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Finally!! A College Football Playoff!!

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National Championship Trophy

The NCAA needs to be tortured for the way they have handled their Division I football collegiate championship. No, we’re not going to speak in terms of subdivisions and that nonsense because it diverts the attention from the task at hand… How can we achieve a true national champion in college football?? For the most part the argument has come from teams, bowl sponsorships, and conferences not wanting to relinquish prestige or money. What was known as Division II and III have settled their championship on the field for years…so why can’t they in the top tier?? At Taylor Blitz Times, Chancellor Taylor decided to preside over a panel of experts and to decide how we can come up with a true national champion. Here is how it can be done in his estimation.

First off this move in college football to super conferences hurts the matter. The rumor that Florida St, Texas A&M joining the SEC would do what for the conference?? The argument by SEC loyalists would be that their 5th best team is better than other conferences 1st or 2nd. They would wind up with more than 6 teams not facing each other in a season. How could they determine a true champion?? This only detracts from the landscape of college football as well as a sentiment that is not true. The top level team in any conference can stay on the field with a top tier team from another conference. For a given playoff game?? Absolutely.

So the first thing we need to do is scrap the super conferences and adopt the NCAA basketball rules and dole out automatic qualifiers for each conference champion. Whether that conference has a championship game or not is up to them to decide who they’re conference champion is. So we would then have the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Pac 12, SEC, Conference USA, Sun Belt, WAC, and Mountain West would all have a qualifier. That gives us an 11 team field so far and we would need to have conferences move back their championship games to conclude in late November. Reversing the last 10 years where teams kept moving games later so they don’t get leapfrogged in the BCS. (see LSU leapfrogging USC in 2003) We need that to assist in the time necessary to get our playoff system to a condensed workable format. We need that December time to decide things.

Rose Bowl Trophy

Next up, the poll rankings and the BCS. Keep them! Otherwise Nebraska and Oklahoma would put Pugaswan St School for the Dyslexic, on their schedules again. Sure we say that in jest but the BCS has been good for one thing: It has brought to light the strength of schedule and condemened teams for not playing one. Great measuring tool so it and the AP and Coaches Poll stay. Why?? Its these mechanisms that will give us our 6 at large teams that will round out the 17 team tournament. Ranking and strength of schedule will determine who gets those spots.  If you are an Independent like Notre Dame, this is the only way to qualify for the National Championship playoff. So join a conference or schedule at least 7 heavies in your campaign. It’s their choice. You have to keep in mind that we have to have a tournament long enough to include the right amount of teams yet not so long that we interfere with college basketball. So the buck stops at seventeen.

So to assist with the strength of schedule format think of it like this: Had Auburn been upset in last year’s SEC Title Game, they still would have qualified for the playoff as an at large. Where a South Carolina had to win that game to qualify because of their record. So it’s paramount to win the most games and the strength of schedule will still aid your BCS standing for a late loss. Furthermore you can have 2 or more teams qualify for the playoff from the same conference. So if the Ohio St. Buckeyes win the Big Ten, yet a streaking Wisconsin Badger team almost catches them but falls a game short of qualifying for the conference championship game. They could make it to the playoffs by virtue of their poll and BCS standings.

While some conferences like the Mountain West, WAC, Sun Belt, or Conference USA won’t have that luxury, at least they would now be invited to the dance. However if you think about it, that’s not necessarily true. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/rankings The Boise State Broncos would have qualified and followed Nevada into this mythical playoff system were it in place last year after losing to the Wolfpack. Otherwise win your conference and carry the torch and battleflag into the playoffs for the rest of your brethren.

Sugar Bowl Trophy

We would begin the playoffs with a playoff kickoff around Pearl Harbor Day (Dec 7th if you just came to the U.S.) with the BCS 16th and 17th teams playing on the home field of the 17th team.  No need for additional travel at this point, the first round of the playoffs would be at each team’s home facility anyway. This game would be played on a Thursday or Friday night. Could you imagine a playoff game at College Station between the Texas A&M Aggies hosting Nebraska on a chilly night??

Had this been in place last year this would have been our kickoff. Or the year before it would have been Oklahoma St. hosting Oregon St. So this game could be a revenge game with conference rivals or teams that don’t know each other. Perfect. Trust me fans and players would be fired up for more. The winner of this game slides into slot 16 for the final tournament bracket which would be seeded upon each team’s BCS finish. Think we could find a corporate sponsor for this game??

With an extra week off, around December 14th,  the 15 big boys join the party with the higher seeded teams at home hosting their lower seeded counterparts. So seeds #1 – #4 for example would have hosted #13 – #16.  Those games last year would have had BCS #1 Auburn hosting #16 Alabama, #2 Oregon hosting #15 Nevada, and #3 TCU hosting #14 Oklahoma St. and #4 Stanford hosting #13 Virginia Tech. Imagine that…didn’t Stanford play Virginia Tech in last year’s Orange Bowl?? Pay attention we are on to something.

Think about the marquee games being played on Thursday and Friday night as to not disrupt the NFL which plays Saturday games after college football is done.  Think about that for a second, Alabama getting a second crack at Cam Newton, Nick Fairley and Auburn after that come from behind win in the Iron Bowl?? Think Nick Saban wouldn’t have had ‘Bama up for a second go round?? Now you’re starting to see what we mean about a playoff system generating some battle lines. You’d call off sick from work or hit the sports bar early for that playoff game…think about it?? Would Auburn beat them a second time??

Orange Bowl Trophy

Step on the NFL’s Saturday toes?? On second thought, there would be a few of the middle seeds playing on Saturday though. We would then move into BCS #5-8 hosting #9-12 or: #5 Wisconsin hosting #12 Missouri in snowy Madison, #6 Ohio St. hosting #11 LSU, #7 Oklahoma hosting #10 Boise St, and #8 Arkansas hosting #9 Michigan St.  Goodness!! This slate would be better than the Thursday / Friday games. Columbus, Ohio hosting LSU to get revenge on the Tigers for that loss in the NCAA Title Game from 5 years ago??

Oklahoma being able to get revenge on Boise St for that Fiesta Bowl upset loss 5 years back?? Fans wouldn’t be up for these games with those battle lines now would they?? Could you imagine the barbecue, chips, and beer consumed watching these playoff games in one day?? How many folks would be at your house that day?? Bring pizza!!

Now we get a two week break for Christmas to set up the second round of the playoffs, and to allow other Bowl Games they’re rightful place to lead the marquee. Yet by January 1st we get right back to it with the present BCS bowls plus a few others so that we can move it around every year. So we would include the Outback Bowl, the Capitol One Bowl, and drop one of the BCS bowls as a playoff site for a given year to keep the pageantry of the bowls in place and make sure our championship keeps it’s variety from year to year.

With the winners of the Orange, Rose, Fiesta, and Sugar Bowls we’re now down to our final four schools.  So each Bowl has a sponsorship like the FedEx Orangebowl, etc. Do you think we could get a corporate sponsor for the semi final games to be played at a predetermined neutral site?? What about a semifinal being held in Ford Field in Detroit, an Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio or a game in Rocky Top, or an Indianapolis. New places for a major college football playoff game. Everyone doesn’t live in the Sun Belt, so move it around to some new places. What about a National Championship Game in Notre Dame’s stadium with the College Football Hall of Fame right up the street??

Fiesta Bowl Trophy

With the bowl games decided we would take a week or two off to set up our neutral site semi final games. These would be prime time epics with one being played on a Friday night, the other being played on Monday Night. The NFL would be in their playoffs at this time so Monday would be open. This would be taking place around January 8th / 10th or the week of the 13th / 15th.  After a one week layoff and during the two week break between the NFL’s NFC and AFC Championship Games and the Super Bowl, we would have the NCAA National Championship Game on a Saturday night at a neutral field (highest bidder) all by itself around January 30th.

If you think we couldn’t find sponsors or site committees to step up to host that game you’re crazy.  Right now you’re salivating at just the shape of these playoffs and yet we did the one thing we set out to do.  Keep the governing bodies intact, not step on corporate sponsors toes and actually generate more money for college football with the additional television revenue.

The Bowls were kept intact and we included the BCS. We kept a manageable line when placing our games around the NFL games to be played and kept things tight from a logistics standpoint without too much additional travel. A national championship game in Seattle, Washington?? Raleigh, North Carolina?? Albequerque, New Mexico?? Why not?? These collegiate Super Bowls could pump financial blood into new areas and …. At long last we’ll have a real National Champion crowned in college football!!

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Dumb NFL Kickoff Rule Change

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Devin Hester on one of his electrifying returns against Kansas City

The NFL is blowing it with this with this new rule change. A good kick return raises the hair on the back of your neck when it gets to that point where the returner is on the verge of breaking one. What is interesting is this rule reverses the 1994 decision to move kickoffs from the 35 to the 30 yard line to generate more excitement. Over these 17 years there have been many dynamic returnmen. From San Diego’s Andre Coleman to today’s Devin Hester (the U), you made sure your ass was back from the refrigerator to catch the kickoff. Now take the extra few minutes, you’re only going to miss a bunch of touchbacks.

In 1993 league brass responded when they heard fans explain why they liked the college game better. It was more exciting with the wide open offenses, kick returns, the two point conversion, the 1 point if the conversion was returned against you. Every element of the game had to be watched and lends an excitement when thinking ‘what is your team going to do in a given situation’. The NFL in contrast had a majority of their kickoffs flying out of the endzone having drafted all the top legs from the collegiate ranks. Where most teams have specialists just to return kicks, back in 1993 teams had specialist kickers just to kickoff!! Remember Brad Daluiso?? He made a career out of the fact he could boom the ball 70 yards on kickoffs http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/daluibra01.htm. Notice his early career numbers for actual field goals. In the 1993 finale between the New York Giants v Dallas Cowboys, made famous for Emmitt Smith’s playing with a separated shoulder. The Giants had come from behind to cut the score to 13-10. Then on the ensuing kickoff Daluiso’s kickoff was so extreme that Cowboy kick returners Brock Marion and Kevin Williams (The U) stood in the middle of the endzone, as the kick was still 40 feet over their heads and hit the Meadowlands wall. The NFL wants that back??

So the NFL adopted the 2 point conversion and moved the kickoffs back from the 35 back to the 30 yard line with the sole purpose of generating excitement. What a noble concept?? What is the reversal of that going to do??

We here at Taylor Blitz Times are all about player safety but at some point you can’t take away the spirit of the game. Its still a collision sport!! Rules have been modified over the last two years to eliminate wedges on kickoffs. Moving down to just two people running interference before a kick returner in a tight formation instead of five. Therefore this eliminated the wedge buster, the kamikaze player whose sole purpose on returns was to violently throw himself at the chain of blockers in an attempt to strip the returner of his interference. We saw horrific injuries like Kevin Everett’s of Buffalo a few years back and that rule change was a good one. We saw less injuries on kickoffs over the last few years with more one on one area blocking on special teams.

This is a knee jerk reaction to the concussion epidemic and player safety awareness that is permeating the league right now.  Rules need to be enforced where players aren’t leading with their heads (spearing) as they collide with another player. Ejections and fines for doing so will straighten that out right away. Yet eliminating the kickoff from the pro game is what will happen. Look at the advancements in workout regimens and body building supplements over the last 17-20 years. You don’t think kickers have gotten stronger?? If they were booting them out of the endzone in 1993 which precipitated the rule changes of 1994, what do you think will happen now??

Devin Hester

Between Super Bowls I and XXVIII (1-28 for the roman numeral impaired) there were only 2 kickoff for touchdowns, where from XXIX-XLI (sigh…29-41) there were five. Who could forget the back to back kickoff returns in Super Bowl XXXV between the Ravens and the Giants?? That was the most exciting point of that game. Or the electrifying start to Super Bowl XLI when Devin Hester blew by Adam Vinatieri and the Colts special teams on the opening kickoff?? Speaking of Hester, many pundits and experts believe that this is a rule change to limit Hester’s effectiveness for the Bears. We believe it as well. This eliminates the edge that the Bears had on their NFC brethren in special teams which could be born of their unexpected run to the NFC Championship last year.

The NFL needs to change this rule back to the one that was altered to add excitement to the game, not eliminate it. Vince Lombardi said that “football is a game of blocking and tackling.” So tackle the kick returner, don’t legislate his effectiveness into watching him down the ball on 50 % of his opportunities. Wake up!!

College Football’s Leveled Playing Fields

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Marshall Faulk at San Diego State

The changing faces of college football over the last fifteen years has been a unique situation upon the sporting landscape. Gone are the days when the traditional schools would line up and pummel a school from a smaller conference. Don’t get us wrong, there are still some lopsided contests but the talent level is closer than in the 1970’s,80’s, or even the 90’s. This is the byproduct of several things.

The first thing was with up to 20 cable televisions showcasing football around the country. Schools could recruit outside their region for talent and deliver the promise that their families and friends could still watch them play. Alternative schools to the traditional powers also offered players the chance to remain at their position of choice. One glaring example of this was when Marshall Faulk was coming out of New Orleans as a high school star.

Tons of schools were recruiting him and one of the heaviest was Florida State. They would offer Faulk a full scholarship yet they wanted him to switch from running back  to cornerback. Faulk opted to go to San Diego State where he dazzled the nation as a freshman gaining 1,429 yards and 23TDs. Along the way he had a freshman record 386 yard, 7 touchdown performance against U of Pacific. Before you say something about the talent level, keep in mind he’s just 3 weeks away from giving his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech. So kill that noise.

The point being he didn’t have to play cornerback with Terrell Buckley and watch Amp Lee and Warrick Dunn as tailbacks at Florida St when he had other alternatives. Being on the west coast and playing in many night games, Faulk was watched all around the country and became the first freshman to get serious consideration as a Heisman Trophy candidate. There are other notable examples of this but an electrifying running back that made both Hall of Fames (college and pro) seemed like a logical example. Players know they can go anywhere and be seen all over the country.

Steve Slaton slashing up Marshall

The second was the scholarship limitations the NCAA  instituted in 1990. Now the top 20 schools, the Miami’s, Florida St’s, Oklahoma’s, Nebraska’s, Texas’, Michigan’s, Ohio St’s, the USC’s couldnt swallow the top 100 tailbacks coming out in a given year. Some of them were talents that never developed or later developed. Some players actually blossomed at non traditional schools that struggled to get the blue chip prospect.

When you get a Steve Slaton at West Virginia, a LaDainian Tomlinson who opted to stay near home at Texas Christian, or a Jamal Anderson at Utah, or even a Doug Martin right now at a Boise St. These players could have split time or may not have started early in their careers at traditional schools. In most cases we never hear of these players as they fade into obscurity and don’t make the pros.

Some play in Canada but many fall by the way side. Two players that did play later were Jeff Smith of the Nebraska Cornhuskers of ’83 and Priest Holmes of Texas in the late 90’s. Each played RB behind Heisman winners in Mike Rozier and Ricky Williams. Yet both developed their talent in the NFL, Smith had a serviceable career with Kansas City Chiefs, where Holmes went on to rewrite the Chiefs record book after winning a Super Bowl ring in Baltimore.

Yet all of a sudden we were seeing electrifying, record breaking runners at schools we didn’t expect those performances from. The aforementioned LaDainian Tomlinson, A Troy Davis at Iowa St running for back to back 2,000 yard seasons in the mid 90s. A Barry Sanders rushing for 2,629 yards and 37TDs in a 1988 Heisman Campaign, who followed an All American Thurman Thomas. Who followed another All American and ’82 NCAA rushing leader Earnest “Sparkplug” Anderson with over 1,800 yards rushing. Yes the year Herschel Walker won the Heisman he didn’t lead the nation in rushing. The latter three talents went to Oklahoma St and not Texas or Oklahoma.

The third key component in leveling the collegiate playing field were the different strategies employed by college coaches.  These evolving sets have been lifted from the antiquated wishbone offense to more pro style sets including the run and shoot, 3 receiver one back sets, to the variations of the spread offense. Teams that couldn’t field All American offensive linemen could opt for an attack that spread the defense and made it think. Why go toe to toe with an opponent when you can out think your opponent and outhit him when he is out of position? This has been the true equalizer in college football over this last ten years just ask Michigan how it feels about Appalchian St. Michigan became so confused that they thought “hell if you can’t understand it hire a coach who does” yet they didn’t have the type of talent needed to direct that offense under coach Rich Rodriguez.

With the run and shoot, different types of receivers were needed to make the offense go. You recruited your traditional large fast receiver(6’0-6’3 -215 lbs.) along with a new prototype that manned the slots.  This player was smaller in stature yet quicker than the large fast receiver and stood (5’7-5’9 -175-185lbs.) which were the high school receivers that traditional schools didn’t recruit unless they were going to be switched to cornerback.

Yet these players found homes in offenses that spread the field and played their game in space throwing the football. Most teams realized that the third and fourth best WR were normally better than third and fourth corners on a given team. You had the University of Houston in the 80s and early 90s as the vanguard of the run and shoot teams and most recently June Jones University of Hawaii teams. Even the Miami Hurricanes employed these techniques winning two National Championships in1989 and 1991.

Then along came Rich Rodriguez and his West Virginia Mountaineers. He took the spread offense to a complete zenith with what you could do with a 53 1/3 yard wide field and implemented a power rushing attack from a spread formation. First he recruited Pat White from Alabama.  At 6’0 (being generous) and 185 lbs. he was short for a quarterback and had a decent arm, yet it was his 4.28 40 yard dash that made it nearly impossible for interior linebackers to read blocking patterns, than get to the flank to defend against his options or pitch to Steve Slaton.

Slaton was brought down from Pennsylvania. One of the nation’s fastest running backs coming out of high school in 2005.  He had committed to Maryland who had offered him a scholarship then retracted their offer.  He took his 4.3 speed to West Virginia to team with Pat White, Owen Schmitt, recievers Darius Reynaud #82 and Brandon Miles#7 and a powerhouse was born. They spread from a traditional set and some 3 receivers yet ran what they call a speed option that most MLBs didnt have the lateral quickness to stay with.  The result?? First we have to set the table for you.

The Miami Hurricanes and Boston College had just fled the Big East to join the ACC. Many felt that the Big East was no longer a top flight conference with two of their heavyweight schools having departed. Yet the Mountaineers started a redshirt freshman in Pat White, and a freshman tailback in Steve Slaton and a new offense took the country by storm.  They improved as the season went on and Slaton finished the season with 1,128 yards and 17 TDs, while White finished with 952 yds rushing and 7 TDs to go along with moderate passing to keep defenses honest.

Once they ran out to a 10-1 record, their Big East championship gave them an automatic bid to the BCS Sugar Bowl where they would take on Georgia. The Bulldogs that year were 12-1 and only a close loss in SEC play had kept them from appearing in the National Championship Game. Experts scoffed that West Virginia’s offense couldn’t perform that well against a superior defense from a superior conference. Yes experts were treating the Big East as a second tier conference with the remaining teams.  So the battle lines were drawn and since the Sugar Bowl had to be moved from New Orleans to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, because of Hurricane Katrina, this would be a home crowd for the Bulldogs too. No way the Mountaineers could stay on the field with an SEC team……………….right??

Naturally underdogs play with a chip on their shoulder and Bulldogs were chasing Mountaineers all night. In a humiliating 38-35 defeat, SEC Champion Georgia never led in the ball game. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=260020061 No one on the set picked West Virginia to win and the nation watched in stunned amazement as the Mountaineers burst onto the field and  was up 28-0 before Georgia knew what hit them. Freshman Steve Slaton set the Sugar Bowl rushing record with 26 carries for 204 yards, 3 Tds with twin 52 yard touchdowns that were electrifying. Passing the exploits of Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Major Ogilvie, Vegas Ferguson, and keep filling in blanks here…Slaton outrushed them all just being 7 months removed from high school. Yikes!!

This watershed game got more coaches on the bandwagon of the spread to be used as a rushing offense.  By the time the point was hammered home that this was an offense to stay, was when Appalachian State upset Michigan in “The Big House” in 2007. Now even skeptics were using some variation of the offense in their playbooks. Though the SEC was embarrassed that night in the Sugar Bowl, we come to see that 5 years later Auburn wins the National Championship over Oregon and both were run first, spread option teams. In came the Cam Newtons and Terrelle Pryors to lead this new wave…

So the landscape has changed, first through the proliferation of cable television stations allowing players to play in far away places and still be seen back home.  This changed the way colleges could approach players when they weren’t the clear cut favorite to land a particular recruit. Players weren’t forced to switch positions to go to a particular name school when there were other alternatives.

This happened simultaneously with the NCAA limiting the amount of scholarships teams which spread talent all over the collegiate landscape. Then in an effort to find the great equalizer, coaching innovations leveled the playing field even more with better tactics while landing a better athlete on their campus than ever before.  Couple these factors with the natural chip on the shoulder that most underdogs play with and college football has turned into “On any given Saturday…” Making college football an even greater game than before.  We’ll be back to help solve the National Championship Game and BCS problem later.

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Randy Moss Belongs In The Hall of Fame

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Randy Moss after a “lambeau leap” into the Metrodome Stands

With the advent of the bigger, stronger athlete on the defensive side of the ball starting in the mid 1980s, one of the plays that seemed to fade in the NFL was the bomb. As more teams mimicked the West Coast (hate that term) offense, quarterbacks were being taught to be more docile in their decisions on where to throw the ball. Gone was the daring of Darryle Lamonica, Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Terry Bradshaw, and Kenny Stabler to throw the ball deep and give your receiver a fighting chance to catch a bomb. Teams were teaching quarterbacks to throw where the defense wasn’t and not take chances. Enter Randy Moss

Absolutely one of the most electrifying players ever when you think of explosive wide receivers, burst onto the scene after a 1997 collegiate season in which he should have won the Heisman Trophy. At 6’4 210lbs, Moss ran a sub 4.3 40yard dash and by some accounts ran a 4.2 with great leaping ability. As a junior at Marshall, he had 96 receptions for 1,820 yards and 26 touchdowns in a season so great, it could only be rivaled by Barry Sanders 1988 Heisman campaign.

Even though it was his second season with huge numbers, it was his checkered past that kept him from getting Heisman votes and Charles Woodson, became the first defensive player ever to win the coveted collegiate award. It was this reluctant acceptance of him that fueled him as a player and brought out some of his broodish behavior. Yet going into the 1998 draft, he certainly would be taken early, on the fact that he was tremendously talented.

Although teams had told him that they were interested, he slipped in the draft all the way to Minnesota where Head Coach Dennis Green had Cris Carter on board to mentor their prized #1 pick.  Offensive Co-ordinator Brian Billick realized that at 6’4, Randy had the speed to run by most NFL cornerbacks and at the same time was normally 5-6 inches taller also. Why not throw it deep to him?? He epitomized the old John Madden axiom of “when he’s even, he’s leavin’.” Which meant that once a wide receiver reduced the cushion between he and a covering defensive back to the point they were side by side, the receiver would run by the defender giving him a scoring advantage.

Daring returned to the NFL and in Dennis Green’s words Moss “reinvented the bomb in the National Football League” as described in the NFL Films production “Missing Rings”. Moss electrified as he made good on his promise to “wreck the whole league.”  He gathered in 69 receptions for 1,313 yards and an NFL rookie record 17TDs. Never had a rookie had that type of impact. He was the impetus for turning a good Viking offense into a great one. They went on to become the highest scoring team in league history to that point with 556 yards. Randall Cunningham won the Miller Lite NFL Player of the Year Award and Bert Bell Award winner for “Chuck it up there Dawg”,  the matra spoken by Randy Moss which meant throw it up there and give him the chance to make a play.

Randy Moss hauls in his record breaking 23rd TD pass in the 4th quarter against the Giants

Yet we dont’ have time to go over all his career moments for so many of us already know them. His exploits on the football field are of legendary status. After being exiled in Oakland for several years, teams crept back up in their coverage with all these short throws.  Bill Belichick resurrected his career teaming him with Tom Brady and the bomb was alive and well again in the NFL. Randy Moss again became the scourge of the league hauling in 98 passes for 1,493 yards and an NFL record 23 receiving touchdowns, which broke the old mark of 22 set by Jerry Rice. Tom Brady (NFL MVP) went on to throw for 50TDs to set the all time mark while the Patriots broke the record of the ’98 Vikings for most points ever with 589 to 556. Where the ’98Vikings went 15-1, the ’07 Patriots went 16-0.

Now it’s at this point that Moss detractors leap on the bandwagon. “Oh his team didn’t win a ring” and there is something that can be said for that, as short sighted as it may be. In the 1998 NFC Championship, he helped the Vikings to a 20-7 lead. Well before Gary Anderson’s missed FG with 3:00 left gave the Falcons hope. Had he made it, the Vikings are up 10 points and headed to Super Bowl XXXIII. As a result a great team went unfulfilled.

The same can be said for 2007 when the undefeated Patriots were held down in Super Bowl XLII, yet it was Randy Moss who scored the game winner with a little over 2:00 to go in the game at 14-10. Well, they thought was the game winner until the frantic final drive of the Giants. Randy Moss didn’t drop the interception that would have sealed the game, that was Asante Samuel. He didn’t let David Tyree catch the ball, Rodney Harrison did. He didn’t get burned on a post corner fade route into the back corner for the real winning score, that was Ellis Hobbs. They lost 17-14. Yet some folks want to point to his not winning a ring as his not being worthy of the Hall.

Lets face facts, with 954 receptions 14,858 yards for 153 TDs, these are worthy numbers on their own. Its for those that can’t separate personal feeling from assessment that cant see past their blind spot. Many cite his attitude and his “I play when I want” mantra as to why they feel his candidacy is invalid.  How can he not make the Hall of Fame?? Because of a few down years in Oakland?? He wouldn’t give former Head Coach Mike Tice his own vote of confidence?? Or was it the mock moon that Joe Buck, who was announcing the 2004 Minnesota v Green Bay Wildcard Game, voiced complete outrage to set another wave of bad publicity to descend on Moss.

First off Joe Buck, just announce the game, no one gives a rat’s ass what you think?? The next day other players up to and including Coach Tony Dungy came to Moss’ defense, explaining that he was mocking a ritual the Packer fans have in really mooning the other team as they approach the stadium. Sure there were a few times in his career he didn’t help himself with his antics yet the media painted him in a very terrible way. The truth is Randy Moss understood the reluctant acceptance of him and in interviews didn’t always channel it in a politically correct way… but on the field??

Aside from Barry Sanders, he was the one player defenses feared. You could see it in the demeanor of rival cornerbacks that knew he would get deep on them at least twice in that ball game. On all the offenses he ever played on, his deep threat capabilities backed off safeties which allowed teammates to flourish underneath. This is how and where a Wes Welker got his sea legs with a Tom Brady in 2007… This is how a Duante Culpepper thew for 4,717 yards and 39TDs with only 13 int. in 2004, Randy’s last year in Minnesota, then returned to throw 6TDs to 12 int in 2005. His career decline started the second Moss left town after shattering team records the year before.

Moss pulling away from the Saints in a 2000 NFC Playoff game

Randy Moss’ legacy? The greatest deep threat the NFL has ever seen! He is in league with the Lance Alworths, the Cliff Branchs, the Don Hutsons. Yet he was even bigger and faster than those Hall of Fame talents. For a career he averaged 73 rec. 1,142 yards and 11TDs for his 13 year career. Those numbers would get another player to the pro bowl. Yet he only made the Pro Bowl 7 times and couldn’t escape the negative stint the media portrayed him as until his play forced them to say something great. That is what happened during the 2007 season.

What fuels the fire for a player to be great is to overcome slights, even if they’re perceived slights, to force colleagues or officials  to recognize you. As it is with many minorities it’s hard to overcome a negative stigma once its placed upon you. The media never let him run away from his demons as easily as he could defenses. Even when all was said and done in New England…he towed the company line. Accepted his trade to Minnesota and was still lambasted for his praising Bill Belichick as a coach.

Well The Chancellor of Football likes to think of Randy Moss and remember the 10, 1,000 yard seasons. The nine seasons with double digit touchdowns with 3 of which 17 TDs or more including a record 23 in 2007.  The numerous records achieved in both a Viking uniform and a Patriots uniform. To remember that he is the only link to the two highest scoring teams in NFL history. The 556 points scored by the ’98 Vikings only to be surpassed by the 589 scored by the ’07 Patriots. Thats too much talent to go overlooked….way too much

For induction to the Hall of Fame, I present to you Randy Moss

The Immaculate Reception: Before There Were Hail Marys

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NFL Films had a video of the 100 greatest touchdowns in NFL history that came out in the 1990s which labeled Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception in the 1972 playoffs, as the greatest ever. It was a completely fair assessment.

It launched a Hall of Fame career for Franco,  launched the greatest NFL playoff rivalry of the Super Bowl era, and was the birth of one of the greatest dynasties sports has ever seen. Although the Raiders did get revenge in the 1973 playoffs, Al Davis and the Oakland faithful vehemently disagree with the referee’s ruling that day.

Coach John Madden has said on numerous occasions how he disagreed with the officials not signaling touchdown when the play was over. the refs had a conference first before ruling the touchdown stood that gave Pittsburgh a 13-6 lead with 5 seconds left. So what led to the animosity and fame of this touchdown??

Before the rule changes of 1978, a deflected forward pass could only be caught by an offensive player unless it was touched first by a defensive player. It couldn’t bounce from one offensive player to another like we have now with a Hail Mary. By the way, The Hail Mary is also a nickname for a famous last second touchdown in the 1975 playoff win by Dallas over Minnesota and not the creation of Tom Landry…yet I digress.  The Immaculate Reception had everything: drama, controversy, and extreme importance.  What started the controversy is the lingering question: Did the ball hit Oakland Raider Jack Tatum or Pittsburgh’s John “Frenchy” Fuqua before deflecting to Franco Harris?

Franco Harris going in for a touchdown with the Immaculate Reception

Alright lets set it up for you: The Pittsburgh Steelers were experiencing their first real winning season in 39 years in 1972. They were powered on offense by a rookie running back from Penn St., Franco Harris. He had powered for 1,055 yards and 10 TDs to give the Steelers their first breakaway runner. He seemed to be the centerpiece for a team Chuck Noll had been building through the draft over the last 4 years. Pittsburgh had made the playoffs for the first time ever and on December 23, 1972 would host the Oakland Raiders in a AFC Divisional Playoff Game.

Meanwhile the Raiders had been mainstays in the postseason over the 6 previous seasons. They had made it to Super Bowl II before the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, and the 1968 and 1969 AFL Championship Games. After losing the first ever AFC Championship Game in 1970 to the Baltimore Colts, they were a team in transition and missed the playoffs in 1971. However with an infusion of new Raiders to put the team in the winner’s circle again, they won the AFC West and were back in ’72 and after that elusive first Super Bowl championship. First they had to go to Pittsburgh….

On a cold, dark and dreary day these two teams met and slugged it out in one of the most physical games of the era. We had two smothering defenses pounding the offenses into the ground and late in the 4th quarter the Steelers had a 6-0 lead. Desperate for some offense, John Madden inserted a young, mobile Kenny Stabler in for an anemic Darryle Lamonica which produced immediate results. On a last second desperation drive, the Raiders came scrambling downfield with their young QB in his first significant action in an NFL playoff game.

At the Steelers 30 with less than 1:30 to go, Stabler avoided the Steel Curtain, took off and scored on a 30 yard TD run to give the Raiders their first lead of the game 7-6.  “The Snake” had done it!! A hero was born!! There was bedlam on the Oakland sideline and with 1:13 to go began to make reservations for they would host the AFC Championship Game against the undefeated Miami Dolphins.

A confident Raider defense took the field expecting to thwart the Steelers final offensive attempt. After three failed passing attempts the Steelers were faced with a 4th and 10 from their own 40 yard line with :22 left in the game. The Raider defense had played a defensive masterpiece on the road. One more play and it was on to face the Dolphins. They hadn’t given up a touchdown all day…what could possibly happen?? Terry Bradshaw dropped back, this was the Steelers last chance, he scrambled to the right to avoid the rush and as two Raiders converged…Bradshaw stood his ground and heaved one down the middle to an open “Frenchy” Fuqua. However the late Jack Tatum was closing on the spot where Frenchy reached up to make the catch and….

A bloody playoff rivalry was born and from 1972-1976 these teams met every year in the playoffs. The Raiders gained some revenge in 1973 with a 33-14 thrashing. Then Pittsburgh turned the tables winning the 1974 and ’75 AFC Championships over Oakland before winning Super Bowls IX and X. Then when the Steelers were going for a three-peat, ran into a 13-1 Oakland team that defeated them 24-7, on their way to their first Super Bowl win in the 11th edition over the Vikings. It all started with the ’72 playoffs and The Immaculate Reception.

Tatum hitting the ball and Fuqua.

Tatum hitting the ball and Fuqua.

In Columbus Ohio in Winter 1991, I had the good fortune of running into Franco Harris and James Lofton who were there for the Archie Griffin Tennis Classic I believe. Anyway, sitting at the bar and prying him with beer I could not get Franco to admit the ball had bounced off Frenchy Fuqua and therefore should have been incomplete. “Come on, its just us sitting in a bar. Who would know?” I kept prodding him. Lofton was just laughing his ass off because Franco would just grin and shake his head every time I asked him.

Franco grabbing the ball just inches from the turf a second later.

Franco grabbing the ball just inches from the turf a second later.

It was cool talking football with him and for the record… I believe the ball bounced off of the back of Fuqua’s helmet.  Follow the replay and you’ll see Fuqua flash in front of Tatum who the ball was headed for. If Tatum was in front of Fuqua, he would have put out his hands to knock the ball down, not brace for impact.  When was the last time you saw a football hit someone on the shoulder pads and bounce 15 yards (45 feet) away??  Lets have it ….What say you?? Did the ball bounce off of Frenchy Fuqua or Jack Tatum??

Epilogue: My initial thought of the ball bouncing off Fuqua, maintained for decades, I have changed my mind. After blowing it up and slowing the footage down, you can see the ball move past Fuqua and hit somewhere on Jack Tatum’s right shoulder / chest. I magnified the footage and slowed it frame by frame. It’s still the greatest play in the history of the NFL and I know the debate will rage on.

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Epilogue:  Now that we’re 3 years removed from Franco’s passing just days before his jersey was to be retired, its time to share how the Steelers should have had this moment many years before. I had been looking forward to it posting on social media as early as September expressing how great this moment would be with the once hated Raiders in town. Secretly I had worried about how late this was happening being it was a 50 year anniversary ofThe Immaculate Reception, with many of his contemporaries having passed.  When I received the word of Franco’s passing from my wife who had gone to work before me I was devastated hence I’m jotting this down many years after the fact.

Contrary to popular belief I struggle when it comes to remembering our friends lost and there are so many times I learn of player’s passing when I wake up and see a historical article read more often than usual. With Franco it just seemed to hurt more as he was a great player from my youth as my love for football grew. Than meeting him a few times over the years his inviting personality made it feel like I had known him over the decades. In 2018 at the Pro Football  Hall of Fame he not only gave me crap about prying him with beer to  get him to talk about this famous play, he sat and drank with me and friends into the wee hours of the morning talking about great games cone by as though he knew Vance, Ryan and I for years.

This article nor my words will ever do him justice but the football world lost a tremendous man and his moment should have been much sooner.

RIP Franco Harris Pro Football Hall of Famer…Thanks for the memories

 

Jerry Kramer Belongs In The Hall of Fame – HOF Edition

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Jerry Kramer leads Elijah Pitts on a sweep during Super Bowl I

Originally Published 26, July 2011 w/Postscript 29, May 2019

When you think of the Green Bay Packers of the 1960’s, two images come to mind. Of course that of Vince Lombardi, and then the image of Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston leading Paul Hornung or Jim Taylor on a power sweep. It was this fundamental approach to football that made the Packers perennial champions and lifted their greatest players to Hall of Fame status. Except for one glaring omission. Packers Guard Jerry Kramer.

Vince Lombardi once said that football will always be a game of blocking and tackling. His teams executed the blocking side of that equation with lethal precision. The great Green Bay Packer machine that churned out 5 NFL championships in the 1960s was powered by the offensive line and the power sweep was their principle play.

On many a Sunday afternoon, Kramer would do battles with the likes of Dick Modzelewski, Stan Jones, and his battles with All Pro Alex Karras were epic. Kramer led the way for both Taylor and Hornung to both make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In fact, it was a sweep where Kramer led Hornung to the clinching touchdown to defeat the defending champion Cleveland Browns in the 1965 title game at Lambeau. This was the first of a series of three straight championships won by the Packers and the only such 3-peat achieved in the championship game era.

An unlikely odyssey began with his being drafted out of the University of Idaho and being driven to be the best he could be by hard nosed coach, Vince Lombardi. Fourth round draft picks are not assured roster spots and Jerry didnt crack the starting lineup until his 2nd season in 1959. He was sandwiched between two Pro Bowl linemen in C Jim Ringo and T Forrest Gregg.  Yet by 1960, all 3 were making the NFL’s signature all star team where Jerry became a regular.

Kramer was voted All Pro 5 times and was a member of the NFL’s 50th anniversary team.

How do you gauge impact?? For most NFL linemen this would be hard to equate because rarely can a specific game or play come down to a key block that everyone saw. After missing the 1961 NFL Championship Game with a badly injured ankle in Green Bay, Kramer not only returned to play in the 1962 Title Game, he also handled place kicking duties that day. While blocking Giant Dick Modzelewski all day he also kicked 3 field goals for the difference in Green Bay’s 16-7 victory. A feat that is unsung in football annals. Where winds gusted up to 50 m.p.h., and forced each team to run the football even more than usual.

Kramer went 3 for 4 on field goals and an extra point on battered legs from blocking on a brutally cold day. One so cold one of the cameramen suffered from frostbite as the stadium had many bonfires to keep players and officials warm. Although fellow Packer Ray Nitschke was voted game MVP, we find it hard to believe Kramer didn’t get the vote for being able to kick on a day when even YA Tittle and Bart Starr passed sparingly. This was a season in which Tittle had thrown for an NFL record 33 TDs on the year.

Just like any skill position, you’re gauged by how well you play in the big games. Aside from the great line play of the Packers in their run to 5 titles there are individual efforts where Kramer’s greatness was showcased. In the 1965 NFL Championship Game the clinching touchdown was a Green Bay sweep to the left where Kramer can be seen making two blocks as he escorts Paul Hornung into the endzone.

After the 1967 season the Packers found themselves in position for that elusive 3 peat when they faced the Dallas Cowboys. However conditions were worse for this game than they were in the 1962 NFL Championship Game.  The famed “Ice Bowl” was played at a -15*F and a negative wind chill close to -70* below zero.

Yet with the game on the line the Packers began a march that culminated in their being stuck just 1 yard from the winning touchdown. After 2 shots at it, Bart Starr took the Packers final timeout. With the season and perhaps the dynasty of the Packers in his hands, it was his wedge block on Jethro Pugh that Bart Starr followed into the endzone to win it with :16 left. So of the 3 NFL Championship Games that concluded the dynasty he had a hand in several key plays.

Ice Bowl Sneak in Progress

Bart Starr follows Jerry Kramer’s block to clinch the Ice Bowl 21-17 to give the Green Bay Packers 3 championships in a row

Did you know that Kramer has already been picked as the Guard for the 1960’s NFL’s All Decade Team as selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee??  How can he not be in the Hall of Fame as a player??

jerry's spotSome think it could be due to having an injury plagued career but he lined up for 11 years and made countless blocks that led to his entire backfield being immortalized in Canton when you include Bart Starr. If Jim Parker of the 1950’s Colts and Johnny Unitas’ chief protector, was the standard bearer for all tackles and made the Hall of Fame. The same can be said for Mike Webster at center for the Pittsburgh Steelers and one of the team’s anchors. He too made the Hall of Fame. Where does that leave a guard who:

  • Was a 5 time All Pro,
  • Was a 5 time World Champion,
  • Member of the All Decade Team for the 1960’s voted by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee
  • Was voted one of the Guards on the NFL’s 50th Anniversary Team commemorating the greatest players from the league’s 1st 50 seasons.
I’ll tell you where that leaves him, an overdue member of the Pro football Hall of Fame. One of the unique aspects is that most offensive linemen live in a world of anonymity. Yet Jerry Kramer is one of the most recognizable faces of all the famous Packers. He has been the keeper of the flame for his former Packer teammates through a series of books and has been a great ambassador of the game.  A long overdue title he has rightfully deserved is that of a Hall of Famer.
Ladies and Gentlemen, for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I present to you Green Bay Packer legend, Jerry Kramer.
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The Chancellor right before entering The Pro Football Hall of Fame wearing an autographed Jerry Kramer jersey from the family. Its time he is enshrined.

We have to get this right and I believe they will in 2018. Please lend your thoughts as well by writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the address below. Please be respectful and positively lend your voice:

Please write & nominate #64
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton,
OH 44708

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Postscript: 28, May 2019: An end to an incredible journey happened last August in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jerry’s long awaited induction was a celebration for of course Green Bay Packer fans, and all of us who were a part of the Facebook campaign Alicia had begun back in 2011. To which Alicia asked me to be a part of when her idea was just taking shape.
20180803_191754Once Jerry announced it would be Alicia who would be his presenter, the months leading up to the ceremony had a double celebration feel to it. We joked about the time when it really hit you the moment was going to happen. For me it was when we took this picture as Rich Eisen was right above us announcing everyone take your seats. The Gold Jacket broadcast was just minutes away.
The highs and lows shared over the years made it one where the ultimate high of Jerry’s enshrinement could only be matched by the smile he had that entire weekend.
The reverence, class, love and respect for Jerry was evident in the moment he “officially” had on his Gold Jacket as PFHoF David Baker and Commissioner Goodell applauded on stage. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,, including yours truly. The triumphant end of a 40 year post career odyssey.
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There was only time for smiles while enjoying Jerry’s triumphant moment.
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“Hey big guy!” The laughs at the Hall of Fame party were priceless.

An enshrinement celebration for an immortal finally having his moment in the sun was shared exponentially with the entire Kramer family.

Jerry was besieged by fellow Hall of Famers in Gold Jackets offering congratualtions. These were not only his Packer teammates.. we’re talking Hall of Famers from the 1960’s through the 2000’s from all over the NFL & AFL. The Chancellor was right there to soak it all in and share in the celebration.
At an event of a lifetime of course you take as many pics as you can yet the lasting images are the snapshots captured in your mind.
The best one for me was as we revelled into the evening snapping pics,  Chris Berman, Jerry, and Jeremy Schapp regaled and told stories in a lounge area right behind us. Jeremy, a sports journalist in his own right, is the son of legendary sportswriter Dick Schapp.
The two books Dick cowrote with Jerry, “Farewell To Football” and “Instant Replay” were the books given to me to read back in 1977 that cemented my love of football in the first place. So you can understand why this moment stood out…

I can’t fully express my gratitude to Jerry, his daughters Alicia, Diana and sons Daniel, Matthew Cole, and Tony for the invitation to be there. It was an event so uplifting all of us that were in Canton continue to share pics and stories as though it happened yesterday.  Thank you.
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Alicia admiring her father’s HOF ring last year after reception ceremony at Lambeau.

Thanks for reading please share the article!
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