Rolland Lawrence
| No. 22 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | March 24, 1951 Franklin, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 179 lb (81 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Franklin (PA) | ||||||
| College: | Tabor | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 1973 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
Rolland Derenfro "Bay" Lawrence (born March 24, 1951) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 to 1980. He was a leader of the 1977 Grits Blitz defense, widely considered to be among the best in league history, and his 39 career interceptions are the most by a Falcons player. [1]
Biography
Lawrence was selected to his one and only Pro Bowl in 1977, when he accounted for 10 turnovers on seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries.[2] According to Pro-Football-Reference.com's "Approximate Value" statistic,[3] Lawrence recorded the most valuable season by a non-Hall of Famer in NFL history, recording an AV of 24 in 1977, tied for the fifth-highest single-season AV in NFL history as of 2023.[4] That year marked Lawrence's only-ever selections to the Pro Bowl and an All-Pro team.
Lawrence played college football for the Tabor Bluejays in Hillsboro, Kansas. He became a charter member of the Tabor College Hall of Fame in 1999 and was the first player to have his jersey number (3) retired by the school four years later.
References
- ^ Database Football Archived 2010-02-12 at the Wayback Machine Rolland Lawrence statistics
- ^ "Pittsburgh Passion". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ "Approximate Value". Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "NFL Approximate Value Single-Season Leaders". Retrieved May 8, 2023.