You look at passing in the 70s before the 1978 rule changes and it's night and day differences... Even though it remained difficult to play QB throughout the 80s and 90s, guys like Marino, Montana, Elway, Kelly, Moon etc... had it easier for sure. And that's not a knock at their talent, I have no doubt those QBs would still be talented and HOF level pre 1978, but I think it's wildly underestimated just how much the passing game evolved from that point onward.
I think if Elway had played QB for a team like Detroit, Atlanta, Buffalo, or maybe even New England a decade earlier, I think he still wouldve been considering a potent, duel-purpose QB who wins an NFL league MVP, voted to more then a few Pro Bowls, and wins his fair share of playoff games in epic, classic last-second fashion but I'm not 100% sure he ends up being a HOF, makes a SB much less eventually wins one, and his career lasts nearly as long as it did being apart of one of the most stable, well-owned and successful franchises. It's not too far-fetched of a notion that he has a career similar to Baltimore's Bert Jones. Bert Jones was the John Elway of the 1970's with a less-stable, not as capable supporting cast and a notorious, idiotic drunk for an owner who singularly alienated, annoyed and offended local and state Md. owners that he had to sneak his organization out in the middle of the night because he feared the Md. State legislature might use eminent domain to steal his franchise before relocating to Indianapolis.
Oh yeah, back then DB's could do pretty much whatever they wanted. QB's didn't get "special" treatment when they ran the ball...there was no "sliding and giving themselves up " Much different game now !
@@davidroberts7282 I loved Bert Jones. Dude was badass. Such a short career. Loved Stabler in the same kind of way. "Ghost to the Post" one of my favorite games.
Those guys you named did benefit from the Blount rule, but they were still taking hits like their predecessors. The 80s and 90s were probably the best hybrid of old school and new school football we'll ever see.
I think that he threw the deep ball as well as anyone ever has. Yes, the Oilers did not adequately protect him early in his career. He took a TON of punishment.
That's because he had to play the Steelers twice a year. They absolutely teed off on the Oilers. Like a spring training scrimmage for the Steel Curtain.
You had some of the strongest arms in history in 1977. Pastorini, Bradshaw, Bert Jones and Doug Williams. Patorini was hard to coach and relied on arm strength too much.
I think there's a few that are athletic enough and tough enough to...not a lot...but a handful ! All sports are like that.Look at the NBA ! I laugh my ass off when I hear LeBron James call HIMSELF "The Goat" ! Dude, LeFlop wouldn't last a quarter against Wilt, Kareem, Maurice Lucas, Barkley, Oakley, Wes Unseld, Bill Lambier, Bob Lanier, Willis Reed....he'd whine & cry and go to his "Safe Space"!
That's the big "if", right? Today's guys haven't encountered it and who knows if they could effectively deal with it. You mentioned Maurice Lucas and it brought back some vivid memories - the dude was bad. Truck Robinson comes to mind, too.
How many of today's home run hitters (they all are cuz MLB plays with Titleist) would be able to handle Bob Gibson or Don Drysdale firing bullets around their head...without wearing a batting helmet?
The most obvious difference between the NFL in the 1970s and today is the treatment of the QB. Yes, it was brutal then. Some of the hits on a QB from that era would probably get you a year suspension today. Nothing but respect for those ole time greats. Getting truly flattened disrupts your psyche , something today's QBs rarely deal with. Amazing how effective those QBs were under that type of pressure.
I'm so glad that you mentioned how being blasted and flattened disrupts a QB's composure because few pundits speak of it. We don't know how today's QB's would respond after getting knocked around a time or two. To me, that's a mark of a terrific QB and when I think of guy's who got knocked around a lot, I think of Unitas, Bradshaw, Archie Manning and Dan Pastorini, although there are many others, who generally responded well thereafter. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Getting the QB out the game by way of a stretcher was part of the game , especially for the fans. QBs were not famed as legit stars of the public mainstream until Joe Namath. The prototype of the game back then as a tough well built QB to be able to take the constant hitting from the big guys of just controlling the Offense from getting killed. Its pretty much the same way of what it really takes to be a pro QB as too many have come and gone and even now, can have all the skills to use thru out the game but always thinking getting hurt from the big guys puts a strain on a QBs will to win. Real QBs in NFL accept getting hit of a challenge for the team.
Most of the highest yard totals in one game have come in the 21st century,but Norm Van Brocklin still has the all time record set in 1951. He did that in a 12 game season.
QB’s were destroyed back then. Now you can barely touch QB’s today. Recievers would get laid out When they went over the middle. That started the term alligator arms. It’s not fair to compare the past to the present.
Agreed; and that’s why he cannot be considered as the “GOAT.” “GOAT” contains “all time”, meaning excelling in any era. Brady is clearly a product of HIS era. Roethlesberger, Rodgers, Mahomes, Brees would have excelled in ANY era because they could improvise once the script was torn up. Any of the 4 mentioned would have done fine in an NFL where defenders were allowed to hit.
@@carspiv I agree with the GOAT thing. People just saying it all the time to the point it doesn’t mean anything. Lol Back then you had to be man to play in the NFL.
Correct, people saying it all the time doesn't mean they're right. These people probably never saw a NFL game pre-'78. Brady wouldn't have been tough enough to last back then.
I'm not a fan of his but I think Brady is tougher than people give him credit for. It's just that he benefitted from the newer rules that don't allow much hitting of the QBs. He even complained recently that the NFL isn't as good of a product as it used to be when the league allowed defensive players more freedom.
Great video and a brilliant idea! I think the NFL realized that it was in the entertainment business and the product was becoming boring. Super Bowl winning teams like the Steelers and the Raiders were using down right thuggery tactics in their secondaries and of course this was bringing about a Monkey See Monkey Do attitude among other teams in the league. Also at the time, baseball was making a resurgence with the Yankees and Dodgers becoming household names and the NBA was on the cusp of becoming another challenger for the sports ticket buyer ( Magic and Larry Bird arrived in 1980). The defensive holding and blocking rule changes were the start and then in 1978 Don Coryell became coach of the San Diego Chargers and launched his Air Coryell offense.
Terrific response! I think that you nailed it! In regard to @kendallevans4079 comment, I agree as well. In short, it's far more entertainment than sport and I have been turned off by it for a number of years. While enormously popular, the league wants a score on every possession which only feeds the hunger of fantasy football players, but cheapens the game tremendously.
@@markgardner9460 Bingo and Thx! YES, this is true with MLB also (pitch clock is the latest example). It's not about the sport anymore, it's about keeping people entertained. Almost every rule in the last decade or two is to keep the viewer glued to the set...Even these rules to protect the QB is related to money/entertainment. People want to watch the "stars",not back-ups, so the league protects them.
@@markgardner9460 Also wanted to add to your comment about "cheapening the game". IMO this is exactly what Thursday night football, Sunday night football and extra Monday night games do to this sport. It doesn't make the games better, it increases the revenue for the league (Goodell). Back in the day, everyone played on Sunday except one game for MNF and that was special. Not anymore!
...and the owners want their high-priced product on the field for 100% of the offensive snaps. They have all of this guaranteed contract money on the books and demand to have their product protected to the utmost.
That's how bad it was! The league was worried that it would lose popularity to baseball, who by the way were using a juiced baseball and players were putting up absurdly high offensive numbers in 1977.
Surfshack 2 could not be more correct. Tom Brady would last twenty in that era. Twenty Minutes!!. What a brutal era. Anything and everything went. A personal foul was called only after a defender removed a carefully canceled switchblade!! When evaluating a quarterback, you have to evaluate the era they played in. Brady looks shady in comparison to these Ironmen.
The penalty call that I don't understand is "shielding" or "face guarding". The defender isn't touching the receiver. It's a form of defense, but they call it illegal. It's a complete joke.
I'm mostly on the "old school" side of the argument regarding the NFL. The game was absolutely much more physical back then and moving the ball was difficult before the NFL outlawed defense. But I can't go along with the argument that guys like Brady wouldn't have been successful back then. A winner is a winner. He'd have found a way. I also believe guys like Larry Bird would succeed in today's NBA for the same reason. You can't really compare player's abilities from different eras. Of course athletes are more advanced today. All sports would have to made up of numbskulls if that wasn't the case. So it's really only fair to compare how a player performed against the best competition that was available at the time (and old schoolers could make the argument that less teams back then and less playoff qualifiers made for even stiffer competition than we have in today's games). If Brady would have been born in '55 or Bird in 2000, the will to win that they possessed would have adapted to the resources available at the time and they both would have succeeded. Imo, of course.
@@markgardner9460 Yeah, you could pretty much say that about all of today's QBs. But Brady's been around a while. I'd suggest that they were still smacking the QBs around pretty hard back when he was playing at Michigan.
The Raiders were defending Super Bowl champions, but the league hated Al and his Raiders on a bad call in the championship game against the Broncos the Rob Lytle fumble the league, took the raider dynasty away
That fumble was so obvious! I can't believe that somebody didn't overrule that call. The Raiders and Cowboys somehow hadn't met in a Super Bowl and that would have been a tremendous game! Far better than the one that did take place.
That play helped to bring about instant replay. Lytle himself admitted that he fumbled, said he was knocked out for a few seconds, and lost the ball. But there was another less talked about controversial play in that game, Denver's Jack Dolbin appeared to have scooped up a low pass and rolled into the endzone for a touchdown, only to have the refs finally say it hit the ground. Dolbin said "it was the greatest catch of my life, but I won't get credit for it".
Glad you elaborated on Greg Landry. He was an extremely good quarterback. Except for the great 1970 Lions team , Landry does not get his due , since Lions never made playoffs except for 1970. Thanks for this awesome channel
@@keithsowder4308 Run a little. HA! He set the NFL rushing record one year. It then was broken by Bobby Douglass. Early seventies football was the best. Randall Cunningham and others have mastered the running QB position.
The year 1977 (yes, never start a sentence with a numeral) was the year of the Dallas Cowboys (probably their best season ever). Funny thing, the Cowboys beat the Broncos 14-6 in week 14 (final week) thanks to their passing game. The Broncos beat the Steelers twice (34-21 in the playoff - I saw Christmas Eve game) thanks to Rob Lytle and Rick Upchurch. Stranger still, the Steelers beat Dallas in Pittsburgh 28-13 (week 10) thanks to Franco Harris (2 TDs), I was so happy when Denver vanquished the Steelers at Mile High on 12/24/77 fearing another Cowboys-Steelers Super Bowl.
@@markgardner9460 Yes, writing out the number (i.e., numeral or year) is the standard procedure, but generally not appreciated by the masses. This is easily remedied by writing: In 1979... Interestingly, starting a sentence with the coordinating conjunction "but" is also frowned upon by some. However, it is used anyhow. As a physics professor, I'm not one of the masses (thank God). Perhaps that's why I stopped attending Bills games long ago (not wanting to be part of the herd). Tomorrow, I'll be interviewed (i.e., heard) by ESPN for my work in the Physics of Sports.- The Nutty Professor of Sports.
It’s interesting in 1978 how Dan Fouts, Fran Tarkenton, Terry Bradshaw, and Roger Staubach flourished. It’s too bad Fran was too old, and Roger sustained way too many concussions.
Yes, it was yet another concussion that lead the Staubach's retirement. He was a Pro Bowl player each of his last 5 seasons and lead the NFL in passer rating each of the last two seasons of his career, so he still had plenty left in the tank.
@@DanTucci-w2b haha, I had to practice, obviously not as gifted as BWSJ, I also did the elbow tap when playing baseball like Joe Morgon, this era, these players were heros.
8:04: That stat line is brutal! I think he was forever in the doghouse with the Oilers fans. Funny trivia stat. The 1971 draft had 3 quarterbacks taken in the first 3 picks in the draft. All 3, Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning and Pastorini could have been considered busts through 1979. They were all certainly hated by their home town fans.1980, Pastorini is traded to the Oakland Raiders, starts the season as QB and breaks his leg in week 5 and guess who takes over at QB? Jim Plunkett who then takes the Raiders to a Super Bowl title and erases his Bust status.
Yes, he threw a pretty ball. I met him at a book signing and still have the autographed book “Snake” He was such a nice guy too. He sat behind Lamonica for 5 years.
Oh yes, I definitely think that he is HoF worthy! I can not believe that it's taken him to long to get in. He was as accurate as any QB has ever been, plus he was a very good runner. I hope that he gets in soon because he's very deserving.
Almost unfathomable that Drew Pearson led the league with 870.yards receiving!And Joe Ferguson had the most passing yards but the most interceptions as well
Great stuff again my friend. Loved the Kenny Anderson stuff, no way he is not a HOFer...that's a travesty ! By the way in the clip you showed of Anderson the player that caught the TD pass was Pat MacInally...who was their Punter, but also a very talented WR ( Harvard grad by the way ) Anyway, what I most remember about MacInally. I was at a Bengals / Browns game in 1978 or 79. MacInally caught a slant and Browns DB Thom Darden cheap shot him with a forearm to the helmet...sounded like a shotgun going off ! MacInally lay there motionless for what seemed like forever....it was very eerie...the stadium was damn near silent and you could hear nearby fans whispering to each other "Is he paralyzed ? Is he dead ? " Finally a cart came and got him...still unconcious and took him to the locker room. Now this is something you'll NEVER see again ! The tough S.O.B. CAME BACK IN THE 2nd HALF ! Not only did he come back...but he caught the game tying touchdown pass....unreal !
Pat McInally's nickname was "Candlelight" cuz one blow and he's out. Sport magazine had a photo and caption of it back in the day. Thom Darden was "The Monster Man" on Michigan's defense in college. Any idea when they did away with that? Great stuff by the way - keep the stories comin'
To finish the story above, the pass to MacInally was from the "throwin samoan" Jack Thompson, which was also the first season of Forrest Gregg as coach. It could never happen today as he would be in concussion protocol. Too bad we lost the game after all that, but it helped establish the Bengals toughness under Gregg to go to the Super Bowl the next year. Watching Bengals games in the basement with my late father is a memory I will always cherish. Bengal fan since 1968 till death.
These days the "monster man" on defense is called the "star" position. This past season on the Cincinnati Bearcats the "star" was Deshawn Pace (safety)@@markgardner9460
The Bengals were play-off bound in short order from their expansion year of '68. The coaching and scouting teams were excellent. Forrest Gregg was a bit intense, wasn't he?
After the coaching staffs lost the locker rooms under Tiger Johnson and Homer Rice, the Bengals needed a disciplinarian like Gregg. Collinsworth talks about going the other way when Gregg came toward him.
In the pictures behind you, third row to your left and my right, there is a classic picture of the great Paul Warfield. That picture came out of a 1971 sports illustrated, article was "a whoosh and csonk" in my opinion this is probably the greatest football picture ever taken. This is game were the Pittsburgh Steelers lead the Miami Dolphins 21-3, then Bob Griese came of the bench and threw 3 touchdowns to Paul Warfield for a 24-21 victory over the Steelers. Paul Warfield caught 3 passes (all for touchdowns) against the great Mel Blount, after the game Mel Blount wanted to quit football. I also have that picture hanging in my man cave as well!
An era of tough defenses and running backs. I think this year sparked slow changes to give the offense the edge. I do remember teams into the '80's that were conservative by nature, coaches the same. I can appreciate old school defensive games, they are just as exciting as today's games. The defensive field position slobber knockers are gone like the dinosaur. Remember: offense sells tickets defense wins titles. Thanks brother you're appreciated. -bd
Very well stated - Don Coryell learned that even the most high octane offense will not get you to a Super Bowl unless you have a formidable defense. I enjoy a game that is a defensive struggle because then it's up to the coaches to devise something that will work. Thank you!
Great video! You had to be a tough dude to play QB back in the 70’s! There were some great receivers back in the day! I played high school football in the late 70’s. If a receiver caught 10 plus passes in a 10 game season that was considered pretty good back then!
Thank you - I'm glad that you enjoyed the video. Yes, football was far different back - teams only passed when they really needed to. There were college powerhouse running teams like Oklahoma, Michigan and Nebraska that would run the ball on 3rd down and 7 because they were so confident that they could make a first down. The offensive strategy was just a night and day difference to the one of the past 30 years or so.
@@markgardner9460 When the Raiders beat Minnesota in 1978 SB, Snake went 12 of 19/ 180 yards FOR THE GAME! Fred Biletnikoff caught 4 passes for 79 yards and won the MVP!
Vikes defensive line was blown away all game long. They gave away far too much weight at every position there. Art Shell's 280+ pounds versus Jim Marshall's 225 pounds? No match! Marshall's only stats were 1/2 tackle.
Bud Grant pulled him and inserted Bob Lee who lead the team to a final score, but looking at Fran on the sideline, he appeared to be ticked off (perhaps due to not having an effective running game and not being allowed ample passing time).
Definitely a big difference. If all the 3,000-5,000 yard QBs were playing prior to that time, their numbers would have been the same range as what QBs of the 70's did
It really did. The number one goal back then was to knock the starting QB out of the game and defenses took liberties in attempting to do so....too many, but now defenders are handcuffed. To me, they've went too far.
The statistics are so low for this season. Only one QB averaged 200 passing yards for each game of the season. Today, most QB's reach that figure by mid-way through the 3rd quarter...if not earlier.
A stunning stat is that there were 2 90yard pass plays,both at Bloomington Minnesota!Lynn Dickey to Steve Odom 95 yards and Ken Anderson to Billy Brooks 94 yards both of them vs the Vikings!/Unreal
I knew that I could count on you to call out those stats, Steven. Good stuff. So much for the Vikings defensive mantra of "nothing cheap & nothing deep".
Actually neither pass was deep!Dickey threw a out pattern to Brooks who made a sensational diving grab at the Vikings 21/ (Nate Wright just missed it!)Odom quickly got up and outran a number of Vikings down to sidelines... as for Brooks, Anderson threw a pass 15-20 yards down field and Brooks broke 3 tackles and went down the same sideline to score!(the game Fran Tarkenton broke his leg)
That's worse because that indicates an inability to shed blockers and make a tackle. The Vikes defense was showing major cracks in the foundation by '77.
@@markgardner9460 And they were actually ranked 3rd in fewest pass yards allowed even with the 2 long pass plays! But they were only 21st in rushing defense! The defense was aging...
@@markgardner9460The biggest crack was on display when a flu-stricken Walter Payton shredded them for a then NFL-record 275 yards. Art Shell and Gene Upshaw laid the blueprint in the previous year's Super Bowl XI.
One more comment, my apology to Mark Gardner for getting the name wrong. The thought still fits!! Tom Brady would not have survived, let alone thrived in that era. That era expanded into the Eighties as well as Gunslingers like Joe Montana and Dan Marino generated tremendous numbers at a time when defense was still not outlawed!! I would take Joe Montana as my all-time signal caller. Dominating in an era loaded with great teams. How about ten touchdowns and zero interceptions in four Super Bowls?! Playing quarterback to a flawless level when anything went. Not whining to everyone but the equipment manager when anything went wrong.
Billy White Shoes! Loved that little touchdown gig he used to do. I was never a big fan of touchdown celebrations, but those guys were just into their own thing back then. Now most of these celebrations look scripted.
One guy doing a short TD celebration is fine to me, but getting a pack of guys that run through some choreographed one while looking into the camera is a bit too much for me....but that's just my opinion.
Never liked the rule changes. Loved defense. Back then there was talk that the NFL can't become more popular if they don't open up the offense. We knew the death of football was coming.
I had to back track and relisten to Billy Brooks' college career stats. And he was drafted 11th overall in the first round? That's crazy. Thanks for the video.
Oklahoma ran the ball almost every play and he was their go-to guy when they did need to pass. Cinci took a chance drafting him that high, that's for sure.
From day one when it comes to quarterbacks and receivers the Bengals know how to pick them, and the defense was more than adequate during the PB era. When Mike took over the quarterback and receivers was all we could hang our hat on, embarrassing times those were.
Great camerawork on the Tarkenton to Sammy White touchdown pass!Rashad led the NFC with 51 receptions?Wow! 5 players from the AFC had 51 or more ...Including Colts running backs Lydell Mitchell 71 and Don Macauley .Bert Jones was utilizing his backs more, because Roger Carr couldn't duplicate his fantastic season of 1976(25.9 ypc!)because of contract disputes and injuries... He only had 11/catches for 198 yards.. Rashad made a lot of big plays for the Vikes!His 51/receptions would have been 75th last year! But football was much better in 1977!
I love how you researched how Rashad's 51 catches would have only ranked 75th best last year! Great stuff. That Tark to White td footage was phenomenal for it's theatric beauty, but it also shows how accurate Tarkenton was - that was right on the money! Tarkenton gets knocked for having a high completion percentage mainly due to throwing short passes to his RB's, but he was accurate as anyone in throwing medium and long passes, too.
@@markgardner9460 I really enjoy your videos Mark!I'm a bit of a nerd,and I love stats!(I guess that's obvious!)I won a lot of bets then,and thanks to your videos I'm reliving that era!
There were reasons that passing was a challenge in 1977. One of which I can describe in one word: DOOMSDAY. The Cowboys Defense led the league with 53 sacks for a loss of 430 yards, and a league low 41.5 completion pct. and allowing a league low 5.4 yards per attempt. There was nobody faster off the snap than Harvey Martin who led the league with over 20 sacks. Randy Manster White was a human volcano that sacred his own teammates, chimed in with about 16 sacks himself. Ed Too Tall Jones played the best football of his storied career. Thomas Hollywood Henderson was as exciting as any OLB in the game. Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters was one of the best safety tandems to play the game. And just to balance things out, Doomsday was also the best against the run that year. Their performance in the playoffs was unforgettable. Only allowing two TD's the entire post-season. What they did in SB XII was legendary. 4 sacks, 8 turnovers and allowing only 35 yards passing against Denver. How Bout Them Cowboys
Shula was a big proponent of the rule changes, as he was on that rules committee and had a lot of weight. To me, they went way overboard. One change would have been understandable, then take it year by year thereafter.....but they opened the offensive floodgate and made a bunch of rule changes (including a version of "in the grasp")
@@markgardner9460 At the Super Bowl, the League was no doubt hoping for a shootout between Roger and Craig. What happened instead was both defenses showed up. Orange Crush got in some pretty good hits themselves. But Doomsday took over and owned the game. The League and the sponsors did not love that game. And because of players like Harvey Martin, pass blocking had to change. And to a degree I do support letting the OL extend their arms. The problem is the league didn't stop there. Two more games to tire out defenses was the writing on the wall.
They also took the head slap away from the defense in 1978 as well. Randy White who had insanely quick hands would wear out offensive lineman with the head slap.
@@JBBooks-qv2kp Randy White was amazing. He was so strong and quick he was virtually unblockable . Manster was, as I said here, a human volcano. Erupting on each snap. Emptied his bucket every game. When Coach Landry moved him to DT, it was thought he might be too light. He proved all the doubters wrong and is in the HOF. One of my favorite all-time players.
Baseball had a comparable season like that. Known as the "Year of the Pitcher" in 1968. Hitting was anemic with scoring lower than it had been in the Deadball Era and a lot of pitching records were set. Which was partly due to rule changes in 1963 that were changed again after the season.
Excellent point! MLB went too far, too, in my estimation, by instituting too many adjustments in a kneejerk reaction to the woeful hitting statistics of 1968.
The 1977 season was when they banned the head slap and 5 yard chuck zone for wr's and cb's, I'll always remember the 1977 season as being the year of "Orange Crush"
This video totally explains how disgusting it is, to crown any of these modern day players as a Goat. Just for example, im hearing too many crown Kelce as the goat at TE, though I love me some Tom Brady, I've never looked at him, as the greatest qb of all time. No way he wins 7SB's in Bradshaw's era, just sayin! I know im going to take heat for this, but even Randy Moss isn't that great in this era!
I don't think tgere should be GOAT's in any sport because there are too many differences vetween the eras. I think we could crown the greatest players amongst the different eras, but that's that. Thank you for watching and providing stimulating comments.
I remember watching Dave Casper being practically tackled as he tried to run a pass route. Stats are better now because the rules have changed, not because the QB's are better.
Worse, IMO....it's a different position now. The pocket passer, which is what all 70's QB were, is going away to these wildcat/run option/playground kids. Mahomes is a perfect example, I hate the way he plays the game, it's disrespectful to the game and the position. He would not have lasted one season in the 70's.
Awesome comment: "Stats are better now because the rules have changed, not because the QB's are better." With the legalized holding that goes on today, QB's have all day to survey the field and run through their progressions. Regarding @kendallevans4079's comment, there is so much cheap rushing yardage being gained because defenders are scared to hit running QB's. They are far less concerned about being penalized 15 yards for a late hit or unnecessary roughness than being fined for it. So now QB's and defenders both jog out of bounds or the defender lets up when the QB slows down and is looking to slide, after the QB picks up big yards and a first down with the defender thinking "I can't take a chance on hitting him"
@@markgardner9460Yes! This is what bugs me no end about Mahomes. He works it! He'll run forward but to the sideline, the defender assumes he's going out of bounds and Mahomes knows he won't get touched because of a penalty SO he runs up another 10 yards before going out. He does this all the time.
With the rules allowing the defense to stuff receivers, head hunt them over the middle and gave the D line allowances to get to a brutalize the QB, it is astounding that Namath passed for over four thousand yards in 1967. And in a fourteen game season.
Ken Anderson deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, however if Greg Cook had not been injured he likely would not have been drafted by the Bengals. The injury loss of Greg Cook set the Bengals back until Anderson established himself. With Greg Cook the Bengals would have won multiple Super Bowls as he had all the skills, size, speed, rifle arm, field leadership.
While I am familiar with the outstanding skill set of Cook, it is my inclination that the Bengals defense would not have been adequate enough to get past the Steelers and others for multiple Super Bowl victories, although that is just my opinion. I appreciate yours - thanks for commenting and watching.
Thanks for replying back and appreciate your thoughts. I guess time can warp the reality of a situation. Can you imagine the 1970 playoff Bengals and OC Bill Walsh with Greg Cook instead of Virg Carter?
The Bengals had no passing game which meant that their running game suffered, too (or vice versa). The defense held the eventual Super Bowl champs to only 17 points which wasn't too bad. Cook instead of Carter makes for a MUCH closer game for sure.
There was a dual-purpose reason as to why defenders used forearm pads and that was to make hard contact to the side of helmets. Those flimsy helmets back then offered minimal serious protection against swats from roaring freight trains like Lyle Alzado.
The intro and outro answer the question, as the hard QB hits clearly depict. Also, data was provided that indicates only half of the teams had starting QB's available for at least 12 games of the season.
Also have to look at the gloves recievers use now. They did have stick-um, that was eventually banned but the gloves in use today make it look like vaseline.
Yes, he was legally blind in his left eye. I remember watching him play in the Hall of Fame game in '77 which was his rookie year and the ABC announcing booth was gushing about his talent. He was terrific.
with QBs like staubach, bradshaw, tarkenton and stabler its hard to believe the passing game was so anemic. dolphins and colts had decent passing attacks too. good job mentioning wesley walker. he was a solid WR for the jets and had some great games.
Jim Zorn & Ken Anderson were still starters in '86 and Esiason's gradual replacement of Anderson was considered near controversial despite Anderson's 15 year career at the time. Fouts' retirement was anticipated by then.
It can be surprising sometimes when a player has a few great seasons and then one poor one, they can get benched, side lined or forgotten. That's my vague memory of Esiason.@@markgardner9460
only 43 receptions with an incredible 25.9 average per catch!! 11 touchdowns. It's incredible that he only made 2nd Team All-Pro because he also lead the NFL in receiving yards.
Interesting observation at 2:23. It appears that the photo Topps used on that Alfred Jenkins card was actually of 1973 Falcon backup receiver Tom Gerdine, as evidenced by the numerical font on the 49ers' players' jerseys in the background, as well as the thinner stripes on their socks and vastly more narrow stripes down the sides of their pants than the 49ers wore in 1977.
As a kid, I had a stats book. In the mid-to-late 80s, Montana was considered superhuman for having a 60% plus completion rate (and a few 3,000 yard seasons with 300 yard games). Nearly all QBs, including stat leaders (Marino/Fouts) that hit a few 4,000 yard seasons, had a completion rate c.50-55%. Staubach was a legend in the 70s for nearly getting a 60% rate, making him the most efficient passer ever (at that time), when most were like 50% or lower. People attributed Montana's sucess to SF short-passing game. But from 90s onwards it seems a lot of QBs have 70% completion rates. That'd be deemed impossible in the 80s, even if Sammy Baugh technically had a 70% rate in 1937 from throwing very few passes. There's rule changes. But you'd wonder if the passing game has also just got more sophisticated. Quite possibly. As late as the 80s, it was still expected that every team would follow a 3yrds & cloud of dust running game. SF were considered freaks for throwing so often. In the 70s, a team would often throw only if it was 3rd and long. That was still often the way in the 80s. And I remember Madden calling any team that'd go for a 4th down insane right thru to the early 90s. Now every team does, and all the super cautious time & field possession tactics are out the window. Whereas in the past if a team even went for a 4th & centimetres, there'd probably be a call for a head coach to be fired as an irresponsible lunatic. "Also": Montana was considered superhuman for being about the only QB who never had more interceptions than touchdowns. Almost everyone else did, or else roughly even, including Superbowl winning QBs. The passing game was still "the occasion big play game", not the offensive engine, of every team. Jim McMahon was like the star QB of 1985 season and I don't think he threw for even 2,000 yards or had more TDs than interceptions. Few QBs would be able to start every game (due to injuries). Marino, Fouts & Elway were consider the tough ones for doing so. Tarkenton rarely sat out in the 60s/70s, which is something. He was no.1 for career yards, touchdowns etc. when he retired in 1978 & that record still held into the late 90s but I don't think he ever hit a 3,000 yard season. Maybe not even 2,500 over his 18 year career.
Thanks for the info. Tark had 14 seasons of at least 2,500 yards passing, but only 2 seasons of 3,000+. One was in 1967, his first year with the Giants, and the other was his last year in the league when he lead it with 3,468. He also lead the NFL in interceptions with a whopping 32. Thanks again!
seems mid70s he turned into a short passing game passer w/Mitchel Foreman as RB/primary receiver. Deep balls became a bit of a disaster (32 etc.). Less of his scrambler magic too@@markgardner9460
In the 60s and 70s Defense rule, 3 yards and a cloud of dust, kill Bubba kill, equals low scoring games. so began the rules changes by the NFL to slowly change the league into a passing game, use of hands for blocking, can't touch the receiver after 5 yards, and can't crush the Quarterback . Joe Namath passed for 4007 in 1967 in the AFL, Dan Flouts pass for 4082 yards 12 years later in 1979, now a days 4000 yards is the norm.
Yes he was! Atlanta had an awesome passing attack in '80 & '81 when Bartkowski threw for 31 and 30 td's respectively. I think that he may have only been a small handful of QB's to have back to back 30 passing td seasons at that time.
Another great one Mark! Excellent topic, picking out different anomalies like this one, with the many details that don't get noticed. Take a bow on this one!
Thank you! I really enjoyed making this one (like all of them, really!) There's always a story behind the story - the key is to find intriguing ones. Already digging into the next video - can't wait to release it.
While not explicitly telling why the passing was so difficult, I intended to show why via the video's intro and outro. The defenses were dominant, in short. I could have stated that and probably should have. Thanks!
Dan Fouts set out much of 1977 for a new contract , letting James Harris passing for the Chargers , in most of that year ? Say , it didn't WORK out for the Chargers much ? And Fouts in 1978 was about to start his [CHANGING ] the NFL into a passing league [ YEARS ] before Marino , every showed up & got all the praise for doing it ?
It was a timing thing - Fouts had Don Coryell as his Head Coach who was an offensive genius and innovator and then Fouts was just entering the prime of his career with relaxed rules which enabled him to flourish. I maintain that the entire AFL was more or less a passing league, so what Fouts did had been done before, albeit in 2 less regaular season games. Thank you for commenting!
So let me ask, if passing proliferated so massively after 1977, why is the record for most passing yards in a game STILL Norm Van Brocklin's 554 in 1951? And it really hasn't been challenged. I remember watching Warren Moon pass for 527 yards in like 1990 and letting up at the end of the game for whatever reason, but aside from that, no one has come within 20 yards of the record ever. It's just something I find strange.
@@markgardner9460 I'll buy that, but I'd like to think, in the 72 years of football evolution since Van Brocklin, at least one team for one game would try the same mentality and just bomb away. Y.A. Tittle used to do that sort of thing in the same era, just throwing it up to R.C. Owens over and over again and letting him outreach his defenders. I know that, going back that far, all the really talented athletes played offense and the defense, especially the secondary, suffered in the talent department, which means speedsters like Crazy Legs Hirsch and Don Hutson could really carve up defensive backfields. I just would have thought, just once, someone like Dan Marino in his prime would have done it, or a coach with nothing to lose would have created a game plan specifically to pad the team's passing stats.
I think that you touched on the key in your last sentence. Offensive Coordinators want to pad the passing stats, but mainly in terms of completion percentage and third down conversion percentage because when they inevitably get canned, they can put these numbers on their resume and peddle them to teams in hopes of being hired.
In Super Bowl XII the Cowboys' Doomsday defense held Craig Morton, a good QB, to a 0.0 passer rating. Rules yes. But you also had some of the greatest defenses ever around the same time. The 1970s are the only decade in NFL history that saw passing stat deflation rather than inflation over the previous decade.
Great point about the stat deflation. While super strong defensive play certainly contributed to that, I think the movement of the hashmarks inwards in 1972 is even a greater factor since it lead to a greater propensity to run the football...and run it far more effectively than before. Thank you for watching and commenting.
You look at passing in the 70s before the 1978 rule changes and it's night and day differences... Even though it remained difficult to play QB throughout the 80s and 90s, guys like Marino, Montana, Elway, Kelly, Moon etc... had it easier for sure. And that's not a knock at their talent, I have no doubt those QBs would still be talented and HOF level pre 1978, but I think it's wildly underestimated just how much the passing game evolved from that point onward.
I agree - you hit the nail on the head!
I think if Elway had played QB for a team like Detroit, Atlanta, Buffalo, or maybe even New England a decade earlier, I think he still wouldve been considering a potent, duel-purpose QB who wins an NFL league MVP, voted to more then a few Pro Bowls, and wins his fair share of playoff games in epic, classic last-second fashion but I'm not 100% sure he ends up being a HOF, makes a SB much less eventually wins one, and his career lasts nearly as long as it did being apart of one of the most stable, well-owned and successful franchises. It's not too far-fetched of a notion that he has a career similar to Baltimore's Bert Jones. Bert Jones was the John Elway of the 1970's with a less-stable, not as capable supporting cast and a notorious, idiotic drunk for an owner who singularly alienated, annoyed and offended local and state Md. owners that he had to sneak his organization out in the middle of the night because he feared the Md. State legislature might use eminent domain to steal his franchise before relocating to Indianapolis.
Oh yeah, back then DB's could do pretty much whatever they wanted. QB's didn't get "special" treatment when they ran the ball...there was no "sliding and giving themselves up " Much different game now !
@@davidroberts7282
I loved Bert Jones. Dude was badass. Such a short career. Loved Stabler in the same kind of way. "Ghost to the Post" one of my favorite games.
Those guys you named did benefit from the Blount rule, but they were still taking hits like their predecessors. The 80s and 90s were probably the best hybrid of old school and new school football we'll ever see.
Pastorini was such a smooth thrower, great long ball, he got betten to death in Houston in his early years
I think that he threw the deep ball as well as anyone ever has. Yes, the Oilers did not adequately protect him early in his career. He took a TON of punishment.
That's because he had to play the Steelers twice a year. They absolutely teed off on the Oilers. Like a spring training scrimmage for the Steel Curtain.
You had some of the strongest arms in history in 1977. Pastorini, Bradshaw, Bert Jones and Doug Williams. Patorini was hard to coach and relied on arm strength too much.
Great video Mark! One of your best. Love the old Dungard face masks of the 70’s.
Thank you - I appreciate that! Working on a new one that I'm super excited about. Hopefully you can check it out.
Guys like Tarkenton and Staubach would be absolute beasts playing with today's rules.
If their teams didn't score each and every drive, it would have been a miracle.
And Ken Anderson and Bert Jones!
Third-string quarterbacks from 1977 would be beasts in today's NFL.
Same for Kenny Stabler.
you all sleeping on the snake stabler@@stevenzimmerman4057
These videos of the 70s are THE BEST - and SO is your jersey collection
THAT WAS FOOTBALL
Thank you - I really appreciate that!
I miss football.
It's been a long time since it's been the real deal.
I am old, and this the football I grew up on. Today's QBs could not survive, and thrive in this time.
I think there's a few that are athletic enough and tough enough to...not a lot...but a handful ! All sports are like that.Look at the NBA ! I laugh my ass off when I hear LeBron James call HIMSELF "The Goat" ! Dude, LeFlop wouldn't last a quarter against Wilt, Kareem, Maurice Lucas, Barkley, Oakley, Wes Unseld, Bill Lambier, Bob Lanier, Willis Reed....he'd whine & cry and go to his "Safe Space"!
@@keithsowder4308 Agreed. Imagine any NBA player today going down the lane and encountering Rick Mahorn and Bill Lambier?
That's the big "if", right? Today's guys haven't encountered it and who knows if they could effectively deal with it. You mentioned Maurice Lucas and it brought back some vivid memories - the dude was bad. Truck Robinson comes to mind, too.
How many of today's home run hitters (they all are cuz MLB plays with Titleist) would be able to handle Bob Gibson or Don Drysdale firing bullets around their head...without wearing a batting helmet?
@@markgardner9460 Tiny shorts and clothesline of you dared to try to take it to the basket. 😂😂😂
every single tackle here would be fined today and many of the players ejected.
The most obvious difference between the NFL in the 1970s and today is the treatment of the QB. Yes, it was brutal then. Some of the hits on a QB from that era would probably get you a year suspension today. Nothing but respect for those ole time greats. Getting truly flattened disrupts your psyche , something today's QBs rarely deal with. Amazing how effective those QBs were under that type of pressure.
I'm so glad that you mentioned how being blasted and flattened disrupts a QB's composure because few pundits speak of it. We don't know how today's QB's would respond after getting knocked around a time or two. To me, that's a mark of a terrific QB and when I think of guy's who got knocked around a lot, I think of Unitas, Bradshaw, Archie Manning and Dan Pastorini, although there are many others, who generally responded well thereafter. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@markgardner9460As previously noted, I don't think Tom.Brady would have fared well in that era!
He would have taken a licking, but I doubt that he would have kept on ticking, as a word play on the old Timex television commercials from the '70's.
Getting the QB out the game by way of a stretcher was part of the game , especially for the fans. QBs were not famed as legit stars of the public mainstream until Joe Namath. The prototype of the game back then as a tough well built QB to be able to take the constant hitting from the big guys of just controlling the Offense from getting killed. Its pretty much the same way of what it really takes to be a pro QB as too many have come and gone and even now, can have all the skills to use thru out the game but always thinking getting hurt from the big guys puts a strain on a QBs will to win. Real QBs in NFL accept getting hit of a challenge for the team.
Insane the 77 qbs only had 1/2 as much passing yards as todays qbs, plus they played fewer games and the D was allowed to play D back then.
Well done! Music so good here. A lot of these receivers were very good. Some of the QBs not so much - Scott Hunter?
Thank you, David. I appreciate it!
Wait..the giants completed a pass in the 70s…..
Yeah, ever since Tarkenton left town, thet had issues at QB for the remainder of the decade.
Stabler and Casper!! Legends
Great combo - hooked up again in Houston when they went with their double Tight End offense.
Most of the highest yard totals in one game have come in the 21st century,but Norm Van Brocklin still has the all time record set in 1951. He did that in a 12 game season.
After a QB sack of Namath at the end, the defensive player is like “is he dead???” And not waving for the trainings, lol.
I bet Joe took some version of painkillers after that game.
Ben Davidson broke Joe's leg at least once.
Not waving for the trainings??
You also have to consider that teams just didn't pass as much in those days. 300 yards was a big deal back then.
Only 1 QB averaged 200 yards over the course of the '77 season
@@markgardner9460
1000 yards rushing was the big stat back then.
In 1969, Dickie Post lead the AFL with only 873 rushing yards! Yes, 1,000 rushing yards was a very big deal back then. Thanks!
I think Wesley Walker had 192 yards receiving against the Raiders in 1977. Todd threw td passes to Walker, Jerome Barkum and Richard Caster
...and Clark Gaines!
QB’s were destroyed back then. Now you can barely touch QB’s today.
Recievers would get laid out When they went over the middle. That started the term alligator arms.
It’s not fair to compare the past to the present.
It's night and day difference, isn't it? They used to really play for keeps. Thank you for watching and commenting.
Tom Brady would’ve never lasted with the way they hit in the 70’s
I totally agree.
Agreed; and that’s why he cannot be considered as the “GOAT.” “GOAT” contains “all time”, meaning excelling in any era. Brady is clearly a product of HIS era. Roethlesberger, Rodgers, Mahomes, Brees would have excelled in ANY era because they could improvise once the script was torn up. Any of the 4 mentioned would have done fine in an NFL where defenders were allowed to hit.
@@carspiv I agree with the GOAT thing. People just saying it all the time to the point it doesn’t mean anything. Lol
Back then you had to be man to play in the NFL.
Correct, people saying it all the time doesn't mean they're right. These people probably never saw a NFL game pre-'78. Brady wouldn't have been tough enough to last back then.
I'm not a fan of his but I think Brady is tougher than people give him credit for. It's just that he benefitted from the newer rules that don't allow much hitting of the QBs. He even complained recently that the NFL isn't as good of a product as it used to be when the league allowed defensive players more freedom.
🎉🎉🎉
Great video and a brilliant idea! I think the NFL realized that it was in the entertainment business and the product was becoming boring. Super Bowl winning teams like the Steelers and the Raiders were using down right thuggery tactics in their secondaries and of course this was bringing about a Monkey See Monkey Do attitude among other teams in the league. Also at the time, baseball was making a resurgence with the Yankees and Dodgers becoming household names and the NBA was on the cusp of becoming another challenger for the sports ticket buyer ( Magic and Larry Bird arrived in 1980).
The defensive holding and blocking rule changes were the start and then in 1978 Don Coryell became coach of the San Diego Chargers and launched his Air Coryell offense.
However, IMO it has swung way to much in the other direction. I'm no longer a NFL fan because it's to much like arena football now.
Terrific response! I think that you nailed it! In regard to @kendallevans4079 comment, I agree as well. In short, it's far more entertainment than sport and I have been turned off by it for a number of years. While enormously popular, the league wants a score on every possession which only feeds the hunger of fantasy football players, but cheapens the game tremendously.
@@markgardner9460 Bingo and Thx! YES, this is true with MLB also (pitch clock is the latest example). It's not about the sport anymore, it's about keeping people entertained. Almost every rule in the last decade or two is to keep the viewer glued to the set...Even these rules to protect the QB is related to money/entertainment. People want to watch the "stars",not back-ups, so the league protects them.
@@markgardner9460 Also wanted to add to your comment about "cheapening the game".
IMO this is exactly what Thursday night football, Sunday night football and extra Monday night games do to this sport. It doesn't make the games better, it increases the revenue for the league (Goodell). Back in the day, everyone played on Sunday except one game for MNF and that was special. Not anymore!
...and the owners want their high-priced product on the field for 100% of the offensive snaps. They have all of this guaranteed contract money on the books and demand to have their product protected to the utmost.
Did you ever consider doing a video of the who's who of all of your background photos?
I have not, but that is definitely something to consider. Thank you for the idea - I will add it to my list! Thanks for watching.
Note using the Avg Drew Person would have had 1056 yards in a 17 game season would be 1056 not great but 3 games matter.
They just mauled receivers and QB's back then, so that's why it's best to compare players from only certain years or a specific era, in my opinion.
'buT ToM brADy iS tHe goAt'
...of the modern game
@@markgardner9460 thal's *almost* like saying the current nba is watchable.
Ahmad Rashad was traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Minnesota Vikings
No, he was acquired as I noted in the video.
@@markgardner9460 Ok he signed with Seattle but never played for them it wouldn't have been hard to explain that
Bobby Moore started with the Cardinals
@@Akronkangaroo Yeah
It was bad? How bad was it? They had to change the league rules! 😅
That's how bad it was!
The league was worried that it would lose popularity to baseball, who by the way were using a juiced baseball and players were putting up absurdly high offensive numbers in 1977.
Surfshack 2 could not be more correct. Tom Brady would last twenty in that era. Twenty Minutes!!. What a brutal era. Anything and everything went. A personal foul was called only after a defender removed a carefully canceled switchblade!! When evaluating a quarterback, you have to evaluate the era they played in. Brady looks shady in comparison to these Ironmen.
What's even more interesting is that the QB's (most of the time anyway) wouldn't complain - they accepted it as being part of the game.
No love for skill position players in that era
Those guys earned every yard and touchdown
I see a lot of penalties.
But will they call them? Probably not!
it wasnt bad it was normal not like today,if you fart near a receiver today its pass interference
The penalty call that I don't understand is "shielding" or "face guarding". The defender isn't touching the receiver. It's a form of defense, but they call it illegal. It's a complete joke.
I'm mostly on the "old school" side of the argument regarding the NFL. The game was absolutely much more physical back then and moving the ball was difficult before the NFL outlawed defense. But I can't go along with the argument that guys like Brady wouldn't have been successful back then. A winner is a winner. He'd have found a way. I also believe guys like Larry Bird would succeed in today's NBA for the same reason. You can't really compare player's abilities from different eras. Of course athletes are more advanced today. All sports would have to made up of numbskulls if that wasn't the case. So it's really only fair to compare how a player performed against the best competition that was available at the time (and old schoolers could make the argument that less teams back then and less playoff qualifiers made for even stiffer competition than we have in today's games). If Brady would have been born in '55 or Bird in 2000, the will to win that they possessed would have adapted to the resources available at the time and they both would have succeeded. Imo, of course.
Thank you for your take. The one thing that is unknown is how well Brady would respond to the '70's style of punishment.
@@markgardner9460
Yeah, you could pretty much say that about all of today's QBs. But Brady's been around a while. I'd suggest that they were still smacking the QBs around pretty hard back when he was playing at Michigan.
Today's football sucks
It doesn't resemble the game that I grew up watching....by a long shot.
@@markgardner9460 True
As a Steeler fan, I hated the Bengals Isaac Curtis...
He was a speed burner - tough to cover
In Super Bowl 13, Bradshaw threw for over 300 yards. His first 300-yard game in his 9-year career.
Great stat. And he only had 4 such in the regular season... ever! 😮
He picked a great game to do that!
Yea and he did not have to throw 60 passes
Unfortunately he had to do it against my Rams, who were big underdogs but actually out played the Steelers.
@@retrohollywoodmotionpictures That was against the Cowboys. Rams were the following year.
Liked the league better when it was run dominated
Me too!!
Me too!
Me three!
The Raiders were defending Super Bowl champions, but the league hated Al and his Raiders on a bad call in the championship game against the Broncos the Rob Lytle fumble the league, took the raider dynasty away
That fumble was so obvious! I can't believe that somebody didn't overrule that call. The Raiders and Cowboys somehow hadn't met in a Super Bowl and that would have been a tremendous game! Far better than the one that did take place.
@@markgardner9460 I remember that game like it was yesterday that and the 1972 immaculate deception
Lytle definitely fumbled!I think the Silver and Black got hosed!And I agree Mark!it would have been a much better Super Bowl!
That play helped to bring about instant replay. Lytle himself admitted that he fumbled, said he was knocked out for a few seconds, and lost the ball. But there was another less talked about controversial play in that game, Denver's Jack Dolbin appeared to have scooped up a low pass and rolled into the endzone for a touchdown, only to have the refs finally say it hit the ground. Dolbin said "it was the greatest catch of my life, but I won't get credit for it".
Glad you elaborated on Greg Landry. He was an extremely good quarterback. Except for the great 1970 Lions team , Landry does not get his due , since Lions never made playoffs except for 1970. Thanks for this awesome channel
Thanks,Steve. I'm glad that you enjoy the channel.
It's incredible that the lions, have won one playoff game, in over 60 yrs,
They won 3 NFL titles in the '50's and then things have gotten very cold for a very long time.
Landry was very underrated, he was kinda like the "prototype" QB's today. Big, strong and could run a little bit too !
@@keithsowder4308 Run a little. HA! He set the NFL rushing record one year. It then was broken by Bobby Douglass. Early seventies football was the best. Randall Cunningham and others have mastered the running QB position.
You had to have balls to play back then.
Major balls - with your head on a swivel.
Defense used to be legal. True story.
Time to change some rules to give defenses a fighting chance!
Now you're rocking a Largent jersey. I still get goosebumps when I remember his hit on Harden in revenge for the cheap shot on opening day of 88.
Thank you for bringing up that hit! It's gotta be the best payback hits ever! Thanks for watching, too.
The year 1977 (yes, never start a sentence with a numeral) was the year of the Dallas Cowboys (probably their best season ever). Funny thing, the Cowboys beat the Broncos 14-6 in week 14 (final week) thanks to their passing game. The Broncos beat the Steelers twice (34-21 in the playoff - I saw Christmas Eve game) thanks to Rob Lytle and Rick Upchurch. Stranger still, the Steelers beat Dallas in Pittsburgh 28-13 (week 10) thanks to Franco Harris (2 TDs), I was so happy when Denver vanquished the Steelers at Mile High on 12/24/77 fearing another Cowboys-Steelers Super Bowl.
But starting a sentence with "Nineteen seventy-nine" is OK, Professor?
"99 bottles of beer on the wall..."
Never mind the dunces who got C's in English. I always appreciate grammatical awareness.
@@TheBatugan77😂
@@markgardner9460 Yes, writing out the number (i.e., numeral or year) is the standard procedure, but generally not appreciated by the masses. This is easily remedied by writing: In 1979... Interestingly, starting a sentence with the coordinating conjunction "but" is also frowned upon by some. However, it is used anyhow. As a physics professor, I'm not one of the masses (thank God). Perhaps that's why I stopped attending Bills games long ago (not wanting to be part of the herd). Tomorrow, I'll be interviewed (i.e., heard) by ESPN for my work in the Physics of Sports.- The Nutty Professor of Sports.
It’s interesting in 1978 how Dan Fouts, Fran Tarkenton,
Terry Bradshaw, and Roger Staubach flourished. It’s too bad Fran was too old, and Roger sustained way too many concussions.
Yes, it was yet another concussion that lead the Staubach's retirement. He was a Pro Bowl player each of his last 5 seasons and lead the NFL in passer rating each of the last two seasons of his career, so he still had plenty left in the tank.
What memories, back yard football, if I made a touchdown, I did the Billy White Shoes Johnson dance!
same here, but my dance was rather awkward and I didn't often catch the ball behind my back.
@@DanTucci-w2b haha, I had to practice, obviously not as gifted as BWSJ, I also did the elbow tap when playing baseball like Joe Morgon, this era, these players were heros.
@@timb9257 I liked the Joe Morgan batting style!
I used to do that, but then one coach told me to stop being a hot dog
The rule changes in 1977 also brought about another change. Interception rates for QB’s began to drop as well. Thanks for the video Mark.
Agree. Snake threw 30 picks in 1978. If any QB did that today they would be run out of town
@@kendallevans4079 you know it!
11:25--Michael Jordan's caddy!!!
@@JAWrightonline funny
I saw about 6 or 7 or every single one of them roughing the passer penalties
8:04: That stat line is brutal! I think he was forever in the doghouse with the Oilers fans. Funny trivia stat. The 1971 draft had 3 quarterbacks taken in the first 3 picks in the draft. All 3, Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning and Pastorini could have been considered busts through 1979. They were all certainly hated by their home town fans.1980, Pastorini is traded to the Oakland Raiders, starts the season as QB and breaks his leg in week 5 and guess who takes over at QB? Jim Plunkett who then takes the Raiders to a Super Bowl title and erases his Bust status.
They should make a movie about Plunkett's football life
Plunkett won 2 Super Bowls.
@@JBBooks-qv2kp He helped destroy the Redskins three years later.
Plunkett & Pastorini both grew up as rivals in the San Jose California area
Stabler was so accurate as a passer
And he threw such a soft catchable ball, too.
@@markgardner9460 not easy for a lefty - receivers aren't used to the spin going the other way - so I've heard
He made it look easy too...like he was at a company picnic
As ESPN's Stuart Scott was fond of saying, "He was cooler than the other side of the pillow."
Yes, he threw a pretty ball. I met him at a book signing and still have the autographed book “Snake” He was such a nice guy too. He sat behind Lamonica for 5 years.
Great stuff, as usual. Curious for your thoughts on whether Ken Anderson is HoF worthy.
Oh yes, I definitely think that he is HoF worthy! I can not believe that it's taken him to long to get in. He was as accurate as any QB has ever been, plus he was a very good runner. I hope that he gets in soon because he's very deserving.
Anderson is 100 percent HOF worthy
Almost unfathomable that Drew Pearson led the league with 870.yards receiving!And Joe Ferguson had the most passing yards but the most interceptions as well
He absolutely is.
He's the current biggest snub and has been for decades.
Great stuff again my friend. Loved the Kenny Anderson stuff, no way he is not a HOFer...that's a travesty ! By the way in the clip you showed of Anderson the player that caught the TD pass was Pat MacInally...who was their Punter, but also a very talented WR ( Harvard grad by the way ) Anyway, what I most remember about MacInally. I was at a Bengals / Browns game in 1978 or 79. MacInally caught a slant and Browns DB Thom Darden cheap shot him with a forearm to the helmet...sounded like a shotgun going off ! MacInally lay there motionless for what seemed like forever....it was very eerie...the stadium was damn near silent and you could hear nearby fans whispering to each other "Is he paralyzed ? Is he dead ? " Finally a cart came and got him...still unconcious and took him to the locker room.
Now this is something you'll NEVER see again ! The tough S.O.B. CAME BACK IN THE 2nd HALF ! Not only did he come back...but he caught the game tying touchdown pass....unreal !
Pat McInally's nickname was "Candlelight" cuz one blow and he's out. Sport magazine had a photo and caption of it back in the day.
Thom Darden was "The Monster Man" on Michigan's defense in college. Any idea when they did away with that?
Great stuff by the way - keep the stories comin'
To finish the story above, the pass to MacInally was from the "throwin samoan" Jack Thompson, which was also the first season of Forrest Gregg as coach. It could never happen today as he would be in concussion protocol. Too bad we lost the game after all that, but it helped establish the Bengals toughness under Gregg to go to the Super Bowl the next year. Watching Bengals games in the basement with my late father is a memory I will always cherish. Bengal fan since 1968 till death.
These days the "monster man" on defense is called the "star" position. This past season on the Cincinnati Bearcats the "star" was Deshawn Pace (safety)@@markgardner9460
The Bengals were play-off bound in short order from their expansion year of '68. The coaching and scouting teams were excellent. Forrest Gregg was a bit intense, wasn't he?
After the coaching staffs lost the locker rooms under Tiger Johnson and Homer Rice, the Bengals needed a disciplinarian like Gregg. Collinsworth talks about going the other way when Gregg came toward him.
In the pictures behind you, third row to your left and my right, there is a classic picture of the great Paul Warfield. That picture came out of a 1971 sports illustrated, article was "a whoosh and csonk" in my opinion this is probably the greatest football picture ever taken. This is game were the Pittsburgh Steelers lead the Miami Dolphins 21-3, then Bob Griese came of the bench and threw 3 touchdowns to Paul Warfield for a 24-21 victory over the Steelers. Paul Warfield caught 3 passes (all for touchdowns) against the great Mel Blount, after the game Mel Blount wanted to quit football. I also have that picture hanging in my man cave as well!
Yes! I took the photo from that magazine issue. Thank you for providing the background information - it's awesome!
wow, griese wasn't a starter at that time?
Bob Griese had food poisoning, so he didn't start the game, George Mira started.
An era of tough defenses and running backs. I think this year sparked slow changes to give the offense the edge. I do remember teams into the '80's that were conservative by nature, coaches the same. I can appreciate old school defensive games, they are just as exciting as today's games. The defensive field position slobber knockers are gone like the dinosaur. Remember: offense sells tickets defense wins titles. Thanks brother you're appreciated. -bd
Very well stated - Don Coryell learned that even the most high octane offense will not get you to a Super Bowl unless you have a formidable defense. I enjoy a game that is a defensive struggle because then it's up to the coaches to devise something that will work. Thank you!
I always like watching defense more & smashmouth football, maybe cuz I started watching in the 70's.
Great video! You had to be a tough dude to play QB back in the 70’s! There were some great receivers back in the day! I played high school football in the late 70’s. If a receiver caught 10 plus passes in a 10 game season that was considered pretty good back then!
Yes!...I also played HS football in the mid-70's
Memory is getting foggy but I remember one game we completed 1 pass out of 10 attempts!
Thank you - I'm glad that you enjoyed the video. Yes, football was far different back - teams only passed when they really needed to. There were college powerhouse running teams like Oklahoma, Michigan and Nebraska that would run the ball on 3rd down and 7 because they were so confident that they could make a first down. The offensive strategy was just a night and day difference to the one of the past 30 years or so.
@@markgardner9460 and Texas!
Remember chop blocks were legal in the seventies too.
chop blocks, crackback blocks, the old high/low tag team blocks, leg whipping......you could get by with that stuff then
One of my favorite stats is that for the ENTIRE decade of the 70s there were only five 400-yard passing games.
That's unreal, isn't it? 70's: the rushing decade, for the most part.
@@markgardner9460 When the Raiders beat Minnesota in 1978 SB, Snake went 12 of 19/ 180 yards FOR THE GAME!
Fred Biletnikoff caught 4 passes for 79 yards and won the MVP!
Vikes defensive line was blown away all game long. They gave away far too much weight at every position there. Art Shell's 280+ pounds versus Jim Marshall's 225 pounds? No match! Marshall's only stats were 1/2 tackle.
@@markgardner9460 Wow! Didn't know that..I actually felt sorry for Fran toward the games end...he looked like a rag doll
Bud Grant pulled him and inserted Bob Lee who lead the team to a final score, but looking at Fran on the sideline, he appeared to be ticked off (perhaps due to not having an effective running game and not being allowed ample passing time).
Definitely a big difference. If all the 3,000-5,000 yard QBs were playing prior to that time, their numbers would have been the same range as what QBs of the 70's did
I wholeheartedly agree. I think it's the era that dictates the statistical range.
My adorable decade of football.... Why? I started to watch it when I was a child
Likewise! It doesn't get better than the '70's.
Playing QB then took physical courage. The game was so much fun then, before the lawyers took over the rule book.
It really did. The number one goal back then was to knock the starting QB out of the game and defenses took liberties in attempting to do so....too many, but now defenders are handcuffed. To me, they've went too far.
"Good Stuff".. SportsStatsNGab "..you " answered " the question.. quite well.." I am "on board"..with this "selection"!!
The statistics are so low for this season. Only one QB averaged 200 passing yards for each game of the season. Today, most QB's reach that figure by mid-way through the 3rd quarter...if not earlier.
@@markgardner9460
"Right On".."Mark"!!
A stunning stat is that there were 2 90yard pass plays,both at Bloomington Minnesota!Lynn Dickey to Steve Odom 95 yards and Ken Anderson to Billy Brooks 94 yards both of them vs the Vikings!/Unreal
I knew that I could count on you to call out those stats, Steven. Good stuff. So much for the Vikings defensive mantra of "nothing cheap & nothing deep".
Actually neither pass was deep!Dickey threw a out pattern to Brooks who made a sensational diving grab at the Vikings 21/ (Nate Wright just missed it!)Odom quickly got up and outran a number of Vikings down to sidelines... as for Brooks, Anderson threw a pass 15-20 yards down field and Brooks broke 3 tackles and went down the same sideline to score!(the game Fran Tarkenton broke his leg)
That's worse because that indicates an inability to shed blockers and make a tackle. The Vikes defense was showing major cracks in the foundation by '77.
@@markgardner9460 And they were actually ranked 3rd in fewest pass yards allowed even with the 2 long pass plays! But they were only 21st in rushing defense! The defense was aging...
@@markgardner9460The biggest crack was on display when a flu-stricken Walter Payton shredded them for a then NFL-record 275 yards. Art Shell and Gene Upshaw laid the blueprint in the previous year's Super Bowl XI.
One more comment, my apology to Mark Gardner for getting the name wrong. The thought still fits!! Tom Brady would not have survived, let alone thrived in that era. That era expanded into the Eighties as well as Gunslingers like Joe Montana and Dan Marino generated tremendous numbers at a time when defense was still not outlawed!! I would take Joe Montana as my all-time signal caller. Dominating in an era loaded with great teams. How about ten touchdowns and zero interceptions in four Super Bowls?! Playing quarterback to a flawless level when anything went. Not whining to everyone but the equipment manager when anything went wrong.
Billy White Shoes! Loved that little touchdown gig he used to do. I was never a big fan of touchdown celebrations, but those guys were just into their own thing back then. Now most of these celebrations look scripted.
One guy doing a short TD celebration is fine to me, but getting a pack of guys that run through some choreographed one while looking into the camera is a bit too much for me....but that's just my opinion.
Never liked the rule changes. Loved defense. Back then there was talk that the NFL can't become more popular if they don't open up the offense. We knew the death of football was coming.
I'm with ya on all accounts. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I had to back track and relisten to Billy Brooks' college career stats. And he was drafted 11th overall in the first round? That's crazy. Thanks for the video.
Oklahoma ran the ball almost every play and he was their go-to guy when they did need to pass. Cinci took a chance drafting him that high, that's for sure.
From day one when it comes to quarterbacks and receivers the Bengals know how to pick them, and the defense was more than adequate during the PB era. When Mike took over the quarterback and receivers was all we could hang our hat on, embarrassing times those were.
Great camerawork on the Tarkenton to Sammy White touchdown pass!Rashad led the NFC with 51 receptions?Wow! 5 players from the AFC had 51 or more ...Including Colts running backs Lydell Mitchell 71 and Don Macauley .Bert Jones was utilizing his backs more, because Roger Carr couldn't duplicate his fantastic season of 1976(25.9 ypc!)because of contract disputes and injuries... He only had 11/catches for 198 yards..
Rashad made a lot of big plays for the Vikes!His 51/receptions would have been 75th last year! But football was much better in 1977!
I love how you researched how Rashad's 51 catches would have only ranked 75th best last year! Great stuff.
That Tark to White td footage was phenomenal for it's theatric beauty, but it also shows how accurate Tarkenton was - that was right on the money! Tarkenton gets knocked for having a high completion percentage mainly due to throwing short passes to his RB's, but he was accurate as anyone in throwing medium and long passes, too.
Ahmad Rashad was originally a RB coming out of college. Vikings converted him to play WR.
@@someperson8151 Rashad was drafted by St
Louis in 1972_he immediately played Wide receiver
@@markgardner9460 I really enjoy your videos Mark!I'm a bit of a nerd,and I love stats!(I guess that's obvious!)I won a lot of bets then,and thanks to your videos I'm reliving that era!
Yes, sir! Baseball has more numbers than football. Comparing Shortstops is easier than coming Guards, but it's all good.
Agreed! The NFL today is a joke! The QB's get to do what they want..! THEY initial Grounding all the time!!
There were reasons that passing was a challenge in 1977. One of which I can describe in one word: DOOMSDAY. The Cowboys Defense led the league with 53 sacks for a loss of 430 yards, and a league low 41.5 completion pct. and allowing a league low 5.4 yards per attempt. There was nobody faster off the snap than Harvey Martin who led the league with over 20 sacks. Randy Manster White was a human volcano that sacred his own teammates, chimed in with about 16 sacks himself. Ed Too Tall Jones played the best football of his storied career. Thomas Hollywood Henderson was as exciting as any OLB in the game. Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters was one of the best safety tandems to play the game. And just to balance things out, Doomsday was also the best against the run that year. Their performance in the playoffs was unforgettable. Only allowing two TD's the entire post-season. What they did in SB XII was legendary. 4 sacks, 8 turnovers and allowing only 35 yards passing against Denver. How Bout Them Cowboys
Shula was a big proponent of the rule changes, as he was on that rules committee and had a lot of weight. To me, they went way overboard. One change would have been understandable, then take it year by year thereafter.....but they opened the offensive floodgate and made a bunch of rule changes (including a version of "in the grasp")
@@markgardner9460 At the Super Bowl, the League was no doubt hoping for a shootout between Roger and Craig. What happened instead was both defenses showed up. Orange Crush got in some pretty good hits themselves. But Doomsday took over and owned the game. The League and the sponsors did not love that game. And because of players like Harvey Martin, pass blocking had to change. And to a degree I do support letting the OL extend their arms. The problem is the league didn't stop there. Two more games to tire out defenses was the writing on the wall.
@@markgardner9460Absolutely! They definitely changed too much too fast!
They also took the head slap away from the defense in 1978 as well. Randy White who had insanely quick hands would wear out offensive lineman with the head slap.
@@JBBooks-qv2kp Randy White was amazing. He was so strong and quick he was virtually unblockable . Manster was, as I said here, a human volcano. Erupting on each snap. Emptied his bucket every game. When Coach Landry moved him to DT, it was thought he might be too light. He proved all the doubters wrong and is in the HOF. One of my favorite all-time players.
Bears have had a hard time with passing since 1953
Aint it the truth, Ed?
Baseball had a comparable season like that. Known as the "Year of the Pitcher" in 1968. Hitting was anemic with scoring lower than it had been in the Deadball Era and a lot of pitching records were set. Which was partly due to rule changes in 1963 that were changed again after the season.
Excellent point! MLB went too far, too, in my estimation, by instituting too many adjustments in a kneejerk reaction to the woeful hitting statistics of 1968.
Wasn't that the year the pitcher's mound was raised an ungodly amount? Like an additional 6 to 10 inches from the previous high.
It was lowered from 15 inches to 10 inches which was plenty
The 1977 season was when they banned the head slap and 5 yard chuck zone for wr's and cb's, I'll always remember the 1977 season as being the year of "Orange Crush"
I greatly enjoyed hearing those names again. I miss those days…
This video totally explains how disgusting it is, to crown any of these modern day players as a Goat. Just for example, im hearing too many crown Kelce as the goat at TE, though I love me some Tom Brady, I've never looked at him, as the greatest qb of all time. No way he wins 7SB's in Bradshaw's era, just sayin! I know im going to take heat for this, but even Randy Moss isn't that great in this era!
I don't think tgere should be GOAT's in any sport because there are too many differences vetween the eras. I think we could crown the greatest players amongst the different eras, but that's that. Thank you for watching and providing stimulating comments.
I remember watching Dave Casper being practically tackled as he tried to run a pass route. Stats are better now because the rules have changed, not because the QB's are better.
Worse, IMO....it's a different position now. The pocket passer, which is what all 70's QB were, is going away to these wildcat/run option/playground kids.
Mahomes is a perfect example, I hate the way he plays the game, it's disrespectful to the game and the position. He would not have lasted one season in the 70's.
Awesome comment: "Stats are better now because the rules have changed, not because the QB's are better." With the legalized holding that goes on today, QB's have all day to survey the field and run through their progressions. Regarding @kendallevans4079's comment, there is so much cheap rushing yardage being gained because defenders are scared to hit running QB's. They are far less concerned about being penalized 15 yards for a late hit or unnecessary roughness than being fined for it. So now QB's and defenders both jog out of bounds or the defender lets up when the QB slows down and is looking to slide, after the QB picks up big yards and a first down with the defender thinking "I can't take a chance on hitting him"
@@markgardner9460Yes! This is what bugs me no end about Mahomes. He works it! He'll run forward but to the sideline, the defender assumes he's going out of bounds and Mahomes knows he won't get touched because of a penalty SO he runs up another 10 yards before going out. He does this all the time.
If he ever got blasted, that might keep him from doing it, but it's doubtful that anyone will attempt that because he's "the guy"
@@markgardner9460 Yup! The face of the NFL, him and Kelse....
Excellent work, thank you.
Thanks, Peace!!
With the rules allowing the defense to stuff receivers, head hunt them over the middle and gave the D line allowances to get to a brutalize the QB, it is astounding that Namath passed for over four thousand yards in 1967. And in a fourteen game season.
...and in swirling windy Shea Stadium for half of the games
Ken Anderson deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, however if Greg Cook had not been injured he likely would not have been drafted by the Bengals. The injury loss of Greg Cook set the Bengals back until Anderson established himself. With Greg Cook the Bengals would have won multiple Super Bowls as he had all the skills, size, speed, rifle arm, field leadership.
While I am familiar with the outstanding skill set of Cook, it is my inclination that the Bengals defense would not have been adequate enough to get past the Steelers and others for multiple Super Bowl victories, although that is just my opinion. I appreciate yours - thanks for commenting and watching.
Thanks for replying back and appreciate your thoughts. I guess time can warp the reality of a situation. Can you imagine the 1970 playoff Bengals and OC Bill Walsh with Greg Cook instead of Virg Carter?
The Bengals had no passing game which meant that their running game suffered, too (or vice versa). The defense held the eventual Super Bowl champs to only 17 points which wasn't too bad. Cook instead of Carter makes for a MUCH closer game for sure.
Stabler suffered a concussions in every game but he kept getting back up
There was a dual-purpose reason as to why defenders used forearm pads and that was to make hard contact to the side of helmets. Those flimsy helmets back then offered minimal serious protection against swats from roaring freight trains like Lyle Alzado.
So why was it so brutal? No answer to that. Also most of what's in the video is successful pass plays. The completion rate is 100%.
The intro and outro answer the question, as the hard QB hits clearly depict. Also, data was provided that indicates only half of the teams had starting QB's available for at least 12 games of the season.
Nice video. Don’t know if you realize you referred to the season as 1978 at the very end. 😮
I did not, but thanks for bringing that up. I put in a lot of hours researching and producing this video, but missed correcting that.
Also have to look at the gloves recievers use now. They did have stick-um, that was eventually banned but the gloves in use today make it look like vaseline.
Well stated!!
Now it's like....Don't put your weight on the QB and put a pillow under his head....
Right...and make sure that you ask permission first.
Always liked Wesley Walker could be wrong but I think I remember he was blind in one eye.
Yes, he was legally blind in his left eye. I remember watching him play in the Hall of Fame game in '77 which was his rookie year and the ABC announcing booth was gushing about his talent. He was terrific.
with QBs like staubach, bradshaw, tarkenton and stabler its hard to believe the passing game was so anemic. dolphins and colts had decent passing attacks too.
good job mentioning wesley walker. he was a solid WR for the jets and had some great games.
To me, Walker is very underrated. He put up good numbers back then, but now with the crazy passing game, his numbers pale in comparison.
Either Wesley Walker or Johnny " Lam" Jones was legally blind
Jim Zorn & Ken Anderson were still starters in '86 and Esiason's gradual replacement of Anderson was considered near controversial despite Anderson's 15 year career at the time. Fouts' retirement was anticipated by then.
I really liked Boomer Esiason and don't think that he gets the credit that he deserves.
It can be surprising sometimes when a player has a few great seasons and then one poor one, they can get benched, side lined or forgotten. That's my vague memory of Esiason.@@markgardner9460
I know. Profootballreference has him ranked #32 all-time which aint bad. He was the 1988 MVP, too.
Anderson had been benched a few times
Fun fact: Baltimore Colts Roger Carr had a 1,000 year season with less than fifty receptions in 1976.
only 43 receptions with an incredible 25.9 average per catch!! 11 touchdowns. It's incredible that he only made 2nd Team All-Pro because he also lead the NFL in receiving yards.
Interesting observation at 2:23. It appears that the photo Topps used on that Alfred Jenkins card was actually of 1973 Falcon backup receiver Tom Gerdine, as evidenced by the numerical font on the 49ers' players' jerseys in the background, as well as the thinner stripes on their socks and vastly more narrow stripes down the sides of their pants than the 49ers wore in 1977.
Wow - I will have to do some research on that, but it woukdn't surprise me. Topps did some goofy stuff back then.
You said 1978 passing season at end of video.
My mistake - I put quite a few hours into research and production, but didn't catch that. Thanks for bringing that up
1977 was a bumper crop year for Bob Griese and Nat Moore 🐬
Bob wore his glasses on the field starting that year, I think
@@markgardner9460 yes he did and he (and the dolphins) rebounded strongly from 1976. He was the starting quarterback at that season's pro bowl
What gets overlooked is his excellent open field running capabilities. He really was a very gifted QB.
The pre-Flag Football days.
Each of the plays featured in the video's intro would be flagged for unnecessary roughness today. It's absurd.
Man these guys would have killed me on fan duel !
Every yard counted!
I like your channel, just subbed. Cool Largent jersey btw.
Thank you - I appreciate that!!
As a kid, I had a stats book. In the mid-to-late 80s, Montana was considered superhuman for having a 60% plus completion rate (and a few 3,000 yard seasons with 300 yard games). Nearly all QBs, including stat leaders (Marino/Fouts) that hit a few 4,000 yard seasons, had a completion rate c.50-55%. Staubach was a legend in the 70s for nearly getting a 60% rate, making him the most efficient passer ever (at that time), when most were like 50% or lower. People attributed Montana's sucess to SF short-passing game. But from 90s onwards it seems a lot of QBs have 70% completion rates. That'd be deemed impossible in the 80s, even if Sammy Baugh technically had a 70% rate in 1937 from throwing very few passes. There's rule changes. But you'd wonder if the passing game has also just got more sophisticated. Quite possibly. As late as the 80s, it was still expected that every team would follow a 3yrds & cloud of dust running game. SF were considered freaks for throwing so often. In the 70s, a team would often throw only if it was 3rd and long. That was still often the way in the 80s. And I remember Madden calling any team that'd go for a 4th down insane right thru to the early 90s. Now every team does, and all the super cautious time & field possession tactics are out the window. Whereas in the past if a team even went for a 4th & centimetres, there'd probably be a call for a head coach to be fired as an irresponsible lunatic. "Also": Montana was considered superhuman for being about the only QB who never had more interceptions than touchdowns. Almost everyone else did, or else roughly even, including Superbowl winning QBs. The passing game was still "the occasion big play game", not the offensive engine, of every team. Jim McMahon was like the star QB of 1985 season and I don't think he threw for even 2,000 yards or had more TDs than interceptions. Few QBs would be able to start every game (due to injuries). Marino, Fouts & Elway were consider the tough ones for doing so. Tarkenton rarely sat out in the 60s/70s, which is something. He was no.1 for career yards, touchdowns etc. when he retired in 1978 & that record still held into the late 90s but I don't think he ever hit a 3,000 yard season. Maybe not even 2,500 over his 18 year career.
Thanks for the info. Tark had 14 seasons of at least 2,500 yards passing, but only 2 seasons of 3,000+. One was in 1967, his first year with the Giants, and the other was his last year in the league when he lead it with 3,468. He also lead the NFL in interceptions with a whopping 32. Thanks again!
seems mid70s he turned into a short passing game passer w/Mitchel Foreman as RB/primary receiver. Deep balls became a bit of a disaster (32 etc.). Less of his scrambler magic too@@markgardner9460
He said that he had a bad shoulder injury that he played through during his last season, so that probably had something to do with it.
1:50: So THIS is when the rule change eliminating contact after 5 yards was implemented.
The 5 yard rule is called the Isaac Curtis rule because Don Shula implemented the full field hitting of him since NO ONE could run with Isaac Curtis.
In the 60s and 70s Defense rule, 3 yards and a cloud of dust, kill Bubba kill, equals low scoring games. so began the rules changes by the NFL to slowly change the league into a passing game, use of hands for blocking, can't touch the receiver after 5 yards, and can't crush the Quarterback . Joe Namath passed for 4007 in 1967 in the AFL, Dan Flouts pass for 4082 yards 12 years later in 1979, now a days 4000 yards is the norm.
QB's passing for 70,000 yards and haven't been hit hard 17 times.
Didn't bother me at all, I just focused on all the outstanding running backs.
Marvelous presentation
Thank you - I really appreciate that!
Alfred Jenkins was a solid WR
Yes he was! Atlanta had an awesome passing attack in '80 & '81 when Bartkowski threw for 31 and 30 td's respectively. I think that he may have only been a small handful of QB's to have back to back 30 passing td seasons at that time.
The Bengals and Vikings are two teams(in my opinion)that should go back to those uniforms!Clean and classic!
Indeed. There's probably more than a few others that I can think of, too.......like most of them.
Another great one Mark! Excellent topic, picking out different anomalies like this one, with the many details that don't get noticed. Take a bow on this one!
Thank you! I really enjoyed making this one (like all of them, really!) There's always a story behind the story - the key is to find intriguing ones. Already digging into the next video - can't wait to release it.
@@markgardner9460
You didn't tell us why passing was so tough. Perhaps you could include that information in a future video.
While not explicitly telling why the passing was so difficult, I intended to show why via the video's intro and outro. The defenses were dominant, in short. I could have stated that and probably should have. Thanks!
Can't wait to see it. The stuff from this era continues to supply my football enjoyment every Fall and Winter.
Dan Fouts set out much of 1977 for a new contract , letting James Harris passing for the Chargers , in most of that year ? Say , it didn't WORK out for the Chargers much ? And Fouts in 1978 was about to start his [CHANGING ] the NFL into a passing league [ YEARS ] before Marino , every showed up & got all the praise for doing it ?
It was a timing thing - Fouts had Don Coryell as his Head Coach who was an offensive genius and innovator and then Fouts was just entering the prime of his career with relaxed rules which enabled him to flourish. I maintain that the entire AFL was more or less a passing league, so what Fouts did had been done before, albeit in 2 less regaular season games. Thank you for commenting!
So let me ask, if passing proliferated so massively after 1977, why is the record for most passing yards in a game STILL Norm Van Brocklin's 554 in 1951? And it really hasn't been challenged. I remember watching Warren Moon pass for 527 yards in like 1990 and letting up at the end of the game for whatever reason, but aside from that, no one has come within 20 yards of the record ever.
It's just something I find strange.
One thought is that QB's throw far too many short passes which eat up the game clock. Van Brocklin bombed away repeatedly.
@@markgardner9460 I'll buy that, but I'd like to think, in the 72 years of football evolution since Van Brocklin, at least one team for one game would try the same mentality and just bomb away. Y.A. Tittle used to do that sort of thing in the same era, just throwing it up to R.C. Owens over and over again and letting him outreach his defenders. I know that, going back that far, all the really talented athletes played offense and the defense, especially the secondary, suffered in the talent department, which means speedsters like Crazy Legs Hirsch and Don Hutson could really carve up defensive backfields. I just would have thought, just once, someone like Dan Marino in his prime would have done it, or a coach with nothing to lose would have created a game plan specifically to pad the team's passing stats.
I think that you touched on the key in your last sentence. Offensive Coordinators want to pad the passing stats, but mainly in terms of completion percentage and third down conversion percentage because when they inevitably get canned, they can put these numbers on their resume and peddle them to teams in hopes of being hired.
Defensive backs alot better now too.
In Super Bowl XII the Cowboys' Doomsday defense held Craig Morton, a good QB, to a 0.0 passer rating. Rules yes. But you also had some of the greatest defenses ever around the same time. The 1970s are the only decade in NFL history that saw passing stat deflation rather than inflation over the previous decade.
Great point about the stat deflation. While super strong defensive play certainly contributed to that, I think the movement of the hashmarks inwards in 1972 is even a greater factor since it lead to a greater propensity to run the football...and run it far more effectively than before.
Thank you for watching and commenting.