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Aaron Donald will be playing in Super Bowl LIII in two weeks, he's the Consensus Defensive Player of the Year, All-Pro and is also the NFL's sack champion (Deacon Jones Trophy) with 20.5 sacks. Donald will be the eighth sack champion to play in the Super Bowl. He will also be the third Ram player to lead the NFL in sacks (officially and unofficially) and to play in the Super Bowl that same season.
Sacks became an official statistic in 1982, however, PFJ's research goes further back than that, so we can cover the entire span from Super Bowl I though now. Though the results are not official they come from the NFL gamebooks of that era, the same source that is used today.
In 1967, 1968, and 1969 there were sack champions of one or the other of the professional leagues that played in the Super Bowl, but there were players in the other league that had more sacks. Those players were Ike Lassiter 1967 (17 sacks) Gerry Philbin in 1968 (15½ sacks) but they were the AFL sack champs, Deacon Jones led the NFL with 20½ and 22 sacks those seasons. In 1969 Carl Eller tied with Jones with 15 sacks for the NFL leadership but Charger Steve DeLong led both leagues with 15½ sacks.
But for all intents and purposes, the first NFL sack champ to play in the Super Bowl was Bill Stanfill of the 1973 Dolphins. Stanfill ended the 1973 season with 18½ sacks (just ahead of Jack Youngblood's 16½ sacks and Elvin Bethea with 16 sacks). Stanfill also had 65 tackles (10 were stuffs) and four forced fumbles and was a consensus All-Pro.
Four years later Harvey Martin led the league with 20 sacks (beating out Cleveland Elam's 17½ sacks) and had 67 tackles as well and went on to be the co-MVP in Super Bowl XII.
Jack Youngblood had 18 sacks in 1979 (ahead of Bubba Baker's 16 and Jesse Baker's 15½ sacks). He finished the season with 80 tackles and 5 forced fumbles and then in a playoff game in Dallas fractured his fibula. He played the rest of the game, getting one pursuit sack on Roger Staubach, then played in the NFC Championship game, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl and the injured leg.
In 1985 the Bears defense dominated the league on their way to winning Super Bowl XX and Richard Dent was their leading sacker. He led the NFL with 17.0 sacks and added to that total in the Super Bowl, earning MVP honors. His season totals included 55 total tackles, 7 forced fumbles and 8 passes deflected.
The following season Lawrence Taylor bested the NFL in sacks with 20.5 and he and his Giants beat down the Broncos in Super Bowl XXI. His 1986 stats also included 84 tackles, three forced fumbles and five pass deflections.
The Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV in late January 2000 stopping the Titans on the one-yard time to preserve the victory. The Rams left end Kevin Carter was All-Pro that season and led the NFL with 17.0 sacks. He also forced four fumbles and had 4 pass defelctions.
In 2016 Vic Beasley was the NFL sack Champion with 15.5 sacks. His Falcons went on to lose to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Beasley finished with 39 tackles and 6 forced fumbles and a scoop and score on a fumble recovery.
My latest literary endeavor has me collaborating with Buffalo Bills uber-collector Greg Tranter in chronicling many of the most interesting items from his massive collection of Bills-related memorabilia. Our book is as yet untitled but will feature somewhere between 60 and 75 items, including many one-of-a-kind pieces such as game-worn equipment, playbooks, and the like, as well as mass-marketed collectibles that are available to the everyday common fan. It's very hard to describe the size and scope of Greg's collection, other than to say it is so large that it had to be donated to the Buffalo History Museum in order to be able to house it all and display just a fraction of it.
Anyway, I have selected one of the chapters for inclusion here at the Pro Football Journal. This chapter focuses on the Chein wastebaskets that were produced in 1971. Chein made baskets for each of the 26 teams in the league at that time.
The book is due for publication in the fall of 2020. It is being published by St. Johann Press.
1971 J. CHEIN & CO. BUFFALO BILLS WASTEBASKET Despite depicting several very good football players, including Ron McDole, Butch Byrd, Paul Costa, Marlin Briscoe and, of course, OJ Simpson, what better, more ironic symbol could there be to represent the worst season in team annals than a Buffalo Bills wastebasket? Though a very colorful piece that would have been a hit with any young Bills fan in the era it was produced, this item now stands as a reminder of a very dismal time in Buffalo sports history. The can was made by New York City-based J. Chein & Company, manufacturers of metal stamped toys, musical instruments, sand pails, noisemakers, coin banks and other collectibles. Founded in 1907, the company’s peak production years occurred prior to the first World War. In the late 1960s, as toy manufacturing was becoming more plastic based, Chein & Company began focusing on lithographed wastebaskets. In 1971, they produced their first line of NFL team-themed baskets, which included the Buffalo Bills. Sadly, the Bills of that season are noteworthy primarily for their futility, finishing with the worst record in the league (1-13), as well as in their entire 12-year existence. Offensively, the Bills wound up dead last in points scored and were shutout four times, while the defense surrendered a league-worst 394 points.
The 16" by 8 ½” basket is encircled by a green football field with yardage markers, goalposts and end zones, with Bills-themed red, white and blue striping at the top and bottom. The front of the can has "Players of the Buffalo Bills" printed in black inside a white shield that is outlined in blue. Above the emblem is the National Football League Players Association logo. To the right are headshots of each of the Bills offensive starters arranged in a standard T formation. To the left are the headshots of each of the defensive starters, depicted in a standard 4-3 defensive formation.
Co-author Greg Tranter recalls fondly the serendipitous moment he acquired this interesting piece: “I spotted this item in 1988 at a shop outside of Fenway Park in Boston, of all places. This particular shop had many sports items behind the counter that were in rows that were hard to see. I happened to catch this out of the corner of my eye and asked the sales clerk if it was for sale. It was! It had dust all over it and probably had been there for the seventeen years since it was made. It was a great find in an unusual place.”
Indeed! And to find one in one great condition is even more unusual, since these cans, constructed of low-gauge tin, were highly susceptible to denting and rust. It’s certain, too, that many of these baskets found their way, rather appropriately, into the nearest dumpster once the dreadful 1971 season had mercifully ended.
Peter King of NBC's Football Morning In America wrote his reasoning why he left Antonio Brown off of his All-Pro ballot and that led to some online acrimony, not much of it justified, but whatever, King can vote for whomever he chooses.
Yesterday he posted his ballot for the AP All-Pro team:
As you can see he voted for Taysom Hill of the Saints, who we also picked as our special teams maven.
However, what we found odd is that Taysom Hill didn't get any votes for special teams, according to the AP release of January 4, 2019.
Hmmm.
About the same time as the King/Brown brouhaha, there was some consternation about Tyreek Hill getting six votes as a special teamer even though he only returned kicks and was not a coverage guy. The special teams player is almost always a core special teams player who covers kicks and punts.
Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk wrote this:
So, the obvious question is where did his Taysom Hill vote go? Was it omitted? Was it lumped in with Tyreek Hill's special team votes? If so, were there other votes that were meant for Taysom Hill tallied for Tyreek Hill?
We don't know but we do know Taysom Hill should have had at least one vote—Peter King's.
1/16/19 UPDATE: It turns out what we suspected was true, that the votes for Tyreek Hill were supposed to be for Taysom Hill. As per Pro Football Talk the response of the AP was as follows, "(A) “clerical mistake” made by the Associated Press after the ballots were submitted."
Was honored to have Steve Sabol write the foreword in my first book. He stated that I was able to tell stories using stats. Still attempting to do that, yet sometimes the numbers don't come out the way that I expected them to. Example you ask? Last year before championship Sunday my column stated that the team that scored the first touchdown wins 78% of the time. Then both the Vikings and Jaguars scored the first touchdown and lost.
Still, a win percentage that high is still a key factor. Let's see if the stat holds true this coming Sunday. There are folks who make predictions, and attempt to analyze the games each week—and a few of them actually know what they are talking about. This column is not about predictions, yet there are times when I feel strongly about which team will play well and win. Sent a number of emails last week stating emphatically that the Los Angeles Rams would be more physical and run the ball well against an over rated front seven of Dallas.
That said, for a moment let us review the games of last weekend overall, and define what aspect is most important to advance in the play-offs. The New Orleans Saints offense moved the chains to record 25 first downs last Sunday, and the 25 is the least amount of first downs by any of the winning teams. Kansas City had 29, while the Patriots and Rams had 30. The winning teams last weekend combined to gain 745 yards rushing, while the losers gained just 205. So, running is key to victory? No, no, and no. Moving the chains is key to victory.
We all know it is a passing league, and the four winning quarterbacks last Sunday are all viewed as top-notch; possibly great. Having coached for much of my life can tell you that a balanced offense that DICTATES to the defense is a key to victory. The final component is one that everyone talks about yet is almost impossible to predict; TURNOVERS. Drew Brees turned the ball over first play of the game, and the Saints did not turn it over again the rest of the game. The Chiefs turned the ball over once also, but again the Rams & Patriots stand at the head of the class—NO TURNOVERS. For those of us who having no "rooting" interest we want to see quality competitive football on championship Sunday, and hopefully we will get it.
There will be lots of analysis of the teams during the week, yet for me the history is still most interesting. After the merger the Chiefs played the Patriots just three times during the decade of the '70's and just once in the '80's. These two teams have never really had a rivalry, yet one game between the two still stands out to me, and if you can see the footage of this game you will understand why. Friday night November the 3rd, 1961 the Dallas Texans are at Nickerson Field to play the Boston Patriots. Boston wins with a goal-line stand when a fan dashes into the end zone to help "break up" a Texan pass play. Rest assured that won't happen Sunday evening against the Chiefs.
The merger brought about the alignment of what teams were to be placed in what division. Rozelle and his staff did an admirable job with the exception of the NFC West. San Francisco and Los Angeles; a no brainer, got to have them together, but placing Atlanta and New Orleans in the west always struck me as strange. So, the Rams played the Saints twice a year for a many years, and though there were a few memorable games, only ONCE have they met in the post season. Faulk and Bruce shined as receivers that day for the St. Louis Rams, but New Orleans led late. The Saints punt, and Az-Zahir-Hakim muffs the ball, and the Saints take possession with less than two minutes left. We all have thoughts on what is most important, and would relish hearing from all of you. What is the number one factor in the games this Sunday? Rushing? Passing? Sacks? Turnovers? Or a fan dashing into the end zone to break up a pass play?
In the 1970s there were quite a few All-Pro guards and there was stiff competition for the All-Pro and Pro Bowl slots, and often Bob Kuechneberg was overlooked, though he did garner some post-season honors—Just not as many as Larry Little, Tom Mack, Joe DeLamielleure, Gene Upshaw and John Hannah (all Hall of Famers).
Still, many of those, namely Joe D and Hannah will say to this day that it was Bob Keuchenberg they patterned their styles after. The will cite his run blocking, trap blocking and pass protection as being ideal. "Kooch" kept his balance at all times and wouldn't lunge and "whiff" on a defender. He was a technically proficient guard and that will always be his legacy since he's yet to be voted to the Hall of Fame.
Kuechenberg passed away yesterday at age 71.
He also leaves a legacy of playing hurt, having stepped on the field with a broken arm and even with a fracture in his back. He also had quite a few other things for which he can be remembered
From 1970 through 1983 the Dolphins running backs averaged 4.29 yards per carry. That is Number 1 in the NFL for that 14-year period. In that same exact time frame, the Dolphins allowed the fewest number of sacks in the NFL (1.86 sacks allowed per game).
During that same period, the Dolphins had the best winning percentage in professional sports (70.3%) and went to four Super Bowls, winning two.
During that same period, Kuechenberg graded out in film sessions as #1 or #2 every year, according to Kooch.
Not that the season has ended, it allows us to update various charts we keep. In this case, it's the yards from scrimmage per 16 games by running backs. He cut it off at 40 games which is about three seasons or so in the old days.
We thank Pro Football Reference for the data, though we had to tweak it here and there:
Some players sustain their greatness for long periods of time, like Walter Payton for example. Others, like the Tyler Rose, only had about 3½ seasons of greatness and some other good years.
Credit to Pro Football Reference for charts:
From the beginning of 1978 through the first six weeks of 1981 Earl Campbell had rushed for 5779 yards with a 4.8 yards per carry average. His per-16 game average was 1778 yards and 15 touchdowns. It was about as good as you could find. Here are a couple of examples: Jim Brown, after 52 games totaled 5370 yards and Eric Dickerson slighty outdistanced Campbell with 5877 yards in his first 52 games.
However, there a wall was hit. His running style punished defenders but also took a toll on his own body. From week seven of 1981 to the end of his career his 16-game average was 921 yards a season and a 3.7 yards per carry average.
Here is a chart showing the most rushing yards after 52 games. (Interestingly Ezekiel Elliott is on the list even though he's only played 40 games. If he tears it up in the first 12 games of the 2019 season he has a chance to crack the top 5 on this list.
