Looking forward to this episode of a football life. Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns made the playoffs in 1994. Who did they lose to?? Bill Parcells and the New England Patriots. After being fired by Cleveland once they decided to move and start in a new city with a new coach, Belichick reunites with Bill Parcells as his defensive co-ordinator for the Patriots in 1996. The result?? They make it all the way to Super Bowl XXXI. However, what would have happened had the Browns not announced they were moving and demoralizing the fanbase and the team?? If you look at the coaching staff that Belichick had amassed, they were eventually going to get the players to make it work. Current Alabama coach Nick Saban was on that staff as well.
The move of the team gutted the heart of all of Ohio, not just Cleveland. Yet it was this move that also taught where the NFL Championship Trophy was. Since the league mandated the Browns colors and memorabilia stay behind, this included the trophies won by the team. As the officials looked for the championship trophies from the 50’s and 1964, they couldn’t find them. Well, conferring with the Pro Football Hall of Fame they came to find out the NFL championship trophy moved around on a rotating basis. The champion held it like the championship belt of a prize fighter. So after winning it all in 1964, they defended their title in Green Bay for the 1965 championship. Well Green Bay won 23-12, in Jim Brown’s last game and kept the trophy. With the following season, 1966, the Super Bowl ushered in the era of a new trophy each season for the winner to keep.
Many, many reasons to watch this interesting story.
When we say “The Chancellor never sleeps”, we mean there is always football on. Whether we’re talking about the Hall of Fame exhibition game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints, or a former landmark game, there is always football on in the imagination. Although I’m writing a football book based upon the Super Bowls, my favorite week are those of the AFC and NFC Championship Games.
There you will find the last of the games between passionate fans of the home teams versus the sterile groups that attend the Super Bowl. The season ticket holder who has been cheering and screaming for 4 months… it leads to a contrast that can’t be matched by the corporate Super Bowl ticket holder.
When the home team wins the conference championship the celebration reverberates throughout the stadium. The fans don’t want to leave and in some instances players take a victory lap long after the cameras are gone. On the other hand the silence that can overcome a stadium when the home team goes down can be deafening. It’s almost like something has gone wrong with your ears. How can 80,000 people go that silent?? Yet you remember last January how quiet it got in Candlestick Park when Lawrence Tynes kicked the New York Giants to the Super Bowl.
In 1986, the Championships were two tightly fought games. The New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins 17-0 and did so based upon good field position with a fierce wind in the first quarter. In Cleveland a defensive battle gave way to John Elway coming of age with “The Drive”. From there the Broncos, who had gained 216 total yards throughout the first 54:00 of the game, drove 98 yards to the tying score. Then won it in overtime.
These fiercely contested game made Super Bowl XXI anti-climactic. They had intensity that bordered on the Hatfields and the McCoy’s and all four defenses played terrific football that day. The two games before the Super Bowl are normally better games than the Super Bowl and my love for the conference finals started with these fiercely fought games.
As the final pass from Tom Brady fell harmlessly to the turf in last February’s Super Bowl, the immediate thoughts move to the upcoming offseason. Of course the incomplete pass touched off a celebration for New York, but the assessment for each team’s possible return began. One thing was evident as you looked at New England: Bill Belichick and his Patriots may have arrived at the Super Bowl a year too early. Do you realize of the 22 starters from the 2007 16-0 team, 17 of them have been replaced some 4 years later?? Oops make that 18 with Left Tackle Matt Light’s retirement. This team has been completely overhauled and has remained a force in the AFC and the question has to be asked: If Belichick’s young defense is maturing and Brady, Welker, and Gronkowski remain a force on offense, who is going to keep this team from reaching Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans??
Quarterback: The number one reason why that question can be asked is Tom Brady is still at quarterback. He’s the only quarterback in NFL history to make it to the NFL Championship Game or Super Bowl with 4 different starting running backs. So losing Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis won’t cause to large a problem. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to have 5 seasons with 13 or more wins and only two of his Super Bowl wins were during those seasons. Last year’s stat-line?? He went 401 of 611 attempts for a team and AFC record 5,235 yards 39TDs and only 12 interceptions. Yet he’s only going into his 13th season and holds these distinctions as well:
In 2011 he tied John Elway for the most Super Bowls as a starting quarterback with 5.
Brady holds the record for most touchdown passes in a season with 50. (2007)
In 2010 set the record for touchdown to interception ratio at 9. (36TDs / 4Ints)
In 2010 set the record for most passing attempts without an interception at 335.
Although he’s one of the game’s elder statesmen, he still seems to have good feet within the pocket. He still has a zeal for the game and has helped TEs Hernandez and Gronkowski grow into the league’s best pair of tight ends through his leadership and play. So it’s at this point we expect Tom Terrific to have another great season. Possibly no passer in history utilizes his weapons better. His achille’s heal has been ever since the 2007 Super Bowl, if you get to him and hit him in his legs early, he will look down at the pass rush. Opponents hope to do more of that with the Patriots grooming a new Left Tackle. However it’s time to stop comparing Brady to his contemporaries. Where does he fit in history?? Well at quarterback the Patriots are Super Bowl quality.
Offensive Backfield: One of the reasons the Patriots used their short passing game so much was the inability to run the football with any consistency. They have replaced the departed Green-Ellis with former Indianapolis Colt Joseph Addai. The Patriots are hoping for a little more burst than the 3.7 yard rushing average Green-Ellis gave them. Although he did score 11TDs his number one problem was he couldn’t stretch a play past what it was designed for. At times in the NFL you have to be able to break a few 10 -15 yard runs. Neither he (667 yards) or Danny Woodhead (351 yds /1 TD) or Stevan Ridley (441 yds/ 1TD) could sustain a solid rushing attack. This was one of the deficiencies that came to haunt them in last year’s Super Bowl. They’re asking a lot of Addai who hasn’t rushed for more than 500 yards in his last two seasons. Since they didn’t draft a running back they may be forced to run by committee again. They’re still below average at running back.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski has 54 million new reasons to smile with his new contract.
Receivers: Believe it or not this was the other deficiency that reared it’s head in not only the Super Bowl loss to the Giants, but the loss to the Jets in the 2010 playoffs as well. This team can’t get deep. However it took teams with superior corners that allowed safeties and linebackers to sit on intermediate routes (20 yards and under) to finally get to Brady. Wes Welker has been re-signed and hasn’t declined at all as the game’s best slot receiver. His 122 receptions gave him his 4th season with over 100 which ties him with Jerry Rice for the most all time. Think about that for a second…that’s rarified air for a receiver who has only had 4, 1,000 yard seasons.
However when you couple Welker’s stats with those of TEs Rob Gronkowski (90 rec. 1,327 yds 17TDs), and Aaron Hernandez (79 rec. 910 yds 7TDs), you understand this is actually the Patriots replacement for an anemic running game. Yet this team can’t stretch the field and that brings down their grade at receiver. Deion Branch has lost a step and can’t threaten vertically either. When they go up against high ranking defenses they will have trouble. At receiver, this team is playoff quality not Super Bowl quality.
Offensive Line: Will have their hands full replacing Left Tackle Matt Light but shouldn’t be a serious problem. The Patriots favor the short passing game anyway. Last year this line ranked 10th in sacks allowed with 32 and 13th in quarterback hits allowed with 71. The team has been very cavalier moving to get a free agent tackle into camp. Belichick is going to go with the same passing style of the last few years, and Brady will see little pass rush with most plays being 5 step drops or less. Get used to mini rollouts in games also to keep backside pressure down as well. Yet don’t forget the Patriots selected Tackle Marcus Cannon from TCU in the 2011 draft. So “The Hoodie” is ready. However this line has to take a step back to average since Light was such a staple on the team and was a locker room presence. After all, he was the spokesperson who presented Robert Kraft with the painting to commemorate the 2011 season in his late wife’s honor. Locker room leaders like that are hard to replace.
Andre Carter registered 10 sacks last year for New England.
Defensive Line: Proof positive that the NFL was upside down last year?? Here you had the NFL’s 31st ranked defense winning the AFC and they had to draft defense, defense, defense. Last year giving up 411 yards per game were too many and most of the issues come from a defensive line that is influx. Vince Wilfork is still a force in the middle but the hodgepodge set of pass rushers needs to be bolstered with a bonafide blue chip player. Last year Mark Anderson and journeyman Andre Carter each registered 10 sacks but Belichick was forced to juggle his line too much last year.
The Patriots used 1st and 3rd round draft picks on DEs Chandler Jones of Syracuse and Jake Bequette from Arkansas. Each player stands 6’5 and Jones is trying to beef up from his 247 lbs to rush the passer from the blind side. Last year the Patriots were 14th in sacks with 40. However Carter made the Pro Bowl last year and the Patriots need to re-sign this unrestricted free agent to help bring along a young Jones and give Belichick a chance to field a 3 DE pass rush alignment like the Giants. If they re-sign Carter this group has a chance to be playoff quality. If not defensive growing pains will drop them below average.
Linebackers: This unit took a step back last year. First Jerrod Mayo, who had an out of this world 2010 leading the NFL with 175 tackles came down to Earth with a total of 102 last year. Sure he missed a few games but the slip in play was the catalyst to the slide of the defense overall. However with an injury free camp, the Patriots expect a bounce back season for Mayo. A pleasant surprise was the heady play of LB Rob Ninkovich (80 tackles) who proved to be a solid overall defender. He registered 6.5 sacks last year and Mark Sanchez is still having nightmares from the pick six he took back to ice a pivotal divisional game last year. If he can repeat his performance and LB Brandon Spikes and Gary Guyton can stay on the field this season, the Patriots can improve to a good to middle of the pack defense overall. We have to see how they evolve this pre-season. Right now we have to give the linebacking corps an average ranking with a chance to be good.
A young and growing secondary.
Secondary: Quiet as it’s kept, the best set of corners in the AFC this season might be Kyle Arrington and Devin McCourty. You have McCourty #32 who made the Pro Bowl in 2010 with 7 interceptions and Arrington who should have made it last year. His 7 interceptions had a lot to do with teams backing away from McCourty. These two have had some growing pains but at 24 and 25 years of age respectively, this year Belichick will have the best corner play this team has seen since Ty Law and Otis Smith. Yet with their speed, youth, and now on field experience, expect the pass defense rankings to go up this year.
Patrick Chung is a good young safety who came on after injuries early in the season. He needs to make just a few more plays and should in his second season after supplanting Brandon Merriweather. He only had 1 interception as an 8 game starter last year after having 3 in spot duty in 2010. Had he been just one step quicker, he could have knocked down that Eli Manning to Mario Manningham 4th quarter pass in the Super Bowl. Nah…that was just a fabulous throw. Well if you think about it if he improves a quarter of a step or half a step?? Regardless he’s expected to have a better 2012 than 2011. This is a good young secondary and it’s growing… have to give them an above average or playoff grade.
Overall: This team arrived at the Super Bowl one year too early. With a bounce back season from Mayo and improved play from a young secondary this team should win Super Bowl XLVII going away. Tom Brady can adapt and cover any deficiencies that could arise on the offensive end. If they re-sign Andre Carter and one of their rookie defensive ends can pay immediate dividends… Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will win their fourth Super Bowl with a fifth on the near horizon.
Over the course of an NFL career there may not have been a more overlooked Middle Linebacker than the heavy hitting Harry Carson of the New York Giants. For 13 years he was the man in the middle for the Giants, first as the guy in a 4-3 defense. Then once the Giants drafted Lawrence Taylor he shared inside linebacker duties in a 3-4 unit. Adulation and praise for his play was slow and coming from NFL fans everywhere but Giants fans knew his true value. His peers voted him to a record (at the time) nine Pro Bowls with the last coming in 1987.
He was the most physical inside linebacker in the heyday of the NFC East, which at that time had 1,000 yard rushers in Hall of Famer John Riggins of the Redskins, Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett of the Cowboys, Wilbert Montgomery of the Eagles, and Ottis OJ Anderson out of St Louis. The success of the Giants in the early to mid 80s began with Carson stuffing the opponents running game, then unleashing Lawrence Taylor and Leonard Marshall after opposing quarterbacks.
At 6’2 235lbs, Carson looked even bigger in his oversized shoulder pads and thigh pads. He was a more imposing presence in the middle which includes Mike Singletary as one of his contemporaries. Yet make no mistake about it, Carson was a cerebral player who reduced his position to one of angles and leverage. He read offensive blocking schemes and reduced the number of steps needed to get to the ball carrier and never took the wrong angle. In that aspect he was a modern day version of Willie Lanier of the 1960s Kansas City Chiefs.
Carson was the lone defensive stalwart on a losing Giants team for much of his career. Once the Giants surrounded him with other defensive stars during the 1980’s with Taylor, Carl Banks, and Leonard Marshall to go along with long time DE George Martin to form one of the finest defenses of the 1980s. He led them through the losing years, then all the way to the Super Bowl XXI triumph over the Denver Broncos. In 1988 Carson retired and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
The NFL has had several geniuses when it comes to coaches. Yet when it comes to coordinators many have not received their due nor have any made the Pro Football Hall of Fame based on their contributions.
One coach that did receive Hall of Fame consideration was Dick LeBeau (enshrined in 2011 as a player), who as a long time defensive coordinator has been credited (with Dom Capers) for creating the zone blitz in the modern NFL. Yes Pittsburgh became Blitzburgh but the true zone blitz, as a scheme, came from the mind of Fritz Shurmur. Another assistant deserving enshrinement in Canton.
In 1989, Shurmur was the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. When the team suffered multiple injuries along the front line, yet had all their linebackers healthy, necessity became the mother of invention. His team employed a 3-4 defense that featured Kevin Greene, who had back to back 16.5 sacks in 1988 and 1989 (thanks Kevin), coming off the corner. Yet going into the wildcard matchup as an underdog, Shurmur decided to go with emphasizing his linebackers over his linemen and came up with a 2 down lineman 5 linebacker set up to confuse Randall Cunningham.
You have to understand that this was Randall Cunningham at the height of his career, in fact the next year 1990 he was labeled “The NFL’s Ultimate Weapon by Spports Illustrated. However in 1989 he was on his way to stardom when he electrified a national audience on a Monday night by shaking off a hit by New York Giant Carl Banks, and throwing a touchdown to TE Jimmie Giles. He was a threat to run for 100 yards in any game. He was John Elway 2.0 and the league was having serious problems in defending against such an athletic talent at QB.
In 1989 he led the Eagles in rushing with 621 yards while throwing for 3,400 yards 23 TDs and only 16 interceptions. The Eagles had won 5 of their final 6 games in 1989 and wanted to make amends in the playoffs for their 1988 playoff Fog Bowl loss in Chicago. Although they lost a toe to toe battle with the defending champion San Francisco 49ers in the regular season, the Eagles believed they could play with anyone and wanted a rematch with Joe Montana and company. But first they had to get through a wild card battle with the Los Angeles Rams, whom they taunted in the papers heading into the game. How would Shurmur defend Randall??
Shurmur opted for speed and confusion. One of the first items for a quarterback to determine is who the Mike (Middle) linebacker is. This is to set not only the blocking schemes but where the focal point to how the offense could attack the defense. Well the Rams shifted into their “Eagle” defense where OLBs Kevin Greene #91, Mel Owens #58, and Mike Wilcher #54 manned the outside with ILBs Larry Kelm #52, and Fred Strickland #53 were supplemented by either Brett Faryniarz #51 or George Bethune #57.
You have to understand the Rams weren’t doing this as a nickel defense, they were doing this on first and second downs also. Strickland would take the role of ‘nose-backer’ sometimes lining up as a nose tackle 1 yard off the ball. Or he would stand up to join the other four linebackers in a stand up position. Strickland wouldn’t give away if he was blitzing or dropping based upon where he would line up as you’ll see in the vids coming up. They played a cat and mouse game as to who was the Mike on most plays.
Along with the outside linebackers taking a page out of Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense and stacking two OLBs over the tight end. The Rams jumped on the Eagles 14-0 in the first quarter forcing Philadelphia to pass. There were plays where Los Angeles would have as many as 4 linebackers lined up on one side of the formation yet only rushed one with a blitzing DB. Along with confusing Cunningham from an alignment standpoint, Shurmur drew up defenses that had DE Mike Piel #95 either dropping or spying.
With an array of blitzes off the corner and so much speed on the field to chase Cunningham once he scrambled, had one of his worse days. The Eagles had little continuity and one of the reason the offense couldn’t adjust was the untimely death of Eagle quarterback coach Doug Scovil just a couple weeks prior to the game. Without his working confidante, Randall and Buddy Ryan’s offense couldn’t adjust as Kevin Greene recorded 2 sacks and hurried him into a 24 of 40 for 238 yards, 1 interception performance and no splash plays whatsoever.
Once the game was over and the Rams danced out of Philadelphia’s Veteran’s Stadium 21-7 winners, the league took notice of Shurmur’s masterpiece. Every other coordinator running a 3-4 during that time employed some of the same tactics Fritz pioneered. At the time it was thought by pundits that they couldn’t employ that gimmicky type of defense against a down hill running team.
In fact their next opponents would be exactly that style of offense and many waited for the Rams to sign a DL during the week, and when they didn’t, knew they’d see the defense again. An underdog for a second consecutive playoff game they traveled to the Meadowlands where Ottis “OJ” Anderson and the New York Giants would run into the belly of the Rams “Eagle” defense. No way could they win a second cold weather road game…right??
In this first vignette, you see the Eagle defense against the Giants on a sweep play. Notice how Shurmur has “nose backer” Strickland #53 off the ball? A concept borrowed from Tom Landry’s defensive tackle position in his Flex Defense, allowing Strickland to use his speed and agility against New York center Bart Oates. Notice Strickland’s heft allowed him to take Oates charge and agility beat him to the point of making the tackle on a play that gained a yard at most.
On this play you recognize the cat and mouse game Shurmur’s defense is playing with Phil Simms. Not only does ‘nose backer’ Fred Strickland #53 line up over center in a 3 point stance, he then stands up to give the Rams 4 standing linebackers from the center to the weak side of the formation. Who’s coming?? Who’s dropping?? Simms is so rattled at this point he overthrows Lionel Emanuel and the boo birds were out in the Meadowlands.
On this play you’ll notice that SS Michael Stewart is up on the line to the strong side yet Shurmur still employed twin outside linebackers to the top of the screen in Mel Owens #58 and Mike Wilcher #54. With the two linebackers up near the line of scrimmage they have to be accounted for by the Giants front line. You’ll notice they engage the OL which kept them from sliding their blocking attention to Kevin Greene who runs over FB Maurice Carthon #44.
Since they were in a 2TE max protection, the only outlet for Simms to throw to as he scrambles to his left is Ottis Anderson #24, yet the aforementioned Owens (who backed off after engaging Giant T Jumbo Elliot) and ILB Larry Kelm were sitting right there. With nowhere to throw the ball, time was up and Greene was right there for the sack. You can clearly see the confusion in the Giants offense. Look at Zeke Mowatt #84 who completely does a 360 and didn’t help Carthon on Greene. Why?? SS Stewart was there to occupy him. Genius
The Rams had been losing 6-0 when the Giants, late in the second quarter, uncharacteristically threw into the teeth of the Eagle defense and an interception set the Rams up to take a 7-6 lead at the half. The biggest play in the game and the turning point that allowed the Rams to upset the Giants 19-13. On this final play DE Mike Piel #95 drops off in the weak flat along with LB Strickland, lined up in 3 point stance in front of Giants guard William Roberts, who also drops.
George Bethune #57, takes over as the ‘nose backer with Brett Faryniarz #51 rushing from the weak-side along with Greene #91 on the strong side. Since Strickland’s first step is forward, Roberts #66 has to honor his charge and not help out LT Jumbo Elliot. He has no one to block!! Greene and Faryniarz’s rush is so strong Simms has to get rid of the ball and Jerry Gray, zoning away from RB Dave Meggett, tips the pass that Michael Stewart intercepts. You also notice that Meggett’s “scat” route was to his right and away from the DE that dropped in the weak flat. Shurmur fielded ONE DL and didn’t rush him!! In a nickel defense?? Think about that for a second…
This was a masterpiece performance by a true NFL genius in Fritz Shurmur. The ’89 Rams fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship and this defense never got the attention the 46 defense, the Steel Curtain, or the Ravens defense did because they didn’t win it all. Had they beat the 49ers and then the Broncos to win Super Bowl XXIV, this defense would have gone down in history. Yet what is interesting is this defense had it’s prime note taker in Giant defensive coordinator and current Patriot coach Bill Belichick.
How do we know this??
He used the 2 man front 1 year later in Super Bowl XXV to stop the Buffalo Bills to win that trophy. Just last year he used the defense with 5 standing players to force NY Jet QB Mark Sanchez into several interceptions. He used it against Tim Tebow also in both the regular season win and again in the playoffs. What Shurmur started in the 1989 playoffs live on to this day in a few 3-4 defenses. One centerpiece to this defense was Kevin Greene who moved on to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1993 to help form Blitzburgh. Surely Greene took his playbook with him to Pittsburgh and may have shared some of these principles with Steeler coaches.
EPILOGUE: As for Shurmur, he moved on to become a champion defensive coordinator with the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI with Mike Holmgren. You want to hear about the ties that bind?? From the late 80s into the early 90’s, Mike Holmgren was the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers while Fritz Shurmur was his nemesis counterpart within the division for the Rams. Trust us…going into that 1989 NFC Championship it wasn’t a forgone conclusion that the Niners would win.
In fact, in ’89 the Rams won game 2, 13-12 in Candlestick and even though the Rams lost the NFC Championship to SF, they did get a measure of revenge in 1990. In that game the ‘Niners were 10-0 and the Rams were 3-7 when the Rams hammered them 28-17 when the Niners were trying to 3peat. So when Holmgren took the head coaching job in Green Bay he took Fritz Shurmur with him. Shurmur also followed Holmgren to Seattle in 1999.
However he passed away before the season. Yet now as the Cleveland Browns GM, Holmgren hired current head coach Pat Shurmur, who is the nephew of Fritz. Shurmur developed other defenses that we will give mention to in the near future yet this 1989 run with his “Eagle defense” was his masterpiece. Even though he went on to coach a 4-3 in Green Bay, his use and expertise to adapt to personnel turned his 3-4 into a juggernaut that nearly stole an NFL title.
NFL Guru: Defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur
This article is dedicated to the memories of Leonard Frank “Fritz” Shurmur (July 15, 1932 – August 30, 1999) & Kevin Greene (July 31, 1962 – December 21, 2020)
A couple words on his future Hall of Fame protege’ in Shurmur’s “Eagle Defense”:
Thanks for reading and share the article. Coaches don’t forget to adapt to your personnel instead of forcing your plays down the throat of a group that may not be able to run it.
Having some fun with Fritz’s former players and egging them on for a few stories…
The exquisite ring designed for the New York Giant’s Super Bowl XLVI win over New England.
One of the greatest championship rings ever commissioned. When you look at the ring the first thing you look at are the sapphire stones that adorn the “World Championsip” moniker as though its’ the lighted ring around the new Meadowlands. Yet it’s the old fashioned “NY” adorned in blue that really sets this ring off. Although the Giants have amassed 8 NFL titles, they have garnered 4 in the Super Bowl era. Hence the four Super Bowl trophies atop the design.
One of the more intriguing aspects of this ring is the fact that they used the block “GIANTS” logo from the previous era (1980’s-1999). This being put on the same side as the Super Bowl trophy and score, a 21-17 triumph over Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. In our CEO’s estimation, this is the best looking Super Bowl ring ever.
Eli Manning showing off his second earned Super Bowl ring.
An irony that can’t go dismissed is the fact that in a stadium that Peyton Manning’s success help construct, his little brother dispatched this generation’s greatest quarterback in Brady, for a second time in the Super Bowl in a 4 year period.
Now Eli Manning has brought another title to Gotham and is just now entering his prime. Think about that for a second. A fleet of receivers and with the rule changes favoring the passing game, he became the quarterback with the most passing yards in a single season to win a Super Bowl with 4,933.
In other words he and the Giants will be back for another one within 3 years. Mark it down in 3 inch bold letters… As for now congratulations to the New York Giants who will be receiving these rings at a gala ceremony sometime in June when they are all finished.
So as we did last year to commemorate the unveiling of the championship ring for the new year, but to offer those rings of years gone by….
This is the ring for the 1956 New York Giants to commemorate the 1956 NFL Title Game. The Giants won 47-7 in the famous house that “Ruth built”, Yankee Stadium. The 50.000 plus braved the elements to watch Vince Lombardi’s offense put up 47 points and Tom Landry’s defense allowed only 1 touchdown. The Giants appeared in 6 world championship games between 1956-1963 with the lone year they won in 1956.
The famous chant of “defense…defense” rose from the rafters of Yankee Stadium during this era as well as the original mastery of Tom Landry’s 4-3 defense bore fruit. It became the rage of the league and a staple of how modern NFL teams would platoon their 11 defenders. One note to offer is that the 4-3 as a defense gained it’s notoriety here although it’s original teachings came from head coach Joe Kuharick out of Philadelphia. Landry and New York got the credit because they won with it. Something to think about.
The Giants only won one championship during this era while dropping 2 titles in 1958 and 1959 to the Baltimore Colts. Then dropping two to Green Bay in 1961 and 1962…then a famous defensive struggle to the Chicago Bears in 1963. They were a juggernaut that dominated an era that ushered in pro football as the premier sport of America and fruit that sprang forth from this team were two of the greatest coaches in NFL history.
Tom Landry who went on to win 2 championships while piloting the Dallas Cowboys from 1960-1989. Then Vince Lombardi, the universally accepted greatest coach of all time, who was the winningest coach of the 1960’s with 5 title wins in a decade with the Green Bay Packers. He became the measure of all NFL coaches once his tenure was over and had the Giants not accepted racial and religious popular prejudice during that long forgotten time, could have had an Italian Catholic rule the football world the same year an Irish Catholic in John F Kennedy became President of the United States.
After a 30 year drought, the New York Giants became the world champion after bludgeoning the Denver Broncos 39-20 out in Pasadena for Super Bowl XXI. NFL MVP Lawrence Taylor and the Giants defense was in the midst of allowing only 2 yards during the 3rd period. While consequently the Giants, led by Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms, was in the midst of scoring 17 unanswered points to pull ahead 26-10. Erasing a 10-9 halftime lead that the Broncos had everything go right for them yet were undone after a brilliant goal line stand.
Once that stand had taken place and the Broncos Rich Karlis missed two chip shot field goals, the Broncos fate was sealed as the Giants roared back. Bill Parcells had restored the dignity of a once proud franchise with this win and an up and coming Bill Belichick was the architect of this swarming 3-4 defense.
In the NFC playoff games that preceded Super Bowl XXI, the Giants had bested the San Francisco 49ers (team of the 1980s) by a score of 49-3 and the Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship 17-0. The win over the Niners was one of the most lopsided in modern NFL history and was one where the Giants defense knocked Joe Montana from the game. Many speculated that this would be the end for Montana’s playing career. He did come back yet thoughts of this game lingered whenever the Giants played the 49ers for the rest of the decade.
The NFC championship represented the third straight year the game ended in a shutout. It also marked the 2nd time in 3 years that the loser of the NFC Championship would go on to win the Super Bowl the following year. So 1986 was the Giant’s year….Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, NFL MVP Lawrence Taylor. and 1,516 yard rusher and 21TDs from RB Joe Morris powered this championship. Bill Parcells became a household name as coach and a little known defensive co-ordinator in Bill Belichick started receiving recognition.
Coming on the heels of that ’86 champion some 4 years later was a monumental champion that somehow seems forgotten about in remembrance. The 1990 unit that won it all in Super Bowl XXV was the first team ever to average less than a turnover a game (13 in 16 games) and had to overcome the two time defending champion San Francisco 49ers 15-13 in the NFC Championship just to make it to the big dance.
Once there they had to best the greatest AFC team in a decade to win it all. So powerful was that 1990 Buffalo Bills squad that they had won the AFC Championship 51-3 while forcing the Raiders to just 3 turnovers. They were that much better than their AFC counterpart on that day. Yet the Giants roped them into a defensive slugfest while employing just two defensive linemen and funneling the Bills potent receivers into the middle of a defense that had linebackers waiting for them.
Although Phil Simms sat on the sideline, the ’90 Giants became the second team to win it all with a quarterback who began the season as second string. Jeff Hostetler ironically repaced the incumbent Simms during a week 13 game against the Buffalo Bills where Phil was lost for the season with a foot injury. He added a scrambling element that supplemented the power running game of Ottis OJ Anderson (the [[_]]) to keep defenses guessing and furthermore blitzing. This was the missing ingredient to a rather pedestrian offense that gave the Giants an edge once the post season came around. Teams already had to account for the dangerous Dave Meggett, and now were totally afraid to blitz the conservative Giants QB for fear of what could now be gained with his scrambling ability.
Not only was this the last championship won by Bill Parcells, Lawrence Taylor, Bill Belichick and George Young. The Giants won with a young WR coach in Tom Coughlin who had a protege in WR Mark Ingram, who’s son would go on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2009. The Giants also featured DE Leonard Marshall, who should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Marshall is the only Giant to record sacks in both Super Bowl XXI and XXV triumphs along with new ILB starter Thomas “Pepper” Johnson who would go on to the New England Patriots with Romeo Crennel and go on to win 3 Super Bowls as a member of that staff under Bill Belichick.
Speaking of Bill Belichick, after a failed stint in Cleveland he resurfaced with the New England Patriots to start the 2000 season. He along with the aforementioned former Giants went on to create a dynasty 2 decades later in New England. Their crowning jewel was to become the first 19-0 NFL champion ever.
After winning 3 Super Bowls in 4 years, it seemed the Patritots had run their course as the NFL’s vanguard. With some slight retooling, they acquired WR Randy Moss and WR Wes Welker and went on to become the winningest team in NFL history at 16-0 and became it’s highest scoring ever with 589 points during the 2007 NFL season. To become the greatest ever all they had to do was win Super Bowl XLII. Easy money…right?? After all they beat the Giants in the final week 38-35.
Well after Randy Moss scored to make it 17-14, the Patriots had finally overcome the New York pass rush, which had hounded Brady all night long. Eli Manning started his ascent to greatness with several plays in the final drive. He did have a little bit of luck though… Asante Samuel had the win sealed for the Patriots….but he dropped the interception.
Never give your enemy a second chance.
With that came one of the most famous plays in Super Bowl history. Eli broke free from two Patriots who had their hands on him… he broke free to scramble right and heaved a prayer of a pass that David Tyree caught using the top of his helmet. Once that happened the will of the Patriots totally broke as Eli and the Giants marched into history with a monumental upset. So resigned to their fate where the Patriots they left CB Ellis Hobbs (5″10) alone on Plaxico Burress (6’5) and blitzed while Eli feathered a pass into the left flank of the endzone. Michael Strahan finished his distinguished career as a Super Bowl champion. Champagne popped for Head Coach Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, Michael Strahan, the New York Giants…AND the ’72 Dolphins!! Perfect!!
Now the Giants proved it was no fluke beating the Patriots again and had this latest crown jewel to add to their collection. Enjoy it for one more year and the Giants aren’t finished yet either. They will be back for their 5th Super Bowl win within the next few years…quite possibly when their Meadowlands hosts the first outdoor cold weather Super Bowl. Stay tuned… Eli is a silent killer.
There you will find the last of the games between passionate fans of the home teams versus the sterile groups that attend the Super Bowl. The season ticket holder who has been cheering and screaming for 4 months… it leads to a contrast that can’t be matched by the corporate Super Bowl ticket holder.
When the home team wins the conference championship the celebration reverberates throughout the stadium. The fans don’t want to leave and in some instances players take a victory lap long after the cameras are gone. On the other hand the silence that can overcome a stadium when the home team goes down can be deafening. It’s almost like something has gone wrong with your ears. How can 80,000 people go that silent?? Yet you remember last January how quiet it got in Candlestick Park when Lawrence Tynes kicked the New York Giants to the Super Bowl.
Over the course of an NFL career there may not have been a more overlooked Middle Linebacker than the heavy hitting Harry Carson of the New York Giants. For 13 years he was the man in the middle for the Giants, first as the guy in a 4-3 defense. Then once the Giants drafted Lawrence Taylor he shared inside linebacker duties in a 3-4 unit. Adulation and praise for his play was slow and coming from NFL fans everywhere but Giants fans knew his true value. His peers voted him to a record (at the time) nine Pro Bowls with the last coming in 1987.
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The NFL has had several geniuses when it comes to coaches. Yet when it comes to coordinators many have not received their due nor have any made the Pro Football Hall of Fame based on their contributions.
Shurmur opted for speed and confusion. One of the first items for a quarterback to determine is who the Mike (Middle) linebacker is. This is to set not only the blocking schemes but where the focal point to how the offense could attack the defense. Well the Rams shifted into their “Eagle” defense where OLBs Kevin Greene #91, Mel Owens #58, and Mike Wilcher #54 manned the outside with ILBs Larry Kelm #52, and Fred Strickland #53 were supplemented by either Brett Faryniarz #51 or George Bethune #57.
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