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Fred Dean, Hall of Fame DE for 49ers and Chargers, dies at 68; ex-teammate said he had COVID-19
The two-time Super Bowl champion pass-rusher was 68 years old
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Great history lesson, thanks!Probably one of the greatest, most intense but at the same time, one of the most underrated DE's of his generation and one of the few good or great defensive players on a explosive, powerful "Air Coryell" Chargers offenses of the late 70's/early 80's. He wasnt the only great D-linemen, there was Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Louis Kershaw but because if you were a defensive player on the 1980s Chargers teams, you were a second-class citizen. That's the unfortunate truth outspoken, former over-achiever FB Chargers FB Hank Bauer once said and that bitter, grating truth is also why those Chargers never made it to a SB and gradually the only good defensive players they did have were traded away or allowed to walk to other teams where they won SBs.
If Fred Dean or Gary "Big Hands" Johnson hadn't left San Diego for Niners by the mid-80s, they would've simply stayed on competitive, yet ultimately disappointing teams that bottomed out by mid-80's. Chargers could've also kept a lot of their top players, like John Jefferson, Dean, Kershaw if their then-owner, Gene Klein, wasnt so cheap and willing to pay those star All-Pro players better contracts instead of trading them after contract negotiations broke down.
Chargers fans in San Diego throughout the team's existence had a lot of fun, exciting memorable players, teams, but they tended more often then not were saddled with cheap, stubborn, obstinent, egotistical and unreasonable owners and even GMs, who mistreated, lowballed, or quarreled over petty issues like AJ Smith did with Marty Schottenheimer that led to him being fired 1 month after losing to New England in the 2006 AFC Divisional Playoffs. Better, more responsible owner or less egotistical, self-centered GM they might have won or appeared in a few more SBs and perhaps would still be in San Diego.
FWIW, of all the Air Coryell Chargers teams: historians, football analysts always like to focus on the 1981 Chargers as the best of them all. I disagree, the 1981 unit may have been the most explosive, but the 1979 and 1980 teams were more complete teams that had more depth and better defenses. I think if San Diego could've gotten past Oakland in the 1980 AFCCG, that's the best chance they would've had to win a SB. The 1979 squad may have been best, but they lacked the experience, and probably focus to beat the last of those great "Steel Curtain" 1970's Steelers teams and Freezer Bowl historical wind-chills aside, Cincinnati was probably the better team that year irregardless if their game were played in San Diego or Antarctica. And neither one of those teams would've beaten Montana's Niners in Super Bowl XVI.
Probably one of the greatest, most intense but at the same time, one of the most underrated DE's of his generation and one of the few good or great defensive players on a explosive, powerful "Air Coryell" Chargers offenses of the late 70's/early 80's. He wasnt the only great D-linemen, there was Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Louis Kershaw but because if you were a defensive player on the 1980s Chargers teams, you were a second-class citizen. That's the unfortunate truth outspoken, former over-achiever FB Chargers FB Hank Bauer once said and that bitter, grating truth is also why those Chargers never made it to a SB and gradually the only good defensive players they did have were traded away or allowed to walk to other teams where they won SBs.
If Fred Dean or Gary "Big Hands" Johnson hadn't left San Diego for Niners by the mid-80s, they would've simply stayed on competitive, yet ultimately disappointing teams that bottomed out by mid-80's. Chargers could've also kept a lot of their top players, like John Jefferson, Dean, Kershaw if their then-owner, Gene Klein, wasnt so cheap and willing to pay those star All-Pro players better contracts instead of trading them after contract negotiations broke down.
Chargers fans in San Diego throughout the team's existence had a lot of fun, exciting memorable players, teams, but they tended more often then not were saddled with cheap, stubborn, obstinent, egotistical and unreasonable owners and even GMs, who mistreated, lowballed, or quarreled over petty issues like AJ Smith did with Marty Schottenheimer that led to him being fired 1 month after losing to New England in the 2006 AFC Divisional Playoffs. Better, more responsible owner or less egotistical, self-centered GM they might have won or appeared in a few more SBs and perhaps would still be in San Diego.
FWIW, of all the Air Coryell Chargers teams: historians, football analysts always like to focus on the 1981 Chargers as the best of them all. I disagree, the 1981 unit may have been the most explosive, but the 1979 and 1980 teams were more complete teams that had more depth and better defenses. I think if San Diego could've gotten past Oakland in the 1980 AFCCG, that's the best chance they would've had to win a SB. The 1979 squad may have been best, but they lacked the experience, and probably focus to beat the last of those great "Steel Curtain" 1970's Steelers teams and Freezer Bowl historical wind-chills aside, Cincinnati was probably the better team that year irregardless if their game were played in San Diego or Antarctica. And neither one of those teams would've beaten Montana's Niners in Super Bowl XVI.