Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Was he a blood and guts QB in the manner of Joe Kapp. I looked up his stats tonight and they are eerily like Joe Namath's. Both are Hall of Famers, but I've always heard people say that Namath should not be in there.

Layne was better than Namath or Kapp ... His timing was terrible, joining a Bears team committed to Lujack who was only effective for a few seasons. After being traded away to the Bulldogs, finally joined an up and coming team in Detroit, though Halas probably could have gotten him again but liked Blanda more ... Didnt like bedchecks or facemasks and came from behind in a crucial win against the Colts in 1957 that allowed the team a chance at the western division championship, where Layne helped his team win a third championship in six seasons ...

Ripped from the PFRA headlines!



IIRC when Layne retired he had the most passing yards in NFL history, and he was 2nd in QB rushing yards behind Tobin Rote. Yeah, his efficiency stats are terrible looking at it from a post-1978 perspective, but there is also some 'meat on the bone' so to speak regarding Layne's stats.

The only films I have of Layne are his Lions days; I don't have anything when he was with Pittsburgh. He does stand out on film as a playmaker.

The 50-51 Lions didn't give Layne great protection, and he does well in completing passes while taking a beating. His running is a big part of his game. It seemed like a lot of his runs weren't scrambles but rather designed QB sweeps and sneaks. In a few of the games he's kicking FGs (and making nearly all of them). I don't want to mimic the historic scouting report, but his passes don't look like Van Brocklin's...he's not throwing frozen ropes. But on film Layne is always doing something. I can't really describe it other than to say Layne 'influenced' games more than the statsheet showed. To steal Facenda's line about Tarkenton, "...like all Layne teams, the Lions could score...". Layne did a great job doing whatever it took to put points on the scoreboard. Even in 1950 and 1951 the Lions were among the league leaders in points scored. The Steelers offense improved immensely after acquiring Layne, too. I think that is Layne's best statistical 'argument'.

I think of Layne as having invented the 2-minute drill. (For the record, Layne credited his coach, Buddy Parker, with the invention. But Layne certainly implemented it better than any other quarterback at that time.)

Led the Lions to a 1-point win in the 1953 NFL Championship with a late rally.

Played college football at Texas with Tom Landry.

Said he never lost a game, simply ran out of time.

Was injured during the 1957 season. That led to Tobin Rote taking over in the playoffs. Lions won the championship with Rote and Layne was traded to Pittsburgh. Whether or not that is the reason the Lions have never won since is up for debate - most people know the legend.

Here's an old cigarette commercial showing the GWTD in the 53 championship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EXj6-X4Qvw

Having recently finished Alex Hawkins' book, it was clear the admiration he had for Layne. Layne was a star when Alex was in Jr High and that's when we first begin identifying our sports heroes.
Layne's play hard and party hard lifestyle clearly resonated with The Hawk.

Hawkins was a smart player and personality that the NFL needed and still needs ...
His outspokeness would cause snowflake suicides today but his humor was on point and his comment about my hero, Roger Staubach during the 1977/78 NFC Championship game had me ROLLIN ... (Like Rollin Stones, not rolling)

JohnR wrote:Having recently finished Alex Hawkins' book, it was clear the admiration he had for Layne. Layne was a star when Alex was in Jr High and that's when we first begin identifying our sports heroes.
Layne's play hard and party hard lifestyle clearly resonated with The Hawk.

Speaking of his "party hard lifestyle," here's a story I heard, independently, from two people who were witnesses.
There used to be a nightclub called the Piccadilly here in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It featured a lot of jazz entertainers, including a female pianist-singer who performed there on several Saturday nights in 1959.
When she arrived to set up on one of those Saturday nights, Bobby Layne was with her. It was about 7 pm and he immediately ordered a drink. When the Pic closed at 2 am Sunday, he was passed out or asleep. Several guys got him into the entertainer's car so she could drive him to her home in Connecticut.
Layne was then with the Steelers, of course, and they were playing the Giants on Sunday afternoon. Some of the guys who had seen Layne Saturday night sought out their bookies Sunday morning so they could bet on the Giants, reasoning that Layne would be in no shape to lead his team to victory.
The Steelers won 14-9 after Layne threw a 45-yard pass in the 4th quarter...and kicked the extra point, of course.