Saturday, August 26, 2017

Unbreakable

NFL.com posted this list of league records that will be tough to top. Perhaps even unbreakable.

1. Career Receiving Yards: Jerry Rice (22,895)
Next closest: Terrell Owens (15,934)
Closest active player: Larry Fitzgerald (14,389)

2. Consecutive Games Started by a Quarterback: Brett Favre (297)
Next closest: Peyton Manning (208)
Closest active player: Eli Manning (199)

3. Most Rushing Yards Titles: Jim Brown (8)
Next closest: 4 titles (5 players tied)
Closest active player: Adrian Peterson (3)

4. Coaching career wins: Don Shula (347)
Next closest: George Halas (324)
Next-losest active: Bill Belichick (263)

5. Sacks in a game: Derrick Thomas (7.0 against Seahawks in 1990)
Next closest: 6.0 (Derrick Thomas, Osi Umenyiora, Fred Dean)

6. Interceptions in a season: Night Train Lane (14 in 1952)
Next closest: 13 (Dan Sandifer, Spec Sanders, Lester Hayes)

7. Most points scored in a game: Ernie Nevers (40 points in 1929)
Next closest: Dub Jones and Gale Sayers (36 points)

8. Most playoff wins by a QB/head coach: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady (25)
Next closest: Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw (14)

9. Career rushing yards: Emmitt Smith (18,355)
Next closest: Walter Payton (16,726)
Closest active player: Frank Gore (13,065)

10. Most touchdowns in a season: LaDanian Tomlinson (31 in 2006)
Next closest: Shaun Alexander (28 in 2005)

It's a fine list. Whenever I see a list of "unbreakable" NFL records I rarely see Paul Krause's record of 81 career interceptions on it. Here's the current Top 10 in career interceptions.

1 Paul Krause 81
2 Emlen Tunnell 79
3 Rod Woodson 71
4 Night Train Lane 68
5 Ken Riley 65
Charles Woodson 65
7 Ed Reed 64
8 Ronnie Lott 63
Darren Sharper 63
10 Dave Brown 62
Dick LeBeau 62

Why isn't Ken Riley in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? That's another story. Back to this one. Krause's 81 interceptions will be tough to top. The Woodsons and Ed Reed made recent runs at the record but still fell at least a couple of interception-filled seasons short. The Woodsons played until they were 38. Reed played until he was 35. They were some of the best interceptors the league has ever seen but still fell well short.

How about the active interception leaders?

DeAngelo Hall: 43
Terence Newman: 41

Both are much closer to the end of their NFL careers than the beginning. I don't think either has another 40 interceptions in them.

The player with age and talent most on their side is Richard Sherman. He has 30 career interceptions. He's averaged five interceptions per season. He'd have to maintain that pace for the next decade. If Sherman has the ageless gift that blessed corners like Darrell Green and Terence Newman maybe he has a shot. It's a long one. Maybe a shift to safety will help. Who knows?

Paul Krause's 81 career interceptions is a tough record to top. Unbreakable? I don't think that any record is unbreakable. Maybe Jerry Rice's career receiving yards record. What he did was ridiculous. But you never know. My general belief is that if something's been done once it can be done again. The fun part is witnessing it.


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