Age: 29
8th
season in pro football & with Chargers
College: Oregon
Height: 6’3” Weight: 210
Prelude:
A third-round
draft choice by the Chargers in 1973, Fouts gradually took over the starting
job as a rookie while an over-the-hill Johnny Unitas faded from the scene in
his last season. He struggled for the next two years but benefited from the
presence of Bill Walsh as offensive coordinator in 1976. Fouts missed the first
10 games in ’77 due to a lawsuit against the NFL, although he performed well
upon his return. Head Coach Tommy Prothro was replaced by the pass-oriented Don
Coryell during the 1978 season, and the sturdy drop-back passer’s career
benefited greatly. After leading the NFL in yards per attempt in ’78 (7.9), he
set a new passing yardage record in 1979 with 4082, led the league in
completion percentage (62.6), and was a consensus first-team All-NFL and Pro
Bowl selection.
1980 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers
indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 589
[1]
Most
attempts, game – 45 vs. Denver 11/9
Completions –
348 [1]
Most
completions, game – 29 vs. Oakland 9/14, vs. Denver 11/9
Yards – 4715 [1]
Most yards,
game – 444 vs. NY Giants 10/19
Completion
percentage – 59.1 [10]
Yards per
attempt – 8.0 [2]
TD passes – 30
[2, tied with Vince Ferragamo & Brian Sipe, 1st in AFC]
Most TD
passes, game – 4 at Seattle 9/7
Interceptions
– 24 [5]
Most
interceptions, game – 5 vs. Oakland 9/14
Passer rating
– 84.7 [6]
400-yard
passing games – 1
300-yard
passing games – 8
200-yard
passing games – 15
Rushing
Attempts – 23
Most
attempts, game – 5 (for -5 yds.) vs. Philadelphia 11/30
Yards – 15
Most yards,
game – 12 yards (on 2 carries) at Miami 11/20
Yards per attempt
– 0.7
TDs – 2
Scoring
TDs – 2
Points – 12
Postseason: 2
G
Pass attempts
– 82
Most pass
attempts, game – 45 vs. Oakland, AFC Championship
Pass
completions – 44
Most pass
completions, game – 22 vs. Buffalo, AFC Divisional playoff; vs. Oakland, AFC
Championship
Passing
yardage – 650
Most passing
yards, game – 336 vs. Oakland, AFC Championship
TD passes – 4
Most TD
passes, game – 2 vs. Buffalo, AFC Divisional playoff; vs. Oakland, AFC
Championship
Interceptions
– 3
Most
interceptions, game – 2 vs. Oakland, AFC Championship
Rushing
attempts – 3
Most rushing
attempts, game – 2 vs. Buffalo, AFC Divisional playoff
Rushing yards
– -4
Most rushing
yards, game – 2 vs. Oakland, AFC Championship
Average gain
rushing – -1.3
Rushing TDs –
0
Awards & Honors:
2nd
team All-NFL: AP
2nd
team All-AFC: UPI
Pro Bowl
Chargers went
11-5 to finish first in the AFC West while leading the NFL in total yards
(6410) and passing yards (4531). Won AFC Divisional playoff over Buffalo Bills
(20-14). Lost AFC Championship to Oakland Raiders (34-27).
Aftermath:
With an
outstanding group of receivers to throw to in the Air Coryell passing game,
Fouts broke his passing yardage record once again with 4802 yards in 1981 while
leading the NFL in attempts (609) and completions (360) as well as TD passes
(33). He was a Pro Bowl selection for a third straight year, although the Chargers
once again came up short in the playoffs. In the strike-shortened ’82 season
Fouts led the NFL in passing yards (2883), TD passes (17), and yards per attempt
(8.7) and received MVP honors from the PFWA and NEA as well as Offensive Player
of the Year recognition from AP. Playing in just 10 games in 1983, Fouts again
achieved Pro Bowl recognition. While he never again passed for 4000 yards in
the remaining five years of his career, he did throw for over 3000 three more
times, led the league in yards per attempt (8.5) and TD percentage (6.3) in
1985, and was twice more selected to the Pro Bowl (for a total of six). At the
time of his retirement, he ranked second all-time in NFL career pass attempts
(5604), completions (3297), and yards (43,040) and had a passer rating of 80.2.
The Chargers retired his #14 and Fouts was inducted into the Pro Football Hall
of Fame, Class of 1993.
--
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
