At the age of 85, former Packers offensive lineman, Forrest Gregg, has passed away Friday from complications with Parkinson’s disease. Gregg played in 188 NFL games consecutively which led to him having the nickname “Iron Man”. At the time, this consecutive streak was a record. In his book, Run to Daylight, Vince Lombardi said, ‘Forrest Gregg is the finest player I ever coached!’.
Gregg took over as Packer’s head coach in 1984 after Bart Starr’s nine-year run. As older fans remember, this was not a lucrative period for the team when it came to winning and making the playoffs. It is also one of those rare periods when the Chicago Bears did not suck. Mike Ditka was in command and times were tough in the NFC Central. There was also the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fifth wheel at the time.
I’d like to extend my deepest sympathies to the family of a true Packers legend, Forrest Gregg. This picture has been hanging in my home office for the last 10 years and serves as a great reminder of what a tough competitor Forrest was. #Packers #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/4TRXhvjcNX
— Matt LaFleur (@CoachMLaFleur) April 12, 2019
Once again, there is a death of a long-time player in the NFL from cognitive impairment mostly likely linked to years of head injuries. In their reporting of the death, ESPN notes that he never blamed his disease on the sport or participated in league concussion lawsuits:
“I’m overwhelmed at the amount of people that loved Forrest, of the number of players that said he made men out of them,” she said. “Forrest loved people. He loved everybody. He loved his children. He loved me. And it just broke my heart. My heart is broken.”
She said the funeral will be sometime next week in Colorado Springs and open to the public.
His family and his neurologist said Parkinson’s disease may have been related to numerous concussions he suffered during his playing career, but Gregg never blamed football for his health ailments. He refused to join concussion lawsuits against the NFL and said he still would have chosen to play the sport if he’d known there would be a hefty price to pay later in life.
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Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that former Packers RB Ty Montgomery has signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets to help add some depth. Montgomery will be backing up the very talented Le’Veon Bell who had rejected the franchise tag from the Pittsburgh Steelers and missed the 2018 season as a result of the shrewd negotiations.
Jets are signing former Packers’ RB Ty Montgomery to a one-year deal, per source. Montgomery expected to be the back to Le’Veon Bell.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/_WiFi_Ty_/status/1116482080236552192
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Katie George caught up with Aaron Rodgers and got his take on the Milwaukee Bucks:
It was pretty cool catching up with the @StateFarm guy… pic.twitter.com/1j94SdB2Ba
— Katie George (@Katie_George05) April 11, 2019
This is coming off recent confirmation that Rodgers was playing with a tibial plateau fracture and a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee last season.
Rodgers describes the injury on the Wilde and Tausch Show:
If you watch the hit back, just my two bones that come together on the outside just kind of made an indent fracture. Very painful. The good thing was it’s not super weight bearing, load bearing every single time, but there’s definitely some movements and things you do naturally that affected it.
[…]The MCL was frustrating as well because it did start to get better and then Christian Jones tackled me on the sideline in Detroit early in the game and it basically reset the whole thing. I don’t feel like after the first quarter of the season, the first game, I really wasn’t 100 percent the entire year. That’s not an excuse for the way I played or didn’t play, but it limited my mobility for a good part of the season.
[…]But it is nice to be sitting here — you know the offseason on your body, especially as an older player, it’s great. I feel great. My legs feel good. My feet feel good.
9 Comments
Did anyone see that Chris Gizzi is now the head strength and conditioning coordinator? I dont remember the Packers even announcing that. Mark Lovat is back but as an assistant.
I think that change occurred at the end of February right after, or when all the coaching changes were announced. Below is a portion of an article from back in February.
“According to LaFleur in his Monday press conference, it was actually Lovat’s idea to step back from the strength & conditioning coordinator position and to offer Gizzi the promotion.”
I have always loved that picture of Forrest Gregg. Many NFL greats played in that game. I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised that LaFleur has had the picture of Gregg hanging in his home office for the last 10 years. One of the Packers reporters have to ask LaFleur in more detail about what drew LaFleur to select Gregg’s picture to hang.
Rodgers: “It’s not an excuse but let me go ahead and make this excuse. Also, the break was, like, a reeeeeally long time ago and we never said anything about it even after the season up until now. Obviously, I could play on it and lots of players do and our training staff said it was fine to play on. Still, it is obviously a handy excuse if I wanted one, which I don’t. So, why now you might ask? Don’t ask. You know. The time is right to get it out there and change that narrative, Gotta change that narrative. From whiny egotistical psycho coach back-stabbing family back-stabbing selfish diva nutcase to Mr. tough guy. Neat trick, huh? Hey, get this, here’s the beauty, this “fracture” was never on the injury report and I haven’t shown you any X-rays and none of the trainers are talking about it. Know why? You know why…..”
Making shit up as he goes….per usual.
Sometimes a desperate Lonely Boy needs some attention and human interaction. He got some today.
I’ll view it as my good deed for the day.
My condolences about Mr. Forrest Gregg. Legend.
Why doesn’t someone play Montgomery at WR? Seems like the obvious choice.
I think F. Gregg should have had his own article, but i’m nit picking.
The “she” referenced in the quotes from the above article, were spoken by Barbara Gregg, Forrest’s wife.
Forrest Greg…A man’s man…R.I.P.
Godspeed to his Wife and Family.
Ferris, come get some….i forgot a g.
G D I !