NFL Players: The Few and the Durable
The career of a Pro Football player is historically shorter than other major sports. In the history of the league, only 42 players have stepped on the gridiron past their thirties. It’s an accomplishment that certainly deserves a closer look.
During the 2004 season, 9 of those 43 were on NFL rosters. Two of those 9 were kickers: Gary Anderson and his long time counterpart Morten Andersen have been splitting uprights since 1982. In addition to the closeness of their last name, their paths to 40 have been strikingly similar. Both hail from foreign soil and attended big time U.S. Colleges. Gary (born in South Africa) has played exactly one game more than Morten (born in Denmark) over the course of their 23 year careers. Both played 13 years at their first NFL destination and have bounced around since 1995. And on January, 18 1999, they became further linked when their teams met in the NFC Championship game. After being perfect the entire season for the Vikings, Gary narrowly missed a potential game winning 38 yard field goal with two minutes left in regulation. Morten capitalized in overtime, booting a field goal from the exact same distance to give the Falcons a stunning 30-27 upset victory. Gary holds a slight edge in points (2434 to 2358) but Morten has a trip to the Super Bowl under his belt. Both now are waiting to see if they’ll be brought back for season 24, as the Titans (Gary) and Vikings (Morten) have not resigned them for the upcoming season.
Though we may have seen the last of Andersen and Anderson, Jerry Rice and Doug Flutie are two familiar greybeard faces who will take the field in new places. Rice, the holder of several NFL receiving records, recently signed with the Denver Broncos, his 4th NFL team. While not the game breaking receiver that was a huge part of 4 Super Bowls with the 49ers, Rice has found a niche as a role player. During his time with Oakland and Seattle last year, the all time leader in receptions averaged 14.3 yards a catch, only a half yard less than his career average. He has conceded that he’s not the player he once was but he’s enjoying the game as much as ever “I’m working out hard. I’m trying to get myself ready and I can’t wait to get reacquainted with Mike Shanahan”, his offensive coordinator from 1992-1994 in San Francisco.
Doug Flutie also gets reunited; with his first NFL team, the two time defending champion New England Patriots. In a 20 year career filled with peaks, valleys and everything in between, the Natick Mass. native returns home, young at heart and in appearance. After Flutie was cut by the Patriots after the 1989 season in which he played only 5 games, it looked like his NFL career was over at the age of 27. Almost 16 years later, he’s back in Foxboro with endless accomplishments and stories. Flutie was acknowledged as too small to make it as a Quarterback in the league, so he took his game up north and became the biggest star the Canadian Football League ever had. Doug’s struggles continued in his first CFL season with the BC Lions but Flutie adjusted and became the premier player in the league. He won 3 Grey Cups and six Most Outstanding Player awards in 8 seasons.
When he returned to the NFL in 1998, he was eager to show the league that showed him the door that 5’10” QB could not only survive, but thrive. He started the season as a backup with Buffalo, but by season’s end, his record as a starter was 8-3. He guided the Bills to the playoffs and made a trip to the Pro Bowl. He led Buffalo to another playoff berth in 1999 and eventually moved on to San Diego, starting on and off for four seasons. Turning 40 during the 2002 season, Flutie kept rolling. He became the oldest player to rush for two touchdowns in a game and also was the oldest to win the AFC Offensive player of the week (2003). This season, he’ll see little time behind Tom Brady, but he’ll be a positive influence in the dressing room and a role model for players and fans alike.
Looking through the list of last season’s “40 and over” club, you can’t help but be impressed to see that there’s an offensive lineman on this short list. Washington’s 42 year old Ray Brown was on the squad when Joe Gibbs coached in his first stint with the team. “Ray played for us all the way back when I was here”, Coach Gibbs said. “We just think he’s the right kind of guy. After six years with the 49ers with Jerry Rice and two with the Lions, Ray Brown returned to the Beltway in 2004. He played in all 16 games, starting all but two. “Obviously, when you become an 18 year guy, a 19 year guy it’s mostly leadership; it’s mentorship. But they’re not cutting anybody any slack”, Brown told the Washington Post. Brown lost two seasons with an elbow injury, including the Redskins last Super Bowl season in 1991, otherwise this would be his 20th season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Brown is the oldest NFL lineman since World War II. Even if he plays until he’s 50, he’s preparing for his future. In April, he was one of 30 players to attend an executive education program at the Harvard Business School.
After Brown, it is questionable whether the other members of last year’s 40 and over group will return to put on the pads. Vinny Testaverde yielded the starting job in Dallas to Drew Bledsoe and probably won’t return to the Cowboys. Punter Brian Barker won’t likely be returning for his second season in Green Bay, All time Punts leader Sean Landeta was not retained in St. Louis, nor was place-kicker John Carney in New Orleans. Nevertheless, it was quite an accomplishment playing in the league as long as they have and can look back on extremely productive careers if they don’t suit up. Testaverde overcame years of losing in Tampa Bay (including a 35 interception season in 1988) to star for the Ravens and Jets in the late 90’s. Vinny was one game from the Super Bowl in his first pairing with Bill Parcells in 1998 and was a fan favorite playing not far from where he grew up in Brooklyn. Sean Landeta won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants and holds the record for most punts in a career.
When the 2005 season begins, Oakland’s Rich Gannon is the sole player eligible to join the club but, unfortunately, it is expected he will retire after sustaining a broken vertebra in his neck in the third game of last season. It would have been a fitting finish for a man who bounced back from adversity time and time again. Drafted out of Division I-AA Delaware, he played the role of journeyman for years before becoming an All-Pro with the Raiders. He averaged 26 touchdown passes his first four seasons, won the 2002 MVP as well as back to back Pro Bowl MVP’s. It is fitting he accomplished these late career feats in Oakland, where the greatest “senior moments” were accomplished. George Blanda rewrote the record books, both as a Placekicker and a Quarterback. During the 1970 season, the unbelievable happened when a 43 year old Blanda came off the bench in five straight games to deliver game winning/tying kicks and touchdown passes. Blanda contributed to the Raiders until 1975, finally hanging up the cleats at the tender age of 48.
All of these warriors displayed a competitive spirit and a true love for the game. Jerome Bettis probably might call it a career at the age of 34 and count down the years to his Hall of Fame Induction – but I’m hoping “The Bus” keeps making stops in end zones until 2012.
