Monday, July 8, 2002

ProFootballWeekly.com asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in football. 

Niners personnel guru Razzano will be missed

He gave the 49ers QB Joe Montana and tried to talk them out of Jerry Rice. That was the beauty of longtime San Francisco talent scout and personnel man Tony Razzano, who died over the holiday weekend. Razzano was a scout for more than 30 years.

Buchsbaum: The passing of longtime 49ers personnel man Tony Razzano did not get much publicity in the papers, but Razzano was one of the true giants in the field and he will be dearly missed. Razzano was a scout who impressed upon Bill Walsh to draft QB Joe Montana when Walsh was debating between Montana and Stanford’s Steve Dils (drafted in the fourth round by Minnesota). However, unlike many scouts, Razzano was also willing to admit his mistakes. Razzano is the first to admit that he did not think Jerry Rice had the speed to succeed in the NFL and would have preferred to see the 49ers take another player like Stanford DE Garin Veris (48^th overall to New England) instead of Rice (16^th overall) in the first round. Razzano had a long track record of hits and misses, but the one thing that stands out about him is that he stood up and took credit for the hits and also the misses. He was not one of those guys who would stand up and say, "I didn’t like this guy, or I didn’t like that guy" when he was drafted.

Razzano was also a skilled craftsman who could do wonders with wood, as well as being an outstanding father. One of Razzano’s sons, David, is a scout for the Rams and is considered one of the best scouts in their system. As you know, the Rams are one of the best and most talented teams in the NFL right now.

NFL guarding against heat-related illness, death

Vikings OT Korey Stringer died Aug. 1, 2001, because he wasn’t properly hydrated and could not escape the summer heat of training camp. Blame aside, the NFL knew the implementation of safety regulations during camps was a necessity to avoid further incidents or deaths.

Buchsbaum: Give the NFL credit for its diligence in protecting its players this year during training camp. After the Korey Stringer disaster last year, the NFL got all the top medical minds it could find together to devise a plan to protect its players from the summer heat during practices. They came up with a master plan that makes a lot of sense and should go a long way toward keeping the NFL players safe, lessening the risk of a player getting heatstroke. No plan is foolproof, however. Some athletes will hurt their chances because they use illegal substances that will dehydrate themselves and create more problems. But if players take care of themselves and listen to their trainers, there should be little risk. Teams will have additional trainers and medical staff at practices and weigh players before and after sessions to make sure there was no dramatic weight loss.

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2001 - 2002 Season