NFL Films: NFL 1985: The Road to Super Bowl 20

Source:The Daily Review

NFL 1985, of course was dominated by the Chicago Bears. Going on to an 18-1 record and winning their first Super Bowl, arguably the most dominant Super Bowl champion of all-time. I also remember this season very well as a Redskins fan, because we lost quarterback Joe Theisman to a career ending leg injury on Monday Night Football against are great rival New York Giants. The Redskins, were essentially a 500 team before they played the Giants that night and got down in that game. But backup quarterback Jay Schroeder came in brought the Redskins back in that game. And the Redskins got hot under Schroeder and barely missed the NFC Playoffs that season. But the 1985 NFL season had so much more than that.

The San Francisco 49ers, fell back from their Super Bowl season in 84 and almost missed the NFC Playoffs in 85 and lost the NFC West to their arch-rival Anaheim Rams (as I call them). The Rams, weren't really anything special. Other than having a great power running game led by Eric Dickerson the premier runner in the NFL at this point. They had one of the top defenses in the NFL in 85 and if they could get anything out of Dieter Brock in the passing game, they were good enough to beat anyone. The Miami Dolphins, didn't get back to the Super Bowl, but they did get back to the AFC Final where they lost to the New England Patriots. The Patriots, were never even a Super Bowl contender pre-85 and yet they got to the Super Bowl in 85 as a wildcard team. With their power running game, explosive passing game and solid defense.

I think if you can get past the Bears in 85, a lot of that season I believe is about would could have been. The Raiders going out in the divisional round even though they still had the best all around team at least in the AFC in 85. Same thing could be said about them in 84 where they failed to defend their Super Bowl Championship and didn't even get back to the AFC Final. And the Miami Dolphins failing to improve their very soft defense and not adding a top caliber running back and solid running game for their great quarterback Dan Marino and those great receivers. Which I believe is how the Patriots sort of slipped through and beat both the Raiders and defending AFC champion Dolphins to get to Super Bowl 20. You also had good young teams like the New York Giants, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, all looking to become Super Bowl contenders again in 85.

But of course you can't talk about 1985 at least about the NFL and even the whole year in general, without talking about the Chicago Bears. Where they finally not just had a team good enough to go with their great running back Walter Payton, but a defense that might have been as great defending as Walter was running the ball, receiving and blocking. The 85 Bears only needed about fifteen points a game to win every week, because they only gave up fourteen points a game. But they scored 28 points a game. They were about as good as anyone has ever been in the NFL on both sides of the ball when Jim McMahon was their quarterback. And you put them up against a blue-collar nothing special but solid football team like the New England Patriots, who believed they only had to stop one player in Walter Payton to beat them and you can see how the Bears beat Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl 20. 85 was a great NFL season, but it could have been much better in the AFC.

NFL Films: The Story of The 1983 NFL Season

Source:The Daily Review

I believe the story of 1983 when it comes to the NFL is the explosion of the passing age and revolution in the NFL. The NFL was moving away from ball control power football where you run the ball 3-5 times or more even when defenses are looking for that and pass only to keep the defense somewhat honest and give them something else to think about. (And perhaps give your running backs a break) To an era where if teams didn’t throw more than they ran, they were balanced at least and had both a good running game and a passing game. The 1980s was a great decade for the quarterback. It was a time when they weren’t just the most important player on the team, but now they were stars putting up all sorts of great stats.

The 1980s was a decade for the NFL where you saw a lot of great quarterbacks including three that were all drafted in 1983 that are now in the Hall of Fame. Of course Dan Marino, John Elway and Jim Kelly. But you had other great quarterbacks that were drafted pre-83 that are also in the Hall of Fame. Dan Fouts and the quarterback of the 1980s Joe Montana. Eric Dickerson, one of the top 3-5 running backs of all-time and I believe the best running back in the 1980s at least far as running the ball was drafted in 1983 by the Anaheim Rams (as I call them). Running back Curt Warner, was also drafted in 1983 and without the injuries he’s probably in the Hall of Fame as well. And great receivers like Mark Clayton, Mark Duper, both from the Miami Dolphins, Art Monk the best receiver other than Jerry Rice in that era, was a big part of the 1980s as well.

The NFL was moving away from power run ball control possession passing with the occasional threat of a deep pass, to an era that threw the ball everywhere. Short, middle and deep and threw the ball a lot. It was a passing decade with at least two different types of passing games that were prominent in that decade. The possession passing game of the San Francisco 49ers, perhaps better known as the West Coast Offense. And what I call at least the Vertical Spread Offense. Where you’re always looking deep on every pass play, but you work the whole field with multiple receivers and force the defense to cover the whole field against you. Which was run by the Los Angeles Raiders that won the Super Bowl in 1983 and the San Diego Chargers.

But this is all before you get to the two great teams of 1983 that played in the Super Bowl. By far the two most consistent teams in 1983 that of course being the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins. Both teams had great offenses that scored a lot of points both through the air and on the ground. But the Raiders were dominant on defense and simply punished teams on defense with their two press corners Lester Hays and Mike Haines, plus they could get to the quarterback with just their DL. And they could add in outside linebacker Ted Hendricks. (Arguably the best all around OLB of all-time) And the Redskins simply struggled on offense most of that game and had a hard time dealing with the Raiders speed on defense.

Not that defense was non-existent in the NFL in 1983, (Roger Goodell wasn’t Commissioner yet) but the story of the 1983 NFL season was all the new offense in the league. The great passing games, all the points, every good team in the NFL that year every good team seemed to have at least one great running back and a great wide receiver and at least a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback. You had several great offensive minds leading their teams and still leading their teams. Like Don Coryell with the Chargers, Tom Flores with the Raiders, Joe Gibbs with the Redskins, Bill Walsh with the 49ers and several others. I believe 1983 is where we really see the influence of the American Football League on the NFL and it made it a great all around season for the league.

NFL Films: Era of Excellence the 1980s

The 1980s National Football League was an era of cookie-cutter stadiums, concrete hard Astroturf fields, dome stadiums especially for teams who played in cold weather cities, like Minneapolis. And it was basically the birth of the passing age in the NFL. The illegal contact rule and the new blocking rules of 1978 and new offensive-minded head coaches like Bill Walsh, Tom Flores, Joe Gibbs, Dan Reeves, Don Coryell, Joe Walton, Sam Wyche really opened up offensive football and the league has only continued to move in that direction ever since.

It was an era where the dominate Steel Curtain Pittsburgh Steelers were no more and where the Los Angeles Raiders who probably should've taken over for the Steelers as the new dominant team in the NFL, didn't quite live up to that. Even though all in all they had a pretty good decade winning two Super Bowls, but 1986 or so were no longer a championship contender in the NFL. And became a franchise just trying to make the AFC Playoffs every year. And what happened was the San Francisco 49ers took that mantle instead from the Steelers. And became great team on offense and defense throughout the decade.

But what is great about football, it is not what I call arenaball, what is called arena football. As much as Roger Goddell might want to change that and turn the NFL into a total offensive league, there is still two sides of the game, offense and defense. And there were still great defensive teams and players in the 1980s. Like with Chicago Bears 46 defense led by Buddy Ryan, who took that to Philadelphia as the Eagles new head coach. And in New York with their elephant two-deep defense that the Giants played led by head coach Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.

The 1980s was an era for the NFL where the great teams of the 1970s like the Steelers, Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings took a step back and needed to regroup and come back in the 1990s as championship contenders again. And where new teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Redskins, New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns stepped up and either became champions or at least championship contenders. And a decade where the NFL just became more popular and more balanced. Where offenses and defenses were now treated equally under the rules.

NFL Films: 'A Little History of the Minnesota Vikings'

Source:Football Docs- Vikings WR Randy Moss.

Source:The Daily Press 

"America's Game Missing Rings 1998 Minnesota Vikings" 

From Football Docs

When you look at teams that should've won championships but didn't, I look at teams that were really the best at what they did in their league for that year. Teams that had everything on paper, the talent, the chemistry, the character, the coaching. Teams that stayed healthy and finally, but definitely not last, teams that lost their big game to a team they should've not only beat, but lost to a team they should've whipped, that's the 1998 Minnesota Vikings.

They had the best offense in the NFL in 1998, running basically (what I call) the Spread Vertical Offense the offense that Sid Gilman invented in the 1950s with Sid Gilman with the Los Angeles Rams, with Norm Van Brocklin, Leroy Hirsch and company. That Al Davis adopted in the 1960s with the Oakland Raiders, where you have at least wide receiver if not two WR running a post-route on every play. You push the safety's back to open up the rest of the field so you can also work passes to your slot-receivers, tight ends and even running backs. Basically forcing the defense to cover the whole field. It takes a great offensive line and quarterback to be successful in an offense like this.

You also need a great QB who can throw deep and accurately, but doesn't get too greedy and who works the rest of the field. You need a solid running game as well to keep defenses honest. But again we are talking about the 98 Vikings here right, they had all of that. 

In 98 QB Randall Cunningham showing the world how great a QB he could be and not just a great talent. The OL with offensive guard Steve Hutchinson, center Matt Birk, tackle Corey Stringer,all Pro Bowlers, all big strong and mobile. Pro Bowler Robert Smith at RB and all purpose RB, reminds me a little of Marcus Allen, had he not retired early would probably be in the Hall of Fame.

The 1998 Viking had really three deep threats who were all big and tall at WR that could all run. Randy Moss as a rookie Chris Carter the 2nd best WR of the 1990s behind only Jerry Rice and Jake Reed as your third WR. Moss and Reed running post-routes with Carter running the inside routes with a lot of room to run. The Vikings were a speed team playing in a dome stadium perhaps the loudest stadium in the league in the Metrodome.

The Vikings played on turf they had the perfect environment playing the two-gap cover-two defense with four pass rushers up front led by defensive tackle John Randle who'll be in the Hall of Fame. Keeping your safety's deep so even if you don't get the pass rush, you prevent the big play. 

The Vikings didn't have a great defense, but when you're scoring 35 points a game and you give up 20 your defense is good enough. But it wasn't good enough in the 1998 NFC Final to the Atlanta Falcons losing to a team that was 7-9 in 1997, they hadn't made the playoffs since 1995 and went 9-7 that year to make the playoffs. The 98 Vikings were a team that had the total package, kinda like a fast break basketball team that would get some early stops and run you out of the building on offense.

Super Bowl 33 played in January 1999 (with the famous Ally Landry Tostitos Commercial is really the only thing I remember about that game. The best team in the AFC in the Denver Broncos that were I believe 13-3 in 1998 coached by Mike Shanahan with QB John Elway, TE Shannon Sharpe, RB Terrell Davis and company. 

The Broncos played a jump start Atlanta Falcons team coached by Dan Reeves who was a big reason for their success and a lot of players that had career years and didn't do much before or after that. With QB Chris Chandler, WR Tony Martin, TE OJ Santiago and others. When it should've been the Vikings and Broncos in Miami playing one of the best Super Bowls ever.

Timothy Wehrfritz: NFL Network's Missing Rings, The 1990s Buffalo Bills

Source:The Daily Post 

When I look at the Buffalo Bills of the late 1980s and early 1990s, I see very good football teams and in the early 90s the best teams in the American Football Conference. But there's an issue right there. From 1984 except for maybe the underachieving Raiders of the mid 80s and the 1987 Browns, 1988 Bengals, 1990 Bills and the two best teams in the NFL were not in the AFC and AFC Champions. But were in the NFC, the top two teams in the NFC the champion and finalist. In 1986 the two best teams in the NFL were the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, but they not only played in same conference, the NFC. 

And by 1992 the two best teams in the NFL were always in the NFC, until 1997 with the Denver Broncos winning the Super Bowl. This was not a good era for the AFC, 1985, 1986, 1987 the Super Bowls were all blowouts, the NFC team beating the AFC team. In 1989 the San Francisco 49ers blew out the Denver Broncos 55-10, 1992 the Dallas Cowboys blew out the Bill 52-17. 1994 the 49ers blew out the San Diego Chargers 49-23. The Bills of the late 80s and early 90s were the best team in the AFC. And won four straight AFC Final's from 1990-93, but in the worst era for the AFC. I'm not taking anything away from the Bills of this era, they had very good teams and would've been very successful in the National Football Conference, but they wouldn't of dominated the NFC like they dominated the AFC.

If you look at those four Super Bowls that the Buffalo Bills lost from 1990-93, they were only favored to win one of them the, 1990 Super Bowl when they played the New York Giants. But the Giants were a very good football team, they still had one of the best defenses in the NFL. Even though they were getting older and they still had their ball control offense, power run, possession passing, shorten the game and limit the Bills chances on offense to have the ball and score. Giants running back OJ Anderson was the SB MVP, quarterback Jeff Hostletter completed passes when he had to. And had TE Marc Bavaro I believe the best all around TE in the NFL at the time and had WRs Chris Calloway, Mark Ingram and Steve Baker.

The Giants could throw when they wanted to and when they needed to and the strength of their offense fit in perfectly with the weakness of the Bills Defense. They had a power offense going up against and somewhat finesse undersized 3-4 Bills defense with a small 270 pound nose tackle in Jeff Wright. And the Bills were able to stay in the game because even though they didn't have the ball much, they moved it almost every time they had it. And when the Giants scored they used a lot of time to score, keeping the Bills in the game. 

1990 was the best chance for the Buffalo Bills to win a Super Bowl and they were favored in that game and they only lost 20-19 and had plenty of chances to win that game. But missed a lot of tackles probably because they were so tired, because their defense couldn't get off the field. But the other three Super Bowls they were a clear underdog playing teams, like the Redskins and Cowboys twice that were much bigger and stronger which is what the NFC was back then over the AFC. Run the ball, stop the run, rush the QB, protect the QB and win the turnover battle. And the Bills happened to be the best of a weak American Football Conference.

Barry Peraino: Video: Full Color Football: The New Frontier

Source:The Daily Post 

By the late 1950s the National Football League had just survived the Korean War as far as losing players to that war, World War II losing players to that war, some not coming back, the Great Depression with all the money that was lost in the country as well as the NFL. And the fact that America went through that for about 15 years. If you don't have enough money to pay your bills and a lot of Americans were in that situation during the Great Depression, you're not going to go to sporting events. So by the late 1950s or even before that, when the NFL was approaching its 40th Season, they had proven they were a survivor. 

The NFL had already proven they were a survivor and with the economic boom of the 1950s and with the NFL growing in popularity with NFL champions like the New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions (yes the Detroit Lions), Baltimore Colts, Los Angeles Rams with Sid Gilman with his spread vertical offense  and of course the Cleveland Browns led by Paul Brown one of the top 3-5 head coaches of all-time, as well as a great general manager, the 1950s was a boom decade for the NFL. There was a lot of great football and great players in that decade, the NFL was finally making money and making very good money and they only had twelve franchises.

And with the NFL's revenue sharing system where each club shares it's broadcast revenue, there was a lot of money to go around. And the less clubs that they had the more money each club can keep for themselves. That was the theory which is why the NFL didn't expand sooner and into places like Boston, Buffalo, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Diego and others all markets capable of supporting NFL franchises.

What the All American Football Conference proved in the 1940s and 50s, was that 12 pro football franchises wasn't enough that there was more money to be made and a lot more money to be made and there were a lot more players that could play pro football in America that a 12 club league could support. That's where the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers all came from and when the AAFC folded, those clubs went to the NFL. The Cleveland Browns finished off the AAFC by winning the last championship there. And then went to the NFL in the 1950s and won five NFL Championships in that decade.

This was all setting the stage for the American Football League to come into existence all those markets that the NFL said the hell with, all wanted their own pro football franchise. And all of those players that could play in the NFL, but were overlooked, all found homes in the AFL in cities like Boston, Buffalo, the New York, Kansas City, Houston, Denver, Oakland and San Diego. Just to start off with followed in the late 60s by Cincinnati and Miami. The AFL represented a shot for for football fans who were turn down by the NFL, to have their own franchise and for players to get another shot at pro football career. 

The NFL saw the AFL as a threat right away which is why they rewarded an expansion franchise to Dallas in 1960 and Minneapolis in 1961. Because they knew there were a lot of football fans in those two markets and that the AFL wanted to expand there. Without the AFL, we probably never heard of players like quarterback Len Dawson who's in the Hall of Fame and QB Jack kemp who's famous for several other reasons, most of them positive. 

As well as all the African-American players that were turned away because of their race by the NFL. Like Hall of Famers like Chiefs linebacker Willie Lanier, LB Bobby Bell who's a better version of Lawrence Taylor,  defensive tackle Buck Buchanan, wide receiver Otis Taylor who should be in the Hall of Fame and so many others. The AFL was a second chance society for people who deserved it.

ESPN Films: SEC Storied- Herschel Walker

Source:ESPN Films- Sanford Stadium, home of the Georgia Bulldogs.

“Profiling former Georgia running back Herschel Walker. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner overcame teenage bouts with bullying for being overweight and having a severe stutter.” 

From ESPN Films

Imagine being a defender in football and having to try to tackle a man whose 6’1 225 pounds of muscle, probably bench presses four hundred pounds, with track speed probably runs like a 4.3. Because that’s what the challenge was in trying to stop Herschel Walker. A running back no matter what level he ever played at he was always one play away from scoring no matter what part of the field he was on. Because he either broke a tackle from someone who would’ve tackled him if he’s a good tackler, or he would just hit a hole with raw speed.

Try to chase Herschel down would be like trying to chase down a horse on foot. Now imagine if Herschel didn’t play in the United States Football League for three seasons and went straight to the NFL. Imagine if Herschel didn’t start his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys when they were in decline in 1986. Imagine if Herschel was drafted in the 1983 NFL Draft by not only someone who wanted him, but could use him. And build their offense around him or at least make him their go to RB and they were a good team.

What I’m getting at is that unfortunately Herschel Walker’s career a lot of it is about imagination of what would’ve been or what could’ve happen because here is arguably the most talented running back of all-time. And a case could make that he’s the best running back of all-time. But Herschel will never be in the Hall of Fame. The USFL was not a good move on his part at least as it turns out.

And when Herschel finally get’s to the NFL he’s playing for the Dallas Cowboys who were 7-9 in Herschel’s rookie season in 1986. And playing behind Tony Dorsett who was one of the best running backs in the NFL at that point. And by the time Herschel becomes the main RB in Dallas in 1988, the Cowboys are 3-13 the worst team in the NFL. And they weren’t very good in 1987 either and Herschel being the only solid weapon on offense that the Cowboys had with QB Danny White in his last season in the NFL. And opposing defenses knew this and Herschel take a whipping while he was in Dallas.

In 1989 Cowboys new head coach/general manager Jimmy Johnson trades his only Pro Bowler and great player on the Cowboys team to Minnesota. And plays for a Vikings team that was also in decline as well and struggling just to make the NFC Playoffs. And ends up getting traded to Philadelphia and playing for an Eagles team that wasn’t bad, but it was Randall Cunningham’s team. And Herschel was there to give the Eagles a threat in the running game. But this Eagles offense wasn’t the offense for Herschel either.

So Herschel Walker the greatest running back of all-time coming out of college in 1983 ends up being a journeyman player in pro football. Because he was never able to find that right team for him that was a good team, but also a team that would utilize all of Herschel’s talents and get the best out of him.

Herschel Walker the greatest college running back of all-time and the physical and mental abilities to be a great NFL running back. And be in the Hall of Fame and challenge Jim Brown as the greatest running back of all-time. This is the career that Herschel would’ve had, but that never happened because in the NFL he was never with a team that was headed in the right direction. Either an established winner or moving up to becoming one. And as a result became a journeyman player in the NFL. 

You can also see this post at FreeState MD, on WordPress.

ESPN Films: 30 For 30- Elway To Marino: The Story of the 1983 NFL Draft

Source:ESPN Films- Stanford's John Elway & Pittsburgh's Dan Marino.

“30 for 30’s “Elway to Marino” Episode Review & After Show”

Source:After Buzz TV 

“WHAT IF I TOLD YOU…? that one Draft would change the NFL forever! This is the explosive inside story of one fateful day in the lives of two football legends. Much more than an eponymous episode in the careers of John Elway and Dan Marino, this documentary reveals a great deal of the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing that takes place on 1983 Draft Day. Directed by Ken Rodgers. Narrated by Tom Selleck.”

Source:ESPN Films- the agent for Dan Marino.

From ESPN

The 1983 NFL Draft is famous for several reasons, but a big one is the fact that it produced three Hall of Fame quarterbacks. The most important position in football, but more than that, it produced two of the top five quarterbacks of all- time in John Elway arguably the best all around quarterback of all-time and Dan Marino the best pure passer of all-time and perhaps the best QB of all-time as well. Then you add Jim Kelly to the draft a quarterback who won four conference championships and played in four Super Bowls. Jim Kelly one of the greatest winning quarterbacks of all-time and then you add Tony Eason who played in Super Bowl 20 with the New England Patriots.

We haven’t seen another NFL Draft like that before or since, but a draft that produces not just two of the best quarterbacks of all-time and in Jim Kelly arguably three of the best quarterbacks of all-time but, also in Elway and Marino two of the best players of all-time as well which makes it an incredible draft.

But that’s not the whole story, this draft was also about workers rights. In this case football players do they have the right to decide who they work for and in this case who do they get to play football for and in John Elway’s case a California boy from Los Angeles who played college football at Stanford in the Bay Region, should he be forced to play football on the East Coast in Baltimore, Maryland for the Baltimore Colts. The Colts offered him a job.

The question posed by John Elway’s management team was: can an employer force someone they’ve just offered a job to, to work for them or does the potential employee, in this case a football player have a say in who he works for and in this case play football for. And that’s what the Elway team was going to find out. Where are football players rights to decide where they can play football for. And Elway won in the fact that he wasn’t forced to work for the Colts.

The whole draft brings up a more important point. What rights do workers including football players and pro sports athletes in general have in determining where they get to work. Because it’s really only pro sports where the franchises or employers basically have all of the power. As far as deciding who works for who and where with the players not having much if any say in deciding where. They work coming out of college. 

You can also see this post on WordPress.

ESPN Films: 'The Legend of Jimmy the Greek'

Source:The Revelator- from an ESPN film about professional sports gambler Jimmy The Greek Snyder.

"Jimmy The Greek: The FALL Of An HONEST WHITE MAN!" 

From The Revelator

Jimmy the Greek reminds me of Richard Nixon at least in one sense and he reminds me of Richard Nixon's great quote at his White House farewell address in 1974 where President Nixon said: "That you'll never know what it is like to be at the top of the mountain until you've been in the deepest valley." Meaning you'll never know what it is like to be on top until you are on the bottom. Both men were at the top of their professions and both fell to the bottom. Like falling off of a mountain and hitting the ground.

Jimmy the Greek was at the top of his profession, the gaming industry, perhaps the top sports better in the United States. He was so hot and successful and even popular that he lands himself a gig at the number one sports show in the country the old CBS's NFL Today. The top pre-game show in the country in the 1970s and 80s. With Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, Phyllis George the best pre-game show not just in this period, but still all-time as far as popularity, commentary, the interviews, the people they brought on.

The Greek goes from being at the top of the gaming industry and sports broadcasting profession, to at the bottom and for what, because of a stupid ignorant comment that he made about African-American athletes. Saying that they "Are naturally superior athletes because of how they were bread from slavery." Breaded from slavery, it sort of sounds like someone talking about how animals are raised. Not the way you would talk about human beings. And because of that moment of stupidity he goes from the top of his profession, to someone that people didn't want to associate with and be with.

ESPN: SportsCentury- Greatest Head Coaches

Source:The Daily Press

On this Thanksgiving and by the way Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there, I thought it would be a great time to blog about Vince Lombardi, the greatest head coach of all-time, not just in football, but perhaps in team sports period. I think you'll have a hard time finding a better head coach because football is not just a huge part of our Thanksgiving holiday and Vince Lombardi is a big part of football. And the Green Bay Packers are a big part of our Thanksgiving football tradition. The Packers have played a lot on Thanksgiving and Coach Lombardi coached a lot of those games.

When I think of Vince Lombardi, I think of what a head coach should be when they are at their best and when they are the best at they are. Someone who constantly strives at making his team the best that they can, at getting the best effort and performance out of his team all of his players at the same time in the same game.

I mean if you look at it thats what the job of a head coach is, of course they want to win and the head coaches that do win are the successful head coaches, that is win more than they lose and a lot more than they lose. But really the job is to get the best performance out of your players that they can deliver. There have been teams that were 7-9, 8-8, 9-7 and of course missed the playoffs, but their head coach had a good year or a great year. They even had a great record that year because of the team that they had and the players that had to play.

The level of talent that they had to work with and there been teams that were 10-6, 11-5 but they didn't have very good seasons and didn't win championships even though they had the talent to, because their players didn't play very well as a team. They didn't work very well together, their head coach didn't get them to play as well as they could've. And they ended up basically having a mediocre or even a bad season because their head coach didn't get them to play as well as they could've. The job of the head coach is to get his team and all of his players to play as well as they can at the same time as one team and if he has a good team or a great team, like Chuck Knoll had with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s to use as an example, then that will lead to a lot of wins and championships. 

The Green Bay Packers of the 1960s didn't have a dynasty in that decade and were the team of the 60s Because they were loaded with talent and great players, they had some of those. And some Hall of Famers, they won five NFL Championships in seven years from 1961-67, because they had the best teams and the best head coach. Best team and best talent are two different things, best talent has to do with athletic ability and skills. Best team has to do with the team that plays the best together and plays the best as a team.

I'll give you an example, Super Bowl 36 between the New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, the Rams I believe were a 10-12 point favorite they still had that great Vertical Spread offense (as I call it) with Kurt Warner, Marshal Faulk and all of those WRs. The Patriots were 5-11 the year before, snuck into the playoffs in 2001, winning their division. Beat the Raiders in a blizzard in the famous tuck game and then upset a very good Steelers team in the AFC Final. They had to beat two better teams just to make to the Super Bowl.

The Rams clearly had batter talent in that Super Bowl, but the Patriots had a better team and played better together and of course they had head coach Bill Bellecheck, perhaps still the best head coach in the NFL. Thats what Vince Lombardi had in Green Bay in the 1960s, he had the best teams, not exactly the best talent when he won those championships. So to use my definition of the job of a head coach, then no one is better than Vince Lombardi at getting his teams and players to play the best that they can at the same time. And he is the best head coach of all-time, because he was the best motivator and perhaps the best motivator ever as well.

And he would put it simple, "you want to play for the Packers, you're going to give me everything you have, or find another job or team to play for". He knew when to ride someone and when to pride someone and do both of those things in a way that showed the player that he's just trying to get the best out of him, kinda like a great father would be. Thats what made Vince Lombardi the best ever at what he did. 

ESPN Films: Small Potatoes- Who Killed The USFL

Source: ESPN Films - The Donald Trump, when he was only New Jersey's, New York's, the USFL's and NFL's problem 

Source: ESPN Films: Small Potatoes- Who Killed The USFL

I could just write that Donald Trump by himself killed the old United States Football League that only lasted for three seasons from 1983-85 and I'm actually old enough to remember games from all three seasons. I could write that and it would be mostly true about Donald Trump. Because he was involved in the league owning the New Jersey Generals, but he was the Dan Snyder of the USFL. A great businessman outside of pro football with no business being involved in pro football.

But the whole story is that the USFL folded for multiple reasons and even though The Donald had a hand in several of those reasons why the league folded. It wasn't all his fault but with The Donald I could put down the facts that the league grew way too fast going to eighteen teams by 1985. And also expanding in NFL markets that already great established pro football franchises and weren't looking for another pro football franchise like. Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, and Denver. And I could put the fact that Donald Trump decided the USFL should be playing in the fall and go up against the NFL. When they had the spring and summer all to themselves.

So yeah I could put most of the failures of the old USFL on Donald Trump. Because he had a hand in a lot of their management failures. But he wasn't the Commissioner of the USFL, but the majority owner of one of their franchises. And the USFL didn't have strong enough people amongst their other owners or a commissioner to stand up. And say "you know what we shouldn't be doing this. Going up against the NFL in their own markets and playing when they do. When we have all of these other major markets that do not have a major league pro football franchise yet". If they had strong smart people like that, they probably never go out of business. And have the spring and summer to themselves and still be in business in today.

Jerry Jones vs. Jimmy Johnson: The Story of Jerry's Cowboys

As good as the Dallas Cowboys were in the 1990s with their three Super Bowl championships, three NFL championships, four conference finals appearances, and five NFC East titles and a lot of playoff victories, they could've been so much better had Jerry Jones gotten out of Jimmy Johnson's way and let him run the Cowboys' football operations department concerned with who was on the team and so forth and let Jerry worry about what Jerry is good at, which is managing the finances.

Jerry Jones had and still has the title of General Manager of the Dallas Cowboys even though he is also the owner of the franchise. But everyone in and around the NFL, and the fans as well, knew who was calling the football personal shots in Dallas, which was Jimmy because Jimmy was making the personal decisions, which was part of his job and in his contract. Jerry handled the contract negotiations of players that Jimmy wanted to sign and bring back but the Cowboys of the 1990s were built by Jimmy Johnson.

Jerry Jones wasn't an NFL man before purchasing the Cowboys in 1989.   He was someone who learned very fast on the job, but Jimmy Johnson was his man to run the team and they had been childhood friends in Arkansas. Jerry knew Jimmy's college football career very well at Miami Florida and in Oklahoma and had the guy he wanted all along, but he couldn't handle Jimmy getting the credit for building the Cowboys and returning them to power in the 1990s.  That is why they broke up.

In 1989 Jimmy Johnson inherited a 3-13 Cowboys team from 1988 with a huge deficit when it came to talent, especially young talent and young veteran talent, with most of their star players making their mark in the 1970s and early 1980s. Jimmy saw this right away and decided that the best way to rebuild the Cowboys was to get worse before getting better and releasing or trading or asking veteran Cowboys to retire to make room for college draft picks and young talented free agents.

The Cowboys went from 1-15 in 1989 to 13-3 by 1992, winning back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 and doing it all through the draft and signing young talented free agents and trading for those players. That is how Jimmy Johnson rebuilt the Cowboys and he deserves most of the credit for this.  Had Jerry Jones' big fat ego not gotten in the way, Jimmy would be in Dallas probably 10 to 15 years and we are talking about perhaps the greatest NFL dynasty in history.

ESPN: 30 For 30- Straight Outta LA: The Story of The Los Angeles Raiders

Source:ESPN- if you are a Gen-Xer or a Gen-Xer who grew up in Los Angeles in the 1980s, you probably heard of NWA (Niggas With Attitude)

"In 1982, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis beat the NFL in court and moved his team from Oakland to Los Angeles. With a squad as colorful as its owner, the Raiders captivated a large number of black and Hispanic fans in L.A. at a time when gang warfare, immigration and the real estate boom were rapidly changing the city.

The L.A. Raiders morphed into a worldwide brand as the team's colors, swagger and anti-establishment ethos became linked with the hip-hop scene that was permeating South Central Los Angeles. Rapper-turned-filmmaker Ice Cube was not only witness to this evolution, he was also a part of it. As a member of the notorious rap group N.W.A, Ice Cube helped make the silver and black culturally significant to a new generation and demographic. Still a die-hard Raiders fan, Cube will explore the unlikely marriage between the NFL's rebel franchise and America's glamour city and show how pro football's outlaw team became the toast of La La Land." 

From ESPN 

"Caught up with Ice Cube at Paid Dues to talk about Straight Outta LA a Documentary Ice Cube is directing for ESPN.  Cube also shares his thoughts about his recent interview with Raiders owner Al Davis.  Ice Cube ends the interview by telling Hard Knock TV that he was burnt out on music for a while but that he was re-energies by Laugh Now, Cry Later.  Cubes new album I am the West is coming soon. Check out part 1 of our interview to learn more about his new album. Interview by Nick Huff Exclusively for Hard Knock TV. Raider Nation stand up!" 

Source:Hard Knock TV- Ice Cube talking about his film Straight Outta LA, about the Los Angeles Raiders.

From Hard Knock TV 

Yes, Al Davis is the father of both the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Raiders and one of the founfing fathers of the modern NFL. (For good and bad) But  you could also argue that he's a destroyer and someone who destroys great things and people that he touches. Not just the Raiders both in Oakland and Los Angeles, but great players like Marcus Allen and others. So I have mixed feelings about Mr. Davis.

Source:ESPN- Al Davis: the Founding Father of the Raiders.

The truth is that had Al Davis and his team marketed his Raiders franchise in Los Angeles as the Dodgers and Lakers are marketed in Los Angeles, the Raiders would probably still be in LA today. Instead Mr. Davis believed that people would automatically just show up to see a good football team every week. The fan interest would have been there and the crowds would have been there and there would have been enough interest for Los Angeles to give the Raiders franchise what it needed to be successful in Los Angeles, whether that was new renovations to the LA Memorial Coliseum or a new stadium altogether.

When I think of the Los Angeles Raiders who were in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before moving back to Oakland, I think of both good and bad and probably more bad then good actually, as my first paragraph, I believe, points out, but to be positive and factual, the LA Raiders were very good in the 1980s. They won two Super Bowls in 1980 and 1983 and probably should have won a couple more in 1982 and 1984, but the 1983 Raiders were one of the best and most dominant Super Bowl champions of all time.

But the story doesn't end there, because again, they were there from 1982 to 1994 and are not still there today. Also there's a lot of what could have been, had Al Davis basically not ruined running back Marcus Allen's career and not cost him at least 4 to 6 years.  Marcus was the best all-around running back of his era, at least post-Walter Payton, and the mistake of Al Davis telling his coaching staff not to play Marcus because he believed Marcus became bigger than the Raiders franchise itself.

But instead the Raiders traded for running back Bo Jackson because of baseball. He was never more than a part-time player for the Raiders and only played four seasons because of the hip injury. Instead of trading for Bo, they should have invested the money into getting a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback to take over for Jim Plunkett or again trade for Bo but not reduce the role of Marcus in the backfield. They should have gone to a two-back full-time set and become a run-oriented football team with Marcus and Bo and 2,000 yard rushers year after year on the same team. How much better would their vertical spread passing game had been with that running game.

To sum up, the Los Angeles Raiders were a team of underachievers, not just some of the players but the franchise as a whole, and again we are talking about a two-time Super Bowl champion franchise, but they could have done so much more and should have been the team of the NFL of the 1980s to take over for the Pittsburgh Steelers from the 1970s because of the talent they had, the market they played in, and the man at the top in Al Davis.

NFL Network: A Football Like Mike Ditka

Source:The Daily Press 

To understand Mike Ditka you have to understand his upbringing growing up in a tough Western Pennsylvania town. From a blue-collar Polish-American family with a very tough and demanding father who really loved him. Who ends up going to college at Pittsburgh University another real tough iron blue-collar city and then gets drafted by the Chicago Bears. Similar town as Pittsburgh culturally, but with about ten times as many people.

So Iron Mike for the most part has always been around where he came from and what he’s most comfortable with as a man. And then he ends up playing one of the toughest positions in the game tight end where you have to be tough and physical to be successful. The Mike Ditka that people got to see as a football player is the Mike Ditka that a lot more people saw as head coach of the Chicago Bears. This get in your face tough ass didn’t take crap from anyone who simply wanted the best from his players.

Mike Ditka was the ultimate tough love head coach father figure that coached the Chicago Bears for eleven seasons. From 1982-92 and if you look at his record he was very successful one of the most winningest head coaches in the NFL in the 1980s. You do your job and you give your best effort, Ditka is your best friend. But if you screw up and make mental mistakes or are lazy, Ditka is the last person you want to be around. Because he’ll tell you how bad you were, how dumb you were and how bad of a mistake you’ve made.

And if you don’t do better in the future, you better look for another job. Which was the message of Mike Ditka and you might not like his tactics, but that’s what Ditka was about. And I think something he learned from Tom Landry in Dallas. That if you want the best out of your players, you have to want it, you have to expect it and you better demand it. And your players must be aware of it as well. Mike Ditka was a blue-collar Polish-American head coach coaching in a blue-collar city with a large Polish-American community.

Iron Mike fit Chicago as well as any head coach has ever fit any major pro sports city. And why he called his football team the 85 Bears the Grabowski’s, because his team were so blue-collar and represented that city so well. And it worked very well in the 1980s until it burned out in the early 1990s when the Bears let him go.

NFL Films: The Story of the 1988 San Francisco 49ers

Source:The Daily Press

The 1988 San Francisco 49ers might be the most consistent inconsistent Super Bowl team of all-time. The 2012 Ravens might be close though, but the 88 49ers were a 10-6 team that on paper looked like they could’ve easily won 12 or 13 games. But 10-6 teams tend to be somewhat inconsistent and have great stretches followed by poor stretches. Otherwise they don’t lose six games and just barely win their division. But win their division going away, unless they play in a great division.

The reason why the 88 49ers struggled and had ups and downs, was their offense sputtered and were up and down. They had two starting quarterbacks that year, because Joe Montana was hurt in the season. So young but somewhat inexperienced Steve Young who would also go on to be a great Hall of Fame quarterback, was given the chance to be the 49ers starting QB. But Young was up and down as well and committed too many turnovers. The only consistent thing about the 88 49ers, was their defense which was usual in the 1980s was one of the best in the NFL.

The 1988 49ers are the perfect example of why their soft finesse label didn’t stick and was never accurate. They were about as strong and physical on defense as any team in the NFL in that decade and 1988 and Super Bowl 23 is a perfect example of that. They shut down the Cincinnati Bengals power ball control offense that moved the ball down the field and scored against everyone else in the league. And won several blowouts, but the 49ers stuffed Icky Woods, James Brooks and their running game and held them to 16 points.

The 49ers offense got hot late in the 88 regular season and that carried through the 1988 NFC Playoffs, but only RB Roger Craig and WR Jerry Rice and perhaps their offensive line was consistent during that regular season. But their defense was very good the whole season and dominated the 1988 NFC Playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears and dominated the Super Bowl. Which is how a 10-6 inconsistent team can win the Super Bowl. You have something that carries you through the regular season. Get hot late and carry it into the playoffs and win the Super Bowl.