Special Teams

A week before Scott Norwood’s right foot took center stage in 1991, the Giants and 49ers played an NFC Championship game for the ages. The Giants relied on a hard hit, a fake punt and a fumble to advance to the Super Bowl, while for San Francisco, it turned out to be the last game Joe Montana would ever start for them. One play in this game changed the 49ers forever, however it was New York who would never be the same again.

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Say “4th and 26” and NFL fans shake their heads at one of the most improbable plays in NFL history. The play that made Freddie Mitchell a cult hero, which subsequently - and unfortunately - put the rest of his career in the spotlight. The play that cost Brett Favre a chance at another Super Bowl - even though Favre contributed to the loss in overtime with a throw that hurt just as much. The play that helped usher in seismic changes for both the Packers and Eagles in the following years.

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This week Special Teams takes a fresh look back at one of the most famous plays in NFL history: The Music City Miracle. While you think you know the play that sent the Titans to victory, we’ll look at it from the other side - and the questionable strategy from the Bills that went into allowing it to happen. We have bad time outs, an illogical QB derby and how if the play went the other way, NFL history for many teams would’ve been changed as a result.

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In the annals of sports history, everyone has their favorite uniform combination for both their favorite team and others they admire for their sharp look. In this episode, we rank our favorite MLB and NFL uniforms both of the present and all-time, plus the worst of what teams put out there in an attempt for style. (Two words: Shorts & Hiliters.) And also a special bonus bit on the best of the best of minor league baseball hats. This episode may foster the most disagreement of any one we’ve done to this point.

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In part two of our look back at when sports stopped, we take you through the last two times an NFL season was interrupted due to owner/player disagreements. The 1982 NFL Strike caused a complete reconfiguration of the playoffs, the crazy ways networks filled programming time without football, and the special teams we saw qualify for the post-season - at least the ones with winning records! The 1987 work stoppage was as bizarre as the movie ‘The Replacements’ made it seem: Scab games, stars crossing the picket-lines, and who became ‘special’ because they knew how to navigate the strike the best.

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In getting along without live sports, we look back at the last two times we had to get along without baseball, and how some Special Teams emerged. You won’t believe the details in how MLB decided to play out the season in 1981 after having it interrupted due to a player’s strike. (First-half champions? Second half-champions? Possible second-half second place playoff teams? Changing managers mid-season after clinching a playoff berth?) And while the 1994 lockout has been well-documented due to the missed opportunities for Ken Griffey, Jr., Matt Williams & Tony Gwynn, we focus on three other big stories that haven’t nearly gotten the attention they deserve - including possibly the worst year any MLB division has ever had.

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To have a winless NFL season is the worst of football events for a team and its fans, as winning just one game brings all sorts of relief. But sometimes even those one-win campaigns were just as bad as the zeroes - for all sorts of crazy reasons. This week, we’ll look back at three special 1-15’ers: The last year of the Ryan Leaf era in San Diego, which had allegations of fake injuries and golf, while the 2007 Dolphins nearly cost Jason his relationship with his best friend but featured the heroics of Greg Camarillo. (And of course no list of teams would be complete without the Jets on it.) One thing all of them had in common? Each of them completely turned around the following season.

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No college football season in modern history was as insane as 2007. Virtually every team who was ranked second in the country ended up losing their perch and a chance at the national championship. This week, we’ll look back at four of those teams who came oh-so-close before succumbing to upsets in the most spectacular manner. Adding to it is that none of those teams have been close to what they were that year: South Florida (Who?), Boston College (Matty Ice!), Kansas (What?) and West Virginia (Oh, Rich Rod).

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This week, it’s the second part of our look back at what some special teams did in the NFL Draft. We’ll revisit just how Jerry Rice landed in the laps of the 49ers - a lot of it had to do with a sleepy head coach and the Jets being the Jets. No one in NFL history can match the Cowboys three-year run of first-round picks from 1988-90 - despite doing all they could to screw it up during that time. And what sort of career begins when a franchise quarterback is booed by fans when he’s drafted? Only a career in Philadelphia.

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NFL teams who win - or lose - nearly always have to do special things in the NFL Draft to stand out. This week, it’s Part I of our look back at the squads who did what they had to do - or didn’t do - to get there. You know about the famous John Elway trade following the 1983 draft - but there’s all kinds of dramatic twists and turns (especially from the Colts side) you won’t believe happened for this deal to finally go down. We also spotlight a team who could’ve made a draft-day trade that would’ve changed the course of NFL history, but instead backed away. And fifteen years later, we re-examine the Packers Aaron Rodgers draft-day slide, how shocking it was, and why that won’t ever happen ever again. 

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