Giants legend Lawrence Taylor tackles some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby before the Monday night clash with the Cowboys.
Q: Why was it so easy for you to sack the quarterback?
A: I’m not saying it was easy. … I would chase you to the end of the earth. I loved the contact, I loved the camaraderie with the guys, I loved the game of football, I loved the challenge where I could challenge myself to be the best player out there. And every time I walked in that stadium, it was gonna be 80.000 people in that sumbitch, and I knew for a fact that I was the baddest mother-eff’er in there.
Q: Did you ever think about how much better you could have been if you didn’t have the drug issues?
A: That’s hearsay how much better I could have been, you know? Issues define my lifestyle. There’s always something going on. It seemed like once when I get in trouble for something, I just played better.
Q: Do you wish you could have played in this era?
A: Well, I guess I wish I could have played, yeah because you know what, hopefully I would get (laugh) one of them big-ass contracts! It would have been nice to play in this era, especially when they’re throwing the ball now, they’re throwing the ball a third more times now. They’re putting the ball in the air.
Q: Who are quarterbacks you wanted to sack but never did?
A: You would like to sack a guy like [Tom] Brady, but that’s not in my era. If I was in my prime, I can probably strike fear into any quarterback.
Q: Sacks or sex?
A: Well, one of ’em is harder to get, OK? One is real hard to get (laugh), but sacks are a little bit easier. If you’re sacking the right person, you’re getting ’em both!
Q: Describe Giants fans.
A: I meet people now that I’d be cross-eyed at because they know so much about the game. … Giant fans [for] some reason have become educated. They understand the game, they understand what’s going on. They understand what’s going on outside of football too, with the different players.
Q: It must make you feel good, being so beloved by Giants fans.
A: I appreciate the Giant fans, that’s how I make my living. I am very proud of my career, and I’m proud that I played my whole career at the Giants. And I’m very thankful that every chance they get they make me know that I’m loved and that I am one of the best that’s ever done it.
Q: Do you feel for John Mara since the Giants haven’t won a playoff game since Super Bowl XLVI?
A: John Mara’s worth about 2 billion dollars, why would I feel bad about him? (Laugh) They’re still in front of America’s Team, Dallas. John Mara is a good owner.
Q: When you entered the league, did you know you would be a Hall of Fame player?
A: It’s not that I knew I would be a Hall of Fame player, but I remember when the center who wore 56 [Jim Clack] retired, and so they gave me that number, or I took that number, and then he unretired, they wanted him back for like three or four games, right? I remember the older guys — Brad Van Pelt, Harry Carson, Brian Kelley — came to me and said, “Listen, can you give Clack back his number and take another number?” George Young said, “No, he’s not gonna do that. He’s gonna take that No. 56 all the way to the Hall of Fame.” And this was when I was a rookie. Not that I thought that was possible, but as time went on, it became possible.
Q: The Ring of Honor guys?
A: All these guys are good friends, and they made the Giants who the Giants are.
Q: Ottis Anderson?
A: We have a business together. O.J. has always been a workhorse. Now, he thinks he’s got a whole lot of moves and stuff — he ain’t got a whole lot of moves. But the thing about him, he’s a consistent player. He’s a hard runner, he works hard at it, and he’s a student of the game.
Q: He was Super Bowl XXV MVP.
A: Nobody could have done it any better. I remember when Bill Parcells came to me one day, he said, “What do you think about O.J. Anderson?” He said, “I’m thinking about maybe picking up O.J. or trading for O.J. Anderson.” I said, “Oh, hell yeah.” Because O.J. was really, really elusive. He wasn’t as good a blocker as he says he is, but he was really elusive. I thought we needed somebody to get us over the hump. O.J. got us over the hump. We’d been sitting on the cusp for years. We needed something to get us over. He looks out for me, I look out for him. The guy is a talker, he could talk you to death now, don’t get me wrong. He’ll put you to sleep.
Q: Not like Bill Belichick.
A: Belichick could put you to sleep too (laugh). He knows the game of football, he does know the game.
Q: Do you think Belichick can win a Super Bowl without Brady?
A: Do I think he can? Yeah. Absolutely. It’ll be easier with him, but yes, he can win without Brady. Simply because of football knowledge. … They want to say he’s the greatest quarterback of all time — not in my era. No. He’s not better than Joe Montana. No. As far as being who’s the best in my era? I was the best.
Q: If Brady can play at 45, why can’t you make a comeback?
A: Well, ’cause I ain’t taking the same vitamins, whatever the hell he’s taking. They don’t make ’em for me.
Q: You did consider a comeback at one time.
A: Even nowadays, I wake up at night like I’m just in a game. I remember some of my dreams and stuff, I’m at my position — I got a lot of help, the tackle gotta take care of two people, the corner gotta take care of somebody, all I’m doing is having the running back run into me and I can tackle him. I couldn’t play football now if I wanted to.
Q: You actually dream about sacks?
A: Yes, I’ll be dreaming about ’em sometimes. Not as much as I used to.
Q: Should Ottis Anderson be in the Hall of Fame?
A: I think he should be in the Hall of Fame. I think Carl Banks should be in the Hall of Fame, I really think so.
Q: Describe your business with Ottis.
A: With Metro, we do trade shows, and we got three to four locations.
Q: Joe Morris?
A: I remember when we decided to actually have a real running back, not just big names from big schools and stuff that come to training camp and then they can’t do nothing. Joe was a great runner. That ’86 season he had, the ’85 season he had, who could run it any better than him? I remember his daggone favorite play when he used to get the ball, go right and then come back against the grain. We used to kill everybody with that. A great player.
Q: Leonard Marshall?
A: Me and Leonard together, I don’t think there’s a combination than we were.
Q: Ronnie Barnes, the head athletic trainer for more than 40 years?
A: Well, Ronnie Barnes has been my man for a lot of years. He should be part owner right now, I don’t know, he might be. There’s nobody I trust more over there in that building than Ronnie Barnes.
Q: Rodney Hampton?
A: Been a good friend for years. An excellent player and teammate, he deserves to be in there.
Q: Describe the 39-20 win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XXI in Pasadena, Calif.
A: A breakthrough moment.
Q: Phil Simms was 22-for-25.
A: The best I’ve ever seen him play. He started getting better in ’84, he was better in ’85 and then in ’86 he became ”the man.”
Q: Describe 20-19 win over the Bills in Super Bowl XXV.
A: Wide right. I think Buffalo, even San Francisco that year, had a better team than the Giants that year. We played great as a team. It was meant to be.
Q: Which Super Bowl win was sweeter?
A: I would say XXV, simply because we weren’t supposed to be there. That’s why it was so sweet.
Q: Harry Carson?
A: I see Harry all the time, tell him he’s getting old. I like the way he carries himself, and he will always be a friend of mine.
Q: Parcells?
A: I talked to him on his birthday. I don’t have a better friend in the sporting realm better than Bill Parcells. Made me feel at home, and taught me how to really play the position I played.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Reggie White, my grandmother, Michael Jackson.
Q: Why your grandmother?
A: She pretty much was the person that molded me into who I am.
Q: Favorite actor?
A: My all-time favorite actor? Me.
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: Michael Jackson.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Pork chops, collard greens, cornbread, mashed potatoes and a lot of gravy.
Q: What is life like right now?
A: I am actually right now in the best space I’ve been in in years. In years!
Q: Why is that?
A: I got new people in my life, I got a new partner in my life. It doesn’t take much to make me happy, I’m happy with doing a little bit of traveling; sitting on my golf cart playing some golf. And my kids are doing well, my grandkids are doing well. And people see me all the time now, they say, “Man, you know what? You must be doing something right.” This is the best that I’ve felt in years.
Q: What are you most proud of about in your football career and where you are right now in life?
A: I’m proud of my football career because I’m considered one of the best that has played the game. I’m proud of my football career because when I walk into a place, you know what? I don’t have to walk into a place with my head down, I can hold my head up. I’m proud of the way little kids see me, because their dad or their grandad talked so much about me they think they know me. I’m just happy that the sport has given me what I’ve given the sport. I gave my all to the football and sometimes football gives it all back to me.
Q: Any message for Giants fans on Monday night?
A: Just tell ’em to keep the faith, man. It’s all about turning the corner. We don’t have to win it all this year, we just gotta improve, gotta improve, gotta improve. We’re gonna turn the corner. When Bill Parcells came in, we didn’t just win automatically, it was a process. You know what? We just gotta get the right people. Put the right people in the right position and then we gotta play our ass off.
Q: What is the loudest you heard Giants Stadium?
A: [The 1986] NFC Championship game against the Washington Redskins.
Q: How much of a boost was it?
A: It was a boost. I don’t think none of us as players had ever gone through anything like that before. That was really crazy.
Q: Cowboys memories?
A: That one year Emmitt Smith, the Hall of Fame running back, had that great offensive line, the line of scrimmage started 10 yards down the field. He’d get the ball, he got 20 yards to run before he’s even run into anybody. I remember Tom Landry, I remember Danny White and all those guys. Back in the day when I just started playing, they were like gods to me.
Q: How loud do you want Giants fans on Monday night?
A: It doesn’t make no difference how loud I want ’em, they’re gonna be loud anyway. Dallas Cowboys on Monday night? I mean, s–t, that s–t’s gonna be insane! Insane!
