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ARTICLE
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
1978 AFC Divisional
Playoff Another in a series of stories about
the 47 playoff games in Steelers history. Orange Crush is crushed in rematch of 1977
By BOB
LABRIOLA Steelers.com The Steelers had to be tickled that
1977 was over, because the only field where they had any consistent success was
the courtroom. Ernie Holmes was acquitted of cocaine possession charges; Chuck
Noll was cleared of charges brought by George Atkinson over the "criminal
element" remarks; and Mel Blount dropped his defamation lawsuit against Noll for
including him in the "criminal element," which happened under questioning by
Atkinson's lawyer. In spite of it all, in the NFL, it's
turmoil in the locker room that affects the on-field product, and there was
plenty at Three Rivers Stadium. A rookie died in a car accident during training
camp, Jack Lambert held out, Mel Blount held out. Glen Edwards, Jimmy Allen,
Ernie Holmes all moaned about money. Guys walked out and came back, and Noll
took them back. But times were about to
change. *
*
* It was March 1978, and where the NFL
owners had convened for their annual meetings, it was sunny. What they were
doing appeared to cast a dark cloud over football in Offensive linemen could use their
hands t But first, fetch the broom. The big
broom. Before it was over, Jim Clack, Frank
Lewis, Reggie Harrison, Holmes, Allen and Edwards were gone. Twelve Super Bowl
rings among them. Not all were problems, but each one was in the way, and Noll
was in full-blown "whatever it takes" mode. "We're trying to rid ourselves of
distractions," said Noll. "We can't have another season like last year. We've
got to work like hell to get the distractions settled. Trading is only one of
the ways to do it." The moves were interpreted as a sign
of a major rebuilding project, but Steelers actually were working at the
football version of Darwinism. They were adapting to their
environment. On "I think a quarterback will now be
able to adjust to his routes and maybe get rid of the ball a little quicker,"
said Bradshaw. "I think you'll have the same basic coverages, but I think the
bump-and-run will go out the window. This is gonna stop all the people laying
all over the receivers' backs. And that could definitely help me, because a lot
of times what has held us up is receivers getting jammed by a cornerback who is
all over him." Once camp opened and the focus was
all about football, the first play of the first scrimmage of the summer? A pass.
There were four preseason games, and the Steelers won two and lost two, but
there was something encouraging about this .500 record. There was a momentum
building, and those close to the team certainly felt it. "The biggest difference in this camp
compared to last year is that this camp is about football, not gossip," said Joe
Greene. "Everything that's happening in this camp is about football. That's not
saying we're going to go out there and kick butts, but that's saying we're going
to be going about our business, what we're being paid
for." The Steelers opened with a 28-17 win
over a Buffalo Bills team that would finish 5-11, but in that game Bradshaw
completed 14-of-19 for 217 yards, and afterwards, Rocky Bleier summed up the
afternoon succinctly, "Our passing attack was the big difference in this
game." The next week, the Steelers defeated
The focal point of the offense had
shifted from Harris' legs to Bradshaw's right arm, and Noll not only recognized
that and embraced it, but he also was actively trying to nurture
it. "I think he's more confident that
he's ever been before," said Noll about Bradshaw that September. "That makes a
difference. And everybody's helping each other. The quarterbacks are helping the
receivers, and the receivers are helping the quarterbacks. He's getting the ball
to Bennie Cunningham and our running backs as well as the wide receivers, which
has helped." And so it would go throughout the
rest of the regular season. The Steelers finished 1978 with 39 turnovers, an
astonishing number for a team that would finish 14-2, but Noll never pulled back
on the reins, he never inhibited his quarterback from trying to make plays down
the field to the wide receivers, he never went back to the style of offense the
team had used to win its first two Super Bowl titles. Bradshaw's 1978 season is
remembered as one continuous highlights film, but while he threw 28 touchdown
passes, he also threw 20 interceptions. And this incongruity was being noticed
even as the Steelers kept piling up the wins. The The defense would get better, but
Bradshaw fell into a slump. In Afterward, Greene gave his offensive
teammates a gentle nudge. "The load has shifted, but to win, we're going to have
to get better offensively, because there are better offensive teams in the
league than Bradshaw may have been in the latter
stages of a regular season in which he would be the Associated Press Player of
the Year, a first-team All-Pro and the Steelers MVP for the second straight
season, but he just didn't seem to be comfortable in his own
skin. "I doubt I'll ever be able to look
in the mirror and say I'm the best quarterback in football," said Bradshaw.
"Maybe it's because of my personality. I think I have charisma, but I don't
think I'll get the recognition. First mistake I make, I'll be battered for it.
They (the media) make excuses for the other guys; they don't for me. (Bert)
Jones is always great. (Roger) Staubach may have a bad game, but he's still
great … the same thing with ( With the playoffs at hand, and with
homefield advantage secured, Bradshaw and the Steelers were primed to show the
rest of the NFL that they indeed were the best. For the Steelers, the 1978 playoffs
began at Three Rivers Stadium against the Denver Broncos, a chance to avenge
their loss to them in the 1977 postseason at Mile High
Stadium. Not only was this game a rematch of
the 1977 playoffs, it also was a rematch of the Steelers' 1978 regular season
finale. The game meant nothing to the Steelers in terms of the standings, but if
"The goal is to just go out there
and play well and stay healthy," said Greene before that regular season game.
"There's a good possibility we're going t In that "meaningless" game, the
Steelers led, 21-17, and After a pass interference call in
the end zone gave the Broncos a real chance to win, Greene goes back into the
game. Now, it was time for the playoffs,
and the teams weren't any more fond of each other. Broncos coach Red Miller bristled at
the oft-repeated suggestion that his defending AFC champions were nothing but a
fluke. "They might go in thinking they can stop us like they did in the first
half (of the regular season game), but we expect our offense to show them
something and let our defense work on the positive side of the field this time.
We didn't rush our linebackers in that last game, and it helps if you can rattle
their quarterback and keep him contained." Also, Jack Lambert seethed over
L.C. Greenwood walked onto the field
and strolled past an area where a group of the Broncos were loosening up. In
The Steelers built a 19-3 lead on a
couple of touchdown runs by Franco Harris, but the Broncos closed to 19-10 and
seemed to be building some momentum before Joe Greene killed that by blocking a
29-yard field goal attempt by Jim Turner. Then as they had all season, the
Steelers offense took advantage of an opponent's mistakes with quick strikes
that put the game away. Within a 32-second span, Bradshaw passed to
Bradshaw said, "It was my plan to
get the ball to Stallworth. I don't know if it was Chuck Noll's plan, but I knew
Swann was going to draw a lot of double coverage, and I wasn't going to beat my
head against the wall trying to force it to Swann." Noll had
n
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