Author Archives: Dan

500 passing yards

Anybody who saw the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger, horizontal stripes and all, tear up the Colts on Sunday witnessed one of the great passing exhibitions in NFL history — 522 yards, 81.6 percent completions, six touchdowns, no picks, 150.6 rating. Wow.

The yardage total is tied for fourth all time, and no 500-yard passer has had a better completion percentage. As for the TDs and rating, only Y.A. Tittle (seven and 151.4) tops Roethlisberger in those departments (again, among 500-yard passers).

That said, some of the thrill, and not a little of the novelty, has gone out of the 500-yard passing day. Big Ben’s, after all, was the ninth in the 2000s. There were just six before that — the first of which, amazingly enough, is still the record: Norm Van Brocklin’s 554-yard effort for the Rams against the New York Yanks in 1951. When somebody does anything nine times in 15 seasons, it loses a bit of its specialness.

I mean, the Cowboys’ Tony Romo threw for 500 yards just last year, and two quarterbacks did it in each of the previous two seasons (the Giants’ Eli Manning and the Texans’ Matt Schaub in 2012, and the Patriots’ Tom Brady and the Lions’ Matt Stafford in 2011). Clearly, it isn’t as remarkable a feat as it used to be, and I think we all know the reasons why.

In fact, the game Brady had Sunday against the Bears was — statistically, at least — more unusual. There have been only eight others like it since 1960. Here are the nine times a QB has completed 85 percent of his passes, thrown for five TDs and averaged 10 yards per attempt:

85% COMPLETIONS, 5 TDS AND 10 YARDS PER ATTEMPT IN A GAME (SINCE 1960)

Date Quarterback, Team Vs. Att Comp Pct Yds TD YPA Result
10-26-14 Tom Brady, Patriots Bears 35 30 85.7 354 5 10.1 W, 51-23
12-15-13 Alex Smith, Chiefs Raiders 20 17 85.0 287 5 14.4 W, 56-31
1-10-10 Kurt Warner, Cardinals Packers 33 29 87.9 379 5 11.5 W, 51-45
10-18-09 Tom Brady, Patriots Titans 34 29 85.3 380 6 11.2 W, 59-0
10-31-04 Drew Brees, Chargers Raiders 25 22 88.0 281 5 11.2 W, 42-14
10-10-99 Kurt Warner, Rams 49ers 23 20 87.0 323 5 14.0 W, 42-20
9-4-83 Lynn Dickey, Packers Oilers 31 27 87.1 333 5 10.7 W, 41-38
12-13-81 Lynn Dickey, Packers Saints 21 19 90.5 218 5 10.4 W, 35-7
12-12-64 Frank Ryan, Browns Giants 13 12 92.3 202 5 15.5 W, 52-20

To summarize: Brady, Warner and Dickey (how quickly we forget) did it twice. Brees did it once — but with the Chargers, not the Saints. Ryan did it in a mere 13 attempts. And Smith, Niners Nation’s favorite whipping boy, completes the list.

Maybe the biggest surprise, though, is that Peyton Manning, who does everything, isn’t in either of these two groups — the 500-yard passers or the 85/5/10 guys. Fortunately, he still has time.

Lynn Dickey: gone but not forgotten.

Lynn Dickey: gone but not forgotten.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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The Patriots and 50-point games

Scoring 50 points in an NFL game isn’t as big a deal as it once was, not with all these offense-friendly rule changes, but it’s still notable. The Patriots’ 51-23 win over the Bears today, for instance, was the seventh time they’ve reached 50 in the 2000s (since 2007, really). No other club has done it more than three times.

The Pats also have scored 50 in a game three years running. Only two other teams have managed that since the 1970 merger (one of whom did it four straight years). The exclusive club:

TEAMS THAT HAVE SCORED 50 POINTS IN A GAME 3 YEARS IN A ROW (SINCE 1970)

Years   Team Quarterback(s) Opponents (Score)
1991-94   49ers Steve Young Bears (52-14), Falcons (56-17), Lions (55-17), Falcons (50-14)
2012-14   Patriots Tom Brady Bills (52-28), Colts (59-24), Steelers (55-31), Bears (51-23)
1984-86   Bengals Anderson/Esiason Bills (52-21), Cowboys (50-24), Jets (52-21)

As you can see, all three teams had an outstanding quarterback, not just one who got hot every now and then. Young is in the Hall of Fame, Brady is headed there, and Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason were among the best of their eras.

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Spreading the ball around a little too much

The Jets’ Geno Smith hit a new low today in a 43-23 loss to the Bills, becoming just the second quarterback in the Free Agency Era (1993-) to throw more passes to the other team (3) than to his own (2) in a game. (Minimum: two completions.)

This used to happen from time to time in the ’70s and earlier, before they made things easier for QBs, but it’s a rare feat now.

THE LAST 6 QBS WITH MORE INTERCEPTIONS THAN COMPLETIONS IN A GAME

Date Quarterback, Team Opponent Comp INT Result
10-26-14 Geno Smith, Jets Bills 2 3 L, 43-23
12-31-06 Rex Grossman, Bears Packers 2 3 L, 26-7
9-13-92 Ken O’Brien, Jets Steelers 1 3 L, 27-10
9-25-88 Jeff Kemp, Seahawks 49ers 1 3 L, 38-7
9-16-84 Richard Todd, Saints 49ers 2 3 L, 30-20
9-28-80 Vince Evans, Bears Steelers 2 3 L, 38-3

(Minimum: 2 completions.)

Three others of note:

Date Quarteback, Team Opponent Comp INT Result
11-25-74 Archie Manning, Saints Steelers 2 3 L, 28-7
9-29-74 Joe Namath, Jets Bills 2 3 L, 16-12
10-20-68 Johnny Unitas, Colts Browns 1 3 L, 30-20

See? On a Given Sunday, even the best can look like, well, Geno Smith. Namath’s game, by the way, was played in a typhoon in Buffalo. As for Unitas’, it was the Colts’ only defeat that season until their shocking loss to the Jets in Super Bowl III. He replaced Earl Morrall at halftime with Baltimore trailing 14-7 but, obviously, couldn’t get it going.

After the Super Bowl, Colts coach Don Shula was criticized for not putting Unitas in sooner, when it was clear Morrall was struggling. His reason might have been the game against Cleveland, when Johnny U. came off the bench and went 1 for 11 with three picks.

And finally . . .

QBS WHO HAD 3 COMPLETIONS AND 4 INTS IN A GAME (SINCE 1960)

Date Quarterback, Team Opponent Att Comp Yds TD INT Result
10-29-74 Roman Gabriel, Rams Raiders 16 3 67 0 4 L, 45-17
10-9-72 Dan Pastorini, Oilers Raiders 21 3 31 0 4 L, 34-0
12-6-70 Terry Bradshaw, Steelers Packers 20 3 110 1 4 L, 20-12
10-11-70 Mike Taliaferro, Patriots Chiefs 12 3 30 0 4 L, 23-10

● The last QB with four completions and four interceptions in a game: Tom Flick, Chargers vs. Chiefs, Nov. 2, 1986.

● The last QB with five completions and five interceptions a game: Dan Pastorini, Oilers vs. Steelers, Oct. 23, 1977.

Photo from Namath's 2-completion/3-pick game.

Photo from Namath’s 2-completion/3-pick game.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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Memorable midseason trades

Wish there were more trades like the one that sent Percy Harvin from the Seahawks to the Jets, if only to liven things up during non-game days. The NFL, unfortunately, is different from other sports. Baseball, basketball and hockey are veritable swap meets at times, but rarely is there a deal during the pro football season that attracts much attention — or has much impact, really.

Part of it is that the deadline falls so early (though it’s been pushed back to the Tuesday of Week 9 — October 28 this year). Another part is that the salary cap limits clubs’ ability to add and subtract players. Then, too, there’s a playbook to be learned. You can’t plug a quarterback into your lineup as easily as you can a right fielder.

The early deadline is an anachronism dating to the days when weaker teams would unload salaries late in the season to cut their losses (thus becoming even weaker teams, which did nothing for the young league’s image). The latter is no longer an issue, of course — it’s hard to lose money in the NFL — and the former, as I said, is problematical because of the cap. So why not extend the deadline to, say, December 1? It would enable contending clubs to address weaknesses created by injuries and help the also-rans stockpile draft picks for rebuilding. Win-win.

The only thing teams would have to do to create a more lively in-season trade market is hold some money back — that is, not spend to the cap. But I doubt there’ll ever be much support for a later deadline because, well, owners don’t think like you and I do.

The Harvin deal motivated me to compile a list of 10 notable midseason trades. I’m not going to suggest these are the 10 biggest midseason trades; I might have overlooked (or underestimated) a few. And if I have, please submit your own nominations. What’s interesting is that none of them took place later than 1990. Since the institution of free agency in 1993, clubs have essentially adopted the attitude of: Why pay for something today that you might be able to get for nothing (except, perhaps, millions of dollars) tomorrow?

10 NOTABLE IN-SEASON TRADES IN NFL HISTORY

● 1938 — TB/QB Frank Filchock from the Pirates (Steelers) to the Redskins for an undisclosed amount of money (and possibly a draft pick).

This was one of those Salary Dumps I referred to earlier. Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney had signed running back Whizzer White to a huge contract, and the team wasn’t winning. So in mid-Screen Shot 2014-10-25 at 5.56.41 PMOctober he got rid of several players, including Filchock, a promising single-wing tailback who had been the 14th pick in that year’s draft. Frankie had some fine years in Washington as Sammy Baugh’s alternate, then moved to the Giants in 1946 and led them to the championship game. (He’s also remembered for getting caught up in the attempt to fix that game, which caused him to be banned from the league for three seasons.)

● 1958 — QB Bobby Layne from the Lions to the Steelers for QB Earl Morrall, a 1959 No. 2 (OG Mike Rabold) and ’60 No. 4 (DT Roger Brown).

The deal reunited Layne with his old Lions coach, Buddy Parker, who had quit and taken the Pittsburgh job. Bobby played some of his best ball in the second half of that season, as the Steelers finished on a 6-0-1 tear to wind up third in the Eastern Conference. He also gave the perennially losing franchise some much-needed credibility in the late ’50s and early ’60s. His only failure was that he never got Pittsburgh to the title game. Brown, by the way, turned out to be a stud defensive tackle for the Lions, a 300-pounder who went to six Pro Bowls. And Morrall had some great moments with the ’68 Colts and undefeated ’72 Dolphins.

● 1974 — QB John Hadl from the Rams to the Packers for two No. 1s (both Top 10), two No. 2s and a No. 3 in the next two drafts.

Nowadays, three of the picks would be in the first round (8, 9, 28) and the other two in the second (39, 61). This was your basic desperate-for-a-quarterback move by Green Bay. Problem was, Hadl, who’d been a first-team all-pro the season before, was 34, and his best football was behind him. Two years later, the Packers dealt him to Houston for QB Lynn Dickey. Who the Rams drafted with the Hadl picks: DT Mike Fanning, CB Monte Jackson, C Geoff Reece, CB Pat Thomas, C Geoff Reece. Jackson and Thomas went to multiple Pro Bowls. The fifth pick from the deal, a ’76 No. 1, was sent to the Lions as compensation for signing free agent WR Ron Jessie, a Pro Bowler in his first season with L.A.

● 1980 — RB Chuck Muncie from the Saints to the Chargers for a 1982 No. 2.

Muncie was tremendously talented and equally troubled (read: drugs, alcohol), which is why his price was so reasonable. But Chargers coach Don Coryell was assembling a Super Offense

Chuck Muncie

Chuck Muncie

around Hall of Fame QB Dan Fouts and decided to take a chance on Chuck, who had already been to one Pro Bowl (and would go to two others). San Diego made it to the AFC title game in Muncie’s first two seasons, losing to the Raiders and Bengals, but then his demons undid him again and he was packed off to the Dolphins. Who the Saints drafted with the Chargers pick: LB Rickey Jackson, who’s now in Canton.

● 1981 — WR Wes Chandler from the Saints to the Chargers for Nos. 1 and 3 picks in 1982. Chandler was another of Coryell’s offensive additions (along with Muncie and TE Kellen Winslow, San Diego’s first-rounder in ’79). He went to three Pro Bowls with the Chargers, and in the nine-game ’82 strike season averaged 129 receiving yards a game, a record. Who the Saints drafted with the San Diego picks: WR Lindsay Scott (69 career receptions) and DB John Krimm (nine NFL games). In other words, not much.

● 1981 — DE Fred Dean from the Chargers to the 49ers for a 1982 No. 2 and the option to switch No. 1s in ’83.

For instant impact, you won’t find many better deals than this one. Strengthened by Dean’s Hall of Fame pass-rushing abilities, San Francisco went on to win the Super Bowl that season and again in ’84. What’s truly amazing, though, is what happened after San Diego chose to swap first-rounders in ’85 (moving up from 22 to 5 to take LB Billy Ray Smith). The Niners then traded the 22nd selection back to them for two No. 2s (36, 49) and turned them into Pro Bowl RBs Wendell Tyler (via a trade with the Rams) and Roger Craig (via the draft). To recap: Dynasty-bound San Francisco got Dean, Tyler and Craig, and the Chargers got Smith and CB Gil Byrd (the 22nd pick). Nice.

● 1983 — CB Mike Haynes from the Patriots to the Raiders for a 1984 No. 1 and ’85 No. 2.

Haynes, a holdout, didn’t want to re-sign with New England. And when Al Davis finally worked out a trade for him — a tad after the deadline — the league tried to disallow it. But Davis

Mike Haynes

Mike Haynes

ultimately prevailed, and the cornerback combination of Hall of Famer Haynes and Pro Bowler Lester Hayes turned the Raiders defense into a total monster, one that destroyed the Redskins, one of the highest-scoring teams in NFL history, in the Super Bowl later that season. Who the Patriots drafted with the Raiders picks: New England packaged the ’84 No. 1 (28th) with their own (16th) to get the first overall pick and selected WR Irving Fryar, who had a very good 17-year career (most of it with other clubs). The No. 2 brought DB Jim Bowman. Remember, though: The Pats went to the Super Bowl themselves in ’85 — and beat the Raiders in the playoffs to get there.

● 1987 — RB Eric Dickerson from the Rams to the Colts for three No. 1s and three No. 2s spread over the next two drafts, plus RBs Greg Bell and Owen Gill. The trade also involved the Bills, who came away with LB Cornelius Bennett, Indianapolis’ unsigned No. 1 pick that year (and the second overall selection).

What a blockbuster. Dickerson was one of the biggest names in game, a Hall of Famer whose 2,105-yard rushing season in 1984 is still the record. So why did the Rams deal him? Contract issues. In Indianapolis he rejoined his coach at SMU, Ron Meyer, who showcased him the way John Robinson had in Los Angeles. (In other words, this was the running back version of the Layne trade.) Backs tend to have shorter primes, though, and Eric rushed for more yards with the Rams (7,245) than with the Colts (5,194). Still, Indy made the playoffs in ’87 — for the first time since moving from Baltimore – so it’s not like Jim Irsay didn’t get anything out of the trade.

As for the Rams, Gill didn’t gain a single yard for them, but Bell was their leading rusher in 1988 and ’89, when they reached the postseason. Who they drafted with Colts’ and Bills’ picks: RB Gaston Green, WR Aaron Cox, RB Cleveland Gary, LB Fred Strickland, LB Frank Stams and CB Darryl Henley. Only Green ever made the Pro Bowl (once), and Henley wound up in prison for cocaine trafficking and other felonious activities.

● 1989 — RB Herschel Walker from the Cowboys to the Vikings for the kitchen sink.

There were enough picks and players involved in this trade – 18 in all, including three No. 1s and three No. 2s – to give you a headache. Dallas’ major acquisitions, through the draft, were RB Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, and five-time Pro Bowl SS Darren Woodson. (The rest were pretty much role players.) As for Walker, he was a disappointment in Minnesota, though the Vikings also got a third-round selection in the deal that they turned into WR Jake Reed, who had four 1,000-yard seasons. With Smith, the Triplets (Troy Aikman-Michael Irvin-Emmitt) were complete, and the Cowboys became the team of the ’90s, winning three Super Bowls in four years.

● 1990 — QB Steve Walsh from the Cowboys to the Saints for Nos. 1 and 3 picks in 1991 and a No. 2 in ’92.

Once Jimmy Johnson decided on Aikman as his quarterback, he auctioned off Walsh, his former University of Miami QB, who he’d taken in the ’89 supplemental draft. The New Orleans first-rounder, which Johnson traded to the Lions, didn’t bring much in return, but the third-rounder, OT Erik Williams, was voted to four Pro Bowls. The second-rounder is the great What Might Have Been. Jimmy used it to move up and draft WR Jimmy Smith, who washed out in Dallas but had 11 tremendous seasons with the Jaguars, catching 862 passes and going to five Pro Bowls. Walsh quarterbacked Saints to the playoffs in ’90, going 6-5 as a starter, but didn’t have many more career highlights.

Sources: pro-football-reference.com, prosportstransactions.com, various Sporting News Football Registers.

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Friday Night Fights VIII: Charley Powell vs. Charlie Norkus, 1954

When Charley Powell died last month at 82, he was an all but forgotten sports figure — outside, that is, his hometown of San Diego, where his feats in football, baseball, basketball, track and boxing are legend. Jim Murray, the Los Angeles Times columnist, once wrote: “When the conversation veers around to all-around athletes, it gets to Charlie Powell in a hurry. There’s Jim Thorpe, Jackie Robinson, and, well, how about Charlie Powell?”

As a 20-year-old in 1952 — he passed up college in favor of a minor-league baseball fling — Powell was man enough to play defensive end for a 49ers club stacked with four Hall of Famers: quarterback Y.A. Tittle, running backs Joe Perry and Hugh McElhenny and tackle Leo Nomellini. A chiseled 6-foot-3, 226 pounds, he might have been one of the greats if he hadn’t gone into boxing, which paid better.

As he told Gay Talese of The New York Times late in his career: “Trouble was I’d have to take weight off in the summertime [for boxing] and put it back on in the wintertime for football. It

An ad in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

An ad in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

was off and on, off and on, and I couldn’t concentrate on either sport.”

Powell did have his moments in the squared circle, though. The biggest came in March 1959, when, as a 4-to-1 underdog, he TKO’d Nino Valdes, the No. 2-ranked heavyweight. The win moved Charley up to ninth in Ring Magazine’s ratings, as high as he ever got. From The Associated Press account:

“Valdes had gone down twice before in the [eighth] round [before referee Cy Gottfried stopped it], once following a left and a right to the jaw, . . . and once when the ex-pro football player draped him over the middle strand of the ring ropes. . . .

“[Valdes] suffered a gash over his right eye in the third [round] and thereafter presented a gory picture after he tried to ward off the aggressive Californian, who crowded in and refused to allow his bigger opponent to unlimber his heavy guns.”

After getting off to a 20-3-2 start, Powell settled for a final record of 25-11-3 with 17 knockouts. A succession of broken hands — along with a chin, I’m told, that may not have been made of granite — undermined his early promise. Toward the end, he served as a tuneup for a young Cassius Clay (soon to be known as Muhammad Ali) in 1963 and a dethroned Floyd Patterson in ’64. He was knocked out both times, but give the guy his due: He traded blows with two heavyweight champs.

The following is a clip from Powell’s 1954 bout against journeyman Charlie Norkus at San Francisco Civic Auditorium. You can watch all seven rounds if you want; I’m just focusing on the first one, when he . . .

Now that’s punching power.

Powell mixing it up with Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali).

Powell mixing it up with Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali).

 

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Quarterback merry-go-rounds

All indications are that the Redskins will turn to Quarterback No. 3 this season – Colt McCoy – when they face the first-place Cowboys on Monday night in Dallas. Robert Griffin III is still working his way back from the dislocated ankle he suffered in Week 2, and backup Kirk Cousins has buried himself beneath a pile of interceptions and fumbles (11 in barely more than five games). Since Sonny Jurgensen can’t run the zone-read, McCoy is about the only option coach Jay Gruden has left.

Generally speaking, a team’s third quarterback is somebody who should be seen and not heard. And if the situation gets even worse and that team has to go to its fourth guy, well, it might want to consider punting on first down. When the Cardinals, for example, started four QBs in 2012 — John Skelton, Kevin Kolb, Ryan Lindley and Brian Hoyer — they finished last in the NFC West (5-11) and next-to-last in the league in scoring (15.6 points a game). Pretty typical.

Still, not every team that jumps on the Quarterback Merry-Go-Round bottoms out the way Arizona did (and the Redskins might ultimately do). Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present:

6 WINNING TEAMS THAT STARTED 4 MORE QBS IN A SEASON (SINCE 1970)

● 1984 Bears (10-6, lost NFC title game to the 49ers) — Coach: Mike Ditka. Starting QBs (5): Jim McMahon* (7-2), Steve Fuller (2-2), Greg Landry (1-0), Rusty Lisch (0-1), Bob Avellini (0-1).

● 1986 Bears (14-2, lost first playoff game to the Redskins) — Coach: Ditka. Starting QBs (4): Mike Tomczak (7-0), McMahon* (6-0), Fuller (0-2), Doug Flutie (1-0).

● 1988 Browns (10-6, lost first playoff game to the Houston Oilers) — Coach: Marty Schottenheimer. Starting QBs (4): Bernie Kosar* (6-3), Mike Pagel (2-2), Don Strock (2-0), Gary Danielson (0-1).

● 2003 Broncos (10-6, lost first playoff game to the Colts) — Coach: Mike Shanahan. Starting QBs (4): Jake Plummer* (9-2), Steve Beuerlein (1-1), Danny Kanell (0-2), Jarious Jackson (0-1).

● 1991 Eagles (10-6, missed playoffs) — Coach: Rich Kotite. Starting QBs (4) Jim McMahon (8-3), Jeff Kemp (1-1), Brad Goebel (0-2), Randall Cunningham* (1-0).

● 1988 Patriots (9-7, missed playoffs) — Coach: Raymond Berry. Starting QBs (4): Flutie (6-3), Steve Grogan* (1-3), Tony Eason (1-1), Tom Ramsey (1-0).

*started opener

Note: 1987 strike season (which featured replacement players) not included.

Ditka’s head-coaching career, quarterbacks-wise, was just amazing. Only once in his 14 seasons did one of his QBs start all 16 games — 1991, when Jim Harbaugh went the distance. The rest of the time, Iron Mike averaged 2.9 starting quarterbacks a year. Yet he continued to win, usually big, because he had such an outstanding defense. Could he get away with that today, with the game even more tilted toward passing? Hard to imagine.

MIKE DITKA’S STARTING QUARTERBACKS, YEAR BY YEAR

Year Team (W-L) QB Starters
1982 Bears (3-6) 2 Jim McMahon, Bob Avellini
1983 Bears (8-8) 2 McMahon, Vince Evans
1984 Bears (10-6) 4 McMahon, Steve Fuller, Greg Landry, Rusty Lisch, Avellini
1985 Bears (15-1) 2 McMahon, Fuller
1986 Bears (14-2) 4 Mike Tomczak, McMahon, Fuller, Doug Flutie
1987 Bears** (11-4) 2 McMahon, Tomczak
1988 Bears (12-4) 3 McMahon, Tomczak, Jim Harbaugh
1989 Bears (6-10) 2 Tomczak, Harbaugh
1990 Bears (11-5) 2 Harbaugh, Tomczak
1991 Bears (11-5) 1 Harbaugh
1992 Bears (5-11) 3 Harbaugh, Peter Tom Willis, Will Furrer
1997 Saints (6-10) 4 Heath Shuler, Billy Joe Hobert, Danny Wuerffel, Doug Nussmeier
1998 Saints (6-10) 4 Kerry Collins, Wuerffel, Billy Joe Tolliver, Hobert
1999 Saints (3-13) 3 Tolliver, Hobert, Jake Delhomme

**Replacement quarterbacks excluded.

Makes your head spin, doesn’t it? During his time with the Bears, of course, Ditka was competing for NFC supremacy against Bill Walsh (49ers, 1979-88), Joe Gibbs (Redskins, 1981-92) and Bill Parcells (Giants, 1983-90), all of whom won multiple Super Bowls. Just to compare: Walsh had six starting QBs in his decade in San Francisco, Gibbs six in his dozen years in Washington (the first time around) and Parcells four in his eight years in New York. Ditka, meanwhile, had 11 in his 11 seasons in Chicago, more than Walsh and Parcells (or Gibbs and Parcells) combined.

Say what you will about Iron Mike as a coach, his career was certainly unique. He won 121 regular-season games, one Super Bowl and went to three NFC championship games despite a virtual revolving door at the most important position on the field (thanks to Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton and the gang). It may never happen again.

Mike Ditka and Jim Harbaugh, the only quarterback who started an entire season for him.

Mike Ditka and Jim Harbaugh, the only quarterback who started an entire season for him.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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Matt Stafford erases a bit more of Bobby Layne

With his next touchdown pass, the Lions’ Matt Stafford will consign yet another of Bobby Layne’s franchise records to the dustbin of history. They’re both tied at 118, but that’s not why I’ve raised the subject. I’ve raised the subject because Layne last took a snap for Detroit in 1958. That’s how lacking the club’s quarterbacking has been the past 56 years.

When you think of all the rule changes over the decades that have aided the offense, it’s somewhat miraculous any career passing record from that era — even a team record — is still on the books. After all, there are seven active QBs (the Falcons’ Matt Ryan, the Ravens’ Joe Flacco, the Cowboys’ Tony Romo, the Patriots’ Tom Brady, the Saints’ Drew Brees, the Giants’ Eli Manning and the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger) who are their franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, and an eighth (the Broncos’ Peyton Manning) who is another franchise’s all -time leader (the Colts). Let’s face it, no record is more made to be broken than a passing record.

Surprisingly, though, three other clubs’ records for TD passes have been standing even longer than the Lions’, and three more predate ’78 (when the one-bump rule was instituted, holding was all but legalized and the game began turning into the passfest we have today). The details:

LONGEST-STANDING TEAM RECORDS FOR CAREER TD PASSES

Since Held By, Team TD Next
1950 Sid Luckman*, Bears 137 Jay Cutler,115
1952 Sammy Baugh*, Redskins 187 Sonny Jurgensen, 179
1955 Otto Graham*, Browns 174 Brian Sipe, 154
1958 Bobby Layne*, Lions 118 Matt Stafford, 118
1972 Roman Gabriel, Rams 154 Jim Everett, 142
1975 Len Dawson*, Chiefs 237 Trent Green, 118
1976 Joe Namath*, Jets 170 Ken O’Brien, 124
1978 Fran Tarkenton*, Vikings 239 Tommy Kramer, 159
1979 Ken Stabler, Raiders 150 Daryle Lamonica, 148

*Hall of Famer

Note: Graham’s total includes the 86 touchdown passes he threw in the All-America Conference (1946-49) before the Browns joined the NFL.

As you can see, seven of these team records are held by Hall of Famers, but many of them didn’t set the bar very high by today’s standards. Layne’s mark (118) is by far the lowest. In fact, it’s barely more than the number of TDs passes Peyton Manning has tossed in 3½ seasons with the Broncos (111).

In the last few years, Stafford has broken Layne’s franchise records for attempts, completions and yards. Soon enough, all that will be left is Layne’s mark for interceptions (142 – which Stafford, at 79 and counting, also has a shot at). Of course, Bobby was the quarterback on two Lions championship teams (1952-53). Matt has a ways to go before he tops that.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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Colts-Bengals . . . and other tail-kickings

In Sunday’s 27-0 blanking of the Bengals, the Colts had a 506-135 edge in yards — a difference of 371. Which raises the question: Is this at all close to the NFL record?

Answer: Not nearly. In fact, it’s not even within 200 (as you can see in the following chart).

BIGGEST YARDAGE DIFFERENTIAL IN A GAME SINCE 1940

Date Winner, Yards Loser, Yards Margin
9-28-51 Rams, 722 Yanks, 111 611
11-11-62 Packers, 628 Eagles, 54 574
11-14-43 Bears, 682 Giants, 157 525
12-4-76 Rams, 569 Falcons, 81 488
11-4-79 Rams, 475 Seahawks, -7 482
11-13-66 Rams, 572 Giants, 103 469
11-6-88 Vikings, 553 Lions, 89 464
9-9-79 Patriots, 597 Jets, 134 463
12-14-47 Redskins, 574 Yanks, 112 462
12-13-53 49ers, 597 Colts, 136 461

How are those for one-sided contests?

I actually covered one of them: the Patriots’ annihilation of the Jets in 1979. Final score: 56-3. (It looked like a touch football game, with the Jets secondary hopelessly chasing around Harold Jackson and Stanley Morgan.) Amazingly, the Jets won the rematch later in the season at Shea Stadium.

Several of these games are notable for other historical reasons. Namely:

● 1951 Rams-Yanks: The Rams’ Norm Van Brocklin threw for 554 yards. It’s still the single-game record.

● 1943 Bears-Giants: The Bears’ Sid Luckman became the first NFL quarterback to toss seven touchdown passes.

● 1979 Rams-Seahawks: The Seahawks’ yardage total of minus-7 is the lowest in NFL history. (Their one first down, meanwhile, is one shy of the mark).

Note that, in five instances, Hall of Fame quarterbacks were involved: Van Brocklin, Luckman, Bart Starr (1962 Packers-Eagles), Sammy Baugh (1947 Redskins-Yanks) and Y.A. Tittle (1953 49ers-Colts). A Hall of Fame QB was even involved on the losing end (Sonny Jurgensen in the Packers’ wipeout of the Eagles). Pat Haden, meanwhile, was the winning QB in two of the games (1976 Rams-Falcons, 1979 Rams-Seahawks).

Finally, the first three teams on the list — the ’51 Rams, ’43 Bears and ’62 Packers — went on to win the championship.

Interesting that the most recent of these games was played 26 years ago (1988 Vikings-Lions). What do you suppose the reason is? Parity? More merciful coaches? Or is it just easier to gain yards now, especially passing yards, whether you’re scoring points or not? (I vote for No. 3.)

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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The Percy Harvin puzzle

A receiver possessing Percy Harvin’s tools — speed, elusiveness, hands — should be able to gain yards in the NFL, at the very least. That’s what’s so confounding about his play with the Seahawks . . . and was one of the main reasons they unloaded him to the Jets last week for a late-round draft pick. Forget touchdowns; he wasn’t even getting first downs.

In fact, his per-catch average through five games was ridiculously low: 6.05 yards. Only one wide receiver in league history has finished with a lower one (on 20 or more receptions). The data:

LOWEST PER-CATCH AVERAGES BY WRS IN NFL HISTORY (20+ RECEPTIONS)

Year Wideout, Team Rec Yds Avg
2003 Justin Griffith, Falcons 21 122 5.81
2014 Percy Harvin*, Seahawks/Jets 22 133 6.05
2009 Josh Cribbs, Browns 20 135 6.75
2012 Early Doucet, Saints 28 207 7.39
2009 Mike Furrey, Browns 23 170 7.39
1997 David Palmer, Vikings 26 193 7.42
1993 Kevin Williams, Cowboys 20 151 7.55
2009 Danny Amendola, Rams 43 326 7.58
2013 Earl Bennett, Bears 32 243 7.59
2001 Tywan Mitchell, Cardinals 25 196 7.84
2006 Dante Hall, Chiefs 26 204 7.85

*season incomplete

Not exactly a prestigious group, is it? It’s certainly not the kind of group a player with Harvin’s contract (6 years, $64.25 million) and expectations should be associating with. But when you get right down to it, Percy — as a wideout, anyway — isn’t all that fearsome a force. He’s more of a horizontal threat with his Jet sweeps, pitch plays out of the backfield, bubble screens and shallow underneath routes.

If Harvin were a truly great receiver, he’d just line up wide, beat his man (or the zone confronting him) and make big plays. But his teams – first the Vikings, then the Seahawks – haven’t used him that way, which suggests it’s Not His Thing. To me, he’s a bell, a whistle, a trinket, an additional ornament for an offense, but not somebody who should be making $11 million a year.

Maybe that will change with the Jets. Maybe he’ll show the world he’s capable of being the focal point of an attack. But we’re talking about a guy who’s had injury issues and, reportedly, personality issues, a guy who only once has gained as many as 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a season (1,312 in 2011). A few times a game he’ll get his hands on the ball, step on the gas and give the crowd a thrill, but how often does he ever tip the balance?

He’s a receiver who specializes in catching passes that aren’t really passes, throws behind the line or close to the line where there’s no defender to worry about. This is a star? An old-time quarterback once told me, “We used to call those pee passes. You threw ’em about as far as you could pee.” That, to me, is Percy Harvin: The Prince of Pee Passes.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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Running roughshod over Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger was sacked three times for 16 yards Monday night in the Steelers’ 30-23 win over the Texans. In other words, it was a perfectly normal week for Roethlisberger, whose per-game average over 11 NFL seasons is 2.7 sacks for 17.7 yards, give or take an ammonia capsule.

Big Ben’s 406 career sackings are the 10th most since 1982, when the league began tracking the statistic. But if his 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame can withstand the pounding, he should eventually overtake Packers legend Brett Favre, who’s first with 525 (in more than twice as many games — 302 to Ben’s 150).

This made me wonder: How many first-round quarterbacks have had fewer passing yards, all told, than Roethisberger has sack yards (2,650)? There’s gotta be a few, right?

Actually, I count 29 — not including some young quarterbacks, like the current rookie crop, who haven’t played enough to be considered. Imagine: Ben has gone backward farther than these guys have gone forward (in terms of throwing the ball, anyway).

1st-Round QBs with Fewer Career Passing Yards than Big Ben Has Sack Yards (2,650)

[table width=”400px”]

Quarterback\, First Team,Pick\, Year,Pass Yds

Art Schlichter\, Colts,4th\, 1982,1\,006

Andre Ware\, Lions,7th\, 1990,1\,112

Todd Marinovich\, Raiders,24th\, 1991,1\,345

Akili Smith\, Bengals,3rd\, 1999,2\,212

Kelly Stouffer\, Seahawks*,6th\, 1987,2\,333

Tim Tebow\, Broncos,25th\, 2010,2\,422

[/table]

*Was drafted by the Cardinals, then traded.

Obviously, this is just a sampling. There are many more. And look who’s coming up on Roethlisberger’s radar screen:

[table width=”400px”]

Quarterback\, First Team,Pick\, Year,Pass Yds

Cade McNown\, Bears,12th\, 1999, 3\,111

Ryan Leaf\, Chargers,2nd\, 1998,3\,666

Heath Shuler\, Redskins,3rd\, 1994,3\,691

Matt Leinart\, Cardinals,10th\, 2006,4\,065

JaMarcus Russell\, Raiders,1st\, 2007,4\,083

[/table]

Leinart and Russell might be a bit out of reach for Big Ben, but the other three are certainly catchable.

If Roethlisberger does break Favre’s sack mark, by the way, I can hardly wait to see how the Steelers commemorate the occasion. Maybe they’ll give him Free MRIs for Life.

The Broncos' Von Miller corrals Big Ben

The Broncos’ Von Miller corrals Big Ben

Or maybe the offensive line — all in good fun, of course — will “open the gate” for the record-breaking sack. That’s a football term for letting the defense through unimpeded, something the line usually does only if it’s trying to, uh, communicate something to the quarterback.

Speaking of which, I heard a funny story once about the Packers opening the gate way back when on Curly Lambeau. In his younger days, Lambeau was their single-wing tailback and signal caller, but by this time — 1929, I think — he was essentially a full-time coach. Anyway, one afternoon at Comiskey Park, the Packers offense was struggling mightily against the Chicago Cardinals, and Curly put himself in the game to show these whippersnappers how it was done.

The whippersnappers weren’t amused. On the next play, they made like toreadors while the Cardinals flooded through and planted Curly in the infield dirt. The coach got the message and went back to being a coach.

Years later, the Packers were in Chicago to play the Cards again, and a bunch of players decided to go to Comiskey the day before to watch the White Sox game. In the umpiring crew was Cal Hubbard, one of the Green Bay linemen who’d opened the gate on Lambeau.

With his former teammates watching, Hubbard walked over to the spot between first and second base where Curly met his demise and drew a big X with his cleat. The Packers howled.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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