TUESDAY TIDBITS: "A Long and Not-very-successful Tradition of Trying to Buy Themselves out of Trouble"

By TJ Troup 

Four weeks to go, and boy oh boy are there going to be plenty of games that impact the standings and who goes to the playoffs. There are of course thirty-two teams in the league and 13 have either six or seven wins at this point. 

Would relish hearing from any and all of you about which team or teams win at least three or run the table over the last month of the season? Then there is always the possibility that a team goes winless the last four?

1961 Houston Oilers

Started this morning with my coffee and a quick check of the standings, but is time to look back historically to the games of December 10th. The Houston Oilers of 1961 still stand out as one of the most interesting teams of all time. Could go hours and pages on them. 

Wally Lemm's coaching job that year remains one of the best ever, and he did it with a staff of two men. Well, make that three, as he did not have an offensive backfield coach, and as such my boy George Blanda "directed" the offense. Blanda's ability to be creative in the passing game with motion, trip sets with wing alignments, and Hennigan's breakout season stand out, yet on December 10th Billy Cannon had a game for the ages. 

The New York Titans still had a chance to win the division (slight chance), and the All-AFL running back exploded for 216 yards rushing on 25 carries. He catches 5 passes for 114 yards, and scores five times in the 48-21 win in the Polo Grounds. Boston had won on Saturday to improve their record to 8-4-1, so with the win the Oilers are now 9-3-1 with one game to go. 

There are times when we can become engrossed in the history of a team or a single season that we did not know much about before. 

The season of '72 is historically significant for many reasons in NFL history. The Dolphins, the Redskins, the Packers, the Steelers, the Raiders, the Patriots. 

The Patriots? The title of today's saga comes from "Street & Smith's" 1973 magazine. 

Grab a cup of coffee and please read on folks, you are about to be enlightened. Jim Plunkett impressed one and all in 1971 as New England managed six wins. The Patriots win two of their first three, and will now embark on a trip to the basement of the AFC East. 

On their way to the bottom, they will set a standard for failure rarely seen. The offensive line could not pass block. The defensive line did not rush the passer at all. Plunkett lost all confidence and forced errant throws into the autumn New England skies. 

Julius Adams, John Hannah, Jim Plunkett

Watching film, and evaluating players is part of my passion. Allen Barra's book "FOOTBALL BY THE NUMBERS 1986" should be in everyone's library. Mr. Barra did overall evaluations for the best and worst for 1970 through 1985, and the Patriots of '72 rank as the third worst team behind the Buccaneers of '76 and the Baltimore Colts of '81. 

The worst loss of the season you ask? 

The Orange Bowl is the site of a machine called the Miami Dolphins on their way to a strong season if you think that going undefeated is a strong season? The Dolphins gained 181 on the ground (just 38 attempts) and in the air? How about 307 yards on just 11 completions! This is a time when the score is indicative of how bad you could be beaten. 

Patriots at Miami, 1973

Could but won't continue this saga using the format of my book on the 53-59. Rather than do that, let's go to Herbert Furlow's "Pocketbook of Pro Football", and quote "Joe Paterno didn't want it, Bob Devaney didn't want it, Ara Paraseghian wouldn't even consider it, neither would John McKay". The coach who would accept becoming a millionaire is Chuck Fairbanks. 

Have read many different opinions about this man as a coach and person, and come away convinced that the man could evaluate talent, teach proper techniques on how to play different positions, hire quality men as his staff, and lead a team each and every week. Fairbanks had a plan----yet a basic question arises how many of the '72 Patriots suit up for him in 1973? 

Will return with an answer, but time to return to December 10th, 1972. 

During the nine-game losing streak they are outscored 317 to 102. A sojourn to New Orleans to take on a woeful Saints team, and the Patriots win 17-10. Plunkett zips a pass to Rucker on a post pattern for the key score, and safety Honor Jackson returns an interception 55 yards to stop a New Orleans drive. 

The Patriots finish the campaign getting crushed by Denver 45-21. Pick a statistical category and look at the box scores—this is one horseshit team. 

Chuck Fairbanks over the course of the next six years has built his team into a wrecking ball on offense— Watch film of them running the ball, and playing rock-solid fundamental defense. December the 10th, 1978, and the Patriots are returning home after a three-game road trip that included two wins, and a tough loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys 17-10. 

Patriots at Cowboys, 1978

New England beats Buffalo on December 10th 26-24, and in Sal Maiorana's outstanding book "Relentless" he details the questionable decision by Chuck Knox late in the game and the resulting short drive after the safety for the winning field goal. 

This is Fairbanks's last regular season victory as coach of the Patriots. That day there were just eight men left from his '73 team. Oh yeah, that first season in 1973 Fairbanks kept 19 players from the '72 team—though you just knew some of those would be quickly jettisoned as soon as Chuck found young talent in the draft. 

Enjoy the games this upcoming weekend, including a Saturday triple-header.