Joe Soriano
O.J. Lewis11/2011 Historical Player Profile: Jim McMahon
November 5th 2011 14:54
To continue my NFL historical player profiles that take a look at some noteworthy former players, I take a stop to the Chicago Bears teams of the 80's to write about their quarterback; Jim McMahon.
The fifth overall pick by the Bears in the 1982 NFL Draft out of BYU, McMahon began slinging passes the year Mike Ditka became head coach of the Chicago Bears. In fact, the coach and injury-prone QB were known to have clashes. We all know the whole headband story when he wore a headband under his helmet that said "Rozelle" to irk then-commissioner Pete Rozelle.
One of the best play-action passers in history, McMahon threw exactly 100 touchdown passes in his career and is 100th on the all-time passing touchdowns list. He made only one Pro Bowl, and that was in the famous 1985 season. When we look at his career in general, he was merely an average quarterback who was famous because of his personality and the defense behind him. I don't think anybody refutes that at all either, but he is an interesting player to look at from a historical perspective.
Not many people know that McMahon wore contact lenses while playing, because he is legally blind in one eye after an accident from his childhood. A dynamic rookie in the '82 season, McMahon soon became one of the best passers while rolling out thanks to his unique form in squaring up his shoulders.
Jim McMahon had a 15 year career, and he spent the first seven of those seasons with the Bears. In 1988, he had four rushing touchdowns, as the Bears wanted to use the quarterback sneak during McMahon's reign as their QB. His on-field awarness and instincts made up for some rather poor accuracy. At the time, McMahon was one of the most clutch quarterbacks, and he led the NFL in 1987 with three fourth quarter comebacks.
The injury prone "Mad Mac" was the 1991 Comeback Player of the Year, after recording a career-high 60.1 completion percentage and a respectable 80.3 QB Rating coming off of a serious injury that derailed his first season as an Eagle. So while McMahon wasn't really a special player talent-wise, pretty much every football fan knows him for the "Super Bowl Shuffle" and all the other crazy stuff he did while with the Bears.
The fifth overall pick by the Bears in the 1982 NFL Draft out of BYU, McMahon began slinging passes the year Mike Ditka became head coach of the Chicago Bears. In fact, the coach and injury-prone QB were known to have clashes. We all know the whole headband story when he wore a headband under his helmet that said "Rozelle" to irk then-commissioner Pete Rozelle.
One of the best play-action passers in history, McMahon threw exactly 100 touchdown passes in his career and is 100th on the all-time passing touchdowns list. He made only one Pro Bowl, and that was in the famous 1985 season. When we look at his career in general, he was merely an average quarterback who was famous because of his personality and the defense behind him. I don't think anybody refutes that at all either, but he is an interesting player to look at from a historical perspective.
Not many people know that McMahon wore contact lenses while playing, because he is legally blind in one eye after an accident from his childhood. A dynamic rookie in the '82 season, McMahon soon became one of the best passers while rolling out thanks to his unique form in squaring up his shoulders.
Jim McMahon had a 15 year career, and he spent the first seven of those seasons with the Bears. In 1988, he had four rushing touchdowns, as the Bears wanted to use the quarterback sneak during McMahon's reign as their QB. His on-field awarness and instincts made up for some rather poor accuracy. At the time, McMahon was one of the most clutch quarterbacks, and he led the NFL in 1987 with three fourth quarter comebacks.
The injury prone "Mad Mac" was the 1991 Comeback Player of the Year, after recording a career-high 60.1 completion percentage and a respectable 80.3 QB Rating coming off of a serious injury that derailed his first season as an Eagle. So while McMahon wasn't really a special player talent-wise, pretty much every football fan knows him for the "Super Bowl Shuffle" and all the other crazy stuff he did while with the Bears.
Known as "Darth Vader
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