1971 New York Giants Highlights

for the new york giants 1970 was a year of achievement and growth a season in which head coach alex webster saw the development of a football team the giants nine and five record was due in large part to a short-up defense anchored by a tough rookie from oklahoma number 58 jim files while yankee stadium echoed with the crack and pop of the defense fund city was lit up by the electric charges of newcomer ron johnson number 30. [Applause] in only his second year as a pro johnson gave the giants a breakaway threat previously absent from their attack he darted he danced and he tore through tacklers to become the first giant runner ever to exceed the magic 1000 yard mark and he was named to the all pro team with the addition of johnson and the emergence of gifted young receivers like bob tucker number 38 and don herman number 85 the giants offense became a free-wheeling carousel of excitement that turned on fans from bayonne to brooklyn in 1970 the giants became a proven football team and stoked the fires of optimism that marked the opening of the 1971 season but the first sight to greet alex webster was ron johnson in street clothes johnson had suffered a knee injury during the preseason and was an omen of things to come tough man against man battles in the nfl would claim many victims [Music] before the season was over the giant's roster was decimated by injuries and as many as eight starters were out at one time 1971 would be a year of pain and frustration a season that would severely test the long and proud tradition of the new york giants but the winning spirit that has guided the giants since their beginning would survive and the team would see the development of new players who will carry on the proud heritage of the new york giants [Music] the season began with a sunday shootout with the arch rival green bay packers and the game immediately revealed its high scoring character as green bay's ken ellis streaked 100 yards with a missed field [Music] goal [Music] trailing seven to nothing it was up to the giant passing attack to rebound from the packers opening blow [Applause] [Music] [Applause] number 24 tucker frederickson was first to put the giants on the board but number 84 reserve rich houston was the man who stole the show with regular receivers bob tucker and don herman hobbled by injuries houston took up the slack hauling in six passes for 151 yards and scoring three touchdowns 180 yarder houston's performance was typical of the spirit provided by giant reserves in 1971 often key performers were chopped down by injuries but reserves stepped in and did exceptional jobs the explosive giant offense was complemented by the roughhouse tactics of the new york defense [Applause] twice the defenders recovered fumbles for touchdowns and in the final moments of the game linebacker jim files interception shut off the packers last [Music] hope on opening day the giants staged one of their most explosive offensive shows as they edged green bay 4240. after a loss to washington the giants again revved up their big play machine against the saint louis cardinals as number 22 rocky thompson gave first notice of his game-breaking ability with a 93-yard kickoff return [Applause] [Music] the thompson wasn't the only rookie to showcase his blinding speed the cardinals mel gray number 85 hauled in two long distance scoring bombs as saint louis proved ready for the home run contest having recovered from an injury number 38 bob tucker was back in the giants lineup and showed just how valuable he is to the new york attack during the first part of the season the giant's passing game was devastating and two outstanding performers were tucker and 84 rich houston new york racked up 21 points and then staved off the last minute cardinal rally to emerge with victory number two without ron johnson the offense had been surprisingly productive but in the season's fourth game the giants ran into the thundering herd from [Music] dallas in dallas before a national television audience the giants took on the eventual world champion cowboys and through the first part of the game the big guns were rarely heard from as field goals accounted for the scoring a 36-yard bomb to rich houston highlighted a second quarter new york drive that ended in a game-tying field goal by pete gogalac the talent-laden cowboys were being severely tested by the injury-riddled giants and tom landry turned to his offense for an answer the high-scoring dallas attack began to click as bob hayes touched down made the score dallas 20 new york six but the giant defense ransacked the cowboy running game and came up with the football late in the fourth quarter number 10 fran tarkenton led a precision passing drive that resulted in a final new york touchdown the giants march came to an end when tarkenton found clifton mcneil for a final touchdown to make the score dallas 20 new york 13. a bruised and battered new york team that had limped into dallas hoping for an upset departed with a narrow loss and the confidence that they could match weapons with any opponent the giants losing streak continued as they fell to baltimore philadelphia and minnesota but the vikings game marked the long-awaited return of ron johnson number 30 against the nfl's toughest defense johnson sprinted and hammered his way for 70 yards in the first half alone and a short touchdown burst by rookie charlie evans number 31 put new york on top but the powerful vikings came roaring back despite the hard hitting of the giant defense when jim kenicki's jarring tackle resulted in an injury to gary cuazo norm snead number 16 entered and won the game for minnesota sneed's game-winning pass to all-pro bob grimm number 27 gave minnesota a slim 17-10 victory but in 1972 both snead and grimm will be playing for the new york giants during the giants four game losing streak new york fans had witnessed a comedy of errors [Music] [Applause] a team that had opened the season with optimism suddenly found itself overcome by bad bounces and strange plays and often it would have been easier to run away and hide but the spirit of the new york giants persisted and soon positive results began to appear [Music] the giants kept struggling and fighting and the rash of crazy bounces and weird plays was overshadowed by the appearance in the giant's lineup of some new faces rookie tom blanchard had become one of the best putters in the league number 45 pete athens had been signed as a free agent but showed he was an exceptional athlete who could play both offense and defense another rookie number 31 charlie evans had been primarily a blocker at usc but the 14th round draft choice showed that he possesses speed power and the ability to catch a football [Music] but the man who was providing the big excitement was number one draft choice rocky thompson the giants hoped to use rocky as a wide receiver but had to use him as a running back when injuries ravaged the backfield although rocky showed signs of greatness as a running back his sprinter's speed speed made kickoff returns his real specialty with shoulders shaking and faking legs pumping and churning rocky thompson was a blue and white blur who flashed past defenders before they could react [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] thompson was one of many new faces who became important performers for the giants in 1971 and against the san diego chargers the newcomers ran wild the aggressive play of charlie evans number 31 had become a welcome addition to the giant offense and the powerful rookie bullied and blasted for three touchdowns against san [Music] diego evan's performance was complemented by the receiving of another obscure draft choice 17th round pick coleman zeno number 88 when an injury forced rich houston out of the lineup zeno stepped in and his 9-5 speed and sure hands at excitement to the giant attack [Music] for the second straight week ron johnson's powerful slashes put points on the scoreboard [Music] against san diego all the frustration of four straight losses came to an end but the victory was costly as ron johnson was re-injured and lost for the season in atlanta the giants stretched their win streak to two games as they overpowered the falcons a bone-crushing defense faced by rookies like dave roller dave tipton and ron hornsby and old pros like roland lakes and jim kenickie crushed the falcons while time-tested performers like willie williams and number 43 spider lockhart shot down any air attempts the new york passing game led by number 38 bob tucker was red hot and rolling the effective air game set up the power smashes of number 28 bobby duhan and number 24 tucker frederickson who careened through falcon defenders for big games with 34 seconds remaining in the game fran tarkenton danced into the end zone to put the lid on victory number four by a score of 21-17 despite an increasing number of injuries it looked like the giants were back in the winning group but the celebration was short-lived [Music] these are the men of the national football league and they're in a tough business when their day is done they want a lot of attention without asking for it and a little understanding that's why the businessmen of the nfl fly united airlines in fact most of the nfl teams choose united [Music] [Applause] now if we can take good care of them you can bet we can take good care of you the passing game had led the giants back to the winner's circle and the key figure was bob tucker who led the nfc in receiving despite missing two complete games tucker came to the giants as a free agent but his sure hands and a loosey feet brought stardom and made him the first tight end ever to win the receiving crown [Music] another exceptional pass catcher is number 85 don herman a daring wide receiver who'll go anywhere to grab a football [Applause] [Music] a big surprise in 1971 was rich houston a graceful and swift wide receiver who made many big plays in 71. [Music] a consistent element in the giant offense had been the punishing blocking of the offensive line newcomer bob highland veteran center greg larson guards doug van horn and wayne walton and tackles woolly young and charlie harper consistently tore open gaping holes for runners like number 28 bobby duhan who became the leading runner in 1971. [Music] while duhan was darting and dancing through defenders number 24 tucker frederickson was knocking them down with sheer power tucker frederickson a versatile performer who combines a blacksmith's raw strength with a surgeon's sure hands in snowy pittsburgh it looked like the giants would capture victory number five as new york's passing game froze out the steelers a circus catch by rich houston and two field goals by pete gogolak gave the giants a 13-10 halftime edge but mistakes caused the giants downfall [Applause] trailing 1713 and the final moments of the game the giants gamely fought back in this game number 40 joe morrison became the giant's all-time receiving leader but even morrison's heroics weren't enough as new york's last hope fell harmlessly to the ground although they lost the giant spirit was alive and burning and wearing number 40. joe morrison typifies the proud tradition and winning spirit of the new york giants over 13 seasons morrison has played six different positions relying more on pride and guts than on natural ability whether he plays as a runner or as a receiver morrison's performance bears the same trademarks total effort dedication a refusal to give up [Music] [Applause] joe morrison is a living symbol of the giant tradition a bridge between the glory years of the 60s and the hope for the future morrison's burning spirit and professional pride serve as inspiration for younger players like rookie defensive end henry reed number 80. in 1971 the giant defense was characterized by aggressiveness and hard-hitting and youngsters like number 44 richmond flowers made important [Music] contributions the new york defense was a blocked punt by a promising linebacker like pat hughes number 56 and a recovery for a touchdown by speedy otto brown number 21. the giants defense was a mixture of old pros and eager rookies and together they produced promise for the future the secondary was paced by performers like cornerback willie williams number 41. [Music] williams combines racehorse speed with a magician's sleight of hand and led the team in interceptions [Music] at the safeties were joe green scott eaton and seven year veteran spider lockhart number 43. for spider lockhart a ball in the air is a red cape in the eyes of a bull a big game trophy to be tracked down and bagged an enemy missile to be searched out and shot down [Music] spider lockhart old enough to have acquired the lessons of battle young enough to have many good years ahead of him down in the dirt is where the action took place where the young tufts on the defensive line slugged it out rookie henry reid wise old pro jim konicki veteran roland lakes big fred dreyer rangy jim files pete athis pat hughes vernon venoy spider lockhart the defenders poised and waiting to strike at the snap of the ball [Music] the final game against philadelphia marked the season's first starting assignment for number 11 randy johnson who learned the hard way about life in the nfl but once johnson warmed up it was a different story [Music] the seldom used quarterback acquired from atlanta riddled the eagles with bullets as he staged an unbelievable show of poise and passing accuracy johnson's 47 passing attempts and 30 completions for 372 yards were the second highest totals in giant history and earned him a place in the new york record book alongside former greats why a tittle and charlie connolly although philadelphia outlasted the giants 41-28 randy johnson's outstanding performance lit up high hopes for next year in 1971 many new players enter the giant lineup and prove that they will add new excitement to an old tradition and in 1972 each man will reach deeper and try harder as the new york giants attempt to re-establish a legend that is part of pro football's rich history [Music] in 1972 hopefully a healthy giant team will charge forward tackling passing and running with all the fury of old for a team's legend grows not from one year's record but from a spirit that endures and grows from year to year the spirit of the new york giants [Music]

Channel: Grey Beard

Views: 2,558

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: NFL Films, Steve Sabol, Ed Sabol, New York Giants, New York Football Giants, Frank Gifford, Alex Webster, Fran Tarkenton, Tucker Frederickson

Id: pOWmB2DlsmY

Length: 25min 22sec (1522 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 21 2020