Tag Archives: running backs

Friday Night Fights X: Joe Savoldi vs. Man Mountain Dean, 1934

The Bears’ signing of “Jumping Joe” Savoldi, the star fullback from Notre Dame, late in the 1930 season was a national story. Savoldi had been booted out of school in mid-November when it was discovered he was married — a no-no for college athletes back then — and George Halas was quick to get him in a Chicago uniform, even if he had to pay a $1,000 fine because Savoldi’s class had yet to graduate. (This, remember, was several years before the NFL had a draft. Teams were free to sign any player they wanted.)

Despite making great money with the Bears, Savoldi played just three games for them — the only games of his pro football career. He then turned to wrestling and, according to

Savoldi practices the Flying Dropkick.

Savoldi practices the Flying Dropkick.

wrestlingdata.com, had over 600 matches in the next 23 years (and briefly held one of the dime-a-dozen heavyweight “titles”). Years later, he explained the sudden switch to Frank Blair of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

His Bears teammates, he said, weren’t too thrilled when they found out what Halas was paying him, and

they quit blocking for me. . . . Here I was getting some $4,000 a game with my cut of the gate, and my teammates in the line and backfield were being paid $50 to $125 per man. . . . If I was worth 20 times as much as they were, I could make my own touchdowns without any help. After I had been riddled a dozen times trying to hit the line or sweep off tackle, I just fell down and stayed there. I didn’t have a chance.

So they took me out and kept me on the bench after the second game — not because I couldn’t play football, but [because] the other guys wouldn’t play and block for me. I had a contract for 18 games after that first season, with a guarantee of $500 a game, but I didn’t want any part of that pro football. I went into wrestling. In that business you don’t need blockers.

As you might expect of a wrestler with 600 bouts, Savoldi took on anybody and everybody, from legends like Strangler Lewis and Jim Londos to ex-football players like Bronko Nagurski (his former Bears teammate), Gus Sonnenberg, Jim McMillen, Sammy Stein, Mayes McClain and Roy “Father” Lumpkin.

Nagurski was the champion himself for a while. Wrestlingdata.com has him beating Savoldi three out of three, but it seems to have missed this match in 1938:

Savoldi loses to Broniko 9-27-38

During World War II, Savoldi performed some kind of “secret mission” for the U.S. government. Jack Cuddy of The Associated Press wrote about it in 1945. Savoldi wasn’t able to provide him with much detail — it was all very hush-hush — but Cuddy had his suspicions. Joe, he noted, had been born in Italy, and not only was fluent in Italian but knew a fair amount of French.

All Savoldi told him was that he was “on special assignment. Yes, I am permitted to tell you what areas I visited. They were North Africa, Sicily, Italy — including Salerno — and France — including Normandy. Yes, I was under fire — plenty of times. No, I wasn’t wounded. This scar on my cheek and these cauliflower ears came before the war.”

After he retired from the ring, Savoldi trained the famed Bobo Brazil, whose signature move was the concussion-causing Cocoa Butt. Jumping Joe’s specialty, naturally, was the Flying Dropkick, which he demonstrates — to great effect — in the following clip. His opponent is Man Mountain Dean. They crossed paths several times, but I’m pretty sure this bout was in 1934.

Sources: pro-football-reference.com, wrestlingdata.com

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The name’s the same

Spent the better part of the morning trying to put together sets of Triplets — quarterback, running back, receiver — who share the same last name (even if they didn’t play on the same club or in the same era). There was no fudging allowed, either. For instance, you couldn’t try to team Kerry Collins with Cris Collinsworth or Trent Green with BenJarvus Green-Ellis or, heaven forbid, Rob Gronkowski with Bruce Gradkowski. The receiver could, however, be a wideout or a tight end. The rules weren’t totally inflexible.

Anyway, it was harder than I thought it would be. There just aren’t many surnames that are very common in NFL/AFL history. I almost hurled my laptop, Frisbee style, when I was two-thirds of the way to paydirt with Jim and Leroy Kelly — Hall of Famers both — but couldn’t come up with a receiver any better than Reggie, the underwhelming tight end for the Bengals and Falcons.

Smith is another one. You’d think that would be a gimmie — Emmitt at running back, Jerry (or Jimmy or Steve or Rod or Jerry) at receiver and . . . good luck finding a quarterback worth a darn.

If you work at it, though, you can dig up some nice threesomes. Here are my nominees for:

BEST SETS OF TRIPLETS SHARING THE SAME LAST NAME

Last name Quarterback Running Back Receiver
Young Steve* Buddy* Charle (TE)
Johnson Brad John Henry* Calvin
Sanders Spec Barry* Charlie* (TE)
Anderson Ken Ottis Flipper
White Danny Whizzer Roddy
Jones Bert Dub Homer
Green Trent Ernie Roy
Williams Doug Ricky Roy
Collins Kerry Tony Gary
Mitchell Scott Lydell Bobby*

*Hall of Famer

Only a few of these guys didn’t make at least one Pro Bowl or — in the case of pre-Pro Bowl players — all-pro team. Flipper Anderson didn’t, for example, but, hey, he holds the record for receiving yards in a game (336). In fact, he’s held it for 25 years, which is pretty remarkable considering how long receiving marks tend to last. And granted, Scott Mitchell was nothing special as a quarterback, but he did throw 32 touchdown passes one year for the Lions.

The first three listed are my gold, silver and bronze medalists. As for the others, you can order them however you like. I’m not sure it makes much difference. It’s kind of cool, by the way, that

Spec Sanders

Spec Sanders

Dub and Bert Jones are a father-son pairing. Dub, of course, is one of three NFL players to score six TDs in a game.

One last thing: I was fibbing about the no-fudging rule. Spec Sanders wasn’t technically a quarterback; he was a single-wing tailback for the New York Yankees of the All-America Conference in the ’40s. (He did play one season in the NFL, however, and intercepted 13 passes as a DB to lead the league.)

I included Spec because in 1947 he had one of the greatest offensive seasons of all time, throwing for 1,442 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushing for 1,432 yards and 18 TDs. (In his spare time, he ran a kickoff back 92 yards for another score.)

One day I spent a couple of hours on the phone with him, reminiscing about his playing days. He was utterly self-effacing, not the least bit impressed with his football feats. Just makes me want to keep his name alive.

From the New York Yankees' 1948 media guide.

From the New York Yankees’ 1948 media guide.

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The NFL’s last scoreless tie?

The record book says the last scoreless tie in the NFL was played Nov. 7, 1943 — 71 years ago today — when the Giants and Lions battled pointlessly in the rain and mud of Briggs Stadium. But I say it happened about two decades later, when the Giants’ Frank Gifford and the Eagles’ Timmy Brown competed against each another on “Password,” the popular TV game show, and posted zeroes in the second round:

You’ve gotta admit, that segment was every bit as exciting as, well, a 0-0 deadlock. By the way, how beautiful is it that Brown’s partner was Betty White? No one would have believed in the ’60s that fair Betty would go on to do a Snickers commercial in which she got flattened trying to catch a pass in a touch football game — a game played in conditions, you’ll notice, much like the “last” scoreless tie between the Giants and Lions in 1943.

If only Abe Vigoda had been teamed with Gifford on “Password.”

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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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The eternal John Riggins

Thirty years ago today, at the age of 35, John Riggins carried 32 times for 165 yards as the Redskins whipped the Cowboys, 34-14. Three decades later, his yardage total is still the highest for a 35-or-older back — by 21. Indeed, it’s reasonable to wonder whether his age-group records will ever be broken.

After all, it’s been a decade since a back that old rushed for even 100 yards in a game (the Cardinals’ Emmitt Smith, 106 vs. the Seahawks in 2004). In fact, since Riggins retired after the 1985 season, only Smith (twice) and Marcus Allen (also twice) have topped 100 after turning 35.

It’s so rare for a back to last that long — that is, and still be in decent working order. Tony Richardson played fullback for the Jets until he was 39, but he was a blocker, not a runner. Riggins at 35 was still a franchise back, spry enough to rush for 1,239 yards — almost all of them between the tackles — and to carry 20 times a game (327 in all).

Maybe it was the sabbatical year he took in 1980, when he held out for money and didn’t get it. Maybe that’s why Riggo was so good at such an advanced age. Or maybe it was just genes, an innate Kansas Farm Boy Indestructibility. Whatever the reason, we may never see his like again. So I thought I’d give him a shout-out on the 30th anniversary of one of his greatest games.

Since 1960, there have been only 14 100-yard rushing games by backs 35 or older. Riggins has eight of them. Nobody else has more than two. He was amazing then, and he’s amazing now.

MOST RUSHING YARDS IN A GAME BY A BACK 35 OR OLDER SINCE 1960

Date Running Back (Age),Team Opponent Att Yds TD
10-14-84 John Riggins (35), Redskins Cowboys 32 165 0
10-1-78 McArthur Lane (36), Chiefs Bills 17 144 0
9-23-84 John Riggins (35), Redskins Patriots 33 140 1
10-3-04 Emmitt Smith (35), Cardinals Saints 21 127 1
12-3-95 Marcus Allen (35), Chiefs Raiders 21 124 1
10-22-95 Marcus Allen (35), Chiefs Broncos 21 121 1
10-13-85 John Riggins (36), Redskins Lions 21 114 3
10-27-85 John Riggins (36), Redskins Browns 30 112 1
12-9-84 John Riggins (35), Redskins Cowboys 24 111 1
10-24-04 Emmitt Smith (35), Cardinals Seahawks 26 106 1

FYI: Riggins’ 1,239 rushing yards in ’84 are the most by a 35-or-older back by 302. (Next: Smith, ’04 Cardinals, 937.) And his 327 carries that season are the most by a 35-or-older back by 60. (Next: Smith, ’04 Cardinals, 267.)

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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The latest Running Back from Nowhere

Once again Sunday, NFL fans watched slack-jawed as another Mystery Running Back darted and dashed all over the field. This time it was Branden Oliver, the Chargers’ undrafted rookie, who amazed the masses, racking up 114 yards rushing, 68 receiving and one touchdown — in just his third game as a pro — as San Diego routed the Jets 31-0.

This is becoming almost an annual event now, pro football’s version of Punxsutawney Phil emerging from his hole to forecast the weather. Oliver’s emergence, of course, just reminds everybody that scouting is a woefully inexact science, especially when it comes to running backs.

We know this because good ones go unclaimed in the draft all the time. Indeed, there have been 17 1,000-yard rushing seasons in the 2000s by backs who weren’t selected. Practically every year, it seems, an overlooked runner makes personnel departments cringe by leading the NFL in rushing, yards from scrimmage, touchdowns or otherwise distinguishing himself. Check out this list:

THE 9 UNDRAFTED BACKS IN THE 2000S WHO HAVE BEEN 1,000-YARD RUSHERS

Running back, Team Best Year Att Yds Avg TD
Arian Foster, Texans 2010 327 1,616 4.9 16
Priest Holmes, Chiefs 2002 313 1,615 5.2 21
Willie Parker, Steelers 2006 337 1,494 4.3 13
Ryan Grant, Packers 2009 282 1,253 4.4 11
James Allen, Bears 2000 290 1,120 3.9 2
Dominic Rhodes, Colts 2001 233 1,104 4.7 9
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Bengals 2012 278 1,094 3.9 6
Fred Jackson, Bills 2009 237 1,062 4.5 2
LeGarrette Blount, Bucs 2010 201 1,007 5.0 6

Note: League leaders in bold face. Foster (2,220) and Holmes (2,287) also led the league in yards from scrimmage.

It’s not just these guys, either. It’s all the other guys, the ones who were drafted as afterthoughts in the late rounds. There are plenty of those, too. Such as:

TOP LATE-ROUND RUNNING BACKS IN THE 2000S

Running back\ Team Round Best Year Att Yds Avg TD
Michael Turner, Falcons 5th 2008 376 1,699 4.5 17
Alfred Morris, Redskins 6th 2012 335 1,613 4.8 13
Mike Anderson, Broncos 6th 2000 297 1,487 5.0 15
Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants 7th 2010 276 1,235 4.5 8
Chester Taylor, Vikings 6th 2006 303 1,216 4.0 6

Oliver, built along the lines of the Eagles’ Darren Sproles at 5-foot-7, 201 pounds, came out of the same University of Buffalo program that produced James Starks. Starks, you may recall, was one of the nicer stories of 2010. After being drafted in the sixth round by the Packers and spending most of the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, he pulled a Punxsutawney Phil in the playoffs and rushed for 315 yards to help Green Bay win the Super Bowl. It’s the third-highest rushing total by a rookie in the postseason since 1960.

There’s no telling what lies ahead for Oliver. Sunday could be the highlight of his career or it could lead to even better things. With Donald Brown now questionable with a concussion, Ryan Matthews (knee) still out and Danny Woodhead (broken fibula) on injured reserve, there’s plenty of opportunity for the rookie.

But if it is his one, brief, shining moment, it was an awfully good one. His 182 yards from scrimmage are the third most by a running back this season (and include a 50-yard reception).

But getting back to our previous subject — why are so many good backs drafted so low (or not at all)? — it’s interesting to compare the Top 5 rushers this season with the Top 5 passers in terms of what round they went in.

CURRENT TOP 5 RUSHERS

Yds Running Back, Team Round (Pick)
670 DeMarco Murray, Cowboys 3rd (71)
460 Le’Veon Bell, Steelers 2nd (48)
404 Arian Foster, Texans UFA
396 Rashad Jennings, Giants 7th (250)
365 Frank Gore, 49ers 3rd (65)

CURRENT TOP 5 IN PASSER RATING

Rating Quarterback, Team Round (Pick)
116.3 Philip Rivers, Chargers 1st (4)
114.8 Aaron Rodgers, Packers 1st (24)
112.9 Russell Wilson, Seahawks 3rd (75)
109.0 Peyton Manning, Broncos 1st (1)
100.3 Andy Dalton, Bengals 2nd (35)

Huge contrast, no? On the quarterback side, you’ve got three No. 1s (two of them very high), a near No. 1 and a No. 3. And on the running back side, you’ve got a second-rounder, two third-rounders, a seventh-rounder and an undrafted free agent.

You hear all the time that the hardest position evaluate is quarterback. Well, on the basis of this, running backs may be even harder to get a read on.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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The joy of stats, Week 4

The Vikings’ 41-28 win over the Falcons on Sunday produced not one but two intriguing statistics.

1. In his first NFL start, the Vikes’ Teddy Bridgewater completed 19 of 30 passes for 317 yards and . . . that’s it. No touchdowns, no interceptions. You might say it’s unusual to throw for 300 yards, average 10 per attempt (league norm: 7.1), avoid getting picked off and not have any TD passes. In fact, Bridgewater is just the third quarterback since 1960 to have such a game.

300 PASSING YARDS, 10 YARDS PER ATTEMPT, 0 TD, 0 INT IN A GAME

Date Quarterback, Team Opponent Yds YPA TD Int Result
9-28-14 Teddy Bridgewater,Vikings Falcons 317 10.6 0 0 W, 41-28
11-4-12 Matt Ryan, Falcons Cowboys 342 10.1 0 0 W, 19-13
12-10-00 Kurt Warner, Rams Vikings 346 10.8 0 0 W, 40-29

A big reason Bridgewater didn’t throw for any scores — except for a two-point conversion, that is — is that Minnesota ran the ball well when it got near the goal line. Matt Asiata pounded it in from 1, 3 and 6 yards out, and Teddy scrambled 13 for another touchdown. The four rushing TDs equaled the franchise record, first set in 1965.

Anyway, that’s how Bridgewater wound up with his unusual 30-19-317-0-0 line. (And it’ll probably never happen again.)

2. In defeat, the Falcons’ Devin Hester caught a 36-yard scoring pass from Matt Ryan. That gave Hester touchdowns rushing, receiving and punt returning in the first four games. Only five players have done that since ’60. The list:

RUSHING, RECEIVING AND PUNT-RETURN TD IN FIRST 4 GAMES

Year Player, Team Rush TD Rec TD PR TD
2014 Devin Hester, Falcons 1 1 1
2011 Darren Sproles, Saints 1 1 1
2008 Reggie Bush, Saints 1 2 1
1966 Mike Garrett, Chiefs 1 1 1
1961 Bobby Mitchell, Browns 1 2 1

Finally, one other performance popped out at me in Week 4. Frank Gore, at the tender age of 31, racked up 119 yards rushing and 55 receiving against the Eagles in the 49ers’ 26-21 victory. Since 1960, just nine backs 31 or older have had a 100/50 game. Five are in the Hall of Fame, so the feat must mean something, right?

100 YARDS RUSHING, 50 RECEIVING BY A BACK 31 OR OLDER

Date Running back (Age), Team Opponent Rush Rec Result
9-28-14 Frank Gore (31), 49ers Eagles 119 55 W, 26-21
9-10-06 Tiki Barber (31), Giants Colts 110 61 L, 26-21
10-31-04 Priest Holmes (31), Chiefs Colts 143 82 W, 45-35
11-9-86 Tony Dorsett* (32), Cowboys Raiders 101 64 L, 17-13
11-9-86 Walter Payton* (33), Bears Bucs 139 69 W, 23-3
11-10-85 Walter Payton* (32), Bears Lions 107 69 W, 24-3
10-13-85 Tony Dorsett* (31), Cowboys Steelers 113 82 W, 27-13
9-25-83 Franco Harris* (33), Steelers Patriots 106 83 L, 28-23
9-10-78 O.J. Simpson* (31), 49ers Bears 108 56 L, 16-13
11-11-73 Floyd Little* (31), Broncos Chargers 109 76 W, 30-19
12-10-72 Wendell Hayes (32), Chiefs Colts 104 55 W, 24-10

*Hall of Fame

By the way, that was the last 100-yard rushing performance of Simpson’s career. He outrushed Young Sweetness that day, 108-62, and outgained him from scrimmage, 164-65. Think he might have been up for the game?

Gore, though, looks like he might still have a little mileage in him. So we might need to update this chart at some point in the future.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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Murray in a hurry

How unusual are DeMarco Murray’s four 100-yard rushing days in the first four games of the NFL season? This unusual: No other active running back has done it.

Indeed, only one other back has done it in the 2000s. The short list of runners who have accomplished the feat since 1960:

BACKS WITH 4 100-YARD RUSHING DAYS IN FIRST 4 GAMES (SINCE 1960)

Year Running back, Team Att Yards Avg TD Proj. Yds Final Total*
2014 DeMarco Murray, Cowboys 99 534 5.4 5 2,136 ?????
2003 Stephen Davis, Panthers 106 565 5.3 2 2,260 1,444
1997 Terrell Davis, Broncos 95 526 5.5 3 2,104 1,750
1995 Emmitt Smith, Cowboys 88 543 6.2 9 2,172 1,773*
1985 James Wilder, Bucs 102 497 4.9 2 1,988 1,300
1975 O.J. Simpson, Bills 118 697 5.9 5 2,788 1,817*
1973 O.J. Simpson, Bills 102 647 6.3 4 2,588 2,003*

*led league

As you can see, there are two Hall of Famers here (Smith and Simpson) and two 2,000-yard rushers (Davis in 1998 and Simpson in 14 games in ’73). So Murray is in pretty good company. As you also can see, none of the backs came within 300 yards of their projected total (based on their four-game figure). So DeMarco likely will fall considerably short of 2,136.

(FYI: Davis’ streak came in his first four games with the Panthers after signing with them as a free agent. Carolina went all the way to the Super Bowl that season — and nearly upset the Patriots.)

What Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has to be careful of is playing too much with his New Favorite Toy. After all, Murray is on pace for 396 carries, which would be the seventh-highest total of all time — and nearly twice as many as he’s ever had in a season (217). The group he would join:

MOST RUSHING ATTEMPTS IN A SEASON

Year Running back, Team Carries
2006 Larry Johnson, Chiefs 416
1998 Jamal Anderson, Falcons 410
1984 James Wilder, Bucs 407
1986 Eric Dickerson, Rams 404
2000 Eddie George, Titans 403
1985 Gerald Riggs, Falcons 397
2014 DeMarco Murray, Cowboys 396*

*projected

Seasons like these aren’t usually conducive to long-term productivity. Johnson, for instance, never had another 1,000-yard year, and Anderson, Wilder and Riggs had only one. As for George, he was a diminished back after that, averaging just 3.2 yards a carry in his remaining four seasons. Dickerson is the outlier, topping 1,000 yards three more times and winning the rushing title in 1988. Not coincidentally, he’s the only one in Canton (or likely to get there).

At any rate, it’s something for the Cowboys to think about. Murray is just 26, and he’s been used humanely up to now. He could be capable of a few more seasons like this if they don’t run him into the ground.

Source: pro-football-reference.com

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