NFL Toughness Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bill Cowher

Cowher had the helm of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons from 1992-2006. Allen split his 12 seasons between the Rams and Redskins. Don Coryell split his 14 seasons between the Cardinals and Chargers. Flores coached for 12 seasons, nine with the Raiders and three with the Seahawks. Paul Brown helmed the Cleveland Browns for an amazing 17 seasons, and also the Cincinnati Bengals for another eight. Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins was another rarity, taking the helm of them for 16 seasons. Don Shula topped all these by having the helm of the Miami Dolphins for 26 seasons.

Answer: Jim Kiick

This was the 1972 season that the Dolphins went 14-0. Larry Csonka rushed for 1117 yards, Mercury Morris for exactly 1000, and Kiick for another 521 yards. The Dolphins went all the way to a Super Bowl crown by defeating the Redskins, 14-7. Kiick's 738 yards in 1971 was his best season. He was still second in rushing for the team to Csonka.

Answer: Don Shula

Shula was the head coach of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, the big game that Joe Namath guaranteed a win for his Jets. Three seasons later in Super Bowl VI, Shula had his Miami Dolphins up against the Dallas Cowboys and Tom Landry, but lost another one.

The following season, after the Dolphins went a perfect 14-0 in the regular season, Super Bowl VII gave Shula his first Super Bowl ring against George Allen's Washington Redskins. Shula and his Dolphins repeated in Super Bowl VIII against the Minnesota Vikings and head coach Bud Grant.

Answer: Bob Scarpitto

Scarpitto was in his sixth of seven seasons in his career, mostly with the Broncos when he booted 105 punts in the 1967 season. It was his third season as a punter, as he played the flanker position in his career also. One might figure that with so many punts, that the Broncos could not move the ball offensively. Denver went 3-11 in that 1967 season.

Answer: Bubba Smith

The inaugural draft shared by both leagues occurred in 1967. Smith was a defensive end out of Michigan State. He was drafted by the Baltimore Colts as number one overall. Bubba played for seven seasons, also as a Raider and Oiler, then retired in 1976. After retirement, he made his name as an actor and co-starred in a series of "Police Squad" movies.

Answer: Philadelphia Eagles

Sonny played the first seven of his 18 seasons with the Eagles, beginning in 1957. He led the league twice in passing yards while with Philadelphia. 1964 found him in a Redskins jersey. He retired in 1974, then was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

Answer: Green Bay Packers

The Packers were the team and Arnie Herber was the quarterback. Herber was in his sixth season in the NFL when he threw for 1239 yards in 1936. Don Hutson caught 536 of those yards. The Packers went 10-1-1 under the direction of Curly Lambeau, and won the NFL Championship over the Boston Redskins 21-6.

Answer: Joe Montana

Quarterback Joe Montana won all his Super Bowls MVPs with the 49ers. He won them in Super Bowl XVI, XXIX, and XXIV. Joe was in his third season in the NFL when he won his first for the 1981 season. He played 13 seasons for the 49ers, then two with the Kansas City Chiefs before retiring in 1994. Montana was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Answer: George Halas

Halas coached from 1920-1967. He had a career record of 318-148-31 with the Chicago Bears franchise. Brown had 213 career wins and Lambeau had 226. The second head coach in history to reach the 300-win mark was Don Shula. Shula coached from 1963-1995. His career record was 328-156-6. Don spent his entire 33 years with the Colts and Dolphins.

Answer: 1950

An amazing eight quarterbacks were selected in 1950. They were Frankie Albert of the 49ers, Charlie Conerly with the Giants, Harry Gilmer of the Redskins, Otto Graham with the Browns, Jim Hardy of the Cardinals (Chicago), Johnny Lujack with the Bears, also Norm Van Brocklin and Bob Waterfield of the Rams.

The first game in this format ended with the American Conference defeating the National Conference 28-27.