Tight End
No. 88
Jackson State
"The rap was always there. It hung over his head from the very start. It seemed that it would never go away. It was worse at home. The boos would cascade throughout Shea Stadium for all to hear. Every time he dropped a pass the boos grew louder. They hurt. It gnawed at him. For almost five years it ripped at his insides. It was like a nightmare. The criticism was that he had bad hands. That he dropped too many passes. But it was unfair. And last year Richard Caster made them all believers. He was named All-Pro at tight end. That's saying a lot, too.
Caster's credentials for the Pro Bowl included leading all tight ends in yardage with 745 and his 19.6 average per catch was topped by only two wide receivers. What's more, his seven touchdown receptions was the best total among tight ends and fourth among all NFL receivers.
It hasn't been easy for the innately quiet Caster. There were moments of deep depression. So deep that he thought about giving it all up. He had speed and he had size. The fastest tight end in the business. He could turn a simple catch into a touchdown. That much he had going for him. What he had to do was make it all work. So he hung tough. And last season Caster stood tall. He stood alone as the best at his position. Richard Caster was for real. A truly gifted athlete who overcame the adversity of a demanding position.
The pressure was there right from the start. After his rookie season in 1970, Caster was the choice to replace the retired George Sauer. It was quite a challenge. In his short career with the Jets, Sauer had distinguished himself as one of the game's premier wide receivers. He was a bonafide All-Pro who was in consort with the passing artistry of Joe Namath. Their timing was a thing of beauty. Both were young and the future was theirs. They were a deadly combination that could destroy a defense with their precision. But Sauer walked away from it all. Caster was the one they looked to. It was a lot to ask.
Naturally, comparisons were made. It was inevitable. Caster felt the pressure in 1971. He realized he would be the prime target for Namath's aerials. Maybe he tried too hard.
'I was really glad when the season was over,' recalled Caster. 'I had become pretty shaken by the whole thing. I think that I matured a lot and grew up a lot during that time, though, and I said to myself that it's not going to bother me. It was tough taking Sauer's place. George had such concentration that it was rare he dropped a ball in practice. It was something I had to work on. I know I can catch. It's a matter of keeping my mind on the ball, forgetting about the people in the stands and what's around me.'
It was Namath more than anyone else who was a stabilizing factor for Caster. Actually, the two really didn't have enough time to work together during Caster's first two years on the club. And time is so vital to young player's development. In 1970, Namath missed most of the season with a broken wrist. The following year, Namath tore up his knee in a preseason game and didn't play until the final few games. And, when Namath opened up shop in 1972, Caster was switched from wide receiver to tight end. Which was more pressure Caster had to overcome.
'I wasn't too happy at first,' admitted Caster. 'It's that much tougher to be a tight end. There are so many more things you have to learn and more people to come in contact with on every play. As a wide receiver you just have to learn your pass routes and maybe a couple of blocking assignments but as a tight end you have to you have to do both. You're always in traffic.'
Through it all, Namath never lost confidence in Caster. Which was important. Quarterbacks have a tendency to turn away from receivers who fail to hold on to their passes. But not Namath. Time and again Namath would come right back to Caster after he had dropped a pass. It was great for Caster's morale. He needed a lift. And he appreciated it, too.
'Joe is the kind of guy who would say it's his fault when he's not at fault,' disclosed Caster. 'I had been tight and he helped me to relax. He makes you feel decent. I don't think I would have ever developed to my full potential without Joe. He's the type who considers his receivers, who'll say, 'forget it, we'll get it next time.'
'Like everyone else, I had certain misconceptions about Joe at the beginning. Like he was really stuck up, arrogant and hard to get along with. Was I wrong. He turned out to be totally the opposite. I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing with him.'
Namath knows about the mental part. He realized how important it is, how it's different for each individual. He recognized it could have been a big problem with Caster. And he helped correct it.
'Richard is the quiet type,' pointed out Namath. 'When he drops a ball or runs a wrong pattern, which is rare, he gets dejected and feels badly. It's better to get a guy the hell out of that kind of feeling.'
Caster can look back at it now. He's adjusted to the mental end. And he's also made adjustments on the playing field beginning with his transformation to tight end in 1972. That's when it all started to come together for Caster.
'The first few years had been an education,' related Caster. 'They certainly don't prepare you for boos in college. Weeb Ewbank used to tell me how Don Maynard went through the same thing, dropping balls. If you don't have the personality to deal with that pressure, you can't make it as a professional athlete.
'I realized that my play has to be predicated on concentration. I am always trying to score on every catch and running before I have the ball. I have to look the ball into my hands and forget where I'm going. Just catch it.'
Which he began to do consistently. Head coach Charley Winner wasn't overly concerned about Caster dropping any passes. He saw it happen before to John Mackey, a retired former All-Pro end at Baltimore.
'People forgot that Mackey used to drop the ball his first few years with the Colts when I was coaching there,' emphasized Winner. 'He'd drop the easy ones, too. He'd loose concentration on them. That was Caster's problem but I knew it could be corrected. Physical problems, they're the ones that can't be corrected.'
But not even Mackey can do what Caster can. In fact, no other club has a tight end like Caster who is 6-5, weighs 228 and is clocked at 4.5 in the forty. What's more, no other tight end in the history of professional football has averaged 19.2 yards a catch. There aren't many wide receivers who can match that, either. Really, there isn't anybody around like Rich Caster.
Not anywhere ... "
-Lou Sahadi, The New York Jets Official 1975 Yearbook
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