The Canarsie Cup V: '73-MIA 24, '73-LA 17

The wait is finally over – and after a brilliant season of action-packed football, we are left with the only the Championship game to be decided. Who will walk away the Canarsie Cup this year….the 1973 Miami Dolphins, who took First Place in their respective Conference with a solid 11-1 record – and coming off a playoff win against Pittsburgh….or…the 1973 LA Rams, with a young coach who also took First Place in their Conference and took out Detroit with solid D ??

Welcome to Tulane Stadium, on this day…February 3, 2008. It is a brisk 47 and the clouds overhead spell R-A-I-N. It should be quite a battle between these 2 teams that bring in a balanced attack and a solid Defense. This should be a good one
The Dolphins win the toss – and here we go……

With good field position to start after the 32-yard return by Charlie Leigh, Griese came out firing. His pass to Jim Mandich for 24 yards kept the opening drive alive down to the Ram 28 – and Larry Csonka cut inside for another 11 yards. Griese capped off the opening drive with a 3-yard toss to Paul Warfield. Dolphins quickly led 7-0 after just 4 minutes of play. The Rams on their first possession also came out firing, as John Hadl hit Jack Snow for 9 yards – and hit Harold Jackson for another 16 yards. The Rams now went to their bread & butter…Lawrence McCutcheon and the running game, but the Dolphin D clamped down to force a punt – down to the Dolphin 13. Sensing an early advantage over a dazed Ram D, the Dolphins began mixing it up pretty good and slowly marched down the field – and managed 4 First Downs as the First Quarter ended.

To start the Second Quarter, the Dolphins crossed midfield – but the Rams D finally awoke to force a deep punt – down to the Rams 9. Taking no chances, the Rams kept feeding McCutcheon and Jim Bertelsen for 8 minutes – and rode them to the Miami 3. Facing First & Goal, the Miami D stepped up BIG and held McCutcheon to 1 yard on 3 straight carries – not an easy task – and the Rams had to settle for a David Ray FG. Dolphins 7…Rams 3…with 6:14 left in the half. The Rams D got real stingy on this possession and forced a quick 3 & out. But, a shank punt of 36 yards from Larry Seiple gave the Rams great field position at the Miami 47. The Rams wasted no time, as Hadl threw a 32-yard missile to Jackson and got down to the Miami 10. A couple of runs later saw Bertelsen score on a flare pass from Hadl. The Rams now had the lead…10-7.

With just 2:31 left to play in the Half, the Dolphins took over on their own 38. The Dolphins went back to work and mixed it up again, while the Rams played a conservative D. With help from a 12-yard pass to Marlin Briscoe and an 8-yard Draw from Csonka, the Dolphins marched down to the Ram 26 – with 0:38 left and no timeouts. Griese was feeling pretty confident now, as the Dolphins marched up & down the field this Half – which led to the decision to “go for it”. Griese threw a 7-yard flare pass down the line to Jim Kiick to stop the clock at 0:31. Griese then threw a quick pass to the sideline for Mandich. With 0:23 left to play and facing Third & 2 on the Ram 18, Griese rolled out of the pocket and was looking into the endzone…when out of nowhere Jack Youngblood got to him for a 9-yard sack to run out the clock. A pretty gutsy call by the savvy veteran coach, but the Dolphins missed an opportunity there to tie the game. Would it haunt them later…??...we shall see.

The Rams headed into the locker room feeling pretty good with a narrow 10-7 lead – but they will be getting the ball back.

The Rams got the ball back to start the Second Half – but the Miami D forced a quick 3 & out. With the ball, the Dolphins ran with their workhorse – and Csonka helped set up a 28-yard Garo Yapremian FG to tie the game 10-10 at the 8:02 mark. On this possession, Hadl threw a quick slant to Bertelsen and then an 18-yard pass to Jackson to get to the Miami 35. Hadl then threw another slant pass McCutcheon down to the Miami 21. Hadl went to the well once too often – and threw an Interception to Dick Anderson at the Miami 12 – who then returned it 32 yards to the Miami 44 with 3:29 left to play in the Third Quarter…that was not a good decision by the young Ram coach. Miami went back to the ground game and got down to the Ram 36 to end the Third Quarter.

On the very first play of the Fourth Quarter, Charlie Leigh (doing his best Timmy Smith or David Tyree) cut inside and went 36 yards untouched for the score. Miami now led 17-10 to start the Quarter. The Rams D were shaking their heads. However, as the Offense gathered at the sidelines to formulate a plan, the kickoff was returned 90 yards for the score by Cullen Bryant – and just like that the score was even again at 17. Eager to get back at Miami, the Rams D forced a quick 3 & out. The Rams now went back to the ground game – but could only manage a couple of First Downs – and were forced to punt. The Dolphins had the ball back on their own 20 – with 8:52 left to play in the game. Miami began the drive with a Mercury Morris run for 22 yards. Griese then hit Warfield for 16 yards – and hit Briscoe for another 13 yards – which gave Miami a First Down on the Ram 13 with 3:12 left to play. In “slow-down” mode, the Dolphins were just eating up the clock. Griese hit Warfield twice again for 6 yards each to set up a First & Goal at the 1 – right at the 2:00 warning. The very next play saw Csonka power his way into the endzone – to give Miami the 24-17 lead.

The Rams were now up against a wall – but saw some light when Dick Gordon took the kickoff down to the Miami 43 – with 1:41 left to play. The Rams had all of their timeouts, so they were looking to force Overtime. Unfortunately, the Rams were looking for quick strikes to Harold Jackson and fell short – and the Miami D held for a quick 3 & out. Using their 3 timeouts, the Rams D forced a punt of their own. The Rams got the ball back with 0:33 left to play – but were on their own 19. A deep bomb to Harold Jackson produced an Interception by Tim Foley – and the Miami Dolphins held on to win 24-17, as they ran out the clock.

What a GREAT game !!!
Congrats to Marc Weiss – and his Miami Dolphins for preserving the victory – and going home with the Cup. Don Shula would be proud !!!

The Rams coach, George Bseirani, appeared very content after the game and was simply satisfied with just being able to guide his team to the Championship game – and to be given a chance to win. The Rams D did exactly that, they gave the Offense a chance – but they fell short of their goal. But, this team should be proud as well.

Highlights:
The First & Goal stand by the Miami D in the Second Quarter that held McCutcheon to 1 yard on 3 straight carries was huge. But, it was early.
The Rams D did counter by sacking Griese on an apparent scoring drive to end the Half.
In the Third Quarter, the Rams threw an Interception at the Miami 12 on what seemed to be a scoring drive. That mistake could have been the turning point in the game.
The Miami D held strong when the Rams had that last opportunity by starting at the Miami 43, with 1:41 left to play and all 3 timeouts. So close.
A key stat in this game was the Time of Possession for the Fourth Quarter. Miami held the ball for 10:39 in the Quarter, while the Rams had the ball for just 4:21. Until then, Time of Possession was pretty even – as both Offenses were very methodical in their approach.
Despite the rain, there were very few turnovers. Hadl threw for 2 Interceptions – with 1 being at the very end of the game with that Hail Mary attempt – and that’s it. No Fumbles.
Griese threw for 133 yards & 1 TD and Hadl threw for 181 yards & 1 TD.
Larry Csonka ran for 80 yards on 19 carries & 1 TD, while Lawrence McCutcheon ran for just 28 yards on 9 carries. The Miami D appeared to shut down the Rams running game. However, the Rams went away from their standard game plan – by passing more often – but it was working.
Paul Warfield caught 6 passes for 53 yards and 1 TD – while Harold Jackson caught 3 passes for 66 yards.

CFL Super Bowl Preview by Bob Kalec (70-DET)

(AP) NEW ORLEANS – This year’s CFL Super Bowl V is perhaps as it should be, a battle between two teams that each placed first in their respective conferences over the grueling course of the regular season – the ’73 Miami Dolphins and the ’73 Los Angeles Rams.
The Dolphins dominated the AFC with an 11-1 record. Defense is the hallmark of this team. Miami was ranked first in the CFL in team defense giving up a league low 122 points during the regular season. Just how good this defense is, however, can not be appreciated just by looking at normal statistics.

Miami’s defensive prowess is best understood when viewed through the lens of an extreme hypothetical handicap. During the regular season, if the Dolphins were limited in each game to just the points they scored in the first quarter, the Miami defense so overpowered the opposition that their opponent’s total score for the game still would have resulted in the Dolphins’ compiling a 7-4-1 record – good enough to clinch first place in the AFC.
The Dolphins have a fine offensive unit as well, led by the running back combination of Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris who placed second and fourth respectively in total rushing yardage this season. Miami’s kicker, Garo Yepremian, led the CFL in points scored (124) and field goals (33).
Miami’s only blemish on an undefeated season came in week eleven with a 23-9 loss at the hands of the ’70 Detroit Lions. And herein lay the hopes of all Rams supporters.
The Rams met Detroit three times, twice in the regular season and again in the NFC Championship Game, and walked away with two victories.

The Rams offense is both balanced and loaded with talent. At quarterback is the experienced veteran John Hadl who led the CFL in passer rating (94.8). His favorite target is Harold Jackson who caught 9 touchdown passes and averaged 21 yards per reception. The Rams running game is well tailored for the talents of Lawrence McCutcheon who averaged 4.9 per carry and placed third in the league for total rushing yardage. McCutcheon doubles as a viable pass threat coming out of the backfield.

On the defensive side of the ball, Los Angeles boasts the best rushing defense in the CFL. As exhibited in the NFC Championship game, the Rams “bend but don’t break” defense is also both opportunistic and ever ready to come up with a key turnover.

Coaching seems a toss up as both the Dolphins Marc Weiss and the Rams George Bseiraini are experienced coaches who have demonstrated repeatedly throughout the season an ability to stymie their opponents on both sides of the ball.
In the end, the best of the CFL go head to head in what should be one of the most physically contested games of the year. -contributed by Bob Kalec (70-DET)-

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: '73-Rams 16, '70-Lions 9

Welcome to the NFC Championship Game…..the 1st place Rams play host to the Detroit Lions, who are coming off their fresh playoff upset against the 2nd place Vikings. There is no wind – and the weather is perfect here in LA.

First Quarter: The Rams win the toss – but Dave Chapple was forced to punt with a quick 3 & out. Detroit began the game with a bang by getting 2 quick First Downs on 2 big carries of 7 yards and 14 yards from Mel Farr. However, in the next set, Steve Preece broke through the line for a sack & and a forced Fumble right at midfield. The Rams wasted no time here, as Hadl threw a 30-yard strike to Harold Jackson – and on the very next play, Lawrence McCutcheon scored on a 20-yard burst. The Rams scored on 2 plays in 54 seconds. The Rams led 7-0 with 9:04 left in the First Quarter.
The Lions got the ball back deep in their territory, as they started at their own 8 yard line. However, the Lions came ready to play. Landry scrambled from the pocket and scampered 17 yards. Then, Landry threw a 39-yard Bomb to Larry Walton – and the Lions were quickly on the Rams 31. The Rams D tightened up and held; however, Errol Mann missed the 30-yard FG attempt. The Lions hustled 69 yards down the field and came up empty. That would seem to be the theme for tonight’s game.
The Rams then marched 73 yards themselves with the help of a 19-yard outside run from Tony Baker and a 27-yard pass to Bob Klein – down to the Lions 7 in order to set up for an easy 14-yard FG for David Ray. The Rams now led 10-0, as the First Quarter came to a close.

Second Quarter: The Lions methodically moved down the field using some conservative plays, and held the ball for 5 minutes to set up for a 40-yard FG from Mann. The Lions were now on the board – but trailed 10-3. The Rams came back with some more tricks in the bag. It began with a 44-yard run from Bertelsen – and pretty much ended with an 11-yard pass to McCutcheon. The Lions D held the Rams to another David Ray FG (23 yards). The Rams now led 13-3.
The Lions had a quick 3 & out – but on this Ram possession, Jerry Rush (no pun intended) sacked Hadl on the 38 and forced a Fumble deep in Rams territory with 2:36 left in the half. Landry threw a 17-yard rope to McCullouch – and the Lions had a 1st & Goal on the Rams 5. But, “fate” reared its ugly head and the Rams D stepped up again to hold the Lions and actually knocked them back 4 yards to force a 16-yard FG from Mann – with 27 seconds on the clock. The Rams were content and headed into the locker room with a narrow 13-6 lead.

Third Quarter: The Lions got the ball back, but they seemed haunted by the Rams D – and those missed opportunities to reach the end zone. Determined to do something, Landry hit Charlie Sanders for 24 yards – and that was followed by a 23-yard run from Steve Owens. Landry then hit McCullouch twice in a row – one for 18 yards to give the Lions a First Down on the Rams 13 and one for 7 yards to give the Lions a Second Down & 3 on the Rams 6. However, the Rams D held once again – and the Lions settled for another Mann FG (17 yards). The Rams led 13-9.
The Rams O did not rest. Larry Smith ran for 16 yards and Hadl hit McCutcheon for 27 more yards – to have the Rams sitting on the Lions 18. The Lions D now stepped up and held, including getting Hadl for another sack. But, the Rams still came away with a FG from Ray (23 yards) – to extend the Rams lead 16-9 with 6:42 left in the
Third Quarter. The Rams D held the Lions to 2 sets and 40 yards – and Herman Weaver came out to punt for the first time today with 2:57 left in the Third Quarter. With a couple of short runs from Baker, the Rams ran out the clock.

Fourth Quarter: The Rams only held the ball for another minute before Chapple came out to punt for the Rams – only his second of the game. Remember, his first was on the very opening drive of the game. The Lions could fair no better in this series and were also forced to punt again. There was some drama here as Dave Elmendorf Fumbled the punt on the Rams 37 – but recovered his own Fumble. The Rams were obviously a bit shaken on that one – and had another quick 3 & out – with only 9:19 left to play in the game – only this time Chapple pinned the Lions deep on their own 6.
The field position did not seem to matter, as the Lions came out roaring – they needed to march 94 yards for a tying score. This was their season on the line. Landry hit Sanders for 20 yards on the very first play. The Lions meant business. The Rams were playing a conservative D, as they only wanted to force a punt. Landry then threw a flare pass to Altie Taylor for another 13 yards. It was now First Down on the Lions 47 – with 7:20 left to play. Then, Altie Taylor ran down the line for another 12 yards to the Rams 41. The Lions were just eating up the yardage – but the Rams continue to play conservative D. Altie Taylor scrambled for another 10 yards – down to the Rams 28 – with only 5:37 left to play. Landry then hit Sanders for 8 yards, which was followed by another 8 yard strike to McCullouch. The Lions were now faced with a First & Goal at the Rams 7 – with just 2:31 left to play. That is when Landry tried to force a pass to Altie Taylor – and Isiah Robertson intercepted the pass on the Rams 3 – with only 2:24 left to play !!!
The Rams fed McCutcheon for 6 yards to get it to the 2-Minute Warning. But, the Rams then mixed it up with a nice 18-yard strike to Harold Jackson to give the Rams some breathing room – and to force the Lions to call their 1st timeout with 1:49 left. The Rams kept feeding McCutcheon to run the clock out – and to preserve the 16-9 win.

The Rams did surrender 370 yards, but the D did not break when it mattered the most – and they held the Lions to just 9 points. The Lions kept knockin’, but the Rams would not let them in. The Rams have won the privilege to face the mighty Dolphins for the Super Bowl.
-contributed by Georges Bseraini-

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: '73-MIA 27, '74-PIT 13

ORANGE BOWL (UPI) - The top two defenses faced off against each other in the AFC Title Game. The Steelers were fresh off of their dominating win over the '71 Chiefs and the Dolphins coming off a bye week due to their 11-1 first place finish. Both defenses decided to prove their mettle early. The first quarter saw the Steel Curtain cause 2 fumbles and setup the offense with good field position. Roy Gerela kicked a 28 yarder to break the ice. Garo Yepremian answered back 3 minutes later with a 27 yarder of his own to tie it. Gerela one upped him 2 1/2 minutes into the 2nd quarter to give the Steelers their final lead of the day. The Miami no name defense held strong and Bob Griese hit TE Marv Fleming with a 2 yard toss into the end zone to put the Dolphins up 10-6 by half time. The second half saw the both defenses clamp down on their opponents running game. Mercury Morris couldn't get on track running the ball, so Griese decided to include him in the passing game. Morris caught a ball in the flat and avoided 3 Steeler defenders as he galloped 44 yards for the score. This gave Miami a 17-6 lead. Yepremian added a 25 yard field goal to increase Miami's lead to 20-6 before the third quarter ended. Jefferson Street Joe Gilliam hit Lewis for an 18 yard strike to cut Miami's lead to a TD. With 8+ minutes to go the Dolphins couldn't be conservative and they weren't. A 7 play 55 yard drive culminated with a 8 yard Larry Csonka TD run to put the Steelers away for good. With the score 27-13 the Steelers had less than 2 minutes to create a miracle. Unfortunately for the Steel town crowd their were no miracles. Miami's defense bent and let the Steelers move toward their goal line, but stiffened up to close out the game. Bob Griese passed his team to victory with a near perfect performance. Griese was 12-16-263-2TD, with a QB rating of 156. Miami heads to New Orleans for the Super Bowl and will await the winner of Lions @ Rams NFC Championship Game.

NFC Wild Card: '70-DET 23, '73-MIN 12

BLOOMINGTON (AP) - The Vikes jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead, and all seemed right in Norse country until the Lions decided to punch back. Their wakeup call occurred just at the end of the first quarter when QB Greg Landry was sacked in the end zone for a safety. Bad team take that type of punch in the nose and fold up like a cheap suit. Good times punch back. In Detroit's case they started by jabbing. Those jabs were two Errol Mann field goals, which left the half time score at 9-6...game on ! The second half was all Detroit. The Lions hallmark has been a treacherous defense that has carried them through the dark ages that has seen more than a decade without post season activity. The Lions tied the game with a Mann FG with less than 2 minutes gone in the 3rd quarter. Lem Barney then returned a Mike Eischied punt 71 yards to paydirt to give the Lions their first lead of the day (16-9). The Vikings, who were turnover prone the whole afternoon, pulled to within 4 after Fred Cox kicked a 22 yarder. With 9:14 left in the 4th Greg Landry threw a pick to Jeff Wright and the Vikes took over at Detroit's 42 yard line. Coach Kalec's nerves began to shatter, but in the blink of an eye Tarkenton returned the favor and was picked off by Larry hand who returned the ball to the Viking 38. Just like that it can all turn around. Coach Kalec dodged a bullet and now it was Coach Sik's time to sweat it out. The Lions moved the ball all the way down to the Viking goal line only to see Landry get picked off in the end zone. Sloppy play in the post season at it's finest. Not to be undone Tarkenton fumbled the ball back to the Lions 7 plays later to end all hope for the Vikes. Landry hit Larry Walton for a 29 yard TD strike to salt it away. The star of the day had to be Lem Barney who had 9 tackles and 4 pass defensed to go along with his punt return TD. The game time temperature was 16° with a 19 mph cross wind. This was the CFL's version of the Ice Bowl

AFC Wild Card: '74-PIT 31, '71-KC 3

THREE RIVERS (AP) - The Steel Curtain 'D' slammed the door on the '71 Chiefs season with a devastating / dominating performance. KC was held to 57 yards passing and 104 yards rushing. The Steeler offense was paced by a 3 pronged rushing attack that featured Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier and Preston Pearson. Jefferson Street Joe Gilliam threw only 16 times in a game where his defense set out to win it. Mel Blount proved himself to be the best physical shutdown CB in the league as he had 5 passes defensed. Safety Mike Wagner intercepted one of Len Dawson's errant passes. KC star wide out Otis Taylor caught only 1 pass on the day as Blount blanketed him. The Steelers will head to Miami to face the 11-1 Dolphins in the AFC Championship game.

Week 10: MVP's

OFFENSE	DEFENSE	Special Teams
Greg Landry	Jake Scott	Garo Yepremian
1970-DET	1973-MIA	1973-MIA
20-24-299-3TD	5 tack/int/sack/td	15 pts / 4 fg

Week 9: MVP's

OFFENSE	DEFENSE	Special Teams
John Brodie	Lem Barney	Jim Bakken
1970-SF	1970-DET	1970-STL
18-31-299-4td	9 tackles/INT	15 pts / 4 fg

Week 9: Hart Leads Cards in Rout of Vikings

ST.LOUIS--Sometimes, it's just not meant to be. Little did Coach Marvin Sik know that Chuck Foreman would have to be held out due to a nagging hamstring injury, and that star QB would play one of the worst games of his life. Little did he know that the yet-to-be-feared Cards' pass rush would heat up like a yet-to-be-invented microwave oven. The Cards established the ground game early, setting up hot QB Jim Hart to take over later, while settling into a pattern of kicking field goals from the red zone.

The opening drive saw Roland (10-41) and Edwards (9-39) rack up yardage on the ground, but the drive stalled at the Vikes' 17 and Bakken nailed the field goal. After trading a few punts, including a possession where Macarthur Lane (18-70) was injured for the half the first time he touched the ball, the Cards assembled a 15-play, 53-yard drive that reached the Vikings' 7 before a holding penalty and tough defense forced another Bakken field goal to make it 6-0 midway through the second quarter. After 21 minutes of play, the Vikings had 22 yards of offense and one first down, to 124 yards and 10 first downs for St. Louis. Patterns like this usually have a way of reversing themselves during the game. Not today. The Vikes picked up 7 yards with another three-and-out. St. Louis started from the Minnesota 33 after a good punt return, and Hart hit two short passes for seven yards before Gilliam picked up 16 on an end around. Two plays netted eight yards to the two, and on third and goal, Hart connected with Jackie Smith on a quick out, but he could not cross th goal line. Fourth and goal from the one. Third time in the red zone. Time to gamble? The Cards opt to take the field goal and make it a 9-0 game.

Minnesota finally got unplugged as Tarkenton led a stunning 9-play, 80-yard TD drive in three minutes to hit paydirt with just 1:10 left in the half. Well, Tarkenton started it, but when he was banged up on a QB run at the Cards' 19, Bob Berry finished it. Tarkenton would return in the third quarter. Characteristically of today's luck for Minnetonka, the PAT was deflected and it remained a 9-6 game. St. Louis' attempt to score late in the half was partially thwarted by a key Carl Eller sack that cost yardage and time, and Bakken missed a 44-yarder. St. Louis picked up where it left off as the second half commenced, and had an extra weapon in its arsenal with the return of Lane. Things started with the perfect play call from the St. Louis 20: a play-action post to John Gilliam (5-151, 1 TD receiving, 1-16 rushing) against the safety blitz. Gilliam hauled in Hart's aerial at the 38 and dashed 52 more yards, a 70-yard play that set St. Louis up at the Minnesota 10. True to form, though, Hart cannot generate any offense in the red zone, and Bakken boots a 14-yard field goal to make it a 12-6 game with 12:58 left in the third quarter. The Cardinals had to wonder if failing to score TDs would cost them in the end. Thanks to the St. Louis defense, those failures would not prove harmful. Minnesota was stymied, and the teams traded punts until late in the third quarter.

Minnesota had held St. Louis around midfield, and took over on its 17, the sixth time in nine possessions it would start at or inside its 20. On the first play, Tarkenton fumbled the snap and Rolf Krueger pounced on it for St. Louis at the Vikes' 17. Charley Winner eschewed the conservative play-calling, figuring it was time to go for it all with one shot. He called for a post to Smith in the end zone, and against the Vikes' run defense, Hart just overthrew it. Winner called for a corner route to Gilliam, the Vikes put eight in the box, and this time Hart executed it perfectly, with Gilliam doing the two-step toe dance in the corner of the end zone for the Cards' first TD of the day and a 19-6 lead. Having sacked Tarkenton twice in Minnesota's last possession, with the second sack just missing a safety at the Minnesota one, St. Louis decided to keep the pressure on. Minnesota started at its 17 but ended at its 1 after consecutive sacks by Snowden and Wilson for a total of 21 yards. Brown's five-yard jaunt on first down proved to be the difference between a punt and a safety.

After this possession ended with 14:08 left in the game, Minnesota had a total of 99 yards of offense. St. Louis took over at the Vikes' 42 and looked to build some cushion to its two-TD lead. Hart hit Gilliam for 15, then Lane picked up four yards on two carries. WIth 11:49 left and third and six at the Vikings' 23, this play would be crucial to St. Louis hopes to effectively put it away. Minnesota called the perfect defense, with eight in the box and a key on Lane. Unfortunately for Minnesota, St. Louis executed the off-tackle play perfectly, and Lane did not come down until he had picked up 11 yards. Hart hit Smith on a quick toss on the next play, and Smith did the rest, twisting and turning into the end zone to make it a 26-6 game with 11:33 to go. Appropriately, the next possession saw Tarkenton's last pass of the day picked off, and St. Louis ran it in on an eight-play, 57-yard drive that consumed five minutes and featured only one pass, on a short pass to convert a third down.

Both teams just ran the ball from there to put an end to Minnesota's misery. When asked about his double duty as a star wideout for both teams, John Gilliam quipped, "Yeah, it was definitely tiring, effectively never coming off the field. But with inflation and gas prices today, I can use the double paycheck." "We'll never have another game like that this season, that's for sure," remarked Hart, who finished 19-32-0-254 with 2 TDs. "We could do no wrong, and it didn't seem to matter what the Vikes did, we just somehow had an answer for it. We will have to be wary of a reversal of today's fortunes in the rematch. Foreman will be back, and odds are that luck will be on their side next time."

-contributed by Chris Howell-

Week 9: Phish remain undefeated after beating Pit 20-6

The vaunted Steel Curtain defense headed to South Florida to see just how they stacked up against the No-Names. Both defenses performed well. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh their offense is offensive. Terry Bradshaw, who gets booed at home, got laughed out of the building. He had 3 turnovers and only threw for a net of 26 yards. Heck he had more yardage on the ground when he was scrambling or calling a QB draw.

Miami turned it over first at midfield as slasher Mercury Morris put the ball on the carpet. Three plays later Bradshaw miscued with an errant lateral that was headed in Franco Harris' general vacinity only to be scooped up by Vern Den Herder of the Dolphins. Neither offense could capitalize on the good fortune presented to them by their respected defenses. On the Steelers next posssesion Bradshaw called a play action only to get dumped by Bill Stanfill, who stripped the ball, which wound up underneath Doug Swift. Deep in Pittsburg territory Bob Griese called a play action of his own, but completed to halfback Jim Kiick to break the deadlock.

Since it's the holiday season the Steelers were in a giving mood. On their next possesion they gave the ball away again as safety Dick Anderson came in on a blitz and forced Bradshaw to again fumble. Luckilly for the Yellow and Black their defense is not that generous and all they yielded was a Garo Yepremian field goal to make it 10-0 Miami.

The Dolphins would score again when Griese hit Mandich for 8 yards to move the score to 17-0.

The second half would be a battle of field position and miscues. The Steelers got some key runs by Franco Harris, who was without running mate Rocky Bleier. Harris even caught a screen pass and ran for over 50 yards only to see the play called back for holding. Steeler Coach Geller compared watching his offense implode to Chinese Water Torture. On a positive note the Steel Curtain D held star RB's Csonka and Morris under 100 yards each, something most teams have not been able to do this season.

Week 8: MVP's

OFFENSE	DEFENSE	Special Teams
Jim Hart	Dave Elmendorf	Bruce Gossett
1970-STL	1973-RAM	1970-SF
32-55-412-3td-int	10 tackles/2 ff/sk	15 pts / 4 fg

Week 7: '71-Dallas parts ways with Coach Fortel

The coach of the 71 DALLAS Cowboys franchise Howie "Don't Tell" Fortel has resigned and left his team. Coming from high ranking people within Tex Schram's ontarage EX Coach Fortel took the job in protest to his BLUE BLOODED admiration for his beloved NY Geee Men. His heart wasn't into dealing with the aggravations of this new game we all play and get annoyed with sometimes.

As a Giant fan myself it was was hard enough that the team went the whole decade of the 70's "except 79" when Joe Denelo "sp" kicked that field goal at home against the Cowboys to finally get in the playoffs. Lets hope he will come back and rejoin the founding fathers of what will hopefully grow over many seasons into rivalries across the board that will only get you salivating over game plans. The only question this season is can anyone defeat Marc "The Commish" Weiss and his undefeated 73 Miami Dolphins? We shall see. Enjoy and take care.
- contributed by Zeebuzzer "Da Raida's"-

WEEK 7 MVP'S:

OFFENSE	DEFENSE	Special Teams
Ken Stabler	Bobby Bryant	Garo Yepremian
1974-OAK	1973-MIN	1973-MIA
25-33-350-3td	9 tackles / INT	15 pts / 4 fg

Week 6: MVP's

OFFENSE	DEFENSE	Special Teams
MacArthur Lane	Dick Anderson	Garo Yepremian
1970-STL	1973-MIA	1973-MIA
20-185-2td / 4-40	10 tac/int/TD/sack	GW-FG at :01

Week 6: Mia stays unbeaten with FG at :01

Once again Len Dawson let the KC team down with interceptions inside the opponent's 25 yard line. This time 2 drives inside Miami's 25 yard line ended up with Dawson throwing interceptions. The last interception happened with less than 3 minutes to play. Both turnovers ended with Miami scoring. The KC coach has learned that you should not pass inside the red zone with Dawson. But since KC was an underdog the coach went for the big play which was a mistake. -contributed by Paul Blocher-

The Phish had to struggle mightily to pull this one out late as Garo Yepremian kicked a field goal with :01 left on the clock. Kansas City was able to move the ball well between the 20's against the highly touted Dolphin D, but fell into problems in the Red zone. Miami's powerful running game racked up over 200 yards on the ground, but due to penalties and excellent play calling by KC's D they found themselves in the unusual spot of 3rd and long. As a result Bob Griese was forced to throw the ball more often than he has in the past, which lead to 2 INT's and a poor statline of 10-26-89yds. Jim Kiick scored his team leading 4th TD as the defense was forced to key on FB Larry Csonka. Chiefs WR Elmo Wright was the recipient of 5 Len Dawson passes as star wideout Otis Taylor received double coverage most of the day. Kansas City was held under 100 yards rushing (22-91) by the No Name defense. Miami Safety Dick Anderson had an MVP day with 10 tackles, 1 sack and 1 huge INT of Dawson in the red zone.