Bruschi in Five Super Bowls
Tedy Bruschi has now joined a select list of players who’ve played in at least five Super Bowls in their careers - and who knows, maybe next year he’ll become only the second guy to appear in six.
Here’s the list of players (with number of SB wins in parentheses) and the teams they went to the Super Bowl with:
Mike Lodish (2) - Buffalo 4, Denver 2
Cornelius Bennet (0) - Buffalo 4, Atlanta
Larry Cole (2) - Dallas
John Elway (2) - Denver
Marv Fleming (4) - Green Bay 2, Miami 3
Charles Haley (5) - San Francisco 2, Dallas 3
Cliff Harris (2) - Dallas
D.D. Lewis (2) - Dallas
Glenn Parker (0) - Buffalo 4, NY Giants
Preston Pearson (2) - Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Dallas 3
Bill Romanowski (4) - San Francisco 2, Denver 2, Oakland
Adam Vinatieri (4) - New England 4, Indianapolis
Charlie Waters (2) - Dallas
Rayfield Wright (2) - Dallas
A few random thoughts as I peruse the list:
I’m reminded how impressive it is that John Elway led the same franchise to the Super Bowl five times - sure, he “only” won two, but to do what he did (and as far apart as he did) is very, very impressive.
Interesting that two guys have gone to five Super Bowls with three different teams… talk about the right place at the right time, eh? And speaking of which, how about Charles Haley? A great player no doubt, but is he the epitome of “right place at the right time” or what? Five-for-five. He could’ve been…
Poor Cornelius Bennett and Glenn Parker - 0-for-5. Is it better to go *five* times and never win, or not go at all? Somehow, I suspect it’s the former.
I could be mistaken, but I’d guess that Mike Lodish may be the single most appreciative Super Bowl winner in NFL history. To wit: He loses four in a row in Buffalo (with the Biscuit and Parker, among many others), and then subsequently rides the Elway/Davis Express to Lombardi Trophy success.
The Steelers are the Team of the 70s cuz they won all four Super Bowls they played in - but Dallas wasn’t too shabby that decade either… as the five guys above remind us they went to five Super Bowls in the 70s, and more specifically, they went to five in nine years. Indeed if it weren’t for those Steelers (and the two games they lost to the Steelers), the Cowboys would indeed be considered America’s Team (at least for the 70s). Its a bit like the 90s, I suppose. The Bills went to more Super Bowls - but the Cowboys won all three they were in (including two over the Bills).
Anyhow… interesting list.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
five super bowls and bruschi still can’t afford a decent haircut. What a shame. Sidenote - I’m blogging fr my iPhone, I love this thing
February 13th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Disclaimer: I’m in no way saying that Tedy Bruschi is on par with Andre Tippett as an individual player. But… with Tippett going in this summer, and given that I’ve sang Bruschi’s (and Tippett’s) praises previously… does the Super Bowl exposure (and team success) make up for the dearth of Pro Bowl appearances, such that Bruschi gets serious consideration for Canton?
He’s clearly at the end of his career - but looking back over that career, he was the defensive leader on a dynasty that won Super Bowls with their defense (notwithstanding Brady’s two SB MVP awards). Over the course of his career, the guy just… made… plays. I cannot explain the lack of Pro Bowl recognition… I can’t - maybe he should’ve tooted his own horn far louder.
In his 12-yr career (which hopefully isn’t over yet), he’s played in 176 games - starting 111 of them. As discussed, he’s played in five Super Bowls and won three of them. He’s played both middle LB and outside LB, and has long been the leader of a consistently stellar defense. He has 28.5 sacks, 12 INTs (4 returned for TD), and 7 fumble recoveries.
Finally, in addition to the one Pro Bowl selection - he’s had *two* All-Pro selections. Yes, you read that right. All-Pro is inherently more than twice as difficult to achieve than Pro Bowl (given Pro Bowl picks from both conferences and gets extra guys when some players beg out, while All-Pro is one team from the entire NFL and nobody begs out). To me, this speaks to the crime that has been perpetrated on Bruschi by his fellow players in only sending him to one Pro Bowl.
Now by comparison, Andre Tippett to 5 Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro 5 times (same five-year stretch). As an outside LB usually playing on the strong side, he amassed 100 sacks, had 1 INT, and 19 fumble recoveries (returning 2 for TD). I’m not saying Bruschi is Tippett, he’s not - cuz (a) Tippett was better, and (b) Bruschi played in the middle at times (i.e. stop the run) while Tippett was exclusively on the outside.
By I lump the two cuz I’ve long felt Tippett was deserving of HOF induction the moment he retired, and I wonder if Bruschi isn’t deserving as well… though I expect (like Tippett) he’ll be overlooked (at least initially).