Jaworski: It Was More Than a Pass Rush That Defined the Late Claude Humphrey

(EDITOR’S NOTE: To listen to Ron Jaworski, click on the following link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/fullpresscoverage/eyetest-ep85)

When Hall-of-Fame defensive end Claude Humphrey passed away last weekend, at the age of 77 obituaries mentioned that he had 130 unofficial sacks. At least one former teammate believes that figure is inaccurate.

“He had more than that 130 sacks, I will guarantee you that,” former quarterback Ron Jaworski said on the latest “Eye Test for Two” broadcast (fullpresscoverage.com). “If I went through every game tape and studied Claude Humphrey sacks it would be a lot more.

“And even if the sacks weren’t there, the impact he had was just something that forced you to change your game plan. You had to account for Claude Humphrey, no matter where he was.”

Jaworski speaks from experience. He teamed with Humphrey for three years in Philadelphia (1979-81), with the two on the 1980 team that went to Super Bowl XV. But before he joined the Eagles in 1978, “Jaws” was a quarterback with the Los Angeles Rams and faced Humphrey, then a defensive left end with the Atlanta Falcons.

“You know what I remember?” Jaworski said. “Him getting close to me. Not getting a sack. Getting close to me. And he’d be saying, ‘I will be back, Ron. I will be back.’ He get as close as he could (and then would say), ‘I will be back. I will back.’ (And I’d say), ‘I know, Claude. You will be back, reminding me.’ And he was.”

Humphrey played 14 seasons with the Falcons and Eagles, was an eight-time All-Pro (including five first-team designations), a six-time Pro Bowler and 1968 Defensive Rookie of the Year. Named to the Falcons’ Ring of Honor, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 as one of that year’s two senior finalists.

Ray Guy was the other.

"I look at these sack numbers now," Jaworski said, "and he probably doubled those numbers. The Eagles played a 3-4 defense and very seldom rushed a linebacker So we were dropping eight into coverage and he was being blocked by two guys literally on every play. That's how good a player he was.

"But he brought more than that. It was what he brought to the team. It wasn't about necessarily the Xs and Os of what he could do in rushing the quarterback and playing the run and commanding double-teams on almost every snap. It was the leadership. The leadership he gave to young guys in the locker room is something that stands out most to me. We needed guys like Claude Humphrey to lead our football team.". 

So what was his legacy? Football historians will tell you that it was Humphrey's reputation as a ferocious pass rusher. Though he retired after the 1981 season, one year before sacks became an official statistic, he is credited with 130 unofficial sacks by Pro Football Reference. It studied films this past summer dating to 1960 and released a list that had Humphrey ranked 24^th all-time, just ahead of Hall-of-Famer Derrick Thomas.

But that, Jaworski said, was not what defined Claude Humphrey. So what did?

“The character of the man,” Jaworski said. “That’s what I remember the most. I’m going to forget about the football player because people can envision that. What people don’t know is the guy he was in that locker room.

“They don’t know about the guy all week in his preparation for the game, how the young players who came into the league looked up to him and respected him because he was a burly tough guy, with a deep kind of voice. When Claude spoke everybody listened.”