RIP Ken Stabler

75 percent of contemporary pass plays were almost never seen in college in the '60s. Forget about regular screens, let alone wideout screens. Quick outs. No way. There were midrange outs, deep outs, the deep post, and one a game for variety, they'd hit the tight end. Bryant then ran what was thought of as a comparatively flashy pro-style attack, too.

 

The only reason to throw the ball is because the other team is stopping you from running the ball.

If you have ever played defense, there are times that you know no matter what you do, the other team is going to get five yards on you because they are just better, faster and stronger. They will get that 10 yards in three plays or less. All they have to do to keep you from bringing the safeties up with the linebackers to help you is throw one deep pass.

You can play the greatest passing team in the world, and you always feel like you have a chance to intercept a pass, sack the QB, have someone drop a pass or a list of other things to happen.

 

Agreed on both, but no matter how you feel about them they're at least in the discussion. That makes them "Hall of Fame caliber" to me, when you can sit down and debate their merits without being laughed out of the room.
Frankly, it stuns me that Stabler never got in. His yardage and TD totals weren't bad for the era, he led the league in completion percentage and touchdowns a couple of times, and he was the quarterback for a team that contended for championships throughout his tenure. He and Phil Simms will probably wind up as the two best QBs not to make it into the HOF.

 

I get all that, and I know Bear Bryant wasn't exactly channelling Don Coryell with his offensive philosophy. And as I said, it's not like Alabama sucked because they ran the ball. It worked for them. Great coaches usually tweak their strategies based on their talent, though. You'd think that with a couple of quarterbacks like that, maybe he'd throw it 18-20 times a game instead of 12-13.
Of course, there was that line in "Junction Boys" that probably summed it up. The quarterback was complaining of a sore arm to try and get out of practice and Bryant berated him for being soft and said, "Besides the fact that we MIGHT throw the ball three times a game ..."
Ah yes, the wisdom of ESPN Films shines through again.

 

Ken Anderson weeps at the last sentence.

 

Ken Anderson would like to have a word with you.

 

More than anything, QBs are judged by winning.

At Alabama, Stabler was 19-2-1 as a starter.

Namath was 22-3.

 

Shit, no one threw the ball in the 1970s and early 1980s.

OU, Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan, USC...

 

Losers

 

I have a hard time building up a guy nicknamed xxxxx - I'm confusing him with another Bengal.

 

OK, add him and make it the three best QBs not in the Hall of Fame.

 

I remember reading Heinz's "Run to Daylight" with Lombardi, which was set in 1962. He and Lombardi were discussing the differences in the pro game and the college game. In the pros, Lombardi said, every team had a superior QB and a number superior receivers. In college, they might have a superior QB, or a superior receiver, but (at that time), usually not both at once. He also noted that in college, teams spent about 80 percent of their practice time on the running game, while in the pros, it was 50-50, with some teams even spending more time on passing, even though during a game, they usually ran more.