NFL Films: Vince Lombardi Teaches The Power Sweep

Source:NFL Films– Green Bay Packers head coach/general manager Vince Lombardi (1959-68)

Source:The New Democrat

“Power Sweeps” – Winning Football with Vince Lombardi (Volume 7)”

From Coach D

I think the best way to describe Vince Lombardi’s brand of football, at least offensive football, is to do it with a hypothetical.

Imagine the night before your football game and you just found your opponent’s game plan and playbook. You now not only know what plays your opponent is going to run and how they’re going to beat you. Just one problem: even though you know exactly what the Packers (in this case) are going to run against you, you are not good enough to beat them.

While the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s and 80s ran so many different formations and plays to win their games on offense and the Redskins with different type of offense, but used a lot of different formations on offense in the 1980s, the Packers were beating their opponents simply by out executing their opponents and having better players. Losing to the Packers in the 1960s was literally the death by execution. They had the ball on 1st in 10 from their 20, you knew it was coming but you couldn’t stop it.

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CBS Sports: NFL 1987 Week 16- Chicago Bears @ Los Angeles Raiders: Highlights

Source:CBS Sports– Chicago Bears DE Richard Dent.

“1987 Chicago Bears Week 16
Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Raiders
December 27th, 1987”

From Bears Downs

This should be a memorable game for Chicago Bears fans, at least Bear fans who are old enough to have seen and remembered this game. This game is not memorable because a 10-4 Bears team beat a 5-9 Raiders team, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This game is memorable because it was RB Walter Payton’s last game, as well as DB Gary Fencik’s last game, to Bear greats who gave everything that they had for some very mediocre Bear teams in the mid and late 1970s, as well as the early 1980s, and stayed around long enough for the Bears to be champions in 1985.

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NFL Network: Buddy Ryan’s Gang Green Defense

Source:NFL Network– Eagles TE Keith Jackson talking about Buddy Ryan’s Gang Green defense.

“Buddy Ryan and the greatest defense of all-time”

From NFL Network

If I had to take one defense of all-time as far as dominating an entire season including the postseason and Super Bowl, I would take the 85 Chicago Bears with their 46 defense. That Bears team doesn’t win the Super Bowl without Mike Ditka. A big reason why Buddy Ryan didn’t win a Super Bowl or even a playoff game in Philadelphia or Phoenix, because he wasn’t as good of a head coach as Iron Mike.

Buddy could get his teams to the playoffs and even win a division, but he was a defensive oriented head coach, who didn’t have much respect for offenses, even his own. Mike Ditka was a complete head coach, who was offensive minded, but understood both sides of the ball very well. And knew he also had a to have a good defense to win championships.

But I believe Buddy Ryan’s Eagles were better on defense during a longer stretch. From 1988-91 and 91 was the Eagles first season without Buddy, the Eagles might of had the best defenses ever. Buddy might of of had more talent on defense in Philadelphia, then in Chicago. And he certainly had better teams on offense, even though he never had that one running back he could count on to lead their running game.

One of the reasons why Buddy wasn’t successful in turning the Eagles into a Super Bowl contender was that he never really even had a good running game. (Outside of QB Randall Cunningham) A good passing game with good receivers like Fred Barnett, Calvin Williams, Keith Jackson, Keith Byers out of the backfield. When Randall Cunningham was on, he was about as good as any QB in the game.

Imagine how good those Eagle teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s would have been had Mike Ditka been their head coach and not Buddy Ryan. Ditka would’ve given the Eagles a running game and known how to work with Randall. And then you have either Jeff Fisher or even Buddy running the defense. The Eagles probably would’ve probably already have their first Super Bowl championship already. (Sorry, Eagle fans)

Buddy I believe had better defenses in Philadelphia if you look at their secondary and then you have Reggie White on one side on the d-line, and Jerome Brown in the middle, who were both almost un-blockable. And then Clyde Simmons on the other side of Reggie. And the Eagles had more talent on offense, but Buddy wasn’t a good enough head coach as far as both sides of the ball to take the Eagles to the promise land.

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Newsmax: The Steve Salzberg Show- Bud Grant on His NFL Career

Source:Newsmax– talking to former Minnesota Vikings and Hall of Fame head coach Bud Grant.

“Bud Grant, former NFL Head Coach joins Steve to discuss his new book, “I Did It My Way: A Remarkable Journey to the Hall of Fame.”

Source:Newsmax

I don’t want to sound cold here, but if you look at the Vikings four Super Bowl appearances, they were the second best team in every game, so why they would be on a missing rings list from. NFL Films is surprising to me and in really at least two of those games they were clearly the second best team in the Super Bowl. Because only Super Bowl 8 against the Miami Dolphins and Super Bowl 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, before the Steelers became a great team on offense, the Vikings were clear underdogs in these games.

The Vikings remind me of the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s, as teams that got beat badly in Super Bowls by teams that were clearly better than them. The Vikings were overmatched upfront on defense and offense by the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 4. And by the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl 11, which meant the Chiefs and Raiders could run against them real well. And take away the Vikings run game and throw the ball when they wanted to do and force the Vikings to throw the ball when they had too.

The Vikings of the late 1960s and 1970s were very good teams on both sides of the ball. But that’s not enough when you play teams that are clearly better than you in the Super Bowl. They lost to two of the best teams of all-time in the 1969 Chiefs and the 1976 Raiders in the Super Bowl. Which is how both games turned into blowouts because the Vikings simply weren’t big and good enough up front to take on those big powerful offensive and defensive lines that the Chiefs and Raiders had.

The Vikings getting beat badly up front, messed up their offense in these games where they had to throw practically every down. Against those big strong quick defensive lines. Against the 69 Chiefs, 73 Dolphins, 74 Steelers and 76 Raiders. The missing rings should be about teams that would’ve won the Super Bowl that year, but came up short and the 98 Vikings would be on that list. Perhaps the 86 Cleveland Browns, the 68 Baltimore Colts or the 1990 San Francisco 49ers. Not for teams that lost the Super Bowl to a better team.

The 69 Vikings are one of the most dominant teams of all-time as far as how they won games and simply dominated their opponents. A team that finished 14-2. But the 68 Colts who lost Super Bowl three were a better team both on offense and defense and a team that should be on this list. A team that won Super 5 against the Dallas Cowboys. What the Vikings were of this era were very good teams especially on defense that didn’t have enough to win the Super Bowl.

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NFL Network: America’s Game- 1985 Chicago Bears: Wilbur Marshall’s Fumble Return For TD

Source:NFL Network– Da Bears finishing of the Anaheim Rams (as I called the Los Angeles Rams back then)

“1985 Bears: Wilber Marshall returns fumble for touchdown in NFC Championship Game”

From Sigmon Keyataol

When I think of this play, I think of Marcus Allen’s long TD run against the Redskins in Super Bowl 18. The game was still competitive in the 3rd quarter, with the Los Angeles Raiders having a 21-9 lead, but then Marcus simply puts the Redskins away on this long TD run, basically all by himself, because the Redskins defense took away what the Raiders were actually trying to do there, which was a sweep. But Marcus with his cutback ability and speed, simply took the play the other way and found a hole and sprinted for a TD. And then the Raiders whole bench basically going onto the field to congratulate Marcus on his huge TD run.

What you see with this play by the Chicago Bears defense against the Anaheim Rams (as I called the Los Angeles Rams back then) is something very similar. This is the play that basically makes it official that the Bears are going to the Super Bowl, with the entire stadium and Bears teams freaking out about it together. That’s what you hear with Coach Mike Ditka’s commentary here that the long Bears hibernation is over (no pun intended) and the Bears are finally champions again.

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NFL Network: Mike Ditka A Football Life

Source:NFL Network– A Football Life Mike Ditka.

“A Football Life – Mike Ditka HD”

From 80s Football Cards

“A Football Life is a documentary series developed by NFL Films and aired on NFL Network that documents the lives of select National Football League players, coaches, owners, and teams. Friends, teammates, family members and other players and coaches associated with the subjects are interviewed.”

Source:NFL Network– A Football Life Mike Ditka.

From Online Documentaries

To understand Mike Ditka you have to understand his upbringing growing up in a tough Western Pennsylvania town. From a blue-collar Polish-American family with a very tough and demanding father who really loved him. Who ends up going to college at Pittsburgh University another real tough iron blue-collar city and then gets drafted by the Chicago Bears. Similar town as Pittsburgh culturally, but with about ten times as many people.

So, Iron Mike for the most part has always been around where he came from and what he’s most comfortable with as a man. And then he ends up playing one of the toughest positions in the game tight end where you have to be tough and physical to be successful.

The Mike Ditka that people got to see as a football player is the Mike Ditka that a lot more people saw as head coach of the Chicago Bears. This get in your face tough ass didn’t take crap from anyone who simply wanted the best from his players.

Mike Ditka was the ultimate tough love head coach father figure that coached the Chicago Bears for eleven seasons (1982-92) and if you look at his record he was very successful one of the most winningest head coaches in the NFL in the 1980s.

You do your job and you give your best effort, Ditka is your best friend. But if you screw up and make mental mistakes or are lazy, Ditka is the last person you want to be around. Because he’ll tell you how bad you were, how dumb you were and how bad of a mistake you’ve made.And if you don’t do better in the future, you better look for another job.

Which was the message of Mike Ditka and you might not like his tactics, but that’s what Ditka was about. And I think something he learned from Tom Landry in Dallas, that if you want the best out of your players, you have to want it, you have to expect it and you better demand it. And your players must be aware of it as well.

Mike Ditka was a blue-collar Polish-American head coach coaching in a blue-collar city with a large Polish-American community.

Iron Mike fit Chicago as well as any head coach has ever fit any major pro sports city. And why he called his football team the 85 Bears the Grabowski’s, because his team were so blue-collar and represented that city so well. And it worked very well in the 1980s until it burned out in the early 1990s when the Bears let him go.

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NFL Films: Jim McCusker: ‘1960 Philadelphia Eagle Champions’

Source:NFL Films– Tommy McDonald: WR for the 1960 NFL Champion Philadelphia Eagles.

“On Feb. 3, 2008, the community showed highlights from the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles v. Green Bay Packers N.F.L. Championship game at Jim McCusker’s Pub. Here he comments on the Eagles win. Jim was the starting left tackle for the Eagles and earned a championship ring. Jim is a native/resident of Jamestown N.Y. Jim is a member of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame.”

From NFL Films 

“The team that wins the Western Conference title will have to face the Philadelphia Eagles, and that will not be the easy assignment it may at first appear to be. While few winning teams in professional football have looked more inept than the Eagles when running the ball, few have been able to offset their weaknesses so well. The reasons are two: the Eagles have an impressive coterie of pass receivers and they have Norman Van Brocklin, one of the two or three best quarterbacks in all football.”

Source:Sports Illustrated– Philadelphia Eagles QB Norm Van Brocklin.

From Sports Illustrated

1960 was an interesting NFL season for several reasons. You had a different NFL champion for the first time since 1958, because the Philadelphia Eagles won the championship in 1960 dethroning the Baltimore Colts who won the championship in 58 and 59. The great Giants-Eagles rivalry went to a new level as Eagles LB Chuck Bednarik closed line which was legal back then, but he closed line New York Giants star RB/WR Frank Gifford. Knocked him out cold which cost Gifford an entire season. The Chicago Cardinals moved to St. Louis and I’m sure people in Chicago helped the Cardinals pack. Because they were an awful team and Chicago is Bears country anyway.

But perhaps the most interesting part of the 1960 NFL season were the Eagles. A blue-collar team with a great quarterback in Norm Van Brocklin and a great head coach in Buck Shaw. And the team they played in the NFL Championship the Green Bay Packers who hadn’t been an NFL contender since the early 1950s. And 1960 was Packers head coach Vince Lombardi’s first shot at the championship. And last playoff game he would ever lose. Interesting matchup because the Eagles were a pure passing team without much of a running game. And the Packers were a power running team that could also throw the ball when they needed to. But didn’t throw the ball very often.

The Eagles in 1960 were sort of like the Miami Dolphins of the mid and late 1980s. With a much better defense, but they moved the ball through the air primarily and would run when the defense was completely focused on taking away the pass. Similar to the New England Patriots of the last ten years or so. Where the Packers were a run, run, run team that would beat you up on the ground and up the middle. And could get to outside with their power sweep. And hit big passes in running situations and when you were expecting the run. Which made for a great championship matchup especially since both team were also good on defense.

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NFL Films: NFL 1962- NFL Championship- Green Bay Packers vs New York Giants: Highlights

Source:NFL Films– Looks like Packers WR Max McGee catching a Bart Starr TD for a Green Packers TD against the New York Giants.

“Highlights of the 1962 NFL Championship Game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants.

With thanks to NFL Films for the use of their film. We do not own the rights to any of this film. This film is being used for teaching and educational purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.”

From Classic Sports

This is basically the game where the Packers became the dominant team in the NFL in the 1960s and where the Giants took a bit of step back.

I wouldn’t say that the New York Giants dominated the NFL in the 1950s and early 1960s, but you could argue that they dominated the Eastern Conference of the NFL in the 50s. The Giants won 4 Eastern Conference Championships in the 1950s and won the NFL Championship in 1956. And won two more Eastern Conference Championships in 1962 and 63.

But when Vince Lombardi comes to Green Bay in 1959, he wasn’t building a contender or a winner, or even a champion, but a dynasty. And 1962 was the first of 5 NFL Championships, including the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 67 seasons that the Packers won under Lombardi’s leadership.

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USA History Writer: The O’Reilly Factor- ‘Bill O’Reilly Interviews Fran Tarkenton’

Source:USA History Writer– Fran Tarkenton, taking on the Dallas Cowboys.

Source:The Daily Press 

“A pretty heavy price to pay for all that fame and fortune, mighty alluring for sure but not really sure its worth it. look at Bernie Kosar, the guy can hardly talk due to all the head injuries he had.”

From USA History Writer

Minnesota Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton, obviously, but I don’t know which game this is or who he’s playing against. It could be Super 11 against the Oakland Raiders, but that’s a guess. I think Fran is certainly one of the best big game QB’s ever (not including the Super Bowl) and all the wins and playoff wins back that up, as well as how he played in all of those big regular season and playoff games.

Source:The Daily Press– Minnesota Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton, probably playing in the 1970s, but I don’t know much about this photo.

I guess I have mixed feelings about Fran Tarkenton who is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. And probably would be in my top ten, but I like a lot of other people who follow the National Football League I judge QB’s by not only how they play in big games, big regular season games that determine division championships, playoff positioning as well as playoff games, but I also judge QB’s by how they played in the biggest game. Which of course is the Super Bowl and yes you can argue that those Minnesota Vikings teams were the second best team in each Super Bowl that Tarkenton was involved in.

And I’m not looking down on Fran because the Vikings lost all of those games. But I’m looking down on him for the fact that he didn’t do everything that he could to lead the Vikings in winning those games. He had three shots at the Super Bowl and didn’t play very well in any of them, couldn’t even get the Vikings to the end zone in Super Bowl 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A game where the Vikings defense played very well and kept them in the game the whole way, but where their offense did almost nothing.

So that’s where Fran Tarkenton comes up short with me (no pun intended) but as far as how QB’s have done before the Super Bowl, Fran is one of the best of all-time in games before the Super Bowl, not many better. John Unitas, Joe Montana, John Elway, maybe Roger Staubach. Not necessarily in that order, but Unitas is number one with me at least overall. And if you look at QB’s and what they are able to do with the tools that they work with and the talent they have around them, Fran is one of the best ever.

Fran is one of the best of all time, leading a mediocre New York Giants team in the late 1960s to a winning record. Didn’t have a running game or a very good offensive line. (To use as an example) Defense came up short as well, but he was a great QB who always knew who to throw the ball too and how to get the ball to the available talent that he had. Like WR Homer Jones and TE Bob Tucker who were good players, but this wasn’t the West Coast San Francisco 49ers or any team like that. But Fran got the most out of what he had to work with.

In defense of Fran Tarkenton: this idea that he had a weak arm, if you look at his highlight films, you see him completing a lot of long passes and he did have good WR’s. Like Sammy White, John Gilliam, Ahmad Rashad, Chuck Foreman was the Roger Craig of his era and like another WR. And you also see Fran drilling some passes into tight coverage. He didn’t have a cannon, but a strong enough arm to make the right throws. And the Vikings of that era were a possession passing team anyway. So he was a great QB, but I don’t have him up higher because he came up short on the biggest stage three times and never came up big.

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NFL Films: NFL 1967- NFL Championship- Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers: Ice Bowl

Source:Pro Football Hall of Fame– the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers for the 1967 NFL Championship.

Source:The Daily Press

“Pro football fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin have always been recognized as a loyal and hearty bunch. But one wouldn’t have faulted even the most loyal “Packer Backer” if he’d decided not to attend the 1967 NFL Championship game between the Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Played at Lambeau Field on December 31, the temperature at game time registered a frigid 13 degrees below zero. Nonetheless, more than 50,000 parka-clad fans braved the elements that New Year’s Eve and watched in awe as the Packers claimed their third consecutive NFL title, with a 21-17 victory.
From the start, Green Bay fans felt their team had a distinct advantage over the warm-weather Cowboys, After all, the Packers lived and practiced in the cold Wisconsin climate. Green Bay’s early 14-0 lead probably convinced fans that they were right. However, the severe weather affected the Packers too. Dallas scored a touchdown and a field goal after two Packer fumbles and added a second touchdown in the fourth quarter. Suddenly, with 4:50 left in the game the Packers were behind, 17-14.

The Packers literally and figuratively “kept their cool.” Behind the leadership of future Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, they marched down field. With sixteen seconds remaining and the temperature down to eighteen below zero, the Packers found themselves about two feet away from victory. Starr called time out. The field was like a sheet of ice. The two previous running plays had gone nowhere. With no time outs left, a running play seemed totally out of the question. A completed pass surely would win it. Even an incomplete pass would at least stop the clock so the Packers could set up a field goal to tie the game and send it into overtime. After consulting with Packers coach Vince Lombardi, Starr returned to the huddle.”

From the Pro Football Hall of Fame

“I think this is as close as you can get to the full game.”

Source:Virgil Moody– the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers for the 1967 NFL Championship.

From Virgil Moody 

When I think of great football games, I don’t think of great shootouts, like the New York Jets beating the Miami Dolphins back in 1986, something like 52-49, the shootout of shootouts with quarterbacks Dan Marino and Ken O’Brien trading touchdown passes. Good game, entertaining game, of course, but not one of the best games of all-time.

No, a great game is generally not played by two teams that can’t stop each other, where the team that has the ball last, wins or can’t score against each other. And it’s generally a mistake rather than a great play that decides the game.

Great games are generally played between two great teams, where both teams have good or great offenses and defenses. And the team that wins, is the team that executes or prepares better and perhaps gets a few more breaks. Thats what the 1967 NFL Championship, better known as the Ice Bowl represents. Two very good teams on both sides of the ball, both playing a great game. I mean think about it, the 1967 NFL Championship played in Green Bay, Wisconsin, not Milwaukee, but Green Bay.

Take football and freezing weather away from Green Bay, nobody outside of the country has ever heard of Green Bay. Actually, take the Packers out of Green Bay, nobody outside of Green Bay has ever heard of Green Bay. But they have the Packers and they have Lambeau Field, the New York Yankees of the NFL and most famous and best stadium in the NFL. There’s nothing that better represents the NFL than the Packers and Lambeau Field, with all of its Hall of Famers and championships.

The Packers won the first two Super Bowls, so there was no better place to be, to play this game and weather was part of it. The ultimate of football weather, zero degrees at halftime, windchill probably -20, a skating rink for a football field. Playing a very good and up-incoming team, from the biggest city or 2nd biggest city in the South, the Dallas Cowboys.

What made the Ice Bowl great, we’re the great players who played in, the Hall of Famers and Pro Bowlers who played for both teams. QB Don Meredith, WR Bob Hayes, DT Bob Lilly for the Cowboys. QB Bart Starr, OT Forrest Gregg, OG Jerry Kramer, DE Willy Davis and others for the Packers. I mean these teams had to be this great, just to show up to play this game and represent why this is the best bad weather football game of all time.

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