Welcome to This Week in 小蓝视频History! Every week, the 小蓝视频Research team will spotlight the anniversaries of notable events and birthdays.
April 5
-- The 小蓝视频adopted a jersey numbering system based on position in 1973
- 1-19 for QB & specialists, 20-49 for RBs & DBs, 50-59 for centers & LBs, 60-79 for DL & interior OL other than centers & 80-89 for WRs & TEs
- Players who had been in the 小蓝视频in 1972 could continue to use old numbers
-- RB Leonard Fournette锘, S Jamal Adams & CB Tre'Davious White participated at LSU's Pro Day in 2017
- Fournette weighed in at 228 pounds, 12 pounds lighter than the 小蓝视频Scouting Combine & showcased his versatility by running routes and catching passes
- Adams improved his 4.56 40-yard dash time at the Combine to 4.45 per 小蓝视频Media's Gil Brandt
- Fournette (4th overall to JAX), Adams (6th overall to NYJ) & White (27th overall to BUF) all selected in the 1st Round of the 2017 小蓝视频Draft
-- The color of officials' penalty flags was changed from white to bright gold in 1965
-- Notable Birthday: QB Marc Bulger (44)
April 6
-- Notable Birthdays: WR Sterling Sharpe (56) & NE CB Jalen Mills (27)
April 7
-- The 小蓝视频adopted new substitution rules, made wearing helmets mandatory & approved a 10-game schedule for all teams in 1943
- Free substitution (Being able to bring the same player in & out of the game as much as the coach wants) was allowed
- Substitution in football was previously like baseball or soccer in that once a player was subbed out, their day was done
-- Notable Birthdays: HOF Tony Dorsett (67), RB Ricky Watters (52), DB Ronde Barber (46), RB Tiki Barber (46), & LAC TE Jared Cook (34)
April 8
-- Sarah Thomas became the first female to be assigned full-time to an 小蓝视频officiating crew in 2015
- Became the 1st woman to officiate a Super Bowl in Super Bowl LV when she served as a down judge
-- Steve Bisciotti took over as the controlling owner of the Ravens, succeeding Art Modell who operated the franchise for 43 years in 2004
- 162-110 W-L (.596 win pct, 6th-best in NFL) since 2004
- 10 playoff appearances & Super Bowl XLVII Championship under Bisciotti
-- WR 锘Allen Robinson锘 improved his measurables at Penn State's Pro Day in 2014
- Surpassed his 4.60 40-yd dash and 39" vertical jump 小蓝视频Scouting Combine numbers with a 4.47 40-yd dash and 42" vertical jump at Pro Day
- Picked 61st overall (2nd Round) by Jaguars in 2014 小蓝视频Draft
- Signed franchise tag with Bears after a career-high 102 receptions in 2020 (6th-most in NFL)
-- Notable Birthdays: HOF 锘George Musso锘 , CHI LB 锘Roquan Smith锘 (24) & DAL WR 锘CeeDee Lamb锘 (22)
April 9
-- WRs 锘Odell Beckham锘 & 锘Jarvis Landry锘 had opposite performances at LSU's Pro Day in 2014
- Beckham Jr. stood on his great Combine numbers, which included a 4.43 40-yard dash
- Landry improved on his Combine 40-yard dash time (4.77, slowest among all WRs in 2014), running a 4.58; However, like the Combine, he again tested poorly in the broad jump (9' 3") and vertical jump (31")
- Landry also
- Beckham was selected with the 12th overall pick by the Giants & Landry was 63rd overall (2nd-last pick of 2nd Round) by the Dolphins
- Landry has the 3rd-most receptions (636) in the 小蓝视频since 2014 & Beckham won 2014 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year after leading the 小蓝视频with 108.8 rec YPG
-- HOF 锘Troy Polamalu锘 retired from football after 12 seasons with the Steelers in 2015
- 2-time Super Bowl Champion, 8-time Pro Bowl selection & 4-time 1st-Team All-Pro
- 2010 AP Defensive Player of the Year & member of 2000's All-Decade Team
- 2020 Hall of Fame Inductee
-- Notable Birthdays: HOF 锘Curly Lambeau锘
April 10
-- The Patriots re-signed WR 锘Julian Edelman锘 after his rookie deal expired in 2013
- 3-time Super Bowl Champion (Super Bowl LIII MVP)
- Career: 620 receptions (2nd-most in NE history behind only 锘Wes Welker锘 's 672), 6,822 receiving yards (4th-most in NE history behind 锘Stanley Morgan锘, 锘Rob Gronkowski锘 & Welker)
- Postseason career: 118 receptions & 1,442 receiving yards (both are 2nd-most in 小蓝视频history behind only HOF 锘Jerry Rice锘 's 151 rec and 2,245 rec yds)
-- Notable Birthdays: HOF 锘Clarke Hinkle锘, HOF 锘John Madden锘 (85), HOF 锘Mel Blount锘 (73) & PIT TE 锘Eric Ebron锘 (28)
April 11
-- The Patriots re-signed RB Corey Dillon to a 2-year extension in 2005
- Set the Patriots' single-season rush yards record (1,635) en route to a 24-21 Super Bowl XXXIX win vs the Eagles to conclude the 2004 season (Last team to repeat as Super Bowl Champions)
-- Notable Birthdays: HOF 锘Danny Fortmann
