1973 NFL Season Highlights & Super Bowl VIII Highlights

[Music] 26 national football league teams began the 1973 season as equals for the new campaign brought a fresh start a chance to heal last season's wounds or continuous successes changes in personnel and philosophies have been made during the offseason and each team holds tight to the belief that they now have the 40 men who can win the Super Bowl only one team will realize this goal but those teams that truly strengthen themselves for the new season thrive during NFL 73 [Music] hopes for the new year actually begin just a few weeks after the old season has ended with the NFL Draft of college players it is rare that one player a rookie at that can turn a franchise around in one year but the seniors of 72 produced several key first-year players who greatly enhance the fortunes of their teams but Grant Minnesota Vikings have won with defense over the past several years but they could not win the big one and changes had to be made in 1972 Fran Tarkenton to team with another 72 trade acquisition wide receiver John Gilliam Viking football was more exciting but Gilliam and tarkington were not enough and so in 1973 the Vikings made Chuck Foreman their number-one draft pick Minnesota now had a breakaway runner and the Vikings at last had it all [Music] foreman gave balance to the viking offense and his threat made talking to him to Gilliam even more dangerous in the playoffs talking to news play-action to Foreman and twice struck Gilliam for scores as the Vikings beat the Redskins 27 to 20 then in the conference championship Foreman rushed for over 100 yards and the run conscious Cowboys saw talking tynin Gilliam braked the game open with Chuck Foreman the only real difference in their lineup the Vikings went from nowhere in 72 to the Superbowl in 73 while Foreman was the final link in an already strong chain the Bears number one pick body chambers number 60 was the first link in rebuilding the Chicago defense [Music] Chambers was named MFC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1973 while tight and Charlie young the Eagles number one draft selection went him one better and he was named the all-pro tight end as a rookie [Music] it is rare for rookie to catapult from big man on campus to NFL all-pro status but as a number one pick it is not unheard of the draft does however include some pleasant surprises one of the Cowboys best picks was little publicized Harvey Banks Martin's a third-round selection who became a key man in the Domesday defense [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] though not a highly touted number one selection Harvey Martin made good as a rookie but not as good as Bengal booby Clark who was named AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year although he was not drafted until the 12th round [Music] but the Bengals have always had good runners what they lacked was speed at wide receivers when Cincinnati made Isaac Curtis their number one picked this season they got all the speed anyone could ask for [Music] in the Bengals last two games of the season games they had to win Curtis caught five touchdown passes against Cleveland Curtis scored three touchdowns and on the season's last Sunday two more as rookie wide receiver Isaac Curtis led Cincinnati to their division title [Music] the open raters thought all they needed was a kicker and so may Dre guide the only kicking specialist ever drafted in the first round guys booming kicks placed him second in the NFL in punting average and he proved to be an extremely valuable number-one pick the Pittsburgh Steelers have used the draft to build one of pro football's most ferocious defenses a defense that has carried them to the playoffs the past two years [Music] ten Steeler starters on defense have been gleaned from the draft and in a game where defense wins championships the Steelers have used the draft to build one of pro football's best George Allen believes in defense to but he has built his in a different way virtually refusing to draft Allen led the Redskins into the playoffs with the defense that numbers more than half of its starters who have come via the trade route though or not as grand a scale as Allen's several teams made key trades for the 73 season that turned their fortunes around [Music] the Los Angeles Rams suffered through a wolf full season in 72 but in just one year they went from their worst record since 1965 to their best ever two trades were the main reason for the RAM reversal one bringing Harold Jackson from the Eagles the other John Hado from the charges and the new combination tore the league apart [Music] the trade for Jackson and to number-one draft picks looked like the steagle of the year for the Rams but one man made the trade anything but one-sided supposedly saw armed and over the hill quarterback Roman Gabriel found new life in Philadelphia and he quickly quelled all doubt about his strong right arm in 1973 Roman Gabriel threw and completed more passes for more yards than any quarterback in the NFL and pumped new blood into the Eagles anemic offense of one year ago but Philadelphia got even more offense out of the Jackson Trey his departure made a starter out of giant six-foot 8-inch Harold Carmichael and in his first season as a starter all Carmichael did was lead the NFL in receptions using his gangly arms and legs as bludgeons Carmichael was the only receiver in the NFL to gain over a thousand yards for Harold Carmichael can fly with a football [Music] Harold Carmichael and Roman Gabriel were two new Eagle starters who vastly changed the Eagle image to that of winners in 1973 the Atlanta Falcons also made a trade for a quarterback in 1973 in Minnesota he was Bob Lee in Atlanta he was General Robert M Lee and he very nearly led the Falcons to the playoffs for the first time in their history [Music] for bobbly a trade had meant the start of a bright career for it gave him a chance to prove himself though they did not know it at the time the falcons had acquired an NFL starting quarterback the denver broncos on the other hand knew what they were getting when they traded for Ray May the ex Colt brought with him a winning attitude he introduced the custom of holding hands in the huddle to draw strength from each other and to a team that had always had an offense he preached team defense as the bylaw to becoming winners [Music] [Applause] when the Broncos beat the Chiefs last season for only the third time in 28 tries it was fitting but a team defense effort clinched the victory new Bronco Ray May told them they could the Broncos did and Denver had its first winning season ever while narrowly missing the playoffs as defending champions the Miami Dolphins were one team that did not have to make many changes they had it all in 72 and kept it for 73 a young veteran offensive line set free the jet blasts of mercury Morris who gained nearly a thousand yards rushing [Music] full-back Larry Csonka told defense's he was coming and then ran over them for over a thousand yards Miami also had the AFC's second leading passer in Bob Griese and Paul Warfield scored 11 touchdowns on just 29 reception finally there was the dolphin Dee stretching out its tentacles and swallowing up whole offenses as Miami methodically marched to the Super Bowl for a record third straight season the Dolphins represented the American Conference in the Super Bowl this time against the Minnesota Vikings relying on a swarming defense and a grindingly efficient offense the Dolphins were simply unbeatable [Music] with their victory over the Vikings the Dolphins won their second straight NFL championship but they wanted with basic straight ahead' football and for yet another year the Super Bowl game bore the stamp of no mistake conservative football and so for the 1974 season the game will see some well-conceived changes that will modify the look of NFL football for the new season the goal posts have been moved to the N line and missed field goals from outside the 20-yard line will be returned to the line of scrimmage in the all-important battle for field position a Miss will be costly the punting game has been changed to kamikaze bomb squatter's will no longer be permitted to leave the line until the ball is kicked given some room to get rolling punt returners will have more opportunities to break one of football's most exciting plays another rule change will benefit kickoff return men kickoffs in 1974 will be from the 35 yard line fewer kicks will go out of the endzone and the long awaited return of the long return will result [Music] the dominance of the defense has also brought a rule chain for in recent years ribbed popping stifling defense has become the name of the game [Music] [Applause] [Music] defense in the seven days has left a trail of frustrated offense in its wake most noticeably in the passing game faced with a frenzy of backpedaling into the deep zones and followed by the jamming of wide receivers quarterbacks were left with but one alternative short passes to tight ends or backs in fact backs for tight ends led 15 of the 26 NFL teams in receiving and Fred Willis of the Houston Oilers became the first back ever to lead his conference in reception [Music] but beginning in 1974 wide receivers will be afforded a better opportunity to get downfield they can no longer be cut down at the line and given the free a burst on the snap one of pro football's most exciting positions will be back in the game plan more often [Music] along with the new 15-minute sudden-death rule in the case of ties pro football promises are more wide-open exciting format in 1974 but no matter how they changed the superficial features of the game at the heart of pro football or individuals who give the game its greatest moments such a man is old Jay Simpson who set NFL 73 on its ear on the first Sunday of the 1973 season OJ Simpson began an odyssey unlike any other in pro football history [Music] with 250 yards rushing Simpson set a new single game rushing record but it was just the beginning Simpsons line promised OJ they'd get him 2,000 yards in 73 an unthinkable accomplishment but as the yards began to pile up the possibility loomed larger [Music] by the seventh week Simpson was at a thousand yards and he just kept right on going on the way Oh J sub past Jimmy Brown's single-season rushing record and on a snowy day in Shea Stadium just one final step remain I never thought I never thought I'd don't give him the ball all afternoon game the ball the tail the ears of the hook Oh J running [Applause] fully realized but it has been our and great privilege to see and broadcast and account for every inch of what has happened this season I think I don't think it'll hit me for quite a while yet but it's been a thrill for me let me tell you to watch old sheet Simpson run for 2,000 yards in one season 2,000 yards in one season that season was NFL 73 [Music] rice stadium an empty shell waiting to be filled with the sounds of spectacle [Music] [Applause] we eat dolphins for lunch and supper and dinner all at one time [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] there are times when an athletic event transcends the boundaries of sport and becomes embedded in a nation's consciousness in eight seasons the Super Bowl has become such an event the Minnesota Vikings had come this way before only to suffer a shocking loss to the underdog Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl four now four years later they stood on the threshold again but this time they were the underdogs in those same four years the Miami Dolphins had risen from the dregs of the sport to a world championship today they would defend that championship amid the celebration of Super Bowl eight [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] in the emotional fever of Super Sunday attention naturally focused on the superstars but trailing just behind was a supporting cast almost out of place amid all the pregame hoopla for an offensive lineman lack of public recognition is an accepted fact these are obscure men with unfamiliar faces which disappear behind helmet cages at game time and spend the duration lost in a confusing world along the line of scrimmage few fans know exactly what offensive linemen do fewer still can judge their performance on no names and faces dwelling in the twilight zone of the sport nonetheless holding the key to success or failure for any team Miami have gathered its offensive line from the league's bargain-basement all five had arrived as discards then blended into a superb unit original dolphin norm Evans came in the expansion draft from Euston Bob Cochin Berg arrived as a free agent minor leaguer Jim Lange ik a mon waivers from Cleveland weighing more on waivers from San Francisco and Larry little originally signed as a free agent with San Diego today the silent preparation of these anonymous men carried special significance their performance would determine the outcome of Super Bowl eight [Music] [Applause] [Music] in Super Bowl eight the Miami Dolphins would try to duplicate green baize back-to-back World Championships but dolphin coach Don Shula was more concerned with the task at hand in his own words Shula describes his plan of attack going into Super Bowl eight against the Minnesota Vikings we felt one of the critical areas of the ballgame would be the ability of our offensive line to handle Minnesota's great defensive line and they'd predicate everything on coming off the ball as fast as they possibly can of course they have tremendous athletes Paige is probably the best defensive tackle in football we felt that going into the ball game that we're going to be able to take advantage of this tremendous quickness of an Allan page by cross blocking on our cross block our left tackle Wayne Moore comes down hard on Allan page if he's sliding to the inside he takes himself out of play if he's slanting to the outside he's coming right into the area that Wayne Moore is blocking down and this nullifies is outside slant [Music] kuching Berg on this plate let's weigh more go first and then he pulls to the outside and he blocks out on their defensive end a play was very effective and it was only because the cross block was the type of blocking that should be used against these hard-charging defensive linemen there were two plays that we had set up in the ball game to take advantage of the experience of a Karl eller and a Jim Marshall eller and Marshall have been playing so long that every time if they read the blocking pattern of the offensive line they react instinctively to this blocking pattern the play starts out as a trap on the defensive end and when the defensive end reads and reacts tough to the inside then the ball carrier instead of cutting inside continues to the outside and we made everything look like it was the inside trap play when eller closed to the inside then we still were able to get the ball outside to mercury Morris and it was a very effective play another way that we were able to make the defensive lines hesitate was misdirection the offensive linemen pull in one direction the back start out like they're going with the the offensive linemen and then Larry Csonka comes back with the football against the flow and this is a effective play because it starts out like it's going in one direction and then it ends up going in the opposite direction hence the term misdirection [Music] the Dolphins had drawn first blood with a drive that approached perfection and set the tenor of what was to follow the offensive line had been brilliant as the outmaneuvered outflanked out thought and outright handle the feared purple people mixing cross blocks to take advantage of Paige's quickness negative influence traps to get outside Heller and Marshall and misdirection Miami swept 62 yards in 10 plays for a seven nothing lead in the crucial opening confrontation Miami's offensive line had met the foe and established a decided advantage now it was Minnesota's turn the Vikings offensive line knew they had to retaliate quickly and they fired out with purpose but for every Miami man handled two more popped up in his place Miami defense soars to greatness on pursuit each man with a designated path to the ball carrier spinning a systematic web of control coordinated by discipline and determination the many-headed monster of Miami Pursuit was especially frustrating to Rookie of the Year Chuck Foreman number 44 the Vikings would go the first 24 minutes of the game with only one first down [Music] Miami buried Minnesota with pursuit and then turned the ball over to Bob Griese much pregame speculation surrounded Paul Warfield pulled hamstring so greasy sent number 42 in motion spreading the Minnesota secondary with a flow going outside greasy dropped straight back then looked over the middle and found tight M Jim mandate having already established the running game Jim Langer and Bob couch in bird switched to pass protection double teaming the furious rush of Alan page giving greasy time to complete four for four in the first quarter [Music] the fourth completion went to Marlin Briscoe inside the five then Jim Kipp replaced mercury Morris and performed his specialty with two plunges kicked up the ball over for Miami's second touchdown after one quarter of domination the die had been hammered deep and the dolphins were in complete control 14 to nothing [Music] now the dolphin defense turned to its 53 Bob Matheson carried in the 53 defense providing an extra linebacker for Miami's own past coverage with a two touchdown advantage the dolphins own was calculated to prevent long games and make the short ones painful number 10 Fran Tarkenton would complete more passes than any quarterback in Super Bowl history but the swarming dolphins kept control by shutting off the passes he needed most each time talking Tinley beat his game breaker was under wraps [Music] number 42 John Gilliam drew a stifling dolphin double-team and finally talking to him out of time while Miami's 53 defense handled the job of prevention Don Shula paced the sidelines devising a new plan of attack for his offensive line early in the game a cross block was effective against the hard-charging Allen Paige and Jim Marshall you could see the concern on a part of the Minnesota Vikings football team when they felt that they were being hurt yet they knew that they were taking their own responsibilities then they started to be more cautious and this restrained them from charging as hard as they had been charging across the line of scrimmage when we sense this offensively we decided to change our attack pattern to a more straight on man-on-man blocking pattern and when the Minnesota linemen now started to wait to see what we were going to do whether we're gonna cross block or whether we're going to use negative influence and try to get the ball outside then we were able to get on them in a hurry with our straight blocking move them off the line of scrimmage and again enabled czaka to find some Running Room for the change of strategy the dolphin running attack now turned a simple brute power Larry Csonka in his escort a perfect blend of back my man on man blocking and man on man ball Kerri [Music] at last Minnesota ganged up to stop danke inches short of a first down leaving Garrow you're Prem nian a chip shot from the 28th zonka and his blockers had padded the lead to 17 nothing and with time running out in the first half the Minnesota offensive line had only one way to go [Music] at last talking's in town Gilliam deep and uncovered and suddenly the Vikings were threatening with time slipping away talking to new plague his team even closer [Music] with forth down at the dolphin six toukiden came up three inches short and the Viking bent sent inward to go for it these are the moments that test the to mettle of a champion one minute four seconds remaining fourth down time to dig in time to reach down time to find out which team wants it the most out of a pile Rose the Miami Dolphins victorious a replay shows why for an instant the Vikings had split the dolphin defensive line and number 62 ed white was leading Oscar II to the endzone but number 85 Nick Buoniconti closed quickly to meet Reed at the line of scrimmage during the ball deuce in first down territory Miami's Jake Scott decided the issue with a diving recovery once again a key confrontation had fallen to Miami Minnesota sudden uprising had yielded not one point and the half ended for the Vikings discouraged and down 17 nothing [Music] the Miami Dolphins returned for the second half of the comfortable pad and overinflated confidence on the first play John Gilliam quickly brought them back to reality [Music] Gilliam flashed for 65 yards but back upfield a clipping panel they cost the Vikings 45 yards of field position the reprieve gave Manny Fernandez and the dolphin defense a chance to regroup and handle a new Minnesota tactic Fernandez stacked over Center then talking dance printed out in an attempt to clear dolphin pursuit Fernandez never gave him a chance [Music] while the Miami defense picked up where it had left off Paul Warfield loosened up on the sidelines waiting to add another dimension to the dolphin attack Worf heel had limped through the first half acting as a decoy protecting a pulled hamstring waiting for just the right moment to cut loose now on Miami's first possession of the second half Don Shula called his signal and warfield exploded up filled the tender muscle had responded and natural greatness did the rest this was a day of destiny for the Miami Dolphins a day when even their own mistakes could not defeat them as he drove his team toward another TD Bob Griese realized he had forgotten the snap count he turned to ask his backfield but they didn't know either so he turned back to take his chances somehow it all worked out just beautifully Larry Csonka blasted in in the broken play gave Miami an awesome 24 to nothing advantage to Don Shula the source of this domination was obvious when our straight blocking began to become effective then we realized that we were controlling the line of scrimmage now we were the team that was winning the battle up front but after you win the battle up front then you have to continue to work for a position follow through there are some tremendous shots of Bob Guttenberg keeping his position on Allan page as the ball moves to the outside this is what we call position follow-through and by being able to do this then kuching Berg continues to build this wall between Allan page and the ball carrier [Music] the Vikings have been pushed around and penalized all afternoon finally they're cool veneer wore thin and angry rumblings began to break through [Music] down on the sidelines the game is more intense more real now although hopelessly behind the euros Vikings would strike back and anger at the source of all their frustrations capisci get up get up we're coming again slide power 20 101 [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] fittingly Minnesota's last flurry ended in frustration as an offside penalty negated a successful onside kick at last the joy of Super Sunday had all drained away the Minnesota Vikings had been decisively defeated but it was more a result of Miami brilliance than their own failure Minnesota had simply met the irresistible force and had been crushed defensive end call Ella summed it up best when he said I have never seen a more dominating team than the Miami Dolphins all afternoon I had the feeling that the outcome had already been decreed on high before we even took the field it seemed I could hear Scottish bagpipes in the distance keeping time as they came after us wave after wave gaining ground so easily they seemed to be floating in suspended animation [Music] it was a weird sir realistic scene as if we were on the sidelines watching our own struggle yet being powerless to do anything about it after a while it was obvious they could not be stopped [Music] for call Ella and the Minnesota Vikings Super Bowl eight was a strange nightmare for the Miami Dolphins it was a dream of near perfection a performance unequaled in Super Bowl history as time ran out accolades rained down on the Miami superstars Larry Csonka had convinced the nation of his greatness with a Super Bowl record 145 yards rushing and was named player of the game but there were others who shared at least equally in his accomplishment five anonymous men had turned in a performance of artistry and rare beauty that few who watched the game were even aware of yet their coach and teammates knew in the end the game ball was in appropriate hands as the Miami Dolphins won and all earn the right to be called world champion [Music] this NFL Films production has been broken by the National Football League the NFL is online at WWF Elcom

Channel: Sports Odyssey

Views: 7,354

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Id: 6JCHekmM3zc

Length: 47min 24sec (2844 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 04 2019