Comments on FIRE JOE MORGAN: Let's Take a Spin Around the Internet

Howard, with the juiciest email of the year:You're...

2008-01-28T18:43:00.000-05:00

Howard, with the juiciest email of the year:

You're too young to remember, but the rumor was that the Colts' owner bet on the game and gave the points and needed a TD to cover not just a FG.

I really hope that's the true story. That would be awesome.

Part II, from Joshua:before Pete Gogolak populariz...

2008-01-28T16:23:00.000-05:00

Part II, from Joshua:

before Pete Gogolak popularized soccer-style field goal kicking in the 1960s (that is to say, well after Unitas' and the Colts' victory over the Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played"), field goal kicking was much more of a crapshoot than it is today, to the extent that successfully executing a field goal try from the 8 yard line (or even from the 1 yard line) wasn't really the given that it would be today. (As an illustration, per Wikipedia, Lou Groza, NFL Hall of Famer and namesake of the NCAA's annual award for the best DI-A kicker, made just 58% of his kicks, well below what even an average kicker accomplishes today.)

Additionally, while I can't find any specific information on point, we're talking about a game that was played on natural grass in New York in the winter. Heck, even today field goals at Giants Stadium on FieldTurf can be an adventure. One article I've read says the game featured numerous turnovers and missed field goals. I'm guessing weather probably would've added to the difficulty of a game-winning field goal attempt.

Those things being the case, I'd imagine that continuing to drive for a touchdown was netiher as "incredibly dumb" as you might have thought, nor as heroic as Plaschke portrays it as being.

I will officially back off from the position that going for it was dumb because they should've kicked, though I still think a 15-yarder was makable. However, as Joshua notes, Unitas maybe shouldn't be given a ton of credit for passing, since they kind of had to try to score a TD, and who knows what defensive alignment he was facing (10 in the box?).

Either way, I am definitely sure that I could have been the league's best FG kicker in the 1950s. Maybe even a good RB.

Vinnie writes:I'm pretty sure it was the first gam...

2008-01-28T16:03:00.000-05:00

Vinnie writes:

I'm pretty sure it was the first game in NFL history that required sudden-death (regular season games just ended in a tie with no OT, I believe).

As far as throwing the ball from the 8 in sudden death, that does seem like pretty horrible strategy, especially when you consider that was before the goal posts were moved to the back of the end zone. I suppose one could argue that place kicking was so brutal back then (pre-soccer style of course) that a field goal from any distance was a risk. (Come to think of it, maybe the 8 was even too close to kick because of the goal post thing.) Also, their kicker Steve Myhra was just 4 of 10 in FGs that year according to Pro Football Reference.

Thanks, Vinnie. Although, I'm pretty sure I could hit a 15-yard FG more than 40% of the time.