Washington Post – FootballPerspective.com http://www.footballperspective.com NFL History and Stats Sat, 06 Feb 2016 16:46:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 WP: The Super Bowl’s greatest plays from every yard line http://www.footballperspective.com/wp-the-super-bowls-greatest-plays-from-every-yard-line/ http://www.footballperspective.com/wp-the-super-bowls-greatest-plays-from-every-yard-line/#comments Sat, 06 Feb 2016 16:46:52 +0000 http://www.footballperspective.com/?p=28209 This may be my favorite project of the 2015 season. Of course, that may be because it has nothing to do with the 2015 season, but it was a football historian’s dream project: a look at the best plays from each of the 50 yard lines, beginning at the 50 and moving to the opponent’s one-yard line (you can probably guess that one).

With 49 Super Bowls in the history books, the NFL’s biggest game has seen some of football’s biggest plays. To celebrate Super Bowl 50, the following recounts the most exciting, most impactful and most memorable play from each hash mark from midfield to the 1-yard line.

The plays were selected based on a combination of memorable moments, big plays in the biggest game that led to the biggest changes in win probability. Note that only plays from 50 yards and in are included, so plays such as David Tyree’s helmet catch (which started at the Giants 44-yard line) and Los Angeles Raiders running back Marcus Allen running with the night from 74 yards out against the Redskins, are not included. Still, there’s no shortage of sterling Super Bowl moments, including one memorable play with the snap right at midfield.

The graphics team at the Washington Post did a fantastic job, so please take a look. And much credit goes to Pro-Football-Reference.com, and Mike Kania (@zempf) in particular, for helping me narrow down the list of candidates at each yard line.

The toughest choice to make? Three of the most memorable plays happened at the ten yard line: The Tackle, by Mike Jones, Joe Montana to John Taylor to beat the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, and the Sickest Man in America, when Jackie Smith dropped a sure touchdown.

Anyway, please take a look: I am sure any historian will enjoy this trip down memory lane.

]]> http://www.footballperspective.com/wp-the-super-bowls-greatest-plays-from-every-yard-line/feed/ 10 Pre-Super Bowl WP: Ranking The Players In Super Bowl 50, From 1 to 106 http://www.footballperspective.com/pre-super-bowl-wp-ranking-the-players-in-super-bowl-50-from-1-to-106/ http://www.footballperspective.com/pre-super-bowl-wp-ranking-the-players-in-super-bowl-50-from-1-to-106/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2016 04:01:44 +0000 http://www.footballperspective.com/?p=28152 This week at the Washington Post, an ironclad, inarguable ranking all 106 players on the Broncos and Panthers. The list is a combination of best players, most valuable players, and also most important ones. For example, two players who maybe aren’t quite as good as these rankings imply have a pretty critical role on Sunday:

11. Michael Oher, T, CAR
Oher, who started for the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII, joins Harry Swayne (San Diego, Denver, Baltimore), Jon Runyan (Tennessee, Philadelphia), and Fred Miller (St. Louis, Chicago) as the only offensive tackles to start in Super Bowls for different teams.

12. Mike Remmers, T, CAR
Given the Broncos’ league-best pass rush, the pressure will be on Oher and Remmers to contain Denver’s terrifying edge-rushers. Remmers, an undrafted free agent in 2012 who has been with six franchises in four seasons, could be the key to the game — for both teams.

You can read the full article here.

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