Tag Archives: Packers

Gadget plays galore

NFL teams channeled their Inner David Copperfield in Week 3. We saw the Bengals’ Mohamed Sanu, the Dan Marino of wide receivers, complete a throwback to QB Andy Dalton for an 18-yard touchdown, and we saw the Browns dust off the illegal-since-1954 Hideout Play against the Ravens — with Johnny Manziel split way, way out, almost far enough to sell hot dogs. (We covered that bit of subterfuge in a post yesterday.)

It’s probably only a matter of time before some special teams coach sells his boss on this beauty:

I wouldn’t mind seeing somebody run this one, either:

Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?

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Friday Night Fights III: Vai Sikahema vs. Jose Canseco, 2008

Nothing like a football-vs.-baseball brawl to get the juices flowing. Of course, when Vai Sikahema squared off with Jose Canseco on July 12, 2008, both were well past their playing days. Sikahema, a two-time Pro Bowl return man with the Cardinals, had been out of the NFL for 15 years and was working as a sportscaster in Philadelphia. He was 45. Canseco, the power-hitting poster boy for MLB’s steroid era, had played his last big-league game 7 years earlier. He was 44.

For their celebrity bout in Atlantic City, the two former jocks wore headgear. Sikahema, 5-foot-8, tipped the scales at 205 — 24 pounds above his football playing weight. Canseco, 6-4, came in at 248, giving him a huge size advantage. Vai, however, had had scores of amateur fights when he was younger, while Jose’s background was mostly in the martial arts.

So much for the preliminaries. We’re about ready for the introductions:

Sikahema said it all after the fight:

As for Canseco, when he his head had cleared — sort of — he conceded the bout had been a blunder:

Poor Jose. He was so discombobulated, he didn’t realize it was a left hook that knocked him down the first time, not an overhand right.

Two years later, a story by Doug Robinson in Salt Lake City’s Deseret News revisited the bout. Apparently it was Canseco’s people who thought it would be a good idea. When his agent called Sikahema out of the blue one day and proposed that the two meet in the ring, Vai tried to dissuade him.

“You don’t want to do this,” Sikahema continued. “Canseco is going to be in trouble.”

The agent was surprised. How big are you, he asked?

“5-8. 200.”

“Well, Canseco is 6-4, 250.”

“I’m telling you he’s in trouble. Does he know what a Tongan is?”

“No.”

“Well, he’ll find out. I come from a warrior culture and we fight till one of us is lying on the ground. I grew up boxing.”

“Canseco has five black belts.”

“OK, we’ll see.”

Canseco and his backers didn’t know that boxing was the reason Sikahema had come to this country in the first place. They didn’t know that his father had brought his family from Tonga to live in a hellish hot garage in Arizona so he could train his son to be a fighter. They didn’t know that he spent his youth boxing around the West, living out of the back of a pickup truck, and that he might have fulfilled his father’s plans for him if he hadn’t discovered something better. There was one other thing they didn’t know: His father had trained him specifically to fight big men, because he knew all his opponents would be bigger than his son. He had been taught to weather blows to get inside, then pummel the body and unload that left hook.

Like the one that felled Canseco.

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A brief glimpse of the NFL in 1960

Every once in a while some old NFL footage pops up on YouTube. Today’s discovery: the first few minutes of CBS’s broadcast of a 1960 game between the Colts and 49ers at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. It’s mostly pregame chatter between Niners’ broadcast team, Bob Fouts and Gordy Soltau, the latter a former receiver and kicker for the team. Perhaps you’ve heard of their sons — Dan, the Hall of Fame quarterback, and Mark, who writes for and edits Tiger Woods’ website (and used to work for Golf Digest).

Anyway, maybe the best thing about the clip is the way the Colts offense is introduced. Check it out:

Classic, huh? They line up at their positions, one by one, then run a play before heading to the sideline. Four of the guys who trotted out, of course, are in Canton: receiver Raymond Berry (82), tackle Jim Parker (77), quarterback Johnny Unitas (19) and running back Lenny Moore (24). It was quite the offense.

By all means watch the whole video if you’re interested. I just pulled out the intros because they were so amusingly retro. Something else in the clip also is pretty funny. At the top of the show, Soltau refers to the 49ers’ 26-14 win the week before over the Dallas “Texans.” Uh, Gordy, that’s the Dallas Cowboys. You can excuse him, though, because (a.) it was the Cowboys’ first year in the league; and (b.) he’d actually played against a team called the Dallas Texans in 1952 — twice. (In fact, he caught a touchdown pass in both games.)

The Texans folded after just one season, and many of their players — such as Hall of Fame defensive linemen Gino Marchetti and Art Donovan — moved on to Baltimore, which was given a franchise in ’53. Three years later Unitas arrived, and the rest is history.

Here’s Gordy’s flub:

Little-known fact: This game was the Beginning of the End for the ’50s Colts. After winning titles in ’58 and ’59, they got off to a 6-2 start in ’60 and looked like they might make it three in a row, which would have tied the NFL record. But the Niners forced six turnovers and upset them 30-22 — the start of a four-game Baltimore skid that knocked Johnny U. and Co. out of the running. The team that ended up winning the Western Conference that year? The Packers in Vince Lombardi’s second season.

The Dallas Texans/Cowboys, meanwhile, finished 0-11-1. Their situation would eventually improve, though.

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Down go the Seahawks

The Seahawks got their first reminder Sunday: When you’re the defending champs, every game is the Super Bowl — for the other team, at least. Beyond that, I’m not sure how much we should read into their 30-21 loss to the Chargers in Week 2. They caught a possible Hall of Fame quarterback, Philip Rivers, on an afternoon when he played like a definite Hall of Fame quarterback. It can happen to anybody.

As I said at the top, though, Seattle had best gear up for a long grind, because that’s what you’re looking at after you’ve won it all. Jerry Kramer, one of Vince Lombardi’s favorite Packers, had a great quote about defending your title. It went something like this: “Winning one is hard. Winning two in a row is really hard. And winning three in a row” — as his Green Bay club did from 1965 to ’67 — “is an absolute bitch.”

If it’s any consolation to the Seahawks, the ’93 Cowboys dropped their first two and still repeated as champions. (I know, I know. Emmitt Smith was holding out and didn’t play until the third game. But it’s not the kind of start any contender wants.)

As for the best starts by teams that have just won titles, you’ll find those here:

      BEST STARTS BY DEFENDING NFL CHAMPIONS

Year Team Start Result
1934 Bears 13-0 13-0 in regular season; lost title game.
1998 Broncos 13-0 14-2 in regular season; won Super Bowl.
2011 Packers 13-0 15-1 in regular season; lost in playoffs.
1942 Bears 11-0 11-0 in regular season; lost title game.
1962 Packers 10-0 13-1 in regular season; won title game.
1990 49ers 10-0 14-2 in regular season; lost NFC title game.
1931 Packers 9-0 12-2 final record gave them the title.
1930 Packers 8-0 10-3-1 final record gave them the title.
1948 Browns 14-0 14-0 in regular season; won title.

I threw in that last one to make sure you were paying attention. The Browns were still playing in the rival All-America Conference, of course, in ’48. (They didn’t join the NFL for another two years.) Still, that was a fabulous Cleveland club whose perfect 15-0 season — unlike the Dolphins’ 17-0 mark in ’72 — has been mostly forgotten. So whenever I get the chance, I give them a little pub.

Note that five of the nine teams won the championship again, and two others lost the title game. Also, when the ’30 and ’31 Packers successfully defended their crown, they did it based on their regular-season record. There were no playoffs until ’32.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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The Top 10 in 2014 vs. the Top 10 in 1964

It’s always educational to go back in time and see where the NFL was, say, 50 years ago and how it compares to today. So I decided to find out who the career leaders were in various offensive categories at the start of the 1964 season, just for kicks. What did it take to make the all-time Top 10 back then? Which players had fallen through the cracks of history? I learned plenty, I must say. Why don’t we begin with the running backs (since they were so much bigger a deal in the ’60s)?

Most rushing yards at the start of the 1964 season At the start of 2014
9,322  Jim Brown 18,355  Emmitt Smith
8,378  Joe Perry 16,726  Walter Payton
5,860  Steve Van Buren 15,269  Barry Sanders
5,599  Jim Taylor 14,101  Curtis Martin
5,534  Rick Casares 13,684  LaDainian Tomlinson
5,518  John Henry Johnson 13,662  Jerome Bettis
5,233  Hugh McElhenny 13,259  Eric Dickerson
4,565  Ollie Matson 12,739  Tony Dorsett
4,428  Alex Webster 12,312  Jim Brown
4,315  J.D. Smith 12,279  Marshall Faulk

Think about it: To be one of the Top 10 rushers in NFL history half a century ago, all you needed was 4,315 yards. Adrian Peterson surpassed that by the end of his third season (4,484). Eric Dickerson nearly got there in his second (3,913). By current standards, it’s not that much yardage. (Consider: Among active backs, the Colts’ Ahmad Bradshaw is closest to Smith’s total with 4,418. That ranks him 160th all time.)

But it was a significant amount of yardage in 1964, the league’s 45th year. Careers were shorter. Seasons were shorter. Only the rare player (e.g. Brown) put up numbers that had much longevity.

Note, too: Three backs on the ’64 list — the Bears’ Casares, the Giants’ Webster and the 49ers’ Smith — aren’t in the Hall of Fame and never will be. Yet there’s a good chance every back on the ’14 list will make it. The only ones who haven’t been voted in, after all, are Bettis and Tomlinson. But LT is a lock once he’s eligible, and Bettis has been a finalist the last four years and figures to get his ticket punched eventually.

And understandably so, I suppose. The threshold for breaking into the Top 10 — in all offensive departments — is so much higher these days. You not only have to play longer, you usually have to be fairly productive in your 30s, which for a running back is far from guaranteed. Payton, hard as it is to believe, rushed for more yards after his 30th birthday (6,522) than Van Buren did in his entire career (5,860). And Steve was the all-time leader for nearly a decade.

Finally, three of the Top 7 rushers 50 years ago — Perry (2nd), Johnson (6th) and McElhenny (7th) –actually played together for three seasons in San Francisco (1954-56), though they often weren’t healthy at the same time. “The Million-Dollar Backfield,” they were called (the fourth Hall of Fame member being quarterback Y.A. Tittle). John Henry, ever the joker, liked to tell people: “I’m still lookin’ for the million.”

On to the receivers:

Most receiving yards at the start of the 1964 season At the start of 2014
8,459  Billy Howton 22,895  Jerry Rice
7,991  Don Hutson 15,934  Terrell Owens
6,920  Raymond Berry 15,292  Randy Moss
6,299  Crazylegs Hirsch 15,208  Isaac Bruce
5,902  Billy Wilson 15,127  Tony Gonzalez
5,619  Pete Pihos 14,934  Tim Brown
5,594  Del Shofner 14,580  Marvin Harrison
5,508  Ray Renfro 14,004  James Lofton
5,499  Tommy McDonald 13,899  Cris Carter
5,476  Max McGee 13,777  Henry Ellard

That’s right, McGee, Paul Hornung’s old drinking buddy on the Packers, was No. 10 in receiving yards as the ’64 season got underway. I wasn’t prepared for that (though I knew he was a pretty good wideout). Here is he is (fuzzily) scoring the first points in Super Bowl history by making a one-handed touchdown catch:

Amazingly, Howton, who tops the list — and was McGee’s teammate in Green Bay for a while — isn’t in the Hall. I’ve always thought he belongs, even though he played on a series of losing clubs. But that’s a subject for another post.

Also excluded from Canton, besides McGee, are the 49ers’ Wilson, the Giants’ Shofner and the Browns’ Renfro. In other words, half of the Top 10 in receiving yards half a century ago haven’t been enshrined. Does that seem like a lot to you?

I doubt people will be saying that about the current Top 10 50 years from now. Rice and Lofton already have their gold jackets, and most of the others have strong arguments.

Speaking of Rice, that 22,895 figure never ceases to astound, does it? It’s almost as many as the Top 3 receivers combined on the ’64 list (23,370).

Something else that shouldn’t be overlooked: a tight end (Tony Gonzalez) has infiltrated the Top 10 (at No. 5) — and he won’t be the last. The position has become too important to the passing game.

Lastly — because I wanted to keep you in suspense — the quarterbacks:

Most passing yards at the start of the 1964 season At the start of 2014
28,339  Y.A. Tittle 71,838  Brett Favre
26,768  Bobby Layne 64,964  Peyton Manning
23,611  Norm Van Brocklin 61,361  Dan Marino
21,886  Sammy Baugh 51,475  John Elway
21,491  Johnny Unitas 51,081  Drew Brees
19,488  Charlie Conerly 49,325  Warren Moon
17,654  Tobin Rote 49,149  Tom Brady
17,492  George Blanda 47,003  Fran Tarkenton
16,303  Billy Wade 46,233  Vinny Testaverde
14,686  Sid Luckman 44,611  Drew Bledsoe

Both groups are well represented in the Hall. Seven from ’64 are in, including the Top 5, and the Top 8 from ’14 are destined to join them. And get this: The three ’64 guys who haven’t been ushered into Canton — Conerly (’56 Giants), Rote (’57 Lions, plus the ’63 Chargers in the AFL) and Wade (’63 Bears) — all quarterbacked teams to titles. Quite an accomplished bunch.

For those wondering where Otto Graham is, he did indeed rack up 23,584 passing yards, but 10,085 of them came in the rival All-America Conference. That left him 12th, for the NFL’s purposes, going into the ’64 season (with 13,499). It’s a bit unfair — and also affects some of his teammates (running back Marion Motley, receivers Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie) — but what are ya gonna do?

At any rate, it takes a lot of yards to crack any of these Top 10s nowadays. You’d better pack a lunch — and maybe dinner and a midnight snack, too.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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You never want to beat yourself, unless . . .

Had Peyton Manning not sat out the last game of the 2004 season — except for the first three snaps, that is — he might have done something last year that hadn’t been done in two decades: break his own NFL season record.

Manning, you may recall, had 49 touchdown passes going into the ’04 finale at Denver. He’d topped Dan Marino’s mark of 48 the week before, so there was no compelling reason for him to run up the score, so to speak — especially since the Colts had already clinched their division and had no shot at a first-round bye. So after the first series against the Broncos, coach Tony Dungy played it safe and replaced him with Jim Sorgi.

Three years later, the Patriots’ Tom Brady threw for 50 TDs to edge past Manning. And last season Manning threw for 55 to take the record back. But had Peyton gone the distance in the ’04 closer, he might well have thrown for several scores. Indeed, the following week in the playoffs, in a rematch with Denver, he threw for four in a 49-24 blowout. Could Brady have gotten to 52 or 53 – or more? I wouldn’t count on it.

Ah, what might have been. The last time a player broke his own NFL season record, according to my research, was in 1993, when the Packers’ Sterling Sharpe caught 112 passes, surpassing his own mark of 108 set in ’92. (The next year, the Vikings’ Cris Carter topped Sharpe by hauling in 122. So it goes in the receiving game.)

I’m not talking about any old records, by the way. I’m talking about records that fans care about (at least a little). We seem to be at the point in pro football history where this sort of thing – self-erasure – is getting incredibly hard to do.

It wasn’t always thus. In the ’30s and ’40s, another Packers receiver – the iconic Don Hutson – upped his own record nine times in various categories (receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, points scored). Of course, the passing game was still in its infancy then, and Green Bay was one of the few teams that made effective use of it.

Nowadays, though, one record-breaking season appears to be all a player has in him. Take the Saints’ Drew Brees, for instance. Three years ago he threw for 5,476 yards to blow by Marino’s longstanding mark of 5,084. In 2012, however, despite a fabulous effort with a 7-9 team, he fell 299 yards short of his record. Now that he’s 35, he might never get that close again.

Maybe this is another way we can measure greatness: Was a guy good enough to break his own season mark? The list of players who’ve done it since — World War II — is fairly short:

● RB Steve Van Buren*, Eagles (rushing yards) — 1,008 in 1946 (old mark: 1,004), 1,146 in ’49.

● E Tom Fears*, Rams (receptions) — 77 in 1949 (old mark: 74), 84 in ’50.

● K Lou Groza*, Browns (field goals) — 13 in 1950 (old mark: 12 by drop-kicker Paddy Driscoll of the Bears in ’26), 19 in ’52, 23 in ’53. (Yes, he broke his own record twice.)

● RB Jim Brown*, Browns (rushing yards) — 1,527 in 1958 (old mark: 1,146), 1,863 in ’63.

● QB Y.A. Tittle*, Giants (touchdown passes) — 33 in ’62 (old mark: 32), 36 in ’63.

Note: George Blanda tossed 36 TD passes for the Houston Oilers in 1961. But I’m excluding the pre-merger (1960-66) AFL from this discussion, even though the NFL includes the league’s statistics in its record book. It just wasn’t as good a league in the early years (much as I enjoyed it).

● QB Dan Fouts*, Chargers (passing yards) — 4,082 in 1979 (old mark: 4,007), 4,715 in ’80, 4,802 in ’81.

Note: The record Fouts broke in ’79 was set by the Jets’ Joe Namath in a 14-game season. So he didn’t really break it, not if you go by per-game average (255.1 for Dan vs. 286.2 for Broadway Joe). But his ’80 (294.7) and ’81 (300.1) averages were better than Namath’s.

● WR Sterling Sharpe, Packers (receptions) — 108 in 1992 (old mark: 106), 112 in ’93.

* Hall of Fame

As you can see, the only one of the Select Seven who isn’t in the Hall is Sharpe, whose career was cut short by injury. He may yet make it as a Veterans Candidate, though. After all, he did put up some impressive numbers in just seven seasons (595 catches, 8,134 yards, 65 TDs, 5 Pro Bowls).

Anyway, it’s something for the Lions’ Calvin Johnson to think about as he attempts to climb Mount 2,000.

Sources: The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia, pro-football-reference.com

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The first quarter of the first game

Every team wants to get off to a fast start in Week 1, but the 1964 Bills took it to another level. In their opener 50 years ago against the Chiefs, they jumped out to a — no, this is not a typo — 31-0 lead after the first quarter. It’s the best beginning to a season in pro football history . . . by a lot. And lest you think this is just an inconsequential detail, they went on to their first AFL championship that year.

The explosion started quietly enough with a 13-yard field goal by Pete Gogolak. But then Jack Kemp, the future vice presidential candidate, threw three touchdown passes — two to Glenn Bass, the other to Elbert “Golden Wheels” Dubenion — and defensive tackle Tom Sestak added interception to injury with a 15-yard TD return. (His victim: Hall of Famer Len Dawson.)

The Chiefs regained consciousness and got within striking distance by the end of the third quarter, but Buffalo held them off, 34-17. The Bills then proceeded to win their first nine games and, on the day after Christmas, beat the defending champion Chargers to take the title.

In other words, it wasn’t the season their coach, Lou Saban, said this:

No other team NFL team has ever had more than a 21-point lead after the first quarter of its opener. The ’08 Falcons were the last to do it (against the Lions in Mike Smith’s first game on the Atlanta sideline). As you’ll see in the following chart, four of the 12 Fast Starters went on to win the title and eight made the playoffs. Somehow, though, two managed to lose the game.

BIGGEST WEEK 1 LEADS AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER

Year  Team Opponent Pts (Score) Final Result (Record)
1964  Bills Chiefs 31 (31-0) W, 34-17 Won AFL title (12-2)
2008  Falcons Lions 21 (21-0) W, 34-21 Wild card (11-5)
1999  Eagles Cardinals 21 (21-0) L, 25-24 Missed playoffs (5-11)
1991  Redskins Lions 21 (21-0) W, 45-0 Won Super Bowl (14-2)
1990  Falcons Oilers 21 (21-0) W, 47-27 Missed playoffs (5-11)
1988  Eagles Bucs 21 (21-0) W, 41-14 Won division (10-6)
1981  Seahawks Bengals 21 (21-0) L, 27-21 Missed playoffs (6-10)
1973  Redskins Chargers 21 (21-0) W, 38-0 Wild card (10-4)
1968  Raiders Bills 21 (21-0) W, 48-6 Won division (12-2)
1966  Chiefs Bills 21 (21-0) W, 42-20 Won AFL title (11-2-1)
1951  Rams Yanks 21 (21-0) W, 54-14 Won title (8-4)
1940  Packers Eagles 21 (21-0) W, 27-20 Missed playoffs (6-4-1)

Other items of interest:

● The ’81 Bengals, who overcame that 21-0 first quarter deficit against the Seahawks, went all the way to the Super Bowl (where they couldn’t overcome a 20-0 halftime deficit against the 49ers).

● While the ’51 Rams were coldcocking the New York Yanks in their opener, Norm Van Brocklin was throwing for 554 yards. It’s still the NFL record (by 27). Sixty-three years and counting, folks.

● Did you notice? Two years after the Bills laid a 31-0 first quarter on them in Week 1, the Chiefs returned the favor, 21-0 (in the very same stadium: War Memorial). Buffalo still reached the ’66 AFL championship game, though (only to lose to Kansas City again).

● That miserable first quarter certainly set the tone for the ’08 Lions. They proceeded to go 0-16, the only NFL team to plunge to such depths. The ’91 Lions, on the other hand, proved more resilient. After their stinker of a beginning, they regrouped, went 12-4 and met the Redskins again in the NFC title game (where the result was pretty much the same — a 41-10 whipping).

● The Bills’ 31-point margin isn’t just the biggest in the first quarter of an opener; it’s the biggest in the first quarter of any game. (Vince Lombardi’s Packers put up a 35 in the opening quarter against the Browns in November ’67, the record for total points, but they also gave up a touchdown, so they were ahead by “only” 28.)

● Finally, remember that Gogolak field goal I mentioned at the top? Turns out it was the first by a soccer-styler in pro football history. It’s also the subject of my next post, which I’ve linked to here.

At any rate, who knew the first quarter of the first game could be so telling?

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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See if you can find the ball

There’s no better way to celebrate the start of the NFL season than with a clip — or three — of the ol’ Hidden-Ball Play. These are from Pigskin Champions, a documentary the Packers filmed in Hollywood after winning the 1936 title. As you’ll see, the play was the football equivalent of a Three-Card Monte game.

Which one is your favorite?

Hidden-Ball Play No. 1:

Hidden-Ball Play No. 2:

Hidden-Ball Play No. 3:

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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

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Tony Gonzalez’s exit

Well, it looks like Tony Gonzalez really is retired, so I guess it’s safe to run this post. I wanted to add his 2013 performance to my list of Best Final Seasons in NFL history, but there was always the chance the Patriots or some other tight end-needy contender would talk him into playing another year.

Gonzalez wanted badly last season to close out his career the way Ray Lewis, Michael Strahan and Jerome Bettis had in recent years — by winning the Super Bowl. (In his case, his first.) Alas, the Falcons were one of the league’s biggest flops, going 4-12 after reaching the NFC title game the season before, and Tony’s typically sterling efforts (83 catches, 859 yards, 8 touchdowns and his 14th Pro Bowl) went for naught.

Still, at least he retired at or near the top of his game. The same can’t be said for Lewis, Strahan and Bettis, despite their fairytale endings. Ray missed 10 games in 2012 with a torn triceps and failed to make the Pro Bowl. Strahan ranked third on the Giants in ’07 with nine sacks (to Osi Umenyiora’s 13 and Justin Tuck’s 10). And Bettis rushed for a career-low 368 yards in ’05 (though his nine rushing touchdowns were tops on the team).

Other players have hung ’em up after having much better seasons — and a handful have even done it while winning a ring (or whatever bauble owners handed out in those days). The lineup of Fabulous Finishers:

BEST FINAL SEASONS IN NFL HISTORY

● 2013 – Tony Gonzalez, TE, Falcons (age: 37): I’ve already hit you with his numbers. You’ll appreciate them even more when I tell you he had 80 receptions (or better) at ages 31, 32, 33, 35 and 36, too. No other tight end has been older than 30 when he caught that many balls.

● 2006 – Tiki Barber, RB, Giants (age: 31): Had 1,662 rushing yards, 2,127 yards from scrimmage and made the Pro Bowl with an 8-8 club that somehow stumbled into a playoff berth. Contemplated making a comeback several years later, after his TV career went south, but couldn’t find a taker.

● 1999 – Kevin Greene, LB, Panthers (37): Racked up the last 12 of his 160 sacks (No. 3 all time) for 8-8 Carolina.

● 1998 – John Elway*, QB, Broncos (38): Posted a passer rating of 93, earned a Pro Bowl berth, won the Super Bowl and was voted the game’s MVP (after throwing for 336 yards). Endings don’t get any sweeter than that.

● 1998 – Barry Sanders*, RB, Lions (30): Hard to believe the NFL lost two Hall ofFamers – who were still playing at a high level – to retirement in the same year. Sanders’ ’98 numbers (coming on the heels of his 2,053-yard rushing season): 343 carries, 1,491 yards, 4 touchdowns. Alas, Detroit went 5-11 in his Pro Bowl swan song.

● 1996 – Keith Jackson, TE, Packers (31): Caught a career-high 10 TD passes and played in the last of his five Pro Bowls as Green Bay won its first championship since the Lombardi years.

● 1983 – Ken Riley, CB, Bengals (36): Exited after a season in which had eight interceptions (second in the league), ran back two for scores (one a game-winner) and was elected to his first Pro Bowl. The Bengals weren’t nearly as good as he was, finishing 7-9.

● 1979 – Roger Staubach*, QB, Cowboys (37): Won his fourth NFL passing crown (rating: 92.3) and appeared in his sixth Pro Bowl for division champion Dallas.

● 1965 – Jim Brown*, RB, Browns (29): Before going off to make movies (e.g. “The Dirty Dozen”), Brown had a typically terrific season, leading the league in rushing (1,544), rushing touchdowns (17) and yards from scrimmage (1,872). His final game, though, with the title at stake, was less satisfying: a muddy 23-12 loss to the Packers.

● 1960 – Norm Van Brocklin*, QB, Eagles (34): The Dutchman was the NFL MVP, tossing 24 TD passes (and, on the side, averaging 43.1 yards a punt) in quarterbacking the franchise to its last championship. Retired to become coach of the expansion Vikings, making him the last player to call it quits and step directly into a head-coaching job.

● 1955 – Otto Graham*, QB, Browns (34): Led the league with a 94 passer rating and went to the Pro Bowl as Cleveland won its second straight title (and seventh in a decade, counting its time in the All-America Conference).

● 1955 – Pete Pihos*, E, Eagles (32): Was still a Pro Bowler – and catching more passes (62) for more yards (864) than anybody in the NFL – when he decided he’d had enough. Philly’s 4-7-1 record undoubtedly made it easier.

● 1950 – Spec Sanders, S, New York Yanks (32): Picked off a league-best 13 passes in his one NFL season (after coming over from the All-America Conference). Only one player in history has had more: the Rams’ Night Train Lane (14 in ’52).

● 1945 – Don Hutson*, WR, Packers (32): Capped an incredible career with 47 receptions, tops in the league, for 834 yards and 9 TDs. (And the season, mind you, was just 10 games. His stats would project to 75-1,334-14 over a 16-game schedule.) Green Bay had won the championship the year before, but finished third in the West in ’45 with a 6-4 mark.

● 1937 – Cliff Battles*, RB, Redskins (27): Took his second NFL rushing crown with 874 yards, helping the Redskins, in their first season in Washington, win their first title. A contract dispute with owner George Preston Marshall caused him to retire and turn to college coaching.

* Hall of Famer

Another familiar name that should be on this list is Reggie White. The legendary defensive end initially retired after the 1998 season, when he had 16 sacks for the Packers and was the league’s defensive player of the year. But he reconsidered two seasons later and gave it one last go with a 7-9 Panthers team, adding 5 ½ (needless) sacks to his resumé. All it did was delay his entry into the Hall of Fame.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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