TUESDAY TIDBITS: "Aw, Shut Up Man, Just Do Your Job"

By TJ Troup 

The end of the regular season; and a season which like so many others, had twists & turns, highs & lows, and plenty of drama. 

Have stated to all of you in the past that when a team has a 100-yard rusher, and their opponent does not, the team with the 100-yard rusher wins about 77% of the time. Look at the box scores from this past weekend, and you will see more 100-yard rushers than in many of the previous weeks of the season. 

Weather is a factor, and there are teams that finally figure out they can actually run the ball effectively. Seven of the top ten rushers in the league are playing in the play-offs; so, maybe you can run the ball and win in this day and age of passing? 

My other tried and true statistic is of course the defensive passer rating, and the difference between the two top teams is probably just a couple of incompletions as the Ravens at 74.6 and the Browns at 74.7 were simply the best at team pass defense. 

That takes me to my first question for all of you; can Stroud be efficient, and score on the Cleveland secondary? 

Many times have taken all of you back in history, and that will continue today, but our first trip down memory lane is fairly recent—to 2006. 

DeMeco Ryans (l) and Dan Campbell (r)

Dan Campbell is the starting tight end for Detroit, and DeMeco Ryans just completed an outstanding rookie season at linebacker in Houston. 

No one, and I mean NO ONE could have envisioned that these two men would be the leading candidates for coach of the year in 2023. 

October 30th, 2022 the Houston Texans had a record of 1-5-1, and the Lions record was 1-6. Both these teams earned their division titles this year by playing tough-ass football, and both men displayed the acumen needed to be the Coach of the Year—LEADERSHIP. 

So, which of these two men should be coach of the year? Would relish hearing all of your opinions, and the reasons why. 

Bobby Layne throws a pass in the 1952 Rams-Lions playoff game

Looking at the upcoming games we see that it only took 71 years for the Rams and Lions to finally meet each other in the playoffs again, and did not see Norm Van Brocklin or Bobby Layne listed to start at quarterback this upcoming weekend, thus we will have to do with Stafford and Goff. 

How many times will the announcers mention or show clips of past Packers vs. Cowboys playoff games? Not sure this game will have the same historical significance as 1966 and 1967. 

Since I just mentioned the Cowboys let's go back to January 7th, 1979 in the Coliseum. The Cowboys are defending Super Bowl champions and take on Los Angeles in front of 67,470 knowing they are in for a battle with a very tough and talented Rams team. 

Future Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett gained 1,325 yards rushing to help Dallas lead the NFC in that important category. The Cowboys are also the most difficult team to run on, as they allowed only 1,721 yards rushing. 

The Rams under new defensive coordinator Bud Carson has coached the Rams so well on pass defense they led the league in the defensive passer rating category with a mark of 50.2. 

Strong safety Charlie Waters finally gets Dallas rolling when he returns a Pat Haden errant pass to the Los Angeles ten-yard line in the 3rd quarter setting up the first Dallas touchdown (Dorsett 5-yard run). Waters will return his next interception off of Haden to the Ram twenty-yard line setting up a touchdown pass from Staubach to Scott Laidlaw. 

Ahead by 21 late in the fourth quarter outside linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson makes the longest interception return in Dallas playoff history with a 68-yard jaunt to the end zone. Dallas returns to the Super Bowl, not so sure the Dallas team of 2023 is a Super Bowl caliber team? 

Hollywood Henderson picks off a pass and takes it to the end zone

Pittsburgh rookie Ron Johnson stated emphatically that he believed he was playing with legends and stated that fact in the huddle, and one of the hard-bitten Steeler veterans is quoted in the title of today's narrative. The 1978 Steelers had set a league record for a sixteen-game schedule of fewest points allowed in a season with 195. 

The Houston Oilers had proven they could beat Pittsburgh in Three Rivers Stadium, but can they do it a second time? 

The Steeler ground game pounds out 172 yards on the cold and wet turf on 44 attempts, and quarterback Terry Bradshaw gains 200 passing on his 11 completions. Though impressive, the difference in the game was the "Steel Curtain", and especially one of the "legends" Ron Johnson spoke of. 

Left linebacker Jack Ham recovers an Earl Campbell fumble at the Oiler seventeen-yard line to set up Rocky Bleier's 15-yard touchdown run. Ham strips Oiler running back Ronnie Coleman in the open field and then recovers the ball. Bradshaw throws to Swann for 29 and the score on the ensuing drive. 

Pittsburgh recovers two more fumbles that lead to scores just before the half. League rushing champion Earl Campbell had gained just 26 yards on 15 carries in the first half as the Oilers trail 31-0. Jack Ham set up a short field goal with his interception, one of five by Pittsburgh, and the Jack "Hammer" also recorded one of the Steelers four sacks.

Jack Ham

Would relish someone telling me of an outside linebacker having a better game than this in NFL playoff history—legend indeed. The Pittsburgh Steelers of 2023 earned their playoff berth the hard way, yet here they are—just not sure they measure up to the '78 Steeler team? 

No doubt the Buffalo Bills will decide the fate of Pittsburgh this season. Finally, state this every year, and that will continue every year till history is made—in that since the merger there has been at least ONE ROAD VICTORY every year. Ok, all of you, is there a team on wild card weekend that proves to be road warriors, and who is that team? See ya next week.