NFL: Super Bowl Memories - running documentary (1 to 57)

[ChuckyTheGoat]

1988: Bengals vs Niners

*Bengals: 2nd Super Bowl appearance. First appearance had also been versus the Niners.
*Niners: 3rd Super Bowl appearance. Going for third title of the decade.

More Bengal-Niner parallels. Plenty of notes on this one.

This is my most memorable Super Bowl. So many storylines.

One side-note, as it relates to 1987 (above). Eddie DeBartolo was very close to firing Walsh after the 1987 season. They were upset at home versus Minnesota, and the results weren't coming the way they had been. DeBartolo wondered if Walsh had become stale. He was very close to canning him.

Walsh was friends with Dick Vermeil. They were similar personalities in that they studied the game rigorously. If Vermeil was a victim of burnout in '82, then Walsh was in a similar spot after '88. He may have been spent. That's what you saw in post-game interview by Musberger.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

No miracle finish for the Bengals. Going off the field after such a gut-wrenching loss, Wyche could not have been more gracious. He congratulated his former coach and said "I couldn't be more happy for you."

This is one of those games that show how cruel Football can be. Bengals had never won a Super Bowl. You'd think that they could get lucky one time.

Niners were going for their third title of the decade, and they got it. Walsh and Montana win again. Some guys have all the luck, I guess.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Hi, Agenda. I'd be a little worried about Kelce getting older. How much does he have left?

Mahomes will have his chances. The AFC is now a landmine with all the young quarterbacks.

Also, I think Reid is close to the finish line. No obvious replacement for Reid.

Bump. 40-22 loss to the Eagles. We'll see where the Chiefs go from here.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Two van Schamann Field Goals late in the first half. San Fran 28-16 at half.

Another Craig TD in the 2nd half. Niners shut out Marino after halftime.

It was one-sided. The Niners were too good.

38-16. Second title for the Niners/Walsh.

A few more random comments about this game:
*Montana rushed for 59 yards. That set a Super Bowl rush record. Joe didn't look athletic, but his scrambling ability was pretty good.
*This was one year before Jerry Rice came into the league. Of course, Rice was a fantastic player. In some ways, though, I think the Walsh teams were even better when it was a balanced attack.
*As much credit that Montana gets, this Niner team was so good in other areas. Solid offensive line, solid defense.
*And what about Craig? Man, he was good. Ability to get open, good hands. Could score on the ground or on receptions. Ahead of his time as a dual-threat RB.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

as a devoted 49r fan forever the decade of the 1980s were the golden days of yore for me.4 superbows for the 9rs.the great bill walsh joe rice taylor craig candlestick park.their owner eddie departolo took the team to hawaii every year.

Hi, Agenda. I've read a lot about Walsh. Genius might be an over-used term, but he was a very bright coach.

Could say a lot about Walsh. Will keep it brief for now.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 9: Steelers vs Vikings

*PITT: 1st SB
*MINN: 3rd SB

Facenda notes that Ham, Greene, and Greenwood were awesome in this game. Greenwood dominated Ron Yary and tipped three Tarkenton passes.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 6: Cowboys vs Dolphins

*Cowboys: returned to SB after losing SB 5.
*Dolphins: franchise in only their fourth year of existence.

Cowboy had an amazing list of veterans on the roster:
*Forrest Gregg
*Herb Adderley
*Mike Ditka
*Lance Alworth

Note that Craig Morton started SB5. After dual QB play in 1971, Staubach had started the nine previous games b4 SB6.

Still so strange to me that Gregg and Adderley were on this Cowboy team. Hard to even find a picture of Gregg in a Cowboy uniform.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 9: Steelers vs Vikings

*PITT: 1st SB
*MINN: 3rd SB

Still amazed that the Steelers could pick up four Future HOFers (Swann, Lambert, Stallworth and Webster) in one draft:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Pittsburgh_Steelers_season

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Unitas subbed in for Morrall in SB3. But the script was flipped in SB5. Morrall replaced an injured Unitas.

Two very good defenses. Wound up being a defensive struggle.

Colts actually turned it over SEVEN times...and still won. Mike Curtis INT set up Colts for Game-winning FG at the gun.

No great offensive stats in this game. Only Super Bowl where the game MVP came from the losing side. LB Chuck Howley for his two INTs.

Bob Lilly summed it up well. After the gun, he tossed his helmet about thirty yards.

I always thought about the juxtaposition of this game compared to Super Bowl 3. Unitas had replaced Morrall late in SB 3. This time, Morrall replaced Unitas and
played well enough to win.

I think the '68 Colts were clearly better than the '70 Colts. But it doesn't matter. On this day they survived and won a scrappy game.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 4: Chiefs vs Vikings

Game will be remembered for the Hank Stram quotes.



"Come on, Lenny. Pump in there, baby. Matriculate the ball down the field, boys."

The Stram quotes are still fresh:
*The hitch-passes "are like stealing."
*"They're flat as hell."
*"You definitely gave em an extra foot."

[ChuckyTheGoat]

The narrative @ the end of this game is pretty flowery. Steve Sabol admitted that the writing was b/c of his fondness for Johnny Unitas. Truth is that the game was pretty much decided since the 2-pt try was not allowed in this game.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Said it b4. Morrall was awful in this game. So many points left on the board.

What a trademark game in league history. Lombardi made some inflammatory remarks after SB 2. Implied that the AFL teams couldn't play with the top NFL teams, and I think the Jet players heard that.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Said it b4. Morrall was awful in this game. So many points left on the board.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

The Colt errors were too much:
*Two missed Field Goals
*Five turnovers, most in the redzone

You only play the game once. Namath goes off with the indelible image of waving the #1 finger.

Another name that I wanted to weave into my mental timeline:
*Ted Hendricks was NOT on the Colt Super Bowl 3 roster.
...He would be drafted the next season. And Hendricks was on the SB 5 championship team.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Starr was fantastic in this game. He was great on 3rd-down. Won the MVP, even ahead of McGee.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

The Max McGee is still viewed as amazing. It's confirmed that McGee was out drinking the nite b4 the game. I think DB Mitchell gave him way too much cushion, as McGee was unlikely to beat him deep.

Packers had a great offensive line. I think they're on the short list of best blocking teams from the Super Bowl era. Hornung (in particular) was a devastating lead-blocker.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Chiefs missed an early FG attempt.
...For all the world I would have said that was Stenerud.
...No, Stenerud would not join the Chiefs until the next season.
...I admit that I didn't know his entire story:
Stenerud came to the United States as a college student, on a ski jumping scholarship to Montana State University in Bozeman.^[1][2] In the fall of 1964, Stenerud was training for the upcoming ski season by running the stadium steps of Gatton Field, the football venue through 1971. That day, he was cooling down from a workout by kicking a football with injured halfback Dale Jackson. Stenerud had played soccer as a youth in Norway, and his right leg's prowess was observed by basketball head coach Roger Craft, while he walked to the nearby Fieldhouse.^[2] Craft notified football head coach Jim Sweeney of the Norwegian ski jumper's kicking abilities, and Sweeney offered him a tryout, which was successful. Though ineligible for football competition that season, Sweeney encouraged Stenerud to suit up with the team for the final home game of 1964, to help him better understand the unfamiliar American game.^[3][4]
Following the ski season, Stenerud joined the football team for spring drills in 1965 and as a junior that fall he kicked a 59-yard field goal, then a college football record, in a 24–7 home win over rival Montana.^[3][5] In 2013, Stenerud recalled that he had a significant tail-wind aiding him on that kick in Bozeman; the ensuing kick-off went over the end-zone bleachers at Gatton Field,^[4] whose elevation exceeded 4,900 feet (1,495 m) above sea level.^[6] He was named an All-American by The Sporting News as a senior in 1966,^[4] and was also an All-American in ski jumping and a three-time Big Sky champion.^[7]

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Will list anything that I consider to be noteworthy. Things that I forgot etc.

SB 1
*Each winning player received $15,000 bonus. Pretty good $$ at the time.
*Facenda says that 65 Million viewers watched the game. A record at that time.

Just some general reactions, as I review these old games:
1) How good was Facenda? What a voice.
2) (1:20) Pretty cool list of celebrities watching this game.
3) (2:00) What ever happened to the jet-pack? I wonder if it was outlawed due to safety concerns.
4) The Packer defense was really viewed as a great unit. Go thru the personnel at each level. My recollection is that their secondary didn't concede many easy yards.
5) I do wonder how much of a chance the Chiefs had in this game. I know that Lombardi felt like the NFL was way ahead of the AFL.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

*Top 10 individual performances from the CLASSIC Super Bowls.

A few ground rules:

*List includes performances from SB1 to SB29.
*Year listed is the REGULAR SEASON which flows into the Super Bowl played in the following Calendar Year.
*List is tilted toward Quality of Opponent and How Integral the performance was to winning.
*Example: Steve Young's showing in 1995 might be the best a QB could possibly play. But I can't give him top-grade, b/c the Chargers didn't give any resistance.

1) Lynn Swann, PITT - 1975 (vs DAL)
...In a defensive game, Swann had the breakout performance. People will say he picked on DB Mark Washington. No, Washington was in his jock and Swann still made the plays.

2) Jerry Rice, San Fran - 1988 (vs CIN)

3) John Riggins, WASH - 1982 (vs MIA)
...The 4th down power-run over McNeal is iconic. In the late 4th quarter, Riggins wore the Dolphins into the ground.

4) Joe Namath, Jets - 1968 (vs Colts)
...Best Field General game of all time? Remember how engaged Joe was on the sidelines. Avoided the Colt right flank with Smith/Curtis, killed off the third quarter with ball-control and precision short passes.

5) Phil Simms, NYG - 1986 (vs DEN)
...Simms was so sharp in this game. And credit Phil for coming from behind, as Giants were down 10-9 at half. Second half was all Giants.

6) Steve Young, San Fran - 1995 (vs SD)
...Great showcase game. Six TD passes. Young precise, like the Niners were in a different league on this day.

7) Troy Aikman, Dall - 1992 (vs Buf)
...Hard to imagine a QB being more precise than Troy was in this game. Made the catches easy for his receivers. Cowboys made the Bills look like tankers.

8) Art Shell, RAID - 1976 (vs MIN)
...That's how dominant Shell's performance was. He eclipsed Jim Marshall. Marshall didn't make a single tackle.

9) Ottis Anderson, NYG - 1990 (vs BUF)
...The Bills were ready to win the championship on this day. Anderson's running was integral to flipping the result. Wearing the sweat out of the Bill defenders and chewing up the clock.

10) Rod Martin, RAID - 1980 (vs PHI)
...Three INTs versus Ron Jaworski. Turned the tide in what otherwise looked like an even game.

HONARABLE MENTION. A few that just missed:
*1983 Marcus Allen: I excluded him b/c I think of other plays that tilted this game. Also, the classic reverse-course run was more of a dagger later in the game.

*1987 Doug Williams: The 2nd quarter explosion was amazing. As good as Doug was, Timmy Smith had an equally good day.

*JOE MONTANA. I know this will look like an omission, but I view it game-by-game:
...1981: I really think about the Wersching kickoffs, the Bengal turnovers, and the Danny Bunz hit at the goal-line.
...1984/1989: The games were too easy.
...1988: As good as Joe was, Rice jumped off the screen even more.

Let me know what you think.

Bump. I like this post, and I love this thread.

I'm more knowledgeable of the first thirty Super Bowls. Let's see what memories are made today.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

*Top 10 individual performances from the CLASSIC Super Bowls.

A few ground rules:

*List includes performances from SB1 to SB29.
*Year listed is the REGULAR SEASON which flows into the Super Bowl played in the following Calendar Year.
*List is tilted toward Quality of Opponent and How Integral the performance was to winning.
*Example: Steve Young's showing in 1995 might be the best a QB could possibly play. But I can't give him top-grade, b/c the Chargers didn't give any resistance.

1) Lynn Swann, PITT - 1975 (vs DAL)
...In a defensive game, Swann had the breakout performance. People will say he picked on DB Mark Washington. No, Washington was in his jock and Swann still made the plays.

2) Jerry Rice, San Fran - 1988 (vs CIN)

3) John Riggins, WASH - 1982 (vs MIA)
...The 4th down power-run over McNeal is iconic. In the late 4th quarter, Riggins wore the Dolphins into the ground.

4) Joe Namath, Jets - 1968 (vs Colts)
...Best Field General game of all time? Remember how engaged Joe was on the sidelines. Avoided the Colt right flank with Smith/Curtis, killed off the third quarter with ball-control and precision short passes.

5) Phil Simms, NYG - 1986 (vs DEN)
...Simms was so sharp in this game. And credit Phil for coming from behind, as Giants were down 10-9 at half. Second half was all Giants.

6) Steve Young, San Fran - 1995 (vs SD)
...Great showcase game. Six TD passes. Young precise, like the Niners were in a different league on this day.

7) Troy Aikman, Dall - 1992 (vs Buf)
...Hard to imagine a QB being more precise than Troy was in this game. Made the catches easy for his receivers. Cowboys made the Bills look like tankers.

8) Art Shell, RAID - 1976 (vs MIN)
...That's how dominant Shell's performance was. He eclipsed Jim Marshall. Marshall didn't make a single tackle.

9) Ottis Anderson, NYG - 1990 (vs BUF)
...The Bills were ready to win the championship on this day. Anderson's running was integral to flipping the result. Wearing the sweat out of the Bill defenders and chewing up the clock.

10) Rod Martin, RAID - 1980 (vs PHI)
...Three INTs versus Ron Jaworski. Turned the tide in what otherwise looked like an even game.

HONARABLE MENTION. A few that just missed:
*1983 Marcus Allen: I excluded him b/c I think of other plays that tilted this game. Also, the classic reverse-course run was more of a dagger later in the game.

*1987 Doug Williams: The 2nd quarter explosion was amazing. As good as Doug was, Timmy Smith had an equally good day.

*JOE MONTANA. I know this will look like an omission, but I view it game-by-game:
...1981: I really think about the Wersching kickoffs, the Bengal turnovers, and the Danny Bunz hit at the goal-line.
...1984/1989: The games were too easy.
...1988: As good as Joe was, Rice jumped off the screen even more.

Let me know what you think.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Going to post a few summary notes.

Got thru more than 50% of the SB games. I'll call:
*SB 1-29 the CLASSIC games
*SB 30+ the MODERN games

Isolating the CLASSIC games, which one is most memorable?

*I used to think this answer was SB3 following the 1968 regular season.

Namath made the prediction. After calling his shot, he played very well in the game. Got to wag his finger on the way off the field.

Super Bowl 3 was huge from a historical perspective. But the game itself doesn't merit. The Colts didn't live up to their end of the deal with all the mistakes they made.

My real answer is:
*SB23 after the 1988 season.

See my notes. I could list about nine reasons.

The coaching ties were noteworthy. Looked like Ickey Woods might take over the game, but Ronnie Lott knocked the steam out of him.

You had the Jerry Rice showing. Something about a great player playing great on the big stage. When the margin of error is zero.

Bengals were doubled up in scrimmage yards in that game. Almost won the game via better special teams. Net +13 by my count:
*Jennings long KO return TD
*Breech 3/3 FGs
*Cofer missed two FGs

My next two posts will be:
*Top 10 individual performances from the CLASSIC Super Bowls.
*List of Super Bowl trivia questions.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Chucky you are a wealth of spots knowledge! I tip my hat buddy!

Thanks, Jack! Appreciate the exchange.

It's come in handy for me a few times, believe it or not. I've met a handful of pro athletes. Pretty cool to exchange stories with them.

[jackpot269]

Chucky you are a wealth of spots knowledge! I tip my hat buddy!

[ChuckyTheGoat]

You know why they called Bennett biscuit?

No, I don't.

I don't think I would have gotten Glenn Parker. I knew about him with the Bills. Didn't remember him playing elsewhere.

I looked up Beebe. It's a technicality.*

*He was on the 1997 Packers. But he had injuries. Was put on Injured Reserve days b4 the 1997 Super Bowl, so he was technically on the team (but inactive for the game).

https://apnews.com/article/d1e197683b90f6e40adf2d0421f836b2

The play I forgot about. The Don Beebe "pogo stick" play:
*Remember when he got hit and BOUNCED off his head (like a pogo stick)?

Easily could have been paralyzed. Don said he still feels numbness at times.

Excellent question, Jack.

[jackpot269]

You know why they called Bennett biscuit?
When they were weighing in his first year at Bama he like an oz being I think 230 and someone said one more biscuit and you would have made it!

[jackpot269]

Bennett is correct and the reason I even know this. The other is Glenn Parker OL with bills for 4 and NYG for the other

[jackpot269]

That's a great guess, but he is not one of them.
I followed one of the two career or it's something I probably would have never knew or thought of.
This was about bebee

[ChuckyTheGoat]

OK, Jack. I'm giving my 2nd guess:

*Cornelius Bennett.

I know that he must have been on all four Bill losing teams.

The question is the tail-end. I really think he might have been on the Atlanta team that lost to DEN in 1998.

One Chris Berman quote. Comes to mind. Bennett's nickname was "Biscuit".

Great player in his prime. But he lost a step at the tail-end.

Berman said: "Is he a stale Biscuit?"

So, those are my two guesses. Beebe and Bennett.

I definitely could be wrong.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Jack, think I have ONE of the names. I'm going with:

*Don Beebe.

I'm not SURE about this one. I know he was part of the Bill teams.

I'm pretty sure he was a 3rd receiver on the Bill teams and possibly on all four Bill teams that lost. I know for a fact he was on the 1996 Packer team that won.

He was young enough. I believe he also would have been on the 1997 team that lost to DENVER.

If my facts are right, that would leave him at 1-5. So, five losses.

Thinking about who else could be on that list.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Chucky got a trivia question for ya! With out looking it up, do you know the 2 players in NFL history to lose 5 Superbowls?

Wow, good one, Jack.

I was going to post some SB Trivia Questions as part of my wrap-up.

I'll think about your question. I promise, no look-up. Don't tell me.

[jackpot269]

Chucky got a trivia question for ya! With out looking it up, do you know the 2 players in NFL history to lose 5 Superbowls?

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Got thru half the Super Bowls. Think I'm gonna pause here.

Will post some summary notes later. Might resume the more modern SBs at another time.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

TD run by Watters. TD pass, Young to Rice. 42-10.

Young was brilliant in this game. But there just wasn't any resistance.

4th qtr was just a coronation. Young threw 6th TD pass. Consolation pts for Chargers in the blowout.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Niners too good. TD pass to Watters. 4th TD pass of the half. 28-7.

Niners, 28-10 at half.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Chargers: long drive. Means TD. San Fran, 14-7.

Niner drive. TD pass, Young to Floyd. 21-7.