Round 2: '86-MIA 45, '86-SEA 28

"The Kingdome is rockin as fans are looking forward to a couple of high powered offenses. Will they disappoint or will the scoreboard operator need a timeout of his own? Seattle wins the toss and elects to receive. Things are looking up for Miami as Seattle gets called fo r holding and has to start the drive from their own 10. 4 plays later and looks like the Miami defense has come to play but alas they are called for pass interference on a 3rd and 11 play. With new life Seattle scores 6 plays later on a 22 yard strike to Byron Franklin. Miami will begin their first possession from their own 26. On the first play from scrimmage Marino hits Duper in stride for a 43 yard bomb. The next play is an outlet pass to Bennett as he picks up 18 yards. After an incomplete pass it is now 2nd and 10 and Marino hands off to Nathan who scampers 18 yards to paydirt. In 1:44 Miami has answered the call and both sides realize defense is futile! Miami actually forces a punt on Seattle's next possession and takes over on their own 36. Marino drops back on the first play and finds Clayton deep down the field as he scores on a 64 yard strike. In 1:51 of total possession time the Fins are on top 14-7, first quarter is a little more than halfway over! Seattle starts their next drive at the 35 after Reveiz boots the kickoff out of bounds. After a 3 and out Seattle is given new life on a 4th and 3 holding call on the Miami defense. The next play Krieg makes them pay when he hits Daryl Turner for 53 yards and 6 points. It is now 14-14. Miami starts at their own 7 thanks to another penalty on the kickoff return but that doesn't seem to matter until a fumbled exchange on a handoff gives the Hawks the ball deep inside Miami territory. Starting at the 13 Krieg will find Warner two plays later for an 11 yard TD toss. Seattle is now back on top 21-14 with 2:40 seconds left in the first quarter! After a rare punt by Roby, Seattle drives to the Miami 27 but Norm Johnson misses a 44 yarder. 7 plays later would see Marino hitting Davenport for one of his 5 TD tosses, a 2 yarder on third and goal. It is now 21-21 and the defensive coordinators on both sides of the field are begging their units to step up and make a play! Miami wouldn't have to wait long as Glenn Blackwood intercepts Krieg at the Miami 18, a costly turnover as Seattle seemd unstoppable. Miami would drive to the Seattle 32 but Reveiz ends up missing a 49 yarder. Both teams exchange possessions and head to the locker room all knotted up 21-21. Miami receives the ball to start the 3rd quarter and promptly marches down the field on 5 plays culminating on a 39 yarder to Clayton for another 6 points. 28-21 Dolphins back on top but for how long? Seattle drives to the Miami 38 but is caught in no-mans land and tries a 4th and 11 fake punt which goes nowhere. 6 plays later sees Clayton on the receiving end of another Marino pass. That pass is good for 38 yards and another 6 points. 35-21 Dolphins as Seattle is forced to play catch-up. The next 3 possessions end in punts which is amazing in itself and Miami tacks on a 41 yard field goal to make it 38-21. Another 3 and out and a poor punt leave Miami with great field position and a chance to put this one out of reach. They start at the Seattle 46 and it only takes one play, Marino finds Duper and 46 yards later another 6 has been added to the scoreboard. It is now 45-21 with a little over 7:30 left in the game. Can the Seahawks find a way to pull this one out? The task is daunting but anything is possible with a porous Miami defense. Seattle will score on their next possession but they chew up 5 minutes of time. With 2:47 left Krieg finds Largent from 13 yards out and the gap has decreased to 45-28. Onside kick is recovered by Miami. Both sides exchange possessions and Marino takes a knee to close out the hard fought victory. Exciting from start to finish!"


-contributed by George Staton-

Round 2: '76-Bengals outlast '67-Jets

This game shaped up as an excellent passing team with no running game against a very good running team with a mediocre passing game. Guess which team is which? Cincy received the opening kick, went nowhere and NY took advantage of a nice return to start on the Bengals' 28. Three plays later it was 7-0 Jets. I knew I was in for a long day. However a71 yard kick return resulted in a quick Cincy score and a 7-7 tie. 87 yards and 11 plays later it was 14-7 New York. I was playing for the deep ball and Scott was being patient on offense. Cincy took advanatge of an INT and move 46 yards near the end of the half to go in ties. I felt very lucky.

Well, let's keep this brief. Namath kept passing (38-58-433) and NY kept moving the ball. They had no 3 and outs the entire second half. I was lucky to hold them to one TD, one FG and two failed 4th down conversions in my territory. Those were NY's four possessions of the second half.But Cincy managed TD drives of 65 and 61 yards. It took a 4th and 1plunge from Boobie Clark to score the first TD NY held on three plays from their two. So it's 28-24, Cincy.

Did I say those were all of NY's drives in the second half? Not so fast.They had one last chance starting at their own 16 with just 95 secs to play and one time out. I figured they had to run out of time as long as they didn't make any big plays. Well Namath kept it short and moved right down the field. he completed 8 of 10 passes and moved down to the Cincy 9 yard line with 17 secs to play. Incomplete to Mathis. Incompleteto Maynard. Time for one last play. Incomplete to Boozer. Bengals advance 28-24 in a thriller. I'm too old for this.

-contributed by Wayne Poniewaz-

Round 1: MVP's

Round 1: '67 Jets defeat '67 Colts in OT thriller

NEWYORK—The 1967 New York Jets rallied from a 21-7 second quarter deficit to defeat the 1967 Baltimore Colts 44-38 in overtime at Shea Stadium. Jets QB Joe Namath completed 29 of 45 passing attempts for 329 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions to earn MVP honors.
The Jets scored first when Namath completed a four-yard scoring toss to WR George Sauer Jr capping a 10 play 71 yard drive.

Not to be denied, Colt legend Johnny Unitas finished an 11 play 80 yard drive with an 8 yard TD toss to WR Alex Hawkins. Both teams exchanged punts in the second quarter when Namath threw his first interception to CB Lenny Lyles and six plays later RB Tom Matte gave the Colts a 14-7 lead with a five yard run.

On the next series, Namath threw his second interception to LB Dennis Gaubatz who returned it 34 yards for the score and a 21-7 Baltimore lead. Obscenities could be heard from the stands as Namath slowly walked to the sidelines.
But Namath’s resolve kept the Jets in the game completing a 17 yard TD pass to RB Emerson Boozer cutting the Baltimore lead to 21-14. Colt kicker Lou Michaels added a 45 FG increasing the Colt lead to 24-14 with a minute and twenty seconds left in the first half. Once again the Jets rode Namath’s right arm on a 5 play 56 yard drive culminated with his third TD toss to Sauer bringing the Jets within three at the half at 24-21.

As the Colts started the second half, Unitas attempted to complete a pass in tight coverage to Matte and instead threw an interception to LB Al Atkinson who returned it to the Colt 35 yard line.

Now the fickle Jets fans sensing a Gang Green comeback cheered Namath as he walked onto the field and Joe Willie did not disappoint driving the Jets to the Baltimore six where kicker Jim Turner tied the game with a 23 yard FG at 24-24.
Both teams continued to drive the field with neither defense being much of a factor in a game that had 762 yards in total offense and was headed to overtime after Matte’s one yard out for his second TD of the game locking the score at 38-38.

The Jets won the toss and were aided on their winning OT drive by two personal foul penalties and one successful fourth down conversion. Namath capped the winning drive competing a 18 TD pass to Sauer for his sixth TD and Sauer’s third.

Hats off to Stuart for hosting the game and being a great opponent and for a great game.

Round 1: '91-SF 42, '89-WAS 14

Both of these teams offerings were two years removed from being Super Bowl Champions. After the game was completed Washington's coach, Jay Schneider was left wondering how San Fran didn't win it all let alone not make the playoffs that year. For the better part of the first quarter and a half the teams were evenly match and so was the score. Then the floodgates opened and the 49ers went on a tear that destroyed the Redskins.

Steve Young threw an INT early on to keep the score close. Once he found his stride, and Jerry Rice the floodgates seemed to open up. Neither team ran the ball much. Mark Rypien kept it close early on as he tossed two TD's to the "fun bunch". Rice caught 4 of Young's 5 TD passes. Steve Bono was called on late to relieve Mr. Young as the game was out of reach.

Round 1: '05-Charges outlast 03-Vikes

The Minnesota Vikings (2003) visited Qualcomm Stadium to take on the San Diego Chargers (2005) for the first round of the tournament. Clear skies, 62 degrees and slight crosswind (10 mph) made the setting perfect for the football fans and players. The crowd, coaches and players expected a close battle that most likely would come down to who had the ball last. And they were right....

The home team took control right away and set the tone by scoring a TD five offensive plays into the game. Drew Brees hit TE Antonio Gates in the end zone, 14 yards out before most fans had time to settle in their seats. Minnesota would also score on their initial drive, but it would be a stark contrast to the Chargers, as the Vikings ran 12 play, gained 49 yards, took almost 7 minutes to settle for a 30-yard Aaron Elling FG.

The Chargers were on the move again but the drive stalled when Drew Brees was picked off, but as good luck would have it, the visiting team could not produce any points and had to punt. Now, the Chargers were determined to put some more points on the board and increased their lead to 10-3 after PK Nate Kaeding booted a 33-yard FG. Minnesota bounced right back, after the kickoff, and on the very first play, QB Daunte Culpepper hit Kelly Campbell for a 76-yard score. Boom. Just like that, the score was knotted at 10.

The Chargers punt the ball back and the Vikings took a surprising 13-10 lead with 5:24 left in the half. Minnesota's defense is prone to giving up yards and points and San Diego ran off 14 offensive plays and reached paydirt just before the half as LaDainian Tomlinson dove in from 2 yards out with 34 seconds left, giving the Chargers the lead back 17-13.

If not for some turnovers, the scoreboard might have been lit up like a Christmas tree as the second half gets under way and the Vikings, feeling generous, give the ball back to the Chargers when Culpepper is picked off. San Diego scores 7 plays later on an end-around by WR Eric Parker. Minnesota counters with another Culpepper-to-Campbell connection (8 yards out) and just like that, the score is now 24-20.

Both teams fumble the ball but retain possession and a series of punts ensue. It isn't until there is 4:21 left in the game that the Vikings finally score again and take back the lead, 27-24 as Culpepper has to scramble as the defense had covered the receivers. 39-yard scamper and a head-first dive. Now it is up to Minnesota's defense to hold back the Chargers drive and hopefully allow only a FG to tie.

San Diego takes back the lead with 1:44 left, after aided by a 15-yard personal foul, flagrant face mask which put the ball first-and-goal from the 10. Brees hit Gates again to make it 31-27. The Vikings are now looking at scoring the winning TD but they are at the San Diego 46 with 1:34 left. A draw play nets 4 yards and a timeout was called. Daunte Culpepper then throws to pass to Randy Moss who was double-covered and Donnie Edwards was the defender that picked off the pass to seal the victory for the Chargers. It sure looked like the Vikings were primed to pass their way to victory, but the Chargers were indeed the team with ball at the end of the game and did run out the clock to preserve the victory. The Chargers appear to have a very good team to make a deep run in the playoffs. The Vikings will continue to struggle defensively as the offense will have to try to keep pace.

Round 1: '06-JAX 23, '06-PIT 16

Pittsburgh (AP) -- The 2006 Jacksonville Jaguars, with productive special teams play and a stingy defense, got off to a fast start and then held on down the stretch to claim a hard-fought 23-16 victory over the 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers in opening round action.

The Jaguars Alvin Pearman returned a kick-off 93-yards for a momentum changing TD score with 1:05 remaining in the first half and their defense was stout, registering six sacks and an interception. David Garrard completed 12-of-26 pass attempts (46%) for 149 yards and was sacked twice. Fred Taylor rushed for 59 yards on 13 carries to lead the ground attack. Maurice Jones-Drew (9 att / 25 yards) scored from 1-yard out to cap Jacksonville's opening possession 7 play, 65 yard drive.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 251 yards on 19-of-43 passing (46 %) for the Steelers. Willie Parker ran 9 times for 16 yards and Verron Hayes and Najeh Davenport combined to rush for 10 carries and 32 yards to pace Pittsburgh's ground game. Hines Ward caught five passes for 29 yards and Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller each had four receptions. Pittsburgh cut the lead to 7-3 early in the second quarter after engineering a 6-play, 26 yard drive that ended with Jeff Reed 39-yard FG.

The Jaguars responded with a 7-play, 58 yard drive and had to settle for 20-yard Josh Scobee FG and take a 10-3 lead. With 3:35 remaining in the half, Pittsburgh marched 42 yards in seven plays to cut the deficit to 10-6, following a 35-yard Reed FG.

Pearman made his presence felt on the ensuing kick-off return, sprinting 93 yards to the endzone and put the Jaguars out in front 17-6 with 1:17 remaining.

Pittsburgh went three-and-out to begin the third quarter and Jacksonville responded with an impressive 14-play, 83 yard drive that consumed eight minutes and 30 seconds off the clock and ended with a 26-yard Scobee FG. The Jags led 20-6. Jacksonville got another Scobee FG, this one from 19-yards out, to cap a 9-play, 44 yard drive with 13:10 left in the game and take a 23-6 advantage.

The Steelers moved the ball on their next possession down to the Jaguars 23 before Rashean Mathis intercepted a Roethlisberger-to-Heath Miller medium long pass attempt at the Jacksonville 6-yard line. Following a Jacksonville three-and-out series, Pittsburgh wasted little time on their next drive, as Big Ben hit Cedrick Wilson twice, one for 31yards and the second, a 13-yard TD strike with 6:44 left in the game to cut the deficit to 23-13. The Steelers added a 49-yard Reed FG with 2:02 left to close out the game's final score.

Jacksonville was 6-of-14 and Pittsburgh was 5-of-16 on 3rd down conversions.

Round 1: '86-SEA 20, '88-NYG 7

The old football axiom is: To win this game you have to be able to run the ball and stop the run. The Seahawks did just that as they defeated the Giants in this opening round contest. For the better part of 3 1/2 quarters the game was dead even tight, but 5 minutes into the final stanza the Seahawks pulled away and left the Giants for dead.

It was a blustery day in the swamps of Jersey and both teams slugged it out. Seattle jumped out to a 7-0 lead to break the ice. The Giants looked to have stopped Seattle but Dave Krieg ran a QB sneak and plugged it in from the 1 foot line on 3rd down. The Giants came out of the locker room fired up and Phil Simms lead them on a 9 play, 71 yard journey to paydirt, which was capped off by a 13 yard toss to fullback Mo Carthon who was the secondary receiver on the play.

The fourth quarter belonged to Seattle as their defense rose up to bottleneck the Mara-men. Time in time again Phil Simms would get sacked and the Giants would have to punt. Seattle had a record 8 sacks on the day. If Simms wasn't sacked, he was hurried and when QB's are hurried they make big mistakes. Down 13-7 late in the 4th quarter Simms hit TE Mark Bavaro for 9 yards to make it second and 1 on the Giant 29 with 6:33 to play. Rather than get the sure first down and keep the chains moving the Giants elected to go for a big gainer, which backfired as Bruce Scholtz sacked Simms back to the original line of scrimmage where the drive started on the 20.

Seattle took over and Curt Warner got hot. On a 2nd and 6 play from his own 28 he broke free for 50 yards as the Giants shoulders began to slump. 3 plays later he busted another one for 17 yards and a TD to put the Giants away for good. Warner finished the day 21-150-TD. He gained almost half of those yards on this one drive.

The Giants total rushing output was 48 yards, which was 2 less than Warner had on his longest run.

Round 1: '86-MIA 24, '83-CHI 7

Miami gets ball first and drives to the Chicago 31, Leslie Frazier intercepts Marino's next pass at the 11. Teams trade possessions rest of first quarter with Chicago on the move heading to the 2nd quarter. Chicago has driven from their own 20 to the Miami 18 and the Bears make their first mistake, McMahon is intercepted at the 14 by Mike Kozlowski. The Dolphins make the Bears pay for that mistake. Marino starting at his own 19 leads his team down the field on 9 plays ending it with a 15 yard toss to Tony Nathan. 3 and out by the Bears and Miami drives to the Chicago 28 and has to settle for a Fuad Reveiz field goal. Miami up 10. Chicago begins its next drive with 4:24 left before halftime and starting at their own 20. Walter Payton comes alive this drive for 77 yards with the key play being a 45 yard scamper ending at the Miami 7 yard line. Here is the key series in the whole game! 1:23 left, 1st and goal from the 7. Next play is a 13 yard sack by Mark Brown. 2nd and goal from the 20 and Matt Suhey breaks off an outside run for 16 yards. 3rd and goal from the 4, 51 seconds left. Next play is another run by Suhey and he takes it to the one. 45 seconds left and it's 4th and goal, do you take the 3 and go into the half down 10-3 or punch it in? Well the Bears gave Payton a shot and he was stuffed for the only time during the game! Miami has the mo going into the locker room.


That missed opportunity comes back to haunt the Bears as they march down the field on their opening drive of the second half and score on a McMahon 11 yard TD run. The next possession by Miami ends with an interception at the Miami 41 yard line by Terry Schmidt. Here is a big opportunity for the Bears but they fail to capitalize and have to punt with a 3 and out. Miami starts their next possession on their own 20 and with 4 quick strikes they are knocking on the door at the Bear 12 yard line. The big play being a 47 yarder to Mark Clayton. Lorenzo Hampton completes the scoring drive on 3 consecutive plays, 3 yard pass, 6 yard run, and a 3 yard run to paydirt! Miami now up 17-7. The 4th quarter begins with the Bears driving to the Miami 11, on 4th and 1 they elect to take the points but Bob Thomas misses the field goal. Miami starting at their own 20 after the miss and 4 plays later are on the Bear 39. The next play will result in the final scoring of the game. Marino hits Clayton for a 39 yard bomb and Miami is now up 24-7. The next possession by the Bears sees them driving to inside the Miami 10 thanks to 46 yard strike to Willie Gault. A run by Payton on third down leaves the Bears with another 4th and goal situation. With only 3:21 left they have to go for it and McMahon throws an incomplete pass. Miami proceeds to run out the clock and scrapes by with a victory.
-contributed by George Staton-

Round 1: '91-EAGLES SOAR BY '02-CHIEFS 39-24

On a cold blustery day where the temperatures only reached a high of 29 degrees, the Kansas City fans came out to support their beloved Chiefs at a jam packed Arrowhead Stadium. As they entered the stadium, all the talk among the fans was wondering just how good the Philadelphia defense really was. Every Chief fan knew that if they could just score 20 points that they would have a great shot of getting a first round victory in this tournament.

The talk among the Eagle fans was quite different. They knew that they had a great defense, but at the same time they also were quite aware of how explosive the Chief offense was. With an Eagle offense that many knew was not in the same league as Kansas City’s, a scoring fest was out of the question if they were to win.

On the very first play from scrimmage many Chief fans likely almost had a heart attack. Trent Green was intercepted by Andre Water and it appeared that the Eagles had the ball at the Chiefs 11 yard line. No one seen the flag down on the field though and the Eagles were called for holding giving the ball back to the Chiefs. “I told you someone held our receiver said a KC fan in the stands”. Even though the Chiefs got the ball back they were forced to punt plays later. Don Stryzinski’s punt would pin the Eagles at the 3 yard line.

Philadelphia would be the first to make a crucial mistake as Jim McMahon (23-35-319) would get intercepted by Duane Clemons who would race 17 yard to paydirt to give the Chiefs a quick 7-0 lead. “We are going to kill them” was heard from a fan. The Chiefs would add a 35 yard FG later to give them a 10-0 lead after one quarter of play.

Trent Green (14-38-241-2TD-4 INT) would find Johnnie Morton for a 14 yard strike early in the second to give the Chiefs a commanding 17-3 lead. Arrowhead was rocking and the fans seemed to forget that it was only 29 degrees outside. McMahon and the Eagles would answer quickly though as he would find Roy Green wide open for a 25 yard strike pulling the Eagles back within 7. Ruzek would add a 43 FG later to pull the Eagles within 17-13 and the crowd went from being booming loud to almost silent. It appeared that this would be the way it would end after one half of football. After a squib kick the Chiefs would begin at its own 24 with just over 25 ticks to go. Three plays later Arrowhead would erupt again as Green threw a perfect strike to Marc Boerigter who split the two defenders and raced 76 yards for a TD to put the Chiefs on top at the half 24-13.

The second half though would be all Eagles as McMahon would hit Calvin Williams for a 22 yard strike to begin the 3rd quarter and pull the Eagles within 24-20. On KC’s next possession, Green would be intercepted by Wes Hopkins at the KC 35 where he would be run out of bounds at the KC 9. McMahon though must not have like having the ball again this early as he returned the favor and threw a pick to Eric Warfield. Neither team was able to generate much the rest of the 3rd quarter but the Eagles did manage to add another Ruzek 30 yard FG to pull within 1 at 24-23.

Things unraveled for the Chiefs in the 4th. Philadelphia would add another Ruzek FG early in the 4th to take a 26-24 lead and for the first time all day the Eagle fans had something to cheer about. They would extend that lead less than a minute later as Green would once again be picked off and one play later McMahon would find Mickey Shuler for a 22 yard strike to go up by 8 32-24. The crucial PAT would be missed and with 6:10 to go KC was still within striking distance to tie the game. All hope ended though when with 5:19 to play KC was forced to punt and Jessie Small pounced on the blocked punt in the end zone basically putting the game away at 39-24.

Eagle fans were heard saying as they were leaving the stadium “how did our bum offense score that many points”. Eagle fans are never happy.

-contributed by Bill Vogt-

Round 1: '76-CIN 21, '68-RAM 10

This game was definitely going to be a defensive struggle as two decentoffenses were facing two excellent defenses. One break for either teamwas probably going to decide the game. The first half reinforced thesepredictions: a 0-0 tie. Each team managed drives into opposing territoryonly to be thwarted by good defense and FG kickers with limited range.

Things turned quickly in the second half. Will Ellison fumbled at the LA44 on the Rams' first possession. The Bengals made one first down andwere fortunate to kick a 41 yard FG. But there was a penalty on that FG- defensive holding, first down Cincy. Lenvil Elliot took a handoff onthe next play and scampered 19 yards for the 7-0 lead. After the kickthe Rams faced a 3rd and 7 and Ken Riley came up with the big pick and a22 yard return to the LA 9. Anderson passed twice and found Trumpy onthe second attempt for the 14-0 lead. In less than 90 secs the game wentfrom a scoreless tie to a 14-0 lead for the Bengals.

The 4th quarter saw a 3rd Bengal TD after a failed 4th down attempt byLA near midfield. The Rams managed a FG and a TD on two nice drives overtheir next two possessions but it was too little, too late. Cincy willplay the winner of 67 Baltimore or 67 NYJ and I believe LA faces the loser.

-contributed by Wayne Poniewaz-

With the final pick in the draft Jay "Buzz" Schneider...

With the final pick in the draft Jay "Buzz" Schneider selected the 1989 Washington Redskins who finished 10-6. Joe Gibbs had 3 teams finish 10-6 and not make the playoffs. Even his bad teams were good, at least back in the 80's. This 'Skins offering was 2 years removed from their previous Super Bowl victory and 2 years away from their next. Gibbs was busy grooming Mark Rypien to be his 3rd Super Bowl QB. The "Fun Bunch" caught everything thrown at them. Art Monk the president of the group just kept increasing his consecutive games with a reception streak.

Marvin Sik at #15 decided to take a chance with...

Marvin Sik at #15 decided to take a chance with the 1983 Bears, who finished 8-8. This was a team on the precipice of greatness. Ditka was busy molding all the pieces together, so he could live up to his promise to bring a championshp back to Chicago. Buddy Ryan had his 46 defense practicing up to destroy opposing QB's. McMahon was in his second year and he found Willie Gault's speed to be just what the doctor order. Sweetness was in his prime and ready to carry the Windy City on his shoulders.

Scott Lamberson held his breathe with the #14 pick...

Scott Lamberson held his breathe with the #14 pick then let go a collective sigh of relief when his beloved NY J-E-T-S were still available. If you pick a Jets team, you have to go with one that had Joe Willie slinging the pigskin all around the yard. In 1967 the team finished 8-5-1 and Joe Willie rewrote the record books with 4,007 aerial yards. The beneficiaries of Joe's unselfishness were George Sauer and Don Maynard. Tight End "Big Boy" Pete Lammons caught his fair share as well. The defense began to come together and Coach Eubank was beginning to sense something special might be a-brewing.

At #13 Bill Keller passed on the Browns and took...

At #13 Bill Keller passed on the Browns and took the 10-6, 1986 Seattle Seahawks. Steve "the congressman" Largent had one heck of a year. Dave Krieg was on target with all his passes and Curt Warner (not the supermarket box boy turned QB) ran for over 1,000 yards as the Kingdome crowd yelled so loud the tiles fell off. Ken Easley was again an All-Pro at Safety and Joe Nash crowded the middle at nose tackle. This was a team that was known for streaks. They won 3 out of the shoot, split the next 4, then lost 4 and won their final 5 to just miss out on the post season...If only they had a 17 game schedule ?

The 12 selection of the draft went to Mark Miller...

The 12 selection of the draft went to Mark Miller...who chose the 2003 Minnesota Vikings, who finishe 9-7. Is Miller smarter than Tice ? I know...a stupid rhetorical question. Had to be asked. The afformentioned dean of coaches and the driving force to recruit the CFL over to SAT went with this team that features a heavy dossage of Culpepper to Moss. Randy caught 111 passes that year with triple team coverage on his back. Can you blame him for taking some plays off ? In this tournament he can't take any off the competition is so tough.

At #11 George Stanton selects...

At #11 George Stanton selects the 1986 Dolphins, who finished 8-8. Dan Marino was at his gunslinging prime that year. The Mark's brothers caught everything in sight as the Phish lit up scoreboards across the AFC. Only problem was they didn't have anyone on defense. I could only imagine what Shula went through that year. He built his reputation of strong D and a running game and here he is the caretaker of Air Coryell at South Beach. I imagine Unitas was laughing since he fought with Shula for 6 years to air it out and instead had to hand it off to Tom Matte...I digress. What's the over under on points for this team ?

At #10, the commish taps...

At #10, the commish taps his hometown 1988 NY Giants, who finished 10-6 and narrowly missed the post season. This was sadly Harry Carson's last year in blue. LT was the last of the "Crunch Bunch" left on the team. This was definitely a transition year, since the team was 2 years past their Super Bowl XXI victory and two years before their Super Bowl XXV upset of the Bills. Phil Simms had a pretty good year and LT had 15 sacks. I actually attended their week 2 loss to the eventual champion 49ers. LT was suspended, so he didn't play and the Giants gave up a late TD pass to of all people the Jerry Rice guy to lose by 3 (that's my photo of it off to the side). I predicted the play as I saw man coverage. I was banned from section 311 for the next 5 seasons because of that outburst. I owe this team big time.

Wayne Poniewaz did his research and at # 9...

Wayne Poniewaz did his research and at # 9 he selects the 1976 Cincinnati Bengals, who were 10-6. This team had two shutdown corners (Ken Riley and Lamar Parrish) and a hard nosed defense. Paul Brown left the bench the year before but this team played his kind of football. Kenny Anderson was about to come into his own and former Heisman winner Archie Griffin was a key to the RB rotation. A totally un-heralded team. Dr. Z thinks Riley and Parrish belong in the Hall. He still can't believe Anderson hasn't made it.

At # 8 Chris Howell selects...

At # 8 Chris Howell selects the 2002 Chiefs, who were 8-8. This team has more weapons than NATO. I'd be frightened to punt or kick off to Dante Hall who had 3 TD runbacks that year. Priest Holmes is in his prime, back in the day when he was everyone's 1st fantasy football draft pick. If for some reason he's not the first option Gonzo will burn any LB trying to cover him over the middle. Thankfully they can't stop anyone on D !

At the podium Howie Fortel uses the # 7 pick for...

At the podium Howie Fortel uses the # 7 pick for the 2005 SD Chargers ! Can they play Howie ball instead of Marty Ball. I guess the offensive game plan will be LT inside, LT outside...Dump one off to Gates and avoid playing NE in the playoffs. Wait, the Patriots aren't in this tournamen (yet). A collective sign of relief is heard on Lincoln Ave in Staten Island. Got to like that Merriman guy at LB, right ?

At #6 George B selects...

At #6 George B selects the 1968 LA Rams ! George Allen would have been proud having another George coach his team. This is a classic late 60's / early 70's Rams team. Roman Gabriel tossing the ball to Jack (don't call me JT's dad) Snow. The defense is lead by the famous Fearsome Foursome. Can't wait to see Deacon Jones headslap some of those younguns. Afterwards maybe Merlin Olsen can make nice with a FTD bouquet or something.

The second surprise pick in a row at #5...

The second surprise pick in a row at #5, Ed Mikhli takes the 8-8 Pittsburgh Steelers. The Gold and Black had a mediocre season suffering from the "Super Bowl Hangover". It was a year in transition as head coach Bill Cowher was completely burnt out and seemed to be coaching out the stretch. Emotional leader, Jerome Bettis, joined the NBC broadcast staff and no one picked up the leadership slack. Can Eddie rally Big Ben and the boys to reproduce their magical 2005 run ?

In a surprising pick at #4 Michael Miller takes...

In a surprising pick at #4 Michael Miller takes the 2006 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags have a scarry good offense. Do they have an D ? Jack DelRio had a tough time keeping them afloat in the AFC. Did Mr. Miller find a "Diamond in the Rough"?

With the 3rd pick, Andy Weinrib selects...

With the 3rd pick, Andy Weinrib selects the 1991 SF 49ers, who finished 10-6 and missed the playoffs the same way the 1991 Eagles did (lost out on tie breakers). This was a transition year for the Gold Rush. Joe Montana was injured, so both Steve's (Young and Bono) assumed the helm. The '9ers were coming off 3 straight trips to the NFC Title Game and 2 straight Super Bowl Championships (88 and 89). This team has plenty of firepower (Rice / Taylor), so beware defensive backs. We'll see how good defensively they are !

With the 2nd pick Bill Vogt selects...

With the 2nd pick Bill Vogt selects the 1991 Philadelphia Eagles, who finished 10-6 and wound up tied with 2 other 10-6 teams. That year the Eagles not only lost out on their playoff spot they lost their coach. Buddy Ryan was fired and the bland (or bad) Rich Kotite replaced him. The defense was still awesome ! Lead by the "Minister of Defense", Reggie White the Eagles terrorized QB's and opposing RB's. If only they had won 1 more game...

With the 1st Pick in the Draft Stu Geller Selects...

With the 1st Pick in the Draft Stu Geller Selects the 1967 Baltimore Colts. Johnny U was his dominant self. If this team was in any of the 4 other divisions it would have made the playoffs. Raymond Berry and Lenny Moore played their final seasons in the NFL. Coach Shula was well on the way to establishing himself as the all time greatest coach in the NFL.

Tournament Time !!!

Who was the best team not to make it to the post season during the NFL's Super Bowl Era (1966-Present) ? It's an interesting question that has been kicked around for years. The 1967 Colts jump to the forefront in this discussion because they are the only 1 loss team in the history of the NFL to not make it. In fact they had 3 less losses than 2 teams that did. They just had the misfortune of being tied with the Rams that year and losing the final game of the season to them. Talk about tough luck ?

Even sadder for the Colts is the fact that this was Johnny U's last "great" year as an elite QB. The following pre-season he injured his arm and had to watch Earl Morrall guide "his team" to the Super Bowl and a date with a team of destiny.

Teams that miss the playoffs either run out of time and games or limp home or wind up being the victim of the NFL's tie breaker rules. This tournament will provide them, and you, with a chance to give them their shot at glory !

We will choose 16 teams and prove out using SAT, which one truly was the best team to not get invited to "the dance"