If you ever wanted to look up the definition of unfulfilled promise, look up the 1970’s Los Angeles Rams. From 1973-1979 the Rams had won 6 Â straight NFC West titles but hadn’t made it to the Super Bowl. Of all the teams that dominated their respective divisions, the Rams couldn’t duplicate their regular season once the playoffs began.
Los Angeles had ruled their division with a great suffocating defense and a solid running game. However they never had a top flight quarterback to push themselves over the top. From an aged John Hadl to James Harris to Ron Jaworski and finally settling on Pat Haden, the pedestrian quarterbacking failed them in the postseason repeatedly. They lost defensive battles with the Minnesota Vikings but it was against the Dallas Cowboys the worst losses were afflicted.
In ’75 the 12-2 Rams were gearing up for an NFC Championship against the Minnesota Vikings. No one expected the rebuilding (12 rookies) wild card 10-4 Dallas Cowboys to upset them with The Hail Mary. Los Angeles had finished on a 6 game winning streak, which included a 10-3 win over the defending and eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers.
Once Pittsburgh vanquished the Raiders over in the AFC Title Game, all they had to do was beat the “lucky to be there” Cowboys for the NFC and punch their ticket to Super Bowl X. Staubach sliced them up with a 37-7 defeat at home. They lost in an epic rout where their great defense let them down. It was a defense that had only given up 3 touchdowns in their last 30 quarters and held 5 of those 6 opponents to less than 10 points per game. They weren’t ready for Staubach and their new “Shotgun formation”.
After two more losses to the Vikings in the ’76 and ’77 playoffs, Head Coach Chuck Knox moved on to coach the Bills. Defensive Coordinator Ray Malavasi was promoted and the reigns of the offense were placed in Pat Haden’s hands as the full time starter. The consensus was he could gain experience in time to win it all within the next couple years with an aging but still formidable defense.
The 1978 season saw the Rams go 12-4 and become the first team to earn homefield throughout the playoffs. They had the #1 defense which registered wins in regular season games against the Steelers 13-10, and 27-14 over Dallas. Back in the NFC Championship, they hosted the defending champion Cowboys but were shut out 28-0. Dallas wrecked another trip to the big game and it seemed the window had closed for the Rams.
A tumultuous off-season ensued, concluding with the drowning death of Owner Carroll Rosenbloom. Then the controversial ownership transfer to his wife Georgia and not his son Steve.
The tumult in the front office mimicked what was happening on the field once the season began. The defense was a step slow as the team began 5-6 and the playoffs were in jeopardy. They had just lost 4 of those last 5 and had given up 29.25 points in those including a 30-6 loss to the hated Cowboys. Now they lost starting QB Pat Haden for the year. Where was this group headed??
They turned to 3rd year runner Wendell Tyler as they eased backup QB Vince Ferragamo into the lineup. Tyler got the hot hand rushing for 520 of his 1,109 yards on the season in the final 5 weeks. Ferragamo finished with less than 50% completion rate and threw 5TDs to 10 interceptions. So these unlikely players were going to lead the 9-7 Rams into the playoffs where every game would be on the road.
Most had buried the Rams as a team that didn’t have heart. The Dallas Cowboys had ripped it out in 2 championship games already. Dating back to the ’78 NFC Championship Game, they were 0-2 with a combined losing score of 58-6. Worse, 3 of their last 6 seasons ended with playoff defeats at the hands of the Cowboys including a combined score of 55-7 in those conference championship games. So now with Vince Ferragamo and Wendell Tyler (new ’79 midseason starters) they were supposed to go to Dallas and win in the divisional round??
Revenge is best served cold and on this day the Rams defense had totally confused Staubach & Tom Landry’s offense. They ushered in the 7 defensive backfield which would become a staple in the NFL moving forward. Staubach was out of rhythm all day completing 12 of 28 for 124 yards 1TD and an interception. Not bad when you consider he threw for 6TDs combined in the NFC Championship Games previously facing LA. They made him look inept in his last NFL game and the last pass he completed was the Illegal Touching throw to G Herb Scott #68. Yikes…
LA was in uncharted territory after dancing out of Texas Stadium with a huge upset: Another look
Inspired by Jack Youngblood who was playing with a lower leg fracture from the Cowboy game on, the Rams exhibited all the toughness, heart, and desire they hadn’t shown during past playoff performances. Not rising above the moment to make the game winning touchdown. They usually wore you down with physical domination not electrifying plays.
One of the reasons they believed they could stand toe to toe in Super Bowl XIV the Rams were a mirror image of the Steelers. In fact Defensive Coordinator Bud Carson and Dan Radakovich were Steelers coaches when they won IX & X in ’74 & ’75. Then in ’76 coached what many experts feel was the greatest defense in NFL history. In ’78 LA was the last to beat the Steelers in a Monday Night battle 13-10 between teams 9-1 v 8-2 and odds on favorites to meet in XIII. Only to have Dallas upset the apple cart 28-0 in the conference title game. That game in ’78 had been a defensive blood bath and Carson’s charges held Terry Bradshaw to 11 of 25 125 yards 1 TD and picked him off 3 times. They felt they were ready…
Falling to Pittsburgh 31-19 in Super Bowl XIV kept the Rams from final glory. However they set the precedent that a team can get hot right as the playoffs near and ride that momentum to the Super Bowl. Even in that game, the lead changed hands 6 times as they wouldn’t give in to the established champion Steelers. Only a late game interception by an inexperienced Ferragamo kept the game from a 7th.
Ironically Super Bowl XIV and the death of Carroll Rosenbloom before this season mirrored 1978’s classic movie Heaven Can Wait. Where Warren Beatty was a Ram QB that came back to play the Steelers in the Super Bowl. Life imitated art where it was Vince Ferragamo mixed with Rosenbloom…yet I digress
They couldn’t replicate this post season performance once they moved to Anaheim the following year. Many black fans felt the team abandoned LA for Orange County which the team is working to overcome with a new generation of fans. However, several players moved on to reach the Super Bowl with other teams.
- ILB Hacksaw Reynolds won rings as a starter in San Francisco in XVI & XIX.
- TE Charle Young was his teammate with the 1981 49res in XVI.
- Dwayne O’Steen won the following year with the Raiders in XV.
- RB Wendell Tyler won with the 49ers in XIX
- OLB Bub Brudzinski didn’t win it all but started for the Dolphins in XVII & across from old teammates in XIX
It was their great run in 1979, they had a truly Herculean effort that just came up short.
Dedicated to the memories of Ray Malavasi, Jack Faulkner, Carroll Rosenbloom, Charle Young & Bud Carson.
Prologue: Interestingly they concluded the 70s with a berth in the Super Bowl practically playing at home in Pasadena. What is it with the Rams having great runs in the last year of a decade? Here this team played for it all in 1979 (XIV), almost in 1989 (XXIV) when they made it to the NFC Championship with Fritz Shurmer’s 2-5 Eagle Defense, then won it all in 1999 (XXXIV) with The Greatest Show on Turf. Its a rich legacy where they were able to win LVI at home in Sofi Stadium, they’re Taylor Blitz’s favorite to win LXI here in 7 months.
Looking back this championship ring story needed to be freshened up. It was owed to Rams past & present.
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