| Number Crunching: #23
by Chris Brophy
21/3/2010
The off-season is well and truly here and with free agency calming down and the NFL draft still a month away the Diner figured it would dip into its larder of NFL history and get back to looking at the best at each number. We pick the trail back up at number 23, a number made famous in basketball by Michael Jordan and in soccer by David Beckham (once he couldn’t wear number 7) but actually proved to be a bit more of a bare cupboard in the NFL. Don’t worry though, we found a pretty good player to represent the number in the end and a few worthy honourable mentions. Read on to find out more:
FD’s All Time #23: Troy Vincent, Cornerback Safety (Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bill, Washington Redskins)
 With this number we have come up with a player who had a long and storied career and who continues to be involved in the moving and shaking of the NFL today with his recent appointment to the post of Vice President of Player Development by the NFL after spending four years up until 2008 as the President of the Players Union. That means in these times of CBA negotiation he is a rare being in that he has now sat on both sides of the fence and it will be interesting to see if he has any influence in finding a compromise for both sides or if he will act as a wound that won’t heal because of his switching of sides.
But enough of football politics, let’s talk about Troy Vincent the player. After a successful career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vincent was projected to be a first round pick in the 1992 draft and that rang true as he was taken 7th overall, the second cornerback behind Terrell Buckley two picks earlier. His actual drafting is a bit of a story in itself as he was the only player selection to ever be missed by ESPN’s live draft coverage as Commissioner Paul Tagliabue didn’t realize the network were on commercial break and he went ahead and announced the pick. He would have to return to the stage after the break to re-announce the selection of Vincent.
Vincent would become an instant starter for the Dolphins and looked like he belonged from day one at a position that can be extremely tough for rookies. He started every game he suited up for and in his 3rd season (1994) he scored his first ever TD on a lateral of a turnover against the Kansas City Chiefs. He would find the end zone again in Week 1 of the 1995 season as he took a Boomer Esiason pass and returned it 69 yards against the Jets.
That season would see the Dolphins once again make post season, the third time in Vincent’s four years with the team but once again, the Buffalo Bills would prove to be the stumbling block for the Fish and this time it also saw the end of legendary coach Don Shula’s reign. A fresh start was coming to Miami in the form of Jimmy Johnson who had helped the Dallas Cowboys dominant the early part of the decade but for Vincent, as a free agent, he felt he too needed a change and with that in mind he elected to take up a big money offer from the Philadelphia Eagles.
He joined a team that looked primed to make a Super Bowl run with the Dallas Cowboys early decade dominance starting to fade and the rest of the division in flux. The 1996 season was a good one, and Vincent scored the game sealing TD on a 90 yard return of a lateral against the Cowboys, as he team finished 10-6 but they then fell out of the post season limply to the 49ers. The next three seasons would see the team struggle and Vincent’s usually high standard of play was lost within that but in 1999 despite the team only going 5-11 he would make the first of his five Pro Bowl appearances as he recorded a career best seven interceptions (in only 14 games).
Those Pro Bowl appearances would come over five straight years (199-2003) and he would team up with fellow cornerback Bobby Taylor to be one of the best pairings in the league. As the team returned to successful ways with the addition of Head Coach Andy Reid and QB Donovan McNabb Vincent got more recognition and was named All-Pro in 2001 and 2002. The Eagles kept getting close to the Super Bowl but couldn’t quite make it and after the 2003 season it was time for Vincent to head for pastures new again as the Eagles were reluctant to pay an aging veteran big money.
Vincent would head for Buffalo to join the Bills and he would also move position to free safety. As a player Vincent actually compares well to Hall of Famer Rod Woodson in many ways in that he was tall, fast and physical and his tackling ability and excellent range meant the change in position could prolong his career. He spent three seasons in Buffalo but two seasons were ruined by injuries. However, his one full season starting (2004) saw him four interception and 66 tackles. Is it any coincidence that 2004 was the Bills only winning season of the past decade?
After 2005 in which Vincent played only one game it looked like it might be the end for him but a mid-season call in 2006 from the Washington Redskins saw Vincent get one more bite of the NFL cherry and it also brought one more big play from him. This time it was on special teams as in the Redskins clash with the Cowboys at Fed Ex Field Vincent would block a game winning field goal attempt by Cowboys kicker Mike Vanderjagt. Fellow safety Sean Taylor made the recovery and after a 15 yard facemask penalty the Redskins kicked a game winning 49 yard field goal to steal the win.
Vincent called it a day after that season and he is now establishing a career as a member of the NFL’s staff after failing to win the role of Executive Director of the NFLPA. During his career he also won awards for his activities off the field including the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2002. Vincent has since been named to the University of Wisconsin’s Hall of Fame in 2008 and in 2007 he was named to the Philadelphia Eagles 75th anniversary team.
For his career he recorded 47 regular season interceptions with another 4 in the post season and he scored 3 touchdowns.
Honourable Mentions:
 If the number 23 has anything special about it then its kick returns ability. One of the best of current times is Devin Hester although after a sensational couple of years at the beginning of his career he is now concentrating on becoming a full time offensive threat and his return game has become a bit subdued. One of the best of all-time was former Saint and Lion Mel Gray. A four time pro bowler he amassed 9 return touchdowns and just over 13,000 combined return yards in his career. The Lions actually picked him up from the Saints on the old Plan B system what a bargain!
The Denver Broncos were the nearly team of the 1980’s and behind John Elway was running back Sammy Winder for a lot of those successful but frustrating years. He only ever managed one 1000 yard campaign but he was a versatile back who made two pro bowls and had the entertaining Mississippi Mud Walk dance when he scored one of his 48 career TD’s. His most memorable play came in the 1989 AFC Championship Game when he took an Elway pass and scampered 39 yards for the score that effectively sealed victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Our final Honourable mention goes to safety Brig Owens who spent 12 seasons with the Washington Redskins, many of them as the starting partner of Hall of Fame safety Ken Houston. In the league’s highest scoring game ever the Redskins 72-49 victory over the NY Giants in 1966 Owens scored two 62 yard TD returns. He is still the Redskins career leader in interception return yardage and as a part of the Over The Hill Gang he recorded an interception of Dolphins QB Bob Griese in the end zone in Super Bowl VII.
Learn More about past NFL greats in our History Archive
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