Derrick Henry IS Bronko Nagurski

PERSPECTIVE
By John Turney

In the NFL's first playoff game in 1932 Bronko Nagurski threw a touchdown pass to Red Grange.

According to Wikipedia "In the fourth quarter, the Bears scored on a controversial touchdown: Carl Brumbaugh handed the ball off to Nagurski, who pulled up and threw to Red Grange in the end zone for the score. Rules at the time mandated that a forward pass had to be thrown from at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage. The Spartans argued Nagurski did not drop back five yards before passing to Grange, but the touchdown stood. "

Chicago Tribune

There were a lot of oddities in that game, one was the contest was played indoors on a short field. But those are stories for another day.

This is not the play, but it is a cool illustration from that game.

TOnight the Titans running back Derrick Henry threw a jump pass against the heavily favored Ravens.

Henry jumps and throws a touchdown to Corey Davis

It was nice to see. Though it's doubtful this was the first jump pass for a touchdown in a playoff game since 1932, it's possible. But they were common then and in the 1930s is equally possible someone did it. Regardless. Talk about fun. Well done Titans, well done.

A Swing and a Miss—Bill Cowher the First of Two Coaches of Centennial Class Chosen

OPINION
By John Turney

A few weeks ago we praised the Hall of Blue Ribbon Committee for their selections for the finalists for the 2002 Centennial Class for the Hall of Fame. They earned that praise we think.

Today, on the NFL Today, the CBS pre-game show Hall  President and Executive Director David Baker showed up and announced Bill Cowher is now a Hall of Famer.

Hmm.

The eight finalists were—
Don Coryell - 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers
Bill Cowher - 1992-2006 Pittsburgh Steelers
Tom Flores - 1979-1987 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-94 Seattle Seahawks
Mike Holmgren - 1992-98 Green Bay Packers, 1999-2008 Seattle Seahawks
Jimmy Johnson - 1989-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1996-99 Miami Dolphins
Buddy Parker - 1949 Chicago Cardinals, 1951-56 Detroit Lions, 1957-1964 Pittsburgh Steelers
Dan Reeves - 1981-1992 Denver Broncos, 1993-96 New York Giants, 1997-2003 Atlanta Falcons
Dick Vermeil - 1976-1982 Philadelphia Eagles, 1997-99 St. Louis Rams, 2001-05 Kansas City Chiefs

Flores, Johnson, and Parker have two titles.

Vermeil, Holmgren, and Cowher have one Super Bowl ring each. Coryell, Parker, Johnson, Flores, and Holmgren have some claim to "innovation" if you will.

It's hard to see how Cowher leapfrogged the "Two title" coaches and the "innovators". Cowher is not known for any kind of innovation or did anything to advance the game that we are aware of. Now he was a great coach and if someone asked if he's Hall of Fame worthy, we'd say "sure". It's the jump to the front of the line that is the "swing and miss", not questioning his great career.

Yes, there are other coaches with just one title (or none) in the Hall of Fame but in general, they brought more to the table than the one title. We are not saying Cowher is unworthy, just that he didn't have the credentials that some of the others on the list had. Coaches are judged by winning and others won more. Also, coaches are praised for breaking new ground, doing something different (think Coryell), creative or innovation. Cowher didn't.

It's just odd, that's all, that he'd leapfrog the ones who had been on Final 15s previously and were losing out to players (which is a tough thing for a coach to do—to beat out a player for one of five HOF slots each year).

The Centennial Class was to ease the logjams at certain positions, to feature players, administrators, and coaches that had been overlooked for some reason had been passed over and when the finalists list was released it seemed like that was going to be accomplished.

Now we are not so sure but will remain open-minded until we see the remaining 14 selections (one more coach, three contributors, and ten players). Based on today we think Jimmy Johnson may get the pregame show announcement and we'd bet money that Paul Tagliabue is one of the three contributors. We will see.

A Look Back at the Top 49er Defensive Lines

By John Turney

The current 49ers defensive line is full of number one picks and has been very productive in 2019. Where do they rank in the annals of the great 49e defense in terms of sacks?

Here is the list of most sacks in a season—

1976 
The "Gold Rush" coached by Floyd Peters
Totaled 61 sacks and were good versus the run—by playing the run on the way to the quarterback.

Cedrick Hardman—39 tackles and 12.5 sacks plus 7.5 stuffs 
Tommy Hart—57 tackles and 16 sacks plus 11.5 stuffs
Cleveland Elam—59 tackles and 14.5 sacks
Jimmy Webb—45 tackles and 7.5 sacks
Ed Cooke—2 tackles and 2 sacks 
Tony Cline—9 tackles and one sack

1985
Oddly this was a year when Fred Dean (3 sacks) was not effective ad a year before Charley Haley arrived. The 49ers got 14 sacks from linebackers and another 4.5 sacks from defensive backs. It was rush by committee.

The leaders were:
Dwaine Board—11.5 sacks
Jeff Stover— 10.0
Michael Carter—7 sacks

1983
Fred Dean led with 17.5 sacks playing on passing downs.  Dwaine Board had 13 playing right end in base 3-4 defense and moving to left defensive end in the nickel/dime.

1997
The 49ers got a huge push from Dana Stubblefield who was the Defensive Player of the Year. Kevin Greene came in and rushed as a designated rusher, a position the 49ers called "Elephant". In additon, it was among the best run-stopping defense in 49er history. The defensive coordinator was John Marshall.

Dana Stubblefield 61 tackles, 15 sacks
Chris Doleman 46 tackles, 12 sacks
Kevin Greene 26 tackles, 10.5 sacks
Roy Barker 32 tackles and 5.5 sacks
Bryant Young 45 tackles and 4.0 sacks

1986
This was Charles Haley's rookie season and he took over Fred Dean's role and he led the team with 12 sacks. Jeff Stover usually was an inside rusher in the nickel/dime defense and he as 11 sacks. Dwaine Board was his usual solid self with 8 sacks and playing both in base and in sub defenses.

1984
Fred Dean held out until late in the season but the '84 49ers were still effective. Board had 10 sacks and no one else had more than 5 sacks. Gary Johnson had those five as a designated rusher. The 49ers got 13 sacks from linebackers and another 4.5 from defensive backs.

1998
Another unit managed by John Marshall. Dana Stubblefield left via free agency and Junior Bryant took his place. Also, Bryant Young suffered a gruesome broken leg and missed the final month of the season. Still, they recorded 51 sacks and again were solid against the run. 

Chris Doleman—45 tackles and  15 sacks
Roy Barker—28 tackles and 12 sacks 
Bryant Young—54 tackles and 9.5 sacks

1967
The '67 49ers got good production from there outside linebackers totaling at least 15½ sacks from then and also the inside/outside pair of Roland Lakes (inside) and Hindman (outside) rushers. They totaled 48 sacks.

Roland Lakes—13 sacks
Stan Hindman—12 sacks
Dave Wilcox—9.5 sacks
Matt Hazeltine—6 sacks

2019
Also totaling  48 sacks were the current iteration of the 49ers front but when you watch them they seem put more pressure on the passer than some of the teams we watched that are above them on this list. Opponents use lots of 6- and 7-man protections and get rid of the ball quickly to avoid sacks.

If they play to their potential they could lead their team to the Super Bowl.

Arik Armstead—A top base end, 54 tackles and 10 sacks
Nick Bosa—The rookie phenom, 47 tackles 9 sacks, and the most pressures on the line
DeForest Buckner—The three-technique, 61 tackles, 7.5 sacks
Dee Ford—Injured late in season, was the nickel rusher, 6.5 sacks in 11 games (2 starts)
Solomon Thomas—FIlled in inside and outside, 21 tackles 2 sacks.
D.J. Jones—was the starting nose until felled by injury

1972

This was Tommy Hart's breakout season. Linemate Cedrick Hardman broke out the year before with 18 sacks. 

Cedrick Hardman—46 tackles and 9 sacks

Tommy Hart—65 tackles, 17 sacks, and 7.5 stuffs

Earl Edwards—  43-tackles 6.5 sacks

Bob Hoskins—38 tackles and 4 sacks

Bill Belk—9 tackles and 3.5sacks

We Have Been Toe to Toe Before: Playoff Rivals

By TJ Troup

Is this the best weekend each year in the NFL? My humble opinion—YES!

We have the four seeded teams against the four winners from last weekend. Adding to what should be some very hard-fought football, and hopefully, compelling games is an aspect that Steve Sabol and I discussed many times.

So Coach TJ what did you and the visionary leader of NFL Films specifically discuss? First and foremost the best historical rivalry; which no doubt will always be the Raiders against the Steelers five CONSECUTIVE years—doubt we ever see that again?

There are other rivalries where the two teams have flipped the coin and gone to battle more than once in their respective team histories. We have two of those on Saturday.

Beginning in 1968 the Minnesota Vikings have frequently earned a playoff berth, and have played 17 games against the Rams, Cowboys, and 49ers.

Saturday afternoon in California the Vikings will attempt to beat San Francisco for just the second time in playoff history (Minnesota holds the regular season edge, but the Niners have won four of five in the playoffs).

Anthony Carter. Credit:  CBS

The Vikings have a strong receiving corps, and maybe just maybe Thielen or Diggs can have a day like Anthony Carter in 1987?

The next two years Walsh & Seifert beat Minnesota easily.

Saturday evening the Ravens take on the Tennessee Titans (for you youngsters, this band of brothers used to reside in Houston Texas as the Oilers). The Oilers/Titans will square off for the fourth time against Baltimore.

Four other teams have faced them four times in play-off history; the Chargers, Patriots, Raiders, and beginning in the late '70s traveled to the Steel City to take on Pittsburgh. The Houston Oilers have been a franchise that has been moved more than once from one division to another, thus attempting to have a long-time rival in the playoffs has not captivated historians like San Francisco vs. Minnesota.

Steve McNair and Eddie George. Credit: CBS

That said—everyone who watched the Ravens play the Titans in January of 2001 came away from the game knowing that these two opponents just did not like each other.

The keys to victory in the playoffs are very similar to the regular season, yet we all know the stakes are higher with elimination, and any play can help determine the game. Line play and turnovers are key, but since this is a territorial game gaining yards and having the clock be your friend is paramount.

 Since so much of the game in this era is passing, and playing team pass defense; will end this narrative by examining the passer rating system (we all know a favorite of mine). New England led the league this year with a rating of 62.8, and Ryan T. had a rating of 61.0 against the Patriots last Saturday evening, a decent performance. Victory of course came from a staunch defense and bulldozing runs by Derrick Henry.

The Ravens ranked in the top five in the defensive passer rating system with a mark of 77.5, so Tannehill. must be more efficient for Tennessee to have a chance. The Titans were in the middle of the pack this year at 90.4, and face the league MVP.

No doubt Vrabel has mentioned this fact more than once this week, and specifically told his secondary to make plays!

San Francisco played much-improved team pass defense this year with a mark of 83.0, and the Vikings ranked just a few notches below at 86.1. Efficiency, turnovers, pass rush, and quarterbacks being decisive & accurate will determine the winner in this game. My smokehouse almonds and Dr. Pepper are ready, and so am I—bring on the divisional round!

Close Coach Phillips—But Off Just a Little Bit

By John Turney 

Today Coach Wade Phillips did a great chat on Twitter, fielding questions from his followers. And he did a wonderful job. He's a great coach and a gentleman.

Of course, he repeated a claim that has been made over the years, that isn't true, it's close, but it's off some.

Here is the LINK to the Q&A.

Phillips is referring to the 3-4 defense and why he likes it more than a 4-3 and then says the Houston Oilers were the first team to use the 3-4 fulltime.

Well. . . yes and no.

The first teams to use it as their full-time base defense were the 1974 Oilers AND  ALSO the 1974 New England Patriots. Both teams opened the 1974 using the 3-4 defense, not just the Oilers.

However, many (if not all) teams dabbled in going back to the early 1960s. In the early 1970s a lot of teams used it quite a bit, the Patriots and Oilers among then, especially in 1973. But the Dolphins used it as a pass defense (the 53 defense) in 1972-73 and the Bills used it a lot in the mid-1960s, as did the Chargers and other AFL teams/

So, Phillips is not far off, but just to be accurate the Patriots got there first as well.

Game 1 Oilers used the 3-4

Patriots in Game 1, 1974 in the 3-4

Obviously, we are not saying Phillips is wrong or is intentionally deceptive, it's just likely he does not remember what the Patriots were doing.

Here are some AFL shots from the 1960s with a few teams in the 3-4—

This is the 1960 Chargers versus Denver with LAC in 3-4

1965 Chargers with the RDE on 2-point stance

Same game, Chargers with left DE standing up giving defense a 3-4 look

1965 Bills in their 3-4 with the RDE on second level over a guard

Chiefs with Buck Buchanon on the nose RDE standing up (LLB Bell in crouch)

We could show a lot more, but as we mentioned almost all teams used some form of a 3-4 defense and some point. In the 1950s teams mixed it in, even the Colts who'd move Bid Daffy Lipscomb to from right defensive tack to right inside linebacker in a 3-4 look. Others had variations as well but none didn't use it full time as the '74 Patriots and Oilers did but they did use it.

Pro Football Journal Awards

By PFJ Staff

Here are the PFJ Award winners for 2019—

MVP—LaMar Jackson, Ravens

OPOY—Christian McCaffrey, Panthers

DPOY —Stephon Gilmore, Patriots

Offensive Rookie of the Year—Kyler Murray, Cardinals

Defensive Rookie of the Year—Nick Bosa, 49ers

Comeback—Cooper Kupp, Rams

Improved— Devante Parker, Dolphins

ST —JT Gray, Saints

Coach—John Harbaugh, Ravens

Executive—John Lynch, 49ers

Assistant Coach— Greg Roman, Ravens

Wade Phillips Out as Rams Defensive Coordinator

By John Turney

The Rams defense had three or so awful outings in 2019 but was also, on average, better than the 2018 defense that made it to the Super Bowl.

Phillips has had a long and distinguished career without a doubt. We do not know if he'll coach again or hang up the old waffle soul Riddells. But when you look at the teams he's been the defensive coordinator for or the head coach for, it is impressive.
(Click to enlarge)

One thing is for sure, several times he's landed in the money. What do we mean by 'landing in the money'?

He was hired to run his father's defense with the Saint in 1981 and they quickly drafted Rickey Jackson. Then, in 1986, he was hired by Buddy Ryan to coach the Eagles. Who was on that team when Wade arrived? Reggie White. In 1989 he goes to Denver but he inherited (and improved the defense there). They didn't have a star like Reggie White but then he's hired to coach the Bills who have a defensive end named Bruce Smith on the roster. Then he had some good players with the Falcons and Chargers but when he goes to Dallas he has DeMarcus Ware. Next, Son of Bum goes to Houston who just drafted JJ Watt then to Denver who had Von Miller. 

He then gets hired by the Rams who have Aaron Donald on the roster.

So, either he's the best defensive coach ever who developed these talented players into Hall of Famers or he's the most fortunate coach ever. Maybe both.