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SUPER BOWL XIV RUNNER UP 1979 LOS ANGELES RAMS: HEAVEN CAN WAIT

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Article Reissue

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  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 playof14conf2fs 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.

sbxiv2Once 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.

super-bowl-logo-1979A 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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Taylor Blitz Favorite To Win Super Bowl LXI- Post Myles Garrett Trade

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…and NBA fans are saying OKC can’t trade Chet Holmgren for not showing up in a championship series. Enter Jared Verse! Now this is a seismic trade sending shockwaves through the league: Myles Garrett for Jared Verse to bolster the pass rush! In my article before the draft I had outlined they bolstered their secondary with 2 new corners traded for with Kansas City in Trent McDuffie & Jaylen Watson. This is annexed below.

Now they add a closer to bolster their championship run who has only been to the playoffs 3 times in his career. Garrett’s hunger will be needed to bolster a defense that only had 5 sacks in 3 postseason games. They had 47 on the year but heat on QBs dissipated in the playoffs with Sam Darnold throwing for 346 yards and only sacked him once in the NFC Championship Game.They’re giving up a young pass rusher in DE Jared Verse and what sucks is he was in the “Friday” remake promo right before the draft. Now he is being banished to the brown water of Lake Erie in Cleveland vs the blue ocean right outside Los Angeles. That is a painful pill to swallow. However the trajectory of the Rams putting the pieces together to win Super Bowl LXI can’t be underscored.

Garrett is a 2 time NFL DPoY, 1 time Taylor Blitz DPoY and the ink just dried in the NFL record books with last season’s 23 sacks. Keep in mind Verse only recorded 7.5 sacks in 2025. *sucks teeth*…upon further review Verse only had 1 sack in 3 postseason games combined last year. The truth is Myles Garrett is a Reggie White level future Pro Football Hall of Famer not just another good player. With the Eagles trading away WR AJ Brown today to the Patriots the NFC runway is clear barring any injuries…When the clock struck :00 to conclude last year’s NFC Championship Game, the Rams were the 2nd best team. Once the confetti fell on their division rivals in Levi Stadium it was time to dissect what was needed to beat the champion Seahawks. With the ink drying on Seahawk receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba’s 4 year $156 million contract the Rams needed to upgrade at corner and didn’t wait for the draft. In 3 games Smith-Njigba scorched Ram corners for 27 rec. 349 yards and 2 TDs. He led the NFL with 119 rec. and an NFL leading 1,793 yards with 10 scores and will be a problem for years to come. Yet the Rams pulled off the move of the offseason (up until Garrett) trading for 2 time All Pro Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie. Then brought in his teammate Jaylen Watson to man the corner on the other side.

These two were fresh off playing in 3 straight Super Bowls and faced the AFC’s best receivers during that run. No 1st round corner the Rams could draft would grant anywhere near that success so that “f*ck them picks” mantra has reared its head again. Brilliant move and these new corners were unsung heroes on last year’s 10th ranked defense which was 12th against the pass. They should immediately improve the Rams who were 17th & 19th respectively. This is the blanket LA expects to throw over the rest of the NFC West:

 

McDuffie & Watson had 58 passes defensed with 6 interceptions behind one of the weakest pass rushes in the NFL in Kansas City. Notice how many plays Watson made in the video blitzing? Now these two will be able to jump routes as Jared Verse (7.5 sacks) ooops scratch that….. Myles Garrett (23 sacks), Byron Young (12 sacks) & Kobie Turner (7 sacks) spearheaded a rush that had 47 sacks in ’25 compared to just 35 garnered in KC. Their leading sack artist was Chris Jones with just 7 sacks. This is what they have to counter Smith-Njigba and Kupp in Seattle.

The front seven needs a boost at Linebacker. This has been the weakest position over the last 3 years and has to be shored up for this defense to make the final leap. We’re talking no more than a top 10 to 12th ranking in defense with Stafford and the firepower on offense. Reigning MVP QB Matt Stafford (4,707 yds/ 46TDs) is hoping Puka Nacua (129 rec. 1,715 yds 10TDs) returns from rehab ready to go. Once he and DeVante Adams (60 rec. 789 yds 14TDs) can get a full season together should easily repeat as the NFL’s #1 offense. Barring injury this looks like a full sprint to Super Bowl LXI on their homefield in Sofi. Lets see who and what is addressed in this year’s draft:

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Seattle Should Not Let Kenneth Walker III Leave For Free Agency

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The Seattle Seahawks defense of their Super Bowl crown will undoubtedly be undermined if Kenneth Walker leaves via free agency. A spirited debate has been going on my Facebook page where fans are passionate about believing in GM Schneider’s approach.

My thoughts were to transitional franchise him so the Seahawks would be allowed 1st right of refusal to any contract he signs. The Chancellor’s thoughts are they should have signed him to keep continuity for a championship team to see they will be rewarded once they perform from a team psyche standpoint. This harms this but lets take a quick look at things.

The fact of the matter is we know he was splitting time with Zach Charbonnet. Lets take a hard look:

Walker: 221 carries 1,027 yds 5 TDs /31 rec. 282 yds 0 TDs

Charbonnet: 184 carries 730 yds 12 TDs / 20 rec. 144 yds 0 TDs

A lazy look at this and you’d think Charbonnet had been Marshall Faulk when in fact he came in and ran for short yardage touchdown after the heavy lifting had been done. His touchdowns were from 1, 1, 5, 1, 2, 6, 5, 5, 4, 2, 1, & 27 yds on a run in the finale. Lets not forget Chabonnet tore his ACL in the playoff win over San Francisco and didnt have surgery to repair it until February 20th. Five weeks later after the Super Bowl.  Yet interestingly we had ACL injuries to Patrick Mahomes and Micah Parsons prompting this comment from Robert Griffin III passing out advice:

I’m sure RGIII has serious advice on looking back on the ACL injury he had in the 2012 NFC Divisional loss ironically to the Seattle Seahawks. But lets act like he doesn’t have history on knowing what a player should do as this injury sabotaged a promising career for him.

As for others? What about the 2000 Baltimore Ravens that bullied their way to the Super Bowl XXXV championship behind one of history’s best defenses and a superior running game. Remember? Rookie Jamal Lewis who ran for 1,351 yards and the final TD in the title game. He tore his ACL in training camp and the Ravens struggled to muster a running game in 2001 before being clobbered in the AFC Divisional Round in a 21-10 loss to the Steelers.

Their best rushers in his absence? They signed journeyman Terry Allen (658 yds) and rookie Jason Brookins (who? 551 yds) and they came up woefully short in defending their title.

Eventually Lewis came back after knee reconstruction and ran for 2,053 yards in 2003 which was 2 years after his injury not 9 months. Charbonnet is not the physical menace that Lewis was. So he’d be back to handle 30% of the load and run for maybe 800 yards 2 seasons from now. No he isn’t prime Adrian Peterson who came back and ran for 2,097 yards after his either and all were chronicled here in 2012 on Taylor Blitz Times.

How about the 1999 Denver Broncos coming off back to back Super Bowls winning XXXII & XXXIII? Terrell Davis had just run for 2,008 yards but in ’99 he tore his ACL and was never the same. As for the Broncos, they finished 6-10 with Olandis Gary as the leading rusher with only 1,159 yards. The 855 yd fewer runs translated to the 6-10 record where they missed the playoffs entirely… we could go further into it but you get the point.

Folks think this is an isolated incident when we have seen Super Bowl teams fail miserably after losing their best running back. Remember Super Bowl XXIX when the 49ers lost Rickey Watters after a record 3 TD performance in the big game? He was an often injured starter who came on during the ’94 playoffs. Without him they were anemic all year and their unproven runners Derek Loville & Adam Walker (1 lost fumble) doomed them in their ’95 27-17 NFC playoff loss that ended their season.

Yet tell me the blind loyalty to GM John Schneider as though he has won the last 7 Super Bowls or something. To think the defending champion Seahawks are $60 million under the cap, one side of the football cheering public think Walker III shouldn’t receive a raise based on the idiotic notion not to pay the bellcow runner. As though Saquon Barkley didn’t just run for 2,005 yards on the Super Bowl LIX champion Eagles. As though the Baltimore Ravens didn’t have Derek Henry bludgeoning opponents for 1,921 yards and 16 rushing TDs and should have faced the Eagles in LIX but they were undone by a bad 2 point conversion.

Seattle could begin the season with 2 different running backs now that Charbonnet could be out until late in the ’26 season or even miss football until ’27. If he is back is he going to be the bellcow for the team after an ACL tear??

Hopefully GM Schneider is just playing hard ball to bring Walker III in later. Even with a discount he allows the Seahawks a legitimate chance at defending their Super Bowl LX title. Without it they stand no chance.

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Top Ten Single Season Defenses in NFL History : #1 1985 Chicago Bears

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Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan was also carried off after Super Bowl XX.

Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan was also carried off after Super Bowl XX.

Reissued Article

“In this study every season’s #1 defense, record setting defenses, trend setting defenses, and every Super Bowl & NFL championship defenses dating back to 1960. The nod would lend to those post the AFL/NFL merger of 1970. That wasn’t enough as now lets take each defense and cover what they did vs Pro Bowl QBs that season, 1,000 yard rushers, and playoff teams and talk about their effectiveness along with their statistics. Here turnovers forced is a big marker. Nothing watered down so a favorite team can be given favor. So The Chancellor of Football took over 200 defenses and boiled it down to this 11 article series and this valedictorian is the culmination of that study…

This is The Chancellor of Football’s choice for the NFL’s greatest single season defense and there is a serious gap between #1 and the #2 Baltimore Ravens. We’ll cover why at the end of this article. However welcome to the perfect storm of dynamic personnel, innovative defensive tactics and an intensely focused unit. One interesting aspect of the 1985 Chicago Bears performance is they did so without ’84 All Pro Safety Todd Bell who held out that season.

This was the era of the 46 Defense of Buddy Ryan. A Nickle defense where DBs were substituted for more athletic linebackers which allowed Ryan to use it as an every down formation. He could spring it on a team at any time without substitution.

Contrary to misinformed sportswriters he had been using the defense since 1981. Considering he named the formation for the number Safety Doug Plank wore which moved him into a Linebackers position. Plank’s last full season was 1981 and was replaced by Bell in 1982.

The 46 covered the Guard, Center, Guard which kept the MLB from being blocked. Furthermore if either the Center or Guard pulled, a DLineman would be in the backfield to disrupt any running play.

The 46 covered the Guard, Center, Guard which kept the MLB from being blocked. Furthermore if either the Center or Guard pulled, a DLineman would be in the backfield to disrupt any running play.

Although this formation gave the Bears an edge over their competition they only used it 30-40% of the time. It was the element of surprise that caught the NFL off guard. What is overlooked is how great the personnel fit every scheme Ryan used. In 1984, this group set the NFL record for sacks with 72. After he departed they set the record for fewest points allowed in 1986 yielding 187 points. It’s the season in between, 1985, that was their crowning achievement.

Take a look at a few stats:

  • #1 overall ranking
  • #1 against the run #3 against the pass
  • #1 in turnovers w/ 54 forced
  • #1 in interceptions w/ 34
  • #1 in passer rating allowed w/ 51.4
  • #1 in points allowed: 198 for the season
  • #1 in 1st downs allowed per game: 14.8
  • #1 in opp. completion percentage allowed 47.7%
  • #1 in touchdowns allowed w/ 23
  • #1 in rushing touchdowns allowed w/ 6

Now add to the fact they were #3 in sacks with 64, #3 against the pass giving up yardage in garbage time with blowout leads. It was the venomous way they attacked strong competition that makes this defense the valedictorian of NFL units.

Look at the competition they faced and look what they did to them. In 1985 the NFC East champion Cowboys (10-6) were trounced 44-0, the wildcard Giants (10-6) 21-0 in the playoffs, and the 10-6 Redskins slaughtered 45-10. Outscoring them 110-10 when they were the “best division in football” yikes!! Then you have the NFC West Champion LA Rams (11-5) killed 24-0 in the NFC Championship, and the last wildcard team? The defending champion San Francisco 49ers (10-5-1), who were pounded 26-10 in Candlestick.  Funny thing was the 49er touchdown was a Carlton Williamson interception, so the 49er offense scored 3 at home.

* So the Bears gave up 20 points combined to the 5 best teams in their conference and avg. more than 4TDs margin of victory (31-4 avg. score)…damn! All were 10 win teams.

Then of course each division faces another division in the other conference which in the 85 Bears case was the AFC East.  Thank God they didn’t play my Bills… The AFC East champion Dolphins won 38-24, but both wildcards in the AFC went to the Jets and Patriots.  What happened to those teams you ask?  The Jets (11-5) were clobbered in the Meadowlands 20-6 and the Patriots (11-5) twice. The Bears beat the Patriots 20-7 in week 2, then the 46-10 smashing in Super Bowl XX.

*So the only loss was to defending AFC Champion Miami & where did the Dolphins season conclude?  They lost the AFC Championship at home to the Patriots where had they won there would have been a rematch with the Bears in the Super Bowl. So you could say that they were a pretty strong team…fair to say? The Bears beat EVERY playoff team in 1985 from the NFC, and faced three from the AFC…all teams had 10 wins or more and the Bears basically laughed at ’em.  This is what a heavyweight champion should look like!!

They were 4-1 against top 10 offenses and in those 4 wins held each team to less than 10 points. In fact, the ’85 Bears held 11 of their 16 opponents to less than 10 points and recorded back to back shutouts over the Falcons and Cowboys. In the playoffs they set another record not allowing a point in back to back playoff shutouts to make it to Super Bowl XX. Once there they set records for holding the Patriots to -19 yards at the half, 7 yds rushing for the game, record 7 sacks, and allowed the fewest yards in Super Bowl history with 127.

This second look shows a few plays from the 46 front look but the final play with Steve McMichael’s sack was one of the secrets of the ’85 Bears. They lined up in a 3-4 and had DE Richard Dent the rushing weakside ‘backer a la Lawrence Taylor. Ironically the 46 defense didn’t die it evolved into teams running it from 3-4 alignments and not 4-3 alignments as Buddy Ryan originated this from. If you’ve watched the Steelers over the last 15 years they have used DEs that were built like DTs and would squeeze them down to cover the Guard,Center, Guard and position an Inside Linebacker right next to the Strong side Linebacker. They just made it interchangeable in elements to surprise their opponents from time to time.

They had NFL Defensive Player of the year and Hall of Famer Mike Singeltary, All Pro Gary Fencik, Hall of Fame DEs Richard Dent and Dan Hampton. Pro Bowl Linebacker Otis Wilson and OLB Wilber Marshall who should be in the Hall of Fame.

In 2000 when the Ravens gave up 165 points and the question was raised- “Were they better than the ’85 Bears defense?”  HELL NO!!! The Ravens didn’t face 1984 MVP Dan Marino, 3-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana, Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, 1983 MVP Joe Theismann, and Danny White was a pro bowl quarterback as was Ken O’Brien of the Jets. ALL WERE IN THEIR PRIME!  Had the 2000 Ravens seen these quarterbacks they give up another 150 points easy and wouldn’t make the mythical Super Bowl if they played the 85 Bears schedule!!

Spurgeon Wynn. Who?? Spurgeon Wynn, Tim Couch, Anthony Wright, Kent Graham, Gus Frerotte, Brian Griese, Ryan Leaf, Scott Mitchell, and Akili Smith were some of the QBs those Ravens faced so….no way do they get this nod. I loved those Ravens don’t get me wrong, but what would the ’85 Bears have given up against the 2000 Ravens schedule? That’s frightening to think about.

me and singeltary

Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary and The Chancellor of Football on the Ravens sideline in 2003.

The best ever defense from the historian view of The Chancellor of Football’s view was the 1985 Chicago Bears hands down. How badly they trounced sound competition has resonated for decades. In compiling this list every #1 defense from 1960 to the present was used, every championship defense, and every record setting defense with the nod going to those that played since the merger in 1970. Hundreds of defenses boiled down to the 1985 Bears sitting atop as the best.

Dedicated to the memory of James David “Buddy” Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016)

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Super Bowl LX Fallout: Sam Darnold & The Moving Goalpost

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Its amazing how some in the media don’t want to anoint Sam Darnold to an elite status calling him Trent Dilfer etc. Over the last 15 years coverage of the NFL has turned into fan-boy central with most media only supporting the players of their favorite teams. Its cheap and it robs players of coverage they’ve earned and cheats them out of accolades. Once a player they don’t covet turns their career around several don’t want to admit he should be seen differently. It shows they were wrong or need to see it differently and they let their egos get in the way.

Don’t listen or watch these idiots!

First off Sam Darnold had a moderate perfromance in Super Bowl LX and came out a champion. He went 19 of 38 for 202 yards and a 4th quarter TD pass to AJ Barner which showed the Seahawks were about to be crowned. Detractors kept waiting for Darnold to fold but wait….he already made his bones when he struck down NFL MVP Matt Stafford in the NFC Championship. You can’t overlook his 25 of 36 for 346 yards and 3TDs when you picked him to lose. Well he had a defense and a running game. Well in that game Walker only had 19 carries for 62 yards not the MVP performance (135 yds rushing) we had from him last night.

They’re not in position if he didn’t take over the NFC Championship Game then play a supporting role in LX. He and Walker III flip flopped these roles and as a team came through with the biggest win in their careers. Compare his performance with Tom Brady’s first win in XXXVI. He went 16 of 27 for 145 yds and 1 TD but media acts as though he threw for 500 yards in all his Super Bowls.

Last week the national media on ESPN and elsewhere no one wanted to anoint him with that performance treating it as an abberation. Performances in championship games are not abberations and they need to be lauded or I’d be a hypocrite anointing Doug Williams Super Bowl XXII MVP performance. Its not about having to do it all the time but doing it when your team NEEDS you to.

You CAN’T downplay great performances just because Darnold proved you wrong lighting up Golden Child Coach Kyle Shanahan 41-6 in the NFC Divisional Playoff. Then you stayed silent with your firngers crossed he would falter in the NFC Championship Game to offer “I told you so” then were thwarted. Now he “didn’t turn the ball over” in the Super Bowl vs he made the plays to win the game where other more celebrated QBs like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson haven’t been.

  • Super Bowl LX – Darnold: 19 of 38 for 202 yds 1TD
  • Super Bowl LVI – Stafford: 26 of 40 for 283 yds 3TDs 2 Ints *Super Bowl MVP*
  • Super Bowl LIX – Hurts: 17 of 22 for 221 yds 2TDs  1 Int  *Super Bowl MVP*

Here are the stat line for 3 of your Super Bowl winners in the last 5 years and only Stafford has been considered elite by the sporting press. His LVI win seems to have erased a decade of marginal play and blew him up to being an elite QB but it hasn’t for Darnold and hasn’t for Hurts. The elite mantra has followed Stafford ever since propelling him to this year’s MVP in the eyes of the voters. Even though he hasn’t always played elite over the last 4 seasons.

So they are moving the goalpost on Sam Darnold, not Taylor Blitz Times. His win last night validates his complete career and draft status. Period. He never has to answer to those lows again now that he’s scaled the mountain. You cannot talk to me about the potential of Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix, Baker Mayfield, or any of the “Rudy try hard” types who can’t win 2 playoff games or even show up in the conference championship game.

Its time to cover players for what they’ve performed and not “cheerleading” about their perceived potential. When you get it wrong, re-evaluate how you got there and make changes when new informati0n about a player comes in. Don’t dismiss it because it doesn’t fit the narrative of your slanted view. This type of b.s. with the national media / writers not only cheated football with the Pro Football Hall of Fame vote this year, it allows them to roll the goalpost out to 150 yards in the covering judgment of Sam Darnold.

This is completely wrong… you’re supposed to cover players for who they are and what they have accomplished. Not cover them as you wished they’d be had you been in their shoes. Now they’re waiting for next year’s performance for their “Aha…see!” moment. Disgraceful…

Darnold is an elite quarterback and he has a chance to grow as Tom Brady did from his Super Bowl XXXVI stats (16 of 27 145 yds 1 TD). By the way “It was a different league then) doesn’t count as an argument since they beat The Greatest Show on Turf who amassed 7,075 yards in 2001 which is still 4th highest in NFL history.

Congratulations Sam Darnold on your elite status and Super Bowl LX  champi0nship

 

 

Top Ten Single Season Defenses in NFL History : #4 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers

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Reissued Article

“In this study every season’s #1 defense, record setting defenses, trend setting defenses, and every Super Bowl & NFL championship defenses dating back to 1960. The nod would lend to those post the AFL/NFL merger of 1970. That wasn’t enough as now lets take each defense and cover what they did vs Pro Bowl QBs that season, 1,000 yard rushers, and playoff teams and talk about their effectiveness along with their statistics. Here turnovers forced is a big marker. Nothing watered down so a favorite team can’t be given favor. So The Chancellor of Football took over 200 defenses and boiled it down to this 11 article series and this was the 8th..”

Now how could we have a category on the best defenses and defenders in NFL history and not include the Pittsburgh Steelers?? As we moved into the 1970′s following the merger, we saw the hashmarks narrowed in 1974 and the goal posts moved to the end line to provide offenses more room to operate. Scoring had been down for much of the first half of the decade and it was thought this additional field to cover would hamper defenses. Especially those with burly MLB types that had limited range tracking sideline to sideline, or defending the pass.

Enter Jack Lambert. A converted outside linebacker who stood 6’4 and stayed at a playing weight of 220 lbs. the majority of his career. What he brought to the table was the speed to get further back than the Willie Lanier’s and the Dick Butkus’, a prior generation’s middle linebackers who were mainly there to stuff the run. His ability to get past twenty yards in pass defense was the impetus for the Steelers to run what is NOW misnamed the “Tampa 2″.

It started in Pittsburgh because against the run and rushing the passer, Ernie Holmes, Joe Greene, Dwight White, and LC Greenwood were the finest front four of their era….possibly football history. Lambert, along with outside linebackers Andy Russell, and Jack Ham, only needed to clean up against the run and were already a step back ready to clog the middle and flat areas against the slower tight ends of that era. The result??

No one could run on the '76 Steelers

No one could run on the ’76 Steelers

A defense put together from astute drafting grew into one of menace that powered the Steelers to victories in both Super Bowls IX and X. In Super Bowl IX the Steelers held the Vikings to just 17 yards rushing for the game. A record that stood until Super Bowl XX. They stood tall and defended against a frantic last second effort in Super Bowl X. So strong was the Steeler defense, Coach Chuck Noll ran the ball on 4th and 9 and let the Cowboys have the ball at their own 40 yard line leaving it up to the defense to win the game. While winning a second straight world title they set the Super Bowl record for sacks with 7.

A young team with an unprecedented chance to win a third straight Super Bowl went into the 1976 season with their front four in their prime.With Terry Bradshaw growing up as a quarterback and growing receivers John Stallworth and Lynn Swann with one of history’s finest defense….What would they do for an encore?? Could they threepeat??

 

However there were a couple issues as this defemse was 2-2 against Pro Bowl QBs. They lost to Fran Tarkenton and Minnesota 17-6, and Ken Stabler’s Raiders 31-28 in a wild come back out by the East Bay. Another notch against the Steelers was their performance against 1976’s Top Ten offenses where they went 1-3 in the regular season.  They allowed the 2nd ranked Raiders 31 in a loss. The Vikings were 6th in offense and lost 17-6 and New England’s 8th ranked offense dropped 30 in a loss (30-27) at Three Rivers no less.

The only win was against the Kansas City Chiefs who had the league’s 7th best offense. The one thing they did do was blow out the #1 offense in the Baltimore Colts 40-14 but that did come in an AFC Divisional  Playoff and they didn’t hold any To; Ten offense to 10 points or less. Another best ever defense hallmark.

Glen Edwards laid the wood at FS on those Steeler defenses. A forgotten player.

These bleemishes against top ten offenses dropped this unit out of out Top 3. This is for statistical dominance over a season not just a particular streak that happened during one. How did you fare against Pro Bowl QBs & Top Ten offenses is a staple to this study to eliminate biases.

One thing to note, this team was primarily responsible for the upcoming rule changes of 1978 and this was their best season. For the year they were #1 overall (237.4 y/pg) gave up just 138 points and held 7 of 8 straight opponents to 10 points or less. Five of those came by shutout and the first modern team to record 3 in a row. In fact they only allowed 2 touchdowns in the last 10 games and those came in the same game. A 32-16 win over the Oilers.

They had a string of 22 uqarters where they didn’t allow a touchdown. They were so good they had to be legislated out of business.

Starting in 1978 they instituted the “Mel Blount Rule” where receivers could only be jammed / hit within the first five yards of the scrimmage line. Blount was bludgeoning receives all down the field until the pass was thrown. Pass protectors were allowed to extend their arms to better protect against the Steel Curtain. The head slap was another tactic taken away from Pittsburgh’s charging front four in 1978. All of these rule changes can be traced back to this group.

RIP Coach Noll

RIP Coach Noll

One of the best in history and number 4 on The Chancellor of Football’s list.

Dedicated to the memories of Art Rooney, Chuck Noll, Ernie Holmes, LC Greenwood, & Dwight White.