75 Steelers vs 85 Bears

They were just missing the ground game no?

 

The running game and defense play off one another, especially when it comes to time of possession. It's not like Bradshaw was the type to dink and dunk his way down the field. Having him throw the ball 35 times, which he did that day against the Raiders, was not a good thing.

 

That was only the second time two runners on one team had been over 1,000 yards in a single season. The first was Csonka and Morris for the '72 Dolphins. In both cases, you had teams with strong running games that had injuries at quarterback.

Those were the only two times it happened before the NFL switched to a 16-game schedule. It has still only happened seven times in NFL history. The Ravens did it last year with Jackson and Ingram, the first tandem to pull it off in 10 years.

It's not an easy thing to pull off and losing both guys was a devastating blow.

By the way, it has been a pair of running backs only five times. Two other times, one of the guys was a quarterback. The other time, it was Mike Vick and Warrick Dun for the Falcons in 2006.

 

The Dolphins almost did it again in '73, Mercury Morris was short by 40 some yards.

 

Those Dolphins teams had an amazing combination of offensive line and running backs.

 

I think some Steelers fans are dismissive of the Raiders in 76, they were the best team the whole season, the game would've been more competitive with Bleier and Harris healthy. I give the Raiders the edge because of home field, and them being more consistent that season.

 

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Four HALL OF FAME Defensive Backs cannot cover ONE GUY?! Regardless of if it is Gronk or otherwise, 4 > 1. Like SERIOUSLY?! Never mind that, the pass rush was non existent ALL GAME LONG!!! Here in lies the kicker!!!






That might sound all nice and dandy, but factor in the aspect that the sacks came from the edges and not from the likes of Joe Greene or L.C. Greenwood; 3-4 DE in this Roster Build. I am finding a VERY HARD Time trying to figure out how Logan Mankins, Shaq Mason and Jon Morris could fend off the likes of L.C. and Joe; Joey Porter not included.



Overall, I see three players on the New England side of the ball with 99 Overall Ratings. Compare that to four 99 Overall Ratings on the Defensive Side of the ball for the Steelers; one for EACH level of the DEFENSE!!




Unreal!!!

 

Franco was a Raider killer. They only beat him once when it mattered.

 

Take off your black and gold colored glasses , I didn't say they didn't have a chance, I said the game would be more competitive with Franco and Bleier playing. But I would give the Raiders the edge in that game, they were the best team that season and only lost 1 game .

 

It's called being objective, you should try it sometime . There ain't no black and silver glasses here.

 

I understand how the 78 Steelers receive most of the accolades (and deservedly so!), but in my opinion the best Steelers team was from 1975. Consider how in finishing 12-2, the 75 Steelers went undefeated in a division that also included Cincinnati (11-3) and Houston (10-4). Post season saw the Steelers opening with a win against a Baltimore Colts team on a 9 game winning streak prior to defeating the Raiders and Cowboys in the AFC Championship and Super Bowl,respectively. Of note is how both the Raiders and Cowboys went on to win the next two subsequent Super Bowls with Hall of Fame laden rosters.

Credit the 76 team for the nine game winning streak in which it gave up just 28 points, the 78 team for finishing 14-2 and coming within 10 points of an undefeated season and in 1979 for a four game stretch in which it outscored teams with a winning record by a combined total of 124 to 20, but in my opinion 1975 is as good as it got as far as the Steelers are concerned. As a matter of fact, I would put my money on the 75 Steelers against any of the better teams of its era, including 62 & 66 Packers, 72-73 Dolphins, the 76 Raiders and 77 Cowboys.

 

With or without Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, there is no shame losing to that Raiders team in 1976, which was laden with Hall of Famers on both sides of the ball. A case can be made that the 76 Raiders were a team of destiny, and not even the presence of Harris and Bleier in the Conference Championship Game could have potentially stopped them, albeit the score might have been closer, something in the range of 17-14 or 21-17 as opposed to the actual outcome of 24-7.

Problem is that in starting the season at one win and four losses, the Steelers dug themselves a hole in which they were forced to win what amounts 9 consecutive single elimination playoff equivalent games to even reach the post season. Once there, however, Pittsburgh might have peaked in the 40-14 Division Round demolition of the Baltimore Colts. So after 10 straight victories it is not unreasonable to expect Pittsburgh to have a bad game even with the presence of Harris and Bleier. Realistically, I see the Steelers potentially coming out a bit flat in any 1976 AFC Championship game to include the two and find themselves playing from behind a good portion of the game ultimately to fall a bit short in the end. Again, there is no shame losing to the Raiders in 1976 even at full strength.

 

I think that was the season the Raiders had a chance to intentionally lose to the Bungles to cause us to get knocked out of the playoffs if they wanted to, but they didn`t. I remember feeling like we took a dive against them as payback for them helping us out to get to the playoffs. I seem to remember it was a flu or something and not all our starters played. Somebody may want to check that. Just going by memory here.

It was probably the Raiders year, but we had a way of beating them.

 

I was just watching a replay of the NFL Network countdown of the top teams in NFL history, which I'm sure was mentioned at some point on this thread. They had the '75 Steelers at No. 10 and the '78 Steelers at No. 3. They have the '85 Bears at No. 2 behind only the '72 Dolphins.

That is where the list loses me. Everything I've heard and read tells me that Miami team wasn't even the Dolphins' best of that time and it certainly wasn't the best ever. They were the beneficiaries of an easy schedule, including a weak Super Bowl opponent in George Allen's "Over The Hill Gang" Redskins. The '85 Bears, '78 Steelers and about 20 other teams would beat them even if you did find a way to adjust for the era.

That's not where they lose me, though. I do see the logic of putting the only undefeated Super Bowl championship at No. 1, but then why have the 2007 Patriots at No. 7? They didn't win the Super Bowl. If you are going to make record the primary criteria, they shouldn't be in the top 20 because they didn't win a championship. Maybe they really were the best of the Patriots' teams, but they didn't win the championship. If you are going to be consistent in your rankings, either the '72 Dolphins have to be lower or the '07 Patriots can't be in your top 10.

 

Speaking Dolphins here. Yeah they went undefeated but I think other SB teams would have smoked them. Shula was a great Coach, 2-3 SB's to his credit but I always wondered why he couldn't win 1 with Pittsburgh's own Dan Marino at the helm. I think he went to one with Dan but that was it.

 

That's what I was trying to explain to some Steelers fans, but they can't take off those black and gold sunglasses, 76 was the Raiders year they lost 1 game the whole season.

 

You get easily confused in the debate department.

 

Not by you though, try again

 

Thanks to this thread I tracked this down (not sure if someone already posted a link but it’s well worth a watch)