I found this 12 second clip of an 88 yard TD reception by Patrick Jeffers during his great 1999 season with the Panthers. Even though it was only 13 years ago, apparently there are no highlights of Jeffers other than this one, which was just posted on YouTube in July.
Jeffers was a late draft pick of the Broncos, languished on their bench before being traded to Dallas, and finally began to be "allowed" to play during 1998.
During the second half of '99 with the Carolina Panthers, Patrick Jeffers may have had the best stretch of games of any receiver in the history of the NFL. He had 8 TD catches in the final five games of that season, ALL OVER 30 YARDS IN LENGTH. Chew on that and remember it next time someone says only blacks are capable of big plays. He was a brilliant talent who is now almost completely forgotten. From Caste Football's Wide Receiver Archives on Jeffers (this actually should be read in reverse, the oldest items to the newest ones):
(8/13/03) I periodically do Google searches trying to find any info on Jeffers, particularly to see if there was any hope of him resuming his career. Today a story made the news -- Jeffers has sued the Carolina Panthers and the surgeon who operated on him on August 20, 2000, alleging malpractice. The career of this potential all-time great is indeed over. Read the description below of his mostly unnoticed 1999 season to see what could have been. Here is the link to the article about the malpractice suit: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/foo.../2003/08/13/je ffers_lawsuit_ap/
(9/1/02) Jeffers was released by the Panthers, an acknowledgement that his rehab, now going into its third year, is not going along well and the team didn't want to pay him anymore. What a sad, sad ending to what could have been if Jeffers' career is over.
(8/21/02) Few people, even those who follow the NFL closely, realize how brilliant Patrick Jeffers was in 1999. He had 63 receptions for 1,082 yards (his average of 17.2 yards per catch was third best in the league) and 12 TDs (tied for 2nd in the league), but what is most impressive is that he did it in little more than half a season, and especially toward the end of the season.
Jeffers didn't become a starter until the 7th game of the season in '99. Before that he had only six receptions. Here's what Jeffers did after becoming a starter:
▪ 11/7 vs. Philadelphia - 2 catches for 30 yards, including a 21-yard TD
▪ 11/14 vs. St. Louis - 3 catches for 43 yards
▪ 11/21 vs. Cleveland - 3 catches for 34 yards
▪ 11/28 vs. Atlanta - 3 catches for 31 yards and 1 TD
▪ 12/5 vs. St. Louis - 7 catches for 107 yards, and a 71-yard TD
▪ 12/12 vs. Green Bay - 8 catches for 147 yards and TDs of 35 and 38 yards
▪ 12/18 vs. San Francisco - 8 catches for 155 yards and a 55-yard TD
▪ 12/26 vs. Pittsburgh - 5 catches for 160 yards in the snow at Pittsburgh, including TDs of 88 and 43 yards
▪ 1/2 vs. New Orleans - 7 catches for 165 yards with TD catches of 40 and 32 yards
Jeffers ended the '99 season with five straight 100+ receiving games, only two shy of the record, and, most impressively, in those five games he had 8 touchdown catches, all over 30 yards. He continually beat defensive backs with his speed and graceful moves as he broke one big play after another. It is highly unlikely that any NFL receiver has ever had such an amazing stretch of productivity. If Jeffers had been a starter for the entire season instead of just the last nine games he might have broken the single season record for yardage and TDs.
Were Jeffers black he would have been made into a household name, ala Randy Moss. Jeffers outproduced Moss and every other receiver in the NFL for the last 2/3 of 1999, yet received little notoriety.
[video=youtube;wnarSCRoaMQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnarSCRoaMQ[/video]
Here's some previously posted background information from the CF archives on Patrick Jeffers for those who weren't aware of how impressive he was in 1999:
Jeffers was a late draft pick of the Broncos, languished on their bench before being traded to Dallas, and finally began to be "allowed" to play during 1998.
During the second half of '99 with the Carolina Panthers, Patrick Jeffers may have had the best stretch of games of any receiver in the history of the NFL. He had 8 TD catches in the final five games of that season, ALL OVER 30 YARDS IN LENGTH. Chew on that and remember it next time someone says only blacks are capable of big plays. He was a brilliant talent who is now almost completely forgotten. From Caste Football's Wide Receiver Archives on Jeffers (this actually should be read in reverse, the oldest items to the newest ones):
(8/13/03) I periodically do Google searches trying to find any info on Jeffers, particularly to see if there was any hope of him resuming his career. Today a story made the news -- Jeffers has sued the Carolina Panthers and the surgeon who operated on him on August 20, 2000, alleging malpractice. The career of this potential all-time great is indeed over. Read the description below of his mostly unnoticed 1999 season to see what could have been. Here is the link to the article about the malpractice suit: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/foo.../2003/08/13/je ffers_lawsuit_ap/
(9/1/02) Jeffers was released by the Panthers, an acknowledgement that his rehab, now going into its third year, is not going along well and the team didn't want to pay him anymore. What a sad, sad ending to what could have been if Jeffers' career is over.
(8/21/02) Few people, even those who follow the NFL closely, realize how brilliant Patrick Jeffers was in 1999. He had 63 receptions for 1,082 yards (his average of 17.2 yards per catch was third best in the league) and 12 TDs (tied for 2nd in the league), but what is most impressive is that he did it in little more than half a season, and especially toward the end of the season.
Jeffers didn't become a starter until the 7th game of the season in '99. Before that he had only six receptions. Here's what Jeffers did after becoming a starter:
▪ 11/7 vs. Philadelphia - 2 catches for 30 yards, including a 21-yard TD
▪ 11/14 vs. St. Louis - 3 catches for 43 yards
▪ 11/21 vs. Cleveland - 3 catches for 34 yards
▪ 11/28 vs. Atlanta - 3 catches for 31 yards and 1 TD
▪ 12/5 vs. St. Louis - 7 catches for 107 yards, and a 71-yard TD
▪ 12/12 vs. Green Bay - 8 catches for 147 yards and TDs of 35 and 38 yards
▪ 12/18 vs. San Francisco - 8 catches for 155 yards and a 55-yard TD
▪ 12/26 vs. Pittsburgh - 5 catches for 160 yards in the snow at Pittsburgh, including TDs of 88 and 43 yards
▪ 1/2 vs. New Orleans - 7 catches for 165 yards with TD catches of 40 and 32 yards
Jeffers ended the '99 season with five straight 100+ receiving games, only two shy of the record, and, most impressively, in those five games he had 8 touchdown catches, all over 30 yards. He continually beat defensive backs with his speed and graceful moves as he broke one big play after another. It is highly unlikely that any NFL receiver has ever had such an amazing stretch of productivity. If Jeffers had been a starter for the entire season instead of just the last nine games he might have broken the single season record for yardage and TDs.
Were Jeffers black he would have been made into a household name, ala Randy Moss. Jeffers outproduced Moss and every other receiver in the NFL for the last 2/3 of 1999, yet received little notoriety.
