NEW ORLEANS — Nick Toon’s memory from 1992 is crystal clear.
He was 4 years old then, and his father, Jets all-time great receiver Al Toon, was lying in bed in the middle of the day. The shades were drawn in the pitch-black bedroom, and Al was wearing dark sunglasses in an attempt to limit the residual effects of another concussion — possibly his ninth in eight sterling seasons as a Jet — that prematurely ended his NFL career.
“That is one of the clearest memories I have of his career,” said Nick, a fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2012 who will return to New Jersey on Sunday to play the Jets in what once was the Meadowlands parking lot.
“I remember it pretty vividly,” Nick said. “He had to be in a dark room. He actually had sunglasses on for a couple of weeks after his final concussion. I just remember going in there and lying on the bed and just hanging out. He couldn’t do very much, I remember that. My mom always told me, ‘If you’re going to go in there, don’t make a lot of noise.’ ”
For many years when the family went on vacation to Disney World, he couldn’t ride the roller coaster. But Al’s health is just fine now.
“We were at Disney last summer and he rode everything,” Nick said. “He’s been fine for a good number of years.”
Al is the co-owner of Olson Toon Landscaping Inc. in Middleton, Wis., working 9-to-5 and attacking weeds and winter blizzards with the same meticulous, thoughtful approach he once employed to shred NFL secondaries.
“I feel great,” Al said from his office. “It was a gray period going through my healing process. It is what it is and it was what it was. I feel much better now, and I’ve moved on with life. I’m enjoying my kids and my beautiful wife [Jane] of 27 years.”
Life is good for the Toons. In addition to Al’s restored health, they have plenty to cheer about. Their three younger daughters all have played volleyball at the collegiate level. With so many games to keep up with, Al and Jane have made a conscious decision to spread their parental love, which is one reason they won’t be at MetLife Stadium on Sunday when Nick walks onto the field to play against the team that was his childhood favorite. Their daughter has a volleyball game.
“We don’t want to show any favoritism,” Al said.
Al decreed Nick not play football until junior high, instead trying to give him a taste of karate, golf, tennis, piano and soccer.
“I just wanted him to be exposed to a lot,” Al said. “I didn’t want him to start playing football until later, because then that would be a decision he could make after trying other things.”
At 6-foot-4, Nick is an inch shorter than his dad, but “I’m still growing, so I might catch him,” he said. A training camp foot injury in 2012 essentially gave him a redshirt year to learn Sean Payton’s sophisticated offense. Healthier and more experienced, Nick turned heads with a solid preseason, and he has caught three passes for 60 yards — including a 35-yarder in a 26-18 win over the Bears — during the regular season as the Saints’ fifth wide receiver.
In addition to picking up pointers daily from veteran receivers such as Marques Colston — like Toon, a big target — and Lance Moore, Nick said playing with quarterback Drew Brees is like taking a college calculus course.
“Everything with Drew goes back to consistency — not just for yourself but for the quarterback, because it makes his job easier,” Nick said. “If you catch everything you’re supposed to catch and catch a few of the ones you’re not supposed to catch and you’re in the right place all the time, it makes his job easier.”
Nick nearly caught his first NFL touchdown in the 6-1 Saints’ only loss — a 30-27 last-second defeat at New England on Oct. 13 — but Brees overthrew him at the goal line on a scramble play. Brees usually spreads the wealth, completing passes to nine or 10 players each week. Nick simply is following his father’s advice to become a sponge — trying to improve every day — and biding his time.
“Toon is a big, physical guy who can transition well for a big man,” Brees said. “He’s got good feet and good hands and he’s smart. He wants to learn, he wants to succeed and he wants to work. All those things are what you love about a young receiver.”
Nick is hoping he gets a chance to catch at least one pass Sunday against the Jets. He clearly remembers the “T-o-o-o-n” chants that regularly broke out at the Meadowlands.
“That would definitely be cool,” Nick said, smiling.
“Oh, absolutely, that would be nice,” Al said.
But what if he doesn’t make a catch?
“He can just look up at the ring and see my name up there,” Al said, laughing.