Jack Nicholson riding in the back seat in 
Easy Rider (1969).
They’d much rather have a fist bump
Not sure quite what to make of this, but I thought I’d throw it out there. In the first photo, we see coach George Halas playfully pulling on quarterback Sid Luckman’s hair during the Bears’ 73-0 walloping of the Redskins in the 1940 title game. . . .
And in the second photo we see coach Jimmy Conzelman doing the same thing to backs Elmer Angsman (7) and Charley Trippi (62) after the Cardinals beat the Eagles for the ’47 title. I ask you: What was it in that era about coaches pulling players’ hair? (And does this explain why players now douse them with Gatorade?)
Josh Shaw’s whopper is an old football story
Football player suffers careless off-field injury. Football player wants to keep it from his coach. Football player goes to great lengths to cover it up.
Now there’s something that’s never happened before — especially in football, where players get hurt as a matter of course.
Reading about Josh Shaw’s travails at Southern Cal, I was reminded of a funny story once told me by Jack Ferrante, a receiver on the Philadelphia Eagles’ championship teams in the late ’40s. The 
Eagles in those days held training camp in Saranac Lake, N.Y., not far from Lake Placid in the Adirondacks. They bunked in the Eagles Nest, an old lodge their owner, Alexis Thompson, had bought for his bobsledding activities as much as anything else.
Thompson was a competitive slider, and the lodge had an elevator “so that bobsleds could be lowered into the basement for summer storage.” (In an earlier incarnation, the Eagles Nest — then known as Keegan Cottage — had served as a tuberculosis sanitorium.)
“We used to walk about a block, block and a half, to a high school field where we practiced,” Ferrante said. “But [Thompson] had all kinds of facilities there. Downstairs he had a playroom, and upstairs he had a big living room where we ate and everything. And we all slept in this one dorm. Everybody slept in the same room in bunk beds. They used to play some dirty tricks on me. They used to put fish in my bed. And I’d jump out, not knowing what the heck was in there. But it was all in good fun.
“Sometimes we’d go down in the den and play ping pong — doubles, one paddle to a side — and we’d have a lot of fun with that. That’s how we spent most of our time. That and playing cards. It was a dead little town.”
How does all this relate to Josh Shaw, you ask? I’m getting there, I’m getting there.
Steve Van Buren, the Eagles’ famed running back, had a boat up there, and he and some of his teammates would occasionally go fishing (which is where the fish in Ferrante’s bed came from). Anyhow, one day “the boat got out of control,” Jack said, “and Wojie [Hall of Fame center Alex Wojciechowicz] got thrown out of the boat. He got hit in the face and, cheese and crackers, we couldn’t stop the boat because I had just filled the gas tank up. It just kept going and going and going. Thank God it just stopped.
“Wojie’s got this big gash and everything, and when we go back [to the lodge] we’re trying to keep him away from [coach] Greasy [Neale]. So at the next practice, on like the first play from scrimmage, Wojie pretends like he got hit, you know? And coach never knew what happened. If he’d ever found out, we wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere.”
Wherever he is, Alex Wojciechowicz is probably smiling right now at Shaw’s predicament and thinking: Been there, done that. Or maybe he’s smiling because he just slipped another fish in Ferrante’s bed.
The vanishing shutout
NFL defenses posted just three shutouts last season, one off the all-time low. There weren’t many the previous three years, either — six in 2012 and five in both ’11 and ’10. You don’t have to be Norman Einstein, as Joe Theismann would say, to figure out that’s one shutout every 53.9 games — in this decade, at least.
The whitewash in pro football is even more of an endangered species than the complete-game whitewash in baseball. And you wonder why James Harrison is perpetually perturbed?
If this offensive explosion keeps up — and it shows no signs of abating — the shutout may go the way of the single-bar facemask. Especially with kickers becoming increasingly accurate. Since 2000, 183 shutouts have been spoiled by a single field goal. That didn’t happen nearly as often in the Pre-Soccer-Style Era.
Shutouts, decade by decade (regular season only):
● 1940s (85 total) – 1 every 6.4 games
● 1950s (40) – 1 every 18.2 games
● 1960s* (73) – 1 every 22.1 games
● 1970s (158) – 1 every 12.2 games
● 1980s (98) – 1 every 21.7 games
● 1990s (83) – 1 every 28.1 games
● 2000s (89) – 1 every 28.6 games
● 2010-13 (19) – 1 every 53.9 games
*NFL and AFL combined
In the ’40s, of course, there were too many shutouts. But the situation corrected itself as the T formation spread and the passing game evolved. There were too many shutouts in the ’70s, too. That calamity was fixed by rule changes in 1978 that limited contact against receivers and allowed blockers to use their hands.
Don’t expect the NFL to do anything about the current imbalance, though. Offense sells tickets and, besides, who — outside of defensive players and coaches — is complaining?
Not that these people don’t have a point. Let’s face it, the game hasn’t been this far out of whack in decades. Pro football, to its great profit, has always favored the offense, but there are times when it gets a little ridiculous. This is one of those times.
A shutout miscellany:
The Last 5 Teams to Post Back-to-Back Shutouts
● 2009 Cowboys (11-5) — Beat Redskins 17-0, Eagles 24-0. Lost in second round of playoffs. Hall of Famers: LB DeMarcus Ware (projected). Pro Bowlers: Ware, NT Jay Ratliff, CB Thomas Newman, CB Mike Jenkins.
● 2000 Titans (13-3) — Beat Browns 24-0, Cowboys 31-0. Lost first playoff game. Hall of Famers: None. Pro Bowlers: DE Jevon Kearse, CB Samari Rolle, SS Blaine Bishop.
● 2000 Steelers (9-7) — Beat Bengals 15-0, Browns 22-0. (This came during a five-game stretch in which Pittsburgh allowed no touchdowns and just six field goals.) Missed playoffs. Hall of Famers: None. Pro Bowler: LB Jason Gildon.
● 2000 Ravens (12-4) — Beat Bengals 37-0, Browns 12-0. Won Super Bowl. Hall of Famers (1): FS Rod Woodson (with LB Ray Lewis in the waiting room). Pro Bowlers: Woodson, Lewis, DT Sam Adams.
● 1985 Bears (15-1) — Beat Cowboys 44-0, Falcons 36-0. Won Super Bowl (and racked up two more shutouts in the postseason). Hall of Famers (3): DE Richard Dent, DT Dan Hampton, LB Mike Singletary. Pro Bowlers: Dent, Hampton, Singletary, DT Steve McMichael, LB Otis Wilson, SS Dave Duerson.
The Only Teams Since the 1970 Merger to Post 3 Straight Shutouts
● 1976 Steelers (10-4) — Beat Giants 27-0, Chargers 23-0, Chiefs 45-0. Lost in AFC title game. Hall of Famers (4): DT Joe Greene, LB Jack Lambert, LB Jack Ham, CB Mel Blount. (They had five shutouts in all, tying them with the 1944 Giants for the most in a season since the ’30s.)
● 1970 Cardinals (8-5-1) — Beat Houston Oilers 44-0, Patriots 31-0, Cowboys 38-0. (Note: A three-week stretch in which they outscored their opponents 113-0.) Missed playoffs. Hall of Famers (2): CB Roger Wehrli, FS Larry Wilson.
Also:
● 1948 Eagles (9-2-1) — Had three 45-0 blowouts (Giants, Redskins, Boston Yanks), the first two in consecutive weeks. Won NFL title. Hall of Famers (2): E Pete Pihos, LB Alex Wojciechowicz.
● 1962 Packers (13-1) — Handed out two 49-0 beatings (Bears, Eagles). Won NFL title. Hall of Famers (5): DE Willie Davis, DT Henry Jordan, LB Ray Nitschke, CB Herb Adderley, FS Willie Wood.
● 1960 Dallas Texans (8-6) — Shut out both teams that reached the AFL championship game (Chargers 17-0, Oilers 24-0). Hall of Famers: None. (DT Buck Buchanan and LB Bobby Bell didn’t come along until ’63.)
And finally, lest we forget:
● The 1934 Lions had more shutouts in their first seven games (7) than the entire NFL had in each of the past four seasons (5, 5, 6, 3).
Source: pro-football-reference.com
A few pointers on playing quarterback
One of the best things about this commercial is that, right up to the end, it looks like an instructional video on How To Take The Center Snap. Our demonstrator is Roman Gabriel, the Pro Bowl quarterback for the Rams and Eagles in the ’60s and ’70s.
That same year (1969), Gabriel appeared in John Wayne movie, The Undefeated, set in the period just after the Civil War. He played a Native American named Blue Boy. (Was he a Native American? Well, no. But his father was Filipino, which accounted for Roman’s dark complexion. That’s show biz, folks.) You also get a glimpse here of Merlin Olsen, the Rams’ Hall of Fame defensive tackle, who went on to a much more substantial acting career (Father Murphy, Little House on the Prairie).
How great is it that an NFL quarterback got to be in a film in which The Duke delivered this line?
Thoughts on the Logan Mankins trade
For me, there are two surprises in the following chart. The first is that only eight rookie tight ends in NFL history have had 50 or more receptions. The second is that every one of them went in the first 40 picks of the draft except for Tim Wright, the guy the Patriots just acquired from the Bucs for six-time Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins. Wright, who played his college ball at Rutgers, was passed over by all 32 teams a year ago.
ROOKIE TIGHT ENDS WHO HAVE CAUGHT 50 OR MORE PASSES
| Year Tight End, Team | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Round-Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Keith Jackson, Eagles | 81 | 869 | 10.7 | 6 | 1-13 |
| 2002 Jeremy Shockey, Giants | 74 | 894 | 12.1 | 2 | 1-14 |
| 1961 Mike Ditka, Bears | 56 | 1,076 | 19.2 | 12 | 1-5 |
| 2008 John Carlson, Seahawks | 55 | 627 | 11.4 | 5 | 2-38 |
| 1973 Charle Young, Eagles | 55 | 854 | 15.5 | 6 | 1-6 |
| 1998 Cam Cleeland, Saints | 54 | 684 | 12.7 | 6 | 2-40 |
| 2013 Tim Wright, Bucs | 54 | 571 | 10.6 | 5 | Undrafted |
| 2010 Jermaine Gresham, Bengals | 52 | 471 | 9.1 | 4 | 1-21 |
That’s right, no Rob Gronkowski (42 receptions). No Jimmy Graham (31). No Tony Gonzalez (33). No Kellen Winslow Sr. or Jr. (30 combined in their first season). No Shannon Sharpe (7). Maybe this Wright kid is better than we think. (Of course, before today, when the deal was announced, how often did he even cross our minds?)
At the every least, Wright provides low-cost Gronk Insurance in the event the all-world tight end is slow coming back from knee surgery. When No. 87 was out of the lineup last year, the Patriots’ supercharged offense seemed more like a stick shift. Wright also creates significant cap space in case the Pats want to hang onto Darrelle Revis, whose 2015 option is a gargantuan $20 million. Mankins, after all, had the Pats’ second-highest cap number after Tom Brady; Wright, meanwhile, like most undrafted free agents, subsists on gruel.
Still, trading a guard with Mankins’ resumé . . . how often has that happened? Well, I dug up one similar example back in the ’70s. (Which isn’t to say there might not be others.) I also found a couple of guards who were dealt after being voted to five Pro Bowls — and two more who were sent packing after being voted to three. The particulars, chronologically:
● Walt Sweeney, Chargers to Redskins (January 1974) — A nine-time Pro Bowler in San Diego (1964-72), Sweeney joined George Allen’s Over the Hill Gang at the age of 33. He started for two seasons in Washington before calling it a career. The Chargers received fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round picks spread over three drafts.
● Ed White, Vikings to Chargers (July 1978) — White had made three Pro Bowls in Minnesota and would make another in San Diego. Though already 31, he ended up playing eight more seasons (which Mankins might try to do just out of spite). The Vikes, in return, got Rickey Young, who caught 88 passes in his first year with them, a record for running backs (since broken).
● Joe DeLamielleure, Bills to Browns (September 1980) — Hall of Famer DeLamielleure, then 29, had been selected for five Pro Bowls in Buffalo and added a sixth in Cleveland. The Bills came away with second- and third-round picks.
● R.C. Thielemann, Falcons to Redskins (August 1985) — Atlanta needed a wideout. Washington wasn’t sold on its right guard. So the 30-year-old Thielemann, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Falcons, was swapped Charlie Brown, who was coming off an injury-marred season after tying for the NFC lead in receptions in ’83. R.C. was just a spoke in the wheel with the Redskins, but he did start on their ’87 championship team.
● Kent Hill, Los Angeles Rams to Houston Oilers (September 1986) — This was the trade, two games into the season, that enabled L.A. to obtain the rights to unsigned QB Jim Everett, the third pick in the ’86 draft (who had no desire to sit behind Canton-bound Warren Moon). Hill, part of a mega-package that included DE William Fuller and two No. 1s, was 29 and had gone to five Pro Bowls. He played that year and one more in Houston and then retired.
As for Everett, he didn’t win the Super Bowl in Los Angeles, but after moving to the Saints he did leave us with this memorable clip:
Anyway, yeah, this Mankins trade is extremely rare. I wouldn’t want to be the team that comes out on the short end of it.
Sources: pro-football-reference.com, NFL.com
The shelf life of a multiple-championship coach
Hardly a day goes by that some Media Type doesn’t wonder — on radio, TV or in print — whether Tom Brady will win another Super Bowl. To which I reply: Never mind Brady. Will Bill Belichick win another Super Bowl? Coaches have an expiration date, too.
And the Man in the Grey Cotton Hoodie may have passed his. No coach, after all, has won the Lombardi Trophy later than his 18th season in an NFL head job (the Cowboys’ Tom Landry in 1977). Belichick is in his 20th — five with the Browns, 15 with the Patriots. So if he wins his fourth title, he’ll set a modern record for shelf life.
Yes, Tom Coughlin was 65 when his Giants took the championship in 2011, three years older than Belichick is now. And yes, that made him the oldest Super Bowl-winning coach. But it was “only” his 16th season as a head man. He’d have to capture a third title to top Landry.
And yes, Dick Vermeil was 63 when his Rams ran off with the Lombardi Trophy in 1999, a year older than Belichick is now. But because of a lengthy sabbatical, it was only his 10th season as a head coach. (Age, I’m convinced, is less important than the Number of Years in a Head Job — the pro football equivalent of dog years.)
Here’s a chart I put together of the coaches who’ve won multiple championships in the Super Bowl era. It’s followed by a second chart of those who won multiple championships before the Super Bowl. Weeb Ewbank straddles the two periods, but I included him in the first group because, well, when you’ve coached Joe Namath, you have to be considered a modern coach. How many quarterbacks have been more “mod” than Broadway Joe?
Anyway, these are Belichick’s true peers, more so than one-timers like Tony Dungy (’06 Colts), Bill Cowher (’05 Steelers) and Hank Stram (’69 Chiefs), among others.
SUPER BOWL ERA
| Coach | Team(s) | Years | Titles | 1st Title | Last Title | Span (Seasons) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Coughlin | Jaguars, Giants | 18 | 2 | 12th season | 16th season | 5 (2007-11) |
| Bill Belichick | Browns, Patriots | 20 | 3 | 7th season | 10th season | 4 (2001-04) |
| Mike Shanahan | Broncos, 2 others | 20 | 2 | 5th season | 6th season | 2 (1997-98) |
| George Seifert | 49ers, Panthers | 11 | 2 | 1st season | 6th season | 6 (1989-94) |
| Jimmy Johnson | Cowboys, Dolphins | 9 | 2 | 4th season | 5th season | 2 (1992-93) |
| Joe Gibbs | Redskins | 16 | 3 | 2nd season | 11th season | 10 (1982-91) |
| Bill Parcells | Giants, 3 others | 19 | 2 | 4th season | 8th season | 5 (1986-90) |
| Bill Walsh | 49ers | 10 | 3 | 3rd season | 10th season | 8 (1981-88) |
| Tom Flores | Raiders, Seahawks | 12 | 2 | 2nd season | 5th season | 4 (1980-83) |
| Chuck Noll | Steelers | 23 | 4 | 6th season | 11th season | 6 (1974-79) |
| Tom Landry | Cowboys | 29 | 2 | 12th season | 18th season | 7 (1971-77) |
| Don Shula | Colts, Dolphins | 33 | 3 | 6th season | 11th season | 6 (1968-73) |
| Weeb Ewbank | Colts, Jets | 20 | 3 | 5th season | 15th season | 11 (1958-68) |
| Vince Lombardi | Packers, Redskins | 10 | 5 | 3rd season | 9th season | 7 (1961-67) |
One of the things that’s interesting about this chart is the span of seasons in which these coaches won titles. Belichick has one of the shorter ones — four (from 2001 through ’04). Only two guys have reached double digits: Ewbank (11, from the ’58 Colts to the ’68 Jets) and Gibbs (10, from the ’82 to the ’91 Redskins).
None of these 14 coaches, though, went a decade between championships. (Ewbank also won in ’59 with the Colts, and Joe also won in ’87 with the Redskins.) That’s what Belichick is trying to do — and if he succeeds, he’ll be the first in the Super Bowl era to pull it off.
It was different in the old days. The Bears’ George Halas, of course, owned the franchise, and other coaches, like Packers founder Curly Lambeau, practically had tenure. So in the next chart you see longer spans — 43 seasons for Halas (though he coached in “only” 35 of them), 20 for Jimmy Conzelman (though he coached in the NFL in only eight of them, leaving to take jobs in college ball and baseball) and 16 for Lambeau. (The thing about Conzelman is, he won titles with the single-wing Providence Steam Roller in 1928 and the T-formation Chicago Cardinals in ’47. That’s staying power. That’s adaptability.)
PRE-SUPER BOWL
| Coach | Team(s) | Years | Titles | 1st Title | Last Title | Span (Seasons) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Halas | Bears (Staleys) | 40 | 6 | 2nd season | 36th season | 43 (1921-63) |
| Paul Brown (+ AAC) | Browns, Bengals | 25 | 7 | 1st season | 10th season | 10 (1946-55) |
| Paul Brown (NFL only) | Browns, Bengals | 21 | 3 | 1st season | 6th season | 6 (1950-55) |
| Buddy Parker | Lions, 2 others | 15 | 2 | 3rd season | 4th season | 2 (1952-53) |
| Greasy Neale | Eagles | 10 | 2 | 8th season | 9th season | 2 (1948-49) |
| Jimmy Conzelman | Cards, 4 others | 15 | 2 | 7th season | 14th season | 20 (1928-47) |
| Curly Lambeau | Packers, 2 others | 33 | 6 | 9th season | 24th season | 16 (1929-44) |
| Ray Flaherty | Redskins | 7 | 2 | 2nd season | 7th season | 6 (1937-42) |
| Steve Owen | Giants | 23 | 2 | 4th season | 8th season | 5 (1934-38) |
| Guy Chamberlin | Canton, 2 others | 6 | 4 | 1st season | 5th season | 5 (1922-26) |
But then, this is Bill Belichick we’re talking about, the winningest coach of his time. He’s returned twice to the Super Bowl in recent years and come up empty but, being Bill, may yet get another shot. The odds are against him, though, and sometimes those can be as hard to overcome as a miracle David Tyree catch in the final seconds.
Source: pro-football-reference.com
Welcome
You can look at football as just football. Or you can look at it as Americana. Or you can look at it as a source of humor. Or you can look at it as (fill in the blank). At Pro Football Daly, I’m going to look at it every which way.
That doesn’t mean I’m trying to be all things to all people, or even most things to most people. It just means that, to me, there are so many aspects of the game worth exploring — statistical, historical, strategic, sociologic, economic (and probably a few other “ics” I can’t think of offhand).
Hopefully — given my beginner’s knowledge of website design — you’ll be able to find your way around easily enough. The categories in the sidebar should be fairly self-explanatory. Posts will be filed by decade so you can zero in the era(s) that most interest you. They’ll also be filed by the following subjects:
● The Film Room/X’s and O’s — Game footage and (sometimes) play diagrams that shed light on some aspect of football. Such as: Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne running the option in the early ’50s and the continuing corruption of the Statue of Liberty play.
● Stats/Charts — Expect a steady diet of these. (I admit it, I’m a Numbers Gnome.) For starters, there are graphics on the diminished importance of the running back, the Patriots’ near-record 13-year run and how, since the 1970 merger, teams that have allowed 21 points in a game have won more often than teams that have allowed 16.
● Screen Gems — Memorable movie and TV clips starring NFL players or, occasionally, dealing with NFL players. I’ve archived quite a few to choose from, including Joe Namath getting a massage on “The Flip Wilson Show” and Alex Karras scoring a TKO in Blazing Saddles.
● From Deep in My File Drawer — Unusual stuff I’ve squirreled away, waiting for the right time to trot it out. It’s pretty much a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! of pro football (with assorted other curiosities thrown in). Check out the amazing uniforms worn by a minor-league team in 1933 or a photo of a bothersome fan getting booted in the butt by George Halas’ son.
● Recommended Reading — If you’ve got some time on your hands, you might want to take a look some of these jewels. Among them are pieces about Hardy Brown, the most lethal player the NFL has known, and another about the adventures of George Allen’s kids in high school football.
● Training Camp — Since it’s that time of year, I stockpiled several camp-related items for your entertainment and/or enlightenment. You can read a long lost version of The Speech that Paul Brown delivered to the Browns at the start of each year or you can grab a cup of coffee and let my “Ode to training camp” wash over you.
● The Draft — I’ll do more down the road, as we get closer to the 2015 festivities. For now, you’re going to have to content yourself with a couple of offerings: the first about a Pittsburgh mortician who was Mel Kiper 30 years before Mel Kiper, the second about teams that won the NFL championship and, as if that weren’t enough, selected a Hall of Famer in the next draft.
● Department of Corrections — Every once in a while, when there’s been a particularly egregious misrepresentation of the historical record, I might feel obliged to chime in. Jim Dent’s book about Bronko Nagurski, for instance: Monster of the Midway. I just looked at it a little more closely and, well, I wish Jim had done the same.
● Et Cetera — As you might expect, this is a catch-all category for material that doesn’t really fit anywhere else. A classic example is a Red Smith column I stumbled across – from his New York Herald Tribune days — that had some bizarre recommendations for “improving” pro football.
Finally, a word about comments. If you’re capable of engaging in civil discourse, your comments will appear on the site. If you aren’t, they won’t. Fair enough?
That’s the end of the guided tour. I’ll leave you to your own devices now. If you want to be notified about new posts and other developments at Pro Football Daly, by all means follow me on Twitter. And thanks for stopping by.
A matched set of 1,300-yard receivers
When they kick off Sunday against the Texans at NRG Stadium, the Redskins will be able to line up not one but two wideouts who had 1,300 receiving yards last season — Pierre Garcon (1,346) and Eagles exile DeSean Jackson (1,332). This is the second year in a row we’ve had this situation. In 2013 it was the Broncos with Demaryius Thomas (1,434 in ’12) and Wes Welker (1,354 for the Patriots).
Talk about conspicuous consumption. Usually when a team adds a receiver coming off a 1,300-yard season — think Jeff Graham going from the Bears to the Jets in ’96 or Muhsin Muhammad leaving Carolina for Chicago in ’05 — it’s because it needs one. The Broncos and Redskins are the first clubs in NFL history to sign/trade for a 1,300-yard receiver when they already had one.1
A 1,300-yard receiving season is no small thing. The Seahawks, for instance, have never had a 1,300-yard guy. We’re talking 38 years and counting. (Steve Largent topped out at 1,287.) Neither have the Ravens, though they only go back to ’96. The Jets — Joe Namath’s team — have had one (Don Maynard with 1,434 in ’67). Even with the 16-game schedule, 1,300 yards are a lot.
I’ve turned up just eight teams that have had a pair of 1,300-yard receivers in the same year. In one case, one of the receivers was a tight end. The list:
| Year Team (Record) | Receivers, Yards | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 Dolphins (14-2) | Mark Clayton 1,389, Mark Duper 1,306 | Lost Super Bowl |
| 1995 Lions (10-6) | Herman Moore 1,686, Brett Perriman 1,488 | Wild Card |
| 2000 Rams (10-6) | Torry Holt 1,635, Isaac Bruce 1,471 | Wild Card |
| 2000 Broncos (11-5) | Rod Smith 1,602, Ed McCaffrey 1,317 | Wild Card |
| 2002 Steelers (10-5-1) | Hines Ward 1,329, Plaxico Burress 1,325 | Won Division |
| 2005 Cardinals (5-11) | Larry Fitzgerald 1,409, Anquan Boldin 1,402 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2006 Colts (12-4) | Marvin Harrison 1,366, Reggie Wayne 1,310 | Won Super Bowl |
| 2011 Patriots (13-3) | Wes Welker 1,569, Rob Gronkowski (TE) 1,327 | Lost Super Bowl |
Note that seven of the eight clubs made the playoffs, three reached the Super Bowl and one took home the Lombardi Trophy. You can understand, then, why there are such high expectations in Washington — as there were in Denver a year ago (when the Broncos won the AFC title).
The question, of course, is: Will Jackson’s presence take yards away from Garcon — or vice versa? Welker’s total, after all, dropped to 778 in his first season with the Broncos (while Thomas’ stayed steady at 1,430). But that might not be the best comparison because: (a.) Wes missed three games with a concussion, and (b.) Peyton Manning had another capable wideout, Eric Decker (1,288 yards in ’13), to throw to. The Redskins have no third option like Decker, so most of the passes should be headed toward Garcon or Jackson.
1 The closest anyone came before this was the Packers in 1981. With James Lofton coming off a 1,226-yard year, they acquired John Jefferson (1,340 in ’80) in a deal with the Chargers.
Source: pro-football-reference.com
Bobby Layne running the option in 1952
Just because you haven’t seen something before doesn’t mean it’s new. Take the option play in the NFL, for instance. The zone-read may be a recent development, but the quarterback either (a.) running the ball himself or (b.) pitching to a trailing back certainly isn’t. Why, Bobby Layne, the Lions Hall of Famer, was doing both — quite effectively — in the early ’50s. And without a facemask, no less.
Here’s some footage from the ’52 title game against the Browns. In this sequence, Layne runs back-to-back option plays — first to the left, then to the right — and keeps the ball for decent gains both times:
Now let’s look at another clip from earlier in the game. From the Cleveland 7, Layne takes the snap, starts right, then pitches underhanded to the trailing Doak Walker, who’s driven out of bounds at the 2. On the next play, Bobby scores on a sneak to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.
More of the same in the ’53 title game:
And two more plays, back to back:
When he retired after the ’62 season, Layne held the NFL career passing records for touchdowns (196), yards (26,768) and, yes, interceptions (243). What tends to be forgotten is that he was also a very good runner. In ’52 he was ninth in the league in rushing with 411 yards — in addition to finishing third in passing yards (1,999) and TD throws (19). And this is in a 12-game season, mind you. In a 16-game season, 411 projects to 564, a total topped last year only by Cam Newton (585) and Terrelle Pryor (576).
The option didn’t take hold in pro football in the ’50s, but it makes sense that some coach — in this case, the Lions’ Buddy Parker — might try it. Layne and many other quarterbacks, such as the Browns’ Otto Graham, had been single wing tailbacks in college and were able runners. Why not take advantage of it? As the T formation spread, though, QBs evolved into Golden Arms rather than pass-run threats. Only now, with the influx of Newton, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson, is that starting to change. Whether the change is permanent or just cyclical is another matter.