Threads
-
To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.
Crusader Kings II
Anyone play this? I'm a bit of a strategy nerd and this is one of the titles I hadn't played before, but enjoying it right now and it's free on Steam. Decided to try it out due to it being free plus CKIII is coming out later this year and it looks really good.
Gotta say it's rather addicting even though I'm getting my ass kicked once I get too many counties and duchies under me. Just got assassinated in my most recent play-through by my wife for philandering and now I'm playing my youngest almost from the beginning again. Holy shit this game is kind of nuts.
Gotta say it's rather addicting even though I'm getting my ass kicked once I get too many counties and duchies under me. Just got assassinated in my most recent play-through by my wife for philandering and now I'm playing my youngest almost from the beginning again. Holy shit this game is kind of nuts.
McVay Confident In Offensive Line; Excited For Development Of Austin Corbett
- By BonifayRam
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 87 Replies
Rams News: Sean McVay Confident In Offensive Line; Excited For Development Of Austin Corbett
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is confident in his offensive line and is excited to see the development of Austin Corbett.
ramsnewswire.com
The Los Angeles Rams were able to address a number of their notable voids on the roster through the 2020 NFL Draft.
Many assumed the offensive line would be a point of emphasis for Los Angeles heading into the 2020 NFL season. Of their nine picks, only the final one was relegated to adding another potential piece to the offensive line after taking Clemson guard Tremayne Anchrum in the seventh round.
This may have come as a surprise to many considering all the struggles they endured up front during the 2019 campaign. However, it seems head coach Sean McVay is confident that the pieces are already in place.
McVay feels one of the few silver linings that came from the injury-plagued offensive line was that it gave the coaching staff a chance to better evaluate the depth they had, via J.B. Long of the team’s official website:
McVay pointed out their in-season acquisition of guard Austin Corbett as an example of a player that could be poised for a big offseason under offensive line coach Aaron Kromer:
Corbett had been a second-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, he struggled to find his footing in Cleveland and they ultimately jumped at the chance to part ways with him in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. McVay’s comments indicate that he is optimistic Corbett can emerge into a bonafide starter with a full offseason in the system under his belt.
Aside from Corbett, Austin Blythe was also able to take advantage of his opportunity by making the transition from right guard to center and this spurred the Rams to re-sign him to a one-year deal this offseason. Right guard David Edwards also made the switch from the left side of the line to potentially etch out a starting role for himself heading into the 2020 NFL season.
Although it remains to be seen how the rest of the pieces will fall in place, it is clear that McVay is confident that there is more than enough talent in this group to spark a potential resurgence.
Around the NFCW: Patrick Peterson: 2020 Cardinals 'best football team I've been part of'
- By CGI_Ram
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 28 Replies
NFC West is going to be tough. Cardinals appear improved over the offseason.
Really hard for me to read our division right now. I am not sure what to think... I can make a case for all 4 teams to be right there.
www.thescore.com
Patrick Peterson: 2020 Cardinals 'best football team I've been part of'
A new era has begun for the Arizona Cardinals, and cornerback Patrick Peterson believes the franchise's 2020 roster might be the most talented one he's seen in almost a decade with the team.
"This is probably the best football team I've been a part of on paper," Peterson said on "The Hyperice Lab" podcast.
Peterson added, "What we've been able to add to this team this year, what the front office has been able to accomplish this offseason (without) being able to see guys and not able to be around, it's been second to none. I mean, unbelievable."
The Cardinals were part of this offseason's biggest trade, acquiring All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans in exchange for a pair of draft picks and former All-Pro running back David Johnson.
Arizona also signed defensive lineman Jordan Phillips and linebackers De'Vondre Campbell and Devon Kennard in free agency. Finally, the team landed linebacker Isaiah Simmons in the first round of the 2020 draft.
The Cardinals already feature All-Pro linebacker Chandler Jones, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, quarterback Kyler Murray, and Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker.
Peterson was selected fifth overall in 2011 and has been part of two playoff campaigns with the Cardinals in 2014 and 2015. Their best result was an NFC Championship Game appearance. But the eight-time Pro Bowl corner thinks they have a shot of going further this season.
"It's going to come down to us to manage the locker room, manage the egos, and make sure that everybody is on the same page, and understand that we have to commit to one another, believe in one another, and trust one another," Peterson said. "If we do those three things, we can be in Tampa (for Super Bowl LV) ready to face whoever, and ready to hopefully bring that Lombardi Trophy - the first Lombardi Trophy - home to Arizona."
The Cardinals are one of 12 teams that's never won a Super Bowl. Arizona has appeared in the big game once, a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.
Really hard for me to read our division right now. I am not sure what to think... I can make a case for all 4 teams to be right there.
Peterson: 2020 Cardinals probably 'best football team I've been part of'
A new era has begun for the Arizona Cardinals, and cornerback Patrick Peterson believes the franchise's 2020 roster might be the most talented one he's seen in almost a decade with the team."This is probably the best football team I've been a part of on paper," Peterson said on "The Hyperice...
www.thescore.com
A new era has begun for the Arizona Cardinals, and cornerback Patrick Peterson believes the franchise's 2020 roster might be the most talented one he's seen in almost a decade with the team.
"This is probably the best football team I've been a part of on paper," Peterson said on "The Hyperice Lab" podcast.
Peterson added, "What we've been able to add to this team this year, what the front office has been able to accomplish this offseason (without) being able to see guys and not able to be around, it's been second to none. I mean, unbelievable."
The Cardinals were part of this offseason's biggest trade, acquiring All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans in exchange for a pair of draft picks and former All-Pro running back David Johnson.
Arizona also signed defensive lineman Jordan Phillips and linebackers De'Vondre Campbell and Devon Kennard in free agency. Finally, the team landed linebacker Isaiah Simmons in the first round of the 2020 draft.
The Cardinals already feature All-Pro linebacker Chandler Jones, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, quarterback Kyler Murray, and Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker.
Peterson was selected fifth overall in 2011 and has been part of two playoff campaigns with the Cardinals in 2014 and 2015. Their best result was an NFC Championship Game appearance. But the eight-time Pro Bowl corner thinks they have a shot of going further this season.
"It's going to come down to us to manage the locker room, manage the egos, and make sure that everybody is on the same page, and understand that we have to commit to one another, believe in one another, and trust one another," Peterson said. "If we do those three things, we can be in Tampa (for Super Bowl LV) ready to face whoever, and ready to hopefully bring that Lombardi Trophy - the first Lombardi Trophy - home to Arizona."
The Cardinals are one of 12 teams that's never won a Super Bowl. Arizona has appeared in the big game once, a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.
NFL testing new protective facemasks with surgical or N95 material
- By ROD-BOT
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 9 Replies
NFL testing new face masks with surgical material
NFL engineers and sports equipment company Oakley are testing prototypes of modified face masks that might contain surgical or N95 material, the NFLPA's medical director said Monday.
NFL engineers and sports equipment company Oakley are testing prototypes of modified facemasks that may contain surgical or N95 material, the NFLPA's medical director said Monday.
Speaking on Monday's The Adam Schefter Podcast, Thom Mayer said "there will probably be a recommendation" that the NFL will use such masks to protect players from the coronavirus when the league returns to play.
"Back in early March, I had suggested that we should consider novel and emerging ways to handle the helmets and the facemasks and the spread of the virus," Mayer said. "And these guys, the bioengineers that we use and that the league uses -- Oakley, as you may or may not know, does all the face visors for the league under contract -- these guys got the bit between their teeth."
Mayer said he wasn't sure exactly how the modifications would look, but he acknowledged that it is realistic to think that the new designs could cover a player's entire facemask, and that the engineers were working on all such a design might entail.
"They've got some prototypes; they're doing really good work," he said. "Some of them, when you first look at them, you think, 'Gosh, no' -- 'cause you're not used to seeing it; you're just not used to seeing it. But they're looking at every issue you can imagine, including when it fogs up. What do we do with that? But these guys are used to dealing with this stuff."
Oakley has experience designing durable eyeglasses that won't fog up for use by the military, Mayer said.
Mayer also advised players who may have elevated risk factors to be constantly aware of doing everything possible to prevent exposure to the coronavirus.
"For a player like that, getting the helmet off, putting a mask on right afterwards, maintaining social distancing when not in the field as much as possible, using single-use hydration, whether water, Gatorade, whatever it might be -- I mean, just every little detail," he said.
"Anybody who's got a risk, I would advise them to be zealous, religious and frankly, almost maniacally committed to minimizing the chance of spreading the virus."
The History of the Rams: Hall of Fame WR & General Manager Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch
- By JKBOGEN
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 0 Replies
The History of the Rams: Hall of Fame WR & General Manager Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch
2 hours ago Jake Ellenbogen
What if I told you Elroy Hirsch was not only important to the Rams on the field but he was maybe just as important in an office…
What if I told that before the explosive Odell Beckham Jr.’s or Tyreek Hill’s of the world came into the league, there was a man in the 1950s that did something none of them have done today? That was the late great Los Angeles Rams Hall of Fame wideout Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch. He was something the NFL had never seen before when he came into their league and torched it.
The man dubbed “Crazy Legs” – Elroy Hirsch was given the name by a news reporter that called him Crazy Legs in his story, ever since then it stook and went on to become one of the most iconic nicknames in football history. Hirsch was very fast which is part of the reason why he was called that but in the NFL All 100 team video, an audio clip of Hirsch was played explaining how one foot was abnormally longer than the other which caused him to run in an odd fashion. Hirsch didn’t have any problem making a man miss in space like the top RAC-kings do today but he was the first of his kind.
College Career and Military Service
Hirsch started off at the University of Wisconsin in 1941 but two years later was transferred to the University of Michigan after enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in correspondence to the V-12 Navy College Training Program that was being held there. Hirsch was discharged from the military in 1946 and the Cleveland Rams drafted him during his time in the military a year before being discharged. He didn’t intend to sign with the Rams due to the fact he wanted to go back to Wisconsin and play football in college. That didn’t end up happening and he decided to go to the All-America Football Conference to play for the Chicago Rockets who were actively being coached by Dick Hanley, Hirsch’s football coach when he played for the El Toro team back when he was in the marines. Hirsch would go on to dominate the AAFC but injuries (most notably a skull-fracturing kick to the head) would hurt his consistency and ultimately send him out of the league and bolting right back to the NFL.
Hirsch in 1949 felt the now-Chicago Hornets, had breached a bonus obligation in his contract and so he demanded his release to pursue signing a contract with the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. The NFL, however, was not about to allow that as Crazy Legs had already been drafted by the Rams four years prior and the Rams now in Los Angeles still held Hirsch’s rights. It’s exactly why after all, the Rams decided to draft Hirsch when he was in the U.S. military. Hirsch ended up agreeing to terms with the L.A. Rams in 1949 and was now ready to play in the league. Initially, Hirsch was supposed to be a running back but the Rams made sure to convert him entirely to being a wide receiver after his rookie year. His whole playing career up to this point he had been known as the versatile do-it-all type but the Rams knew they had something special in him and wanted him to hone in on one job and that was to catch passes for a living.
His NFL ascension
Hirsch’s first year with the Rams, he finished with just three starts, 22 receptions, 326 yards receiving, four touchdowns receiving to go along with 68 carries, 287 yards rushing and a touchdown. It was an introductory year for Hirsch to get him acclimated to the NFL style. The Rams ended up losing the NFL Championship against the Eagles after winning the West division. The next year in 1950, the Rams implemented Hirsch as a true starting wideout in which he started 10 games, caught 42 balls, 687 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. It was a great year for Hirsch as he started alongside fellow Hall of Fame wideout Tom Fears. Fears led the whole league that season in receiving yards, the Rams fell short in the Championship game again this time to the Browns and lost the title game in back-to-back seasons.
The Rams had come close but no cigar since arriving in Los Angeles in regards to winning a title. However, in 1951, the league was about to see Elroy Hirsch unleashed in the Greatest Show on Grass offensive attack. Hirsch, in year three, had one of the greatest years in NFL history. In addition, he also took part in one of the greatest performances in NFL history as he caught four touchdowns in the game that saw Norm Van Brocklin set a single-game passing yards record of 554 that still stands today. That year, in general, he hauled in 66 receptions, a record-setting 1,495 yards receiving and 17 touchdown receptions. He surpassed the league-leading receiver Tom Fears that year as the favorite target for the platoon QB duo of Norm Van Brocklin and Bob Waterfield. Hirsch’s 17 touchdowns put him tied for the all-time record with Don Huston which now is good for fifth all-time for a single-season. He accumulated 22.7 yards per reception that season but what is most important with this stat is the fact that in his era, this was unheard of aside from Don Hutson and what he did a decade ago with the Packers. Hirsch didn’t play in the passing era that we see today and more importantly, he only played 12 out of the 12 games. The record that sits today for a single-season receiving yards record is Calvin Johnson’s 1,964 from the 2012 season which came in 16 games. Hirsch would have only needed 470 yards to break that and he played in four fewer games than Johnson and nowhere near the same era as Johnson who had been thrown the ball 204 times that season alone. Hirsch had half as many catches and still only need 470 yards to have more than Megatron did. On top of that, Hirsch averaged 124.6 yards per game which means that if he had played all four games, the average projects him to add 498.4 more yards to his total which doesn’t get him to the 2,000 mark but it does make him the all-time leader in a single-season.
The point to take away from this is that Hirsch was a man amongst boys back in his era and those guys had one place to go and that was Canton. More importantly, Hirsch’s dynamic playmaking ability combined with Fears and the Bull Elephant backfield (Dan Towler, Dick Hoerner and Tank Younger) helped lead the Rams to their first championship since their move to Los Angeles as they beat the Browns in a rematch to claim their second-ever NFL Championship. One can’t forget about the Head coach behind all of this success either, while the Rams certainly had the pieces and Hirsch was one-of-a-kind, their coach Joe Stydahar put everyone in the best position to win. Stydahar didn’t follow the other teams, his offense set the tone and they led the league with an elite running game and passing game.
A slight change in trajectory and introduction to Hollywood
In the following 1952 season, the Rams owner Dan Reeves bought out Stydahar’s contract after tension grew between Stydahar and the running back coach Hampton Pool. Pool took over following the first game of the season which ended in a loss and Pool led the team to a 9-2 record. Despite having a pair of Hall of Fame wideouts and quarterbacks on the roster, Pool went more with a balanced attack that would put more of an emphasis on running the football than Stydahar wanted to do. This, of course, led to a serious dip in production from Crazy Legs as he finished with just seven starts, 25 receptions, 590 yards and four touchdowns. Of course, he averaged 23.6 yards per reception so it’s not to say his ability disappeared. His opportunities did and it became clear as day that season as the Rams fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Detroit Lions 31-21 even in a game where the defense forced four interceptions including one of which came from Hirsch himself.
The 1953 season came and went, Hirsch had himself another great season after racking up 61 catches, 941 yards and four touchdowns but Pool’s Rams fell out of the playoff cutoff after finishing third in the West division. That same Lions team led by Bobby Layne and Doak Walker had taken over the West. During that season, an unprecedented release that is still mindblowing to this day was dropped in the film industry. Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch starred as himself in the motion picture “Crazylegs” told the story of his football life. The craziest thing besides the fact he played himself was that this took place during his playing career which speaks volumes with just how popular a Hollywood star he had become while playing for the Rams. The following season in 1954, Pool’s Rams had lost it and officially had fallen off from a three-time NFL Championship appearing team to not making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after falling all the way down to a 6-5-1 season. Hirsch still put up 720 yards on only 35 receptions for three touchdowns but the season was a failure and it was beginning to look like the Rams Greatest Show on Grass era had officially ended.
It was beginning to look that way until the Rams hired legendary Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman. Gillman came directly from college and led the Rams from 6-5-1 to 8-3-1 and back to the NFL Championship in 1955. Hirsch’s role was no longer to be the guy and he was no longer the superstar on the field as he was earlier in his career. However, that year, Hirsch starred in his second motion picture and his first original film “Unchained” which displayed Hirsch’s multi-faceted talents. The Rams, unfortunately, that season fell short of winning it all against the Browns in a game they fell 38-14 in. Van Brocklin threw six interceptions in that game which led to a quarterback downhill trajectory. The Rams 1952 first-overall pick was waiting on deck, quarterback Billy Wade. The Rams felt the next season they should give him a good hard look with the impending decline of Van Brocklin. Unfortunately, Gillman and the Rams fell right off a cliff going 4-8. Hirsch was still kicking but the Rams saw the 33-year-old coming with age and drafted wideout Leon Clarke in the second round of the 1956 NFL draft. That season, Hirsch no longer was duos with Tom Fears, it became a three-way wide receiver attack with Clarke, Hirsch and Bob Boyd. Still, trouble was on the horizon after the Rams’ worst season in quite some time.
The 1957 season had started with Gillman on the hot seat and in need to make something happen. The Rams decided to roll with Van Brocklin again after Wade’s disappointing season and the team went for a monster 474 carries per game. The offensive premium was put on the running game and the receiving production once again fell off for Hirsch. Hirsch was 34 years old at this point and had his third motion picture released during that same year. Hirsch had a decent-sized role in the movie “Zero Hour!” which was famously parodied as Airplane! On the football front, the Rams finished the season at 6-6 which was good for fourth in their division. Gillman came back the next season to coach the Rams but Crazy Legs did not return.
Retirement and next career chapter with the Rams
Elroy Hirsch did retire after the 1957 season. He announced his retirement and finished his playing career with 343 receptions,m 6,299 yards, 53 receiving touchdowns and even adding seven interceptions, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries on the defensive side of the ball. All of which eventually landed him in Canton as a Pro Football Hall of Famer. However, Hirsch’s story doesn’t end here and it doesn’t go where you think it was going. At first glance, you might have expected Hirsch to land in Hollywood and pursue his acting career. While he did have the success that wasn’t what he ultimately decided to do. Instead, Hirsch waited a couple of years and in 1960, the nine-year Los Angeles Ram decided to come back to the Rams…as the general manager. Rams GM Pete Rozelle had to be replaced following his departure to the be the NFL’s commissioner, so Dan Reeves brought in the star wide receiver to run things in the front office.
In Hirsch’s first year as acting general manager, he drafted USC Linebacker Marlin McKeever in the first round who went on to the Pro Bowl. In round four, Hirsch drafted three-time Pro Bowl tackle, Charlie Cowan. In the tenth round, Hirsch drafted All-Pro tackle Joe Scibelli but he followed those picks up in the fourteenth round with the monster draft pick of legendary Hall of Fame defensive end David “Deacon” Jones. Hirsch did end up trading away resurging QB Billy Wade to the Bears in what became at first looked like a lopsided trade that hurt the team on the field that year. However, there was a method for Hirsch’s madness as he sent away Wade, WR Del Shofner and LB John Guzik not because he wanted QB Zeke Bratkowski or DB Lindon Crow, it’s because he wanted an additional first-round pick that he knew was going to be big in the next draft.
After enduring a brutal 4-10 record in the 1961 season behind quarterbacks Bratkowski and Frank Ryan, the Rams were set up to make a serious push towards building a dynasty. The 1962 draft happened and because of Hirsch’s mastermind, the Rams were able to draft their new franchise quarterback Roman Gabriel and with the next pick select Hall of Famer and legendary defensive tackle Merlin Olsen. The play, however, did not translate to the field yet because the Rams were determined to stick with Bratkowski and let Gabriel develop. The Rams ended up firing Bob Waterfield who was very highly respected among the organization for his production as a player but did not, unfortunately, work out as a head coach.
The following 1963 draft was pretty much what had Dan Reeves move Elroy Hirsch out of the general manager role and into the role of assistant to the president. It was disappointing for Hirsch who many would soon find out, had drafted dynamic franchise difference-makers in Jones, Olsen, Gabriel, Cowan, Scibelli among others but the play on the field didn’t reflect it and it didn’t show the Rams were trending towards a dynasty that they were hoping for. The draft pick of Terry Baker first overall after enduring a hellacious season was beyond questionable since the Rams had just selected Gabriel second-overall the year before. New head coach Harland Svare who took over for Waterfield halfway through the 1962 season had put together another down season for the Rams.
While Hirsch was no longer the go-to general manager, he still had some big-time input in the decision making along with owner Dan Reeves. The 1965 draft Hirsch helped the Rams draft towering 6-foot-3 starting cornerback Clancy Williams and then the year after the team added Hall of Fame guard Tom Mack to the fray via the first round. Svare was out as coach and George Allen was in. The Rams had their first legitimate winning season for the first time since before Waterfield was named the head coach. Two big moves were made to inject life into the offense including the trade of which the Rams sent a first-round pick and backup defensive tackle Gary Larsen to the Vikings in exchange for dynamic first-round wideout Jack Snow. As well as the trade that saw the Dallas Cowboys trade Hall of Fame wide receiver Tommy McDonald in exchange for kicker Danny Villanueva. This signaled the beginning of the Fearsome Foursome era of football and the buying into Roman Gabriel as the franchise quarterback. Allen would lead the Rams to an 8-6 record that year.
The following season in 1967 the Rams were officially back and it was even more important now due to the fact the NFL had merged with the AFL creating a much bigger league and a lot more competition. Allen had the Rams at 11-1-2 in a season that saw the work of Hirsch finally paying off. The team was fierce, the gamble he made on Gabriel was paying off, the moves he helped make to acquire players like Jack Snow was paying off and of course, the draft picks of Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, Joe Scibelli and Charlie Cowan were most definitely paying off. The 1968 season saw the Rams maintain the consistency and Gabriel was emerging into the league’s best quarterback. This same year, Hirsch was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The year after, he would end up leaving and Gabriel would end up with a league MVP award.
His Final Chapter; where it all began…
Hirsch moved on from the Rams and moved back home with the University of Wisconsin Badgers. In 1969, Hirsch became the school’s athletic director as his football story came full circle. He improved the Badgers program greatly which included bringing in national titles in ice hockey, crew and cross country. Hirsch would keep this job until 1987 in which he would finish his career as a radio color commentator for Wisconsin football. Hirsch would end up being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974 and in 2004 at the age of 80 Hirsch’s incredibly successful life came to an end as he passed away.
His lasting legacy as a Ram
Elroy Hirsch had left the NFL and the Rams for good. He spent 19 years with the Rams combined as a player and as a coach. While it’s disappointing he missed the early part of his career due to his desire to play in a different league, you cannot take away the career this Hall of Famer had with the Rams. He not only helped bring a championship back to the Rams while he played on the field. He helped put together a championship-caliber team from the front office. He was directly responsible for adding star power to the offense just as he was directly responsible for making trades like the one he made to acquire Roman Gabriel and the draft picks he made to secure Deacon Jones, Joe Scibelli, Charlie Cowan, Merlin Olsen and others. The simple thing to say is that without Crazy Legs, the Rams probably don’t win the 1951 championship which leaves them championship-less in Los Angeles. Without Crazy Legs, the Rams might never have had the guts to trade away Billy Wade and would have potentially missed on the better player in Roman Gabriel. Without Crazy Legs, the Rams might never have drafted players like Charlie Cowan, Joe Scibelli, Deacon Jones and they probably never trade for Jack Snow. History would be altered forever if you took Crazy Legs and found a way to go back in time and place him on another team or removed him from the NFL history. Crazy Legs helped the Greatest Show on Grass explode and the Fearsome Foursome era Rams recover from the post-Waterfield/Van Brocklin era. Crazy Legs meant more to the Rams than anyone probably realizes. That is why we decided to delve into his story and tell it. There’s a reason why the NFL put him on the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, he was beyond special and perhaps maybe his number should have been retired at some point long ago.
2 hours ago Jake Ellenbogen
What if I told you Elroy Hirsch was not only important to the Rams on the field but he was maybe just as important in an office…
What if I told that before the explosive Odell Beckham Jr.’s or Tyreek Hill’s of the world came into the league, there was a man in the 1950s that did something none of them have done today? That was the late great Los Angeles Rams Hall of Fame wideout Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch. He was something the NFL had never seen before when he came into their league and torched it.
The man dubbed “Crazy Legs” – Elroy Hirsch was given the name by a news reporter that called him Crazy Legs in his story, ever since then it stook and went on to become one of the most iconic nicknames in football history. Hirsch was very fast which is part of the reason why he was called that but in the NFL All 100 team video, an audio clip of Hirsch was played explaining how one foot was abnormally longer than the other which caused him to run in an odd fashion. Hirsch didn’t have any problem making a man miss in space like the top RAC-kings do today but he was the first of his kind.
College Career and Military Service
Hirsch started off at the University of Wisconsin in 1941 but two years later was transferred to the University of Michigan after enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in correspondence to the V-12 Navy College Training Program that was being held there. Hirsch was discharged from the military in 1946 and the Cleveland Rams drafted him during his time in the military a year before being discharged. He didn’t intend to sign with the Rams due to the fact he wanted to go back to Wisconsin and play football in college. That didn’t end up happening and he decided to go to the All-America Football Conference to play for the Chicago Rockets who were actively being coached by Dick Hanley, Hirsch’s football coach when he played for the El Toro team back when he was in the marines. Hirsch would go on to dominate the AAFC but injuries (most notably a skull-fracturing kick to the head) would hurt his consistency and ultimately send him out of the league and bolting right back to the NFL.
Hirsch in 1949 felt the now-Chicago Hornets, had breached a bonus obligation in his contract and so he demanded his release to pursue signing a contract with the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. The NFL, however, was not about to allow that as Crazy Legs had already been drafted by the Rams four years prior and the Rams now in Los Angeles still held Hirsch’s rights. It’s exactly why after all, the Rams decided to draft Hirsch when he was in the U.S. military. Hirsch ended up agreeing to terms with the L.A. Rams in 1949 and was now ready to play in the league. Initially, Hirsch was supposed to be a running back but the Rams made sure to convert him entirely to being a wide receiver after his rookie year. His whole playing career up to this point he had been known as the versatile do-it-all type but the Rams knew they had something special in him and wanted him to hone in on one job and that was to catch passes for a living.
His NFL ascension
Hirsch’s first year with the Rams, he finished with just three starts, 22 receptions, 326 yards receiving, four touchdowns receiving to go along with 68 carries, 287 yards rushing and a touchdown. It was an introductory year for Hirsch to get him acclimated to the NFL style. The Rams ended up losing the NFL Championship against the Eagles after winning the West division. The next year in 1950, the Rams implemented Hirsch as a true starting wideout in which he started 10 games, caught 42 balls, 687 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. It was a great year for Hirsch as he started alongside fellow Hall of Fame wideout Tom Fears. Fears led the whole league that season in receiving yards, the Rams fell short in the Championship game again this time to the Browns and lost the title game in back-to-back seasons.
The Rams had come close but no cigar since arriving in Los Angeles in regards to winning a title. However, in 1951, the league was about to see Elroy Hirsch unleashed in the Greatest Show on Grass offensive attack. Hirsch, in year three, had one of the greatest years in NFL history. In addition, he also took part in one of the greatest performances in NFL history as he caught four touchdowns in the game that saw Norm Van Brocklin set a single-game passing yards record of 554 that still stands today. That year, in general, he hauled in 66 receptions, a record-setting 1,495 yards receiving and 17 touchdown receptions. He surpassed the league-leading receiver Tom Fears that year as the favorite target for the platoon QB duo of Norm Van Brocklin and Bob Waterfield. Hirsch’s 17 touchdowns put him tied for the all-time record with Don Huston which now is good for fifth all-time for a single-season. He accumulated 22.7 yards per reception that season but what is most important with this stat is the fact that in his era, this was unheard of aside from Don Hutson and what he did a decade ago with the Packers. Hirsch didn’t play in the passing era that we see today and more importantly, he only played 12 out of the 12 games. The record that sits today for a single-season receiving yards record is Calvin Johnson’s 1,964 from the 2012 season which came in 16 games. Hirsch would have only needed 470 yards to break that and he played in four fewer games than Johnson and nowhere near the same era as Johnson who had been thrown the ball 204 times that season alone. Hirsch had half as many catches and still only need 470 yards to have more than Megatron did. On top of that, Hirsch averaged 124.6 yards per game which means that if he had played all four games, the average projects him to add 498.4 more yards to his total which doesn’t get him to the 2,000 mark but it does make him the all-time leader in a single-season.
The point to take away from this is that Hirsch was a man amongst boys back in his era and those guys had one place to go and that was Canton. More importantly, Hirsch’s dynamic playmaking ability combined with Fears and the Bull Elephant backfield (Dan Towler, Dick Hoerner and Tank Younger) helped lead the Rams to their first championship since their move to Los Angeles as they beat the Browns in a rematch to claim their second-ever NFL Championship. One can’t forget about the Head coach behind all of this success either, while the Rams certainly had the pieces and Hirsch was one-of-a-kind, their coach Joe Stydahar put everyone in the best position to win. Stydahar didn’t follow the other teams, his offense set the tone and they led the league with an elite running game and passing game.
A slight change in trajectory and introduction to Hollywood
In the following 1952 season, the Rams owner Dan Reeves bought out Stydahar’s contract after tension grew between Stydahar and the running back coach Hampton Pool. Pool took over following the first game of the season which ended in a loss and Pool led the team to a 9-2 record. Despite having a pair of Hall of Fame wideouts and quarterbacks on the roster, Pool went more with a balanced attack that would put more of an emphasis on running the football than Stydahar wanted to do. This, of course, led to a serious dip in production from Crazy Legs as he finished with just seven starts, 25 receptions, 590 yards and four touchdowns. Of course, he averaged 23.6 yards per reception so it’s not to say his ability disappeared. His opportunities did and it became clear as day that season as the Rams fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Detroit Lions 31-21 even in a game where the defense forced four interceptions including one of which came from Hirsch himself.
The 1953 season came and went, Hirsch had himself another great season after racking up 61 catches, 941 yards and four touchdowns but Pool’s Rams fell out of the playoff cutoff after finishing third in the West division. That same Lions team led by Bobby Layne and Doak Walker had taken over the West. During that season, an unprecedented release that is still mindblowing to this day was dropped in the film industry. Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch starred as himself in the motion picture “Crazylegs” told the story of his football life. The craziest thing besides the fact he played himself was that this took place during his playing career which speaks volumes with just how popular a Hollywood star he had become while playing for the Rams. The following season in 1954, Pool’s Rams had lost it and officially had fallen off from a three-time NFL Championship appearing team to not making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after falling all the way down to a 6-5-1 season. Hirsch still put up 720 yards on only 35 receptions for three touchdowns but the season was a failure and it was beginning to look like the Rams Greatest Show on Grass era had officially ended.
It was beginning to look that way until the Rams hired legendary Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman. Gillman came directly from college and led the Rams from 6-5-1 to 8-3-1 and back to the NFL Championship in 1955. Hirsch’s role was no longer to be the guy and he was no longer the superstar on the field as he was earlier in his career. However, that year, Hirsch starred in his second motion picture and his first original film “Unchained” which displayed Hirsch’s multi-faceted talents. The Rams, unfortunately, that season fell short of winning it all against the Browns in a game they fell 38-14 in. Van Brocklin threw six interceptions in that game which led to a quarterback downhill trajectory. The Rams 1952 first-overall pick was waiting on deck, quarterback Billy Wade. The Rams felt the next season they should give him a good hard look with the impending decline of Van Brocklin. Unfortunately, Gillman and the Rams fell right off a cliff going 4-8. Hirsch was still kicking but the Rams saw the 33-year-old coming with age and drafted wideout Leon Clarke in the second round of the 1956 NFL draft. That season, Hirsch no longer was duos with Tom Fears, it became a three-way wide receiver attack with Clarke, Hirsch and Bob Boyd. Still, trouble was on the horizon after the Rams’ worst season in quite some time.
The 1957 season had started with Gillman on the hot seat and in need to make something happen. The Rams decided to roll with Van Brocklin again after Wade’s disappointing season and the team went for a monster 474 carries per game. The offensive premium was put on the running game and the receiving production once again fell off for Hirsch. Hirsch was 34 years old at this point and had his third motion picture released during that same year. Hirsch had a decent-sized role in the movie “Zero Hour!” which was famously parodied as Airplane! On the football front, the Rams finished the season at 6-6 which was good for fourth in their division. Gillman came back the next season to coach the Rams but Crazy Legs did not return.
Retirement and next career chapter with the Rams
Elroy Hirsch did retire after the 1957 season. He announced his retirement and finished his playing career with 343 receptions,m 6,299 yards, 53 receiving touchdowns and even adding seven interceptions, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries on the defensive side of the ball. All of which eventually landed him in Canton as a Pro Football Hall of Famer. However, Hirsch’s story doesn’t end here and it doesn’t go where you think it was going. At first glance, you might have expected Hirsch to land in Hollywood and pursue his acting career. While he did have the success that wasn’t what he ultimately decided to do. Instead, Hirsch waited a couple of years and in 1960, the nine-year Los Angeles Ram decided to come back to the Rams…as the general manager. Rams GM Pete Rozelle had to be replaced following his departure to the be the NFL’s commissioner, so Dan Reeves brought in the star wide receiver to run things in the front office.
In Hirsch’s first year as acting general manager, he drafted USC Linebacker Marlin McKeever in the first round who went on to the Pro Bowl. In round four, Hirsch drafted three-time Pro Bowl tackle, Charlie Cowan. In the tenth round, Hirsch drafted All-Pro tackle Joe Scibelli but he followed those picks up in the fourteenth round with the monster draft pick of legendary Hall of Fame defensive end David “Deacon” Jones. Hirsch did end up trading away resurging QB Billy Wade to the Bears in what became at first looked like a lopsided trade that hurt the team on the field that year. However, there was a method for Hirsch’s madness as he sent away Wade, WR Del Shofner and LB John Guzik not because he wanted QB Zeke Bratkowski or DB Lindon Crow, it’s because he wanted an additional first-round pick that he knew was going to be big in the next draft.
After enduring a brutal 4-10 record in the 1961 season behind quarterbacks Bratkowski and Frank Ryan, the Rams were set up to make a serious push towards building a dynasty. The 1962 draft happened and because of Hirsch’s mastermind, the Rams were able to draft their new franchise quarterback Roman Gabriel and with the next pick select Hall of Famer and legendary defensive tackle Merlin Olsen. The play, however, did not translate to the field yet because the Rams were determined to stick with Bratkowski and let Gabriel develop. The Rams ended up firing Bob Waterfield who was very highly respected among the organization for his production as a player but did not, unfortunately, work out as a head coach.
The following 1963 draft was pretty much what had Dan Reeves move Elroy Hirsch out of the general manager role and into the role of assistant to the president. It was disappointing for Hirsch who many would soon find out, had drafted dynamic franchise difference-makers in Jones, Olsen, Gabriel, Cowan, Scibelli among others but the play on the field didn’t reflect it and it didn’t show the Rams were trending towards a dynasty that they were hoping for. The draft pick of Terry Baker first overall after enduring a hellacious season was beyond questionable since the Rams had just selected Gabriel second-overall the year before. New head coach Harland Svare who took over for Waterfield halfway through the 1962 season had put together another down season for the Rams.
While Hirsch was no longer the go-to general manager, he still had some big-time input in the decision making along with owner Dan Reeves. The 1965 draft Hirsch helped the Rams draft towering 6-foot-3 starting cornerback Clancy Williams and then the year after the team added Hall of Fame guard Tom Mack to the fray via the first round. Svare was out as coach and George Allen was in. The Rams had their first legitimate winning season for the first time since before Waterfield was named the head coach. Two big moves were made to inject life into the offense including the trade of which the Rams sent a first-round pick and backup defensive tackle Gary Larsen to the Vikings in exchange for dynamic first-round wideout Jack Snow. As well as the trade that saw the Dallas Cowboys trade Hall of Fame wide receiver Tommy McDonald in exchange for kicker Danny Villanueva. This signaled the beginning of the Fearsome Foursome era of football and the buying into Roman Gabriel as the franchise quarterback. Allen would lead the Rams to an 8-6 record that year.
The following season in 1967 the Rams were officially back and it was even more important now due to the fact the NFL had merged with the AFL creating a much bigger league and a lot more competition. Allen had the Rams at 11-1-2 in a season that saw the work of Hirsch finally paying off. The team was fierce, the gamble he made on Gabriel was paying off, the moves he helped make to acquire players like Jack Snow was paying off and of course, the draft picks of Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, Joe Scibelli and Charlie Cowan were most definitely paying off. The 1968 season saw the Rams maintain the consistency and Gabriel was emerging into the league’s best quarterback. This same year, Hirsch was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The year after, he would end up leaving and Gabriel would end up with a league MVP award.
His Final Chapter; where it all began…
Hirsch moved on from the Rams and moved back home with the University of Wisconsin Badgers. In 1969, Hirsch became the school’s athletic director as his football story came full circle. He improved the Badgers program greatly which included bringing in national titles in ice hockey, crew and cross country. Hirsch would keep this job until 1987 in which he would finish his career as a radio color commentator for Wisconsin football. Hirsch would end up being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974 and in 2004 at the age of 80 Hirsch’s incredibly successful life came to an end as he passed away.
His lasting legacy as a Ram
Elroy Hirsch had left the NFL and the Rams for good. He spent 19 years with the Rams combined as a player and as a coach. While it’s disappointing he missed the early part of his career due to his desire to play in a different league, you cannot take away the career this Hall of Famer had with the Rams. He not only helped bring a championship back to the Rams while he played on the field. He helped put together a championship-caliber team from the front office. He was directly responsible for adding star power to the offense just as he was directly responsible for making trades like the one he made to acquire Roman Gabriel and the draft picks he made to secure Deacon Jones, Joe Scibelli, Charlie Cowan, Merlin Olsen and others. The simple thing to say is that without Crazy Legs, the Rams probably don’t win the 1951 championship which leaves them championship-less in Los Angeles. Without Crazy Legs, the Rams might never have had the guts to trade away Billy Wade and would have potentially missed on the better player in Roman Gabriel. Without Crazy Legs, the Rams might never have drafted players like Charlie Cowan, Joe Scibelli, Deacon Jones and they probably never trade for Jack Snow. History would be altered forever if you took Crazy Legs and found a way to go back in time and place him on another team or removed him from the NFL history. Crazy Legs helped the Greatest Show on Grass explode and the Fearsome Foursome era Rams recover from the post-Waterfield/Van Brocklin era. Crazy Legs meant more to the Rams than anyone probably realizes. That is why we decided to delve into his story and tell it. There’s a reason why the NFL put him on the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, he was beyond special and perhaps maybe his number should have been retired at some point long ago.
The NFL’s Offensive Explosion
- By CGI_Ram
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 6 Replies
Listening to a recent Snead interview... he really stressed the offensive side of the football team as a place to “feed playmakers”, etc.
We also have a thread up about Emmitt Smith’s rushing record, and how the game has changed.
If it changed, we can thank Mike Martz and the Rams for introducing the arcade element to the NFL.
The story of Warner. The offensive fireworks. The “worst to first” Super bowl Championship. After that January 2000 Superbowl... teams started to mimic/adjust.
If it wasn’t the Rams, it was something. The increase started right around the GSOT era.
The Rams changed the game.
We also have a thread up about Emmitt Smith’s rushing record, and how the game has changed.
If it changed, we can thank Mike Martz and the Rams for introducing the arcade element to the NFL.
The story of Warner. The offensive fireworks. The “worst to first” Super bowl Championship. After that January 2000 Superbowl... teams started to mimic/adjust.
If it wasn’t the Rams, it was something. The increase started right around the GSOT era.
The Rams changed the game.
Which NFL Teams Have Been Most Impacted By Scheduling Inequalities?
- By CGI_Ram
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 11 Replies
Interesting and long analysis on the NFL schedule.
According to this; our schedule is “okay”.
www.sharpfootballanalysis.com
Which NFL Teams Have Been Most Impacted By Scheduling Inequalities?
After analyzing the elements that most benefit teams, one thing is clear with the NFL scheduling process: the NFL has not paid enough attention over the last decade to inequalities. Specifically, there are many inequalities related to actual execution of scheduling including player rest, coaching prep time, and distribution of primetime games.
The reasoning behind the NFL’s schedule is to create a competitive balance. For that reason, years in advance it is known the two divisions a team will face (one in-conference, one out of conference). And these rotate and cycle, allowing every division to play another complete division once every four years. It is also for that reason that if a team finishes in last place in the division one year, it will play the other last-place finishers of the divisions in the same conference the very next year.
Beyond those basic principles, the NFL is a business and it tries to keep things “fair enough” so that it can maximize its prized possession: TV revenue.
Building the NFL schedule is an annual chore and automation has enhanced that process in recent years, particularly in 2020. But even with so much work put into the schedule, it doesn’t guarantee fairness for all 32 teams.
In fact, a thorough investigation shows there is a massive issue with regard to fairness in the NFL schedule over the last decade.
It is such a glaring issue that it appears unlikely the NFL performed an analysis in this manner, or it would have ensured there was not such imbalance.
In a league so set on the appearance of equal treatment for all 32 teams, it is impossible to look at the results of this investigation and think the NFL is trying their best to be fair to all teams when scheduling of games.
Before we dive in, there are a few caveats to understand as it relates to the game results for this analysis:
Over a ten-year span, players and coaches rotate and bad teams can get better and then return to mediocrity or worse. Great teams with solid quarterback play and coaching can be dominant almost regardless of situation due to edges over opponent. As such, I won’t focus on league-wide averages in terms of the end-result of individual scheduling variables.
Instead we should look at each from the big picture perspective:
Is an imbalance of a particular scheduling variable inherently “fair” or could it result in an advantage or disadvantage if taken to an extreme?
Secondly, there is nothing we can do as to where a team is located. West coast teams have more travel. Has the NFL made measures to aide these teams when making trips to the East coast? Recently, yes. But because the opponents each year are automated and outside of the NFL’s control entirely, I won’t factor in travel to this analysis.
Scheduling Variables
The scheduling variables we will focus on fall into two areas: preparation/rest and primetime games.
Preparation/Rest
This can be divided into the following categories:
Opponent days to prepare for a game: the standard gap between games is a week. Occasionally teams have more or less time between games. The two advantages gained by more time between games are added rest for players and added preparation for coaches and players.
Example: the opponent played last Thursday and the other team played Sunday. They meet the following Sunday. The team that played Thursday has more time to rest and prep, which should allow for an advantage.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played 41 games when an opponent had over a week to prepare and just 17 games when an opponent had less than a week to prepare (-24 games). Meanwhile, another team has played 31 opponents off of short rest and just 23 opponents with extra rest (+8 games).
More or less rest than your opponent: similar to the above, but factors a team’s own rest in as well and then computes which team has more time to prepare.
Example: the opponent is off a bye and the team in question played on Monday night. The team had a short week whereas the opponent had two weeks to rest and prep.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played 43 games with less rest than its opponents, while another team has played just 18 games with less rest than his opponents. There is one team with a net of +14 games with more rest and another with a net of -12 games, a swing of 26 games between the two teams.
Short week road games: a very disadvantageous situation where a team must travel to play an opponent and must do so without on less rest and with less prep than typically afforded
Example: A team played on the road on Thursday night after a Sunday game or on the road on Sunday after a Monday night game.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played 16 short week road games whereas another team has played just two.
Off of a road Sunday night or Monday night game: regardless of whether a team played home or away the following week, anytime a team had to play a night game and then travel back home will impact its schedule to some degree the following week. It impacts player rest and rehab schedules and impacts coach and player preparation.
Example: A team played on the road Monday night and must travel back home and prepare for a Sunday game on a short week.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played 22 games off of a road Sunday night or road Monday night game. Meanwhile, another team hasn’t played a single game off of a road Sunday or Monday night game.
Negated bye weeks: teams should receive two benefits from a bye week. The first is their own ability to receive rest, rehab and prep. The second is their ability to have an edge in those benefits as compared to the opponent they next face. But when an Team A returns from a bye to play Team B, byt Team B was also on a bye the prior week (or played Thursday the week before), it negates Team A’s edge in rest, rehab and prep.
Example: A team returned from a bye and instead of facing an opponent that played the prior Sunday, they play a team who also had 14 days of rest and prep.
Real impact: over the last decade, while the average team sees 1.8 negated bye out of ten, one team has seen six of its ten bye weeks negated (60%). Meanwhile, seven teams haven’t had a single one of their ten bye weeks negated.
Four games in 17 days: playing four in 17 days is achieved by playing Monday night, a short week into Sunday, another Sunday followed by a short week into Thursday. It is not easy playing two short rest weeks out of three weeks between four games. It is rare the league forces such a grind onto a team, but it has an imbalance in the way in which it forced these games.
Example: A team typically has three full weeks of rest between four games on Sunday. But when a team plays on a Monday and Thursday within three weeks, two of their three rest weeks become shortened.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played four games in 17 days on three different occasions. Meanwhile, 14 teams haven’t had to play four games in 17 days even once.
Primetime
Primetime can be divided into the following categories:
Monday night games: while each environment is different, home crowds tend to be at their peak for Primetime games, and the standalone primetime games on Monday nights are the crème de la crème. While it’s absolutely understandable that some teams should get more Monday night games due to attracting the largest amount of TV dollars possible, sending certain teams on the road regularly while allowing others to play all of the Monday night games at home isn’t equitable.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played on Monday night twice at home and nine times on the road. Meanwhile, another team has played six times at home and zero on the road.
Thursday night games: while not as heralded nor as likely to have a boost due to crowd influence, hosting Thursday night games provides a far larger benefit. The lack of travel for the home team allows for more rest, rehab, and coaching/player preparation. On an already short week, where little rest, rehab and prep is allowed, that means hosting the game makes each of those elements more magnified and the contribute an even larger percentage towards a level playing field.
Real impact: over the last decade, the Lions and Cowboys obviously receive massive benefit due to Thanksgiving. But beyond those two teams, one team has played on Thursday night twice at home and seven times on the road. Meanwhile, another team has played eight times at home and only three on the road.
Net Weeknight games: as simple as it sounds, the net of Monday and Thursday night games.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has hosted just six weeknight games and traveled to play 14 on the road (70% on the road). Meanwhile, another team has hosted 11 home weeknight games and traveled to play just three on the road (21% on the road).
Summary
These things matter. The NFL is a small sample size sport. Teams make or miss the playoffs based on performance in just 16 games. Coaches are fired and players are cut after bad seasons. Coaches are promoted and players receive tens of millions of dollars if they perform well.
Like most schedule analysis, teams ranking in the mid-range aren’t the focus. The extremes are things to take note of very closely.
And at the end of the day, if the goal is to provide as level a playing field possible, seeing the stories above with teams facing tremendous impediments to success based on schedule inequalities while other teams have a massive edge isn’t fair.
Whether those teams with the edge took advantage of the situation and won those games speaks to team and coaching competence, which is another discussion entirely and thus isn’t the focus.
The situation itself – the schedule variables – should be as balanced as possible to keep things as fair and equitable as possible.
After analyzing all the preparation, rest, and primetime scheduling variables listed above:
The following teams received the strongest overall benefit from the NFL schedule:
Jacksonville Jaguars
Arizona Cardinals
Dallas Cowboys
Carolina Panthers
Detroit Lions
The following teams were impacted most negatively by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities:
New York Giants
Indianapolis Colts
Philadelphia Eagles
Chicago Bears
Houston Texans
The most glaring takeaway should be with regard to the NFC East. The NFC East has two of the teams most negatively impacted by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities (Giants and Eagles) but also has one team that benefits most by the schedule, the Dallas Cowboys. That is extremely unfair and the effect will be further discussed below.
The complete rankings of all 32 teams:
Preparation/Rest
Looking only at situations that were the most inequitable as it related to preparation and rest:
The following teams received the strongest overall benefit from the NFL schedule:
Jacksonville Jaguars
Cleveland Browns
Carolina Panthers
Detroit Lions
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Chargers were +15 in games with a rest advantage, the most in the NFL. The Cowboys placed second in games with more net rest.
The Lions and Cowboys (due to Thanksgiving) played the fewest games on the road with short rest. But there are ways to make up for that. For example, the schedule makers could assign them to a game on the road on Sunday following a Monday night appearance.
The following teams were impacted most negatively by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities:
Philadelphia Eagles
New York Giants
Indianapolis Colts
Seattle Seahawks
Chicago Bears
The Giants were -12 in games with a rest advantage. The Eagles have the second-worst ranking with a -11 net, and have played 44 opponents the last decade who had over a week to prepare. It was the most of any team in the NFL (avg of 29).
The inequality is glaring when considering these two teams play in the same division as the Dallas Cowboys, who have one of the strongest edges:
The Cowboys had more rest in a net of +10 games (#2 best) and played 5 short rest road games (#2 best).
The Giants had more rest in a net of -12 games (#1 worst) and played 13 short rest road games (#7 worst).
The Eagles had more rest in a net of -11 games (#2 worst) and played 14 short rest road games (#5 worst)
The Seattle Seahawks benefit from favorable edges in primetime games so they don’t rank as highly in the overall schedule inequality, but as it relates to prep and rest, they have drawn the short end of the stick quite frequently. They played 38 opponents with over a week to prepare vs just 18 with less time to prepare, a net of -20, and the second-worst differential of any team. Additionally, Seattle has played 13 short rest road games, tied for the third-most in the NFL.
Since publishing the first study, I chose to investigate two more variables:
negated bye weeks
four games in 17 days
Studying these created more bad news for the teams that already struggled in other rest and prep variables. The Indianapolis Colts remarkable have seen six of their ten bye weeks negated the past decade. Five of the six were negated because their opponent had the same exact bye week as they did. The other one was negated by an opponent coming off Thursday night game and enjoying the benefit of a mini-bye.
This is completely unfair considering half of the NFL has seen zero or only one bye week in the last decade negated.
The Eagles, already having the least equitable schedule of the last decade prior to investigating these two new metrics, placed very poorly in both.
Philadelphia is the only team in the NFL to play four games in 17 days on three separate occasions in the last decade. Nearly half the league (14 teams) haven’t done this once. Additionally, the Eagles have seen three negated bye weeks the last decade, ranking well below average (1.8).
The Eagles are the only team in the NFL to place bottom-10 in every single one of the six prep and rest variables I reviewed over the last decade. Meanwhile, ten teams placed top-10 in at least four of six variables (Jaguars, Browns, Panthers, Lions, Buccaneers, Chargers, Cardinals, Cowboys, Packers and Rams).
Complete rankings of all 32 teams based on prep and rest variables:
Impact of Preparation/Rest on Injury Rates
There are a number of issues with the NFL’s inequitable scheduling over the last decade. Not only does it fly completely in the face of the notion of competitive balance, thus creating unfair edges to certain teams far too often, it also can result in certain teams sustaining higher injury rates.
Proper rehab and rest between games is essential for player health. Injuries are extremely difficult to forecast and predict. And much like great teams being able to win games despite the deck stacked against them, studying injury rates alone should not be the qualifying factor as to whether the NFL’s unfair scheduling practices should continue. An unbiased view of each scheduling variable should be made, and the question asked as to whether an imbalance across the league is fair or could result in a disadvantage.
As it relates to injuries, I reviewed the last decade of adjusted games lost due to injury (a metric from Football Outsiders).
What we find is certainly eye-opening:
Two of the three teams most impacted by the NFL’s unfair scheduling of rest time (Giants and Colts) over the last decade were also two of the three most injured teams over the last decade.
Additionally, four of the five most injured teams over the last decade (Redskins, Giants, Colts and Patriots) all ranked as having top-10 worst rest situations:
Redskins = #1 most injured, #9 worst prep/rest ranking
Giants = #2 most injured, #2 worst prep/rest ranking
Colts = #3 most injured, #3 worst prep/rest ranking
Patriots = #5 most injured, #6 worst prep/rest ranking
Clearly, the teams with the most injuries tended to have some of the most unfair rest situations.
Primetime
Looking only at situations that were the most inequitable as it related to primetime games:
The following teams received the strongest overall benefit from the NFL schedule:
Arizona Cardinals
Jacksonville Jaguars
Dallas Cowboys
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
While a team like the Cowboys clearly will play at home on Thursdays each year due to Thanksgiving, the NFL didn’t make any efforts to send them on the road for Monday night games (6 home, 4 road) like they did for a team like the Lions (4 home, 7 road).
The following teams were impacted most negatively by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities:
Indianapolis Colts
New York Giants
Houston Texans
Cleveland Browns
Miami Dolphins
The Colts have had the unfortunate fate of playing 7 road games on Monday and 7 road games on Thursday to only 3 home games on Monday and 3 home games on Thursday. And as it relates to the NFC East, the Giants (-4 net Thursday home games), Redskins (-5 net Thursday home games) and Eagles (-1 net Thursday home game) all haven’t had any luck hosting games on Thursday, the most favorable time of any to host a game. Whereas the Cowboys have hosted 12, the most in the NFL, and are a net +9 (second best).
Complete rankings of all 32 teams based on primetime variables:
I firmly believe the NFL must modify its process as soon as possible to correct such unfair scheduling practices.
Importantly, it is not enough to over-correct in “year 2” to make up for prior year imbalance. Players, coaches and teams change dramatically from one year to the next. Poor performance arising from a lack of preparation or rest is enough to change the impression of players and coaches and result in jobs being lost.
Each year, all 32 teams should have the same shot at making the postseason and Super Bowl. The NFL cannot pick their opponents, but the NFL can ensure that the timing of games is as equitable as possible.
And right now, that is not the case.
The league must balance the negative schedule situations among all 32 teams as best as possible, and do so within every single season.
According to this; our schedule is “okay”.
Which NFL Teams Have Been Most Impacted By Scheduling Inequalities? | Sharp Football
Teams like the New York Giants have been negatively impacted by NFL scheduling inequalities while other teams like the Dallas Cowboys have benefitted.
www.sharpfootballanalysis.com
After analyzing the elements that most benefit teams, one thing is clear with the NFL scheduling process: the NFL has not paid enough attention over the last decade to inequalities. Specifically, there are many inequalities related to actual execution of scheduling including player rest, coaching prep time, and distribution of primetime games.
The reasoning behind the NFL’s schedule is to create a competitive balance. For that reason, years in advance it is known the two divisions a team will face (one in-conference, one out of conference). And these rotate and cycle, allowing every division to play another complete division once every four years. It is also for that reason that if a team finishes in last place in the division one year, it will play the other last-place finishers of the divisions in the same conference the very next year.
Beyond those basic principles, the NFL is a business and it tries to keep things “fair enough” so that it can maximize its prized possession: TV revenue.
Building the NFL schedule is an annual chore and automation has enhanced that process in recent years, particularly in 2020. But even with so much work put into the schedule, it doesn’t guarantee fairness for all 32 teams.
In fact, a thorough investigation shows there is a massive issue with regard to fairness in the NFL schedule over the last decade.
It is such a glaring issue that it appears unlikely the NFL performed an analysis in this manner, or it would have ensured there was not such imbalance.
In a league so set on the appearance of equal treatment for all 32 teams, it is impossible to look at the results of this investigation and think the NFL is trying their best to be fair to all teams when scheduling of games.
Before we dive in, there are a few caveats to understand as it relates to the game results for this analysis:
Over a ten-year span, players and coaches rotate and bad teams can get better and then return to mediocrity or worse. Great teams with solid quarterback play and coaching can be dominant almost regardless of situation due to edges over opponent. As such, I won’t focus on league-wide averages in terms of the end-result of individual scheduling variables.
Instead we should look at each from the big picture perspective:
Is an imbalance of a particular scheduling variable inherently “fair” or could it result in an advantage or disadvantage if taken to an extreme?
Secondly, there is nothing we can do as to where a team is located. West coast teams have more travel. Has the NFL made measures to aide these teams when making trips to the East coast? Recently, yes. But because the opponents each year are automated and outside of the NFL’s control entirely, I won’t factor in travel to this analysis.
Scheduling Variables
The scheduling variables we will focus on fall into two areas: preparation/rest and primetime games.
Preparation/Rest
This can be divided into the following categories:
Opponent days to prepare for a game: the standard gap between games is a week. Occasionally teams have more or less time between games. The two advantages gained by more time between games are added rest for players and added preparation for coaches and players.
Example: the opponent played last Thursday and the other team played Sunday. They meet the following Sunday. The team that played Thursday has more time to rest and prep, which should allow for an advantage.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played 41 games when an opponent had over a week to prepare and just 17 games when an opponent had less than a week to prepare (-24 games). Meanwhile, another team has played 31 opponents off of short rest and just 23 opponents with extra rest (+8 games).
More or less rest than your opponent: similar to the above, but factors a team’s own rest in as well and then computes which team has more time to prepare.
Example: the opponent is off a bye and the team in question played on Monday night. The team had a short week whereas the opponent had two weeks to rest and prep.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played 43 games with less rest than its opponents, while another team has played just 18 games with less rest than his opponents. There is one team with a net of +14 games with more rest and another with a net of -12 games, a swing of 26 games between the two teams.
Short week road games: a very disadvantageous situation where a team must travel to play an opponent and must do so without on less rest and with less prep than typically afforded
Example: A team played on the road on Thursday night after a Sunday game or on the road on Sunday after a Monday night game.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played 16 short week road games whereas another team has played just two.
Off of a road Sunday night or Monday night game: regardless of whether a team played home or away the following week, anytime a team had to play a night game and then travel back home will impact its schedule to some degree the following week. It impacts player rest and rehab schedules and impacts coach and player preparation.
Example: A team played on the road Monday night and must travel back home and prepare for a Sunday game on a short week.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played 22 games off of a road Sunday night or road Monday night game. Meanwhile, another team hasn’t played a single game off of a road Sunday or Monday night game.
Negated bye weeks: teams should receive two benefits from a bye week. The first is their own ability to receive rest, rehab and prep. The second is their ability to have an edge in those benefits as compared to the opponent they next face. But when an Team A returns from a bye to play Team B, byt Team B was also on a bye the prior week (or played Thursday the week before), it negates Team A’s edge in rest, rehab and prep.
Example: A team returned from a bye and instead of facing an opponent that played the prior Sunday, they play a team who also had 14 days of rest and prep.
Real impact: over the last decade, while the average team sees 1.8 negated bye out of ten, one team has seen six of its ten bye weeks negated (60%). Meanwhile, seven teams haven’t had a single one of their ten bye weeks negated.
Four games in 17 days: playing four in 17 days is achieved by playing Monday night, a short week into Sunday, another Sunday followed by a short week into Thursday. It is not easy playing two short rest weeks out of three weeks between four games. It is rare the league forces such a grind onto a team, but it has an imbalance in the way in which it forced these games.
Example: A team typically has three full weeks of rest between four games on Sunday. But when a team plays on a Monday and Thursday within three weeks, two of their three rest weeks become shortened.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played four games in 17 days on three different occasions. Meanwhile, 14 teams haven’t had to play four games in 17 days even once.
Primetime
Primetime can be divided into the following categories:
Monday night games: while each environment is different, home crowds tend to be at their peak for Primetime games, and the standalone primetime games on Monday nights are the crème de la crème. While it’s absolutely understandable that some teams should get more Monday night games due to attracting the largest amount of TV dollars possible, sending certain teams on the road regularly while allowing others to play all of the Monday night games at home isn’t equitable.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has played on Monday night twice at home and nine times on the road. Meanwhile, another team has played six times at home and zero on the road.
Thursday night games: while not as heralded nor as likely to have a boost due to crowd influence, hosting Thursday night games provides a far larger benefit. The lack of travel for the home team allows for more rest, rehab, and coaching/player preparation. On an already short week, where little rest, rehab and prep is allowed, that means hosting the game makes each of those elements more magnified and the contribute an even larger percentage towards a level playing field.
Real impact: over the last decade, the Lions and Cowboys obviously receive massive benefit due to Thanksgiving. But beyond those two teams, one team has played on Thursday night twice at home and seven times on the road. Meanwhile, another team has played eight times at home and only three on the road.
Net Weeknight games: as simple as it sounds, the net of Monday and Thursday night games.
Real impact: over the last decade, one team has hosted just six weeknight games and traveled to play 14 on the road (70% on the road). Meanwhile, another team has hosted 11 home weeknight games and traveled to play just three on the road (21% on the road).
Summary
These things matter. The NFL is a small sample size sport. Teams make or miss the playoffs based on performance in just 16 games. Coaches are fired and players are cut after bad seasons. Coaches are promoted and players receive tens of millions of dollars if they perform well.
Like most schedule analysis, teams ranking in the mid-range aren’t the focus. The extremes are things to take note of very closely.
And at the end of the day, if the goal is to provide as level a playing field possible, seeing the stories above with teams facing tremendous impediments to success based on schedule inequalities while other teams have a massive edge isn’t fair.
Whether those teams with the edge took advantage of the situation and won those games speaks to team and coaching competence, which is another discussion entirely and thus isn’t the focus.
The situation itself – the schedule variables – should be as balanced as possible to keep things as fair and equitable as possible.
After analyzing all the preparation, rest, and primetime scheduling variables listed above:
The following teams received the strongest overall benefit from the NFL schedule:
Jacksonville Jaguars
Arizona Cardinals
Dallas Cowboys
Carolina Panthers
Detroit Lions
The following teams were impacted most negatively by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities:
New York Giants
Indianapolis Colts
Philadelphia Eagles
Chicago Bears
Houston Texans
The most glaring takeaway should be with regard to the NFC East. The NFC East has two of the teams most negatively impacted by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities (Giants and Eagles) but also has one team that benefits most by the schedule, the Dallas Cowboys. That is extremely unfair and the effect will be further discussed below.
The complete rankings of all 32 teams:
Preparation/Rest
Looking only at situations that were the most inequitable as it related to preparation and rest:
The following teams received the strongest overall benefit from the NFL schedule:
Jacksonville Jaguars
Cleveland Browns
Carolina Panthers
Detroit Lions
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Chargers were +15 in games with a rest advantage, the most in the NFL. The Cowboys placed second in games with more net rest.
The Lions and Cowboys (due to Thanksgiving) played the fewest games on the road with short rest. But there are ways to make up for that. For example, the schedule makers could assign them to a game on the road on Sunday following a Monday night appearance.
The following teams were impacted most negatively by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities:
Philadelphia Eagles
New York Giants
Indianapolis Colts
Seattle Seahawks
Chicago Bears
The Giants were -12 in games with a rest advantage. The Eagles have the second-worst ranking with a -11 net, and have played 44 opponents the last decade who had over a week to prepare. It was the most of any team in the NFL (avg of 29).
The inequality is glaring when considering these two teams play in the same division as the Dallas Cowboys, who have one of the strongest edges:
The Cowboys had more rest in a net of +10 games (#2 best) and played 5 short rest road games (#2 best).
The Giants had more rest in a net of -12 games (#1 worst) and played 13 short rest road games (#7 worst).
The Eagles had more rest in a net of -11 games (#2 worst) and played 14 short rest road games (#5 worst)
The Seattle Seahawks benefit from favorable edges in primetime games so they don’t rank as highly in the overall schedule inequality, but as it relates to prep and rest, they have drawn the short end of the stick quite frequently. They played 38 opponents with over a week to prepare vs just 18 with less time to prepare, a net of -20, and the second-worst differential of any team. Additionally, Seattle has played 13 short rest road games, tied for the third-most in the NFL.
Since publishing the first study, I chose to investigate two more variables:
negated bye weeks
four games in 17 days
Studying these created more bad news for the teams that already struggled in other rest and prep variables. The Indianapolis Colts remarkable have seen six of their ten bye weeks negated the past decade. Five of the six were negated because their opponent had the same exact bye week as they did. The other one was negated by an opponent coming off Thursday night game and enjoying the benefit of a mini-bye.
This is completely unfair considering half of the NFL has seen zero or only one bye week in the last decade negated.
The Eagles, already having the least equitable schedule of the last decade prior to investigating these two new metrics, placed very poorly in both.
Philadelphia is the only team in the NFL to play four games in 17 days on three separate occasions in the last decade. Nearly half the league (14 teams) haven’t done this once. Additionally, the Eagles have seen three negated bye weeks the last decade, ranking well below average (1.8).
The Eagles are the only team in the NFL to place bottom-10 in every single one of the six prep and rest variables I reviewed over the last decade. Meanwhile, ten teams placed top-10 in at least four of six variables (Jaguars, Browns, Panthers, Lions, Buccaneers, Chargers, Cardinals, Cowboys, Packers and Rams).
Complete rankings of all 32 teams based on prep and rest variables:
Impact of Preparation/Rest on Injury Rates
There are a number of issues with the NFL’s inequitable scheduling over the last decade. Not only does it fly completely in the face of the notion of competitive balance, thus creating unfair edges to certain teams far too often, it also can result in certain teams sustaining higher injury rates.
Proper rehab and rest between games is essential for player health. Injuries are extremely difficult to forecast and predict. And much like great teams being able to win games despite the deck stacked against them, studying injury rates alone should not be the qualifying factor as to whether the NFL’s unfair scheduling practices should continue. An unbiased view of each scheduling variable should be made, and the question asked as to whether an imbalance across the league is fair or could result in a disadvantage.
As it relates to injuries, I reviewed the last decade of adjusted games lost due to injury (a metric from Football Outsiders).
What we find is certainly eye-opening:
Two of the three teams most impacted by the NFL’s unfair scheduling of rest time (Giants and Colts) over the last decade were also two of the three most injured teams over the last decade.
Additionally, four of the five most injured teams over the last decade (Redskins, Giants, Colts and Patriots) all ranked as having top-10 worst rest situations:
Redskins = #1 most injured, #9 worst prep/rest ranking
Giants = #2 most injured, #2 worst prep/rest ranking
Colts = #3 most injured, #3 worst prep/rest ranking
Patriots = #5 most injured, #6 worst prep/rest ranking
Clearly, the teams with the most injuries tended to have some of the most unfair rest situations.
Primetime
Looking only at situations that were the most inequitable as it related to primetime games:
The following teams received the strongest overall benefit from the NFL schedule:
Arizona Cardinals
Jacksonville Jaguars
Dallas Cowboys
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
While a team like the Cowboys clearly will play at home on Thursdays each year due to Thanksgiving, the NFL didn’t make any efforts to send them on the road for Monday night games (6 home, 4 road) like they did for a team like the Lions (4 home, 7 road).
The following teams were impacted most negatively by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities:
Indianapolis Colts
New York Giants
Houston Texans
Cleveland Browns
Miami Dolphins
The Colts have had the unfortunate fate of playing 7 road games on Monday and 7 road games on Thursday to only 3 home games on Monday and 3 home games on Thursday. And as it relates to the NFC East, the Giants (-4 net Thursday home games), Redskins (-5 net Thursday home games) and Eagles (-1 net Thursday home game) all haven’t had any luck hosting games on Thursday, the most favorable time of any to host a game. Whereas the Cowboys have hosted 12, the most in the NFL, and are a net +9 (second best).
Complete rankings of all 32 teams based on primetime variables:
I firmly believe the NFL must modify its process as soon as possible to correct such unfair scheduling practices.
Importantly, it is not enough to over-correct in “year 2” to make up for prior year imbalance. Players, coaches and teams change dramatically from one year to the next. Poor performance arising from a lack of preparation or rest is enough to change the impression of players and coaches and result in jobs being lost.
Each year, all 32 teams should have the same shot at making the postseason and Super Bowl. The NFL cannot pick their opponents, but the NFL can ensure that the timing of games is as equitable as possible.
And right now, that is not the case.
The league must balance the negative schedule situations among all 32 teams as best as possible, and do so within every single season.
Phyllis George has passed on, pioneer woman sports broadcaster in the '70's
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 9 Replies
[www.cbsnews.com]
All of us of a certain age loved Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, Phyllis George & Jimmy The Greek.
All of us of a certain age loved Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, Phyllis George & Jimmy The Greek.