MVP Profile: Lawrence Taylor, 1986

Linebacker, New York Giants



Age: 27
6th season in pro football & with Giants
College: North Carolina
Height: 6’3” Weight: 243

Prelude:
Chosen in the first round by the Giants in 1981, Taylor had an immediate impact as a rookie. Not only was he the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, and a consensus first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, but he was selected as NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the AP. With his attacking style of play, he almost immediately set new standards for outside linebackers and was a consensus first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection in each of his first five seasons and NFL Defensive Player of the Year again in 1982.

1986 Season Summary
Appeared and started in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Sacks – 20.5 [1]
Most sacks, game – 4 vs. Philadelphia 10/12
Multi-sack games - 6
Interceptions – 0
Fumble recoveries – 0

Postseason: 3 G
Sacks – 0
Interceptions – 1
Int. return yards – 34
TD – 1

Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP, PFWA, Bert Bell Trophy, Sporting News
NFL Defensive Player of the Year: AP
1st team All-NFL: AP, PFW, NEA, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News
1st team All-NFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl

Giants went 14-2 to win NFC East and led the NFL in defense against the run (1284 yards / 80.3 yards per game) and were second in fewest points surrendered (236). Won NFC Divisional playoff over San Francisco 49ers (49-3), NFC Championship over Washington Redskins (17-0), and Super Bowl over Denver Broncos (39-20).

Aftermath:
Taylor continued to be the leader of the Giants defense, achieving consensus first-team All Pro honors twice more and being selected to four more Pro Bowls (for a total of 10 consecutive, going back to his rookie year). He retired following the 1993 season, with 132.5 career sacks, and his #56 was retired by the Giants. Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1999.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/15/14]

Past Venue: Kingdome

Seattle, WA



Year opened: 1976
Capacity: 66,000

Names:
King County Multipurpose Domed Stadium, 1976-2000

Pro football tenants:
Seattle Seahawks (NFL), 1976-99

Postseason games hosted:
AFC Wild Card playoff, Seahawks 31 Broncos 7, Dec. 24, 1983
AFC Wild Card playoff, Seahawks 13 Raiders 7, Dec. 22, 1984
AFC Wild Card playoff, Dolphins 20 Seahawks 17, Jan. 9, 2000

Other tenants of note:
Seattle Sounders (NASL), 1976-83
Seattle Mariners (MLB – AL), 1977-99
Seattle SuperSonics (NBA), 1978-85

Notes: Hosted NFC/AFC Pro Bowl, Jan. 17, 1977. Hosted NCAA Final Four tournament, 1984,1989, 1995. First event hosted in the stadium was a NASL game between the New York Cosmos vs. Seattle Sounders. Ceiling tiles fell onto the field prior to a Mariners baseball game, causing the venue to be closed for an extended period in 1994 and forcing the Seahawks to play their first three home games of the regular season at the Univ. of Washington’s Husky Stadium. Publicly constructed and owned by King County. Stadium was built of concrete with fixed dome and AstroTurf field.

Fate: Demolished in 2000, Qwest Field was built on the site.

MVP Profile: Drew Brees, 2009

Quarterback, New Orleans Saints



Age: 30
9th season in pro football, 4th with Saints
College: Purdue
Height: 6’0” Weight: 209

Prelude:
Chosen by the San Diego Chargers in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft, Brees spent a year as backup to veteran Doug Flutie before taking over as starting quarterback in ’02. A good first year as starter was followed by a season in which he had difficulties, and the Chargers swung the deal that brought rookie Philip Rivers to San Diego in 2004. Brees bounced back that year with a Pro Bowl season in which his passer rating was 104.8. Brees badly injured his shoulder in the last game of the ’05 season, the final year of his contract, and with the team committing to Rivers, he signed with the New Orleans Saints. He was a consensus first-team All-Pro and was selected to the Pro Bowl in ’06, leading the NFL with 4418 passing yards and guiding the Saints, with a high-powered offense, to the NFC Championship game. Brees started poorly and the team didn’t do as well in 2007, but he recovered to lead the league in pass attempts (652) and completions (440) while throwing for another 4423 yards. He had another Pro Bowl year in ’08 in which he led the NFL in passing yards (5069), TD passes (34), pass attempts (635) and completions (413).

2009 Season Summary
Appeared and started in 15 of 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 514 [10]
Most attempts, game – 49 at Washington 12/6
Completions – 363 [4, tied with Brett Favre]
Most completions, game – 35 at Washington 12/6
Yards – 4388 [6]
Most yards, game – 419 at Washington 12/6
Completion percentage – 70.6 [1]
Yards per attempt – 8.5 [3, 1st in NFC]
TD passes – 34 [1]
Most TD passes, game – 6 vs. Detroit 9/13
Interceptions – 11
Most interceptions, game – 3 at Miami 10/25
Passer rating – 109.6 [1]
400-yard passing games – 1
300-yard passing games – 7
200-yard passing games – 12

Rushing
Attempts – 22
Most attempts, game - 6 (for 8 yds.) at Buffalo 9/27
Yards – 33
Most yards, game – 8 yards (on 6 carries) at Buffalo 9/27, (on 2 carries) vs. Dallas 12/19
Yards per attempt – 1.5
TDs – 2

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 1
Yards – -4
Average gain – -4.0
TDs - 0

Scoring
TDs – 2
Points - 12

Postseason: 3 G
Pass attempts – 102
Most attempts, game - 39 vs. Indianapolis, Super Bowl
Pass completions – 72
Most completions, game - 32 vs. Indianapolis, Super Bowl
Passing yardage – 732
Most yards, game - 288 vs. Indianapolis, Super Bowl
TD passes – 8
Most TD passes, game - 3 vs. Arizona, NFC Divisional playoff; vs. Minnesota, NFC Championship
Interceptions – 0

Rushing attempts – 5
Most rushing attempts, game – 3 (for -3 yds.) vs. Arizona, NFC Divisional playoff
Rushing yards – -4
Most rushing yards, game - 0 vs. Minnesota, NFC Championship
Average gain rushing – -0.8
Rushing TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:
NFL Player of the Year: Bert Bell Award
1st team All-NFL: Sporting News
2nd team All-NFL: AP
Pro Bowl

Saints went 13-3, winning their first 13 games, to top the NFC South while leading the NFL in total offense (6461 yards), points scored (510), and touchdowns (64). Won Divisional playoff over Arizona Cardinals (45-14), NFC Championship over Minnesota Vikings (31-28), and Super Bowl over Indianapolis Colts (31-17).

Aftermath:
Brees went to the Pro Bowl for the third straight year, and fifth overall, in 2010 after throwing for 4620 yards and 33 touchdowns and leading the NFL in completion percentage (68.1). However, he also threw a career-high 22 interceptions and, while the team qualified for the postseason as a wild card with an 11-5 record, the Saints were upset in the first round of the playoffs by Seattle.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/15/14]
[Updated 11/28/14]

1984: Stars Dominate in Showdown with Stallions

The United States Football League game on May 6, 1984 at Birmingham’s Legion Field was a showdown between two 9-1 teams, the Philadelphia Stars and Birmingham Stallions. Playing at home, and having won nine straight contests after losing in their opening game, the Stallions were slight favorites.

Under the guidance of Head Coach Rollie Dotsch, Birmingham was much improved from the team that went 9-9 in ’83. The most significant reasons were the addition of two veterans with NFL experience, QB Cliff Stoudt, formerly of the Steelers, and ex-Bills RB Joe Cribbs. They had the league’s top rushing offense and defensively were best against the run.

The Stars, also coached for the second year by Jim Mora, had made it all the way to the USFL title game in 1983 and, if anything, were an even better club in ’84. The offense, directed by QB Chuck Fusina and powered by RB Kelvin Bryant, was conservative but effective. The “Doghouse Defense” was outstanding against both the run and pass and gave up few points. They had outscored their opponents in the first half by a combined 99-3 in the previous four games, which proved to be more of an omen than seemed possible entering the game.

There were 49,500 fans in attendance at Legion Field for what was expected to be a close contest. Indeed, the Stallions defense stifled the powerful Philadelphia running game initially as the Stars netted just one yard on their first four running plays. However, the visitors proved capable of adjustment – and of moving effectively through the air when necessary.

There was only one score in the first quarter as Philadelphia FB David Riley ran for a seven-yard touchdown. The Stars took control of the game in the second quarter, putting up 23 more points before Birmingham could get on the board. The Stars capitalized on fumbles by Cribbs and CB Von Mansfield (returning a kickoff) that were turned into two of the three field goals kicked by David Trout during the period (two of 29 and one of 25 yards). There was also a pass from Fusina to WR Herbert Harris that initially bounced off the receiver’s hands, hit the defender, CB Dennis Woodberry, and then came back to Harris who juggled the ball but held on to complete the 51-yard touchdown play.

Fusina threw a second TD pass of 12 yards to WR Scott Fitzkee with a minute remaining in the half. The Stallions finally scored on the last play before halftime as Danny Miller kicked a 47-yard field goal, but Philadelphia held a 30-3 lead.

The second half only brought more of the same. Trout kicked a 26-yard field goal for the only points in the third quarter. The Stallions finally got another score in the fourth quarter when backup QB Bob Lane threw to WR Joey Jones for a 44-yard touchdown and then passed to WR Jim Smith for a successful two-point conversion.

However, Trout had already kicked his fifth field goal of the game, from 26 yards, and the Stars capped their domination of the contest with a 39-yard scoring run by RB Bryan Thomas. The final tally was 43-11, and Philadelphia made a clear statement as to which team could lay claim to being the USFL’s best.

The statistics were in line with the score. The Stars outgained the Stallions convincingly both on the ground (270 yards to 90) and through the air (219 to 145). They rolled up 26 first downs to Birmingham’s 10 and, against the team that had been the league’s best thus far in time of possession, held onto the ball for just over 38 minutes to slightly under 22 for the Stallions – fully 16 minutes more.

Kelvin Bryant led the rushing attack, as usual, with 84 yards on 18 carries. Bryan Thomas had 69 yards on seven attempts and David Riley ran the ball six times for 62 yards and a TD. Chuck Fusina completed 15 of 26 passes for 227 yards with the two touchdowns and none intercepted. WR Willie Collier caught four passes for 66 yards and Bryant four for 42, although Herbert Harris led in receiving yards with 74 on his three receptions, along with the one score. David Trout’s five field goals tied the USFL record and his 19 overall points were a new league single-game high by placekicking alone (Trout pictured at bottom).

For the Stallions, Cliff Stoudt (6 of 18 for 62 yards) and Bob Lane (4 of 10 for 99) combined to complete just 10 of 28 passes for 161 yards with a TD and an interception. Joe Cribbs gained 57 yards on 12 carries and caught four passes for 54 more. Joey Jones gained 65 yards on his two catches, including the one touchdown.

The two teams met again in the postseason as the Stars lost only one more game the rest of the way to finish atop the Atlantic Division with a 16-2 record and Birmingham ended up on top of the Southern Division at 14-4. The Stallions handily defeated the Tampa Bay Bandits in the first round of the playoffs while Philadelphia easily dispatched of the division-rival New Jersey Generals. The result of the rematch in the Eastern Conference title game was much the same as it had been in the regular season as the Stars won, 20-10. They went on to successfully complete the title run that fell short the year before, defeating Arizona for the USFL Championship.

1985: Bulls Score Two TDs in 4th Quarter to Beat Generals

The second-year Jacksonville Bulls were 5-5, and had won their last three United States Football League contests, as they hosted the New Jersey Generals on May 5, 1985. Coached by Lindy Infante, they had benefited from the play of QB Ed Luther, formerly of the NFL Chargers, who had joined the team early in the season and took over for the injured Brian Sipe. They also had second-year RB Mike Rozier (pictured at right), a former Heisman Trophy winner out of Nebraska who played for the Pittsburgh Maulers in ’84, a franchise that folded after one season. The defense had improved since the previous year, benefiting from the presence of rookie DE Keith Millard to go along with second-year LB Vaughan Johnson.

The Generals, coming into the contest at 7-3 and tied for the lead in the USFL’s Eastern Conference, were coached by Walt Michaels and had two ex-Heisman Trophy winners of their own – star RB Herschel Walker and rookie QB Doug Flutie – to go along with an array of veteran talent.

Typically drawing well, there were 60,100 in attendance at the Gator Bowl. The fans saw the Generals control the game early, scoring the first two times they had the ball. Four minutes into the contest, Roger Ruzek kicked a 49-yard field goal. Just three minutes later, following a bad punt by the Bulls, Flutie threw to TE Sam Bowers for a 30-yard touchdown. The possession lasted two plays and New Jersey was ahead by 10-0.

Jacksonville got back into the game by putting together a 72-yard drive over nine plays that ended when Rozier ran 23 yards up the middle with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter. New Jersey held a three-point lead after one period.

The teams traded field goals in the second quarter. Jacksonville’s Brian Franco (pictured below) kicked two, of 23 and 38 yards, and Ruzek booted a 46-yarder with 2:09 left in the first half, knotting the score at 13-13 at halftime.


The Bulls got a break in the third quarter on a fake field goal attempt by the Generals that went awry. Holder Rick Partridge attempted a pass that was intercepted by DB Joe Johnson and returned 16 yards to the New Jersey 49. Franco capped the possession with a 36-yard field goal and the Bulls were ahead by 16-13.

New Jersey opened the fourth quarter in the midst of an 11-play, 77-yard drive with Walker taking off on runs of 18 and 13 yards along the way. FB Maurice Carthon rushed for a 10-yard touchdown, and the Generals were back in front by 20-16 with 10:45 to go.

New Jersey’s lead didn’t last long, however. On the ensuing kickoff, Jacksonville TE Norris Brown, who had been waived by the Generals in the preseason, gathered in the ball at his 18 yard line and ran down the right sideline 82 yards for a touchdown. It was not only the biggest play of the game, giving the Bulls a 23-20 lead, but was the only kickoff return for a TD in franchise history.

Any hopes that the Generals had of coming back were crushed by a 72-yard Jacksonville possession that ran more than six minutes off the clock and ended with Rozier scoring a second touchdown, going around end from a yard out to cushion the lead with 2:17 remaining in the contest and providing the final score of 30-20.

The Bulls had more first downs (21 to 19), and while New Jersey far outrushed Jacksonville (209 yards to 98), the Bulls had more passing yards (195 to 119).

Ed Luther completed 20 of 31 passes for 200 yards with none intercepted. Mike Rozier ran for 87 yards on 22 carries, two of them for scores, and caught three passes for 41 more. WR Perry Kemp and TE Mark Keel each caught four passes, with Kemp gaining 45 yards to Keel’s 33.

For New Jersey, Herschel Walker had a typically strong showing, running for 169 yards on 29 attempts, his fifth consecutive hundred-yard performance. Doug Flutie completed 9 of 17 passes for 148 yards and a TD with one intercepted. Sam Bowers caught two passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. WR Walter Broughton was right behind with 42 yards on his two receptions.

“Norris Brown's run could not have come at a better time,” said Bulls coach Lindy Infante afterward. “It was a great spark.”

“New Jersey waived me so I wanted to do whatever I could to help the Bulls,” said Brown. “I just popped the opening and all I had was field in front of me. I couldn't believe there was all that ground out there with nobody in front of me. I was so wide open, I thought I was going to pull a muscle or something.”

Ultimately, the Generals remained ahead of the Bulls in the final standings. New Jersey finished at 11-7, in second place in the Eastern Conference. They lost to the Baltimore Stars in the Quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Jacksonville had a 9-9 record, placing them sixth in the same conference.

Herschel Walker went on to lead the USFL with a phenomenal 2411 rushing yards. Mike Rozier placed second with 1361. Ed Luther ended up ninth among the league’s passers, throwing for 2792 yards and completing an even 60 percent of his passes, while tossing 15 touchdowns against 21 interceptions. Brian Franco was named All-USFL placekicker by the league, succeeding on 24 of 29 field goal attempts and scoring 117 points.

Past Venue: Kezar Stadium

San Francisco, CA



Year opened: 1925
Capacity: 59,942

Names:
Kezar Stadium, 1925-89

Pro football tenants:
San Francisco 49ers (AAFC/NFL), 1946-70
Oakland Raiders (AFL), 1960

Postseason games hosted:
AAFC First Round playoff, 49ers 17 Yankees 7, Dec. 4, 1949
NFL Western Conference playoff, Lions 31 49ers 27, Dec. 22, 1957
NFC Championship, Cowboys 17 49ers 10, Jan. 3, 1971

Other tenants of note:
None

Notes: Hosted annual city high school football championship (still played at reconstructed facility). Hosted annual East-West Shrine Game, 1925-42, 44-68. Dedication ceremony in 1925 featured a two-mile footrace between Finish runners Ville Ritola and Paavo Nurmi. Stadium also used for motorcycle and auto racing, rugby, baseball, and boxing.

Fate: Demolished in 1989 and reconstructed with significantly reduced capacity (9044).

1977: Cowboys Trade Up to Pick Tony Dorsett with 2nd Overall Draft Choice

Leading up to the first round of the NFL draft on May 3, 1977, the two ’76 expansion teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks, held the first two overall picks. The Bucs, who suffered through an 0-14 inaugural season, made clear well ahead of time that they would take RB Ricky Bell of USC – the team that Head Coach John McKay had guided prior to crossing over to the NFL.

The logical choice for the next pick, which was property of the 2-12 Seahawks, was Heisman Trophy-winning RB Tony Dorsett from the University of Pittsburgh. However, the front office found itself awash in trade offers from teams that wanted the record-setting running back, and the fact that Dorsett made clear his aversion to playing for Seattle made those offers all the more enticing.

In the end, it was the Dallas Cowboys swinging the deal that allowed them to choose Dorsett second overall. The Seahawks were looking to stockpile draft choices, and Dallas had extra picks to trade. Seattle came away with a first round choice that had come to the Cowboys by way of San Diego in the deal for QB Clint Longley (14th overall) as well as three second-round draft choices.

With the picks from Dallas, the Seahawks took G Steve August from Tulsa in the first round and offensive lineman Tom Lynch of Boston College with the second pick in the second round. They also came away with LB Terry Beeson from Kansas with their next second-round choice, eleven slots down the line. Yet another of the second round choices was traded back to the Cowboys for WR Duke Fergerson, who had been on injured reserve in 1976. Seattle also obtained LB Pete Cronan from Boston College in a trade with the Rams that sent one of the second round picks to LA for C Geoff Reece and that club’s second round pick.

The Cowboys, who were widely credited with having pulled off the steal of the draft, were hardly bereft of talent, having won the NFC East in 1976 with an 11-3 record and gone to the postseason in ten of the previous 11 seasons. However, the running game had been beset by injuries in ’76; RB Doug Dennison was the club’s leading rusher with 542 yards.

“We were willing to sacrifice numbers (the draft choices) for one good football player,” explained Dallas President/GM Tex Schramm. “We did not disturb our current team, which also was one of our major objectives.”

The Cowboys may have sacrificed draft picks, but they still had enough to take WR Tony Hill from Stanford in the third round who, following a quiet rookie season, became a mainstay of the offense for the next nine years. They also took QB Glenn Carano of Nevada-Las Vegas, a backup for the next several seasons until moving on to the USFL. Tenth-round selection Steve DeBerg, a quarterback from San Jose State, failed to make the team but went on to a 17-year NFL career with six clubs.

Dallas got off to an 8-0 start and Dorsett was eased into the lineup, although he scored two touchdowns in the season’s second game and had a 14-carry, 141-yard performance against the Cardinals in Week 4. HB Preston Pearson, in tandem with FB Robert Newhouse, continued to start until midseason. Despite the relatively light use, the prize rookie made the most of his opportunities and still gained a thousand yards on the ground (1007 on 208 attempts), including 206 yards on 23 carries in a game against Philadelphia. The Cowboys again won the NFC East, with a 12-2 record, and went on to win the Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos – Dorsett scored the game’s first touchdown and ran for 66 yards.

It was the start of a career in which the 5’11”, 192-pound Dorsett crossed the thousand-yard threshold in eight of his first nine seasons (the players’ strike that limited the schedule to nine games in 1982 was the only exception), was a consensus first-team All-Pro in ’81 and was selected to four Pro Bowls. Ending up his 12-season career with a year in Denver, he rushed for a total of 12,739 yards and 77 touchdowns while also catching 398 passes for another 3554 yards and 13 more TDs. The Cowboys went to one more Super Bowl and four NFC Championship games during that period. Dorsett was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

As for the players that Seattle obtained as a result of dealing the second overall draft pick, Steve August was injured in a motorcycle accident before the 1977 season that limited his playing time, but went on to appear in 102 games for the Seahawks, 91 of them as the starting right tackle, until 1984. Tom Lynch made it into the starting lineup as a rookie and stayed for four seasons before departing for Buffalo, where he played another four years. He was a second-team All-AFC selection by UPI in ’78.

Terry Beeson became the starting middle linebacker, was an All-Rookie selection in ’77, and stayed with the Seahawks for five years. Pete Cronan was mostly used on special teams in his 3 ½ years in Seattle before moving on to Washington during the 1981 season. He played for the Redskins through ’85. Duke Fergerson caught 19 passes for 374 yards (19.7 avg.) and two touchdowns in 1977, but only 16 more over the course of the remaining three years of his NFL career. Geoff Reece, the young veteran obtained from the Rams, accomplished the least, appearing in just three games with Seattle in ’77.

The Seahawks improved to 5-9 in ’77 and posted their first winning record (9-7) in 1978. However, Tampa Bay beat them to the postseason, going all the way to the NFC Championship game in 1979 thanks to an outstanding defense and Ricky Bell’s 1263 rushing yards.