by Chase Stuart
on August 31, 2020
Bradshaw’s career took off when Swann entered the starting lineup.
played for only nine seasons, and he had an even shorter peak: there was just the 6-year stretch in the middle of his career (1975 to 1980) where he was
Lynn Swann. But during that period, he was arguably the most talented — and productive — wide receiver in the NFL. Film analysis of Swann leaves little doubt about the man’s talent, but be playing on a run-heavy team in a dead ball era, his statistics tend to look unimpressive to the modern eye. That goes double for his career statistics, which were produced in only 116 games, the fewest of any modern receiver in the Hall of Fame. The 1970s was a brutal time to be a wide receiver, as the rules of that day made passing much more challenging than it is today. But when he was actually on the field, and his teams dialed up a pass play, Swann was easily one of the best receivers in the NFL.
Let’s start with Swann’s breakout year in 1975. In only his second season, he caught 11 touchdowns, tied with the Mel Gray for the league lead. Swann also ranked 8th in the NFL in receiving yards, and he did so while playing on a run-heavy Steelers team. While Swann’s raw numbers may not look great to the 2020 eye, he had 31% of all Steelers receiving yards and over 50% of his team’s receiving touchdowns. The most productive wide receiver in 1975 was Houston’s Ken Burrough, who that year became the last player in NFL history to gain over half of his team’s receiving yards. Gray had more yards than Swann, and Oakland’s Cliff Branch had a huge year on a run-heavy team, too. But I put Swann as the 4th most productive receiver in the NFL this year based on the following formula:
[ (Receptions * 5) + (Receiving Yards) + (Receiving TDs * 20) ] / (Team Pass Attempts, pro-rated for games played]
Let’s look at that formula again. Swann had a stat line of 49-781-11, which translates to 1,246 adjusted catch yards. Pittsburgh threw 337 passes in 1975, tied for the third fewest in the NFL. That means Swann averaged 3.70 adjusted catch yards per team pass attempt — which is one useful measure of receiver efficiency. Here were the top 15 receivers in 1975 in ACY/TPA: [continue reading…]
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by Bryan Frye
on August 24, 2020
It’s time for the fourteenth part in my series The Grand List, or: the top 1000 pro football players in history. By the end of the article, we will finally be at the halfway mark. When I began this project, the plan was to fit the full thousand in thirteen posts, so you see how good I am at planning ahead. This section is heavy on offensive skill players (18) and trench players (19), so if you enjoy reading about those positions, you’re in luck. If not, there are a few other fellows in there too, so don’t feel left out. This is yet another post that includes Pro Football Hall of Fame members outside of the top 500. My hope is that, as the list unfolds, I will have adequately given my reasoning why such acclaimed individuals are so far out of line with the popular view.
Previous articles in the series
The Grand List, part 1: Includes honorable/special mentions and players 1000-990.
The Grand List, part 2: Includes players 989-965.
The Grand List, part 3: Includes players 964-940.
The Grand List, part 4: Includes players 939-901.
The Grand List, part 5: Includes players 900-876.
The Grand List, part 6: Includes players 875-851.
The Grand List, part 7: Includes players 850-810.
The Grand List, part 8: Includes players 809-780.
The Grand List, part 9: Includes players 779-750.
The Grand List, part 10: Includes players 749-700.
The Grand List, part 11: Includes players 699-650.
The Grand List, part 12: Includes players 649-600.
The Grand List, part 13: Includes players 599-550.
Let’s get down to business.
[continue reading…]
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Bryan Frye,
Grand List,
Guest Posts
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by Chase Stuart
on August 22, 2020
Five years ago, I noted the age when receivers produced their best season in terms of receiving yards. Today, I am going to revisit that study.
Irving Fryar is the biggest outlier in NFL history in this regard. He was a top college star and a prized NFL prospect who wound up going first overall in the USFL-depleted 1984 NFL Draft. He spent his 20s on some inconsistent Patriots teams, and then in 1991, at the age of 29, he had his first 1,000-yard season while playing with a below-average quartebrack in Hugh Millen. Fryar then went to Miami, and while playing with Dan Marino, had a career-season at age 31 in 1994. Eventually, Fryar landed in Philadelphia during the lean, pre-Reid/McNabb years. And yet in 1997, at the age of 35, while playing with journeymen Ty Detmer and Bobby Hoying in a Jon Gruden offense, Fryar had the first 1,300-yard season of his career. In fact, it remains the lone season of 1,300+ yards by a player 35 years or older… which is pretty remarkable given the quarterback presence.
There are 141 players in NFL history who have reached 7,000 career receiving yards. Fryar is the only one to have his best season (measured by receiving yards) at the age of 35; only four other players — Pete Retzlaff, Charlie Joiner, Bobby Engram, and Joey Galloway — had their best season at age 34.
The graph below shows the age where each of the 141 players with 7,000 career receiving yards had their best season. [continue reading…]
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Irving Fryar
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by Chase Stuart
on August 18, 2020
While we often focus on the rules changes that have helped make passing offenses much more efficient over the years, there’s another small reason for the improvement in aerial attacks: better climates. Let’s compare the stadiums in the NFL now to the stadiums of the early 1970s.
Expansion/Re-Location
There are 7 new cities (and one deserted city) that have joined the NFL since the early ’70s, when the league still had just 26 teams. Five of these new cities helped the passing game by bringing in more mild-climate games due to warm weather locations or indoor stadiums.
- There was no team in Indianapolis, which has an indoor stadium.
- The Cardinals did not play in Arizona, which has an indoor stadium, but instead played outdoors in the 1970s in St. Louis (the deserted city).
- There was no team in Tampa Bay, a warm-weather city
- There was no team in Carolina, a warm-weather city
- There was no team in Jacksonville, a warm-weather city
While those fives changes made passing easier by decreasing the impact of the elements in the northern cities, two changes increased the impact of the weather.
- There was a team in Houston playing indoors at the Astrodome, but the franchise founded by Bud Adams now play outdoors in Nashville, Tennessee. Of course, they were replaced by another team playing inside in Houston.
- There was no team in Seattle, which is a cold-weather city.
[continue reading…]
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stadiums
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by Bryan Frye
on August 15, 2020
Strap in for the unlucky thirteenth installment of my endless summer series The Grand List, or: the best 1000 pro football players in (mostly) NFL history. There are a few Hall of Famers who probably seem way too low, along with some likely head scratchers who you will feel are too high. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer on lists like these. We just use the evidence available to us to make the most informed decision we can, bringing our preferences and biases along for the ride.
Previous articles in the series
The Grand List, part 1: Includes honorable/special mentions and players 1000-990.
The Grand List, part 2: Includes players 989-965.
The Grand List, part 3: Includes players 964-940.
The Grand List, part 4: Includes players 939-901.
The Grand List, part 5: Includes players 900-876.
The Grand List, part 6: Includes players 875-851.
The Grand List, part 7: Includes players 850-810.
The Grand List, part 8: Includes players 809-780.
The Grand List, part 9: Includes players 779-750.
The Grand List, part 10: Includes players 749-700.
The Grand List, part 11: Includes players 699-650.
The Grand List, part 12: Includes players 649-600.
In the immortal words of Al Bundy: let’s rock.
[continue reading…]
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Bryan Frye,
Grand List,
Guest Posts
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by Bryan Frye
on August 10, 2020
It’s time for the dirty dozenth episode in my endless series The Grand List, or: the top 1000 pro players in history in one fool’s opinion. This section of the list is heavily populated with trench players, but it should have enough skill players to keep casual fans moderately interested (they told me I should sell myself, so I hope that worked). The writeups are probably going to be a little shorter from now on. What can I say? I’m tired.
Previous articles in the series
The Grand List, part 1: Includes honorable/special mentions and players 1000-990.
The Grand List, part 2: Includes players 989-965.
The Grand List, part 3: Includes players 964-940.
The Grand List, part 4: Includes players 939-901.
The Grand List, part 5: Includes players 900-876.
The Grand List, part 6: Includes players 875-851.
The Grand List, part 7: Includes players 850-810.
The Grand List, part 8: Includes players 809-780.
The Grand List, part 9: Includes players 779-750.
The Grand List, part 10: Includes players 749-700.
The Grand List, part 11: Includes players 699-650.
Let’s get into it, friendos.
[continue reading…]
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Grand List,
Guest Posts
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by Chase Stuart
on August 5, 2020
Over the last few years, I have been updating the career passer ratings for NFL quarterbacks to adjust for era. Over the last 100 years, the NFL has consistently approved rules changes to make passing easier, and as a result, passer rating has consistently spiked:
[continue reading…]
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Passer Rating
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by Chase Stuart
on August 3, 2020
Our plan was not to run… We didn’t come in here and say, “Let’s put the blade down and take these guys on.” You’ve got to be realistic in your game preparation. We came to throw the football.
— Detroit Lions Head coach Darryl Rogers, post-game press conference, October 9th, 1988.
In week 6 of the 1988 season, the 4-1 Bears and 1-4 Lions squared off in Detroit’s Pontiac Silverdome. And coach Rogers knew that running the ball was unlikely to be the key to victory: since the Bears emerged as the league’s dominant defense in ’84, Detroit was 0-7 against Chicago and had rushed 139 times for just 421 yards in those seen games, a pitiful 3.03 yards per carry average. And while the ’88 version wasn’t quite the ’85 Bears, Chicago’s run defense was red hot, allowing just 34 rushing yards on 26 carries *combined* in the previous two weeks. And let’s dispel with any sense of wonder: on this day, the Lions would rush 13 times for 42 yards. [continue reading…]
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