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Posts Tagged ‘Nfl Career’

The Chicago Bears are one of the most storied franchises in NFL history. The team was there at the birth of the National Football League and though they have experienced up and down levels of success and failure, they have always remained one of the more popular teams in the league. The Bears have had some of the most famous players in the league throughout their history; Gale Sayers, Dick Butkis, Walter Payton, Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, Brian Urlacher, and more. One area though that the Bears have consistently struggled with is their starting quarterback. The Bears quarterbacks through the years have experienced varying levels of success, but even at their most successful, the team has rarely had a quarterback that would qualify as a superstar in the league.

In terms of individual success, the most successful quarterback in the history of Chicago Bears was Sid Luckman. Sid Luckman came out of Columbia University in 1939 and proved himself worthy of fan support during his entire twelve year NFL career. He would finish his career having led the league in passing yards and touchdown passes on three different occasions. Though his durability was sometimes in question, there was only one season in which he started every game the team played, his level of play never was. With Luckman at the Helm, the Chicago Bears would win four NFL Championships. To this day, he is still the Chicago Bears’ career leader in most passing categories.

Following Sid Luckman was a hard job, and that job fell on the shoulders of Johnny Lujack. Lujack was only in the league for four years and was only the starting quarterback of the Bears for three of them (1949-51). In his first full season as the Bears’ starter he led the league in pass completions, pass attempts, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. Three years later, he was out of the league and next up was future Pro Football Hall of Famer George Blanda. Blanda would go on to play twenty six seasons in professional football, but only the next few as the starting quarterback of the Bears.

The Bears would then gain a little more stability at the quarterback position when in 1955 the reins of the team were turned over to Ed Brown. Brown would remain the main quarterback of the Bears for six seasons before moving on to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1962. Though Brown kept the job for six seasons, those seasons were far from the most successful in franchise history.

Chicago would return to the top of the league after this rough patch by working a trade with the Los Angeles Rams that would bring quarterback Billy Wade to the Windy City. Wade would be the starting quarterback for the Bears for just four seasons, but in 1963 he would help the team achieve a record of 11-1-2 and win the championship of the league.

Over the next seventeen seasons, from 1965 through 1981, the Chicago Bears would not have anyone be their primary starting quarterback for more than three seasons. The list of starting quarterbacks that would go through the Chicago Bears revolving door include Rudy Bukich, Jack Concannon, Virgil Carter, Bobby Douglass, Gary Huff, Bob Avellini, Mike Phipps, and Vince Evans. This long period of instability at the quarterback position would echo the team’s long period of ineffectiveness during this time. During this seventeen year stretch, the Bears only had three seasons with an above .500 record.

The 1982 season opened with a number of changes, the team was now under the leadership of head coach Mike Ditka, and starting at the quarterback position was the soon to be legendary Jim McMahon. The Bears would rebound from futility and in 1985 they flirted with a perfect record until the last game of the season. Though McMahon never led the league in any major passing category, he was an integral part of the team and helped to give them some of the attitude that made them one of the dominant football teams during the 1980s. As the 1980s came to an end, the Bears would transition Mike Tomczak from backup to starter for a year before handing the team’s starting quarterback position over to Jim Harbaugh. The first two seasons with Harbaugh at the helm, the Bears would record back-to-back 11-5 records before slumping to back-to-back below .500 seasons.

Following Jim Harbaugh’s tenure as the starting quarterback of the Bears, the team would again repeat their previous pattern of having a seemingly endless cycle of quarterbacks be put into the role of team leader. Starting games for them at the quarterback position over the next fourteen seasons would be Steve Walsh, Erik Kramer, Dave Krieg, Rick Mirer, Steve Stenstrom, Moses Moreno, Shane Matthews, Cade McNown, Jim Miller, Chris Chandler, Henry Burris, Kordell Stewart, Chad Hutchinson, Craig Krenzel, Jonathan Quinn, Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, and Brian Griese.

Looking back at the history of the starting quarterbacks of the Chicago Bears it is easy to see that their most successful time as a team came during stretches where they had relative stability at the starting quarterback position. It isn’t necessary to win in the NFL to have a superstar quarterback, but being able to field a quarterback that has experience and is comfortable within the scheme the team runs is a must. As of right now, the Chicago Bears search for stability at the quarterback position continues.

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The Brett Favre Saga continues. On July 23, 2008 it was reported that the National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell has now ordered the Green Bay Packers General Manager Ted Thompson to finally come up with a resolution to the unfortunate standoff between the Green Bay Packers and their retired, then un-retired star quarterback Brett Favre.

It has been made clear by Thompson that the team is fully committed to proceeding as planned, without Brett Favre as the starting quarterback. The Packers main intention right now is to start a completely untested in the NFL quarterback by the name of Aaron Rodgers; this is instead of openly taking back the 3 time National Football League Most Valuable Player Brett Favre.

It is somewhat understandable how frustrating it must be for the Green Bay Packers to have accepted the retirement of Favre as an understandable and logical decision, only to have him come back a few months later and announce that he has changed his mind and wants to continue to play professional football. There was no animosity on either side; it was just time for the 38 year old star quarterback to complete his NFL career. Unfortunately this decision was probably not as well thought out as it should have been. To announce your un-retirement just months after your retirement is a bit of an unsettling move for all involved. This is currently the center of what has become known as the Brett Favre Saga.

It is understandable that the Green Bay Packers National Football League franchise is first and foremost a business. To run a successful business many plans are carefully laid out and each portion of a plan affects other portions of the plan as well as other plans which are all in the grand scheme of things. In order to devise and test ideas and plans it takes money, and in the case of big business on a scale such as this it takes big money. To simply erase all the planning and arranging would certainly be a huge financial waste. And the fact that the beginning of the 2008 National Football League season is just around the corner certainly does not help matters.

The fact that Brett Favre has had such an outstanding career and has accomplished so much on such a grand scale is actually the other side of this coin. To choose to go with a whole new direction and offensive leader at this time, when the quarterback who led a thirteen and three regular season finish just last year is ready and willing to step back into the role of offensive leader, is highly questionable. This is questionable even when you consider the business and financial side of things.

To add to the unpleasantness of this whole situation, known as the Brett Favre Saga, the Green Bay Packers have now filed tampering charges against the Minnesota Vikings NFL team franchise. This is apparently the result of Brett having used his team issued cell phone to communicate with the Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress on several occasions apparently in order to discuss the possibility of him joining the Vikings as their starting quarterback for the 2008 NFL season.

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Warren Moon’s stats standout among other quarterbacks in National Football League (NFL). However, the achievements from his 17-year NFL career showcase a man’s determination and grit to achieve his goal. Moon became the first player inducted into both the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame. He is the first undrafted player, and the first modern African American quarterback inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Though his path to achieving success was unconventional, Warren Moon’s stats speak for themselves.

As an undrafted quarterback from the University of Washington, Moon played five years in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Edmonton Eskimos before heading to the NFL. In the CFL Moon’s stats were impressive, leading him to the league’s Most Valuable Player award his final season with the Eskimos. He led his team to five consecutive Grey Cup victories. Moon was the Offensive Most Valuable Player in the 1980 and 1982 games. He’s listed as the #5 greatest player in CFL history.

Upon entering the NFL, Moon signed with the Houston Oilers in 1984. His first year in the league he threw for a team record 3,338 yards as the team began utilizing his strong arm, and Moon began to excel as an NFL quarterback. The Oilers instituted the run and shoot offense, which seemed to be a perfect fit for Moon. In 1989, Moon was named the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, and the following year he was named AP Offensive Player of the Year and the UPI AFL-AFC Offensive MVP.

Statistically, 1990 was Moon’s best year as a NFL quarterback. He owned a quarterback rating of 96.8% for the year and completed 62% of his passes. Moon threw for career high 33 touchdowns that season, while throwing only 13 interceptions. He led the Oilers to a wildcard playoff loss against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Moon played for the Oilers for 10 seasons before shuffling around with the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs. He retired from football in 2001 after a 17-year career. At the time of his retirement, Moon ranked third all-time in NFL passing yards and fourth in touchdown passes. During his NFL career, Moon made nine pro-bowl appearances, and was the Pro Bowl MVP in 1997. His familiar number 1 jersey was retired by the Tennessee Titans in 1996. Moon’s legacy as a quarterback both in the CFL and NFL is immortalized in the numbers he posted:

Warren Moon’s stats (CFL & NFL):
o 5,357 pass completions for 70,553 yards
o 9,205 pass attempts
o 435 touchdowns

Warren Moon’s NFL Stats:
o 3,988 pass completions for 49,325 yards
o 291 passing touchdowns
o 1,736 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns
o A career quarterback rating of 80.9%
o 233 career interceptions

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Every year in the National Football League there are rookies that come out and make an impact on the league. Some of these rookies are one year wonders, while others turn out to be some of the brightest stars in the league.

So which rookies have the brightest future in the National Football League?

The list below states the top 5 rookies in the National Football League who have the best chance to help their teams for years to come.

5. Braylon Edwards – WR – Cleveland Browns

Braylon Edwards has shown in his short stint in the NFL that he has big play ability. Through 2 games, Edwards is averaging 24.6 Yards per catch, and already has an 80 yard TD catch on his belt. Edwards has the size, at 6-3, and the speed, 4.45 in the 40 yard dash, to be an excellent receiver in the NFL. To be really noticed though, he may need to get out of Cleveland. Edwards is not going to make it big time with Trent Dilfer throwing him the ball.

4. Mark Clayton – WR – Baltimore Ravens

Mark Clayton has performed well enough through only 2 weeks, that he has been named as a starting wideout for week 3. Clayton has made 7 catches as a backup through 2 weeks, and has shown the type of ability that made him the 22nd pick in the draft. He is very dangerous when he gets the ball in his hands, and has shown that he is an outstanding all-around receiver (excellent blocker as well). The same goes for Clayton as it went for Edwards though, he needs to get in a high-scoring offense for him to make it big time.

3. Derrick Johnson – LB – Kansas City Chiefs

Derrick Johnson has been flat-out outstanding to start out his NFL career. He currently leads the team in tackles with 17 (15 of them solo), and has helped Kansas City reform the look of their defense. He has already forced one fumble, and if continues this level of play, he could be a large reason that the Chiefs go far in the playoffs this year. Johnson is a speed linebacker, and is excellent in pass coverage. Expect Johnson to get some nods as rookie of the year if he is able to continue his tremendous play.

2. Kyle Orton – QB – Chicago Bears

Kyle Orton started off the preseason as the Chicago Bears 3rd string quarterback, behind incumbents, Rex Grossman and Chad Hutchinson. Not only is Kyle Orton now the starting quarterback, but has shown enough promise for people to start questioning whether he will ever relinquish the job to Rex Grossman. Orton has come out with poise and precision, and has helped the Bears develop into a force in the Central division. Orton looks the real deal, and despite his slow feet, has shown that he has the arm strength and accuracy to be an excellent NFL quarterback.

1. Carnell Williams – RB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Through 2 games Carnell Williams has rushed for 276 yards, a 5.4 average, and 2 TDS. The offense that John Gruden runs is perfect for Williams, and should help him show off his outstanding abilities. He has an explosive 1st step, and has shown that he can run through the tackles, and has the speed to get to the outside. As long as Gruden is running things in Tampa Bay, Carnell should be an extremely productive running back. Expect Carnell to be an excellent running back in the National Football League for many years to come.

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