Fred Biletnikoff taught Cliff Branch movement in pass routes,” said star Lester Hayes. It took about two years, but, when it did, Cliff was a monster weapon.”įellow former Branch teammate, cornerback Lester Hayes lauded Branch for his special gifts. Blanda must have thrown him a million balls. I give George Blanda credit for working with Cliff after practice. “But, finally, when learned to catch with that speed and that mentality, it all came together. He may have been fast, but you have to catch it, too,” said Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano, who was teammates with Branch for eight seasons, told us. “When Cliff first came into the NFL, he dropped a lot of balls.
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He was a first team All-Pro selection from 1974-76 and he played four straight on Pro Bowl teams. In his third season, he led the NFL in receiving yards. Once, he figured it out, though, Branch became a star. He struggled to marry his game-changing speed and his hands. Branch, a fourth-round draft pick, was slow to get his NFL career going. He averaged 17.3 yards a catch in his career and had 67 touchdown catches in his career. Branch helped revolutionize the NFL deep pass plays. He was one of the first great vertical threats and he is the poster child of Raiders’ Hall of Fame owner Al Davis’ fascination for speed receivers.
He spent his entire NFL career with the Raiders and was part of all three Super Bowl-winning teamsĬliff Branch elected into Pro Football Hall of Fameīranch is considered as an NFL groundbreaker. On Saturday, the Raiders’ legendary wide receiver will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When he went to the Raiders, I said ‘Oh my God, here we go.’ He was unbelievable. Of course, he played college (at the University of Colorado) and I would go see some of his games. He was one of the fastest receivers I saw play. He was a guy you had to pay attention to. I’m telling you, he was very, very quick,” Thompson, who was a three-time Pro Bowl player and played against Branch for 10 seasons, told Silver and Black Pride. But when we got to play against the Raiders, my coach would say plenty of the things about Cliff. “Normally, when we were getting ready to play a team, the coaches were very general. Little did he know that Branch would later haunt him on Sundays twice a year. Thompson was blown away by the kid wide out. The Buffaloes featured a speed receiver from Houston by the name of Cliff Branch. In the early 1970s when he was a star cornerback with the Denver Broncos, Billy Thompson would often take the short drive to Boulder on Saturdays to watch the University of Colorado play.
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