Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

'The Stolen Signals Caper'! Future-Oilers HC Ed Biles and also Wade Phillips in on it apparently. Following football for the first time in 1980, I knew about "last year's" playoff game between these two but not a word about any "cheating"; nor have I ever heard anything about it until now. It was on this here Jan '80 SI article below. I guess it didn't quite generate the buzz or notoriety that you-know-what would a quarter-century later.

http://www.si.com/vault/1980/01/07/824286/

Comments?

74_75_78_79_ wrote:'The Stolen Signals Caper'! Future-Oilers HC Ed Biles and also Wade Phillips in on it apparently. Following football for the first time in 1980, I knew about "last year's" playoff game between these two but not a word about any "cheating"; nor have I ever heard anything about it until now. It was on this here Jan '80 SI article below. I guess it didn't quite generate the buzz or notoriety that you-know-what would a quarter-century later.

http://www.si.com/vault/1980/01/07/824286/

Comments?

I thought the 'stolen signals' was that when Dan Fouts would employ a 'cheat step' and take the snap with his right foot behind his body, the Oilers knew it would be a passing play. When Fouts would take the snap with his feet squared, it was a running play.

Maybe it didn't generate as much buzz because Rozelle didn't order the incineration of any videotapes.

They did usually have cars inside Jack Murphy Stadium. Maybe somebody was illegally filming from the backseat of a station wagon.

The Oilers discovered a Fouts "tell" via film study, as a thousand other teams had before and have since.

Actually it was the Broncos who discovered the "tell" and they told Oilers aabout it. Broncos picked off 3 passes in season finale...though they didn't win the game, their offense only scored 7, Oilers coaches could tell from the film the Broncos knew something. Apparantly the Broncos picked it up the week before.

But Morton returned the favor and gave up 4 picks of his own.

Anyway, a phone call was made the Broncos told Oiler coaches what the tell was.

I may be getting a couple of details wrong..but I think that's the story

Andy Robustelli wrote in his book that the Rams were spying on the Cleveland Browns prior to the 1951 NFL championship game. The Rams were told that the Browns were going to use a 6 man defensive line in the title game. Turns out that they didn't.

Maybe Cleveland practiced the "umbrella defense," but changed their minds about using it in that game.

In the 1950 championship, Cleveland planned to start out using the "umbrella," but on the first play of the game, the player covering Glen Davis for Cleveland slipped on the ice and Davis started out the game with a 73 yard TD pass reception. Cleveland used their regular defense the rest of that game.

JohnTurney wrote:Actually it was the Broncos who discovered the "tell" and they told Oilers aabout it. Broncos picked off 3 passes in season finale...though they didn't win the game, their offense only scored 7, Oilers coaches could tell from the film the Broncos knew something. Apparantly the Broncos picked it up the week before.

But Morton returned the favor and gave up 4 picks of his own.

Anyway, a phone call was made the Broncos told Oiler coaches what the tell was.

I may be getting a couple of details wrong..but I think that's the story

The Broncos played in the playoffs, played the Oilers in fact. They played the Chargers two games every year. Why would you just give this information away? I don't get it, I guess. Seems like the kind of thing you might keep to yourself.

Video of the game is available. The Chargers passed on nearly every play anyway, how much is a supposed "tell" like that going to help? First drive, Chargers pass on the very first play, Joiner is wide open. A third and two, Chargers run a play action and Fouts hits Gregg McCrary downfield for 34 yards. Oilers should have been all over both of those plays, intercepted both passes because of Fouts' fatal tell. Right?

I have written here about this game before. Many more interesting things in the game that this or the sign stealing nonsense. Chargers gave up about a 10 point differential on special teams, that wound up hurting. Oilers moved the ball on the ground enough to keep the Chargers out of good field position. Chargers still had 380 yards gained for the game, that was second overall in the playoffs in 1979. How many more are you expecting? They never had field position, so the score was kept down. They made some critical mistakes on special teams that wound up costing them the game. Coryell teams made critical mistakes in every playoff game, even games the Chargers won. He was a limited head coach.

Winners tell stories. Some of them aren't true. Like Jerry Kramer being offsides on Bart Starr's sneak. We have film of the play, show me some evidence.

Kramer WAS offsides on Starr's sneak. When I was a teen, I had the 1982 video "History of Pro Football." That showed a near overhead shot of the play, behind the Dallas defense. That provided a perfect view of Kramer, Bowman, and Starr.
Using the VCR slow mode, I could easily tell. Kramer has lifted his hand off the ground and started his surge; the ball still hasn't been snapped. It was extremely difficult to tell in real time, so I wouldn't call it a grievous error by the officials. Kramer timed it perfectly, in a way. He definitely for a half second (or quarter second) start against Pugh, but not so early that it would be called a penalty.

conace21 wrote:Kramer WAS offsides on Starr's sneak. When I was a teen, I had the 1982 video "History of Pro Football." That showed a near overhead shot of the play, behind the Dallas defense. That provided a perfect view of Kramer, Bowman, and Starr.
Using the VCR slow mode, I could easily tell. Kramer has lifted his hand off the ground and started his surge; the ball still hasn't been snapped. It was extremely difficult to tell in real time, so I wouldn't call it a grievous error by the officials. Kramer timed it perfectly, in a way. He definitely for a half second (or quarter second) start against Pugh, but not so early that it would be called a penalty.

Well, that's not offsides, that's illegal motion. And as you implied, basically that call is never made ever because it's undetectible in real time.

Kramer knowing his own quarterback's cadence and starting his surge a microbeat early, something that has been done thousands of times by linemen with no penalty ever.