Table of contents for Issue 67 in Gridiron

THE BIG PICTURE GOODBYE TO BEN? Although he has yet to formally announce his retirement, Week 17’s Steelers-Browns matchup was likely Ben Roethlisberger’s last home game for Pittsburgh. In an 18-year NFL career, ‘Big Ben’ has had just one team and, more impressively, never suffered a losing season. He also has two Super Bowl rings. Ironically, the Browns passed on the Ohio native back in the 2004 draft and, nearly 20 years – and 28 starters – later, have yet to find a long-term solution at quarterback.…

MAN-TO-MAN Our man Neil Reynolds chats with one of the most dynamic and explosive players in NFL history in Dante Hall – a game-changing talent who got his big break in NFL Europe with the Scottish Claymores. WITH DANTE HALL NEIL REYNOLDS CONTRIBUTOR @neilreynoldsnfl One easy way to gauge if a player falls into the cult hero category is to check on their nickname status. Some of the greatest and most iconic figures in NFL history have been assigned a moniker that stands the test of time. You don’t even need to hear the full names to understand who is being discussed when you hear ‘Broadway Joe’, ‘Sweetness’, ‘The Bus’ or ‘Beast Mode’. With that in mind, Dante Hall surely falls into the cult hero category when you consider he earned…

THE PLAYBOOK MONEYBALL A year ago, the MVP conversation centred around whether Derrick Henry’s 2,000-yard rushing season merited consideration and, twelve months later, there is the same debate about Jonathan Taylor’s 2021 performance. No matter how much we hear that running backs don’t matter and production is down to linemen and coordinators, there’s just a visceral thrill about watching someone run with the ball in his hands, and our numbers man examines the three factors that go into creating stand-out seasons for tailbacks — and why they’re nowhere near as stable as it seems. RUNNING INTO A BRICK WALL TOM KISLINGBURY CONTRIBUTOR @TomKislingbury STAYING HEALTHY At the time of writing Taylor has played in every game of the 2021 season. This doesn’t sound unusual at all, but the open secret…

PICK SIX Interim editor Craig Llewellyn takes a tour through the latest edition of Gridiron, which celebrates some of the biggest cult figures in NFL history. CRAIG LLEWELLYN EDITOR @craig_gridiron CULT-URE CLUB What a time to be writing my first Pick Six! We have just completed the first-ever 18-week NFL regular season and are now contemplating a playoff picture that features a 50% turnover in contenders from last year, some iconic franchises and even a rematch with echoes of a piece in this very magazine. Each of the teams that made it likely contains a player (or players) that one might consider a favourite for reasons beyond football – Rob Gronkowski and Gardner Minshew spring to mind – while others, like Ryan Fitzpatrick (and his legendary beard), seem destined never…

THE PLAYBOOK COACHES’ CORNER X’s & O’s THE RETURN OF TWO-HIGH SAFETY DEFENSES Sometimes, the best way to move forward and progress is often to look back and, with the recent proliferation of two-high safety defenses in the NFL, we got Jeff Reinebold to explain why ‘a new old thing’ is proving to be an answer to the modern dual-threat quarterback. JEFF REINEBOLD CONTRIBUTOR @Jeff_Reinebold Having been tormented by Patrick Mahomes since his ascension to starting quarterback in 2018, NFL defenses have decided to lean on a defensive formula that defined a bygone era and is now enjoying a renaissance as teams clamour to try slow down explosive offenses. For a quarterback credited with revolutionising the league and convincing general managers across the NFL to bet the farm on dual-threat…

JOE NAMATH NO ORDINARY JOE From Beaver Falls to Broadway, Joe Namath transcended existing football benchmarks to become the biggest name in the game. And he wasn’t even in the NFL. KRISTIAN DYER CONTRIBUTOR @KristianRDyer Growing up in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, Joe Namath always had dreams of doing something big. But, for a man who became an icon of sports and, in particular, the NFL, those ambitions very nearly got derailed before his Hall of Fame career even got started. Namath was a sophomore in high school when he was one of two players left home from his high school team’s preseason football camp. As he remembers it, he was one of the smallest players on the team. Dejected, he was set to quit the sport and focus on baseball.…

THROWBACK THE CATCH Forty years on from Joe Montana and Dwight Clark’s link-up in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, Gridiron remembers one of the most memorable moments in NFL history. MATTHEW SHERRY FOUNDER @MatthewGridiron “AFTER RISING TO HIS FEET, MONTANA PICKED OUT THE UNMISTAKEABLE FIGURE OF JONES, RACED OVER AND SCREAMED: “RESPECT THAT!” 37 DESPITE THEIR RIVALRY BEING ONE OF THE KEENEST IN THE NFL, DALLAS AND SAN FRANCISCO HAVE MET ONLY 37 TIMES, WITH THE COWBOYS NARROWLY EDGING A 19-17-1 HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD The youthful features and curly blonde locks draped underneath his helmet, fluttering in the customary Candlestick Park wind as he turned to join the rest of San Francisco’s offense, belied the steely confidence emanating from the 49ers’ quarterback. Fresh-faced at just 21 years old, Joe Montana stood…

THE END ZONE My Team The DENVER BRONCOS Michael McQuaid, co-founder and host of The Irish NFL Show and co-host of Dublin To Denver on Mile High Report, relives the highs and lows of being a Broncos fan. WHY I SUPPORT MY TEAM I’ve been a Denver Broncos fan since the Tim Tebow days — boy, did I get lucky shortly after! I was getting into the game and actually researched each team. While the Steelers and Ireland may have been a more ‘easy’ or ‘natural’ fit, I was impressed with the Broncos organisation and the impact on the international game from Pat Bowlen’s leadership. FAVOURITE MOMENT AS A FAN My favourite moment as a Denver Broncos fan over the last ten or so years isn’t the Super Bowl 50…

GRIDIRON TIMES Five Stories of the Month 5 WENTZ EARNS EAGLES PICK The Philadelphia Eagles will have three picks in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, thanks to the unexpected durability of QB Carson Wentz – who comfortably achieved the trade clause stipulating that he take 75% of Colts snaps following his offseason move from Philly to Indianapolis, which also landed the Eagles a thirdround pick. 4 BLACK MONDAY BLUES Early casualties of the NFL’s 2022 clearout include: HEAD COACHES Brian Flores (Miami Dolphins) Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears) Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings) Vic Fangio (Denver Broncos) GMs Ryan Pace (Chicago Bears) Rick Spielman (Minnesota Vikings) ON THE HOT SEAT? Joe Judge (New York Giants) David Culley (Houston Texans) Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks) 3 AB OUT – AGAIN Another…

NUMBERS TO NOTE 868 Rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase led the NFL with 868 receiving yards against single coverage. 100 Maxx Crosby’s 100 quarterback pressures during the regular season were 14 more than any other defender. 59 San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel carried the ball 59 times in 2021. That was over 40 more times than any other wide receiver. 114 Rodney Hudson allowed a pressure once every 114 pass-blocking snaps (best rate in the NFL). 25 Cowboys rookie linebacker Micah Parson’s 25% pass-rush win rate is the highest by a rookie defender since at least 2010. 38 Justin Herbert’s impressive second season could have been even better if not for a league-high 38 dropped passes by his receivers.…

CARLSON’S GOATs THE NFL’S BIGGEST CULT HEROES Football fans will always have their favourite players, the ones whose jerseys they buy to wear on Sunday, but some gridiron greats are bigger than the game, as Iron Mike explains. MIKE CARLSON CONTRIBUTOR @carlsonsports How do you define a cult player? It’s much easier to talk about the iconic ones but could Jerry Rice, Lawrence Taylor or Joe Montana boast of having a cult? It’s not just being identified by a nickname, or else Fred ‘The Hammer’ Williamson, Billy ‘White Shoes’ Johnson, Ickey Woods or ‘Ironhead’ Craig Heyward would be there. And, while drawing acclaim in other media helps, lots of top pros who tried acting, for example, didn’t gain cult status. What I tried to do was measure the impact of…

LIFE IN FOUR QUARTERS Interviewing Joe Namath has been compared to sitting across the table from one of football’s best raconteurs, but still leaves room for more detail — and that’s where his autobiography, released two years ago, fills in a life well lived. All the Way: My Life in Four Quarters continues to garner a very high rating from customers at Barnes & Noble, who clearly appreciate Namath’s candour and insight into the many historic moments of his career. From being drafted into both the AFL and NFL to guaranteeing Super Bowl success and beyond, the book takes a deep dive into the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback’s life, and explains why, despite last playing for the New York Jets in 1976, he continues to cast a giant…