Quick story about the people who ran onto the field during the 1958 championship game: They worked for NBC and they ran on the field because the TV feed during the final drive got cut and they were trying to buy some time so that technicians could get the feed working again. You can’t make this stuff up!
The amount of cable tugging up and down the field in later years was aided by a guy who was never more than two feet away from the head coach for the entire game. This was only eclipsed maybe by the pit reporter at the Indy 500. You weren't as busy, but that was a loooooooooong cable you had to keep away from turning over cans of gas (ethanol if you must be pedantic) and various other pit equipment.
Quick story about that 73-0 drubbing of Sammy Baugh and the Redskins by Sid Luckman and the Bears. Early in the game, a pass from Baugh was dropped in the endzone. After the game, reporters asked Baugh if that would have changed the game (momentum and such). Sammy Baugh says, "Yes. The score would have been 73-7."
Unitas essentially invented the two minute offense in the '58 championship game, using the sidelines to stop the clock and calling the plays at the line. He and Berry were famous for staying after practice to work on patterns that depended on timing, so Unitas would know exactly when he was coming out of his break.
@Jay seaborg.....you're correct. They invented the timing route. Unitas and berry were so precise that berry once caught a pass two feet out of bounds in practice. He told the coaches the field was short. They measured the practice field and it was exactly two feet short.
I love Unitas and still want to call him GOAT though I have to give Brady his due. Though Johnny U did take the two minute offense a step further then anyone else had, I think Otto Graham showed that ability too in the 1950 NFL Championship, driving the Browns for a last minute field goal that won the game.
@@sdgakatbk In my heart Johnny will always be #1. I hated to see Drew Brees break the 47 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass record. But records are meant to be broken they say. It showed class that Unitas Jr. was there that day to congratulate Drew. I remember soon after Unitas passed, Peyton Manning wanted to honor him by wearing a pair of high-top cleats. Sadly, the NFL said no. Bunch of Bozo's...
@@starshiptrooper7670 "In my heart Johnny will always be #1. I hated to see Drew Brees break the 47 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass record." -- Look how long it took to break it! That's amazing. That reminds me, Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak has not yet been broken. That's 81 years this year. I don't think anyone has come close. 7/15/22, 10:07 p.m.
A couple of things: Players in the 40's had to play both ways, so they probably did have to pace themselves. There's a reason the 80's look a lot more modern is the the NFL made major rule changes in blocking and pass defense rules in the late 70's to get more offense. Those blockers in the 50's had to try to just get in the way. If they extended their arms it was a penalty.
I'm glad somebody beat me to the playing two-ways reality of single platoon football. When Paul Brown started using two-platoon tactics occasionally in the AAFC before going all-in on it, the NFL finally made a rule change allowing unlimited substitution in 1950. That just happened to be the year the two leagues merged, bringing three AAFC teams intact into the NFL and using a dispersal draft for the rest of the AAFC players. Paul Brown did more to create modern pro football than anyone, including having no fear bringing in black players.
yeah... when I started playing organized football in late 60s - O- line was told to grab their own shirt and "block" by getting in the way and extending their elbows.........
Yeah they had to block like electric football players. The 1973 playoff game between Miami and Cincinnati was the genesis of the Isaac Curtis rule, which prohibited mauling wide receivers prior to the ball being thrown.
This video literally took me forever to make so if you enjoyed it at all please like the video it would mean a lot. EDIT - I don't know how I screwed this up, but the dolphins backup qb you entered the game is named DON Strock not JOHN, im so sorry I actually don't know how I messed that one up
In watching your vid, your attention to detail and analysis was insightful. I especially liked that you included the "quirky" plays that have been largely forgotten. i.e. Troy Polamalu's wtf was he doing, Randy White's fumble, Dan Reeves halfback option pass for a TD (imo, the reason the Cowboys became America's team, David didn't defeat Goliath), those Cardinal's plays, that Tom Brady wasn't always Superman! Very appreciative. I bet you didn't have a video department doing all the research and compilation. Great choices. Thank you.
Not covering the 49ers with Walsh west coast offense in the 80s while comparing eras is odd, not only was it a major revolution in the 80s, it still stands as one of the most influential parts of forever changing the NFL
I dunno….I watched 81 Divisional Playoff game between SD and Miami and all that high scoring and running was done in 85 deg temps with 90% Humidity. Guys were literally dropping in their tracks from heat cramps. Then the next weekend poor SD had to play the Bengals in -13 deg F temps with winds gusting to 35 mph and like a -50 windchill. It’s the only time I’ve seen an NFL team defeated before the opening kick off. But if you wanted to show off the 80’s two most innovative teams of that era the best game of the 80’s was the 89 Super Bowl. West Coast Offense vs. The No Huddle.
I would agree about the 49rs. They really innovated the West Coast, quick passing game that has been a staple of good passing attacks ever since. It kept QBs alive.
Blocking in those early eras was more varied than mentioned in this vid. Low cross blocking on the line was very technical. An article in Sports Illustrated from the 90's on the dominant Notre Dame teams just after the war highlighted this fact.
Yes the rule change allowing for offensive lineman to extend their arms instead of having to keep them in tight to the body changed everything..... Back then you had to rely on footwork!
@@rodneywaugh8535 also the rule changes on defense eliminating the head slap by D-linemen and defenders used to be able to level receivers until the ball left the QBs hand that's why they hated crossing patterns back in the day, the 70s is when a lot of rules changes took place favoring the offense and I feel today's rules favor the offense too much
The O-line blocking rules didn't change until 1978. Before that, an O-lineman couldn't extend his arms or envelope the defender, so it was much harder to maintain a pocket. Also, that's DON Strock, not "John". Nice video though.
@@tubfrog - Observation: It would have made / would make videos like this more informative/interesting if you had done additional research into important rules changes, such as this, and spoke on them. Not a complaint, but advice for the future.
Ty, T R, it's sort of like looking at old basketball games when palming of the ball caused a turnover not a highlight reel crossover dribble, break your defenders ankles play.
Kudos for selecting Super Bowl 13 as the most significant game of the 70's. IMO, it is the most significant game in NFL history for it was the game that seamlessly connected the past and present NFL landscape. In 1978, the NFL increased the regular season schedule from 14 to 16 games; the 5 yard Illegal Contact Rule was instituted along with O-Lineman being able to legally grab D-Lineman outside of the numbers; the league had become far more athletic than in years past; and Super Bowl 13 featured the greatest number of Hall of Famers (e.g., 17 players, 2 head coaches, 2 team presidents) in NFL history. The game itself more than lived up to the pre-game hype for up to that point, only Super Bowl 10 (e.g., Steelers 21 Cowboys 17) was deemed as a great game. Super Bowl 13 was even better and it took another 10 years (e.g., 49ers 20 Bengals 16) for a comparable Super Bowl contest. In terms of team dominance, the 70's Steelers appeared in 4 Super Bowls, won 4 Super Bowls, and appeared in 6 conference championship games. The 70's Cowboys appeared in 5 Super Bowls, won 2 Super Bowls, lost 3 Super Bowls by a combined 11 points, and appeared in 7 conference championship games.
PhilC, I completely agree with you. I was 8 years old when this game was played and the memory of it sticks with me to this day. I watched it from start to finish and cried my eyes out when Dallas lost it. It's one of the few games that I will go back and watch every few years.
Noting 5 Super Bowl appearances and 2 wins for the Cowboys in the 70's underpins their dominance that decade. Let's go further with that: 1970's Dallas had 9 playoff appearences, combined record of 105-39 (oh and one coach, Tom Landry). Steelers in the 1970's, 8 playoff appearences, 99-44 (also under one coach, Chuck Knoll). Next was the Raiders who went to the playoffs 7 times (one SB win) and was 100-38 for the decade (with 6 ties!!!!) The better Raiders record is probably because of 1970 and 1971, where the Steelers were dreadful, though they weren't much better in 1980 and 1981. oh, and the Cowboys went to the playoffs the last 4 years of the 1960's, and the first 4 years of the 1980's as well, meaning their dominance between 1966 and 1983 was 17 playoff appearences in 18 years. Impossible to duplicate, unprecedented (Fine, Patriots 2010's with 10 playoff appearances and a 125-35 record with 3 Super Bowl wins and 2 losses also under one coach, plus 16 playoff appearences in 17 years from 2003 to 2019. But fuck them.) Niners of the 80's had 8 playoff appearances and a 104-47 record though they did change coaches (but not quarterbacks) during that era and went 15 of 16 in playoffs from 1983 to 1998 (they did change to Steve Young in the 1991 season). There were some Great QB's on these teams, like Staubach and Bradshaw and Ken Stabler, Montana and Young, Darryl Lamonica, Danny White, etc.... Yeah, and Matt Cassell. :)
@@DawnBlum Terrific post and I would like to add the big "what if" to this narrative. If Landry had named Roger Staubach as the starting QB in the 1970 season, it would be a good bet that the Cowboys would have won Super Bowl 5. Landry's thought process on the Staubach-Morton decision was borderline stupid, but he was temporarily bailed out by the Doomsday Defense in the 2nd half of the 1970 regular season and in the post-season. The Cowboys defense gave up a grand total of 26 points in 3 playoff games and 10 of those points was via a double-tipped touchdown pass to John Mackey and an interception by Morton which led to a Jim O'Brien game winning field goal.
Raiders '74 team has 12 HOF's and most by any offense ever and had Owner, GM and HC in the hall as well. Just giving some credit of other stacked teams.
It's also worth mentioning that in the 40s and 50s, a lot of the best football players coming out of college chose not to make a career out of football (since a job in the "real world" paid more). For example Johnny Lujack (currently the oldest Heisman winner alive) retired at 26 after coming off consecutive Pro Bowls, preferring to take a job as assistant coach at Notre Dame and then starting his own auto dealership. For those who did play pro football, they still held other jobs during the weekdays. It's not like today where they spend 5 days a week practicing schemes, watching opponent film, etc.
True, my father in law was Hall Of Fame Les Richter. When had got married he had to sell his wife car to get by. He went on to make a very good living in motorsports. Hall of fame in pro football, college football and motorsports. He turned down a baseball career because football paid more.
The unusual dropback by Warren Moon was a technique used in the run and shoot offence. If the route concept wasn't open play side then the qb would come to the concept backside. And it also depended on the blocking scheme, pre snap read ect. But that 3 step drop back technique was taught. Look up Mouse Davis run and shoot.
Be that as it may warren moon was a bona fide LOSER and a CHOKER going late in the third qtr leading 35-3 and managed to lose 41-38 to a back up QB? Explain that to me. and that P.O.S. is in the HOF???... WOW!
@@kendallevans4079 because it was John Heisman flaying a team to prove a point. Also it informs us why taking your foot off the gas in a blow out is rude.
Something you need to know about the Randy White fumble: He was playing with a broken arm in a cast, which led to his ... less than secure hold on the ball. Also, may I suggest watching the 2009 AFC Championship between the Steelers and Ravens. As great as SB 43 is, and it really is great, the craziness of a divisional rivalry game as the AFC Championship, with two teams who play old-school defense, is awesome.
I live in Buffalo and I'm surprised he covered the Bills twice. That 29 year gap between those legendary Bills games, the Bills became largely irrelevant
On the 1940 championship. Glad you picked that one. It shows the evolution of the league and the game. First remember that they played both ways and could not leave the game without being out till the end of that quarter. 2nd Washington is playing the single wing formation not wild cat. This was the first (or one of the first) games to have the qb under center. Also remember they used a different ball then, which resembles a rugby ball try throwing that. Sammy baugh doesn’t get enough credit his hands were big and could hold one and give a good spiral.
Yeah, I found it kinda odd when he referred to it as the Wildcat. There is nothing similar (schematically) between the Wildcat and the single wing. Veer and single wing, sure (child-parent) but the Wildcat is just a shifted Pro Set. I guess you can chalk it up to recency bias.
I remember sitting in the stands as a teenager in Texas stadium watching Roger staubach and the cowboys in the 70s my dad had season tickets and for 3 seasons I sold concessions in the stands I got to see plenty of great playoff games and rivalries and one pro bowl was played at Texas stadium too. Great memories
As someone who's been watching football since 1980. I think that Dolphins vs Chargers game in January 1982 was the best game I ever seen. I know people can make a argument for many games more recently being better but at that time you didnt see a aerial back and forth game like this. Today you see it all the time. Most recently Chiefs vs Bills last year and Chiefs vs Rams a few years earlier
I love the 90s and early 200s (best football era in my eyes- you could win with a dominant offense or a smothering defense), but SB42 was the greatest game I have witnessed and watched. 1990 NFCC comes second
Such an excellent video! The comparisons you give are top notch; a couple examples I loved were: the last drive in overtime of the 58' championship game reminding you of watching Brady because of the checkdowns; and two, the entire pace/style of the same game reminding you of the recent (2019) playoff game between the Titans and the Patriots. Those examples immediately gave me a damn near perfect feel for what the 58 game was like, without me even having to watch it. Ty so much for the great content.
The 70s/early 80s were the best - before alot of the rules changes like salary cap and shackles placed on the defense to encourage more scoring. Super Bowl 13 is still the best one ever. Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings - most of the class of these legendary clubs came in this era. Walter Payton, Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Fran Tarkenton, Joe Greene, Lawrence Taylor, John Madden, Tom Landry, Don Shula - try to name an era that had better coaches and players. This is the era when the shotgun and the 4-3 defense (thanks mostly to Tom Landry) became a permanent part of the game - and now they are the standard. I can remember watching Roger Staubach when he was the only QB that ran the shotgun in the NFL.
Pure dominance ? 1970's Steelers. They were a traveling All Pro Team at every position. They were mean, ugly, very talented and physically beat the hell out of their opponents. The only team that could have given them a good battle was that '89 49ers' Team that crushed Denver 55-10 in the SB.
@TubFrog You talked about how big the Jackie Smith drop was in SB XIII, and also correctly identify the fumble by Randy White as the game's turning point. What you may not know is that Randy White had a broken thumb on his left hand, and played that game in a light cast. On the "return" (have to use that term loosely), White instinctively tried to tuck the ball into the hand away from traffic...which happened to be his casted left thumb. He couldn't grip the ball, it squirted out, and fumble. The other fun thing about that play is that the fumble was recovered by number 53, Dennis "Dirt" Winston. If you watch the replay, you see that Winston was just kind of standing next to the pileup atop the football at the end of the play, and just sort of casually kneels down atop the mass of humanity at 12:29. Somehow, he burrowed into that pile well after the play and dug the ball out. Great video, though. Might have been interesting to see a different game in the 1950s. While the Ice Bowl was definitely the most important game of the decade, you could imagine that a game played today in -15 weather would probably look a little ugly and slow as well.
Fun Fact (Unless you're a Giants fan like me, then it's more of a painful fact): The head coaches in the Ice Bowl were both Giants Coordinators in the 1958 "Greatest Game Ever Played". Landry coached the Defense and Lombardi coached the offence. How the giants didn't keep at least one still boggles my mind.
Randy White was the one to drop to accidental squib kick because of the cast on his left fractured hand. He dropped the ball before the defender even hit him.
I was 11 or 12 at the time, and we alway’s had season ticket’s at the time. My friend and I went to the movie’s after they got to 35-3. The entire time we were in the movies we were guessing what the score would probably be. We were like “70-3”, then my dad picked us up, and was listening to the game cussing, and the game was going to overtime. I felt sick for like a month afterwards. I remember after Houston traded Moon, the entire Oiler’s fan base was turned off, then Bud Adam’s asked for another stadium. Had he of not made that trade, I think the Oiler’s would have never gone to Tennessee.
@@mockingslur6945 What movie? I live in Buffalo and watched on satellite as it was blacked out because it wasnt sold out. I begged to go, but it didnt happen. I was the only one left watching when it was 35-3 and then the comeback started.
@@RichV20 I want to say Home Alone 2, but I can’t remember. Could have been hook? Idk I was 11. I really didn’t want to go to the movie’s, but was invited, and back then it was rude to say no. Lol
My favorite Era was 90 Giants, 91 Redskins, 92 & 93 Cowboys with Montana's 89 &89 Niners and Youngs 94 Niners as bookends. The NFC East was a war zone and that includes the Philly teams that were every bit as good but just couldn't get past the other greats in the Division
Wanna watch a player who was way, way ahead of his time? Check out Otto Graham, the QB whose career started in the 40s, and looks like modern QB. He was also ahead of his time regarding injury awareness, and retired early to preserve his marbles.
In hindsight, I contend the NFL peaked in 70-77, and ended with "Mel Blount Rule". Should have kept it. Game wouldnt be what it is today, but by the end of this decade defense is just going to become a series of blitzes as the only thing you can really do today vs the RPO is somehow get to the QB.
yeah the mel blount rule was the beginning of the end of real football this guy who did this video has no clue actually ---i have no idea what his point was
I'd go Elway era. You could still hit but the talent on both sides of the ball had improved and we weren't playing in a pinball machine like today. But I'd stretch back to the late 70s with no complaints.
@@AJHart-eg1ys "talent had improved" is an opinion the only improvement was place kicking and that began with garo yepremian the dolphins place kicker in the early 1970s; the first "soccer-style" kicker which added easy range...by the end of the 70s kickers were all kicking soccer-style which position players improved? can't say running backs ---they were no better in the 80s than jim brown gale sayers oj simpson larry brown tony dorsett lawrence mccutcheon duane thomas calvin hill franco harris chuck forman et al---all of them were in the 60s - 70s and NOW they suck in comparison---they dont run; its all passing just curious which part of the game do you feel is better now than in the 70s?; definitely can't say defense---it's no longer permitted; which is why quarterbacks have all day and night to pass for 400 yds every game joe namath had a couple 500 yd games back in the early 70s when defenses were permitted to do whatever they wanted literally including slapping the heads of the offensive linemen and decking receivers before the ball the was thrown and is the elway era the 80s or 90s?...he only won in the 90s so ...
1990 NFC Championship was the best football game I ever saw. The Bears won because of the t formation, not in spite of it. Great job. great video, concept, and narration. Fun and interesting. Thanks!
Great video! I can imagine this was a tough one to make. I’d say the NFL is worthy of having this be a series with more games covered. Super Bowl 23, Super Bowl 25, 1990, 1992 and 1998 NFCCG’s, 2006 AFCCG, Super bowl 36, super bowl 38, 2013 NFCCG, 2015 AFCCG, etc
That super bowl between seattle and new england is a trauma in my past. I was in 8th grade and had a bet with my teacher for 20 push ups that the seahawks would win, he had new england. On top of that, that was the only football game i can recall that i legit cried after that didnt involve my favorite team the steelers
To me you just like high scoring games , in every era , this why we have what we have today , one game every week now , we have the best game ever played and every week we have another GOAT , for me its overkill .
Dan Fouts w/ Air to Kellen Winslow finally pulled it out EPIC Effort. This is the only game my mom talked to me about. She couldn't believe that game and how winded everybody was by the time this slugfest was done. This was the best of this whole stack. The TD dropped by Dallas probably reminds me of having a happy heart on that day ;)
Its the best game ever played, college or pro, and so far ahead of No.2. Just had everything, an insane comeback followed by the teams trading blows in the 2nd half. offense, trick plays, turnovers, special teams, Kellen Winslow, Stock a backup putting up 360 4TD/0INT in a bit over 2 quarters, the crowd and played in football's greatest stadium.
The 1940 Bears were the first team to use the T-Formation, which made them unstoppable. The Redskins were still running the single wing, with Sammy Baugh (their "quarterback") technically playing halfback (hence number 33). The quarterback position in the single wing was primarily a blocker. Different game indeed.
One of the coolest NFL video I've ever seen with such insightful commentary! The Super Bowl between the Steelers and the Cowboys, your defensive tag line should have been the "Steel Curtain" vs the "Doomsday Defense!" Thank you for including the Dolphins vs. Chargers game. Kellen Winslow became iconic, not just for his receiving prowess, but those incredible blocked field goals! I had forgotten that.
I grew up watching football in the 80's and looking back now I was watching the game evolve without realizing it. The one player that should have at least got an honorable mention was LT! The man single handedly changed the game. Teams had to gameplay around LT! It was amazing to watch!
@@aaronjackson9385 QB.'s ran for their lives when defense was allowed to be played in the old days, unlike today you breathe on a offensive player and is a penalty.
The that's the thing with the Oilers from 91 to 93 in the playoffs was pure choke choke choke. In 91 divisional round they had a 21 to 6 lead against the Broncos and this was before the 2 point conversion so a 3 score lead and they blew it. The Broncos needed a field goal to win. They had the ball at the 2 and no timeouts. In that drive the Oilers defense had 2 4th downs and they couldn't stop Elway. Elway scrambled for 7 yards and then on the 2nd fourth down he lofted the ball to Vance Johnson and they get to field goal range and get an easy field goal and win. Then you got the 35 to 3 game right there the ultimate choke. Then in 93 the Oilers started 1-4 and somehow won 11 straight games. They were the hottest team in football other than the Cowboys. They started out with a 10 to 0 lead against the Joe Montana Chiefs in the divisional round. They had it close in the 4th quarter and they blew it. The Oilers all that talent and just choked it all away. That's why the Cowboys under Jimmy Johnson were able to win Super Bowls because they weren't choking and literally won the 3rd out of 4 years purely on talent because Barry Swizter just kept the seat warm as head coach.
It's a double edged sword: the Run and Shoot offense that they used got them to the playoffs and gave them a lot of success....... however, you could also say that it was the reason why they kept choking because it didn't have an off switch and it's not like they could run the ball to eat up time.
@@crater044 yeah Tree did a video on the 93 Oilers and they had no run game to bleed the clock. I still believe the 91 Oilers should have at least played in the AFC Championship. The had a 21-6 lead and then let the Broncos get into field goal range starting from the 2 and giving up 2 fourth down conversions. Either way no one was beating the Redskins that year. They were the best team for a good reason.
I love every year of football, there are great stars today, but I remember watching Butkus, Czonka, Tarkington staubach, gale sayers, OJ. Franco, those were my favorite days.
Yes Miami winning against the Chiefs in double overtime at Arrowhead was amazing. That Chiefs team were better than the 1969 team and were Super Bowl favorites.
I’ve watched football since I was was a little kid. I’m a life long Cleveland fan, Browns, Indians (Guardians) and Cavs. Ive seen football in the late 70’s on. To me, in my life time I think the 80’s are my favorite eras. The 80’s because of the Running Backs. Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Bo Jackson, Walter Payton, along with all the great Quarterbacks in that era. The run game was alive and well and simply amazing.
The NFL still had a sort of amateur beer league element into the 70s, but the athleticism and professional training (including steroids) really took over around the Lawrence Taylor era. LT was the first uber-athlete IMO and he was last unicorn. Now, their are tons of uber-athletes on the practice squad. Everybody is in tip top shape.
The players back then were just as athletic. The better athletes just stood out more because today's strength and training programs have evened the playing field. Only the elite athletes stand out.
It's a lot easier to be in "tip top shape" when playing football is not only your only job, but you've been intensely training for it since you were in junior high. Up to the '70s most players had full-time jobs in the off-season b/c their NFL salaries barely paid their mortgage. For example, HoFer "Concrete" Charlie Bednarik didn't get that nickname b/c of his play but b/c he was a concrete salesman in the off-season.
@@Musicvidsetc Many of them also played both offense and defense. Punters and placekickers also played other positions. As a boy, I got to see one of the last of those players: Pat Studstill. He was a wide receiver, punter, and punt returner.
The worst thing that happened to football was stopping hitting the receiver at the line of scrimmage. Why? It evolved to the point where pass receptions are GUARANTEED. The game was better when blocking and running were important. Today it is all about the pass. It is not very interesting. Also, restricting linemen to 5 yards downfield or you get a penalty? That just made blocking downfield almost impossible except by receivers, backs and tight ends.
80s for me as a Redskins fan. But that era (late 70s to early 90s) had the best combination of offense (1978 rule changes) and defense (they could still hit for real). Also running and passing was the most balanced. And it was the last decade before unlimited free agency and the salary cap, so teams still stayed together. Better for the fans, but not so much for the players.
@@BobBob-eb4io in my opinion, 09 and 2010 were still hard hitting and balanced. Those 09 rule changes really began to take shape in 2011..in my opinion, thats when they came became imbalanced and offensive production became inflated.
May have split the 80s and 90s into two halves. More work for you, but the game changed so much in those two decades that it is difficult to encapsulate those changes in one game on a 10 year stretch. Just my opinion.
Same with the 2000s. Especially after Colts got smoked by the Pats over and over. You could see the late 2000s being the beginning of the league emphasizing the passing game.
Thanks man that truly means a lot. It’s so wild that your a guy I’ve been watching for years and now you’ve seen my content. Good luck to you man, and maybe our paths will cross one day.
I'm officially old but a quick funny story and a few points: 1) I was 8yo and a HUGE NFL fan when that Oilers-Bills game was being played. Even though my Lions aren't involved, I begin watching it as I'm getting ready to go back home from a holiday trip to my mother's house. When I left one house the Bill were down by over 30. When I walked in the other house they were celebrating their win, lol. I felt like I went through a time warp or portal or something. That young, a 32pt deficit was I heard of to even consider coming back from. It honestly took me a second to gather myself as I last looked at a TV and it was all Oilers and the next TV I saw it was The Bills. It still makes me feel weird talking about it. 2) I know I'm now old when you said "The shotgun formation hadn't even been invented yet". I'll ignore the semantics or history and just say that I'm old enough to tell you that shotgun wasn't used ubiquitously until about 2002. Even heavy passing teams in both The NFL and college still mostly went under center until the early 2000s. Houston (CFB & NFL), BYU, etc were primarily under center teams. It was the option spread that made shotgun so ubiquitous and then passing teams realized it's better to just always use it. Not to say nobody did! It just wasn't the primary formation like it is now until the 2000s. 3) On your talk of the talent and execution just being so much better with time, you showed a clip of Jim Brown. Barry Sanders was my idol and while he will tell you Brown was better, he wasn't. Jim Brown in the 90s would have been an good RB, not even great. Good. In the modern game he'd be worse. Barry Sanders in Brown's day would be GOD, lol. Untouchable. Barry Sanders in today's game would still be a 1500 yard RB. Maybe more with the ubiquity of the passing attack and defenses geared to stop it. In 20 years he'd still be a good RB. In short, he's the best to ever do it. 4) Nice video.
I like the idea of the video, but It feels more like a recap of old games, rather than a comparison of football back then vs now. The way you talked about Unitas, you'd think the colts would be blowing out the giants, but they barely won. So what were the giants playing like? what were their formations and defense like? After the 3rd game, I stopped watching so I can't speak on the later parts of the video. but the beginning just seems like a brief recap of old games to me
Understandable, I honestly just thought it would be more entertaining like this but I definitely could have done more analysis and comparisons between eras. At the end of the video I did say that no matter the era, football is football and the main difference between eras has to do with the ratio of pass to runs and just overall talent. But thanks for the comment, always good to hear feedback.
@@tubfrog Yeah, that Giants team had Vince Lombardi as its OC and Tom Landry as its DC, both of which would be the head coaches of the Ice Bowl game, and Landry was also one of the coaches in the game from the 70s. To beat a Landry defense you were either elite, or lucky, and a Lombardi offense was gonna wear you out, so, they're just as significant to the story of that game as the elite play of Unitas. Frank Gifford was the Giants star player but even he was overshadowed by Lombardi and Landry. The same two teams played in the championship the next year, and the Giants lost again. Lombardi had left to be the Packers' HC and Landry would get hired by the Cowboys in 1960 and that Giants head coach(Jim Lee Howell) is just another forgotten name while his HC and DC are Hall of Famers and the Colts coach from that game is also in the Hall of Fame. That really was one if not the most important games in NFL history just due to some of the names involved and what they did to further the game.
@@mykull666 ya your right I should have mentioned more about the backstories of the games. I even knew about Lombardi and Landry coaching together in that championship game but I guess it just slipped my mind when recording. Nevertheless as someone who had only watched one or two games and a few documentaries from the 50s and 60s I didn’t feel educated enough to share more than I did
@@tubfrog To be fair, outside of it being used a segue piece of trivia throughout the three games Landry is involved in, it doesn't change the quality of your work which I think is very good. I grew up watching 70s football and a few years back, I tried to watch Cowboys games from the 60s and it was very boring. It gets even worse when there were none or very few Black players. Then when they finally got into the league, you watch the games where they play those mostly unathletic dudes just standing around putting in no effort. I still wonder just how good Jim Brown was considering he looked twice the size and was twice as fast as the average defender of the time period. The game wasn't truly maximized until the 70s when the Cowboys and Steelers were using computers for drafting which lead to pulling talent from HBCUs, which might be why they were the two best teams of that decade. I always laugh at old-timers like my dad who think their era of football was the toughest when most of the players wouldn't have survived a Cowboys or Steelers training camp in the 70s or any teams beyond that to today and your video pointed out their lack of effort and skill. Anyway, great job.
100% agree with the original post - in fact i made a similar comment before seeing this one... the NBA video on this concept was done WAY better with real insight to how the game changed
I’m old enough to have seen SB 13. A fan since SB 6. It’s good to have context or you miss perspective. Randy White dropped that ball not because he had a brain fart….but because he was playing with a broken arm. Notice the cast. He was a multi pro bowl, multi All Pro Co-SB MVP from the prior year and they were going against the Steel Curtain. Or course Dallas needed him in the game! He wasn’t going to miss it! Todays players sit out a game if they have an ingrown toenail! Also.. There was a pass interference called again at our cornerback (Barnes) that gave Pitt a huge first down when Barnes was looking for the ball and Pitt seemingly initiated the contact. Last Franco Harris then was able to run the ball in for the TD as a ref inadvertently literally physically blocked our all pro safety Charlie Waters out of the play from tackling him. You are right in saying it wasn’t simply the Jackie Smith drop. Unfortunately that’s all ppl will remember.
Good call on Randy White. That "squib" kick was the worst-case scenario for Dallas. Of all the people on the field that the ball goes to, it had to be the one wearing a cast on his arm. I was fourteen when SB XIII was played and, after all these years, I still believe it's the best SB ever. NFL films aptly called it, "Battle of Champions". By the late '70s, both organizations knew what rising to championship level was all about. It was so good for the Cowboys in '78, that they blanked the Rams two weeks earlier, 28-0, in their so-called "bad luck blue" jerseys. That's the only time I can recall Dallas winning a big game in those great looking unis.
I remember that Miami v San Diego game. One of the best games I've seen. Good description. One team would deliver a blow and the other would respond. The players were exhausted and cramping up on the field.
Thank you for giving props to Johnny Unitas. The evolution of the game over the last six decades makes it hard to call him the true GOAT, but, like Don Hutson, he was so much better than anyone in his era that it's hard to say otherwise.
26:40 that was when the announcers told us that receiver worked at footlocker 2 weeks before. I remember that play so vividly... just because of the commentary lol
@@tubfrog thank I feel that RB are overlooked and are key part of football like but RB are worse and 1990s RB were I might say better than a present day healthy McCaffrey. Like Barry, Emmett, Thurman Thomas or I like to say thunder.
@25:32- Not a fan of either team, but was watching the Super Bowl anyway but you gotta give it up to Roethlisberger for putting it on the money threading the needle through triple coverage and to Holmes for making that incredible catch in the coffin corner with the classic 2 feet toe drag suspended animation catch!...in sports that's what's referred to as the "proverbial dagger"...... I still just shake my head in amazement...what a play!!
@@tubfrog Maybe cuz you had to throw in stupid unnecessary stuff like "cucking themselves" like it's an alt-right message board or something and not just a football video.
Was working at a small airport in Alaska during that Pats/Seahawks SB. I got so see a plane full of Seahawks fans circle around the 20 inch tube TV in the terminal just minutes before the Kearse circus catch. Jokes, smiles, trash talk. And then they all took their bags and left quietly minutes later, completely crushed. Was as fun to watch the people as the game.
as someone who has watched since the 60s, once you hit the 1970's, which is considered the golden age of the nfl and superbowl era, you had teams that had to utilize offense, both running and passing, as well a playing defense to cover both run and the pass, unlike today's paddy cake pitch and catch after 5 yards, and coddling of the receivers and qb's. big difference.
You can tell from the early games how much the Rugby origin is still around in the game. The rushing.. the short, position plays..the power hits.. the lateral passing..It was only when the QB position totally walked around from what the scrum half used to do, ie.. passing long and wide..that the game became totally unique.
Regarding laterals in the 1980s: It was nearly that common. This game was an exception. The famous "hook & lateral" from Duriel Harris to Tony Nathan for the TD in this game worked because it was unexpected.
Thank God the NFL thought Doug Flutie was to short to be a quarterback. We, in Canada , got to see Flutie play in his prime . Calling the little runt a star is an understatement. He also had a short brother that ended up being a star reciever
@6:12, Brady and Unitas were very similar in style in a lot of ways: emphasis on short and quick movement in the pocket, finding the open man with incredible short-passing accuracy, powerful and accurate bullet passes, and not a lot of accuracy with soft-touch passes. As a coach, Raymond Berry didn't like scramblers, which is why he didn't think much of Flutie.
Note, that the 1940 championship game was the coming-out for the "modern" T-formation. With the QB directly under center and one halfback in motion most of the time (they did this instead of sending out a flanker). Washington is still in Single-wing/short punt. Things to note. Both teams will occasionally split an end (in a 3 point stance). The big advantage of the T. It hits much quicker (lots of fakes to one back, spin give to other). This and play-action make for a LOT more explosive plays (also the Bear run a lot of swing passes to the motion back. Washington is snakebit near the goal line, the game could have been closer (probably 48-21, so not THAT closer) but not a record-holder. The game is played in Washington (3 of your first 5 are road wins). A 50s college game would be a BIG contrast. NFL has free subs by then, college went back to 2 ways after WWII. Hash marks are VERY wide and QB must be 5 yards deep to throw (which means most teams have a halfback who can throw). Probably biggest divergence between the games.
That 1981 divisional playoff is known as The Epic in Miami. I saw it live; it was amazing! A better idea of the 1970s might have been the best SB of the decade, SB X. Before the rule changes that opened up the passing game, when running and defense ruled.
Good video...Good job. I stopped being a fan of the NFL, around the late 90's early 2000's, when I started hearing more and more reports of criminal activity from players. Reports about players getting bonuses for purposely injuring opponents to get them out of the game was the last straw :(
Thank you for this post. The Bears were the first team to use the "T" it changed the game. By 1950 only the Steelers were still using the Single Wing. Please view a game from 1948 you will see a huge difference between this and the 40 title game. John Unitas was simply the best. In today's "game" no qb would ever pass when in field goal range. Unitas had little trust in field goal attempts so was driving for the td. No other qb can be compared to Unitas, he ran the game, the game was an extension of what he wanted to do. You will find as explore history that the game before the 1978 rule change was far better than today.
Love how you mentioned BIg Bens glory days, Not a steelers fan but that man had and I quote "An innate ability to not throw the ball on time" and succeed.
If you like Defense....forget the modern era. The rules are made for offense and high scoring games. The best defensive payoff game: Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions 1970. The score was 5-3 in favor of Dallas! It is on TH-cam. Check it out. Two VERY exceptional defenses. Honorable mention: the Miami vs Washington Super Bowl in the early 70s or the Pittsburgh vs Minnesota Super Bowl of the same 70s. Ie- the early to mid 70s were dominated by defense until the 1978 season where offenses were unleashed by several favorable new rules regarding offensive line blocking and freeing up wide receivers from the line of scrimmage among others.
The game between the Chargers and Miami I still consider to be the most incredible game I ever watched. It was over 4 hours long and Kellen Winslows performance epitomized leaving everything on the field. Great choice!
i remember dolphins- chargers game like it was yesterday. 40+ years ago! saw it at my friend's house. was best man at my friend's wedding 3 years later, day of largest college comeback, maryland vs miami. almost 7 years later, my son was baptized, my friend was godfather, day of oilers- bills. should watch more football with my friend, lol...........great video, thanks!
The hits got harder, because the protective gear got better. 1940's they used basically rugby pads still. It peaked in the 90's. The hits Kelly, Aikman, Kosar, Montana and etc seriously hurt them for life. Players like Lott and Romanowski were headhunters.
I was a Cowboys fan growing up in Houston. I didn't have anything against the Oilers, per se, but I didn't much care about them. ... But I tried. And that season, I was glad to see the massive halftime lead that Houston had piled up against Buffalo. Bradshaw and Co. were already talking, at halftime, about whom the Oilers would be facing, the next week. ... Then of course, it all fell apart, and the entire city was in shock. I remember thinking how glad I was to not have any emotional investment in the team, because that one clearly would have hurt.
A very cool idea! You arguably should've watched two games for the 60s - one NFL and one AFL. I say this because, from what I have read, the AFL was much more pass-heavy than the NFL. They also had the two-point conversion when the NFL didn't.
I forget what year the rule changed, but back in 1958 when Johnny U won the league title; blockers weren't allowed to place there hands on defenders. All the blocking relied on forearm shivers and collisions
This was on my recommended and I honestly thought it was made by a big channel until I checked your profile! Keep up the great work and more viewers will find you :)
Most important safety improvement had to be the movement of the goal post to the back of the end zone. I ran into a tether ball pole once when I was a kid. Yep. We were playing football, working our way back across the playground at the end of recess. I remember two things: the halo of faces in front of me when I opened my eyes and how much it hurt, that vibrating in my face… 😀
FBs were a pretty standard part of the NFL all the way up through the 1990s. When I started watching the NFL in 1994 most teams had 2 FBs on the roster. The only ones that didn't were the two Run & Shoot teams (Houston & Atlanta), the Lions (which ran mostly 3 WRs base but also more 2 TE than was common at the time), and the Chargers (2 TE base). Even Buffalo, who ran a lot of 3 WR sets because of the K-gun, had a FB on the roster. I'm not sure what the real catalyst or tipping point was (would be a great topic for a video though!). In the late 1990s you started seeing more 2 TE sets, with guys who might have played FB instead playing H-back. The Greatest Show on Turf and the Manning Colts having a lot of success without much use of a traditional FB, followed by the Brady Patriots, probably made it seem more viable than it had in the past. The simplest explanation was the game simply kept getting faster and that was leaving the bigger, slower players behind. There's probably a correlation between the decline of the FB and the decline of the 1,000-yard rusher. I remember in the late 1990s or early 2000s there were so many thousand-yard rushers each season people were questioning whether it was a meaningful milestone in a 16-game season. Nowadays there are so few players who get enough enough carries to have any chance of hitting that milestone that it's become a big deal again.
Quick story about the people who ran onto the field during the 1958 championship game: They worked for NBC and they ran on the field because the TV feed during the final drive got cut and they were trying to buy some time so that technicians could get the feed working again. You can’t make this stuff up!
I thought you were joking but after some research on this, your right! That's so cool and such an obscure thing to know. Awesome stuff!
The amount of cable tugging up and down the field in later years was aided by a guy who was never more than two feet away from the head coach for the entire game. This was only eclipsed maybe by the pit reporter at the Indy 500. You weren't as busy, but that was a loooooooooong cable you had to keep away from turning over cans of gas (ethanol if you must be pedantic) and various other pit equipment.
"And a Timeout is called by NBC!"
@@wolverine9632 Known today as a Commercial... lol
It’s like they set a trend way back then without even realizing.
Quick story about that 73-0 drubbing of Sammy Baugh and the Redskins by Sid Luckman and the Bears. Early in the game, a pass from Baugh was dropped in the endzone. After the game, reporters asked Baugh if that would have changed the game (momentum and such). Sammy Baugh says, "Yes. The score would have been 73-7."
Unitas essentially invented the two minute offense in the '58 championship game, using the sidelines to stop the clock and calling the plays at the line. He and Berry were famous for staying after practice to work on patterns that depended on timing, so Unitas would know exactly when he was coming out of his break.
@Jay seaborg.....you're correct. They invented the timing route. Unitas and berry were so precise that berry once caught a pass two feet out of bounds in practice. He told the coaches the field was short. They measured the practice field and it was exactly two feet short.
Was so good to see my Baltimore Colts in action. Johnny U, Mike (Mad Dog) Curtis and the gang. Thx for not showing S.B. lll. Great video!
I love Unitas and still want to call him GOAT though I have to give Brady his due. Though Johnny U did take the two minute offense a step further then anyone else had, I think Otto Graham showed that ability too in the 1950 NFL Championship, driving the Browns for a last minute field goal that won the game.
@@sdgakatbk In my heart Johnny will always be #1. I hated to see Drew Brees break the 47 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass record. But records are meant to be broken they say. It showed class that Unitas Jr. was there that day to congratulate Drew. I remember soon after Unitas passed, Peyton Manning wanted to honor him by wearing a pair of high-top cleats. Sadly, the NFL said no. Bunch of Bozo's...
@@starshiptrooper7670 "In my heart Johnny will always be #1. I hated to see Drew Brees break the 47 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass record." --
Look how long it took to break it! That's amazing.
That reminds me, Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak has not yet been broken. That's 81 years this year. I don't think anyone has come close.
7/15/22, 10:07 p.m.
A couple of things:
Players in the 40's had to play both ways, so they probably did have to pace themselves.
There's a reason the 80's look a lot more modern is the the NFL made major rule changes in blocking and pass defense rules in the late 70's to get more offense. Those blockers in the 50's had to try to just get in the way. If they extended their arms it was a penalty.
I'm glad somebody beat me to the playing two-ways reality of single platoon football. When Paul Brown started using two-platoon tactics occasionally in the AAFC before going all-in on it, the NFL finally made a rule change allowing unlimited substitution in 1950. That just happened to be the year the two leagues merged, bringing three AAFC teams intact into the NFL and using a dispersal draft for the rest of the AAFC players. Paul Brown did more to create modern pro football than anyone, including having no fear bringing in black players.
yeah... when I started playing organized football in late 60s - O- line was told to grab their own shirt and "block" by getting in the way and extending their elbows.........
70s had pulsating calves too*
Bert Rechichar of the "Real" Colts.
Yeah they had to block like electric football players.
The 1973 playoff game between Miami and Cincinnati was the genesis of the Isaac Curtis rule, which prohibited mauling wide receivers prior to the ball being thrown.
This video literally took me forever to make so if you enjoyed it at all please like the video it would mean a lot.
EDIT - I don't know how I screwed this up, but the dolphins backup qb you entered the game is named DON Strock not JOHN, im so sorry I actually don't know how I messed that one up
Thank you for video
Your videos are amazing. Keep up the good work.
What did you use to watch these games? Is it a site or something?
You missed the name of a backup QB from 40 years ago. No worries.
In watching your vid, your attention to detail and analysis was insightful. I especially liked that you included the "quirky" plays that have been largely forgotten. i.e. Troy Polamalu's wtf was he doing, Randy White's fumble, Dan Reeves halfback option pass for a TD (imo, the reason the Cowboys became America's team, David didn't defeat Goliath), those Cardinal's plays, that Tom Brady wasn't always Superman! Very appreciative. I bet you didn't have a video department doing all the research and compilation. Great choices. Thank you.
Unitas basically invented the way modern quarterbacks play the game. He deserves more mention as one of the greatest.
He also had 40k career yards... IN THE 50s!!
but he was still cut from the CFL curious huh!
@@alpearson9158 Your source? I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just not finding a single mention of Unitas being cut by a CFL team on the interwebs.
@@alpearson9158 He was cut by the Steelers. The Steelers coach thought Unitas was not smart enough to be an NFL QB.
@@alpearson9158 Is bullshit hyphenated? That is unless the Steelers were CFL.
Not covering the 49ers with Walsh west coast offense in the 80s while comparing eras is odd, not only was it a major revolution in the 80s, it still stands as one of the most influential parts of forever changing the NFL
I dunno….I watched 81 Divisional Playoff game between SD and Miami and all that high scoring and running was done in 85 deg temps with 90% Humidity. Guys were literally dropping in their tracks from heat cramps.
Then the next weekend poor SD had to play the Bengals in -13 deg F temps with winds gusting to 35 mph and like a -50 windchill. It’s the only time I’ve seen an NFL team defeated before the opening kick off.
But if you wanted to show off the 80’s two most innovative teams of that era the best game of the 80’s was the 89 Super Bowl. West Coast Offense vs. The No Huddle.
The Chargers ran a form of that scheme too earlier...
@@romelovesdan the Chargers ran a air raid offense
@@dewanewelch1744 Thanks
I would agree about the 49rs. They really innovated the West Coast, quick passing game that has been a staple of good passing attacks ever since. It kept QBs alive.
Blocking in those early eras was more varied than mentioned in this vid. Low cross blocking on the line was very technical. An article in Sports Illustrated from the 90's on the dominant Notre Dame teams just after the war highlighted this fact.
Yes the rule change allowing for offensive lineman to extend their arms instead of having to keep them in tight to the body changed everything.....
Back then you had to rely on footwork!
@@rodneywaugh8535 also the rule changes on defense eliminating the head slap by D-linemen and defenders used to be able to level receivers until the ball left the QBs hand that's why they hated crossing patterns back in the day, the 70s is when a lot of rules changes took place favoring the offense and I feel today's rules favor the offense too much
You could tell how young TubFrog is when he equated Unitas-to-Berry with Rodgers-to-Adams and completely skipped over Colts Manning-to-Harrison.
@@JustMe-gn6yf You are so correct......Back in my day...when I played DL.....I loved using the head slap
@@rodneywaugh8535 I played safety and loved catching a receiver crossing the middle looking back at the QB
The O-line blocking rules didn't change until 1978. Before that, an O-lineman couldn't extend his arms or envelope the defender, so it was much harder to maintain a pocket. Also, that's DON Strock, not "John". Nice video though.
Interesting I didn’t know that and ya my bad messing up his name, I don’t know how i screwed that up
@@tubfrog - Observation: It would have made / would make videos like this more informative/interesting if you had done additional research into important rules changes, such as this, and spoke on them. Not a complaint, but advice for the future.
That Dolphin qb tandem was known as Woodstrock. I don't know why I still remember that! It was probably because Shula never platooned his qb's. lol.
Ty, T R, it's sort of like looking at old basketball games when palming of the ball caused a turnover not a highlight reel crossover dribble, break your defenders ankles play.
@@chipgriffiths3655 The SF Giants once had a pitcher and catcher named Bud Black and Steve Decker. A Black and Decker battery.
Kudos for selecting Super Bowl 13 as the most significant game of the 70's. IMO, it is the most significant game in NFL history for it was the game that seamlessly connected the past and present NFL landscape. In 1978, the NFL increased the regular season schedule from 14 to 16 games; the 5 yard Illegal Contact Rule was instituted along with O-Lineman being able to legally grab D-Lineman outside of the numbers; the league had become far more athletic than in years past; and Super Bowl 13 featured the greatest number of Hall of Famers (e.g., 17 players, 2 head coaches, 2 team presidents) in NFL history. The game itself more than lived up to the pre-game hype for up to that point, only Super Bowl 10 (e.g., Steelers 21 Cowboys 17) was deemed as a great game. Super Bowl 13 was even better and it took another 10 years (e.g., 49ers 20 Bengals 16) for a comparable Super Bowl contest. In terms of team dominance, the 70's Steelers appeared in 4 Super Bowls, won 4 Super Bowls, and appeared in 6 conference championship games. The 70's Cowboys appeared in 5 Super Bowls, won 2 Super Bowls, lost 3 Super Bowls by a combined 11 points, and appeared in 7 conference championship games.
PhilC, I completely agree with you. I was 8 years old when this game was played and the memory of it sticks with me to this day. I watched it from start to finish and cried my eyes out when Dallas lost it. It's one of the few games that I will go back and watch every few years.
Noting 5 Super Bowl appearances and 2 wins for the Cowboys in the 70's underpins their dominance that decade. Let's go further with that: 1970's Dallas had 9 playoff appearences, combined record of 105-39 (oh and one coach, Tom Landry). Steelers in the 1970's, 8 playoff appearences, 99-44 (also under one coach, Chuck Knoll). Next was the Raiders who went to the playoffs 7 times (one SB win) and was 100-38 for the decade (with 6 ties!!!!) The better Raiders record is probably because of 1970 and 1971, where the Steelers were dreadful, though they weren't much better in 1980 and 1981. oh, and the Cowboys went to the playoffs the last 4 years of the 1960's, and the first 4 years of the 1980's as well, meaning their dominance between 1966 and 1983 was 17 playoff appearences in 18 years. Impossible to duplicate, unprecedented (Fine, Patriots 2010's with 10 playoff appearances and a 125-35 record with 3 Super Bowl wins and 2 losses also under one coach, plus 16 playoff appearences in 17 years from 2003 to 2019. But fuck them.) Niners of the 80's had 8 playoff appearances and a 104-47 record though they did change coaches (but not quarterbacks) during that era and went 15 of 16 in playoffs from 1983 to 1998 (they did change to Steve Young in the 1991 season).
There were some Great QB's on these teams, like Staubach and Bradshaw and Ken Stabler, Montana and Young, Darryl Lamonica, Danny White, etc.... Yeah, and Matt Cassell. :)
@@DawnBlum Terrific post and I would like to add the big "what if" to this narrative. If Landry had named Roger Staubach as the starting QB in the 1970 season, it would be a good bet that the Cowboys would have won Super Bowl 5. Landry's thought process on the Staubach-Morton decision was borderline stupid, but he was temporarily bailed out by the Doomsday Defense in the 2nd half of the 1970 regular season and in the post-season. The Cowboys defense gave up a grand total of 26 points in 3 playoff games and 10 of those points was via a double-tipped touchdown pass to John Mackey and an interception by Morton which led to a Jim O'Brien game winning field goal.
Raiders '74 team has 12 HOF's and most by any offense ever and had Owner, GM and HC in the hall as well. Just giving some credit of other stacked teams.
It's also worth mentioning that in the 40s and 50s, a lot of the best football players coming out of college chose not to make a career out of football (since a job in the "real world" paid more). For example Johnny Lujack (currently the oldest Heisman winner alive) retired at 26 after coming off consecutive Pro Bowls, preferring to take a job as assistant coach at Notre Dame and then starting his own auto dealership. For those who did play pro football, they still held other jobs during the weekdays. It's not like today where they spend 5 days a week practicing schemes, watching opponent film, etc.
True, my father in law was Hall Of Fame Les Richter. When had got married he had to sell his wife car to get by. He went on to make a very good living in motorsports. Hall of fame in pro football, college football and motorsports. He turned down a baseball career because football paid more.
The unusual dropback by Warren Moon was a technique used in the run and shoot offence. If the route concept wasn't open play side then the qb would come to the concept backside. And it also depended on the blocking scheme, pre snap read ect. But that 3 step drop back technique was taught. Look up Mouse Davis run and shoot.
Very interesting, ya i didn't know the dropback technique was tied to the run and shoot style.
Be that as it may warren moon was a bona fide LOSER and a CHOKER going late in the third qtr leading 35-3 and managed to lose 41-38 to a back up QB? Explain that to me.
and that P.O.S. is in the HOF???... WOW!
@@tubfrog For sure. Notice how he is always rolling to one side of the pocket or the other.
you should make a video on the georgia tech 222-0 win vs cumberland
Yeah man the population here in Lebanon would love to rehash that!
This about the NFL....Who cares about college
I don't think anyone can top Jon Bois' video about that game.
@@LazyCat010 truth.
@@kendallevans4079 because it was John Heisman flaying a team to prove a point. Also it informs us why taking your foot off the gas in a blow out is rude.
Something you need to know about the Randy White fumble: He was playing with a broken arm in a cast, which led to his ... less than secure hold on the ball.
Also, may I suggest watching the 2009 AFC Championship between the Steelers and Ravens. As great as SB 43 is, and it really is great, the craziness of a divisional rivalry game as the AFC Championship, with two teams who play old-school defense, is awesome.
The 92’ Bills-Niners game was a classic to cover as well. Apologies if someone has mentioned this earlier
I live in Buffalo and I'm surprised he covered the Bills twice. That 29 year gap between those legendary Bills games, the Bills became largely irrelevant
@@RichV20 well you have a team now that may be better than those great 90’s teams for sure! Best of luck to you guys this season.
On the 1940 championship. Glad you picked that one. It shows the evolution of the league and the game. First remember that they played both ways and could not leave the game without being out till the end of that quarter. 2nd Washington is playing the single wing formation not wild cat. This was the first (or one of the first) games to have the qb under center. Also remember they used a different ball then, which resembles a rugby ball try throwing that. Sammy baugh doesn’t get enough credit his hands were big and could hold one and give a good spiral.
Yeah, I found it kinda odd when he referred to it as the Wildcat. There is nothing similar (schematically) between the Wildcat and the single wing. Veer and single wing, sure (child-parent) but the Wildcat is just a shifted Pro Set. I guess you can chalk it up to recency bias.
Nothing like the 70’s NFL. You really looked up to NFL players back then .
Before then, the Pro’s just followed college football.
70's will always be my favorite era. It's when I was a kid and fell in love w the game as a Steelers fan..
I remember sitting in the stands as a teenager in Texas stadium watching Roger staubach and the cowboys in the 70s my dad had season tickets and for 3 seasons I sold concessions in the stands I got to see plenty of great playoff games and rivalries and one pro bowl was played at Texas stadium too. Great memories
As someone who's been watching football since 1980. I think that Dolphins vs Chargers game in January 1982 was the best game I ever seen. I know people can make a argument for many games more recently being better but at that time you didnt see a aerial back and forth game like this. Today you see it all the time. Most recently Chiefs vs Bills last year and Chiefs vs Rams a few years earlier
Dolphins vs Chargers by far the greatest game I ever saw
@@GR-bn3xj I have to agree with you
I love the 90s and early 200s (best football era in my eyes- you could win with a dominant offense or a smothering defense), but SB42 was the greatest game I have witnessed and watched. 1990 NFCC comes second
Its certainly the best for me and a close second is Super Bowl XIII. And that's saying a lot because my Cowboys lost that game
Kellen Winslow being helped off the field due to exhaustion.
Such an excellent video! The comparisons you give are top notch; a couple examples I loved were: the last drive in overtime of the 58' championship game reminding you of watching Brady because of the checkdowns; and two, the entire pace/style of the same game reminding you of the recent (2019) playoff game between the Titans and the Patriots. Those examples immediately gave me a damn near perfect feel for what the 58 game was like, without me even having to watch it. Ty so much for the great content.
No problem man, I just tried to find the best modern comparison for each player and game and hey its good to hear it worked for you.
"Big Ben doesn't take no for an answer".... Savage bro!! I laughed out loud!
The 70s/early 80s were the best - before alot of the rules changes like salary cap and shackles placed on the defense to encourage more scoring. Super Bowl 13 is still the best one ever. Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings - most of the class of these legendary clubs came in this era. Walter Payton, Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Fran Tarkenton, Joe Greene, Lawrence Taylor, John Madden, Tom Landry, Don Shula - try to name an era that had better coaches and players.
This is the era when the shotgun and the 4-3 defense (thanks mostly to Tom Landry) became a permanent part of the game - and now they are the standard. I can remember watching Roger Staubach when he was the only QB that ran the shotgun in the NFL.
Pure dominance ? 1970's Steelers. They were a traveling All Pro Team at every position. They were mean, ugly, very talented and physically beat the hell out of their opponents. The only team that could have given them a good battle was that '89 49ers' Team that crushed Denver 55-10 in the SB.
@matt75hooper danged straight. 70s Steelers ruled.
@TubFrog You talked about how big the Jackie Smith drop was in SB XIII, and also correctly identify the fumble by Randy White as the game's turning point.
What you may not know is that Randy White had a broken thumb on his left hand, and played that game in a light cast. On the "return" (have to use that term loosely), White instinctively tried to tuck the ball into the hand away from traffic...which happened to be his casted left thumb. He couldn't grip the ball, it squirted out, and fumble.
The other fun thing about that play is that the fumble was recovered by number 53, Dennis "Dirt" Winston. If you watch the replay, you see that Winston was just kind of standing next to the pileup atop the football at the end of the play, and just sort of casually kneels down atop the mass of humanity at 12:29. Somehow, he burrowed into that pile well after the play and dug the ball out.
Great video, though.
Might have been interesting to see a different game in the 1950s. While the Ice Bowl was definitely the most important game of the decade, you could imagine that a game played today in -15 weather would probably look a little ugly and slow as well.
Fun Fact (Unless you're a Giants fan like me, then it's more of a painful fact): The head coaches in the Ice Bowl were both Giants Coordinators in the 1958 "Greatest Game Ever Played". Landry coached the Defense and Lombardi coached the offence. How the giants didn't keep at least one still boggles my mind.
Randy White was the one to drop to accidental squib kick because of the cast on his left fractured hand. He dropped the ball before the defender even hit him.
And he was a defensive player. According to pro football reference, only once did he ever have to return a kick.
That Buffalo/Houston game was heart breaking! I loved that era of the Oilers. I had Moon and Haywood Jeffries on my fantasy team that year.
That Houston team was so much fun to watch.
I was 11 or 12 at the time, and we alway’s had season ticket’s at the time. My friend and I went to the movie’s after they got to 35-3. The entire time we were in the movies we were guessing what the score would probably be. We were like “70-3”, then my dad picked us up, and was listening to the game cussing, and the game was going to overtime. I felt sick for like a month afterwards.
I remember after Houston traded Moon, the entire Oiler’s fan base was turned off, then Bud Adam’s asked for another stadium. Had he of not made that trade, I think the Oiler’s would have never gone to Tennessee.
It's a shame the Oilers aren't still around.
@@mockingslur6945 What movie? I live in Buffalo and watched on satellite as it was blacked out because it wasnt sold out. I begged to go, but it didnt happen. I was the only one left watching when it was 35-3 and then the comeback started.
@@RichV20 I want to say Home Alone 2, but I can’t remember. Could have been hook? Idk I was 11. I really didn’t want to go to the movie’s, but was invited, and back then it was rude to say no. Lol
one of the best sports channels on the app and only 5.9 k subscribers is criminal
My favorite Era was 90 Giants, 91 Redskins, 92 & 93 Cowboys with Montana's 89 &89 Niners and Youngs 94 Niners as bookends. The NFC East was a war zone and that includes the Philly teams that were every bit as good but just couldn't get past the other greats in the Division
And who was the Giants defensive coordinator during that time? Bill Belichick. He had to scheme against Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs.
*Crying Bills fan noises*
Yeah, glad you mentioned the Eagles too with Randall Cunningham, one of the best Running Back Quaterbacks ever.
Strong arm and fast feet.
Yep. Basically the Elway era (83-98).
100% agree!
Wanna watch a player who was way, way ahead of his time? Check out Otto Graham, the QB whose career started in the 40s, and looks like modern QB. He was also ahead of his time regarding injury awareness, and retired early to preserve his marbles.
In hindsight, I contend the NFL peaked in 70-77, and ended with "Mel Blount Rule". Should have kept it. Game wouldnt be what it is today, but by the end of this decade defense is just going to become a series of blitzes as the only thing you can really do today vs the RPO is somehow get to the QB.
Na
yeah the mel blount rule was the beginning of the end of real football
this guy who did this video has no clue actually ---i have no idea what his point was
Yes thank you for this post.
I'd go Elway era. You could still hit but the talent on both sides of the ball had improved and we weren't playing in a pinball machine like today. But I'd stretch back to the late 70s with no complaints.
@@AJHart-eg1ys "talent had improved" is an opinion
the only improvement was place kicking and that began with garo yepremian the dolphins place kicker in the early 1970s; the first "soccer-style" kicker which added easy range...by the end of the 70s kickers were all kicking soccer-style
which position players improved? can't say running backs ---they were no better in the 80s than jim brown gale sayers oj simpson larry brown tony dorsett lawrence mccutcheon duane thomas calvin hill franco harris chuck forman et al---all of them were in the 60s - 70s
and NOW they suck in comparison---they dont run; its all passing
just curious which part of the game do you feel is better now than in the 70s?; definitely can't say defense---it's no longer permitted; which is why quarterbacks have all day and night to pass for 400 yds every game
joe namath had a couple 500 yd games back in the early 70s when defenses were permitted to do whatever they wanted literally including slapping the heads of the offensive linemen and decking receivers before the ball the was thrown
and is the elway era the 80s or 90s?...he only won in the 90s so ...
1990 NFC Championship was the best football game I ever saw. The Bears won because of the t formation, not in spite of it. Great job. great video, concept, and narration. Fun and interesting. Thanks!
The 81 chargers and Dolphins wildcard game was the greatest game I ever saw
That game was unreal.
Great video! I can imagine this was a tough one to make. I’d say the NFL is worthy of having this be a series with more games covered. Super Bowl 23, Super Bowl 25, 1990, 1992 and 1998 NFCCG’s, 2006 AFCCG, Super bowl 36, super bowl 38, 2013 NFCCG, 2015 AFCCG, etc
That super bowl between seattle and new england is a trauma in my past. I was in 8th grade and had a bet with my teacher for 20 push ups that the seahawks would win, he had new england. On top of that, that was the only football game i can recall that i legit cried after that didnt involve my favorite team the steelers
To me you just like high scoring games , in every era , this why we have what we have today , one game every week now , we have the best game ever played and every week we have another GOAT , for me its overkill .
Bart Starr- I still rate him as one of the best field generals ever with enough passing skill to put him in the all-time top 5.
Dan Fouts w/ Air to Kellen Winslow finally pulled it out EPIC Effort. This is the only game my mom talked to me about. She couldn't believe that game and how winded everybody was by the time this slugfest was done. This was the best of this whole stack. The TD dropped by Dallas probably reminds me of having a happy heart on that day ;)
Its the best game ever played, college or pro, and so far ahead of No.2. Just had everything, an insane comeback followed by the teams trading blows in the 2nd half. offense, trick plays, turnovers, special teams, Kellen Winslow, Stock a backup putting up 360 4TD/0INT in a bit over 2 quarters, the crowd and played in football's greatest stadium.
@@rook1196> 100% agree Although I think they were getting called San Eigo, because the Chargers had no D!
The 1940 Bears were the first team to use the T-Formation, which made them unstoppable.
The Redskins were still running the single wing, with Sammy Baugh (their "quarterback") technically playing halfback (hence number 33). The quarterback position in the single wing was primarily a blocker.
Different game indeed.
Much more rugby-like, it's incredible to see how much the game has evolved.
One of the coolest NFL video I've ever seen with such insightful commentary! The Super Bowl between the Steelers and the Cowboys, your defensive tag line should have been the "Steel Curtain" vs the "Doomsday Defense!" Thank you for including the Dolphins vs. Chargers game. Kellen Winslow became iconic, not just for his receiving prowess, but those incredible blocked field goals! I had forgotten that.
I grew up watching football in the 80's and looking back now I was watching the game evolve without realizing it. The one player that should have at least got an honorable mention was LT! The man single handedly changed the game. Teams had to gameplay around LT! It was amazing to watch!
L.T. gave Joe Gibbs a lot of headaches.
@@jorgeguardado6015 I would rather you use Ron Jaworksi as an example.
@@aaronjackson9385 don't forget Joe Thiesman L.T. ended his career.
@@jorgeguardado6015 no queation.
@@aaronjackson9385 QB.'s ran for their lives when defense was allowed to be played in the old days, unlike today you breathe on a offensive player and is a penalty.
At 11:40 Steelers Bradshaw throw looks like Diggs Minneapolis Miracle against the Saints Touchdown .
The that's the thing with the Oilers from 91 to 93 in the playoffs was pure choke choke choke. In 91 divisional round they had a 21 to 6 lead against the Broncos and this was before the 2 point conversion so a 3 score lead and they blew it. The Broncos needed a field goal to win. They had the ball at the 2 and no timeouts. In that drive the Oilers defense had 2 4th downs and they couldn't stop Elway. Elway scrambled for 7 yards and then on the 2nd fourth down he lofted the ball to Vance Johnson and they get to field goal range and get an easy field goal and win. Then you got the 35 to 3 game right there the ultimate choke. Then in 93 the Oilers started 1-4 and somehow won 11 straight games. They were the hottest team in football other than the Cowboys. They started out with a 10 to 0 lead against the Joe Montana Chiefs in the divisional round. They had it close in the 4th quarter and they blew it. The Oilers all that talent and just choked it all away. That's why the Cowboys under Jimmy Johnson were able to win Super Bowls because they weren't choking and literally won the 3rd out of 4 years purely on talent because Barry Swizter just kept the seat warm as head coach.
It's a double edged sword: the Run and Shoot offense that they used got them to the playoffs and gave them a lot of success....... however, you could also say that it was the reason why they kept choking because it didn't have an off switch and it's not like they could run the ball to eat up time.
@@crater044 yeah Tree did a video on the 93 Oilers and they had no run game to bleed the clock. I still believe the 91 Oilers should have at least played in the AFC Championship. The had a 21-6 lead and then let the Broncos get into field goal range starting from the 2 and giving up 2 fourth down conversions. Either way no one was beating the Redskins that year. They were the best team for a good reason.
Yeah no kidding. It reminds me a lot of the Titans and Eagles in the 2000s. They had incredible teams but they always seemed to find a way to lose.
@@THE_BEAR_JEW TITANS OILERS WHATS' THE DIFFERENCE, I MEAN ITS AS IF THEY WERE THE SAME TEAM!!
I love every year of football, there are great stars today, but I remember watching Butkus, Czonka, Tarkington staubach, gale sayers, OJ. Franco, those were my favorite days.
The Christmas game between KC and Miami in 1971 was amazing.
Yes Miami winning against the Chiefs in double overtime at Arrowhead was amazing. That Chiefs team were better than the 1969 team and were Super Bowl favorites.
@@J69user they didn't play at Arrowhead, it was at Municipal Stadium
I’ve watched football since I was was a little kid. I’m a life long Cleveland fan, Browns, Indians (Guardians) and Cavs. Ive seen football in the late 70’s on. To me, in my life time I think the 80’s are my favorite eras. The 80’s because of the Running Backs. Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Bo Jackson, Walter Payton, along with all the great Quarterbacks in that era. The run game was alive and well and simply amazing.
The NFL still had a sort of amateur beer league element into the 70s, but the athleticism and professional training (including steroids) really took over around the Lawrence Taylor era. LT was the first uber-athlete IMO and he was last unicorn. Now, their are tons of uber-athletes on the practice squad. Everybody is in tip top shape.
In the 70s and some of the 80s, pro football players seemed to be guys just like me, only stronger and faster. Not anymore.
I think Bo Jackson was before LT
The players back then were just as athletic. The better athletes just stood out more because today's strength and training programs have evened the playing field. Only the elite athletes stand out.
It's a lot easier to be in "tip top shape" when playing football is not only your only job, but you've been intensely training for it since you were in junior high. Up to the '70s most players had full-time jobs in the off-season b/c their NFL salaries barely paid their mortgage. For example, HoFer "Concrete" Charlie Bednarik didn't get that nickname b/c of his play but b/c he was a concrete salesman in the off-season.
@@Musicvidsetc Many of them also played both offense and defense. Punters and placekickers also played other positions. As a boy, I got to see one of the last of those players: Pat Studstill. He was a wide receiver, punter, and punt returner.
The worst thing that happened to football was stopping hitting the receiver at the line of scrimmage. Why? It evolved to the point where pass receptions are GUARANTEED. The game was better when blocking and running were important. Today it is all about the pass. It is not very interesting. Also, restricting linemen to 5 yards downfield or you get a penalty? That just made blocking downfield almost impossible except by receivers, backs and tight ends.
Mid 70s up to the mid 90s was the NFL peak/glory years. IMO
Late 80s - early 00s*
80s for me as a Redskins fan.
But that era (late 70s to early 90s) had the best combination of offense (1978 rule changes) and defense (they could still hit for real). Also running and passing was the most balanced.
And it was the last decade before unlimited free agency and the salary cap, so teams still stayed together. Better for the fans, but not so much for the players.
Mid 80s to 2008 imo the 2009 rule changes and most changes after that were not good and severely swung the rules in favor of offense
@@BobBob-eb4io in my opinion, 09 and 2010 were still hard hitting and balanced. Those 09 rule changes really began to take shape in 2011..in my opinion, thats when they came became imbalanced and offensive production became inflated.
@@aaronjackson9385 fair point i always go back and forth on what year the golden era ended it either ended in 2010,2009 or 2008
I enjoyed commentary on the 58' Colts-Giants game and the focus on Unitas skills, which seemed extraordinary.
Wow man... this is really really cool. You deserve way more subs.
This might be the best NFL channel on TH-cam
May have split the 80s and 90s into two halves.
More work for you, but the game changed so much in those two decades that it is difficult to encapsulate those changes in one game on a 10 year stretch. Just my opinion.
Same with the 2000s. Especially after Colts got smoked by the Pats over and over. You could see the late 2000s being the beginning of the league emphasizing the passing game.
This video was edited phenomenally, the idea was really creative too. Awesome video man 🔥
Thanks man that truly means a lot. It’s so wild that your a guy I’ve been watching for years and now you’ve seen my content. Good luck to you man, and maybe our paths will cross one day.
Good video frog, I really enjoyed it. I think you should lose the spongebob music though lol
Interesting. I kinda just use it to avoid copyright and not use generic sports background music but I’ll experiment
@@tubfrog regardless, youre my favorite football channel. I love nfl history and youre a funny guy. Keep at it man, the channel will grow
@@mikeyboy7515 appreciate u and the feedback bro
KEEP THE SPONGEBOB MUSIC
I'm officially old but a quick funny story and a few points:
1) I was 8yo and a HUGE NFL fan when that Oilers-Bills game was being played. Even though my Lions aren't involved, I begin watching it as I'm getting ready to go back home from a holiday trip to my mother's house. When I left one house the Bill were down by over 30. When I walked in the other house they were celebrating their win, lol. I felt like I went through a time warp or portal or something.
That young, a 32pt deficit was I heard of to even consider coming back from. It honestly took me a second to gather myself as I last looked at a TV and it was all Oilers and the next TV I saw it was The Bills. It still makes me feel weird talking about it.
2) I know I'm now old when you said
"The shotgun formation hadn't even been invented yet". I'll ignore the semantics or history and just say that I'm old enough to tell you that shotgun wasn't used ubiquitously until about 2002. Even heavy passing teams in both The NFL and college still mostly went under center until the early 2000s. Houston (CFB & NFL), BYU, etc were primarily under center teams. It was the option spread that made shotgun so ubiquitous and then passing teams realized it's better to just always use it.
Not to say nobody did! It just wasn't the primary formation like it is now until the 2000s.
3) On your talk of the talent and execution just being so much better with time, you showed a clip of Jim Brown. Barry Sanders was my idol and while he will tell you Brown was better, he wasn't.
Jim Brown in the 90s would have been an good RB, not even great. Good. In the modern game he'd be worse.
Barry Sanders in Brown's day would be GOD, lol. Untouchable.
Barry Sanders in today's game would still be a 1500 yard RB. Maybe more with the ubiquity of the passing attack and defenses geared to stop it.
In 20 years he'd still be a good RB. In short, he's the best to ever do it.
4) Nice video.
I like the idea of the video, but It feels more like a recap of old games, rather than a comparison of football back then vs now. The way you talked about Unitas, you'd think the colts would be blowing out the giants, but they barely won. So what were the giants playing like? what were their formations and defense like? After the 3rd game, I stopped watching so I can't speak on the later parts of the video. but the beginning just seems like a brief recap of old games to me
Understandable, I honestly just thought it would be more entertaining like this but I definitely could have done more analysis and comparisons between eras. At the end of the video I did say that no matter the era, football is football and the main difference between eras has to do with the ratio of pass to runs and just overall talent. But thanks for the comment, always good to hear feedback.
@@tubfrog
Yeah, that Giants team had Vince Lombardi as its OC and Tom Landry as its DC, both of which would be the head coaches of the Ice Bowl game, and Landry was also one of the coaches in the game from the 70s. To beat a Landry defense you were either elite, or lucky, and a Lombardi offense was gonna wear you out, so, they're just as significant to the story of that game as the elite play of Unitas.
Frank Gifford was the Giants star player but even he was overshadowed by Lombardi and Landry. The same two teams played in the championship the next year, and the Giants lost again. Lombardi had left to be the Packers' HC and Landry would get hired by the Cowboys in 1960 and that Giants head coach(Jim Lee Howell) is just another forgotten name while his HC and DC are Hall of Famers and the Colts coach from that game is also in the Hall of Fame.
That really was one if not the most important games in NFL history just due to some of the names involved and what they did to further the game.
@@mykull666 ya your right I should have mentioned more about the backstories of the games. I even knew about Lombardi and Landry coaching together in that championship game but I guess it just slipped my mind when recording. Nevertheless as someone who had only watched one or two games and a few documentaries from the 50s and 60s I didn’t feel educated enough to share more than I did
@@tubfrog
To be fair, outside of it being used a segue piece of trivia throughout the three games Landry is involved in, it doesn't change the quality of your work which I think is very good. I grew up watching 70s football and a few years back, I tried to watch Cowboys games from the 60s and it was very boring.
It gets even worse when there were none or very few Black players. Then when they finally got into the league, you watch the games where they play those mostly unathletic dudes just standing around putting in no effort. I still wonder just how good Jim Brown was considering he looked twice the size and was twice as fast as the average defender of the time period.
The game wasn't truly maximized until the 70s when the Cowboys and Steelers were using computers for drafting which lead to pulling talent from HBCUs, which might be why they were the two best teams of that decade.
I always laugh at old-timers like my dad who think their era of football was the toughest when most of the players wouldn't have survived a Cowboys or Steelers training camp in the 70s or any teams beyond that to today and your video pointed out their lack of effort and skill.
Anyway, great job.
100% agree with the original post - in fact i made a similar comment before seeing this one... the NBA video on this concept was done WAY better with real insight to how the game changed
Thanks for this video! It is great to see some of the classics and the comparison of players, strategies, defenses, and offenses. Good stuff!
I’m old enough to have seen SB 13. A fan since SB 6.
It’s good to have context or you miss perspective.
Randy White dropped that ball not because he had a brain fart….but because he was playing with a broken arm. Notice the cast. He was a multi pro bowl, multi All Pro Co-SB MVP from the prior year and they were going against the Steel Curtain.
Or course Dallas needed him in the game! He wasn’t going to miss it!
Todays players sit out a game if they have an ingrown toenail!
Also.. There was a pass interference called again at our cornerback (Barnes) that gave Pitt a huge first down when Barnes was looking for the ball and Pitt seemingly initiated the contact.
Last
Franco Harris then was able to run the ball in for the TD as a ref inadvertently literally physically blocked our all pro safety Charlie Waters out of the play from tackling him.
You are right in saying it wasn’t simply the Jackie Smith drop.
Unfortunately that’s all ppl will remember.
You're right on the money with your description. The Cowboys really went into the Twilight Zone after the Smith drop.
Get out of here with that garbage about modern players not playing through maladies. It is baseless and bias!!
Good call on Randy White. That "squib" kick was the worst-case scenario for Dallas. Of all the people on the field that the ball goes to, it had to be the one wearing a cast on his arm. I was fourteen when SB XIII was played and, after all these years, I still believe it's the best SB ever. NFL films aptly called it, "Battle of Champions". By the late '70s, both organizations knew what rising to championship level was all about. It was so good for the Cowboys in '78, that they blanked the Rams two weeks earlier, 28-0, in their so-called "bad luck blue" jerseys. That's the only time I can recall Dallas winning a big game in those great looking unis.
He was also a defensive player who, according to pro football reference, only fielded one kick his entire career.
I remember that Miami v San Diego game. One of the best games I've seen. Good description. One team would deliver a blow and the other would respond. The players were exhausted and cramping up on the field.
Bills vs Chiefs game was the craziest game ever
Thank you for giving props to Johnny Unitas. The evolution of the game over the last six decades makes it hard to call him the true GOAT, but, like Don Hutson, he was so much better than anyone in his era that it's hard to say otherwise.
Mid seventies to the mid eighties was the best.
26:40 that was when the announcers told us that receiver worked at footlocker 2 weeks before. I remember that play so vividly... just because of the commentary lol
Just saying I think you need do video about evolution of running backs
ya i could turn the evolution thing into a series
@@tubfrog thank I feel that RB are overlooked and are key part of football like but RB are worse and 1990s RB were I might say better than a present day healthy McCaffrey. Like Barry, Emmett, Thurman Thomas or I like to say thunder.
@@tubfrog you should definitely someday do an evolution of tight ends. They use to just block and now a lot of them are great pass catchers
@25:32- Not a fan of either team, but was watching the Super Bowl anyway but you gotta give it up to Roethlisberger for putting it on the money threading the needle through triple coverage and to Holmes for making that incredible catch in the coffin corner with the classic 2 feet toe drag suspended animation catch!...in sports that's what's referred to as the
"proverbial dagger"......
I still just shake my head in amazement...what a play!!
The fact that you got shadowbanned is crazy. You deserve so much more subscribers
thanks man, ya it sucks but I gotta work my way back to where I was I guess.
@@tubfrog Maybe cuz you had to throw in stupid unnecessary stuff like "cucking themselves" like it's an alt-right message board or something and not just a football video.
@@ServoTom never thought of that thanks for the feedback 👍
Was working at a small airport in Alaska during that Pats/Seahawks SB. I got so see a plane full of Seahawks fans circle around the 20 inch tube TV in the terminal just minutes before the Kearse circus catch. Jokes, smiles, trash talk. And then they all took their bags and left quietly minutes later, completely crushed. Was as fun to watch the people as the game.
as someone who has watched since the 60s, once you hit the 1970's, which is considered the golden age of the nfl and superbowl era, you had teams that had to utilize offense, both running and passing, as well a playing defense to cover both run and the pass, unlike today's paddy cake pitch and catch after 5 yards, and coddling of the receivers and qb's. big difference.
You can tell from the early games how much the Rugby origin is still around in the game. The rushing.. the short, position plays..the power hits.. the lateral passing..It was only when the QB position totally walked around from what the scrum half used to do, ie.. passing long and wide..that the game became totally unique.
You should make a video on when Haven High School of Haven, defeated Kansas Sylvia High School by a score of 256-0
Regarding laterals in the 1980s: It was nearly that common. This game was an exception. The famous "hook & lateral" from Duriel Harris to Tony Nathan for the TD in this game worked because it was unexpected.
Early 2000s was peak soul of NFL. Best product and best video games.
A lot of rushing records went down in early 2000s. Was a fun time to watch football.
It WAS a video game by the 2000s. I'll take 1975-95 any day.
That MIami/SD game in '81...my Mom held dinner until that was over....she was as intrigued as everyone was. That was an EPIC game to watch live.
Thank God the NFL thought Doug Flutie was to short to be a quarterback. We, in Canada , got to see Flutie play in his prime . Calling the little runt a star is an understatement. He also had a short brother that ended up being a star reciever
@6:12,
Brady and Unitas were very similar in style in a lot of ways: emphasis on short and quick movement in the pocket, finding the open man with incredible short-passing accuracy, powerful and accurate bullet passes, and not a lot of accuracy with soft-touch passes. As a coach, Raymond Berry didn't like scramblers, which is why he didn't think much of Flutie.
on a classic white guy route🤣
Note, that the 1940 championship game was the coming-out for the "modern" T-formation. With the QB directly under center and one halfback in motion most of the time (they did this instead of sending out a flanker). Washington is still in Single-wing/short punt. Things to note.
Both teams will occasionally split an end (in a 3 point stance).
The big advantage of the T. It hits much quicker (lots of fakes to one back, spin give to other). This and play-action make for a LOT more explosive plays (also the Bear run a lot of swing passes to the motion back.
Washington is snakebit near the goal line, the game could have been closer (probably 48-21, so not THAT closer) but not a record-holder.
The game is played in Washington (3 of your first 5 are road wins).
A 50s college game would be a BIG contrast. NFL has free subs by then, college went back to 2 ways after WWII. Hash marks are VERY wide and QB must be 5 yards deep to throw (which means most teams have a halfback who can throw). Probably biggest divergence between the games.
You are so over doing it with the technology crap.
That 1981 divisional playoff is known as The Epic in Miami. I saw it live; it was amazing!
A better idea of the 1970s might have been the best SB of the decade, SB X. Before the rule changes that opened up the passing game, when running and defense ruled.
It must not have caught on.
Randy white had a cast on his left hand, which may have contributed to the fumble
Good video...Good job. I stopped being a fan of the NFL, around the late 90's early 2000's, when I started hearing more and more reports of criminal activity from players. Reports about players getting bonuses for purposely injuring opponents to get them out of the game was the last straw :(
Yeah.. The crowds used to really be into the games before 📲 and the average family could afford to go to them.
This was pretty entertaining. Thanks.
Thank you for this post. The Bears were the first team to use the "T" it changed the game. By 1950 only the Steelers were still using the Single Wing. Please view a game from 1948 you will see a huge difference between this and the 40 title game. John Unitas was simply the best. In today's "game" no qb would ever pass when in field goal range. Unitas had little trust in field goal attempts so was driving for the td. No other qb can be compared to Unitas, he ran the game, the game was an extension of what he wanted to do. You will find as explore history that the game before the 1978 rule change was far better than today.
Super Bowl XXIII in 1988 between the 49ers and Bangels is a great game! Surprised you didn't watch and review that game for the 80s game.
Ya I thought about it but I had just done two super bowls in a row and I kinda wanted to switch it up, but your right that woulda been great too.
The first half was boring, but the second half more than made up for it.
Love how you mentioned BIg Bens glory days, Not a steelers fan but that man had and I quote "An innate ability to not throw the ball on time" and succeed.
If you like Defense....forget the modern era. The rules are made for offense and high scoring games. The best defensive payoff game: Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions 1970. The score was 5-3 in favor of Dallas! It is on TH-cam. Check it out. Two VERY exceptional defenses. Honorable mention: the Miami vs Washington Super Bowl in the early 70s or the Pittsburgh vs Minnesota Super Bowl of the same 70s. Ie- the early to mid 70s were dominated by defense until the 1978 season where offenses were unleashed by several favorable new rules regarding offensive line blocking and freeing up wide receivers from the line of scrimmage among others.
The game between the Chargers and Miami I still consider to be the most incredible game I ever watched. It was over 4 hours long and Kellen Winslows performance epitomized leaving everything on the field. Great choice!
I was at that Chiefs and Bills game. People were already leaving Arrowhead at 13 seconds left. The stadium was electric after it was over!
i remember dolphins- chargers game like it was yesterday. 40+ years ago! saw it at my friend's house. was best man at my friend's wedding 3 years later, day of largest college comeback, maryland vs miami. almost 7 years later, my son was baptized, my friend was godfather, day of oilers- bills. should watch more football with my friend, lol...........great video, thanks!
The hits got harder, because the protective gear got better. 1940's they used basically rugby pads still.
It peaked in the 90's. The hits Kelly, Aikman, Kosar, Montana and etc seriously hurt them for life. Players like Lott and Romanowski were headhunters.
Damn Terry Bradshaw looked old even when he was still playing. Crazy to think he was only 35 when he retired.
I was a Cowboys fan growing up in Houston. I didn't have anything against the Oilers, per se, but I didn't much care about them. ... But I tried. And that season, I was glad to see the massive halftime lead that Houston had piled up against Buffalo. Bradshaw and Co. were already talking, at halftime, about whom the Oilers would be facing, the next week. ... Then of course, it all fell apart, and the entire city was in shock. I remember thinking how glad I was to not have any emotional investment in the team, because that one clearly would have hurt.
A very cool idea! You arguably should've watched two games for the 60s - one NFL and one AFL. I say this because, from what I have read, the AFL was much more pass-heavy than the NFL. They also had the two-point conversion when the NFL didn't.
I forget what year the rule changed, but back in 1958 when Johnny U won the league title; blockers weren't allowed to place there hands on defenders. All the blocking relied on forearm shivers and collisions
This was on my recommended and I honestly thought it was made by a big channel until I checked your profile! Keep up the great work and more viewers will find you :)
damn thats crazy that you were suprised, I guess thats a good look for my channel 😂
Most important safety improvement had to be the movement of the goal post to the back of the end zone. I ran into a tether ball pole once when I was a kid. Yep. We were playing football, working our way back across the playground at the end of recess. I remember two things: the halo of faces in front of me when I opened my eyes and how much it hurt, that vibrating in my face… 😀
FBs were a pretty standard part of the NFL all the way up through the 1990s. When I started watching the NFL in 1994 most teams had 2 FBs on the roster. The only ones that didn't were the two Run & Shoot teams (Houston & Atlanta), the Lions (which ran mostly 3 WRs base but also more 2 TE than was common at the time), and the Chargers (2 TE base). Even Buffalo, who ran a lot of 3 WR sets because of the K-gun, had a FB on the roster.
I'm not sure what the real catalyst or tipping point was (would be a great topic for a video though!). In the late 1990s you started seeing more 2 TE sets, with guys who might have played FB instead playing H-back. The Greatest Show on Turf and the Manning Colts having a lot of success without much use of a traditional FB, followed by the Brady Patriots, probably made it seem more viable than it had in the past.
The simplest explanation was the game simply kept getting faster and that was leaving the bigger, slower players behind.
There's probably a correlation between the decline of the FB and the decline of the 1,000-yard rusher. I remember in the late 1990s or early 2000s there were so many thousand-yard rushers each season people were questioning whether it was a meaningful milestone in a 16-game season. Nowadays there are so few players who get enough enough carries to have any chance of hitting that milestone that it's become a big deal again.
Well done my man. I didn't expect to watch the whole thing but you captured my attention quickly. Great production.