Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Taking a page from Shrevedude, with all due respect from his excellent 70s Steelers post, wanted to do the same for the 1960's Packers, the first NFL dynasty to include SB wins. Which player, players or team coaches and executives were most underrated ?

Argument for Boyd Dowler. Played a long time, consistent in getting 40+ receptions. Good blocker. Argument against is that he didn't score enough TDs for such a lengthy career, as both McGee and Dale had more.

Jim Grabowski, Donny Anderson, Elijah Pitts?

My fellow-Steeler-fans may gripe about Rocky & Franco not being available for the infamous '76 AFCCG, but imagine something like both of them leaving in the off-season and the Steelers still winning-it-all in '76? Well, something like that did happen 9 years prior - Green Bay winning-it-all without Jim Taylor & Paul Hornung!

Overall, in-general, none of us can really say that Bart Starr is...underrated! But on an "all-time-greatest-QBs" level, he just might be! Now he said while still alive that he thought Brett Favre was better than he was. Modesty? Maybe, maybe-not. I, however, personally have Bart just outside my 'Rushmore' of QBs - '#5', if you may. And if the wind blows just right, he could supplant someone. Who would that be?

Like Jon Kolb with the Steelers, LT Bob Skoronski played for all their championship seasons with little fanfare, making only one PB but playing steady enough to keep from being replaced by Vince Lombardi. He did have problems with George Andrie of the Cowboys but played well in his other NFL Championship games and first two SB games.

I have posted many times on how underrated Carroll Dale was as a receiver, though he wasn't part of the team's first three championship game appearances but seemed to help rejuvenate the team in 1965. He and Dowler saved their best for postseason games while McGee could have been the MVP of the first SB.

With all the HOF members on their defense, its hard to single out an underrated performer but Bill Forester was a heralded member, who some claim has a HOF case, while Hank Gremminger was versatile as a CB and safety on three of their championship teams ...

Gale Gillingham, Travis Williams, (agree with...) Boyd Dowler, Bob Skoronski, Donny Anderson.
And virtually any starter not in the HoF...

Good call on Pitts ... His dependability allowed Lombardi to gamble on Grabowski and Anderson but paying those rookies those salaries, alienated Jim Taylor, who I feel was Lombardi's best ever player, slightly ahead of Herb Adderley, Forrest Gregg, Bart Starr, Jim Ringo and Willie Davis.

74_75_78_79_ wrote:Jim Grabowski, Donny Anderson, Elijah Pitts?

My fellow-Steeler-fans may gripe about Rocky & Franco not being available for the infamous '76 AFCCG, but imagine something like both of them leaving in the off-season and the Steelers still winning-it-all in '76? Well, something like that did happen 9 years prior - Green Bay winning-it-all without Jim Taylor & Paul Hornung!

Overall, in-general, none of us can really say that Bart Starr is...underrated! But on an "all-time-greatest-QBs" level, he just might be! Now he said while still alive that he thought Brett Favre was better than he was. Modesty? Maybe, maybe-not. I, however, personally have Bart just outside my 'Rushmore' of QBs - '#5', if you may. And if the wind blows just right, he could supplant someone. Who would that be?

Grabowski and Anderson sure had promise. Anderson was even a blond do-everything like Hornung was.

Grabowski hurt his knee and didn't do his rehab. It cost him.

Anderson was like the sister of a beautiful girl. Looks great, but something just isn't right. He fumbled a bit too much and ran high. Still, he never got hurt and was an excellent receiver. Packers tried to move him there in 1969 when they were starting Travis Williams. Anderson may have been more suited to the 1950s T formation era where he could go in the slot from time to time.

Bob Jeter had excellent seasons in 66 and 67 but despite making the PB in 1969, wasnt the same after Lombardi left.

Phil Bengtson was an excellent defensive coach but couldnt get the team in the right direction after becoming HC. Of course, Starr was getting more injured but I wonder what the Pack might have done had he went after a better backup than Bratkowski but that's speculation considering the alternatives and draft prospects out there.

This may sound crazy since the Packers had a losing season in 1968 but their speedy defense matched up better with the eventual champion Jets than the Colts, who dominated teams defensively in the NFL with their exotic blitzing-red dog schemes ...

JuggernautJ wrote:Gale Gillingham, Travis Williams, (agree with...) Boyd Dowler, Bob Skoronski, Donny Anderson.
And virtually any starter not in the HoF...

I also would say Skoronski.

Ditto Skoronski. No less an authority than Bart Starr said he deserved Canton before Kramer.

Another nominee might be Marv Fleming. He was forever in Lombardi's doghouse, but he racked up very decent numbers on an offense that didn't often use the tight end in the passing game.