1.
Brown Stadium
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Brown Stadium is a football stadium located in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the home of Brown Universitys football and outdoor track teams, the athletic teams at Brown University, known as the Bears, compete in the Ivy League. The stadium opened in 1925, and was known as Brown University Field. It is located on Elmgrove Avenue in the citys East Side, approximately 3/4 of a mile from the rest of the athletic facilities, a trapezoid-shaped southwest stands and a smaller section of concrete bleachers on the northeast side are featured in the architectural design. Stands sit on both sides of the field along with a running track, the original wooden benches were replaced with aluminum ones in 1978 as part of the football teams 100th anniversary. The stadium currently has a capacity of 20,000, the stadium hosted the Division I NCAA Mens Lacrosse Championship in 1976 and 1985 and two quarterfinal matches of the 2016 NCAA Division I Mens Lacrosse Championship. Brown University Athletic Department website Summary at Ivy League official site Summary at Brownbears. com
2.
Poaceae
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Poaceae or Gramineae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants known as grasses. Poaceae includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and cultivated lawns, Grasses have stems that are hollow except at the nodes and narrow alternate leaves borne in two ranks. The lower part of each leaf encloses the stem, forming a leaf-sheath, with ca 780 genera and around 12,000 species, Poaceae are the fifth-largest plant family, following the Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae. Grasslands such as savannah and prairie grasses are dominant are estimated to constitute 40. 5% of the land area of the Earth, excluding Greenland. Grasses are also an important part of the vegetation in many habitats, including wetlands, forests. Though commonly called grasses, seagrasses, rushes, and sedges fall outside this family, the rushes and sedges are related to the Poaceae, being members of the order Poales, but the seagrasses are members of order Alismatales. The name Poaceae was given by John Hendley Barnhart in 1895, based on the tribe Poeae described in 1814 by Robert Brown, the term is derived from the Ancient Greek πόα. Grasses include some of the most versatile plant life-forms, a cladogram shows subfamilies and approximate species numbers in brackets, Before 2005, fossil findings indicated that grasses evolved around 55 million years ago. Recent findings of grass-like phytoliths in Cretaceous dinosaur coprolites have pushed this back to 66 million years ago. In 2011, revised dating of the origins of the rice tribe Oryzeae suggested a date as early as 107 to 129 Mya, a multituberculate mammal with grass-eating adaptations seems to suggest that grasses were already around at 120 mya. This separation occurred within the short time span of about 4 million years. Grass leaves are always alternate and distichous, and have parallel veins. Each leaf is differentiated into a lower sheath hugging the stem, the leaf blades of many grasses are hardened with silica phytoliths, which discourage grazing animals, some, such as sword grass, are sharp enough to cut human skin. A membranous appendage or fringe of hairs called the ligule lies at the junction between sheath and blade, preventing water or insects from penetrating into the sheath, flowers of Poaceae are characteristically arranged in spikelets, each having one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes, the part of the spikelet that bears the florets is called the rachilla. A spikelet consists of two bracts at the base, called glumes, followed by one or more florets, a floret consists of the flower surrounded by two bracts, one external—the lemma—and one internal—the palea. The flowers are usually hermaphroditic—maize being an important exception—and anemophilous or wind-pollinated, the perianth is reduced to two scales, called lodicules, that expand and contract to spread the lemma and palea, these are generally interpreted to be modified sepals. This complex structure can be seen in the image on the right, the fruit of grasses is a caryopsis, in which the seed coat is fused to the fruit wall
3.
Providence, Rhode Island
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Providence is the capital of and most populous city in the U. S. state of Rhode Island, founded in 1636, and one of the oldest cities in the United States. It is located in Providence County and is the third most populous city in New England, after Boston, Providence has a city population of 179,154, it is also part of the Providence metropolitan area which extends into southern Massachusetts. The Providence metropolitan area has an population of 1,604,291. This can be considered, in turn, to be part of the Greater Boston commuting area, Providence was founded by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of Gods merciful Providence, which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him, the city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay. Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its tool, jewelry. The city was nicknamed the Beehive of Industry, it began rebranding itself as the Creative Capital in 2009 to emphasize its educational resources. The area that is now Providence was first settled in June 1636 by Roger Williams and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies of the United States, Williams and his company felt compelled to withdraw from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Providence quickly became a refuge for persecuted religious dissenters, as Williams himself had been exiled from Massachusetts, Providence residents were among the first Patriots to spill blood in the leadup to the American Revolution during the Gaspée Affair of 1772. Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown on May 4,1776. It was also the last of the thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution on May 29,1790, following the war, Providence was the countrys ninth-largest city with 7,614 people. The economy shifted from maritime endeavors to manufacturing, in particular machinery, tools, silverware, jewelry, by the start of the 20th century, Providence boasted some of the largest manufacturing plants in the country, including Brown & Sharpe, Nicholson File, and Gorham Silverware. Providence residents ratified a city charter in 1831 as the population passed 17,000. From its incorporation as a city in 1832 until 1878, the seat of city government was located in the Market House, located in Market Square, the city offices quickly outgrew this building, and the City Council resolved to create a permanent municipal building in 1845. The city offices moved into the City Hall in 1878, during the Civil War, local politics split over slavery as many had ties to Southern cotton. Despite ambivalence concerning the war, the number of military volunteers routinely exceeded quota, by the early 1900s, Providence was one of the wealthiest cities in the United States. Immigrant labor powered one of the nations largest industrial manufacturing centers, Providence was a major manufacturer of industrial products from steam engines to precision tools to silverware, screws, and textiles. From 1975 until 1982, $606 million of local and national Community Development funds were invested throughout the city.4 million ft² Providence Place Mall, despite new investment, poverty remains an entrenched problem as it does in most post-industrial New England cities
4.
NCAA Division I Football Championship
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The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an American college football tournament played each year to determine the champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Prior to 2006, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship, the FCS is the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament sanctioned by the NCAA to determine its champion. The four-team playoff system used by the Bowl Subdivision is not sanctioned by the NCAA, the reigning national champions are the James Madison Dukes, who had previously won in 2004. When Division I-AA was formed for football in 1978, the playoffs included just four teams, in 1982 the I-AA playoffs were expanded to 12 teams, with each of the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals. In its ninth season of 1986, the I-AA playoffs were expanded again to a 16-team format, eight conference champions received automatic bids, with the remaining eight bids available on an at-large basis. The field is set the Sunday before Thanksgiving and play begins that weekend. The top four teams are seeded, however, the matchups are not strictly set up by these seedings as geographic considerations are taken into account to minimize travel. In April 2008 the NCAA announced that the field would again expand to include 20 teams beginning in 2010. At the same time, it announced that the number of conferences receiving automatic bids would increase to 10, the structure then adopted included eight teams playing in four first round games. The four first round advance to the second Round of Sixteen where they play the top four seeds. The playoffs expanded to 24 teams beginning with the 2013 season, the tournament has historically been played in November and December, with the 2010 expansion to a 20-team field, the championship game moved from December to January. The title game is now played in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas at Toyota Stadium, the original contract with Frisco began in the 2010 season and ran through the 2012 season. The contract has since been extended twice, first through the 2015 season, three Football Championship Subdivision conferences usually do not participate in the tournament. The teams that make the playoffs are determined by the FCS Playoff Selection Committee, the current committee chairman is Mark Wilson. The others who serve on the committee are Chuck Burch, Troy Dannen, Brian Hutchinson, Richard Johnson, Nathan Pine, Marty Scarano, Paul Schlickmann, Dr. Brad Teague. ++ The MEAC Champion, since 2015, forgoes its automatic bid to allow its champion to participate in the Celebration Bowl, non-champions are eligible for at-large bids. % The SWAC abstains from the tournament to allow for a longer regular season, an in-conference championship game. † Known as University of Louisiana at Monroe since 1999, ‡ Now Toyota Stadium * Toyota Stadium capacity reduced due to construction ^ Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision
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Ivy League
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The Ivy League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group beyond the sports context. The eight institutions are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, the term Ivy League has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism. While the term was in use as early as 1933, it became official after the formation of the NCAA Division I athletic conference in 1954. Seven of the eight schools were founded during the United States colonial period, Ivy League institutions account for seven of the nine Colonial Colleges chartered before the American Revolution, the other two are Rutgers University and College of William & Mary. Ivy League schools are generally viewed as some of the most prestigious, all eight universities place in the top fifteen of the U. S. News & World Report 2017 nation university rankings, including the top four schools and five of the top eight. Undergraduate enrollments range from about 4,000 to 14,000, making them larger than those of a private liberal arts college. Total enrollments, including students, range from approximately 6,400 at Dartmouth to over 20,000 at Columbia, Cornell, Harvard. Ivy League financial endowments range from Browns $3 billion to Harvards $36.4 billion, as of 2014, Harvard University has an endowment of $36.4 billion. Additionally, each university receives millions of dollars in grants and other subsidies from federal. Harvard University uses the date that the legislature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony formally allocated funds for the creation of a college, Harvard was chartered in 1650, although classes had been conducted for approximately a decade by then. The University of Pennsylvania initially considered its founding date to be 1750, later in Penns early history, the university changed its officially recognized founding date to 1749, which was used for all of the nineteenth century, including a centennial celebration in 1849. In 1899, Penns board of trustees adopted a third founding date of 1740. Penn was chartered in 1755, the same year classes began. Religious affiliation refers to financial sponsorship, formal association with, and promotion by, all of the schools in the Ivy League are private and not currently associated with any religion. Students have long revered the ivied walls of older colleges, planting the ivy was a customary class day ceremony at many colleges in the 1800s. In 1893 an alumnus told The Harvard Crimson, In 1850, the custom of planting the ivy, while the ivy oration was delivered, arose about this time. At Penn, graduating seniors started the custom of planting ivy at a university building each spring in 1873, Ivy planting ceremonies are reported for Yale, Simmons, Bryn Mawr and many others
6.
Harvard Crimson football
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The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Harvards football program is one of the oldest in the world, Harvard is the eighth winningest team in NCAA Division I football history. The Harvard Crimson was one of the dominant forces in the days of intercollegiate football. In both 1919 and 1920, headed by All-American brothers Arnold Horween and Ralph Horween, Harvard was undefeated, the team won the 1920 Rose Bowl against the University of Oregon, 7–6. It was the bowl appearance in Harvard history. In the forty-year period from 1889 to 1928, Harvard had more than 80 first-team All-American selections, under head coach Percy Haughton, Harvard had three consecutive undefeated seasons from 1912 to 1914, including two perfect seasons in 1912 and 1913. Harvard claims the national championships, The NCAA decided to split Division I into two subdivisions in 1978, then called I-A for larger schools, and I-AA for the smaller ones. In 1982, the NCAA created a rule that stated an average attendance must be at least 15,000 to qualify for I-A membership. This forced the hand, as only some of the member schools met the attendance qualification. The Crimson are behind Penn and Dartmouths 18 Ivy League Football Championships, Harvard and Yale have been competing against each other in football since 1875. The annual rivalry game between the two schools, known as The Game, is played in November at the end of the football season, as of 2015, Yale led the series 65-59-8. The Game is the second oldest continuing rivalry and also the third most-played rivalry game in football history, after the Lehigh–Lafayette Rivalry. Sports Illustrated On Campus rated the Harvard–Yale rivalry the sixth-best in college athletics in 2003, ted Kennedy played football for Harvard and caught a touchdown pass in the 1955 Harvard/Yale game. In 2006, Yale ended a losing streak against Harvard. That Harvard winning streak was third longest in the history of the series, after Yales 1902–1907 six-game winning streak, Harvard has since beaten Yale in 2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 and 2015. The Game is significant for historical reasons as the rules of The Game soon were adopted by other schools. Footballs rules, conventions, and equipment, as well as elements of such as the mascot and fight song, include many elements pioneered or nurtured at Harvard. Harvard Stadium is a football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts
7.
Rhode Island Rams football
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The Rhode Island Rams football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Rhode Island located in the U. S. state of Rhode Island. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Colonial Athletic Association, Rhode Islands first football team was fielded in 1895. The team plays its games at the 5,180 seat Meade Stadium in Kingston. They have just three winning seasons since that time, and none since 2002
8.
Dartmouth Big Green football
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The Dartmouth Big Green football team represents Dartmouth College in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. The sport of football, in its form, was played on the campus as early as 1876. Goalposts were erected on the green where they stood for several months, the first intercollegiate game occurred on November 16,1881, when Amherst traveled to Dartmouth. The Green won with a score of one goal to none, on November 21, the teams met in Amherst, Massachusetts for a rematch on Thanksgiving Day, and the scoreless game ended prematurely in a tie because of snow. In the following years, Dartmouth played games against some of the best teams in the nation, in 1882, Dartmouth played Harvard for the first time and lost, 53–0. In 1884, Yale visited Dartmouth and routed the Green, 113–0, the Elis teams did not return to Hanover until 1971. From 1887 to 1898, Dartmouth competed against schools such as MIT, Amherst, during that period, the Big Green secured eight conference championships, all of them outright except one shared with MIT in 1888. From 1901 to 1909, Dartmouth compiled a 58–9–7 record under several different head coaches, in 1901, Dartmouth played their first game against their intrastate rivals, UNH. In 1903, Dartmouth traveled to Harvard for the game of their opponents stadium. The Green, who had lost the first 18 meetings by a margin of 552 points to 18, upset the Crimson. From 1911 to 1916, Frank the Iron Major Cavanaugh, led the Green to a 42–9–3 record and he volunteered for World War I at the age of 41, and was replaced as coach by one of his former players, Clarence Spears. Spears attained a 21–9–1 record with the Green, and went on to success at West Virginia and Minnesota. Before the 1922 game against Harvard, the media referring to Dartmouth as the Indians. In 1923, Jesse Hawley took over as head coach, in 1925, the Green finished 8–0, and two of that teams players, Swede Oberlander and Myles Lane, were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. One, Nathan Parker, became a Rhodes Scholar, the Indians were named 1925 national champions by Parke H. Davis and the Dickinson system. Earl Red Blaik became head coach in 1934 and posted a 45–15–4 mark in his seven seasons, in 1935, he led them to their first victory over Yale, 14–6. Between 1936 and 1938, the Green compiled a 22-game unbeaten streak, against Cornell, in 1940, they played the infamous Fifth Down Game. In 1941, Blaik left to coach the Army team at West Point, the 1970 Dartmouth football team was undefeated and won the Lambert Trophy, symbolizing the best Division 1 football team in the Northeast
9.
Brown University Band
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The Brown University Band is the official band of Brown University. Like all Ivy League bands except Cornells, it is a scatter band, the Brown Band began performing on ice skates in 1970, and claims to be the worlds only ice skating scatter band. It is the source of much of Browns school spirit, and often appears as a representation of Brown to the Providence community. The Band is present at Browns football, hockey, and basketball games, in addition to Commencement and it receives funding from Browns Undergraduate Finance Board. The Band was founded in 1924 by Irving Harris, a freshman who was shocked to find that the University had no band and this established a tradition of a student-run organization that currently has University practice space and a faculty advisor, but is primarily driven by its student leadership. The Band creates between 700 and 1000 buttons for each football game and these buttons have short messages that make fun of the opposing team, usually through wordplay and stereotyping the opposing school. Brown Band members proudly display these buttons on their uniforms, often making large patterns out of them, buttons are handed out to every fan who goes near the Band. During the third quarter, several bandies will walk over to the teams stands. Other bands are typically the first recipients of buttons during this time, Elrod T. Snidley is the Brown Bands mascot. He is always depicted carrying a bugle and leaning on a bass drum, Elrod was created in 1968 as a self-portrait of Band President C. Douglas Ballon,69. In those days, Ballons cross-eyed likeness of himself was referred to as Doogi. Renamed Elrod by Ballons successors, his likeness adorns almost every object that the Brown Band wears or sells, including their uniforms, pens, bandies often form intramural teams for various sports, and always sign up under the team name Snidleys. Elrod also made a successful run for President of the Undergraduate Council of Students in 1988. Bandies taped up posters of Elrod with the slogan, Vote for Snidley - he wont do diddley, while he was not officially recognized, he received nearly half of the student votes as a write-in candidate. The Brown Band is a organization with a faculty advisor. There is a board and various appointed positions of leadership. The leaders of the Band are collectively known as the Band Board, Band Board consists of a president, vice president, general manager, business manager, corresponding secretary, and recording secretary. The Brown Bands repertoire is a selection of music from the Bands music library, the repertoire itself consists of approximately fifty songs and undergoes slight changes each year
10.
Brown Bears
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The Brown Bears are the sports teams at Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island in the United States. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference, both the mens and womens teams share the name, competing in 38 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I sports. In football, the Bears, along all other the Ivy League teams. The Bears participate in 38 NCAA sports, ranking third among all Division I institutions for number of sports offered. The Bears first fielded a team in 1878, playing Amherst College in their inaugural game. These proposed changes would have reduced the number of varsity sports at Brown from 37 to 34, none of the four varsity programs were cut. The Brown Bears football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Ivy League, Browns first football team was fielded in 1878. The team plays its games at the 20,000 seat Brown Stadium in Providence. The Brown Bears mens basketball competes in the Ivy League. The Brown Bears have appeared in the NCAA Tournament two times, including the tournament in 1939. The Brown Bears have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament one time, the Brown Bears mens basketball team competes in the Ivy League. The Brown Bears have appeared in the NCAA Tournament once, the Brown Bears mens soccer team compete in the NCAA Division I in the Ivy League. The Bears have been semifinalists in the NCAA tournament in 1968,1973 and they also finished in fourth place in 1977. Brown added rugby as a sport in part due to the growth of rugby across communities, Brown womens rugby is led by Head Coach Kathy Flores. Brown has offered mens rugby at Brown as a sport since 1960. Brown plays in the Ivy Rugby Conference against its traditional Ivy League rivals, Brown mens rugby is led by Head Coach David Laflamme. As of July 2,2016, Brown has 7 NCAA team national championships, the burro mascot was not retained after it seemed frightened by the noise of the game, and due to the laughter it provoked. The University originally settled on the Bruin, but later changed it to a bear after the head of bear was placed at an archway above the student union in 1904, in 1905 The Bears introduced Helen, the universitys first live bear mascot, at a game against Dartmouth
11.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
12.
Brown University
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Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine Colonial Colleges established before the American Revolution. At its foundation, Brown was the first college in the United States to accept students regardless of their religious affiliation and its engineering program was established in 1847 and was the first in the Ivy League. It was one of the early doctoral-granting U. S. institutions in the late 19th century, adding master, Browns New Curriculum is sometimes referred to in education theory as the Brown Curriculum and was adopted by faculty vote in 1969 after a period of student lobbying. In 1971, Browns coordinate womens institution Pembroke College was fully merged into the university, Pembroke Campus now operates as a place for dorms and classrooms. Undergraduate admissions is very selective, with a rate of 8.3 percent for the class of 2021. The University comprises The College, the Graduate School, Alpert Medical School, the School of Engineering, the School of Public Health, and the School of Professional Studies. The Brown/RISD Dual Degree Program, offered in conjunction with the Rhode Island School of Design, is a course that awards degrees from both institutions. Browns main campus is located in the College Hill Historic District in the city of Providence, the Universitys neighborhood is a federally listed architectural district with a dense concentration of Colonial-era buildings. On the western edge of the campus, Benefit Street contains one of the finest cohesive collections of restored seventeenth-, Browns faculty and alumni include eight Nobel Prize laureates, five National Humanities Medalists, and ten National Medal of Science laureates. Other notable alumni include eight billionaire graduates, a U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, to erect a public Building or Buildings for the boarding of the youth & the Residence of the Professors. Stiles and Ellery were co-authors of the Charter of the College two years later, there is further documentary evidence that Stiles was making plans for a college in 1762. On January 20, Chauncey Whittelsey, pastor of the First Church of New Haven, answered a letter from Stiles, should you make any Progress in the Affair of a Colledge, I should be glad to hear of it, I heartily wish you Success therein. Isaac Backus was the historian of the New England Baptists and an inaugural Trustee of Brown, Mr. James Manning, who took his first degree in New-Jersey college in September,1762, was esteemed a suitable leader in this important work. Manning arrived at Newport in July 1763 and was introduced to Stiles, stiless first draft was read to the General Assembly in August 1763 and rejected by Baptist members who worried that the College Board of Fellows would under-represent the Baptists. A revised Charter written by Stiles and Ellery was adopted by the Assembly on March 3,1764, in September 1764, the inaugural meeting of the College Corporation was held at Newport. Governor Stephen Hopkins was chosen chancellor, former and future governor Samuel Ward was vice chancellor, John Tillinghast treasurer, the Charter stipulated that the Board of Trustees be composed of 22 Baptists, five Quakers, five Episcopalians, and four Congregationalists. Of the 12 Fellows, eight should be Baptists—including the College president—and the rest indifferently of any or all Denominations, the Charter was not the grant of King George III, as is sometimes supposed, but rather an Act of the colonial General Assembly. In two particulars, the Charter may be said to be a uniquely progressive document, the oft-repeated statement is inaccurate that Browns Charter alone prohibited a religious test for College membership, other college charters were also liberal in that particular
13.
Rhode Island
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Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, and its official name is also the longest of any state in the Union. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, the state also shares a short maritime border with New York. It boycotted the 1787 convention that drew up the United States Constitution, on May 29,1790, Rhode Island became the 13th and last state to ratify the Constitution. Rhode Islands official nickname is The Ocean State, a reference to the fact that the state has several large bays, Rhode Island covers 1,214 square miles, of which 1,045 square miles are land. Despite its name, most of Rhode Island is located on the mainland of the United States, the official name of the state is State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which is derived from the merger of four settlements. Rhode Island is now commonly called Aquidneck Island, the largest of several islands in Narragansett Bay, Providence Plantation was the name of the colony founded by Roger Williams in the area now known as the city of Providence. This was adjoined by the settlement of Warwick, hence the plural Providence Plantations and it is unclear how Aquidneck Island came to be known as Rhode Island, although there are two popular theories. Explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano noted the presence of an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay in 1524, subsequent European explorers were unable to precisely identify the island that Verrazzano had named, but the Pilgrims who later colonized the area assumed that it was Aquidneck. A second theory concerns the fact that Adriaen Block passed by Aquidneck during his expeditions in the 1610s, historians have theorized that this reddish appearance resulted from either red autumn foliage or red clay on portions of the shore. The earliest documented use of the name Rhode Island for Aquidneck was in 1637 by Roger Williams, the name was officially applied to the island in 1644 with these words, Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Isle of Rodes or Rhode-Island. The name Isle of Rodes is used in a document as late as 1646. Dutch maps as early as 1659 call the island Red Island, Williams was a theologian forced out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Seeking religious and political tolerance, he and others founded Providence Plantation as a proprietary colony. Providence referred to the concept of providence, and plantation was an English term for a colony. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is the longest official name of any state in the Union, advocates for excising plantation asserted that the word specifically referred to the British colonial practice of establishing settlements which disenfranchised native people. Advocates for retaining the name argued that plantation was simply an archaic English synonym for colony, the referendum election was held on November 2,2010, and the people voted overwhelmingly to retain the entire original name. It shares a maritime border with New York State between Block Island and Long Island
14.
NCAA Division I
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Division I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. This level was called the University Division of the NCAA, in contrast to the lower level College Division. For football only, Division I was further subdivided in 1978 into Division I-A, Division I-AA, in 2006, Division I-A and I-AA were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision, respectively. FCS teams are allowed to award scholarships, a practice technically allowed. FBS teams also have to meet attendance requirements, while FCS teams do not need to meet minimum attendance requirements. Another difference is post season play, starting with the 2014 postseason, a four-team playoff called the College Football Playoff, replaced the previous one game championship format. Even so, Division I FBS football is still the only NCAA sport in which a champion is not determined by an NCAA-sanctioned championship event. All D-I schools must field teams in at least seven sports for men and seven for women or six for men and eight for women, with at least two team sports for each gender. Division I schools must meet minimum financial aid awards for their athletics program, Several other NCAA sanctioned minimums and differences that distinguish Division I from Divisions II and III. Each playing season has to be represented by each gender as well, there are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria. Mens and womens teams have to play all but two games against Division I teams, for men, they must play one-third of all their contests in the home arena. The NCAA has limits on the financial aid each Division I member may award in each sport that the school sponsors. Equivalency sports, in which the NCAA limits the total financial aid that a school can offer in a sport to the equivalent of a set number of full scholarships. Roster limitations may or may not apply, depending on the sport, the term counter is also key to this concept. The NCAA defines a counter as an individual who is receiving financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport. The number of scholarships that Division I members may award in sport is listed below. In this table, scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without a point, for equivalency sports, they are listed with a decimal point. An exception exists for players at non-scholarship FCS programs who receive aid in another sport, participants in basketball are counted in that sport, unless they also play football
15.
John Heisman
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John William Heisman was a player and coach of American football, basketball, and baseball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. His 1917 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado were recognized as the national champion and he served as the athletic director at Georgia Tech from 1904 to 1919 and at Rice from 1924 to 1927. While at Georgia Tech, he also was president of the Atlanta Crackers baseball team, fuzzy Woodruff dubbed Heisman the pioneer of Southern football. Heisman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954 and his entry there notes that Heisman stands only behind Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, and Walter Camp as a master innovator of the brand of football of his day. One writer says Heisman, Stagg, and Warner constitute the Football Trinity, the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the seasons most outstanding college football player, is named after him. Heisman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Bavarian German immigrants Sara and he grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania near Titusville, where he played varsity football for Titusville High School from 1884 to 1886, and was salutatorian of his graduating class. Although he was a student, he confessed he was football mad. Heismans father refused to him play at Titusville, calling football bestial. He went on to football as a lineman at Brown University and at the University of Pennsylvania. In constant dread that his immediate teammates—guards weighing 212 and 243—would fall on him and he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1892. In his book Principles of Football, Heisman described his strategy, The coach should be masterful and commanding. He has no time to say please or mister, at times he must be severe, arbitrary, and little short of a czar. Heisman always used a megaphone at practice, Heisman first coached at Oberlin College in 1892. Wrote The Oberlin Review in 1892, Mr. Heisman has entirely remade our football and he has taught us scientific football. Influenced by Yale and Pudge Heffelfinger, Heisman implemented seven-man interference and his best lineman at Oberlin was the half German, half Hawaiian John Henry Wise. Heisman also used a pass and a double pass. Heisman returned to Oberlin in 1894, in 1893 he moved to Buchtel College, where he helped make the first of many permanent alterations to the sport of football. It was then customary for the center to begin a play by rolling the ball backwards, under Heisman, the center began tossing the ball to Clark, a practice that evolved into the snap that today begins every play
16.
Tuss McLaughry
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DeOrmond Tuss McLaughry was an American football player and coach. McLaughry was also the basketball coach at Brown from 1926 to 1929. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as coach in 1962, of all coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, McLaughry is the only one with a winning percentage under.500. List of college football coaches with non-consecutive tenure Tuss McLaughry at the College Football Data Warehouse
17.
Fritz Pollard
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Frederick Douglass Fritz Pollard was the first African American head coach in the National Football League. Pollard along with Bobby Marshall were the first two African American players in the NFL in 1920, Football pioneer Walter Camp ranked Pollard as one of the greatest runners these eyes have ever seen. Pollard was born in Chicago on January 27,1894 and he attended Albert Grannis Lane Manual Training High School, also known as Lane Tech, where he played football, baseball, and ran track. Pollard attended Brown University, majoring in chemistry, Pollard played half-back on the Brown football team, which went to the 1916 Rose Bowl. He was the first black player at Brown. He became the first black running back to be named to the Walter Camp All-America team and he later played pro football with the Akron Pros, the team he would lead to the NFL championship in 1920. In 1921, he became the coach of the Akron Pros. He also played for the Milwaukee Badgers, Hammond Pros, Gilberton Cadamounts, Union Club of Phoenixville, some sources indicate that Pollard also served as co-coach of the Milwaukee Badgers with Budge Garrett for part of the 1922 season. He also coached the Gilberton Cadamounts, a non-NFL team, in 1923 and 1924, he served as head coach for the Hammond Pros. Pollard, along with all nine of the players in the NFL at the time, were removed from the league at the end of the 1926 season. He spent some time organizing all-black barnstorming teams, including the Chicago Black Hawks in 1928, Pollard coached Lincoln University s football team during the 1918 to 1920 seasons and served as athletic director of the schools World War I era Students Army Training Corps. By the fall of 1920, he had begun to play for Akron, missing key Lincoln losses to Hampton and Howard, much to the consternation of the alumni, paul Robeson was enlisted by Lincolns alumni to coach the Thanksgiving 1920 game against Howard. Pollard later criticized Lincolns administration, saying they had hampered his ability to coach and had refused to provide adequate travel accommodations for the team. Prior to the Hampton game, the team was compelled to go to Hampton by boat, sleeping on the decks and under portholes, no cabins were provided, nor were they given a place to sleep after reaching Hampton. They lost the game through lack of rest and he also blamed the school for not providing the proper equipment. I, myself, bought and paid out of my pocket for football shoes for the team. He missed the 1920 Howard game, he said, because his Lincoln salary was so low that he was compelled to augment it with pay from Akron, in the 1930s, Pollard founded his own professional football team, the Brown Bombers. The Depression ended the Brown Bombers’ run in 1938, and Pollard went on to other ventures, including a talent agency, tax consulting and film, Pollard also published the first black-owned newspaper in New York City, the New York Independent News, from 1935 to 1942
18.
Eddie N. Robinson
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Edward North Robbie Robinson was a head football coach at University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Brown University, and University of Maine. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955 and he later coached professionally in 1931 in the National Football League for the Providence Steam Roller. Under Robinson, the Steam Roller finished the 1931 season 4–4–3 record, prior to his coaching career, Robinson was selected by Walter Camp in 1895 as a Third Team All-American, while playing at Brown. Eddie N. Robinson at the College Football Hall of Fame Eddie N. Robinson at the College Football Data Warehouse
19.
Wallace Wade
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William Wallace Wade was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. His tenure at Duke was interrupted by service during World War II. Wade won a total of ten Southern Conference football titles, four with Alabama and he coached in five Rose Bowls including the 1942 game, which was relocated from Pasadena, California to Durham, North Carolina after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Wade served as the basketball and baseball coach at Vanderbilt University for two seasons, tallying a mark of 24–16, while he was an assistant football coach there. He was also the baseball coach at Vanderbilt from 1922 to 1923 and at Alabama from 1924 to 1927. Wade played football at Brown University, after retiring from coaching, Wade served as the commissioner of the Southern Conference from 1951 to 1960. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1955, Dukes football stadium was renamed in his honor as Wallace Wade Stadium in 1967. Wade was born in Trenton, Tennessee and he first played football under Tuck Faucett at Peabody High School in Trenton. Wade also attended Chicagos Morgan Park Academy and he went on in 1913 to play football at Brown University. Wade played guard on the Brown football team, which went to the 1916 Rose Bowl, one of his teammates at Brown was Fritz Pollard, who went on to become the first African American coach in the National Football League. After spending time in the Army and rising to the rank of captain, W. S. Fitzgerald hired him as head coach at the Fitzgerald and Clarke Military School in Tullahoma. He went 15–2 in football, winning a state championship in 1920. Among his players were future consensus All-Americans Lynn Bomar and Hek Wakefield and he also posted successful basketball teams at Fitzgerald–Clarke. In 1921 Wade was hired as an assistant and line coach at Vanderbilt University under Dan McGugin, soon after, on March 14,1922, Fitzgerald & Clarke burned to the ground and was never rebuilt. Vanderbilt posted an undefeated 15–0–2 with Wade, and shared conference titles both years he was there, defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion Georgia was undefeated, having not allowed a score through its powerful line all year. Its line was composed of four All-Southerns, Joe Bennett, Bum Day, Owen Reynolds, Vanderbilt, too, was undefeated, and so the game was figured to decide the conference champion. It was described by the New York Times as an important clash, the Bulldogs were the favorite to win this meeting of the two schools, first since 1912, in part because the Bulldogs may have outplayed Harvard and defeated Auburn earlier in the season. Lynn Bomar starred at the linebacker position, Georgia would have trampled Vanderbilt to atoms but for Lynn Bomar, observed Nashville Tennessean sportswriter Blinkey Horn
20.
Joe Paterno
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Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, and later athletic director and coach. He was the coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history and his career ended with his dismissal from the team in November,2011 as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. Paterno was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Brown University, originally planning to be a lawyer, he instead signed on as an assistant football coach at Penn State in 1950, persuaded by his college coach Rip Engle who had taken over as Penn States head coach. In 1966, Paterno was named as Engles successor and he soon coached the team to two undefeated regular seasons in 1968 and 1969. The team won two national championships—in 1982 and 1986, Paterno coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games, and in 2007 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach. After the child sex abuse scandal involving his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky broke in full in November 2011, however, on November 9, the Penn State Board of Trustees rejected this disclosure and fired him, effective immediately. An investigation conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh concluded in July 2012 that Paterno concealed facts relating to Sanduskys sexual abuse of young boys, the investigation also uncovered information that Paterno may have persuaded university officials not to report Sandusky to authorities in 2001. A report composed by the law firm King & Spalding and commissioned by the Paterno family has disputed his involvement in the alleged coverup, Paterno died of complications from lung cancer on January 22,2012, only two months after being fired by the university. Paterno was born December 21,1926, in Brooklyn, New York and he was the son of Florence de LaSalle Cafiero, a homemaker, and Angelo Lafayette Paterno, a law clerk. His family was of Italian ancestry, in 1944, Paterno graduated from Brooklyn Preparatory School. Six weeks later he was drafted into the Army during World War II, Paterno spent a year in the Army before being discharged in time to start the 1946 school year at Brown University where his tuition was paid by Busy Arnold. In college Paterno was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and he played quarterback and cornerback for the Brown Bears, and shares the career record for interceptions with Greg Parker at 14. Paterno graduated as an English literature major in 1950 and had been accepted into Boston University School of Law, although his father asked, For Gods sake, what did you go to college for. After hearing of his choice, Paterno joined Rip Engle as an assistant coach at Penn State in 1950, Engle had coached five seasons, 1944–1949. Paterno was promoted to coach, the top assistant, in June 1964. Paterno had one Heisman Trophy winner, John Cappelletti, who took the award in 1973, Paternos abbreviated 2011 season was his 62nd on the Penn State coaching staff, which gave him the record for most seasons for any football coach at a single university. The 2009 season was Paternos 44th as head coach of the Nittany Lions, Paterno was known for his gameday image—thick glasses, rolled-up dress slacks, white socks and Brooklyn-tinged speech
21.
Placekicker
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Placekicker, or simply kicker, is the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the kickoff specialist or punter as well. The kicker initially was not a specialized role, george Blanda, Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung are prominent examples of players who were stars at other positions as well as being known for their kicking abilities. When the one-platoon system was abolished in the 1940s, the era of players gave way to increased specialization. Ben Agajanian, who started his career in 1945, was the first confirmed place-kicking specialist in the NFL. Because of the difference in techniques needed, to avoid leg fatigue, the placekicker usually will only punt when the punter is injured, and vice versa. A professional team will occasionally even have a kickoff specialist who handles only the kickoffs and serves as a backup to the kicker who handles field goals and extra points. This is typically done to protect a premier point-scoring kicker from injury or if he, while accurate. Amateur teams often do not differentiate between placekickers and punters, have different players assume different placekicking duties, or have regular position players handle kicking duties, the last option is quite common on high school teams, when the best athletes are often the best kickers. Before the modern era of pro football, this was also the case for professional teams, placekickers and punters are often the lowest paid starters on professional teams, although proven placekickers sometimes earn over $1 million per year in salary. It is not uncommon for placekickers to be some of the smallest members of their team, however, The New York Times in 2011 wrote that NFL kickers had adopted year-round weight training and strict diets. Sebastian Janikowski that year was a 6-foot-2-inch and 250-pound kicker, kicker Rob Bironas, who was 6 feet and 205 pounds, noted, I might be bigger than some wide receivers and cornerbacks. The presence of foreign born-and-raised players in the highest levels of football has largely been limited to placekickers. Notably Tom Landry recruited several players from Latin America, such as Efren Herrera and Raphael Septien. These anecdotes increase the perception of the placekicker as an outsider, the top 25 players in NFL history in career scoring are all placekickers. Stephen Gostkowski, of the New England Patriots, is the NFLs highest paid kicker, in the NFL, placekickers, along with punters and quarterbacks, are among the only players allowed to wear single-digit uniform numbers, kickers can also wear numbers between 10 and 19. In college and high school football, kickers can wear any number, the two players in documented football history to have worn the uniform number 100, Chuck Kinder and Bill Bell, were both placekickers. Previously, most placekickers used a straight on style, which required the use of a shoe that is extremely rigid and has a flattened
22.
Defensive tackle
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A defensive tackle is typically the largest and strongest of the defensive players in American football. The defensive tackle lines up opposite one of the offensive guards. Depending on a teams defensive scheme, a defensive tackle may be called upon to fill several different roles. These roles may include holding the point of attack by refusing to be moved or penetrating a certain gap between offensive linemen to break up a play in the opponents backfield. If a defensive tackle reads a play, his primary responsibility is to pursue the quarterback. Other responsibilities of the tackle may be to pursue the screen pass or drop into coverage in a zone blitz scheme. In a traditional 4–3 defensive set, there is no nose tackle, instead there is a left and right defensive tackle. Some teams especially in the NFL do have a nose tackle in this scheme, nose tackle is a defensive alignment position for a defensive lineman. In the 3–4 defensive scheme the sole defensive tackle is referred to as the nose tackle, the nose tackle aligns across the line of scrimmage from the offenses center before the play begins in the 0-technique position. In this position, frequently taking on the center and at least one if not both of the guards, the tackle is considered to be the most physically demanding position in football. In five-linemen situations, such as a formation, the nose guard is the innermost lineman. Typical 3–4 nose tackles are big wide bodies who can hold the point of attack and force double teams by the guard and they are usually the heaviest players on the roster, with weights ranging from 325 to 375 pounds. Also, height is critical, as they are supposed to get under the offensive line, recent examples of such nose tackles include Ron Simmons, Casey Hampton, Jamal Williams, Gilbert Brown, Dontari Poe, and Vince Wilfork. Rather uncommon are taller nose tackles, such as Ted Washington and Maake Kemoeatu, in some 4–3 defensive set, the nose tackle is one of two defensive tackles. Some teams especially in the NFL do have a nose tackle in the 4–3 defensive set, in a 4–3 defensive set, nose tackles are rather quick and supposed to shoot the A gap and beat the center and very likely the weak-side or pulling guard into the backfield. Height is not as important, and their weight is closer to 300 pounds, the terms nose guard or middle guard were more commonly used with the five-man defensive line of the older 5-2 defense. Effective against most plays of the day, but with a weakness to the short pass. In the 4-3 defense, the middle linebacker replaced the middle guard
23.
Center (gridiron football)
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Center is a position in American football and Canadian football. The center is the innermost lineman of the line on a football teams offense. The center is also the player who passes the ball between his legs to the quarterback at the start of each play, in recent years, the importance of centers for a football team has increased, due to the re-emergence of 3-4 defenses. According to Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, you need to have somebody who can neutralize that nose tackle, if you dont, everything can get screwed up. Your running game wont be effective and youll also have somebody in your quarterbacks face on every play, the centers first and primary role is to pass the football to the quarterback. This exchange is called a snap, most offensive schemes make adjustments based on how the defensive line and linebackers align themselves in relation to the offensive line, and what gaps they line up in. Because the center has a view of the defensive formation before the snap. This call is typically based on the position of the linemen or linebackers in his gaps. In some cases the center may call an adjustment for the offensive line. This was taken to an extreme by the Indianapolis Colts in the early 21st century, the center is therefore usually the most intelligent player on the offensive line, which is critical to a centers success. After the snap, the center performs blocking assignments, the blocking assignments vary by offense but typically consist of the following, Run blocking assignments will vary based on the current play and the defensive formation when the ball is snapped. Typically, these assignments consist of the following, Blocking middle or backside linebackers in certain formations, assisting guards in their blocking assignments. This may be a center/guard double-team where the center and guard are assigned to the target to get extra push or drive. Assistance may also be just a quick hit or chip to throw the player off balance and help the guard to execute his block. Backside blocking of defensive tackles for pulling guards, in some offensive schemes, certain plays will involve pulling an offensive lineman to block for the ball carrier. If a guard needs to pull for a block, the center will typically block the defensive tackle in order to fill the guards void, pass blocking for a center is similar to run blocking for a center. The center will initially help guards based on the position of the defensive linemen, in the case of a blitz, the center may need to pick up a rushing linebacker, safety or corner. A good center also needs to stay vigilant during pass blocking to protect against defensive stunts and twists, on most plays, the center will snap the ball directly into the quarterbacks hands
24.
Linebacker
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A linebacker is a playing position in American football and Canadian football. Linebackers are members of the team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen, and therefore back up the line. Linebackers generally align themselves before the ball is snapped by standing upright in a two point stance, the goal of the linebacker is to provide either extra run protection or extra pass protection based on the particular defensive play being executed. Another key play of the position is blitzing. A blitz occurs when a linebacker acts as a pass rusher running into any exposed gap. When a blitz is called by the defense, it is mainly to sack or hurry the opposing offenses quarterback. Linebackers are often regarded as the most important position in defence, due to their versatility in providing hard hits on running plays or a layer of pass protection. Similar to the safety position, linebackers are required to use their judgment on every snap. Before the advent of the two platoon system with units for offense and defense, the player who was the teams center on offense was often, though not always. Hence today one usually sees four defensive linemen to the five or more. Most sources claim coach Fielding H. Yost and center Germany Schulz of the University of Michigan invented the position, Schulz was Yosts first linebacker in 1904 when he stood up from his usual position on the line. Yost was horrified at first, but came to see the wisdom in Schulzs innovation, william Dunn of Penn St. was another Western linebacker soon after Schulz. However, there are historical claims tied to the linebacker position. For example, Percy Given of Georgetown is another center with a claim to the title first linebacker, despite Given, most sources have the first linebacker in the South as Frank Juhan of Sewanee. In the East, Ernest Cozens of Penn was one of the first of the centers, another, archaic term for the position. Walter E. Bachman of Lafayette was said to be the developer of the roving center concept, edgar Garbisch of Army was credited with developing the roving center method of playing defensive football in 1921. In professional football, Cal Hubbard is credited with pioneering the linebacker position and he starred as a tackle and end, playing off the line in a style similar to that of a modern linebacker. The middle or inside linebacker, sometimes called Mike or Mohr, is referred to as the quarterback of the defense
25.
Fullback (gridiron football)
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A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback. Examples of players who have excelled at the hybrid running-blocking-pass catching role include Mike Alstott, in the days before two platoons, the fullback was usually the teams punter and drop kicker. In modern play, the fullback is a misnomer. Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, most teams used four offensive backs on every play, a quarterback, two halfbacks, and a fullback. The quarterback began each play a quarter of the way back, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway back, and the fullback began each play the farthest back. In the modern game, when the quarterback is under center, fullbacks are typically known less for speed and agility and more for muscularity and the ability to shed tackles. In the modern NFL, fullbacks, while deployed as ball carriers, are often primarily a lead blocker to allow running backs to get to the secondary of the opposing teams defense. In the early 2000s, many NFL teams used blocking fullbacks, such as Tony Richardson and Lorenzo Neal and these backs cleared the way for some of the decades great running backs. There are still fullbacks who remaining prominent in the NFL, among them Aaron Ripkowski, Jamize Olawale, James Develin, John Kuhn, Patrick DiMarco, Mike Tolbert, Kyle Juszczyk, and Marcel Reece. However, in spite of their usually infrequent carries in modern NFL offenses, notably LeRon McClain was the rushing leader for the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and Tony Richardson led the Kansas City Chiefs in rushing in 2000. Giants running back Peyton Hillis started his NFL career as a fullback before being reverted into a halfback, although technically a running back, typically fullbacks are primarily valued for their blocking in most modern day offenses. The most common and simple runs, the Dive and the Blast, in the flexbone formation, however, the fullback can often be used as the primary rushing threat. In many other schemes, the fullback is used as a receiver. In selected plays, some teams will have a defensive lineman report as a receiver to line up as a fullback or tight end in a Miami package in goalline formation. Defensive Tackle William The Refrigerator Perry scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XX from the fullback position, most teams in the NFL do not have a substitute fullback, though there are exceptions. The role can be filled by backup or number three or four tight ends or bigger and less-frequently-used running backs. In modern offenses, fullbacks in an I-formation can be motioned into a 2-TE formation or H-back formation, the position is less frequently used in Canadian football, which focuses more on passing than running the ball
26.
Punter (football)
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This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a third down in the Canadian version. Punters may also take part in fake punts in those same situations. A punter must be skilled in angling the football and/or kicking it as high as possible to maximize his teammates’ ability to eliminate a punt returners forward progress. A standard is that for a 42-yard fair-caught or out-of-bounds punt, the hang time should be at least a tenth of it in seconds. However, a hang-time of 5 seconds and over are still considered great punts, also, the punter will try to make the ball spin in an unusual manner making it harder to catch, which could result in a muff and potentially lead to the punters team gaining possession. The most common punting strategy involves receiving the snap from the line of scrimmage,15 yards into a deep shotgun formation. A less-seen strategy is the kick, in which the punter moves to the left or right, outside the offensive tackle. Punters play a role in winning the field position battle. Punters have increasingly begun to pull double duty as the holder on field goal attempts and also being used on kickoffs in windy conditions. One of the reasons why punters are starting to take over the holder position is that the backup quarterback is usually busy with the rest of the offense and has little time to devote to holding. Likewise the punter has certain training in throwing, due to the possibility of faking a field goal or attempting a two-point conversion. The long snapper for field goals is usually the punt snapper as well, punters are usually on their own during team practices, allowing them the time to work with the kicker, so the punter and placekicker tend to develop a close rapport. Along with kicking, punters can run or throw the ball as well and this strategy is also known as the fake punt. Another common term is called the trick play, teams will often use this key strategy when it is 4th down with maybe 8 or less yards to the first down marker. The punter has the ability to receive the football and run or pass the ball to another teammate, when scrambling the punter is live to tackle. This strategy is used in a close game. Thus, punters tend to receive the most attention when teams are bad, a coffin corner refers to the corner of the playing field just in front of the end zone, usually from the 5-yard line to the goal line. A perfect coffin corner kick is one that goes out of bounds just before either orange pylon located in the front of the end zone and this type of kick can also be attempted in Canadian football
27.
Halfback (American football)
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A halfback is an offensive position in American football, whose duties involve lining up in the backfield and carrying the ball on most rushing plays, i. e. a running back. The halfback position is one of the more glamorous positions on the field, sometimes the halfback can catch the ball from the backfield on short passing plays as he is an eligible receiver. Occasionally, they line up as wide receivers. When not running or catching the ball, the responsibility of a halfback is to aid the offensive linemen in blocking. Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, all members of the backfield were legitimate threats to run or pass the ball. Most teams used four offensive backs on every play, a quarterback, the quarterback began each play a quarter of the way back, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway back, and the fullback began each play the farthest back. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the position was both an offensive and defensive position. There has also been a shift in most offense’s dependence on halfbacks, however, the average output of the halfback has not changed. Older systems require the halfback be proficient at throwing the ball downfield as well, many of the “scat backs” in the modern era produce more total yards and touchdowns than their ancestor “power backs” by breaking off big plays on outside runs and receptions. The spread offense and the hurry-up offense change the halfback’s role, the spread, the hurry-up, and the pro-style offenses dominate American football but the “smash-mouth” style of play is far from extinct. A power-running scheme is often utilized to counter an effective Spread attack, as it allows a team to control the clock and this strategy is utilized in NFL, college, and all other forms of American football. The need for “power backs is very prevalent, alongside the need for “scat backs”, in the past few decades the role of the halfback has gone through a great shift as most offensive game plans are now fueled by creativity and finesse instead of raw force. Stamina and durability is more important than ever in the hurry-up offense, on the other hand, speed is often valued over strength, and pass-catching ability is sometimes valued over blocking proficiency. Power was once the most desired trait in a halfback, but has been taken by the need for a diverse skill set. In the last few decades the running back’s individual share of output has declined as quarterbacks are generally treated as the cornerstone of the offense. The demands of an up-tempo offense also favor a multiple running back system, from the dawn of American football through the 1880s most offensive schemes focused on the running game. In a running based game plan the halfback was typically the cornerstone of the offense and this system focused on a physical run attack concentrated in the inside of the field, and therefore depended on a skilled “power back”. There were no forward passes, and pure speed took a backseat to tackle-breaking and bucking ability, there was a focus on physicality over finesse, as this type of playing style earned the moniker of “smash mouth” football
28.
Defensive end
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Defensive end is a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, early formations, with six- and seven-man lines, used the end as a containment player, whose job was first to prevent an end run around his position, then secondarily to force plays inside. Some teams would use both styles of end play, depending on game situations, some defensive ends play the position due to their size, they close down their gap so the running back has no hole to run through. Other ends play the position due to their speed and agility and these ends can time the snap of the ball in order to get a jump on the rush, and stop the play. Most of the time it is the job of the end to keep outside or contain. The defensive ends are fast for players of their size, often the fastest and smallest players on the defensive line and they must be able to shed blockers to get to the ball. Defensive ends are often used to cover the outside area of the line of scrimmage, to tackle ball carriers running to the far right or left side. Since the creation of zone blitz defenses in the late 1990s, defensive ends have sometimes used in pass coverages. In the 3–4 defense, defensive ends are used primarily as run stoppers and are much larger, often, the position is played by a more agile or slightly undersized defensive tackle. Because of the popularity of the 3–4 defense, the value of a defensive tackle prospect that can possibly be used in this manner has increased. They are used to distract the offensive lineman on pass rushing plays to let the outside linebackers get a sack and they block screen passes and are put outside of the offensive tackles to get a sack. Some say you might as well convert a nose tackle into a 3–4 end
29.
Quarterback
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A quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the team and line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, the quarterback touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and his successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of his team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified and scrutinized positions in team sports, prior to each play, the quarterback will usually tell the rest of his team which play the team will run. After the team is lined up, the center will pass the ball back to the quarterback, usually on a running play, the quarterback will then hand or pitch the ball backwards to a half back or full back. On a passing play, the quarterback is almost always the responsible for trying to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver downfield. Depending on the scheme by his team, the quarterbacks role can vary. While quarterbacks in Canadian football need to be able to throw the ball often, in the NFL, quarterbacks are required to wear a uniform number between 1 and 19. In the CFL, the quarterback can wear any number from 0 to 49 and 70 to 99. Because of their numbering, quarterbacks are eligible receivers in the NCAA, NFHS, after a Super Bowl victory, the starting quarterback is the first player to be presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The starting quarterback of the victorious Super Bowl team is chosen for the Im going to Disney World. Campaign, whether they are the Super Bowl MVP or not, examples include Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, Dilfer was chosen even though teammate Ray Lewis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, due to the bad publicity from Lewis murder trial the prior year. In addition to their role, quarterbacks are occasionally used in other roles. Most teams utilize a backup quarterback as their holder on placekicks, in the Wildcat, a formation where a halfback lines up behind the center and the quarterback lines up out wide, the quarterback can be used as a receiving target or a blocker. A more rare use for a quarterback is to punt the ball himself, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway was known to perform quick kicks occasionally, typically when the Broncos were facing a third-and-long situation. As Roger Staubachs back-up, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was also the teams punter, ascending the starting role upon Staubachs retirement, White held his position as the teams punter for several seasons—a double duty he performed to All-American standard at Arizona State University. White also had two touchdown receptions as a Dallas Cowboy, both from the halfback option, if quarterbacks are uncomfortable with the formation the defense is using, they may call an audible change to their play
30.
Wide receiver
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A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. They get their name because they are split out wide, furthest away from the rest of the team, wide receivers are among the fastest players on the field. The wide receiver functions as the pass-catching specialist, the wide receivers principal role is to catch passes from the quarterback. On passing plays, the attempts to avoid, outmaneuver. If the receiver becomes open, or has a path to the destination of a catch. Once a pass is thrown in his direction, the goal is to first catch the ball. A receivers height and weight also contribute to his expected role, a wide receiver has two potential roles during running plays. Particularly in the case of draw plays and other trick plays, alternatively, he may block normally for the running back. Well-rounded receivers are noted for blocking defensive backs in support of teammates in addition to their pass-catching abilities, sometimes wide receivers are used to run the ball, usually in some form of end-around or reverse. This can be effective because the defense usually does not expect them to be the carrier on running plays. For example, wide receiver Jerry Rice rushed the ball 87 times for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns in his 20 NFL seasons, in even rarer cases, receivers may pass the ball as part of a trick play. Despite the infrequency of these plays, some receivers have proven to be capable passers, wide receivers may also serve on special teams as kick returners or punt returners, as gunners on kick coverage teams, or as part of the hands team during onside kicks. Finally, on errant passes, receivers must frequently play a role by attempting to prevent an interception. If a pass is intercepted, receivers must use their speed to chase down, in the NFL, wide receivers can use the numbers 10–19 and 80–89. The wide receiver out of a position known as the end. Originally, the played on the offensive line, immediately next to the tackles. By the rules governing the forward pass, ends and backs are eligible receivers, most early football teams used the ends as receivers sparingly, their position often left them in heavy traffic with many defenders around. By the 1930s, some teams were experimenting with moving one end far out near the sideline and these split ends became the prototype for the modern wide receiver
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Running back
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A running back is an American and Canadian football position, a member of the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a play, to catch passes from out of the backfield. There are usually one or two running backs on the field for a play, depending on the offensive formation. A running back may be a halfback or a fullback, a running back will sometimes be called a feature back if he is the teams starting running back. The halfback or tailback position is responsible for carrying the ball on the majority of running plays, in the modern game, an effective halfback must have a blend of both quickness and agility as a runner, as well as sure hands and good vision up-field as a receiver. Quarterbacks depend on halfbacks as a safety valve receiver when primary targets downfield are covered or when they are under pressure, occasionally, halfbacks line up as additional wide receivers. As a trick play, running backs are used to pass the ball on a halfback option play or halfback pass. The difference between halfback and tailback is the position of the player in the offensive formation. In historical formations, the lined up approximately halfway between the line of scrimmage and the fullback. Because the halfback is usually the main ball carrier, modern offensive formations have positioned the halfback behind the fullback. As a result, some systems or playbooks will call for a tailback as opposed to a halfback, in most modern college and professional football schemes, fullbacks carry the ball infrequently, instead using their stronger physiques as primary lead blockers. On most running plays, the leads the halfback, attempting to block potential tacklers before they reach the ball carrier. When fullbacks are called upon to carry the ball, the situation calls for gaining a short amount of yardage. Fullbacks are technically running backs, but today the term running back is used in referring to the halfback or tailback. Although modern fullbacks are rarely used as carriers, in previous offensive schemes fullbacks would be the designated ball carriers. In high school football, where player sizes vary greatly, fullbacks are still used as ball carriers. In high school and college offenses, the triple option uses the fullback as a primary ball carrier. The fullback plays a role by establishing an inside running threat on every play
32.
Guard (American and Canadian football)
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In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right guards is the term for the guards on the right of the offensive line, Guards are to the right or left of the center. The guards job is to protect the quarterback from the incoming linemen during pass plays, Guards are automatically considered ineligible receivers, so they cannot intentionally touch a forward pass, unless it is to recover a fumble or is first touched by a defender or eligible receiver. This technique is used in most playbooks for outside runs and on counter plays, vanderbilts Dan McGugin is credited with first pulling guards. Since the Guard is free of responsibility for play-side outside runs and far-side counter plays, pulling is generally a unique responsibility for Guards
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End (gridiron football)
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An end in American and Canadian football is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage, usually beside the tackles. Rules state that an offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage. The position was used in this sense until roughly the 1960s, on offense, an end who lines up close to the other linemen is known as a tight end and is the only lineman who aside from blocking can run or catch passes. One who lines up some distance from the line is known as a split end. In recent years and the proliferation of the pass, the generic term wide receiver has come to define both split ends and flankers. The terms “split end” and “flanker” are often ditched today for terms like X and Z receivers, bill Carpenter was the first Lonesome end. On defense, there is a commonly used position called the defensive end and its primary role is to rush the passer, as well as to stop offensive runs to the outer edges of the line of scrimmage. However, as there are no rules regulating the formation of the defense, players at this position commonly take on, don Hutson of the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Green Bay Packers was one of the sports greatest. The self described other end opposite Hutson in college at Alabama was legendary coach Bear Bryant, gaynell Tinsley was another prominent of Hutsons time. Amos Alonzo Stagg of Yale and Arthur Cumnock of Harvard were ends on the first All-America team, Stagg went on to a hall of fame coaching career, some called Cumnock the greatest Harvard player of all time. Mike Ditka and Ron Sellers were some of the last to play the position in college, glossary of American football History of American football positions Tight end Defensive end Wide receiver
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Tackle (gridiron football position)
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Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions, the offensive tackle is a position on the offensive line, left and right. The term tackle is a vestige of an era of football in which the same players played both offense and defense. A tackle is the position on the offensive line. They power their blocks with quick steps and maneuverability, the tackles are mostly in charge of the outside protection. If the tight end goes out for a pass, the tackle must cover everyone that his guard does not, usually they defend against defensive ends. In the NFL, offensive tackles often measure over 6 ft 4 in and 300 lb, the Wonderlic is taken before the draft to assess each players aptitude for learning and problem solving, a score of 26 is estimated to correspond with an IQ of 112. The right tackle is usually the teams best run blocker, most running plays are towards the strong side of the offensive line. Consequently, the tackle will face the defending teams best run stoppers. He must be able to gain traction in his blocks so that the back can find a hole to run through. The left tackle is usually the teams best pass blocker, of the two tackles, the left tackles will often have better footwork and agility than the right tackle in order to counteract the pass rush of defensive ends. When a quarterback throws a pass, the quarterbacks shoulders are aligned roughly perpendicular to the line of scrimmage. Right-handed quarterbacks, the majority of players in the position, thus turn their backs to defenders coming from the left side, creating a vulnerable blind side that the left tackle must protect. A2006 book by Michael Lewis, The Blind Side, Evolution of a Game, made into a 2009 motion picture, the book and the films introduction discuss how the annual salary of left tackles in the NFL skyrocketed in the mid-90s. Recent examples include Eric Fisher, Luke Joeckel, Lane Johnson, Matt Kalil, Trent Williams, Jake Long, and Joe Thomas
35.
Tight end
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The tight end is a position in American football, Arena football, and formerly Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics. Like offensive linemen, they are lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be effective blockers. On the other hand, they are eligible receivers adept enough to warrant a defenses attention when running pass patterns, because of the hybrid nature of the position, the tight ends role in any given offense depends on the tactical preferences and philosophy of the head coach. In some systems, the end will merely act as a sixth offensive lineman rarely going out for passes. Other systems use the tight end primarily as a receiver, frequently taking advantage of the tight ends size to create mismatches in the defensive secondary. Many coaches will often have one tight end who specializes in blocking in running situations while using a pass catching tight end in obvious passing situations. Offensive formations may have as few as zero or as many as three tight ends at one time. If a wide receiver is present in a formation, but outside the tight end, also the offensive coordinator could use the tight end for a fullback. The advent of the end position is closely tied to the decline of the one-platoon system during the 1940s and 50s. Originally, a derived from the games evolution from other forms of football limited substitutions. Consequently, players had to be adept at playing on both sides of the ball, with most offensive linemen doubling as defensive linemen or linebackers, and receivers as defensive backs. As the transition from starters going both ways to dedicated offensive and defensive squads took place, players who did not fit the mold of the traditional positions began to fill niches. Those who were both good pass catchers and blockers but mediocre on defense were no longer liabilities, instead, many were too big to be receivers yet too small for offensive linemen. Greater use of the end as a receiver started in the 60s with the emergence of stars Mike Ditka. Until then most teams relied on the tight ends blocking as almost a sixth offensive lineman, in addition to superb blocking, Ditka offered great hands receiving and rugged running after a completion. Over a 12-year career, he caught 427 passes for over 5,800 yards and 43 touchdowns, Mackey brought speed, with six of his nine touchdown catches in one season being breakaways over 50 yards. Starting in 1980 the Coryell offense debuted tight end Kellen Winslow running wide receiver-type routes, tight ends prior to Winslow were primarily blockers lined up next to an offensive lineman and given short to medium drag routes
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Tennessee Titans
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The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference South division. Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team play in 1960 in Houston. The Oilers won the first two AFL Championships, and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the team relocated from Houston to Tennessee in 1997, and played at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis for one season. The club moved to Nashville in 1998 and played in Vanderbilt Stadium, for those two years, the team was known as the Tennessee Oilers, but changed its name to Titans in 1999. The team plays at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, which opened in 1999 as Adelphia Coliseum, the Titans training facility is at Saint Thomas Sports Park, a 31-acre site at the MetroCenter complex in Nashville. When the team debuted as the Houston Oilers in 1960, the logo was an oil rig derrick. Except for minor changes throughout the years, this logo remained the same until the team was renamed the Titans in 1999. The logo was originally called Ol Riggy, but this was dropped before the start of the 1974 season, the Oilers uniforms consisted of blue or white jerseys, red trim, and white pants. From 1966 through 1971, the pants with both the blue and white jerseys were silver, to match the color of the helmets, for selected games in 1973 and 1974, and again from 1981 through 1984, the Oilers wore their white jerseys at home. The light blue pants were discarded by coach Jeff Fisher in 1995, from 1960 to about 1965 and from 1972 to 1974, they wore blue helmets, from 1966 to 1971, the helmets were silver, and they were white from 1975 to 1998. During the 1997–98 period, when they were known as the Tennessee Oilers, the uniforms consist of white helmets, red trim, and either navy or white jerseys. White pants are worn with the navy jerseys, and navy pants are worn with the white jerseys. On both the navy and white jerseys, the shoulders and sleeves are light Titans blue. In a game against the Washington Redskins in 2006, the Titans wore their jerseys with navy pants for the first time. Since 2000, the Titans have generally worn their dark uniforms at home throughout the preseason and they have worn white at home during daytime contests on many occasions for September home games to gain an advantage with the heat except in the 2005,2006, and 2008 seasons. The Titans introduced an alternate jersey in 2003 that is light Titans blue, with navy outside shoulders and that jersey was usually worn with the road blue pants. When it was the jersey from 2003 to 2007, the Titans wore the jersey twice in each regular season game
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Zak DeOssie
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Zackary Robert DeOssie is an American football long snapper for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He played college football for Brown University, and was drafted by the Giants in the round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection as a long snapper, DeOssie has earned two Super Bowl rings with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI. He is the son of former NFL linebacker Steve DeOssie, the two hold the distinction of being the only duo to win Super Bowls with the same franchise. DeOssie attended Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts where he was named to the All-New England Prep Team and he also lettered in basketball and captained both the varsity basketball and football teams during his senior year. He was a two-time I-AA All-American at Brown and was twice among the finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, as a senior in 2006, was a First-team All-America by The NFL Draft Report, earning 3rd-team honors from the Associated Press. The prior year, as a sophomore, he was a First-Team All-Ivy selection and he made 98 tackles and intercepted a pass. DeOssie became the first player in Browns history to be invited to NFL Combine in 2007 and was the only Ivy league player invited that season and his 4. 58-second 40-yard dash was eighth-fastest among all linebackers - a factor that significantly boosted his draft stock. His 26 repetitions of 225 pounds on the press was the fifth-best for a linebacker. He had a 34½ vertical leap, a 102 broad jump, a 4.00 in the shuttle. DeOssie was selected in the round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He mostly played on teams during his rookie season, taking over as the long snapper when starter Ryan Kuehl was placed on injured reserve midway through the year. He finished with six tackles for the season as the Giants won Super Bowl XLII, DeOssie played an extended role on defense in 2008 after Mathias Kiwanuka moved from outside linebacker to defensive end. He continued to share the long snapping duties with Jay Alford and was chosen by Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid as a player in the 2009 Pro Bowl. In 2008, DeOssie played in all 16 games and the NFC Divisional Playoff Game against Philadelphia and he served as the long snapper and finished 3rd on the team in special team tackles with 13. For the 2011 season, he, was selected as the teams captain. On January 22,2012, the Giants won the National Conference title with a win against the San Francisco 49ers on a field goal breaking the 17-17 tie. They defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, on September 2,2012, he was chosen as one of the three captains for the Giants
38.
New York Giants
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The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team plays its games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants hold their training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The Giants were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925 and their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. Throughout their history, the Giants have featured 28 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor. The teams heated rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating all the way back to 1933, the Giants played their first game as an away game against All New Britain in New Britain, Connecticut, on October 4,1925. They defeated New Britain 26–0 in front of a crowd of 10,000, the Giants were successful in their first season, finishing with an 8–4 record. In its third season, the finished with the best record in the league at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title. In 1930, there were many who questioned the quality of the professional game. In December 1930, the Giants played a team of Notre Dame All Stars at the Polo Grounds to raise money for the unemployed of New York City and it was also an opportunity to establish the skill and prestige of the pro game. Knute Rockne reassembled his Four Horsemen along with the stars of his 1924 Championship squad and told them to score early, Rockne, like much of the public, thought little of pro football and expected an easy win. But from the beginning it was a one-way contest, with Friedman running for two Giant touchdowns and Hap Moran passing for another, when it was all over, Coach Rockne told his team, That was the greatest football machine I ever saw. I am glad none of you got hurt, the game raised $100,000 for the homeless, and is often credited with establishing the legitimacy of the professional game for those who were critical. It also was the last game the legendary Rockne ever coached, in a 14-year span from 1933 to 1947, the Giants qualified to play in the NFL championship game 8 times, winning twice. During this period the Giants were led by Hall of Fame coach Steve Owen, the period also featured the 1944 Giants, which are ranked as the #1 defensive team in NFL history. a truly awesome unit. They gave up only 7.5 points per game and shut out five of their 10 opponents, though they lost 14-7 to the Green Bay Packers in the 1944 NFL Championship Game. The famous Sneakers Game was played in this era where the Giants defeated the Chicago Bears on an icy field in the 1934 NFL Championship Game, the Giants played the Detroit Lions to a scoreless tie on November 7,1943
39.
Sean Morey (American football)
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Sean Joseph Morey is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He played college football at Brown and he was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. Morey also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals and he earned a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers in Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks. Morey graduated from Marshfield High School of Marshfield, Massachusetts in 1994, at Hebron, Morey led the football team to win the New England Prep School Class D Championship in 1994. He would win All-Evergreen League Team, Evergreen League MVP, and he played both wide receiver and defensive back while in high school. Sean was one of seven Brown players selected as First Team All-Ivy League in 1998, including Stephen Campbell, Zack Burns, Tim Hevesy, James Perry, Alex Pittz, Sean Morey finished his career second in all-time receiving yards in Division I-AA behind only Jerry Rice. After his stunning career, Sean was the first Brown player to have his number retired and he also earned a degree with honors in organizational behavior and management. Morey was originally selected with the 35th pick of the round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He remained with the Patriots until the end of the 2000 season, in 2001 Morey joined the Philadelphia Eagles where he would become 2003 Special Teams MVP. That same year he was nominated for Dr. Zs All-Pro team as a teams player. Also in 2003, Morey became the 12th player in NFL Europe history to catch 3 touchdown passes in a game playing for the Barcelona Dragons. The Steelers acquired Morey September 6,2004 as a free agent. He was captain of special teams for Pittsburgh, Moreys role for the Steelers was mostly special teams, he did not usually line up at wide receiver. In 2006, Moreys role expanded because of injuries to wide receivers Hines Ward and he finished the season with just 2 receptions, but also contributed with his blocking and with his work on special teams. He collected a team-high 21 special teams tackles while also returning eight kickoffs for 202 yards, in a Week 11 24-20 victory over the Browns, he had a 76-yard kickoff return. The Arizona Cardinals signed Morey on March 15,2007 to a free agent contract. Morey rejoined ex-Steeler coaches Ken Whisenhunt, Russ Grimm and Kevin Spencer in Arizona, the Cardinals released Morey on March 17,2008, but re-signed him on March 26. Morey blocked a punt in overtime against the Cowboys on October 12,2008 that was run in by teammate, Monty Beisel and it was the first time in NFL history that a game was ended in overtime by a blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown
40.
New England Patriots
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The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region. The Patriots compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium, an original member of the American Football League, the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of the two leagues. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971, the Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001, then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season. The Patriots rivalry with the New York Jets is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL. The Patriots have appeared in the Super Bowl nine times in franchise history, the Patriots have since become one of the most successful teams in NFL history, winning 14 AFC East titles in 16 seasons since 2001, without a losing season in that period. The team owns the record for most Super Bowls reached and won by a head coach–quarterback tandem, the Patriots are tied with the 49ers and Cowboys for the second most Super Bowl wins with five. The Steelers are in front with six, however, the Patriots are the only team to win five Super Bowls with the same coach and quarterback. On November 16,1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth, the following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football teams official name. The most popular choice – and the one that Sullivan selected – was the Boston Patriots, immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell of The Boston Globe developed the Pat Patriot logo. The Patriots struggled for most of their years in the AFL, nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. They played in only one AFL championship game, following the 1963 season and they did not appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years. When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference East division, the following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which would serve as their home for the next 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would change their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots, the name was rejected by the NFL and on March 22,1971, the team officially announced they would change its geographic name to New England. During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success, earning a berth to the playoffs in 1976—as a wild card team—and in 1978—as AFC East champions and they lost in the first round both times. In 1985, they returned to the playoffs, and made it all the way to Super Bowl XX, following their Super Bowl loss, they returned to the playoffs in 1986, but lost in the first round. The team would not make the playoffs again for eight more years, during the 1990 season, the Patriots went 1–15. They changed ownership three times in the ensuing 14 years, being purchased from the Sullivan family first by Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to James Orthwein in 1992
41.
Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as a team in 1960. The team competes in the National Football Conference North division, before that, the Vikings were in the NFC Central, the team has played in four Super Bowl games, but lost each one. The team plays its games at U. S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis, professional football in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s. However, a new team in the area did not surface again until August 1959. Skoglund, and Max Winter were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League. Ole Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because, in the 1920s, when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league, the agreement allowed him 10 percent of any future Minnesota team. Coincidentally or not, the teams from Ole Haugsruds high school, Central High School in Superior, Wisconsin, were called the Vikings. From the teams first season in 1961 to 1981, the team called Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington home, the Vikings conducted summer training camp at Bemidji State University from 1961 to 1965. In 1966, the moved to their current training camp at Minnesota State University in Mankato. The Vikings played their games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis from 1982 to 2013. The Vikings played their last game at the Metrodome on December 29,2013, since the teams first season in 1961, the Vikings have had one of the highest winning percentages in the NFL. As of 2014, they have won at least three games in every season except in 1962, and are one of only six NFL teams to win at least 15 games in a regular season. The Vikings have won one NFL Championship, in 1969, before the merger with the American Football League. Since the league merger in 1970, they have qualified for the playoffs 26 times, the team has played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI, though failing to win any of them. In addition, they have lost in their last five NFC Championship Game appearances since 1978, the team currently has 13 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27,1960
