Tag Archives: Seattle Seahawks

CFL, NFL, ufl

Green, Ahman

poff01 greenTNTUFL11 Green

Cards: Playoff Contenders 2001, Top Notch UFL 2011
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o The Green Bay Packers
Sent: 5/3  Received: 8/29  (118 days)

Among the pantheon of runningbacks that the Green Bay Packers have had in their storied history with guys like Paul Hornug and Jim Taylor, Ahman Green sits atop the top spot for the franchise with a surprising 8,322 career rushing yards. A prolific runner for the franchise at the stroke of the millennium, Green’s career began playing ball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in college ranks. A local kid, Ahman chose Nebraska over such suitors as Notre Dame in 1995 and immediately ran for a freshman record 1,086 yards en route to a National Championship. In his final crowning moment at the school, he led Nebraska to another championship as he tallied an Orange Bowl record 209 yards on the ground. He declared for the NFL draft soon thereafter, but not before etching 3,880 career rushing yards into the annuls of Cornhusker fame.

At 6’0″, 215, Ahman only managed somehow a 3rd round mark by the Seattle Seahawks. Who knows why he was taken so low? Plenty of guys came off the board before him including Curtis Enis and John Avery. Still Green was seldom relied on by the Seahawks early on who were still basking in the glow of the 3rd rebirth of Ricky Watters.  He’d bide his time with his elite speed returning kicks, until head coach Mike Holmgren drafted Shaun Alexander. With Alexander and Watters in camp, the Seahawks elected to trade Ahman to the Holmgren’s former team- the Green Bay Packers.

It’d be in Green Bay, in an offense led by Brett Favre and with incumbent Dorsey Levens ailing, Ahman got his chance to really be a shining member of a great supporting cast. He’d record his first of 5 consecutive 1,000+ yard rushing seasons on the frozen tundra of Lambeau. From 2001-2004 Green earned Pro Bowl honors, and in ’03 and ’04, had the NFLs longest carry of the season from 98 and 90 yards.  With injuries limiting his production in 2005 to only 5 games, Ahman recovered nicely for 2006 to run for 1059 yards in 14 games. He’d be left unprotected heading into 2007, and sign with the Houston Texans.

The signing was considered either the biggest risk or the biggest coup of free agency and the Texans rolled out the red carpet money to get Ahman.  Despite visiting with Denver, Ahman felt most comfortable moving to Houston and being reunited with his former head coach in GB, Mike Sherman, who was offensive coordinator. The Texans desperately got a home run hitter at runningback, as injuries had ended Dominack Davis’ promising career. Things never quite seemed to take off for Ahman in Houston. (Green kept a professional lid on it, but behind the scenes he had a bad relationship with GM Rick Smith who accused Ahman of goldbricking.) It didn’t help either that injury also limited him to a combined 6 games in his 2 year stint there.  He’d be cut after the 2008 season. Ahman still had the desire to play, returning to the Packers for one final hurrah in 2009.

In 2010 the UFL was injecting new talent into the league to fill seats. The Omaha Nighthawks were the newest team on the block and with Ahman being a hometown kid, he was really a slam dunk to help fill the stands alongside Jeff Garcia while he mentored Maurice Clarett. Ahman would run for 253 yards that season. While really never officially retiring, he hasn’t played a down since, last surfacing briefly with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. He has from time to time indicated that his fire still burns for the sport and still wants to play. Green used to suffer from hyperhidrosis- or overactive sweat glands. His propensity to over sweat was blamed on more than one occasion for his fumbling issues, to which he wore black elbow guards during his time in Green Bay to keep the sweat from getting the ball too wet. Ahman finished his career with 37 fumbles in 2506 combined touches (1/67).

As of 2013 Ahman Green is a part owner of the indoor football Green Bay Blizzard. He also has dabbled in broadcasting and appears regularly at Green Bay alumni events. Green is also an unabashed Batman fan and has been seen at a few comic conventions dressed up as the Dark Knight.

NFL   G/Gs  148/97     Rush  2056    Yds 9205     Avg 4.5    Td  60   Lg 98t   |
Rec 378  Yds 2883    Avg 7.6    Td 14   Lg 53  |
Kr  72    Yds 1634    Avg 22.7    Td 0    Lg 57

UFL  Rush 68    Yds 253   Avg 3.7   Td 0    Lg 27
Rec 8     Yds 50      Avg 6.3    Td 0   Lg  13

NFL

Green, Jacob

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Cards: Action Packed 1990, Action Packed 1991, Action Packed All Madden 1991, GameDay 1992, SkyBox 1992, ProSet 1989
Acquired: In Person 5/19, 610 Houston Fan Fest 2013

Wow, not really sure what to say here other than Jacob Green: A man of few words. At the Fan Fest, I love to pepper players with questions. Green seemed so low key, it was almost distant, and his answers consisted of: “I think so.” “Yes.” “Thanks.” That sort of thing. I tried really hard to engage him, but in the end I felt that he might be uncomfortable or not really happy to be there. Still he signed 6 cards for me. Of all the participants at the Fan Fest in 2013, Green probably had the most underrated resume. At the time of his retirement in 1993, Jacob Green was only behind Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, and Richard Dent on the All-time sack list.

A first round choice of the Seahawks way back in 1980 out of Texas A&M, Green was the 10th overall choice of the draft after Seattle traded up to grab him. While playing for the Aggies, Green set the school’s record for most career sacks with 37 (since surpassed by Aaron Wallace).  While sacks weren’t tracked until 1982, it didn’t stop him from actually sacking anybody for Seattle. In his rookie season Jacob posted 6.5 sacks and 58 tackles. He followed his rookie campaign up with a dominating 1981 season, notching another 12 sacks and 74 tackles before it became an official statistic. In 1983, Green posted a career high 16 sacks, while in 1985, he had 92 tackles. Over his 12 seasons with the Seahawks, Jacob posted double digit sacks 6 times, and narrowly missed the mark by 1 sack in two other years. He joined the 49ers in 1992, just in time to help the team win his only Super Bowl, but injuries only allowed him to play two games. Jacob retired in 1993.

A popular member of the Seahawks, Jacob is the team’s all time leading sacker and turnover maker at fumbles. His 176 games started ranks 3rd on the franchise only behind Steve Largent and Walter Jones, and Jacob was named to the Seahawks’ 35th Anniversary team.

G/Gs 180/176    Tac 716   Sac 116   Fum 17
Int 3     Yds  90    Avg 30.0    Td 2   Lg 73t

NFL, WLAF

Kennan, Larry

Cards: Pro Set 1991 First Game, Pro Set WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Incarnate Word University
Sent: 11/12  Received: 12/5   (23 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o NFL Coaches Assn.

After playing quarterback for the LaVerne Leos, Larry Kennan went right into the coaching ranks where he built an impressive resume as an offensive coordinator and positional coach even before I was born. He spent time with UNLV (73-75) and at SMU (76-78) as an OC before landing the head coaching gig at Lamar University, outside of Houston.  Kennan coached the Cardinals through 1981. During his stop there with the college, Kennan’s highlights were posting a 6-3-1 record in 1979, and knocking off the 20th ranked Baylor Bears 18-17 in 1981. Overall the attendance to games improved to record levels.

Larry made his first stop at the professional rank in 1982. He’d coach with the Los Angeles Raiders through 1988, -first as quality control and then later as a quarterbacks coach, where he had the privilege of working with players like Steve Beuerlein, Jay Schroeder, Jim Plunkett, Marc Wilson, and Rusty Hilger. Kennan spent the next two seasons with the Broncos (WR coach, 1989) and (quickly moved up to be) the Colts offensive coordinator for the 1990 season with head coach Ron Meyer working helping indoctrinate rookie Jeff George into the pro game, while at the same time trying to find an offensive balance for future HoF RB Eric Dickerson.

After the season the London Monarchs of the WLAF came calling and made him an offer to join their staff as head coach in 1991. The team ran away with the league title that year winning World Bowl I over the Barcelona Dragons 21-0. The Monarchs also won the first game in league history against the Frankfurt Galaxy. His team was outstanding through and through, with quarterback Stan Gelbaugh setting numerous passing records behind an incredible offensive line, and wide receiver Jon Horton. The defense was also equally good as well, and the team posted a 9-1 record. Plucked from the WLAF after the season, Larry returned stateside to the Seattle Seahawks for 1992 to become Tom Flores OC.

The Seahawks were not doing so well on offense. After jettisoning longtime quarterback Dave Krieg, the team was in flux between Dan McGwire and Kelly Stouffer. In fact, it got so bad that Kennan had to dial up Gelbaugh to help out. Rick Mirer was drafted to lead the offense in 1993, and Kennan did an admirable job of triage with him, but by 1994 with numbers slumping the the Seahawks still doing badly in the standings, the staff was released. Larry continued to find work in the NFL with the Saints (1995, TE’s), Raiders (1996, QB’s), and 1997 with the Patriots as offensive coordinator. He then moved up to the executive level working for the NFL Coaches Association from 1998-2011. As of 2012, Larry is the head coach of the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

WLAF:   W 9     L 1     T 0     Pct .900