Drew Brees has matched the “unbreakable” record of Johnny Unitas.
With a touchdown pass in the New Orleans Saints game against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, Drew Brees will break the NFL passing record most considered to be unbreakable. Yet while tossing a touchdown pass in his 48th straight game will eliminate Johnny Unitas from the record book, that it took more than 50 years and a complete change in offensive philosophy for the record to be approached makes the Unitas streak seem even more impressive.
When Johnny Unitas started his streak as a rookie for the Baltimore Colts on December 9, 1956, the passing game was used quite differently than it is today. The 1956 Colts ranked sixth in the NFL with 1,921 passing yards on 279 total attempts. By comparison, they were second in the NFL with 2,202 yards rushing on 432 attempts.
In 1956 the Green Bay Packers were the only team in the NFL to throw the ball more than they ran it (353 pass attempts, 337 rushes) and it wasn’t surprising that they finished last in their division with a 4-8 record. Overall in the NFL in 1956 there were 5,453 rushing attempts (37.9 per team per game) compared to 3,282 pass attempts (22.8 per team per game). There were a total of 162 touchdown passes thrown during the season (13.5 per team).
Fast forward to the 2011 season and the change is quite staggering. Drew Brees and the Saints attempted 662 passes in 2011 while running the ball 431 times. Only four teams in the NFL had more rushing attempts than passes. Interestingly enough, of those four teams (Jacksonville, San Francisco, Denver and Houston), three of them made the playoffs. Overall in 2011, there were 17,410 pass attempts in the NFL (34 per team per game) and 13,971 rush attempts (27.3 per team per game). There was a total of 745 touchdown passes thrown (23.3 per team). Read the rest of this entry →
Never has a professional sports team announced they were moving DURING a season. No owner has ripped the hearts out of his franchise’s fans, players and coaching staff like Art Modell did in Cleveland during the ’95 season. In essence, the ’95 Cleveland Browns became a “DEAD Team Playing”.
Bill Belichick came to Cleveland in 1991 fresh off a Super Bowl victory with the New York Giants. He came to the Browns to bring respectability back to the once proud franchise that could never get over the hump. He instilled a system and assembled a staff (which included 3 future GM’s, 2 successful college coaches and one NFL coach) that would lead the Browns to their first Super Bowl.
Belichick took a team from a 3-13 season to a 6-10 record in his first year at the helm. In 1992 & 1993, the Browns posted back to back 7-9 campaigns and were showing progress. However, progress was not without pain and scrutiny.
Bill Belichick made a controversial and risky decision by benching Cleveland icon Bernie Kosar early in the ’93 season in favor of Vinny Testaverde. A mere eight weeks later, Kosar was released due to his “diminished skills” as described by Belichick. Browns fans were enraged by Kosar’s dismissalas they wore Bernie Kosar masks to the following home game.
The head coach survived the fire and brimstone to lead the Browns to the playoffs in 1994 after posting a 11-5 record. Belichick would face his mentor, Bill Parcells and the New England Patriots in the playoffs. Cleveland won the wild card match-up 20-13 before falling to their hated rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-9 in the divisional round.
Hope was breeding eternal in the “Dawg Pound”as their Browns were back to respectability. NFL pundits such as the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated were picking the Browns to go to the Super Bowl in 1995. And the team was believing in the hype as they started the season 3-1.
NFL Films president Steve Sabol has passed away at the age of 69.
Though he never played a down in the NFL, few have done more to fuel the amazing growth of the NFL more than Steve Sabol, who passed away today at the age of 69.
As a kid growing up in the 1970s we never had cable, but occasionally I had the great pleasure of seeing an NFL Films movie on a regular channel or later on ESPN when in a hotel or visiting someone who did have cable. Then when in college I had a chance to become indulged with NFL Films on a regular basis. In many ways, watching NFL Films were better than watching the games themselves (and still are).
While Ed Sabol founded the company, it was his son, Steve, who developed many of the creative touches that turned NFL Films into a national institution. An art history major in college, Steve brought an artistic approach to football filmmaking that turned simple game films into epic works of art. Thanks to climactic music, skillfully written narrative and innovations such as slow-motion replay and putting microphones on players and coaches, NFL Films made the NFL feel larger than life.
While Steve made his mark behind the scenes, it was in front of the camera where Steve has become well known over the last 25 years as host of such shows as NFL Films Presents and Lost Treasures.
In 2011 Ed Sabol was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and I truly hope it isn’t long before Steve joins him. Though it is a shame that he won’t be there to accept such a well deserved honor, we are all fortunate that his great work will live on forever.
Below are a some remembrances by Steve as well as examples of the special magic that NFL Films has produced over the last 50 years.
Only the uniform looks different when Peyton Manning is in the pocket.
After the NFL appetizer on Wednesday night, it will be time for the full feast Sunday as the NFL begins a five month run dominating television sets, computers and minds across the nation.
Below are five predictions for what we can expect to see during the 2012 NFL season:
NEW UNIFORM, SAME RESULTS
It seems strange looking at Peyton Manning in an orange and blue uniform with a horse head on the helmet rather than his familiar blue and white with the horseshow. However, once you overcome the initial shock, watching Manning play in the preseason seemed relatively familiar as his mannerisms and passing style were no different from the old days.
Reading predictions for what Manning will accomplish in 2012 has been quite interesting. Some, including Sports Illustrated guru Peter King, have predicted that Manning will quickly regain his previous form and lead the Broncos to the Super Bowl.
Others, including Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports, have suggested that Manning has always been given more credit than he deserves and that he will be good, but not spectacular during his return to the NFL. Whitlock goes as far as saying that Manning is one of the 10 to 15 best quarterbacks of all-time, but not deserving of being considered among the top five, which is where most experts rank him.
I expect that what we will see from Manning in 2012 will be somewhere in between. I do not think Manning will be the NFL MVP or make it to the Super Bowl, but I do think he will have a “Manningesque” season with statistics and a team victory total that remind everyone of how great he has been for the last decade. Read the rest of this entry →
As we begin another football season, we recognize as the September Sports Then and Now Athlete of the Month an all-time great whose first sport wasn’t football, but after he found his calling excelled both as a collegiate player and as one of the greatest winners in pro football history.
Otto Graham didn’t actually come to Northwestern University to play football. He originally came to Northwestern on a basketball scholarship. It was only after Northwestern football coach Pappy Waldorf saw Graham playing freshman intramural football that he was invited to tryout for the football team.
Graham ended up playing three seasons for Northwestern and broke every existing Big Ten passing record during his career. He was a two-time All-America selection and won the Big Ten MVP Award. Read the rest of this entry →
Steve Van Buren led the Philadelphia Eagles to back-to-back NFL titles.
Sorry to hear of the passing of one of the greatest football players of his generation, former Philadelphia Eagles great Steve Van Buren, at the age of 91.
The first Eagles player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Van Buren was was a four-time NFL rushing champion and led his team to consecutive NFL Championships.
After leading the nation in points and touchdowns as a senior at LSU, he was drafted in the first round of the 1944 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and over the next eight seasons would become the transcendent rusher of his era .
As a rookie for the Eagles, Van Buren showed glimpses of his future brilliance by rushing for 444 yards in nine games and leading the league with an average of 5.6 yards per carry. He also returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown and earned All-Pro honors as a defensive player with five interceptions.
The following season, Van Buren led the NFL in rushing with 832 yards on the ground in 10 games. He scored 18 total touchdowns and led the NFL in scoring with 110 points.
In 1947 he led the Eagles to a spot in the NFL Championship game while eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time with an NFL best 1,008 yards, 13 rushing touchdowns and 1,087 yards from scrimmage. After defeating Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs, the Eagles lost to the Chicago Cardinals 28-21 in the NFL title game as Van Buren was limited to 26 yards on the ground while scoring a touchdown in the loss.
The following season, Van Buren gained 945 yards rushing to again top the league. The Eagles again faced Chicago in the NFL Championship Game and this time despite a major snowstorm, Van Buren rushed for 98 yards and scored the only touchdown of the game as the Eagles won 7-0 to claim their first NFL Championship. Read the rest of this entry →
