RON JAWORSKI

'Ronald Vincent "Jaws" Jaworski' (born March 23, 1951 in Lackawanna, New York) is a former American football player and currently an NFL analyst on ESPN. He is referred as the "King of Tape Breakdown" with his ability to break down every single plays and notice drop offs in production.

Contents

1977 Season

1980 Season

End of Eagles Career

Miami Dolphins

Kansas City Chiefs

Career Statistics

Awards

Tape Breakdown

Post-NFL career

External links

1977 Season

In the spring of 1977, Jaworski was traded by the L.A. Rams to the Philadelphia Eagles for former All-Pro tight end Charle Young; the trade was technically illegal under NFL by-laws since both Jaworski and Young had completed their contracts, but no one raised any objection to the deal so it was permitted to stand.

1980 Season

In 1980, Jaworski was named the UPI "NFL Player of the Year", and also in that same year he received the Bert Bell Award, The Maxwell Football Club's Professional Player of the Year award, and the Professional Athlete of the Year award sponsored by the Dunlop Tire Company. (The Eagles reached Super Bowl XV that year and lost to the Oakland Raiders).

End of Eagles Career

Despite compiling generally good statistics during his tenure with the Eagles (which lasted through 1986), he often threw ill-timed interceptions and fans occasionally demanded his replacement by the team's second-string quarterback, Joe Pisarcik. Likewise, the Eagles did not return to the successes of the 1978-81 playoff years under their new head coach, Marion Campbell (the "Swamp Fox"). Following a shaky performance in the 1985 season-opener, he was benched and replaced by rookie Randall Cunningham in Week 2; Jaws subsequently regained the starter's role and performed well, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 7. He also tied an NFL record with a 99-yard touchdown pass to Mike Quick in 1985. After more injuries to Jaws in 1986, Cunningham remained the starter and the team did not re-sign Jaworski at season's end. He finished with 69 wins, 67 losses and 1 tie as the Eagles starting QB.

Miami Dolphins

In the spring of 1987, he signed with the Miami Dolphins as backup to Dan Marino. Jaws never took the field in 1987 and saw limited action in 1988.

Kansas City Chiefs

He moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989, starting a pair of games in a QB rotation that included Steve DeBerg and Steve Pelluer. At one point, he and center Mike Webster formed the oldest starting QB-center combo in NFL history. Following that season, he retired as an NFL player. Jaworski turned down appeals to return to the Eagles in 1991, when Cunningham was lost for the season due to an injury in Week 1.

Career Statistics

Jaworski finished his 16 season career with 2,187 completions on 4,117 attempts for 28,190 yards, 179 touchdowns, and 164 interceptions. He also rushed for 859 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Awards

In 1979, he and Joe Pisarcik received medals from Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his visit to Philadelphia. Like the Pope, both men had Polish ancestry, with Jaworski being nicknamed "the Polish rifle." In 1991, Jaworski was inducted into the National Polish-American Hall of Fame. In 1992, Jaworski was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll, and in 1994 he was nominated for admission to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio (his first year of eligibility for this as he had retired five years earlier, in 1989). In 1997, he received the Pinnacle Award from the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce for his outstanding volunteer work and longtime service to the South Jersey Chamber as well as the business community. In 1997, Jaworski received the Bert Bell Award from the Eagles Fly for Leukemia, which is given to the person who had contributed significantly to the NFL. In 1998, The United Way honored Ron with their Volunteer Leadership Award, which is the highest award given by the United Way. In 2007, the Father's Day Council of the Greater Philadelphia chapter of the American Diabetes Association selected Ron to receive one of their "Father of the Year" awards.

Tape Breakdown

Jaworski is known for his ability to break down game tape. For instance last season the Raiders led by coach Art Shell were sacked 15 times. Shell was disinclined to deal with the postgame interviews about the plays so he made things up. San Jose Mercury-News writer John Ryan consulted Jaworski to count how many seven step drops were used in the Raiders' loss to Baltimore and Jaworski counted 13.

Post-NFL career

He currently serves as team president of the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League (owned by Jon Bon Jovi), and an NFL analyst on ESPN. He is considered one of the best in the business at breaking down game film. He is also part-owner of the Holiday Inn-Philadelphia Stadium hotel, which is across the street from Citizens Bank Park. He also owns and operates a Golf Course in Southern NJ called Valleybrook Golf Course. He was part of ESPN's broadcasting team for the second half of its opening-night Monday Night Football doubleheader on September 11, 2006, with Brad Nessler and Dick Vermeil. Jaworski was also the color commentator for Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason games on WFLA-TV from 2003 to 2006. In 2007 he replaced Joe Theismann as color commentator for ESPN's 2007 'Monday Night Football' broadcasts where he partners with Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser.
Ron and his wife, Liz, live in suburban Philadelphia. They have three children, Joleen, Jessica, and William.

External links

★ http://www.ronjaworski.com

★ More Career Stats

★ http://www.valleybrookgolf.com