Trent Green has been named the starting quarterback of the St. Louis Rams. Why does that sound familiar?

The year was 1999 and head coach Dick Vermeil had been having trouble getting the Rams to win games after he had spent 15 years in the broadcaster booth. In 1997, the Rams had posted a record of 5-11 and had followed it up with an even worse record of 4-12 the next year in 1998. After tiring of their quarterback situation which had consisted of starter Tony Banks and backups Mark Rypien and Steve Bono respectively during the previous two seasons, the Rams had signed one of the exciting up and coming young quarterbacks in the offseason when they inked free agent Trent Green to a four year contract.

Then it all came apart during preseason when Green went down to a knee injury. The team was devastated and was forced to turn to former third string quarterback Kurt Warner. The year progressed magically as Warner led the Rams to the playoffs and then a Super Bowl victory, being named MVP of the NFL and the Super Bowl along the way.

After coming back from the injury, Green would spend one more year with the Rams before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs who by then would be coached by none other than Dick Vermeil. Green put up some incredible numbers with the Chiefs, in fact passing for more yards from 2002-2004 than any other player playing during those seasons. He would eventually play six seasons with the Chiefs before moving on to play one season with the Miami Dolphins. That one season in Miami would be painful though when Green went down to another season ending injury.

Now Green finds himself back on the Rams roster, and thanks to disappointing performances from the offense in the first three games… he is now the starter. Maybe this time around will go better, it couldn’t go much worse.

But, How Good Was Joe Namath?

Ever since the New York Jets traded for Brett Favre, much has been said that this gives the Jets their best quarterback since Joe Namath. Joe Namath is a borderline mythical figure in football history. His prediction of a Super Bowl win and then following through with it went a long way in establishing the legitimacy of the old AFL teams. But, how good was Joe Namath?

Joe Namath is a five time Pro Bowler and a member of the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame. 1968 was Namath’s best year, in that year he was the Super Bowl MVP, the player of the year, and also was a 1st-team All-Pro selection. He would go on to win the 1969 player of the year award and the 1974 comeback player of the year.

But, Joe Namath wasn’t the picture of success that history now seems to paint him to be. The Jets record in games started by Joe Namath was exactly .500, sitting at 61-61-0. In his 13 seasons in professional football, Namath only had four seasons in which he led his team to a better than .500 record (1967, 1968, 1969, 1972).

Some other facts about Joe Namath:

-He led the league in interceptions on four different occasions, and was only the league leader in touchdown receptions one time.

-Though he did throw 173 touchdowns in his career, he also threw 220 interceptions.

-In only two of his 13 professional football seasons did he throw more touchdowns than interceptions.

It is quite possible that Brett Favre is not the best quarterback the Jets have had since Joe Namath, but simply the best quarterback that the Jets have ever had.

Pat Tillman was both an American hero and a football hero. The circumstances surrounding his death while a member of the military in Afghanistan are still in dispute. Here is the latest article from the Washington Post regarding this tragedy.

Green Bay Packers running back Ryan Grant isn’t participating in team functions right now. He’s not practicing or anything else, but why? It seems he is sitting out and looking for a new contract.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a big surprise a few days ago for his offensive linemen. Tom Brady has been named honorary chairman and celebrity ambassador for the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port. In the spirit of the Best Buddies program, Brady presented his offensive linemen: Matt Light, Stephan Neal, Dan Koppen, Logan Mankins and Nick Kaczur, with brand new Audi Q7 SUVs. It was also announced that at this year’s charity auction to support the Best Buddies program Tom Brady’s current vehicle, an Audi S8 will be auctioned off.

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.

Star wide receiver Javon Walker has signed via free agency with the Oakland Raiders. What kind of impact will this make on a team who has gone through big name wide receivers lately at the same rate newborn babies go through diapers?

If Walker can prove that he is 100% healthy after coming off the injury that made him miss almost the full season last year then this move could prove decent for the Raiders. The problem remains that Javon Walker cannot play quarterback or defensive line, so while he may help the receiving game he doesn’t provide any immediate relief for the Raiders glaring holes.

In week 9 of the 2007 NFL season, Ryan Grant helped lead the Green Bay Packers to a 34-0 win over the Minnesota Vikings. The game was supposed to be another highlight show by stud Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, but Peterson left the game due to an injury.

The Packers are now 8-1, a far cry from what they were predicted to do this season. Many of the negative predictions on the Packers season were due to their lack of a reliable running game. Green Bay has been searching for a rushing attack all season, although it hasn’t stopped them from winning games. Undrafted free agent Ryan Grant started today’s game after showing some promise in the last game. He finished with 25 carries for 119 yards (a 4.8 yards per carry average) and one touchdown on a 30 yard run.

Is Ryan Grant the answer to the Packers running back needs? It’s way too early to say that, but the NFL has proven before that you do not have to be a highly drafted running back to make an impact in the league. Jets and Patriots running back Curtis Martin was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft and will most likely go to the hall-of-fame. Denver Broncos great Terrell Davis was drafted in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL Draft and had some of the most productive seasons ever in the league. The Cowboys have found a great young back in Marion Barber and he was drafted in the 4th round of the 2005 draft. But, what about undrafted running backs?

Two running backs got the start this week and have had successful careers but were also not drafted in the NFL Draft.

Priest Holmes, Kansas City Chiefs
Holmes is coming back from injuries and gets the start in place of an injured Larry Brown for the Chiefs. Until the Seahawks‘ Shaun Alexander (and then later LaDainian Tomlinson of the Chargers) broke his record, Priest Holmes had scored more rushing touchdowns in one season than anyone in history.

Willie Parker, Pittsburgh Steelers
“Fast Willie” has come out of nowhere (okay, really out of the University of North Carolina) and been a nice featured back for the Pittsburgh Steelers since his second season. He has two 1,000+ yard seasons and even made the Pro Bowl in 2006.

With all the advances in scouting these days, it is harder to find that diamond in the rough during the NFL Draft than it used to be. But, they’re still out there - and hey, Ryan Grant could be the next star running back to have been passed on by every team in the NFL Draft.

Brett Favre is now the record holder for the most touchdown passes in a career after passing Dan Marino. He’s also known as the Ironman of football because he hasn’t missed a game in centuries (well, it just seems that long), but there is more to Favre - let’s take a look at some facts about Brett Favre’s career.

The fewest TD passes Favre has thrown in a year is 18 and he’s done it twice, his first season in Green Bay, and then the disastrous 2006 season.

Since coming to Green Bay in 1992 from the Atlanta Falcons and through the 2006 season Brett has never thrown for less than 3,000 yards in a year. In fact, his lowest total of yards he’s thrown for is 3,227… again, that was in his first year with the team.

Through 2006, Brett Favre has thrown for more than 30 touchdowns in a season in more than half the seasons (8 out of 15) that he has quarterbacked the Packers.

In the first 7 seasons as quarterback for Green Bay, Brett ran for 11 touchdowns - in the next 8 seasons he only ran for 2.

From 1992 to 2005, 14 seasons, Brett Favre was always in the top ten in touchdown passes.

Brett Favre, truly an all-time great and certain first ballot hall-of-famer. Congratulations Brett!

But, let’s end this with a humorous Brett Favre stat…

During 1991, Brett Favre’s only season with the Atlanta Falcons these were his throwing stats:
0 Completions - 4 Attempts - 0 Touchdowns - 2 Interceptions

Sean Salisbury has gone from USC, to the CFL, to the NFL, and finally to the movies and ESPN… but now he’s getting his jersey retired… his high school jersey. No one will ever wear ol’ number 12 again at Orange Glen High School!

Thanks to the The Fanhouse for this info!