Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
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Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
... more
Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
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Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
... more
Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
... more
Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
... more
Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
... more
Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
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Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
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Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
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Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
... more
Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
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Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
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Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
lessFormer NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski is interviewed by Times Union reporter Tim Wilkin during a meet and greet with Albany arena football players, coaches and owners at an open house at the Times Union Center on
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A conversation with NFL QB alum Ron Jaworski
Q: You are an owner in the Arena Football League with the Philadelphia Soul and the new franchise here in Albany. How is that going to work when the two teams play?
A: We are partners off the field and competitors on the field. It's really that simple.
Q: OK. Who do you root for?
A: The team that wins (laughs). I will be up here whenever I can. (Former NFL coach) Dick Vermeil, (former wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints) and Marques Colston are part of the ownership group (also in Philadelphia) and we want to win. We want to make sure this team has great success in Albany. They will compete on the field and let the chips fall where they may.
Q: It's easy to see that you have a genuine love for football, something you have most likely had since you were a little boy (Jaworski is 66 years old),
A: Yeah. I love football. It's been my life. I think of 15 years as a player (quarterback) in the NFL (10 with the Philadelphia Eagles), four years at Youngstown State, four years at Lackawanna High School (Buffalo area). That's 23 years of my life playing the game; 27 years at ESPN covering and talking about the game. My office is at NFL Films (in New Jersey) where I study the game. I am a part owner of the CAFL, the China Arena Football League. I have been over in Beijing. Last season was our first season.
More Information
Contact Tim Wilkin at 518-454-5415 or email twilkin@times union. com
Q: You got the nickname "Jaws" through (former NBA player, coach and broadcaster) Doug Collins. Is that true?
A: Yes. Doug was my neighbor, and we were very good friends. Our families were very close. He just came up with the nickname "Jaws." Everyone said it was because the movie ("Jaws") was very popular. Doug said it wasn't that. He said it was because my jaws were always flapping. It's not from the movie or my name.
Q: Football today. Is it different from when you played (1974-89)?
A: Oh, God, yes. The way the game is played, formation wise. In the 70's, when I came into the league, 11 guys on offense, 11 guys on defense. They played every down, pretty much. You watch games now, you can't keep track of the players coming in and out. Every down, it's a new platoon. Pretty much, the only guys who stay in are the quarterback and the offensive line. You have changes at wide receiver, changes at tight end, changes at running back. That's the big change of the game. The game is becoming much more open. The rules say you can't touch a guy after five yards. I go back to my day, and (former Chicago Bears linebacker) Dick Butkus would have clotheslined a guy coming across the field. I am not saying it's better or worse, but that is the way the game is played.
Q: Speaking of Dick Butkus, who rang your bell the most during your career?
A: The hardest hit I ever had was from (defensive end) Mark Hartenstine of the Bears. He hit me on a Sunday afternoon and I woke up Tuesday in the hospital, And LT (Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor) got me a few times. When you play as long as I did, you take your hits.
Q: What is your take on the Giants benching their longtime quarterback Eli Manning?
A: A disgrace. What that guy has done for the New York Giants organization, what he has done for the National Football League, the class with which he plays the game and speaks about the game. When you look at the way the Giants were playing, with a bad offensive line, signing receivers on Tuesday and expecting them to play on Sunday, no running game ... and then laying it on the quarterback ... I think it was a disgrace the way it was handled. I don't know where the marching orders came from, but whoever made that call made a huge mistake.
Q: Who is the best quarterback in the game today?
A: It's (New England's Tom) Brady. Hands down. It's mind boggling what he is doing at the age of 40. When I see the speed of today's game, the blitz packages, the hits that quarterbacks now take ... that Tom, can play at this level at age 40 is remarkable. I think I said this two years ago ... that I was one of the only ones who has seen every ball that Tom Brady has thrown in his career. His arm strength has improved, which is a testament to Tom's work ethic, his training habits. Tom is still recognized as one of the hardest working guys in the off-season. He has gotten better as he has gotten older. Sooner of later, Father Time gets us all, but he looks like he could play for a while.
Q: When is the last time you threw a football?
A: At last year's ArenaBowl last year. Except for the Turkey Bowl with my grandkids in my backyard on Thanksgiving Eve.
http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/A-conversation-with-NFL-QB-alum-Ron-Jaworski-12419337.php
