Author Archives: The Chancellor of Football

On This Date 1971: The Longest Game Ever Played – Kansas City Chiefs v Miami Dolphins

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The Miami Dolphins outlasted the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in the longest game in NFL history. Christmas Day 1971 they played well into 6 quarters or more than 82 minutes of playing time.

Here at Taylor Blitz Times, we for one don’t like the fact the NFL buckled and gave in to juvenile thinking when it came to the NFL’s overtime rule. Everyone must touch the ball once?? What is this, second grade girl’s soccer??

Our CEO loved the thought of sudden death overtime. You had four full quarters to win a football game. The two point conversion was introduced in 1994 so that a team can win it in regulation yet NFL coaches are too soft and won’t roll the dice and win it in one play. If you don’t, you’re involved in a winner take all overtime where the game can be won on offense, defense, or special teams. Play was heightened with players realizing one mistake, a blown coverage, fumble, interception, or penalty could cost your team its season. It made for great theater.

One such game happened shortly after the AFL/NFL merger in 1970. The upstart Miami Dolphins were facing a perennial heavyweight in the Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC Divisional playoff.

Why do we mention the AFL??

For one, both teams were rooted in the rival league. Second, it was the Baltimore Colts with Head Coach Don Shula that lost Super Bowl III that legitimized the merger. In the aftermath of the Baltimore Colts’ embarrassment losing that game, Don Shula amid tense corporate pressure, decided to move on and take the head coaching job in Miami.  He quickly whipped the Dolphins into shape and they made the playoffs in each of his first two seasons there. In 1970 they were bested by a veteran Raider team in an AFC Divisional Playoff in Oakland and many felt the same way about them traveling to Kansas City for the ’71 playoff.

Another reason we mention the AFL was this was the last game ever to be played in Municipal Stadium. One of the AFL’s great stadiums through the 1960’s as the Kansas City Chiefs had been perennial winners there. It would be left behind as the Chiefs moved on to Arrowhead Stadium as the NFL moved on to future years of prosperity with new antiseptic ballparks.

The newer stadiums lacked individual culture as the 70’s dawned and it was as though teams were leaving a piece of their soul when they left old places behind. This was where Lamar Hunt had moved his team in 1963, to keep the fight along with league brothers against the NFL and won. Sure they were going to live on in the American Football Conference of the NFL, but it wasn’t going to be the same.

The Kansas City Chiefs were an older team and 1972 would be their last hurrah. They had finished as the AFL’s winningest team going 87-48-3, appearing in the first Super Bowl, then winning the fourth edition over Minnesota down in New Orleans. The team had just parted ways with All-time All AFL DE Jerry Mays and team leader C/LB E.J. Holub to retirement  in 1970. Even RB Mike Garrett was gone to the San Diego Chargers by this time, replaced by Ed Podolak.

These men along with holdovers QB Len Dawson, WR Otis Taylor, LBs Bobby Bell, and Willie Lanier had led the Chiefs for much of the 1960s as they worked to get owner and AFL Founder Lamar Hunt that elusive Super Bowl trophy. They were an older team lead by Dawson 36 yrs of age, Taylor turning 30 within a year, Bobby Bell was 31 and FS Johnny Robinson was 33. Various retirements were coming but they had finished 1971 with a 10-3-1 record and if they could get through this postseason, win it all, then they could go their separate ways. All they had to do was get through Miami and…

Fleming scores the tying TD that forced the game to overtime.

After this game the Dolphins went on to defeat the Baltimore Colts 21-0 in the AFC Championship Game which put them in Super Bowl VI. It was further satisfying for Shula for he defeated Carroll Rosenbloom and the Colts for whom he once coached. In the same stadium as Super Bowl III no less. Within a year, Rosenbloom was so disenchanted with owning the Colts who would have to rebuild, he swapped franchises with Robert Irsay who owned the Los Angeles Rams. Within 6 years he would marry Georgia, drown and that is how Georgia Rosenbloom-Frontiere became owner of the Rams. All aftermath of Super Bowl III.

Don Shula’s Dolphins would lose Super Bowl VI but would return and win VII & VIII becoming one of the great teams in NFL history. He went on to coach Miami through the 1995 season where he went on to win more games than any other coach with 347 wins. This was his first postseason win with the Dolphins that launched them as an NFL elite member for many years to come.

The AFL Logo of the Kansas City Chiefs

The AFL Logo of the Kansas City Chiefs

As for the Chiefs, the mystique of who they were as an AFL power was gone as they would not return to the playoffs for 15 years. Len Dawson, Bobby Bell, and Head Coach Hank Stram went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. However Johnny Robinson and Jerry Mays have been glaring omissions.

Each of which played most of their careers over in the “other league” and have been treated like such by the writers who make up the voting panel for the Hall of Fame. The late Jerry Mays should have had that honor bestowed upon him before his death in 1994. Although he didn’t play in this game, the legacy /era of the old AFL Kansas City Chiefs closed Christmas of 1971.

The Miami Dolphins outlasted the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in the longest game in NFL history. Christmas Day 1971 they played well into 6 quarters or more than 82 minutes of playing time.

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On This Date In 1977: The Ghost To The Post – Oakland Raiders v Baltimore Colts

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During the 1970’s, the NFL would reach the playoffs by the time we made it to Christmas and in 1977 we were treated to one of the best ever. The Baltimore Colts hosted the Oakland Raiders, who were defending Super Bowl Champions. In all honesty the Colts under Head Coach Ted Marchibroda were one of those really good teams that seemed to be forgotten. From 1975-1977 this was one of the NFL’s best teams. Those three years they were powered by RB Lydell Mitchell, who rushed for over 1,000 yards and was a Pro Bowl performer in each of those seasons.  Bert Jones was the quarterback who in our CEO’s estimation was who John Elway reminded him of. Tall, mobile with a rocket arm. He made the 1976 Pro Bowl with Mitchell after throwing for 3,104 yards 24 TDs and only 9 interceptions.

Over this time period, the Colts were 31-11 posting 10-4, 11-3, and 10-4 seasons. An even closer look shows that after starting 1-4 in the ’75 regular season and before a 3 game losing streak near the end of ’77, they had gone 29-4 during the meat of these seasons. Three of those losses came from playoff bound teams. Baltimore’s only problem was in both 1975 and 1976, they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. So 1977 was the year where they had to prove they were more than just a team that won during the regular season. Much like the Atlanta Falcons have to in our time. They’re mission, should they choose to accept it, was to knock down the defending champion Raiders at home in a divisional playoff.

Oakland having won Super Bowl XI had enjoyed the fruits of finally becoming a champion. From 1967-1976 they had played for the AFL or AFC Championship 8 times with a ninth possible appearance if they made it past Baltimore. For all the talk of the Dallas Cowboys during the same era, just stop and think about the winning this organization had for this 10 year period. They won the AFL championship and faced Vince Lombardi’s Packers in Super Bowl II. They lost the AFL’s last two championship games to the Jets, and Chiefs. Once the AFL / NFL merger took place they even made it to the first AFC Championship Game. They lost that one to John Unitas and the Baltimore Colts 27-17. Four championship appearances in a row and the Raiders of the late 60s finished 45-8-3 in those years….but no Super Bowl championships to show for it.

ken_stabler_1977_12_24It looked like the Raiders were a team in decline and needed to be rebuilt. Holdovers like Hall of Famers WR Fred Biletnikoff, CB Willie Brown, G Gene Upshaw, and T Art Shell taught the Raider way to newcomers to forge a new team by 1972. They transitioned new blood into the team with S Jack Tatum and moved CB George Atkinson to safety to forge a ferocious secondary. They lost in the 1972 playoffs in Pittsburgh with the controversial Immaculate Reception, a game they were winning with :22 seconds away from making it back to the conference finals. Starting the following year they made it to the AFC Championship 4 straight years, finally winning the championship in 1976.  Now they were an established champion with QB Ken Stabler, RBs Clarence Davis, Mark Van Eeghen, TE Dave Casper, and Cliff Branch teaming with Biletnikoff to form the league’s best offense. With a win on Christmas Eve in Baltimore, they would make it to a record 5th straight conference final.

This was the end of the run for the mid 70’s Baltimore Colts. Within a few years, Lydell Mitchell was traded to the San Diego Chargers. Bert Jones was never the same quarterback. His career was marred with injuries after that and his potential went unfulfilled. Head Coach Ted Marchibroda went on as a successful offensive co-ordinator, most notably with the 4-time AFC Champion Buffalo Bills in the 1990s. He then returned as head coach in Indianapolis for several years after that. However none achieved the successes they had as members of the Baltimore Colt years.

As for the Raiders, they returned to a record setting 5th straight AFC Championship Game where they lost to the Denver Broncos 20-17. Again the loss was shrouded with another controversial fumble non call when the late Rob Lytle was hit by the late Jack Tatum at the goal line in the 3rd quarter. The Raiders over a 6 year period had gone 66-15-2, played in 5 AFC Title Games and won one Super Bowl. If you’re keeping count that is 111-23-5 over an 11 year period. John Madden became the first coach to win 100 games within a decade and was enshrined in Canton in 2006. A younger generation came to know of him through broadcasting and his likeness and involvement with the popular video game series that bears his name.

This era of Oakland Raider football came to a close when Coach Madden, Biletnikoff, and Willie Brown (all Hall of Famers) retired after the 1978 season. Within two years the team was revamped and they went on to win Super Bowls XV and XVIII under former Raider assistant Tom Flores. Yet for one space and time these two teams met and gave football fans a playoff game for the ages. A six quarter epic that saw each team give all they could. Which leaves us with the obvious question: Had the Raiders beat the Colts in a four quarter game instead of one so draining, would they have had enough energy to beat Denver the following week in Mile High??

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NFL Week 14 Recap: Adrian Peterson Chasing Eric Dickerson’s Record & Sports Medicine Evolution

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Adrian Peterson striding into the endzone.

Adrian Peterson striding into the endzone.

 

When we think of certain NFL records there are some that are held with mythic quality. We see them as moments we’re not sure we will see broken. After today’s 212 yard performance against the St Louis Rams, Peterson is within 294 yards of the all time record. In 1984, Eric Dickerson gained 2,105 yards in his second season and his record has only had 1 other rusher seriously approach it. That was in 2003 when Jamal Lewis gained 2,066 with the Baltimore Ravens. In that year he set the NFL single game rushing record at 295 yards rushing which came against the Cleveland Browns. It stood until 2007, when Adrian Peterson burst for 296 against the San Diego Chargers, and now he needs to average 147 over the last two weeks for the all time single season distinction.

It’s quite amazing when you think about it. On December 24, 2011, Peterson tore both his MCL and ACL and his career was in jeopardy. The first thought was will he come back as the same back?? A legitimate question since the position of running back has had it’s history with players careers cut short or backs not bouncing back with the same physical abilities once a knee injury hits. However think about it for a second… he’s on the precipice of becoming the second running back in history to run for 2,000 yards in a season after reconstructive knee surgery. Remember Jamal Lewis in 2003 for the Baltimore Ravens when he ran for 2,066??

sayers40Let’s take this back to “The Kansas Comet” Gale Sayers. In 1968, his 3rd year he shredded his knee after Kermit Alexander of the 49ers undercut him. They used cat intestines to replace his ligaments and he was never the same player when he came back from injury. Sure he fought his way to a 1,000 yard season in 1969 but he was never the same player. His longest run was 28 yards that season. Gone was the sweet moves and burst that made Sayers a wonder to behold. Sports medecine in the 1960’s was in it’s infancy.

Fast forward to 1987 when Thurman Thomas injured his knee at Oklahoma St. He had his knee reconstructed but his draft status suffered because of it. He was drafted in the 2nd round and had to play his entire career with a knee brace on it per Buffalo doctors. He was able to maintain the speed and crisp moves he had as he powered the Bills to 4 Super Bowls. He finished with 8, 1,000 yard seasons and was one of history’s finest all around backs and a Hall of Fame member. He was once MVP of the league and ran for 12,074 yards in his career and had over 16,000 total. Yet he had that bulky brace to help him maintain his physical abilities. Sports medecine was making some progress.

p1_lewis_jamal_brutyWe move to 2001 and the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens had a bull of a back named Jamal Lewis. He was a big physical runner who ran with thunder. Yet he didn’t break really big runs. He did have several where he chugged it 30-40 yards for a touchdown after breaking a linebacker’s tackle. He had run for 1,364 yards as a rookie in 2000. He missed the entire season of 2001 after his knee was reconstructed. In 2002 he came back and started building momentum as he gained strength and confidence in the knee.

When he hit full stride in 2003, he didn’t even look like the man from a few years before…he was better! Stronger, faster, and his burst looked like what folks envision when they think of Bo Jackson. In fact the most frightening display of power and speed happened in the 2nd game of the season. The Browns looked helpless as he ran for 295 yards to break Corey Dillon’s NFL single game rushing record. He had 5 runs of 50 or more and they just couldn’t tackle him. He powered for that aforementioned 2,066 yards and Eric Dickerson was sweating bullets in that last Monday night game. No knee brace just an offensive terrorist leaving defenses in ruin.

Which brings us back to Adrian Peterson. By the way, none of this has come to the surprise of Taylor Blitz readers because we alluded to this happening already.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000112061/Vikings-vs-Rams-highlights

It’s common to compare Peterson to Jamal Lewis, for it was his NFL record he broke when he ran for 296 in a game v. the Chargers in 2008. However with his injury, Peterson didn’t need a full year off like Lewis and is hitting full stride less than 8 months after the injury. So will he make it?? For the season he is averaging 129 yards per game. Yet a closer look shows you in his last four he is averaging 171 yards per game. In one of those he gouged the Packers for 214 in Lambeau Field. What do you think he’ll do with a wild card playoff on the line in a finale at home against them?? He’s had two 200 yard games in the last three weeks and now he only needs 294 to pass Dickerson??

Adrian Peterson without a knee brace after reconstructive surgery is tearing the NFL apart.

Adrian Peterson without a knee brace after reconstructive surgery is tearing the NFL apart.

What you are witnessing is a transcendent talent leaving his contemporaries behind. Adrian Peterson is that rare back that comes along once every 20 years or so. He’s a future Hall of Famer and his recovery from reconstructive knee surgery is to be marveled at. Although a nod has to go to sports medical advancement on knee surgery improvements over the last 40 years. Peterson almost looks bionic with his knee, he looks like he has more burst than he did before, now that the season has gone on. What will he do next year?? The Chancellor knows one thing…. somewhere else in Southern California, Eric Dickerson is sweating profusely.

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LaDainian Tomlinson Sets Record

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Now this record won’t come down anytime soon. I still think the NFL misses LaDainian Tomlinson. He was a superstar of the highest magnitude and along with Adrian Peterson, are the links back to all time great running backs. His 31 touchdowns in a single season and 186 points are records that won’t be approached within the next 30-40 years.

NFL Week 14: NFC West – Not The Sole Province of the 49ers

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Lynch and the Seahawks have been coming on as the season has progressed.

Lynch and the Seahawks have been coming on as the season has progressed.

Back in week 3, we tried to warn you of this, and now it’s coming close to the end of the season and this division looks like it is about to turnover. Have the Seattle Seahawks ever played with more force and purpose than they have this year?? With all due respect to their Super Bowl XL team, this group has grown and come forward to challenge a San Francisco team that thought they had this division all to themselves. The verve and spirit they have displayed all year has been infectious. Yet with a win against Buffalo and a loss by the 49ers, who travel to New England, they will be within half a game of the NFC West lead. Then guess who a Seahawk team that is undefeated hosts the following week??

Considering the non explosion that was supposed to happen for the 49ers when they switched quarterbacks, a win in New England doesn’t seem likely. San Francisco brings a defense but they have to travel cross country and take on a Patriot offense that is averaging 42 points per game in the last 5 weeks. They are going to slow a Tom Brady who has completed 64.4% of his passes while throwing for 29TDs to only 4 interceptions?? They’re mission should they choose to accept it…

Let’s take a look at the standings…

West Division

W

L

T

PCT

PF

PA

HOME

ROAD

DIV

CONF

STRK

LAST5
San Francisco 49ers 49ers 9 3 1 .731 316 184 5-1 4-2 2-1 6-3 W1 3-1
Seattle Seahawks Seahawks 8 5 0 .615 300 202 6-0 2-5 1-3 6-4 W2 4-1
St. Louis Rams Rams 6 6 1 .500 236 279 4-3 2-3 4-0 5-3 W3 3-1
Arizona Cardinals Cardinals 4 9 0 .308 186 292 3-3 1-6 1-4 2-7 L9 0-5

Now our CEO has been very opinionated about the 49ers turning the quarterbacking duty to Colin Kaepernick and think they sabotaged a possible Super Bowl run. Coach Harbaugh should take a look at the teams Alex Smith had to take on right before he got injured. Do you realize that in defensive rankings the Seahawks are 3rd, the Rams are 10th, and the Cardinals rank 12th. Who would have sustained offense against that many top flight defenses?? Consequently, facing the Saints (32nd) and the Dolphins (19th) haven’t really improved Kaepernick’s numbers. He is still completing a smaller percent of his passes (70%-67.4%), in four games he has only thrown 3 touchdowns. Smith’s touchdown percentage per pass was even higher.

Now you send a quarterback starting his 5th game to face the defending AFC Champions and the master of situation defense in Bill Belichick. The last time we saw Kaepernick on the road it was his huge miscue (safety) that turned a game San Fran was winning, into a loss to the Rams. The Patriots have a faster defense and will keep him tracked. In this game he’s going to have to sustain real technical offense even if the 49er defense starts off well. Relying on scrambles or gimmick plays won’t get it done. Eventually, the Patriots will score. This isn’t the team that Arizona beat in week 3 and Seattle beat in week 6. Right now the Patriots are averaging 36.3 points per game. If they can sustain that pace they will score 582 points or 7 short of the NFL all time record of 589 scored by the 2007 Patriots. Kaepernick is going to keep pace?? No way… a rout could be looming. All it takes is a few miscues on the road, let momentum get away from you and…

Isn’t that what happened last week in Seattle?? Goodness that game was over with before the Cardinals knew what hit them. FIFTY EIGHT to nothing?? That is a 1980’s college football score when a big school would clobber a smaller one. Once they jumped on the Cardinals 17-0 and the 12th man got into it, the turnovers came in bunches. If you haven’t seen this team play they swarm like bees on defense and special teams. This week their Pro Bowl bound running back Marshawn Lynch gets a crack at the Buffalo Bills, which is the team that drafted him. The Seahawks get a break in the fact that they will play the Bills up in Toronto and not in an outdoor Ralph Wilson Stadium. They will need Lynch (1266 yards /9TDs) to keep the Bills offense on the sideline by running it 30 times or more. They need to ease Russell Wilson into this game. The Bills are 5th against the pass and the Seahawks have to minimize turnovers. Let their defense force the action.

Speaking of which, in 2 of their last 4 games, they have given up less than 200 yards of offense and are currently ranked #3 in total defense. Linebackers Bobby Wagner (108 tackles), KJ Wright (77 tackles) have 8 passes and 2 sacks between them but only have 1 fumble forced. This team is just a few turnovers forced from being one of the best in the business. In fact their lack of forcing turnovers on the road has been there achille’s heel as they have gone 2-5 on the road. However they did beat Chicago in overtime a few weeks ago   to wrest wild card tie break benefits from the Bears. They also beat the Vikings 6 weeks ago for further wildcard tie breakers there. However this team is looking further ahead.

russellwilsonWith a San Francisco loss and a Seattle win this week, the 49ers will have to travel to Seattle with the division lead on the line. Our CEO has the Seahawks winning that game and taking the NFC West championship away from Jim Harbaugh’s boys in a head knocker. They are 6-0 at home and play with reckless abandon in Qwest Field. You remember how loud it was when they knocked off the defending Super Bowl champion Saints in the playoffs 2 years ago. It will be the first match-up between Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson, who quietly has to be considered for NFL Rookie of The Year. His 208 of 330 for 2,492 yards and 20 touchdowns isn’t that spectacular, but his 9 interceptions is low enough to keep them in games. In fact he’s only thrown 1 interception at home all season.

Seattle will be in the playoffs this year and they should make the NFC Championship with what The Chancellor has seen. Think about their run this year against playoff hopefuls. They hold tie breaker advantages over Green Bay, Dallas, Minnesota, Chicago, and with a win by more than 7 next week, San Francisco. The 49ers will regret giving that game up in St Louis… sure we’re getting ahead of ourselves but this is what we do.

Well an NFC West heavyweight fight looms next week… we’re picking Seattle

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NFL Week 14: Atlanta Falcons v. Houston Texans – A Matter Of Perception

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Jonathon Stewart and the Panthers took the Falcons to school on Sunday.

Jonathon Stewart and the Panthers took the Falcons to school on Sunday.

As the NFL playoffs near, we see teams jockeying for playoff positioning,  and pundits making arguments for which teams will do well in the postseason. The Taylor Blitz Times is no different in that regard. The most interesting scenario that has occurred this season is no one believes in the teams with the best records. The Atlanta Falcons along with the Houston Texans were handed big losses and the chant of “over-rated” reverberated throughout the NFL fan-base via twitter &  facebook. Even NFL.com ran a story to this degree, however appearances can be deceiving.

If you look at the two teams and each loss, they’re very dissimilar. The Houston Texans took to a big stage to show the defending AFC Champion Patriots and the rest of the conference that they were to be taken serious. Homefield advantage throughout the playoffs is at stake and everyone watched them get obliterated 42-14, on Monday Night Football in a game where everyone had this date on the calender circled for months. The Falcons /Panthers game was nothing like that. It wasn’t one where Atlanta needed to prove themselves. They have already been to the playoffs four straight years and for the first time may have homefield throughout. They were just caught off guard by a division opponent who knows them and matches up well against them.

houston-texans-v-england-patriots-20121210-192412-399In their earlier match-up this season, Carolina had the chance to run out the clock on the Falcons, but a Cam Newton fumble under 2 minutes to go kept them from a game clinching first down. After a punt that pinned Atlanta to their own 10, Matt Ryan launched a 60 yard bomb to Roddy White on the next play which helped set up the game winning kick by Matt Bryant.  That 30-28 win established two things: The first is the Falcons’ ability to come from behind and win close games as they have all year. Do you realize the Falcons are 8-1 in games decided by 7 or less this season?? That is the mark of a champion.

The second, it established the Panthers as a team that could give Atlanta’s defense fits running right at them. Try to the tune of 199 yards, then 195 last Sunday, which allowed Carolina control of the clock and the line of scrimmage.

As each team gathered in their second loss, the buzzards started to circle. For us the real measure of what took place on Sunday and Monday Night, showed the Texans on the short end of the stick. They lined up against the team that played in last year’s Super Bowl and were beaten soundly. Most of the talk after last year’s playoff run was “Well if we would have had Matt Schaub…” Last week, they had him and he turned in a lackluster 19 of 32 for 232 yards and 1 interception performance. It didn’t seem he was as big as the game they were playing, lacking leadership and fight throughout. Nevermind his earlier Pro Bowl status…this was the proving ground for him and his team. You had Arian Foster, who has led the NFL in rushing and all he could muster was a 15 carry 46 yard performance. Hell teammate Ben Tate ran for that much in garbage time. Once you include Andre Johnson, none of the vital signs for Houston were functioning when the clock struck zero.

In the game with the Patriots, the Texans had their manhood taken and the only way to get it back is to take it back. Coach Kubiak has to use that as motivation to get this team ready for the playoffs. Their confidence has to be shaken…

As for the Falcons, Coach Smith needs to keep the ship steady yet find out what has happened to their offensive rhythm. In the last two weeks they have averaged 322.5 yards per game when in the previous 4 weeks the average was 421.5. That translates into a time of possession difference that may make the Falcons more beatable than in the season’s first 10 weeks. Each has work to do but the psychological fallout from the loss in New England gives the Houston Texans the tougher hill to climb.

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