Tag Archives: Super Bowl

Legends of The Fall: Dan Marino (Reissue)

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(Reissue of an article originally published 19, April 2014)

With the Netflix doc on John Elway holding sway its time to remind fans of the greatness of Dan Marino. With the sporting world overreacting to this new “ring culture” its time to provide a reminder…

When you ask someone what their definition of a great quarterback is, you invariably wind up with several answers. The one attribute in everyone’s criteria is that of a great passer. It can be argued that Dan Marino was the best pure passer in NFL history. Everyone mentions his quick release but forgets how fiery his delivery of the football was.

To define his quick release, for the football coaching impaired, is the time it took to complete his throwing motion. The easiest way to measure this back then were to slow film down to individual frames. The average QB release would take 15 frames where Marino was routinely between 8 & 9. So the ball was coming out half a second sooner.

Marino's legendary release.

Marino’s legendary release.

The direct results were more passes getting downfield and less sacks. If we look at his peak years of 1984-1986, Marino was only sacked 48 times while attempting 1,754 passes. The Dolphins led the league in fewest sacks all 3 seasons. Yet through that explosive delivery was the zip and hutzpah he put on the football. For he had one of the strongest arms in league history.

Unlike Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, who had league rules altered year after year to make them record breakers, Marino came in and shattered records through sheer ability. People talk of the great class of 1983 and most want to talk about John Elway first. Oh yeah?? Take a look at something:

  • Marino ’84-’86 – 1076 of 1754 for 13,967 yards & 122 TDs
  • Elway ’84-’86 – 821 of 1489 for 9,974 yards & 59 TDs

* To match Marino’s 122 TD total you would have to have Elway’s total from 1984 to the 13th week of the 1990 season! Almost 4 more years!

During this time both Marino and Elway had taken their teams to Super Bowl XIX and XXI respectively. Of these vids, if you only watch one, watch the 1986 vignette. Yet I digress… take a look at Marino’s record breaking fast pitch 1984:

Then you have 1985 where he led the Dolphins back to the AFC Championship Game. Had they won, we would have had a rematch between Marino and Chicago’s 46 defense in Super Bowl XX. Considering Miami gave the 18-1 Bears their only defeat, its something to think about.

Then you have perhaps his greatest season in 1986:

What made his 1986 season special is he was truly all they had and teams still couldn’t stop him. In 1984 he still had many teammates who had made it to Super Bowl XVII the year before he was drafted. The Killer Bs defense was there but aging. By 1986 most of those teammates were gone as a rebuliding phase had started. Still he went 378 of 623 for 4,746 yards and 44 touchdowns. The 44 was 8 more than the previous record and he was within 56 yards of Fouts’ other mark of 4,802.

Dan Marino bust

Also because it was the second time scaling those heights. He had set the record of 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns in his 1984 campaign. He shattered the old record of 36 touchdowns which had stood for 21 years. He did it in his first full season as a starter. Not his 7th or 8th when Manning and Brady finally topped his mark.

Or lets really bake your noodle for perspective: In 2004, Peyton Manning broke Marino’s record of 48 with 49TD tosses. If he destroyed Marino’s record to the degree Dan had in 1984, Manning would have needed to throw for 64 f’n touchdowns! Not just one more

Ultimately it was the fact that the game had passed by Don Shula as to why Marino didn’t make it back to the Super Bowl. The rest of his career the Dolphins failed to get a prime time receiver or runner. In 1995 they were the poster child for why the quick fix free agent route wasn’t the best place to build a team.

Yet when you look back at the promise of a young Dan Marino, the sky was the limit. He was definitely a legend of the fall.

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The Immaculate Reception: Before There Were Hail Marys

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Reissue of article July 30, 2011 -A year and a half before A Football Life’s version

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.

frenchyThanks for reading and please share the article.

me.franco.jpg

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 early hours of the morning talking about great games gone 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 jersey retirement moment should have been much sooner.

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

 

AJ Brown Dilemma With Jalen Hurts

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Now before we start this off keep in mind Taylor Blitz Times has been advocating for Jalen Hurst since he came up for the NFL Draft in 2020. In Shameful Impatience With Black QBs Take Two, we let everyone know the values he would bring to his future team and maturity would make him a franchise QB. Or the article when The Chancellor called for Hurts to replace Carson Wentz and trying to pinpoint when the Eagles would make the move. It pains me to say Hurts hasn’t developed enough as an NFL quarterback.

Yes he has gone to 2 Super Bowls and was the MVP in LIX but the nuance of playing QB in the NFL goes beyond The Pistol read option, single high throw deep play we see in Philadelphia. Where are the back shoulder throws Aaron Rodgers & Peyton Manning have built Hall of Fame careers on? Where are the slants or hot routes that come from Hurts recognizing a defense pre-snap that puts AJ Brown in a situation where he will win off the line?? So lets reword that… Nick Siriani and the Eagles Coaching Staff hasn’t developed Hurts enough as an NFL quarterback. Madden Coaches.

Caught in this vice is All Pro Receiver AJ Brown having a down year for the 2nd straight year in the middle of a possible Hall of Fame career. In ’22 & ’23 Brown had 1,496 and 1,456 yards on 88 & 106 receptions respectively, he is on pace to have 65 receptions with 867 yards. His frustrations are warranted as the Eagles can’t adjust the game plan to include one of the best receivers in football. He has a right to want to produce and make the stats, accolades, and maximize his chance at the Hall of Fame. Its not selfish… If his stats stay low, you can bet the Eagles will come back and want to rework his contract…. guaranteed.

One aspect of his game is he isn’t a total burner on the outside but he does make contested catches against close guarding corners. Hurts has to let the ball go and develop the trust that seems to be lacking. A few years back he gave AJ those chances so what’s happened??

Well here we are with another supposed set of coaching gurus who can’t scheme their top passing weapon open. I’ve never heard something so pathetic in my life. Jerry Rice’s whole career the 49ers would have 5 plays within their first 15 to get the ball to him. They’d move him in formation as well as have him in motion. It is not that hard.

Y0u can’t move him inside and isolate him on an OLB when the team is in a predictable zone alignment?? What are you watching game film for?? Well here lets give you Madden Coaches a quick example if you want to stay with simplified reads and play calls … sigh.

 

Line up in this formation and just run double slants with Jalen Hurts under center. Get out of the Pistol as it limits linebacker influence and do this on a play where you expect zone coverage. Have Brown as the “X” and Smith “Z”… If it’s Cover 3, Hurts throws it right on his 5th step to Brown right as he’s breaking with a low trajectory throw. If they run Cover 2 just hit Smitty  on the post.

You can do it with a FB in the game or do it from a 2 TE alignment with the second TE lining up in the FB position. Hurts…no dancing around you throw it right when your 5th step plants whether going “X” Brown or “Z” Smitty. Make sure your eyes are on that Free Safety to not tip off the MLB in case their running a “Tampa Cover 2.” 5th step…turn and fire.

Here is the practical application on 1st down by one of the greatest passing teams in history with The Greatest Show on Turf so don’t tell me it doesn’t work:

Ok… they threw it to Smitty who was in place of where HOF Isaac Bruce was but I promise you any defense will adjust to their FS in the middle and open up this same play for Brown on his post. This play has been in the NFL for 50 plus years and Brown can muscle through any CB trying to jam him so this is a fool proof play. Get out of that jackass Pistol and open up the passing lanes by holding the linebackers.

Truth of the matter is the Eagles haven’t developed the nuances of playing QB with Jalen Hurts and its shown. Any Madden Coach can have 200 plays but if they don’t tailor it to the personnel they have its useless. More important if the plays don’t have progression / priority changes based on the possible defense from the exact same look, its also worthless.

Beyond that, skillful play selection should culminate in moving or influencing a specific defensive player to react in a way to attack him later in the game. Same look, same formation, same down and distance and make adjustments to what he’ll cheat on when he sees the formation set up for the 3rd, 4th or 5th time in the game.

To play for another Lombardi you have to get the ball to AJ Brown.

The Eagles have kept it simple and not worked on holding the safeties with your eyes and throwing on time to a spot on the field. Throw your receivers open. Teach / Coach the full nuance of an NFL quarterback. This was something I warned in my original article “The NFL’s Shameful Impatience With Black Quarterbacks” and its time to develop the full arsenal of Jalen Hurts.

Get the ball to AJ Brown… sigh. There should be no less 8-10 throws to him per game and get him engaged early. Its no secret the game doesn’t begin in a receiver’s mind until that first catch and he gets hit. Every conversation the best receivers always admit this so why not get the ball to Brown 2 or 3 times on the first drive alone? Hurts has to pull the trigger and throw it to him and quit playing in fear of throwing an interception.

The psyche of this offense and their ability to defend their Super Bowl championship depends on it.

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Has Buffalo’s Super Bowl Window Closed?

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Its time to really take a look at the Buffalo Bills and the closing of their Super Bowl window with Josh Allen. There are those that will argue but the front office did the same thing back in the 90s when they were going to the big game. They stopped trying to get blue chip talent and just leaned on those in tow. However if we go back to that time they had 5 Hall of Fame players where this incarnation has one…. Josh Allen and let others slip away.

Yes he is the reigning MVP but the way he played these last 8 years, yeah 8 years… he has taken 2 to 3 times the hits other quarterbacks have. The willingness to take on tacklers with his big body on planned running plays but his accuracy may get beat out of his body. Think back to Cam Newton and it was his 8th season (2018 / 6-8 record playing just 14 games) when the losses and injuries started to mount. The next year (for those who didn’t hit the link) he was 0-2 in the games he played and the bottom fell out for a (5-11) team who just 4 years before was 15-1, had an MVP Newton and playing in Super Bowl 50.

Well it was 4 years ago when Allen had his signature game in the 42-36 divisional loss to Kansas City. It was one of the NFL’s greatest games and we’re still clinging to that promise. The Bills fell in love with Allen as a cheat code where the passing windows aren’t open, Josh will take off and run or buy time to get them open.  Then there are the QB sweeps where we get to play 11 on 11 football. This gave the Bills a dimension to lean into other teams didn’t have the luxury of… but at what expense?

Stephon Diggs for one as he came back and lit up the Bills for 10 receptions 146 yards in spearheading a 23-20 win in Buffalo. It looked like an upset at the time but the 8-2 Patriots have Diggs leading the charge with 50 rec. 554yds/3Tds but most importantly he can get open with his quickness in a phone booth Drake Maye has grown to depend on. Allen used to have this as a part of his arsenal and has been scrambling for his life to get a “D” rate receiving corps time to get open. He looked like a beaten fighter at the end of the loss in Miami.

Where is the blue chip receiver the Bills should have acquired once Diggs departed?? Where are the blue chip defenders to make plays (forced fumbles / 3rd down sacks in key moments)?? My Bills just rely on schematically correct defense without any playmakers to change the momentum in a game. Same iwth the offense and I know they acquired Amari Cooper last year however, that is in his 14th year on his 4th team and his forte was never quickness to get open and provide a quick target.

Forgive me as we look at the graphic above but wasn’t Tyler Lockett available a few weeks ago?? Why not sign Lockett?? Trade for Rasheed Shaheed with New Orleans? There was so much more the Bills could have done but they kept relying on Josh to be Superman when he needs some Super Friends.

As he keeps taking all these hits the additional padding he will put on can change his throwing motion moving forward. This will be something to watch. This game has been played well over 100 years and the one thing we do know is a young QB will  use his legs and run when a play isn’t there. By their 5th year starting they have to evolve into almost strictly a passer and rely on guile reading defenses and audibling into the right play.

As a Bills fan The Chancellor doesn’t want to see this happen to Josh Allen but the writing is on the wall. The Bills are 6-3 and aside from the 28-21 win over the 5-4 Chiefs there isn’t another big win. Well you can count the 41-40 come from behind epic to start the season but the Bills had been manhandled much of the game and had some lucky bounces to come from 16 down to win it. That won’t happen a 2nd time and if we don’t catch the Patriots and win the division we’re going to be on the road in the playoffs. We’re 2-2 this year on the road with losses to Atlanta and Miami. Not against elite teams.

What no one is talking about is the punishment accumulation Josh Allen is taking along with the pressure to be Superman every game. We watched this ruin Cam Newton by year 8 a decade before and watched it happen in the 70s with Bert Jones for my old timers. It happened with Steve Young and so many others. Sure the loss to Miami was a division opponent and anything can happen but if you look at the tell tale signs something else was signaled with that loss in South Florida.

The Super Bowl window with this incarnation of the Bills has closed and a retooling has to happen.

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Plight of The 2025 Kansas City Chiefs

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The 2025 Kansas City Chiefs look like the 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers. The dynasty ended while they’re players and coaches were still intact. People aren’t seeing them correctly due to suspended muscle memory.

Its like watching Mike Tyson fight after his incarceration. Yes he kept on winning but he wasn’t knocking prime fighters out in less than 2 rounds as we had become accustomed. 1997 Michael Tyson wasn’t 1988 Mike Tyson. Same with the 2025 Chiefs. Time has caught this dynasty. Taylor Blitz AFC West Preview had them finishing 9-8 and missing the playoffs just like that 1980 team.

Keep in mind their core players have played in 21 postseason games dating back to the 2018 season and everyone knows playoff football is amped much more than reguar season games. They haven’t had great records and were able to rest their players these last few years also.

Where does the wear and tear show up? All Pro DT Chris Jones for one looks warn out. Remember the loaf he had in the loss to Jacksonville on Trevor Lawrence’s last second touchdown run?

Let’s be honest, we haven’t seen him make a big play this season when he has been the Chiefs closer the last 7 years. He has a Pro Football Hall of Fame resume built on the multiple big play stops made in the biggest of games. He’s been the hungriest of lions on a defense that now leads the teams. In fact they should be a 4 time champion if it wasn’t for a bogus roughing the passer call in the 2018 AFC Championship Game. With a 21-17 lead on Brady’s Patriots they were hit with this bogus penalty after the Chiefs had roared back to take the lead.

Of course you can scoff that was 7 years ago and he was a younger hungrier player, but thats the point. The Chris Jones of old closed out many games when teams had a sliver of hope in the 4th quarter. Even after his press conference being called out earlier this year we were expecting him to return to the dominant 4th quarter defender thats defined his career. Same body… same number but the fire isn’t there.

Pundits have Patrick Mahomes and still argue he is the best quarterback in the NFL but a slow erosion has taken place. Last year he had to engineer 7 game winning drives in his 15 wins. His passing percentage was better in 2024 (64.5%) was better than his ’22 MVP season (64.1%) but it was for 1,282 less yards and a drop in TD passes by 15. The pack has caught up and last year the wolf was at the door where they had just enough to keep them at bay.

This team with a 5-4 record looks tired and they’ve been a great champion. They still have time to right the ship and mount another comeback but its a lot to expect from an older team after being on top for nearly a decade. Even Travis Kelce and his antics with Taylor Swift make him appear youthful, keep in mind he is running routes and getting hit in a 36 year old body. That is old in NFL years.

His dropoff to 3TDs in 2024 is glaring considering he averaged 11TDs the previous 3 years.

The clock struck midnight on this dynasty in the middle of Super Bowl week last year. They were two steps slow and the old knight couldn’t keep the young lion from taking their crown and fell hopelessly behind 34-0 in LIX when they were trying to 3Peat.

But alas Chiefs fans will say The Chancellor is hating but its the truth and all the cracks in the dynasty are there. You can sit with your brews as you did when an older Michael Tyson took on Evander Holyfield but just like that night…looks like Tyson.. shows flashes like the old Tyson but…. sigh look at this remaining schedule. Going to Mile High (7 game winning streak) and the Colts with NFL rushing leader Jonathan Taylor in these first 2?? Daunting task to say the least…

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SUPER BOWL XXXVI CHAMPION 2001 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

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One of the NFL’s greatest dynasties was stolen from a team set to become one in the St Louis Rams. New England’s 20-17 upset win was a carbon copy of Bill Belichick’s Super Bowl XXV gameplan when the NY Giants beat the Buffalo Bills.

Stolen? Well there had been claims the Patriots recorded the Rams walk through giving them an illegal and unfair advantage. In a game of simulated war you’d have to suspect there would be espionage at play. The Patriots were fined for this practice in 2007 and the taped evidence from the Super Bowl XXXVI incident were inadvertently destroyed. Which raised suspicion…

Super Bowl XXXVI Logo prior to 9/11

Espionage in the game of football?? Everyone is worried about it. Why do you think there are closed practices? Teams practicing wearing numbers different than what they play with on game day. Lombardi’s Packers did this in case they were spied on. In fact before the 1958 NFL Championship Carroll Rosenbloom had a Colts staffer spy on the New York Giants practice, promising him a job for life if caught.

This overshdowed the defensive brilliance of Bill Belichick’s carbon copy of his old Giants defenses. His secondary was physical with all his defensive backs 200 lbs or heavier. SS Lawyer Milloy (6’0 200 lbs) was the new Myron Guyton (6’1 205 lbs) & Tebucky Jones (6-2 218 lbs) were where the Rams receivers were funnelled to and were punished if they survived Patriots Linebackers clogging those lanes.

Super Bowl XXXVI Logo after 9/11 with the date pushed into February.

One of the most telling plays of the game was when NFL MVP Kurt Warner had Torry Holt open up the left sideline. The Rams were desperate to get their offense going and knowing Tebucky Jones was coming from a Cover 2 Safety alignment, came up alligator armed and dropped the pass. Jones hit him full force anyway and the camera NFL Films had on Holt, you saw him take his eye off the ball and look at Jones coming instead of securing the catch.

That drop where he didnt want the smoke is the reason Holt hasn’t made the Pro Football Hall of Fame in The Chancellor’s estimation. It was a lasting image on a huge stage.

Yet the 1st Super Bowl TD of the Patriots dynasty catapulted CB Ty Law on his way to Canton. Midway through the 2nd quarter a hurried Warner threw an out Law jumped and took to the house. Now down 7-3 The Greatest Show on Turf was completely in scramble mode.

Belichick’s bunch had Mike Martz right where they wanted him. An Offensive genius falls in to the trap believing his finesse x’s & o’s will trump fundamental football and arrogantly pass, pass, pass. Leaving NFL Offensive Player of the Year Marshall Faulk on the tarmac having abandoned the run.

This team had been constructed to be a newer version of Bill Parcells & Bill Belichick’s Giants and came to full fruition in February 2002. They were a surprise champion with a Cinderella season where Tom Brady won “The Tuck Rule” game against the Raiders in 1 playoff game. To original starter Drew Bledsoe replacing an injured Brady to lead the Patriots to  a win in the AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh.

For all the world this seemed like a one time champion as they fielded 7 defenders 30 years of age or older. CB Otis Smith (36), DE Willie McGinest (30), ILB Roman Phifer (33), LB Bryan Cox (33), DE Bobby Hamilton (30), DE Anthony Pleasant (33) and Nickle Corner Terrell Buckley (30). They would have to retool but this 1st championship Patriot team was built on defensive might.

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