"Top 10 Rookie Seasons" (1 Viewer)

[Raider Nation]

NFL Network's List

10) Adrian Peterson, 2007

9) Ben Roethlisberger, 2004

8) Curt Warner, 1983

7) Earl Campbell, 1978

6) Sammy Baugh, 1937 / Bob Waterfield, 1945 (Each led their team to NFL titles as rookies)

5) Dan Marino, 1983

4) Gale Sayers, 1965

3) Lawrence Taylor, 1981

2) Eric Dickerson, 1983

1) Randy Moss, 1998

 

[gigantor]

All of these

 

[Raider Nation]

Earl Campbell, 1978 - 1,450 rushing yards, 13 TDs. Probably also a lock to be on the list.

Wonder if they'll put Matty Ice in the Top 10: 3,440 pass yards, 16/10, playoff appearance

 

[Raider Nation]

All of these

How could I forget about Moss and Dickerson. GREAT rookie seasons.Guarantee you the NFLN's list doesn't look much like that one. They like to be different.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Off the top of my head, for offense, I'd say we should see 2 QB, 5 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE.

QB - Marino, Ryan

RB - Edge, Dickerson, and three of Marcus Allen, Curtis Martin, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders

WR - Moss and one of Bill Groman, John Jefferson, Bob Hayes or Anquan Boldin

TE - Ditka

 

[Raider Nation]

Off the top of my head, for offense, I'd say we should see 2 QB, 5 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE.QB - Marino, RyanRB - Edge, Dickerson, and three of Marcus Allen, Curtis Martin, Earl Campbell and Barry SandersWR - Moss and one of Bill Groman, John Jefferson, Bob Hayes or Anquan BoldinTE - Ditka

Why does everyone put Marino's rookie season among All-Time best? He was good right off the bat, yes, but he only started 11 games. The effectiveness was there -- the numbers weren't eye-popping. 2,210, 20/6. It was his second season where he went nuts.

 

[Andy Herron]

Not watching, as I don't get NFL Network, but I'll throw Dan Marino and Terry Glenn into the pool.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Drinen's boy Billy Howton deserves a serious mention here. So does Paul Warfield, playing for a team that rarely threw the ball and ranking in the top five in yards and TDs as a rookie.

 

[Raider Nation]

Not watching, as I don't get NFL Network, but I'll throw Dan Marino and Terry Glenn into the pool.

I'm updating the list in the OP as they name them.

 

[Raider Nation]

Barry's not going to make this list? Really?

#1 hasn't been announced yet, but by process of elimination it's obviously Moss.

 

[vikingdave]

Moss = BEAST

 

[Raider Nation]

Moss = BEAST

That was a remarkable rookie season. He toyed with mature, veteran cornerbacks.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Why does everyone put Marino's rookie season among All-Time best? He was good right off the bat, yes, but he only started 11 games. The effectiveness was there -- the numbers weren't eye-popping. 2,210, 20/6. It was his second season where he went nuts.

What isn't eye-popping about those numbers? He ranked 2nd in the NFL in adjusted net yards per attempt as a rookie.

 

[vikingdave]

Moss = BEAST

That was a remarkable rookie season. He toyed with mature, veteran cornerbacks.

damn those were the good ol days...too bad the NFL canceled the season during the playoffs that year after we beat Arizona or we would have won the SB that year...

 

[Chase Stuart]

NFL Network's List

6) Sammy Baugh, 1937 / Bob Waterfield, 1945 (Each led their team to NFL titles as rookies)

This reeks of "these guys made the HOF and they won titles as rookies so they should be on here." I'd expect better analysis from NFL-N.

 

[Raider Nation]

Why does everyone put Marino's rookie season among All-Time best? He was good right off the bat, yes, but he only started 11 games. The effectiveness was there -- the numbers weren't eye-popping. 2,210, 20/6. It was his second season where he went nuts.

What isn't eye-popping about those numbers? He ranked 2nd in the NFL in adjusted net yards per attempt as a rookie.

To make this list, I expected the nominee to have CRAZY numbers... like 3,500+ yards passing, despite his impressive QB rating. But they clearly voted for ability over bottom-line numbers. That is demonstrated by Big Ben being on the list and Barry Sanders being off it. Though they did issue a disclaimer that the players on the list also had to be on winning teams, so that killed Barry's chances.

 

[Raider Nation]

NFL Network's List

6) Sammy Baugh, 1937 / Bob Waterfield, 1945 (Each led their team to NFL titles as rookies)

This reeks of "these guys made the HOF and they won titles as rookies so they should be on here." I'd expect better analysis from NFL-N.

Yeah, they get too cute for their own good with these lists.

 

[Doug Drinen]

Just to see what would happen, I asked my database to rank the top rookies of all time according to the approximate value method I use over at p-f-r. This is what came out:

+-----------------+------+------+| name			| year | av   |+-----------------+------+------+| Edgerrin James  | 1999 |   21 || Gale Sayers	 | 1965 |   18 || Ronnie Lott	 | 1981 |   18 || Marcus Allen	| 1982 |   18 || Lawrence Taylor | 1981 |   17 || Randy Moss	  | 1998 |   17 || Patrick Willis  | 2007 |   16 || Tony Dorsett	| 1977 |   16 || Marshall Faulk  | 1994 |   16 || Jevon Kearse	| 1999 |   16 || Mike Haynes	 | 1976 |   16 || Paul Krause	 | 1964 |   16 || George Webster  | 1967 |   16 || Ryan Clady	  | 2008 |   16 || Kendrell Bell   | 2001 |   16 || Ricky Watters   | 1992 |   16 |+-----------------+------+------+

I don't know how accurate it is, but I'm pleased to see a nice mix of decades and positions.

 

[Raider Nation]

Clady, wow. That's impressive, especially as much as Denver threw.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Why does everyone put Marino's rookie season among All-Time best? He was good right off the bat, yes, but he only started 11 games. The effectiveness was there -- the numbers weren't eye-popping. 2,210, 20/6. It was his second season where he went nuts.

What isn't eye-popping about those numbers? He ranked 2nd in the NFL in adjusted net yards per attempt as a rookie.

To make this list, I expected the nominee to have CRAZY numbers... like 3,500+ yards passing, despite his impressive QB rating. But they clearly voted for ability over bottom-line numbers. That is demonstrated by Big Ben being on the list and Barry Sanders being off it. Though they did issue a disclaimer that the players on the list also had to be on winning teams, so that killed Barry's chances.

Really? There's a lot more to being a QB than passing yards.http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=799

Matt Ryan and Dan Marino had the two best rookie QB seasons of all time.

 

[Raider Nation]

Why does everyone put Marino's rookie season among All-Time best? He was good right off the bat, yes, but he only started 11 games. The effectiveness was there -- the numbers weren't eye-popping. 2,210, 20/6. It was his second season where he went nuts.

What isn't eye-popping about those numbers? He ranked 2nd in the NFL in adjusted net yards per attempt as a rookie.

To make this list, I expected the nominee to have CRAZY numbers... like 3,500+ yards passing, despite his impressive QB rating. But they clearly voted for ability over bottom-line numbers. That is demonstrated by Big Ben being on the list and Barry Sanders being off it. Though they did issue a disclaimer that the players on the list also had to be on winning teams, so that killed Barry's chances.

Really? There's a lot more to being a QB than passing yards.

I understand. But when formulating arbitrary lists such as these, huge numbers will typically be the deciding factor.Does the average Joe on the street care what Steve Carlton's career WHIP was? No. How many wins... how many K's?

 

[FUBAR]

Clady, wow. That's impressive, especially as much as Denver threw.

He started 16 games as a LT and his QB was rarely sacked. Seems like a great year to me.

 

[Zigg]

Am I missing something? Was 1981 not George Rogers rookie season? 1674 yards, 13 TDs and not a single mention anywhere. Not a best of the rest on NFLN, not an honourable mention in the above link, no FBG love, nothing.

 

[Ice Cream Man]

What's the ruling on rookie status? I'm surprised Warner was not considered a rookie in 1999 despite having thrown only 11 passes in the NFL. I think in MLB, for example, less than 130 AB or 50 IP does not constitute a rookie campaign.

 

[chook]

No Edge? Crazy

 

[Snotbubbles]

NFL Network's List

10) Adrian Peterson, 2007

9) Ben Roethlisberger, 2004

8) Curt Warner, 1983

7) Earl Campbell, 1978

6) Sammy Baugh, 1937 / Bob Waterfield, 1945 (Each led their team to NFL titles as rookies)

5) Dan Marino, 1983

4) Gale Sayers, 1965

3) Lawrence Taylor, 1981

2) Eric Dickerson, 1983

1) Randy Moss, 1998

How does Peterson's 2007 season: 238-1341-12, 19-268-1 get picked over Edge's: 369-1553-13, 62-586-4

 

[Chase Stuart]

Am I missing something? Was 1981 not George Rogers rookie season? 1674 yards, 13 TDs and not a single mention anywhere. Not a best of the rest on NFLN, not an honourable mention in the above link, no FBG love, nothing.

I thought about mentioning Rogers' season. It deserves an honorable mention, but he did have 13 fumbles. That left him off my list.

 

[Chase Stuart]

What's the ruling on rookie status? I'm surprised Warner was not considered a rookie in 1999 despite having thrown only 11 passes in the NFL. I think in MLB, for example, less than 130 AB or 50 IP does not constitute a rookie campaign.

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=445929Warner was the Rams' QB2, I think, for at least three games in 1998.

 

[The Man with the Plan]

NFL Network's List

10) Adrian Peterson, 2007

9) Ben Roethlisberger, 2004

8) Curt Warner, 1983

7) Earl Campbell, 1978

6) Sammy Baugh, 1937 / Bob Waterfield, 1945 (Each led their team to NFL titles as rookies)

5) Dan Marino, 1983

4) Gale Sayers, 1965

3) Lawrence Taylor, 1981

2) Eric Dickerson, 1983

1) Randy Moss, 1998

How does Peterson's 2007 season: 238-1341-12, 19-268-1 get picked over Edge's: 369-1553-13, 62-586-4

AD only played in 14 games and was hobbled for a couple of games. And he set the single-game rushing record. If it wasn't that knee injury he would have beat Eric Dickerson's 1808.

 

[stevegamer]

Night Train Lane needs to be on the list.

That's one of, if not the, best DB seasons ever. Not rookie seasons, but seasons. 14 INT's is a lot of takeaways for one player. 2 INT's returned for TD's.

 

[GregR_2]

NFL Network's List

10) Adrian Peterson, 2007

9) Ben Roethlisberger, 2004

8) Curt Warner, 1983

7) Earl Campbell, 1978

6) Sammy Baugh, 1937 / Bob Waterfield, 1945 (Each led their team to NFL titles as rookies)

5) Dan Marino, 1983

4) Gale Sayers, 1965

3) Lawrence Taylor, 1981

2) Eric Dickerson, 1983

1) Randy Moss, 1998

How does Peterson's 2007 season: 238-1341-12, 19-268-1 get picked over Edge's: 369-1553-13, 62-586-4

Peterson's yards per carry were nearly a yard and a half more than Edge's. That's a huge amount. Edge had more touches as the full time RB on his team, while Peterson had less carries due to RBBC but was more impressive with what he did with them.Not that you can't make a case Edge should have been ahead of him still. But that's why I'd guess they chose AP.

 

[Despyzer]

Clady, wow. That's impressive, especially as much as Denver threw.

He started 16 games as a LT and his QB was rarely sacked. Seems like a great year to me.

Marcus McNeil had a similar rookie campaign: No holding penalties, four sacks allowed from his position... while suffering from two broken hands.