NFL historical & statistical oddities (1 Viewer)

[thesurfshop19]

This isn't so much a contest as it is (or could become) a cool little compilation of quirky things about the NFL. Unless it dies among all the more useful threads out there.

I think my favorite would have to be ....

The Kansas City Chiefs haven't won a playoff game since Joe Montana was their QB in 1993. This includes going 0-3 at vaunted Arrowhead Stadium, all in 13-3 seasons.

In fact, the Chiefs have exactly one playoff win without Joe Montana since they won the Super Bowl in the 1969 season (1991 vs. LA Raiders)!

Pretty amazing for a team I've seen as one of the NFL's better ones (especially as a deeply respected rival of the Broncos).

EDIT: I just looked up the droughts as far as postseason victories go. The longest droughts are:

1990 - Bengals

1991 - Lions

1993 - Chiefs

1994 - Browns, Chargers, Bears

1995 - Bills

1996 - Cowboys

 

[Chase Stuart]

In consecutive playoff games Giants Stadium, the home team won 41-0.

Jan. 2001: Giants 41, Vikings 0

Jan. 2003: Jets 41, Colts 0

 

[thesurfshop19]

In consecutive playoff games Giants Stadium, the home team won 41-0.

Jan. 2001: Giants 41, Vikings 0

Jan. 2003: Jets 41, Colts 0

Very cool stat. And this came in games where the other team was the high-powered offense, right? Is this streak still active?

 

[thesurfshop19]

A couple more I thought were cool from a few years back ....

The 2000 Tennessee Titans had the "best" passing defense (#1 ypg) in the NFL. The 2001 Tennessee Titans had the "worst" passing defense (#31 ypg) in the NFL.

Now, yards per game isn't obviously the best indicator of that, but I can't think of any other team to go from best to worst or worst to best in the entire league in a major category.

Also in 2001, the Cincinnati Bengals (finished 6-10) opened the season by beating the eventual champion Patriots and defending champion Ravens back-to-back.

This is obviously a fluke more than anything, I don't know how many teams have even played the eventual and defending champion (when not the same team) in the same season let alone opening with the back-to-back. Still, pretty weird!

 

[MLBrandow]

I published this in one of my mock drafts earlier this year, but thought it would hold more worth in this thread (very cool idea btw)

If you stacked all of the defenses in the past decade up against one another and ranked them best to worst, the 2005 49ers would have ranked 311th out of 311.

Their offense of the past couple years has also been statistically one of the worst of all time (don't have the exact numbers on-hand, eating some pasta at the moment).

It's really unfair that they couldn't draft first in this draft.

 

[derek19]

I published this in one of my mock drafts earlier this year, but thought it would hold more worth in this thread (very cool idea btw)

If you stacked all of the defenses in the past decade up against one another and ranked them best to worst, the 2005 49ers would have ranked 311th out of 311.

Their offense of the past couple years has also been statistically one of the worst of all time (don't have the exact numbers on-hand, eating some pasta at the moment).

It's really unfair that they couldn't draft first in this draft.

 

[PatsFanCT]

The Patriots have only lost one post season playoff game at home. Their first one; in 1978 against Houston.

..and, in 1978, the Patriots rushed for a still current NFL record of 3,165 yards... without a single thousand yard rusher. The leading rusher that year, Sam "Bam" Cunningham, 768 yards.

 

[Chase Stuart]

In consecutive playoff games Giants Stadium, the home team won 41-0.

Jan. 2001: Giants 41, Vikings 0

Jan. 2003: Jets 41, Colts 0

Very cool stat. And this came in games where the other team was the high-powered offense, right? Is this streak still active?

Sorta. The 2000 Vikings were 5th in points scored and 5th in total yards. The 2002 Colts were 17th in points scored and 12th in total yards.The streak is dead, but not entirely: in the only playoff game since those two at the Meadowlands, the Giants got shut out 23-0 by the Panthers.

Three straight playoff games at the same stadium, and three different teams were shut out.

 

[GregR_2]

(This one courtesy of Doug Drinen originally)

Since 1960 there have been 448 QB seasons with 400 or more pass attempts. If you rank them in yards per pass attempt, Joey Harrington has 2 of the bottom 3 seasons out of 448.

 

[SSOG]

In 2002, Michael Vick led the league in yards per reception. He had 16 receiving yards... and 0 receptions.

To piggyback on that stat... last year, Michael Vick had 1 reception for -14 yards. For his career, Michael Vick has 1 reception for 2 yards.

 

[MarshallRob]

The 1967 Baltimore Colts are the only team in NFL history to miss the postseason despite finishing the season with the league's best won-loss record.

 

[PatsFanCT]

Now that's amazing. Please elaborate.

 

[SSOG]

The 1967 Baltimore Colts are the only team in NFL history to miss the postseason despite finishing the season with the league's best won-loss record.

Well, they had the best record in the NFL, but only because the AFL was still a separate league at that point (Oakland was 13-1).The 1977 Atlanta Falcons hold the NFL record for the stingiest scoring defense in history, allowing a mere 9.2 points per game. They also ranked first in yards allowed that year, too, but they aren't even the best known defense from that season, with Denver's "Orange Crush" unit ranking 3rd in points allowed and 9th in yards allowed, but leading the team to the Superbowl and therefore getting all the glory.

 

[SSOG]

Now that's amazing. Please elaborate.

They tied for the best record in the league with another team in their division, but lost out on tiebreakers. There was no wildcard.

 

[SSOG]

Also, for some more fun history, Denver and Buffalo are the only original 1960 AFL teams that have never moved nor changed their name. The original 8 AFL clubs were the Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans), the New York Titans (became the Jets in 1963), Buffalo Bills, and Boston Patriots in the East, and the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers (moved to San Diego the very next year), and the Dallas Texans (became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963).

If you want to talk about storied rivalries... the Raiders/Chargers/Broncos/Chiefs have played in the same division for every single year of their existance (starting in 1960). The Giants/Cowboys/Redskins/Eagles and Packers/Vikings/Lions/Bears quartets were both put together the following year, in 1961. Bills/Jets/Patriots/Dolphins have been together since 1966. The other four current divisions are "mutt" divisions, with Steelers/Ravens/Browns/Bengals coming together in 1999, and the Falcons/Panthers/Bucs/Saints, Texans/Titans/Jags/Colts, and Seahawks/Rams/Niners/Cards combos all getting put together in 2002.

Which means, technically, I suppose you could call the AFC West the most storied division in NFL history.

 

[lions327]

The Lions are 1-10 in playoff games since 1957.

And people wonder why we swear whenever we watch them.

 

[MLBrandow]

The Lions are 1-10 in playoff games since 1957.

And people wonder why we swear whenever we watch them.

Don't worry! This is the year!!! Hey, Lions do have a FBG Smiley....

 

[The Jerk]

On the completely random "useless information" side of things...

1. Thirty-three seasons later, the 1972 "perfect" Dolphins remain the only Super Bowl champion (since the NFL-AFL merger) that did not play any playoff teams during the regular season.

2. These same Dolphins are also are the only Super Bowl champion (non-strike year) that did not play even one team during the regular season that finished with a record of 4 games over .500 or better.

(For the record, the 1972 Dolphins played opponents whose cumulative record was 70-122-4 for a winning percentage of .367)

3. On the other hand, five Super Bowl champions played opponents whose combined regular season winning percentage was above .500:

1979 Pittsburgh Steelers   135-121   .527      Steelers record:   12-41988 San Francisco 49ers   131-125   .512      49ers record:      10-61980 Oakland Raiders       130-126   .508      Raiders record:    11-51991 Washington Redskins   129-127   .504      Redskins record:   14-21996 Green Bay Packers     129-127   .504      Packers record:    14-2

4. Adjusting these records for "perfection" (i.e., the records the opponents would have had if the Super Bowl champion had gone undefeated, like the ’72 Dolphins), only one Super Bowl champion could have gone undefeated and still played opponents whose combined regular season winning percentage was above .500:

1979 Pittsburgh Steelers	opponents adjusted record: 129-127  .504  Steelers record: 12-4

 

[The Ref]

Also, for some more fun history, Denver and Buffalo are the only original 1960 AFL teams that have never moved nor changed their name. The original 8 AFL clubs were the Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans), the New York Titans (became the Jets in 1963), Buffalo Bills, and Boston Patriots in the East, and the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers (moved to San Diego the very next year), and the Dallas Texans (became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963).

If you want to talk about storied rivalries... the Raiders/Chargers/Broncos/Chiefs have played in the same division for every single year of their existance (starting in 1960). The Giants/Cowboys/Redskins/Eagles and Packers/Vikings/Lions/Bears quartets were both put together the following year, in 1961. Bills/Jets/Patriots/Dolphins have been together since 1966. The other four current divisions are "mutt" divisions, with Steelers/Ravens/Browns/Bengals coming together in 1999, and the Falcons/Panthers/Bucs/Saints, Texans/Titans/Jags/Colts, and Seahawks/Rams/Niners/Cards combos all getting put together in 2002.

Which means, technically, I suppose you could call the AFC West the most storied division in NFL history.

Technicaly you are right about the Patriots, but they really didn't move very far. I think it's cool that they played in Fenway Park. In fact one of the games that took place in Fenway was vs the New York Giants. One of the players on the team bumped into then Congresman "Tip" O'Neil out of bounds (storied speaker of the house for many years, and the man the "Big Dig" project is named for). Tip made it a point to talk to this player after the game as he thought the player ran in to him on purpose, he was upset. After talking to the man after the game he realized he must made a mistake and learned first hand that he was a really nice guy. He even went so far as to tell the player that he should look into Politics after football. The Player? NY Sen Jack Kemp ®, VP canadate in the 96 election.

 

[Bri]

Falcons were the only team to rush for 100 yards every week last year heading into week 17. In week 17 they failed miserably

 

[Bri]

from week 17

The weather may turn cold late in the NFL season, but in recent years the Patriots

have remained red hot. New England has historically responded well to the cold,

compiling a 20-1 record since 1993 when the temperature is 34 degrees or less. And

when it gets even colder the Patriots get even better – they’re 14-0 since 1993 when

it’s 30 degrees or less. New England has also won 15 straight games when it’s been

35 degrees or less. Additionally, quarterback Tom Brady has been perfect in cold

conditions, going 20-0 as a starter when the kickoff temperature is below 40 degrees.

 

[Bri]

The NFL has a roster limit of 53 players per team during the season; 45 of which dress for a game plus an "emergency quarterback" who only plays if all the quarterbacks on the 45-man roster are out of the game.

DEPTH-Pats used 44 different starters in 2005, 40 in 2004, 42 in 2003

 

[Hooper]

Can we put in requests?

I'd like to know how many QBs have been credited with receiptions and/or receiving TD's... (still stinging from a one-point FF loss at the hands of a Brad Johnson to Brad Johnson deflected TD pass from a few years ago). I think Favre has one too...

 

[SSOG]

The NFL has a roster limit of 53 players per team during the season; 45 of which dress for a game plus an "emergency quarterback" who only plays if all the quarterbacks on the 45-man roster are out of the game.

DEPTH-Pats used 44 different starters in 2005, 40 in 2004, 42 in 2003

Which raises a very, VERY serious question.How does the Patriots' strength and conditioning staff still have a job? I mean, one year, that's a fluke. Two years, that's bad luck. Three straight seasons, and that's just a huge indictment of the conditioning staff or the playing conditions. Since Foxborough has never been crediting as having horrible turf, and I don't seem to recall an inordinately large number of VISITING players getting injured in Foxborough, I think it's clear that New England has the worst conditioning staff in the league.

 

[Despyzer]

Only one player has had a run, a catch, and a return for over 80 yards and a touchdown over the course of a career, and Herschel Walker did them all in the same season.

 

[Despyzer]

Since the NFL/AFL merger, there has never been a postseason in which the home team won every game. In fact, over that same time period the road team has always won at least two games.

That makes me wonder if 16 games is a long enough season to make a reasonable determination as to the relative quality of the teams.

 

[SSOG]

Since the NFL/AFL merger, there has never been a postseason in which the home team won every game. In fact, over that same time period the road team has always won at least two games.

That makes me wonder if 16 games is a long enough season to make a reasonable determination as to the relative quality of the teams.

I don't think that's it at all. A lot of it has to do with trends and injuries, and a lot of it just has to do with random unpredictability. If the 2004 Miami Dolphins can beat the eventual SB-Champion Patriots, who's to say that worse teams can't beat better teams in the postseason, too?

 

[Yenrub]

Only one player has had a run, a catch, and a return for over 80 yards and a touchdown over the course of a career, and Herschel Walker did them all in the same season.

Tiki Barber joined him last season.Tiki had a 95 yard TD run last year.

87 yard receiving TD in 1998

85 yard punt return for a TD in 1999

 

[MarshallRob]

Only four wide receivers have been selected to the All-Pro team (AP or official NFL team) five times or more: Rice (10), Hutson (9), Alworth (6), and Del Shofner (5).

Only five receivers have finished seasons in the top 5 in the categories of receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TD's at least 15 total times: Hutson (32), Rice (31), Maynard (18), Alworth (17), and Del Shofner (15).

Of the four receivers who have achieved both feats, Hutson, Alworth, and Rice are all on the NFL's All-Time Team and are all Hall of Famers (or will be as soon as Rice is elected). Is anyone going to start the Del Shofner bandwagon?

EDIT: I didn't count active players. Harrison (16) and Moss (15) have achieved the second feat.

 

[MarshallRob]

Only two teams in NFL history have consecutive seasons with just one or zero regular season losses: the 1941-1943 Chicago Bears and the 1967-1968 Baltimore Colts.

The Bears won titles in 1943 (8-1-1) and 1945 (10-1) but in 1944, the year they went undefeated (13-0), they lost the title game.

The Colts won no titles. They missed the playoffs in 1967 (11-1-2) and in 1968 (13-1) won the NFL Championship but since they lost the Super Bowl to the Jets people today don't really consider them the champions for that season.

The only team of the 16-game-season era to come close was the 1985-1986 Chicago Bears (15-1, 14-2). They won one Super Bowl.

 

[The Jerk]

Since the NFL/AFL merger, there has never been a postseason in which the home team won every game. In fact, over that same time period the road team has always won at least two games.

That makes me wonder if 16 games is a long enough season to make a reasonable determination as to the relative quality of the teams.

I don't think that's it at all. A lot of it has to do with trends and injuries, and a lot of it just has to do with random unpredictability. If the 2004 Miami Dolphins can beat the eventual SB-Champion Patriots, who's to say that worse teams can't beat better teams in the postseason, too?

Agree with SSOG. Many times the teams have the same record and the home team was decided by tie-breakers. In some cases, a wild card team has had a better record than a division winner but the higher seed and home game goes to the division winner.

 

[MLBrandow]

The NFL has a roster limit of 53 players per team during the season; 45 of which dress for a game plus an "emergency quarterback" who only plays if all the quarterbacks on the 45-man roster are out of the game.

DEPTH-Pats used 44 different starters in 2005, 40 in 2004, 42 in 2003

What is the average? I would think somewhere around 30ish?

 

[thesurfshop19]

Only four wide receivers have been selected to the All-Pro team (AP or official NFL team) five times or more: Rice (10), Hutson (9), Alworth (6), and Del Shofner (5).

Only five receivers have finished seasons in the top 5 in the categories of receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TD's at least 15 total times: Hutson (32), Rice (31), Maynard (18), Alworth (17), and Del Shofner (15).

Of the four receivers who have achieved both feats, Hutson, Alworth, and Rice are all on the NFL's All-Time Team and are all Hall of Famers (or will be as soon as Rice is elected). Is anyone going to start the Del Shofner bandwagon?

I really like this one.I've argued on this board for years that Hutson is basically tied with Rice at #1 all-time -- he's the Babe Ruth of his sport / position. Rice is sort of like taking Hutson's career and then adding Keenan McCardell's to the end. The level of dominance was the same, but Rice did it longer. He also played more years, player more games per year, and played in a far more passing era than Hutson. I can't separate the two, which is why I always stick up for Hutson when people claim you're crazy to even consider someone else as good as Rice.

 

[SSOG]

Only four wide receivers have been selected to the All-Pro team (AP or official NFL team) five times or more: Rice (10), Hutson (9), Alworth (6), and Del Shofner (5).

Only five receivers have finished seasons in the top 5 in the categories of receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TD's at least 15 total times: Hutson (32), Rice (31), Maynard (18), Alworth (17), and Del Shofner (15).

Of the four receivers who have achieved both feats, Hutson, Alworth, and Rice are all on the NFL's All-Time Team and are all Hall of Famers (or will be as soon as Rice is elected). Is anyone going to start the Del Shofner bandwagon?

I really like this one.I've argued on this board for years that Hutson is basically tied with Rice at #1 all-time -- he's the Babe Ruth of his sport / position. Rice is sort of like taking Hutson's career and then adding Keenan McCardell's to the end. The level of dominance was the same, but Rice did it longer. He also played more years, player more games per year, and played in a far more passing era than Hutson. I can't separate the two, which is why I always stick up for Hutson when people claim you're crazy to even consider someone else as good as Rice.

Agreed... although in fairness to Rice, when Hutson played, there were never more than 10 teams in the league. Yes, he was head-and-shoulders above his peers... but he had far fewer peers to be head-and-shoulders above. Ranking in the top 5 in a statistical category isn't as impressive when there are only 20 starting WRs in the NFL (actually, I don't know how many there were, since they used drastically different formations back then).Hutson aside, I think Bambi could also make a very good case that he was better than Rice, too. Obviously he didn't have anywhere NEAR the longevity, but consider the following numbers: 75.485/.625 and 75.561/.650. Those are Lance Alworth and Jerry Rice's career per-game receiving totals (respectively). Pretty remarkably similar... despite the fact that Bambi played from 1962-1972 (which wasn't exactly known as a "passing era").

Some fun numbers. Alworth and Rice have exactly the same number of 1600+ yard seasons, despite the fact that Rice played 9 more years and during 16 game seasons, while Alworth played in 14 game seasons. Alworth averaged 18.9 yards per reception. To put that into perspective, Lelie led the league in ypc the last two seasons, and his career ypc is still a full yard lower. If you pro-rate his 1965 numbers over 16 games, he would have had 79/1831/16 (and an absurd 23.2 yards per reception).

 

[Frenchy Fuqua]

Can we put in requests?

I'd like to know how many QBs have been credited with receiptions and/or receiving TD's... (still stinging from a one-point FF loss at the hands of a Brad Johnson to Brad Johnson deflected TD pass from a few years ago). I think Favre has one too...

Former QB Mark Malone had the Steelers longest TD reception (80 yards) until recently. Chuck Noll used Malone as a WR/QB in his early years because he was a good athlete. Noll's Slash was about as erratic of a thrower as Cowher's Slash.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Pretty remarkably similar... despite the fact that Bambi played from 1962-1972 (which wasn't exactly known as a "passing era").

I've always considered the AFL in the 60s as a passing era. It was only fourteen games, but the AFL was all about the deep pass (which helped Alworth and Maynard). I know Namath was the first player to pass for 4000 yards in a season (1967). The NFL was certainly not experiencing a passing era, but I'm not sure if I'd bump up Bambi because of that.

 

[Couch Potato]

Obscure little fact -

In 1983, three WRs tied for the NFC lead in receptions with 78, and all of their names were colors:

Brown (Charlie), Green (Roy), and Gray (Earnest).

I had both Brown and Green on my fantasy team that year.

Also odd, and I don't know if it's a record, but the top 3 AFC (and NFL) leaders in receptions that year were all TEs:

Todd Christensen (92), Ozzie Newsome (89), and Kellen Winslow (88).

 

[radballs]

Obscure little fact -

In 1983, three WRs tied for the NFC lead in receptions with 78, and all of their names were colors:

Brown (Charlie), Green (Roy), and Gray (Earnest).

I had both Brown and Green on my fantasy team that year.

Also odd, and I don't know if it's a record, but the top 3 AFC (and NFL) leaders in receptions that year were all TEs:

Toss Christensen (92), Ozzie Newsome (89), and Kellen Winslow (88).

Wow, that's interesting for sure. Did Toss use to Todd off when he was alone and bored?

 

[Couch Potato]

Obscure little fact -

In 1983, three WRs tied for the NFC lead in receptions with 78, and all of their names were colors:

Brown (Charlie), Green (Roy), and Gray (Earnest).

I had both Brown and Green on my fantasy team that year.

Also odd, and I don't know if it's a record, but the top 3 AFC (and NFL) leaders in receptions that year were all TEs:

Toss Christensen (92), Ozzie Newsome (89), and Kellen Winslow (88).

Wow, that's interesting for sure. Did Toss use to Todd off when he was alone and bored?

Wiseguy. Fixed.A couple of drinks after getting back from a long trip - I proofread the stupid thing and still couldn't get it right! LOL

 

[radballs]

Obscure little fact -

In 1983, three WRs tied for the NFC lead in receptions with 78, and all of their names were colors:

Brown (Charlie), Green (Roy), and Gray (Earnest).

I had both Brown and Green on my fantasy team that year. 

Also odd, and I don't know if it's a record, but the top 3 AFC (and NFL) leaders in receptions that year were all TEs:

Toss Christensen (92), Ozzie Newsome (89), and Kellen Winslow (88).

Wow, that's interesting for sure. Did Toss use to Todd off when he was alone and bored?

Wiseguy. Fixed.A couple of drinks after getting back from a long trip - I proofread the stupid thing and still coulsn't get it right! LOL

It's all good CP. I'm still hammerin' down some of these . I hope you're having a good one.

 

[Couch Potato]

Obscure little fact -

In 1983, three WRs tied for the NFC lead in receptions with 78, and all of their names were colors:

Brown (Charlie), Green (Roy), and Gray (Earnest).

I had both Brown and Green on my fantasy team that year.

Also odd, and I don't know if it's a record, but the top 3 AFC (and NFL) leaders in receptions that year were all TEs:

Toss Christensen (92), Ozzie Newsome (89), and Kellen Winslow (88).

Wow, that's interesting for sure. Did Toss use to Todd off when he was alone and bored?

Wiseguy. Fixed.A couple of drinks after getting back from a long trip - I proofread the stupid thing and still coulsn't get it right! LOL

It's all good CP. I'm still hammerin' down some of these . I hope you're having a good one.

Off topic, but who cares... I'm having a very good one. Took a trip with my Dad (he's not been well) to Oregon, and it was a very good decision. It brought back a lot of memories for him, and I learned a lot about him and his past that I didn't know. Good stuff.Sorry for the hijack everyone.

 

[radballs]

Good to hear. Enjoy your hopefully extended weekend. I'm workin' Monday. :(

 

[rzrback77]

Only four wide receivers have been selected to the All-Pro team (AP or official NFL team) five times or more: Rice (10), Hutson (9), Alworth (6), and Del Shofner (5).

Only five receivers have finished seasons in the top 5 in the categories of receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TD's at least 15 total times: Hutson (32), Rice (31), Maynard (18), Alworth (17), and Del Shofner (15). 

Of the four receivers who have achieved both feats, Hutson, Alworth, and Rice are all on the NFL's All-Time Team and are all Hall of Famers (or will be as soon as Rice is elected).  Is anyone going to start the Del Shofner bandwagon?

I really like this one.I've argued on this board for years that Hutson is basically tied with Rice at #1 all-time -- he's the Babe Ruth of his sport / position. Rice is sort of like taking Hutson's career and then adding Keenan McCardell's to the end. The level of dominance was the same, but Rice did it longer. He also played more years, player more games per year, and played in a far more passing era than Hutson. I can't separate the two, which is why I always stick up for Hutson when people claim you're crazy to even consider someone else as good as Rice.

Agreed... although in fairness to Rice, when Hutson played, there were never more than 10 teams in the league. Yes, he was head-and-shoulders above his peers... but he had far fewer peers to be head-and-shoulders above. Ranking in the top 5 in a statistical category isn't as impressive when there are only 20 starting WRs in the NFL (actually, I don't know how many there were, since they used drastically different formations back then).Hutson aside, I think Bambi could also make a very good case that he was better than Rice, too. Obviously he didn't have anywhere NEAR the longevity, but consider the following numbers: 75.485/.625 and 75.561/.650. Those are Lance Alworth and Jerry Rice's career per-game receiving totals (respectively). Pretty remarkably similar... despite the fact that Bambi played from 1962-1972 (which wasn't exactly known as a "passing era").

Some fun numbers. Alworth and Rice have exactly the same number of 1600+ yard seasons, despite the fact that Rice played 9 more years and during 16 game seasons, while Alworth played in 14 game seasons. Alworth averaged 18.9 yards per reception. To put that into perspective, Lelie led the league in ypc the last two seasons, and his career ypc is still a full yard lower. If you pro-rate his 1965 numbers over 16 games, he would have had 79/1831/16 (and an absurd 23.2 yards per reception).

I'm from Arkansas and have always been a huge Alworth fan, since he played for the Hogs. Lance was from Brookhaven, Mississippi, but none of the Mississippi teams would give him a scholarship because he got married right out of high school. Huge break for Frank Broyle and the Hogs. I believe that Jerry Rice is also from Mississippi.

 

[MLBrandow]

This is a great thread.... we need more ninja info like this

 

[fatness]

In 2002, Michael Vick led the league in yards per reception. He had 16 receiving yards... and 0 receptions.

I tried figuring out his yards/reception and my head exploded. How did that happen anyway? (0 receptions for 16 yards)

 

[SSOG]

In 2002, Michael Vick led the league in yards per reception. He had 16 receiving yards... and 0 receptions.

I tried figuring out his yards/reception and my head exploded. How did that happen anyway? (0 receptions for 16 yards)

He had a pass batted up at the line of scrimmage, and one of his offensive linemen came down with it. He did the only smart thing for an offensive lineman of the Atlanta Falcons to do when he suddenly finds himself with the ball- he tossed it to Vick, who then got 16 yards. Anyway, when someone catches the ball and then laterals, only the first guy gets credit for the reception, although both guys get credit for the yards they gained (this happened with the hook-and-ladder play that Randy Moss and Moe Williams did against Denver 3 years back- Moss got the reception and the first chunk of yards, Moe Williams got the last chunk of yards and the TD, but no reception).

 

[fatness]

Thanks.

 

[Chase Stuart]

I really don't know what I'd call this, but it's something Doug and I picked up on awhile back:

In 1979 and 1980, Ken Stabler threw for 3000+ yards with different teams. Dave Casper followed Stabler from Oakland to Houston, and ranked as a top five TE both years (not many TEs have ranked top five in consecutive years while switching teams).

The crazy thing is, both years there was another top five TE on their team. For the '79 Raiders, Raymond Chester was the number 2 fantasy TE; Mike Barber of the '80 Oilers ranked as the 5th best TE.

Stabler played with Casper and another top five TE, went East with Casper, and once again had Casper and another top five TE. I don't think we're ever going to see that any time soon.

 

[MarshallRob]

Now that's amazing. Please elaborate.

They tied for the best record in the league with another team in their division, but lost out on tiebreakers. There was no wildcard.

The Colts were undefeated at 11-0-2 heading into the last week of the season. The Rams were 10-1-2 and the two teams tied 24-24 earlier in the year. The Rams beat the Colts 34-10 in the last game to win the Coastal Division of the NFL's Western Conference. According to the book Fifty Years of NFL Excitement, the tie breaker used to determine the division winner was not the head-to-head record but points scored in the two head-to-head games (58-34). The NFL split each of its two conferences into two divisions (Capital, Century, Coastal, Central) from 1967-1969. Only the four division winners made the postseason. Without the new format the Packers would not have won their third straight NFL title and second straight Super Bowl in 1967.

 

[buckeye35]

This streak is active...

David Carr has played in 24 consecutive games in which his sack total has been equal to or greater than his touchdown pass total. The last time Carr had more TD passes than sacks was on October 31, 2004 vs. the Jags.