2011 NFL season


The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints 42–34 at Lambeau Field and ended with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on February 5, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis where the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21–17.
Due to a labor dispute between league owners and players, a lockout began on March 11 and ended on July 25, lasting 130 days. Although it initially threatened to postpone or cancel the season, the only game that was canceled was the August 7 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
The 2011 season saw an unprecedented amount of passing offense: Three of the nine highest passing yardage totals of all time were established: No. 2 Drew Brees, No. 3 Tom Brady, and No. 9 Matthew Stafford ; Eli Manning threw for 4,933 yards, which places him 14th all time. It also saw Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers establish the all-time single-season best QB Rating of 122.5. Further cementing the modern NFL's reputation as a "passing league" was the fact that, for the second consecutive year, the league overall set a record for most average passing yards per team per game, with 229.7, breaking 2010's record by more than eight yards per game.
A subplot of the 2011 season was determining who would have the worst record, and therefore "earn" the right to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft. Stanford senior quarterback Andrew Luck was seen as the best quarterback prospect in years. Fans of some teams that started the season with numerous losses were openly rooting for their teams to "Suck for Luck."

Labor dispute

In May 2008 the owners decided to opt out of the 1993 arrangement and play the 2010 season without an agreement in place. Some of the major points of contention included openness of owners' financial books, the rookie pay scale, a proposed 18 percent reduction in the players' share of revenues, forfeiture on bonus payments for players who fail to perform, players' health and retirement benefits, details of free agency, the cost and benefit of new stadiums, players' salaries, extending the regular season to 18 games, and the revenue-sharing structure. By March 2011, the NFLPA and the NFL had not yet come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, thus failing to resolve the labor dispute. Accordingly, the NFLPA informed the league and the clubs that the players had voted to have the NFLPA renounce its bargaining rights. After the renunciation of collective bargaining rights, quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees joined seven other NFL players and filed an antitrust suit to enjoin the lockout.
Following the settlement of the Brady et al. v. NFL antitrust suit on July 25, 2011, a majority of players signed union authorization cards approving the NFL Players Association to act as their exclusive collective bargaining representative. The NFL officially recognized the NFLPA’s status as the players’ collective bargaining representative on July 30. The NFL and NFLPA proceeded to negotiate terms for a new collective bargaining agreement, and the agreement became effective after ratification by the players on August 4. The new collective bargaining agreement runs through 2021.

NFL Draft

The 2011 NFL Draft was held from April 28 to 30, 2011 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. With the first pick, the Carolina Panthers selected quarterback Cam Newton from Auburn.

Player movement

Free agency began on July 25 2011 following the end of the 2011 NFL lockout.

Free agency

Notable players to change teams during free agency included:
The following notable trades were made during the 2011 league year:
The following are rule changes that were passed at the league's annual owners meeting in March. All changes went into effect once the labor dispute was resolved.
The following rule changes were adopted at the NFL Owners' Meeting on May 24, 2011:
A "defenseless player" is defined as a:
The league has instructed game officials to "err on the side of caution" when calling such personal foul penalties, and that they will not be downgraded if they make a mistake so that they will not hesitate on making these kinds of calls.

Game-day testing

The preseason schedule was released April 12, 2011. The Hall of Fame Game, had it been played, would have featured the Chicago Bears against the St. Louis Rams in only the second time since 1971 that the game would have featured two teams from the same conference. Instead, the preseason began with the San Diego Chargers hosting the Seattle Seahawks on August 11; the remainder of the preseason and all other games was played as originally scheduled.
The 2011 season began on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at Lambeau Field, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers hosting the New Orleans Saints in the kickoff game; the last regular season games were held on Sunday, January 1, 2012. The playoffs started on Saturday, January 7, 2012, and ended with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on February 5, 2012 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Under the NFL's scheduling formula, intraconference and interconference matchups were:
Intraconference
Interconference
When the league was arranging the schedule in spring 2011, it added some cushion in case the labor dispute lasted into September and the planned start of the regular season. For example, every contest in Week 3 had teams which shared the same bye week later in the season, which would have allowed these games to be made up on what were originally the teams' byes. Weeks 2 and 4 were set up so that there were neither any divisional rivalry games nor teams on bye in those weeks, and every team with a home game in Week 2 was on the road in Week 4 and vice versa. This would have kept the season as fair as possible if those games had to be canceled. These scheduling changes, along with eliminating the week off before the Super Bowl and moving the Super Bowl back a week, would have allowed the NFL to play a 14-game schedule beginning in mid-October while still having the Super Bowl in mid-February.
In a scheduling quirk, the NFC North's Chicago Bears played all four of their interconference games in consecutive weeks: San Diego in Week 11, Oakland in Week 12, Kansas City in Week 13 and Denver in Week 14.
This season's International Series game featured the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium in London on October 23, with the Buccaneers serving as the home team. The Bears won 24–18. It marked the Bears' second game played outside the United States in as many years, as they were a part of the Bills Toronto Series in 2010. The Buccaneers previously appeared in the International Series in 2009. One week later on October 30, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Washington Redskins in the Bills' annual game at Rogers Centre in Toronto by a score of 23–0. Although this was within the bounds of the 2011 CFL season, neither of the two Southern Ontario CFL teams was playing on the same day, and both played away games that weekend. The 2011–12 season also marked the 20th anniversary of the Bills and Redskins meeting in Super Bowl XXVI.
The Detroit Lions hosted their first Monday Night Football game since 2001, when they faced the Bears on Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving. Detroit defeated Chicago 24–13 for the team's fifth straight win, the most Lions wins to start a season since the team's glory years in the 1950s, continuing a streak that has been seen as a pleasant surprise for Lions fans, after over a decade of mediocrity.
The 2011 Thanksgiving Day slate featured the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers winning 27–15 on the road against Detroit and the Cowboys coming back to defeat the Miami Dolphins 20–19 at home. The Thanksgiving nightcap on the NFL Network showed the Baltimore Ravens defeating the San Francisco 49ers 16–6 at home; this was the first Thanksgiving game for the 49ers since 1972, the first ever for the Ravens, and a game that put first-year 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh against his brother, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
Christmas Day fell on Sunday. The TV contracts state that the majority of afternoon games are played on Christmas Eve and only one game is held over for Sunday night. The Packers defeated the Bears, 35–21, on Christmas evening on NBC.
New Year's Day 2012 consequently also fell on a Sunday, and the NFL played its entire Week 17 schedule that day. The major college bowl games usually played on New Year's Day, as well as the NHL Winter Classic, were instead played on Monday, January 2. For the second straight year, Week 17 only featured divisional match-ups.
The New York Giants visited the Washington Redskins on September 11, 2011, the first Sunday of the regular season, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in which Washington, D.C. and New York City were both targeted, as well as the first such anniversary since the killing of Osama bin Laden in May. Due to the proximity of Baltimore with Washington as well as the proximity of Pittsburgh with the site where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed, the Pittsburgh Steelers visited the archrival Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. It marked the first time the two teams played in a season-opening game since 2003, as their heated rivalry usually prompts their games to be scheduled later in the season. There had been some speculation that the Giants and their same-city rival, the New York Jets, could have played each other that day since the two were scheduled to play each other in 2011; the Jets were the designated home team at MetLife Stadium in the matchup which had been predetermined due to the NFL's scheduling formula. However, the Jets instead hosted the Dallas Cowboys.

Scheduling changes

The following regular-season games were moved by way of flexible scheduling, severe weather, or for other reasons:

Division

Conference

Postseason

Playoffs bracket

Records and milestones

Awards

All-Pro Team

Players of the Week/Month

The following were named the top performers during the 2011 season:

Regular Season Awards

For the first time, the league held the NFL Honors, an awards show to salute the best players and plays for the season. The 1st Annual NFL Honors was held at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 4, 2012.
AwardWinnerPositionTeam
AP Offensive Player of the YearDrew BreesQuarterbackNew Orleans Saints
AP Defensive Player of the YearTerrell SuggsLinebackerBaltimore Ravens
AP Coach of the YearJim HarbaughHead coachSan Francisco 49ers
AP Offensive Rookie of the YearCam NewtonQuarterbackCarolina Panthers
AP Defensive Rookie of the YearVon MillerLinebackerDenver Broncos
AP Comeback Player of the YearMatthew StaffordQuarterbackDetroit Lions
AP Most Valuable PlayerAaron RodgersQuarterbackGreen Bay Packers
Pepsi Rookie of the YearCam NewtonQuarterbackCarolina Panthers
Walter Payton NFL Man of the YearMatt BirkCenterBaltimore Ravens
Super Bowl Most Valuable PlayerEli ManningQuarterbackNew York Giants

Team Superlatives

Offense

  • Most points scored: Green Bay, 560
  • Fewest points scored: St. Louis, 193
  • Most total offensive yards: New Orleans, 7,474
  • Fewest total offensive yards: Jacksonville, 4,149
  • Most total passing yards: New Orleans, 5,347
  • Fewest total passing yards: Jacksonville, 2,179
  • Most rushing yards: Denver, 2,632
  • Fewest rushing yards: New York Giants, 1,427

    Defense

  • Fewest points allowed: Pittsburgh, 227
  • Most points allowed: Tampa Bay, 494
  • Fewest total yards allowed : Pittsburgh, 4,348
  • Most total yards allowed : Green Bay, 6,585
  • Fewest passing yards allowed: Pittsburgh, 2,751
  • Most passing yards allowed : Green Bay, 4,796
  • Fewest rushing yards allowed : San Francisco, 1,236
  • Most rushing yards allowed : Tampa Bay, 2,497

    Coaching changes

Pre-season

The uncertain labor issues and the possibility of a lockout were speculated to have a minimizing effect on coaching changes prior to the 2011 season, with owners predicted to be more hesitant than usual to hire a high-price, high-profile head coach. Nevertheless, eight coaches were fired either during or immediately after the 2010 NFL season, compared to three in the year prior; only one of the new hires had ever been a head coach in the NFL prior to their hirings or promotions. However, Leslie Frazier, and Jason Garrett did get some experience as interim coaches during the 2010 season, with Garrett being successful in his debut season, going 5–3 in his tenure, improving the 1–7 Cowboys to a 6–10 season.

In-season

The following head coaches were replaced in-season:
Team:2011 head coach:Interim head coach:Reason for leaving:Notes:
Jacksonville JaguarsJack Del RioMel TuckerFiredDel Rio was fired after compiling a 69–73 record in 8¾ seasons as head coach; the team has not made the playoffs since. Del Rio was fired at the same time that Wayne Weaver, the owner of the Jaguars, announced his intentions to sell the team to Pakistani-American automotive parts builder Shahid Khan.
Kansas City ChiefsTodd HaleyRomeo CrennelFiredHaley compiled a 19–27 record, including one postseason loss, in nearly 3 seasons with the Chiefs. Team ownership cited inconsistent play and a lack of progress in their decision; Haley was also cited for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in what turned out to be his final game. Crennel had previously served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2005 to 2008. Crennel won his first game as the interim head coach of the Chiefs on December 18, 2011 against the then undefeated Green Bay Packers 19-14, which was significant as Crennel snapped the Packers' 19-game winning streak ended their hopes for a perfect season. Crennel finished his stint as interim head coach with a 2-1 record. On January 9, 2012 Crennel was named the team's permanent head coach.
Miami DolphinsTony SparanoTodd BowlesFiredSparano compiled a 29–33 record, including one postseason loss, in nearly 4 seasons with the Dolphins. Ongoing speculation regarding Sparano's future in Miami prompted Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to dismiss Sparano prior to the end of the season instead of letting the speculation become a further distraction. The Dolphins intend on hiring someone from outside the organization in the 2012 offseason.

Stadiums

Naming rights agreements

The following stadiums received new naming rights:
  • April 27: The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, home of the Oakland Raiders, was renamed Overstock.com Coliseum, and later shortened to O.co Coliseum. The Raiders' home field has undergone several name changes in its history, including Network Associates Coliseum and McAfee Coliseum.
  • June 20: Qwest Field, the home of the Seattle Seahawks since, was renamed CenturyLink Field. Qwest's naming rights to the Seahawks' home field was set to expire in.
  • August 16: INVESCO Field at Mile High, the home of the Denver Broncos, was renamed Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Invesco Ltd. held the original naming rights to the Broncos' home field since it opened in, and Invesco's naming rights agreement was set to expire in 2021. Sports Authority, a sporting goods retailer based in Englewood, Colorado, took over the naming rights, and agreed to pay $6 million per year for the naming rights to the Broncos' home field.
  • August 23: Life insurance company MetLife purchased the naming rights to the New Meadowlands Stadium, the new home field of the New York Jets and New York Giants that opened in, renaming it MetLife Stadium. The life insurance company signed a 25-year, $17 million per year agreement with the Jets and Giants for the stadium's naming rights.
  • October 4: German automaker Mercedes-Benz purchased the naming rights to the Louisiana Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. The Saints' home field was officially renamed the Mercedes-Benz Superdome prior to the Saints' Week 7 home game vs. the Indianapolis Colts.
In addition, the San Diego Chargers' home field, Qualcomm Stadium, was temporarily renamed "Snapdragon Stadium" for a ten-day period from December 16–25, which included the team's Week 15 home game vs. the Baltimore Ravens, as a marketing tie in for Qualcomm's Snapdragon brand.

Uniforms

The first Sunday of the season fell on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. To commemorate that event players, coaches, game officials and sideline personnel all wore a special stars and stripes ribbon bearing the dates "9/11/01" and "9/11/11" as a patch or pin. Players were also allowed to wear special red, white and blue gloves and shoes.
The Buffalo Bills introduced redesigned uniforms on June 24, 2011. Early rumors fueled by a Madden NFL 12 trailer featuring a Bills throwback uniform had indicated the team would be adopting the uniforms the team wore between 1975 and 1983; the final product indeed resembled those uniforms, with some minor adjustments. The new uniforms were unveiled at a fan appreciation event at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills wore their white "away" uniforms in their week nine home game against the New York Jets as part of a whiteout promotion; the last time the team had worn their white uniforms at home was in 1986.
The New England Patriots' uniforms bore a patch bearing the initials "MHK" in honor of team owner Robert Kraft's wife Myra Kraft who died of cancer in July. The Patriots wore their red throwback uniforms in their week five game against the New York Jets. They wore their white jerseys at home against the Dallas Cowboys in week six, thus forcing the Cowboys to use their navy jerseys for the only time all season and the first time since 2009. As per tradition, the Cowboys wore their throwbacks on Thanksgiving Day at home against the Miami Dolphins.
The St. Louis Rams wore their throwback uniforms in week 8 against the New Orleans Saints; the date was determined by fan voting.
The Baltimore Ravens wore their black alternative jerseys twice in 2011: with black pants against the Jets and with white pants against the 49ers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wore their orange throwback uniforms during week 13 against Carolina.
The Oakland Raiders wore stickers featuring "AL" on their helmets after owner Al Davis died on October 8, 2011.
This season was the last in which the Denver Broncos wore their navy blue jerseys as their primary jersey, as the team has designated their orange jerseys—the team's alternate home jersey since —as their new primary home jersey color, beginning with the season. The move was made due to overwhelming fan support to return to using orange as the team's primary home jersey color, which harkens back to the days of the Orange Crush Defense, as well as John Elway's return to the organization as the team's executive vice president of football operations. The team had considered making the switch for the 2011 season, but were too late to notify the NFL of the changes. The team's navy blue jerseys, which had been their primary home jersey since they were first introduced in, will become the alternate jerseys which will be worn in one or two home games each year.
This season was the last in which the Seattle Seahawks wore their pacific blue jerseys as the team's home jersey, as the team changed their home jersey color to dark navy for the 2012 season.

End of the Reebok Era

This was the last season that Reebok exclusively supplied uniforms and sideline caps along with performance and fan apparel for all 32 teams in the league, as Nike and New Era now have the 40-year rights to manufacture on-field uniforms and fan apparel, with Nike handling uniforms and performance apparel, and New Era with on-field caps. For Reebok, this ends a 10-year exclusivity association that began in.

Media

This was the sixth season under the current television contracts with the league's television partners: CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, NFL Network, and DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket package. These contracts run through at least 2013. ESPN extended its contract for Monday Night Football on September 8, during the opening week of the season. The new contract extended the rights for eight seasons, giving the network rights until 2021. The new deal, valued between $14.2 billion and $15.2 billion, also gave them rights to expanded highlights, international and digital rights, the Pro Bowl beginning with the 2015 installment, and possibly a Wildcard playoff game. Also, the league announced a nine-year extension with CBS, Fox and NBC on their current contracts starting with the 2014 season.
The 2011 NFL season version of "musical chairs" brought some changes. At CBS, Dick Enberg officially retired, and Marv Albert replaced him, coming over from Westwood One radio. Gus Johnson has also departed CBS and will begin calling play-by-play for Fox, mostly college games as well on FX. ESPN lost both of their sideline reporters from 2010: Michele Tafoya to NBC, where she replaced the departing Andrea Kremer, and Suzy Kolber reduced the number of games she covers to work on ESPN2's new NFL32 show, which she is hosting. ESPN, who had reduced the roles of its sideline reporters in recent years in response to NFL rule changes, used only one sideline reporter for each game of the 2011 season; among the rotating reporters include Kolber, Wendi Nix, Ed Werder, Sal Paolantonio, and Rachel Nichols.
On December 22, 2010, the league announced that its national radio contract with Westwood One, which was acquired by Dial Global in the 2011 offseason, had been extended through 2014. The league also extended its contract with Sirius XM Radio through 2015. In addition to these contracts, and in a first for an NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys signed a deal to allow for nationwide broadcasts of all of its home and away games broadcast on Compass Media Networks, in addition to its existing local radio network. Compass also acquired exclusive national broadcast rights to both the International Series and Toronto Series contests.
The league did not announce plans to compensate their media partners had the season been shortened or canceled as a result of the work stoppage. NBC had ordered several low-cost reality television shows for the 2011–12 TV season in the event that Sunday Night Football could not be played, but other networks had not made public any contingency plans in the event NFL games could not be televised. A work stoppage could have potentially cost these networks billions of dollars in ad revenue and other entertainment platforms that depend on the games being played. Meanwhile, the United Football League had set aside a portion of their television contract for their 2011 UFL season, as a potential package of replacement programs for the networks; while CBS and Fox briefly negotiated with the UFL regarding the package, neither network committed to carrying the games, forcing the UFL to postpone its season by a month.
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