[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 8: Dolphins vs Vikings

*Dolphins: Fins capped off the 17-0 season w/ a 14-7 win.
*Vikings: Were upset in SB 4.

I'll go back to SB 3 & SB 4 for a minute. After SB2, Lombardi was asked by a reporter about the difference between NFL and AFL. I'll give credit for Vince giving an honest answer:

*Vince said that he thought the NFL was superior to the AFL.

He may have thought that. But there wasn't a great reason for it to be true. The AFL owners were mostly oil-men. They had deep pockets and were bidding on the same players. It was a GREAT time to be a player b/c you could get drafted by two leagues and put them up against each other in a bidding war.

Net impact is that the Jets and Chiefs were greatly motivated in SB 3 and SB 4. There was AFL pride, they wanted to show that they were on equal footing.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

The four Viking Super Bowl losses beg one basic question:

*How could the Defensive Line at times look so dominant? And then look so futile in big games?

[ChuckyTheGoat]

The four Viking Super Bowl losses beg one basic question:

*How could the Defensive Line at times look so dominant? And then look so futile in big games?

Go to 3:00 of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkxS...jH6RtZ&index=7

Shula does a great job of explaining how they game-planned for the blocking scheme against Page. Shula basically let Page run himself out of the play OR straight into the block.

And they got Eller/Marshall totally out of sorts. IMHO, you could have given the SB 8 MVP to the Dolphin Offensive Line (as a unit).

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 9: Steelers vs Vikings

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

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 9: Steelers vs Vikings

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

Game was supposed to be Indoors in SuperDome. But the construction was not yet completed.

Was played outdoors at Tulane Stadium instead. Inclement weather b/c of storm b4 the game.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 9: Steelers vs Vikings

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

Name the Steelers' two captains for this game.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Game was supposed to be Indoors in SuperDome. But the construction was not yet completed.

Was played outdoors at Tulane Stadium instead. Inclement weather b/c of storm b4 the game.

Weather impacted the 1st qtr action. On two PITT FG attempts:
1) Gerela hooked it.
2) Walden dropped the snap b/c of a wet ball.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

After pinning back the Vikings on a punt, the Steelers scored the opening pts of the game:

*Vikings messed up a toss. Fumble led to Tarkenton falling on the loose ball in the endzone.

Dwight White touched him for a Safety. 2-0, PITT.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Franco Harris set a record for Rush Yards with 158.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Here's one I didn't know:

*Viking kicker Fred Cox: post-career was looking for a lighter football that youths could use.

He wound up inventing the Nerf Football. Made a good bit of bank on that one.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 10: Steelers vs Cowboys

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 10: Steelers vs Cowboys

*Cowboys qualified for the playoffs as a Wild Card. They won two road playoff games, first off which was at Minnesota.

Their 17-14 win at Minnesota featured the Hail Mary TD late in the game. Arguably, the play should have been scrubbed out. Pretty clear that Drew Pearson pushed off to secure the game-winning catch.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

One stark contrast for me when viewing SB9 versus SB10:

*Steelers won SB9 in a low-scoring game. The rushing game and the Steel Curtain defense were the keys to the game.
...Lynn Swann was a rookie on that team and did not have a catch.

*That would not be the case in SB10.
...Swann jumped off the screen with some incredibly acrobatic catches. He arguably made his career in this game and subsequent Super Bowls.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB 10: Steelers vs Cowboys

Key play on the opening kickoff:
*Cowboys received and ran a reverse to LB Thomas Henderson.

Henderson was incredibly athletic and showed good movement in the opening field. Steeler kicker Roy Gerela made a pretty bold tackle to prevent an even longer gain.

According to Facenda, the undersized kicker paid a price with bruised ribs that would impact his kicking the rest of the day.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

After Steeler punter Walden drops a snap, the Cowboys score the opening TD, Staubach to Drew Pearson. 7-0.

On the Steelers' subsequent drive, this was the Swann catch that defies physics (for me). Swann runs a fly-route, and DB Washington's perfect coverage has Swann pinned to the sideline. Facenda called it a "kangaroo catch" as Swann contorts his body to catch the ball and come back down in bounds.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

After another amazing Swann catch for 53 yards, missed a FG late in the first half.

Early in the second half, a dinged-up Gerela missed again. This led to a hilarious sequence of events. Dallas safety Cliff Harris patted the diminutive Gerela on the top of his helmet. Jack Lambert was having none of it. Lambert tossed Harris to the turf and, funny, I didn't see any flags on the play.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

With Dallas leading 10-7, the Steelers blocked a punt for a safety.

After the free kick, the Steelers moved the ball. Props to Gerela, he made a 36-yard FG when the Steelers surely had no other kicking option. Steelers take the lead, 12-10.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Safety Mike Wagner picks off Staubach on a great read and returns it into the red-zone. Cowboys stiffen and force a chip-shot FG. PITT, 15-10.

Next Steeler drive, on 3rd/4 Bradshaw read the Cowboy blitz and sent Swann deep. Swann AGAIN connects, this time for a 64-yard TD. And Mark Washington's coverage was so tight that he could breathe on Swann all three times. This was the play that Bradshaw took one for the team. Larry Cole's hit knocked Bradshaw senseless.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Safety Mike Wagner picks off Staubach on a great read and returns it into the red-zone. Cowboys stiffen and force a chip-shot FG. PITT, 15-10.

Next Steeler drive, on 3rd/4 Bradshaw read the Cowboy blitz and sent Swann deep. Swann AGAIN connects, this time for a 64-yard TD. And Mark Washington's coverage was so tight that he could breathe on Swann all three times. This was the play that Bradshaw took one for the team. Larry Cole's hit knocked Bradshaw senseless.

Dallas scores a TD with less than 2:00 remaining, 21-17 PITT. With Bradshaw in the locker room, Hanratty comes off the bench to play QB. With decidedly conservative play calls, the Steelers go 3/out.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Dallas scores a TD with less than 2:00 remaining, 21-17 PITT. With Bradshaw in the locker room, Hanratty comes off the bench to play QB. With decidedly conservative play calls, the Steelers go 3/out.

With Dallas' timeouts exhausted, Noll made the strange call of running Bleier into the line on 4th/8. I have to think Noll just didn't want a cold Hanratty to throw pick-six there.

And Noll thought the prospect of a blocked punt was a real possibility.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB11: Raiders vs Vikings

Similar theme for me on this one:
*What happened to the Purple People Eaters?

Upshaw/Shell were awesome in this game.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

1st break goes to the Vikings:

*They block Guy's punt.

First punt that Guy had blocked (in his four-year career). Vikings recovered on the Raider 2-yard line.

But the Raiders didn't capitalize. Brent McClanahan fumbled and the Raiders recovered.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Dave Casper's skills were on display. Great hands, Stabler hit him on two nice passes. Field Goal, 3-0.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Similar to Shula's blocking scheme, the Raiders solved the MINN defensive front. Off the left flank:

*Upshaw was assigned to Page.
*Shell was assigned to Marshall.
*RB Van Eeghen had a great day blocking LB Wally Hilgenberg.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Dave Casper's skills were on display. Great hands, Stabler hit him on two nice passes. Field Goal, 3-0.

TD pass to Casper, 10-0. Telling you, Casper was an awesome player. Blocking skill and sure hands.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

In the first half, the Raiders did what they wanted against the Viking defense. WR Fred Biletnikoff had two nice catches.

Madden talked about the artistry of Biletnikoff. The route-running and the ability to find holes in the defense.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

This game was one-sided. Oakland's defense bottled up the Vikings, too:

*Foreman didn't have a big day, except for one 28-yard catch.
*Pass coverage by Thomas was tight.
*Jack Tatum almost beheaded Sammie White.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Up 26-7, the Raiders sealed it when Willie Brown picked off Tarkenton and returned it for a TD.

It's a classic video that NFL Films plays repeatedly. "Old Man Willie, Touchdown Raiders."

The Vikings scored a consolation TD with only seconds left. The margin was wider than the 32-14 final indicated.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB12: Broncos vs Cowboys

*One parallel for this game was the QB matchup.

Several years earlier, Craig Morton and Roger Staubach shared QB duties for the Cowboys. Now, Morton was playing for the Broncos. And it was Morton vs Staubach for all the marbles.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

SB12: Broncos vs Cowboys

*One parallel for this game was the QB matchup.

Several years earlier, Craig Morton and Roger Staubach shared QB duties for the Cowboys. Now, Morton was playing for the Broncos. And it was Morton vs Staubach for all the marbles.

Broncos were the upstart. They went thru Oakland, 20-17, to win the AFC title.

I remember how fired up Tom Jackson was after that game: "Do you they believe now?"

[ChuckyTheGoat]

The 1977 Cowboys were pretty damn good:

1) 1977 was Dorsett's rookie year.
...He gave a jolt to the running game. Was named Off ROY.

2) The pass rush was strong behind Harvey Martin, Randy White and Too Tall Jones.
...Harvey Martin had 20 sacks this season and won Def POY.

3) They led the league in:
*Most OFF Yards per game, and
*Fewest DEF Yards Allowed per game

[ChuckyTheGoat]

It was a game of miscues:

*Dallas fumbled 3x early in the game but Denver recovered none of them.
*Morton threw four 1st-half INTs to swing the game.

DALL 13-0 at halftime.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

At 13-3, key play of the game:

*Butch Johnson broke thru the coverage. Staubach hit him in stride perfectly.

The pinpoint catch was perfect. TD Dallas, 20-3.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

A mobile Norris Weese replaced Morton at QB. TD for Denver, cutting lead to 10.

[stevek173]

Good stuff Chucky