| Pro Football Weekly historians Jim Campbell and Bob
Carroll took time Tuesday to give their thoughts on the career of the great Walter Payton.
Jim Campbell says:
"To me he was a throwback. He was what I remember pro football running backs being
like when I was growing up, as far as the complete package. He could obviously run, but he
could also pass, he could catch, he could block and he could probably play defense if he
needed to. ...
"I remember reading about him being touted as a Heisman candidate before his
senior year in college. Almost anybody can be a Heisman candidate, but I thought for
somebody coming from Jackson State to be mentioned with the Heisman, this guy has to be
something special. And of course when he got to the NFL, he was more than something
special. ...
"His heart and desire are what separated him from the rest of the pack. He did not
have the greatest natural ability, but his will to win was always there. ...
"No one can ever question the heart, because there are too many film clips where
he appears to be tackled and ends up getting 40 more yards. ...
"One memory that sticks in my mind is when he was in tears when he got hurt and
had to miss that one game. That to me tells you how much he wanted to play and how much
the game meant to him. ...
"He was unique, and whenever I put together an all-time team, I rate Jim Brown the
greatest running back, but it really hurts to leave someone like Payton off and not rate
him the best. I’m not so sure 11 Walter Paytons couldn’t beat 11 Jim Browns
… or anybody else. ...
"For so many years he was the Bears. Sure they won the Super Bowl, but he
was the one bright spot for them in his early years. He had to go out there on Sundays and
know there’s not a chance in hell he’s going to win this game, but you’d
never know it, watching him. ...
"He was a great ambassador for the NFL. He was a guy who was tremendously
productive and as good as anybody who played the position, and yet he had such dignity,
humility and was genuinely such a nice person."
Bob Carroll says:
"He came off as such a nice person every time I saw him in an interview or on
television. ...
"If I could pick any backfield, I would pick Jim Brown and I’d have to have
Walter Payton in there with him. ...
"I think a lot of his success came from his work ethic. He would have been a
marvelous single-wing tailback because he could literally do everything. ...
"Obviously he wasn’t as shifty as (Gale) Sayers or as powerful as (Jim)
Brown, but he could do it both ways: He could run over you or he could run around you. ...
"He was really the heart of those Bears teams. That was a team with a lot of
characters and great ballplayers, but he was a guy who had some wonderful skills, and he
was such a nice guy, and that’s why we liked him so much. Payton was the one who you
could look at and say, ‘Gee, I wish my kid would grow up to be like him.’ ...
"When I first heard about (his passing), I immediately let fly with a curse word
and thought how terrible it is that someone like that died so young. But then I began
thinking that we were blessed that he lived at all."
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