Ultimate NFL Tournament: LA Coliseum Regional Overview (Part 2)
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by user False Prophet
cross posted from http://www.nfl-goat.com
| The Ultimate NFL Championship |
| Intro/Brackets |
| Stadium Overviews |
| LA Coliseum Regional Overview (Part 1) |
| LA Coliseum Regional Overview (Part 2) |
| Dolphins Stadium Regional Overview (Part 1) |
| Aaron Schatz's reseeding of the teams |
| Round 1 Results |
| Round 2 Results |
Here's the second part of the LA Coliseum Regional Preview. This is one of the few sections of the bracket with a theme. The theme for this section is...Playoff Rematches; in what will be one of the most interesting regions.
'04 Patriots
The Patriots made more big moves in the 2004 offseason to make sure a repeat of the disappointing 2002 season did not happen. Their biggest move was obtaining running back Corey Dillon from the Cincinnati Bengals. These moves paid off, as the Patriots finished the regular season at 14-2. On October 10 they set the record for the number of consecutive wins (regular and post-season) in NFL history, at 19, after beating the 0-4 Miami Dolphins 24-10. On October 24 they broke the record for the most consecutive regular season victories at 18 after beating the New York Jets 13-7. They also extended their overall winning streak to 21. The streak finally came to an end on October 31 when the Patriots were beaten by the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-20. On December 12, the Patriots clinched the AFC East division championship for the third time in the past four years. On January 16, 2005, the Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship game by beating the Indianapolis Colts, 20-3. In the Conference Championship on January 23, they beat the top-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers 41-27, advancing to Super Bowl XXXIX to face the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots went on to defeat the Eagles 24-21 to become the first team in six years (and the eighth in history) to repeat as NFL Super Bowl champions, and only the second team ever to win three Super Bowls in four years (the first was the Dallas Cowboys, winning Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_England_Patriots#2004
'04 Steelers
In the 2004 draft, the Steelers took quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from Miami University (Ohio) in the first round. Maddox kept the starting job until he was injured in the second game of the season, in Baltimore, against the Ravens. Roethlisberger was pushed into action and immediately wowed fans. "Big Ben" did not lose a game during the entire regular season, setting a record for most consecutive games won with a rookie quarterback to start a career. Included were back-to-back convincing wins over the New England Patriots (breaking their record 21-game winning streak) and eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. By the end of the season, Roethlisberger and the rest of the Steelers were starting to show signs of wear, but they still escaped with victories every time. The Steelers completed the 2004 regular season with the best record in the NFL at 15-1, which is also their best 16-game season. The Steelers were back in the AFC Championship, once again in Pittsburgh, for a rematch with the Patriots. New England went out to a big lead early after two first-quarter turnovers by the Steelers. In the second quarter, Rodney Harrison intercepted Roethlisberger (who had three picks overall) and returned it for a touchdown. The Steelers showed some signs of life in the third quarter, but it was not enough. The Patriots, another dynasty team that has been compared with the 1970s Steelers, won 41-27. This defeat marked the fourth time in ten years that the Steelers have lost the conference title game at home under Bill Cowher.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Pittsburgh_Steelers#2004_Season:_15-1
'01 Patriots
The 2001 season started shaky as well. The Patriots lost their opener to the then-lowly Bengals, and in the first post-9/11 game against the Jets, Bledsoe was severely injured, shearing a blood vessel in his chest after being tackled out of bounds by the Jets' Mo Lewis. Terry Glenn had a pre-season contract holdout and was also hit with a drug suspension by the league. Chris Slade had left for the Carolina Panthers, and Ben Coates was gone as well. The big story, however, was quarterback Tom Brady. In Bledsoe's absence, Brady won three out of his first four starts, setting an NFL record by not throwing an interception in his first 162 career passes. As a result, Brady earned the confidence of Belichick and his teammates, and when Bledsoe was cleared to play, Belichick announced that Brady would remain the team's starting quarterback. In what would be the final game ever played at Foxboro Stadium, the Patriots hosted the Oakland Raiders in a relentless snowstorm which endured through the entire game. This game became known as the "Tuck Game", when a play originally ruled to be a Brady fumble was reversed by referee Walt Coleman as an incomplete pass based upon the obscure " tuck rule ". After review, Coleman ruled that, because Brady's arm was moving forward when he lost the football, he was deemed to have been in the act of throwing when he lost control of the ball. Belichick's defense held the Rams high-powered offense in check until the fourth quarter, but after trailing 17-3 early in the fourth quarter, St. Louis scored two touchdowns to tie the game at 17-17. With 1:30 to go and no time outs, and with John Madden on the FOX Sports telecast opining that the Patriots should play for overtime, Brady calmly led New England's offense downfield, missing on only one pass (an intentional spike to stop the clock with 0:07 remaining), after which Adam Vinatieri won the game with a 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Patriots their first Super Bowl win in the team's 42nd season. Brady was selected Super Bowl MVP and signed a long-term contract with the team in the off-season. Bledsoe was traded to the Buffalo Bills in the 2002 off-season for a 2003 first-round draft pick. Editors Note: The length of this section was not due to my personal bias, but instead, in order to properly introduce the team. the whole story must be told
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_England_Patriots#2001
'01 Rams
In Mike Martz 's first year as Rams head coach, the defending-champion Rams started off the season by winning their first six games as they went 7-1 in the first half of the season. However, their season started getting ugly. They went 3-5 during the last half of the season, including a three-game skid. They still managed to get into the playoffs with a 10-6 record and the NFC's #6 seed, but now they had to face the NFC West champion, which were the #3 New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round. Played at the Louisiana Superdome, the Rams #1 offense didn't prove much, as their 24th-ranked defense gave up a 7-0 first quarter lead and they trailed 17-7 going into the fourth quarter. After the Saints had a 31-7 lead, the Rams valiantly tried to fight back. Despite three straight touchdowns, the Rams couldn't pull off a comeback and fell 31-28 in the Saints' first playoff win in franchise history. In 2001, the "Max Q" Rams went 14-2 (including a spectacular 8-0 on the road), led not only by a sensational offense (their third straight year of scoring 500 or more points), but a lights out defense as well, coached by Lovie Smith and led by Adam Archuleta. After easily handling Green Bay in the divisional playoffs, they fought off a pesky and determined Philadelphia Eagles team 29-24 to achieve their second Super Bowl in three seasons. Their opponents in Super Bowl XXXVI would be the New England Patriots who, much as the Rams had had two years previous, had enjoyed a Cinderella playoff run, highlighted by a dramatic and controversial 16-13 divisional playoff win against the Oakland Raiders. The talent laden Rams appeared to be primed to become the first pro football dynasty of the 21st century. However, despite being a 14-point favorite, the Rams lost to the Patriots. For more information on the Super Bowl this season, see the above entry on the 2001 Patriots.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_St._Louis_Rams#1999-2001:_The_Greatest_Show_on_Turf
'92 Oilers
There isn't a bio on this team, so I'll just provide some basic stats/player info I found on football-prospectus.com:
Record: 10-6
Team Offense:
|---------- PASSING -----------||----- RUSHING -----| TOTAL
CMP ATT YD YPA TD INT ATT YD YPA TD YD
373 573 4231 7.38 27 23 353 1626 4.61 10 5857
NFL rank ---> 1 1 1 6 3 23 27 18 3 18 3
|---------- PASSING -----------||----- RUSHING -----| TOTAL
CMP ATT YD YPA TD INT ATT YD YPA TD YD
248 445 2898 6.51 20 20 412 1634 3.97 6 4532
NFL rank ---> 2 5 2 10 19 12 8 9 13 4 3
Pro Bowlers: Ray Childress (dl), Ernest Givins (wr), Haywood Jeffires (wr),
Bruce Matthews (ol), Warren Moon (qb), Mike Munchak (ol), Al Smith (lb),
Lorenzo White (rb).
Lost in the AFC Wild Card game to the Buffalo Bills, 38-41
'92 Bills
Record: 11-5
Team Offense
|---------- PASSING -----------||----- RUSHING -----| TOTAL
CMP ATT YD YPA TD INT ATT YD YPA TD YD
293 509 3678 7.23 23 21 549 2436 4.44 18 6114
NFL rank ---> 10 8 5 10 6 20 1 1 5 7 2
Team Defense
|---------- PASSING -----------||----- RUSHING -----| TOTAL
CMP ATT YD YPA TD INT ATT YD YPA TD YD
305 520 3560 6.85 19 23 427 1395 3.27 8 4955
NFL rank --->25 27 24 12 15 6 9 3 1 7 13
Pro Bowlers: Howard Ballard (ol), Cornelius Bennett (lb), Henry Jones (db), Jim Kelly (qb),
Nate Odomes (db), Andre Reed (wr), Jim Ritcher (ol), Bruce Smith (dl),
Steve Tasker (wr), Thurman Thomas (rb), Will Wolford (ol).
The Bills lost the 1992 AFC East title to the Miami Dolphins and Jim Kelly was injured in the final game of the regular season. Backup quarterback Frank Reich started their wild card playoff game against the Houston Oilers, and they were down 35–3 early in the third quarter. Undaunted, the Bills scored touchdowns on several consecutive possessions to tie the game and force overtime. Steve Christie kicked the game-winning field goal in the extra session to cap the biggest comeback in NFL history, 41–38. They then handily defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional playoff and upset the archrival Dolphins in the AFC Championship to advance to their third straight Super Bowl. Super Bowl XXVII, played against the Dallas Cowboys, turned out to be a mismatch. Buffalo committed 9 turnovers en route to a 52–17 loss. One of the sole bright spots for the Bills was Don Beebe's rundown and strip of Leon Lett after Lett had returned a fumble inside the Bills' 5 and was on his way to scoring. Lett started celebrating too early and held the ball out long enough for Beebe, who had made up a considerable distance to get to Lett, to knock it out of his hand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bills#Mid-1980s-1997:_Jim_Kelly_and_the_.22K-gun.22
'68 Jets
In 1968, the Jets would reach the pinnacle of their existence and provide the moment that would indicate the AFL's coming of age. Under Namath's guidance, the Jets rose to the top of the AFL, defeating the Oakland Raiders in a thrilling AFL Championship game, 27-23. The win qualified them to represent their league in a game that was being referred to for the first time as the Super Bowl (and referred to retroactively as Super Bowl III). They were pitted against the champions of the NFL, the Baltimore Colts. At the time, the AFL was considered to be inferior to the NFL, and most people considered the Jets to be considerable underdogs and treated the Jets as such. That would change three nights before the game while Namath was being honored by the Miami Touchdown Club as its Player Of The Year. Namath took exception to a heckling Colts fan and used that moment to lament the lack of respect his team had gotten to that point. He then said "The Jets will win Sunday. I guarantee it." His audacious remark proved correct, as the Jets created one of the greatest upsets in football history by defeating the Colts 16–7. This victory showed that the AFL was capable of competing with the NFL. The 1968 season also saw the Jets involved in one of the most notorious incidents in television history, an incident that would change the way television networks carried sporting events for decades to come. On November 17, 1968, just before 7:30pm Eastern time, the Jets scored late to take a 32–29 lead over the Oakland Raiders with 1:05 left. NBC cut to a commercial, and then everywhere but the West Coast showed the movie Heidi, a show which NBC had promoted extensively for the sweeps period. Outraged fans bombarded NBC headquarters in New York with phone calls demanding the game be restored; so many phone calls were made that they eventually knocked out the NBC switchboard. Even though a decision was made to carry the game to conclusion, this decision could not be communicated, thus resulting in the movie starting on schedule. The raiders won that game 43-32.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_Jets#Glory_years:_1965.E2.80.931969
'68 Colts
In 1968, after a 13-1 season, they gained a measure of revenge against the Browns, defeating them 34-0 in the NFL championship game. The 13-1 regular season and the trouncing of the Browns led NFL-based media to call the Colts "the greatest pro football team of all time". The Colts went into Super Bowl III (the first in the series to officially be called the Super Bowl) against the American Football League 's New York Jets as 17-point favorites, with NFL icons like Pro Bowlers Bobby Boyd (db), Mike Curtis (lb), John Mackey (te), Tom Matte (rb), Fred Miller (dl), Earl Morrall (qb), Willie Richardson (wr), and Bob Vogel (ol).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Indianapolis_Colts#The_NFL_Baltimore_Colts
Next up, Dolphins Stadium Regional Overview
