Great coaches worst big game performance

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Bryan
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

Post by Bryan »

JohnH19 wrote:Parcells admitted he did a poor job in the game against the Rams but how do we know that the HC did a poor job in the games you listed? They're all routs or upsets but who is to blame for those results? For example; Fouts threw five picks against the Oilers. How much blame does Coryell deserve?

Curious to know why you mentioned Lombardi in the playoff win over the Colts. The Packers dominated most of the game but couldn't finish their drives. Zeke Bratkowski played essentially the whole game in place of Bart Starr and he played fairly well going 22-39 for 248 IIRC. Tom Matte didn't have a productive game at QB for the Colts as their only TD came on a Don Shinnick fumble return on the play that Bart was injured. I think Lombardi's poorest big game was the loss to the Eagles in the 1960 championship game.
Parcells mentioning the 89 playoff loss to the Rams as his poorest job is interesting because in 1988 with both teams having virtually the same personnel, the Rams routed the Giants in NY/NJ...28-3 in the 1st half with the Giants scoring a late garbage TD to make the final 45-31. Jim Everett threw 5 TDs. In 1989, the Giants lost twice to the Eagles in the regular season, and the Rams had defeated Philly 21-7 in the WC round. So I don't really view the Rams win over NY as an 'upset'.

As for Lombardi, I thought it was gutsy of him to let Bratkowski throw 40 passes. Not sure if many other coaches would have done that, even with Baltimore stonewalling the Packers running game. Your QB gets knocked out early in a playoff game on a fumble return TD that puts you in a 7-0 hole, and you go on to win the game....how is that a bad coaching performance?
BD Sullivan
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

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Shula and Elway both had reputations that shifted dramatically upward in the space of just over a year. Both had the "can't win the big one" moniker attached to them going into another Super Bowl and both proceeded to win back-to-back titles. Shula is suddenly hailed as a genius and Elway is suddenly considered a big-time winner. Never mind that Shula had compiled a record of 105-30-5 and Elway had thrown for nearly 49,000 yards and 278 touchdowns up to those respective points.
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74_75_78_79_
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

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Jimmy Johnson and Ray Flaherty...7-62 and 0-73 respectively.

Papa Bear...losing NFLCGs in both '34 and '42, each as unbeatens going in.

Bill Walsh...getting blasted in '86 divisional by G-men, 49-3; or the following year's divisional to Vikes? Take your pick! As for each of the two years after those (going further into the late-'80s), if you want to include coordinators in this, how about Floyd Peters' double-whammy vs San Fran in those consecutive divisional rounds? Yes, it's Montana, Rice & Co at peak-of-powers, but Sarge Rock did run the best defense in the league each of those years! And doesn't, as saying goes, a great defense usually beat a great offense?? At least give the WCO some gruff, I'd think. And then another from '89 one week later...John Robinson losing the NFCC, 30-3, at Candlestick. Yes, this is the...'89 Forty Niners we're talking of, and they were favorites as they certainly should have been, but the Rams always played them real well on the road during that very time period and LA came oh so razor-close to sweeping SF during that very '89 season! No reason to think they don't at least give them a good game (and off the momentum of beating Philly then G-men each on the road to boot).
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Todd Pence
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

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Chuck Noll - 1983 Divisional Playoff
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74_75_78_79_
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

Post by 74_75_78_79_ »

Todd Pence wrote:Chuck Noll - 1983 Divisional Playoff
That’s a good one, but Steelers were in free fall-mode going into that game and were yet again without Terry. My personal choice would be he losing the play-in game to Cody Carlson in the ’90 finale. A Steeler win gives them the division title.

Mike Tomlin...losing that 1st-rounder to Tebow, 2011!
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Bryan
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

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Todd Pence wrote:Chuck Noll - 1983 Divisional Playoff
I remember Paul Zimmerman telling a story about covering that playoff, and he walked up to Chuck Noll before the game and said "You know that you have the worst starting QB in the entire league, don't you?"

I can't blame a coach for losing a postseason game with Cliff Stoudt at the helm. That Steelers team had no business being in the playoffs in the first place.
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TanksAndSpartans
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

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74_75_78_79_ wrote:Papa Bear...losing NFLCGs in both '34 and '42, each as unbeatens going in.
I'd remove these two. Beattie Feathers had been the Bears star all season, but didn't play in the game due to injury. The weather conditions were also tough for the Sneakers Game and you had a Hall of Famer in Ken Strong on the other side, just happen to have a HOFer type game, not sure you can coach against that.

I don't think '42 can be put on Halas, because he isn't listed as the coach, but I don't think I'd put it on the other coaches either. Looks like a relatively low scoring game against a one-loss Redskins team with Sammy Baugh.
JohnH19
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

Post by JohnH19 »

I don’t think the original intent of this topic was to select upsets or blowouts and say the HC did a poor job. That’s too simplistic.

Parcells admitted he did a poor job before or during the Rams game. Lombardi passed up a couple of FG attempts that cost the Packers valuable points in the 1960 Championship game and Shula also should have attempted a FG late in SB 3 to make the score 16-10.
BD Sullivan
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

Post by BD Sullivan »

Bryan wrote:
Todd Pence wrote:Chuck Noll - 1983 Divisional Playoff
I remember Paul Zimmerman telling a story about covering that playoff, and he walked up to Chuck Noll before the game and said "You know that you have the worst starting QB in the entire league, don't you?"

I can't blame a coach for losing a postseason game with Cliff Stoudt at the helm. That Steelers team had no business being in the playoffs in the first place.
They also lost their top pick, Gabe Rivera, for good when he was paralyzed in an accident.

The Browns could have won the division if they'd had any consistency: L 1, W 3, Split next two games, L 2, Split next two games, W 3, L 2, W 1. It didn't help that Brian Sipe was negotiating with the USFL (Trump's NJ Generals), which caused a rift between him and Sam Rutigliano.
RRMarshall
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Re: Great coaches worst big game performance

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Tom Landry Super Bowl V. He called all the plays and his decision to put the ball in the air late in the game after a holding penalty that set up a long down and distance situation was atypical of him. Mike Curtis intercepted a pass off of a deflection to set up Jim O'Brien's GW field goal. He received a lot of criticism for not running the ball and playing for overtime, as his Doomsday Defense had dominated the Colts for most of the game.
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