With the NFL season having officially kicked off Thursday night at the Louisiana Superdome, which saw the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints squeak by the Minnesota Vikings, 14-9, I compiled some feats, facts, and historical firsts about week-one in the NFL, along with other historical odds and ends.
16 other games are scheduled for Sunday and Monday.
Teams would be wise not to take week one too lightly. Of the 458 teams which won openers since 1978 when the NFL went to a 16-week schedule, 243 went to the playoffs (142 won division titles); while of the 458 teams which lost openers, only 102 went to the playoffs (60 won division titles).
Historic Quick Turnarounds
• The New England Patriots went from 5-11 in 2000 to 11-5 in 2001 to win the Super Bowl
• The New Orleans Saints went from a ho-hum 8-8 record in 2008 to a mighty impressive 13-3 record in 2009 and won the Super Bowl.
• In 2007, the Miami Dolphins were 1-15, only to come back the following season with a respectable 11-5 record.
• The Baltimore Ravens tied for last place in 2005 with a 6-10 record. They roared back in 2006 with a 13-3 record.
• The San Diego Chargers also tied for last place in 2003 with a 4-12 record, returning to respectability the following year with a 12-4 record.
Rule Changes in 2010:
• Unnecessary roughness penalties have been extended to ``defenseless players’’ who have just completed a catch from blows to the head or neck by an opponent who launches.
• If a player's helmet comes off during a play, the ball will immediately be blown dead.
• Defensive linemen are now permitted to wear numbers 50-59 in addition to numbers 60-79 and 90-99.
• NFL officials will pay closer attention to ``in-the-face’’ taunting of players in an effort to emphasize good sportsmanship
Miscellaneous NFL Notes
• According the NFL, the Houston Texans will have the toughest schedule ahead of them in which they will face 11 teams who were .500 or better last year, including seven playoff teams. The Texans will face opponents with a combined .547 winning percentage.
• The Arizona Cardinals have the softest schedule ahead of them in which they will face only nine teams with a .500 or more winning percentage, including four playoff teams. The Cardinals will face opponents with a combined winning percentage of .445.
• Over the last 10 years, the Indianapolis Colts have racked up a .719 winning percentage (115-45), earned nine playoff berths, two Super Bowl berths and claimed one Super Bowl trophy. The Colts 115 wins over the last 10 years, surpassed the San Francisco 49ers who won 114 games in the 1990's.
• Over the last 10 years, the New England Patriots (112-48. .700 winning pct) have earned seven playoff berths, four Super Bowl berths, and won three Super Bowls.
• Over the last 10 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers (103-56, .647 winning pct) have earned six playoff berths, two Super Bowl berths, and won two Super Bowls.
• September 16, 1973, O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills rushed for 250 yards with two touchdowns, an NFL record for the first weekend of the season.
• September 28, 1951: Norm Van Brocklin of the L.A. Rams passed for 554 yards against the N.Y. Yanks, a record for week one, which included five touchdown passes.
• September 16, 1962: Wide receiver Frank Clarke of the Dallas Cowboys pulled in 10 passes against the Washington Redskins, the longest was 58 yards, totaling 241 yards and 3 TD's, an NFL record for week one.
• Over the last 10 years, Michael Turner of the Atlanta Falcons rushed for the most yards during week one, totaling 220 rushing yards with two touchdowns against the Detroit Lions on September 7, 2008.
• Kurt Warner of the St Louis Rams passed for 441 yards against Denver on September 4, 2000 with three touchdowns, the most in the NFL for week one over the last 10 years.
• Anquan Boldin of Arizona caught 10 passes for 217 yards (the longest was 71 yards in a touchdown strike) against the Detroit Lions on September 7, 2003, an NFL record for week one over the last 10 years.
• Over the last 10 years, the Indianapolis Colts have had the best record through the first month of the season, compiling a 26-6-0 record with a .813 winning pct., followed by the Denver Broncos with a 25-10-0 record and a .714 winning pct.
• 63 years ago, an NFL record was set for the curtain-raiser of the season, when the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles combined for 87 points and 12 touchdowns as the Eagles knocked off the Redskins, 45-42, at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia on September 28, 1947.
• The Dallas Cowboys celebrate their 50th anniversary this season; and accordingly will wear a commemorative patch during the 2010 season.
• Despite being the 25th overall pick of the NFL Draft, the jersey number of the Denver Broncos Tim Tebow (no. 15) tops the list of jerseys sold on the NFLShop.com. Donovan McNabb (no. 5) of the Washington Redskins and Drew Brees (no. 9) of the New Orleans Saints are the second and third top sellers respectively.
• Tom Brady of the New England Patriots has a .764 winning percentage, the most of all active quarterbacks, which includes 97 wins and 30 losses.
• Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers was the last NFL quarterback to throw for 500 yards. Big Ben passed for 503 yards on December 29, 2009 against the Green Bay Packers.
• The last quarterback to throw for seven touchdowns in a game was Joe Kapp of the Minnesota Vikings against the Baltimore Colts on September 28, 1969.
• The last player to rush for five touchdowns was Clinton Portis of the Denver Broncos against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 7, 2003.
• The last players to rush for 250 yards in a game were Jerome Harrison of the Cleveland Browns who rushed for 286 yards against Kansas City on December 20, 2009 and Jamaal Charles of Kansas City who rushed for 259 yards against Denver on January 3, 2010.
• The last players to have two kickoff returns in one game were Joshua Cribbs of the Cleveland Browns against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 20, 2009; and Ted Ginn Jr., of the Miami Dolphins against the New York Jets on November 1, 2009.
• According to Elias Sports Bureau, accurate record keeping didn't begin until the 1932, while sacks didn't become an official statistic until 1982.
• The most amount of miles traveled by any NFL team in 2010 will be the San Francisco 49ers who will travel 35, 219 miles, which includes the pre-season. The Cincinnati Bengals, on the other hand, will only travel 6, 668 miles (including pre-season) the least amount of any NFL team.
• 34 players from Florida were drafted by the NFL in 2010, the most of any of the states followed by Texas with 26 and California with 25.
Celebrities’ hearts belong to…
• Sandra Bullock-Washington Redskins
• Johnny Depp: Miami Dolphins
• Tina Fey: Philadelphia Eagles
• Dave Matthews (singer): Seattle Seahawks
• Jamie Foxx: Dallas Cowboys
• George Clooney: Cincinnati Bengals
• President Barack Obama: Chicago Bears
NFL Milestones in 2010
• 90 years ago: The National Football League was born in Canton, Ohio on August 20, 1920.
• 75 years ago: The New York Giants retired the uniform number of receiver Ray Flaherty (No.1), to become the first professional athlete to have his name and number retired.
• 40 years ago: The AFL and NFL merged into one league.
• 35 years ago: Referees were equipped with wireless microphones for all preseason, regular season and playoff games.
• 25 years ago: The 1985 Super Bowl XX champion Chicago Bears performed the Super Bowl Shuffle.
• 20 years ago: The bye-week was introduced and the 16-game schedule was played over 17 weeks; while The Super Bowl MVP Trophy was renamed the “Pete Rozelle Trophy.”
• 5 years ago: NFL Network began televising regular-season NFL games.
Who’s ready to make history in 2010?
• Brett Favre needs three touchdown passes to become the first player in NFL history with 500 career TD passes
• Peyton Manning needs 1,348 passing yards to surpass John Elway (51,475) and move into third place all-time.
• Randy Moss of the New England Patriots needs five touchdowns to surpass LaDainian Tomlinson (153) for third place all-time
• Jayson Taylor of the New York Jets, needs 10.5 sacks to surpass Rickey Jackson (128.0), Leslie O’Neal (132.5), Lawrence Taylor (132.5), John Randle (137.5), and Richard Dent (137.5) to move into sixth place all-time
• New England head coach Bill Belichick needs 12 victories to pass Bud Grant (168), Paul Brown (170), Joe Gibbs (171) and Mike Holmgren (174) for 10th place all-time in career victories.
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
Source: National Football League