Age: 22
1st
season in pro football
College: Southern
California
Height: 5’11” Weight: 180
Prelude:
Haden was a
member of national championship teams at USC in 1972 and ’74 and appeared in
three Rose Bowls. He was also an Academic All-American and received a Rhodes
Scholarship following his graduation. Haden was selected by the Los Angeles
Rams in the seventh round of the 1975 NFL draft but signed with the Sun of the
WFL with the stipulation that he would need to cut his season short in order to
begin his studies at Oxford. He took over the starting duties in the second
week and played well until departing the club just a few weeks before the
league folded.
1975 Season Summary
Appeared in 7of
12 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 163
[9]
Most
attempts, game – 40 at San Antonio 8/9
Completions –
98 [6]
Most
completions, game – 24 at San Antonio 8/9
Yards – 1404
[6]
Most yards,
game – 313 at San Antonio 8/9
Completion
percentage – 60.1 [1]
Yards per
attempt – 8.6 [1]
TD passes – 11
[4, tied with Don Horn]
Most TD
passes, game – 3 at San Antonio 8/9, vs. Philadelphia 8/29
Interceptions
– 9 [8, tied with Tom Sherman & Sonny Sixkiller]
Most
interceptions, game – 3 at San Antonio 8/9
300-yard
passing games – 1
200-yard
passing games – 3
Rushing
Attempts – 12
Most
attempts, game – 4 (for 26 yds.) vs. Charlotte 9/14
Yards – 44
Most yards,
game – 26 yards (on 4 carries) vs. Charlotte 9/14
Average gain
– 3.7
TDs – 0
Sun went 7-5
and were first in the WFL Western Division when the league folded. They led the
league in touchdowns (45, tied with San Antonio) and were second in rushing
yards (2047), passing yards (2431), and scoring (354 points).
Aftermath:
With the WFL
having folded, Haden joined the Rams in 1976. There were concerns about his
lack of size and arm strength and he made the club as the third-string
quarterback behind James Harris and Ron Jaworski but started seven games (amid
some controversy when Harris was benched in his favor) and showed promise.
Haden overcame the challenge of fading veteran QB Joe Namath in 1977 to pass
for 1551 yards and 11 touchdowns and gained selection to the Pro Bowl. He had
his biggest statistical season in ’78, starting all 16 games for the only time
in his career and throwing for 2995 yards with 13 TDs, although also 19
interceptions. Haden started the first ten games in 1979 until going down with
a broken finger and backup QB Vince Ferragamo led the club to the NFC Championship.
Regaining the starting job in ’80, he again suffered a broken passing hand and
threw only 41 passes and, following another injury-riddled year in 1981, Haden
retired to practice law. Overall in the NFL, he threw for 9296 yards and 52
touchdowns. A smart and unselfish quarterback, if physically limited and best
suited to a ball control offense, the club went 35-19-1 during Haden’s starts
and he was named to one Pro Bowl.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
Haden's intelligence and his game management abilities were the only reasons he lasted as long as he did. It wasn't until Ferragamo took over that the Rams were able to stretch defenses with the deep ball. The Rams should've never let Ferragamo get away to the CFL, he was never the same since.
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