We lost one of the true architects of modern football today.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Raymond Berry has died at age 93 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. And if you're a football fan - if you've ever watched a receiver run a precise route, make a contested catch, or turn a slant into a touchdown - you owe Raymond Berry a debt of gratitude.
Because he invented it all.
Berry played 13 years with the Baltimore Colts, catching 631 passes for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns. He was a two-time NFL champion and was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1973. But those numbers don't tell you what made him special.
He turned route-running into an art form. According to NFL.com, the chemistry he developed with quarterback Johnny Unitas through hours of route-running and thousands of repetitions created a dynamic tandem that redefined the receiver position.
Every precise cut you see today? Every perfectly-timed comeback route? Every receiver who stays after practice to run routes with his quarterback? That all traces back to Raymond Berry and Johnny Unitas in Baltimore.
The 1958 NFL Championship Game - the "Greatest Game Ever Played" - was when football became America's sport. And Berry was right in the middle of it, catching passes from Unitas in sudden death overtime at Yankee Stadium.
But here's what a lot of people forget: Berry later coached the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XX in 1985. He wasn't just a great player - he was a great teacher. He understood the game at a level few ever have.
