Running Back,
Seattle Seahawks
Age: 22
College: Penn
State
Height: 5’11” Weight: 205
Prelude:
Warner broke
42 school rushing records and was a key player on the 1982 national
championship squad as he rushed for 3398 yards at Penn State. The Seahawks took
him in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft (third overall) with the
expectation that he would add speed and pass receiving ability to the
backfield.
1983 Season Summary
Appeared in all
16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 335
[3]
Most
attempts, game - 32 (for 207 yds.) vs. Kansas City 11/27
Yards – 1449 [3, 1st in AFC]
Most yards,
game – 207 yards (on 32 carries) vs. Kansas City 11/27
Average gain
– 4.3 [19, tied with Ottis Anderson & Joe Cribbs]
TDs – 13 [4]
200-yard
rushing games – 1
100-yard
rushing games – 6
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 42
Most
receptions, game – 6 (for 72 yds.) at Kansas City 9/4, (for 49 yds.) at San
Diego 10/9, (for 29 yds.) at NY Giants 12/11
Yards – 325
Most yards,
game - 72 (on 6 catches) at Kansas City 9/4
Average gain
– 7.7
TDs – 1
Scoring
TDs – 14 [3,
tied with Roy Green & Pete Johnson, 1st in AFC]
Points – 84
Postseason: 3 G
Rushing
attempts – 63
Most rushing
attempts, game - 29 at Miami, AFC Divisional playoff
Rushing yards
– 238
Most rushing
yards, game - 113 at Miami, AFC Divisional playoff
Average gain
rushing – 3.8
Rushing TDs –
2
Pass
receptions – 10
Most pass
receptions, game - 5 at Miami, AFC Divisional playoff
Pass
receiving yards - 70
Most pass
receiving yards, game - 38 at Miami, AFC Divisional playoff
Average yards
per reception – 7.0
Pass
Receiving TDs - 0
Awards & Honors:
AFC Rookie of
the Year: UPI
2nd
team All-NFL: AP
1st
team All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Seahawks went
9-7 to finish second in the AFC West and qualify for a Wild Card playoff spot.
Won AFC Wild Card playoff over Denver Broncos (31-7) and Divisional playoff
over Miami Dolphins (27-20). Lost AFC Championship to Los Angeles Raiders
(30-14).
Aftermath:
Warner
suffered a knee injury in the opening game of the 1984 season that cost him the
remainder of the year, and while he came back in ’85 to rush for 1094 yards and
catch 47 passes, he wore down noticeably in the second half of the season. In
1986 he regained form as he led the AFC in rushing with 1481 yards and followed
up with 985 in the strike-interrupted ’87 season. Warner was selected to the
Pro Bowl following both of those seasons. However, he suffered an ankle injury
in the 1987 season finale that required surgery and, while he ran for 1025
yards in ’88, was no longer as consistent as in his peak years. Following a
631-yard season in 1989, Warner joined the Rams as a free agent but ran the
ball just 49 times for 139 yards in his last year. Overall, he rushed for 6844
yards (6705 with the Seahawks, which made him the franchise career rushing
leader at the time) and caught 193 passes for 1467 more yards, scoring a total
of 63 touchdowns. Warner was selected to the Pro Bowl on three occasions.
--
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).
[Updated 11/29/14]
[Updated 11/29/14]
