Roger Craig - Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline: A Collection of the Greatest 49ers Stories Ever Told

Copyright 2004, 2012 by Roger Craig and Matt Maiocco

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Sports Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Sports Publishing is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.sportspubbooks.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-61321-228-8

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to my wife, Vernessia, who has been by my side through all the ups and downs of my career. She always supported me, giving me comfort in bad times and keeping me level headed when things were going great.

R.C.

C ONTENTS

FOREWORD

M y relationship with Roger Craig has developed over a period of many years after scouting him, drafting him and coaching him with the 49ers. Our rapport has continued to grow in recent years, too. Roger has so many fantastic qualities to like and respect. He is a very genial, open and communicative person, and he is somebody you can trust.

The things we have been through together with the 49ers enabled us to tear down any boundaries that sometimes separate coaches from players. All of this started when we drafted Roger from the University of Nebraska in 1983.

His college career was remarkable because of his willingness to sacrifice for his team. He accepted his role as primary blocker for Mike Rozier, when in reality Roger was superior to Rozier in every respect. But Rozier could not play fullback, so Roger filled that job.

That kind of unselfishness sent him back to the second round in the draft. We were very fortunate to acquire him. The minute you saw Roger on the field, you could tell he had unique athleticism. Roger had the quickness and speed, the explosiveness and agility, the leaping ability and acceleration anybody would want out of a running back. He immediately became a mainstay of our offense.

For a period of time, Roger played fullback for us. But in our offense, the fullback and halfback positions were comparable. With Wendell Tyler and Roger, we had one of the best backfields the game has ever seen. Later, when Roger moved to halfback, he teamed with fullback Tom Rathman to provide another of the great backfields in the history of the game. Roger simply did everything we asked of him during his time with the organization.

Rogers work ethic was stellar. And his outstanding abilities, combined with his hard work, took him far. A lot of players were just as determined to work hard as Roger, but they simply could not keep up with him. His physical regimen was unbelievable. Roger Craig and Jerry Rice were probably two of the most driven and best conditioned athletes to play the game.

As one of the teams unquestioned leaders, Roger brought along the whole squad. He was in that mold from the minute he came to the 49ers. He won just about every physical skill and fitness award that we handed out.

The year that we were lucky enough to draft Roger, he was exactly what we were looking for. I could not have projected that he would play as well as he did, just like I couldnt make that kind of prediction on Jerry Rice. I knew both of those players would be good, but youre never sure if theyll end up being great.

But as soon as Roger took the practice field, you could tell that we were talking about a special athlete. He ran with those high knees, making him beautiful to watch and difficult to tackle.

Roger had outstanding speed and elusiveness and great hands as a receiver. When we had workouts with him, he caught everything thrown his way, so we knew his receiving skills werent going to be a problem. But NFL personnel people questioned his hands because they had no clue. None of them had ever seen him catch a pass in a game.

Of course, we asked our backs to catch, block and run. During that time, a lot of NFL offenses didnt have the kind of dimensions that we insisted upon at the 49ers.

There was a period of time when Roger was easily one of the best three or four running backs in all of football. I remember John Madden stating flat out that Roger was the best back in the league. I heard that quite a few times in the mid- to late 1980s.

In another offense, Roger would easily have gained a lot more yards rushing. But we combined rushing and pass receiving. We looked at total yards, not just rushing yards from our backs.

He had an outstanding career, with the highlight perhaps coming in Super Bowl XIX when he scored three touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins. He continued on to be one of the great running backs in NFL history. He is a clear-cut Hall of Famer, and some day he will be honored as such.

Even when our team was not at its best, Roger was still there leading his teammates. In those days, a 10-6 record was considered a bit of a disappointment for us. Roger always stepped up in the toughest games and the fiercest weather conditions to handle the ball and provide a spark to ignite the team.

Im not sure the days of the 49ers in the 1980s will ever be duplicated because of the circumstances in the NFL today. We had many great athletes on one team. Yet we had competition that you couldnt believe. The Giants and Redskins had their own dynasties. It was an era of truly great teams in the NFC. Wed have to meet each other along the way just to get to the Super Bowl. And in those important games, Roger was always at his best.

Even to this day, whatever challenges and responsibilities he faces in work and in life, he tackles with the same energy, enthusiasm and insatiably positive attitude. He is a wonderful family man with a beautiful wife and children and he has done extremely well for himself since leaving football.

Roger and I are like son and fatheror, Id prefer to say, brothers. Its a very, very close relationship. He is a true representative of the game of football and of the San Francisco 49ers during that magical time in the franchises history.

BILL WALSH

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I d like to recognize my five children for working for everything they have achieved and never expecting anything to be given to them just because they have a celebrity dad. Vernessia and I could not be any more grateful for our three daughters, Damesha, Rometra and Nia-Jai, and our two sons, Rogdrick and Alexander. We are extremely proud parents.

Thanks to my mother, Ernestine, for her unwavering support through my life. Also, I want to express my gratitude to my brother, Curtis, for setting a high standard on and off the playing field for me to follow and try to surpass.

There isnt a day that goes by that I dont think of three influential family members who are no longer with us. My father, Elijah Craig, always told me, Be the best you can be, and Ive tried to live by those words. My oldest sister, Brenda Martinez, was an inspiration to me. My aunt, Cordelia Moore, was my biggest fan and always cheered the loudest at my games.

I was lucky enough to have some coaches who presented me with the foundation on which to build my career. My junior high coach, Lou Williams, was an inspiration and a motivational figure in my life. Jim Fox, my high school coach, was also a tremendous teacher. My running backs coach at Nebraska, Mike Corgan, taught me mental toughness.