Well crap. I went 1-3 last week! Why? 1. The Chargers learned a lot from their first go at the Ravens. 2. The run wasn’t working, but the Seahawks didn’t let Russell Wilson go out and win the game for them. 3. Nick Foles can’t keep doing this can he? Also, “doink!”
Oh well. Gotta shake off the loser dust and more importantly find some cool throwback You Tube video so you have something to do at half time.
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
Saturday January 12, 2019
Holy crap! Look what I found! The entire second ever Monday Night Football telecast from September 28, 1970. It was week two of the merged NFL and AFL. Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell and “Dandy Don” Meredith on the call. At the six minute mark is a real Marlboro TV ad. Cigarette ads had already been outlawed earlier in 1970. The ban would take effect the following year. I’m betting Marlboro bought a lot of T.V. time while they still could.
Speaking of legends and cigarettes this is Len Dawson vs Johnny Unitas. Dawson was coming off a Super Bowl where he smoked at half time, downed a warm Fresca, and then beat the Vikings 23-7.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of today’s pampered professional athlete. Fucking Dawson pulled up his own rusty chair, popped a soda loaded with cancer-causing Saccharin using Buck Buchanan’s teeth, and blazed up a heater from a pack he had hidden in his shoulder pads.
I love the pre-game interview where Johnny Unitas goes into unimaginable detail on his bum knee and exactly how the Chiefs could fuck him up during the game. Can you imagine Tom Brady answering that question?
My Pick: Colts 38 Chiefs 35
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams
January 12, 2019
This seems like perhaps the easiest match up to find on You Tube from back in the day. In the ‘70’s both of those clubs were powerhouses. Before I do that though I want to show you a different Rams playoff game I found last weekend: The Mud Bowl!
The LA Coliseum was a swamp. You’ll never see this again. Drainage technology is just too advanced now. As an aside it’s also really cool to hear Vin Skully do football and reference a game from 1949 in the opening. Hell, why not, he was there! The Vikings would win the game 14-7 despite quarterback Fran Tarkenton sitting out with an injury. His understudy Bob Lee was actually born here in Columbus and was a proud 1968 17th round draft pick out of Pacific. (A school that no longer has a football team.) Thank God the draft doesn’t last that long any more. Cripes!
Speaking of Vin he was behind the mic two years later for one of the biggest plays in Rams history. Vince Ferragamo to Billy Waddy as 9-7 L.A. stunned the mighty Cowboys on the road. The Rams would make it all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to the Steelers.
Dig the now illegal cut block at the :54 second mark. ‘70’s guys did not give a shit about your knees. Not that it matters to Randy White, who jumped up in a vain attempt to swat that fateful pass anyway.
My Pick: Rams 28 Cowboys 24
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots
Sunday January 13, 2019
Damn, did I have a hard time finding something cool connecting these two…. until…. I found a three minute highlight film of the 1963 AFL Championship. Not that exciting actually as the heavily favored Chargers crushed the 7-6-1 Pats 51-10.
My Pick: Chargers 34 Patriots 30
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints
Sunday January 13, 2019
Not easy to connect these two either until you get to their 1992 Wild Card playoff match up. What a bummer for the Saints. They went 12-4 that season, but finished 2nd to the 14-2 49ers in the NFC West. (Yup, the Saints were in the west.)
Randall Cunningham and the Eagles scored 26 points in the fourth to beat New Orleans going away 36-20. It would be another 8 years before the Saints would finally win their first ever playoff game.
My pick: Saints 35 Eagles 23