Gerry Cheevers, the former Bruins netminder with the great mask to go along with his 229 career regular season victories, racked up another win this past week as he knocked off Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron to move up the RBSF Ladder 10 spots, climbing from #54 to #44. This week’s “Wednesday’s Challenge” is a battle of Patriots greats: Ty Law (#47) attempts to move up the Ladder by taking on Gino Cappelletti (#38). A look at the two candidates…
CAPPELLETTI: Played entire 11-year career for the Patriots (1960-1970). 1964 AFL Player of the Year. Selected to 5 Pro Bowls (1961, 63-66). Named All-Pro 4 times (1961, 63-64, 66) as 2nd Team All-AFL. Led AFL in scoring 5x and field goals made 3x. All-time leading scorer in AFL history. Also Top-10 in AFL history in receptions and receiving yards. Was Pats all-time leading scorer until 2005 (currently 2nd) with 1,130 points (42 TD, 176 FG, 342 X-PT, 4 2-PT). Played CB his rookie year and had 4 INT. Named to Pats “Team of the Century” in 2000 at both WR and PK. Patriots color analyst on radio broadcasts. Member of Patriots Hall of Fame. Pats retired #20 in his honor.
LAW: Played 10 seasons for Patriots (1995-2004). Member of 4 AFC Champions (1996, 2001, 2003, 2004) and 3 Super Bowl Champions (2001, 2003, 2004). Elected to 4 Pro Bowls (1998, 2001-03). Named All-Pro twice (1998, 2003) as 1st Team All-NFL. Tied for the franchise lead in career interceptions with 36 (for 583 yards, 16.2 avg, 6 TD). Recorded 542 tackles, 96 assists, 3 forced fumbles and 4 fumble recoveries. Had an interception return for TD vs Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Had 3 INT vs Colts in 2003 AFC Championship.
VERDICT: A very, very tough call for me here. As players I believe they are both borderline Hall of Fame candidates, and two of the greatest players to ever play for the Pats. The rings give a slight edge to Law, but the lifetime with only one franchise shifts it back to Cappelletti. My final verdict is made by the fact that Gino Cappelletti never played for the NY Jets…and thus he gets my vote here. If Law returns to Foxboro to finish his career however, this one may need to be re-visited.
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11 comments:
I think Law was awesome while he was in a Pats uniform. But now everytime i see his name i think of a guy that gave up more rings to get money. I know there was no free agency when Cappelletti played, but loyalty can not be overlooked. Gino stayed with the Pats as a broadcaster. How many FG's or XP's did Law kick?
Cappelletti gets my vote!
I do think that being a broadcaster earns him extra credit. I think it will also help Heinsohn.
I think it's tough once it gets into the Top 50 (or so) because everyone has awesome credentials so it's not like you can badmouth Law here, I just say Cap's the man.
I wonder how high Law would be on the list if he had never left. Top 20?
gmac: What rings did Law give up? They have not won the SB since he left, so other than an AFC championship ring, he really hasn't given up anything. He gave up a bunch of wins for more money, but that is it.
That being said Gino gets my vote.
When Lawyer Milloy left, I thought Law was going to be exposed...but it was just the opposite. Law actually was the key in the defensive backfield and he became even better. Geno is great, but Ty Law is better and scored the TD vs. the Rams that shocked everyone and began the dynasty. I can't remember feeling that excited/confident about the Patriots before then. Since then, there has been nothing but confidence.
How many chances did he have to get a ring in KC (06-07) or NYJ (05)?
KC 4-12 in 07 and 9-7 in 06. In 06 they made the playoffs but lost to Indy in the fist rd, the Pats made the conf championship maybe Law could helped us beat Indy.
NYJ 4-12 in 05.
NE 16-0 in 07, 12-4 in 06, 10-6 in 05.
So with the other teams he had one winning season and one playoff appearence. I relize we havent won since he left but maybe if he stayed we woulda won another 1,2 or even 3 Super Bowls. I'm loyal to my teams good or bad. It would be nice to think that the players would show me some loyalty as well. Cause without the fans they wouldnt get paid the ridiculous amounts of money that the do.
DK- If Law stayed i would have no problem with him being in the top 20 and if he helped win another SB or 2 or 3 i might even wanna see him in the top 10.
Are you loyal to your bosses good or bad?
I go to work and do my job regardless of who my boss is. Main reason for me to leave where i work would be more money. Similar to Law except that even at league min i could pay all my bills and not worry about feeding my family. Unless i was feeding them gold plated frosted flakes in platinum bowls. And if i'm not mistaken he wasnt making league min.
good attempted point but your trying to compare an apple to an apple orchard.
I agree with GMAC's point of him potentially leaving rings on the table. It's the same thing I said about Gerry Cheevers last week...he left for 4 years and there is no telling how those B's teams could have done without him.
That said, would Asante Samuel have blossomed like he did if Law stayed? Who knows...lots of "what ifs" when you talk about guys staying or leaving.
I also think Law was a bit ridiculous with his money needs...he was under contract (he signed) when complaining and he was always just worried about who paid him the most, period. Not criticizing it, but it is what it is...he was never treated poorly by his coaches or ownership here....re-working a guys contract everytime somebody get more than him is not treating him poorly.
It wasn't an attempted point, just saying there is a completely different relationship between a fan and a team & a player and a team.
I am not even defending Law. The Pats would've been dumb to pay him through the end of that contract.
Who am I to talk...I'm the one guy in Boston that still hasn't forgiven Ray Bourque for asking out.
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