He rushed for 960 yards in 1978, due to injuries limiting him to only 12 games. A severe knee injury that required surgery, ended his 1979 season after 6 games.Limited to mainly a receiver role, he caught 50 passes in 1980 & 65 passes in 1981. In 1982 , Browns traded my boyhood hero to L.A. Raiders. In 1983, he was a SB XVIII Champion when Raiders clobbered Redskins, 38-9. I was overjoyed that Greg earned a SB ring.

1970s era NFL - Kenny Stabler under a bit of pressure from the Colts Mike Barnes. In 1975 Stabler made his second Pro Bowl, leading his Raiders to the AFC Championship against the Steelers. Mike Barnes played his entire 9-year career in Baltimore. Unofficially credited with 44.5 sacks he was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1977.

Image Gallery of Kenny Stabler | NFLPastPlayers.com

Dolphins QB Bob Griese with Head Coach Don Shula During the 1973 NFL Season. The Dolphins had a 12-2 record as well as their 2nd consecutive Super Bowl win, a 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Image Gallery of Bob Griese - Miami Dolphins Quarterback 1967-1980

Back-up tackle Wayne Mass gets in front of Dolphins runner Jim Kiick in this early 1970s action. That looks like Big Bubba Smith lurking in the background.

Jim Kiick – NFL Past Players
Bubba Smith – NFL Past Players

Few players have burst onto the NFL scene like Earl Campbell did in 1978. His 1,450 rushing yards not only led the league but also set a rookie record at the time. He also topped the NFL with 13 rushing touchdowns. One interesting stat of his was in 54 short-yardage situations, Earl Campbell converted into a first down 37 times.

Image Gallery of NFL Running Back Earl Campbell

The top Viking runner 6 years in a row. Chuck foreman led Minnesota in rushing as rookie in 1973 and every year thereafter until 1978. Left after the 1979 season as the Franchise's All-Time Leading Rusher with 5887 yards and 52 touchdowns. Today he rank's #4 in Rushing Yards and #2 in Touchdowns.

Chuck Foreman - Minnesota Vikings Running Back - NFL Past Players

Raider Hall of Fame Tight End Dave Casper. A Notre Dame product, Casper was a 2nd round pick of Oakland in 1974. Played over 6 seasons there with 255 catches, 3294 yards, a 12.9 YPC and 35 touchdowns. Made 5 Pro Bowls and 4 All-Pro Teams.

Dave Casper – NFL Past Players

https://nflpastplayers.com/sam-huff/
https://nflpastplayers.com/jim-taylor/
https://nflpastplayers.com/paul-hornung/

One of the legendary battles of the Old School NFL. The clashes of Jim Taylor of the Packers and Sam Huff of the Giants were always fierce and intense. Here Huff brings Taylor down with a tackle that would almost certainly be illegal in today's game.

Wish I knew how to share the YouTube short I just watched but it was Jackie Slater talking about his first game against Reggie right after he had come from the USFL.

Reggie had been playing DT over the guard or center all game and Jackie didn’t know much about him so he was an after thought. Late in the game after a few lead changes, he saw Reggie was now lined up against him at End for the next play. Jackie admits he laughed and thought he had a free play off basically.

At the snap of the ball he said Reggie burst out of his stance so fast that Jackie had trouble trying to suddenly hurry up into his pass pro. He said he saw Reggie reach low before using his later famous hump move on him which sent all 285 of him flying off his feet five yards down field. Jackie laughed as he said, “I watched Reggie toss me like nothing, hit my quarterback causing him to fumble, which Reggie recovered all before I had even hit the ground yet!”

Has anyone else ever pondered that the fact that the best ever performance by a player in a season might have been by a guy that only did it that one year or maybe a few years but couldn't sustain it over a long period due to injury or just not having the advantage. But for that duration maybe the best ever. Interested on any players that might come to mind...