LA Rams: 5 greatest quarterbacks in franchise history

My third-ranked quarterback in LA Ram’s history is Norm Van Brocklin.  Van Brocklin’s completion rate was not very good at all, at 53.3 percent, right.  But wait, let’s look a little closer at that number.  Van Brocklin played for the LA Rams from 1949 through1957 and during that time, the league average was never higher than 50.5 percent.

NFL football was a completely different game in those days, a game dominated by running offenses, fullbacks, and tight ends who were more blockers than receiving threats.  Van Brocklin was a marksman in the pocket, a quarterback whose accuracy was far greater than his contemporaries. So, Van Brocklin was way ahead of the majority of his peers during that time frame.

Additionally, Norm Van Brocklin is fifth all-time in passing yards, with 16,114 career throwing yards. He was also dead-on accurate in scoring, coming in at fourth in passing touchdowns with 118.  While both totals are solid numbers, I like to look at a player’s averages and rates of production. since total numbers can be somewhat deceptive. What do I mean? If you play long enough and pass often enough, you will put up leading career totals. That was not what placed Van Brocklin on this list.

Pure passer in NFL’s rushing heyday

Even during the rushing offense heyday of the NFL, Van Brocklin’s yards per attempt came in at an astounding 8.5 yards per attempt, which was second only to Kurt Warner in team history.  Van Brocklin also had a touchdown rate of 6.2 percent, again second in team history behind Matthew Stafford.

The one significant knock against Van Brocklin was his interception rate of 6.7 percent, which was the third-highest recorded interception rate by a quarterback on this list, with only Parker Hall and Bob Waterfield posting worse career interception rates.  His 154.9 passing yards per game were only good enough for tenth in LA Rams history.

No other quarterback in LA Rams history has more NFL Pro Bowl nods than Van Brocklin, making the roster six times from 1950 to 1955. His passing helped the team win their second NFL Championship in 1951 when he connected with all-time great wide receiver Tom Fears on a 73-yard touchdown, putting the LA Rams up by a score of 24 – 17, a lead they would hold on to, defeating the Cleveland Browns.