#65

 

CURTIS MARTIN

Curtis Martin was a blue-collar superstar throughout the whole of his brilliant 11-year career in the NFL.

Martin was never considered one of the glamour players in the league and many would never put his name in the same category with Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, and Eric Dickerson.

However, Martin earned his spot with the pantheon of the game’s greatest running backs because of his productivity. Smith, Payton, and Sanders are on top of the all-time rushing yardage list, but Martin ranks fourth on the list of all-time productive runners with 14,101 yards.

Martin started his career with the Patriots when they drafted him in 1995. He was a dynamic back for them in each of his first three years, rushing for 1,487 yards in his rookie year and following that up with seasons of 1,152 and 1,160 yards. Martin had been a touchdown machine in his first two seasons, as he had 14 scores in each of those years.

Martin had signed a three-year contract with the Patriots after he had been drafted out of Pittsburgh following his brilliant college career, and he was a restricted free agent as the 1998 offseason began.

If any team wanted to sign a restricted free agent, the agent’s original team would be due heavy-duty compensation in the form of draft picks. That type of high tariff nearly always prevented NFL teams from signing those type of free agents, no matter how talented the player.

But Bill Parcells, Martin’s original coach with the New England Patriots, had moved on to the Jets by that point. When the chance to sign Martin came up, Parcells didn’t hesitate. Remember, Parcells had longed to serve as his own personnel man, and the opportunity to bring a talent like Martin aboard was just the kind of opportunity he was hoping for when he decided to man the general manager position. Martin’s play and determination would help define Parcells’s stewardship of the Jets franchise.

The Jets gave Martin a five-year, $36.24 million contract, and they gave the Patriots first- and third-round draft picks.

Many in the NFL thought the Jets had given up far too much for a running back, but it turned out to be a bargain.

Parcells knew Martin was worth the price.

“I certainly recognize the price is a formidable price to pay for the player, but to me this was a question of a known vs. the unknown,” Parcells told the Hartford Courant at the time of the signing. “And those draft choices, although I would term them important, they’re only pawns right now.” Martin would string together 10 consecutive seasons with 1,000 rushing yards or more to start his career. The only year in which he did not reach that figure was 2005, which turned out to be the final year of his career. He still rushed for 735 yards in his swan song.

Martin did not have sprinter’s speed or Olympic-type athletic ability, but he was the ideal running back because he was quick, smart, tough, and opportunistic. He knew the tendencies of his opponents, and that allowed him to make big plays any time he got into the open.

Martin’s first instinct was to initiate contact with defenders. He ran with good speed and leverage, and that allowed him to pound opponents and push them backwards.

A lot of good running backs will start off a game in that manner, but as the game reaches the second quarter or later, they begin to tire or lose their effectiveness. Martin simply would never stop pounding, and that was one of the major keys to his consistency.

Martin was as well-liked off the field as he was effective on the field. He left the NFL with a boatload of friends and supporters, as he had earned nothing but respect for the way he played and carried himself.

There were no enemies. Owner Robert Kraft of the Patriots always respected Martin, even after he left his team following the 1997 season.

“The key to life is having quality people with you, and Curtis is right at the top of the heap as a quality individual, both the way he conducts himself personally and the way he played,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft told ESPN New York when Martin went into the Hall of Fame in 2012. “I will forever have a warm spot in my heart for him. The Jets made a very wise decision by getting him. I just wish he were entering the Hall of Fame as 100 percent Patriot.” It is the rare individual who can travel a path that leads to universal respect, from friends and competitors alike. Yet, that’s just what Martin did and it earned him a spot among the 65 greatest players of all-time.