Old School Heroes of the NFL: George Rogers

In 1981 the New Orleans Saints drafted a Heisman winning running back from South Carolina named George Washington Rogers with the number one pick. Ever since their inauguration into the league in 1967 the Saints best record had been 8-8 before Rogers joined the team. The Saints were hoping for a year of change as they not only drafted Rogers with the #1 pick, but also hired well respected head coach Bum Phillips who had taken the Houston Oilers to the AFC Championship in 1978 and 1979, losing both times.

While the team wasn't much during George Roger's four year stay he was the NFL Rookie Of The Year in 1981 rushing for over 1,600 yards. They did have a chance to make it to the playoffs in 1983 until Rams kicker Mike Lansford kicked a 42 yard field goal with :02 seconds left in the game. His final season with New Orleans the team in 84' went 7-9 due in part to the new quarterback Richard Todd throwing just one touchdown and 19 interceptions.

By 1985 George had moved on to the Washington Redskins during the final season Hall of Famer John Riggins was playing his final season before retirement. Splitting carries throughout the year Rogers still managed to have his third 1,000 yard rushing season accumulating 1,093 overall and 7 touchdowns. It was obvious the torch was being handed down from Riggins to Rogers. 85' was a season to remember for all the Redskins almost as though a turning of the page when the world was watching a Monday Night Football contest against the New York Giants. This was the game Washington quarterback Joe Theismann had his career end after being sacked, leg broken and hanging out for everyone to see. The Redskins just missed the playoffs that year finishing with a 10-6 record.

In 1986 a smooth dose of Rogers rushing 19 times a game and the surprising play by quarterback Jay Shroeder the Redskins clinched a Wild Card birth with a 12-4 record. A defensive struggle in their first matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, Washington caused 6 Ram turnovers for a 19-7 victory with the Redskins only touchdown coming from the other running back Kelvin Bryant who caught a 14 yard touchdown pass from Shroeder. The following game gave George Rogers his first NFL playoff touchdown for a 1-yard run putting the Redskins up by 8 before a couple field goals by kicker Jess Atkinson made the game out to look more convincing then it actually was giving the Washington squad a 27-13 and shutting out the Chicago Bears in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately Rogers and his Redskins could not get a taste of the Super Bowl limelight as they were shutout by the New York Giants 17-0 in the NFC Championship Game.

Finally by 1987 George Rogers was part of a Super Bowl winner. The Redskins beat the Denver Broncos 42-10 to win Super Bowl XXII behind the arm of long time NFL quarterback Doug Williams who threw for 340 yards and four touchdown passes in a route. Unfortunately for Rogers most of his action was sitting on the sidelines due to injuries. Just as he had come into Washington at the end of John Riggins career, he seemingly passed the rushing duties over to Timmy Smith on this day in which Smith rushed for a Super Bowl record 204 yards to go along with two touchdowns (although Smith only played until 1990 because of injuries).

The 1980s were a time for great football and football greats. Behind Walter Payton, John Riggins, Eric Dickerson, and Earl Campbell was a man overshadowed by injuries and Hall of Fame running backs. George Rogers a running back who would never be able to fulfill an entire career of astonishing stats, however for the seven seasons he played he rushed for 7,176 and 54 touchdowns. He helped bring the New Orleans Saints out of the NFL laughing stock clubs and helped Washington sustain a winning program after the losses of Riggins and Theismann. For that he is an Old School Hero of the NFL.