The Long Return of the Green Bay Packers-1971 Highlights

[Music] 1971 was a season of contradictions for the green bay packers it was their worst year since 1958 and yet under new head coach dan divine the languishing pact showed signs of life signs of strength in 1968 69 and 70 the packers gave as good as they got winning as often as they lost and they were neither good nor bad but in 1971 the packers were often very good and occasionally they were horrid [Music] it was a season of sorting out strength and weaknesses for dan divine the most successful college football coach in the country had had to take potluck when he came to green bay but now having sampled all the ingredients he spiced the recipe himself and if the dish turns out fit for a king this dismal season of 1971 will be remembered as the beginning of a long return of the green bay packers opening day in green bay the new york giants provided a look in miniature of the season that lay ahead the pack played wide-open exciting often brilliant football [Music] scott hunter threw his first touchdown passes as a pro [Music] and number 48 ken ellis and dave hampton both broke wide open for long gainers [Music] the big city goliaths should have been cold by the second quarter but the packers kept breathing life back into the beaten giants and the game was close [Music] having scored five touchdowns a field goal and a safety the packers lost to the new york giants 42-40 and the lesson was clear the packer machine had fallen into some disrepair and before a strong hand could crank it over the packers themselves were going to have to give it a push before they could ride in short they were going to have to walk before they would again run the daylight but meanwhile the following sunday the packers had sport of an old teammate don horn dan divine's first trade in the nfl sent quarterback don horne to the denver broncos for alden rochet and the number one draft pick that eventually yielded john brockington it wasn't necessary to rub it in but everybody had some fun with old number 13. number 89 dave robinson doug hart and al matthews each intercepted horn once [Music] and ken ellis hooked three of his passes [Music] [Music] number 42 john brockington stepped to the head of his class among runners in the nfl and all in all it was a fine day in [Music] milwaukee in the third week green bay beat the cincinnati bengals and it looked like the packers were off and running without having to learn how to walk but three subsequent games against the lions the vikings and the rams sent the pack back to practicing their banana steps throughout the whole season one distressing fact repeated itself over and over to dan divine the packers were not well schooled in the fundamentals they needed more work tackling to get their timing down and when summer camp opens prior to the 1972 season that will be the first order for the day another area of concern is the packers susceptibility to the six point pass it may have been that the soft spots in the secondary were largely the result of an inconsistent outside rush but to be sure and to give the packers a matched set of superb cornerbacks divine spent his first draft pick for willie buchanan one of only four athletes in the 1971 draft with a blue chip can't miss rating [Music] the secondary will be the poorer in 1972 for the retirement of the great willie wood number 24 of course is one of the few men who in a lifetime earn the word irreplaceable number 27 al randolph however is a first rate safety and number 29 al matthews is naturally suited for the position number 43 doug hart is an experienced safety and the three men part randolph and matthews will leave the secondary well-heeled ken ellis has all the physical abilities needed to challenge for all pro honors and he and willie buchanan will give the packers two great athletes at the [Music] corners the front four dumped the passes only 19 times in 1971 for the lack of a tough wide rush but they were stingier against the ground game than in any season since 1966 alden roche bob brown and mike mccoy are all fine defenders whose comfortable position is inside at tackle [Music] number 78 bob brown was double in triple team for most of the season but with his great quickness he learned to overcome stacked odds close-up number 87 alden rochet will never be mistaken for willie davis but he is a quick slick defender and he was voted the packers most valuable defensive player in 1971. mike mccoy number 76 was slowed by injury for much of the season still the behemoth made his presence felt as it will be for many years to come the furious number 53 fred carr is a panther in defense of his territory his instincts strength size and speed make him the first choice to solve the packers problems at defensive end carr has proven to be an exceptional linebacker but if eric patton from notre dame lives up to his advance billing the packers may find carr's immense talents more valuable as a pass rusher [Music] number 50 the combative jim carter is rapidly becoming a super sleuth in search of the ball at middle linebacker ray nichky returns in a supporting role and number 89 dave robinson is now recovered from injury and ready for action [Music] together the packers linebackers are a rich blend of youth and experience [Music] and all of that color cunning was required in the seventh game of the season an ankle deep monday night mutter with the lions in recent black and blue division disputes the pact has held its own with the vikings and has had the better of the bears but bobby bell's early score for detroit was a strong indication of the way things were with the lions [Music] then the packers loosed john brockington detroit didn't know if number 42 was a crazed camel a runaway bus or rocky marciano doing his imitation of the ali shuffle but whatever it was number 42 put the pack near paymod and dave hampton slipped in for six then detroit turned generous and the score was soon knotted at 14. the grim deadlock lasted as time after time the pack of defense blunted each lion thrust [Music] and in the end the pack had a tie that was more satisfying than a kiss on your sister more like pelting your brother with a mud ball [Music] the next week the defense held true against the chicago bears [Music] so [Music] the pack again loosed the brockington horse and the rest of the offense worked to perfection off the piston-legged burst of the big back [Music] for the third week in a row the defense played up to promise when it stuffed the cork in minnesota's offense [Music] john brockington had his most productive day against the purple gang but the pactors could not gain the toughest yards [Music] two goal line stands a goal-line fumble a blocked field goal and three goal-lined interceptions stymied green bay [Music] the last interception by number 40 charlie west set up a fred cox field goal and the vikings won by three to nothing [Music] after losing their best played game of the year to the vikings the joy of the season soured in the next two games with the falcons and the saints two teams the packers should have beaten but the packers were better than their record in 1971 they scored 78 more points than they did in 1970 they gained more first downs more first downs rushing than in any year except 1966. they gained more yards almost 700 more on the ground they reduced the number of times their quarterback was dumped from 43 to 18. they should have fared better but on the bottom line it read four eight and two [Music] it was a difficult year made tougher for the pack with a rookie and a retired coach sharing the quarterback burdens but perhaps it was the most difficult for the quiet man bart starr recuperating from a tendon transplant watching his old friend zeke bretkowski and the alabama rookie scott hunter at a time so much like himself by the 11th sunday of the season star was back in uniform leading the pack but he was not ready and no act of will could abbreviate his healing time in the 12th week the packers tied the cardinals on a last second field goal since don chandler's retirement in 1967 the green bay packers have had nine field goal kickers these have kicked only 33 goals in 74 attempts for this reason the packers went for an atomic tow in the draft making chester marco the 34th player to be selected marcol should turn this weakness into a strength for 1972. the last home game was ray nichky day [Music] the chicago bears provided the opposition continuing the longest standing rivalry in the nfl the packers and their people were psyched for the rivalry on ray's day and green bay upended chicago 31-10 [Music] [Applause] [Music] at the end of the season the packers were fast on their feet and facing the future with every reason to believe that the long return of the green bay packers was begun much of the optimism after the unsatisfactory season was due to the outstanding performance of scott hunter hunter and his receivers doug davis john spilles the number 84 carol dale can only improve after a season together number 81 rich mcgeorge broke into the open as a tough and talented tight end and his improvement should not be headed in 1972 tight end mcgeorge and tackle dick hines were staunch additions to the pack of front wall which in 1971 ranked among the best in the business the packers center ken bowman makes a clockwork couple out of the guards bill duke and gail gillingham together this is probably the best pivot area in pro football outside number 68 gillingham and number 62 luke are a working definition for pulling guards [Music] and behind the line there is the brockington horse the rookie of the year the man who made the wind whistle in the air holes of his helmet for one thousand one hundred five yards in 1971. john brockington and brockington's new associate macarthur lane add up to two 1 000 yard gainers in one backfield both lane and brockington are strong runners both are durable and neither of them fumble in four years lane has fumbled only six [Music] times let's go [Music] do [Music] and so these are the legs that have opened up the future the legs that won their way through a humble season exciting the long-awaited return to glory of the green bay packers [Music] you

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Length: 22min 21sec (1341 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 21 2020