1.
Green Bay Packers
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The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. They are also the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, organized and it is the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team based in the United States. Home games are played at Lambeau Field, the Packers are the last vestige of small town teams common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, between 1919 and 1920, the Packers competed against other semi-pro clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association, the forerunner of todays NFL, the Packers have won 13 league championships, the most in NFL history, with nine NFL titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowl victories. They won the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968 and were the only NFL team to defeat the American Football League prior to the AFL–NFL merger. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is named after the Packers head coach of the same name and their two further Super Bowl wins came in 1997 and 2011. The Packers are long-standing adversaries of the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, the Bears–Packers rivalry is one of the oldest in NFL history, dating back to 1921. The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11,1919 by former high-school football rivals Earl Curly Lambeau, Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor, the Green Bay Packers have played in their original city longer than any other team in the NFL. On August 27,1921, the Packers were granted a franchise in the new pro football league that had been formed the previous year. Financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise was forfeited within the year, before Lambeau found new financial backers and these backers, known as the Hungry Five, formed the Green Bay Football Corporation. After a near-miss in 1927, Lambeaus squad claimed the Packers first NFL title in 1929 with an undefeated 12–0–1 campaign, among the many impressive accomplishments of these years was the Packers streak of 29 consecutive home games without defeat, an NFL record which still stands. The arrival of end Don Hutson from Alabama in 1935 gave Lambeau, credited with inventing pass patterns, Hutson would lead the league in receptions eight seasons and spur the Packers to NFL championships in 1936,1939 and 1944. An iron man, Hutson played both ways, leading the league in interceptions as a safety in 1940, Hutson claimed 18 NFL records when he retired in 1945, many of which still stand. In 1951, his number 14 was the first to be retired by the Packers, after Hutsons retirement, Lambeau could not stop the Packers slide. He purchased a large lodge near Green Bay for team members, rockwood Lodge was the home of the 1946-1949 Packers, though the 1947 and 1948 seasons produced a record of 12-10-1, and 1949 was even worse at 3-9
2.
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
3.
2007 NFL season
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The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League. Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30, the New England Patriots became the first team to complete the regular season undefeated since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. However, with all efforts being put into the London regular season game, plans for the game were postponed, on March 26,2007, the league announced the aforementioned opening Saints-Colts Kickoff Game on September 6 that would be telecast on NBC. Pre-game activities featured Indiana native John Mellencamp, Faith Hill, the entertainment portion of events started 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled start time of the game, leading up to the unveiling of the Colts Super Bowl XLI championship banner. The opening events were simulcast on NFL Network, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the New York Giants in the first Sunday night game September 9 at 8,15 p. m. Monday Night Football on ESPN kicked off with a doubleheader on September 10 with the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Baltimore Ravens at 7,00 p. m, US EDT, and the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Arizona Cardinals at 10,15 p. m. The 49ers paid tribute to three-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Walsh, in October 2006, NFL club owners approved a plan to stage up to two international regular season games per season beginning in 2007 and continuing through at least 2011. In Week 9, the New England Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts in a battle of undefeated teams, many people dubbed the game Super Bowl 41 1⁄2. The Patriots prevailed 24–20, and would finish the regular season as the leagues first 16–0 team. For the second year in a row, three games were held on the United States Thanksgiving Day. In addition to the traditional games hosted by the Detroit Lions and Cowboys, based on the NFLs scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2007 were, The NFL entered its second year of flexible scheduling in the final weeks of the season. In each of the Sunday night contests from Weeks 11 through 17, NBC had the option of switching its Sunday night game for a more favorable contest, in addition to an extra week of flexible scheduling, the NFL slightly changed its flex-schedule procedure. In 2006, the league did not reveal its predetermined Sunday night game, in 2007, the league announced all predetermined matchups, with a footnote on the games subject to flex scheduling. The first flex game was the New England Patriots visiting the Buffalo Bills on November 18, additionally, the Dallas Cowboys–Washington Redskins game was switched on Fox from 1 PM kickoff to 4,15 PM. B Detroit finished in place in the NFC North over Chicago based on a head-to-head sweep over Chicago. C Carolina finished in place in the NFC South over New Orleans based on a better conference record. D Kansas City finished in place in the AFC West over Oakland based on a better record against common opponents. E Tennessee clinched the AFC No.6 seed over Cleveland based on a record against common opponents
4.
Formation (American football)
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A formation in American football refers to the position players line up in before the start of a down. There are both offensive and defensive formations and there are many formations in both categories. At the highest level of play in the NFL and NCAA, the one constant in all formations is the line, consisting of the left and right tackle, left and right guard. These five positions are referred to collectively as the line. By rule there must be two players on the line of scrimmage called ends. These players are eligible receivers and may play near the linemen or farther away, most teams play additional players near the line of scrimmage to act as extra pass receivers. Up to four players can be behind the line. Upon the snap of the ball, the quarterback becomes the ball carrier, the ball carrier has five options, He may keep the ball and run with it. He may hand or pitch the ball sideways or backwards to another player, multiple pitches are permitted on a single play, as long as all of them go backwards. He may throw a pass to an eligible receiver, who then becomes the new ball carrier. Only 1 forward pass is permitted per play, and the pass must occur behind the line of scrimmage. A forward pass is distinct from a pitch, and any number of pitches are permitted before or after a forward pass and he may hold the ball for a place-kicker who attempts a field goal. He may kick the ball himself, either by punting the ball to the other team, the three other backs can be halfbacks, fullbacks, or they can play near the line of scrimmage to act as extra tight ends or wide receivers. A tight end that fills the role as the 4th back is called an H-Back. Most formations have a side and a weak side. The ends, which may be either wide receivers, or tight ends, may catch a passed ball or receive a handoff. The 7 players are not required to be next to other, so they may spread out across the width of the field. The other players not on the line may be positioned anywhere, the traditional saying is 7 on the line,4 in the backfield but this is something of a misnomer, as backfield usually refers to the area directly behind the offensive line
5.
American football positions
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In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time. The specific role that a player takes on the field is called his position, under the modern rules of American football, teams are allowed unlimited substitutions, that is, teams may change any number of players after any play. This has resulted in the development of three platoons of players, the offense, the defense, and the special teams, within those platoons, various specific positions exist depending on what each players main job is. In American football, the offense is the side in which the players have possession of the ball and it is their job to advance the ball towards the opponents end zone to score points. The backs and receivers are also known as skill position players or as eligible receivers. Offensive linemen are not usually eligible to advance the ball past the line of scrimmage during a play, the organization of the offense is strictly mandated by the rules, there must be at least seven players on the line of scrimmage and no more than four players behind it. The only players eligible to handle the ball during a play are the backs. The remaining players are considered ineligible, and may only block, within these strictures, however, creative coaches have developed a wide array of offensive formations to take advantage of different player skills and game situations. The following positions are standard in every game, though different teams will use different arrangements of them. The offensive line is responsible for blocking. The offensive line consists of, Center The center is the player who begins the play from scrimmage by snapping the ball to the quarterback. As the name suggests, the center usually plays in the middle of the offensive line, like all offensive linemen, the center has the responsibility to block defensive players. The center often also has the responsibility to call out blocking assignments, offensive guard Two guards line up directly on either side of the center. Like all interior linemen, their function is to block on both running and passing plays, in such cases, the guard is referred to as a pulling guard. Guards are typically shorter builds than tackles but taller than centers, offensive tackle Two tackles play outside of the guards. Their role is primarily to block on both running and passing plays, the area from one tackle to the other is an area of close line play in which blocks from behind, which are prohibited elsewhere on the field, are allowed. For a right-handed quarterback, the tackle is charged with protecting the quarterback from being hit from behind. Like a guard, the tackle may have to pull, on a running play, the six backs and receivers are those that line up outside or behind the offensive line
6.
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
7.
Canadian football
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In Canada, the term football may refer to Canadian football and American football collectively, or to either sport specifically, depending on context. The two sports have shared origins and are related but have significant differences. Rugby football in Canada originated in the early 1860s, and over time, active teams such as the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have similar longevity. The CFL is the most popular and only major professional Canadian football league and its championship game, the Grey Cup, is one of Canadas largest sporting events, attracting a broad television audience, though it has been shrinking in recent years. In 2009, about 40% of Canadas population watched part of the game, in 2014, it was closer to 33%, great achievements in Canadian football are enshrined in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame located in Hamilton, Ontario. Other organizations across Canada perform senior league Canadian football during the summer, the first documented football match was a practice game played on November 9,1861, at University College, University of Toronto. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was Sir William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. The first written account of a game played was on October 15,1862 and it was between the First Battalion Grenadier Guards and the Second Battalion Scots Fusilier Guards resulting in a win by the Grenadier Guards 3 goals,2 rouges to nothing. In 1864, at Trinity College, Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, Frederick A. Bethune, the game gradually gained a following, with the Hamilton Football Club formed on November 3,1869. Montreal formed a team April 8,1872, Toronto was formed on October 4,1873, and this rugby-football soon became popular at Montreals McGill University. McGill challenged Harvard University to a game, in 1874 using a game of English rugby devised by the University of McGill. Later both the Ontario and Quebec Rugby Football Union were formed, and then the Interprovincial and Western Interprovincial Football Union, the CRFU reorganized into an umbrella organization forming the Canadian Rugby Union in 1891. The original forerunners to the current Canadian Football League, was established in 1956 when the IRFU and WIFU formed an umbrella organization, and then in 1958 the CFC left The CRFU to become the CFL. The Burnside rules closely resembling American football that were incorporated in 1903 by The ORFU, was an effort to distinguish it from a more rugby-oriented game, the rules were an attempt to standardize the rules throughout the country. The CIRFU, QRFU and CRU refused to adopt the new rules at first, the primary differences between the Canadian and American games stem from rule changes that the American side of the border adopted but the Canadian side did not. The Canadian field width was one rule that was not based on American rules, as the Canadian game was played in wider fields, initially an amateur competition, it eventually became dominated by professional teams in the 1940s and early 1950s. The Ontario Rugby Football Union, the last amateur organization to compete for the trophy, the move ushered in the modern era of Canadian professional football. Canadian football has mostly been confined to Canada, with the United States being the other country to have hosted high-level Canadian football games
8.
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
9.
Snap (gridiron football)
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A snap is the backwards passing of the ball in American and Canadian football at the start of play from scrimmage. A player, the Center, delivers the ball to player. The Center may hand, throw, or even roll the ball to the other player, the snap must be a quick and continuous movement of the ball by one or both hands of the Center, and the ball must leave the Centers hands. The various rules codes have additional requirements, all of which have the effect of requiring the ball to go backwards to a player behind the line of scrimmage, the Center is almost always the center. The Center almost always passes the ball between his legs, but only in Canadian football is that required, additional rules apply regarding the positioning and stance of the Center as one of several line players in anticipation of the snap. For a handed snap, the Center will usually have his head up, for a thrown snap, especially in formations wherein the ball may be snapped to players in different positions, the Center will commonly bend over looking between his legs. However, in professional football it is common for a center to be able to practice a single shotgun formation thrown snap enough to keep his head up, in the National Football League, the snap is considered a backward pass and not a handoff. Since the loose ball was a backward pass and not a fumble, any player could pick up the ball and advance the ball—if it were a fumble. Therefore, they have an advantage over their opponents. The snap count is decided on in the huddle, usually expressed as. on <number>, being the final words spoken by the quarterback after calling the play but before the huddle breaks and the players go to the line of scrimmage. The snap count allows offensive players to have a head start. By varying the snap count, a quarterback forces the players to react to the movement of the offensive players. Unfortunately for the offense, this advantage can sometimes become a disadvantage, when faced with an exceptionally loud stadium, players may be unable to hear the snap count, and are forced to concentrate more on visual cues, or risk false start penalties. The offense must also be mindful of the play clock, if they fail to snap the ball in time they incur a delay of game penalty. Also, with a play clock, the defense has better chances of guessing when the ball will be snapped. It is easier to predict when the ball will be snapped with 2 seconds left on the play clock, the defensive team is not allowed to simulate, by calling out numbers, the offenses snap count. Successfully simulating the count would cause members of the team to act too early ruining co-ordination of the play. The snap, the set scrum and ruck in todays rugby union, the rule adopted by a committee for American football in 1880 first provided for the uncontested right of one side to play the ball by foot for a scrimmage
10.
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
11.
Line of scrimmage
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In American and Canadian football, a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end of the most recent play, a line of scrimmage is parallel to the goal lines and touches one edge of the ball where it sits on the ground prior to the snap. Under NFL, NCAA, and NFHS rules, there are two lines of scrimmage at the outset of each play, one restricts the offense. The area between the two lines is called the neutral zone, only the center, the offensive player who snaps the ball, is allowed to have any part of his body in the neutral zone. In Canadian football, the team on defense must line up no nearer than a yard to the line of scrimmage, in American football, they must only be beyond the line. Many fans and commentators refer colloquially to the neutral zone as the line of scrimmage. Others use the term to refer specifically to the defensive line of scrimmage. Referees, when explaining a penalty, will refer to the spot instead of the line of scrimmage in order to avoid confusion. Modern video techniques enable broadcasts of American football to display a visible line on the screen representing the line of scrimmage, the line is tapered according to camera angle and gets occluded by players and other objects as if the line were painted on the field. The line may represent the line of scrimmage or the distance that the ball must be moved for the offensive team to achieve a first down. Scrummage Glossary of American football Walter Camp, formal creator of the line of scrimmage in 1880 Comparison of Canadian and American football
12.
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
13.
Short punt formation
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The short punt formation is an older formation on both offense and defense in American football, popular when scoring was harder and a good punt was itself an offensive weapon. In times when punting on second and third down was fairly common, teams would line up in the short punt formation and offer the triple threat of punt, harpers Weekly in 1915 called it the most valuable formation known to football. The formation is similar to the wing and modern shotgun by including the possibility of a long snap from center. However, it is generally a balanced formation, and there are backs on both sides of the tailback, offering better pass protection, as a result, it was considered a much better passing formation than running, as the premiere running formation was the single wing. That said, it was regarded as a formation for trap plays The formation was invented by Amos Alonzo Stagg in 1896. Andy Smith, coach of Californias Wonder Teams summed up the short-punt philosophy with his motto of Kick, in the early days of the sport the ball was often moved up the field, not through offensive plays, but rather through punting. Once the opposing team got the ball, the defense was relied upon to make the teams offense lose yards or fumble. To confuse the opponent and attain longer punts, the punting was often done on first or second downs, the formation was used extensively by Fielding Yosts point-a-minute, hurry up Michigan Wolverines in their early history, as well as his disciple Dan McGugins Vanderbilt Commodores. Bill Roper used the short punt at Princeton, the short punt was the base formation for the Benny Friedman-led New York Giants in 1931. In the 1956 NFL Championship, the Chicago Bears shifted into a punt formation in the third quarter, after falling way behind. Glossary of American football Early history of American football Punt
14.
Single-wing formation
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In American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation, created by Glenn Pop Warner, was a precursor to the modern spread or shotgun formation. The term usually connotes formations in which the snap is tossed rather than handed—formations with one wingback, the single wing was superior to the T formation in its ability to get an extra eligible receiver down field. Traditionally, the single-wing was a formation that featured a core of four backs including a tailback, a fullback, a quarterback. Linemen were set unbalanced, or simply put, there were two linemen on one side and four on the side of the center. This was done by moving the off-side guard or tackle to the strong side, the single-wing was one of the first formations attempting to trick the defense instead of over-powering it. Pop Warner referred to his new scheme as the Carlisle formation because he formulated most of the offense while coaching the Carlisle Indians. The term single-wing came into use after spectators noticed that the formation gave the appearance of a wing-shape. In 1907, Warner coached at Carlisle, a school for Native Americans, the first was the discovery of Jim Thorpes raw athletic ability. The second was the use of a passing game that relied on the spiraled ball. Finally, faking backs who started one way, but abruptly headed the opposite way, because Jim Thorpe had so much raw talent, Coach Warner more than likely designed much of his single-wing offense around this gifted athlete. Thorpe, the triple threat, was a good runner, passer. For much of the history of the formation, players were expected to play on both sides of the ball. Consequently, offensive players often turned around to play a corresponding location on defense, the offensive backs played defensive backs, just as the offensive linemen played defensive linemen. Unlike teams of today, single-wing teams had few specialists who only played on certain downs, college football playbooks prior to the 1950s were dominated with permutations of the traditional single-wing envisioned by Warner. Two-time All-American Jack Crains handwritten playbook clearly denotes how the University of Texas ran their version of the single-wing circa 1939-1940, University of Texas Coach Dana X. Bible ran a line, which means that there were the same numbers of linemen on each side of the center. Also, the ends were slightly split, slightly splitting offensive ends, called flexing, was in widespread use by Notre Dames Box variation of the single-wing. Knute Rocknes Notre Dame Box offense employed a balanced line, which had 3 linemen on each side of the center, another Rockne innovation was a shifting backfield that attempted to confuse the defense by moving backs to alternate positions right before the snap
15.
Triple-threat man
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In gridiron football, a triple-threat man is a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player, triple-threat men were the norm in the early days of football, as substitution rules were stringent. Thus, in addition to the need for passing, running, as injury awareness grew and substitution rules loosened, teams shifted to kicking specialists, which made the triple-threat man obsolete. One of the last triple-threat men in football was George Blanda. Danny White, a quarterback and punter, retired in 1989, since then, non-specialists have placekicked only extremely infrequently in the NFL. One instance occurred when Doug Flutie—also adept at running and passing as a scrambling quarterback—drop kicked an extra point in 2006 during the last play of his career. There are, however, still dual-threat quarterbacks and wildcat halfbacks, a quarterback who played wide receiver in high school or college may sparingly catch passes or be converted into a wide receiver who occasionally passes. For over forty years the NFL single-season scoring record was held by a triple-threat man, Hornung set a record of 176 points in 1960 by scoring fifteen touchdowns, kicking forty-one extra points, and also kicking fifteen field goals. The record remained unbroken until 2006, when San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson scored 186 points, unlike Hornung, who scored points three different ways, Tomlinsons points all came from touchdowns scored as he set an NFL record with 28 rushing touchdowns and 31 total. Possibly the only active triple-threat man is Taylor Heinicke, quarterback for the Old Dominion University Monarchs football team, starting quarterback of the team, in 2012 he passed for 5,076 yards, ran for 470, and punted for 415 yards. Saint Louis Universitys Bradbury Robinson, who threw the first legal pass in football history in 1906, was undoubtedly the first triple-threat man. He was the Blue and Whites premier passer and sportswriters of the era reported that he excelled as a kicker and was an electrifying runner, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Ed Wray covered SLU football throughout Robinsons career. In an October 1947 column, Wray declared that the title of first triple-threat man belonged to Robinson because throughout the 1906 season used Robinson to pass, kick and he was an A1 punter, too. This three way use of Robby added greatly to the teams offensive deception, referee Horatio B. Hackett of West Point was amazed by Robinson’s passing. Hackett officiated major college games for three decades and was a member of footballs rules committee, the Minneapolis Star quoted Lt. Hackett as saying of Robinson, Whew, that chap is a wonder. He beats anything I ever saw and he looks as though 40 yards is dead for him, and hes got accuracy with it. Hall of Fame coach David M. Nelson wrote that “St. Louis had a passer in Brad Robinson. ”In his book The Anatomy of a Game, Football, the Rules. “Considering the size, shape and weight of the ball”, Nelson concluded, sports historian John Sayle Watterson agreed
16.
TCU Horned Frogs football
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The TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University. The Horned Frogs compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States, TCU began playing football in 1896 and claims national championships in 1935 and 1938. TCU has one Heisman Trophy winner, Davey OBrien, and has had eight former players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Horned Frogs play their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on the TCU campus in Fort Worth. TCU ranks as the 28th best college football program of all time, the Horned Frogs are also one of only four FBS teams to have played in all six College Football Playoff Bowls, winning all but the Fiesta and Orange. TCUs first year of football started on December 7,1896, TCU won its first game ever played by beating Tobys Business College to the score of 8–6, apparently not having to use any substitutes. TCU finished its first ever season with a record of 12–0–0, prior to joining the Southwest Conference in 1923, TCU amassed a record of 165–15–0. In 1912, TCU went 8–1–0 and scored 230 points while only allowing 53 points the whole season, in 1920, TCU won its first conference title as a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Horned Frogs 9–1–0 record earned them a spot in the Fort Worth Classic, also known as the Dixie Bowl, although the game was played in Fort Worth, Centre won the game 63–7. In 1923, TCU endured a 5-game winning streak during its first year in the SWC, but it earned a 2–1–0 conference record, one loss that year was a 40–21 decision against TCUs emerging rival, the SMU Mustangs, who went 9–0 en route to a conference championship. The next year, TCU finished second place in the conference with a 5–1 SWC record, after two great seasons, the Horned Frogs righted the ship. Prior to 1923 TCU had had a door of coaches. Following entrance to the SWC, the established a high degree of stability, employing just four coaches over the next 43 years. Under those four coaches (Bell, Schmidt, Meyer, and Martin, matty Bell, who began coaching the Frogs in 1923, had his best year in 1928, his last year as coach. That years only came at home 7–6 to the Baylor Bears. That year the Frogs finished in place in the conference at 8–2–0 overall. The 1929 season saw the arrival of Coach Francis Schmidt and TCUs first SWC title, the title was won in the last game of the year on November 30,1929 against SMU. Coming into the game TCU led SMU in the conference standings, TCU had 4 wins, while SMUs conference record was 3–0–1. Since this was the last conference game of the year for teams, TCU could win its first SWC title with a win or a tie
17.
San Francisco 49ers
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The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team located in the San Francisco Bay Area. They compete in the National Football League as a member of the leagues National Football Conference West division, the team currently plays its home games at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located 45 miles southeast of San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley. Since 1988, the 49ers have been headquartered in Santa Clara, the team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and joined the NFL in 1949 when the leagues merged. The 49ers were the first major professional sports franchise based in San Francisco. The name 49ers comes from the prospectors who arrived in Northern California in the 1849 Gold Rush, the team is legally and corporately registered as the San Francisco Forty Niners, Ltd. The team began play at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco before moving across town to Candlestick Park in 1970 and then to Levis Stadium in Santa Clara in 2014. The 49ers won five Super Bowl championships between 1981 and 1995, led by Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young, and coach Bill Walsh. As of the 2016 NFL season, the team has won a total of six championships, with the first in 1981. The 49ers have been in the playoffs a total of 26 times,25 times in the NFL. According to Forbes Magazine, the team is the 4th most-valuable team in the NFL, in 2016, the San Francisco 49ers were ranked the 10th most valuable sports team in the world, behind the Los Angeles Lakers and above Bayern Munich. In 1957, the 49ers enjoyed their first sustained success as members of the NFL, the 49ers fell behind the Bears 17–7. Tragically, 49ers owner Tony Morabito collapsed of a heart attack, the 49ers players learned of his death at halftime when coach Frankie Albert was handed a note with two words, Tonys gone. With tears running down their faces, and motivated to win for their departed owner, dicky Moegles late-game interception in the endzone sealed the victory. After Tonys death 49er ownership went to Victor Morabito and Tonys widow, the 49ers special assistant to the Morabitos, Louis G. Spadia was named general manager. They became the only full-house backfield inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, for most of the next 13 years, the 49ers hovered around.490, except for 1963 and 1964 when they went 2–12 and 4–10 respectively. Key players for these 49ers included running back Ken Willard, quarterback John Brodie, during this time the 49ers became the first NFL team to use the shotgun formation. It was named by the man who devised the formation, San Francisco 49ers coach Red Hickey. The formation, where the lines up seven yards behind the center, was designed to allow the quarterback extra time to throw
18.
John Brodie
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John Riley Brodie is a former American football player, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League for seventeen seasons. He had a career as a Senior PGA Tour professional golfer. During various years of his NFL career, Brodie led the League in passing yardage, passing touchdowns, least sacks and he retired as the third most prolific career passer in NFL history, and was the league MVP in 1970 and a two-time Pro Bowler. Born in Menlo Park, California, Brodie grew up in the Montclair district of Oakland and he was a standout athlete at Oakland Technical High School and graduated in 1953. Brodie played college football across the San Francisco Bay at Stanford University, in his senior season of 1956, Brodie was a consensus All-American and also played on the Stanford golf team, which kept him out of spring football drills. Brodie very nearly chose golf for his career, turning professional following completion of his time on the Stanford team. Brodie later said of his first golfing experience You talk about pressure, I was always worried that I wasnt going to make the cut. Fact is there was one time I was close enough to say I was in competition in the final round. I had to make up my mind, I couldnt be pro in two sports and do justice to either one. Brodie was the third selection of the 1957 NFL draft. He got more playing time in 1958 through 1960, sharing time with Y. A, tittle, he became the starter in 1961, and continued in that role through 1973. Brodie was among the leading passers in the league throughout the 1960s and his best statistical year was 1965 when he led the League in passing yardage and passing touchdowns, leading to his first of two Pro Bowl appearances. Following his outstanding 1965 season, in which he made about $35,000, newspaper reports indicated that a contract with the Oilers paying between $650,000 and $1 million had been arranged. An improved contract offer from the 49ers moved Brodie to stay put in San Francisco, however, the 1970 season proved to be a particularly stellar for Brodie. During that year he led the entire NFL with 24 touchdown passes, Brodie also paced NFL quarterbacks with a league-leading 2. 6% of his passes resulting in interception. Brodies outstanding season was rewarded when he received the 1970 NFL Most Valuable Player Award, when Brodie retired from the NFL at the end of the 1973 season, he ranked third in career passing yards, behind only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton. Brodie had one win and twelve top-ten finishes, earning a total of $735,000 and he had the longest gap between appearances in the U. S. Open — missing the cut in both 1959 and 1981. Brodie suffered a stroke in 2000, rendering speech difficult for him
19.
Y. A. Tittle
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Yelberton Abraham Tittle Jr. better known as Y. A. Tittle, is a former professional American football quarterback and he played in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Baltimore Colts, after spending two seasons with the Colts in the All-America Football Conference. Known for his competitiveness, leadership, and striking profile, Tittle was the centerpiece of several prolific offenses throughout his professional career from 1948 to 1964. Tittle played college football for Louisiana State University, where he was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference quarterback for the LSU Tigers football team. As a junior, he was named the most valuable player of the infamous 1947 Cotton Bowl Classic—also known as the Ice Bowl—a scoreless tie between the Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks in a snowstorm. After college, he was drafted in the 1947 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, with the Colts, Tittle was named the AAFC Rookie of the Year in 1948 after leading the team to the AAFC playoffs. After back-to-back one-win seasons, the Colts franchise folded, which allowed Tittle to be drafted in the 1951 NFL Draft by the 49ers. Through ten seasons in San Francisco, he was invited to four Pro Bowls, led the league in touchdown passes in 1955, considered washed-up, the 34-year-old Tittle was traded to the Giants following the 1960 season. Over the next four seasons, he won three NFL MVP awards, twice set the league record for touchdown passes, and led the Giants to three straight NFL championship games. Although he was never able to deliver a championship to the team, in his final season, Tittle was photographed bloodied and kneeling down in the end zone after a tackle by a defender left him helmetless. The photograph has become one of the most iconic images in North American sports history and he retired as the NFLs all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, attempts, completions, and games played. Tittle was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971, born and raised in Marshall, Texas, Yelberton Abraham Tittle aspired to be a quarterback from a young age. He spent hours in his throwing a football through a tire swing, emulating his neighbor and boyhood idol. Tittle played high school football at Marshall High School, in his senior year the team posted an undefeated record and reached the state finals. After a recruiting battle between Louisiana State University and the University of Texas, Tittle chose to attend LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and he was part of a successful 1944 recruiting class under head coach Bernie Moore that included halfbacks Jim Cason, Dan Sandifer, and Ray Coates. Freshmen were eligible to play on the varsity during World War II and he later said the finest moment of his four years at LSU was beating Tulane as a freshman, a game in which he set a school record with 238 passing yards. It was one of two games the Tigers won that season, Moore started Tittle at tailback in the single-wing formation his first year, but moved him to quarterback in the T formation during his sophomore season. As a junior in 1946, Tittles three touchdown passes in a 41–27 rout of rival Tulane helped ensure LSU a spot in the Cotton Bowl Classic
20.
New York Jets
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The New York Jets are a professional American football team located in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, in a unique arrangement for the league, the Jets share MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey with the New York Giants. The franchise is legally and corporately registered as New York Jets, the team was founded in 1959 as the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League, later, the franchise joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team began to play in 1960 at the Polo Grounds, under new ownership, the current name was adopted in 1963 and the franchise moved to Shea Stadium in 1964 and then to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in 1984. Since 1968, the Jets have appeared in the playoffs 13 times, however, the Jets have never returned to the Super Bowl, making them one of three NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance, along with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The teams training facility, Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, which opened in 2008, is located in Florham Park, the first organizational meeting of the American Football League took place on August 14,1959. Wismer was granted the franchise later dubbed the Titans of New York as Wismer explained. He secured the Titans home field at the decrepit Polo Grounds, by 1962, the debt continued to mount for Wismer, forcing the AFL to assume the costs of the team until seasons end. A five-man syndicate, headed by Sonny Werblin, saved the team from certain bankruptcy, Werblin renamed the team the New York Jets since the team would play in Shea Stadium near LaGuardia Airport. The new name was intended to reflect the approach of his team. The Jets owners hired Weeb Ewbank as the manager and head coach. The early 1990s saw New York struggling, after firing coach Bruce Coslet, owner Leon Hess hired Pete Carroll who struggled to a 6–10 record and was promptly fired at the end of the season. Thereafter, Rich Kotite was selected to lead the team to victory, Kotite stepped down at the end of his second season forcing the Jets to search for a new head coach. Hess lured then-disgruntled New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells to New York in 1997, Parcells led the team back to relevance and coached them to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. Hess died in 1999 while the team, plagued by injuries, produced an eight win record, the franchise obtained a new owner in Woody Johnson in 2000. Additionally, through the 2000s the Jets visited the five times. Rex Ryan was hired in January 2009, Ryan led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship appearances during his first two years but the team never made the playoffs again during his tenure
21.
Joe Namath
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Joseph William Namath, nicknamed Broadway Joe and Joe Willie, is a former American football quarterback and actor. Namath was an AFL icon and played for that leagues New York Jets for most of his football career. He finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams and he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Statistics belie Namaths enduring influence on the game of professional football and he retired after playing 143 games over 13 years in the AFL and NFL, including playoffs. Due mainly to chronic injuries that undermined his career at its peak, his record is 68 wins,71 losses, and four ties, 64–64–4 in 132 starts. He completed 1,886 passes for 27,663 yards, threw 173 touchdowns and he played for three division champions, earned one league championship, and one Super Bowl victory. In 1999, he was ranked number 96 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, in his 1975 autobiography, Alabama head coach Bryant called Namath the most natural athlete he had ever coached. Namath is known for boldly guaranteeing a Jets victory over Don Shulas NFL Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, already a celebrity, he was now established as a sports icon. He remained a recognizable figure in the media and sports worlds nearly half a century after his brashness cemented his identity in the public mind. Namath was born and raised in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania,30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and he is the son of Rose and János John Andrew Namath, a steelworker. While growing up, Namath was close to both of his parents, who eventually divorced, following his parents divorce, he lived with his mother. He was the youngest of four sons, with an adopted sister. Namath excelled in all sports at Beaver Falls High School and was a quarterback in football, guard in basketball. In an age when dunks were uncommon in high school basketball, coached by Larry Bruno at Beaver Falls, Namaths football team won the WPIAL Class AA championship with a 9–0 record in 1960. Coach Bruno later was his presenter to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, upon graduation from high school in 1961, he received offers from several Major League Baseball teams, including the Yankees, Indians, Reds, Pirates, and Phillies, but football prevailed. Namath graduated from college at age 64 in 2007, after he returned to the University of Alabama about forty years after leaving early to pursue a professional football. He successfully finished a 30-hour external program bachelor of degree in interdisciplinary studies. He was rejected by Maryland because his college-board scores were just below the schools requirements, after ample recruiting by Bryant, Namath accepted a full scholarship to attend Alabama
22.
Dallas Cowboys
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The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and plays its games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, the Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The teams national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs, the Cowboys streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games began in 2002. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC, the Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons, in which they only missed the playoffs twice, an NFL record that remains unchallenged. In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable team in the world. The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U. S. sports team. Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D. C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas, Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins from Marshall in 1958. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized and this infuriated Murchison and he called off the deal. Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas, since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshalls position would prevent Murchison from joining the league. Marshall had an out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin. Breeskin had written the music to the Redskins fight song Hail to the Redskins, Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchisons plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchisons attorney to him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959. Murchison purchased Hail to the Redskins for $2,500, before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he owned the song and Marshall could not play it during games. After a few Marshall expletives, Murchison gave the rights to Hail to the Redskins to Marshall for his vote, the one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time. From 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, in addition, they appeared in 5 and won two Super Bowls, at the end of the 1971 and 1977 regular seasons
23.
Roger Staubach
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Roger Thomas Staubach, nicknamed Captain America and Captain Comeback, is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He attended the U. S. Naval Academy where he won the 1963 Heisman Trophy, Staubach joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1969 and played with the club during all 11 seasons of his career. He led the team to the Super Bowl five times, four as the starting quarterback and he led the Cowboys to victories in Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII. He was named to the Pro Bowl six times during his 11-year NFL career and he is currently executive chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Staubach is of German descent and grew up in Silverton, roger was an only child and a Boy Scout as a youth. He attended St. John the Evangelist Catholic School, and graduated from a Catholic high school, after one year at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, Staubach entered the U. S. Naval Academy in 1961 and played quarterback for the Midshipmen. As a third-class midshipman in 1962, he got his first opportunity to play in the game of the season. He relieved starter Ron Klemick as the Minnesota defense, led by Bobby Bell, Staubach was 0–2 passing and was sacked twice for -24 yards. A week later, against Cornell, with the offense misfiring and he led Navy to six touchdowns, throwing for 99 yards and two touchdowns while running for 88 yards and another score as Navy won 41–0. He led the team to a 34–14 upset over Army, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another, on New Years Day, the Midshipmen lost the national championship to No.1 University of Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Earlier that season, Staubach led Navy to a 35–14 road victory in its rivalry with Notre Dame. Navy did not beat Notre Dame again until 2007,44 years later, in his three seasons at Navy, he completed 292 of 463 passes with 18 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, while gaining a school record 4,253 yards of total offense. Staubach is the last player from an academy to win the Heisman Trophy. As a senior in 1964, he injured his heel in the opening game victory over Penn State and missed the next four games. The Naval Academy retired Staubachs jersey number during his graduation ceremony after his senior season, in 1981 Staubach was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2007 Staubach was ranked No.9 on ESPNs Top 25 Players In College Football History list and his collegiate football career completed, Staubach closed out his Academy sports career as captain of the Academys 1965 baseball team. During his junior year at the Naval Academy, Staubachs color-blindness was detected, after graduating from the Naval Academy in June 1965, Staubach could have requested an assignment in the States, but he chose to volunteer for a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam. He served as a Supply Corps officer for the Navy at the Chu Lai base/port until 1967 and he returned from Vietnam in September 1967, and spent the rest of his naval career in the United States
24.
Tom Landry
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Thomas Wade Tom Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods. He invented the now popular 4–3 defense, and the defense system made famous by the Doomsday Defense squads he created during his 29-year tenure with the Dallas Cowboys. His 29 consecutive years as the coach of one team are an NFL record, Landry won two Super Bowl titles, five NFC titles,13 Divisional titles, and compiled a 270–178–6 record, the third-most wins all-time for an NFL coach. His 20 career playoff victories are the second most of any coach in NFL history and he was named the NFL Coach of the Year in 1966 and the NFC Coach of the Year in 1975. His most impressive professional accomplishment is his 20 consecutive winning seasons, from 1966 to 1982 Dallas played in 12 NFL or NFC Championship games, a span of 17 years. More impressive is the Cowboys appearance in 10 NFC Championship games in the 13-year span from 1970 to 1982, born in Mission, Texas, to Ray and Ruth Landry, Tom was the second of four children. Landrys father had suffered from rheumatism, and relocated to the climate of Texas from Indiana or Illinois. Ray Landry himself was an athlete, making his mark locally as a pitcher, Tom played quarterback for Mission High School, where he led his team to a 12–0 record in his senior season. The Mission High School football stadium is named Tom Landry Stadium and is home to the Mission Eagles, Landry attended the University of Texas at Austin as an industrial engineering major. Landry had given thought to enrolling at Mississippi State University, where his friend John Tripson was an All-American, but he knew that he would be away from his friends and family. The main driving force in keeping him from enrolling at Mississippi State University was the notion that it would be too long a travel for his parents to see him play college football. He interrupted his education after a semester to serve in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, Landry was inspired to join the armed forces in honor of his brother Robert. Robert Landry had enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor, while ferrying a B-17 over to England, Robert Landrys plane had gone down over the North Atlantic, close to Iceland. Several weeks passed before the Army was able to officially declare Robert Landry dead, Tom Landry began his basic training at Sheppard Field near Wichita Falls, Texas, and his preflight training at Kelly Field, located near San Antonio, Texas. Landrys first experience as a bomber was a tough one, a few minutes after takeoff, Landry realized that the pilot seemed to be working furiously, and Landry had realized the planes engine had died. Despite this experience, Landry was committed to flying, at the age of 19, Landry was transferred to Sioux City, Iowa, where he trained as a copilot for flying a B-17. In 1944, Landry got his orders, and from Sioux City he went to Liverpool, England, from November 1944 to April 1945, he completed a combat tour of 30 missions, and survived a crash landing in Belgium after his bomber ran out of fuel
25.
Joe Theismann
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Joseph Robert Theismann is a former professional gridiron football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker and restaurateur. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003, following his retirement from football in 1985 after a career-ending injury, Theismann worked as a sportscaster and an analyst on pro football broadcasts with ESPN for nearly 20 years. He primarily partnered with Mike Patrick, for the networks Sunday Night Football package and for one season of Monday Night Football with Mike Tirico, Theismann also worked as a color analyst on NFL Networks Thursday Night Football package with play-by-play voice Bob Papa and Matt Millen. Theismann also co-hosts the networks weekly show Playbook, since 2011, he has worked on the Redskins preseason television broadcast team. Additionally, he works on the NFL Network on a variety of programs, Theismann is the owner of Theismanns Restaurant and Bar in Alexandria, Virginia, founded 1975. He also performs as a speaker for events, speaking on topics such as leadership and self-motivation. Theismann was born to Austrian Joseph John Theismann who ran a gas station and his Hungarian mother, Olga Tóbiás worked for Johnson & Johnson until her retirement. Theismann was raised in South River, New Jersey, and attended South River High School, where he lettered in baseball, basketball, Theismann accepted a college football scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame. At Notre Dame, Theismann became the quarterback as a sophomore. In the three remaining games in the season, he led the Irish to two wins and a tie. In 1969, Theismann led the Irish to a number five ranking, the next year, the Irish had a 10–1 record, a number two ranking, and won against Texas in the 1971 Cotton Bowl Classic, 24–11. That year, Theismann was an All-American and an Academic All-American, Theismann set school records for passing yards in a season and touchdowns in a season. He also set a record for passing yards in a game and completions in a game while playing against the University of Southern California in a torrential downpour in 1970. As a starting quarterback, Theismann compiled a 20–3–2 record while throwing for 4,411 yards and 31 touchdowns and his 4,411 passing yards rank fifth on Notre Dames career passing list. Theismann was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and he was the eighth Notre Dame quarterback enshrined into the hall, joining former Heisman Trophy winners Angelo Bertelli, John Lujack, and Paul Hornung. Theismann was selected in the round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. After prolonged negotiations with the Dolphins failed, Theismann elected to sign with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League for $50,000 per season. A fumble late in the quarter by Argonaut running back Leon McQuay close to the goal line cost the Argonauts what would have been their first Grey Cup victory since 1952
26.
Toronto Argonauts
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The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the team was founded in 1873, the teams origins date back to a modified version of rugby football that emerged in North America in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The Argonauts played their games at Rogers Centre from 1989 until 2016 when the team moved to BMO Field. The Argonauts have won the Grey Cup a record 16 times and have appeared in the final 22 times, Most recently they defeated the Calgary Stampeders 35–22 at home in the 100th Grey Cup in 2012. The Argonauts hold the best winning percentage in the game and have the longest active winning streak in games in which they have appeared. The Argonauts have faced every current western CFL team at least once in the Grey Cup, the team was owned by the Argonaut Rowing Club for its first 83 years, and has been owned by a series of business interests since 1956. The Argonauts were a fixture on the Toronto sports scene for decades, in May 2015 it was announced that a consortium of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainments Larry Tanenbaum and Bell Canada would acquire the team. Given the length of history, dozens of players, coaches. Since the teams foundation in 1873, the Argonauts name has been in continuous use, the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves franchises of Major League Baseball are older, but both teams have changed their name more than once, and the Braves have also changed cities. The Argonauts also claim to be the oldest professional team in North America. The claim is debatable, as the Hamilton Tigers date to 1869, given its nautical theme, the name Argonaut was adopted by a group of amateur rowers in Toronto in 1872. The Argonaut Rowing Club, which exists today, went on to found the football club with the same name a year later. Given their roots in a squad, the team is often referred to as the boatmen. In the 19th century, the most renowned rowing teams in the world were from the University of Oxford, the Toronto rowers, many of whom had associations with the English schools, adopted uniforms incorporating the light blue of Cambridge and the dark blue of Oxford. In turn, the footballers adopted the colours and the double blue would become synonymous with the team. Blue has become the traditional colour of top-level teams in Toronto, the teams other official colour is white. Its current helmet design features an Oxford blue background, with an Oxford blue and Cambridge blue round shield inscribed with a white, for most of the teams history, the logo featured some form of a boat, often incorporating a football. The first recorded game of what would become known as Canadian football was played in Toronto on November 9,1861, the game at the time was a modified version of English rugby and it gained popularity throughout the 1860s
27.
Tim Tebow
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He played college football for the University of Florida, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and appearing on BCS National Championship-winning teams during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Tebow was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft and he also played for the New York Jets in 2012. Additionally, he had stints with the New England Patriots. Tebow became the Florida Gators starting quarterback during the 2007 season when he became the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. In 2008, Tebow led Florida to a 13–1 record and its national championship in three years, and was named the offensive MVP of the national championship game. The Gators again went 13–1 in 2009, his senior year, as a member of the Denver Broncos, he started the last three games of his rookie season and became the teams full-time starting quarterback beginning in the sixth game of 2011. During the 2012 offseason, the Broncos traded Tebow to the New York Jets where he received playing time and was released after the 2012 season ended. He signed a two-year, non-guaranteed contract with the New England Patriots on June 11,2013, after two seasons away from the game, Tebow signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on April 20,2015 and was released by the Eagles on September 5. It is unprecedented for an NFL quarterback to have had the kind of early success Tebow had, in 2016, Tebow announced he would pursue a career in professional baseball and signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on September 8. Tebows parents, Pamela Elaine and Robert Ramsey Tebow II, met while attending the University of Florida in the late 1960s and his mother was a freshman and his father was a sophomore at the time. The couple married on June 12,1971, before Pamelas graduation from the University, in 1985, the family moved to the Philippines where they served as Baptist missionaries and built a ministry. Prior to becoming pregnant with Tim, his mother contracted amoebic dysentery and she discovered she was pregnant while recovering. Because of the used to treat her, the fetus experienced a severe placental abruption. Doctors expected a stillbirth and recommended an abortion, the Tebows decided against it citing their strong faith. On August 14,1987, she gave birth to Tim in Manila, Tebow is the youngest of five children. He and his siblings were all homeschooled by their parents, who instilled the familys Christian beliefs, in 1996, legislation was passed in Florida allowing home-schooled students to compete in high school sporting events. The law specifies that home-schooled students may participate on the team of the high school in the school district in which they live. Tebow took advantage of this law when he decided to attend Trinity Christian Academy, the high school in his hometown of Jacksonville
28.
Florida Gators football
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The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and they play their home games in Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the universitys Gainesville campus. The Gators have won three championships and eight SEC titles in the 108-season history of Floridas varsity football program. The Florida football program has evolved from its beginnings and achieved notable successes. Florida has had a home field since the beginning of their football program. Since 1930, their home field has been Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the stadium was known as Florida Field until 1989 when its name was extended to honor alumnus and sports benefactor Ben Hill Griffin. During the 1990s, football coach Steve Spurrier called the stadium the Swamp, the quickly became popular. Since 1906 Florida has had twenty-five head coaches, including three who were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for their coaching success and their first head coach was Pee Wee Forsythe in 1906, the 2015 season was the first for their twenty-fifth head coach, Jim McElwain. During the programs early years, Florida was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, in 1932 the University of Florida was a founding member of the Southeastern Conference, and it is currently one of fourteen member institutions. The Gators have competed in the SEC Eastern Division since the league began play in 1992. Florida plays an eight-game SEC schedule, with six games against the other Eastern Division teams, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, the schedule is filled out with an annual game against Louisiana State and a rotating SEC Western Division team. Until 2003, the Gators also played Auburn every season, Florida has also played in-state rival Florida State every year since 1958, usually facing off in the last game of the regular season. The two teams emergence as perennial football powers during the 1980s and 1990s helped build the Florida–Florida State rivalry into a game often has national-title implications. The remaining dates on Floridas regular schedule are filled by non-conference opponents which vary from year to year, previously known as the worlds largest outdoor cocktail party, it is most commonly called the Florida–Georgia game by Gator fans. The game is held at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, the designated home team alternates, with ticket distribution split evenly between the schools. In the rivalrys early years, games rotated among locations in Savannah, Georgia, Tampa, Florida, Jacksonville and, occasionally, Gainesville, since 1933 the game has been played in Jacksonville, except for 1994 and 1995. Georgia had early success in the rivalry, winning the first six games, after the 2014 game Florida had won 21 out of the most-recent 27 games, and holds a 38–28–1 advantage in the series since 1950. The Bulldogs lead the overall, 49–43–2
29.
Spread offense
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Spread offense may also refer to the four corners offense in basketball. The spread offense is a scheme in American and Canadian football that is used at every level of the game including professional, college. Spread offenses typically place the quarterback in the formation, and spread the defense horizontally using three-, four-. Many spread offenses also employ a no-huddle approach, some implementations of the spread also feature wide splits between the offensive linemen. Many spread offenses use the read option running play to put pressure on sides of the defense. Spread offenses also leverage vertical passing routes to spread the defense vertically, the grandfather of the spread offense is Rusty Russell, a graduate of Howard Payne University, in Brownwood, Texas, and coach of Fort Worths Masonic Home and School for orphaned boys. Russell began coaching Masonic Home in 1927, and due to the fact that his teams were often over-matched physically by other schools, while there, he deployed the earliest form of a spread offense to great success. Russells team is the subject of a book by author Jim Dent entitled, Twelve Mighty Orphans, meyers book introduced the spread to the college game. Leo “Dutch” Meyer, who inspired Don Coryell among others, wrote about his theories for football offenses and that in turn created natural holes in the line and seams in the defensive secondary. Spreading out the defense reduced the need for power blocking by undersized linemen, the ball came in a direct snap to the tailback, and out of that formation Meyer created confusion with handoffs, fake handoffs, and pivots that slowed the defensive rush to the ball…. Under Fletchers newly created offense, quarterback George Bork led the nation in total offense, the football played at the dawn of the 1970s generally featured hard running, ball control football, accented occasionally on third and long by a pass out of a stationary pocket. You can catch the ball, you can throw it incomplete, few examples of coaches with successful, innovative passing offenses existed at any level of competition in late 1969. But not even the most inventive coach operates in a vacuum and he certainly relied on the work of Glenn “Tiger” Ellison. In his book, Ellison describes his experiments with the “departure into insanity” Lonesome Polecat sandlot-style formation in a successful attempt to avoid a losing season in 1958. The quarterback was encouraged to scramble and to find open receivers. ”The initial success of the Lonesome Polecat led Ellison to several years of more successful tinkering with what came to be known as the “Run and Shoot Offense. ”Ellison’s “Run and Shoot” experiment evolved into a double-slot formation with “split ends uniformly 17 yards from the ball. The offense used motion and receivers changing pass routes based on the reactions of defenders, Ellison’s offense clearly served as the most important inspiration and the foundation for Neumeier. But Neumeier then took Ellison’s ideas and synthesized something even more innovative than the “Run, another piece of the puzzle Neumeier assembled preparing for the 1970 season came from Red Hickey during Hickeys stint coaching the San Francisco 49ers. Hickey first utilized the shotgun formation in a 1960 NFL game against the Baltimore Colts, Hickey thought it might help to slow the Colt pass rush and give the 49ers quarterback another second or two to spot his receivers
30.
Tom Brady
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Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He is one of two players to win five Super Bowls, the only quarterback to win five and the only player to win them all playing for one team. After playing college football for the University of Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the round of the 2000 NFL Draft. In Bradys 15 seasons as a starter, he has quarterbacked the Patriots to seven Super Bowl appearances, as of the end of the 2016 season, Brady is fourth all-time in career passing yards, fourth in career touchdown passes, and third in career passer rating. His career postseason record is 25–9, winning more games than any other quarterback. Brady has never had a season as a starting quarterback in the NFL. His 208 combined regular-season and postseason wins are also the most of any quarterback in NFL history, because of his accomplishments and accolades, many analysts and sportswriters consider Brady to be among the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Due to his draft selection, Brady is considered to be the biggest steal in the history of the NFL Draft. Brady was born in San Mateo, California, the son and fourth child of Galynn Patricia and Thomas Brady. He has three sisters named Nancy, Julie, and Maureen. Bradys great uncle, Michael Buckley Jr. was, also, at the age of four, Brady attended the 1981 NFC Championship against the Dallas Cowboys, in which Montana threw The Catch to Dwight Clark. As a child, Brady attended football camp at the College of San Mateo where he learned to throw the football from camp counselor and he grew up as a Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics fan. Brady attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, where he graduated in 1995 and he played football, basketball, and baseball in high school. He played against Bellarmine College Preparatory rival Pat Burrell in both football and baseball, Bradys football career started as the backup quarterback on the Padres JV team. At first, Brady was not good enough to start on the 0–8 JV team that had not scored a touchdown all year, however, when the starting quarterback went down with an injury, he ascended to the starting position. He became the varsity starter his junior year and held the position until he graduated, by Bradys senior year, he struggled getting on the radar of college coaches. He created highlight tapes and sent them out to schools he would consider attending and this led to strong interest from many football programs around the nation. The process of recruiting was much different during Bradys time, in terms of recruiting in the 2000s, Brady would have been considered a Four-star quarterback
31.
Peyton Manning
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Peyton Williams Manning is a former American football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the National Football League, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts. Considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Manning played college football for the University of Tennessee, leading the Tennessee Volunteers to the 1997 SEC Championship in his senior season. He is the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning. Manning was selected by the Indianapolis Colts as the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, from 1998 to 2010, he improved the fortunes of the struggling Colts franchise and helped transform them into playoff contenders. After undergoing neck surgery forced him to miss the entire 2011 season, Manning was released by the Colts. Manning holds many NFL records, including passing yards, touchdown passes, AP MVP awards, Pro Bowl appearances, at 39 years of age, Manning is the oldest quarterback to start in and win a Super Bowl. Manning is also the quarterback in NFL history to make the Super Bowl four times with four different head coaches. Teams led by Manning typically utilized the offense in place of the standard huddle. Manning attended Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana, and he was named Gatorade Circle of Champions National Player-of-the-Year and Columbus Touchdown Club National Offensive Player-of-the-Year in 1993. While at Newman he began wearing the number 18 in honor of his older brother Cooper, younger brother Eli also wore the number when he became starting quarterback. Newman has since retired the number 18 jersey and it can be hanging in the school gym. Manning chose to play football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Some were surprised that he did not pick the Ole Miss Rebels and he became Tennessees all-time leading passer with 11,201 yards and 89 touchdowns and won 39 of 45 games as a starter, breaking the Southeastern Conference record for career wins. As a freshman, Manning began the season as the third-string quarterback, in the season opener against UCLA, Manning was one of three quarterbacks to come off the bench after starter Jerry Colquitt suffered a season-ending injury on the seventh play of the game. However, Manning was not able to generate any offense and was pulled from the game, during the seasons fourth game, against Mississippi State, starter Todd Helton got injured and Manning took over. The Vols lost 24–21, but Manning was named the teams starter, in his first start, the following week against Washington State, the Vols won 10–9. They won all but one of their games, finishing the season 8–4 with a 45–23 victory over Virginia Tech in the 1994 Gator Bowl. Manning and the Vols started off the 1995 season with victories over East Carolina and Georgia, against Florida, he threw for 326 yards and 2 touchdowns, leading the Vols to a 30–21 halftime lead
32.
Indianapolis Colts
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The Indianapolis Colts are an American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference South division. Since the 2008 season, the Colts have played their games in Lucas Oil Stadium, previously, the team had played for over two decades at the RCA Dome. Since 1986, the Colts have been the host team for the NFL Scouting Combine, the Colts have been a member club of the NFL since their founding in 1953 in Baltimore. The Colts were one of three NFL teams to join the teams of the American Football League to form the AFC following the 1970 merger. While in Baltimore, the team advanced to the playoffs 10 times, the Colts played in two Super Bowl games while it was based in Baltimore, losing to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, while defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V. The Colts relocated to Indianapolis in 1984 and have appeared in the playoffs 16 times. Following World War II, a professional football league was organized known as the All America Football Conference which began play in the 1946 season. These Colts played for the three seasons in the old AAFC. With the organization in 1920 of the original American Professional Football Conference, the NFL considers the Texans and Colts to be separate teams, although many of the earlier teams shared the same colors of blue and white. Thus, the Indianapolis Colts are legally considered to be a 1953 expansion team, the third version of the Colts football team played their first season in Baltimore in 1953, where the team compiled a 3–9 record under first year head coach Keith Molesworth. The franchise struggled during the first few years in Baltimore, with the team not achieving their first winning record until the 1957 season. The Colts faced the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game in what is considered to be among the greatest contests in professional football history. The Colts defeated the Giants 23–17 in the first game ever to utilize the overtime rule, a game seen by 45 million people. Following the two championships in 1958 and 1959, the Colts did not return to the NFL Championship for four seasons, in Shulas second season the Colts compiled a 12–2 record, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship. However, in 1968 the Colts returned with the leadership of Unitas and Shula and went on to win the Colts third NFL Championship. The Colts, however, were stunned by the Jets, who won the game 16–7 in the first Super Bowl victory for the young AFL. The Colts immediately went on a rampage in the new league, as new head coach Don McCafferty led the 1970 team to an 11–2–1 regular season record, winning the AFC East title
33.
Marvin Harrison
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Marvin Daniel Harrison is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He played college football for Syracuse University, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He spent all 13 of his NFL seasons with the Colts, most of them with quarterback Peyton Manning and he earned a Super Bowl ring with the team in Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears. Harrison was a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist for the Classes of 2014 and 2015 before being elected in 2016, Harrison attended Syracuse University, where he was a three-year starter for the Syracuse Orange football team, and playing with quarterback Donovan McNabb in his final year. Harrison set a record with 2,718 career receiving yards. Harrison graduated with a degree in retailing, Harrison was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 19th selection in the 1996 NFL Draft, a selection which was obtained in a trade that sent Jeff George to the Atlanta Falcons. In 2002, Harrison broke Herman Moores single season record by 20 receptions. He finished with 143 catches, and he also had 1,722 yards receiving, in December 2006, Harrison became just the fourth player in NFL history to record 1000 receptions, joining Jerry Rice, Cris Carter, and Tim Brown. He is also one of seven wide receivers in NFL history to reach 100 touchdowns. During a 2007 game against the Denver Broncos, Harrison injured his knee while attempting a block and was lost for the season and it marked only the second time Harrison had missed regular season action due to injuries and the first since 1998. On December 14,2008, in a game against the Detroit Lions, Harrison caught his 1, 095th career reception, passing Tim Brown for third all time. He passed Cris Carter to become second on the all-time NFL reception record list with 1,102 receptions during a 23–0 Colts victory over the Tennessee Titans on December 28,2008, following the 2008 NFL season, Harrison asked for and was granted his release by the Colts. After sitting out the entire 2009 season, Harrison quietly retired from the NFL, Harrison was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor during the week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers on November 27,2011. Harrison is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning currently hold the NFL record for passing touchdowns between a WR and QB with 112. Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning currently hold the NFL record for passing yards between a WR and QB with 12,756, Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning currently hold the NFL record for completions in a season between a WR and QB with 143 in 2002. First player to record 2 seasons of 1,600 yards receiving in NFL history, (Torry Holt became the 2nd, First player to have 50+ receptions in his first 11 seasons in NFL history. The game was on Monday Night and was played against the Cincinnati Bengals, on November 17,2002, made his 600th career reception against the Dallas Cowboys On October 12,2003, made his 700th career reception against the Carolina Panthers. And is the fastest player to do so reaching the mark in 114 games On November 8,2004, and is the fastest player to do so reaching the mark in 131 games On November 20,2005, made his 900th career reception against the Cincinnati Bengals
34.
Reggie Wayne
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Reginald Wayne is a former American football wide receiver who spent his entire 14-year career with the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football for the University of Miami, and was drafted by the Colts in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft, a six-time Pro Bowl selection, Wayne was a member of the Colts Super Bowl XLI championship team that beat the Chicago Bears. He ranks seventh all-time in NFL career receptions, ninth all-time in NFL receiving yards, on December 14,2014, Wayne played in both his 209th game and his 142nd win as a member of the Colts, breaking the franchise records set by Peyton Manning. Wayne is the youngest of three sons and his father, Ralph, is a former linebacker for Grambling State. A New Orleans Saints fan in his youth, he was interested in baseball growing up. Wayne attended the University of Miami, where he was a starter for the Miami Hurricanes football team. His 48 receptions during the 1997 season set a record for freshmen. Wayne also ran track and field at the University of Miami, Wayne graduated with a degree in liberal arts, his roommate was Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed. College statistics Wayne was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame at their 43rd Annual Induction Banquet held on March 24,2011. Wayne was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 30th selection in the 2001 NFL Draft, in Waynes first year, he caught 27 passes for 345 yards with no touchdowns. He only made nine starts and missed three games due to a high ankle sprain. His yards doubled the year as he caught 49 passes for 716 yards. Wayne broke into the lineup in the 2003 season, and he caught 68 balls for 838 yards. The next season, Wayne caught 77 passes for 1,210 yards and 12 touchdowns during a season in which Colts quarterback Peyton Manning set a then-record by throwing for 49 touchdowns. During the playoffs, Wayne was named the Wild Card Weekend Offensive Player of the Week after the Colts beat the Broncos, in 2005 Wayne continued to increase his yearly reception total with 83. In 2006, Wayne signed a 6-year, $39.5 million contract and he went on to catch 86 balls for a then career high 1,310 yards and 9 touchdowns. As a result, Wayne was selected to his first Pro Bowl, Wayne helped the Colts defeat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI with a 53-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. In 2007, Wayne responded to a rash of injuries on the team, including Harrison and tight end Dallas Clark, and set a career high in receptions
35.
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
36.
Denver Broncos
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The Denver Broncos are an American football team based in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. The team began play in 1960 as a member of the American Football League. The Broncos are owned by the Pat Bowlen trust, the Broncos have played at Sports Authority Field at Mile High since 2001, after previously playing at Mile High Stadium from 1960 to 2000. The Broncos were barely competitive during their 10-year run in the AFL and they did not complete a winning season until 1973. In 1977, four years later, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, since 1975, the Broncos have become one of the NFLs more successful teams, having suffered only six losing seasons. However, the Broncos have the NFL record for most Super Bowl losses and they have five players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, John Elway, Floyd Little, Gary Zimmerman, Shannon Sharpe, and the most recently elected member, Terrell Davis. The Denver Broncos were founded on August 14,1959, when Minor League Baseball owner Bob Howsam was awarded an American Football League charter franchise, the Broncos won the first-ever AFL game over the Boston Patriots 13–10, on September 9,1960. On August 5,1967, they became the first-ever AFL team to defeat an NFL team, however, the Broncos were not successful in the 1960s, compiling a record of 39–97–4 in the league. Denver came close to losing its franchise in 1965, until an ownership group took control. The teams first superstar, Franchise Floyd Little, was instrumental in keeping the team in Denver, due to his signing in 1967 as well as his Pro Bowl efforts on, in 1972, the Broncos hired former Stanford University coach John Ralston as their head coach. In 1973, he was the UPIs AFC Coach of the Year, in five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston guided the team to winning seasons three times. Though Ralston finished the 1976 season with a 9–5 record, the team, as was the case in Ralstons previous winning seasons, following the season, several prominent players publicly voiced their discontent with Ralston, which soon led to his resignation. Dan Reeves became the youngest head coach in the NFL when he joined the Broncos in 1981 as vice president, quarterback John Elway, who played college football at Stanford, arrived in 1983 via a trade. Prior to Elway, the Broncos had over 24 different starting quarterbacks in its 23 seasons to that point, Reeves and Elway guided the Broncos to six post-season appearances, five AFC West divisional titles, three AFC championships and three Super Bowl appearances during their 12-year span together. Reeves was fired after the 1992 season and replaced by his protégé and friend Wade Phillips, Phillips was fired after a mediocre 1994 season, in which management felt he lost control of the team. In 1995, Mike Shanahan, who had served under Reeves as the Broncos offensive coordinator. Shanahan drafted rookie running back Terrell Davis, in 1996, the Broncos were the top seed in the AFC with a 13–3 record, dominating most of the teams that year
37.
2013 Denver Broncos season
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The 2013 Denver Broncos season was the franchises 44th season in the National Football League and the 54th overall. It also marked the 30th under the ownership of Pat Bowlen, the second with Peyton Manning as the starting quarterback. However, the team underwent a tumultuous offseason that was dominated by the suspension of All-Pro linebacker Von Miller as well as injuries to the offensive line. Notable offseason additions include the free agent acquisitions of wide receiver Wes Welker, linebacker Shaun Phillips, safety Quentin Jammer, roster departures include wide receiver Brandon Stokley, linebackers Elvis Dumervil and D. J. Williams, and running back Willis McGahee. During the teams bye week, head coach John Fox received a health scare that resulted in Fox missing four games due to recuperation from heart surgery. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio served as the interim head coach during Foxs absence. The Broncos won their third consecutive AFC West division title, as well as earning a first-round bye, January 15, Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy was hired as the new head coach of the San Diego Chargers. That same day, the Broncos hired Cory Undlin as the new secondary coach. Undlin served as the quality control coach last season, and he replaces Ron Milus. The team cited that Milus coaching style clashed with players during the past two seasons. January 17, Adam Gase, who spent the past two seasons as the Broncos quarterbacks coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Mike McCoy, January 18, Greg Knapp was hired as the teams new quarterbacks coach, replacing Adam Gase. Knapp served as the Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator in 2012, february 11, Assistant special teams coach Keith Burns was hired to the same position with the Washington Redskins. His position was filled two days later, with the hiring of Derius Swinton, who spent the 2012 season as the Kansas City Chiefs special teams quality control coach. May 1, The Broncos parted ways with Keith Kidd, who served as the director of player personnel for the past four seasons. The team hired Tom Heckert, Jr. as Kidds replacement six days later, Heckert previously served as a general manager with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2006–2009 and most recently with the Cleveland Browns from 2010–2012. May 13, Alex Gibbs, who served as the Broncos offensive line coach from 1995–2003, was hired as an offensive consultant, may 31, John Spytek was hired as the teams director of college scouting. Spytek previously worked in the same capacity during the past two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, alongside former Browns general manager Tom Heckert, Jr. On November 2,2013, during the Broncos bye week, head coach John Fox was hospitalized after experiencing light-headedness while playing golf in Charlotte, North Carolina
38.
Kevin Faulk
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Kevin Troy Faulk is a former American football running back who spent his entire 13-year professional career playing for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Patriots in the round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisiana State University, born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Faulk attended Carencro High School in Carencro, Louisiana, where he helped his team win the 1992 State Championship. In high school, Faulk rushed for 4,877 yards on 603 carries and he also had 7,612 all-purpose yards and 89 touchdowns. He was twice chosen as Louisianas Most Valuable Player and he was also given All-American Honors by USA Today and Parade. Following high school, Faulk attended Louisiana State University, where he became the starting running back for LSUs football team as a true freshman in 1995. In 1996, Faulk was voted to the College Football All-America Team by the Associated Press, on September 7,1996, in the game against the Houston Cougars, LSU trailed at halftime 34–14. Many LSU fans left Tiger Stadium before the game ended in anticipation of defeat, Faulk, however, took over the game in the second half and rushed for a school record of 246 yards on 21 carries and returned four punts for another 106 yards. The result was an LSU win by one point, 35–34, Faulk ran for 1,144 yards on 205 carries in 1997, scoring 15 touchdowns. He improved on those numbers as a senior in 1998 when he ran for 1,279 yards on 229 carries and he added 287 yards receiving and three receiving touchdowns. Faulk finished his LSU career with 4,557 yards rushing in 41 games, Faulk also finished his career with 6,833 career all-purpose yards and 53 total touchdowns, which tied him for fifth in NCAA history and first in SEC history. His SEC record was surpassed on November 21,2009 by Tim Tebow of Florida, in 1999, Faulk graduated from LSU with a degree in kinesiology. * Does not include bowl games, †LSU record Faulk was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Faulk started the first two games of the season at running back before an injury kept him out of the next two games. He returned in Week 5 as a reserve behind starter Terry Allen and he suffered a sprained ankle in Week 14 and was placed on injured reserve on December 14,1999. In 11 games, Faulk recorded 1,358 all-purpose yards and he recorded 227 rushing yards on 27 carries and one touchdown, along with 12 receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. He added 943 kickoff return yards on 39 returns, as well as 10 punt returns for 90 yards, in 2000, Faulk shared a starting role with rookie J. R. Redmond, with Faulk starting 9 of 16 games played. He led the team with 570 yards rushing on 164 carries with four rushing touchdowns and he added 51 catches for 465 yards and one touchdown
39.
Super Bowl XXXVIII
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The Patriots defeated the Panthers by the score of 32–29, winning their second Super Bowl championship in three years. The game was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, at the time, this was the most watched Super Bowl ever with 144.4 million viewers. The Panthers were making their first ever Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11–5 regular season record and they also made it the second straight year that a team from the NFC South division made the Super Bowl, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning Super Bowl XXXVII. The Patriots were seeking their second Super Bowl title in three years after posting a 14–2 record. NFL fans and sports writers widely consider this one of the most well-played and thrilling Super Bowls. Although neither team could score in the first and third quarters, the game was scoreless for a Super Bowl record 26,55 before the two teams combined for 24 points prior to halftime. The clubs then combined for a Super Bowl record 37 points in the fourth quarter, the contest was finally decided on New England kicker Adam Vinatieris 41-yard field goal with four seconds left. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was named Super Bowl MVP for the time in three years. He set a Super Bowl record for the most pass completions, completing 66.7 percent of his passes and accumulating 354 passing yards,3 touchdowns, Jake Delhomme for his part overcame the poor start with 323 passing yards and three touchdowns. The 61 combined points stood as a Super Bowl record until the 62 points scored in Super Bowl LI in 2017, along with the rest of the halftime show, it led to an immediate crackdown by the Federal Communications Commission, and widespread debate on perceived indecency in broadcasting. NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXXVIII to Houston during their November 1,2000 meeting held in Atlanta and this was the first Super Bowl to be played in a stadium with a retractable roof. It also marked the first time in 4 tries that the Patriots played a Super Bowl that was not in New Orleans and this game marked a six-month stretch for Texas hosting the Super Bowl, NCAA mens Division I basketball Final Four and Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The Final Four was played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, beginning with this game, all Super Bowl games have been played on the first Sunday in February every year. Consequently, the Super Bowl is currently scheduled no earlier than February 1, the Panthers made their first trip to the Super Bowl after posting a one-win regular season just two years earlier. The franchise was only in their year of existence, joining the league as an expansion team in 1995. In just their second season, they posted a 12–4 regular season record and advanced to the NFC Championship Game, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers 30–13. With John Fox at the helm and the taking advantage of the free agent market and the salary cap rules. Then in 2003, they recorded an 11–5 record and won the NFC South, One of the free agents that Carolina signed before the 2003 season was quarterback Jake Delhomme
40.
2006 San Diego Chargers season
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The 2006 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 9–7 record in 2005. They finished the campaign as the No.1 seed in the AFC ending the season at 14–2, the team would experience a home field playoff loss for the second time in the past three seasons losing in the final minutes to the New England Patriots 24–21. Running back LaDainian Tomlinson led the league in rushing with 1,815 yards, as well as setting NFL single-season records for rushing touchdowns, brees would later sign a contract with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent and make a complete recovery. San Diego is no longer in the Super Bowl rotation due to the NFL objections concerning the stadium, as of December 2006, two cities in San Diego County are discussing a stadium for the Chargers, the City of Chula Vista and the City of National City. In the NFL Draft, the Chargers used their first pick on Florida State cornerback Antonio Cromartie and they used their second pick on Auburn offensive tackle Marcus McNeill. Expectations varied for the Chargers 2006 season, questions centered on the play of the untested QB Rivers in his first season starting, and with the offensive line, especially at the crucial left tackle position. OLT Roman Oben injury in 2005 had a impact on all aspects of the offense. Jordan was injured in training camp and 2nd round draft pick OT Marcus McNeill landed the starting job, defensively, the front seven remained talented and solid. LB depth was tested with Steve Foleys off-the-field injury, however, another area of concern was in the secondary, Cromartie, who sat out his last season at Florida State with a knee injury, is talented but inexperience was not expected to contribute right away. Cromartie filled the 3rd CB role for the team and pressed starting CB Drayton Florence for playing time, at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California The Chargers opened the season on September 11,2006, with a 27–0 victory over the division rival Oakland Raiders. This second game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader marked the first time the Chargers had shutout the Raiders since a 44–0 win in 1961. The Chargers defense stifled the Raiders running game, holding Raiders RB Lamont Jordan to 20 yards on 10 carries, three of those sacks belonged to second-year LB Shawne Merriman. With the win, the Chargers extended their winning streak against Oakland to six games, Schottenheimer also earned his 187th career victory, passing Chuck Knox to become the seventh-winning-est head coach in NFL history. At Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego The Chargers hosted the Tennessee Titans in their Week 2 home-opener, Tomlinson rushed for two touchdowns and tied Lance Alworth for the Chargers record for most career touchdowns with 83. With the win, the Chargers went into their bye week at 2–0, Philip Rivers completed 25 passes out of 35 attempts, racking up 235 yards and a touchdown. At M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland Coming off of their Bye, the Chargers drew first blood as QB Philip Rivers completed a 31-yard TD pass to WR Malcom Floyd. However, the Ravens would tie the game up with QB Steve McNair completing a 5-yard TD pass to TE Daniel Wilcox. In the second quarter, kicker Nate Kaeding would give the Chargers some comfort, as he kicked a 34-yard, after a scoreless third quarter, the Ravens slowly started to climb back
41.
Urban Meyer
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Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American college football coach and former player, currently the head football coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Meyer served as the coach of the Bowling Green Falcons from 2001 to 2002, the Utah Utes from 2003 to 2004. Meyer was born in Toledo, Ohio, grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, and attended the University of Cincinnati, during his time at the University of Florida, he coached the Gators to two BCS National Championship Game victories, during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Meyers winning percentage through the conclusion of the 2009 season was the highest among all active coaches with a minimum of five seasons at a Football Bowl Subdivision program. During his temporary retirement in 2011, he worked as a football analyst for the television sports network ESPN. In 2014, he led the Buckeyes to their first Big Ten Conference title under his tenure as well as the eighth national championship. Meyer is one of three coaches to win a college football national championship at two different universities. Meyer was born on July 10,1964 in Toledo, Ohio and he graduated from Ashtabulas Saint John High School in 1982. Meyer was also selected in the 13th round, as a shortstop, Meyer spent two seasons playing minor league baseball in the Braves organization. He concurrently played defensive back at the University of Cincinnati before earning his bachelors degree in psychology in 1986, during his undergraduate studies, Meyer was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. Meyer went on to earn his masters degree in administration at Ohio State University. In 2004, Meyer was recognized as the football coach of the year by both sportswriters and television commentators. He has twenty years of coaching experience, including nine as a head coach. His overall record as a coach through the end of the 2009 season is 96–18. His winning percentage through the end of 2009 season ranks first nationally among college football head coaches. However, according to a July 2009 newspaper report, Meyer insisted he would never leave Florida for Notre Dame, the University of Cincinnatis Brian Kelly was eventually hired for the job. On December 26,2009, Meyer announced he would resign following the bowl game against Cincinnati. On November 28,2011, Meyer accepted the head position at The Ohio State University
42.
Nevada Wolf Pack football
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The Nevada Wolf Pack football program represents the University of Nevada, Reno in college football. The Wolf Pack competes in the Mountain West Conference at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of the NCAA Division I. The Wolf Packs home field is Mackay Stadium, located at the end of its campus in Reno. The new Mackay Stadium saw its first game 51 years ago on October 1,1966 with a capacity of 7,500 and has undergone several renovations. The stadium currently seats 30,000 and has played to crowds in excess, the elevation of its playing field is 4,610 feet above sea level. Nevada has had three individuals inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and they are coach Chris Ault, running back Frank Hawkins and former coach Buck Shaw. Fullback Marion Motley is the only Nevada player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, three-time Super Bowl champion Charles Mann played for Nevada from 1979 to 1982 and was named Most Valuable Defensive Lineman in 1982. Mann was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995, another Nevada alumnus with a long career in the NFL was free safety Brock Marion. He was selected in the round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys where he played most of his career. Marion was selected to three Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team, Nevada has not fielded a Heisman Trophy winner, however, Stan Heath was fifth in Heisman voting in 1948 and Colin Kaepernick was eighth among 2010 candidates. Nevada footballs rich tradition has produced 40 All-Americans and 45 All-American selections, Nevadas only consensus All-American was Matt Clafton in 1991, which was Nevadas last year in the Division I-AA, the Wolf Pack is awaiting their first FBS consensus All-American. The Wolf Pack has also produced two Academic All-Americans, David Heppe and Erick Streelman Nevadas football history began on October 24,1896, however, there was no football program from 1906–14, in 1918 and in 1951. The result was a debacle as Belmont relentlessly thrashed the hapless Sagebrushers by the tally of 70–0. But, the University of Nevada yearbook Artemesia would report five years later, two weeks later and the Brushers met up with the Berkeley Second Eleven with much more favorable results (with NSU only giving up forty points. Thus the initial chapter of the history of the University was one of defeat. From 1901 to 1903, Allen Steckle served as the football coach at the University of Nevada. In 1903, he was appointed to the position as the universitys Physical Director. In his three seasons as the coach, he compiled a 6–9–2 record
43.
Pistol offense
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The pistol offense is an American football formation and strategy partially developed by Chris Ault in 2005 while he was head coach at the University of Nevada, Reno. It is a hybrid of the shotgun and single back offenses. The running back lines up three yards directly behind the quarterback, which is in contrast to the shotgun, where they are beside each other. The pistol formation is very versatile, particularly if the quarterback himself is a threat to run the ball. Jerry Glanville invented and created the formation in the 1990 season when he was the head coach for the NFLs Atlanta Falcons. Glanville who innovated the Red Gun offense, featured 4 wide receivers spread across the field with the quarterback under center or in the shotgun. After running the Red Gun for 3 seasons with the Houston Oilers, in training camp in his first year with the Falcons, Glanville moved the running back directly behind quarterback in the shotgun thus creating the Pistol formation. The Falcons would use it at times during the 1990 season only passing out of the formation. The formation was dropped after Glanville gave the offense to June Jones in 1991, michael Taylor of Mill Valley developed the Pistol formation as a complete offense in 1999 while playing softball. The plays worked, the set was exclusively two back and included a full complement of runs to both the I back and the offset back. University of Nevada head coach Chris Ault popularized the single back alignment in 2005, using the Pistol Offense, during the 2009 season, Nevada led the nation in rushing at 345 yards a game and were second in total offense at 506 yards. The Wolf Pack also became the first team in football history with three 1, 000-yard rushers in the same season, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running backs Luke Lippincott. Football Championship Subdivision team James Madison University used The Pistol to help beat #13 ranked Virginia Tech on September 11,2010, along with the wildcat, the pistol has added more of a college playmaker aspect to the professional game. On December 5,2010, the Pittsburgh Steelers used the Pistol offense so quarterback Ben Roethlisberger could play with a bad foot, the pistol formation can be used in a variety of ways, because the quarterback is closer to the line of scrimmage than a traditional shotgun formation. This allows him to see more easily over the line and make downfield reads and he will also get the ball snapped to him faster, which can alter timing patterns greatly for a preparing defense. The pistol offense can effectively use draw plays, counters, in a pistol formation, handoffs occur 2-3 yards closer to the line of scrimmage than in the shotgun. In the traditional shotgun, run plays are most effectively run to the side opposite the running back, in the pistol, they can be effectively executed to either side of the QB, opening up more options for the offense. This can make for an effective running game, but may limit pass efficiency due to quicker recognition of play action by linebackers
44.
Option offense
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The option offense is a generic term that is used to describe a wide variety of offensive systems in American football. Option offenses are characterized as such because of the predominance of option running plays employed in them, Option offenses have traditionally relied heavily upon running plays, though modern option offenses now incorporate a large number of passing plays. Because they are run-based, option offenses are very effective in managing the game clock, giving the team less time to score. However, this means that when the option team is losing near the end of the game. These schemes rely on timing, deception, and split-second decision-making under pressure, an option offense is any football scheme that relies on option running plays as its cornerstone. There are a variety of such schemes, the result is a backfield alignment that resembles the shape of a wishbone. While the wishbones success reached its zenith in the 1970s, it remains popular at the high school, wing T offense The traditional wing T offense employs many of the concepts of the wishbone offense. It often employs three running back formations, especially in the Bay City version of the offense, as the triple-option became prominent, the wing T quickly incorporated the veer into its arsenal. In conjunction, it tends to significantly more misdirection running plays. The traps, crosses, fakes, pulls, sweeps, the veer is well suited to the wing T offense, especially the Delaware version. It continues to be employed by schools and small college teams. Flexbone option offense The Flexbone was invented by Emory Bellard at Mississippi State in 1979 and it was called the Wingbone, a variation of the Wishbone Bellard originally invented. A variant of the offense, the flexbone came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s. The flexbone offense varies from the wishbone in a few fundamental ways, first, and most notably, the flexbone replaces the halfbacks that are aligned in the backfield of a wishbone with one or two wingbacks or slot backs, that align off-tackle or off-end. These hybrid players are very quick and must be adept at running, blocking. Because of their positioning, they can more easily facilitate the game in the flexbone. Teams that employ this scheme tend to consistently high rushing averages. The name flexbone is somewhat controversial and usually reflects the school of thought from which the offense was born, some practitioners, such as Air Forces famed former head coach, Fisher DeBerry, welcomed the name flexbone because the offense was seen as a modification of the traditional wishbone
