Tag Archives: NFL Players

Tom Flores Belongs In The Hall of Fame

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When you think of the short list of coaches in NFL History that have won multiple Super Bowls, who comes to mind?? Of course you think of Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, or even Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. Throw in Joe Gibbs and his three rings.  Do you realize there are only two eligible coaches that have won multiple Super Bowls that are NOT in the Pro Football Hall of Fame??

Think about it a second, we’re talking about a coach with as many victories as six eligible Hall of Fame coaches and you don’t consider Tom Flores great?? Only Jimmy Johnson,Vince Lombardi and Bill Walsh can best Flores in shortest coaching careers who achieved 2 Super Bowl victories.  Landry, and Shula coached 29 and 33 years respectively to achieve the same number of championships.

Tom Flores and Jim Plunkett showing off Super Bowl rings.

For some it’s the fact that his winning percentage of .527 isn’t that high. However Bill Parcells is almost a shoo-in finalist this year with a winning percentage of .570. Also, before his stint as Seahawks head coach, he left the Los Angeles Raiders with a winning percentage of .610 which is better than Bill Walsh at .609. Something to think about.

It’s fair to compare him to Bill Walsh since he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and coached in the same era. Walsh led the team of the 80’s to 3 Super Bowl wins in San Francisco to Flores’ 2 championships. Yet in head to head competition, Flores Raider’s were 2-1 against Walsh’s 49ers. Now throw in the fact Flores had a better winning percentage before he left for Seattle and it’s hard to argue his candidacy.

Tom Flores with his team before player introductions in the L.A. Coliseum

After following in the footsteps of another Hall of Fame coach in John Madden, some mistakenly think Flores won with Madden’s guys. Which isn’t close to being true. In today’s market of free agency we’re used to a lot of movement, yet between winning Super Bowl XI (Madden’s team) and Super Bowl XV only WR Cliff Branch and Mark Van Eeghen remained of the skill positions. WR Fred Biletnikoff, QB Ken Stabler, and RB Clarence Davis were all gone. Ken Stabler was traded to the Houston Oilers. He won with (at the time draft bust) Jim Plunkett at quarterback who was with his 3rd team. Stop and think about that.. That’s the equivalent of the Colts trading away  Peyton Manning and bringing in Matt Leinhart and winning the Super Bowl.

Furthermore 9 of the 11 starters on defense for Super Bowl XI were gone by Super Bowl XV. Jack Tatum, Willie Brown, Monte Johnson, all gone with the holdovers being John Matuszak andTed Hendricks. He won Super Bowl XV with a quarterback the world had forgotten about. A little known RB in Kenny King and 14 new players in only his second season as a head coach?? Might be the single greatest coaching performance in NFL history.

Tom Flores and Al Davis receiving the Vince Lombardi Trophy following Super Bowl XVIII

Although winning it all in 1980 was the crowning jewel of a season, his triumph in 1983 should have catapulted him to legendary status. It was his ’83 Raiders that stopped the defending champion Washington Redskins and MVP Joe Theismann dead in their tracks. The ’83 Redskins were the highest scoring team in NFL history and going into Super Bowl XVIII, pundits were hailing them as the best team ever. Yet in a dominant performance the Raiders ushered in the era of the Super Bowl blowout winning 38-9. After that game we had the string of 13 consecutive NFC Super Bowl winners. Yet if you looked at the era from 1980-1996, ONLY Tom Flores won a Super Bowl for the AFC side of the ledger and he did it twice. How is that for impact??

Yet why is he constantly overlooked for his coaching performance when it comes to greatness?? Is it because of the shadow cast by former owner Al Davis?? Even in the NFL Films Super Bowl XVIII video, they lauded Raider assistant Charlie Sumner for the defensive play that put the Redskins hopelessly behind. The Jack Squirek interception for a touchdown to make it 21-3 at the half. Why didnt they give Flores the credit for that move??

Logic tells us that a part of it could be the fact that he’s Hispanic and the sporting press doesn’t view him in the same light as fellow coaches. We hope to be wrong in this assessment yet it’s the ONLY discernible difference between he and every other coach listed above.  Tom Flores, for his career had 97 wins, 87 losses and was 8-3 in the postseason. He had the AFC’s best record (12-4) also in 1985 with MVP Marcus Allen but they were upset in the playoffs by the Patriots. To some, those aren’t great numbers but neither were Joe Namath’s 173 TDs and 220 interceptions and he’s in.

It’s about impact and contribution to the game. Being the only AFC coach to win a Super Bowl in a 17 year period qualifies for impact. Another interesting fact; Of the first 20 Super Bowl winners, his 1980 Oakland Raiders are the ONLY  team that doesn’t have a skill player in the Hall of Fame. Cliff Branch being in there is another argument for another time. Again we call that one of the greatest coaching performance in NFL history. It’s time to give Tom Flores the credit and distinction he deserves.

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 Tom Flores
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, 
OH 44708

For induction into the Hall of Fame, I present Tom Flores

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NFC Championship Preview: Alex Smith Coming of Age

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The new Alex Smith

As the 49ers came to the line of scrimmage with :14 seconds left, Alex Smith was just 14 yards away from forever changing the perception of him league-wide. He had battled Drew Brees head to head in a wild 4th quarter in last week’s NFC Divisional Tilt with the Saints holding a 32-29 lead. It’s at this point after the spike everyone held their collective breath as to what was going to happen. Would they go for the tie and play in overtime or would they shun conservative logic and go for the win?? What were you thinking as the 49ers broke that huddle?? Did you have faith in Alex Smith borne from this game where he already had accounted for 3 touchdowns or were you waiting for the old Alex Smith to emerge and throw an interception?? Tell the truth…

Well last Sunday, Alex Smith turned into the quarterback 49ers brass envisioned when they drafted him out of the University of Utah some 6 years back. Less than a year ago they weren’t sure if Alex Smith was their future. They selected Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick with their 2nd round pick in last April’s draft, throwing Smith’s future in serious jeopardy. Yet with new found confidence in himself, courtesy of his relationship with new head coach Jim Harbaugh, Smith progressed.

The NFC Championship Trophy the Giants and 49ers will be playing for.

Over the course of the season, many pundits and fans alike thought of Smith as no more than a care taker of the 49er offense. Play to the strength of Frank Gore’s running, don’t turn it over, and unleash a rested defense on opponents. It all went according to plan until 2 quarters into the divisional playoff, when the high flying New Orleans offense woke from a haze and started moving the football. Smith had engineered a 17-0 advantage when Brees brought the Saints back to within 3 cutting the Niner lead to 17-14 at halftime. Gone was the defensive swagger from the San Francisco defense and the realization that Smith and the offense would have to keep pace to win it.

Fast forward to :14 seconds left… Which Alex Smith would emerge?? The quarterback with the jittery feet who was unsure of himself and threw off his backfoot of previous vintage?? Or would the confident, almost swaggering player who showed up to battle Brees tooth and nail complete a miraculous transformation?? The second his drop back plant foot hit, Smith uncorked a rocket to Vernon Davis just beyond the zone patrolled by Scott Shanle for the winning touchdown.

He had transformed himself forever and celebrated in the endzone with his teammates and the ghosts of Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Jeff Garcia. Candlestick Park and everyone who watched this game was in disbelief. Not that the 49ers won, it was Smith’s surprising emergence into a quarterback who could win a big playoff game. He stood toe to toe and gunned down media darling and Super Bowl winning quarterback Drew Brees to lead the 49ers to their first NFC Championship Game since 1997.

The question is: What will he do for an encore?? Will he join the ghosts of Montana, Young, and Garcia and beat the New York Giants in a home playoff game?? Each one of his predecessors have. With one more win we can have our first rookie coach to make it to the Super Bowl since Denver Broncos Red Miller in 1977. One thing is he’ll have Coach Harbaugh’s confidence in taking the field tomorrow to prove he’s worthy of a Super Bowl trip. He has to best another Super Bowl winning quarterback to get there. Yet the road Alex Smith has had to travel to get to this point…

  • Considered a first round draft bust, by many, heading into this season.
  • Enduring two head coaches other than Harbaugh in Singletary and Nolan where he played very unsure of himself.
  • Persevering the carousel of 5 different offensive co-ordinators and numerous benchings in his first 5 seasons. Benched for Shaun Hill and Troy Smith to name a few.
  • Having to swallow his pride and rededicate himself after the 49ers drafted an heir apparent replacement in Colin Kaepernick.

He definitely has the chance to erase a history that he distanced himself from last week. A second win and a Super Bowl berth will anoint him into a light that has been reserved for a Matt Ryan or a Joe Flacco. Quarterbacks who have been anointed by the media yet haven’t proved anything in playoff competition yet. Not to the degree that we witnessed last week in Candlestick…

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2011 NFC Championship Preview; Eli Manning “The Silent Killer”

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George Halas Trophy: Awarded to the NFC Champion

As the NFL train heads for the NFC Championship, one passenger looks strangely familiar to us. We’ve seen him before and haven’t really given him his due as how great he’s actually becoming. Do you realize thanks to last week; Eli Manning is the only quarterback in NFL history to defeat two different teams with 15 regular season wins?? He was the quarterback of the Super Bowl XLII upset of the 16-0 New England Patriots, and now conquered the 15-1 Packers last week in Lambeau. Is it time we consider him great?? We know…get up off the floor and consider this; he has more signature playoff wins than his celebrated brother Peyton. In fact he’s the tougher quarterback between the two.

Stop and think of the signature games Eli has in his back pocket. Everyone remembers the run to the Super Bowl in 2007 especially the Dallas Cowboys. Remember that group?? An emerging Tony Romo and Terrell Owens sparkled as they ran to an NFC best 13-3 record and the championship of the Eastern Division. Then in a frigid Lambeau Field took down the 13-3 Green Bay in Brett Favre’s last game as a Packer. The most startling fact were these two games and the Super Bowl that year were all of these teams beat Eli and the Giants in their first meeting. Something the 49ers should take solace in since they defeated Manning’s Giants 27-20 in November.

Last weekend propelled Alex Smith into a higher echelon of quarterbacks, yet where did the 37-20 defeat of the Packers propel Eli?? We have to remember he is already a Super Bowl winning quarterback although the sporting press doesn’t cover him like one. He isn’t coddled like his brother when it comes to his short comings. Think about it for a second…. Had Eli Manning thrown a 4th quarter interception to seal his team’s fate in a Super Bowl you would never hear the end of it. We hardly hear of his triumph in Super Bowl XLII, he’s treated like a supporting actor to the upset itself or even David Tyree’s helmet catch. Neither of which could have taken place without Eli’s heroics. If you can remember Eli had to break free of two linemen and scrambled before throwing that famous pass to Tyree.

The silent killer

With a win this week, Manning will have his 7th playoff win and second Super Bowl appearance. He has a 5-3 record in the playoffs and get this he’s 5-1 away from home in the playoffs including the Super Bowl, for his career. Contrast that against Peyton’s 3-6 record away from home in the playoffs, which includes a 41-0 devastating loss to the New York Jets. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200301040nyj.htm Understand Eli doesn’t have a lopsided postseason loss to that degree on his resume’. It also needs to be reiterated he just missed becoming the 4th quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards this year with 4,933, while throwing for 29TDs to just 16 interceptions. You’re starting to get the feeling that he will win this road game and advance to his second Super Bowl.

No one even comes close to his road post season record. He’s quiet and tremendously unassuming off the field. Yet it’s at this moment we have to anoint him to that of a great quarterback on the precipice of his second Super Bowl. You’d think that the coddling the media has given his brother would have rubbed off on him. That it hasn’t has given him a thicker skin and stronger resolve. The same as being a younger brother getting beat up by his older brother’s Peyton and Cooper.

If Aaron Rodgers ascended to greatness with last year’s postseason, where will that leave Eli if he’s able to pull it off for a second time??  An NFC showdown against the formidable (13-3) 49ers awaits. Yet nothing has rattled a quarterback who has bested 4 teams with that same record or better for his postseason career. Before this championship he ascended to becoming a great quarterback with the win over the Green Bay Packers. With a win in San Francisco he’ll cement it. Can he pull it off?? We’re not betting against the “silent killer”.

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Our Proposed NFL Changes To Aid NFL Defenses

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Green Bay Packers sacking Carson Palmer. An event we are not seeing enough of in today’s NFL.

What a completely goofy NFL season we just watched.  We knew that teams were going to be thrown off after the lockout but the fallout was greater than we thought.  We knew folks were going to have record offensive seasons, but what we saw was beyond our original thoughts. Dan Marino’s all time passing record of 5,084 yards being bested by nearly 400?? Where only twice in history we saw individual 5,000 yard passers give way to a season where we had three?? The NFL saw it’s first ever season in 2011 where multiple quarterbacks threw for more than 40 touchdowns in the same season. Seriously??

After an NFL season where the league cracked down on helmet to helmet hits on the field, we saw records for passing yards from multiple teams. When you look up and see a Matthew Stafford become the third quarterback in the same season to throw for over 5,000 yards, you know something is definitely wrong.

Not only was it Stafford’s first complete season as a starting quarterback, he was outgunned in the season finale by Packers 2nd string quarterback, Matt Flynn. In that game, all Flynn did was shatter Packers passing records for yardage (480) and touchdowns (6) in his only start this year while the Packers rested Aaron Rodgers.

This in microcosm was the NFL this season, high flying offense playing against pensive defenses scared to attack quarterbacks and receivers. It’s at this point, we claim the rules have been altered too much to aid the offense and something must be done. Yet where do we begin.

Sports Illustrated cover featuring the Amazing Orange Crush’s Rubin Carter once the Broncos went to 6-0 in 1977.

Well we have to take you back to 1978 to understand how we got here. The NFL adopted several rules to open up offenses that had been shut down during the mid 1970s. Most of these were in effect to legislate the Pittsburgh Steelers out of dominance. In 1976 the Steelers had a string where they gave up only 28 points over their last 9 games and shut out 5 of their last 8 opponents. This was followed up in 1977 when the Denver Broncos, on their way to Super Bowl XII, only gave up 148 points and 18 touchdowns. So something had to be done.

Well in 1974 the NFL widened the hashmarks and thought that would bring about more open space for the offense to move. Also wide receivers were not allowed to be chopped “hit below the waist” at the line of scrimmage. These changes weren’t enough. So in 1978 the rules were amended to where defenses were only allowed to “chuck” receivers within the first five yards of the scrimmage line. This is known as the Mel Blount rule.

Offensive linemen were allowed to extend their arms while pass blocking to stop hard charging linemen.  Then about a decade later the league deemed that not enough and employed the cheat step. You’ll see tackles with their outside leg pivoted 2 to 3 yards back in the backfield to get a head start on blocking an opponents speed rusher. Couple this with “in the grasp” and any touching of the helmet of a quarterback culminating in a fifteen yard penalty and defensive players are playing on egg shells…

So what gets repealed?? Wide receivers getting hit all over the field if the ball isn’t in the air?? Well there are those that like to see a good bomb thrown in a football game so we won’t go there. Yet what we will do is return play at or near the line of scrimmage to it’s roots.

Article I Roughing the Passer – This will be called when the defensive player takes more than one step to hit the quarterback or if a hand extended to knock down a pass is swung to make contact with the quarterbacks helmet only. No more bogus 15 yard penalties to keep drives alive when a defender’s hand grazes a quarterbacks head. While reaching up to knock down a pass, it’s inevitable a defenders hand will hit a quarterbacks helmet. Only call it if the defender blatantly slams forward hitting the helmet. That’s why a quarterback wears one…for head protection.

Article II Repealing the offensive tackles cheat step to aid against speed rushers. Defensive players should be able to rush the quarterback better which should cause a few more errant throws and quarterback sacks. Enough with watching a Drew Brees throwing a football 62 times as he did in yesterday’s playoff loss to the 49ers with few hands in his face. Furthermore this would force offenses to employ smaller and quicker tackles. In light of the health issues and the mortality rate of 300 lbs. linemen after their playing days, this could be a move in the right direction.

Article II a. Repealing the rule that if a defensive linemen moves, which forces the offensive lineman to flinch, then penalizing the defender. This was another dumb rule that came along within the last 15 years. Nope…sorry. Return offensive linemen to having to play football and allow defenders the chance to rattle a young lineman or an injured one. Defensive players should be able to manipulate line play as much as the offense.

Article III Allow receivers to be hit within the first ten yards of the line of scrimmage. Enough of watching basketball players in shoulder pads, a helmet and nothing else, running unencumbered down the green fields of the NFL. Defenders should be allowed to have a cornerback “chuck” him and then a linebacker be able  to do so afterward to throw off the offensive play. Make receivers play football again.

The last change is a subtle referendum on pass interference. Re-emphasize the incidental contact rule made famous after the Benny Barnes /Lynn Swann Super Bowl XIII tripping moment. If there isn’t blatant pass interference where the defender disrupts the receivers attempt to catch the football, don’t throw the flag!!

Far too many cheap 50 yard penalties because some primadona receiver flails his arms calling for one. Half the time, you’ll see receivers throwing their hands up instead of just trying to catch the football and this cheapens the game. It makes defenders gun shy in playing their position when the ball is in the air, and this is football, some contact will be made.

This is where the competition committee has given way to the corporate nature of the NFL’s non football playing brass. Everything isn’t about offense, offense, offense.

Football fanatics remember reverently the ’85 Chicago Bears whom many feel were the best in history because of the 46 Defense. Steeler nation is right behind them having gained fans from the ‘Steel Curtain’ days and the current ‘Blitzburgh’ edition. Same thing with the Doomsday Defense in Dallas, and the 2000 Ravens. Teams where great defense was as beautiful to watch as tons of offense. This isn’t roller derby or basketball on grass. Lets return football to it’s fundamental roots that we all recognize.

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NFL Week 17: Assault On the Record Book With an Asterisk

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Now that Christmas break is over it’s time to get down to the end of the NFL season and the all out assault on the record books. Last Monday night,  Drew Brees became the all time single season passing yardage leader, breaking the mark of Dan Marino with 5,087 yards. A tremendous feat until one reminds you that Tom Brady can actually surpass him with 191 yards against Buffalo, if the Saints rest Brees.

A deeper look and if Matthew Stafford throws for 482 (a longshot), Eli Manning throws for 413, and Aaron Rodgers throws for 357 in the final week, we will have FIVE passers with over 5,000 yards in one season. Seriously?? When there has only been one 5,000 yard passer in the 92 year history of the NFL?? Something is definitely wrong.

In fact, for the 2011 NFL season, we have a legitimate chance of having TEN 4,000 yard passers in one season. The problem is the league is legislating defense out of football. Head to head shots on defenseless receivers is an important step to player safety which we are all for, but hitting still has to be a part of the game, right??

In fact, the next time you watch an NFL game, notice how many wide receivers wear NO leg pads as they sprint upfield. Of course this is a byproduct of receivers trying to get downfield faster but they truly don’t expect to get hit. Not even bumped within the first 5 yards off of the scrimmage line.

This is the Mel Blount rule… yes the famous former Pittsburgh Steeler. Before 1978, defenders were able to beat receivers up all the way down the field. A defender could pop a receiver running a route as long as the pass hadn’t left the quarterback’s hand. So being “checked” by a linebacker and sometimes a safety wasn’t uncommon. Yet there was a point where re-emphasis to receivers running without interruption took place.

It came in the aftermath of the 2003 AFC Championship Game when the Colts lost 20-7 to New England. NFL and media darling Peyton Manning and the Colts, accused the Patriots of abusing the 5 yard chuck rule. This led to talks throughout Super Bowl week as the Patriots prepared to play the Carolina Panthers that the league would crack down on defensive holding / illegal chucks.

Don’t know if it had an affect but Super Bowl XXXVIII was the first league championship game in history with both teams scoring 3 times in the 4th quarter. Fireworks galore. As the 2004 season approached the league was still talking about re-emphasizing the 5 yard chuck rule and yardage and points rang up in the ensuing years. In fact 2004 was the year Peyton Manning broke Marino’s single season TD record with 49. Did you know in his 6 previous seasons he hadn’t been within 15 TDs of Marino’s former record of 48?? Take a look: Manning

In 2003, only Peyton Manning and Trent Green crossed the 4,000 yard threshold. Then 5 quarterbacks crossed the mark in 2004. Now we’re up to possibly 10??

Couple this with the league cracking down with new penalties upon hitting a defenseless receivers downfield and monstrously large pass interference penalties, defensive players are scared to touch receivers now. Now as we watch the game, a defender that is rushing the passer, in an attempt to knock down the pass will get a 15 yard penalty if his hand grazes the quarterbacks head. This is all complete nonsense and the NFL is turning itself into basketball on grass with the intimidation factor taken away from defenses. The only rule adjusted to help defenses in the last 15 years is when they removed the “force out” rule in 2010. There need to be a few more.

So what has happened is teams are realizing opponents can’t play defense and are lining up in 4 and 5 receivers like never before. The advent of the bubble screen is an effective ploy that has led to inflated passing numbers but not like the rules downfield.

So why an asterisk?? It’s as though the league pushed for this to happen instead of it taking place naturally. When Dan Marino broke the all time mark with 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns. He was head and shoulders above everyone else, he didn’t have 4 other quarterbacks poised to break it with him. He obliterated the old touchdown mark of 36 that had stood from 1963 until 1984. It was the mark of a great quarterback at the zenith of his game and it made the moment he broke those records special. What happened last Monday night was just Drew Brees got to Marino’s record against watered down defenses first before Brady did. Forgive us but the sense of accomplishment just wasn’t there. With the rules in place now, a young Marino would hit 6,000 and 60 TDs easily.

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Special Teams: Can they win you an important football game??

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All Pro safety in 1986, Derron Cherry was a regular on Frank Gansz special teams.

How often do you hear NFL, collegiate, or even high school football coaches say that “Special teams is a third of the game”?? Then rarely use their special teams as more than a field position element of the game. Aside from the Chicago Bears of recent years with Devin Hester, very few use their special teams as a weapon. Nor do most teams use their superstars on this third unit. Well in 1986, the Kansas City Chiefs fielded the best special teams and they were powered by the “Million Dollar Secondary” which was one of the best in NFL history. Safeties Derron Cherry and Lloyd Burruss coupled with the great cornerback tandem of Kevin “Rock” Ross and Albert Lewis manned the last line of defense.

You have to remember these were dark times for a once proud franchise. Not since the Christmas Day 1971 game of Ed Podolak in the longest game ever played vs the Dolphins, had the Chiefs participated in postseason play. Nothing was really expected of the ’86 version as well. There was an impasse at quarterback where the team went back and forth between quarterback’s Bill Kenney and Todd Blackledge with moderate success. They ran the football by committee between ex Browns Boyce Green and Mike Pruitt and as the season was concluding was down to KR Jeff Smith running the football. Smith’s real claim to fame was the National Championship upset where the Miami Hurricanes upset Nebraska, 31-30 in the ’84 Orange Bowl. It was Smith (Mike Rozier’s backup) who scored the final touchdown before the fateful two point attempt. Aside from Stephone Paige who once held the NFL record with 309 receiving yards in a game, none of these players were of distinction or Pro Bowl performers.

However there was hope in the #4 rated defense in the NFL that kept games close and special teams coach Frank Gansz utilized the best players on the team. This included Pro Bowlers Cherry, Burruss, and NT Bill Maas. Albert Lewis was a master at blocking punts as well. Cherry was All Pro at safety, having picked off 9 passes, to share that distinction with Ronnie Lott. Strong safety Lloyd Burruss (5int.s) enjoyed his best season in 1986 leading the NFL in both int. return yards 193 and touchdowns with 3. In fact it was Burruss with 2 interception returns for touchdowns against eventual AFC Champion Denver in week 14, that put the Chiefs in position to make the playoffs. It was this 37-10 victory that allowed the Chiefs to control their destiny with an 8-6 record. A win the following week against the Los Angeles Raiders set the Chiefs up for a do or die game in Pittsburgh to make the playoffs.

As was Four time Pro Bowl Cornerback Albert Lewis

What took place was one of the oddest games in NFL history in one regard, and one where a team taught everyone what it meant to use their special teams as a weapon. The Chiefs defense actually had one of it’s worse games of the year as they allowed 515 yards to Mark Malone and the Steeler offense. It was actually the Chiefs special teams fault they gave up so many yards. However they kept the Steelers out of the endzone for much of the day.  Of course the Chiefs offense disappointed only gaining 171 yards with the football. So what happened??

They took control in the 1st quarter when they had the Steelers backed up near their own goal line. Where most teams set up for a midfield return, Gansz and the Chiefs attacked. Cornerback Albert Lewis flew in from the wing to block the punt which was recovered by Derron Cherry in the endzone to take a 7-0 lead, silencing Three Rivers Stadium. Funny thing was had Lewis not blocked the punt, Burruss would have as they crisscrossed right in front of the punter. After trading field goals in the 2nd quarter, Boyce Green returned the subsequent kickoff 97 yards to extend the Chief lead to 17-3. A team with less than 100 yards of total offense had nearly a two touchdown lead in a game they needed to make the playoffs. Go figure…yet before the Steelers could get to halftime and make adjustments their offense raced downfield to narrow the score following another field goal.

 

The Steelers were in position for a Gary Anderson field goal to bring Pittsburgh to within a touchdown. The crowd would be back in the game and with the Steelers defense totally stifling the Chiefs offense, the game would turn in the second half right?? Well not quite. Pro Bowl Nose Guard Bill Maas charged through two Steeler linemen and blocked the kick. Lloyd Burruss snatched the loose ball and sailed 78 yards to an insurmountable halftime lead of 24-6. The Steelers made it close but with a chance to win it late in the 4th quarter, LB Tim Cofield forced an errant throw by Malone that was intercepted by Lewis to preserve a 24-19 win.

This great secondary who rarely got their due outside of Kansas City had performed a game for the ages on defense and special teams. They kept scoring and putting themselves on the field yet only allowed 1 Steelers touchdown. If I were to wake you and tell you that you missed a game where a team won the game without scoring an offensive touchdown and were outgained 515-171 on the road, would you believe me?? http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198612210pit.htm Folks it happened.

For 1986, this group led the NFL in interceptions and blocked kicks with 5. Burruss, Cherry, Lewis, and Ross intercepted 18 passes themselves. This team lost the AFC Wild Card to the New York Jets 35-15 to end their season, yet before they went away quietly Albert Lewis scored one of the Chiefs touchdowns with another blocked punt.  After this teams more and more started putting some of their best players on their special teams. It was this special unit in 1986 that showed how lethal your special teams can be utilizing your best talent.