Random thoughts upon reviewing 1984 season

[sheajets]

The first season without John “the Voice of God” Facenda doing any narrations of any kind!

NFC East was quite the division race! Swamp Fox’s Eagles were odd-man-out but had their share of respectable moments! Not only did they take it down the field on their first two possessions at 10-0 Miami to go up 14-0 on them (thus, maybe, “writing the book” on them), but earlier on in Week #4 were only down, 14-9, to San Fran in the 4th quarter. They split with the G-men in Week #8 and then with Washington four weeks after that making them now 5-6-1. But Jaws breaking his leg at Busch the following week further assured no playoffs for the Birds thus sending them on a closing 1-3 skid!

The Cardinals lost at RFK, 29-27, in an underrated Classic! Had StL simply won, they would not only had been the division winner at 10-6, but would have been 2ND-SEED hosting da Bears in the divisional!

In ‘Year One’ after Terry, the '84 Steelers are an interesting study in inconsistency! Finish 9-7 but beat the Rams, win at San Fran being the only team to beat them (Weegie Thompson winning Lott’s respect with his blocking of him throughout the game), win at Raiders in the finale to clinch the division/playoffs-period, and of course eliminate 13-3 Denver at Mile High!

Being that the Raiders were on a 6-game win-streak vs the ’Burgh going into that late finale (blasted them the previous New Years Day, 38-10) the now 8-8 Bengals (having started 0-5), who just beat Buffalo in the early game, must’ve thought they had the division in the bag!

I recently watched that St. Louis/Redskins classic and it was as good as advertised. Though I don't think there was a person on earth who thought the perpetually erratic O'Donoghue was making that kick. Even during one of his better seasons...he was always a guy you worried about even on kicks under 30 yards

Lomax showed so much guts in that game, and iirc the Cardinals were very peeved about penalties (flagged for 10 vs the Skins 1). RFK Stadium was at its madhouse cauldron of noise best

[sheajets]

Another thoughts on the 1984 season:
-Art Monk (receptions), Roy Green (yards) and Mark Clayton (touchdowns) all broke receiving records for a single NFL season, but maybe the top WR that year was John Stallworth, who was comeback player of the year.
-The Cowboys had a mess at QB, with Gary Hogeboom starting the season and Danny White recxlaiming the job later that year.
-The only SNF game of that year was a Saints-Cowboys matchup at Dallas that started late because of a presidential debate. The Saints (with Richard Todd at QB) were leading 27-6, but Todd was injured and replaced by Ken Stabler, whose fumble late in the game was recovered by Jim Jeffcoat for the tying TD and Dallas won in OT. It was Stabler's final game.
-Dallas missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years by losing to the winless Bills in Buffalo (with a great game by rookie RB Greg Bell), and then losing their final two games of the year (at home against Washington, and at Miami in the final MNF of the year.

What happened to Dallas towards the end of the season really gave you the feeling the sun might be starting to set on their great run. They were still good in 85 but I kind of feel that was an 8-8 team that got a bit fortunate. They took some awful drubbings that season (Cinci, Chicago) and finally Dickerson just mauling them in that playoff game

[Citizen]

In the NFL Films Games of the Week games still narrated by Harry Kalas (until 1986, by 1987 theses highlights, my favorite, were discontinued) they brought new music by Sam Spence which, IMHO, was not of the same level and quality that the earlier pieces. I thought after a while that they had change composers or than they were not allowed to use the earlier Spence´s tunes, but Spence still composed for NFL Films until 1989 or 1990.

Spence's work really dropped off in the '80s, IMO. He got a little too hung up on sonic trends dominating the pop charts (synths, booming digital drums).

[Bryan]

You could see the signs and what was starting to form with the Bears in 1984, but I don't think anyone could've predicted what they became in 1985. There was so much tumult and instability at the QB position, and other than home run hitter Gault, they were paper thin at receiver.

The 1984 Prolog review magazine actually predicted the Bears to win the 1985 Super Bowl. I don't think there was 'tumult' at the QB position...McMahon was clearly the starter but he got injured. The Bears still were able to defeat the defending NFC champ Redskins on the road with Steve Fuller at QB...no small feat. I remember the magazine referencing Dan Marino's 48 TD record and saying something like:

To break Marino's record, a QB would have to average FOUR (I remember this being emphasized as if it were impossible...little did they know about future rule changes) TDs a game. Can it be done? Jim McMahon did it at BYU, and he has the all time leading rusher in NFL history and the best defense in the NFL. 1985 will be the Year of the Bear.

Or something like that. I remember my adolescent brain thinking the Seahawks would win the 1985 Super Bowl, because they were so good in 1984 and Curt Warner would be coming back. Too bad Dave Krieg remembered he was just an average QB in 1985 and that was that.

[Bob Gill]

What happened to Dallas towards the end of the season really gave you the feeling the sun might be starting to set on their great run. They were still good in 85 but I kind of feel that was an 8-8 team that got a bit fortunate.

Yeah, I've always dated their run as perennial contenders under Landry from 1966 to '83. They were 12-2 when they had the big showdown game with the Redskins at the end of the 1983 season. They got blown out in that game, and also in the final game -- granted, that was against the 49ers, another outstanding team. But then they dropped their first playoff game too, finishing the season with three straight losses. To my mind, their 18-year "dynasty" ended right there.

[SixtiesFan]

What is the perspective on Eric Dickerson gaining 2105 yards in 1984?

[Bryan]

What is the perspective on Eric Dickerson gaining 2105 yards in 1984?

There is no mention of Dickerson being 'on pace' to top OJs record...it's all about Marino's yards and TDs. Its really only talked about in Week 15 when Dickerson set the record against Houston.

It was the same with Art Monk breaking the reception record. No mention of anything until it happened, and even then they didn't even say who held the previous record.

[BD Sullivan]

Cleveland Browns - Rutigliano decided to keep his pass-happy scheme despite having Paul McDonald as his QB. McDonald would take almost every snap in 1984, and then not attempt a pass in 1985. The Browns offense was terrible...Ozzie Newsome led the team with 89 receptions and the second place guy was Brian Brennan with 35, and Brennan didn't even start until the end of the year. The Browns regular WRs were Ricky Feacher and Duriel Harris (!), who were both old and had matching bright white double-bar (thin) facemasks that looked ridiculous.

The year before, Rutigliano and Sipe had a falling out when Sipe was negotiating with the USFL during the season. After that year ended, the Browns let Sipe walk and figured four years of seasoning had prepared McDonald. Yeah, I don't think so. In the first month of play, he had an embarrassing streak of giving up a pick-six in three straight games--which narrowly missed reaching five in the next two contests.

Duriel Harris had been brought in as a big signing and tanked by dropping multiple passes. He further aggravated the team and fans by dismissing the issue this way: "Dropped passes are part of the game."

After losing at the gun to Cincy in October, Rutigliano was fired and Marty Schottenheimer took over--focusing more on the run with USFL refugee Kevin Mack and rookie Earnest Byner. They played better but still finished 5-11, though their four wins--including two against the Oilers--came against teams with a collective record of 12-52.