Super Bowl XXV

Today we welcome back guest blogger and Giants fan, bigbluelarry, aka Larry Schmitt, with a feature on the Giants' second Super Bowl Championship, Super Bowl XXV, which was played on January 27, 1991 in Tampa.

Super Bowl XXV

by Larry Schmitt

Super Bowl XXV was one of the most exciting and compelling games in NFL history. It featured the only win-it or lose-it kick in a title game (Jim O'Brien's attempt in SB V and Adam Vinetari's in SB's XXXVI & XXXVIII came with the scores deadlocked. Had they missed, those respective games would've gone into OT. Only Scott Norwood has been burdened with the outcome of the Super Bowl being squarely on his foot. 

Giants running back Ottis Anderson
carried the ball 21 times for
102 yards and one touchdown
was named Super Bowl MVP.

Strategically fascinating, the "Smashmouth" Giants, with their powerful running game and stout defense (they were #1 in points allowed and #2 in yards allowed), were a throwback team, playing a style of football that was reminiscent of the 1950's. The Buffalo Bills were "the new thing," using a no-huddle attack that was a hybrid of the Run-and-Shoot, only the Bills kept a TE on the field instead of four WR's. Buffalo was unstoppable in the playoffs. They ran over, through and around Miami and Los Angeles in the playoffs, scoring a total of 95 points and accumulating 995 yards of offense in only two games! 

The Giants lost their starting quarterback Phil Simms to a broken foot in mid-December, but back up Jeff Hostetler came in and led the Giants to wins in their last two regular season games to finish the season 13-3, and the Giants smothered Chicago and San Francisco in the playoffs, surrendering only a single touchdown and 16 total points in the postseason.

When the irresistible force met the immovable object, the battle of wills swung back-and-forth. A late touchdown before half time cut the Bills lead to 12-10. The Giants opened the second half with a 16-play, 75-yard TD drive that consumed 9:29 - the longest drive in Super Bowl history to that point [coincidentally, it would be broken by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII]. The Bills' Thurman Thomas put on an impressive performance, rushing for 135 yards on only 15 carries and catching 5 passes for 55 yards. He gave Buffalo the lead with a 31 yard run on the first play of the 4th quarter. 

Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick's hybrid "Big Nickel" defense tested the patience of QB Jim Kelly, who called his own plays. Fielding two down linemen and five or six defensive back on every play, the Giants forced the Bills to run short routs underneath the coverage shell and physically punished their receives after the catch and surrendered very few big plays the Buffalo had been accustomed to. Trailing 20-19 and possessing the ball on their own 10-yard line and 2:16 on the clock, Kelly began a heroic drive. Moving the Bills mostly on the ground - three scrambles and two Thomas runs accounted for 51 of the drive's 61 yards -  Kelly set up the infamous FG attempt at the New York 29 yard-line. Of course, Norwood's kick has forever been tabbed as "Wide Right" and the Giants celebrated their second Super Bowl win in for years. Buffalo would return the big game three more times successively, an unprecedented run of conference supremacy.

For the first time, the teams uniforms featured the logo for that season' Super Bowl - a large shield with the roman numeral XXV, a practice that would not become commonplace until Super Bowl XXXII after the 1997 season.

Box Score: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199101270buf.htm

2011 Divisional Playoff Rankings & 2011 Conference Championship Rankings

2011 Divisional Playoff Rankings & 2011 Conference Championship Rankings
by Tim Brulia

So, here we go to finish off the rankings and reviews of the 2011 season.

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The Divisional Playoffs:


Saints-49ers: The Saints go conservative with white/gold and the Niners in the only combo they could wear, red/gold. It's a gold rush for all with this matchup. Gold helmets, gold pants. The difference comes in the jerseys and socks. Saints with black socks and the 49ers in red socks. I would have liked the Saints to have gone with the black pants, but I can live with the gold pants. This game seemed to make the red jerseys seem a little brighter.

Broncos-Patriots: Another common knowledge uni matchup; Broncos in all white and the Patriots in the navy/silver look. A little too much navy for my blood. While it would have looked goofy, it would have turned heads if the Broncos would have worn the white pants with the orange side stripe. Would not have helped them in the game, but it might have caused a bit of buzz. The unis looked nice, but not enough to cause a pitter-patter in my uni heart.

Texans-Ravens: Tex in the white/navy and lo and behold, the Ravens rockin' the purple/black. As you, this Steelers backer cannot ever bring himself to cheer on the Ravens, but I know a good look when I see's it, no matter how I feel about the team. The Ravens in purple/black is as good a combo as there is in the NFL. Only qualm I have with it is maybe they should go with white striped socks when wearing these colors. The Texans, as I said before, have a very nice uniform, tailored for today's game. They just need to start wearing the red socks with this combo. That would have made this game perfect. As such, it was still quite nice.

Giants-Packers: Giants in the white/gray, Packers in the famous green/yellow. Traditional looks from classic franchises. And it's a marvel. Bright blue lids against sparkling yellow helmets. White jerseys with red trim versus gleaming green jerseys with white and yellow trim. Gray pants with thin red and blue stripes against bright yellow pants with green and white stripes. Red socks and green socks. A color feast, this was. And I will go for seconds.

Rankings:
1) Giants-Packers
2) Texans-Ravens
3) Saints-49ers
4) Broncos-Patriots

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The Conference Championships:

Ravens-Patriots: Ravens in white/black and the Super Bowl bound Patriots in navy/silver. You might be surprised at what I'm going to say, but this matchup would have been better if the Ravens would have gone all white. They would have stood out more and it would have offset the Pats look a bit better than the white/black combo. Pats in such familiar playoff garb, that I guess we take it for granted.

Giants-49ers: G-men in white/gray and the Niners in red/gold. No flash here, but a lot of red. Giants red played very well off the Packers green and yellow from the week before. Here, it just comes up short. Don't get me wrong, I do like the Niners unis. I love how bright the red comes across since the return to the classic look. But it's just a lot of scarlet in this matchup. But somehow, all the red makes the blue helmets look rather dandy. As well as the gold helmets.


I give the nod - by a nod - to the NFC title game over the AFC title game.  Now here's Rob with a look back at a couple more Super Bowls played on this day.

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"On This Day..."
by Rob Holecko

As a Buccaneer fan, I am sometimes guilty of perhaps mentioning them a little bit more often than the other teams.  Well, today is a day you cannot fault me for that, as it is the anniversary of the Bucs' Super Bowl win.  Nine years ago today the Bucs defeated the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, and we are happy to add it to our database of head-to-head matchups.

There's another Super Bowl anniversary today, twenty-six years ago, the Chicago Bears completed their 18-1 season with a 46-10 win in Super Bowl XX against the New England Patriots.  They were one of the best single season teams in NFL History.  They went 15-1, their only loss being a Monday Night showdown in December on the road against the Miami Dolphins, a team playing to protect their franchise's legacy of having the only undefeated season thirteen years earlier.

The Bears had two shutouts in the playoffs, defeating the Giants 21-0, and the Rams 24-0 in the NFC Championship. During the season, the Bears were so confident they put out a video called the "Super Bowl Shuffle." Here is the complete video of the song. I didn't remember that there were so many verses to it.

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Thanks, Rob. Stay with us at the Gridiron Uniform Database. Tomorrow our Giants expert, guest blogger Larry Schmitt, will look back at Super Bowl XXV, and beginning Saturday, we'll start Super Bowl week with some interesting Super Bowl uniform trivia that we think you'll like!

A Silver Anniversary

Today at the Gridiron Uniform Database we welcome 'bigbluelarry' aka Larry Schmitt, our resident Giants expert who will take over the reins of our "On This Day..." series twice this week to look back at the Giants' Super Bowl victories.  Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Giants' first Super Bowl championship in Super Bowl XXI in January 1987.  Larry will be back Friday to give the same treatment to Super Bowl XXV.

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A Silver Anniversary
by Larry Schmitt

In Super Bowl XXI, Phil Simms had a record day

It's hard to believe I'm sitting here writing about 25th anniversary of the Giants' first Super Bowl as they are getting ready to play their fifth. For long-time fans of the Giants, Super Bowl XXI was a dream come true, and most of us deep down probably felt like it may never happen for us. Indeed, at the conclusion of the game, Giants radio voice Jim Gordon summed it up perfectly, "the Giants have accomplished something most people thought they would never see." 

The Giants' LB Carl Banks

It had been 30 years since the Giants had won a title, and the theme of that team during their playoff run was "burying the ghosts" of Charley Conerly, Frank Gifford, Andy Robustelli and Sam Huff. There were still holdovers from the lost decade of the 70's on the team: George Martin, Harry Carson and Brad Benson. Quarterback Phil Simms still had many doubters and was often booed as the Giants passing game struggled in the regular season (he threw more INT's than TD's that year). The teams strength was the powerful front seven of their 3-4 defense (masterminded by defensive coordinator Bill Belichick) and their "Suburbanite" offensive line and TE Mark Bavaro blocking for HB Joe Morris, who rushed for a then team record 1,516 yards.


The defense was dominant in the playoff games at Giants Stadium, not even surrendering a single touchdown in beating San Francisco 49-3 and Washington 17-0. But Simms stole the spotlight at the Rose Bowl against John Elway's Broncos, passing for a record 22-25 for 268 yards and three touchdowns and was the first Super Bowl MVP to declare he was "going to Disney world."

Spider Lockhart in his heyday

Uniform wise, the Giants wore their basic home blue jerseys with red and white trim that were their staple from 1980-1999. They were augmented however by a patch memorializing a Giant great who had passed away during the offseason, Carl "Spider" Lockhart, who was one of their few bright spots during the lean years of the late 60's and early 70's. They featured two versions of the patch that season, a blue one on their white jerseys and a white one on their blue jerseys, which to my knowledge is a unique treatment for a memorial patch. (Editor's note: The 1997 Atlanta Falcons did something similar for owner Rankin Smith, and the Minnesota Vikings have twice in their history used white & color memorial patches.) The Denver Broncos made their second Super Bowl appearance in 1986, and wore their road white jerseys which were unchanged since their last appearance in the big game in 1977. There were some minor modifications made to Denver's socks, which changed from blue to orange, and the striping on their pants, however, as a whole the uniforms would remain basically the same until the 1997 re-design.


Box Score: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198701250den.htm

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Thanks, Larry, great job!  We're proud to add this game to our website, and we look forward to more Giants' stuff from you in the future.

Super Bowl XVI

Super Bowl XVI
by Rob Holecko


On this day thirty years ago, the San Francisco 49ers captured their first Super Bowl.  It was the beginning of the Niners' 1980s dynasty that would see them win four Super Bowls with Joe Montana at quarterback, as well as a fifth with Steve Young in 1994.

The Niners' return to prominence this season ended Sunday with a loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game, but today we will look back to this game in January 1982 where it all began.

From Wikipedia:

Super Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit) to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city. The domed stadium saved the crowd at the game from the very cold and snowy weather, but the weather did affect traffic and other logistical issues related to the game. Icy roads and a windchill well below zero caused the 49ers motorcade to be delayed out on the slippery roads before they finally made it to the Silverdome, although no one was hurt and the team made it there with plenty of time before kickoff.

The National Football Conference NFC champion San Francisco 49ers (16-3) defeated the American Football Conference AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals (14-5), 26-21. Although the Bengals gained 356 yards of total offense to the 49ers' 275, San Francisco forced 5 turnovers and jumped to a 20-0 lead by halftime. This marked the first time in Super Bowl history that the team which compiled the most yards and touchdowns lost.
49ers quarterback Joe Montana was named the Super Bowl MVP, completing 14 of 22 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 18 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

This game was also the first Super Bowl for the CBS team of Pat Summerall and John Madden. Summerall had already worked eight Super Bowls, including three as the play-by-play voice for CBS (X, XII, XIV), but this was the first Super Bowl for the two of them together.  They would go on to do four more with CBS (XXVIII, XXI, XXIV, XXVI) as well as three with FOX (XXXI, XXXIII, XXXVI) while Madden would team up with Al Michaels to do 2 on ABC (XXXVII & XL) and another with NBC (XLIII).    Madden debuted the use of the telestrator called the 'CBS Chalkboard' to diagram plays during instant replays in this game.

We are proud to add this game to our collection of head-to-head match-ups in the Gridiron Uniform Database.

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In all the excitement over Sunday's thrilling Conference Championship games, we decided to take yesterday off at the Gridiron Uniform Database blog. It was just as well, as there were no Super Bowls ever played on January 23, however there was one memorable NFC Championship game that we'd like to "flash-back" to.

On January 23, 2000, twelve years ago, the Greatest Show on Turf almost met their match, as the high-flying offense led by Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk were trailing the defensively-minded Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-5 late in the game.  Would a great defense hold off a great offense and make it to Super Bowl XXXIV?  Well they almost did, but Warner hit Ricky Proehl with a 30-yard touchdown pass with 4:44 left and the Rams were on their way to the Super Bowl in Atlanta and the record books.

We are happy to add this game to our database as well.

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Congratulations to the Giants and the Patriots for making it to Super Bowl XLVI, and we'll be back tomorrow with a special guest entry as we look back at the Giants' first Super Bowl Championship twenty-five years ago.

Conference Championships

Championship Sunday 
by Rob Holecko


Today is the day we will find out what two teams will meet in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis in two weeks.  Any of the four possible matchups have great possible storylines.  It could be a first ever Super Bowl with opposing teams coached by brothers....it could be a rematch of either Super Bowl XLII or Super Bowl XXXV...or it could be the franchise of the 2000s versus the franchise of the 1980s...

But first we get to enjoy a couple great conference championship matchups.  In the early game today, the Baltimore Ravens take on the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship, while in the later game the San Francisco 49ers will host the New York Giants in the NFC Championship.

Who do we at the Gridiron Uniform Database website think is going to win?  Well, here are our picks...

Bill Schaefer..."What I want and what I think are 2 different things.  I'd like to see 49ers-Ravens but I think that it will be the Patriots and the Giants, so I'm going to split the difference and say Patriots over 49ers."

Tim Brulia..."As much as I hate to say it, I'll pick the Ravens over the Giants. That would be the fourth Super Bowl (along with I, XXVII and XXXII) that will feature the two road teams winning Conference Championships.  But I am rooting for the Giants and Patriots. So far, though, I am 0-for-8 in the playoffs."

Rob Holecko..."I think it will be the Giants over the Patriots.  The Giants are just playing too good right now, and I think they will beat the 49ers today, and I think the Patriots won't make the same mistakes they made two years ago in the playoffs when they lost to the Ravens.  In the Super Bowl, I think the Giants will beat the Pats again, just like they did four years ago."

Well, there you have it our Super Bowl picks...

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On This Day.... a couple great Super Bowls were played on January 22nds.  Who can forget Marcus Allen's touchdown run when it went one way, then turned around and went the other way and ran for the touchdown, or how about Jack Squirek's interception return of Joe Theismann right before halftime.  The Raiders defeated the Redskins 38-9 in the first Super Bowl in Tampa in Super Bowl XVIII.  Then five years later, Joe Montana led the 49ers on a game winning drive over the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, and the 49ers won their third Super Bowl Championship of the 1980s in Bill Walsh's final game.  A couple great Super Bowls to remember as we look forward to see what new memories will be made this Super Bowl season.

Wait, What... Don't Tell Me! I Messed Up Again!

Somehow a week ago on January 15, I messed up, by writing about Super Bowl XIII as being played on January 15, when even in the graphic I had the correct date of January 21, 1979.  The list I was looking at had the calendar year, not the season, so when I saw '1978' I should have realized it was the '1977' season's Super Bowl that was played on that day.

So, nonetheless, since the On This Day... for January 21st Super Bowl has already been added to the database, we shall today cover the Super Bowl from the day that we missed, Super Bowl XII.

Super Bowl XII
by Rob Holecko

America's Team the Dallas Cowboys captured their second Vince Lombardi trophy on January 15, 1978 when they defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII 27 to 10.  The summary from Wikipedia:

Super Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion following the 1977 regular season. It was the first Super Bowl played inside a domed stadium.

The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys (15-2) defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos (14-3), 27–10. The Cowboys defensive team dominated most of the game, forcing 8 turnovers and allowing only 8 pass completions by the Broncos for just 61 yards.

For the first and only time, two players won Super Bowl MVP honors: defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin. For White, the honor was won on his 25th birthday. This was also the first time that a defensive lineman was named as the Super Bowl MVP.

We are proud to add this game to our database, and you can see it along with other Super Bowls that have been added on our new Super Bowl page.

Visit us tomorrow here at the Gridiron Uniform Database Blog where we'll preview the AFC and NFC Championships and also take a look back at a couple great Super Bowls from the 1980s played on January 22.

Super Bowl XIX

 

Super Bowl XIX

by Rob Holecko

Twenty-seven years ago today, on January 20, 1985, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX 38 to 16.  It was Joe Montana and the 49ers' second Super Bowl in four years, and it was a very memorable game.  It was played in Stanford, California, the closest a team has ever come to playing a Super Bowl in it's home stadium.  It was the first Super Bowl televised by ABC.  President Ronald Reagan, on the day of the inauguration of his second term in office, conducted the coin flip from the Oval Office.

As for the game itself, from Wikipedia:

Instead of the predicted shootout between Dan Marino and Joe Montana, the game was mostly one-sided. The 49ers defense only allowed 25 rushing yards and 16 Dolphins points. San Francisco also intercepted Marino 2 times and sacked him 4 times. The Dolphins set a Super Bowl record for least rush attempts in a game (9).

But in the opening minutes of the game, it seemed that the game would live up to the hype. On the opening kickoff, 49ers rookie kick returner Derrick Harmon caught the ball too close to the sidelines and stepped out of bounds at the San Francisco 6-yard line. The 49ers managed to advance to the 41-yard line but were forced to punt, and Dolphins defensive back Fulton Walker returned the punt 9 yards to the Miami 36-yard line. Then on their first play of the drive, Marino completed a 25-yard pass to Tony Nathan. Five plays later, Miami reached the San Francisco 23-yard line. But on third down, 49ers cornerback Eric Wright tackled wide receiver Mark Clayton 2 yards shy of the first down. Miami had to settle for a 37-yard field goal from Uwe von Schamann.

The Dolphins' 3-0 lead did not last long, as the 49ers stormed down the field on their next possession. San Francisco drove 78 yards in 8 plays, culminating in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Montana to reserve running back Carl Monroe to give them a 7-3 lead. But Miami retook the lead on their ensuing drive. After a 5-yard rush by Nathan, the Dolphins went into a no-huddle offense, preventing the 49ers from making substitutions and keeping their run defense on the field. Marino completed five consecutive passes, hitting Clayton for 18 yards, Mark Duper for 11, Clayton again for 13, and tight end Dan Johnson for 21. On the next play, Marino finished the drive by hitting Johnson for a 2-yard touchdown pass, giving the Dolphins a 10-7 lead with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the 49ers began to take control of the game. Bill Walsh switched to a 4-1-6 (or dime defense) to slow down Miami's passing attack, with Keena Turner as the sole linebacker. Miami tried to run against the 4-1-6 alignment, to no avail. Safety Dwight Hicks broke up two consecutive Marino passes, and the Dolphins were forced to punt from their own 10-yard line. Then after taking the ball at the Miami 47-yard line, Montana scrambled for a 19-yard run, and then completed a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Dwight Clark to reach the 12-yard line. From there, Wendell Tyler rushed for 4 yards, and then Montana threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Roger Craig, giving the 49ers a 14-10 lead.

Miami then had to punt again on their ensuing possession, and San Francisco defensive back Dana McLemore returned the ball 28 yards to the 49ers' 45-yard line. After advancing 15 yards with 2 running plays, Montana completed a pair of passes to tight end Russ Francis to move the ball 29 yards to the Miami 11-yard line. Craig ran for 5 yards on the next play, and then Montana ran the final 6 yards to the end zone for a touchdown, making the score 21-10. After the ensuing kickoff, Miami again was forced to punt after 3 plays, and McLemore returned Reggie Roby's 39-yard punt 10 yards to the 49ers' 48-yard line. Montana was sacked for a 5-yard loss by Doug Betters on the first play of the ensuing drive, but he struck back with a 20-yard completion to Craig and a 7-yard run over the next two plays. On the next play, wide receiver Freddie Solomon caught a pass from Montana, took one step, and then lost the ball due to a hit from safety Lyle Blackwood. Blackwood quickly recovered the ball and took off for the 49ers end zone, but field judge Bob Lewis blew the play dead, ruling that Solomon's fumble was an incomplete pass. Bill Quinby, the side judge, who was nearest to the play, did not make any call. Five plays later, Craig finished the nine play, 52-yard drive with his second touchdown on a 2-yard run, increasing the 49ers lead to 28-10.

With about two minutes left in the half, the Dolphins finally managed to get a good drive going on their next possession. Marino completed 7 out of 9 passes, the last one being a 30-yard pass to tight end Joe Rose, to reach the 49ers 12-yard line. But San Francisco's defense tightened up on the next 3 plays, forcing 2 incompletions and a completed pass for no gain, and Miami was forced to settle for Von Schamann's second field goal of the game to cut their deficit to 28-13 with 12 seconds left in the half. Then Miami caught a break as the 49ers botched the ensuing kickoff. San Francisco lineman Guy McIntyre received Van Schamann's short kick and was about to down the ball, but then changed his mind at the last second and decided to return it. This turned out to be a big mistake. McIntyre lost a fumble while being leveled by rookie Joe Carter, and Jim Jensen recovered the ball for Miami at the 49ers 12-yard line. After that, Von Schamann kicked his third field goal on the last play of the half, cutting the score to 28-16. "I can laugh about the play now, but it wasn't funny at the time," McIntyre said after the game. "My first instinct when I got the ball was to fall down. Then I heard everyone yelling, 'Get up! Get up!' So I got up, and here comes someone sneaking underneath me, and he hit the ball."

But any thoughts of a Miami comeback ended early in the third quarter. On the first play second half, 49ers defensive end Dwaine Board tackled Nathan for a 1-yard loss. Then after Marino threw an incompletion, Board sacked him for a 9-yard loss on third down. For the fourth time in the game, Roby had to punt, and again McLemore gave the 49ers good field position with an 8-yard return to San Francisco's 47-yard line. The 49ers then drove 43 yards and scored on kicker Ray Wersching's 27 yard field goal. On the Dolphins' ensuing drive, they were forced to punt again after Marino was sacked twice (once by defensive lineman Manu Tuiasosopo and once by Board). Starting their own 30-yard line after a 5-yard return by McLemore, Montana completed a 40-yard pass to Tyler, followed up with a 14-yard completion to Francis. Three plays later, Craig scored his third touchdown on a 16-yard reception to make the score 38-16. The score proved to be the last one from either team, as the defenses of both teams took over for the rest of the game - especially the 49ers' defense, who intercepted Marino twice.

Overall, San Francisco gained a Super Bowl record 537 yards, breaking the Oakland Raiders record of 429 yards in Super Bowl XI, while limiting Miami to 314, with just 25 rushing yards. San Francisco's 38 points also tied a Super Bowl record set by the Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII.

The 49ers' 288 offensive yards in the first half also tied the Raiders in Super Bowl XI for the most offensive yards in a half during a Super Bowl.

Marino finished the game with 29 out of 50 pass completions for 318 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Clayton was the top receiver of the game, with 6 receptions for 92 yards. Walker returned 4 kickoffs for 93 yards and gained 15 yards on 2 punt returns. Nathan was the Dolphins leading rusher with 18 yards, while also catching 10 passes for 83 yards.  Craig had 58 rushing yards, 77 receiving yards, and 3 touchdowns. He was the first player ever to score 3 touchdowns in a Super Bowl, and his 2 touchdown catches also tied a Super Bowl record. Tyler led San Francisco in rushing with 65 yards, and also caught 4 passes for 70 yards. Clark caught 6 passes for 77 yards. Board recorded 2 sacks. McLemore recorded 51 punt return yards, the second most in Super Bowl history.

We are proud to add this game to the Gridiron Uniform Database.  Also today we are launching a new page today, the index of Super Bowl Matchup graphics.  As we add Super Bowl matchups to the website today, you'll find all of them here, you'll see a new link on the front page.  We'd like to thank Mark Young, who a few months ago designed our new banner graphics, for putting together the roman numeral graphics on this page.

Also on this day, five years previous to Super Bowl XIX, the Rams and the Cowboys met in Super Bowl XIV.  This was the game that saw the Steelers put the cherry on the top of their 1970s dynasty, winning their fourth Super Bowl in six years.

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Another On This Day... that we'd like to mention.  Yesterday was January 19, and while there has never been a Super Bowl on January 19, we would like to recognize a particularly memorable game from nine years ago.  As a Buccaneer fan, while I realize that the Super Bowl victory over the Raiders is definitely the crowning achievement of our franchise, it was Ronde Barber's interception return of a Donovan McNabb pass for a touchdown that clinched the NFC Championship against the Eagles, that was the moment from that season that was most memorable.  After having lost at Philadelphia in the playoffs the past two seasons, after having never won a game below forty degrees, to go into Philadelphia and win that game to go to the Super Bowl, was really the best moment ever for the Bucs in their 35 years of existence.

 

The Stupor Bowl

The Stupor Bowl
by Rob Holecko

Yesterday we told you about America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys, and how their dynasty began with a Super Bowl VI win over the Dolphins.  Well, they made it to the Super Bowl the year before that as well, losing to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V, forty-one years ago today.

Super Bowl V was the first Super Bowl played after the completion of the AFL-NFL Merger. As per the merger agreement, all 26 AFL and NFL teams were divided into 2 conferences with 13 teams in each of them. The NFL's Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to join the 10 AFL teams to form the AFC. The remaining 13 NFL teams formed the NFC. This explains why the Colts represented the NFL in Super Bowl III, but not the NFC for Super Bowl V.

Super Bowl V was a sloppy, poorly executed display of football.   The game is sometimes called the "Blunder Bowl" or the "Stupor Bowl" because it was filled with poor play, penalties, turnovers, and officiating miscues. The two teams committed a Super Bowl record 11 combined turnovers in the game, and the Colts' 7 turnovers are currently the most ever committed by a winning team in a Super Bowl. Dallas also set a Super Bowl record with 10 penalties, costing them 133 yards. Bubba Smith refused to wear his Super Bowl V ring because of the "sloppy" play.

It was finally settled with five seconds left when Colts rookie kicker Jim O'Brien kicked a 32-yard field goal. In order to win the game, Baltimore had to overcome a 13–6 deficit at the half, losing their starting quarterback in the second quarter.

It is also the only Super Bowl in which the Most Valuable Player Award was given to a member of the losing team: Cowboys Linebacker Chuck Howley, who intercepted two passes. Sacks and tackles were not yet recorded. It was the first time a QB didn't win the award. Howley refused to accept the award because it was meaningless to him after his team lost.

Even though it is one of the least memorable Super Bowls, in fact it is possibly the Millard Fillmore of Super Bowls, we are still proud to add it to our database of matchups.

America's Team

America's Team
by Rob Holecko

 Forty years ago today, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI at Tulane Stadium in  New Orleans.  After coming up short in NFL Championships to the Green Bay Packers and losing a sloppy Super Bowl V to the Colts the year before, the Cowboys finally got a championship for the man in the fedora, Tom Landry.  They would add another six years later against the Broncos, and while they would possibly be remembered as the foil of the team of the 70s, the Steelers, losing twice to them in Super Bowls, the 70s Cowboys, America's Team could make an argument for being the team of that decade as well.  They appeared in one more Super Bowl than Pittsburgh, and while (2-3) is worse than (4-0), their period of excellence lasted from 1966 through 1981, much longer than the Steelers.  The 1981 NFC Championship was that team's swan song, as they would fall into mediocrity in the mid-1980s, before Jerry Jones would buy the team, hire Jimmy Johnson and build a new, 1990s dynasty.

Super Bowl VI would be the last game the Dolphins would lose before going undefeated the following year and winning the next two Super Bowls.

We are proud to add Super Bowl VI to our database of game matchups included here at the Gridiron Uniform Database.

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The last time the Ravens won a home
playoff game, a 2000 Wild Card
game against the Broncos, they
went on to win Super Bowl XXXV.

Yesterday, the New York Giants went into Lambeau Field and defeated the #1 seed 15-1 Green Bay Packers, setting up a 1990 NFC Championship Game rematch, one previewed by bigbluelarry a few days ago.  The Giants outplayed the Packers in every phase of the game, and even overcame a few bad calls that went in the Packers favor.  They are hot right now, similar to 2007, when they upset the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.  But they will face a strong 49er team that also played a great game Saturday beating the Saints.  It should be a great game Sunday.

In the AFC, the Ravens won their first home playoff game in eleven years, defeating the Texans and will face the Patriots next Sunday in the AFC Championship.  The Ravens will face a tough task against a Patriots team that, despite a below-league-average-defense, appears to be hitting on all cylinders.

Will Super Bowl XLVI be a Super Bowl XLII rematch?  Or how about "The Harbaugh Bowl"?  Or maybe a Super Bowl XXXV rematch between the Ravens and Giants.  Or how about Tom Brady going for his fourth Super Bowl to tie Bradshaw and Montana against Montana's team, the 49ers.

Any of the four combinations that could reach the Super Bowl look to be an exciting matchup, by after watching that game yesterday, I'd have to say the Giants are the hottest team right now, and as of now, I pick it's going to be the Giants over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.  Later this week Bill and Tim will be bringing you their picks as well.

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Speaking of past great NFC Championships, yesterday was the 17th anniversary of the 1994 NFC Championship.  This was the third straight NFC Title game featuring these two teams.  It was also the first NFC Championship on FOX.

1994 was the NFL's 75th anniversary season, and many teams wore throwback uniforms during the year, the 49ers and Cowboys in this game included.  The Cowboys were two-time defending Super Bowl champions, but this time the 49ers got the best of them and defeated Dallas 38-28, and went on to the Super Bowl and defeated the Chargers, and Steve Young finally got the monkey of the back.
 

This game was requested by Villaroman Santos, and we are proud to add it to our database as well.  If you would like to request any game to be added, be feel free to email us.

The First World Championship Game: AFL vs NFL

The First World Championship Game
by Rob Holecko

When the NFL Champion Green Bay Packers and the AFL Champion Kansas City Chiefs met 45 years ago today in the first game that would grow to be annual spectacle that we now know of as the Super Bowl, it was little more than an afterthought.  The Packers had just wrapped up their 10th NFL Championship against the Dallas Cowboys and were heavily favored to beat the underdog Chiefs.  The AFL Champion Chiefs were hoping to show that an AFL team deserved to be on the same field as the NFL Champion.

The Packers dominated the Chiefs and won 35 to 10.  They would win the following Super Bowl as well, but the AFL's Jets and these very Chiefs would Super Bowls III and IV, and the merger became complete with the former AFL teams gaining full acceptance as equal and full competition for their more established NFL counterparts.

For more in-depth information on this game, you can read the Wikipedia entry on it here.

Also January 15 is the anniversary of one of the best Super Bowls ever played, the 1978 season's Super Bowl XIII.  The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys met for the second time in four Super Bowls, and both teams were in their third Super Bowl in the past five years.  The game went back and forth, a key drop by Cowboys TE Jackie Smith in the end zone was the difference in a 35-31 Steeler victory.

We are proud to add these two games, the first ever "Super Bowl" and one of the most exciting Super Bowls, to our collection of matchups in the Gridiron Uniform Database.  We plan on rolling out a new feature in the coming days showcasing all of the Super Bowl matchups, so stay tuned for that.

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Also, we are closing in on 100,000 visitors (not unique visitors -- I know it's many of the same visitors who keep coming back, but still) -- thank you for the continued interest in our site.  Speaking of which, we wouldn't have been able to do this without Uni Watch, and this morning I clicked my shortcut to uni-watch.com, and this came up:

I don't know if I'm just navigating wrong or something happened to their site.  I hope they didn't get hacked or anything.  Maybe some right-wing nut job just is having some fun, who knows?  Anyway, if anyone knows anything, or they get it fixed, let us know in the comments.  (This just in, Uni Watch's front page is back up.)

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Steve Young threw six touchdowns
in Super Bowl XXIX, a mark that
Tom Brady tied yesterday

Of the two games yesterday, the only real question was would the Saints come out in white-over-black or white-over-gold.  Tim Brulia & I guessed the white-gold, while Bill Schaefer went with white-black.  They did go with white-gold, but it wasn't enough to defeat the 49ers, who prevailed on a play eerily similar to "The Catch II", the 1998 playoff game against the Packers which featured Terrell Owens catching a touchdown down the middle of the field between defenders and coming off the field in tears, hugging coach Steve Mariucci.  Yesterday Vernon Davis caught a touchdown down the middle of the field between defenders and came off the field in tears, hugging coach Jim Harbaugh.

In the other came, Tebow-mania finally came to an end as the Patriots routed the Broncos.  Tom Brady tied Steve Young and Daryl Lamonica's postseason record of six touchdown passes in a game.

Enjoy the Texans-Ravens and Giants-Packers games today! These both should be pretty predictable matchups, the Texans always go white-over-navy wearing white on the road, and the Ravens, considering it's a day game, we expect will be in purple-over-white, as Tim said, "BAL likely in Purple/white, but I'd be thrilled if 'the team I love to hate' went purple/black."  (Added: This just in, Ravens are in purple/black -- see picture to the right -- so I guess we can color Tim thrilled!)
  
The Giants and Packers should, of course, have no uniform surprises, either, as they re-stage the 2007 NFC Championship Game today. Unfortunately for the Giants, they won't be able to count on Brett Favre throwing a critical late-game interception this time.  If the Giants should pull off the upset, we'll be looking at re-match of the 1990 Giants-Niners NFC Championship that bigbluelarry told us about earlier in the week.  Otherwise we'll see another classic Niners-Packers playoff game.

Uniform Rankings - Wild Card Weekend Edition

Uniform Rankings - Wild Card Weekend Edition
by Tim Brulia

From 16 games to review down to four.

Here's the Wild Card Weekend review.

Bengals-Texans: Bengals go white/white and the Texans go navy/white. Teams tend to go conservative in the playoffs, uni-wise. Perhaps knowing that all games from hereon in go out to 100% of the nation. And maybe the reason we see the Bengals take the all white approach. This is a good color contrast, but I think it would have been nice if the Bengals rocked the black pants, but this was a nice one.

Lions-Saints: Lions in the only choice they could make, white/silver. The Saints could have taken the safe approach with black/gold, but they chose to be daring and chose the black/black fashion statement. And that gets a big thumbs up. Still a lot of metal (Lions silver and Saints gold), but not as conspicuous. I just found this matchup to be a winner.

Falcons-Giants: Nothing notable here, but while predictable and tame, the Falcons white/white and Giants blue/gray was sharp. Falcons with black and red trim and the G-men with the familiar red accessories to the blue and gray, give a pleasant color look.

Steelers-Broncos: Best for last, both in terms of exciting play and exciting uni colors. Steelers go with the normal road togs, white/yellow and the Broncos, who had gone all navy for four straight home games, went to the "safe" combo for the playoffs, navy/white, and it was the right choice. It brightened up the Bronco look and actually complimented the Steeler colors. Well played, team of Tebow.

So, the quartet rankings:

1) Steelers-Broncos
2) Lions-Saints
3) Bengals-Texans
4) Falcons-Giants

As for the Divisional Round?

I think the teams will stay on the low-key side. We'll find out this weekend and let you know what we think. Check in with you then!

A Giant Victory

 

A couple days ago at the Gridiron Uniform Database, I mentioned an "easter egg" of sorts that I had left on the site as sort of a challenge for you to find.  No one found it the first day, but yesterday BigBlueLarry, aka Larry Schmitt, found the error.  I had typed 'Houston Oilers' instead of 'Houston Texans' on the Week 4 matchup page when I made it back in early October, and left it to see if anyone would notice.  No one ever did, so I decided to make a 'contest' of sorts the other day, and Larry is the winner.

I offered him the opportunity to feature a game of his choosing to be added to the database.  As a big Giants, I had a feeling he would choose a game featuring them.  I didn't let him pick any of the Super Bowls (XXI, XXV, XLII) as we will be covering all of the Super Bowls in coming days.  Larry picked wisely and selected the 1990 NFC Championship game, a great defensive struggle.  Here's Larry with his thoughts on this game:

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A Giant Victory
by Larry Schmitt

This is truly the crown jewel of all the football games I've ever watched in my lifetime. I think it was the most tense, hard-hitting, dramatic, riveting game that I have ever seen the Giants play.  Sixty minutes of no quarter asked - none given. The 49ers' of that era have always been lauded for their prolific offense, but their defense was just as good. Micheal Carter anchored their DL at the nose position and gave Giants All-Pro Center Bart Oates all he could handle. The hits that Ronnie Lott dished out in his final game as a 49er were devastating. San Francisco and New York had a unique rivalry - it was as intense as any Giants-Redskins or 49ers-Rams game from that era.
 


This was their fifth post season meeting over the previous nine seasons, and their dislike for one another was only exceeded by their mutual respect. 2012 Pro Football HOF finalist Bill Parcells (who was at his gambling best with a fake punt call to Gary Reasons in the 4th quarter) has stated many times that this is the favorite game from his coaching career, and Jerry Markbreit stated it was the best game he ever officiated. NFL Films rated Leonard Marshall's 4th quarter sack of Joe Montana as the #2 tackle of all-time. Bill Belichick revealed himself as a defensive genius with his game-planning throughout the 1990 postseason. The Giants ended San Francisco's attempt for an unprecedented Super Bowl "Threepeat" without even scoring a touchdown! Remarkable! Other brilliant coaches on that Giants staff included Tom Coughlin, Romeo Crennel, Al Groh and Charlie Weis. San Francisco boasted the talents of Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden and Ray Rhodes. 

Jeff Hostetler made clutch throws to Mark Bavaro, Mark Ingram and Stephen Baker to drive the Giants to hard fought field goals on late possessions.  An Erik Howard forced-fumble on Roger Craig (also playing his final game in San Francisco) that was recovered by Lawrence Taylor, set up a 42-yard Matt Bahr game winning field goal, and a thrilling 15 to 13 upset win. 

The Giants would go on to win Super Bowl XXV against the Buffalo Bills a week later.
 

NFL Films would be wise to include this contest in their "Best Ever" series.

Uniform wise, the game was standard for the time. The Giants wore their road white with blue numbers that had been standard issue since 1980 and wouldn't change through 1999. San Francisco wore their home red and gold uniforms that featured virtually the same look since 1964 and that they would keep through 1995, save for the removal of the stripes from the socks in 1991.

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Thanks, Larry.  Great job, and a great game to add to our database.   With both the Giants and 49ers still in the playoffs, it's not an impossibility that would could be seeing a rematch of this game in this year's NFC Championship, however, the Packers and the Saints may have something to say about that.

We look forward to future opportunities to feature guest writers here at the Gridiron Uniform Database blog, so if you have any ideas for a game you'd like to see featured here, let us know.

  

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After featuring Super Bowl XI yesterday, the earliest Super Bowl ever played on January 9, today there is no Super Bowl to feature for "On This Day...", as there never was a Super Bowl played on January 10.  There has, however, been two memorable playoff games through the years played on January 10, and we are featuring them today:

The game known simply as "The Catch" was thirty years ago today.  Dwight Clark hauled in Joe Montana's final minute pass for a touchdown in the NFC Championship and the 49ers defeated the Cowboys and went on to Detroit to beat the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI and begin their 1980's dynasty.

Twenty-two years later, a playoff game went into a second overtime for only the third time ever.  On the first play of the second overtime period, Steve Smith caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme, and the Panthers were headed to the NFC Championship game on their way to Super Bowl XXXVIII.  That pass was the longest overtime postseason play from scrimmage in NFL History, a record which stood until Sunday, when Tim Tebow's 80 yard pass to Demaryius Thomas broke the record.  The 2003 Panthers and the 2011 Broncos, of course, were both coached by John Fox.

The Start of The Super Season

The Start of the Super Season
by Rob Holecko

Way back in the old days, football always ended in December.  The famous 1940 Championship game, the 73-0 rout of the Washington Redskins by the Chicago Bears, was played on December 8.   As the league schedule expanded to 12 and then 14 games the NFL season moved later and closer to January.  The 'Greatest Game Ever Played', the 1958 Championship was on December 29, and by the time the Packers won Super Bowl I in January 1967, it was on the fifteenth.  When the league schedule expanded to 16 games in 1978, and then added bye weeks in the 1990, the Super Bowl was played later and later.  When the 9/11 cancellations in 2001 moved everything back a week, Super Bowl XXXVI became the first to be played in February.

Before the 1978 expansion to 16 weeks, however, the earliest Super Bowl ever in the calendar year was played on January 9, 1977, as the Oakland Raiders, coached by John Madden and with Ken Stabler at quarterback, defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.   The Vikings were appearing in their fourth (and to this date, last) Super Bowl, and they lost every one of them.

We are happy to add Super Bowl XI to our database, and tomorrow we will debuting a new feature on the website which over the next month will see us add all of the Super Bowls to the Gridiron Uniform Database.

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A new feature already on the website, you will see you can now click on '2011' and see the team pages for the teams that have already completed their 2011 season.  As the remaining teams in the playoffs lose, we will be added them to this page.  Also coming soon, we will be adding the '2011' graphics to the individual team's year pages linked to the right.
 

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Yesterday, we mentioned an "Easter Egg" of sorts here in the Gridiron Uniform Database, an intentional error that I left on the site to see if anyone would notice it.  It isn't anything that will lead to a compromise of the accuracy of our data.  It is more accurately described as not really a "typo", but a "mis-type".  We mentioned we will continue to give hints until someone finds it, and today's hint is:

Have a good Monday and enjoy the BCS Championship Game tonight.

Wild Card Sunday

Wild Card Sunday
by Rob Holecko

Well today is Wild Card Sunday, a couple good games on tap today -- the Falcons take on the Giants in Game 1 and the Steelers take on the Broncos in the last game of the weekend.  It's been a good weekend for all three Gulf coast teams.  The Texans and the Saints stamped their ticket into the next round, and for the first time in ten weeks, the Bucs won't have a loss this weekend.

We now take you back to our "On This Day..." segment.  Twelve years ago, on January 8, 2000, the Titans pulled off the Music City Miracle, as Frank Wycheck threw across the field to Kevin Dyson on a kickoff return, who took it down the sideline and to the end zone for the winning score.  The Titans went on to defeat the Colts and the Jaguars before coming up a yard short in Super Bowl XXXIV to the Rams.

We are proud to add this game to our collection of past games in our database.

 Things have picked up over the last week, so we haven't been bringing you a "On This Day..." religiously everyday, however, there was another one from a couple days ago we'd like to mention anyhow.  Friday was the anniversary of the January 6, 1980 playing of the 1979 NFC Championship.  The fourth-year expansion Bucs were the story of the NFL in 1979, making it all the way to nine points away from the Super Bowl.

Also regarding a recent "On This Day.." I corrected a typo regarding the January 5 On This Day, I erroneously said that the Giants had come back from a huge deficit in their 2002 Wild Card win against the 49ers. It was actually the 49ers that came back from trailing in that game, and I was corrected by our own Bill Schaefer.  I don't know which was worse, that I again displayed such a blatant disregard for fact-checking, or that of our 98,000+ visitors, none of them noticed the error.  Which reminds me, there is a hidden "Easter Egg" of sorts on our site, an intentional error that I left on the site in early October, to see if anyone noticed.  I'm not going to give any more hints, but it involved a team that won a game yesterday.  First one to notice and reply in the comments will receive recognition in tomorrow's blog and will be allowed to select a favorite game of theirs from any game in NFL History for us to add to our database.  (Tim & Bill not eligible, this time.)

Another thing we'd like to mention is we will soon be rolling out the 2011 team pages for all of the teams that missed the playoffs, as well as further teams as they are eliminated, will be added soon.  These pages will be added to the links in the left and right columns on the main page.  Look for these soon.

Tomorrow is my birthday, but more importantly it is also the earliest date that a Super Bowl was ever played, so our "On This Day..." segment will be kicked up a notch to "Super" status beginning tomorrow.  All Super Bowls will be added to the site in the next month, as they will be featured in upcoming "On This Day..." segments.

Have a good, enjoy the football.