A Quarterback Tetralogy: Rams To Eagles

LOOKING BACK
by John Turney

When the St. Louis Rams shipped Sam Bradford for Nick Foles and a second-round pick plus a swap of picks this year and a potential conditional pick in 2016 it was the fourth time a talented signal-caller was sent to the City of Brotherly Love. It was an exercise previously tried in 1958, 1973 and 1977 and it led to three of the best quarterbacking performances in Eagles history.

Credit (L) Topps; (R) Digital art by PFJ

Graphic: Pro Football Journal

Part one

In 1958 second-year Rams general manager Pete Rozelle shipped long-time Rams passer Norm Van Brocklin for two players (Buck Lansford and Jimmy Harris) and a first-round draft pick in 1959. The Rams used that pick to take running back Dick Bass, who retired after the 1969 season as the Rams all-time leading rusher and who had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons to his credit.

Though it was not overnight, Van Brocklin took a team that was a middle-of-the-pack defense and a bottom-of-the-pack rushing offense to an NFL Championship in 1960 with a victory over Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers. The Eagles were 2-9-1 in Van Brocklin's initial season and improved to 7-5 in 1959. In 1960 the Eagles were 10-2 and won it all as Van Brocklin was the NFL Player of the Year and was a consensus First-team All-Pro. Shortly thereafter, Van Brocklin retired and in 1961 took over the reins as the Minnesota Vikings Head Coach.

Digital art and colorization credit: John Turney

Part two
When Don Klosterman traded 1972 Pro Bowl defensive end Coy Bacon and running back Bob Thomas to the San Diego Chargers for John Hadl (who also played in the 1972 Pro Bowl), it was a rare exchange of  Pro Bowl players that did not happen again until the Redskins and Broncos swapped Champ Bailey for Clinton Portis in 2004. When news of the trade hit the newspapers, it was reported that Rams starting quarterback Roman Gabriel demanded a trade. Klosterman obliged him and it turned out to be one of the most one-sided trades in NFL history.

The Eagles received Gabriel in exchange for Pro Bowl wide receiver Harold Jackson, running back Tony Baker, two first-round choices and a third-round choice. With the picks the Rams chose John Cappelletti in 1974, future Pro Bowl guard Dennis Harrah and guard Dan Nugent.

Gabriel paid early dividends. He took a woeful Eagle team that was 2-11-1 to 5-8-1 in 1973 and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year and was voted to the Pro Bowl (along with Hadl). And a couple of missed field goals cost the Eagles a 7-7 season. That season, the Eagles gave the Minnesota Vikings all they could handle in a 28-21 loss and beat the Dallas Cowboys 30-16 (the Vikings and the Cowboys played in the NFC Championship game that season). The Eagles then started the 1974 season strong, going 4-1 and again beating the Dallas Cowboys. A great goal-line stand by the St. Louis Cardinals in the season opener cost the Eagles a 5-0 start.

Then, the following week, the Eagles went on a six-game losing streak. They had a 24-17 lead over the Cowboys in Dallas, but late in the third quarter the Cowboys tied it up and Roger Staubach drove the ball and scored himself for the winning touchdown. After the sixth straight loss, Eagle Head Coach Mike McCormack started youngster Mike Boryla for the final three games, all of which the Eagles won, finishing 7-7.

In 1975 Boryla started the opener but was ineffective and played his way out of the starting job. Gabriel took over and still, the Eagles struggled. Boryla started again but was benched again in the late Fall and then he got the final two starts of 1975.

The Rams got a lot in the initial trade and then, later, parlayed some of those players into even more picks. For example, they got five seasons from Harold Jackson then traded him to the Patriots for a 3rd round pick and a 4th round pick. They also traded Dan Nugent to the Redskins for a 2nd and 3rd round pair of picks. After six years of service, the Rams sent John Cappelletti to the San Diego Chargers for a 2nd round pick. Tony Baker was shipped to the Chargers for a pick the Rams used to take linebacker Carl Ekern. The string played out even longer, but the minutia is perhaps too esoteric for even Pro Football Journal. Without doubt, it was a trade that kept giving for many years.

The Eagles got an excellent season and a quarter out of Gabriel, then not much more thereafter. Gabriel remained with the Eagles through the 1977 season, when he served as the backup for Ron Jaworski.

Credit: Topps

Part three
Jaworski. He is part three of this four-part work. Jaworski played well in the late-1975 season when Rams starter James Harris was hurt. He beat the Steelers in the season finale and guided the Rams to a playoff victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Harris was called upon by Chuck Knox to start the NFC Championship game at the Coliseum in Los Angeles the following week and it didn't sit well with Jaworski. Harris was ineffective in the game and by the time Knox pulled Harris and replaced him with Jaworski the game was out of hand and the Rams lost a blowout to the Cowboys.

The following season the Rams had a merry-go-round at quarterback, with Harris, Jaworski and Pat Haden all starting and all being injured, at some point during the season. Jaworski played the 1976 season with the intent on playing out his option and becoming a free agent of sorts in 1977. It was nearly two decades before the NFL had true free agency and to become free a player had to play the current season at a salary that was ten percent less than his prior year's salary. In this case, Jaworski played for $29,700. And even though the Rams had offered him a five-year $700,000 contract, Jaworski made good on his decision. Additionally, Jaworski's future likely wasn't going to last long with the Rams after he flung a beer bottle near the head of general manager Don Klosterman in the team hotel on one of the 1976 road games. Apparently, Klosterman made a derogatory remark about Jaworski's accuracy. And yes, the bottle missed perhaps backing up Klosterman's comment. 

So, after the 1976 season, the Rams traded the rights to Jaworski to the Eagles for the rights to tight end Charlie Young, who also played out his option and wanted a significant raise that the Eagles were not willing to pay. Second-year Eagles coach Dick Vermeil thought he had a franchise quarterback (though that term was not in the NFL lexicon at the time). Jaworski proved Vermeil right, as the Eagles improved in 1977 and 1978 and were a playoff team in 1979.

In 1980 the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Oakland Raiders and Jaworski was First-team All-NFC and was voted to the Pro Bowl. Jaworski was effective in the pocket for a handful more years. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, the Rams got very little out of Charlie Young, who was not a capable blocker and was never a starter for the Rams. In his three seasons in Los Angeles, Young caught only 36 passes for 392 yards and three touchdowns (which would amount to a below-average single season for him).

In 1980 so the Rams did recoup something by trading Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round pick in the 1980 NFL draft and a fourth-round selection in 1983 draft. With the 49ers Young was again the talented pass catcher that he was with the Eagles, which the Rams would have liked to see more of during his stint in Los Angeles.

Credit: Topps

So, in a few years, the time it took Van Brocklin to win an NFL Championship and the time it took Jaworski to get the Eagles to Super Bowl XV, Eagles fans will see if the Foles for Bradford trade works out and we'll have the denouement of the tetralogy.

Pro Football Focus's Quarterback Deep Passing Leaders 2010-2014

LOOKING BACK
by John Turney

Aaron Rogers. Digital art credit: John Turney

For almost a decade the Pro Football Focus website has been gaining in popularity and in credibility. ESPN The Magazine recently published an article detailing it's growth and also announced a partnership with PFF for this free agency season in ranking the available players.

In the coming months Nick Webster and I will be examining some statistics of PFF and of other subscription sites such as Football Outsiders and others for the work in detailing tackles, sacks, quarterback hits and hurries and tackles.

However, today we list the PFF deep passing leaders, which is featured as one of the "signature statistics" in the subscription section of their website. To get the full list and the year-by-year leaders of this an many other exclusive fans will have to sign for their "Premium stats".

Pro Football Focus defines their deep passing percentage as "Quarterback Deep Passing: The ability to successfully throw the deep ball is one that not all quarterbacks possess. The numbers here are all derived from passing attempts targeted 20 yards or more downfield." And what makes it unique is that they take away the element of dropped passes. If a quarterback throws the ball on the money and it is dropped, the scouts at PFF note that and don't count it against the accuracy of the passer.

To be able to include some of the recent draftees Pro Football Journal looked at the past five seasons worth of this signature statistic and compiled them. This list includes the top fifty most accurate deep passers who threw at least 54 passes twenty yards or more downfield from 2010-2014 (five seasons).

Source: Pro Football Focus. Graphic by PFJ

Derek Carr, who threw 71 such passes, ranks last. Teddy Bridgewater fell short of fifty attempts, but will likely debut high next year if he repeats his 46.3% rookie season. The year-to-year stalwarts such as Eli Manning, Rodgers, Brees, Peyton Manning are at or near the top in attempts. Russell Wilson, Michael Vick, Sam Bradford, Matt Schaub are among those in the middle in attempts, and Carr and E.J. Manuel have among the fewest for those just beginning their career. Some out-of-football quarterbacks still had enough attempts to qualify are Tavaris Jackson and Tim Tebow.

Brian Hoyer and Matt Moore had 88 and 89 deep passing attempts, respectively, since 2010 and were usually on the mark. They are the only two in the top thirteen who had fewer than 100 attempts at deep passes.

And to those who watch the sport, it is no surprise that Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees top the list. They are ones who have a scheme that allows those shots, receivers who can help it happen and protection that holds up.

A couple of surprises may Ben Roethlishberger and Joe Flacco ranking 3oth and 31st. Perhaps they take enough deep shots to be memorable but the misses are not burned into memory because if most fans were asked they may, based on recollection, rank both the rangy quarterbacks in the upper-tier of throwing deep.

Sam Bradford's Other Misfortune

LOOKING BACK
by John Turney

Digital Art credit: John Turney

Not only did Sam Bradford suffer a torn ACL in his left knee in two consecutive seasons (which is enough bad mojo for a lifetime for an NFL player) he never got to settle behind a quality tackle-to-tackle offensive line. Injuries in some cases and a serious lack of quality NFL talent in a few others cases dogged Bradford in his St. Louis Rams career.

Bradford, who earned a starting job as a rookie in 2010, played behind a total of twenty different starters in his four starting seasons for the Rams. As of the moment of this post only seven are active NFL players and only one of those is on the Rams roster. Yesterday, Scott Wells and Jake Long were released by the Rams. Today, Shelly Smith was released by the Dolphins and last week the Rams did not tender Tim Barnes. Joe Barksdale is currently a sought-after free agent and will be with someone this season, perhaps even the Rams. Chris Williams began the 2014 season as a starter, but was injured early in the season. He's likely to remain on roster, but it is too early to know if he will be a starter.

Jake Long and Scott Wells could end up somewhere in 2015 and Long could even be re-signed to the Rams at a lower salary than his contact would have called for in 2015. Shelly Smith is a capable backup type who will likely land on a roster, but not very likely the Pro Bowl roster.

Chart credit: Pro Football Journal

Other starters were simply not Pro Bowl talents (though a couple were paid like it) and some were really stopgaps or cup-of-coffee types, this it players who were in the NFL as something to do before they had to settle into a post-NFL career, such as, say wrestling.

So, with Bradford headed to Philadelphia (for now, at least) perhaps he will benefit from playing in front of Pro Bowl-types like Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Bradford's luck has to change, doesn't it?

Update: On March 13, 2015, the Denver Broncos signed guard Shelly Smith. Additionally, conversed with one of the NFL's most experienced scouts and his reaction was that my assessment of the semi-active linemen was "kind".

Best Second-place Teams of All-Time, Part I

LOOKING BACK
by T. J. Troup

Years ago, in Steve Sabol's, office, he and I discussed the best second-place teams of all-time. Sabol believed the 1962 Detroit Lions and the 1967 Baltimore Colts topped the list. Since my opinion was asked; I quickly responded that the 1948 Chicago Bears should also be included.

Thus the following:  What team had the best record over  a 52-game span without winning a playoff game? The Bears for most of 1947 in the 1951 season, won 41 and lost just 11. Since this would be Clyde "Bulldog" Turner's birthday, let's celebrate in Navy blue and burnt orange and take a closer look and evaluate using stats this team and why they won.

Bulldog Turner, Chicago Bears. Colorization by John Turney

A powerful offensive line opened many a hole for the backfield-by-committee approach for Chicago. They averaged 193 rushing yards a game when they won, and 129 yards when they lost. In the eleven defeats opponents averaged 139 yards rushing a game, but a paltry 101 rushing yards against the stalwart Bear defense in the forty-one victories.

The NFL Passer Rating is a tool that can be used to evaluate a pass offense, and the Bears were efficient with a 67.9 passer rating in the 41 wins, but struggled under the league average with a mark of 47.5 in the eleven losses. Opponent passers missed the mark often as their passer rating was just 47.6 in the forty-one Bear victories (the Chicago secondary pilfered at least one pass in 40 of the 41 wins). In the eleven wins opponent passers averaged an impressive 7.87 yards per pass, and threw more touchdowns than interceptions, which lead to an impressive (for the era) passer rating of 76.5.

Note: This is the first of a three part series, with two more teams to add to the list later this Spring.

1950 Rams versus Bears, Colorization: John Turney

The Birth of Football's Modern 4-3 Defense

by John Turney

The NFL's first middle linebacker was? Sam Huff? It has been written that Landry was the coach who first used the 4-3 defense when Huff was a rookie. Some in Chicagoland have offered up Bill George as the first middle linebacker. In Detroit the partisans have stated that it was Joe Schmidt.

What if it is none of them? Those three were voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade team of the 1950s and all were well deserved. But was there someone else who was the first middle linebacker who has not received the same accolades as the Big Three of the 1950s?

Pro Football Journal writer T.J. Troup has written the definitive work on the matter,The Birth of Football's Modern 4-3 Defense: The Seven Seasons That Changed the NFL.

Troup has pored over game film from nearly every team and every season for his magnum opus. From 1953 to 1959, professional football’s offensive and defensive tactics were in a transitional phase. Teams developed innovative strategies to attack the standard 5-2-4 defense and in doing so passing efficiency improved and offenses like the Los Angeles Rams' point-a minute-offense and the Browns dominant running and passing thrived. In an attempt to counter this passing success, the 4-3-4 defense evolved. This crucial shift in strategies is often overlooked in histories of the NFL, yet its impact on the game is still seen today. 

Do yourself a favor, if you are interested in the strategy of the game and enjoy detailed accounts of the great games of the 1950s, go get this book. It can be found here.

Shout Out to Ron Borges and the Talk of Fame Network

by John Turney

Duke Slater was the most honored African-American football player of the NFL's first decade and one of the most consistently decorated players during that time, regardless of race.

Duke Slater. Colorization by John Turney

Today, writer and Hall of Fame voter Ron Borges wrote an excellent, lengthy piece reviewing Slater's career. Hopefully it will raise awareness of Slater's accomplishments and give Slater some push to be a senior nominee for the Hall of Fame in the near future.

Well done Mr. Borges and we at Pro Football Journal recommend everyone interested in NFL history to take a look. To read the full article, click here.