All Hail...to Epic Fail

[Guest]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsUzNSm8Amw&t=482s

EPIC Fail #5 - The Dropped Pass Heard Around the NFL

The Vikings had an incredible run during the playoffs following the 1987 season.  At 8-8 they probably shouldn't have been there.  Yet, in the playoffs the defense suddenly played like the '85 Bears and the offense was well...Anthony Carter!  I don't think a receiver has ever had playoff impact the way Carter did that year.  The Vikings crushed the Saints in the first game, then went to San Francisco and made the 49ers look like the 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Then the Vikings traveled to DC and RFK Stadium to play the Redskins in the NFC Championship game.  The Redskins, in my opinion, were not as good as either the Saints or the 49ers.  Jay Schroeder was the starting QB until he was benched in the last game of the season for Doug Williams.  The DC defense had some chinks in its armor and was not its usually stellar self.  So, it was with great optimism that I watched the game...hopeful that the Vikings would return to the Super Bowl against the Broncos.  If the Vikings had made it to San Diego that year, I think they could've beaten Denver!

It was a sloppy game for both teams.  Fairly low scoring.  The Vikings held a slim lead going into the 4th quarter when Williams began to catch fire, complete some passes, and the Redskins pulled ahead in the final minutes.  The Vikings got the ball back and Wade Wilson started a very good drive that brought the Vikings into the red zone with mere seconds left on the clock.  The Vikings needed a touchdown to win.  Wilson receives the ball and sees RB Darin Nelson along the front line of the end zone breaking away from his defender.  There was another defender close by, that if he was able to break on the ball he could've disrupted the pass or made an interception.  Wilson through the ball in a place that if Nelson could stretch far enough to catch it and lean in on his right shoulder it would've been Vikings win. 

Darin Nelson was a competent pass catching running back.  The pass from Wilson was right on his finger tips....and....he drops the pass.  The Redskins go onto beat the Broncos, and Doug Williams makes history as the first African-American QB to win the Super Bowl!

What happened to the Vikings after that?  A lot!  Including a certain trade with the Dallas Cowboys two seasons later.  Ugh....a huge epic fail.

[swede700]

That was my first foray into the Vikings' NFC Championship failures.  Looking back though, I'm not sure Nelson would have gotten into the end zone even if he had caught it.  There were several players closing in on him.  Next to the '98 season, that was my most memorable season as a Minnesota sports fan...if the Vikings had made the Super Bowl, they could have joined the Twins as champions that year and we were also awarded a NBA expansion team that year (unfortunately, that didn't turn out so well).  Also, the high school I was going to the next year had just won the state championship in hockey.  That was a glorious year.  

Edited July 3, 2019 by swede700

[Krauser]

The 1987 Vikings were 8-4. They went 0-3 in strike/scab games. Final record was 8-7, one week was cancelled that year because of the strike. 

The improvement in the defense in the playoffs that year was no fluke. They continued that run of play in 1988 and were the best defense in the league.

You’re right that SF and NO were better teams than WAS that year, 1st and 2nd by DVOA.

The pass to Nelson was at the goal line. He breaks the plane if he makes the catch, so it’s a TD if he hauls it in. 

Darrell Green was there to contest the play because Anthony Carter broke off his route. He was supposed to run a corner route but stopped shallow in the end zone. Regardless, the ball hits Nelson in the hands and he drops it before the defender makes contact with him.

That score would’ve tied the game, not won it. They were trailing 17-10. 

If they’d pulled out the win in OT they would’ve had a great chance to win the Super Bowl, facing a Broncos team that was terrible in big games and who they’d already beaten earlier that year before their defense raised its game.  

1987 is probably the biggest “missing rings” year for the Vikings stretch of 5 NFCCG losses, because the AFC was so poor at that point and the Broncos were easily beatable. 1998 (Elway/Shanahan Broncos, best team in the league that year by DVOA), 2009 (Manning’s Colts) and 2017 (Pats) would’ve each been no better than coin flip odds of breaking the Super Bowl drought. From that list, I think 2009 was the next most winnable. 

[JDBrocks]

Idk. I still think the 1998 team would've beat the Broncos hands down. 

[swede700]

19 minutes ago, JDBrocks said:

Idk. I still think the 1998 team would've beat the Broncos hands down. 

I don't think they would have...the defense was so beat up after that Falcons game, I'm not sure some of the players would have even been able to play in the game.  

Thanks @Krauser, I was just going off of memory, I still think it would have been close.  

[Krauser]

2 hours ago, JDBrocks said:

Idk. I still think the 1998 team would've beat the Broncos hands down. 

They would've had a good shot, but the Broncos were really good, no pushover.

Denver was a 14-2 team in their own right. They stomped the 14-2 Falcons (leading the Super Bowl 31-6 early in the 4th quarter), a team the Vikings could've/should've beaten in the NFCCG but didn't exactly dominate.

I think a Vikings-Broncos 1998 Super Bowl would've been about a 50/50 coin flip. In 1987, I'd put the Vikings around 75-25 or 80-20 favorites.  2009, maybe 55-45 or 60-40 favorites, and 2017 more like 30-70 underdogs. 2001 they had almost zero chance, were never going to beat that Ravens defense. 

[Guest]

I want to warn everyone that I don't have anymore NFCCG failures on my list.  Like Krauser, I'm not sure the Vikings would've beaten the Shanahan Bronco's.  It might have been close, but I think the Denver would have been favored.  The 41 - donut vs. the Giants is just to crazy to think about. I expected the 2009 team to lose to the Saints...because I thought Favre would do something dumb...and he did.  One consistent truth about Favre is that his mistakes were more costly to his teams chances in playoff situations when he was no longer under Holmgren's influence.

Now, again this is MY top 10 list.  You can argue about my choices and think the list is incomplete and this is what I will tell you...Make Your Own List!

[Guest]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRUXB0ZZlIk&t=58s

Epic Fail #4 - "Old Man Willie"

Truth be told, in each Super Bowl the Vikings appeared in, they really didn't come close to winning.  Yet, the score against the Raiders was close enough that when the Vikings got the ball and began a drive in the 4th quarter, I remember thinking, they have an outside chance.  But then Tarkenton didn't see Willie Brown....and well, NFL Films had another classic moment.

[Krauser]

The Willie Brown pick 6 happened with the game already out of reach. The Vikings were trailing 26-7 with 6 minutes left. 

The drive before that, you might have started to get your hopes up. The Vikings had scored at the end of the 3rd quarter to make it 19-7. Early in the 4th, they drove into Raiders territory, with the key play being a 3rd and 11 conversion to Sammy White over the middle. Raiders safety Jack Tatum hit White helmet to helmet, knocking White's helmet off and evidently concussing him, but White held on to the ball. From the Raiders 44, Tarkenton completed a short pass on 1st down, and a 2nd down run play was blown up by a LB tackling Foreman in the backfield. On 3rd and 3, Tarkenton spun back out of the pocket under pressure by DE Ted Hendricks, turned and threw back across the middle of the field for an INT. The Raiders subsequent drive was highlighted by a 48 yard catch and run to a wide open Fred Biletnikoff, leading to a short TD run that put the game out of reach, at 26-7. 

The following drive, the Vikings again moved into Raiders territory on a longer completion to Ahmad Rashad before Tarkenton threw the pick 6 on a quick out that Willie Brown read all the way. 

The full game is on youtube. Here's the sequence I'm describing, starting with the 3rd and 11 completion to White where Tatum tries to knock his head off. 

The closest the Vikings came to winning one of their Super Bowls was a couple of years earlier, vs the Steelers. I guess you might still get to that in the rest of your countdown so I'll skip the details for now.

Edited July 4, 2019 by Krauser

[vike daddy]

9 hours ago, Krauser said:

The closest the Vikings came to winning one of their Super Bowls was a couple of years earlier, vs the Steelers. I guess you might still get to that in the rest of your countdown so I'll skip the details for now.

that game was so lopsided, the PITT defensive players were apologizing to Tarkenton after sacking him, and helping him back up.

Edited July 5, 2019 by vike daddy

[Krauser]

2 hours ago, vike daddy said:

that game was so lopsided, the PITT defensive players were apologizing to Tarkenton after sacking him, and helping him back up.

The Vikings offense got dominated (especially the OL) but the score wasn't lopsided. They would've had a chance to win in the 4th quarter but for an officiating mistake.

[Guest]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_aJFs7ImDI&t=104s

Right on cue!

Epic Fail #3 - Super Bowl IX : The Vikings vs. The "Steel Curtain"

Even though the score was closest in this Super Bowl of the four the Vikings lost, it felt like the most serious beat down.  In other words, the score was irrelevant.  The Vikings offense got murdered that day.  If Tulane Stadium still exists, I suppose that there are grease stains on the field where the Pittsburg flattened Tarkenton!  Never had the Vikings offense appeared to be so inept...so overmatched.  It was like Godzilla vs. a newly born Puppy! 

[Krauser]

The full game is available on youtube but it's a low quality copy. 

I watched it a couple of years ago and was struck by how the Vikings offense kept calling runs up the middle even when none of them were working. Their OL got dominated in general but especially the interior by the Steelers DTs, Greene and Holmes. There were some comments from Tarkenton IIRC before the game saying something like Pittsburgh expects us to run up the middle, and that's what we're going to do, we just have to execute. By halftime, it should've been obvious that the plan wasn't working, and they should've adjusted, but they never really did. The Steelers defense was weaker on the edges than up the middle -- Jack Lambert was hurt but Jack Ham was healthy, and one of their DEs was weak with the flu -- so a steady diet of outside runs and short passes might've been more effective.

Still, the Vikings did have a legitimate chance to win.

Score at halftime was 2-0 after Pittsburgh missed 2 FGs (one a botched snap that wasn't actually kicked), and Tarkenton fumbled a quick handoff (looked like he tried to pitch it even though the RB was right next to him, ball maybe slipped?) that he fell on in the end zone, touched down for a safety. The Vikings had a promising drive just before halftime but Tarkenton's pass over the middle to the WR at the Steelers 5 was high, and led him into the safety, who popped him and knocked the ball up for Mel Blount to intercept.

The only TD the Vikings defense allowed through most of the game came on a short field, after Bill Brown failed to pick up the inadvertently squibbed (the kicker slipped) kickoff to the 2nd half. That was one of 2 fumbles the Vikings failed to recover because they didn't just fall on the ball. Later in the second half, Alan Page stooped to try to pick up Franco Harris' fumble but didn't grab it cleanly and Harris threw himself on the ground to get the ball back. 

Tarkenton's accuracy wasn't great in the poor weather conditions and with the pass rush often in his face. He wasn't sacked but he had a number of passes tipped. Probably his best throw of the day came late in the 3rd quarter, a crossing pattern to the TE, Voigt, that set them up in Steelers territory trailing 9-0. But that was soon followed by another pass tipped at the line, intercepted by Joe Greene. 

In the 4th quarter, playing with the wind, the Vikings finally put together another potential scoring drive. A deep shot to Gilliam drew a PI flag and they had first down at the Pittsburgh 5. But the Vikings then again called a run up the middle, and Foreman fumbled (looked like he never got a clean grip on it) diving into the pile for what would've been a short gain. The  lost opportunity was mitigated by the Steelers going 3 and out, then having their punt blocked (by Matt Blair, who came through unblocked) for a TD. Fred Cox hit the upright on the XP and the Vikings trailed 9-6. 

The Steelers then put together a long scoring drive to put the game out of reach. The dagger was a 3rd and 2 completion to their TE, Larry Brown, that moved them from near midfield to the Vikings 30. The Vikings secondary gang tackled Brown and pulled the ball out as he went down, then recovered the apparent fumble. Two officials close to the play signalled Vikings ball, but they were overruled by the head linesman, back near the line of scrimmage, who called the runner down by contact.

The NFL films recap is the best look at the play on youtube, and the narrator makes a point of saying the decision to rule Brown down was correct, but if you watch the video it sure does look like the ball was already coming out as Brown hit the turf. The play's shown from a couple of different angles here: 

Here's a screenshot that seems to show the ball already moving out of Brown's hands with his backside still not quite down yet: 

It may be a function of modern eyes used to watching super slow mo HD video reviews, but I think that a modern NFL refereeing team would've given that ball to the Vikings. And at that point, they would've had the ball at their 28, with the wind, with over 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter. One decent drive would've put them in scoring range for a FG attempt to tie, or a TD to win. 

Instead, the Steelers methodically completed the drive, converting another couple of 3rd downs leading finally to a Bradshaw TD pass from short yardage to salt the game away at 16-6. Tarkenton got the ball once more but immediately threw an interception deep over the middle, the final nail in the coffin. 

The Vikings definitely weren't the better team and I wouldn't say they deserved to win. But they could well have had a chance to, if that call hadn't been overruled.

...

The biggest part of the Vikings failures in their Super Bowl losses should be placed on their offense. Their defense never really lived up to its reputation but the offense was incredibly anemic: they scored 7, 7 and 6 points in their first 3 appearances, and only scored 14 in their 4th appearance thanks to a garbage time TD. Four games, four scoring drives on offense, one of them with the Raiders game already out of reach. Sad but true: 15 different teams have scored more points (35+) in a single Super Bowl than the Vikings scored in their 4 games combined.

I only vaguely remember the tail end of the Bud Grant era, but the criticism I've read of him is that he didn't believe in adjusting his game plan or scheme for bigger games against better teams, he wanted to stick with the plan that got them there.

This seems unfortunately similar to some of Zimmer's problems for instance in the loss to the Eagles in the NFCCG, or to the Rams on TNF last year, where his defensive tendencies were exploited. It's understandable to want to pit strength against strength, but I'd hope that our coaches could at least show some flexibility in recognizing when to change gears, and maybe come up with a specific plan to beat a particular opponent. That's what the Patriots do -- a series of bespoke game plans that vary based on their own personnel (is Gronk healthy, do they have any good receivers that year) and the opposing defense (power running to beat up the Chargers 7 DB package, for one of many, many examples).

Until or unless the Vikings show some similarly creative approaches to tilting the field in their favor, I fear we're always going to be at risk of running into another game like this Super Bowl, where the team just beats their heads against a brick wall (or Steel Curtain) with futile results. 

 

Edited July 6, 2019 by Krauser

[Guest]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8QrK5lElR8

Epic Fail #2: Barry vs. The Vikings

It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 1991.  The Lions came to the Metrodome. The season would end at 8-8 for the Vikings.  Jerry Burns retired and Hershel Walker was released.  The Lions, on the other hand, were riding high.  The finished with a record of 12-4 and won the Central Division.  This game was a showcase of two teams going in opposite directions, and a showcase for Barry Sanders who rushed for over 250 yards...with style.  Barry Sanders always seemed to preform well against Minnesota, but never was he so prolific as this game.  The Lions depended on him as THE offensive weapon.  The certainly didn't need anyone else in this game.  While the Vikings lost the game...I remember thinking at the time...how much I enjoy watching Barry Sanders play football.  I don't think I've ever been a fan of an opposing player as much as I was of number 20 in the Hawaiian Blue jersey. 

You might be surprised that I rate this game as the #2 Epic Fail.  It's truly an epic fail when you start rooting for opposing players!! The other reason I do is to show that the Vikings really needed to shake things up in order to get back to the top of the division.  I think it's much harder for a team with a .500 record to improve than one with low single digit wins.  The off season saw a radical overhaul of the Vikings offensive philosophy.  Dennis Green was hired and he brought with him a new young offensive mind to coach the Tight Ends this first season.  Of course Brian Billick would become the offensive coordinator of one of the most prolific offenses in the history of the NFL by the end of the decade.  He would then go on to win a SB as coach of the Baltimore Ravens.  They also had a defensive coordinator, starting in '92, that managed to make mediocre personnel somewhat respectable.  His name is Tony Dungy, and he would go on to win a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts, and be elected to the Hall of Fame. So, this Epic Fail turned out to be a positive eventually.

[Cearbhall]

There is no doubt that Barry Sanders was a fun player to watch. It's a shame his entire career was wasted playing for the Lions.

Although, I suppose the same could be said about all the years Adrian Peterson wasted playing for the Vikings under Brad Childress and Leslie Frazier.