Marshall Faulk Elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Congratulations to New Orleans native Marshall Faulk for being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Faulk attended Carver High School in New Orleans where he starred on both sides of the ball. His senior season playing cornerback for Carver, Faulk intercepted 11 passes and returned 6 of them for touchdowns. He went on to play 3 seasons at San Diego State, where he became a 2-time All-American in the process of rushing for 4,589 yars and scoring 62 touchdowns. Drafted by the Indianapolis Colts, Faulk was awarded as the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1994. Over the course of his 12-year NFL career, Faulk amassed 12,279 rushing yards and scored 136 touchdowns. He was a Pro Bowler 7 times, an NFL MVP in 2000, and won a Super Bowl as a member of the St. Louis Rams in 1999.

My 10 Favorite LSU Running Backs of All-Time

Actually, let's go with my 10 favorite LSU running backs of my own lifetime, in that I never got to see old-timers such as Steve Van Buren, Billy Cannon, Jim Taylor, and Jerry Stovall play.

1. Charles Alexander

2. Dalton Hilliard

3. Garry James

4. Kevin Faulk

5. Joseph Addai

6. Terry Robiskie

7. Rondell Mealey

8. Domanick Davis

9. Jacob Hester

10 Harvey Williams

Honorable Mentions: Hokie Gajan, Sammie Martin, Cecil Collins, LaBrandon Toefield, Justin Vincent, Alley Broussard, Charles Scott.

Steve Foley

Steve Foley played football at Jesuit High School in New Orleans before walking on at Tulane University. Playing quarterback in 1973, Foley led the Green Wave to a 9-3 season including a monumental 14-0 victory over LSU. In 1974, Foley piloted the Green Wave to 5 straight victories before succumbing to injury. After a season playing for the Jacksonville Sharks of the World Football League, Foley emerged as a game-breaking safety for the Denver Broncos. Collecting 44 interceptions over the course of his 11-year NFL career, Foley played in 2 Super Bowls and has since been inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Nickie Hall

After 3 years of serving as a back-up to Roch Hontas, Nickie Hall began the 1980 season as the Tulane Green Wave's starting quarterback. He went on to set the Tulane single-season record for touchdown passes with 21. Against Rice, he threw 5 touchdowns with 4 of them going to wide receiver Robert Griffin. Against SMU, Hall threw for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns. Tallying 2,561 passing yards and a respectable 7-4 team record for the season, Hall drew enough attention to himself to be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Roch Hontas

Roch Hontas was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Tulane Green Wave from 1976-79. Hontas finished his college career with 5,669 passing yards and threw for 39 touchdowns. His greatest success was leading the 1979 Green Wave team to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Hall of Fame Bowl against Penn State. Hontas passed up a chance at playing in the NFl to go to medical school at Tulane. Hontas is currently an orthopedic surgeon based out of Covington, Louisiana.

John Fourcade

John Fourcade was born on the West Bank of New Orleans in Gretna and became a high school quarterback phenomenon at Archbishp Shaw in Marrero. Fourcade was the 4A All-State MVP in 1977 despite falling to Bobby Hebert's eventual state champion South Lafourche sqaud in the state semi-finals. Fourcade would go on to quarterback the Ole Miss Rebels, breaking most of Archie Manning's school passing records and being named the MVP of the 1982 Senior Bowl. After stints in the CFL, USFL, and the Arena Football League, Fourcade filled in as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints during the strike of 1987. Fourcade did so well during those 3 games that he made the Saints' regular roster and started 8 games during the 1988 & 1989 seasons.

New Orleans Catholic League Football

Found these two gems while browing Youtube. The first video spotlights the 1980 District 11 AAAA All-Star team, featuring such luminaries as future New Orleans Saints running back Gil Fenerty (Jesuit), future Tulane Green Wave defensive back Treg Songy (St. Augustine), and future LSU Tigers defensive tackle Roland Barbay (Holy Cross). The second video is a trailer for a documentary on the Glory Days of Catholic League football.

2010's Top 40 in Workload Ratio

In fantasy football, you want to draft players that are viewed by their own teams as go-to assets. These players have the ability to carry their entire offenses on their own individual backs.

2010's Top 40 in Workload Ratio

(Percentage is comprised of total individual yards rushing and receiving divided by team's total yards rushing and receiving.)

1. Arian Foster 36%
2. Peyton Hillis 36%
3. Matt Forte 35%
4. Jamaal Charles 35%
5. Ray Rice 34%
6. Steven Jackson 34%
7. Chris Johnson 33%
8. Adrian Peterson 33%
9. Maurice Jones-Drew 30%
10. Darren McFadden 29%
11. LeSean McCoy 27%
12. Michael Turner 27%
13. Larry Fitzgerald 26%
14. Rashard Mendenhall 26%
15. Frank Gore 26%
16. Brandon Lloyd 26%
17. Roddy White 26%
18. Ahmad Bradshaw 25%
19. Cedric Benson 24%
20. Mike Wallace 23%
21. Fred Jackson 23%
22. Ladainian Tomlinson 23%
23. Reggie Wayne 22%
24. Greg Jennings 22%
25. Steve Johnson 22%
26. Felix Jones 21%
27. Calvin Johnson 21%
28. Jonathan Stewart 21%
29. Dwayne Bowe 21%
30. Johnny Knox 21%
31. Knowshon Moreno 21%
32. Santana Moss 21%
33. Tim Hightower 20%
34. Andre Johnson 20%
35. Brandon Marshall 20%
36. Miles Austin 19%
37. Percy Harvin 19%
38. Jahvid Best 19%
39. LeGarrette Blount 19%
40. Ronnie Bown 19%

2010's Top 40 in Receiving Targets

In fantasy football, it's not necessarily about drafting the most talented players. It's about drafting the most productive players. And when it comes to receivers and tight ends, they can only produce as much as they are given the opportunity to produce. Thus, receiving targets becomes an important statistic to monitor.

2010's Top 40 in Receiving Targets:

1. Roddy White, 179
2. Larry Fitzgerald, 174
3. Reggie Wayne, 173
4. Brandon Lloyd, 153
5. Brandon Marshall, 147
6. Santana Moss, 146
7. Steve Johnson, 143
8. Terrell Owens, 139
9. Andre Johnson, 138
10. Calvin Johnson, 137
11. Marques Colston, 133
12. Dwayne Bowe, 132
13. Jason Witten, 128
14. Hakeem Nicks, 128
15. Chris Cooley, 127
16. Mike Williams, TB, 127
17. Chad Ochocinco, 125
18. Greg Jennings, 125
19. Davone Bess, 125
20. Danny Amendola, 123
21. Wes Welker, 122
22. Miles Austin, 119
23. Pierre Garcon, 119
24. Jeremy Maclin, 116
25. Jabar Gaffney, 112
26. Tony Gonzalez, 111
27. Brandon Pettigrew, 111
28. Mike Williams, Sea, 110
29. Percy Harvin, 110
30. Anquan Boldin, 108
31. Eddie Royal, 105
32. Steve Smith, Car, 102
33. Benjamin Watson, 102
34. Braylon Edwards, 102
35. Mike Thomas, 102
36. Michael Crabtree, 101
37. Derrick Mason, 100
38. Dustin Keller, 100
39. Mike Wallace, 100
40. Johnny Knox, 100

Hokie Gajan

Hokie Gajan emerged out of Baker, Louisiana as a cult hero of a fullback who played for both the LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints. Blocking in front of Heisman hopeful Charles Alexander, Hokie became the Cajun face of the Tigers which made him a likely candidate to do the same for the Saints. In 1984, Gajan actually led the NFL with 6.0 yards per carry as he racked up 903 yards from scrimmage and even threw a 34 yard touchdown pass in the process. Since then, Gajan has become a fixture of a sports broadcaster on WWL radio in New Orleans.

1981 John Ehret Football

In 1981, John Ehret High School in Marrero fielded a squad for the ages. Coached by Jesse Daigle, the Patriots went 14-1 that year, capped by winning the 4A State Championship 32-13 against Covington. Their offense was led by quarterback Tyrone Mitchell and all-American wide receiver Tyrone Vaughan, who finished his 3-year high school career with a then-state record 60 touchdown receptions. Ehret's defense was led by safety Norman Jefferson who doubled as an exceptional kick returner.

It was with a late punt return for a touchdown that Norman Jefferson closed out what many still consider to be the best game ever played in New Orleans high school football history, pitting Ehret against their neighborly rivlas the West Jefferson Buccaneers. Despite a 260 yard rushing performance by West Jeff's Garry James, Ehret outlasted the Bucs 46-45 in front of ~10,000 fans packed into Hoss Memtsas Stadium.

My 10 Favorite LSU Wide Receivers of All-Time

1. Carlos Carson


2. Eric Martin


3. Wendell Davis


4. Josh Reed


5. Michael Clayton


6. Early Doucet


7. Eddie Kennison


8. Brandon LaFell


9. Dwayne Bowe


10. Devery Henderson

Honorable Mentions: Orlando McDaniel, Skyler Green, Todd Kinchen, Herman Fontenot.