Merlin Olsen Rest in Peace (1940-2010)

Today is a dark day. Merlin Olsen, arguably the greatest all-time Ram (along with Deacon Jones) passed away yesterday in Duarte California. He died of Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure, which attacks the lining of the body's internal organs; particularly the lungs. Just a few months ago, he filed a pair of lawsuit against against NBC Universal and 20th Century Fox for exposing him to asbestos.

He was one of my personal heroes.

We knew he had been sick for some time. Bruce Smith invited Merlin and Deacon to his Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Both had to decline for health reasons, but it was understood that Merlin was in bad shape. The Rams honored Merlin Olsen this past season in St. Louis, during half time of the Houston Texans game in late December. It was understood that this would probably be the last time we would see Merlin publicly.

Of course, we all know that Merlin is on the short-short list of who is the greatest defensive tackle of all time. Only Joe Greene and Bob Lilly can stand toe-to-toe with him. Olsen was the rookie of the year in 1962, and was elected to the ProBowl in 14 of his 15 years in the league. He was inhumanly strong, and highly intelligent. He finished his Masters in Economics during his playing years with the Rams. Together with Lamar Lundy, David Deacon Jones, and Rosie Grier, Olsen gave us the Fearsome Foursome. This was a legendary defensive line, and one of the great nicknames in league history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982, and is one of the best of the best enshrined there.

Although he was a flame throwing competitor, he was one of the truly good guys in the league.

He was also much loved in the 1970s as an actor. After he retired in 1976, Olsen took up acting and was featured immediately on Little House on the Prairie {an insanely successful show} as Michael Landon's big buddy Jonathan Garvey. A lot of women (like those in my family homestead) who had no idea he was a football player, loved Merlin in that role. He later had his own series called Father Murphy.

Merlin was also a tremendous color commentator on NBC's NFL broadcasts, partnered with Dick Enberg. He covered a lot of Super Bowls and Rose Bowls in this capacity.

He will be sorely missed.

So my Rams are about to retire David Deacon Jones' #75

Finally...

I tell you, it is nothing but dirty politics that has kept the team from retiring his number before this moment in time. More than 15 months ago, when we drafted Chris Long, the organization rolled out #75 for Chris. I saw it on HD video on the NFL network. The Rams did so for two reasons. The wanted to express their hopes that he would be the new Deacon Jones, and they wanted to express their hopes that he would live up his father's great standards. Of course, Howie wore #75. Some say he chose that number because of Deacon Jones.

Evidently, Chris turned them down. He didn't feel he should wear Deacon's number. He knew it was a number that should have been retired long ago. Instead, Chris chose #72 which has become very fashionable since Osi Umenyiora. {Incidentally, Osi is not listed on the Giants' depth chart. What the fucks up with that?}

Of course, when Chris showed up for work wearing #72, I thought about Kent Hill, and then I wondered why the hell we haven't retired Deacons number. Certainly, he is among our finest men, and probably the best of them all. He was just voted the most feared pass rusher of all time. Nobody disputed it either. He is the John Constantine Unitas of Defensive Ends. He is one of the Holy fathers of defense--like Dick Butkus--whom you just can't dispute.

Of course, I know the story of why we haven't retired his number until now. It has everything to do with Georgia. Deacon was the first of us to hate her guts. He hated the fact that she fired Steve Rosenbloom {we all did}, he hated the fact that she moved the team to Anaheim {I wasn't so much against that} he got louder than hell when she started talking about moving the team to St. Louis. She hated the fact that one of the greatest Rams of all time was one of her most outspoken critics. Deacon carries a lot of weight too. When Deacon speaks, we all listen.

Some will tell you that the popularity of Georgia's administration was doomed the second Deacon turned against her. She sure seemed to respond as if this were the case. Just like every QB in the league, Georgia hated getting hit by Deacon. According to rumor she flew to pieces every time he drooped a negative quote. In Georgia's book this all added up to one thing: We aren't going to retire your number, David. Take that!

Two good Rams wore that number after Deacon. Irv Panky was the next guy to wear Deacon's number. He was our Left tackle through the 1980s. He was a pretty good run blocker, but not such a good blind side protector. Jim Everett could be seen screaming at Panky in the huddle. Eric Dickerson though he was one hell of a guy.

DeMarco Farr wore #75 also. As you know, he was our runt tackle during the glory year of 1999, and he was one hell of a pass rusher. I want him to come back as our defensive line coach and pass on some of that martial arts knowledge he cultivated. Right now, he is the color commentator for preason Ram games on the Radio & Television, and he is the regular season color commentator on the radio. Evidentally, putting him on the radio team was not a popular move. I personally haven't heard him work since the "West Coast Bias" radio show. He seemed fine to me. I think it is unfortunate that they are giving him such a hard time right now.

DeMarco should be covering the event when the Rams retire Deacon's number (and his number). It will be interesting to hear DeMarco's commentary as he sees his old Jersey hoisted to the rafters. They should invite Irv Panky also. I understand Panky is a professor and assistant coach at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia California. That is approximately 40 to 50 miles due South of my home town. I would like to go by and visit with him some time.

In other news

It appears that we have a new field turf at the Edward Jones dome, which is good. Also we have new AstroTurf at our practice facility, which I consider a little strange.

Fred Smith of FedEx is going to try to bid on the Rams. The big problem is that he is a poor boy compared to Kroenke. Kroenke is 350% richer than Smith. Kroenke also has money on his wife's side of the family. Although Smith is a much more likely contender than Rush Limbaugh or Checkett, I still consider him a dark horse. Look for Kroenke vs. DeBartolo in the final. They may even decide to partner together.

Far more important than Fred Smith or the FieldTurf is the fact that La'Roi Glover decided to retire today. He is a 13 year vet turning 35. That is a bit old for a DT, but not unheard of. I respect his decision. There is no guarantee he would have made the team this year, but his absence leaves us with a hole to fill, IMHO. Our D-Line just got thinner. I don't like that. We better hope that this kid Orien Harris from the Bengals can play immediately. He's been around the league quite a bit since leaving U.Miami.