#nfl-history

#nfl-history

"It takes everything you have to beat a true rival. When the stakes are really high, when you have to destroy them and bury them under the goalposts to guarantee victory, it's that much harder to summon that extra level of strength, focus and will, if you think of the guys on the other team as your friends... But when you see them as your enemy, it puts you in a frame of mind to fully defend, by any means necessary, what you are trying to achieve."

Nick Emmanwori becomes the first player in NFL history drafted 35th overall to receive a fully guaranteed rookie contract, indicating a shift in contract negotiations for second-round picks.

The Dallas Cowboys are generally a good football team. However, they've had their ups and downs, and perhaps their lowest point was 1989 when they won only one single game. This was right after the team was purchased by current owner Jerry Jones, and they had all-time-great NFL coach Jimmy Johnson on the sidelines.

Bill Walsh's decision to turn down the New England Patriots' coaching job in 1990 altered the course of NFL history, paving the way for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's success later on.

"When I arrived in the N.F.L., the middle was open. No one was there to stop the pass over the middle. The hardest part was learning to play a position that had not existed." This statement captures the transition the sport went through as well as Schmidt's pioneering spirit in developing the middle linebacker role.