameday Magazine I had from that 1992 that was sold during the season finale. In the team notes, frequently they’d have a photo or small blurb about a player who has really made a difference on the team. The last one had this grainy black and white shot of Bobby. Although I have found other images on the web, I have not been able to find a suitable enough image, so I decided to go ahead and work with this image in Photoshop.  It came out decently enough for a colorized and fuzz adjusted image.  While I wasn’t entirely happy with my printer, it was satisfactory enough that I thought Bobby would appreciate it.  He also included a signed copy of his Topps 1985 rookie card as well as thanks for the additional copies of the Riders cards I gave him.

Among Bobby’s greatest NFL accomplishments is that he led the NFL in 1984 with 22 kick returns for 675 yards and a 97 yard touchdown. He also had 8 kick returns for 234 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals during the season finale in 1986.

NFL, University of Texas

Talbert, Diron ‘Talby’

Card: Topps 1977, University of Texas Upper Deck 2011,  NFL Alumni Card
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent:   6/23   Received: 8/6   (44 days)

Diron joined the family line at the University of Texas playing defensive tackle for the Longhorns from 1964 to 1966. He was the youngest of the 3 brothers to play at Texas and was an All-SWC selection in 1964, and a All-American Candidate in 1966.

He’d be selected by both the Los Angeles Rams (NFL) and the San Diego Chargers  (AFL) in their competitive drafts that year.  Talbert elected to sign with George Allen’s Los Angeles Rams. After losing virtually his entire rookie season to a knee injury, Diron recovered for the next season and played both defensive tackle and end in 1968, and nailed down the starting defensive line position by 1969. He honed his trade playing along Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones, recording 16 sacks in one season, and learning the double head slap move from Jones.

In 1971, Diron was reunited with George Allen, who put together a multi-player deal in order to pry Talbert off of the Rams. Diron immediately became a fixture on the Redskins defensive line and was named a co-defensive captain alongside Chris Hanburger. Diron wrecked havoc on opposing offensive lines for the next 10 seasons averaging over 7 sacks a season, and scoring 12.5 sacks in 1976.  Diron earned All Pro Honors in 1973 and Pro Bowl Honors in 1974.  In 1975, Diron sacked Craig Morton of the Giants a single game record 4 times. His timing joining the Redskins coincided with George Allen firing up the rivalry between the Redskins and Cowboys. Diron had an especially bitter feud with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, airing their differences in the media, carrying the body language onto the field, and then taking it out oneach other on the field. Diron in the end, outlasted all of the other members of the Over the Hill Gang, despite a nagging knee injury.

While Diron has not been inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he’s considered one of the 70 Greatest Redskins of All-Time. Adjusted for modern day numbers, Diron ranks top 5 all time from the defensive tackle position in sacks. He ran a successful investment firm after retirement. He is also a outspoken member of the NFL Alumni Association. Talbert is a solid TTM signer. He signed the two cards for me and added in his Alumni card as well.

G/GS  186/157       TAC N/a          SAC N/a         FUM  10
INT 0       YDS 0       AVG -.-       TD 0        LG -.-