1970's steelers vs raiders

Yes, this brings back great memories from the 1970's rivalry. I think the peak of this rivalry was the opening game in 1976. Raiders Tatum and Atkinson were head hunting that day. As I recall, Tatum had 3 personal foul penalties and Atkinson knocked Swann out of the game with a blow to the back of the head.

I hate to say this but I think we got intimidated by the Raiders that season. I think one of our guys should have gone after their star players and we didn't. I hated the Raiders back then. People have said that 1976 was the best 70's team, but we didn't play well in that 1976 AFC championship game. Yes Franco and Rocky were out, but the defense couldn't carry them.

 

I've always loved the story of Lambert's response to that game: along the lines of "Give me a six pack of beer, an hour, and then we'll go back out and beat them." And even when he's retelling the story, years later, you can see how pissed off he is by the fact they lost.

 

I wish Lambert had taken a cheap shot at Stabler and knocked him out of the game in the AFC championship game. I think Ham knocked Stabler out but the score was already 24-7. We should have done that at the beginning of the game.

 

Atkinson was a dirtbag. http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...FFIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ExMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1955,4536524

 

I hate the raiders more than any other team because of the 70's still to this day. it was the kid that stood up to the bully and earned his place as the tough guys of the league and the bully didn't like it. it didn't matter if legal or not. the sucker punches came from them and we responded. it wasn't a respect thing, it was plain hatred they played with, our players didn't flinch. I still dislike woodsen for ever becoming one of them.

 

When I first started watching football, they were my second favorite team, next to us, just because of the "intimidation factor"...
I know they were our rivals, but, as politically incorrect as it is to say it, nowadays,
there is a fine line between "respect" and "fear"...
If you make someone "fear" you, they kinda automatically "respect" you...
And I just loved watchin players lay the "forearm shivers" on their opponents...
Love `em, or hate em... they were the "bullies on the block", until we came along and took their "block" from them...
I loved watching those kinda games!!!
It`s what made me wanna play football!
Only place I could get away with taking out my aggresssion, and not get in trouble for it.
Thanks Mr. Lambert!!!
And, begrudgingly, Thanks, Raiders, for inspiring my Steelers to be the toughest mutha f...ers in the league!!!
Kinda the same thing I see with us and the Cravens, even tho it`s watered down, from those days...
Yeah, I should hate `em for being such a tuff opponent, and I know Madden had a hard time ever giving us any respect, even after he retired from coaching, but to be honest, if I hadn`t wound up a Steeler fan, I probably woulda been a Raider fan...
Just gotta love that, tougher than you, kick your butt, "Just Win Baby", attitude... Not much different than us...
Until you take into consideration the type of players we drafted in the years since, and the difference in the ownership, that I would never have thought about, as a kid,in the 70`s...
GO STEELERS!!!

 

A lot of people forget that, that year (1976) the Steelers will even tell you that was their best team in the 70's and the year they didn't go to the Super Bowl.
in the championship game in Oakland, with Franco and Rocky both hurt we didn't have anybody to run the ball. The teams then were geared to throw 50 or 60 times a game. In a low scoring game we just couldn't overcome the lack of a running game. If Franco or Rocky could of played in that game, we would easily have another Super Bowl win. The 70's Steelers were just amazing with 76 team the best of all time.

That's also the year the defense went like 5 or 6 games without the other teams scoring a touchdown only field goals. Unheard of in today's pass happy games and rules to help the offenses.

 

We were NEVER intimidated by the scumbag Raiders! We had more class and restraint than they did. When Atkinson went after Swann, WITH HIS BACK TURNED, that was akin to some cowardly gunfighter shooting a rival in the back because he knew he couldn't defeat him in a fair fight. That was the CHEAPEST shot I've ever seen in all my years of watching football. We weren't intimidated by those classless thugs!

The two teams I loathed from the 70s as a Steeler fan: Cowboys and RAIDERS! I think it's the Patsies and Ratturds today.

 

This was around the time I became a Steelers fan while the Steelers were tough and physical the Raiders were dirty cheap shot players. When you watch those old highlights of NFL films Atkinson always hates on Swann calls him soft.

 

I think that was a misperception about Swann. He was one of my favorite Steelers of the 70s and let me tell you, he was anything but soft. He was not afraid to go over the middle and take a shot. I've seen him do it countless times in an era where the DB could do things that would range from simple assault to attempted murder today. Atkinson was the wuss that had to wait for a receiver's back to be turned to take a cheap shot at him.

 

Actually, the Raiders shouldn't have been playing in that 1976 AFCCG. The Patriots beat them in the divisional round, except the refs decided (and I mean, DECIDED) that the Raiders would win. Late in the game, with the Pats holding a 21-17 lead, two unbelievable third down calls, in the final minutes, allowed the Raiders to win. The first was the Villipiano non-call when he held Russ Francis. The other was the ridiculous roughing the passer penalty when Ray Hamilton grazed Stabler's helmet on a 3rd and 18 incompletion. Has the Pats won, the AFCCG would have been played in Pittsburgh. Rarely do I ever say that the refs cost a team a game. This was one of them. One of the others: 25 years later when the Pats got revenge via the Tuck.

John Stallworth is quoted as saying that Noll installed a whole new offense for that '76 AFCCG and that that killed them. He said he thought they could have won with Harrison at RB (remember: Fuqua was hurt too) if they'd just stuck with what they'd been doing the previous 10 weeks.