To most younger football fans, Archie Manning is known primarily as the father of current National Football League quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. During his day though, Archie was a very skilled and highly thought of quarterback himself. He didn’t end up with championships or Super Bowl rings like both Peyton and Eli have, but he was always one of the more exciting quarterbacks in the league when he was playing.

Archie Manning played most of his career with the New Orleans Saints during the 1970’s and early 1980’s. While the team was sometimes exciting and almost always entertaining, they were not always incredibly competitive. This was mainly due to the fact that other than Manning, the team did not have very many players on its roster who rose to the level of great. Despite this, Manning made numerous great plays and led the team to a number of impressive wins. Fans often wonder what could have been had they surrounded him with more talent or had he played on another team.

Who though were Archie Manning’s favorite receivers during his NFL career? Here are the top five receivers that he threw the most touchdown passes to:

Henry Childs – 20

Wes Chandler – 13

Ike Harris – 12

Danny Abramowicz – 10

Dave Parks – 8

Manning threw 115 of his 125 career touchdown passes as a member of the Saints, he also threw eight with the Houston Oilers and then two with the Minnesota Vikings. His legacy is more than just Peyton and Eli, he was a heck of a quarterback himself.

The United States Football League was a short lived professional football league that started as an alternative to the NFL in the mid 1980’s. The league featured some great players that would go on to star in the NFL, and even a few that made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Today, the USFL is looked back upon by most football fans as one of the more interesting and exciting things that had come along in the history of professional football. Here are five little known facts about the United States Football League.

-The USFL-NFL trial that effectively ended the league’s existence lasted 42 days.

-Video clips from a Memphis Showboats game are used as background football images in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.

-The first former USFL player to make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was quarterback Jim Kelly who played with the Houston Gamblers before going on to star for the Buffalo Bills and take them to four straight Super Bowls.

-The first player ever drafted out of college by the USFL was Dan Marino who was picked with the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Express. He was also drafted by and chose to sign with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL that same year.

-When the USFL sued the NFL alleging antitrust violations, every NFL team except the Los Angeles Raiders was listed as a co-defendant. Raiders owner Al Davis was a witness for the USFL and therefore was spared being a defendant in the suit.

Pat Haden had a relatively short NFL career, but he was a very memorable player. He starred at the University of Southern California, winning two national championships and making it to three Rose Bowls, including being named the co-MVP of the 1975 Rose Bowl. He then had a productive career in the pros before turning to the world of broadcasting, getting his law degree, and eventually returning to the University of Southern California as the school’s athletic director.

Here is a look at five interesting facts about Pat Haden.

#1 – He Liked It Warm And Sunny

Though originally from New York, Pat Haden played virtually all of his football for Southern California teams. He played high school football in La Puente, California, college football at the University of Southern California, and professional football with the Southern California Sun of the World Football League and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League.

#2 – On A Roll!

Haden rushed for four touchdowns during his rookie season and they all came in consecutive games. He scored one each in week ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen of the 1976 season.

#3 – Go Deep Ron!

Los Angeles Rams receiver Ron Jessie caught Haden’s first NFL touchdown pass ever. It came in a win over the Atlanta Falcons and went for 47 yards.

#4 – He Liked To Score Right Before The Half

Pat Haden threw 52 touchdown passes during his NFL career. He threw 23 of them in the second quarter, more than he threw in any other quarter of play.

#5 – Bring On New Orleans!

Haden threw more touchdown passes against the New Orleans Saints than he did against any other team in the NFL.

Have you ever had a feeling that became a thought, then, the thought became an obsession? Ever fallen in love, done something on a whim, or followed your gut?

Have you ever wondered what would you do, – who would you meet, where would you go, if you knew you could not fail? Napoleon Hill, in 1937 wrote, “thoughts are things,”- powerful things, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire; translate into riches and other material objects.”

Combine that thought, with the old adage “The person thinking about something is usually passed by someone doing something!” and you’ll begin to find your butkus – your true passion in life.

I had done something and now, almost by accident, I was in the middle of a whirlwind. The dream-like funnel dropped me in the corner office at One NFL Way, Mt. Laurel, New Jersey – it was NFL Films.

“Is this real? Why am I here?”

“Is that who I think it is?”

“Is that, what I think it is?”

Surely I would wake up from this dream. I had to! This couldn’t really be happening.

The corner office was Steve Sabol’s, the NFL legend. And no, it wasn’t a dream. We were arm and arm, as his staff took the celebratory picture.

Years before, many decades actually, I had been a football loving kid in British Columbia, Canada. I loved playing football and watching the NFL on TV, especially the highlight films. That’s where I first heard the voice and the felt presence of Steve Sabol. His films stirred my imagination. I loved the poetic slow motion images, thundering music and captivating story lines. As a fan, everything about NFL Films was bigger than life.

Being a fan of something is one thing, but how on earth did I get here in this office, with this man? Luck perhaps, heaven sent for certain, but it sure as hell wasn’t by accident!

During a moment of unplanned frustration I wrote a letter on a whim, then thought about it for a day and didn’t send it. In my life I have rarely vacillated on anything, but I sat on my letter for a week as I debated the pros and cons of sending it. Then one day I read a familiar statement again: “When you have a good idea – do it immediately!” I went to the post office and promptly mailed my letter.

A few weeks later a return post card showed up with a Bruno Nagurski stamp on it from NFL Films. The plain white, card stock paper had the NFL Films logo and a hand-written note:

BOB –

THANKS FOR THE DVD AND YOUR KIND WORDS ABOUT NFL FILMS!

IF WE HAVE ANOTHER TV SPECIAL ON DICK BUTKUS, AND ONE IS IN THE PLANNING STAGES RIGHT NOW, WE WILL DEFINITELY INCLUDE YOUR WORK AND YOUR STORY.

BEST STEVE

Eleven months later, almost to the day, my story won the 2008 Emmy Award for Outstanding Long Feature. With only desire and self-belief I had unconsciously followed Napoleon Hill’s teachings “thoughts are things,”- powerful things.

Learn to follow your dreams, be persistent with purposeful desire. Take action. When you do, you will find the thing, the part inside that is uniquely you. What you already know, right now, is the key that will unlock your dreams and desires.

Your dreams my not win you an Emmy Award, an Academy Award or any kind of an award, but when you take action, they will be answered. Stop thinking and start doing; become your own fan and you’ll find your unstoppable self!

Troy Aikman is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is also one of the most popular quarterbacks ever to play the position for the Dallas Cowboys, and that is saying something. During his 12 year career in the National Football League, all of it spent with the Cowboys, he played in a number of big games and put up some great performances. Who were this great quarterback’s favorite receivers though during that time?

The player to catch the most touchdown passes from Troy Aikman was Michael Irvin who hauled in 49 touchdown receptions from him during his career.

Second on the list is popular tight end Jay Novacek who caught 20 of Troy Aikman’s touchdown passes.

Alvin Harper joined the Dallas Cowboys two seasons after Aikman came to the team and he ranks third on this list of the quarterback’s favorite receivers with 16 touchdown catches.

Fullback Daryl “Moose” Johnston sits in fourth place with the 13 career touchdown receptions thrown to him by Troy Aikman.

The fifth most touchdown passes thrown by Aikman went to legendary running back Emmitt Smith who caught 11 of them during the time they were teammates.

It goes without saying that Troy Aikman had a great career. You can’t get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without putting together a career that stands among the best of all time. It is interesting though that of the top five touchdown receivers that he threw to, only two of them were wide receivers. He played in some memorable games, including Super Bowls, and was a truly great quarterback. Anyone who doesn’t think so just needs to ask Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, Alvin Harper, Daryl Johnston, and Emmitt Smith.

NFL Football Betting Odds are the most sought after sports betting markets with online bookmakers today. It doesn’t matter in which part of the world you live in, NFL sports betting on NFL Football games is immensely popular with both sports bettors and football fans.

NFL Football Betting odds are the biggest online betting market sought by sports bettor with so many NFL football stats available to the general public with American professional sports offering a two horse race for sports bettors with overtime to determine the winner.

In the world of football betting there is a draw bet option which makes it harder to pick the winner making NFL Football betting odds a more viable proposition for sports betting enthusiasts to get right.

Certainly, there will be times when you bet on a team that is in red figures but NFL Football Betting Lines offer you the opportunity to get an inflated price.

Placing a sports bet on football when you get a value price is one of the keys to successfully betting on all sport not just NFL football betting.

American Football betting offers a host of different bet types, which are called props along with the traditional head to head football betting.

One of the reasons NFL football fans enjoy placing a sport bet on gridiron is that they can bet on their favourite player being the first to score. The odds are always very enticing and placing one of these novelty sport bets can give you an added thrill when watching your team play on Monday night football.

The University of Missouri (commonly referred to as MU or Mizzou) Tigers had one player taken in the 2010 NFL Draft that was held in New York City in April. The name of the lone player selected from the Columbia, Missouri based college is Sean Weatherspoon.

Weatherspoon was the first player selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft with the 19th overall pick. The Falcons are excited about adding a talented young linebacker to the heart of their defense.

Weatherspoon was born in December of 1987 in Greenville, South Carolina and long before he grew into a top tier professional football prospect at 6’1″ and 239 pounds he excelled as a high school athlete in the rich prep football land of the state of Texas. The multi-talented Weatherspoon demonstrated himself to be a three sport star at Jasper High School in Jasper, Texas. Jasper is located near the Louisiana and Texas border on the east side of Texas.

In addition to being a college recruited linebacker in high school Sean played basketball and participated in track and field at Jasper High School. While best known for being an All-State football player Sean was an All-District performer as a guard on the basketball team and an All-State high jumper on the track team.

Despite being a dual threat as a contributor on both defense and offense as a wide receiver on the grid iron in high school Sean had to overcome the hurdle of being relatively undersized for his linebacker position as a high school athlete looking for top tier collegiate football recruiting attention. Despite eventually vaulting himself to becoming the second linebacker selected in the 2010 NFL Draft (behind only Rolando McClain from the University of Alabama who was taken by the Oakland Raiders with the number 8 pick) Weatherspoon had relatively few college football scholarship offers to choose from as a high school senior. Missouri ultimately won out over competing full ride scholarships from Iowa State University and Texas Christian University (TCU) amongst others.

After playing in every game at the University of Missouri as a true freshman in 2006 Sean had a breakout season his sophomore year in 2007 in which he earned first team All-Big 12 honors for his efforts. Sean eventually earned numerous accolades from various organizations as a second and third team All-American selection at his linebacker position.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith is excited about bringing Sean Weatherspoon into his organization. Coach Smith believes Sean will compete for a starting linebacker position and also hopes to get him on the field as soon as possible by using him in special teams situations.

America loves its football-watching an NFL game on a crisp fall Sunday with our friends and families is a big part of our culture. But that fun comes at a cost to the pros who get tackled over and over in pursuit of a touchdown. A study of retired NFL players found that prescription painkiller abuse among NFL players is rampant, and that abuse continues even into a player’s retirement. The study found that retired NFL players are 4 times as likely to abuse painkillers as other people.

Many players said they abused painkillers so they could play through pain from injuries they might get in a game as well as pain from past injuries that hadn’t gone away. Many also said that they didn’t know about the risks of such abuse or feel like they had a choice. They felt pressure to play on, despite the pain.

The Problem With Painkiller Abuse

Painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin are opioid drugs, like heroin, and misuse of them can lead to addiction. Yes, Vicodin and heroin are in the same class of drugs!

When prescribed by a doctor, opioids can be used in a responsible way to reduce pain, treat diarrhea, or control coughing. Inside our bodies, opioids link to receptors in the brain, spinal cord, and gut, much like pieces in a puzzle. When they do, they can block the experience of pain. For example, morphine is sometimes given to people before or after surgery. However, opioids can also affect parts of the brain that control feelings of pleasure, producing a sense of euphoria that makes people want to take them again and again even when they’re not in pain. When people keep taking them like that, opioids can actually change the way the brain works, causing strong cravings that are of part of having an addiction.

Do We Expect Too Much of Pro Athletes?

The study found that many NFL athletes also used ketorolac, a medication that reduces swelling, to also help dim pain from injuries. A growing worry about ketorolac is that it thins the blood and could make players more susceptible to the effects of concussions. What’s more, players using medications just to cover pain, not for a specific injury their doctor diagnosed, may raise their risk for injury because they feel less pain while on the field.

Should we continue to push our pro athletes to the point of using these prescription drugs to continue playing? Maybe, maybe not. We don’t know the long-term implications of this type of drug abuse yet.

I am a former NFL Football player and I want to talk today about offensive lineman. My friend and fellow Football University Coach Irv Eatman spoke to me about some practice drills that are great for offensive lineman.

On all drills, we base the fact that we want our lineman to be lateral movers. We want the to be able to move side to side. We want them to be able to slide there feet. In each drill we teach them not to turn away fro the line of scrimmage. We do not want there hips and shoulders to open. We want everything in front of them like a baseball catcher.

Drills number one – Running ropes

First week we have them hit every other hole. Hands chin high. Arms flexed like a boxer. Hand six to eight inches from there chin so they can still punch. We go down and back and down and back 4 times. This is not a speed drill.

Second week we have them start standing besides the ropes. As they go through the ropes we grab them and hit them to see if they and stay balanced?

Drill number two – Wave Drill

The wave drill emphasizes change of direction and lateral movement. You can have some fun with this drill. You can catch the lineman off balance when they are not concentrating. It is a good drill to teach them to keep there shoulders square.

Drill number three – Big Bertha Bag Drill

We have big bags that holds about 300 pounds of sand. We bang on that bag every day. It is hung on a swing set apparatus. The players bang the bag and keep there feet open and there shoulders square. You can have the lineman in a 2 point or 3 point stance. As soon as the bag swings forward you have the player hit the bag. Have the player 4 or 5 good reps. This offensive lineman drill teaches the players to use there hands and develop a good punch.

For more detailed information about offensive lineman drills go to my football coaching website listed below.

If you are a die-hard football fan who never misses the matches in the whole season, especially those games played by your favorite American football team, then it would be good news to you to know that the NFL jerseys are now available at cheaper rates. Though there are many other franchise items such as cups, mugs, bowls, key-chains, car and computer accessories, clocks, watches, etc, it is the jerseys of the team that you support and players whom you love to watch that comes close to your heart, literally. The affordable jerseys are here for you to make the best use of them throughout the great American football season.

• It is fun to know more about football as the whole game is like a living entity that is evolving over years and decades. The game is played almost throughout the year. The fans relive the key moments of the games even if there are no live games during the lean months.
• There are thirty two teams divided as two groups namely American Football Conference and National Football Conference. Within the groups, the teams are divided into four groups based on the regions namely north, east, west and south.
• The teams are almost spread across all the states of USA, which encourages a wide fan following across the wide nation. The fans support their local teams and in those states who do not have a native team support the teams that they love to watch playing.
• Once you choose the team whose jersey you would be wearing, next comes the question of the number on the jersey. The numbering follows certain pattern among the players in the roster based on their position on the field during the game. You right number on your jersey at a feasible and economical cost.