If You Can Make It In Delaware, You'll Make It Anywhere

[superman7515]

Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323485704578257770861578286.html?m od=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs%3Dcomments)


Nevada has produced a total of 52 NFL players. Delaware has produced 23, for a total of 75. There has never been a Super Bowl where the two starting quarterbacks came from colleges that had fewer NFL alumni.

The Flacco-Kaepernick battle most resembles Super Bowl XXXIV, when the Rams' Kurt Warner (Northern Iowa) beat the Titans' Steve McNair (Alcorn State). Those two schools combined for 81 NFL alumni. That game marked the only time two quarterbacks from non-FBS schools opposed each other in a Super Bowl.


http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-WB978_COUNT0_G_20130122193904.jpg

[henfan]

"Relatively small" Delaware is larger than all of the schools on this list except for Alabama, Louisiana St. and Pitt.

[DFW HOYA]

Interesting numbers. Someone figures to win a bar bet if they said that Georgetown has more NFL alumni than either Delaware or Navy.

[TheRevSFA]

Jim Plunkett..the only QB to win a heisman, two super bowls..and not be in the hall of fame.

[ITmonarch10]

Jim Plunkett..the only QB to win a heisman, two super bowls..and not be in the hall of fame.
I know Jim Plunkett was before my time and in a more physical era of football ,but geeze this guy must of been carried by the defense or running back to the Super Bowl with his sub par stats.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Northern Iowa has more NFL alumni than Navy? Something doesn't seem right in these numbers.

Actually, it's kind of a stupid comparison tool. Chris Zorich might have been an "NFL Alumnus" from Notre Dame after starting one game in three years for the Bears or something, and he counts the same as Rich Gannon, a guy who started all year when he took his team to the Super Bowl. If you really want to do it right, you start the comparison at the Division I-II-III breakout and you only count an alumnus, say, as someone who was a starter for more than 50% of their teams' games for 2 or more seasons.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I know Jim Plunkett was before my time and in a more physical era of football ,but geeze this guy must of been carried by the defense or running back to the Super Bowl with his sub par stats.

He and Ken Stabler were the epitome of the "just win, baby" Al Davis Raiders. They weren't pretty to look at and neither were great passers (their QB ratings were terrible thanks to their high rates of INTs) but the teams rallied behind them and they won football games.

[DFW HOYA]

He and Ken Stabler were the epitome of the "just win, baby" Al Davis Raiders. They weren't pretty to look at and neither were great passers (their QB ratings were terrible thanks to their high rates of INTs) but the teams rallied behind them and they won football games.

As were Daryle LaMonica and Tom Flores in an earlier era.

[Franks Tanks]

He and Ken Stabler were the epitome of the "just win, baby" Al Davis Raiders. They weren't pretty to look at and neither were great passers (their QB ratings were terrible thanks to their high rates of INTs) but the teams rallied behind them and they won football games.

Plus the Raiders and Al Davis always liked the vertical passing game. They threw a lot of deep balls down the field which of course leads to a lot of ints and incompletions.

I agree that the Delaware numbers sould fishy. The Hens have been too good for too long to only have 23 guys to ever play in the NFL.

[NDSUstudent]

Northern Iowa has more NFL alumni than Navy? Something doesn't seem right in these numbers.

Don't most Navy grads have a service commitment unless they get a waiver of some sort?

[jpincince]

Off topic - what do Delaware folks think of Elon hiring Brad Sherrod as DC? http://www.elonphoenix.com/news/2013/1/22/FB_0122134232.aspx

[superman7515]

I agree that the Delaware numbers sould fishy. The Hens have been too good for too long to only have 23 guys to ever play in the NFL.

The numbers are wrong, although not by much, but I was just sharing the article.

[Bisonoline]

Northern Iowa has more NFL alumni than Navy? Something doesn't seem right in these numbers.

Actually, it's kind of a stupid comparison tool. Chris Zorich might have been an "NFL Alumnus" from Notre Dame after starting one game in three years for the Bears or something, and he counts the same as Rich Gannon, a guy who started all year when he took his team to the Super Bowl. If you really want to do it right, you start the comparison at the Division I-II-III breakout and you only count an alumnus, say, as someone who was a starter for more than 50% of their teams' games for 2 or more seasons.

You are over thinking this IMO. Just take it at face value of who made it in the NFL. Doesnt have to mean who was a stater or a star. Making an NFL team is an accomplishment in itself.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

You are over thinking this IMO. Just take it at face value of who made it in the NFL. Doesnt have to mean who was a stater or a star. Making an NFL team is an accomplishment in itself.

If you take it at face value, any Super Bowl with a Notre Dame QB has the "most NFL alumni" because they're ridiculously overrepresented with 517 alumni. How many of those were Chris Zorich's and Tony Rice's? Bet you could knock at least 100 off that number if not many more.

I'm not saying that making the NFL isn't an accomplishment. I have a problem that "NFL Alumni" is being used as a proxy for how good a program is.

[Bisonoline]

If you take it at face value, any Super Bowl with a Notre Dame QB has the "most NFL alumni" because they're ridiculously overrepresented with 517 alumni. How many of those were Chris Zorich's and Tony Rice's? Bet you could knock at least 100 off that number if not many more.

I'm not saying that making the NFL isn't an accomplishment. I have a problem that "NFL Alumni" is being used as a proxy for how good a program is.

Well-----even if they just make a team in the NFL doesnt that say something about their program as opposed to other schools who dont send any of just a few?
BTW I am not a ND fan. But schools have cycles. Sometimes there programs perform better than others. ND just came off a pretty good drought.

[TheRevSFA]

If you take it at face value, any Super Bowl with a Notre Dame QB has the "most NFL alumni" because they're ridiculously overrepresented with 517 alumni. How many of those were Chris Zorich's and Tony Rice's? Bet you could knock at least 100 off that number if not many more.

I'm not saying that making the NFL isn't an accomplishment. I have a problem that "NFL Alumni" is being used as a proxy for how good a program is.

So 517 Notre Dame athletes had the opportunity to play in the NFL. Big ****ing deal.

Are you going to argue that Delaware is a better program than Notre Dame, and has been historically?

[TheRevSFA]

Or look at it this way, this Super Bowl is a prime example of great talent coming from smaller schools. That should be celebrated.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

So 517 Notre Dame athletes had the opportunity to play in the NFL. Big ****ing deal.

Are you going to argue that Delaware is a better program than Notre Dame, and has been historically?

I do know that Brady Quinn counts the same as Joe Flacco in this scenario, which is ridiculous.

Taking starting/contributing out of it for a second, why not look at it in terms of how many Notre Dame players played in the Super Bowl? From Notre Dame's Wikipedia page, 45 former Fightin' Irish played in the Super Bowl (though it includes some that played several times). That's a much more relevant comparison stat. With Flacco and Gradowski this season, Delaware has 5 players who played in the Super Bowl.

[Bisonoline]

I do know that Brady Quinn counts the same as Joe Flacco in this scenario, which is ridiculous.

Taking starting/contributing out of it for a second, why not look at it in terms of how many Notre Dame players played in the Super Bowl? From Notre Dame's Wikipedia page, 45 former Fightin' Irish played in the Super Bowl (though it includes some that played several times). That's a much more relevant comparison stat. With Flacco and Gradowski this season, Delaware has 5 players who played in the Super Bowl.

Then some tool belt will argue that the player got to the SB because of the other team mates. I dont see what the issue is. If you come from any program and make it the NFL you count. Doesnt make any difference if you were all pro or not. To try and break **** down on how many of a schools players did or didnt make all pro or how much they played is nothing more than a dick measuring contest or mental masterbation. Take your pick.

[caribbeanhen]

and if Rich Gannon was included on the list the number of Hens in the NFL would be even less