NFL "what-if" scenarios thread

[CSKreager]

So we penalize the 73 Dolphins because they didn't have to face the Steelers, Rams or Cowboys? The Cowboys lost Calvin Hill in the playoffs, the Steelers allowed the Raiders to run all over them and the Bengals were bombing defenses with Anderson to Curtis, not to mention a good running game. The Dolphins whipped everyone standing and frustrated the Vikings so badly, they were done by halftime ...

Not trying to argue, your point is good, but the Raiders and Bengals are underestimated. The Raiders started slowly with Lamonica but Stabler got them the division and easily threw on the Steelers in the divisional playoff. The Bengals would have been much better against Miami had they not lost Essex Johnson, early in that playoff game. They also shut out the Vikings during the season.

The 73 Raiders lost 4 games and had a tie. They barely held off Denver in their own division, plus benefitted from a playoff rotation where they avoided Cincinnati.

That was by far OAK’s weakest team of the Madden era

[Bryan]

The 73 Raiders lost 4 games and had a tie. They barely held off Denver in their own division, plus benefitted from a playoff rotation where they avoided Cincinnati.

That was by far OAK’s weakest team of the Madden era

At the end of the season with the division on the line, the Raiders beat KC by 30 and had 61 carries for 259 yards. In the divisional round, they defeated Pittsburgh 33-14 and had 55 carries for 232 yards. I'd say that's pretty dominant. Oh, and they also beat Miami (with 46 carries for 187 yards).

[Brian wolf]

The weakest Raiders team in the Madden era was his last in 1978.
Injuries and bad play on the offensive line(Marvin) allowed Stabler to get hit too frequently as he had a bad year.

With an 8-4 record, the Raiders lost three straight before ending the year with a victory over Minnesota. The defense was aging with a pass rush that only generated 29 sacks. Branch and Biletnikoff only caught three TDs between them. Willie Brown and Biletnikoff would be gone the following season ...

[7DnBrnc53]

The 73 Raiders lost 4 games and had a tie. They barely held off Denver in their own division, plus benefitted from a playoff rotation where they avoided Cincinnati.

That was by far OAK’s weakest team of the Madden era

1970 seemed to be a bit weaker, but 1973 wasn't far off. The next three years, though, they would be great, although it took them until 1976 to finally get the brass ring.

[CSKreager]

What if the 1971 Colts didn't spit the bit at home vs New England in the final week with the AFC East on the line?

Otherwise, Baltimore- not Miami- goes to KC on Christmas Day for the AFC Divisional (and the Dolphins instead go to Cleveland)

[Brian wolf]

Had Baltimore won their division in 1971 like they should have, a very interesting match-up in KC for the playoffs. Due to the weather and Municipal Stadium, Unitas I believe, would have had a good throwing day with the Colts winning a close, defensive battle. I feel the Colts wouldn't have struggled as much on defense as Miami.

A Dolphins-Browns match-up in Municipal Stadium in Cleveland would have been a helluva game as well. Shula would have loved to have beaten them with a new team and I feel Paul Warfield would have stuck it to the 80,000 Brown's fans.

[Bryan]

Had Baltimore won their division in 1971 like they should have, a very interesting match-up in KC for the playoffs. Due to the weather and Municipal Stadium, Unitas I believe, would have had a good throwing day with the Colts winning a close, defensive battle.

It would be an interesting matchup....but if you recall in 1970, "everywhere Unitas looked, there was a nightmare waiting to turn defense into offense."

[Brian wolf]

Haha ... that's true Bryan, yet as you know, the Colts were a lot better at the end of that season. Unitas actually threw well against the Dolphins in the AFC Champ game in 1971 but just couldn't get them on the board after O' Brien missed early FG attempts.

[7DnBrnc53]

On page 10 of this thread, I talked about how KC could have had Troy Aikman. They aren't the only ones.

In Week 1 of the 1988 season, this happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geH3xsQF5m0

Then, in Week 13, the Steelers were able to beat KC 16-10 after Steve DeBerg overthrew a wide open Kittrick Taylor (who was wide open in the end zone. He was the same guy who caught Favre's first game winning TD in 1992) on the last play of the game.

If the Steelers lose those two games, they are 1-12 going into their last two games with this schedule (@HOU, @SD, Mia).

In this world, I don't think they beat Houston, and they lost to SD in reality. Those two losses clinch the #1 pick for the Burgh no matter what they do against the Fins. In my opinion, I would have put the Bubster back in (after playing Blackledge against the Oilers and SD) to get some momentum going for 1989 since you have Aikman in the bag.

Fast forward to the 1989 draft.

Pittsburgh is on the clock.

After that, you have a three-way tie at 4-12 between Dallas, Detroit, and GB. It comes down to a weaker strength of schedule, and the Steelers being 2-14 weakens Dallas's slate. Then, the Packers had a little weaker schedule than Detroit, so they get the third pick followed by Detroit, Atlanta, KC, San Diego, and Miami.

After the Steelers take Aikman, I think they take Mandarich, although some fans on that video disagreed, and believe that Johnson would have taken Derrick Thomas (it's a good point. He wanted James Francis the next year, and Huey Richardson in 91. He liked edge rushers). It's possible, but I am pretty sure that Tony was the #2 player on their board, so it's a good bet that Dallas drafts him.

Then, I think the Packers take Barry Sanders. Allegedly, Lindy Infante wanted him, but was overruled in OTL (our timeline) by Tom Braatz. They also liked Derrick Thomas, but with Mandarich gone, I think Lindy gets his way here.

With the fourth pick, Detroit probably ends up taking Derrick Thomas. Their OLB's (Cofer and Jimmy Williams) are almost 30. Then, after Deion goes to Atlanta, the Chiefs probably take OLB Broderick Thomas, leaving Burt Grossman for SD and Tim Worley for Miami.