Tag Archives: Browns

The Clemson receiver factory

Before this year, I’m not sure I’d ever thought of Clemson as Wide Receiver U. Outside of Jerry Butler (255 yards and four touchdowns in his fourth NFL game) and Dwight “The Catch” Clark, how many Tigers wideouts have left much of a mark in the league?

What’s going on this season, though, with the Bills’ Sammy Watkins and the Steelers’ Martavis Bryant is pretty unusual. Watkins, the fourth pick in the draft, and Bryant, who went in Round 4, have been doing immense damage the past three weeks. They’ve scored eight touchdowns between them, and it could have been more if Sammy hadn’t had a bye week Sunday (after consecutive 100-yard games).

I’m trying to think of another school that has turned out two instant-impact wide receivers in the same year. The Miami trio of Michael Irvin (Cowboys, first round), Brian Blades (Seahawks, second round) and Brett Perriman (Saints, second round) all came out in 1988, but they didn’t create the early stir that Watkins and Bryant have.

In 2001 the Hurricanes had a pair of first-round wideouts, Santana Moss (Jets) and Reggie Wayne (Colts). But, as you may recall, they were even quieter as rookies than the Irvin/Blades/Perriman group.

Hmmm. Wait, I just came up with one. Two years ago, Baylor gave us Kendall Wright (Titans, first round) and Josh Gordon (Browns, second round of supplemental draft). That might be the most recent “comp.” At this point in the season, though, they didn’t have a particularly high profile (as much as anything, perhaps, because they played in Tennessee and Cleveland).

At any rate, I’m open to suggestions. If you can think of any other wide-receiver pairs from the same college who tore it up as rookies in the same year, by all means pass ’em along. Just thought the subject was worth raising.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

Sammy Watkins (2) and Martavis Bryant (1) celebrate a touchdown at Clemson.

Sammy Watkins (2) and Martavis Bryant (1) celebrate a touchdown at Clemson.

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College vs. pro

Someday I’ll write a post about Things College Football Players Can Do That Pro Players Can’t (such as throw for 734 yards in a game — only 180 more than Norm Van Brocklin’s 63-year-old record).

The idea dawned on me yesterday while reading about Oklahoma’s 59-14 steamrolling of Iowa State. One of the Sooners’ more impressive stats was this: “Trevor Knight became the first FBS player this season to throw three TD passes and rush for three touchdowns in a game.”*

This got me wondering about whether any NFL quarterbacks had accomplished such a feat. Had Michael Vick ever had a day like that? Randall Cunningham? Bobby Douglass?

A quick trip to pro-football-reference.com brought me the answer: No. Since 1960, at least, no QB has done that. More than a few have come close — 14 have passed for three scores and rushed for two (last: the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers vs. the Broncos in 2011), and two have passed for two and rushed for three (last: the Raiders’ Daunte Culpepper vs. the Dolphins in ’07), but there have been no 3/3 Guys.

Undeterred, I began spot-checking some running quarterbacks from earlier years. Tobin Rote? No. Bobby Layne? No. Otto Graham? Ah-hah. And here’s the kicker: The Browns’ Hall of Famer Graham and Daddid it in the 1954 championship game against Layne’s Lions. Otto threw for TDs of 35, 8 and 31 yards and ran for scores of 1, 5 and 1 as Cleveland clobbered Detroit, 56-10.

This is from Chuck Heaton’s game story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. (Heaton, by the way, was the father of Patricia Heaton, who played Ray Romano’s wife on “Everybody Loves Raymond.”)

Graham, who expects to wind up his grid activity with the Hula and Pro Bowl games next month, re-established himself as the No. 1 man at his position with his passing and running. Otto, an insurance man and part owner of a commercial sales business in the off-season, ran with all the enthusiasm of his collegiate days at Northwestern on his three scoring bursts.

The 33-year-old T-master sneaked a foot for Cleveland’s third touchdown, went five yards around his own right end on a bootleg for the fourth. He opened the second-half scoring with another plunge from the one-foot line, which killed off any slight hope remaining for the sizable Detroit aggregation on hand to see the Lions bid for an unprecedented third straight pro title.

That’s the other thing. This was supposed to be Graham’s last game. He’d already announced his intention to retire. But he changed his mind the following summer and led the Browns to one last title. In that championship game, against the Rams, he only passed for three touchdowns and rushed for two.

Anyway, it’s comforting to know an NFL quarterback has matched Knight’s feat, even if it was 60 years ago.

*Amazingly, by the end of the day, Notre Dame’s Everett Golson had done the same thing against Navy.

Graham running for TD

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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Famous quarterbacks they have known

Since this is Brady-Manning Week — and since I live for obscure facts — I decided to find the answer to the following question: Which NFL player caught TD passes from the most Hall of Fame quarterbacks? A player who comes immediately to mind, of course, is the Broncos’ Wes Welker, who’s had the good fortune to run routes for the Patriots’ Tom Brady and the Broncos’ Peyton Manning. Granted, neither is in the Hall yet, but they’ll be having their mail forwarded there soon enough.

Anyway, unless Welker finishes his career with Drew Brees in New Orleans, Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay or maybe Andrew Luck in Indianapolis, he won’t hold the record in this category. There are actually players who’ve caught TD passes from three Hall of Fame QBs — six of them, in fact. If you can guess even one, I’ll be impressed.

The first was Ed Sprinkle, a two-way end for the Bears in the ’40s and ’50s. Ironically, Sprinkle is remembered more for his fists than his hands. He was an enforcer in the hockey tradition, a guy Sprinkle football cardwho, according to one writer, had a “Midas-like” talent: “Everything he touches turns to broken noses.” (Ed’s succinct defense: “To me, it wasn’t a game of pitty-pat.”)

When he wasn’t busy bludgeoning opponents, “The Claw,” as he was called, had 32 receptions in his 11 seasons, seven going for touchdowns. Those TD passes, though, were thrown by an interesting collection of quarterbacks. Three — Sid Luckman, Bobby Layne and George Blanda — went on to Canton (and another, Johnny Lujack, once held the record for passing yards in a game).

(Yeah, yeah, I know. Blanda is in the Hall as a quarterback-kicker. Remember, though: When he retired in 1975, his 236 touchdown passes were seventh most in NFL-AFL history.)

You’d think the players on this list would be ultra-productive types, your proverbial Household Names, but that’s not the case at all. None of the five guys who are tied with Sprinkle had more than 23 TD grabs in his career. Two, moreover, were running backs, and two others fit the tight-end profile.

Mostly, they were in the right place at the right time. They either lucked upon a team blessed with multiple Canton-bound quarterbacks or, in their travels, were fortunate enough to cross paths with several legendary QBs. The details:

PLAYERS WHO CAUGHT TD PASSES FROM 3 HALL OF FAME QUARTERBACKS

● Ed Sprinkle, E, Bears, 1944-55 — TD passes from Sid Luckman (3), Bobby Layne (1) and George Blanda (1). Career totals: 32 receptions, 451 yards, 7 touchdowns.

● Dick Bielski, TE, Eagles/Cowboys/Colts, 1955-63 — TD passes from Sonny Jurgensen (2), Norm Van Brocklin (2) and Johnny Unitas (1). Career totals: 107-1,305-10.

● Preston Carpenter, WR-TE, Browns/Steelers/Redskins/Vikings/Dolphins, 1956-67 — TD passes from Layne (6), Jurgensen (3) and Fran Tarkenton (3). Career totals: 305-4,457-23. Note: Carpenter’s last season, in Miami, happened to be Bob Griese’s rookie year. Alas, he didn’t grab any of Griese’s 15 TD throws, otherwise he’d stand alone in this department. (Let’s face it, though, the man was a magnet for Hall of Fame quarterbacks.)

● Preston Pearson, RB, Colts/Steelers/Cowboys, 1967-80 — TD passes from Unitas (1), Terry Bradshaw (2) and Roger Staubach (7). Career totals: 254-3,095-17.

● Mike Sherrard, WR, Cowboys/49ers/Giants/Broncos, 1986. ’89-96 — TD passes from Joe Montana (2), Steve Young (1) and John Elway (1). Career totals: 257-3,931-22.

● Amp Lee, RB, 49ers/Vikings/Rams/Eagles, 1992-2000 — TD passes from Young (3), Montana (1) and Warren Moon (3). Career totals: 335-3,099-15. Note: The last of Lee’s scoring receptions was Amp Lee running to lefttossed by Kurt Warner. So if Warner goes in the Hall — and I think he belongs — Amp will become the sole No. 1. Unbelievable.

These six players, by the way, made exactly six Pro Bowls (Sprinkle four, Bielski and Carpenter one each) — and Ed, I’ll just point out, was voted in for his defensive prowess. Pearson, a useful all-around back, was like Forrest Gump; besides being around great quarterbacks, he went to the Super Bowl with all three of his clubs and won rings with the Steelers and Cowboys.

Obviously, it was easier to make this list if you played for the 49ers when Montana and Young were there (1987-92), the Eagles when Van Brocklin and Jurgensen were there (1957-60) or the Bears when Luckman, Layne and/or Blanda were there (at least two were on the roster from 1948 to ’50). It also helps, apparently, if your first name is Preston.

But let me backtrack a bit to the Luckman-Layne-Blanda/Van Brocklin-Jurgensen years. In the ’40s and ’50s, you see, when there were just 12 franchises, NFL teams literally had more players — and quarterbacks — than they knew what to do with. It’s astonishing, really, how concentrated the talent was compared to the watered-down rosters today.

Consider the quarterbacks who were the property of the Rams in the ’50s:

● Bob Waterfield — Hall of Famer.

● Van Brocklin — Hall of Famer.

● Billy Wade — Two Pro Bowls (1958, ’63). Quarterbacked the Bears to the ’63 title.

● Frank Ryan — Three Pro Bowls (1964-66). Led the Browns to the ’64 title. Threw more TD passes from 1963 to ’67 than anybody in the NFL (117). In fact, only Jurgensen (109), Unitas (104) and Tarkenton (102) were within 25 of him.

● Bobby Thomason — Three Pro Bowls (1953, ’55-56). Led the NFL in TD passes in 1953 with the Eagles. The Rams, having no room for him, loaned him to the Packers in 1951, then traded him to Philadelphia.

● Rudy Bukich — Hardly first rate, but he was third in the league in passer rating in 1965 with the Bears.

And that’s just one club. The NFL was probably never stronger (read: more competitive) than it was in the ’50s. There were third-stringers back then who would be starters now.

Finally, there’s one guy who caught a touchdown pass from four Hall of Famers, but there’s a caveat: They weren’t all quarterbacks. Two were running backs possessed of some throwing ability.

Renfro outbattles a Steeler.

Renfro outbattles a Steeler.

I’m talking about Ray Renfro (father of Mike, the receiver for the Oilers and Cowboys in the ’70s and ’80s). Ray, a standout with the Browns (1952-63), was on the receiving end of scoring tosses from Graham (11), Len Dawson (1), and running backs Jim Brown (1) and Bobby Mitchell (1).

One last aside: Does the name Charles Jordan ring any bells? Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t. Jordan had a relatively uneventful career as kick returner-wideout for the Packers, Dolphins and Seahawks from 1994 to ’99, totaling five touchdown receptions. But here’s the thing: The first two TDs were from Brett Favre and the last three from Dan Marino. If you’re going to catch five scoring passes in your NFL career, that’s a pretty good way to do it.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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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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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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Russell Wilson, making some history

In today’s 28-26 loss to the Rams, the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game. Pretty cool (except for the defeat, of course).

You know what’s almost as cool? The QB who came closest before Wilson was Browns Hall of Famer Otto Graham, and the game Graham nearly did it in was the 1950 title game. Check out the box score for yourself. Otto had 298 yards passing and 99 rushing, which left him just 3 yards short.

This is from Harry Jones’ story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer the next day:

At a locker nearby, Graham was stripping off his jersey. It was plain to see that he had taken a physical beating from the huge Los Angeles linemen who had knocked him down repeatedly. His face displayed cuts and bruises, and he limped on a twisted knee.

“Somebody hit me in the back toward the end of the first half,” Otto said. “I thought I was going to fold up right there. My knee buckled, but luckily it didn’t stiffen up. It’s just getting stiff now. It’ll probably be plenty sore tomorrow.”

If you’re interested in a visual, here’s Graham scrambling for a 22-yard gain to the Rams 31:

Just a tremendous player — as is Wilson.

QBS WHO CAME CLOSEST TO 300 YARDS PASSING, 100 RUSHING IN SAME GAME

Date Quarterback, Team Opponent Pass Rush Missed By
12-24-50 Otto Graham, Browns Rams 298 99 3
12-18-89 Randall Cunningham, Eagles* Saints 306 92 8
10-9-11 Michael Vick, Eagles* Bills 315 90 10
12-9-12 Cam Newton, Panthers Falcons 287 116 13
10-8-00 Rich Gannon, Raiders 49ers 310 85 15
10-12-14 Cam Newton, Panthers Bengals 284 107 16
10-20-13 Robert Griffin III, Redskins Bears 298 84 18
11-3-13 Terrell Pryor, Raiders* Eagles 288 94 18
11-15-10 Michael Vick, Eagles Redskins 333 80 20

*Lost game.

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Why today’s NFL players aren’t necessarily All That

The NFL has done a great job of making the past disappear. It’s accomplished this in two main ways: (1.) by lengthening the season from 11 games in the early ’40s to 16 now; and (2.) by tilting the rules, time after time, in favor of the offense. When you look at statistics from the ’60s and earlier, even the numbers put up by Hall of Famers, the players often seem diminished, not as good as the current crop.

Let’s see if I can disabuse you of that notion. In fact, why don’t I start here:

Only seven quarterbacks have thrown 40 touchdown passes in a season, all since 1984. Would it surprise you to learn that five QBs in the pre-merger days (1920-69) threw 40 TD passes in a 16-game stretch? The Fab Five:

5 PRE-MERGER QUARTERBACKS WHO THREW FOR 40 TDS IN 16 GAMES

Years (Games) Quarterback, Team TD
1961 (10)-62 (6) George Blanda, Oilers (AFL) 47
1962 (8)-63 (8) Y.A. Tittle, Giants 47
1943 (11*)-44 (5) Sid Luckman, Bears 44
1959 (13*)-60 (3) Johnny Unitas, Colts 40
1968 (2*)-69 (14) Daryle Lamonica, Raiders (AFL) 40

*title game or playoffs included

Tittle’s and Blanda’s totals (47) would put them behind only Peyton Manning (55, 49), Tom Brady (50) and Dan Marino (48) on the single-season list. Nobody ever points this out, though, because the NFL prefers to push the idea – sometimes illusory – that the game, and especially the players, have never been better.

Now let’s look at the best 16-game stretches for some of the running backs and receivers of yesteryear.

        BEST 16-GAME STRETCHES FOR PRE-MERGER RUNNING BACKS

Years (Games) Running Back, Team Att Yds Avg TD
1962 (1)-63 (14)-64(1) Jim Brown, Browns 336 2,087 6.2 16
1958 (12)-59 (4) Jim Brown, Browns 362 1,964 5.4 19
1961 (3)-62 (13) Jim Taylor, Packers 309 1,764 5.7 21

Note: Brown also had a 16-game stretch in 1964 (four games, counting the title game) and ’65 (12) in which he rushed for 1,855 yards, in case you’re wondering how great he really was. (The NFL record for a season, of course, is 2,105 by the Rams’ Eric Dickerson in 1984.)

              BEST 16-GAME STRETCHES FOR PRE-MERGER RECEIVERS

Years (Games) Receiver, Team Rec Yds Avg TD
1961 (14)-62 (2) Charley Hennigan, Oilers (AFL) 100 2,093 20.9 16
1963 (3)-64 (13) Art Powell, Raiders (AFL) 95 1,772 18.7 20
1966 (1)-67 (14)-68 (1) Don Maynard, Jets (AFL) 85 1,766 20.8 14
1965 (11)-66 (5) Lance Alworth, Chargers (AFL) 84 1,760 21.0 16
1941 (6)-42 (10) Don Hutson, Packers 109 1,648 15.1 24
1960 (12)-61 (4) Raymond Berry, Colts 98 1,639 16.7 10

Note: Five of the six yardage totals would be good enough to crack the single-season Top 10, and Hennigan’s (2,093) is well above the record held by the Lions’ Calvin Johnson (1,964 in 2012).

Yes, Charley, Maynard, Powell and Alworth all played in the AFL, which didn’t have the depth of the NFL (at least, not for the first five or six years). And yes, Hutson’s 1942 season was a war year (though the talent wasn’t nearly as depleted as it would be later on). But most of these guys, remember, are Hall of Famers. I just wanted to give you a sense of how much better their numbers would have been if their seasons had been longer — never mind if they’d been able to play under today’s rules.

Source: pro-football-reference

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An old(er) back learns some new tricks

Ahmad Bradshaw’s days as a 1,000-yard rusher are probably behind him. He’s what you might call a complementary back now, rotating with Trent Richardson and giving the Colts, at the age of 28, A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That. It’s the Little Bit of That we’ll be discussing today.

Suddenly, Bradshaw, never much of a receiving threat before, has started catching touchdown passes. He had three TD receptions in his first seven NFL seasons; he has five in the first six games of 2014. That’s as many as any running back has had through six games since 1960. In fact, it’s been 31 years since a back got off to this good a start (Joe Cribbs, Bills). Two of the other backs since ’60 with five TD catches in the first six games: Hall of Famers Gale Sayers (1965) and Lenny Moore (1961).

Clearly, Andrew Luck has faith in Bradshaw as a receiver, because he keeps throwing him the ball in the red zone. (The five touchdowns have measured 1, 7, 6, 15 and 5 yards.) And if Luck keeps throwing him the ball in the red zone, Ahmad might well break the modern record for TD catches in a season by a running back — 9, shared by four players.

MOST TOUCHDOWN CATCHES IN A SEASON BY A RUNNING BACK SINCE 1932

Year Running Back,Team Rec Yds Avg TD
1991 Leroy Hoard, Browns 48 567 11.8 9
1975 Chuck Foreman, Vikings 73 691 9.5 9
1964 Bill Brown, Vikings 48 703 14.6 9
1961 Billy Cannon, Oilers (AFL) 43 586 13.6 9
1960 Lenny Moore, Colts 45 936 20.8 9
2000 Marshall Faulk, Rams 81 830 10.2 8
1986 Gary Anderson, Chargers 80 871 10.9 8
1966 Dan Reeves, Cowboys 41 557 13.6 8
1949 Gene Roberts, Giants 35 711 20.3 8

Always fun to see Dan Reeves’ name pop up in a chart, isn’t it? “Choo-Choo” Roberts, by the way, had one of the great forgotten seasons in ’49 for a 6-6 Giants team. He finished fourth in the league in both rushing yards (634) and receiving yards (711, including two 200-yard games) and scored 17 touchdowns, one shy of Steve Van Buren’s mark (since erased).

I said “modern record” earlier because Hall of Famer Johnny Blood caught 10 for the Packers in 1931, the year before they began keeping Official Statistics. Blood was a hybrid back like Lenny Moore — or, more recently, the Seahawks’ Percy Harvin. He’d line up either in the backfield or on the flank (where his speed could be put to optimum use). Just a dangerous, dangerous receiver. Indeed, he had four scoring grabs of 40 yards or longer that year.

Let’s see Ahmad Bradshaw top that.

Postscript: There are a million Blood stories. Some are even true. He was one of pro football’s all-time characters, the kind of guy who didn’t waste a minute of his life. If you want to read more about him, check out this classic piece Gerald Holland wrote for Sports Illustrated in 1963.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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DeMarco Murray and the Triple Crown

Every NFL season seems to produce a Statistical Phenomenon or two. So far in 2014, the Cowboys’ DeMarco Murray is That Guy. Let’s pray to the grid god that Murray gets to finish what he’s started, because what he’s started is pretty impressive.

Two weeks ago, when I first wrote about him, it was because he’d rushed for 100 yards in each of his first four games — something that had been done only six other times since 1960. Well, now he’s rushed for 100 yards in each of his first six games. No other back has done that since ’60.

Murray also is continuing to shoulder a heavy load. Through Week 4, he was on pace for 396 rushing attempts, which would be the seventh-highest total all time. But his 29 carries Sunday in Dallas’ 30-23 road shocker over the Seahawks put him on a 424 pace. That’s eight more the record of 416, set by the Chiefs’ Larry Johnson in 2006.

In addition, Murray has had 180 touches (rushing attempts plus receptions) in his first six games. Only three backs since ’60 have had more. The Top 5:

MOST TOUCHES BY A RUNNING BACK IN THE FIRST 6 GAMES SINCE 1960

Year Running Back, Team Rush Rec Total
2000 Eddie George, Titans 165 20 185
2000 Ricky Williams, Dolphins 155 27 182
2002 Priest Holmes, Chiefs 143 38 181
2014 DeMarco Murray, Cowboys 159 21 180
1985 James Wilder, Bucs 144 35 179

Wilder, by the way, holds the mark for touches in a season: a superhuman 492 in 1984. Murray projects to 480 (an average of 30 a game). That would be the second-best total in NFL history. As I’ve said before, though, high-volume seasons like that aren’t usually conducive to long-term productivity. Dallas coach Jason Garrett needs to be mindful of the Burnout Factor.

Still, it would nice to see Murray take a run at the Triple Crown — leading the league (or tying for the lead) in rushing yards, per-carry average and rushing touchdowns. It’s a feat that’s been accomplished by just six modern backs, five of whom are in the Hall of Fame. The short list:

RUNNING BACK TRIPLE CROWNS SINCE WORLD WAR II

Year Running Back, Team Rush Yds Avg TD
1998 Terrell Davis, Broncos    2,008 5.1 21
1980 Earl Campbell*, Houston Oilers    1,934 5.2 13
1977 Walter Payton*, Bears    1,852 5.5 14
1975 O.J. Simpson*, Bills    1,817 5.5 16
1967 Leroy Kelly*, Browns    1,205 5.1 11
1963 Jim Brown*, Browns    1,863 6.4 12

(Brown led by a comfortable margin in each category – in rushing by 845 yards, in average by 1.4 and in TDs by 3.)

* Hall of Famer

Murray leads NFL rushers with 785 yards and six TDs, but he has some work to do on his 4.9-yard average. The No. 1 guy in that department through six games, the Ravens’ Justin Forsett, is averaging 6.4 on 64 carries.

A Triple Crown is just incredibly hard to pull off. Consider: Seven backs have rushed for 2,000 yards in a season, but only one of them – Davis – won the Triple Crown. LaDainian Tomlinson couldn’t do it in a year (2006) he led the league in rushing (1,815) and scored a record 32 touchdowns, 28 on the ground (2006). Brown couldn’t do it in a year (1958) he broke the season rushing mark by 381 yards (with 1,527), ran for nearly twice as many scores as anybody else in the league (17 to the runner-up’s 9) and had a per-carry average of 5.9 (which ranked a mere fourth).

What makes it even more difficult is that quarterbacks have led the league in rushing average three of the past four seasons (Michael Vick, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III) and seven times in the 2000s. Let’s face it, quarterback yards are different from running back yards. For one thing, QBs have more room to roam.

Still, some running back someday will have a monster year and become the seventh member of the Triple Crown Club. And if it doesn’t happen to be Murray, he’ll have plenty of illustrious backs to keep him company.

Note: The Chargers’ Paul Lowe also had a Triple Crown in the pre-Super Bowl AFL: 1,121 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns (tie) and a 5-yard average (edging the Chiefs’ Mack Lee Hill by .03) in 1965. If you want to count that, too, be my guest. I’m inclined to exclude those years, even though the NFL record book doesn’t. The two leagues just weren’t comparable — yet.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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