Disappointing title defenses

Jay Z
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Disappointing title defenses

Post by Jay Z »

1985 49ers brought everyone back on offense and added Jerry Rice! 60 sacks! Veteran defensive backfield by that time, which is intact. Hacksaw retired, but he was ancient anyways and didn't do any pass coverage. Run defense was good still, avoided giving up TDs, but couldn't get off the field to an extent. Farted around to a 3-4 record with 3 of the losses against losing teams. Righted the ship to 10-6 but went in as a WC, then lose 17-3 to NYG. Seems like a disappointment with that talent base. Any others?
racepug
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by racepug »

How about the post-1983 Raiders? I've heard that Al Davis thought his team would be a contender "for a long, long time" after they crushed the WFT in January 1984 but clearly that's not what happened.
7DnBrnc53
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by 7DnBrnc53 »

2003 Buccaneers: Were expected to repeat by a lot of people, but Keyshawn Johnson became a problem, and they had seven losses by seven points or less, including the Week 2 loss to Carolina (where they had the XP blocked at the end of regulation) and the Week 5 loss to Indy (where they blew 35-14 lead in the fourth quarter).
Brian wolf
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by Brian wolf »

This past Chiefs team at least made it back but what a SB loss ! If anyone would have told me the offense would have went without a TD, I would have laid money down against it.
The offensive linemen get blamed for having backups playing but those same guys had no problems with the Browns and Bills defenses ...

That 70 Chiefs season was disappointing as well. Too many HOF players to go that flat after a SB win. Though Dawson made the HOF, his NFL total record from 1957-1961 and 1970-1975, according to Pro Football-Reference is 24-20-2.
Yes, he dominated AFL competition but did his AFL Championship win over Oakland and Super Bowl win over Minnesota, like Joe Namath, put him in the HOF ? Beating Buffalo in 1966, helped as well ...
RRMarshall
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by RRMarshall »

You would have to put the 1982 49ners in that category, too. Coming off their first SB title in 1981 they fall flat in the strike season of 1982 going 3-6 with the defense having all sorts of issues. Also the 1968 GB Packers, the first year of the post-Lombardi era. They still had many of their stars on defense but the offense struggled to score points and they didn't even finish at .500.
RichardBak
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by RichardBak »

Brian wolf wrote:This past Chiefs team at least made it back but what a SB loss ! If anyone would have told me the offense would have went without a TD, I would have laid money down against it.
The offensive linemen get blamed for having backups playing but those same guys had no problems with the Browns and Bills defenses ...

That 70 Chiefs season was disappointing as well. Too many HOF players to go that flat after a SB win. Though Dawson made the HOF, his NFL total record from 1957-1961 and 1970-1975, according to Pro Football-Reference is 24-20-2.
Yes, he dominated AFL competition but did his AFL Championship win over Oakland and Super Bowl win over Minnesota, like Joe Namath, put him in the HOF ? Beating Buffalo in 1966, helped as well ...
I know this isn't a HOF thread, but it's pretty hard to argue against Dawson being in Canton. He won "only" 3 AFL championships in 8 years, QB'ed the Chiefs into 2 of the first 4 Super Bowls, and upset Minnesota in SB IV, all the while leading the loop in comp. pct. and TD passes practically every year. By the time the leagues merged in 1970 he was already 35 years old. I was never a KC fan (especially after that contrived '69 playoff system screwed the Jets and Raiders out of a title-game rematch that year), but I gotta give the guy his due. Dawson's career was far more productive than Namath's. I'm certain Joe wouldn't be in the Hall w/o his "guaranteed" SB win over the Colts---probably the most famous upset in football history---but Dawson would have been elected even if KC had lost to the Vikings.

Now, as far as disappointing title defenses, the '57 Lions rank right up there. After winning their 3rd NFL title in 6 years, thrashing the Browns 59-14 in the title game following their then-unprecedented 20-point comeback against SF in the West Div. playoff, they crashed hard, finishing 4-7-1 (5th place) in 1958. Things ain't been right since. I was 3 years old when the Lions won that last championship (and of course I don't remember any of it)....I'm now 67 and still waiting for the next one.
racepug
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by racepug »

Brian wolf wrote:This past Chiefs team at least made it back but what a SB loss ! If anyone would have told me the offense would have went without a TD, I would have laid money down against it.
The offensive linemen get blamed for having backups playing but those same guys had no problems with the Browns and Bills defenses ...

That 70 Chiefs season was disappointing as well. Too many HOF players to go that flat after a SB win. Though Dawson made the HOF, his NFL total record from 1957-1961 and 1970-1975, according to Pro Football-Reference is 24-20-2.
Yes, he dominated AFL competition but did his AFL Championship win over Oakland and Super Bowl win over Minnesota, like Joe Namath, put him in the HOF ? Beating Buffalo in 1966, helped as well ...
I know one guy who told me that "it's hard to ignore how much talent he was surrounded by" when I notified him that in an old football simulation's All-Time Greatest Players set Len Dawson was rated behind both Joe Namath and John Hadl.
racepug
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by racepug »

RichardBak wrote:I know this isn't a HOF thread, but it's pretty hard to argue against Dawson being in Canton. He won "only" 3 AFL championships in 8 years, QB'ed the Chiefs into 2 of the first 4 Super Bowls, and upset Minnesota in SB IV, all the while leading the loop in comp. pct. and TD passes practically every year. By the time the leagues merged in 1970 he was already 35 years old. I was never a KC fan (especially after that contrived '69 playoff system screwed the Jets and Raiders out of a title-game rematch that year), but I gotta give the guy his due. Dawson's career was far more productive than Namath's. I'm certain Joe wouldn't be in the Hall w/o his "guaranteed" SB win over the Colts---probably the most famous upset in football history---but Dawson would have been elected even if KC had lost to the Vikings.
To me, that's the counterargument to "it's hard to ignore how much talent he was surrounded by" when confronted with the fact that his performance seemed to decline after 1970 - his age when the leagues merged. To me it's pretty clear he was one of the AFL's best QBs. Yes, the Chiefs had loads of talent back then, but he was part of that.
RichardBak wrote:Now, as far as disappointing title defenses, the '57 Lions rank right up there. After winning their 3rd NFL title in 6 years, thrashing the Browns 59-14 in the title game following their then-unprecedented 20-point comeback against SF in the West Div. playoff, they crashed hard, finishing 4-7-1 (5th place) in 1958. Things ain't been right since. I was 3 years old when the Lions won that last championship (and of course I don't remember any of it)....I'm now 67 and still waiting for the next one.
Thank Bobby Layne!
racepug
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by racepug »

RichardBak wrote:(especially after that contrived '69 playoff system screwed the Jets and Raiders out of a title-game rematch that year)
I think the A.F.L. did that because they didn't want to take the chance on one team going into their championship game having played a game while the other participant rested (as happened the previous season). I was much too young to remember anything about that season but later finding out that in the playoffs that year the Kansas City Chiefs held: 1) the A.F.L.'s highest-scoring team, 2) the defending Super Bowl champions, and 3) the N.F.L.'s highest-scoring team to a combined 20 points tells me that the Chiefs' "D" back then was really good!
Brian wolf
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Re: Disappointing title defenses

Post by Brian wolf »

I dont know RichardBak ...

I dont believe Dawson gets voted in, had he lost to the Vikings. The talk of him being unable to beat NFL teams and losing two SB games would have been loud, despite his AFL Championships ...
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