A Football Life - Marcus Allen
Kind of amazing how this episode starts with footage of Marcus Allen playing on the Chiefs with commentary from the Chiefs' coach, Marty Schottenheimer. But is it really?
The Al Davis Raiders were known for taking cast offs from other teams and reaping the rewards of their efforts in proving their gratitude. For some reason they treated Marcus Allen with some kind of contempt. By the end of his career with the Raiders he was benched for no good reason at all only to be put on the field to save the day after the Raiders were struggling in a game. It just doesn't make sense.
On the one hand we can wonder what extremes Marcus could have achieved without the Raiders limiting his play on the field. On the other hand, Was he spared injuries by his time on the bench? Was there a silver lining attached to the negatives? With Marcus Allen you don't have to wonder what could have been because what he achieved overall was nothing short of stunning, despite the drama.
Marcus Allen was a high school football star for Lincoln in San Diego, CA. He played defense, and he was good. He had forty-nine tackles in 1 game. They wanted him to play QB. He fumbled 8 times on purpose out of protest and was kicked off the team. His father did not defend him against the coach because he thought Marcus should be a team player. He returned to the team playing defensive back and QB. Marcus scored all 5 of the team's touchdowns in their championship victory. USC recruited him on scholarship. He wasn't even sure what position he would play.
Marcus Allen had as a goal to win the Heisman Trophy after meeting his idol, OJ Simpson. That is easier done as an offensive player than as a defensive back. Famed coach John Robinson put him on offense. As a sophomore he played fullback and blocked for tailback Charles White, a senior. Marcus was 190lbs at this time but absorbed all the abuse commensurate with clearing the way for White as his lead blocker. A team player. Never complained. USC did not lose a game. White ran for 1800 yards and won the Heisman. The following season Allen was promoted to tailback.
His junior year he ran for over 1500 yards, but the "long run" seemed to allude him. In his senior year he broke the record with over 2000 yards. He won the Heisman.
The Oakland Raiders drafted him in the first round. This was the year they moved from Oakland to Los Angeles. Marcus didn't even have to move. How perfect can things get? He kept his humility in a stacked locker room and worked hard in practice. In his first game against the defending Superbowl champion 49ers he played against Ronnie Lott. This was the player USC put on defense instead of Marcus Allen. The Raiders won with Marcus pulling a sweet 360 to avoid a tackle from Lott. "I was watching you the whole time," Allen said to Lott after the game.
The Raider veterans were soon saying just give the ball to Marcus, which boosted his confidence. He wasn't the biggest, or the strongest, or the fastest, but he was the most versatile per teammate Howie Long. His runs alluding tacklers were historic, and he could throw, and he could catch, and he could block. Up against the goal line he knew how to seal the deal. And he was tough. In 1982 he won rookie of the year. In 1983 he led the Raiders to a championship.
In 1985 Marcus had a great year running 380 times for over 1700 yards winning the league MVP. But the Raiders lost their first playoff game to the Patriots. The Raiders had a philosophy of a passing team, and even considered making Marcus a wide receiver. There was tension. Marcus told Al Davis they should run the ball more and Al told him to take extra laps around the practice field if that's what he wanted. It seemed Marcus was getting bigger than the Raiders an Al had a hard time with that.
Imagine, Marcus played positions he didn't desire the most in both high school and college, all for the benefit of his teams. And now he was being resented for excelling as a tailback in the NFL. Sad. There was also the issue of pay, Marcus wanted a raise as he was calculated to be 60% of the total offense for the team.
Then, in 1986, the Raiders missed the playoffs due to an injured Marcus Allen fumbling the ball on a play that really should have been a field goal anyway. He was hurt for most of that season. There were rumors he would be traded but he stayed.
The next year Bo Jackson joined the team. Marcus Allen was placed as a fullback to block for Bo and he was ok with that because he wanted to play full time and he thought they would be unstoppable as a duo. Allen had only one 100 yard rushing game during the Bo Jackson years, which lasted for 4 seasons. This is a Hall of Fame running back, mind you, taking second seat. Sabotage?
By 1990 Allen was getting upset with the arrangement. But that same year Bo got injured in their first playoff game together, and Marcus took over, again. He had his best day in 5 years. The Raiders won their first playoff game since winning Superbowl XVIII in 1984.
His teammates loved him and supported him. He held the record for most Raiders Commitment to Excellence Awards, which the players themselves vote for. He won it six times. They were playing him less but would turn to him to save the day late in the game, especially close to the goal line. Now this is weird, Marcus recalls getting a bad look from Al Davis after putting in a game-winning touchdown. Not good. The whole point is to win the game.
Then the Raiders brought in Roger Craig and Eric Dickerson. Marcus notes he is a Hall of Fame running back that had to share the position with so many other stars. This is unusual. There was an animosity. He would come into camp as a 4th string sometimes.
Finally, in 1992 he joined the Chiefs after 11 seasons with the Raiders. One of his selling points to the Chiefs was that even though he was 33 in human years, he had a lot of football left to play because the Raiders underutilized him. The Chiefs were the Raiders main rival. That was probably not a coincidence.
But Marcus says he wanted a team that wanted him there, would allow him to play and had a chance to win. Marcus had company in the geriatric superstar category with Joe Montana playing the final year of his career with the Chiefs as well. Kansas City had their best season in 20 years. Allen won comeback player of the year.
In 1993, he scored his 100th career NFL touchdown, only the 9th player to do so, against the Raiders.
In 1994, in the last Raider home game in Los Angeles, at the Coliseum, the Chiefs and Raiders played for the last playoff spot in the AFC. Allen ran for 132 yards. The Chiefs won and advanced.
In Oakland, playing for the Chiefs, Allen became the first player in history to gain 10,000 yards rushing and 5,000 yards receiving.
In his 5 years with the Chiefs Allen played the Raiders 10 times and won all but 1.
After 16 seasons he retired with the most touchdowns by a running back in NFL history.
"First college running back to gain 2,000 yards. Heisman Trophy winner. Rookie of the Year. Superbowl MVP. League MVP. Comeback player of the year. NFL numbers, 12,243 rushing yards. 5,411 receiving. 144 touchdowns. All this, while spending 4 seasons as a fullback. And 2 seasons barely playing at all."
