The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. 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 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 (5,476), No. 3 Tom Brady (5,235), and No. 9 Matthew Stafford (5,038); Eli Manning threw for 4,933 yards, which places him 14th all time.Pro-Football-Reference.com: For single seasons, from 1920 to 2011, sorted by descending Passing Yds, as of end of 2011 regular season. It also saw Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers establish the all-time single-season best quarterback rating of 122.5. Further cementing the modern NFL's reputation as a "passing league"Wild Shootout Sparks Start of 2011 season at National Football Post, September 9, 2011Chase Stuart: Correction Has Arrived for N.F.L. Passing Barrage at The New York Times, October 18, 2011 was 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.Pro-Football-Reference.com: NFL Season By Season Team Offense (For comparison, the league-wide average rushing yards total finished the 2011 season at 57th all-time.)
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 (notably the Indianapolis Colts) were openly rooting for their teams to "Suck for Luck."Hank Koebler, Why 'Suck for Luck' Sucks Huffington Post, November 5, 2011Steve Politi, 'Suck for Luck' could be best hope for NFL's worst CNN.com, October 21, 2011
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 National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and the NFL had not yet come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), 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 ran 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:
Quarterbacks Derek Anderson (Arizona to Carolina), Bruce Gradkowski (Oakland to Cincinnati), Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle to Tennessee), Tarvaris Jackson (Minnesota to Seattle), Matt Moore (Carolina to Miami) and Vince Young (Tennessee to Philadelphia) Running backs Ronnie Brown (Miami to Philadelphia), Brandon Jackson (Green Bay to Cleveland), Willis McGahee (Baltimore to Denver), Darren Sproles (San Diego to New Orleans) and Ricky Williams (Miami to Baltimore) Fullback Vonta Leach (Houston to Baltimore) Wide receivers Steve Breaston (Arizona to Kansas City), Plaxico Burress (N.Y. Giants to N.Y. Jets), Braylon Edwards (N.Y. Jets to San Francisco), Sidney Rice (Minnesota to Seattle), Brad Smith (N.Y. Jets to Buffalo), Steve Smith (N.Y. Giants to Philadelphia), Roy Williams (Dallas to Chicago) Tight ends Kevin Boss (N.Y. Giants to Oakland), Todd Heap (Baltimore to Arizona) and Zach Miller (Oakland to Seattle) Offensive tackles Ryan Harris (Denver to Philadelphia) and Sean Locklear (Seattle to Washington) Guards David Baas (San Francisco to N.Y. Giants), Chris Chester (Baltimore to Washington) and Harvey Dahl (Atlanta to St. Louis) Centers Jonathan Goodwin (New Orleans to San Francisco) and Olin Kreutz (Chicago to New Orleans) Defensive ends Jason Babin (Tennessee to Philadelphia), Stephen Bowen (Dallas to Washington) and Ray Edwards (Minnesota to Atlanta) Defensive tackles Barry Cofield (N.Y. Giants to Washington), Cullen Jenkins (Green Bay to Philadelphia) and Shaun Rogers (Cleveland to New Orleans) Linebackers Nick Barnett (Green Bay to Buffalo), Kevin Burnett (San Diego to Miami), Thomas Howard (Oakland to Cincinnati), Manny Lawson (San Francisco to Cincinnati), Paul Posluszny (Buffalo to Jacksonville), Matt Roth (Cleveland to Jacksonville), Clint Session (Indianapolis to Jacksonville) and Stephen Tulloch (Tennessee to Detroit) Cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha (Oakland to Philadelphia), Nate Clements (San Francisco to Cincinnati), Johnathan Joseph (Cincinnati to Houston), Carlos Rogers (Washington to San Francisco) and Josh Wilson (Baltimore to Washington) Safeties Oshiomogho Atogwe (St. Louis to Washington), Dawan Landry (Baltimore to Jacksonville), Danieal Manning (Chicago to Houston), Quintin Mikell (Philadelphia to St. Louis), Bob Sanders (Indianapolis to San Diego) and Donte Whitner (Buffalo to San Francisco).
Trades The following notable trades were made during the 2011 league year:
July 28: Philadelphia traded QB Kevin Kolb to Arizona in exchange for CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Arizona's second-round selection in 2012. July 28: Chicago traded TE Greg Olsen to Carolina in exchange for a third-round selection in 2012. July 28: Washington traded DT Albert Haynesworth to New England in exchange for a fifth-round selection in 2013. July 29: Cincinnati traded WR Chad Ochocinco to New England in exchange for a fifth-round selection in 2012 and sixth-round selection in 2013. July 29: Washington traded QB Donovan McNabb to Minnesota in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2012. July 29: New Orleans traded RB Reggie Bush to Miami exchange for S Jonathon Amaya and a swap of sixth-round selections in 2012. August 12: Buffalo traded WR Lee Evans to Baltimore in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2012. August 22: San Francisco traded S Taylor Mays to Cincinnati in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2012. August 29: Seattle sent CB Kelly Jennings to Cincinnati with DE Clinton McDonald going the other way. October 12: Seattle traded LB Aaron Curry to Oakland in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2012 and a conditional pick in 2013. October 17: Denver traded WR Brandon Lloyd to St. Louis in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2012. October 18: Cincinnati traded QB Carson Palmer to Oakland in exchange for a first-round pick in 2012 and a conditional second-round pick in 2013.
Rule changes The following are rule changes that were passed at the league's annual owners meeting in March. These rule changes went into effect once the labor dispute was resolved.
Changes were made regarding kickoffs to limit injuries. First, kickoffs will be moved from the 30 to the 35-yard line, repealing a rule change, restoring the rule. In addition, players on the kickoff coverage team cannot line up more than 5 yards behind the kickoff line, minimizing running starts and thus reducing the speed of collisions. Other changes were also proposed, but a number of players and coaches expressed concern they would actually significantly reduce, if not eliminate, the number of kickoff returns. Proposals that would have brought touchbacks out to the 25 instead of the 20, and eliminated all wedge blocks were not adopted. Despite this rule, the Bears kicked off from the 30-yard line twice in their preseason game against the Bills. All replay reviews of scoring plays during the entire game can now be initiated by the replay booth official. Coaches will no longer have to use one of their challenges if a scoring play occurs outside of the two-minute warning. Because the play is now "unchallengeable" by coaches, attempting to do so will result in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which several coaches were flagged for during the season. Nicknamed the "Boise State Rule", all playing fields must remain green, and not be in another color like the blue turf at Boise State's Bronco Stadium, unless approval is granted by the league. This was passed in response to a few sponsors who requested to change the colors in a few stadiums.
The following rule changes were adopted at the NFL Owners' Meeting on May 24, 2011:
Hits to the head of a passer-by an opponent's hands, arms or other parts of the body will not be fouls unless they are forcible blows, modifying the existing rule that any contact to a passer's head, regardless of the reason, is penalized as a personal foul (15 yards). Players will be prohibited from "launching" (leaving both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into an opponent or using any part of the helmet to initiate forcible contact against any part of the opponent's body) to level a defenseless player, as well as "forcibly hitting the neck or head area with the helmet, facemask, forearm or shoulder regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him.", and lowering the head and make forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead/"hairline" parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player's body. Offenders will be penalised 15 yards for unnecessary roughness plus risking immediate disqualification if the contact is deemed flagrant.
A "defenseless player" is defined as a: Player in the act of or just after throwing a pass. Receiver attempting to catch a pass or one who has not completed a catch and hasn't had time to protect himself or hasn't clearly become a runner. If the receiver/runner is capable of avoiding or warding off the impending contact of an opponent, he is no longer a defenseless player. Runner whose forward progress has been stopped and is already in the grasp of a tackler. Kickoff or punt returner attempting to field a kick in the air. Player on the ground at the end of a play. Kicker/punter during the kick or return. Quarterback any time after a change of possession (i.e. turnover).