Jimmy Warren, 1968 Topps Football Card, San Diego Chargers
Jimmy Warren was drafted out of Illinois by the San Diego Chargers in the 1964 AFL Draft. He intercepted seven passes over two seasons with the Chargers before signing on with the expansion Miami Dolphins.
In his first year with the Dolphins, Warren started each of Miami's 14 games. He intercepted five passes, returning them for a league high 198 yards and one touchdown. His strong play in the defensive secondary was rewarded by his first and only Pro Bowl selection following the season.
In 1967, Warren again started each of Miami's 14 games. He picked off four passes and returned a fumble for a touchdown, garnering a second team All-Conference selection by the Sporting News.
1968 saw Warren again selected as a Sporting News second team All-Conference player, as well as an All-AFL second team selection courtesy of the Newspaper Entertainment Association. He again started all 14 games for Miami, intercepting two passes and recovering two fumbles.
Warren started 13 games for the Dolphins in 1969, and was traded to the Oakland Raiders upon the AFL's merger with the NFL starting in 1970. He played six years in Oakland before retiring after the 1977 season.
In Miami, Warren played a total of 55 games, intercepting 11 passes, recovering three fumbles and returning 11 kickoffs for 227 yards.
In 1992, Warren served as defensive backs coach for the Houston Cougars. He later became head coach at Cohen High School in New Orleans. He passed away in August, 2006.
0 recs | 11 comments
Ya wanna know somthin really scary.....
I remember this guy
fansince70 - February 7, 2012
JAKE SCOTT was the best hands down...
If you don’t know that Jake Scott was the Best dolphin DB (# 2 is Dick Anderson) then you know nothing about our history…. Scott and anderson were one of the BESt safety combos in NFL history, with 3 SB appearances two rings to prove it…. they were fantastic.
62Lou - February 7, 2012
I disagree (not taking ANYTHING away from Anderson or Scott).
The rule changes in the late seventies created a different class of secondary. Madison and Surtain exemplified the “new” DB’s
Tunaflipper - February 7, 2012
Interesting!
Also a big fan of the little where are they now snippet at the end. Nice job sir!
texascowpunk - February 7, 2012 via Android app
In this case, he's at a head stone....
Alpha6 - February 7, 2012
Dick Anderson
Needs to be added to this poll. Jake is #1, Dick is #2. Madison is the best CB in my humble opinion, with Surtain coming in at a close second. Tim Foley would be my nickel because he could play pretty much anywhere.
Sidenote: I think Don McNeal had the chance to be a great, all-time Dolphins CB before his knee injury. Damn, the 80’s Dolphins were just KILLED by knee injuries – there must have been 8-10 starters that were lost because of this)!!!
douglaskoehne - February 7, 2012
I can't believe I forgot to put Dick Anderson in there.
Don’t worry, this poll goes up every time another defensive back is profiled on the countdown here, and doesn’t close until May.
Kevin Kraczkowski - February 7, 2012
Don McNeal and Troy Vincent should be on this list as well...
.. they easily rank ahead of Foley, Blackwood, Small, Marion, and even Oliver (in my opinion) in terms of athletic ability and pure coverage skills.
For my money, though, Jake Scott is #1 all-time. Not only was he simply great, his plays always seemed to be game-changers.
Go Dolphins.
lancelotlink - February 7, 2012
Tim Foley
As much as I like both McNeal and Vincent, if we are just talking about comparing their Dolphins careers, I can’t put them anywhere near Foley or Blackwood. Foley started for 10 years as a Dolphin, including three Super Bowls. He was an outstanding CB that shifted into FS later in his career. Blackwood was the starting safety for close to a decade when the Dolphins had one of the best defenses in the league, and arguably the best secondary in the league for a few seasons.
McNeal had a few really good years and was getting better, only to be derailed by a knee injury and was nothing more than a back-up for the latter half of his career. Vincent would easily be on this list if he had stayed a Dolphin, but the best part of his career was with the Eagles.
Oliver and Marion were really good not great safeties, but I would take Blackwood over both of them. Small had a year or two of high quality play but wasn’t able to sustain it for any length of time.
douglaskoehne - February 7, 2012
All valid points, but I humbly and respectfully disagree a bit..
…I always felt that Foley (as much as I loved watching him play) was the weak link in great secondaries, and that he benefited from the incredible level of talent around him. Same with Blackwood — I feel he was mostly opportunistic and the beneficiary of a great pass-rush. As the rest of the defense started to decline, he became a not-so-killer B.
I really feel that McNeal would have been one of the greats save for those injuries. His raw talent and athleticism, especially early on, was so impressive. I remember watching him play DB with a cast on his wrist, still intercepting passes.
As for Vincent, yes, his best years came with Philly, but he was also terrific in his early career with us. In fact, in ‘93, the year Marino went down, we had just enough offense and a great defense to keep us winning for a while. However, once Vincent went down (I think it was a Monday night game against Pittsburgh), the season collapsed and we lost out the rest of the season, missing the playoffs. I am in no way saying that Vincent was more important than Marino, and there were plenty of other injuries to the defense that season, but it seemed that once he was out the defense couldn’t stop anyone anymore, and that was just his rookie season.
This is all opinion, of course, as I have no stats to back it up, just my brain and the memories of watching all of them play.
Breaking up the categories, though, I fully agree that Jake Scott was #1 overall, but I give Surtain the slimmest of edges over Madison at corner.
Go Dolphins.
lancelotlink - February 7, 2012
Troy Vincent not on this list??
C’mon … you could make a strong case for Terrell Buckley too.
Armchair QB - February 12, 2012
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