Charles "Peanut" Tillman: Preaux Career

[NewsCopy]

Charles Tillman was getting ready to leave the team hotel before a game against the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 14 when his cell phone rang.

It was Mark Anderson, his father's brother and a member of the Fourth Infantry Division, calling from Tikrit, Iraq. Anderson's outfit had captured Saddam Hussein hours earlier, and Tillman, the Bears' rookie cornerback from Louisiana-Lafayette, wanted to know all about it.

''I said, 'You caught Saddam, that's tight,''' Tillman recalled. ''All he wanted to talk about was football, and all I wanted to talk about was Saddam.''

Anderson called back last Sunday before the Bears played the Washington Redskins, and Tillman was able to tell him about what everyone else had been discussing since their last conversation -- his game-saving interception of Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper in an end-zone tangle with Randy Moss.

''That's all people talk about now,'' Tillman said. '''Oh, man, that was a nice play with Moss. Did he say anything to you?' He didn't say anything. He's a good dude, and I got him on that play. It was a great play to win the game, but that was two weeks ago. I'm not living in the past.''

Tillman's father, Donald, who is retired from the Fourth Infantry, has high expectations for his son but couldn't believe what he was watching from his home in Copperas Cove, Texas.

''We've always known Peanut is a playmaker,'' his father said. ''The thing that surprised me is that he made that play on Randy Moss. Come on, that's Randy Moss we're talking about.''

It's Tillman the Vikings were talking about afterward, and the Redskins probably discussed him a bit, too. Quarterback Tim Hasselbeck threw his way only once in the Bears' 27-24 victory, the exact opposite of how you would expect any offense to approach a rookie, even a second-round pick.

''I was a little bit surprised,'' Tillman said. ''I guess that's respect.''

Yeah, the kind reserved for those who have been to the Pro Bowl multiple times.

The rest of the story

BY BRAD BIGGS Staff Reporter
Chicago Sun Times

[NewsCopy]

Charles Tillman may be able to wrestle a game-winning touchdown pass away from Minnesota's Randy Moss. But can the Chicago Bear rookie live within a budget?

Lake Forest Corporate Education, a division of Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, has been helping Bear rookies do just that.

During the season, one-hour classes covering budgeting, tax implications, investments and other topics were taught at Halas Hall to more than a dozen rookies, from cornerback Tillman to quarterback Rex Grossman.

The lunchtime seminars, encouraged by the National Football League, open the eyes of rookies, who quickly go from having little money to earning at least $225,000 a year (the NFL rookie minimum) at age 22.

"These classes are kind of a wake-up call," said Steve Moroni, a partner in an accounting firm who taught the budgeting, tax implications and business plan analysis classes. "You have all this money. What are the pitfalls?"

In the budgeting class, Moroni split rookies into groups, gave them each $30,000 in Monopoly money -- about a month's salary for some -- and asked them how they'd spend it.

The rest of the story

[Turbine]

Associated Press
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Cowboys CB Terence Newman. According to media reports Newman was a tough pick over Louisiana's own, Bears cornerback Charles Tillman.

Their reasoning? Newman had 76 tackles and a team-leading four interceptions (huh thats less than Tillman) for the NFL's No. 1 defense (Wow what a pressureless situation)

SOURCE

SOURCE

	G	Total	Tckl	Ast	Sacks	Int	Yds	Avg	Lg	TD	Pass Def
Charles Tillman	16	83	76	7	1	4	27	6.8	32	0	8
Terence Newman	16	76	66	10	1	4	23	5.8	25	0	17
Tillman Advantage	0	7	10	-3	0	0	4	1	7	0	-9

	G	Fum	Lost	Fum Forced	Own Rec	Opp Rec	Yards	Tot Rec		TD
Charles Tillman	16	0	0	2	0	0	0	0		0
Terence Newman	16	0	0	0	0	1	0	1		0

[Sanchez]

I'm not trying to argue and I don't have a link to prove it, but I heard Suggs of Baltimore was NFL rookie of the year. He had a bunch of sacks.

[CDeb]

Yeah, in the paper today, it showed that Suggs was named DROY. Tillman was fifth.

[CajunFanatic91]

It's still BS. I'm sure that if Tillman was from Texas or Oklahmoma he would have gotten more press.

[Turbine]

Thanks for the heads up guys, I guess the two links were strictly the personal choices of those two writers.

I have since found this SOURCE that says it was a panel of 50 media members who cover the NFL that voted on this.

I guess I did the wrong comparison, but I still think Peanut's 83 tackles, 4 interceptions, 2 caused fumbles, and 8 other passes defensed easily tops Suggs 12 sacks and 15 other tackles.

[Turbine]

Here is the deal.

What Suggs did all year was the same thing Marshall Delesdernier did against South Carolina.

I am not trying to knock what MD did, but he came off the bench fresh with the ability to put on a BullGator rush against a tired foe.

Suggs got 12 sacks and 15 other tackles ALL year when we all know the opponent was double teaming Ray Lewis.

I think Tillman had a better year than any defensive rookie out there (stats at the top of this thread) and I would be willing to take this debate national.

[1stTake]

Hey Mr. T it's because he played on a losing team. This award has less to do with how good the player is, and more to do with his team winning.

[NewsCopy]

. . . Also on hand at Lambeau Field was Bears cornerback Charles Tillman, whose game-deciding interception against the Vikings on Dec. 14 was just as important to the Packers' playoff fortunes as Poole's catch proved to be. Without Tillman tearing the ball out of Randy Moss' hands, Poole's heroics would have gone for naught.

Unpalatable as it is to think of a Bears player being hailed in Green Bay, Tillman was quick to point out that he was a guest of ESPN, not the Packers. The sports network was doing a feature on Tillman's role in the Packers' unlikely playoff trip, and good ol' Peanut was insistent that he's not fraternizing with the enemy.

"It's more fun than serious,'' Tillman said of the ESPN piece. "You have to see it. I make it very clear that I hate Green Bay; that's first and foremost.''

Tillman said he underlined the point by touring some Green Bay hot spots Saturday while wearing a vintage Mike Singletary Bears jersey.

"I went to the bar, and all these people were like, 'Hey, put this [Packers] hat on,''' Tillman said. "And I was like, 'No, I can't do that. Chicago Bears forever.'

"The fans were real cool. Everybody was just having a good time and relaxing."

The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

Cajun standout Charles Tillman must now impress new coach.

LOUISIANA La. — Charles Tillman spent the 2003 season impressing Chicago Bears teammates and coaches — and opponents, for that matter — as a rookie cornerback in the NFL.

Now, he may have to do it all over again.

The Bears fired coach Jauron after a 7-9 finish and named Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith to lead them back to the top of the NFC North division, so things are back to Square One.

“I’m sure I’ll have to prove myself,” Tillman said. “It’s kind of like being a rookie all over again. I still have a lot to do.

“I’m sure he’ll have his own defensive scheme. He had the No. 1 defense in the league in creating turnovers when he was in St. Louis, and I’m pretty sure he’ll want to stick with that.

“A new head coach wants to see who can ball. He doesn’t have favorites. He wants to see what a player can do with his own eyes.”

What Smith will see is a big (6-foot-2, 210-pound), physical cornerback who started the last 12 games of the season at left corner on a Chicago team that was combative on defense and lacking offensively.

Tillman, the University of Louisiana’s highest-ever NFL draft choice as a second-rounder last spring, was second on the team only to All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher in tackles (116 to 83) for the season.

He also had a quarterback sack, two forced fumbles, eight passes broken up and four interceptions to tie Jerry Azumah for the team lead in that department.

One of those pickoffs was immediately famous, as Tillman outfought Minnesota’s Randy Moss for the ball in the end zone to preserve a 13-10 victory on Dec. 14, a win that wound up costing the Vikings a spot in the playoffs.

“That was probably the biggest play of my career,” said Tillman, who is in town for Saturday’s Ragin’ Cajun football banquet at the Cajundome Convention Center. “Whether it’s high school, college or the NFL, football is football and you have to make plays.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com
Peanut is in town to support UL football, and accept the Marine award.

[Turbine]

The most outstanding University of Louisiana athlete for 2002-2003 was Charles Tillman. 100 tackles as a Senior, highest ever drafted UL player by the NFL. Considered NFL rookie of the year by many. A hard working class act. Charles Tillman.

In the video below Charles Tillman accepts plaque and standing ovation for the Buddy Marine Endowed Athletic Scholarship.


DSL & Cable, allow time (2 minutes)for video to load, desiged for windows media player