CSC All-Time Saints Team Nominations: Fullback

Lorenzo neal. I don’t have time to do research at the moment (Some of us have to go to work!) but he started here and was a real running threat his first year before getting hurt.

Hokie Gajan? Or are we considering him a tailback?

He was the best lead blocker in the league for a number of years. Blocking FBs dont make the HOF but if they did he should get in.

Jim Taylor – Former LSU Tiger standout and Hall of Fame FB with the Packers, finished out his career with the Saints in their inaugural season. He’s a four time all-pro, five time Pro Bowl selection and the 1962 NFL MVP. He’s also the only player to lead the league in rushing during Jim Brown’s career, other than Brown himself. The evolution of the tailback/halfback position has made the featured fullback a thing of the past. Taylor played in an era when the position carried far more than the occasional blocking assignment. He’s one of only two players to have their jersey number (31) officially retired by the Saints, although they’ve begun to re-assign it in recent years.

Lorenzo Neal – Arguably the best pure blocking FB the league has ever seen. Neal was drafted in the 4th round of the 1993 draft and played four productive seasons for the Saints, before embarking on a journeyman NFL career. He is a four time Pro Bowler whose lead blocking has helped pave the way for 1,000 rushing seasons by five different RBs: Adrian Murrell, Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Corey Dillon and LaDainian Tomlinson. Neal played in 221 consecutive games, an NFL record for FBs. He was recently signed by the Raiders, his eight team in an illustrious 17 year professional career.

Tony Galbreath – An amazingly versatile player for his era, Galbreath played five seasons for the Saints, teaming with fellow 1976 draftee Chuck Muncie to form their vaunted “Thunder and Lightning” backfield. In 1978, he led the franchise in rushing and was consistently among the team’s leaders in both receptions and receiving yardage. Galbreath scored on a one yard over-the-top vault to ice the Jets, the winning touchdown in what would be the team’s only victory of the 1980 season. As if that were not enough, he also kicked two FGs and a PAT against Green Bay in 1979, substituting in a pinch for an injured Russell Erxleben.

Hokie Gajan – immensely popular blocking FB from LSU whose career was cut short due to injury. Gajan was a hard-nosed short yardage runner with deceptive speed. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry in 1984, ridiculous numbers for a player in that role. On what I consider to be one of the greatest plays in the history of the franchise, Gajan scored the winning TD on a 62 yard jaunt, against the Bucs that year. What made it so special is the way it played out. They were trailing late in the game with no time outs and Gajan caught a dump off in the flat. He had an angle to the first down sticks and appeared to be heading out of bounds, only to cut it back inside at the very last moment, leaving the Tampa Bay defender in his dust. He went on to be a long time college scout for the team and currently works for WWL radio in New Orleans.

Terrelle Smith and Mike Karney – both exceptional blocking FBs who are still playing in the league. Karney scored three touchdowns in a route of the Cowboys, during the team’s improbably 2006 playoff run.

Love the Heyward and Jordan nominations, also. This is actually a very strong group of candidates. I’m not sure too many other teams in the NFL could boast of a better history at the fullback position.

also played for the New Orleans Breakers. Figured I’d mention it, for those too young to recall the USFL.

What standard do you measure him against? Should he be a feature back (Jim Brown was a fullback)? Or is he primarily a lead blocker for the feature back, like Lorenzo Neal? Or a jack of all trades, like Tony Galbreath? What type of offense do you envision him playing on?

Or do you just want to choose whoever was most valuable during his time on the Saints?

You want tough yards? Hokie. You want versatility? Galbreath. You want a battering ram? Neal.

Emotionally I choose Ironhead. You just had to love that guy and he was really a good player and an amazing athlete for his size.

Lorenzo has been really good for a long time. Didn’t he punch Mario Bates and break his jaw?

I just remembered is Aaron Craver. Pretty good all-around player during the Ditka era. Excellent special teamer. I wouldn’t say he’s deserving of being on the all-time ballot, but I thought he was at least worth mentioning, while we’re focusing on the position.

My heart wants Ironhead, because he was the badass when I was young, or Hokie, because of his presence in the commentator booth for years.Uhh, or Karney, because i saw him play for the voodoo a couple times, as the tailback/middle linebacker, and he was MEAN. In fairness, I think Neal gets it, because, as a young man, the FB position to me is primarily a blocking and short yardage option, and I think of FB as one of the last real “working man” positions in football, which Neal undeniably was.

pardon me, Neal IS

but i dont know if i would vote for him, terrell smith or lorenzo neal. need to have all three in the vote. this is a tough one

TERELLE SMITH WAS TRUELY ONE SAINT I MISSED WHEN HE LEFT, BUT IRONHEAD WAS MORE THAN A NICKNAME IT WAS HIS LEGACY. GEAUX HEYWARD!

looking back at all the talent the saints have fielded at fullback and running back, but yet we havent had a 1000 yard rusher in a couple seasons now… man i miss deuce/karney already

there iis no argument.

among Saints fans is the exact reason I’ve always said he should be a member of the Saints Hall of Fame. If you’re a member of the induction committee and you’re reading this, please take note. There’s truly no reason why Ironhead SHOULDN’T be enshrined. The HOF is truly nothing more than a museum for the people and it’s pretty obvious to me that during his short tenure in New Orleans, Craig Heyward became a cultural icon. He was a remarkable individual; a free spirit this city will not soon forget. I’m sure his children would be tickled pink to be part of such an unexpected posthumous honor. Put it this way, I think his inclusion would make a whole lot more people giddy, than it would tick them off. Jim Mora Sr. included.

I invented a whole memory for Karney then! I’m mystified as to how that happens…
That instantly downgrades Karney to "one good game against the boys in’06 then. I’m crushed!

Whether it was that he didn’t satisfy Mora’s standards for hard work or that he was just a schlub, the fact is he was a BUST. The greatest FB was Lorenzo Neal followed by Buford, the proto-Deuce.

When did Ironhead kick it?