Running Back,
St. Louis Cardinals
Age: 23
College: Missouri
Height: 6’2” Weight: 207
Prelude:
A star on
both offense and defense in college, Roland was chosen by the Cardinals in the
fourth round of the 1966 NFL draft. While there was talk of putting him at
safety, he was utilized at halfback on offense where his outside speed and pass
receiving ability could be put to best use.
1966 Season Summary
Appeared in all
14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 192
[7]
Most
attempts, game - 23 (for 76 yds.) at NY Giants 11/6
Yards – 695 [11]
Most yards,
game – 109 yards (on 20 carries) at Washington 10/23
Average gain
– 3.6 [15, tied with Junior Coffey]
TDs – 5 [11,
tied with Ken Willard & Don Meredith]
100-yard
rushing games – 1
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 21
Most
receptions, game – 4 (for 34 yds.) at Pittsburgh 11/13
Yards – 213
Most yards,
game - 40 (on 2 catches) vs. Philadelphia 9/11
Average gain
– 10.1
TDs – 0
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 15
Yards – 347
Most yards,
game – 116 (on 4 ret.) vs. NY Giants 10/9
Average per
return – 23.1 [16]
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 33 yards
Punt Returns
Returns – 20 [6]
Yards – 221 [3]
Most yards,
game – 142 (on 3 ret.) at Philadelphia 10/2
Average per
return – 11.1 [1]
TDs – 1 [1,
tied with five others]
Longest
return – 86 yards
Passing
Attempts – 8
Completions –
5
Yards – 130
TDs – 1
INT – 0
All-Purpose
Yards – 1476 [5]
Scoring
TDs – 6
Points – 36
Awards & Honors:
NFL Rookie of
the Year: UPI
Pro Bowl
Cardinals
went 8-5-1 to finish fourth in the NFL Eastern Conference.
Aftermath:
Roland
followed up his outstanding rookie season with another Pro Bowl year in 1967.
He rushed for 876 yards and 10 TDs and caught 20 passes for another 269 yards
and a score. However, in the next to last game he suffered a knee injury that
required surgery and, while he played for another six years, never again
approached his early level of performance. His highs for rushing attempts and
yards during the remainder of his career were 138 and 498, respectively, in
1969. In 1972, his last year with the Cards, he reached career highs with 38
pass receptions for 321 yards. Altogether with St. Louis he rushed 962 times
for 3608 yards (3.8 avg.) and 27 touchdowns and caught 131 passes for 1240
yards and five TDs. He spent one last year with the New York Giants in ’73,
gaining 142 yards on the ground and 190 yards on 22 receptions. With two punt
returns for scores, he had a total of 36 TDs.
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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise
Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league
itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).
