1961 Houston Oilers

[74_75_78_79_]

I've discussed this team before. The AFL equiv of the '94 Forty Niners once Wally Lemm came onboard after their 1-3-1 start. But then the League Championship Game can be seen as a precursor to SBLIII (Pats 13, Rams 3) - two hot offenses ironically playing in an extremely low-scoring game: Houston 10, San Diego 3.

In a Power Rankings thread ranking all twenty '60s league champions, I did place them above the '63 Chargers, but only placed them as high as #17 due to me feeling that the AFL was too new at the time still. Perhaps I'm too hard on those Chargers (maybe, maybe not), holding their sweep to the only double-digit team they played (hot-down-the-stretch Raiders) against them as well as the league still being young as well.

And perhaps I should give these '61 Oilers more credit as well which I would really like to do. That 9-0 regular season finish was very dominating! Now I really couldn't picture they giving the Pack any kind of game in a hypo-SB, again, due to it being just 'year two' of the new league. But should I look past that?

Could this particular AFL installment, which Wally didn't return to the following season, have possibly been special enough thus "ready" for the NFL's best? Even if it would still take years for the league as a whole to catch up to the NFL. Just, perhaps, an early one-year anomaly this team would be. Is it wrong for me to just place the '60 & '62 Oilers, and '63 Chargers, beneath them?

[LeonardRachiele]

Superb year for George Blanda; AFL MVP and leading passer; threw for the one time records of seven touchdown passes in one game and 36 for the year; led AFL in passing yardage with 3,330; kicked 16 field goals two of which were for 55 yards; kicked 64 of 65 extra points; very nearly AFL leading scorer; even though AFL was only in its second year, this was a great season; first of three consecutive years in AFL All Star Game.

In AFL Championship Game threw five interceptions but the Chargers threw five as well; that was the reason for the low scoring game.

[SeahawkFever]

I've discussed this team before. The AFL equiv of the '94 Forty Niners once Wally Lemm came onboard after their 1-3-1 start. But then the League Championship Game can be seen as a precursor to SBLIII (Pats 13, Rams 3) - two hot offenses ironically playing in an extremely low-scoring game: Houston 10, San Diego 3.

In a Power Rankings thread ranking all twenty '60s league champions, I did place them above the '63 Chargers, but only placed them as high as #17 due to me feeling that the AFL was too new at the time still. Perhaps I'm too hard on those Chargers (maybe, maybe not), holding their sweep to the only double-digit team they played (hot-down-the-stretch Raiders) against them as well as the league still being young as well.

And perhaps I should give these '61 Oilers more credit as well which I would really like to do. That 9-0 regular season finish was very dominating! Now I really couldn't picture they giving the Pack any kind of game in a hypo-SB, again, due to it being just 'year two' of the new league. But should I look past that?

Could this particular AFL installment, which Wally didn't return to the following season, have possibly been special enough thus "ready" for the NFL's best? Even if it would still take years for the league as a whole to catch up to the NFL. Just, perhaps, an early one-year anomaly this team would be. Is it wrong for me to just place the '60 & '62 Oilers, and '63 Chargers, beneath them?

As far as I am concerned, the 61 Oilers played a great season.

Early AFL sure, but if you are in a more favorable situation, I like to see a dominant performance, and those Oilers did just that in their own way.

People occasionally mention how the 1976 Steelers had an excellent last nine games of the season on defense (and they allowed 28 points in nine games; 3.11 per game), well the 1961 Oilers after that 1-3-1 start you mentioned ended their regular season by scoring 370 points over their last nine games (an average of 41.1 points per game). That is only a single point less than the best nine game stretch that the 2013 Broncos put up.

George Blanda in particular had thrown six touchdowns to seven picks in those first five games. He threw 30 touchdowns to 15 picks over the last nine games (including a seven touchdown game vs the New York Titans).