Chris Doleman, Hall of Famer

Chris Doleman, Hall Of Famer

by Larry Schmitt

Continuing our weekly series highlighting the 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class, we remain firmly entrenched on the line of scrimmage. This time however, we will move over to the defensive side of the ball.
Chris Doleman was an impact defensive player for three teams over his 15 year career.

He was drafted as an outside linebacker from Pitt, 4th overall in 1985 by the Minnesota Vikings. Toward the end of his second year, he was moved up to defensive end and found his niche as an edge rusher. Using his dynamic play-making ability, he became a premier defensive play-maker on the level of contemporaries like Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor.

In 1987 (a strike shortened, 15 game season in which Doleman played only 12 games) he led Minnesota with 11 sacks and was voted to his first of eight Pro Bowls. 1989 was an even better season. He had 22 sacks, one-half short of the all-time record, and was named First Team All Pro. 1992 brought Doleman the NFC Defensive Player of the Year award when he led the Vikings with 14.5 sacks and an interception return for a touchdown and a safety.

His athletic ability enabled him to make big plays, where he combined speed, body lean, leverage, and balance into a competitive advantage few offensive tackles were able to handle. More than just a sack specialist, Doleman complied 45 forced fumbles during his career and eight interceptions, an unusually high number for a defensive lineman. He also had three return touchdowns and two safeties.

Most remarkable however was his ruggedness. Over the span of Doleman's 15-year career, he played in 232 games, missing only two due to injury.
Not coincidentally, team success also followed Doleman wherever he went. In six of 10 seasons in Minnesota, the Vikings qualified for the playoffs. Following the 1993 season he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons, where he continued to maintain his high level of play, leading the Falcons with nine sacks in 1995. In Doleman's second year with the Falcons he led Atlanta in sacks as the team qualified for the playoffs.  As a free agent, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers and was a key part in their three consecutive playoff berths during his tenure there. Doleman recorded double-digit sack seasons, include a career second best 15 in 1998, before returning to Minnesota for one final year in 1999. Excelling in these big situations, he recorded seven sacks in six playoff games. 

Doleman was rewarded for his achievements by being named to the NFL's prestigious All Decade Team for the 1990's.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DoleCh00.htm 

Super Bowl Trivia Answers

Super Bowl Trivia Answers
by Tim Brulia

Here are the answers from last week's trivia questions with a little detail behind the answers:

1) What four instances did the "home" team of the Super Bowl NOT wear the home jersey that they normally wore that season? Bonus: Can you tell me why?
Answer: V, Cowboys in blue (because they had to), VIII Dolphins in aqua (because they had to), XX Patriots in red (they wore white at home in 1985 and were hoping that the one loss by the Bears was when wearing white at Miami would work in the Super Bowl. It didn't) and XL Steelers in white (because they wore white on the road for their three playoff wins in 2005 and Coach Bill Cowher wanted to keep the mojo working).
From Super Bowl I through Super Bowl XII, the rules regarding the home team of the Super Bowl was that they got the certain bench and they had to wear dark uniforms. Cowboys GM Tex Schramm was not fond of this rule as the Cowboys had to wear their blue instead of their whites for Super Bowl V. As a man with lots of influence on Commissioner Pete Rozelle, he was able to sway him to change this rule effective with Super Bowl XIII that the home team had its choice of dark or white. Of course, it just so happened that that very Super Bowl (XIII) was when the first team, Schramm's own Cowboys, took advantage of the rule.

Ottis Anderson of the Giants wearing the
Super Bowl patch in XXV.  This was the first time
that teams wore Super Bowl patches, and they would
be a one-time appearance until they were
added permanently in Super Bowl XXXII seven years later.

2) What was the First Super Bowl where the team wore that year's Super Bowl patch on their jersey?Answer: Super Bowl XXV, where both combatants, the Bills and Giants wore the SB XXV patch on the left collarbone of their jerseys.
This was to celebrate the Silver Season of the Super Bowl. In fact, the Super Bowl XXV logo was placed at midfield, and the official game program featured a silver border in celebration. For awhile, this would be the only SB where patches were worn until Super Bowl XXXII (Broncos-Packers), and they have been worn ever since.

3) What was the first Super Bowl where the team(s) wore the supplier vector?
Answer: Super Bowl XXIII.
Some (but not all) of the Bengals players had their white jerseys with the Champion vector applied on one of the sleeves. The opposing 49ers did not have vectors on their red jerseys.

4) What was the last Super Bowl where a team did NOT wear the supplier vector?
Answer: Super Bowl XXX.
The Cowboys were supplied by Nike in 1995, which at that time was not an official NFL uniform supplier. Jerry Jones cut his own deal with Nike and Commissioner Paul Tagliabue would not allow the Cowboys to have Nike's vector displayed on any part of the uniform. This also extended to sideline gear. If I remember correctly, Coach Barry Switzer wore a very generic white polo shirt on the sidelines for this Super Bowl encounter with the Steelers.

The Seahawks were the first team to wear a mono-color
combo in a Super Bowl but it wasn't enough to beat
Hines Ward and the Steelers who went
"white-at-home" in Super Bowl XL.

5) What was the first Super Bowl to feature a team wearing a dark jersey/dark pants combination?Answer: Super Bowl XL.
The Seahawks were the team and so far, the ONLY team to wear a dark/dark - or monochrome - combination. In fact, were it not for the Steelers stunning decision to wear white as the home team for this matchup (see #1), we would still be waiting for a team to go dark/dark in a Super Bowl!

6) What were the four Super Bowls where one team did NOT have names on their jerseys?Answer: The first four Super Bowls; I (Packers), II (Packers), III (Colts) and IV (Vikings).
The old standby NFL stayed with tradition, even in the Super Bowl, not to affix the jerseys with the players' names. Believe it or not, there was nothing in the rules that prevented an NFL team from slapping a nameplate on the jerseys. They just chose not to. Meanwhile, the AFL started the practice right from the get go in 1960, as some of the teams wore them from the beginning, and most joined the practice during the season. By 1961, it was league policy for the AFL teams to wear "NOB's" for all regular season and playoff games, including the AFL Champions in the Super Bowl. Ironically, in the one game you'd think where the NOB's would be needed the most, the AFL's All-Star Game, NOB's were never worn!

7) What were the two Super Bowls where the game officials wore special uniforms?
Answer: Super Bowls I and II.

Jerry Rice catching one of Steve Young's record
six touchdown passes in throwback uniforms in
Super Bowl XXIX.  Why didn't the Chargers didn't wear their
75th anniversary throwbacks (white road version or better
yet powder-blues for a color-on-color matchups -- us
Uni-Watchers can dream, can't we?) in the
game we'll never know.

Because the NFL Officials and AFL Officials wore completely different uniforms, the officials assigned to work the first two Super Bowls in special uniforms just for the occasion. The caps were white with thin black soutache stripes, a black button and a black visor.
 The stripes were - like the NFL uniform - black and white, but the sleeves were black with the official's number in white and worn only on the sleeves. 
The pants were white with a hairline black stripe on the sides and the socks were like that of the NFL refs, black with the stirrups exposed with two white stripes. In 1968, the season after Super Bowl II, AFL Officials began wearing a duplicate of what the NFL officials wore.

8) What is the only instance of a team wearing a throwback jersey in a Super Bowl?
Answer: The 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX.
The 1994 season was the NFL's 75th season and the league encouraged use of teams to wear throwbacks uniforms for at least a game or two for the season. The 49ers went well beyond the game or two thing and wore their 1955 throwbacks for most of the season, including all of their post-season games. They wore their home red throwback jerseys against the 1994-clad Chargers and throttled the Bolts, 49-26.

Terry McAuley was referee in Super Bowl XXXIX, here you see the
NFL shield on his cap.

9) What was the Super Bowl that featured - for the first time ever - the game officials wearing the NFL Shield prominently on the front of their caps?
Answer: Super Bowl XXXIX.
Game officials uniforms had changed very little for roughly a twenty year span before this game, save for the occasional tweak here and there, and memorial armbands for their fallen comrades. But in the game that featured the Patriots and the Eagles, the game officials showed off their new caps, emblazoned with the NFL Shield on the fronts of their caps. Pro Football (not counting the WFL, USFL, CFL, etc.) had not seen the officials with a logo on the cap fronts since the 1967 AFL season. This was not a one-off deal as ever since this game, the NFL Officials have worn a logo'd cap. In 2006, the NFL overhauled the refs' unis, which is described in detail on the "NFL Game Officials Uniforms" page under the Research tab on the The Gridiron Uniform Database's homepage.


Hopefully, you did well and also enjoyed the little history lesson on America's biggest sporting event. While the NFL is now in the off-season, we at the The Gridiron Uniform Database are not. There is no off-season at the The Gridiron Uniform Database. Please check in often as we will continue to post plenty of blogs and updates to the database!

Dermontii Dawson, Hall of Famer

After taking a week sabbatical to catch our breath here at The Gridiron Uniform Database after an exciting Super Bowl XLVI, we return with a new feature here, our newest correspondent and local Giants' fan, Larry Schmitt, aka bigbluelarry, will be bringing us a weekly look at the newest inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Also today we'll show you the last installment of Tim Brulia's Super Bowl trivia questions in the final segment of Are You Smarter Than TimmyB?

Tim will be back Monday with a breakdown of all the questions from Super Bowl week and the correct answers so you can see how you did.  Now here is Larry, with the first Hall of Fame inductee of the Class of 2012, Dermontii Dawson:

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Dermontii Dawson, Hall of Famer 

by Larry Schmitt
   

In this era of the modern NFL, where scoring and passing records seem to fall on a nearly weekly basis, it was quite refreshing to see the voters at the Pro Football Hall of Fame remain grounded in the games roots. The Class of 2007 highlights the nuts and bolts of the game of football. Blocking and tackling is the bedrock that the game was built, on prior to rules legislation that facilitated higher scoring and faster action for short attention-spanned television audiences. Two offensive lineman, two defensive linemen, a half back and a defensive back will receive their bronze busts in August. They exemplify what makes football the unique and special game that is is: contests that are won and lost on the line of scrimmage.

This week I'll feature Pittsburgh Steelers' Center Dermontti Dawson.

Blessed with an unusual combination of strength and speed, Dawson was drafted out of Kentucky in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft by the Steelers in 1988. He played a handful of games at guard, alongside Steeler legend and Hall of Famer Mike Webster. Dawson took over Webster's center position the following season in 1989, where he became a fixture, starting 170 consecutive games, the second most in Pittsburgh history. He also served double-duty as the long snapper on special teams.

The Steelers quarterback situation remained in a state of flux throughout Dawson's career. They had six different starters over 13 seasons (Bubby Brister, Todd Blackledge, Neil O'Donnell, Mike Tomczak, Kordell Stewart, Kent Graham),but the club's offensive output usually remained strong, featuring a pounding rushing attack.

The years 1992 through 1997 were Dawson's peak. He was named First Team All-Pro six times (tying him with Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Alan Faneca for the most in Pittsburgh history) and participated in seven Pro Bowls.

While offensive linemen do not accumulate impressive statistics, their effectiveness can be measured by their teams' success. The Steelers were usually ranked among the top five rushing teams during this span, and they were first in the NFL in this category in 1994 and 1997. Not surprisingly, the top two individual Steeler rushing seasons occurred in this period. Barry Foster's 1,690 yards in 1994 and Jerome Bettis's 1,665 in 1997 were a direct result of Dawson's powerful point-of-attack drive blocking and athletic leads on sweeps. He was recognized for his efforts by sharing the title of AFC Offensive Lineman of the Year award with Miami's Rishmond Webb in 1993, and was named NFL Offensive Lineman of the Year in 1997.

The Steelers qualified for the post season six times in the mid 90's behind Dawson's leadership, with five AFC Central Championships, and one AFC Title when they advanced to Super Bowl XXX after the 1995 season.

Hamstring injuries brought Dawson's consecutive starts steak to an end in 1999 and he retired following the 2000 season.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DawsDe00.htm

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What were the four Super Bowls where one team did NOT have names on their jerseys?

What is the only instance of a team wearing a throwback jersey in a Super Bowl?

What was the Super Bowl that featured - for the first time ever - the game officials wearing the NFL Shield prominently on front of their caps?

~ ~ ~

Well, there you have it -- the final group of Tim's Trivia Questions... Check back soon for an update with the answers to these and all of the rest of Tim' Trivia Questions soon, and visit us often as we plan to bring you a lot of new and exciting stuff as we head into the off-season.
   

Once again, congratulations to the New York Giants, the Super Bowl XLVI Champions.

It's Almost Here

It's Almost Here
by Rob Holecko


Indianapolis, Indiana, 1:00 PM CST - Well if you are like me you are all "pre-gamed" out and ready for kickoff, but it is still four-plus hours away.  Here at the Gridiron Uniform Database we have some exciting new features that we'll be unveiling around kickoff, so stay tuned.


We'll have three more of Tim's trivia questions for you now, and we'll be back at kickoff with three more.  In Monday's blog, we'll go over the answers to all of the questions and you can see how you did.


Now whether you are putting the finishing touches on preparing massive amounts of food and beverages for many friends and family or heading out to a Super Bowl party, or you're just settling in to watch the game at home by yourself, we hope you enjoy the game (and the commercials.)


Here is the pre-game installment of trivia questions:

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What was the first Super Bowl to feature a team wearing a dark jersey/dark pants combination?

What were the four Super Bowls where one team did NOT have names on their jerseys?

What were the two Super Bowls where the game officials wore special uniforms?

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On This Day...

Later today either the Giants or Patriots will become the next franchise to win their fourth Super Bowl Championship. Six years ago today the Steelers won their fifth Championship in Super Bowl XL in Detroit against the Seattle Seahawks.

An Exciting Fourth Quarter

Note: We've been busy at The Gridiron Uniform Database Blog this week and haven't been able to bring you articles daily as we would have liked.  Tim's Trivia Questions will continue to appear, and while we intended on running one every day this week, we just haven't been around to write for the blog everyday.  We hope you understand, and we'll give you three questions in today's entry. 

An Exciting Fourth Quarter
by Rob Holecko

Super Bowl XXXVIII was played eight years ago yesterday, on February 1, 2004.  Played in Houston, it was on the one year anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, and it also came to be remembered for the "Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction" that occurred at halftime.

But perhaps instead this game should be remembered instead for the most exciting 15 minutes of Super Bowl football ever played.  At the beginning of the fourth quarter the Patriots led 14-10, and the two teams combined for thirty-seven points in the fourth, and an exciting 32-29 Patriots victory.  Wikipedia summarizes the fourth quarter as thus:

Beginning wiith 3:57 left in the third period, the Patriots put together a 71-yard, 8-play scoring drive, featuring tight end Daniel Graham's 33-yard reception to advance to the Carolina 9-yard line. Running backAntowain Smith then capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run on the second play on the final period to increase their lead, 21–10. This was the start of another scoring explosion, one that became one of the biggest explosions in Super Bowl history, with both teams scoring a combined 37 points in the last 15 minutes, the most ever in a single quarter of a Super Bowl.

Delhomme started out Carolina's ensuing drive with a 13-yard completion to wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. After committing a false start penalty on the next play, Delhomme completed a pair of passes to Smith for gains of 18 and 22 yards. Running back DeShaun Foster then scored on a 33-yard touchdown run, cutting the Panthers' deficit to 21-16 after Delhomme's 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete. The Patriots responded on their ensuing possession by driving all the way to Carolina's 9-yard line, but the drive ended when Panthers defensive back Reggie Howard intercepted a third down pass from Brady in the end zone. Then on 3rd down from his own 15-yard line, Delhomme threw for the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history, an 85-yard touchdown completion to Muhammad. Carolina's 2-point conversion attempt failed again, but they took their first lead of the game, 22-21, with 6:53 remaining. It was the first time in Super Bowl history a team down 10+ points during the 4th quarter had come back to take the lead. Two other times teams came back to tie the game; the Tennessee Titans against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV and the Rams against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI.

However, New England retook the lead on their next drive, advancing 68 yards with the aid of a pair of completions from Brady to Givens for gains of 18 and 25 yards. Once again the Patriots were faced with third down and goal, but this time they scored with Brady's 1-yard pass to Vrabel, who had lined up in an eligible tight end position. Then on a two-point conversion attempt, running back Kevin Faulk took a direct snap and ran into the end zone to make the score 29-22. Despite amassing over 1,000 combined yards, Kevin Faulk's two-point conversion constituted the only points he scored all season.

The Panthers countered on their next possession. Foster started the drive with a 9-yard run and a 7-yard reception. After that, Delhomme completed a 19-yard pass to Muhammad, followed by a 31-yard completion to receiver Ricky Proehl. Then Proehl, who caught the fourth quarter game tying touchdown pass against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI 2 years earlier for the St. Louis Rams, finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown reception. Kasay's ensuing extra point tied the game, 29-29, with 1:08 to play in regulation and it appeared that the game would be the first Super Bowl ever to go into overtime.

However, Kasay kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, giving New England the ball on their own 40-yard line. Brady calmly led the Patriots offense down the field with a 13-yard pass to Brown on second down. An offensive pass interference penalty on Brown pushed New England back to their own 43-yard line, but another 13-yard reception to Brown and a 4-yard pass to Graham brought up a critical 3rd down and 3 from the Carolina 40-yard line. The Panthers defense could not prevent the Patriots from gaining the first down, as Brady completed a clutch 17-yard pass to Branch. On the next play, Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal to give New England the lead, 32-29, with four seconds left in the game. Carolina failed on their last chance, as Rod Smart went nowhere on the ensuing kickoff, and the Patriots had won their second Super Bowl in three years. This was the fourth Super Bowl to be decided on a field goal in the final seconds. Super Bowl V was won on a last second kick by Jim O'Brien, Super Bowl XXV had Scott Norwood miss his field goal chance, and in Super Bowl XXXVIII, Adam Vinatieri made his.

We are proud to add this game to our database of NFL matchups.  There has never been a Super Bowl played on February 2, however in two years, the NFL will play the first outdoors, cold-weather site Super Bowl with Super Bowl XLVIII scheduled to be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, home of the Jets and Giants, on February 2, 2014.

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Tuesday was Media Day at the Super Bowl, and in answering the media's various and disparate questions, the players of both teams, the Giants and the Patriots, wore their uniforms with the Super Bowl patches, and displayed for the first time what they will be wearing when they take the field Sunday.

While we won't officially add the uniforms for Super Bowl XLVI to the database until kickoff, we can go ahead and offer a sneak peek and display them for you today in our blog.  The Giants will again be the road team, and the Patriots the home team, so visually the teams will look a lot like they did when they met in Super Bowl XLII.  The league alternates Super Bowl years between the NFC and AFC Champion being the home team.  This is similar to Super Bowls X and XIII, when the Steelers and Cowboys met both times in Miami.  The Cowboys were the home team in XIII, while the Steelers were the home team in X, but whichever year the two teams met, the Cowboys would have worn white and the Steelers black, because the Cowboys generally wore white at home, although they did wear blue in Super Bowl V, when they faced the Colts.  The only visual difference between Super Bowls X and XIII was that X was played during the day, and the Orange Bowl still had astroturf.  By Super Bowl XIII, the NFL was playing the Super Bowls at night, and the Orange Bowl had switched to a grass surface.

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Tim's Super Bowl Trivia Questions - "Are You Smarter Than TimmyB?" 

For today's installment, here are a few logo patch and supplier vector related questions for you:

What was the first Super Bowl where the team wore that year's Super Bowl logo patch on their jersey?

What was the first Super Bowl where the team(s) wore the supplier vector?

What was the last Super Bowl where a team did NOT wear the supplier vector?

Hog Day Afternoon

Hog Day Afternoon
by Rob Holecko

We resume our look back at past Super Bowls that we are adding to our database by taking a look at Super Bowl XVII.  Super Bowl XVII was played on January 30, 1983.  This was the latest a Super Bowl had ever been played.  The players' strike had resulted in a loss of seven weeks of games during the season and the ninth and final week of regular season games were played in the first weekend of January.  With teams playing shortened schedules, not all teams played the same amount of divisional games, so they abandoned divisions and just seeded the top 8 teams in each conference 1-8 and played a sixteen-team tournament, with the Championship being Super Bowl XVII.

The Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins reached this game, and the 'Skins rushing attack of John Riggins behind one of the greatest offensive lines ever, known as the "Hogs", and also led by QB Joe Theismann and season MVP K Mark Moseley, won the game 27-17, with Riggins breaking for a touchdown on a key fourth down late in the game.

We are proud to add this game to our database.

Two later Super Bowls were also played on January 30, in 1994, the Dallas Cowboys won their second of two back-to-back championships, beating the Buffalo Bills in Atlanta for the second year in a row in Super Bowl XXVIII

Six years after that, the St. Louis Rams culminated their fantastic 1999 season, also in Atlanta, by stopping Kevin Dyson one yard short of the end zone and defeating the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV.

These Super Bowls also are now in our database.

And now, we are also proud to debut a new segment that will run all week leading up to the Super Bowl.  It's a daily Super Bowl trivia question brought to you by our website historian, Tim Brulia.  It's called, "Do You Know As Much As Timmy B?"  Here's Tim with the first question:

~ ~ ~

What four instances did the "home" team of the Super Bowl NOT wear the home jersey that they normally wore that season? Bonus: can you tell me why?

Put your guesses in the comments and look for the correct answer and another question tomorrow!

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Well, we'll be back tomorrow with more exciting Super Bowl related content, including another trivia question and Tuesday is also Media Day, and we'll be unveiling here in the blog the uniforms the Giants and Patriots will be taking the field in Sunday.

More Super Bowls

More Super Bowls
by Rob Holecko


Today, January 28th is the anniversary of three more Super Bowls for us to look back on here at the Gridiron Uniform Database in our daily feature, "On This Day."  Twenty-two years ago, the San Francisco 49ers broke the '85 Bears record of most points in a Super Bowl, when they defeated the Denver Broncos 55 to 10.  Six years after that, the Dallas Cowboys capped off their 1990s dynasty with their third Super Bowl of the decade, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 27 to 10 in Super Bowl XXX in Arizona, and also on this day in 2001, the third Super Bowl held in Tampa was played as the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.

We are proud to add these Super Bowls to our database as we continue to build the Gridiron Uniform Database into the most complete and comprehensive resource of its' type anywhere on the internet.

Here are, from Wikipedia, in-depth reviews of these three games:

The 49ers blew out the Broncos by gaining 461 yards of total offense, holding the ball for 39:31, and scoring on six of their first eight drives. The San Francisco defense also limited the Broncos to 167 yards, 12 first downs, and a time of possession to 20:29.

On their opening possession, Denver was forced to punt after three plays and the 49ers scored on their ensuing drive, marching 66 yards and scoring on a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Montana to receiver Jerry Rice. 

The Broncos responded with a 49-yard scoring drive, mainly on plays by running back Bobby Humphrey, who rushed 4 times for 22 yards and caught a 27-yard shovel pass, Elway's longest completion of the game. Kicker David Treadwell finished the drive with a 42-yard field goal to cut the Broncos deficit to 7–3. 

Denver's defense forced San Francisco to punt on their next drive after 3 plays, and receiver Vance Johnson gave his team good field position with a 7-yard return to the Broncos' 49-yard line. But then Humphrey lost a fumble at midfield while being tackled by defensive end Kevin Fagan, and safety Chet Brooks recovered the loose ball for San Francisco.
From then on, the 49ers completely took over the game. Ten plays after the fumble recovery, the 49ers scored on a 7-yard pass from Montana to tight end Brent Jones. Kicker Mike Cofer missed the extra point attempt, keeping the score at 13–3, but it turned out to be the only miscue the 49ers would make for the rest of the game. Once again, the Broncos were forced to punt three plays after the ensuing kickoff, and the 49ers advanced 69 yards in 13 plays to score another touchdown. The key player on that drive was fullback Tom Rathman, who caught 3 passes for 39 yards, kept the drive alive with a successful run on a fourth down conversion, and capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 20–3. Later in the second quarter, wide receiver John Taylor's 17-yard punt return gave the 49ers the ball near midfield, and they scored another touchdown with a 38-yard completion from Montana to Rice, increasing their lead to 27–3 at the end of the half.

When the second half started, the 49ers picked up right where they left off. Linebacker Mike Walter intercepted Broncos quarterback John Elway's first pass of the third quarter, and Montana threw a 28-yard touchdown reception to Rice on the next play. Then Elway was intercepted again on the Broncos' ensuing drive, this time by Brooks, who returned the ball 38 yards to the Denver 37-yard line. Two plays later, Montana fooled defensive back Steve Atwater with a pump fake in Rice's direction, and then threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Taylor, making the score 41–3.

Denver's lone touchdown came on their next possession, a 61-yard, 5-play drive. First, Broncos defensive back Darren Carrington returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards to the 39-yard line. Elway's 13-yard completion to Johnson, a 34-yard run from Humphrey, and a pass interference penalty on 49ers linebacker Bill Romanowski moved the ball to the San Francisco 1-yard line. Elway then capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run on third down, cutting their deficit to 41–10.

However, the 49ers continued to dominate the Broncos. San Francisco responded to Denver's score with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 6:56 off the clock, and ended with Rathman's 3-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Then after the ensuing kickoff, Elway was sacked for a 6-yard loss by defensive end Danny Stubbs. Then after an offsides penalty on the 49ers, cornerback Don Griffin sacked Elway, forcing a fumble. Stubbs recovered the loose ball and returned it 15 yards to Denver's 1-yard line. 49ers running back Roger Craig then closed out the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run on the next play to make the final score of the game 55–10.

Rice finished the game with 7 receptions for 148 yards and a Super Bowl record 3 receiving touchdowns (he joined teammate Roger Craig as the only players to score three touchdowns in a Super Bowl; Craig did it in Super Bowl XIX – 2 receiving and 1 rushing). Craig was the leading rusher of the game with 69 rushing yards and a touchdown, while also catching 5 passes for 34 yards. Rathman rushed for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns while also catching 4 passes for 43 yards. Taylor caught 3 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, and added another 38 yards on 3 punt returns. Elway was held to just 10 completions out of 26 attempts for 108 yards with no touchdowns, and was intercepted 2 times. Elway also ran for a touchdown, and fumbled twice (although he recovered one of them). Humphrey was Denver's leading rusher and receiver, with 61 rushing yards and 3 receptions for 38 yards. Carrington returned 6 kickoffs for 146 yards.

Super Bowl XXX began with Dallas wide receiver Kevin Williams returning the opening kickoff 18 yards to the 29-yard line. On Dallas' first possession Troy Aikman completed a 20-yard pass on second down to wide receiver Michael Irvin, followed by a 23-yard gain by Emmitt Smith to advance to the Pittsburgh 28-yard line. On third down and eight from the 26-yard line, Williams could only gain 2 yards on a reverse play, forcing Dallas to settle for a 42-yard Chris Boniol field goal.

On the Steelers' first possession, the Dallas defense forced a three-and-out and subsequent punt, which Cowboy cornerback Deion Sanders returned 11 yards to the 25-yard line. After 2 Smith runs, Aikman completed two quick passes, the first to Irvin for an 11 yard gain and the second to Sanders (who was brought in on offense as an extra receiver) for 47. Four plays later, Aikman completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jay Novacek (playing in what would be his last game, as Novacek missed the following season due to back injuries before retiring), increasing Dallas' lead to 10-0.

After the Steelers managed to advance to the Dallas 36-yard line on their ensuing drive, the possession fell apart due to a miscue by center Dermontti Dawson. Pittsburgh had lined up in the shotgun formation, and Dawson's snap sailed over quarterback Neil O'Donnell's head. O'Donnell managed to recover the fumble, but the Steelers were unable to recover from the 13-yard loss and had to punt 2 plays later.

After the punt, Dallas drove to the Steelers 24-yard line. However, a pass interference penalty on Irvin nullified a 24-yard touchdown reception, and moved the ball back to the 34-yard line. On the next play, Aikman completed a 19-yard pass to Novacek, bringing up second down and 1 to go from the 15-yard line. However, the Steelers defense stopped Smith for no gain on the next play, and then tackled him for a 3-yard loss on third down. Boniol then kicked a 35-yard field goal, increasing Dallas' lead to 13-0.

After an exchange of punts, Steelers wide receiver Andre Hastings returned John Jett's punt 11 yards to the Pittsburgh 46-yard line. After O'Donnell's first down pass fell incomplete, Dallas linebacker Charles Haley then sacked the Steeler quarterback for a 10-yard loss, forcing 3rd down and 20. O'Donnell's next pass was a 19-yard completion to Hastings, and then a 3-yard fourth down run by wide receiver/backup quarterback Kordell Stewart netted a first down. Nine plays later, O'Donnell threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Yancey Thigpen with just 13 seconds left in the half, cutting Pittsburgh's deficit to 13-7.

After the third quarter began with another exchange of punts, the Steelers advanced the ball to their own 48-yard line. However, on third down, Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown intercepted O'Donnell's pass at the Dallas 38-yard line and returned it 44 yards to the Pittsburgh 18-yard line. Aikman then completed a 17-yard pass to Irvin to reach the 1-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown by Smith to increase Dallas' lead to 20-7.

On their next drive, the Steelers had second down and 2 on their own 47-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after running back Bam Morris was tackled for no gain on 3 consecutive running plays: a draw play to the left, a run to the left, and one to the middle. The Steeler defense held, however, forcing Dallas into a three-and-out; after a 6-yard run by Smith and an incompletion, Aikman's third down pass was broken up by defensive back Rod Woodson (who had missed most of the season due to a knee injury), forcing the Cowboys to punt.

On their next drive, the Steelers advanced from their own 20-yard line to the Dallas 19. Dallas defensive end Tony Tolbert sacked O'Donnell on third down for a 9-yard loss, however, forcing Pittsburgh to settle for kicker Norm Johnson's 46-yard field goal with 11:20 left in the game, cutting the deficit to 20-10. On the ensuing kickoff, Pittsburgh surprised the Cowboys by executing a successful onside kick, with defensive back Deon Figures recovering the ball for Pittsburgh at their own 47-yard line. O'Donnell hit Hastings on two consecutive passes for 23 total yards. His next pass went to wide receiver Ernie Mills for 7 yards, and then Morris ran for 5 yards and caught a pass for a 6-yard gain to the Dallas 11-yard line. Three plays later, Morris scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting Pittsburgh's deficit to 20-17.

With the aid of linebacker Levon Kirkland's 8-yard sack on Aikman, the Cowboys were forced to punt on their next drive and Pittsburgh regained possession of the ball at their own 32-yard line with 4:15 remaining. On second down, however, Brown intercepted another O'Donnell pass and returned it 33 yards to the Steelers' 6-yard line.

Two plays later, Smith scored once again with 3:43 left in the game, increasing the Cowboy lead to 27-17. The Steelers responded by driving to the Dallas 40-yard line, but after O'Donnell threw 4 consecutive incompletions, Pittsburgh turned the ball over on downs with 1:42 left in the game. After that, Dallas ran out most of the clock with three quarterback kneels and an intentional delay of the game penalty before punting the ball back to the Steelers. Pittsburgh regained possession of the ball with three seconds remaining, but O'Donnell's hail mary pass was intercepted by Dallas safety Brock Marion on the final play of the game.

The Steelers had outgained the Cowboys in total yards, 310-254 (201-61 in the second half) had 25 first downs compared to the Cowboys 15, and limited Dallas' powerful running attack to just 56 yards. However, they were unable to overcome O'Donnell's interceptions, which led to two Cowboy touchdowns. The irony of the game was that O'Donnell entered Super Bowl XXX as the NFL's career leader in fewest interceptions per pass attempt.

Troy Aikman finished the game with 15 out of 23 completions for 209 yards and a touchdown (Aikman became just the third quarterback to win three Super Bowls; Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana each won four). Smith was the Cowboys' leading rusher with 49 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. (Smith became just the 5th player to score a touchdown in three different Super Bowls, joining Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, Thurman Thomas and Jerry Rice; he also became the first player to rush for two touchdowns in two different Super Bowls). Irvin was Dallas' top receiver with 5 catches for 76 yards. Novacek caught 5 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. Defensive end Chad Hennings recorded 2 sacks.

Although his 3 interceptions were costly, O'Donnell recorded 28 of 49 completions for 239 yards and a touchdown. Morris was the top rusher of the game with 73 yards and a touchdown, and caught 3 passes for 18 yards. Hastings was the top receiver of the game with 10 receptions for 98 yards, and returned 2 punts for 18 yards. Mills caught 8 passes for 78 yards and gained 79 yards on 4 kickoff returns, giving him 157 total yards.

Charles Haley became the first player to win 5 Super Bowls, winning two with San Francisco (XXIII and XXIV) and two previously with Dallas (XXVII and XXVIII). Barry Switzer became the second head coach, after former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, to win a college football national championship (University of Oklahoma 1974, 1975, 1985) and a Super Bowl title.

After a many-year long tradition of presenting the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the winning team in its locker room after the game, the NFL instituted an on-the-field presentation ceremony for Super Bowl XXX. This new tradition has been followed by the NFL ever since.

The outcome of the game had rather large ramifications for two soon-to-be free agents after their performances. Larry Brown, who was named Super Bowl MVP for his two interceptions, parlayed his performance into a lucrative free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders. However, he was not very effective and was cut from the team after two injury-plagued seasons. Neil O'Donnell left the Steelers in the offseason and signed a long-term free agent contract with the New York Jets, accepting New York's more lucrative offer. O'Donnell's tenure in New York, like Brown's in Oakland, was plagued by injuries and ineffective play and he was released from his contract following the 1997 season. Both players finished their careers as backups, Brown returning to the Cowboys in 1998 and O'Donnell playing for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans until his retirement in 2003.

Both defenses dominated early in the first quarter as the first five possessions of the game ended in punts. On the fifth punt, Ravens kickoff/punt returner Jermaine Lewis returned the ball 33 yards to the New York 31-yard line. Although a holding penalty on the return moved the ball back to the 41-yard line, Baltimore took only two plays to score on quarterback Trent Dilfer's 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Stokley.

Early in the second quarter, a holding penalty against the Giants nullified linebacker Jessie Armstead's 43-yard interception return for a touchdown that would have tied the game. Later in the period, Dilfer completed a 44-yard pass to receiver Qadry Ismail to set up a 47-yard field goal by Ravens kicker Matt Stover to extend Baltimore's lead, 10-0. With the aid of a 27-yard run from running back Tiki Barber, the Giants advanced all the way to the Ravens' 29-yard line on their ensuing drive, but Baltimore defensive back Chris McAlister intercepted a pass from Kerry Collins to keep New York scoreless at halftime.

The Giants forced the Ravens to punt on the opening drive of the second half. Five plays later, Baltimore safety Kim Herring intercepted Collins at the New York 41-yard line. The Ravens then advanced to the 24-yard line, but the drive stalled and Stover missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.

After an exchange of punts, Baltimore defensive back Duane Starks intercepted a pass from Collins and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown, setting off a chain of events unseen before in Super Bowl history: three touchdowns on three consecutive plays in 36 seconds. On the ensuing kickoff, Ron Dixon returned the ball 97 yards for the Giants' first and only score of the game. But Jermaine Lewis returned the next kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, making the score 24-7 for the Ravens. It was the first time in history two kickoffs were returned for touchdowns in the same Super Bowl game, and on back-to-back kickoffs.

The Giants gained only one first down on their final four possessions, and were never able to move the ball into Baltimore territory. Meanwhile the Ravens added 10 more points to their lead, making the final score 34-7. A few possessions after Jermaine Lewis' touchdown, New York punter Brad Maynard's 34-yard punt from his own 4 to the 38-yard line and tight end Ben Coates' 17-yard reception set up a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Jamal Lewis early in the fourth quarter. Dixon fumbled the ensuing kickoff to Baltimore defender Robert Bailey, setting up Stover's 34-yard field goal with 5:27 left in the game.

Well, we've got a lot of exciting new things coming up at the Gridiron Uniform Database, so "stay tuned."  Tomorrow is the Pro Bowl, and the Super Bowl is only a week away.  Look for some exciting Super Bowl Trivia question from our historian Tim Brulia in the coming days.

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!