Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

No, this won't be a 'trend' as was the case with the 'Power Rankings'. This is the last one that I myself will start, or at least not do one again in a good while. It's just that I do remember having what, I believe, was a 'Football Digest' late that summer that my Dad got and then let me have. I thought I remembered Shula being on the front cover but after searching for 'images' online, I spotted a FD with David Woodley on the cover so maybe that was the one. On the upper-right corner it reads: 'SAN DIEGO CHARGERS The Offense Files, But Defense...?' and just beneath it...'New England's QB Dilemma: Cavanaugh or Grogan?'


If this is the mag I actually had, I do remember a few things. First, I recall they predicting that the Steelers would have their 'last-hurrah' and at least be within 60 minutes of another Super Bowl birth. I also remember them saying that Washington's triumph from a year ago was a product of playing in an abbreviated season, (paraphrasing) let's see how they do with a full 16 games. Each review, I'm assuming, was done by someone different for when they got to the Giants, each game on the upcoming schedule was looked at and analyzed/predicted. I remember G-men being picked to beat Seattle, adding (again paraphrasing) "it's the Jets who have trouble beating them." Eagles? It was said that SBXV seemed like an eternity ago, mentioned how they were not too far from being 8-1 the year prior, and that they lost their luster sometime during that very Super Bowl loss.


I forgot the other predictions. What I do remember was they giving a USFL review for '84, or at least mentioning each team (I can only imagine the season was still going on or just ended when this hit the shelves). I'm sure enough the CFL was also mentioned. Back to the NFL, I didn't have that little handbook nor SI hence know what they had to say. Don't remember what Jimmy 'The Greek', Madden, or anyone from either of the three networks predicted going in. I'm going to guess Dallas still being the faves. Their opening MNF date at RFK along with, the day before that, Raiders@Cincy and NYJ@SD had to be highly anticipated. Even Phi@SF - two respectable 3-6s from '82 who, of course, were playoff teams in '81 - had to have been met with a bit of curiosity as well.

Responding to my own OP, I just saw HBO's 'Inside the NFL' reviewing Week #1's action. Len Dawson and Nick Buoniconti were the hosts with Harry Kalas narrating all games except the Monday Nighter, which was done by Len instead. Only two home-teams won! Before the Vikings@Browns highlights (to some generic Christopher Cross "Ride Like the Wind"-music), Nick says "Sam (Rutigliano) is under pressure - to win NOW". Sipe played well, but Vikes end up winning the Kramer-to-Rashad-rematch.

Wendell Tyler's debut at SF. Played a good game, scored a TD, but made a costly fumble late. Jaws got injured early, enter Joe Pisarcik. Guy Benjamin! Forgot all about him! He seemed to play most of the game. Joe got in for a bit but Guy went back in later. I guess Joe wasn't 100%. As for Tyler's late fumble, the Eagles ended up turning the ball back over before they could run out the clock. A Benjamin-to-Clark miracle TD was all in vain; a holding penalty nullified it. Len says it looked like the clock has struck midnight for Cinderella of two years back. Nick praised Marion Campbell. He was his first LB-coach. He says he's no "compromise" replacement for Vermeil and if Swamp Fox's players can simply respect and follow him, Eagles can win again. 5 weeks later it had to still seem that way for the Birds were 4-2, all four wins on the road. But we know how many more they'd win rest of '83...

Broncos' DC, Rich McCabe, passed on in the off-season. They wore a commemorative patch in honor of him for the opener at Pittsburgh. Growing up in the 'Burgh, he was once a Steelers ball boy. Dolphins lost LB, Larry Gordon, before the season as well; and also former-Colt, Buddy Young, passed on who was mentioned end of program. Although I vaguely remember watching this Den/Pit game, I wasn't sure about Elway. I guess he did start after all, but went out early with an elbow injury - enter DeBerg. Not a pretty, highlight-worthy nor memorable game. Millionaire-rookie Elway vs $300,000/yr four-time SB-Champ, Terry, never happened.

A "Doug Who?" sign was shown being held up by a fan in TB. He was now in the USFL. I never heard of Jerry Golsteyn before. Lions sacked Bucs 7 times in an 11-0 victory. William Gay made 5.5 of them and was named defensive player of the week (no relation to now ex-Steeler/now-current Giant). Another shutout was performed by Miami in a 12-0 (four FGs) win at Buffalo. John Robinson and Bill Parcells (both seen in a very friendly pre-game exchange) made their debuts. Jack Youngblood looking like Jack Youngblood still - blood seen on his pants to boot! Harry says he's " a good ol'e boy who leaves his shotgun in his pickup on Sundays because he prefers hunting down quarterbacks...with his bare hands." Rams D adjusted quick to their new 3-4 allignment (Brunner got creamed all day). Vince Ferragamo looked real good as well.

The one who Vince backed-up last year? Newly retired Bert Jones was a guest! When asked if LA was a "zoo" last year? He answered in a way but not really. He didn't blame anyone. He defended Georgia's intentions, saying that not everyone can know everything on how to run an organization. He said it was all mostly the press. Len said he looked healthy, asked him why he retired. Bert answered he feels strong but it's not as if its a knee. It was a ruptured disc and didn't want to take a chance; still provide for his family. He didn't seem to feel bad at all for 'missing out' on being one of the all-time greats. Seemed grateful for his career and football isn't everything. He just wished he would have won a SB. Very impressed with his character hearing him talk. Seemed very sincere. His Dad, Doug (a Brown), was mentioned along with his 6 TD catches against Chicago. However Bert, when asked, said he feels Colts won't turn back around unless Isray changes or sells the team, saying that his final year as a Colt there were only two teammates of 45 remaining from just the year prior; no stability. The drug problem? He feels its real, but not as bad as its reported - it needs to be addressed but if today's society outside football has a problem controlling it, how should the NFL itself be able to do so? Again, a good interview and piece on him. Belichick says he's the best he's ever come across in his career.

Back to Wk1 action - Colts win their first game since Bert himself was QB! The win was against New England which means they were still ISO of their first victory over a non-Patriots team since...Week #13 in 1980! In New Orleans, Stabler suffers a 1st Q-injury but George Rogers bests his very own Saints single-game record with 206 yards, and a TD, in a win over Cards. National Champion running back from a year ago, Curt Warner ("we ARE..."), posts 165 all-purpose yards in his NFL debut at Arrowhead along with a TD! But Mackovic, in his HC debut, gets last laugh making it now 0-8 for Seattle in openers! Apparently Mack's players were already complaining about him in his first off-season already. He controversially traded Eric Harris and Steve Fuller to Rams for two backup players. But Len and Nick point out how those two very backups, Jewerl Thomas and Lucious Smith, helped KC in their opening win, and that letting Fuller go now alleviated the QB-controversy.

Falcons at Bears! Pretty interesting seeing these highlights! '80 quite a bit ago, and no more Leeman Bennett, but with their FWIW 5-4 playoff-berth the previous year they had to still seem quite respectable with Bart still at QB and Andrews still at RB. And seeing McMahon at QB along with Singletary and, of course, #34...(Ditka entering his first full season as an HC)...two teams in different directions thus still making for a good game! Perhaps the closest thing to '80 Falcons-vs-'85 Bears. Chicago loses a close one - Bart connected to Alfred Jenkins for the winning TD - but Sweetness puts up 199 total yards and seemed in good spirits in a very friendly post-game respect-exchange with Andrews. The summer of 'Flashdance' just came to an end, so it's very understandable how the music halfway through these Atl/Chi highlights morphed into a generic take on Michael Sembello's "Maniac".

Raiders 4 sacks at Cincy! Lyle making one and Howie Long making another, ripping Ken Anderson's helmet off! Despite completing 74% of his passes, Ken didn't see that endzone until the 4th Q in a 20-10 Bengals loss. JETS@CHARGERS! What can you say? I don't know why I don't remember watching this game. My guess is that it wasn't on in my area (which I'd find hard to believe; it's the possible AFCC-preview for goodness sake). I would have had to be so very up for it considering both were contenders the past two years and, adding more glitter to it, neither played each other those two years. Two of my favorite early-'80s unis clashing against each other in the Jack Murphy sun! New HC, Joe Walton, was quoted as saying (paraphrasing) that despite his team's great offense output, it's just scratching the surface. And to think neither end up playing in January. This is why it ended up being very smart for the schedule-makers to make this an opener. Yes SD's defense, of course, was critiqued by Len & Nick.

A piece was then done on the current drug issue, the Browns in-particular. Larry Merchant doing the piece. He quotes Robin Williams, "Cocaine is God's way of telling you that you have too much money", then saying that that very joke is falling as flat as a QB's stomach. It's a group therapy session that was being applied in Cleveland. Rutigliano, Paul Warfield, Calvin Hill (I didn't know he played for the Browns), and a Dr Greg Collins run the program. It's tough, aggressive, and brutally honest in approach. Ex-Brown, Ron Bolton, opened a Clevleland nightclub, naming it 'The Reason Why' for career counseling of troubled NFL players. Bible study and community services among other things were also a part of the plan.

Sequing into the GB@Hou highlights (to a poorman's "Turn the Beat Around" at beginning of segment), it was mentioned that Oilers had such drug issues of their own. Three of their secondary players were booted from the team for that reason. And onto the start of Lynn Dickey's tour-de-force 1983 season! Completing his first 18 passes, he finished with a Packer-record 27/31 passes for 5 TDs (1 int)!! Pack was up, 28-10, at the half; but Archie had himself a fine game as well, rallying his Oilers on back! Earl Campbell's 3 TDs/123 yards surely helped. The game went into OT, not sure why Whutehurst was now in, but he drove them 59 yards, Stenerud then kicks the game-winner! GB 41, Hou 38 - a pretty fine harbinger of the all-offense/no-defense rollercoaster season to come for the Pack!

And just when you thought it couldn't get any BETTER...you had the opening MNF match, living up to its expectations - and then some! Washington 23, Dallas 3 at the half! Hogeboom already being mentioned! I never heard of him until that very '84 campaign. Len and Nick giving Landry kudos for not pulling Danny White out at the half and putting him in instead. Big D comes back and had to look like the 'best' at that moment.


Yes, though I'd still place '78, '79, '80, and '81 each above it, 1983 was indeed a super 16-game season; likely no season that would follow topping it. Many a great regular season game as this very first week indicates. Great way to rebound from the notorious strike from the year before.

Guy Benjamin! Forgot all about him! He seemed to play most of the game. Joe got in for a bit but Guy went back in later. I guess Joe wasn't 100%. As for Tyler's late fumble, the Eagles ended up turning the ball back over before they could run out the clock. A Benjamin-to-Clark miracle TD was all in vain; a holding penalty nullified it.

Guy was going into his third season as the backup for Joe Montana. He was with the Saints in 1980, and with Miami before that.

The Dolphins drafted him in 1978 in the second round (to be Griese's successor). However, the players didn't like him. They didn't want a "Stanford Hippie" taking Griese's place:

https://miamimigraine.blogspot.com/2008 ... t-one.html

The links to all four parts are on the bottom. Guy Benjamin actually commented on one of those links.

Not to be a sore loser but as a 49er fan my memory of 1983 is being robbed in the NFC Championship game by two horrendous penalties in the fourth quarter.
Saint Joe had led the Niners back from a 21 point deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter.
The 'Skins won on a Mark Mosley field goal but only after a (approx) 30 yard PI call that was beyond preposterous (the ball was so uncatchable Bill Walsh said it couldn't have been caught by a "ten foot tall Boston Celtic") and a holding call on third down that prolonged the scoring drive.
The "hold" was on Ronnie Lott who effectively tied up his receiver within five yards of the line of scrimmage... a play even Madden referred to as "look(ing) awfully ticky (taky) to me."

Don't believe me?
Watch the highlights (or lowlights, depending on your perspective) for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mklm8DLYwZg

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... 080was.htm

I am pretty sure the Niners would've given the Raiders a better game than the 'Skins did.
I am almost certain "our" Joe wouldn't have attempted the pass "their" Joe threw to Jack Squirek for an INT TD return.

I read Guy's post while I was on break at work, 7Dn. Pretty informative for me! Felt bad for him reading that. Plan on reading the four blogs soon enough. I guess late-'70s Dolphins were a bit 'good ol'e boys'- like; hanging onto their earlier-in-the-decade glory/players at the expense of new faces.


Don't have to tell me, Jugg, how razor-close SF was to getting past Wash in the '83 NFCC. The 'Genius' and Joe Cool vs that Raider Mystique for all the marbles is fun to think of. Then again, I thought that actual, non-hypo SBXVIII itself was going to be a good one! I did think Redskins would win, but if they were going to lose; certainly not...38-9??? Not even close! It made no sense! Mind you, this wasn't a 'new' team coming out-of-nowhere! But a team that just experienced winning-it-all the very year prior (abbreviated season or not)!

The '83 Forty Niners are an interesting study. At times great, but other times looking like the very 10-6 team that they ended up - rallying to, mind you - finish the regular season at. The season epitomized the very 'road-warriors' rep they'd end up having in the '80s. Starting with that very opener to Philly, SF's first four defeats of '83 were all at Candlestick! Their 2nd loss of the season - against the Rams (surprise!). Their next loss, Week #9, was to the now-declining Jets. 4th loss of the season? The following week, actually to the very team - and QB - they would destroy at Stanford two Januarys later!

San Fran's first 5 games on the road in '83, however, were all wins! By a combined score of...200-105!! The only competitive one in the bunch being their rematch at Rams in Week #8. A Montana-vs-Ferragamo high-scoring comeback victory; SF still winning by more than a TD just the same, 45-35. They finally lost a roadie in Week #12 to Bartkowski's Falcons, dropping SF to 7-5. Then the following week, they get stunted at Soldier Field to McMahon's Bears, 13-3. Joe no TDs, 2 INTs - Jim 1 TD, no INTs.

They would go on to win their final three convincingly to win their division at 10-6 as well as actually get 2nd-seed. Barely beat Detroit in the divisional, down 21-0 after 3 quarters the following week at RFK, but then the 4th...look like a Super Bowl team but come up just short! Funny, the first 7 quarters of Washington's post-season, they outscore their opponents 72-7! Their next five quarters...12-59!!

In regards to tonight's Instant-Classic, LA 54 KC 51, I can't help but to revive this thread; especially considering that tonight's very game broke the record for highest-scoring-MNF-game-ever, beating out...yes, GB 48 Wash 47 (Theisman giving his kudos in a tweet - "35 years is long enough").

Many great high-scoring games in '83! When asked what your favorite of them is, is that very Theisman-vs-Dickey shoot-out too obvious of an answer? I think it just may be and don't see it as my personal 'favorite' high-scoring affair from that very year. I believe some of you in here declared the Redskins 37 Raiders 35 match as better, perhaps best game of '83-period. How about Raiders 40 Dallas 38? Maybe it's my favorite! All those TDs scored only for it to end on back-to-back 26-yard-FGs by Chris Bahr late to win it. How about the week prior? Seahawks 38 Raiders 36?

Atl 47 GB 41, OT? GB 41 Hou 38 opener, also in OT? Quite a few of those GB games that year. Dal/Wash MNF-opener? The Seahawk/Cardinal game that had Largent scoring 3 TDs, Roy Green scoring 4? Final score of that game being...a safety! And despite suddenly not being a winner anymore, Air Coryell partook in such events - beating Tuna & LT at Meadowlands early, 41-34. There was also a forgotten late-season battle-of-5-9s, Fouts beating Kenney 41-38. That opener vs Jets not a bad one to at least mention either.

Yes, tonight's game instigated this thread's revival.

Ironically, that was the year that Dr. Z ripped the NFL for terrible play:

https://www.si.com/vault/1983/12/12/620 ... day-stinks

NFL Films Presents did a half hour retrospective in January '84 featuring their picks for the 4 best games of 1983:

Wk. 6 Buffalo 38 @ Miami 35 (OT)
Wk. 7 Washington 47 @ Green Bay 48
Wk. 15 Kansas City 38 @ San Diego 41
Wk. 5 L.A. Raiders 35 @ Washington Redskins 37

Some other favorites from that season:

Wk. 1 Dallas 31 @ Washington 30
Wk. 15 Kansas City 48 @ Seattle 51 (OT)
Wk. 15 Baltimore Colts 19 @ Denver Broncos 21 - Elway (23/44 345 yds. & 3 TD's) rallies the playoff bound Broncos who trailed 19-0 at halftime.

Great read on that blog - Woodley, Griese, Archie Manning, etc. Thanks!

Retro Rider wrote:NFL Films Presents did a half hour retrospective in January '84 featuring their picks for the 4 best games of 1983:

Wk. 6 Buffalo 38 @ Miami 35 (OT)
Wk. 7 Washington 47 @ Green Bay 48
Wk. 15 Kansas City 38 @ San Diego 41
Wk. 5 L.A. Raiders 35 @ Washington Redskins 37

Some other favorites from that season:

Wk. 1 Dallas 31 @ Washington 30
Wk. 15 Kansas City 48 @ Seattle 51 (OT)
Wk. 15 Baltimore Colts 19 @ Denver Broncos 21 - Elway (23/44 345 yds. & 3 TD's) rallies the playoff bound Broncos who trailed 19-0 at halftime.

It's pretty interesting to see that list of the best games of 1983, considering the number of complaints on this board about how there's too much offense nowadays