TecmoSuperJoe Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 (edited) I was just thinking about the 1998 NFC Championship. I had rewatched the entire broadcast a few days ago. Everyone knows about the Gary Anderson missed kick. After I had finished watching the game again, I was thinking to myself that in the eyes of NFL history Gary seems to get a lot of heat for missing that kick. But if you watch the game the Vikings even after that miss allowed the Falcons to drive down the field for a touchdown, kneeled to go to overtime, and had two drives in overtime themselves where they failed to move the ball past midfield, and had to punt twice. It's just weird that Gary becomes the patsy after one missed kick for the first time in two years, when there were a ton of other snaps before the instant, and a few more after that to stop the Falcons. Perhaps people just see that NFL Films clip of Gary missing the kick, didn't watch the original broadcast, or just forgot about it. No I'm not a Gary Anderson fan, and realize he could have helped put the game out of reach for Atlanta. However, it's interesting that people just seem to think of Gary regarding that loss more than anyone else. What are some other people in the NFL history books that have unfortunately garnered more venom than necessary in regards to a game, season, or any other NFL-related event? Another one that also comes to mind for me is Tim Couch. Whether he would have worked out or not, he just wasn't put in any reasonable situation for a young quarterback. Edited July 3, 2021 by TecmoSuperJoe 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggie. Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Scott Norwood. The kick wasn't a gimme and he BARELY missed it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apparition Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 (edited) Honestly, Marlon McCree. Brady threw the ball right to him, and after that, instinct took over. It's not like he was really trying to make a splashy return, either. He only went a couple of steps laterally when Troy Brown stripped the ball from him. Plus, there was >6 minutes left in the 4th quarter when that play happened. The Patriots still would've likely had time to mount another drive to tie up the game if McCree had let it fall incomplete or just taken a knee with the ball. Edited July 3, 2021 by Starless 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkippyX Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 41 minutes ago, biggie. said: Scott Norwood. The kick wasn't a gimme and he BARELY missed it. It was 47 yards on grass in 1991. Kickers were 11 out of 27 from beyond 40 in Super Bowls before his attempt. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/14715726/most-impactful-plays-super-bowl-history-led-malcolm-butler-interception-nfl 2 minute drill from the Bills 10 Kelly went 2 for 3 for 10 yards and ran 3 times for 18 yards. Thurman Thomas ran twice for 33 Don't blame Thurman but split the blame on the other 2 guys. Its not like Kelly had 2 HoF WRs and a HoF RB... They dumped Norwood but kept Kelly. That worked out well in future Super Bowls. A 56.9 rated passer with 2 TDs and 7 picks in 4 Super Bowls but lets blame a kicker. 👀 Andy Dalton's 4 playoff games are statistically better than Kelly in the Super Bowl. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP3MVP Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Dennis green played really conservatively in that game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TecmoSuperJoe Posted July 4, 2021 Author Share Posted July 4, 2021 5 hours ago, SkippyX said: It was 47 yards on grass in 1991. Kickers were 11 out of 27 from beyond 40 in Super Bowls before his attempt. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/14715726/most-impactful-plays-super-bowl-history-led-malcolm-butler-interception-nfl 2 minute drill from the Bills 10 Kelly went 2 for 3 for 10 yards and ran 3 times for 18 yards. Thurman Thomas ran twice for 33 Don't blame Thurman but split the blame on the other 2 guys. Its not like Kelly had 2 HoF WRs and a HoF RB... They dumped Norwood but kept Kelly. That worked out well in future Super Bowls. A 56.9 rated passer with 2 TDs and 7 picks in 4 Super Bowls but lets blame a kicker. 👀 Andy Dalton's 4 playoff games are statistically better than Kelly in the Super Bowl. You make it sound as if they had to choose between keeping Jim Kelly or Scott Norwood lol. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TVScout Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Jackie Smith dropping the TD pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoSojia Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 (edited) Earnest Byner in "The Fumble" game. The Browns erased a 18 point deficit in that game largely on the back of Byner. He had 187 combined yards and two TDs leading up to that fumble. It's a shame that he gets most of the blame for that loss. Edited July 4, 2021 by BroncoSojia 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 17 hours ago, TecmoSuperJoe said: You make it sound as if they had to choose between keeping Jim Kelly or Scott Norwood lol. And if they HAD to... You'd really keep the K over the QB? In no world does that even remotely make sense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanSlim Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Brandon Bostick is thought of as the main culprit for who cost the Packers the 2014 NFC Championship game. The guys who should be getting more blame imo is Morgan Burnett for sliding after the pick with about 5 minutes left and Julius Peppers for telling him to slide. Years later and that still bothers me as much as the Bostick error. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mox Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Not NFL but the biggest scapegoat ever who didn't deserve it whatsoever is undeniably Steve Bartman. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinSting Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 On 7/3/2021 at 2:40 AM, TecmoSuperJoe said: I was just thinking about the 1998 NFC Championship. Can't think of a better example. A journeyman QB like Chris Chandler who for some random reason got Into The Zone that year and made so many great plays. The team was 14-2 with a good defense and still underdogs vs Minnesota who were 15-1 with the 'just throw it long for Moss' offense. That Falcons team had some serious mojo going on that season, the ball just kept bouncing right for them. Vikings twice had big leads in the game and still lost, you gotta love the Falcons' never-give-up mentality. Still bothers me how Atlanta's Jamal Anderson and Denver's Terrell Davis (aka the stud RB's in the Falcons-Broncos Super Bowl) both had horrific knee injuries the following year in '99 which ruined their careers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackstar12 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 (edited) This sucks posting but Hank Baskett failing to recover that onside kick. Garcon dropped an easy pass right before halftime. It would've been either a TD or at least FG. The score would've been 13-3 or 17-3 and the game would've drastically changed. Edited July 5, 2021 by Blackstar12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awsi Dooger Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 (edited) Barry Switzer. In fact, opinion of Barry Switzer is one of the great litmus tests in sports. It was amazing how well that worked in the Las Vegas sports betting community. Anyone with a negative of appraisal of him we'd laugh at and know they would bust out of town in a hurry. Tremendous coach on every level. 4-0 record in bowl games against Bowden, Osborne and Paterno. Only the second coach in NFL history to regain the championship with a team dethroned one year prior. Only Halas, Switzer and Belichick have managed that feat. Somehow the simpletons wanted that Cowboys team to keep gobbling up titles for a decade or more. Yeah, that happens all the time. Easy sledding in the NFC in those years, given only the likes of Steve Young and Brett Favre to worry about. What could possibly go wrong against those guys, when we've got declining Troy Aikman and his 6.7 YPA? Edited July 5, 2021 by Awsi Dooger 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blkwdw13 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 I’d put Cody Pakrey in this also. Sure he “missed” the kick that would have won it. But the Bears up until that point weren’t able to do anything offensively, they could have locked up the game way before that against a depleted Eagles team but couldn’t do anything. It was just another complete failure in Nagys and the Bears line of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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