Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Nice article here on the Cards/Packers "tournament" game...

https://thebigredzone.com/2021/01/08/bi ... eau-field/

Hanifan quite the character. Love that Pabst Blue Ribbon Lambeau scoreboard!

I think Green Bay makes the playoffs in a full 16-game '82 campaign. This is whether they win the division or finish as a wild card for Tampa Bay finished strong winning five of their last six - a win over Miami among those wins. This may have very well been TB's best season under McKay. Better than '81 if only due to they at least being able to give the Cowboys a good game at Big D.

As for Fouts...if he should be considered for the "real" MVP of '82, shouldn't a certain defending-Champ also be considered for '82 as well, albeit his team suffering a "hangover" letdown at 3-6? Yes, Dan passed for 250+ more yards, but both he and Joe Cool had 17 TDs to 11 INTs. Of course, both played each other in a forgotten classic during that regular season!

I already gave my "rationale" as to why Mark was actually chosen for MVP. As for my personal opinion? I place Wes Chandler and Marcus Allen for my top-2. Wes scored nine TDs but Marcus upped him with eleven - almost 700 yards rushing (8 TDs) and over 400 in receiving (3 TDs).

1982 always the most ironic season in that although I consider it the worst-ever NFL season, IMO it could have very likely been even better than '80 & '81 had it gone full! I did give my guess previously as to how I felt the entire regular and post-season campaign turns out had '82 gone full. it's lost on the old boards. Just for fun, I should place the entire '82 schedule in front of me and, starting Week #3, pick each and every game and tally things on up, then fill out the 10-team bracket. I have a pretty strong feeling that, in the end, the 'final four' (NYJ/MIa/Dal/Wash) would remain the same. I believe that I had SD eliminating the Jets in the divisionals in that long ago previous turnout. I now think that doesn't happen. Chargers' D was even weaker in '82 thus no trip to a conference championship game this time around. Miami was a true, deserving Super Bowl team in '82 (they and Jets top-two in the AFC) and though Washington was better, SBXVII still could have turned out to be a different result if the wind blew just right (perhaps Theismann not batting away his very own almost-INT; maybe Washington still wins anyway).

The 1982 NFL season always an intriguing topic despite the obvious!

74_75_78_79_ wrote:The 1982 NFL season always an intriguing topic despite the obvious!

I viewed the 1982 Postseason Tournament as an argument against playoff expansion. Aside from the Chargers-Steelers first round game, which had zero impact on the overall postseason, nearly every game was terrible. The 82 Raiders-Browns game is perhaps the most forgettable game in postseason history. You'd think that by simply having more postseason games, you'd have a better chance of having a 'classic' game or two. But that didn't happen in 1982, perhaps because so many mediocre teams were allowed into the postseason.

Dan Fouts was the consensus NFL MVP in 1982:

Dan Fouts: PFWA, NEA and Pro Football Weekly
Mark Moseley: AP and The Sporting News
Joe Theismann: Maxwell Club (Bell Award) and Football Digest

The AP vote was close with Moseley getting the nod over Fouts, 35 votes to 33.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... s_1982.htm

https://www.profootballarchives.com/1982awards.html

I agree that a full 1982 maybe could have been better that 1980 and 1981: Prime time games who were cancelled I would love to have seen (of the top of my head) are San Francisco-Tampa Bay (MNF), Dallas-Cincinnati (SNF) and Atlanta-Kansas City (TNF), plus all the Packers games at Green Bay (it seemed that the only home games they had that season were in Milwaukee).

74_75_78_79_ wrote:Nice article here on the Cards/Packers "tournament" game...

https://thebigredzone.com/2021/01/08/bi ... eau-field/

Hanifan quite the character. Love that Pabst Blue Ribbon Lambeau scoreboard!

I think Green Bay makes the playoffs in a full 16-game '82 campaign. This is whether they win the division or finish as a wild card for Tampa Bay finished strong winning five of their last six - a win over Miami among those wins. This may have very well been TB's best season under McKay. Better than '81 if only due to they at least being able to give the Cowboys a good game at Big D.

As for Fouts...if he should be considered for the "real" MVP of '82, shouldn't a certain defending-Champ also be considered for '82 as well, albeit his team suffering a "hangover" letdown at 3-6? Yes, Dan passed for 250+ more yards, but both he and Joe Cool had 17 TDs to 11 INTs. Of course, both played each other in a forgotten classic during that regular season!

I already gave my "rationale" as to why Mark was actually chosen for MVP. As for my personal opinion? I place Wes Chandler and Marcus Allen for my top-2. Wes scored nine TDs but Marcus upped him with eleven - almost 700 yards rushing (8 TDs) and over 400 in receiving (3 TDs).

1982 always the most ironic season in that although I consider it the worst-ever NFL season, IMO it could have very likely been even better than '80 & '81 had it gone full! I did give my guess previously as to how I felt the entire regular and post-season campaign turns out had '82 gone full. it's lost on the old boards. Just for fun, I should place the entire '82 schedule in front of me and, starting Week #3, pick each and every game and tally things on up, then fill out the 10-team bracket. I have a pretty strong feeling that, in the end, the 'final four' (NYJ/MIa/Dal/Wash) would remain the same. I believe that I had SD eliminating the Jets in the divisionals in that long ago previous turnout. I now think that doesn't happen. Chargers' D was even weaker in '82 thus no trip to a conference championship game this time around. Miami was a true, deserving Super Bowl team in '82 (they and Jets top-two in the AFC) and though Washington was better, SBXVII still could have turned out to be a different result if the wind blew just right (perhaps Theismann not batting away his very own almost-INT; maybe Washington still wins anyway).

The 1982 NFL season always an intriguing topic despite the obvious!

Yes Bryan, there were some lousy games in the first round of the 1982 "Super Bowl Tournament" but the Bengals-Jets game was exciting before the Jets pulled away. This was the broadcast where NBC color commentator Len Dawson proclaimed Ken Anderson the NFL's best ever QB. The next round had better games, especially Dallas-GB -- Danny White's last playoff win-- and the Jets-Raiders game where Wesley Walker killed the Raiders before Shula allowed the Orange Bowl to collect a foot of water to slow him down enough in the AFC Championship game the following week. Though the Dolphins got revenge and blew out the Chargers, students of defensive football had to have admired the defensive gameplan put together by DC Bill Arnsparger to stop Air Coryell, another reason Arnsparger deserves to be in the HOVG if not HOF. Yes, the defense couldnt stop Riggins or the Hogs in the SB but I blame it as much on the Dolphins horrific offense in the second half than anything because they could hardly help their defence with first downs ...

Brian wolf wrote:Yes Bryan, there were some lousy games in the first round of the 1982 "Super Bowl Tournament" but the Bengals-Jets game was exciting before the Jets pulled away. This was the broadcast where NBC color commentator Len Dawson proclaimed Ken Anderson the NFL's best ever QB. The next round had better games, especially Dallas-GB -- Danny White's last playoff win-- and the Jets-Raiders game where Wesley Walker killed the Raiders before Shula allowed the Orange Bowl to collect a foot of water to slow him down enough in the AFC Championship game the following week. Though the Dolphins got revenge and blew out the Chargers, students of defensive football had to have admired the defensive gameplan put together by DC Bill Arnsparger to stop Air Coryell, another reason Arnsparger deserves to be in the HOVG if not HOF. Yes, the defense couldnt stop Riggins or the Hogs in the SB but I blame it as much on the Dolphins horrific offense in the second half than anything because they could hardly help their defence with first downs ...

Other first round game I think was good was Atlanta-Minnesota at the Metrodome. The Vikings won 30-24 thanks to a Ted Brown TD in the final two minutes and later sealed the game with an interception. I have never seen that game, though, as it was at same time as the Tampa Bay-Dallas (who, naturally, was the game we saw in Mexico) and it was close for the first three quarters (the Bucs led 17-16), but then they collapsed in the 4th quarter, thanks to two consecutive Charley Hannah penalties and a Cowboys pick-six in the next play.