Throwback Player Profile #4 - Walter Jones

If you've seen the film 'The Blind Side', or read the book of the same name, you'll be aware of the game-changing nature of Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor's hit on Joe Theismann in week 11 of the 1985 NFL season. Taylor revolutionised the game in that his presence alone forced teams to invest heavily in left tackles - finding a player to anchor the offensive line and protect their quarterback's blind side became teams' top priority.

In the twenty-eight years since that night, teams have tried - and often failed - to find that man. Some, like Willie Roaf, Gary Zimmerman, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace and Joe Thomas, have been exemplary...but arguably none of them have been as good as Walter Jones.

Ex-Seahawks quarterback and current Seahawks radio analyst Warren Moon explains why Jones was so good:

"Walter just had a rare combination of great feet, but powerful strength - especially in his lower body...that allowed him to not only be able to stay in front of some of the best defensive ends in the league...he also had that power just to come off and just annihilate whoever was in front of him in the running game. So he not only was a good pass blocker, he was a great run blocker, he was a great run blocker as well. He was the whole package."

It's tough to find a left tackle statistically superior to Jones, as over the course of his twelve-year career he didn't miss a single game (playing 180 in total), was selected to nine Pro Bowls - a franchise record - and was a six-time All-Pro. He only drew nine penalty flags in 5,703 pass plays - once every 634 plays - and allowed only 23 sacks in his entire career.
The many quarterbacks who started for Seattle during his tenure - John Freisz, Warren Moon, Jon Kitna, Glenn Foley, Brock Huard, Matt Hasselbeck, Trent Dilfer, Seneca Wallace, Charlie Frye and Charlie Whitehurst - only experienced pressure from their blind side (or in Brock Huard's case, his 'not-so-blind side') only once in every 248 pass plays. It's also no coincidence that Shaun Alexander was named the NFL MVP behind an offensive line with Jones as a permanent feature.

Those are remarkable statistics for a man who enjoyed an extraordinarily dominant career. As a result he was named by The Sporting News as the best player in the game at any position in 2005, was named on the NFL All-2000's team, and this week he figures to be honoured as a first-ballot inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Walter Jones was a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and once-in-a-lifetime talents deserve to be first-ballot Hall of Famers.

Throwback Thursday: NFL Stars In The 'Wrong' Uniforms

Even though it has been two years since he traded the white and blue of the Colts for the Orange Crush of the Broncos, it will still be strange to see Peyton Manning playing in another Super Bowl for a team other than the Indianapolis Colts.

Of course, Manning is not the first NFL star - or even the first member of his family - to resist retirement and spend the last few years of their career in unfamiliar surroundings. Here's a collection of some of the biggest names in NFL wearing not-so-iconic uniforms.

Johnny Unitas: San Diego Chargers, 1973

Joe Namath: St Louis Rams, 1977

Brett Favre: New York Jets, 2008

Earl Campbell: New Orleans Saints, 1984-1985

Jerry Rice: Seattle Seahawks, 2004

Jerry Rice: Denver Broncos, 2005

O.J. Simpson: San Francisco 49ers, 1978-1979

Reggie White: Carolina Panthers, 2000

Deion Sanders: Baltimore Ravens, 2004-2005

LaDainian Tomlinson: New York Jets, 2010-2011

John Lynch: New England Patriots, 2008

Cris Carter: Miami Dolphins, 2002

Emmitt Smith: Arizona Cardinals, 2003-2004

Kurt Warner: New York Giants, 2004

Ronnie Lott: New York Jets, 1993-1994

Joe Montana: Kansas City Chiefs, 1993-1994

Throwback Uniform Gallery #5: Pro Bowl Uniforms

Love it or hate it, the Pro Bowl is one of the NFL's great traditions, and - after the NFLPA lobbied for its survival - it isn't going anywhere any time soon. Despite a brief location change in 2011 (to Miami) and a rescheduling so that it now takes place the week before the Super Bowl, the format Pro Bowl has remained largely unchanged.

Until now. In 2014, the Pro Bowl will no longer be contested between the AFC and NFC, and will instead be played between two teams drafted by Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders.

The NFL's all-star game has run continuously since 1950, and as a result there are a lot of retro uniforms to take a look at. Here's some of the best:

1960's:

1970's:

1980's:

1990's:

      

2000's:

Throwback Player Profile #3 - Floyd Little

On this Throwback Thursday, seeing as we are little over a week away from Super Bowl XLVIII, I'll be taking a look at one of the greatest Broncos of all time - Floyd Little.

When one looks back over his career, it is hard to believe it took him so long to reach the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. The running back was the owner of Syracuse university's famed #44 jersey after Jim Brown and Ernie Davis, and was the first player drafted by the newly-created Denver Broncos in 1967. Understandably, his nickname - to Broncos fans, at least - remains 'The Franchise'.

Of course, Little didn't receive such an esteemed nickname solely because of his status as a first round draft pick - he earned it with immediate and sustained success on the football field.

Little was initially used as a kick and punt returner, and quickly flourished at the pro level. In his rookie season he led the American Football League in punt returns (16.9 avg on 16 returns) and set a career-best record for kick returns - returning 35 kickoffs for 942 yards. He scored the AFL's only punt return touchdown that season, and - with rushing and receiving yardage totalling just under 400 yards - was responsible for almost 1,500 all-purpose yards.

As Little matured as a running back, he started to see more carries and established himself as the prominent component of the Denver Broncos offense. He was averaging five yards per carry by his third season, caught 25 passes in each of his final five years in the league, became the first 1,000-yard rusher in franchise history in 1971 and won the NFL rushing title in the same year with 284 carries for 1,133 yards and six touchdowns.

His explosive running and pass-catching abilities made him a fan favourite in Denver, and he arguably helped pave the way for guys like Barry Sanders, Roger Craig, Marshall Faulk and - in today's NFL - Reggie Bush and Danny Woodhead.

When he retired, Little had accumulated over 12,000 all-purpose yards - more than anyone in the league between 1967 and 1975 - and ranked seventh on the all-time leading rushers list (with 6,323 yards and 54 touchdowns) behind an offensive line without a single pro bowler.
He was named to three Pro Bowls (in 1970, 1971 and 1973), the AFC all-star game (in 1968 and 1969), and was inducted to the Broncos ring of fame and - finally - the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and 2010 respectively.

But Floyd Little's significance to the Broncos runs much deeper than rushing records and all-purpose touchdowns - he is arguably the very reason that Peyton Manning and Co. are even in the Super Bowl next Sunday. Little's success created a bond between the city of Denver and it's new football franchise - hugely significant considering Denver almost lost the Broncos in 1965.

They don't just call him 'The Franchise' for nothing.

Photo Gallery: Championship Weekend

Another Championship Weekend is in the books, and true to form it was one of the best Sundays the NFL has seen this year. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots fell short against a Denver team that always seemed destined to make the Super Bowl this season, and Pete Carroll's Seattle Seahawks saw off their bitter San Franciscan rivals to finally book a place at the big one.

Here are some of the web's best photos of the AFC and NFC Championship games: