Table of contents for Issue 69 in Gridiron

A-LIST COOPER The motto of Cooper Kupp’s alma mater Eastern Washington is ‘start something big’ and the former Big Sky Conference prospect did just that in 2021. Already a force to be reckoned with in the NFL, Kupp ended a stellar season with the receiving triple crown and added Super Bowl MVP honours to his haul after an eight-catch, 92-yard and two touchdown performance helped to overcome a plucky Cincinnati Bengals team at SoFi Stadium. My Kupp runneth over indeed.…

THE BALLAD OF AARON DONALD Donald’s closing two-play sequence will go down as one of the greatest in NFL history. His place on the league’s Mt. Rushmore of defensive players is now secured. But has he overtaken Lawrence Taylor as the most influential defensive player to ever play? Consider this: In his eight seasons in the league, Donald has: • Been defensive rookie of the year (2014) • Won three Defensive Player of the Year crowns • Made the 2010s all-decade team • Been named a first-team All-Pro seven times, and a Pro Bowler in all eight seasons • Missed only two games in eight years, neither of which were injury-related • Forced 48 fumbles and totalled 150 TFLs • Been the decisive force in swinging a Super Bowl, finishing…

RECAPPING ROONEY 2003 • Rooney Rule adopted in the name of then Steelers owner Dan Rooney, chair of the league’s Workplace Diversity Committee. • Every team with a head coaching vacancy required to interview at least one or more diverse candidates before making a new hire. 2009 • Rule expanded to include GM and equivalent front office roles, requiring each team to interview a minimum of two external minority candidates. 2020 • Owners approve proposal rewarding teams who develop minority talent that goes on to be GM or head coach elsewhere with compensatory draft picks. 2021 • Rule changes require every team to interview at least two external minority candidates for open HC positions and at least one for a coordinator job. • At least one minority and/or female candidate…

CARLSON’S GOATs As free agency dawns, Iron Mike looks at the most impactful free agent signings in NFL history. GETTING OVER THE HUMP: THE TOP IMPACT FREE AGENTS MIKE CARLSON CONTRIBUTOR @carlsonsports When the modern era of NFL free agency began in 1993, there were fears it would create a competitive imbalance, despite the richer teams (a much smaller distinction in those days due to the owner socialism in the NFL) sharing their major revenue stream, national television deals, equally — as opposed to sports like baseball where local media contracts create a huge disparity between ‘big market’ and ‘small market’ franchises. However, in that first year, the biggest signing was Reggie White who, against all the predictions, went to Green Bay and helped propel the Packers back to relevance,…

HALL OF FAME CANTON OR AND BUST PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: CLASS OF 2022 Eight stalwarts of the National Football League received the game’s ultimate honour on the eve of Super Bowl LVI as they were officially confirmed as the latest intake to Canton’s hallowed halls. Key: TONY BOSELLI – OT Jaguars 1995-2001 The doors to the Hall of Fame finally opened for Boselli after several years of knocking loudly. The first-ever player drafted by the expansion Jaguars, Boselli’s relatively short career was always thought to be counting against his football immortality, but he packed a lot into his seven years at the top, establishing himself as a firm favourite in Jacksonville. Taken second overall in the 1995 draft, he helped the Jaguars bely their newcomer status and make…

PICK SIX Craig Llewellyn brings the curtain down on the 2021 NFL season with a flypast of what readers can find in the latest edition of Gridiron. CRAIG LLEWELLYN EDITOR @craig_gridiron TAKE A BOW It might be slightly clichéd to mention that ‘all good things come to an end’ but, as we look back on the 2021 NFL, there is no denying that it was ‘a good thing’. And it has come to an end. But what an end. Super Bowl LVI did not disappoint, with the game remaining in the balance until the final moments and the plucky underdog still in with a chance of toppling their expensively-constructed opponent. The big dance provided a number of interesting storylines, from the inexperienced pair of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase carrying their…

Five Stories of the Month GRIDIRON TIMES 5 HOUSE! The NFL’s International Series will finally be able to scratch the last number off its card and say that all 32 franchises have featured in at least one overseas game following confirmation that the Green Bay Packers will be one of the ‘home’ teams in London next season. Wisconsin’s finest have long been the anomaly in a series that has seen 33 games played in either London or Mexico City since the first Wembley meeting between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins in October 2007, but now complete the set, somewhat unexpectedly, by giving up a home game to appear at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this autumn. While Jacksonville — who will mark 10 years of transatlantic games in 2022 —…

THE READ OPTIONAL A NEW GENERATION OF SPIES As NFL offenses continue to build around off-script maestros, defenses are fighting back with a different brand of espionage. OLIVER CONNOLLY CONTRIBUTOR @OllieConnolly We live in the era of the off-script creator. Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and on and on the names roll. Quarterbacks who are just as good (sometimes better) when they bounce out of the pocket or are asked to create by themselves outside of the structure of the offense. Not only does the league features more jazz artists than ever before, but the trait itself is more valuable. First down is now an attack-down for defenses. On third down, they’re more liable to slip into the kind of simulated…

FREE AGENCY A GM’S FIVE-STEP GUIDE TO ‘WINNING’ FREE AGENCY As the NFL moves into the offseason, we look at how teams should approach the free agent cycle to ensure success. OLIVER CONNOLLY CONTRIBUTOR @OllieConnolly Free agency is upon us. The NFL’s new league year will begin at 4 pm EST on March 16, at which point free agents can sign with new teams, and agreed-upon trades can be completed. This year’s class of out-of-contract players is loaded with talent – even if, by the time the franchise tag window passes, several big-name players will be off the board. It’s a deep pool, with a batch of young pups hitting free agency and at an abnormally young age at crucial positions. And this in an era where teams are more…

ONCE UPON A TIME IN INGLEWOOD TAYLOR’S REGRET Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor guided the Bengals to the Super Bowl, but his late-game decision making might have cost the city a championship SIMON CLANCY LEAD FEATURE WRITER @SiClancy The Venice Beach boardwalk stretches for more than two miles. It’s packed full of street vendors and performers, skateboarders and dog walkers. On this morning, however, hours after the Los Angeles Rams held off the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI at nearby SoFi Stadium, the famous Muscle Beach lies empty, save for a family taking photos, their faces pressed against the wire that houses the gym equipment. Nearby, two men in their forties with their shirts off play paddle tennis, a bastardised version of tennis on a smaller court that uses…

GRIDIRON TIMES A Good Month For... Van Jefferson The Rams receiver was a double winner on Super Bowl Sunday, dashing from SoFi Stadium after wife Samaria went into labour with the couple’s second child. They named the boy Champ! A Bad Month For... Dan Snyder Even as his Commanders received a lukewarm welcome, the WFT owner was learning he’d face a second NFL enquiry into sexual harassment allegations, one that could force the end of his ownership. Quote Of The Month “They obviously don’t see the vision I see.” Cowboys linebacker — and 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year — Micah Parsons on wanting to play on both sides of the ball. Social Post Of The Month Even Tom Brady’s expectations are not always met by reality.…

MAN-TO-MAN Sky Sports NFL presenter Neil Reynolds catches up with Minnesota Vikings president and co-owner Mark Wilf to discuss team ownership, hiring and firing and the latest arrivals in Minneapolis. WITH MARK WILF NEIL REYNOLDS CONTRIBUTOR @neilreynoldsnfl Since Mark and Zygi Wilf took charge of the Minnesota Vikings in 2005, the team has been to the playoffs six times and twice come within 60 minutes of reaching the Super Bowl. While the Vikings remain one of 12 teams never to have lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy, they have enjoyed successful growth under the ownership of the Wilf family, building both a state-of-the-art stadium and practice facility in Minnesota, successfully hosting a Super Bowl and venturing further afield to build what is already a rabid fan base by twice playing regular season…

THE END ZONE The BALTIMORE RAVENS Ben Mortimer, managing director of Touchdown Trips and a member of the @UKRavens podcast explains how his love of Baltimore’s finest took flight. WHY I SUPPORT MY TEAM I literally had no idea who the Ravens were before moving to Baltimore but, within two weeks, I was already in love with the team and the city. I like defense and hard hits and the Ravens ticked those boxes, even if they were ‘offensively challenged’ during my time there. The fact they won ugly and no-one else seemed to like them just broadened their appeal. It took me a year to go to my first couple of games, after which I was well and truly hooked on the whole game day experience. In year two,…