My Kind of Quarterback

[jmar]

While searching around some films I ran into some awesome footage of Bert Jones, a guy that flies under the radar next to many NFL greats, but certainly not in talent. Cam Newton will have roughly the same amount of starts should he hold the job. I picked through some articles to keep it brief.

"At LSU, the Tigers had a strong-armed quarterback named Bert Jones. “The Ruston Rifle” finished fourth in the 1972 Heisman balloting – and he did that as a part-time starter for LSU."

"McClendon was so focused on running the football, Jones was forced to split time with the smaller, quicker Paul Lyons. LSU’s platoon system featured Lyons being used to run the “Wing-T” while Jones brought in on passing downs."

"In retrospect, no one will ever know how many yards Jones could have passed for, or how successful the Tigers might have been had Jones been allowed to be the full-time starter for the duration of his career."

"During his 17 games at LSU, Bert Jones completed 52.6 percent of his passes for 3,225 yards and 28 touchdowns, which at the time was the most career passing yards and touchdowns of any quarterback in LSU history."

Bert Jones  was one of my favorites of all time because he combined one of the strongest arms the NFL has ever seen with toughness like few others. Check out the NFL Films for evidence though. Jones played eight seasons for the Colts. A neck injury ended his playing career obviously due to his wreckless style of play.

 If Cam Newton can run as advertised in the SEC and double-up Chris Todd passing stats over a similar span,  we might be in for a real treat.

[boartitz]

There must have been something in the water about that time in that area. NW Louisiana was the QB hotbed then. Right down the road from Ruston in Shrevesport, Joe Ferguson and Terry Bradshaw played their HS ball.

[jmar]

Right and they were both tough guys. Ferguson was a hothead for a QB. Nowadays kids play with longevity in mind without that full-sell approach. It's just not the same!

[boartitz]

Joe was in the pros for 22 years and played for 17. Not Blanda, but not too shabby.

[jmar]

And Jones went back to the NFL QB competition and finished 2nd overall...about a dozen years after retirement. Ah memories. They just don't make 'em like they used ta. You might be on to something about that (back)water boartitz. Look at the late start Doug William's had. The corndogs killed!

[boartitz]

And Jones went back to the NFL QB competition and finished 2nd overall...about a dozen years after retirement. Ah memories. They just don't make 'em like they used ta. You might be on to something about that (back)water boartitz. Look at the late start Doug William's had. The corndogs killed!

Doug was from the Baton Rouge area. Maybe those long cool dranks he had while at Grambling set him off.

[jmar]

Maybe, but what seems even stranger is that the sheer number of NFL QB's that Louisiana has produced over the years, I mean we all have our favorites but they have produced so many more serviceable types that play a number of years past their college days. It says something about their style of play rather than their athleticism don't you think?

[The Prowler]

Kiehl Frazier will be another "my kind of QB" and Michael Dyer will be another "my kind of RB".

[boartitz]

Maybe, but what seems even stranger is that the sheer number of NFL QB's that Louisiana has produced over the years, I mean we all have our favorites but they have produced so many more serviceable types that play a number of years past their college days. It says something about their style of play rather than their athleticism don't you think?

I won't totally jump on the coonass bandwagon, but the south seems to produce a lot of NFL QBs.
There was a small area in Pennsylvania the did pretty good, too.
Hell, we have the best football in the places where the temps get over 100 degrees.

[jmar]

I won't totally jump on the coonass bandwagon, but the south seems to produce a lot of NFL QBs.
There was a small area in Pennsylvania the did pretty good, too.
Hell, we have the best football in the places where the temps get over 100 degrees.

Florida had Spurrier and Culpepper     Texas has had their share too.   I know it's a holiday weekend but we are dodging e-tumbleweeds around here.  Even the lowly Bamers took a sabatical.