Dickey Almost Could Feel Theismann’s Agony

Lynn Dickey and Larry Brooks were watching the game Monday night when New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor sacked Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann. Dickey, the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback, turned to his wife Sherry and said: “I’ll bet he broke his leg.”

Dickey recognized the signs. He suffered a broken leg when Brooks sacked him in a game against the Rams at Milwaukee in 1977. Dickey was out of action for most of two seasons.

“It was the exact same thing,” Dickey said. “Yeah, it brought back some memories and gave everyone involved in the game of football a little shiver.

“From the camera angle no one could see exactly what happened. But by Lawrence Taylor’s reaction, it reminded me of (former Rams) Freddie Dryer and Jack Youngblood screaming and yelling to our bench, because they had seen what had happened to me. They were yelling just exactly like Lawrence Taylor did.”

“It kind of flashed back,” said Brooks, an assistant coach with the Rams, who will face the Packers Sunday at Anaheim Stadium. “I never like to see anybody get hurt like that.”

Brooks recalled the play eight years ago in Milwaukee. “It was the last play of the game and we were beating ‘em pretty bad (24-6),” he said. “He was getting ready to throw a pass. Freddie and I ran a game (pass-rushing stunt). I came around, and one of the offensive linemen cut me down low, so as I tried to jump over him I happened to catch Lynn looking downfield on his planted leg.

“It was kind of a frightening sight because he started hollering real bad and squirming. Jack was standing over him and hollering at their bench to get somebody out there.”

Dickey said: “I was 28 at the time and they felt I was kind of old for bones to be mending real quick, and Joe is even older (36). I had a lot of other troubles with my leg--what’s called a ‘non-union’ in which the bone never healed for a long, long time.

“If Joe’s lucky, his leg will mend on time and for three to four months he’ll be in a cast. If so, it’s just a matter of getting your muscles back strong again. There’s a lot of hard work ahead of him if he wants to continue to play.”