Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

JohnH19 wrote:It seems to have been ignored by some here that Minnesota went to the SB in 73, 74 and 76 so it isn't at all a stretch to think that they would have done so again if not for the Hail Mary and the questionable 4th down and 16 sideline push-out completion to Drew Pearson a couple of plays earlier.

I think Minn likely gets past Rams in such an event. After all, they normally beat them anyway. But who would have wanted to see Steelers/Vikings again (as opposed to the Classic matchup that was instead)? It would have been even more lopsided than IX. Dallas IMO was the only NFC team that could give Steelers a game. Steelers vs Cards SX? IMO, a classic case of "great D beats great O". A '70s precursor to SF/Mia ('84) or Sea/Den ('13) I think.

74_75_78_79_ wrote:I know that early/mid-'70s scheduling formulas have been discussed here before, but what was the reason for Steelers not playing Raiders (and Dolphins) during the '75 regular season being that they were division-winners the year prior? Cards, Vikes & Rams ('74 div-winners) didn't play each other at all!

It wasn't until 1978 that the NFL went to the balanced schedule where Division winners would face the Division winners from the same conference the following season. I never understood how the NFL picked non-division schedule opponents from 1970-77, but in Ivan Urena's book on schedules (which I cannot recommend highly enough), Ivan figured out the logic the league used. For the inter-conference games, if I remember it correctly, it involved two vertical side-by-side lists, one list of the AFC teams and one of the NFC teams, and the teams on the AFC list would play the team across from them on the NFC list, and the team above that team and below that team on the NFC list. The expansion in 1976 mucked up their scheduling process, and they had to do rework to ensure each non-expansion team played Seattle and or Tampa Bay in 1976 and 1977.

The playoff format of that era really hurt the Bengals.

Under the 5 team format, they at least get a home playoff game.

74_75_78_79_ wrote:I know that early/mid-'70s scheduling formulas have been discussed here before, but what was the reason for Steelers not playing Raiders (and Dolphins) during the '75 regular season being that they were division-winners the year prior? Cards, Vikes & Rams ('74 div-winners) didn't play each other at all!

For 1970-75 there was a set rotation beforehand of who would play whom, inter-conference and intra-conference. It didn't matter what a team finished the year before. I think it was established before the 1970 season and was set to run thru 1977. The rotation was altered in 1976 and 1977 due to the expansion.

According to Ivan Urena's book Pro Football Schedules pg. 76, for the 1976 AFC Central teams would play:

1: Home and away round-robin within the division
2: One game against four out of the five clubs of the AFC West (The Steelers played everybody except Denver)
3: One game against two out of the five clubs of the AFC East (The Steelers played Miami and New England)
4: Two games against teams from the other conference (The Steelers played the NY Giants and Minnesota)

In addition, because of the game against expansion Tampa Bay, who played every AFC team, the Steelers gave up an inter-conference game in 1976, which would have been against St. Louis. In 1977, because of the game against Seattle, who jumped from the NFC to the AFC in 1977 and played every AFC team, the Steelers lost an inter-conference game against Detroit.

74_75_78_79_ wrote:

JohnH19 wrote:It seems to have been ignored by some here that Minnesota went to the SB in 73, 74 and 76 so it isn't at all a stretch to think that they would have done so again if not for the Hail Mary and the questionable 4th down and 16 sideline push-out completion to Drew Pearson a couple of plays earlier.

But who would have wanted to see Steelers/Vikings again (as opposed to the Classic matchup that was instead)? It would have been even more lopsided than IX.

I would have loved to see a rematch and we don't know that it would have been lopsided.

JohnH19 wrote:

74_75_78_79_ wrote:

JohnH19 wrote:It seems to have been ignored by some here that Minnesota went to the SB in 73, 74 and 76 so it isn't at all a stretch to think that they would have done so again if not for the Hail Mary and the questionable 4th down and 16 sideline push-out completion to Drew Pearson a couple of plays earlier.

But who would have wanted to see Steelers/Vikings again (as opposed to the Classic matchup that was instead)? It would have been even more lopsided than IX.

I would have loved to see a rematch and we don't know that it would have been lopsided.

Yeah, but the Steelers would have been in it. So, of course they would have won.

Of course if you're a Vikings-fans you'd want to see the rematch and - yes - no guarantee it would have been lopsided. Vikes were only down 9-6 late the previous year but - let's face it - Steelers were even better in '75. I guess we'll never know for sure what would have happened if not for 'Hail Mary'. One less Steeler/Dallas Super Bowl (both teams tied at 1 instead).

Rupert Patrick wrote:

74_75_78_79_ wrote:I know that early/mid-'70s scheduling formulas have been discussed here before, but what was the reason for Steelers not playing Raiders (and Dolphins) during the '75 regular season being that they were division-winners the year prior? Cards, Vikes & Rams ('74 div-winners) didn't play each other at all!

For 1970-75 there was a set rotation beforehand of who would play whom, inter-conference and intra-conference. It didn't matter what a team finished the year before. I think it was established before the 1970 season and was set to run thru 1977. The rotation was altered in 1976 and 1977 due to the expansion.

According to Ivan Urena's book Pro Football Schedules pg. 76, for the 1976 AFC Central teams would play:

1: Home and away round-robin within the division
2: One game against four out of the five clubs of the AFC West (The Steelers played everybody except Denver)
3: One game against two out of the five clubs of the AFC East (The Steelers played Miami and New England)
4: Two games against teams from the other conference (The Steelers played the NY Giants and Minnesota)

In addition, because of the game against expansion Tampa Bay, who played every AFC team, the Steelers gave up an inter-conference game in 1976, which would have been against St. Louis. In 1977, because of the game against Seattle, who jumped from the NFC to the AFC in 1977 and played every AFC team, the Steelers lost an inter-conference game against Detroit.

Thanks for the knowledge-drop! Man...those early/mid-'70s schedule-makers/mathematicians better have gotten paid good!

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Unlike the Vikings and Rams, the Steelers are a legitimate 12-2 after having gone undefeated in a division that also included Cincinnati (11-3) and Houston (10-4). Defense continued to be a force (surrendering only 162 points), while Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and Lynn Swann all had career years.

2. Dallas Cowboys
Tough call rating the Cowboys above the Bengals, but I felt that Dallas had the more balanced team. You also have to factor a potentially equally strong division - going 2-2 against St. Louis (11-3) and Washington (8-6) – not to mention the opening day win against the Rams. Defense was not leak proof in giving up 268 points but featured burgeoning stars in rookies Randy White and Thomas Henderson. Roger Staubach had a good but not great year, while the 3-headed monster running back tandem of Robert Newhouse, Preston Pearson and Doug Dennison was adequate but also left you feeling the Cowboys needed a feature back along the lines of Franco Harris or Chuck Foreman to get to the next level.

3. Cincinnati Bengals
A legitimate case can be made for ranking the Bengals second in light of its 2-2 record against division opponents Pittsburgh and Houston in addition to wins over Oakland (11-3) and Buffalo (8-6). I watched the Buffalo game (on Monday night) back in the day and recall OJ Simpson gaining close to 200 yards rushing the first half but the Bengals shut him down the second. Speaking of which, it is such lack of balance which defaults the Bengals to third place in not only could they not stop the run (yielding over 2000 yards on the ground) but struggled to run it as well. On the other hand, Ken Anderson posted an amazing QB rating of 93.9 (at least when factoring the mid-seventies era), while underrated defensive backs Ken Riley and Lemar Parris were both second team all pro.

4. Oakland Raiders
Obviously, I cannot rate the Raiders over a team that they lost too. You also have to factor no other team in the Raiders division finished above .500. That said, the Raiders did post wins over Miami and Baltimore (both 10-4) and Washington (8-6). Defense was above average in yielding 255 points but did record 55 QB sacks and 35 interceptions. Kenny Stabler regressed in comparison to his performance of the past two years in throwing 24 interceptions (including 4 in the loss to the Bengals) but also was throwing to perhaps the finest pair of receivers in the league in Cliff Branch and Fred Biletnikoff. Mark van Eeghen was starting to emerge as a force at fullback.

5. Los Angeles Raiders & Minnesota Vikings
Many bemoan the strength of schedule for the Rams & Vikings - and rightly so! – but 12-2 is 12-2 regardless of your competition.

Rams opened the season with the loss to Dallas and then proceeded to play mostly tomato cans the rest of the way (no other team in its division won more than 5 games). The end of the season win over the Steelers (in which both teams had their respective divisions wrapped up) does not count. Defense features 4 all pros while offense was solid with Lawrence McCutcheon and Harold Jackson. If only they could have solved the revolving door situation at quarterback…

Vikings did not face a single playoff team during the regular season, but did feature a 7-7 team within its division in the Detroit Lions. Also, the Vikings lost to the Washington Redskins while besting the Bills in the final game of the season. Fran Tarkenton had one of his finer seasons statistically, while Chuck Foreman was one of the leagues best backs (the Le’Veon Bell of his day, if you will).

6. St. Louis Cardinals
I find it difficult to ranks the Cardinals higher in that outside of competitive division foes in Dallas and Washington (going 2-2 against the pair) they only faced one other team with a winning record, losing in decisive fashion to the Bills (14-32). Defense was above average in giving up 276 points, but outside of all pro cornerback Roger Wehrili was mostly of the ‘no name’ type. Stars were on offense in Jim Hart, Terry Metcalf and Mel Gray.

7. Baltimore Colts
The Colts faced their toughest opposition its first five games (losing to the Raiders, Rams and Bills) in which it went 1-4. Nine straight wins, including two over Miami (10-4), won the Division for Baltimore. Bert Jones was the star of the show on offense with his solid (for the era) quarterback rating of 89.1, while Lydell Mitchell turned into one of the leagues best backs both running and catching the football. Outside of John Dutton, not a single defensive player made all pro. Defense recorded 59 sacks to go with 29 interceptions.

8a. Houston Oilers
To0 bad the NFL had not expanded its playoff format in the mid-seventies in that the Oilers barely missed the cut at 10-4. Has there been a more competitive division than the AFC Central from 1975? Too bad the Oilers went 0-4 against both the Steelers and Bengals. Outside of that, the Oilers had very respectable wins against Washington, Miami and Oakland. Its best player might have been Billy ‘Whiteshoes’ Johnson, whom combined for four touchdowns on punt and kick off returns.

8b. Miami Dolphins
Another 10-4 four team that missed the cut, the Dolphins played a pretty demanding schedule in including games against Oakland and Houston not to mention division opponents Baltimore and Buffalo. Handled Buffalo easily but lost twice to the Colts. Fell victim to a Billy Johnson punt return for a touchdown in a one point loss to Houston.