Rain Man
01-23-2005, 01:10 PM
One Chief made the list, but it's not who you think it is. Their list is flawed in this regard. I added the bold just so the list would be complete.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/pete_mcentegart/01/21/ten.spot/index.html
Jets kicker Doug Brien has been ripped this week in forums ranging from sports-talk shows to Letterman monologues. It's the latest example that the NFL playoff spotlight can be a harsh one. Despite Brien's two missed field goals last weekend, he didn't make the 10 Spot's list of the all-time NFL postseason goats.
1. Scott Norwood, Bills, Super Bowl XXV, Jan. 27, 1991
What are the odds of making a 47-yard field goal on natural grass? Maybe 50-50? Yet circumstances made Norwood's kick the most famous miss in football history. The favored Bills trailed the Giants 20-19 when Norwood lined up for the potential game-winner in the final seconds. The kick, of course, sailed wide right and straight into infamy. Norwood didn't discuss the kick for years, though to his credit he never went into a Ray Finkle-like death spiral. He resurfaced in SI's Where Are They Now issue last summer as a well-adjusted family man. Honorable mention: The Vikings' Gary Anderson missed just one kick during the 1998 season, but unfortunately it was the 38-yarder that would have slammed the door on the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.
2. Earnest Byner, Browns, AFC Championship Game, Jan. 17, 1988
Byner scored twice and racked up 187 yards from scrimmage, but that's not what people remember. Instead, it's The Fumble. With Cleveland trailing Denver 38-31 and driving for the tying score in the final minute, Byner took a handoff from the Broncos' 9-yard line. He made it to the 3 before the ball was stripped by Denver's Jeremiah Castille, who recovered on the 2. The Broncos took a meaningless safety and won 38-33. Byner would later make the Pro Bowl twice with the Redskins, but the Browns still are waiting for their first trip to the Super Bowl. Honorable mention: Roger Craig for fumbling on the last carry of his career while the 49ers were running out the clock in the 1990 NFC Championship Game, allowing the Giants a chance to kick the winning field goal in a 15-13 win.
3. Jackie Smith, Cowboys, Super Bowl XIII, Jan. 21, 1979
Smith actually retired before the 1978 season, and not as some journeyman. His 480 catches for 7,918 yards were then the most-ever by a tight end and would land him in Canton. But the defending-champion Cowboys talked Smith into a comeback for one last shot at a ring. In the third quarter and the Steelers leading 21-14, a wide-open Smith dropped a short pass from Roger Staubach in the end zone. The Cowboys had to settle for a field goal, and that four-point spread turned out to be the final margin (35-31).
4. Eugene Robinson, Falcons, Super Bowl XXXIII, Jan. 31, 1999
Robinson started wearing his goat horns the night before the game. Just hours after being awarded a national award for "high moral character," the free safety was arrested for allegedly soliciting oral sex from an undercover officer. Then Robinson was undressed by Broncos receivers on game day, most notably by Rod Smith on an 80-yard touchdown that made it 17-3 en route to a 34-19 Denver win. Honorable mention: Neither Barret Robbins (Raiders, Super Bowl XXXVII) nor Stanley Wilson (Bengals, Super Bowl XXIII) even made it to the game. Robbins, who suffers from bipolar disorder, landed in the hospital after a drinking binge in Tijuana while Wilson allegedly snorted too much cocaine the day before the game. Both teams lost.
5. Fred Williamson, Chiefs, Super Bowl I, Jan. 15, 1967
Known as "The Hammer" because he liked to club receivers with a forearm, Williamson talked the talk to the Packers all week. "I'm going to lay a few hammers on 'em," he said, "and they're going to go back into the huddle with their heads ringing." Instead, Williamson was carried off the field in the fourth quarter of Green Bay's 35-10 win when he was trampled by Packers running back Dick Anderson. Clearly, it was not yet Hammer Time.
6. Craig Morton, Broncos, Super Bowl XII, Jan. 15, 1978
The veteran Morton had a terrific comeback season for the Orange Crush Broncos before it all unraveled against his former team, the Cowboys. Morton completed just 4 of 15 passes for 39 yards while throwing four interceptions. He was benched in the third quarter of Dallas' 27-10 win. Honorable mention: Neil O'Donnell threw three killer interceptions, several of the what-was-he-thinking? variety, in the Steelers' 27-17 loss to Dallas in Super Bowl XXX.
7. Garo Yepremian, Dolphins, Super Bowl VII, Jan. 14, 1973
One doesn't have to lose to be a goat, provided the bonehead play is as memorable as Yepremian's comically inept pass attempt. The Dolphins led the Redskins 14-0 with just two minutes remaining on a perfect season when Yepremian lined up for a 42-yard field goal. The kick was blocked, but Yepremian inexplicably picked it up and tried to pass it. The ball slipped out of his hands, whereupon he batted it into the air and straight to the arms of the Redskins' Mike Bass, who ran 49 yards for the score that briefly gave the Redskins hope. Honorable mention: Cowboys hot dog Leon Lett was styling with an apparent defensive touchdown when Bills receiver Don Beebe caught him from behind and knocked the ball through the end zone for a touchback in Super Bowl XXVII, though Dallas still won 52-13.
8. Trey Junkin, Giants, NFC wild-card round, Jan. 5, 2003
Junkin was a long snapper who was lured out of retirement by the Giants the week of the game specifically because he had been so dependable during a 19-year career. But with the Giants lined up for a potential winning 41-yard field goal on the final play, Junkin's snap bounced to the left of holder Matt Allen. The refs later conceded that they missed a pass interference call on Allen's desperation pass that should have given New York another chance, but by then Junkin was back in his Louisiana duck blind for good. Honorable mention: The Giants' Sean Landeta literally whiffed on a punt deep in New York territory during the 1985 NFC Championship Game in gusty Chicago, setting up a Bears touchdown for the only points of the first half in an eventual 21-0 Chicago win.
9. Thurman Thomas, Bills, Super Bowl XXVI, Jan. 26, 1992
Not even being arguably the most dangerous offensive weapon on a four-time Super Bowl team makes one immune from goat horns. Thomas earned his by not using his head, misplacing his helmet early in the game and missing Buffalo's first two offensive plays. He didn't do much the rest of the game either, picking up just 13 yards on 10 carries in the Redskins' 37-24 victory that hastened the Bills' slide into permanent Super Bowl bridesmaid and national punch line.
10. Mark Gastineau, Jets, AFC divisional playoffs, Jan. 3, 1987
We won't even mention Gastineau's comically flowing hair or his dopey sack dance. (Oops, too late.) Rather, his biggest sin was a killer roughing-the-passer penalty when it seemed the Jets had put away the Browns. Cleveland trailed 20-10 with less than four minutes left and Bernie Kosar had just thrown incomplete on second and 24. But ref Bernie Dreith threw the flag on Gastineau, and instead of facing third-and-24, the Browns had new life. Cleveland went on to win the game in overtime while Gastineau became a lousy boxer and kept Brigitte Nielsen warm for Flava Flav.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/pete_mcentegart/01/21/ten.spot/index.html
Jets kicker Doug Brien has been ripped this week in forums ranging from sports-talk shows to Letterman monologues. It's the latest example that the NFL playoff spotlight can be a harsh one. Despite Brien's two missed field goals last weekend, he didn't make the 10 Spot's list of the all-time NFL postseason goats.
1. Scott Norwood, Bills, Super Bowl XXV, Jan. 27, 1991
What are the odds of making a 47-yard field goal on natural grass? Maybe 50-50? Yet circumstances made Norwood's kick the most famous miss in football history. The favored Bills trailed the Giants 20-19 when Norwood lined up for the potential game-winner in the final seconds. The kick, of course, sailed wide right and straight into infamy. Norwood didn't discuss the kick for years, though to his credit he never went into a Ray Finkle-like death spiral. He resurfaced in SI's Where Are They Now issue last summer as a well-adjusted family man. Honorable mention: The Vikings' Gary Anderson missed just one kick during the 1998 season, but unfortunately it was the 38-yarder that would have slammed the door on the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.
2. Earnest Byner, Browns, AFC Championship Game, Jan. 17, 1988
Byner scored twice and racked up 187 yards from scrimmage, but that's not what people remember. Instead, it's The Fumble. With Cleveland trailing Denver 38-31 and driving for the tying score in the final minute, Byner took a handoff from the Broncos' 9-yard line. He made it to the 3 before the ball was stripped by Denver's Jeremiah Castille, who recovered on the 2. The Broncos took a meaningless safety and won 38-33. Byner would later make the Pro Bowl twice with the Redskins, but the Browns still are waiting for their first trip to the Super Bowl. Honorable mention: Roger Craig for fumbling on the last carry of his career while the 49ers were running out the clock in the 1990 NFC Championship Game, allowing the Giants a chance to kick the winning field goal in a 15-13 win.
3. Jackie Smith, Cowboys, Super Bowl XIII, Jan. 21, 1979
Smith actually retired before the 1978 season, and not as some journeyman. His 480 catches for 7,918 yards were then the most-ever by a tight end and would land him in Canton. But the defending-champion Cowboys talked Smith into a comeback for one last shot at a ring. In the third quarter and the Steelers leading 21-14, a wide-open Smith dropped a short pass from Roger Staubach in the end zone. The Cowboys had to settle for a field goal, and that four-point spread turned out to be the final margin (35-31).
4. Eugene Robinson, Falcons, Super Bowl XXXIII, Jan. 31, 1999
Robinson started wearing his goat horns the night before the game. Just hours after being awarded a national award for "high moral character," the free safety was arrested for allegedly soliciting oral sex from an undercover officer. Then Robinson was undressed by Broncos receivers on game day, most notably by Rod Smith on an 80-yard touchdown that made it 17-3 en route to a 34-19 Denver win. Honorable mention: Neither Barret Robbins (Raiders, Super Bowl XXXVII) nor Stanley Wilson (Bengals, Super Bowl XXIII) even made it to the game. Robbins, who suffers from bipolar disorder, landed in the hospital after a drinking binge in Tijuana while Wilson allegedly snorted too much cocaine the day before the game. Both teams lost.
5. Fred Williamson, Chiefs, Super Bowl I, Jan. 15, 1967
Known as "The Hammer" because he liked to club receivers with a forearm, Williamson talked the talk to the Packers all week. "I'm going to lay a few hammers on 'em," he said, "and they're going to go back into the huddle with their heads ringing." Instead, Williamson was carried off the field in the fourth quarter of Green Bay's 35-10 win when he was trampled by Packers running back Dick Anderson. Clearly, it was not yet Hammer Time.
6. Craig Morton, Broncos, Super Bowl XII, Jan. 15, 1978
The veteran Morton had a terrific comeback season for the Orange Crush Broncos before it all unraveled against his former team, the Cowboys. Morton completed just 4 of 15 passes for 39 yards while throwing four interceptions. He was benched in the third quarter of Dallas' 27-10 win. Honorable mention: Neil O'Donnell threw three killer interceptions, several of the what-was-he-thinking? variety, in the Steelers' 27-17 loss to Dallas in Super Bowl XXX.
7. Garo Yepremian, Dolphins, Super Bowl VII, Jan. 14, 1973
One doesn't have to lose to be a goat, provided the bonehead play is as memorable as Yepremian's comically inept pass attempt. The Dolphins led the Redskins 14-0 with just two minutes remaining on a perfect season when Yepremian lined up for a 42-yard field goal. The kick was blocked, but Yepremian inexplicably picked it up and tried to pass it. The ball slipped out of his hands, whereupon he batted it into the air and straight to the arms of the Redskins' Mike Bass, who ran 49 yards for the score that briefly gave the Redskins hope. Honorable mention: Cowboys hot dog Leon Lett was styling with an apparent defensive touchdown when Bills receiver Don Beebe caught him from behind and knocked the ball through the end zone for a touchback in Super Bowl XXVII, though Dallas still won 52-13.
8. Trey Junkin, Giants, NFC wild-card round, Jan. 5, 2003
Junkin was a long snapper who was lured out of retirement by the Giants the week of the game specifically because he had been so dependable during a 19-year career. But with the Giants lined up for a potential winning 41-yard field goal on the final play, Junkin's snap bounced to the left of holder Matt Allen. The refs later conceded that they missed a pass interference call on Allen's desperation pass that should have given New York another chance, but by then Junkin was back in his Louisiana duck blind for good. Honorable mention: The Giants' Sean Landeta literally whiffed on a punt deep in New York territory during the 1985 NFC Championship Game in gusty Chicago, setting up a Bears touchdown for the only points of the first half in an eventual 21-0 Chicago win.
9. Thurman Thomas, Bills, Super Bowl XXVI, Jan. 26, 1992
Not even being arguably the most dangerous offensive weapon on a four-time Super Bowl team makes one immune from goat horns. Thomas earned his by not using his head, misplacing his helmet early in the game and missing Buffalo's first two offensive plays. He didn't do much the rest of the game either, picking up just 13 yards on 10 carries in the Redskins' 37-24 victory that hastened the Bills' slide into permanent Super Bowl bridesmaid and national punch line.
10. Mark Gastineau, Jets, AFC divisional playoffs, Jan. 3, 1987
We won't even mention Gastineau's comically flowing hair or his dopey sack dance. (Oops, too late.) Rather, his biggest sin was a killer roughing-the-passer penalty when it seemed the Jets had put away the Browns. Cleveland trailed 20-10 with less than four minutes left and Bernie Kosar had just thrown incomplete on second and 24. But ref Bernie Dreith threw the flag on Gastineau, and instead of facing third-and-24, the Browns had new life. Cleveland went on to win the game in overtime while Gastineau became a lousy boxer and kept Brigitte Nielsen warm for Flava Flav.