The Lofton Files: Broken Records

10/17/2013

The Lofton FilesYou know the old saying, “Records are made to be broken?” Sure, it’s a great quote, but whoever said it didn’t have a record that was on the verge of being broken. Last year Adrian Peterson was oh-so-close to eclipsing Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set when Eric was running over and past defenders as a Los Angeles Ram in 1984. Peterson was inches away — 324 to be exact — from breaking Dickerson’s record.

Now, the single-season rushing record has a nice ring to it, but there are some records you’d rather not have your name attached to, such as eight interceptions thrown in a game. That belongs to Jim Hardy of the Chicago Cardinals against Philadelphia on September 24th, 1950. Who knew it was a pass happy league in 1950? For Hardy that day, it was more like pass unhappy. Didn’t quarterbacks call their own plays back then? If so, you’d think after five or six interceptions he’d stop calling his own number. To Hardy’s credit, he did complete 20 passes in that game. Sadly, only 12 were to his own team.

Most times sacked in a game? Terrelle Pryor of the Raiders went down 10 times against Kansas City last week, but he’s got nothing on the 12 times that Bert Jones of the Baltimore Colts, Warren Moon of the Houston Oilers and Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles hit the turf. After performances like that, at least the Colts and Oilers had the decency to leave town!

On the more positive end, how about most seasons leading the league in scoring? I’ll give you two guesses. Jim Brown? Nope. Jerry Rice? Wrong again. The correct answer is Don Hutson, who as Green Bay Packer led the league a stunning nine times in the 1930s and ’40s.

Most safeties in a career? Ted Hendricks had four. I thought the number would have been higher, but Ted is tied with Doug English (Detroit) and Jared Allen (Minnesota). If Allen gets another he’ll break that logjam.

Jim Brown led the league in rushing in eight out of his nine seasons. What a slacker, huh? Just a guess, but if you run into former Packer and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Taylor, he’d be happy to tell you that in 1962 he led the league in rushing.

I had two 200-yard games on Monday Night Football. Don’t know if it’s a record – didn’t want to check – but somehow I think a guy by the name of Rice might have something to say about it. You do the checking and hit me up on Twitter – @lofton80.

The record for most punts in a game is one that really doesn’t hang on the punter as much as the team’s offense. Still, the record books list poor Leo Araguz, who booted the ball 16 times for the Oakland Raiders against San Diego in 1998. Most fair catches in a season belongs to Jeremy Kerley, who waved his hand in the air, caught the ball and didn’t run at all a record 36 times last season for the New York Jets. Now that’s a guy I would trust to park my car: he’s all about safety first.

Known more for his fierce hitting, Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders returned a fumble 104 yards against the Green Bay Packers in 1972. Aeneas Williams of the Arizona Cardinals turned the trick against Washington for a 104-yard score in 2000.

The San Francisco 49ers won 18 consecutive road games during a stretch covering the 1988 through 1990 seasons.

Cowboys quarterback Danny White has a record that Russell Wilson is creeping up on – most consecutive wins at home to start a career. White had 16 and Wilson has 11 and counting.

Good record or bad record, the saying still holds true – whether guys would like them broken or not – records don’t last forever. When I retired I held the record for most yards receiving in an NFL career. That went up in smoke a long time ago. I’m eighth now and Reggie Wayne could make me ninth this year.

But I still have one record I’m proud of and hope it doesn’t get broken anytime soon. Back on October 2nd, 1983 – yes, that’s 30 plus years ago – the Packers team I played on scored 49 first-half points against the Tampa Bay Bucs. Even though Tampa had those ice cream orange uniforms, it still counts as an NFL record – and it’s one that I hold my breath over every weekend.

– James Lofton

James Lofton is the analyst for WestwoodOne’s coverage of Sunday Night Football. This week, James will be in Indianapolis where the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning pay a visit to the Colts. Kevin Kugler is on duty to calm James down if either the Broncos or Colts have a monster first half.

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