The Atlanta Falcons' running back hit the line, then bounced outside, to the left. He picked up positive yardage, then the whistle blew. Then the game was stopped -- unheard of in today's NFL, if it doesn't involve a television commercial or an injury. A brief ceremony was held, right there on the field. And the Falcons, presumably with the NFL's blessing, honored Dave Hampton as he became the first runner in team history to gain 1,000 yards in one season.
The opponents were the Kansas City Chiefs, and Hampton, 25, was sitting at 1,001 yards for the season, in its final game. The game was resumed.
On his next rushing attempt, Hampton was nailed for a six-yard loss. He wouldn't get another carry. So he finished the season with 995 yards -- but the Falcons didn't un-honor him. That would have been tacky -- almost as tacky as honoring him before the game ended, knowing that such an embarrassing thing could happen.
Hampton rushed for 997 yards in 1973, then missed '74 with an injury. But he finally got his 1,000 when he hit for 1,002 in 1975 and was named the Comeback Player of the Year.
The embarrassment with Hampton in '72 was typical for the Falcons, who needed 13 seasons in the league before finally making the playoffs in 1978.
But they could be fun, with Norm Van Brocklin as their second coach.
Van Brocklin as a Rams QB in the 1950s
The Dutchman coached the Falcons from 1968-74, and he wasn't exactly known as someone with a long fuse. He was like that as an All-Pro quarterback with the Rams and the Eagles, and the way he was as the first coach of the Minnesota Vikings, when he practically ran Fran Tarkenton out of town by himself.
One of Van Brocklin's rants was caught by the NFL Films cameras and microphones. The Dutchman was mocking Steelers DB Paul Martha.
"Ah, Martha....you couldn't cover me!", Van Brocklin bellowed. When someone on the Falcons sideline laughed, admiring the line, VB turned and chuckled devilishly.
Van Brocklin's temper and impatience with his team boiled over, though, and he was fired by the Falcons midway thru the '74 season.
The Lions, incidentally, used to beat the Falcons like a pinata. The first nine times the Lions played them, the Falcons lost. How'd you like THAT distinction? To be dominated by the Detroit Lions for 11 years -- 11 years in which the Lions made the playoffs once?
But those were the Atlanta Falcons. Now they're back toward the bottom again, among the dregs of the league. The Michael Vick Era is over with, but the stench left behind is still wafting. But there's a new prized rookie quarterback, and Joey Harrington is gone. Life could be worse in Atlanta.
No comments:
Post a Comment