DOG: New Year's Reflection Back

Welcome to 2009! People celebrate New Years in lots of different ways. To me it's no big deal and a good night to stay home. It's nothing more than the night before a ton of college bowl games. That's all. So, how did I spend New Years Eve? I took a look back. Way back to January of 1975 to be exact. Figured the ringing in of a new year was cause to get a little nostalgic (that's a fancy word for geezing). And a great opportunity to check out one of my best Christmas gifts... All 5 Steeler Super Bowls on DVD!

So I decided to start at the beginning and look at Super Bowl IX first. First off, the DVD is mastered from video tape which does not age well at all. It's hard for me to believe the NFL could not repair the images any better than what they did while digitizing the output. But nonetheless, the poor quality of the image (which is painfully obvious when watching on a big screen HDTV) gave the DVD a realistic feel of watching the game as it was broadcast in 1975. Like if you had rabbit ears picking up WIIC (later WPXI channel 11 in Pittsburgh). Furthermore, it contains the original broadcast announcing. Curt Gowdy, Don Meredith, Al DeRogatis, with Charley Jones as the sideline reporter who is never seen and comments only once about wind and the flags surrounding Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

I used to hate Curt Gowdy at the time. He was always washing the balls of the Oakland Raiders and that was inexcusable for me. Al DeRogatis was useless. Don Meredith was both entertaining and enlightening. And for sure, Meredith did not take the game so damn serious as we do today. Dandy Don used a very light hearted approach. Down home Texas-style, which was just his natural personality. The announcing was so much better than the douche-bags they put on the air today. I didn't like Gowdy but he was worlds ahead of anyone manning the booth now.

But wow, I did not realize how the NFL has changed. Goodness, it was an eye opening experience. And it started right at the kickoff... from the 35 yard line. Here are just some random differences I noticed and other interesting notes:

• Fred Cox, the Minnesota placekicker was still kicking "straight ahead." He was one of the last of that breed.
• Blocking rules have really changed. I saw Ray Mansfield chop Carl Eller at the knee while he was engaged with Gerry Mullins. That's a clear penalty today. Not so in 1975.
• Dwight White and Jack Lambert were getting in all kinds of late shots, punches and shoves after the whistle. No flags.
• Anybody who thinks the '08 Steeler defense is anywhere near as good as the Steel Curtain needs to look at this game. Our current defense is no doubt the best in the league. But the Steel Curtain (which hadn't even peaked in 1975) was overwhelmingly better.
• There were an alarming number of white men playing for both the Vikings and the Steelers. I'd guess twice as many as today.
• Almost every Steeler offensive play involved Rocky Bleier shifting from tailback in the I to a two back split backfield.
• Terry Bradshaw had a rocket arm. But he was very undisciplined. And he was a very good runner. There were several plays called as designed runs for Bradshaw in this game.
• The Steelers ran quick trap after quick trap and did so succesfully.
• Jeff Siemon and Jackie Wallace had great games for Minnesota which are completely forgotten. The Purple People Eaters came to play. Most of the rest of their team did not.
• Minnesota coach, Bud Grant, also won four Grey Cups in the CFL as a coach, played pro football with the Philadelpia Eagles and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and played NBA basketball with the Lakers! He took his team to 4 Super Bowls but did not win any.
• A lot more tripping and clipping penalties back then too.
• On one 4th down play for the Vikings they actually called "mutual offsides" which resulted in no play. Nobody made a big deal about it. Today there would be multiple replay reviews, and a million people crying like stuck pigs. The game just went on and the Vikings punted. Very similar to the famous no call in the Steeler-Colts playoff game in '06.
• Franco Harris was a beast. Absolutely at the peak of his game in 1975. Inside or outside he was a punishing runner.
• Players were much smaller. Although they were still big men, not a 300 pounder to be found on either roster.

I remember watching this game live when it happened. But looking at it 34 years later I realize there was more to see than what I saw. Probably true about lots of things in life when we take a moment to look back.

Define Dynasty, I Dare You

I read an interesting fact this weekend. It was putting the Patriots Super Bowl success in perspective over the past 7 years. If they win this week, they will have won 4 Super Bowls in 7 years. The 70's Steelers of course won 4 in 6 years. One was a true Dynasty, one.....not so much. The Steelers over the course of their run had 22 players win 4 rings each. Nine of those 22 players were elected to the Hall of Fame. Eleven if you count the owner and head coach. I decided to look up the Patriots. Tom Brady, Troy Brown, Teddy Bruschi, Kevin Faulk, Larry Izzo, Matt Light, Lonie Paxton, Richard Seymour & Mike Vrabel are the names. Six of them started the game in 2001. Five of them will start this year. So, of the core players on the teams, they have 5 that overlap. Five. F-I-V-E. The uniform might be a dynasty, the team name and management might be a dynasty....the players? Not so much. How many Pro Bowls did that group attend? You don't necessarily call nine players and 36 rotating lockers a dynasty - that's all I'm saying. I need to say something this week to make myself feel better (and get under Chrissy Twocoats skin a little). To contrast that with Pittsburgh, 12 players of the 22 started both SB 9 and SB 13. I wouldn't even want to begin to count the Pro Bowls that the 22 players with 4 rings rang up. Here are 3 players that are included in the 22 that DID NOT start both games - Lynn Swann, John Stallworth and Mike Webster. Between the trio there are 14 Pro Bowls and they didn't even start in the first Steeler Super Bowl. I'll stop there as it's useless really to try to make my point as we will hear "Dynasty" for the next week nonstop, but you heard it here first...a Dynasty should be defined as "by the same players", not as "by the same team". Hrumph! I wish I had time to add up the Pro Bowls of all 22 players. Nine? And who the Hell is Lonie Paxton?