Monday Night Memories

As you probably have heard by now, Monday Night Football as we know it is ending this week - it's the final ABC game of the series, and ESPN is taking over next year. With that news, I felt it was a good time to reflect on some of my favorite MNF moments from the last four decades. I can't say I was early to this party - born in 1969, I'm just a shade older than the series itself - but I've caught the game just about every week over the last three decades, and with that I've got a lot of memories tucked into the back of my head.

In this entry I've compiled a list of games, in chronological order, that comprise my most memorable MNF experiences; in just about every case, I could tell you where I watched the game, who I watched it with, and several other inane details. This is not intended to be an ideal list for anyone else - it's my subjective grouping.

My rule when compiling the list was to go off memory first and foremost, using the internet solely to research the date, score, and details of the game, if needed. I'm probably leaving out a few classics, but so be it. When I opened my personal scrapbook from MNF, these 13 games are what fell out. (Sorry LT - I was not watching the night you did the deed. And for that, I'm grateful. I also missed the game on the fateful night John Lennon was shot.)

Without any further introduction, here is my Greatest Hits tape (click link below to continue). Enjoy! - scott pianowski

Rookie on a Rampage (November 1978: Oilers 35, Dolphins 30)
Earl Campbell runs for 199 yards in the Astrodome, including the game-clinching 81-yard jaunt at the end. I loved those Oiler teams. I'll immediately stop what I'm doing anytime Campbell highlights are on TV. This was the first NFL season that had my attention every Sunday, so in that respect it was a watershed year. And Campbell was definitely a watershed guy.

Dorsett Goes Deep (January 1983: Vikings 31, Cowboys 27)
I was almost 14 at the time and watching the game in a hotel room; my parents had taken the family on a ski trip, and we were in adjoining rooms for the night. As soon as my brothers and I saw the lights go out in my parent's room, we switched over to cable and looked to get lucky with the late cable movies. Ah, adolescence.

Undefeated No Longer (December 1985: Dolphins 38, Bears 24)
The Bears shuffled in with a 12-0 record and arguably the best defense of modern times, and they shuffled out with their head between their legs. Granted, they got over it quickly, allowing just 43 points in their final six wins en route to a convincing World Championship title. Who would have believed on this night that Dan Marino, just 24, would never see another Super Bowl.

Montana vs. Elway (October 1994: Chiefs 31, Broncos 28)
This one might be my favorite of them all, with three lead changes in the last five minutes, two scores inside of two minutes, and the fantastic Mile High backdrop to make it all look pretty. Elway and Montana, doing what they do best. It’s the final picture in the Montana scrapbook, too.

Green Bay Spooks Chicago (October 1994: Packers 33, Bears 6)
A Halloween Night in a monsoon, ugly throwback uniforms. Favre had a 36-yard TD run in the second quarter, splashing down near the pylon. It wasn't the most interesting game, perhaps, but it's stuck in my mind for a while.

The Game I Bailed On (October 2000: Jets 40, Dolphins 37, OT)
With Miami ahead 30-7, there was no reason to watch the endgame of this one. I bailed on it, then found out I missed history in the making (the amazing Jets comeback in the fourth quarter, capped in overtime). You win some, you lose some.

Dunn vs. Faulk (December 2000: Bucs 38, Rams 35)
For my money this was the game of the year for the 2000 season. Marshall Faulk was his usual unstoppable self (132 yards, four TDs), but Warrick Dunn matched him step for step (198 yards, three TDs). The 2000 Rams are one of the most intriguing "what if" teams in recent years; their offense over the opening two months was the best I’ve ever seen, but things came apart after Kurt Warner got hurt in Kansas City.

Precursor to Horror (September 2001: Broncos 31, Giants 20)
This game could go down as the night Ed McCaffrey (6-94, TD) broke his leg, but I'll always remember it as the precursor to the horror that hit less than half a day later: 9/11/01. Just thinking about all this spooks me a bit.

Signature Play (October 2002: 49ers 28, Seahawks 21)
It was the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" moment for NFL celebrations, so it's ironic that it took place in Seattle. The one-and-only Terrell Owens caught two TDs on this night, and after the second one, he promptly reached into his sock, produced a Sharpie marker, signed the football, and flipped it to his financial planner in the stands. The league had seen plenty of end-zone celebrations prior to this game, but the signature play seemed to raise it up a notch (even "The Simpsons" got into the act, doing a hilarious take-off on the celebration landscape). I'm no TO apologist, but I can't deny this game's place on my list.

Killing Me Softly With Field Goals (Sept. 2003: Cowboys 35, Giants 32, OT)
A strange game with a bunch of weird turns, bounces, and nuances - you'll need to catch it on ESPN Classic to fully appreciate it. Bill Parcells doesn't always like his field goal kickers, but he was thrilled to see Bill Cundiff make seven on this evening. This loss was a sign of things to come for the Giants, who handed away a bunch of winnable games back in 2003.

Peyton Stuns Tampa Bay (October 2003: Colts 38, Bucs 35)
With the Colts down 21 points with four minutes to go, at the Pirate Ship of all places, there was no reason to keep watching (a lot of viewers flipped over to the baseball playoffs). Then Manning went to work and stunned all of us. As it turned out, this was the passing of the torch type of game - Manning and the Colts taking a step up in class, while the defending champs were starting to show chinks in the armor. (Keep in mind Tampa Bay had christened Philly's new field with a visiting shutout just one month earlier, in a Monday game that might have made my cut if it were more competitive. Joe Jurevicius had two tremendous TD catches on that night).

Favre Honors His Father (December 2003: Packers 41, Raiders 7)
I still don't know how someone throws for 399 yards and four touchdowns less than 48 hours after their father drops dead of a heart attack, but Brett Favre at his best was something to see. Truth be told, the entire Packer team picked up Favre on this night, making some amazing downfield catches. If this game didn't give you some sort of goose bumps, get your heart checked.
Pats Steal the Opener (Sept. 2004, Opening Night; Patriots 27, Colts 24)
Technically not a Monday Game, but it was with the same crew, and it may have been the best game of 2004. Indy probably should have taken the Patriots down that night, but Edgerrin James fumbled twice at the goal line, and Mike Vanderjagt missed a game-tying field goal, ironically enough after he taunted the New England sideline with his "I'm money" gesture.

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KC Media Blasts LJ Again

Reporters almost always trumpet the company line. Don't believe me? Look at the incestuous White House Press Corps.

So, the continuous bashing of Larry Johnson in the Chiefs biggest hometown paper, The Kansas City Star, is notable. Last week, he was exclusively blamed for the loss in Dallas for missing a block on which Trent Green was stripped and fumbled and which the Cowboys later turned into points. That happened in the second quarter before L.J. rambled for three TDs.

This week, Johnson was mostly sidelined on obvious passing downs in favor of Tony Richardson, a better blocker. Here's what lead Johnson basher Jason Whitlock said in today's paper:

"It's not just Larry Johnson. The Chiefs -- as a group -- are soft."

Larry Johnson is soft? Better tell the defenses that he's bludgeoned for 1,100 rushing yards in seven starts, with 12 TDs.

But there's more:

"The only thing worse was the offensive strategy that relegated Johnson to sideline-watcher on obvious passing downs. 'Larry Lite' is the best description of KC’s offensive game plan. 'Larry Lite' tastes great and is a lot less filling."

He continues: "I don't blame Dick Vermeil and Al Saunders for the 'Larry Lite' offense. It seems quite obvious now that Johnson is refusing to block. After scoring just 10 points in the opening half running the 'Larry Lite' offense, Vermeil and Saunders stuck Johnson in the game on a couple of passing downs in the second half. Johnson's blocking effort was soft."

Still more: "It's impossible to properly explain just how limited Kansas City's offense is when its most-explosive player, its most-consistent scorer has to stand on the sideline on third and 4. Priest Holmes was brilliant at turning third and 6 into first and 10 by catching a screen pass, a swing pass or running a draw. Tony Richardson is a tremendous blocker. He did an awesome job of picking up free rushers. Richardson, however, did not pick up one first down on Saturday."

And, finally:

"Johnson's refusal to block handicaps Kansas City's offense. Pretty much, when he's on the field, the defense knows he's going to carry or catch the ball 90 percent of the time. The other 10 percent, the Chiefs will fake a handoff to Johnson and throw the football."

Where to begin? How about Holmes turning all of those third and sixes into first downs with screens and draws? This year for Holmes on thirds and between thee and seven: zero carries, one catch for two yards. 2004? Four carries for 13 yards, one catch for six and one lost fumble. 2003? Three carries for 13 and eight catches for 117 yards (we'll grant the receiving impact in 2003). 2002? Six carries for 11 yards and four catches for 36 yards (one a 22 yarder, so he basically made one play that season). You get the point. Not a big deal. More anecdotal bullshit for another reporter who can't take his fat fingers on a simple Google search before spewing drivel.

There's obviously a faction in the Chiefs' hierarchy that doesn't like Johnson. Benching him on third downs for one missed block was an overreaction by Vermeil, so he's the primary suspect. Of course, there was the famous outburst last year about how Johnson was still in diapers, which Vermeil eventually apologized for. This is very important for fantasy owners because, if Holmes decides to return, it's very likely the Chiefs would welcome him back as the unquestioned starter even though Johnson is running right now as well as any back ever has.

Even Joe Posnanski, one of the better and more enlightened columnists around, gets in on the act by saying straight out that Johnson "refuses to block." Again, he tried to block the Cowboys linebacker last week. He picked him up properly. But he tried to cut him and was jumped over. He was beat. Remember, blockers are often instructed to cut block in order to clear the passing lane for the QB. This is such a nit-picky criticism for a back that's looking like a modern Jim Brown with his speed, power and no-nonsense running style.

Speaking of Brown, here's what the Sporting News said about his blocking: "...that grunt work offended him."

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Christmas Commercial From Capitalist Hell

Hey, bi-atch in the Lexus commercial. And you, the prematurely graying husband, you, too. Go screw yourselves with your gifts of $60,000 cars! (There goes the Lexus sponsorship for RotoAction.) I know the point is to make us feel inadequate about whatever we bought our loved ones so we'll buy more. But this crosses the line to the point where Corporate America is tempting us to say, "Screw It" and find some other meaning in this time of year. God forbid!

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I hate Fox

So every minute or so of the telecast of the Bucs-Patriots game (which was tough to watch as it was), Fox decides to throw in some Santa sleigh bells. The pinbalification of NFL football telecasts is entire Fox's fault. This is the last straw for me because they're not even selling anything or promoting any holiday special or even Bill O'Reilly's War on Christmas Campaign. They're just doing it for fun. Can't we just listen to the crowd and the sound of the game. Heck, I'll even take the announcers over this. They're like a kid that won't stop talking even though they have nothing to say.

End of post.

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Boring Home-League Rant

I'm in 14-team league with basically the same people (with about four teams rotated every so often) for the past 15 years.

Yes, I'm dating myself. I've had success, but haven't won in too long a time. Six teams make the playoffs. It was four teams out of 12 before we expanded a few years ago. I've made the playoffs every year since Neal Anderson and James Brooks were my starting running backs (Anderson got hurt, I think, and I just missed the dance). That's 13 or 14 years straight making the playoffs. I've had the most total points at least a half-dozen times. I've had the second most points a handful of others. But I've only won two championships as I've had the absolute worst luck in the playoffs.

This league is like the wild west. Seriously, one guy had his father come in this year and wouldn't advise him how to navigate our Byzantine keeper rules. So instead of tossing everyone back and getting the No. 1 pick and LT, he kept the No. 4 overall slot and ended up with Priest Holmes and Alge Crumpler as his only keeper of any note (and we don't even have to play tight ends). Game over for dad. I've seen drafts in friendly leagues where people help out owners late who are fumbling around for guys to fill out their roster. In my league, you offer that and you'll be shot right between the eyes by five guys.

This is long expostion to set up the fact that we don't allow any transactions after Week 13. The trading deadline is Week 11. And once you spend your free agent money, you can't make zero bids (and the minimum is like $10). Owners hope someone will get hopelessly screwed (just not them).

Now, I was floundering around this season until Larry Johnson paid dividends. But my QB situation was hit or miss. Drew Brees was solid, but was heavily invested in him anyway because I have Gates (we have bonus scoring for tight ends that basically makes them about 25 percent more valuable than a WR with the same stats). I had Jake Plummer, too, but also was playing Mike Anderson at times (I have Droughns and Kevin Jones too in a 14-teamer) and have the Broncos as my team in fantasy scoring that is determined by winning or losing and is based on how many points Denver actually scored. So, I was always uncomfortable investing that heavily in Denver, who are hit or miss offensively.

So, I get Gado before he does anything and, as soon as he does, package him and my QBs right at the trading deadline for Bulger, Jamie Martin and Andre Johnson (to be my fourth receiver, as I have Marvin Harrison and Roy Williams). I wanted that Rams passing game with three indoor games playoff weeks 14, 15 and 16. It gave me distance scoring explosion (distance is huge in our league), great diversification and guaranteed indoor starts for my QB in the dead of December. Remember, too, that Martin had a great distance scoring game against Jacksonville when Bulger was hurt earlier in the year.

Well, you know what happened next. The guys in my league are yucking it up, saying I made a dumb trade. But two QBs injured is two injured and it could just as easily have been Brees and Plummer. Plus I was trying to go for the throat of the Tomlinson owner, who I was chasing for the total points prize, too.

There's nothing I can do except play Martin and hope Fitzgerald gets hurt or benched. (Yes, I hope he gets hurt. Screw him. He has an Ivy League education to fall back on.) There are no moves. And even if I kept my $10, I would have been outbid for Fitzgerald and there is no contingency bidding (and few QBs as of Week 13, when all tranactions ended).

Of course, L.J., Gates and Harrison can continue to carry me. But that's unlikely as the playoff competiton gets better.

The hysterical thing is that the same thing happened to me the week before a championship game in 1998 when Mark Brunell and his backup were my QBs. The backup had showed flashes, so I figured I was alright securing the Jaguars QB when aggressively trading to fortify other positions. But Brunell's backup got hurt right after Brunell did, leaving me without a QB in that pivotal game, which I ended up losing by a whisker. That Brunell's backup that year? I kid you not, Jamie Martin!

Next year, the playoff teams are getting some extra moves. Like getting two timeouts in overtime. This is a silly way to lose.

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God Awful ESPN Sunday Night Crew

Why do I listen to them? I could put on iTunes through my stereo and listen while I watch the game. But then why did I pay all that money to drop 13 stories in a free fall at Disney? Maybe it's the thrill of knowing I'll come out the other side okay, eventually.

I hate the constant chatter of a three-man booth. But Theismann is a three-man booth all by himself. Add in Maguire and Patrick and that's the equivalent of six people barking in your ear at the bar.

First we have to hear how LaMont Jordan told them that if the Raiders only have the patience to give him the ball on third and 10, it will be a close game in San Diego through the fourth quarter. Flippin' brilliant, LaMont. Actually, I've spoken to Jordan and he's not stupid enough to say something like that, so they probably misquoted him.

Then we have to hear how Randy Moss is a good guy and teammate and the exact opposite of Terrell Owens. I love Moss. But come on. Someone should have had the guts that Moss may be a good guiy, but he's the exact opposite of Owens when it comes to running out routes on plays where you're not the primary receiver and blocking downfield, too.

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NFL Too Greedy

Are you kidding me with the Giants wearing the red uniforms today? This is the biggest game the Giants have played in years. Against the Cowboys and their ex-coach. This was a day for Big Blue. Save the merchandizing concerns for October games against the Cardinals.

Why didn't I put my feelings for Amani Toomer about six weeks ago in print? I picked him up in my biggest league (a 14-teamer) off waivers. A "Buy" in my sydnicated column would have been nice. I was scared off by my over-enthusiasm in the first month for Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress who has, somewhat predictably, been replaced by Jeremy Shockey as Eli's favorite receiver.

I just found out tha Matthew Sweet released an album that reunited his "Girlfriend" band only in Japan after cutting 13 new songs in a week. I realize I'm about one of five people in this country who follow Matthew Sweet semi-closely, which is a shame because he's unfairly neglected like his 1970s inspiration, Big Star. The album rocks, by the way if you dig guitar rock and great harmonizing. "Kimi Ga Suki," on iTunes. Released in 2002? Man, I missed the boat there.

What's Jeff Feagles doing with the Super Bowl-winning hystrionics after having a punt downed at the one? I guess that's as good as you can get when you're a punter, but punting is a defeat in and of itself. So pipe down. I've heard too much from him the last two weeks, with his consecutive games streak (that makes a mockery of such streaks, as punters aren't football players).

Roethlisberger just hit a long completion on first-down. Throw more on first down, coaches! Especially you, Cowher. I want some team to hire the coach from Texas Tech, Michael Leach. He spreads his offensive lineman three-to-six feet apart to create throwing lanes and attacks, attacks, attacks with five WRs. When the defense starts dropping 11 guys into coverage, he runs. That's the way to play football. Think outside of the box. Read Michael Lewis' excellent profile in today's Sunday Times magazine, which I think is free on the Times website.

More Later....

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