You’ve gotta love the interception Terrell Suggs made in the fourth quarter Saturday night to help the Ravens beat the Steelers, 30-17.
How did he do it, you ask? I’m guessing he got a pep talk at halftime from Jack Nicholson:
FYI: That’s part of a classic scene from the 1970 movie, Five Easy Pieces (in case you’ve never seen it).
At the start of the season, I suggested the NFL needed a new stat: quality starts for quarterbacks. The bar shouldn’t be set terribly high, I’ve decided, just as it isn’t in baseball for pitchers (at least six innings, three or fewer earned runs). My recommendation is: Any start in which a QB posts a passer rating above the NFL average for that season constitutes a quality start. The league average this year was 87.1 — an all-time record — so we’re looking at how many times a guy had a rating of 87.2 or above (minimum: 10 passes).
As it turns out, 16 of the 32 teams had a quarterback who racked up eight or more quality starts. In other words, half the clubs had a QB who played above average, rating-wise, in at least half the games. Here’s a chart that lays it all out. Take a look, and then we’ll discuss it.
| QS | QB, Team (Season Rating) | High | Low | 100+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Aaron Rodgers, Packers (112.2) | 154.5 vs. Panthers | 34.3 vs. Bills | 11 |
| 13 | Tony Romo, Cowboys (113.2) | 151.7 vs. Colts | 53.7 vs Eagles (1)* | 10 |
| 11 | Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (103.3) | 150.6 vs. Colts | 64.4 vs. Browns (2) | 10 |
| 11 | Drew Brees, Saints (97.0) | 140.0 vs. Steelers | 69.7 vs. Panthers (2) | 7 |
| 11 | Andrew Luck, Colts (96.5) | 140.4 vs. Jaguars | 41.7 vs. Cowboys | 7 |
| 11 | Joe Flacco, Ravens (90.9) | 146.0 vs. Bucs | 41.7 vs. Texans | 7 |
| 11 | Tom Brady, Patriots (97.4) | 148.4 vs. Bears | 59.9 vs. Chiefs | 6 |
| 10 | Russell Wilson, Seahawks (95.0) | 127.3 vs. Redskins | 47.6 vs. Cowboys | 7 |
| 10 | Matt Ryan, Falcons (93.9) | 155.9 vs. Bucs | 48.6 vs. Bengals | 7 |
| 10 | Alex Smith, Chiefs (93.4) | 144.4 vs. Patriots | 45.2 vs. Titans | 5 |
| 9 | Peyton Manning, Broncos (101.5) | 157.2 vs. 49ers | 56.9 vs. Bills | 9 |
| 9 | Philip Rivers, Chargers (93.8) | 131.4 vs. Bills | 31.0 vs. Dolphins | 6 |
| 9 | Colin Kaepernick, 49ers (86.4) | 125.5 vs. Cowboys | 36.7 vs. Seahawks (1) | 4 |
| 8 | Eli Manning, Giants (92.1) | 148.8 vs. Rams | 36.6 vs. 49ers | 8 |
| 8 | Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (92.8) | 125.6 vs. Chargers | 70.4 vs. Chiefs | 6 |
| 8 | Andy Dalton, Bengals (83.3) | 143.9 vs. Saints | 2.0 vs Browns (1) | 4 |
*Figures in parentheses = first or second meeting.
Maybe the biggest surprise is that Peyton Manning, who led all quarterbacks in 2013 with 15 quality starts, dropped to nine this year (one more than Andy Dalton). Is it just a blip, or has the decline begun? He is, after all, almost 39. Philip Rivers, meanwhile, fell from 13 to nine in an up-and-down season, and the Lions’ Matt Stafford went from 10 to five – and as a result, doesn’t even appear in the chart. (No matter. The Lions improved from 7-9 to 11-5 and made the playoffs, thanks a defense that gave up 94 fewer points.)
At the top of the list are most of the usual suspects — Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and Russell Wilson. The only one who jumps out at you is Joe Flacco, who had 11 quality starts even though his overall rating of 90.9 isn’t that far above average. Good Joe had seven ratings of 100-plus; Not So Good Joe had two ratings in the 40s.
Football already has tons of stats, of course, but it seems like there’s a void here. If anybody has a better idea for evaluating quarterback performance, week in and week out — besides just wins and losses, I mean — I’d love to hear it.
Source: pro-football-reference.com
The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers was No. 1 in the NFL this season in quality starts. But that’s not what he means here.
Here’s what’s really amazing about Odell Beckham, the Giants’ fantabulous rookie receiver: He became a phenomenon even though his team lost seven of his first eight NFL games. Now that’s hard to do — though it’s probably a little less hard if you happen to play in the media capital of the world.
With his one-handed grabs, big-play ability and week-in, week-out productivity, Beckham takes your breath away. His numbers don’t just speak for themselves, their shout: 79 catches for 1,120 yards and 11 touchdowns in just 11 games. If he hadn’t missed the first month with a hamstring injury, we’d be talking about one of the greatest receiving seasons in history, not just one of the greatest by a first-year guy.
But let’s discuss that for a moment – the best seasons, that is, by rookie receivers. Earlier this week in the New York Post, Brian Lewis wrote:
No rookie receiver has ever had the kind of a start to an NFL career that Odell Beckham Jr., has, no first-year wideout has dominated defenses and back pages and highlight shows like this since Randy Moss.
I agree with the second half of that statement, but I take issue with the absolute certainty of the first half. After all, this is the league’s 95th season. Almost everything has happened before, including a rookie receiver exploding the way Beckham has
Before I go any further, check out this chart. It’ll give you an idea of where Odell’s performance falls — with a game, of course, still to play.
| Year | Receiver, Team | G | Yards | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Bill Groman, Oilers (AFL) | 14 | 1,473 | 105.2 | 12 |
| 1952 | Billy Howton, Packers | 12 | 1,231 | 102.6 | 13 |
| 2014 | Odell Beckham, Giants | 11 | 1,120 | 101.8 | 11 |
| 1954 | Harlon Hill, Bears | 12 | 1,124 | 93.7 | 12 |
| 2003 | Anquan Boldin, Cardinals | 16 | 1,377 | 86.1 | 8 |
| 1998 | Randy Moss, Vikings | 16 | 1,313 | 82.1 | 17 |
| 1965 | Bob Hayes, Cowboys | 13 | 1,003 | 77.2 | 12 |
| 1961 | Mike Ditka (TE), Bears | 14 | 1,056 | 76.9 | 12 |
| 1982 | Charlie Brown, Redskins | 9* | 690 | 76.7 | 8 |
| 1958 | Jimmy Orr, Steelers | 12 | 910 | 75.8 | 7 |
| 1996 | Terry Glenn, Patriots | 15 | 1,132 | 75.5 | 6 |
*9-game strike season
(I tacked on the touchdowns at the end in case you were curious.)
One of the things I love about this chart is that just about every decade is represented. There are three receivers from the ’50s, three from the ’60s, two from the ’90s and one each from the ’80s, ’00s and ’10s. Only the ’70s, when defense had the upper hand, are missing.
Another thing I love about this chart is that it’s fair. It looks at per-game average rather than gross yardage, which would skew things toward receivers who had the benefit of longer seasons. Beckham will play in “only” 12 games this year, which is how many Billy Howton, Harlon Hill and Jimmy Orr played in in the ’50s. So you can put his stats next to theirs and decide for yourself who was better. (I’m excluding Bill Groman from this discussion because the AFL in 1960 wasn’t close to being on the NFL’s level.)
Howton had six 100-yard games that season and Hill seven. Let’s compare them to Beckham’s six (so far):
| Opponent | Rec-Yds-TD | Opponent | Rec-Yds-TD | Opponent | Rec-Yds-TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 3-128-1 | Lions | 4-140-1 | Colts | 8-156-0 | |
| Rams | 5-156-1 | Colts | 3-144-1 | Seahawks | 7-108-0 | |
| Lions | 7-151-1 | 49ers | 4-116-1 | Cowboys | 10-146-2 | |
| Lions | 7-123-2 | 49ers | 7-224-4 | Titans | 11-130-1 | |
| Rams | 6-200-0 | Browns | 3-117-1 | Redskins | 12-143-3 | |
| 49ers | 8-162-2 | Rams | 6-109-1 | Rams | 8-148-2 | |
| Totals | 36-920-8 | Cardinals | 6-117-1 | Totals | 56-831-8 | |
| Totals | 33-967-10 |
You can debate until you’re blue in the face the differences between eras and what all this means. But as you can see, what Beckham is doing as a rookie isn’t exactly unprecedented. 
Other receivers have “had the kind of a start to an NFL career that Odell Beckham Jr., has.” They just played so long ago that hardly anybody remembers.
Howton and Hill, too, were phenomenons. Billy, for instance, had six touchdown catches of 50 yards or longer (90, 89, 78, 69, 54, 50) plus a non-scoring grab of 76. Harlon had TDs of 76, 66, 65 and 64. They were downfield threats, just like Beckham is. The NFL just didn’t get the attention then that it does now. (Never mind an NFL Channel; there was barely an NBC.)
When Howton retired after the 1963 season, he was the all-time leader in receptions (503) and receiving yards (8,459) and ranked third receiving touchdowns (61). He simply had the misfortune of playing in Green Bay when it truly was pro football’s Siberia. (Read: Before Vince Lombardi arrived and thawed things out.)
I kid you not: The day Howton broke Don Hutson’s career receptions record (488), The Dallas Morning News mentioned it in the last paragraph of its game story. (Howton spent his last four seasons with the expansion Cowboys.) And the day the Colts’ Ray Berry broke Billy’s receptions mark, The Associated Press reported: “Berry caught five passes . . . to raise his career total [to] 506,” which was three more than “the career record held by Jim Howton.”
Jim Howton?
As for Hill, he could have wound up in Canton — why Howton isn’t there, I’ll never understand — if injuries hadn’t robbed him of his specialness. Consider: He scored 32 touchdowns in his first three seasons, a total of 36 games. Only four receivers have scored more in their first 36 games: Randy Moss (43), Jerry Rice (40), Rob Gronkowski (38) and John Jefferson (36). How’s that for company?
None of this is meant to knock Beckham down a few pegs. The kid has been an absolute revelation. It’s just meant to remind everybody that he’s not alone on that peg. As I said, the NFL has been around for a long time.
Source: pro-football-reference.com
Late in Sunday night’s game, with the Seahawks on their way to 596 yards, NBC informed us it had been 56 years since the Cardinals had allowed so many. You’d have to go all the way back, the graphic on the screen said, to their 1958 season finale in Pittsburgh, when they were Chicago Cardinals and the Steelers played at Pitt Stadium.
Bobby Layne and Co. racked up 683 yards that frigid December day — 472 passing, 211 rushing. It was so ridiculous that a running back, Tom “The Bomb” Tracy, threw a 72-yard touchdown pass. But here’s the best part, the part no one remembers: Layne played with a wicked hangover. World class. On national television, no less.
“Bobby drank, no doubt about that,” Art Rooney says in Ray Didinger’s book, Pittsburgh Steelers.
“The greatest day Layne ever had with the Steelers came the last day of one season at Pitt Stadium against the Cardinals. It was snowing like crazy. There couldn’t have been more than 5,000 people at the game because you had to be an athlete to get up the hill to that park on a dry day, let alone in snow and ice.
“Well, anyway, Bob Drum [a local sportswriter] came in the press box and said, ‘Your quarterback’s not gonna make it today.’ I knew what Drum meant because he and Layne were running mates around town at night. I said, ‘Don’t worry, he’ll be here.’
“Drum said, ‘I’m telling you, I was with him last night, and there’s no way he’ll even make it to the ballpark, let alone play.’
“This was unusual for Bobby, but it was the last game of the season, and he was blowing off steam. Bobby showed up at the stadium, and he looked awful. Well, Bobby went out and had himself a day you had to see to believe. The footing on the field was so bad everybody on both sides was falling down except Bobby. He was staggering all over the field and picking up unbelievable yardage. I never saw him have another day like it.”
Layne never did have another day like it. His 409 passing yards were the high for his 15-year Hall of Fame career. Indeed, it was just the eighth time an NFL quarterback had thrown for 400. (Layne also ran 17 yards for a score. That might have been his “staggering all over the field” moment.)
“Darkness almost overtook the athletes in the longest pro game ever played here,” Jack Sell wrote in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It required 2:57 and took up 213 plays, 54 in the first period, 61 in the second, 60 in the third and 38 in the fourth.”
(The “213 plays” seems off. I count 93 snaps for the Steelers, 60 for the Cardinals, plus 15 penalties, 11 kickoffs, 6 punts and 2 sacks – a max of 187. Which raises the question: Was Sell out drinking with Layne and Drum, too?)
More from his story:
The season’s farewell ran exactly as Coach Frank (Pop) Ivy of the Cardinals predicted on Friday afternoon. He took his squad to the snow-covered Pitt practice field for a tune-up, then visited the stadium where workmen had removed the tarpaulin and were using a flame thrower to remove icy spots.
Ivy asked Horse Czarniecki to keep the tarp off the grid Friday night [the Steelers and Cardinals played on Saturday], a request which was refused.
“If it snows we will at least be able to get a bit of traction,” Ivy insisted. “But on that skating rink my team will never be able to stop Bobby Layne’s long passes.”
It turned out they couldn’t.
So take heart, Arizona Cardinals. You may have given up 596 yards Sunday night, the most you’ve allowed in nearly six decades, but at least you weren’t victimized by a hung-over quarterback. The Seahawks’ Russell Wilson seemed in complete command of his faculties in the postgame interviews. Happy? Sure. But in a non-alcoholic, I-could-pass-any-breathalyzer-test kind of way.
Steelers quarterback Bobby Layne, facemaskless as always, seen here fleeing Giants linebacker Sam Huff.
It’s nice if an NFL quarterback can move around a bit, but being able to take off and run has never been a high priority. The position has always been, first and foremost, about throwing the ball.
The game evolves, though. And it’s reasonable to wonder, with the recent influx of several mobile quarterbacks, whether the definition of The Perfect QB will eventually change, too. A decade from now, will the paradigm be more of a hybrid player, a combination passer-runner who can throw darts and also operate the read-option?
The instant success of the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick and the Redskins’ Robert Griffin III, all of whom made the playoffs in their first season as a starter, gave even more momentum to the 21st Century Quarterback idea. And last year Cam Newton, another dual threat, guided the Panthers to a 12-4 record and the NFC South title.
But in 2014 only Wilson has escaped the barbs of critics and the wrath of his fan base. Defenses have gotten better at dealing with some of the college-y stuff these quarterbacks do, and now it’s up to the QBs (and their coordinators) to adjust. Adapt or die.
The jury is very much out on whether they can . . . or even — as far as some coaches are concerned — want to. One of the problems with having a quarterback with unusual talents is that if you build a special offense for him, what happens if he gets hurt? Do you have a second QB with unusual talents who can step in, or do you have to go back to a more conventional attack? And can a team be successful switching gears like that?
You might be interested to know that the five running-est quarterbacks in modern history — I’m going by rushing yards per game — are all active, as you can see in this chart:
| Years | Quarterback | Team(s) | Yds | YPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-14 | Michael Vick | Falcons, Eagles, Jets | 6,010 | 43.9 |
| 2011-14 | Cam Newton | Panthers | 2,457 | 41.0 |
| 2012-14 | Robert Griffin III | Redskins | 1,461 | 40.6 |
| 2012-14 | Russell Wilson | Seahawks | 1,782 | 38.7 |
| 2011-14 | Colin Kaepernick | 49ers | 1,513 | 32.2 |
| 1985-01 | Randall Cunningham | Eagles, Vikings, 2 others | 4,928 | 30.6 |
| 1969-78 | Bobby Douglass | Bears, Chargers, 2 others | 2,654 | 29.2 |
| 1999-09 | Daunte Culpepper | Vikings, Dolphins, 2 others | 2,652 | 25.3 |
| 1985-99 | Steve Young | Bucs, 49ers | 4,239 | 25.1 |
| 2006-11 | Vince Young | Titans, Eagles | 1,459 | 24.3 |
(Minimum: 32 starts.)
Granted, these averages usually decline as the quarterbacks get older, but they’re worth noting nonetheless.
Still, there’s no getting around the fact that 12 of the 14 Super Bowls in the 2000s have been won by QBs who weren’t much of a running threat at all. Only Wilson (2013) and the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers (2010) have had wheels worth worrying about (or as I like to refer to them, WWWAs).
| Years | QB (Super Bowl Wins) | Team | Yds | YPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-14 | Peyton Manning (1) | Colts, Broncos | 678 | 2.7 |
| 2004-14 | Eli Manning (2) | Giants | 465 | 2.8 |
| 2001-14 | Drew Brees (1) | Chargers, Saints | 684 | 3.4 |
| 2000-14 | Tom Brady (3) | Patriots | 804 | 3.9 |
| 1994-08 | Brad Johnson (1) | Vikings, Redskins, 2 others | 657 | 3.7 |
| 2008-14 | Joe Flacco (1) | Ravens | 625 | 5.7 |
| 1994-07 | Trent Dilfer (1) | Bucs, Ravens, 3 others | 853 | 6.6 |
| 2004-14 | Ben Roethlisberger (2) | Steelers | 1,163 | 7.4 |
| 2005-14 | Aaron Rodgers (1) | Packers | 1,817 | 16.8 |
Note: Figures don’t include today’s games.
When you scan down these charts, you can understand why some coaches look at Wilson and the other passer-runners and say, “Who needs ’em?” The ones who don’t, though, the more open-minded types like Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh, have a chance to take pro football in a new direction. This is a healthy thing, of course. Without it, offenses would still be running the single wing and punting on first down.
Source: pro-football-reference.com
The 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick leaves the Chargers behind en route to a 151-yard rushing night Saturday.
The Steelers’ Antonio Brown has done something this season that hasn’t been done in a decade — and has been accomplished by only 10 receivers in NFL history. Care to guess what it is?
Answer: He’s racked up 1,000 receiving yards and thrown a touchdown pass in the same year.
Obviously, it’s much more common for a 1,000-yard running back to throw for a TD. For one thing, backs get their hands on the ball more than wideouts do. But with the Jet Sweep so popular these days, we might begin to see more scoring passes tossed by golden-armed receivers. Let’s hope so, anyway.
Here’s the short list of wideouts Brown has joined. Note that a couple of them — Randy Moss and Marty Booker — had two of these seasons.
| Year | Receiver, Team | Yds | TD Pass Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Antonio Brown, Steelers | 1,498 | 3 yards to WR Lance Moore vs. Texans |
| 2004 | Drew Bennett, Titans | 1,247 | 26 yards to WR Derrick Mason vs. Packers |
| 2002 | Randy Moss, Vikings | 1,347 | 13 yards to WR D’Wayne Bates vs. Dolphins |
| 2002 | Marty Booker, Bears | 1,189 | 44 yards to WR Marcus Robinson vs. Patriots |
| 2001 | Marty Booker, Bears | 1,071 | 34 yards to WR Marcus Robinson vs. Falcons |
| 1999 | Randy Moss, Vikings | 1,413 | 27 yards to WR Cris Carter vs. Giants |
| 1996 | Curtis Conway, Bears | 1,049 | 33 yards to RB Raymont Harris vs. Cowboys |
| 1995 | Jerry Rice, 49ers | 1,848* | 41 yards to WR J.J. Stokes vs. Falcons |
| 1983 | Carlos Carson, Chiefs | 1,351 | 48 yards to WR Henry Marshall vs. Chargers |
| 1974 | Drew Pearson, Cowboys | 1,087 | 46 yards to WR Golden Richards vs. Giants |
| 1962 | Tommy McDonald, Eagles | 1,146 | 10 yards to RB Timmy Brown vs. Redskins |
| 1960 | Bill Groman, Oilers (AFL) | 1,473* | 3 yards to E Al Wicher vs. Patriots |
*led league
(Brown, by the way, leads the league in receiving yards with two games to go.)
Source: pro-football-reference.com
Steelers wideout Antonio Brown gets ready to show off his arm against the Texans.
Statistics are hardly all-telling, but they can help quiet some of the noise surrounding a player. By “noise,” I mean the chatter that’s based more on impressions, gut feelings and personal biases than anything factual.
These days, Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is one of the league leaders in noise. Coach Jay Gruden practically held his nose the other day when he announced that Griffin would start Saturday’s game against the Eagles (after Colt McCoy had been put on injured reserve). Gruden has made no secret of his displeasure with just about everything Griffin does — from holding the ball too long in the pocket to being inattentive to the finer points of “his craft” to staying on the ground too long after a sack (which made the coach wonder whether his quarterback was too hurt to run a Real Play in the closing minutes).
Others have chimed in as well, such as Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton. One of the more curious things Scramblin’ Fran said was: “He is a terrible passer, has no accuracy.”
Griffin may not have textbook mechanics, but he somehow — miraculously — gets the ball to his target. See for yourself:
| Years | Quarterback, Team | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| 2012-14 | Robert Griffin, Redskins | 63.66 |
| 1999-01 | Daunte Culpepper, Vikings | 63.33 |
| 2004-06 | Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers | 62.40 |
| 1991-94 | Brett Favre, Packers* | 61.86 |
| 2008-09 | Joe Flacco, Ravens | 61.70 |
*Also threw four passes with the Falcons as a rookie.
Maybe we just misunderstood Tarkenton. Maybe what he meant was: RG3 isn’t as incredible(!) as Tiger Woods was at the age of 5. (I think we can all agree with that.)
By the way, before anybody scoffs at Griffin’s completion percentage and says, “All he does is dink and dunk,” take a look at this:
| Years | Quarterback, Team | AYPA |
|---|---|---|
| 1983-86 | Dan Marino, Dolphins | 8.04 |
| 2012-14 | Robert Griffin III, Redskins | 7.43 |
| 2004-06 | Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers | 7.39 |
| 1999-01 | Daunte Culpepper, Vikings | 7.36 |
| 2011-13 | Cam Newton, Panthers | 7.25 |
So regardless of how long the ball is in the air, Griffin is getting good yardage out of his throws — more than any quarterback except Marino. (Note: I’m looking only at QBs since 1960. And yes, I realize that, with all the passer-friendly rule changes, these rankings are going to be tilted toward the present.) In terms of unadjusted yards per attempt, in case you’re wondering, he’s seventh at 7.55 (three spots behind Our Friend Fran, who comes in at 7.76.)
Two more things. RG3 is the least interception-prone under-25 passer ever. Doesn’t that count for something? Isn’t ball security part of being a good QB?
| Years | Quarterback, Team | Att | Int | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-14 | Robert Griffin III, Redskins | 999 | 20 | 2.00 |
| 2012-14 | Andrew Luck, Colts | 1,250 | 29 | 2.32 |
| 1999-01 | Donovan McNabb, Eagles | 1,074 | 25 | 2.33 |
| 2010-12 | Sam Bradford, Rams | 1,196 | 28 | 2.34 |
| 1985-88 | Bernie Kosar, Browns | 1,334 | 32 | 2.40 |
Last chart. File this one under: It Takes a Village. You can grouse about Griffin’s play all you want, but one of the biggest reasons he hasn’t won more is that his defense hasn’t exactly been the Steel Curtain.
| Rank | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Russell Wilson’s Seahawks | 718 |
| 2. | Colin Kaepernick’s 49ers | 830 |
| 29. | Robert Griffin’s Redskins | 1,236 |
OK, I’ve made my case – not for RG3’s impending greatness but for not giving up on him like Gruden (and others) seem inclined to do. “He will never make it,” Tarkenton said. “He will be out of football. He will be in the same graveyard as JaMarcus Russell and Vince Young.”
“He” is still 24. Aren’t we being a bit hasty?
Or to put it another way: In a decade, Griffin will be four years younger than Peyton Manning is now.
Source; pro-football-reference.com
With the holiday season upon us — and Festivus just a week away — I thought I’d throw out a few gift suggestions for That Special Someone (who also happens to be a pro football fanatic). Some of these items might be hard to come by but, trust me, it would be well worth the effort.
● A pair of Frenchy Fuqua’s fiberglass clogs with three-inch heels — complete with goldfish in the heels (air pump included).
Fuqua, a running back with the Giants and Steelers and the ’60s and ’70s, is remembered less for his ball carrying than for his cutting-edge fashion. His bright-red “caveman outfit” was a real head-turner. How he described it to the Pittsburgh Press in 1976: “It had a strap over one shoulder, and one leg was a bell bottom and the other had fringes on it. But the greatest thing about it was the purse. It was a white fur purse that was shaped like a club.”
Frenchy’s signature accessory, though, was the aforementioned shoes. They looked something like this:
Problem was, the fish lasted only a couple of hours before suffocating. “I was getting’ so much pub because of the goldfish, I hated to stop wearing the shoes,” he said. “But I’ll tell you, you kick up some dead goldfish at a banquet, and pretty soon you get a real foul odor. You start feeling terrible about it, too. When some people found out they were dyin’, they got on me about bein’ cruel to animals. I thought about running a tube down my leg with an air pump that would supply constant fresh water to the fish.”
The shoes also were potentially hazardous to the wearer’s health. As he once told The New York Times, they “were a little slippery to walk in, being glass, so you’d have to hold on to a rail when you went down stairs.”
● The Joe Namath Butter-Up Corn Popper. Namath hawked everything from shaving cream to pantyhose to this, which was popular in college dorms in the ’70s:
● A VHS tape of Sammy Baugh’s 12-part serial, “King of the Texas Rangers.” Slingin’ Sam could do more than just throw touchdown passes. Being a Texan, he also could ride horses, shoot guns and beat up bad guys.
● Rosey Grier’s “Committed” album (1986).
Grier, one of the tackles on the Rams’ legendary Fearsome Foursome defensive front in the ’60s, could sing a little. In 1965 he and the rest of the Foursome appeared on the TV show Shindig! (with the other three, as you’ll see, doing little more calisthenics behind him):
A year earlier, Rosey had sung solo on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Here’s that clip:
(I ask you: How did we get from that great musical moment to Redskins owner Dan Snyder buying Dick Clark Productions?)
● A Bronko Nagurski, Jr. football. (You’ve gotta like the 1937 price.)
● And finally, if you’re looking a stocking stuffer, there’s always the Red Grange candy bar.
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:
| 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 |
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.”
But 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
Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers’ second-year running back, was having a nice little career for himself heading into the Titans game three weeks ago. Now, though, such adjectives as “nice” and “little” no longer seem to apply. Three straight games with 200-plus yards from scrimmage will do that for you.
It’s unusual enough, after all, for a back to have two games in a row like that. Only seven others have done it in the 2000s — and no back has had three in a row since Bears Hall of Famer Walter Payton in 1977. The details:
| Year | Back, Team | Opponents (Yards) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Le’Veon Bell, Steelers | Titans (222), Saints (254), Bengals (235) | 711 |
| 2012 | Doug Martin, Bucs | Vikings (214), Raiders (272) | 486 |
| 2007 | Ronnie Brown, Dolphins | Jets (211), Raiders (207) | 418 |
| 2003 | Deuce McAlister, Saints | Falcons (237), Eagles (232) | 469 |
| 2002 | Ricky Williams, Dolphins | Bills (235), Bears (216) | 451 |
| 2002 | Marshall Faulk, Rams | Seahawks (235), Cardinals (235) | 471 |
| 2000 | Mike Anderson, Broncos | Seahawks (209), Saints (256) | 465 |
| 2000 | Eddie George, Titans | Bengals (214), Jaguars (209) | 423 |
Now let’s compare Bell’s run to Payton’s. Le’Veon first:
| VS. | Rushing | Receiving | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titans | 33-204-1 | 2-18-0 | 35-222-1 | |
| Saints | 21-95-1 | 8-159-0 | 29-254-1 | |
| Bengals | 26-185-2 | 6-50-1 | 32-235-3 | |
| Totals | 80-484-4 | 16-227-1 | 96-711-5 |
And now Walter:
| VS. | Rushing | Receiving | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 33-192-3 | 1-29-0 | 34-221-3 |
| Vikings | 40-275-1 | 1-6-0 | 41-281-1 |
| Lions | 20-137-1 | 4-107-0 | 24-244-1 |
| Totals | 93-604-5 | 6-142-0 | 99-746-5 |
Awful close. Note that Payton set a single-game rushing record (since broken) when he went for 275 against the Vikes. But other than that . . . there isn’t much difference between them volume-
Le’Veon Bell cuts upfield.
wise. Walter had three more touches and 35 more yards.
Note, too, that both had a 100-yard receiving game during their streak. If you’re going to pull off something like this, it helps to have some pass-catching ability.
Thanks in large measure to Payton, by the way, the Bears made the playoffs that season for the first time in 14 years (when they won their last title under George Halas). And Bell, of course, has the 8-5 Steelers pointed in the same direction. (He’s also on pace to finish with 2,368 yards from scrimmage, which would be the fifth-highest total of all time.)
At any rate, the word is out about him now — if it wasn’t before. This is one dangerous (and durable) back.
Source: pro-football-reference.com
