Q. Who was the toughest cornerback you faced?
Robert James of the Buffalo Bills. He was a bigger cornerback who was very good at technique and played tough bump-and-run. He was a tough guy to get away from. He had a lot of quickness for a big person.
Q. Who set the bar at your position?
Paul Warfield. He is a class guy and a great player who never tried to draw attention to himself. He just tried to be a team player. He would work after practice. You can't play in the league if you don't have either quickness or speed. If you have both like Paul Warfield, then you are a Hall of Famer.
Q. What player did you admire growing up?
Raymond Berry of the Baltimore Colts. Back in the day on the old black-and-white televisions they would isolate on a player. I can remember back in the fourth grade I would watch Raymond and then I would go out in these little games and I would pretend that I was Raymond Berry.
Q. What was the most memorable moment of your career?
That's a 28-yard touchdown pass against the Washington Redskins in the first quarter of Super Bowl VII. We felt when they were in a certain defense that we could run a post corner. We probably practiced that play in the time that led up to the Super Bowl maybe 100 times. I was pretty sure Bob (Griese) was going to call that play when he did and it all worked out.
Q. What coach had the biggest influence on your playing career?
Probably Glen Dobbs at the University of Tulsa and Don Shula. I only got one football scholarship and that was from Coach Dobbs at Tulsa. He was a great guy who put me on the right path. Coach Shula once introduced me at a reunion of the perfect season team banquet by saying, "Howard just helps you win." He believes in doing the right things.
