Countdown to Kickoff: Stats and Facts from the NFL (Part 2)

by Dave Cariello on Sep 7, 2010 2:00 PM CDT

Official release from the NFL

DIVISION TITLES UP FOR GRABS!

Unpredictable NFL? It sure seems that way!

In the eight seasons since realignment in 2002, 29 of the 32 NFL teams have qualified for the playoffs at least once. In that time, 26 different teams have won division titles.

"Competitive balance appears to be a very strong suit of ours at this time," says RICH MC KAY, president of the Atlanta Falcons and co-chairman of the NFL Competition Committee. "The Saints won the Super Bowl last season, and that's the fifth team in the last 10 years to win a first-time Super Bowl for their franchise. In 2009 we had five different division winners, and we had six different playoff participants from 2008, which we view as another indication that the competitive balance remains very strong in our league."

Following are the teams that have won their divisions and qualified for the playoffs in the seven seasons since realignment in 2002:

TEAM	PLAYOFF BERTHS	DIVISION TITLES
Indianapolis	8	6
New England	6	6
Philadelphia	6	4
San Diego	5	5
Green Bay	5	4
Pittsburgh	5	4
Seattle	5	4
New York Giants	5	2
Baltimore	4	2
Dallas	4	2
Tennessee	4	2
New York Jets	4	1
Tampa Bay	3	3
Carolina	3	2
Minnesota	3	2
Atlanta	3	1
Denver	3	1
Arizona	2	2
Chicago	2	2
Cincinnati	2	2
New Orleans	2	2
Kansas City	2	1
St. Louis	2	1
Jacksonville	2	0
Washington	2	0
Miami	1	1
Oakland	1	1
San Francisco	1	1
Cleveland	1	0

NEW LEADERSHIP ATOP DIVISIONS: In 2009 there were five new division winners - Cincinnati, Dallas, Indianapolis, New England, and New Orleans - on the heels of the recording-tying six from 2008 (since realignment in 2002).

	AFC EAST	AFC NORTH	AFC SOUTH	AFC WEST	NFC EAST	NFC NORTH	NFC SOUTH	NFC WEST
2008	Miami	Pittsburgh	Tennessee	San Diego	N.Y. Giants	Minnesota	Carolina	Arizona
2009	*New England*	*Cincinnati*	*Indianapolis*	San Diego	*Dallas*	Minnesota	*New Orleans*	Arizona

BEST KICKOFF WEEKEND PERFORMANCES, PAST 10 YEARS
(2009 Performances in Bold & Italics)

MOST RUSHING YARDS	YARDS	ATT	LG	TD
Michael Turner, Atlanta vs. Detroit, 9/7/08	220	22	66t	2
Duce Staley, Philadelphia vs. Dallas, 9/3/00	201	26	60	1
Curtis Martin, N.Y. Jets vs. Cincinnati, 9/12/04	196	29	24t	1
*Adrian Peterson, Minnesota vs. Cleveland, 9/13/09*	*180*	25	*64t*	3
Chris Brown, Tennessee vs. Jacksonville, 9/9/07	175	19	42	0
Willie Parker, Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee, 9/11/05	161	22	45	1
Ahman Green, Green Bay vs. Detroit, 9/9/01	157	17	83t	2
Quentin Griffin, Denver vs. Kansas City, 9/12/04	156	23	47t	2
Ahman Green, Green Bay vs. Atlanta, 9/8/02	155	27	38	0
Priest Holmes, Kansas City vs. Denver, 9/12/04	151	26	33t	3

MOST YARDS PASSING	YARDS	ATT	COMP	TD	INT
Kurt Warner, St. Louis vs. Denver, 9/4/00	441	35	25	3	3
*Tom Brady, New England vs. Buffalo, 9/14/09*	*378*	53	39	2	1
Marc Bulger, St. Louis vs. San Francisco, 9/11/05	362	56	34	2	1
Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, 9/7/08	361	33	21	3	0
Jeff Blake, Arizona vs. Detroit, 9/7/03	358	46	28	3	1
Vinny Testaverde, Dallas vs. Minnesota, 9/12/04	355	50	29	1	0
Tony Romo, Dallas vs. N.Y. Giants, 9/9/07	345	24	15	4	1
Drew Brees, New Orleans vs. Tampa Bay, 9/7/08	343	32	23	3	0
Kerry Collins, N.Y. Giants vs. San Francisco, 9/5/02	342	45	28	0	3
Kurt Warner, St. Louis vs. N.Y. Giants, 9/7/03	342	54	34	1	1

MOST YARDS RECEIVING	YARDS	ATT	LG	TD
Anquan Boldin, Arizona vs. Detroit, 9/7/03	217	10	71t	2
Marty Booker, Chicago vs. Minnesota, 9/8/02	198	8	54	1
Randy Moss, New England vs. N.Y. Jets, 9/9/07	183	9	51t	1
*Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis vs. Jacksonville, 9/13/09*	*162*	10	39	1
Antwaan Randle El, Washington vs. Miami, 9/9/07	162	5	54	0
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona vs. N.Y. Giants, 9/11/05	155	13	30	1
Laveranues Coles, N.Y. Jets vs. Tennessee, 9/10/06	153	8	41	0
Quincy Morgan, Cleveland vs. Kansas City, 9/8/02	151	9	44t	2
Randy Moss, Minnesota vs. Green Bay, 9/7/03	150	9	27	1
Shawn Jefferson, Atlanta vs. San Francisco, 9/4/00	148	7	48t	1

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED & NOTES ON 2010 TRAVEL
(2010 preseason and regular season)

1.	San Francisco	35,219	17.	Philadelphia	14,696
2.	Seattle	25,192	18.	Minnesota	14,548
3.	Denver	24,958	19.	Indianapolis	14,052
4.	Oakland	23,441	20.	Tennessee	13,952
5.	Miami	23,025	21.	Carolina	11,858
6.	San Diego	22,384	22.	Atlanta	11,761
7.	Arizona	20,956	23.	Green Bay	11,213
8.	St. Louis	19,897	24.	Detroit	11,169
9.	Houston	19,072	25.	Washington	11,124
10.	Dallas	17,643	26.	Chicago	11,089
11.	Tampa Bay	17,083	27.	New York Jets	10,731
12.	Jacksonville	16,314	28.	Buffalo	9,715
13.	New York Giants	15,968	29.	Pittsburgh	9,654
14.	New Orleans	15,754	30.	Cleveland	9,537
15.	Kansas City	15,597	31.	Baltimore	8,037
16.	New England	14,723	32.	Cincinnati	6,688

NOTES ON 2010 NFL TRAVEL

The total distance traveled by all teams will be 507,050 miles. That is 71,862 fewer miles than last year, when teams traveled a total of 578,912 miles.
The teams of the NFC West (101,264) have the highest combined mileage total of all divisions for the fourth consecutive season, while the AFC North (33,916) will travel the least for the second consecutive year.
The remaining division totals ranking from highest to lowest are the AFC West (86,380), AFC South (63,390), NFC East (59,431), AFC East (58,194), NFC South (56,456) and NFC North (48,019).
The SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (35,219) and SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (25,192) will "travel around the world" at least once. A trip around the globe is 25,000 miles.
Over the past two seasons, four teams - the 49ers (64,239), Seahawks (54,246), SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (51,012) and OAKLAND RAIDERS (50,673) - have each logged more than 50,000 miles during the preseason and regular season.

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Comments

Seven seasons of re-alignment ….8 playoff berths by the Colts. That’s English Grad math baby!

by jeff.l.b on Sep 7, 2010 2:24 PM CDT reply actions

What's up you bunch of chodes?

Your friendly Falcoholic here just to remind you we are knocking on your door, gonna break it down, pillage and plunder. Coming to get the trophy.

Rule #1: Double tap.

by Ball Hawk on Sep 7, 2010 3:05 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

We still have the kids locks on the door

You are close to being a big boy but still have some work to do :).

Congrats on second place and a wildcard though.

Side note: Pillage and plunder? Do you also cheer for the Vikings?

Football is easy if you're crazy as hell

by Grumps on Sep 7, 2010 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions

To be fair, he didn’t really whine and say the Falcons deserved it more. He just said they were going to take it.

"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we kick the Vikings from the Dome to the foot of Canal Street!" - MtnExile

by Alex Swift on Sep 7, 2010 3:11 PM CDT up reply actions

No no

Pillage Plunder…what Vikings do…typical weekend activities…others being rowing boats, combing beards, polishing horns…etc

The comment wasn’t made in reference to some Vikings Fans…

Football is easy if you're crazy as hell

by Grumps on Sep 7, 2010 3:14 PM CDT up reply actions

The comment wasn’t made in reference to some Vikings Fans

Ahhhh. I should’ve realized that. I did understand the pillage and plunder part of your comment though. I thought it was quite funny.

"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we kick the Vikings from the Dome to the foot of Canal Street!" - MtnExile

by Alex Swift on Sep 7, 2010 3:24 PM CDT up reply actions

Nope, not a Vikings fan.

The polishing of the horn thing is quite funny. I see our Daves aren’t speaking much this year. I would like to know how you guys feel about your offseason. Has your boys gotten fat and happy or is there some of that hunger and luck in the air.

Rule #1: Double tap.

by Ball Hawk on Sep 7, 2010 3:32 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

More of a

hunger and injured combination. I’m worried about our D; if a few more players get hurt, we could be in trouble.

Devery Henderson, making absurd grabs for my teams since 2001.

by Andrew Tessier on Sep 7, 2010 3:34 PM CDT up reply actions

I think to a man

Saints fans are less than thrilled about the LB situation. Our D-line should show some improvement (although i am not expecting massive improvements). And other than a recent rash of 3rd string back injuries, our offense is looking just as good as last year.

From what i read and hear, SP and GW aren’t letting the boys get fat.

How about you? Do you think Turner the Burner is back to form and ready for 300 touches? How did your draft picks turn out?

Football is easy if you're crazy as hell

by Grumps on Sep 7, 2010 3:36 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm happy with chance of WTF.

Our QB is well… You know still trying to get through puberty, Gonzo has uncharacteristically dropped passes and White looks ok. Harry Douglas is fit for a breakout year in the slot. We unfortunatly have lost a promising WR in Kerry Meiers to a blown knee. Turner looks nasty circa 08 and if Injuious Norwood doesn’t bruise his vag again we have what could be the scariest run games in the NFL. We now run 4 deep at tail back with the addition of speedster Antone Smith .I’m thinking some triple option looks. Our OC is nucking futz so I wouldn’t put it past him. Our greatest improvement is the entire D. Fast and concentrated. Spoon is gonna get some good looks. Kroy Beerman is a beast opposite Abraham and believe it or not Jamaal Anderson has woken from his slumber. I would say good luck but it would be an arbitrary statement so, whatever.

Rule #1: Double tap.

by Ball Hawk on Sep 7, 2010 3:58 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

I think our hunger has only intensified

Alot of ppl had us as underdogs and media/ppl are saying that we weren’t the best team that year and we just got lucky at the right times. I think that they feel disrespected and want to win it even more to prove all the haters wrong.

Superbowl bound!!!...I know! do you?! Go Saints!!

by skinnykinney on Sep 7, 2010 3:58 PM CDT up reply actions