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.

Lets Look At Jimmy Johnson’s Career

Jimmy Johnson, along with Barry Switzer, is one of only two people to have won both an NCAA football championship along with a Super Bowl championship. He’s had a long career on the sidelines and is currently employed analyzing football games for FOX on television. But, let’s take a look at his football career.

Earned the nickname “Jimmy Jumpup” while at the University of Arkansas where he was a teammate of future Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Johnson on a team that won the National Title.

1965: Louisiana Tech University - Assistant Coach
1966: Picayune Memorial High School – Picayune, MS – Assistant Coach
1967: Wichita State University – Assistant Coach
1968-69: Iowa State University – Assistant Coach
1970-72: University of Oklahoma – Defensive Line Coach
1973-76: University of Arkansas – Defensive Coordinator
1977-78: University of Pittsburgh – Assistant Coach
1979-83: Oklahoma State University – Head Coach
1984-88: University of Miami – Head Coach
1989-93: Dallas Cowboys – Head Coach
1996-99: Miami Dolphins – Head Coach

On the sidelines for eleven different teams over 35 years, Jimmy Johnson more than earned his chance to sit back and watch games with Howie Long and the boys on FOX TV.

The Interesting Career Of Steve Deberg

Steve Deberg has long been labeled a journeyman quarterback, but after 21 seasons spanning parts of three different decades, he was much more than that.

Steve Deberg was drafted in 1977 in the 10th round by the Dallas Cowboys, but started his career with the San Francisco 49ers. With Bill Walsh as his head coach, Steve Deberg is credited with being the first-ever “west coast offense” quarterback. The writing on the wall became clear when the 49ers drafted a young quarterback named Joe Montana and after four years with the team, Deberg moved on to a new team.

Deberg’s next career stop had him in Denver, the year the Broncos drafted a young quarterback named John Elway. Steve stayed with the Broncos for three seasons before joining the Buccaneers for the 1987 season.

The USFL had been an alternate pro football league in the mid 1980’s and after it disbanded, some of it’s star players joined the NFL teams that owned their rights. In Tampa Bay, this meant the arrival of Steve Young. Steve Deberg thus found himself backing up for a third future hall-of-famer in ten years. After Steve Young was moved to the 49ers, Tampa Bay drafted highly touted Vinny Testaverde. Having spent four seasons in Tampa Bay, Deberg now moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Finally in Kansas City, Deberg saw time as a starting quarterback and in three seasons there he led the team to the playoffs twice. It was with the Chiefs that he saw the best years of her career. After the 1991 season, Steve left the Chiefs and went back to the Buccaneers before spending a final season in 1993 with the Miami Dolphins.

But, this wasn’t the last the NFL would see of Steve Deberg. At the age of 44 and having been out of football for over two seasons, Steve came out of retirement to be a backup quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons (coached by Deberg’s former coach in Denver, Dan Reeves). Though he didn’t make it into the game, Steve Deberg is credited with being the oldest player included on the roster of a team in the Super Bowl when the Falcons made it to the big game in 1996.

Steve Deberg… not your everyday journeyman quarterback.

Lets Look At Jan Stenerud

Longtime Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker Jan Stenerud has had an interesting career path filled with tons of accomplishments that ended him up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Stenerud came to America from Norway on a ski jumping scholarship to Montana State University. While at MSU, Stenerud went out for the football team and with his “soccer style” way of kicking that was not yet popular in football, he promptly broke the record for longest field goal ever kicked when he booted a 59 yarder against the Bobcats big rival the University of Montana Grizzlies.

Stenefud played his first three seasons in pro football in the AFL until the Chiefs team he was on was included in the merger with the NFL. During his three seasons in the AFL he made 70% of his attempted field goals compared with all other listed kickers in both the AFL and NFL who averaged approximately 53%. Stenerud kicked three field goals in the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl IV victory over the Baltimore Colts. Stenerud would kick for the Chiefs through the 1979 season before joining the Green Bay Packers for three seasons, and then spending his last two seasons kicking for the Minnesota Vikings. When Stenerud retired following the 1985 season he was the last former AFL player still playing in the NFL. He would enter the Hall-of-Fame in 1991.

Some Jan Stenerud career highlights:

Six time Pro Bowl selection: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, and 1994
Ten time All Pro selection: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1984
Pro Bowl MVP: 1972
There are two other kickers in the Hall-of-Fame (George Blanda and Lou Groza), but Stenerud is the only full time kicker who didn’t play another position in the Hall-of-Fame.

A young man travels from Norway to the USA on a ski jumping scholarship and ends up in the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame!

Let’s Look At Tom Coughlin

Tom Coughlin, winning coach of Super Bowl XLII, has had a long and distinguished coaching career. Always known as a hard nosed disciplinarian, Coughlin’s tough outer shell has also earned him much respect and devotion from a select group of players.

• Tom Coughlin played wingback at Syracuse University in the late 1960’s. While there he set the record for number of passes caught in a season and was a teammate of one of the all time greats, Larry Csonka.

• Coughlin began his coaching career after one season as a graduate assistant at Syracuse with the head coaching position at Rochester Institute of Technology.

• Coughlin returned to Syracuse where he served as quarterbacks coach from 1974-75 and then as offensive coordinator from 1975-80.

• The years 1981-83 saw Tom Coughlin serve as the quarterbacks coach at Boston College.

• He made it to the NFL initially as the wide receivers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1984-85.

• He also coached the wide receivers for the Green Bay Packers from 1986-87.

• He then coached the wide receivers under Bill Parcells from 1988-90.

• In 1991, Coughlin returned to Boston College, this time as the head coach and he would stay there through the 1993 season.

• From 1995-2002, Tom Coughlin would be the first head coach of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars.

• After a year away from football, Coughlin would return in 2004 as head coach of the New York Giants.

In 2007, Coughlin working on a one-year extension contract, would lead the Giants to a Super Bowl victory over the up-until-then undefeated New England Patriots.

Tom Coughlin has definitely put his time in, with the exception of one season, coaching continuously from 1970 to 2007. He finally achieved the ultimate goal of every coach with a Super Bowl title in 2007.

Let’s Look At Jeff Garcia – No Respect

Now and then there are players, though they may not be the greatest players in the league, they are consistent and put up good numbers while experiencing at least a decent amount of success. Some of these players, though moderately successful, end up seeming to not get the respect they deserve. One of these players is Jeff Garcia.

Jeff Garcia played collegiate football at San Jose State University, not exactly Quarterback U., though it has produced a number of NFL players. After his senior season, Garcia found himself undrafted and unsigned by the NFL and went to the Canadian Football League seeking employment.

In the CFL, Garcia was signed by the Calgary Stampeders and won a job as the third string quarterback backing up Doug Flutie and second string quarterback Steve Taylor. In 1995, Doug Flutie went down to an injury and Jeff Garcia was named the starting quarterback. In Garcia’s second game filling in for Flutie he threw for 546 yards and six touchdowns against Edmonton, setting a Calgary Stampeder record for passing yards in a game. Flutie left Calgary to sign with the Toronto Argonauts for the 1996 season and Garcia was named the team’s starter. The Stampeders’ record during Garcia’s three seasons as the starting quarterback was 35 wins with 19 losses. Garcia would lead the Stampeders to the postseason in all three of his years as the starting quarterback, winning the Grey Cup (championship of the Canadian Football League) in 1998, and earning the Grey Cup MVP in the process.

Garcia was signed by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers for the 1998 season to backup Steve Young. After Young received a concussion during the early part of the 1999 season, Garcia stepped in to finish out the year as the 49ers starting quarterback. In Garcia’s first full year as the 49ers starting quarterback (2000) he made the Pro Bowl and set the team record for most passing yards in a season (4,278 yards), though the 49ers would finish with a record of 6-10. Garcia would quarterback the team to the playoffs in the 2001 and 2002 seasons and once again make it to the Pro Bowl in both seasons. In a playoff game against the New York Giants following the 2002 season, Garcia led the 49ers to the largest comeback in NFL playoff history when they scored 25 unanswered points in the final 18 minutes of the game to win the game by a score of 39-38. The 2003 season saw Garcia hampered by back injuries and due to salary cap considerations he was not resigned following the season.

The 2004 and 2005 seasons saw Garcia put up decidedly sub-par seasons with the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions respectively. Garcia’s one season with the Browns had few highlights and was decidedly inconsistent. Following his year in Cleveland, Garcia’s one season in Detroit was spoiled with further injury complications. The 2006 season saw Garcia play with his fourth team in four years when he signed on to be Donovan McNabb’s backup in Philadelphia. Continuing a consistent theme in Garcia’s career, McNabb would soon go down with an injury and Garcia would step in and excel in his absence leading the Eagles to five wins in six games and making the playoffs. After beating the Giants in the playoffs and then losing to the Saints, the Eagles decided to offer a contract to quarterback A.J. Feeley instead of Garcia and he was left to find a fifth team in five years.

Jeff Garcia latched on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was given a shot to win the starting quarterback job, which he did. Through 11 games in the 2007 season Garcia has a QB Rating of 96.0 and has thrown for 11 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions.

Garcia has experienced success in the CFL including winning the MVP of the Championship Game, he’s experienced success in the NFL with numerous Pro Bowl appearances and team records, yet continues to be released from teams that could benefit from his services. Jeff Garcia, a fine quarterback who gets a lack of respect considering his accomplishments.

The big story in the sports world today is the death of Washington Redskins defensive back Sean Taylor.

Sean Taylor burst onto the NFL scene out of the University of Miami and although there were problems with agents and contract negotiations early on, when he stepped on the field he made his presence known.

During Taylor’s rookie year he finished second on the team in interceptions even though he saw limited action in the team’s first two games. He also had an impressive 86 tackles and one sack.

During 2005, Taylor’s second year in the NFL, he had two interceptions and returned a fumble for a touchdown. He had an unfortunate incident in the Redskins’ playoff victory against the Buccaneers where he spit on Bucs running back Michael Pittman that garnered a lot of negative press and overshadowed his season.

The 2006 season saw Taylor lead the Redskins in tackles with an amazing 129, though his interception total dropped to just one. He ended up making the pro bowl as an alternate and when starter Brian Dawkins of the Eagles couldn’t play, Taylor saw his first and only action as a Pro-Bowl football player.

During his fourth NFL season Sean Taylor was tied for the league lead in interceptions and appeared to be on his way to another pro bowl appearance. Having spent weeks 11 and 12 unable to play due to injury, Taylor was at his home in Florida when an apparent intruder shot him. Sean Taylor passed away the next day while in the hospital.

Sean Taylor: April 1, 1983 - November 27, 2007

Let’s Look At “Fast” Willie Parker

Willie Parker has burst onto the scene in a short amount of time and made his presence known, not only for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but in the entire NFL. Though small in stature, he stands 5 feet 10 inches tall, his speed and quickness have proven to be a big factor in his ability to excel in the NFL.

Willie Parker’s first year in the NFL was 2004 and he became the starting running back in 2005. He was named NFL Player of the Week twice during the 2005 season, and helped the Steelers reach the Super Bowl. In Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks following the 2005 season, Willie Parker set the record for longest touchdown run in Super Bowl history when he ran 75 yards to put the Steelers ahead 14-3 in the second quarter.

In 2006, Willie Parker became the first Steelers running back to have two 200+ yard rushing games in one year. He went on to rush for over 1,400 yards for the season, proving that he in fact is the real deal.

Willie Parker has accomplished an amazing amount in a very short time. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that as thorough as NFL teams scout the available college talent, in 2004 after graduating from the University of North Carolina, Willie Parker was not picked by any team.

Steve Smith

The dangerous and diminutive wide receiver of the Carolina Panthers is often overlooked… well, was until he burst onto the scene during the 2003 Carolina Panthers run to the Super Bowl.

Smith was drafted in the third round out of the University of Utah where he’d been a star receiver for the Utes for two years. Smith only played his junior and senior years at the University of Utah as he’d begun his college career at Santa Monica College (where he happened to be teammates with future NFL star Chad Johnson… not a bad pair of junior college wide receivers!).

Steve Smith was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 2001 NFL Draft. Smith’s first season was a quiet one as he only caught ten passes for just over 150 yards, but he did show glimpses of a bright future by leading the NFL in kickoff return yardage and going to the Pro Bowl. He showed noticeable improvement during his second season when he caught 54 passes for 872 yards and three touchdowns. The 2003 season saw Smith prove himself with his first season with over 1,000 yards receiving, he also scored seven touchdowns as the Panthers made it all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to the Patriots.

Smith’s 2004 season was cut short in the opening game against the Green Bay Packers when he suffered a leg injury and would sit out the remainder of the season on injured reserve. He came back strong in 2005 posting his best season ever and leading the league in pass receptions (tie), receiving yards, and touchdown receptions (tie). 2005 would also see the Panther again push deep into the playoffs before losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. In a second round playoff game against the Chicago Bears, Smith would catch 12 balls for 218 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith would start the 2006 season with a hamstring injury, among other small problems, but will still go on to post his third 1,000 yard + season. Even with missing two games and being banged up, he would still manage to finish in the top ten in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Steve Smith wasn’t recruited by a major college when he graduated from University High School in Los Angeles, and earned a scholarship to a division I college only after first playing football at a junior college. He has gone on to prove just what hard work, talent, and a big heart can do for a young athlete who is not thought of as highly as others.

Some interesting facts about Steve Smith:

• Steve Smith is one of three players in the history of the NFL to run back two punts for touchdowns and also catch a touchdown pass in the same game (the other two are Jermaine Lewis and Devin Hester).

• In the 2003 post season, Steve Smith gained a total of 403 yards.  This was the most gained by anyone in the post season since Jerry Rice had gained 409 yards in 1988.

•  During the 2005 season, Steve Smith became the first player since Art Monk in 1984 to lead the league in receiving yards even though his team ran more than it passed.