In 1962, Eagles QB Sonny Jurgensen averaged 8.9 yards/attempt. In 2018, Eagles QB Carson Wentz averaged 7.7 yards per attempt.

In 1962, Packers QB Bart Starr averaged 8.6 yards/attempt. In 2018, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers averaged 7.4 yards per attempt.

In 1962, 36-year-old Giants QB Y.A. Tittle averaged 8.6 yards/attempt. In 2018, 37-year-old Giants QB Eli Manning averaged 7.5 yards/attempt.

In 1962, Redskins QB Norm Snead averaged 8.3 yards/attempt. In 2018, Washington QB Alex Smith averaged 6.6 yards/attempt.

And while those were the four best quarterbacks of 1962, a cherry-picked sample doesn’t explain the superiority of the ’62 passers.

• Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton averaged 7.9 yards/attempt in ’62, besting ’18 successor Kirk Cousins and his 7.1 Y/A average.
• Bears QB Billy Wade averaged 7.7 yards/attempt in ’62, while Chicago QB Mitchell Trubisky averaged 7.4 yards/attempt last year.
• The Cardinals? Forget about any comparison here. In 1962, Charley Johnson averaged 7.9 yards/attempt, while 2018 Josh Rosen gained just 5.8 yards per attempt for the Cardinals.
• In 1962, Dallas split its quarterback duties between Eddie LeBaron and Don Meredith. The 32-year-old LeBaron averaged 8.7 yards per attempt in 6 starts, while the 24-year-old Meredith averaged 7.9 yards per attempt in 8 starts; either way, both bested 2018 Dak Prescott, who averaged 7.4 yards per attempt for the Cowboys.

At this point, you’re probably thinking that I’m engaging in some form of misdirection about the 1962 season versus the 2018 season. I can assure you I am not. In 1962, Lions QB Milt Plum gained 7.3 yards per attempt; in ’18, Detroit QB Matthew Stafford averaged 6.8 yards per attempt. What about the Colts? Well, in 1962, John Unitas averaged 7.6 yards per attempt; that’s better than 2018 Andrew Luck, who gained 7.2 yards per pass attempt. In 1962, Cleveland QB Frank Ryan averaged 7.9 yards per attempt; in 2018, Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield averaged 7.7 yards per attempt.

There were 14 teams in the NFL in 1962, and all 14 teams are still around today (albeit with some relocation). Relative to the starting quarterbacks for those teams in 2018, 11 of the starting quarterbacks in 1962 averaged more yards per pass attempt than their 2018 successors. The three outliers were in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. In 1962, John Brodie averaged a very respectable 7.5 yards per attempt, but 2018 Nick Mullens averaged 8.3 yards per attempt. If you expected to read an article about how Nick Mullens helped save the 2018 NFL season from looking weak relative to 1962, you are a better prophet than me. In ’62, Steelers 36-year-old QB Bobby Layne averaged 7.2 yards per attempt; last year, Pittsburgh’s 36-year-old QB Ben Roethlisberger averaged 7.6 yards per attempt. And finally, the 1962 Los Angeles Rams were awful: Zeke Bratkowski averaged a league-low 7.0 yards per attempt, and the team went 1-12-1. Last year, Jared Goff of the Los Angeles Rams averaged 8.4 yards per attempt as he helped the team win the NFC.

The graph below shows the 1962 starting QBs plotted next to the 2018 starting QBs. The red line shows the Y/A average for the ’62 passers, while the shows the blue line Y/A average for the ’18 passers.

 

And here is the same information in table form. As you can see, for 11 of the 14 teams, the ’62 passer averaged more yards per pass attempt, and the starting QB in ’62 averaged over 1.0 more yards per pass attempt for 5 of the 14 teams.

This is Part I in a series on the 1962 passing offenses, so that’s all for today.