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Could you be more specific? How exactly did these three passers make the defenses adjust?
Can I assume this is in reference to the illegal use of hands rule?
Many times it can be an opponent to quickly recognize a player's greatness. A "thorn in the side" as they say, but he was no doubt "great."LT... the original LT.
Reinvented the outside linebacker position with his speed, aggressiveness and pass rushing ability.
He changed the game.
Edit to add: A Cowboy's fan beat me to it.
Would it be too far fetched to date this all the way back to Frank Gifford as a combination RB/WR?
Well Baugh and Graham were both passing QBs during a time when running dominated. They put up passing numbers that were pretty unheard of for the time and must have forced defenses to rethink how they would defend those teams.I believe Unitas was one of the first QBs to really master reading defenses, using the audible, and running 2 minute drills.
Thanks. Appreciate your input.
Good one.
Do you mean when he would just throw a guy off to the side with a shrug? I can't imagine many have been able to copy that very well.
Yes -- I'd also argue that that rule was a bellwether for the "modern era", in that rules today tend to restrict effective defensive techniques in favor of increased scoring.
A little off the beaten path but a good point.On a similar path, some might say Joe Namath for leading the Jets to a Super Bowl win over the Colts and legitimizing the merger of the AFL and the NFL.
Don't forget Sid Luckman, who was just as good as Baugh and was a contemprary of his.Before them, Arnie Herber was a dominant passer, and before him it was Benny Friedman. Curly Lambeau, before he (along with Halas) became the first great coach in the NFL, he was the first great passer.
I wouldn't give Graham credit for revolutionizing anything- I'd give all the credit to his visionary coach, Paul Brown, who pretty much invented modern pass protection (prior to that, teams pass blocked just like they run blocked- pick a man and block him- instead of using a pocket), among many, many other things (possibly the greatest innovator in the past 80-100 years of football and father of the modern offense).I'd throw in Fran Tarkenton for pioneering the "running QB", though.Ilov80s said:
Kelly didn't "change the NFL" though. Let's put aside the fact that he's not the person who invented (or even popularized) the No Huddle (as well as the fact that pretty much every team in the league ran the no huddle at some point or another even back before he entered the league). You're claiming he "changed the NFL" by introducing the No Huddle as an every down offensive attack. Which explains why there are approximately 0 teams today that run the No Huddle as an every down offensive attack.Being the first to do something doesn't mean you "changed the league". Warren Moon didn't "change the league" by running the Run-n-Shoot. Steve Spurrier didn't "change the league" by running the Fun-n-Gun. You could argue that Ronnie Brown did far more to "change the league" than Jim Kelly, because there's a much greater difference between the number of teams running the Wildcat before Ronnie and after Ronnie than there is difference between teams running the no huddle before Kelly and after Kelly.Besides, the thread is about players who changed the league, and Jim Kelly doesn't get credit for his coaches' scheme, any more than Ken Anderson or Joe Montana get credit for "inventing" the West Coast Offense (that was all Walsh, baby, even though Anderson was the first and Montana was the best). Just like Tom Nalen doesn't get credit for the changes to the league as a result of Alex Gibbs' blocking scheme, and like no Pittsburgh LB gets credit for the changes to the league as a result of Lebeau's zone blitz.
Fair enough, but then no player really changes the game. Coaches do. LT was not the 1st LB to ever blitz, he was just so successful at it. Ronnie Brown didn't come up with the Wildcat he was only the player used in operating the formation. Coaches are the people who change the way the game is played with new schemes, the players are only the ones who execute these innovative ideas. Sure, it takes a great player to make the idea work but when does a player truly change the game? Give the credit where it's due, Landry, Walsh, Coryell. Otherwise Kelly belongs on this list because nobody ran the no huddle like Kelly, or ran it at the beginning of the game before him.
Thurman Thomas should be mentioned before Faulk, but Craig might be first. Thurman still holds the record for most consecutive years leading the league in yards. I don't thing Faulk or LT even came close.Another name, that I intended on bringing up before I clicked the title (because it is appropriate for this weekend) is Steve Tasker. Best special teams player ever. Probably the first special teams player opposing teams schemed against, and he was so good the NFL added a roster spot for the Pro-Bowl teams. That's not exactly what the question was, but it was a change.Andy Herron said:
Avery said:
That's a good one for a couple reasons.
Maurice Carthon once said blitz pickup by RBs became extremely important then- used to be brushed off in a not so important wayWere there good (just)3rd down backs before Meggett?
Speaking of Warren Moon....He didn't necessarily change the game on the field, but I think his play was a major factor in breaking down negative stereotypes, proving to a majority NFL coaches and executives (and media for that matter) that African-Americans can play QB in the NFL and play at a high level. Moon along with Doug Williams did alot to change the game from a social aspect and opened the door for other African-American QBs and changed the NFL for the better.
wildcat is a variation of an old old play
Yes, sometimes it's the player and not the coach that changes the game. For instance, LT- he didn't change the way teams played defense, he changed the way OPPOSING TEAMS PLAYED OFFENSE. It's not like the Giants D-Coordinators were so brilliant schematically that Joe Gibbs developed an offense pretty much entirely on negating LT. He could do things that previous players could not (whereas Kelly did things that every QB in the league did, he just did it all of the time as opposed to 4 minutes a game). And like I said, in order for you to claim that someone changed the NFL, then the NFL must have actually been changed. Teams run the no-huddle as much today as they did before Jim Kelly- no change.
Have there been any really good running QBs since him? He might have made teams more willing to draft Michael Vick at #1 overall, but other than that, I don't think he's had any long-term impact on the league. He was simply too unique of a talent for other teams to mimic.
That's a good one for a couple reasons.
How about Randall Cunningham? Were there any really good running QBs prior to him? I know there were some scramblers.
I know that the wildcat is a variation of an old play, but the question wasn't "what NFL players innovated", it was "what NFL players changed the league". How many teams are installing Wildcat plays this offseason? How many teams were installing Wildcat plays last offseason? You don't think that counts as a pretty dramatic change? Whether it has any longevity remains to be seen, but Ronnie Brown and the reintroduction of the Wildcat is possibly the most sweeping offensive change since 4 and 5 WR patterns became in vogue.I mean, Urban Meyer certainly didn't invent the spread offense... but I'd still say he's changed the SEC more than any coach since Steve Spurrier.
Mentioned already.
Another name: Warren Sapp. Like Lawrence Taylor, his unique skills essentially led to the creation of a new position (the under tackle).
It was actually Bill Bates of the Cowboys that drove the incorporation of a special teams player for the Pro Bowl.ETA: And you're right. Thurman Thomas belongs in that group. I guess I had overlooked him.
As much as I hate to say it, you are probably right.I stand corrected...Tasker was better at it, though...
Greg Pruitt -- there were some others that wore them I think, but he was the primary guy that wore tear-away jersey's that were banned. He went through several each game.edit: just looked it up. "The Greg Pruitt Rule" established tear away jersey's as illegal.
Biletnikoff was the original abuser of stickum. He had that stuff all over his body. Not sure when the NFL said, enough is enough.
