'94 Steelers- Board discussion

Just something to talk about besides the current hot topics of the last week. Here is your chance to weigh in on some Steeler history. Would Superbowl 29 have turned out differently had Neil O'Donnell made the last minute play in the endzone of the 94 AFC championship game? We all know how the SB turned out. Steve Young throws for 5 TD's and sets a Superbowl record for most passing yards in the SB and finally gets the monkey off his back that is living in Montana's shadow. The Chargers are out of the game before it even gets going and it is one of the most lopsided SB in recent history and a poor showing for the AFC.

Now would the game have gone differently if the Steelers were the opponent. Remember while not being an offensive juggernaut they did field a defense that would take them to the SB the following year including a health Rod Woodson with Lake and Perry in their prime, Lloyd and Greene as their sack happy best, Holmes, Kirkland in middle with Chad Brown an emerging star, perhaps a bit weak at cornerback but still the beginnings of Blitzburg. Would they have stacked up against the all out attack that was the 94 Niners?

[video=youtube_share;lGPH-NWT3p8]http://youtu.be/lGPH-NWT3p8[/video]

I know we can't rewrite history but it is fun to speculate on how they two would have matched up. So weigh in, no wrong answers, no one way to look at things, let your voice be heard.

 

I just got sick all over again.

 

Ray is gonna punch his mailbox again.

 

Believe me Jack I'm with you, that whole game made me sick. To be so close and yet still fail, I took some small comfort in watching the Niners destroy what I considered the lesser team that year.

 

That game changed my future plans as a fan. Since I thought they were sure to win the AFCCG, I booked non-refundable airline tickets to FL in plans to go to the SB that year. Being 24 at the time, that was all the loot I had.

After that loss, I vowed to watch every AFCCG in Pittsburgh, rather than rolling the dice on the SB every year. Of course, they went to the Bowl the following year. But, I've been to every home AFCCG since the 95 season and ended taking my son to SB XLIII, which was far better than 94 would have been vs SF.

 

There are just some past promising seasons that you would lke to forget and then BOOM! There it is again. Just like 95'.

I really do miss that defense though under a young firey Bill Cowher.

 

Didn't we already beat the 9ers that year? Even when they had Montana the Steelers matched up well against them. I get smack talk from chargers fans all the time about we beat them to go on to win one of our many super bowls but seriously, I want a freakin apology for their pitiful performance against SF. Steelers would have crushed SF that year.

 

here is the big what if if we signed Joe Montana (he was wanting to sign with us his home town team coach chin didn't want him ) went to that superbowl with Joe we would have crushed the 9ers Young no monkey off his back I think getting beat by Joe (the said monkey on back) would of crushed Young and ruined him he wouldn't be the same QB he turned out to be IMO

 

The Chargers had no business winning this game. None. It was a fluke. I wouldn't put the loss on O'Donnell. He played a decent game. But the play calling inside the 5, on that final drive, was questionable. On a side note: I sometimes wonder why the Steelers never used Eric Greene as a fullback in short yardage situations. The man was a tank. In any case, things I remember and take away from that '94 title game:

1. The team jinxed themselves with a Super Bowl music video, set up by Brentson Buckner
2. The weather, for whatever reason, was unseasonably warm. TOO WARM. If memory serves, it was warmer in Pittsburgh that afternoon than San Diego. Go figure. You play to get home field to get all of the advantages that come with it. Mother Nature gave the Chargers a huge break.
3. Humphries to Martin. Ugh. It was Greg Lloyd, I believe, who was half a second too late in bringing Humphries down as he launched the game winner. And Tim McKyer somehow allowed Martin to get behind him. But at least McKyer did what so few athletes do: he was so upset by his own mistake that he buried his head on the Steeler bench. I liked this: it reminded me that these are humans out there playing this game, and it was refreshing to see the human element and not some macho millionaire, who already had a ring, shrugging it off. McKyer didn't shrug it off and (to the best of my knowledge) NEVER shrugged it off. It's always haunted him.
4. I think the Steelers would have gone into Miami and lost to the 49ers, though not nearly as badly as the Chargers did.
5. I also think that had they played in SB XXIX, they would NOT have played in Super Bowl XXX.

 

Curious about number 5 why do you feel that way? I know the 95 team had their share of adversity and Cowher broke from the mold with Kordell and a vertical passing attack but why would they not have gone to 30 if they had made it to 29?

 

They would have lost to the 49ers, no doubt. But they wouldn't have been thoroughly embarrassed the way that San Diego was. It would have been a much more competitive game.

 

I don't know man. That 9ers team was stacked and I don't know if any team could've made a good game out of it. I remember watching that Super Bowl and I was only 13. I loved the 9ers actually and I loved the Chargers too because my best buddy was a Chargers fan and still is. He also likes the 9ers too.

 

The worst STEELER moment .......bar NONE........

 

Well, Super Bowl XXX was pretty bad thanks to Neil O'Dummy.

 

Yeah I would probably have to say that's an all time low. It hurts worse than 45 because I actually have respect for the Packers.

 

Interesting side question, Can the loss in SB45 be attributed to a game plan based on Ben's desire to be SB MVP? Clearly everyone thought the run should have been featured heavily because of the Packers poor run defense and yet they came out throwing. Not a bad plan if you catch the Packers off guard but was it motivated by the teams need to get Ben that MVP that he lacks?

 

I don't think it was about trying to get Ben an MVP. I just think that BA refused to gameplan according to the other team's weakness and more to what he thought was his team's strength. I do agree that Mendy should've been featured more prominently because on the drive with the fumble we were marching. That play turned the game. I really don't know who to blame for that game but you gotta admit it's pretty dang stupid to call for a deep out from your own endzone with one of the best linebackers in the league wanting to kill your qb.

 

I think he does have a desire to silence the critics about his play in the SB and I think some of that was what motivated the game plan, but like I said the changing it up was very reminiscent of the Divisional game in 05 at Indy. The Colts expected them to run and they came out passing and kept the Colts defense guessing.

 

That week was an all time low for me. My grandpa passed away the weekend before the Superbowl and so my folks had to fly back to PA for the funeral. I had a routine knee scope scheduled for the middle of the week but I was sure I wasn't waking up from it because I had a fear that I would never see the Steelers win another SB. I did just fine in the surgery but had my sister and her eventual husband taking care of me(annoying me) during the game. Add to that my older brother is a huge Cowboys fan and Atlanta Braves fan and you can imagine the trash talk going on during NOD's epic failure.

 

Oh man the only team I've hated longer than the Cowboys is the pansy stupid braves! Just the thought of the dang braves gets me riled up! Dang you thorn! LOL.

 

At the time, the only thing I could get out of the AFCCG loss was that the Chargers were humiliated, and thankful it wasn't us.

Looking back, I dunno. We'd beaten them before. It would have had to be a perfect game from us, but maybe... It's also interesting to see how O'Donnell was, I think, Cowher's ideal QB I think: a safe hands, quick release, game manager type. Could our offense have stood up to the 49ers D? Probably better than Stan Humphries died, I'd wager.

 

I think it's attributable to the fact that Mike Wallace was the go to guy on that last drive and not Santonio Holmes!

 

I think the desire was greater in 1995 because of falling short in 1994. I certainly sensed a "desperation" in that team, especially after falling to 3-4. And itv was that desperation that led to a wide-open approach on offense.