Green Bay Packer fans won’t have to wait long to see new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a high pressure game. Rodgers leads the Packers in the Monday Night Football opener against the rival Minnesota Vikings. In a blast from the past, for years the Raiders and Broncos have had one of the more storied rivalries (especially for west coast fans) and they would seemingly always play a nationally televised game every year against each other. Last year, for the first time in a long time it didn’t happen. But Denver travels to Oakland this year to play in the second of two Monday Night Football games on the opening week of the season.

Former Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Ray Roberts is going into the Hall-of-Fame. Not the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame, but the WNC (Western North Carolina) Hall-of-Fame. Local sports Hall-of-Fames are great traditions in this country where you can find underappreciated athletes from all over heralded for their professional and often times pre-professional athletic accomplishments and careers. Roberts is currently 38 years old and the head coach at Lake Washington High School in Washington State.

Chuck Knox and the 1970s Los Angeles Rams

Perhaps one of the most underrated teams during the 1970s, the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams led by head coach Chuck Knox were a force to be reckoned with. In his five years as head coach of the Rams from 1973-1977, the Rams won their division (the NFC West) each year with a different starting quarterback: John Hadl, Ron Jaworski, Pat Haden, James Harris, and Joe Namath. He compiled an impressive regular season record of 54-15-1 and made it to the NFC Championship Game on three different occasions, only to lose each one. He resigned following the 1977 season in anticipation of Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom firing him based on his 3-5 career playoff record with the team.

Terry Bradshaw in the Movies

Terry Bradshaw, besides being a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and an NFL commentator, also has been active in television and the movies. Here is a look at his film career.

1978 – Hooper
1981 – Cannonball Run
1981 – The Stockers (TV Movie)
1985 – Hardcastle & McCormick (1 Episode)
1994 – The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (2 Episodes)
1994 – Blossom (1 Episode)
1995 – Brotherly Love (1 Episode)
2000 – King of the Hill (1 Episode)
2002 – Malcolm in the Middle (1 Episode)
2002 – 8 Simple Rules… for Dating My Teenaged Daughter (1 Episode)
2005 – Robots
2006 – Failure to Launch
2006 – Relative Chaos (TV Movie)

Let’s Look At The 10,000 Yard Rushers

We’re going to take a look at running backs who have managed to rush for more than 10,000 yards in their careers. Having a 10,000 yard rushing career in professional football is the sign of a very good, if not great running back. Three kinds of running backs achieve 10,000 yards rushing in their careers: the very good who have a long career, the great who excel for a shorter amount of time, and the great who also have a long career. Through the end of the 2007 season there have been 23 players to gain over 10,000 yards in a season, and they are (in alphabetical order):

Marcus Allen – Raiders, Chiefs
Ottis Anderson – Cardinals, Giants
Tiki Barber – Giants
Jerome Bettis – Rams, Steelers
Jim Brown – Browns
Eric Dickerson – Rams, Colts, Raiders, Falcons
Corey Dillon – Bengals, Patriots
Tony Dorsett – Cowboys, Broncos
Warrick Dunn – Buccaneers, Falcons
Marshall Faulk – Colts, Rams
Eddie George – Oilers/Titans, Cowboys
Franco Harris – Steelers, Seahawks
Edgerrin James – Colts, Cardinals
Curtis Martin – Patriots, Jets
Walter Payton – Bears
John Riggins – Jets, Redskins
Barry Sanders – Lions
O.J. Simpson – Bills, 49ers
Emmitt Smith – Cowboys, Cardinals
Fred Taylor – Jaguars
Thurman Thomas – Bills, Dolphins
LaDainian Tomlinson – Chargers
Ricky Watters – 49ers, Eagles, Seahawks

There are three active running backs who have gained over 10,000 rushing yards in their careers: Edgerrin James, Fred Taylor, and LaDainian Tomlinson.

Only one player has gained over 10,000 rushing yards while playing their career in the 1950s and 60s: Jim Brown.

Only four players have gained over 10,000 rushing yards while playing a large part of their career in the 1970s: Franco Harris, Walter Payton, John Riggins and O.J. Simpson.

Only one team has had as many as three 10,000 yard rushers on their roster: The Dallas Cowboys (Tony Dorsett, Emmitt Smith, and Eddie George).

Baylor University has a long football tradition that their fans are justifiably proud of. Many quality college football players have come through the system and some have moved on to have exceptional careers in the National Football League as well. Baylor has made a good showing for itself, especially when you consider the football powerhouses that are located geographically close to Baylor, as well as the fact that Baylor is the only private school playing in it’s conference (the Big 12) and is smaller than most of the large state universities it plays against.

Well over 150 players have played football at Baylor University and gone on to the pros, let’s look at some of the great football players who have worn those instantly recognizable Baylor football jerseys in the past and gone on to play football on Sundays in the NFL:

Walter Abercrombie
Cody Carlson
Ray Crockett
Santana Dotson
James Francis
Dennis Gentry
Bobby Lane
Vann McElroy
Gerald McNeil
Frank Pollard
Reyna Thompson

And, who could forget Pro Football Hall-of-Famer: Mike Singletary

Baylor football fans have much to be proud of from their past, and their future looks bright and secure as well.

Go Bears!

1985 Bears Dominate The Patriots

Here is a stat showing how badly the 1985 Chicago Bears dominated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. In the entire first half, the Patriots ran 21 offensive plays. They only gained positive yardage on four of those 21 plays. 17 plays were run in the first half by New England that either went for no gain or for loss of yards. That is a pretty outstanding defensive performance.

The 1984 USA Olympic Gold Medal 4×100 Relay Team

This is a football fact and trivia site, what has it got to do with the 1984 USA Olympic 4×100 relay team that won the gold medal? Well, there is a 50% reason it does apply to the world of football. The most famous member of that relay team was United States track and field legend Carl Lewis. Another famous member of that relay team was Calvin Smith who was a two-time World Champion sprinter and is generally acknowledged as one of the best sprinters of the 1980s, who was unfortunately overshadowed by Carl Lewis. What about the other two members of the relay team? Ron Brown was also on the relay team and after the Olympics he went on to play wide receiver in the NFL from 1984 through 1991 with the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders. The other member of the 1984 Olympic 4×100 relay team also spent time in the NFL; Sam Graddy played wide receiver during the 1987 & 1988 seasons with the Denver Broncos and the 1990 through 1992 seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders.

Here is a great resource for anyone in any kind of business. Vista Printing is one of the oldest and most successful online printing companies and they have a very cool offer going on right now involving magnets. Promotional magnets are a great way to advertise and spread word about your business, and also have non-business uses too.

Some of the types of magnets offered:

Business Magnets
Business magnets are available in both large and small varieties and in different price packages. The small kind works great as a way to have a magnetic version of your business card while the large size works to advertise specials or general marketing information.

Calendar Magnets - Large
A very useful idea, a calendar magnet combines your marketing message with a tool that the recipient can use on a daily basis.

Photo Magnets – Large
Personalized magnets with photos of family and friends are a great item to pass out, especially around the holidays.

Personal Magnet – Small
Useful for distributing family photos, printing invitations, and other general as well as humorous uses.

A great selection of magnets coupled with fantastic prices makes this a nice opportunity to get some fun and useful marketing tools in an affordable way, and Vista Printing is a company with a reputation beyond repute.

The Shortest Quarterback Ever Selected To The Pro Bowl

Despite the fact that everyone thinks of a quarterback as a big, tall, strong-armed force to be reckoned with in the backfield, there have been some diminutive throwers in the league as well. Here’s a good bit of trivia though: Who was the shortest quarterback ever selected to the Pro Bowl? The answer is former Redskins and Cowboys quarterback Eddie LeBaron who made it to the Pro Bowl in 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1962. LeBaron measured in at a lofty 5 feet 7 inches tall.

One of the problems with giving jewelry as a gift is that many people, though they love it, feel guilty that such a sum was spent on a largely impractical gift. Apologies for the stereotype, but this is especially true for men.

That problem is solved with the purchase of one of the many available Seiko Watches that are on the market today. Take a particular look at the Seiko Sportura line of watches; Seiko has outdone themselves by creating a timepiece that is both classy and sporty at the very same time.

The gift of a classic watch is both stylish and practical, and sure to be welcomed by the gift receiver.

Back-To-Back 30+Touchdown Seasons

One of the best things about some statistical lists is seeing names that you wouldn’t at first think belong alongside the names of the game’s all-time-greats. One example of that is the list of quarterbacks who have thrown for back-to-back seasons of thirty or more touchdown passes.

The expected names on that list:

Y.A. Tittle (Hall-of-Fame)
Dan Fouts (Hall-of-Fame)
Dan Marino (Hall-of-Fame)
Brett Favre (Future Hall-of-Fame)
Peyton Manning (Future Hall-of-Fame)

The two names you may not expect?

Steve Bartkowski
Bartkowski played virtually his whole career on sub-par Atlanta Falcons teams but still put up consistently good numbers; making it to two Pro Bowls and leading the league in quarterback rating during the 1983 season. Bartkowski was also drafted with the number one pick overall in the 1975 NFL Draft.

Jeff Garcia
Garcia has journeyed around the NFL finding it hard to land a steady quarterbacking job despite experience a relative amount of success at every stop he’s had. Garcia was undrafted out of San Jose State and played in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders from 1994 to 1998. Garcia went on to play for the 49ers from 1999 to 2003, making three consecutive Pro Bowls and setting the 49ers record for most passing yards in a season duting the 2000 season with 4,278. Since his time with the 49ers, Garcia has played for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Though it is a hard to achieve accomplishment, back-to-back 30+touchdown seasons, even Steve Bartkowski and Jeff Garcia can get their names listed alongside the likes of Dan Marino and Peyton Manning.

Here are some little known facts about the San Diego Chargers. Okay, some may be known or guessable, but we’ll try and give you something you may not have known before about the Chargers quarterbacks through history.

The quarterback who has led the Chargers in passing the most consecutive years is obvious… Dan Fouts. From 1978 through the 1987 season, a total of ten years, Dan Fouts was the passing leader for this team that was known to throw the ball more than just a little bit. But, if it were not for James Harris leading the team in passing in 1977, Fouts’ record would’ve been even more impressive as he was also the Chargers leading passer from 1973-1976.

In a close second to that team record is former quarterback John Hadl who led the Chargers in passing in each season from 1964 through 1972, for a total of nine consecutive seasons. But, who is in third place in that department? Not quite as legendary, but in third place falls former Chargers quarterback Stan Humphries who led the team in passing from 1992 through 1997 for a total of six seasons.

The Chargers have been around for just shy of forty seasons, so here is an interesting bit of info… how many different quarterbacks have led the Chargers team in passing for only one season. This is an interesting thought… it could be a backup who got a chance to start because of an injury, it could be a free agent that didn’t work out, it could be a highly touted rookie that didn’t pan out, or any number of other reasons. But, the answer is: 10. Ten times in the Chargers history has a quarterback led the team in passing over the course of a season and then never done it again.

Those ten quarterbacks and the years they did it:

1963 - Tobin Rote
1977 - James Harris
1988 - Mark Malone
1989 - Jim McMahon
1990 - Billy Joe Tolliver
1991 - John Friesz
1998 - Craig Whelihan
1999 - Jim Harbaugh
2000 - Ryan Leaf
2001 - Doug Flutie

With Phillip Rivers at the helm, it seems like the Chargers quarterbacking duties are sewn up for awhile… but, you never know.

Let’s Look At Rod Smith

The Denver Broncos’ Rod Smith has somewhat quietly put together a great career as a wide receiver. Let’s take a look at some of his accomplishments.

Through the 2006 season, Rod Smith has gained over 1,000 yards on eight different occasions. He has won two Super Bowl rings (1997 and 1998) and led the league in receptions in 2001. In Super Bowl XXXIII, Rod Smith had five receptions for 152 yards. Smith also holds Broncos records for career receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Rod Smith also holds the Broncos franchise record for most yards gained from scrimmage. Smith is also ranked in the top 20 all time in the NFL for career receptions and career receiving yards.

Now, the most amazing fact about Denver Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith: He graduated from Missouri Southern State University in 1994… and no NFL team drafted him. Every team, including the Broncos, passed on Rod Smith numerous times and he still went on to accomplish all those feats.

He currently holds the record for the most receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns by a player who did not get drafted during the NFL Draft.