Tag Archives: Cowboys

Johnny Football’s brutal baptism

How much of a horror show was Johnny Manziel’s overhyped starting debut with the Browns? Pretty bad, to be sure — 54 net passing yards and zero points in a blowout loss to the Bengals. Still, I came up with three Hall of Famers who had a worse one, rating-wise, and various other legends and No. 1 overall picks who struggled mightily as well. That puts Manziel in the middle of this group:

HOW JOHNNY MANZIEL’S FIRST NFL START STACKS UP

[table]

Year,Quarterback\,Team,Opponent,Att,Comp,Yds,TD,Int,Rating,Result

1983,John Elway\, Broncos,Steelers,8,1,14,0,1,0.0,W\, 14-10

2005,Alex Smith\, 49ers,Colts,23,9,74,0,4,8.5,L\, 28-3

1970,Terry Bradshaw\, Steelers,Oilers,16,4,70,0,1,19.3,L\, 19-7

1967,Bob Griese\, Dolphins,Chiefs,22,11,101,0,2,25.0,L\, 24-0

2014,Johnny Manziel\, Browns,Bengals,18,10,80,0,2,27.3,L\, 30-0

2009,Matt Stafford\, Lions,Saints,37,16,205,0,3,27.4,L\, 45-27

1989,Troy Aikman\, Cowboys,Saints,35,17,180,0,2,40.2,L\, 28-0

2004,Eli Manning\, Giants,Falcons,37,17,162,1,2,45.1,L\, 14-10

1979,Joe Montana\, 49ers,Cardinals,12,5,36,0,0,49.3,L\, 13-10

2012,Andrew Luck\, Colts,Bears,45,23,309,1,3,52.9,L\, 41-21

1998,Peyton Manning\, Colts,Dolphins,37,21,302,1,3,58.6,L\, 24-15

[/table]

If you’re wondering how on earth Elway won that game — all the other QBs lost — the answer is: He sat out the second half with a bruised right elbow, and backup Steve DeBerg rallied the Broncos to victory.

As for Bradshaw, his first start wasn’t exactly well received by the Pittsburgh media. This how the Post-Gazette covered it. “I couldn’t hit the side of a building today,” Terry said. “I know I was late throwing the ball a number of times, which gave [the Oilers] a chance to cover up, but they were coming at me strong.”

Screen Shot 2014-12-15 at 1.46.58 PMP-G Bradshaw subheadNoll yanking BradshawBut do the math. Elway, Bradshaw and Griese had worse days than Manziel did, and they went on to appear in a combined 12 Super Bowls, winning eight. I’m not in any way predicting similar success for Johnny Football. Just sayin’. First impressions can be deceiving.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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51 . . . and done

For whatever reason(s), there’s a Bermuda Triangle aspect to certain NFL records. They’re just hard to break — harder than you’d think they’d be. Norm Van Brocklin’s record of 554 passing yards in a game, for instance, still stands 63 years later, even though the deck is increasingly stacked in favor of quarterbacks. And Johnny Unitas’ record of throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games wasn’t seriously threatened for more than half a century.

The latter record, now in the possession of the Saints’ Drew Brees (54), continues to prove elusive. The Patriots’ Tom Brady made it to 52 last season, only to be stopped by the Bengals on a rainy day in Cincinnati. And Sunday, the Broncos’ Peyton Manning had a 51-game run end against the Bills on a perfectly lovely day in Denver.

Also, lest we forget, the Cowboys’ Tony Romo had a 38-gamer halted by the Eagles two weeks ago. Anyway, those streaks — Brady’s, Manning’s and Romo’s — are three of the five longest in the league’s 95 years. And they all came up short.

Back in September, I wrote about the history of the record (which was once owned by Cecil Isbell, the long-ago Packer) and even dug up some vintage video. If you want to look the original post again — or even for the first time — I’ll make it easy for you. Here’s the link.

The Packers' Cecil Isbell throws a touchdown pass in the 1939 title game vs. the Giants.

The Packers’ Cecil Isbell throws a touchdown pass in the 1939 title game vs. the Giants.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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J.J. Watt, scoring machine

Make that five touchdowns this season for the Texans’ J.J. Watt, the defensive end with a nose for the end zone. His latest — and third TD catch — came Sunday on a 1-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick in Houston’s 45-21 win over the Titans.

How can I put Watt’s feat in perspective? Maybe this way:

RUNNING BACKS WHO HAD 350 TOUCHES IN A SEASON AND FEWER THAN 5 TDS

[table]

Year,Back\, Team,Rushing,Receiving,Touches,TD

1998,Barry Sanders\, Lions,343-1\,491,37-289,380,4

2009,Steven Jackson\, Rams,324-1\,416,51-322,375,4

2003,Curtis Martin\, Jets,323-1\,308,42-262,365,2

2005,Reuben Droughns\, Browns,309-1\,232,39-369,353*,2

1994,Jerome Bettis\, Rams,319-1\,025,31-293,350,4

[/table]

*Includes five kickoff returns.

Or maybe this way:

RECEIVERS WHO HAD 85 CATCHES IN A SEASON AND FEWER THAN 3 TDS

[table width=”450px”]

Year,Receiver\, Team,Rec,Yds,TD

2001,Keyshawn Johnson\, Bucs,106,1\,266,1

2013,Kendall Wright\, Titans,94,1\,079,2

2009,Jason Witten\, Cowboys,94,1\,030,2

1985,Art Monk\, Redskins,91,1\,226,2

2013,Harry Douglas\, Falcons,85,1\,067,2

[/table]

OTHER NOTABLES

[table width=”450px”]

Year,Receiver\, Team,Rec,Yds,TD

2007,Donald Driver\, Packers,82,1\,048,2

1998,Michael Irvin\, Cowboys,74,1\,057,1

1996,Henry Ellard\, Redskins,52,1\,014,2

[/table]

For the record, there have been 43 1,000-yard backs who scored fewer touchdowns than Watt has. (I’m not talking about fewer rushing touchdowns; I’m talking about fewer total touchdowns.) There also have been 13 1,000-yard receivers who had fewer TD catches than he has.

If you weren’t impressed with Watt before, you’d darn well better be now. I mean, if this keeps up, he’ll start drawing double coverage.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt scores his fifth TD of the season -- and third receiving -- Sunday vs. the Browns.

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt scores the fourth of his five TDs this season vs. the Browns in Week 11.

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Bill Belichick at Chez Lambeau

It’s doubtful anybody in the Packers locker room Sunday will be shouting, “Let’s win this one for Curly!” But if Green Bay can’t stop the streaking Patriots, Bill Belichick will be one win away from tying Curly Lambeau on the all-time coaching victories list.

Lambeau had 229, good for fourth place, in 33 seasons (1921-53). Belichick has 227 in 20 much longer seasons. It isn’t an entirely fair fight, 12-game schedules vs. 16-game schedules, but that’s the NFL record book for you. Players and coaches from bygone days are just sheep to the slaughter.

Lambeau, I’ll merely point out, won six NFL titles, including three in a row (1929-31) in the years before championship games were staged. Belichick has won three titles, two of them back-to-back (2003-04). Will much be made of this when Bill blows by Curly? You’d like to think so, but I wouldn’t count on it. The league — and its chroniclers — tend to live in the here and now.

What’s interesting is that nobody has passed Curly — or even come close — in three decades, since the Dolphins’ Don Shula won No. 230 in 1984 en route to his record total of 347. That, by the way, was Shula’s last Super Bowl season, his sixth. If the Patriots get to the Super Bowl this year, it’ll be Belichick’s sixth as a head coach as well.

In a meat-grinder profession like this, it’s pretty clear what you have to do to rack up that many victories: start early and try to keep from burning out. Shula got his first head-coaching gig at 33. Halas (324) and Lambeau were even younger because they were player-coaches. Tom Landry (270) was 36 in his rookie season with the expansion Cowboys. Belichick, meanwhile, was 39 when the Browns gave him his first shot.

It’s reasonable to wonder whether it’ll be another three decades, if not longer, before the next Belichick stirs Lambeau’s ghost. After all, the job, which has always taken a tremendous toll, is unrelenting now — 24/7/365. It simply isn’t conducive to a lengthy career, the kind you’d need to win 229 games. Then, too, coaches’ salaries have improved enough to allow them to retire early and duck into TV or administrative jobs (see Tony Dungy, Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, etc.). As Bruce Ogilvie, the famed sports psychologist, put it, “When you are discussing a successful coach, you are not necessarily drawing a profile of an entirely healthy person.”

Some would say: And that goes double for Belichick, who maintains a level of secrecy in Foxborough that falls somewhere between George Allen and a CIA black site. The difference with him is that it’s in his DNA. His father, Steve, was a longtime college assistant, and young Bill spent hour after hour in meeting rooms, the smell of chalk in the air. It’s not so much that he’s become a coach; he’s always, in a sense, been a coach. That, I’m convinced, helps explain his longevity — that and having a quarterback like Tom Brady fall in his lap.

But back to “The Belgian,” as Lambeau was called. A player once told me that, during the offseason, when Curly was driving around Wisconsin making speeches, he’d always stop at the local sporting goods store and check out its selection of footballs. If he found one that felt a little slimmer than the others, a little more suited to passing — especially in the era of the fat ball — he’d buy it to use in games. (And fans think today’s coaches are detail-oriented.)

One more Curly story. After the 1932 season, the Packers’ barnstorming tour took them all the way to Hawaii, where they played a couple of games against local teams. On the trip there — via the SS Mariposa — two players got into an argument over a Young Lovely they’d met on the ship, a former Miss California named Billie Copeland.

Lambeau — worried that the next words he’d hear would be “Man overboard!” — quickly defused the situation. “If that’s the way you’re going to behave,” he said, “then neither of you can talk to her.”

We pause now for dramatic effect — just as the early Packer who told me this tale did. The punch line:

“That woman,” he said, “became Mrs. Lambeau No. 2.”

The second of three Mrs. Lambeaus, for those of you scoring at home. The Belgian loved the ladies.

Mrs. Lambeau No. 2

Mrs. Lambeau No. 2

1-17-33 Ogden Standard-Examiner

Jan. 17, 1933 Ogden Standard-Examiner

Jan. 17, 1933 Ogden Standard-Examiner

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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The streaking Patriots

It’s easier to lose seven straight games in the NFL than it is to win seven straight. If you doubt this, click on these two links. You’ll see there have been 52 regular-season winning streaks of seven games or longer in the 2000s — and 69 losing streaks of the same length.

Indeed, the Bucs, now in their 39th year, have never reeled off seven victories in a row, not even the season they won the Super Bowl. The Browns, meanwhile, haven’t had a seven-gamer since ’68, and the Bengals (‘73) and Cardinals (’74) haven’t put one together in nearly as long.

I point this out because the Patriots are on their annual seven-game roll. Well, maybe not annual, but they’ve certainly been Frequent Streakers in the Belichick-Brady Era. This is their seventh run of seven games or more; a couple of times, they didn’t stop until they reached 21 and 18.

The only other team in the 2000s that’s had more than four such streaks is Peyton Manning’s team. Manning had five with the Colts, and has added a sixth — a 17-gamer — with the Broncos.

A look at the Patriots’ streaks (which become even more impressive when you realize that no other club in the AFC East has had even one in the 2000s):

PATRIOTS’ REGULAR-SEASON WINNING STREAKS OF 7 OR MORE SINCE 2000

[table width=”500px”]

Games,Years,Result,Broken By\, Score

21,2006-08,Lost Super Bowl in ’07,Dolphins\, 38-13

18,2003-04,Won Super Bowl in ’03 & ’04,Steelers\, 34-20

10,2010-11,Lost first playoff game in ’10,Bills\, 34-31

9,2011-12,Lost Super Bowl in ’11,Cardinals\, 20-18

9,2001-02,Won Super Bowl in ’01,Chargers\, 21-14

7,2012,Lost AFC title game,49ers\, 41-34

7,2014,TBD,TBD

[/table]

The rest of the league: Colts (5 streaks of seven or better), Packers (4), Chargers (3), Seahawks (3), Vikings (3), Bears (2), Chiefs (2), Eagles (2), Falcons (2), 49ers (2), Panthers (2), Rams (2), Saints (2), Steelers (2), Titans (2), Broncos (1), Cowboys (1), Giants (1), Lions (1), Ravens (1), Redskins (1), Texans (1).

Teams that haven’t had a seven-game streak in the 2000s: Bengals, Bills, Browns, Bucs, Cardinals, Dolphins, Jaguars, Jets, Raiders.

How do the Patriots stack up against other teams over the decades led by Hall of Fame quarterbacks? Pretty favorably — keeping in mind, of course, that Brady is in his 13th full season as a starter (Roger Staubach was the Cowboys’ QB of record for just nine) and that schedules are now 16 games (Sid Luckman never played more than 12).

MOST WINNING STREAKS OF 7 GAMES OR MORE, REGULAR SEASON

[table width=”350px”]

Years,Quarterback\, Team,7+ Streaks

2001-14,Tom Brady’s Patriots,            7

1999-10,Peyton Manning’s Colts,            6

1980-90,Joe Montana’s 49ers,            6

1946-55,Otto Graham’s Browns,            6*

1992-07,Brett Favre’s Packers,            4

1991-99,Steve Young’s 49ers,            4

1983-98,John Elway’s Broncos,            4

1970-82,Terry Bradshaw’s Steelers,            4

1971-79,Roger Staubach’s Cowboys,            4

1967-80,Bob Griese’s Dolphins,            4

1956-72,Johnny Unitas’ Colts,            4

1939-50,Sid Luckman’s Bears,            4

[/table]

*Includes years in the All-America Conference (1946-49).

Note: “Years” denotes the span of seasons the quarterback was the team’s starter. Obviously, a QB didn’t get credit for a streak unless he started all or virtually all of the games. (Backup Earl Morrall, for instance, filled in for the injured Unitas when the Colts won eight straight in ’68 – and did likewise for Griese when the Dolphins went undefeated in ’72.)

In case you were wondering, Bart Starr’s Packers had a mere two runs of seven games or longer during the Lombardi years (1959-67) — which just shows how much more competitive the NFL was back then. We’re talking, after all, about arguably the greatest dynasty in pro football history.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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The Jonas Gray Chart of the Day

First off, I’d like to thank NFL statisticians for making this post possible. On Monday morning it wasn’t — because, at that point, the Patriots’ Jonas Gray was credited with 38 carries for 199 yards in the 42-20 whupping of the Colts. On further review, however, Gray’s numbers were revised to 37 carries for 201 yards. This raises the question (since it happened with Jonas): How many times has a back’s first 100-yard rushing game been a 200-yard game?

I would have guessed a couple. To my shock, I came across eight other instances, including one in the Super Bowl.

BACKS WHOSE FIRST 100-YARD RUSHING GAME WAS A 200-YARD GAME

[table]

Date,Running Back\, Team,Opponent,Att,Yds,Avg,TD,Prev. High

11-16-14,Jonas Gray\, Patriots,Colts,37,201,5.4,4,         86

10-23-11,DeMarco Murray\, Cowboys,Rams,25,253,10.1,1,         34

9-22-96,LeShon Johnson\, Cardinals,Saints,21,214,10.2,2,         42

10-14-90,Barry Word\, Chiefs,Lions,18,200,11.1,2,         31

1-31-88,Timmy Smith\, Redskins,Broncos,22,204,9.3,2,         72

11-30-87,Bo Jackson\, Raiders,Seahawks,18,221,12.3,2,         98

9-2-84,Gerald Riggs\, Falcons,Saints,35,202,5.8,2,         72

11-26-78,Terry Miller\, Bills,Giants,21,208,9.9,2,         97

12-16-56,Tommy Wilson\, Rams,Packers,23,223,9.7,0,         NA

[/table]

Smith’s 200-yard game, of course, came in the Redskins’ 42-10 blowout of the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII — a day better remembered for Doug Williams’ four touchdown passes in Washington’s 35-point second quarter. He’d carried the ball in only four regular-season games before coach Joe Gibbs turned to him in the playoffs because of an injury to George Rogers.

Not all of these backs were rookies, by the way. Word was in his second year and Johnson and Riggs in their third. (Word’s big game came after he’d served prison time for cocaine distribution, which caused him to miss the previous season.)

I turned up several near misses, too — guys who rushed for 200-plus yards the second time they hit triple figures. That group includes such household names as Jim Brown, Tony Dorsett, James Wilder, Priest Holmes and Arian Foster.

In fact, Brown’s 237 yards set a single -game NFL rushing record. The same goes for Wilson, whose 223-yard day came in the ’56 season finale. “Touchdown Tommy,” as he was called, was such an obscure rookie — and reporters paid so much less attention to these things — that the Los Angeles Times didn’t even mention his feat until the fifth paragraph of its game story.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram, meanwhile, touched on it at the end of the fourth graph, but didn’t provide any details until the 11th. Don’t believe me? See for yourself:

Long Beach Press-Telegram headlineScreen Shot 2014-11-21 at 3.18.13 PM

Screen Shot 2014-11-21 at 3.18.51 PM

Screen Shot 2014-11-21 at 3.19.11 PM

A running back breaks the single-game rushing mark, and we’re 300 words into the story before the reporter tells us how many yards he gained. That should be in the record book, too.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

The Redskins' Timmy Smith keeps the Broncos' Tony LIlly at arm's length in Super Bowl 22.

The Redskins’ Timmy Smith keeps the Broncos’ Tony Lilly at arm’s length in Super Bowl 22.

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A touchdown a quarter

Everybody’s in love with the Jonas Gray story this week, and who can blame them? Few things are more fun than seeing a guy who’s worked his way up from the practice squad — in his case, multiple practice squads — have a breakout game on a national stage. And Gray’s 201-yard, four-touchdown performance in the Patriots’ 42-20 erasure of the Colts was certainly a stunner. (It made you grateful for names on the backs of jerseys, just so you could keep reminding yourself who was doing all this damage.)

A performance like that tends to produce a bunch of cool stats. Here’s one: Gray scored a TD in every quarter, making him one of just a dozen players to do that since the 1970 merger. (Note: In the chart below, the numbers represent yards, R = run and P = pass reception.)

PLAYERS WHO SCORED A TD IN EVERY QUARTER OF A GAME SINCE 1970

[table]

Date,Player\, Team,Opponent,1st Q,2nd  Q,3rd Q,4th Q

11-16-14,RB Jonas Gray\, Patriots,Colts,4R,2R,2R,1R

10-29-06,RB Larry Johnson\, Chiefs,Seahawks,3R,9P,2R,3R

12-14-03,WR Joe Horn\, Saints,Giants,50P,13P,7P,18P

12-7-03,RB Clinton Portis\, Broncos,Chiefs,11R,1R,59R,28R\, 53R

12-18-00,RB Marshall Faulk\, Rams,Bucs,2R,16R,27P,9R

10-29-00,RB Marshall Faulk\, Rams,49ers,1R,1R,19P,16P

9-4-95,RB Emmitt Smith\, Cowboys,Giants,60R,1R,1R,1R

11-24-94,WR Sterling Sharpe\, Packers,Cowboys,1P,36P,30P,5P

10-14-90,WR Jerry Rice\, 49ers,Falcons,24P\, 25P,19P,13P,15P

9-7-80,WR Earnest Gray\, Giants,Cardinals,10P,37P,42P,20P

9-16-79,RB Clarence Williams\, Chargers,Bills,5R,1R,55R,2R

10-23-77,RB Wayne Morris\, Cardinals,Saints,2R,9R,1R,12R

[/table]

Would you look at Marshall Faulk? He did it twice in six games. (He missed two after his first four-touchdown day.) And really, who can get enough Clarence Williams in these charts? I know I can’t. I just wish it was the same Clarence Williams who played Linc on Mod Squad.

By the way, you know who else accomplished the feat — before the merger? Cowboys running back Dan Reeves.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

Jonas Gray, the Patriots' off-the-practice-squad rookie, got to do this in every quarter Monday night.

Jonas Gray, the Patriots’ off-the-practice-squad rookie, got to do this in every quarter Monday night.

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A forgotten QB’s finest hour

You won’t find Steve Pelluer’s name on any All-Time Greatest Quarterback lists. He was 9-20-1 as a starter with the Cowboys and Chiefs in the late ’80s and had a career passer rating of 71.6. When Tom Landry’s Hall of Fame career came to an ignominious end in 1988, Pelluer was his QB.

Steve did have a few nice moments, though. In fact, on this day in 1986, he played — for my money, at least – one of the most amazing games by a quarterback the NFL has seen. He didn’t do this Pelluer football cardby throwing for a bunch of yards or touchdowns, either; he did it by surviving. Even though the Chargers sacked him 11 times (one off the record) for 93 yards, he didn’t throw a single interception, completing 18 of 33 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown.

But here’s the best part: In the late going, he took Dallas down the field, 61 yards in four plays, for the deciding score in a 24-21 victory — and did the honors himself by running two yards around right end. I ask you: How many QBs in pro football history have been more resolute than Pelluer was that afternoon in San Diego?

Twice, he was sacked on back-to-back plays. Another time, he was flushed from the pocket — such as it was — and managed to pick up a couple of yards (thus avoiding sack No. 12). Another time, Chargers defensive end Earl Wilson roughed him for a 15-yard penalty. But Pelluer never flinched, despite spending much of the game with rookie Leslie O’Neal (five sacks for 43 yards), the future Pro Bowl pass rusher, on top of him. His 11 sackings:

1. First quarter, 2nd and 7, Dallas 25 — Loss of 10 (sacked by O’Neal).

2. Second quarter, 1st and 10, Dallas 27 — Loss of 8 (NT Chuck Ehin).

3. Second quarter, 3rd and 6, Dallas 11 — Loss of 8 (O’Neal). Fumble (Pelluer recovered).

4. Second quarter, 2nd and 16, Dallas 38 — Loss of 12 (O’Neal). Fumble (OT Mark Tuinei recovered).

5. Second quarter, 1st and 10, Dallas 39 — Loss of 11 (DE Lee Williams).

6. Third quarter, 2nd and 4, San Diego 35 — Loss of 7 (Ehin).

7. Third quarter, 3rd and 11, Dallas 42 — Loss of 7 (DE Dee Hardison).

8. Third quarter, 1st and 10, Dallas 45 — Loss of 6 (Williams and LB Gary Plummer).

9. Fourth quarter, 1st and 10, San Diego 40 — Loss of 5 (O’Neal).

10. Fourth quarter, 3rd and 15, San Diego 45 — Loss of 11 (Williams).

11. Fourth quarter, 2nd and 8, San Diego 42 — Loss of 8 (O’Neal).

After that last sack, which forced a punt, the Cowboys trailed 21-17 with 4:18 left. They got the ball back at the 2:09 mark, and then this happened:

Pelluer's winning drive

Completion, completion, completion — followed by a quarterback keeper for a TD. How’s that for a finish to an 11-sack game?

Two weeks later, the Eagles’ Randall Cunningham was sacked 12 times in a 33-27 overtime win over the Raiders. He, too, ran for the deciding score. So why aren’t I writing about that performance? Because (a.) Cunningham threw a pick in the last two minutes of regulation to enable the Raiders to send it into OT, and (b.) because it was the Philadelphia defense that ultimately won the game, forcing a fumble that strong safety Andre Waters returned to the Raiders 4. (Why the Eagles punched it in from there instead of kicking a field goal, only Buddy Ryan knows.)

Usually when a team’s quarterback(s) get sacked 11 or more times, the result is pretty predictable. Since 1960, clubs are 2-28 in those situations.

But Steve Pelluer bucked the odds — and for that, Pro Football Daly salutes him.

(Which isn’t to say he was totally unaffected by the San Diego stampede. “On one play,” he said afterward, “I handed off to the wrong guy. That was a play after I got hit. It was that kind of rush.”)

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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Running back consistency

Thanks to the Cardinals’ uncooperative defense in Week 9, DeMarco Murray’s quest to be the first NFL back to rush for 100 yards in every game of a season has been quashed. That said, 100 yards — as nice and round a number as it is — is still just a number. Would it surprise you to learn that no back has rushed for even 75 yards in all of his team’s games? I mention this because the Cowboys’ Murray had 79 against Arizona, so the feat is still within reach.

Indeed, only two other backs have gotten as far as DeMarco has — 75-plus rushing yards in each of the first 10 games. They are: Terrell Davis with the 1997 Broncos and Edgerrin James with the 2005 Colts. (Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson and Eric Dickerson didn’t even do it the years they broke the single-season rushing record.)

Sure, 75 yards is as arbitrary as 100, but it might be considered, at the very least, a “quality start.” Gaining that many yards week in and week out shows a fairly high level of consistency, does it not? Here are the backs who’ve come closest to doing it in every game of a season:

MOST GAMES WITH 75 OR MORE RUSHING YARDS, SEASON

[table width= “400px”]

Year,Running back\, Team,75+,Low Game

2004,Corey Dillon\, Patriots,15,79 vs. Bills

2011,Maurice Jones-Drew\, Jaguars,15,63 vs. Texans

2012,Adrian Peterson\, Vikings,15,60 vs. Colts

2008,Adrian Peterson\, Vikings,15,32 vs. Saints

2003,Jamal Lewis\, Ravens,14,68 vs. Jaguars

1985,Marcus Allen\, Raiders,14,50 vs. Chiefs

2012,Alfred Morris\, Redskins,14,47 vs. Vikings

2012,Marshawn Lynch\, Seahawks,14,41 vs. Patriots

1984,Eric Dickerson\, Rams,14,38 vs. 49ers

1983,Eric Dickerson\, Rams,14,37 vs. Redskins

2009,Chris Johnson\, Titans,14,34 vs. Colts

1992,Barry Foster\, Steelers,14,25 vs. Bears

1997,Barry Sanders\, Lions,14,20 vs. Bucs

1973,O.J. Simpson\, Bills,13*,55 vs. Dolphins

[/table]

*14- game season (so only once did he fall below the 75-yard threshold).

If you’re confused by Dillon’s line, let me explain: He missed a game that season. In the other 15, he rushed for 75 or more yards (gaining, on his worst day, 79 against Buffalo in Week 3. So he rushed for 75+ in every one of his games but not in every one of New England’s games.

Regardless, it’s an impressive accomplishment. Consider: The Patriots went 17-1 (postseason included) in the games Dillon played, capped by their Super Bowl win over the Eagles. And in the one they lost — 29-28 to the Dolphins — they blew an 11-point lead in the last three minutes. That’s how close he came to a perfect season. You’d have to think his utter reliability had something to do with it.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

Corey Dillon tries to sidestep the Jets' David Barrett.

Corey Dillon tries to sidestep the Jets’ David Barrett.

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