Throwback – Baltimore Ravens

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Purple
Black
Gold
White

The Ravens have more helmet mascots/emblems than most teams in the NFL.  Their first helmet emblem was submitted by Frederick E. Bouchat. He was excited to have a football team back in Baltimore. In his excitement he faxed a design concept to the Maryland Stadium Authority. The team showed off their uniforms, with a shield emblem that greatly resembled his original design he faxed not too long ago. Fred sued the Ravens for copyright infringement. He won the case but got only $3 in damages. Later Ravens owner Art Modell changed the emblem to an angry raven with a B superimposed on its head. No doubt this was also done to stop any potential royalties to Fred.

Throwback – Cincinnati Bengals

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Black
Orange
White

The Bengals deserve way more credit than they receive for their role in the modern gridiron football.  These things began in Cincinnati before they were cool:

• (Game Long) No Huddle Offense – No Huddle Offense is normally used near the end of the first half or the end of a game. The offense would huddle quickly (if at all), then the play is called out in coded words or phrases (“audibles”), and finally the snap is done with a “silent count” (the quarterback makes a gesture such as a toe step or an arm wave as a timer for the offense, rather than shouting a countdown).  Ideally this would tire out the defense and give them no time to settle on the quarterback’s snap count. Sam Wyche, head coach of the Bengals in 1988, is credited for using NHO throughout the game.
• West Coast Offense – Football was almost exclusively a running offense before the West Coast Offense became popular. WCO has the offense make short yard gains or first downs with quick passes to multiple receivers. Ideally this would spread out the defense and improve the odds of a deep throw connecting. Bill Walsh was the Bengals assistant coach in the early 1970s. Bengals game footage during his time there showed a proto West Coast Offense. Bill went on to refine WCO  while coaching at Stanford University, and it thrived during his head coaching days with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s.
• Zone Blitz – A response to the West Coast Offense. The play assigns defense players to specific players (or zones).  This extra movement is meant to confuse the offense about the defense’s block assignments and their own play positioning. Zone Blitz was rarely used in professional football until it was made over by Dick LeBaeau, Bengals defensive coordinator in the 1980s.

Throwback – Cleveland Browns

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Brown
Orange
White

When the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) merged with the NFL, one of the teams that lived on in the updated NFL was the Cleveland Browns.  For about 15 years (1950-1965), the Browns dominated football.  They had deep playoff runs and multiple NFL Championships in their name.   You can thank head coach and namesake Paul Brown for that.   He is credited as the first for using game film, as in actual celluloid film, to improve his players and scout opponents.  His reputation as a dictator was warranted.  No one brought it up because he crafted a winning team.  When things started going sour in the 1960s Brown’s stubborn pride became prominent. He seemed more concerned with his status as Greatest Coach Forever Amen than how his team was performing on the field. Wait, film your dudes and opponents? An insulated coaching process? Tons of head coaching success and national fame? Someone sweeps the bad stuff under the carpet? This pattern sounds familiar. Makes me wonder if current Patriots coach Bill Belichick looks to Paul Brown the way Napoleon idolized Alexander the Great.

Throwback – Pittsburgh Steelers (né Pirates)

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Black
Yellow

How does a city gain and maintain its own colors?  Pittsburgh has a perfect answer.  Pittsburgh’s flag has black and yellow stripes.  Founder and Pittsburgh native Art Rooney named the football team after the established baseball team in 1933.  Art also adopted the city’s flag colors and design.  This included the black and yellow stripes on the away uniforms for the inaugural season.  Thankfully he placed the stripes only as arm bands the following season.  The Pittsburgh Penguins, the city’s professional hockey team, adopted the black and gold color scheme in 1980.  You have to give it these professional teams for consistency.

Throwback – Houston Texans

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Dark blue
Red
White

Throughout the history of professional football, I’m glad that in every major association or league there was a team based somewhere in Texas called the Texans.  Your other name choices when this team was formed (roughly in 2000)  included: the Bobcats, Stallions, Toros, and Apollo.  Maybe in another state those other names are fine but this is Texas, damn it.  Good thing current Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt gave the blessing to have the Texans come back to life.  Remember, the Kansas City Chiefs were the original Houston Texans before their move.

Throwback – Tennessee Titans (né Houston Oilers, Tennessee Oilers)

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Columbia Blue
Red
White

Texas football is ingrained since birth and you root for your local team only.  Normally Houston teams looked down on Dallas teams and vice versa.  This didn’t happen to the Houston Oilers.  Poor attendance, average records, no press support, and the popular Dallas Cowboys stealing the potential fan base forced owner Bud Adams to move the team east.  The new location didn’t do much for the Oilers.  Both seasons were they were the Tennessee Oilers they were 8-8.  The other new NFL expansion teams (Jacksonville Jaguars, Caroline Panthers) could boast better records or more exciting football to watch.  The Oilers changed their name to the Titans.  The Titans found early success in a Superbowl bid in their inaugural season (1999).  Ever since that Superbowl loss the Titans are back to where they started with a mediocre record, a team with few standouts, and getting little media attention.

Throwback – Buffalo Bills

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Red
White
Blue

Athletic abilities does not equate to a decent human being.  Take O.J. Simpson.  He was a lightning quick as a Buffalo Bills running back in the 1970s.  His record for fewest games to 1000 yards and 2000 in a single season still hold up.  He made Hall of Fame defenses look like high school JV linemen, especially the Steel Curtain of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I’m sure O.J. Simpson would regularly be in the list of greatest rushers of all time if it weren’t for his life outside of football.  Where to begin?  The murder trial circus, bankruptcy, jail time, drug addiction, and a tell all “confession” book that made more headlines from the circumstances of the publication rather than the contents of the actual publication.  Well, his acting career wasn’t that bad.

Throwback – Miami Dolphins

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Turquoise
Orange
White

There is a reason why the 1972 Dolphins Perfect Season and Superbowl victory is heralded:  No other team has yet to repeat it.  The Patriots came very close in Superbowl XLII (42) but the New York Giants stomped those hopes.  The number of things that have to go right for your team and wrong for your opponents to get to perfect season and Superbowl victory is mind boggling.  Here is one possible way to simulate the dominance of the 1972 Dolphins:  Completely load up your fantasy Madden team and max out stats for all of your players.  Make sure that you are ranked #1 in offense and defense every week for the entire season.  Your rushers and pass catchers have Hall of Fame numbers.  Finally, you must be a tactical genius on the offensive side of the ball.  We have to use a video game to fathom what actually happened to the 1972 Dolphins.

Throwback – New England Patriots

Team Colors 
Note: Names not official
Red
White
Blue

I have put the following entry on my bucket list:

Go to the Patriots Hall of Fame in Gillette Stadium to see the snow plow involved in the Snowplow Game.

The Snowplow Game is schadenfreude when reading Miami Dolphins’ history, but an amusing boon in New England Patriots’ history.  December 12, 1982 is when Miami faced New England.  There is 4:45 left in the 4th quarter and the score is 0-0.  Bad weather the previous day made the field icy and weather during game day was snow.  Patriots coach Ron Meyer requested for part of the field to be plowed before Patriots kicker John Smith attempts to score a field goal.  The snow plow went across the field, then made a little curve right at the area where John Smith would kick, then continued plowing to the other side.  The curve made the perfect kicking area and the Patriots won the game.  Miami coach Don Shula was understandably upset but the final score stood.  0-3 New England was the final score.

Yes folks, that snowplow can be seen in Gillette Stadium.  I’m sure we’ll both be chuckling when we gaze upon this relic and its moment in football lore.

Throwback – New York Jets (né Titans)

Team Colors
Note: Names not official
Green
White

The Jets’ 1968 season led to their well chronicled Superbowl victory, but it also changed sports TV broadcasting forever.  Their game against the Oakland Raiders ( November 17, 1968) had to go past the TV scheduled slot.  Despite a very close game ( 32–29 Raiders) and having a little over a minute left in the 4th quarter, many stations (except for the west coast) switched over to a broadcast of the film Heidi right on schedule.  Only a little ticker at the bottom of the screen showed the final score (43–32 Raiders).  The viewing public that was forced to watch Heidi flooded their local NBC stations with calls, understandably upset that they didn’t see the end of the game.  In response TV broadcasters changed their sports broadcast policy.  All games are now seen to their conclusion, scheduled programs and sponsors be damned.  This moment in TV history is affectionately known as the Heidi Incident.