Off Topic: NFL Alternate History

 

I don’t watch much football nowadays.  I was turned off by the kneeling and I prefer the old style of play with more downfield passing.  I was a pretty big fan growing up and my favorite team was the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I’m fascinated by the fact that just ONE key play can and does alter the fortunes of a franchise for years to come, especially when it comes to the draft order.  Let’s take a look at a few examples.

In 1969, the Steelers quarterback threw an apparent game winning touchdown in the final minute of the game in the season finale.  The score was called back because of a questionable holding penalty and the Steelers lost by a field goal.  Because of the loss, the team secured the first overall pick, which was used on Hall of Fame Quarterback Terry Bradshaw.  The rest is history.  What happens if the penalty was not called, and the Steelers won the game?

The Chicago Bears would have had the number one pick and were also interested in Bradshaw.  The Bears did not have much of team throughout most of the 1970s.  My guess is that Bradshaw gets off to a rough start as he did in Pittsburgh, but he goes on to have a rather average career and does not win any Super Bowls even if Walter Payton eventually arrives.   Today, he would be largely forgotten.  I admire Bradshaw and can identify with some of his life experiences.  I too was pre-judged as dumb because of my southern accent.  Fact is that if the line doesn’t block and the receivers can’t catch, even the most talented QB will struggle.  On the other hand, journeymen QBs have looked great in limited action as a substitute for a championship team. 

As for the Steelers, I believe that they do win their first Super Bowl without Bradshaw but NOT the last 3.  There were not many quality QBs available in the draft in the early 1970s.  Kenny Anderson was the only one that could have been a possibility.  Their coach Chuck Noll preferred to build through the draft but may have been forced to make a trade for a QB.  Could the Steelers have been as successful with an average QB but an elite defense and running game?  I don’t think so. 

Let’s now move forward to 1974.  Dallas was all set to use their first-round pick on Wide Receiver Lynn Swann.  Unfortunately for them, Pittsburgh picked one spot ahead of them and you know the rest.  Swann torched the Cowboys in the 1975 and 1978 Super Bowls and won the MVP in the former.  If Dallas had lost just one more game in the previous season, at least one of those Super Bowls would have gone the other way.  Dallas also nearly drafted Jerry Rice in 1985 but San Francisco traded up in the first round to cut in front and draft the GOAT at his position.  Can you image the Cowboys teams of the early ‘90s with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin AND Jerry Rice?  It could have been the greatest dynasty of all time.  As for San Francisco, they probably win the 1989 and 1994 Super Bowl without Rice but Cincinnati wins in '88.

Bo Jackson made it known that he would never sign with Tampa Bay, but they drafted him anyway.  Rumor has it that San Francisco offered a very good package including Ronnie Lott, but it was turned down.  The Niners would have scary good in the late ‘80s with Bo Jackson.  Assuming that Bo doesn’t get injured, he goes on to have a Hall of Fame career in football and probably never plays in MLB.  Another interesting possibility is that Tampa Bay passes on Jackson, and he is instead drafted number 2 by Atlanta.  I don’t think he wins any Super Bowls with Atlanta, but he would have been teammates with Deion Sanders.  Perhaps he does try baseball under that scenario.  I believe that the Steelers could have drafted Barry Sanders instead of Tim Worley in 1989 if they had lost one more game the previous year.  However, with Sanders still going strong, they probably don’t trade for Jerome Bettis.

My last what if is the tuck rule game in 2001.  The pass was ruled incomplete because the QB’s arm was going forward even though it was pretty clear that he was not in the act of throwing the ball.  If the play had been ruled a fumble, New England loses in the playoffs and the Super Bowl is probably Pittsburgh against the St. Louis Rams with a QB matchup of Kurt Warner vs Kordell Stewart.  Even as a Steeler fan, I’d have to bet on the Rams to win this one.  Despite the playoff loss, there is little doubt that Tom Brady wins the job over Drew Bledsoe and goes on to be the GOAT with only 6 Super Bowl wins.  This is unlikely but what if New England sticks with Bledsoe and trades Brady?  Does he have the same success with a mediocre supporting cast?   

IRL, both Stewart and Warner would be benched 2 years later and sign elsewhere.  Warner would go on to find a good home in Arizona while Stewart failed in Chicago.  I believe Stewart gets a longer leash by simply getting to the Super Bowl and so does Warner for winning it.  Warner bounces back and has a HOF career all with St. Louis and perhaps they still have a team.  Stewart continues to play erratically for Pittsburgh.  Perhaps the draft order in 2004 is different and the Steelers have a higher pick.  Do they still end up with Roethlisberger or do they go with the consensus pick in Eli Manning or even Philip Rivers?  I think it’s pretty clear that Pittsburgh got the best of those 3, but either Manning or Rivers probably does well as a Steeler too.  My second choice would be Rivers, but Brady may have 2 more Super Bowl wins if Manning was not on the Giants.   Wild stuff that could have happened very easily.