dewey@ttidca.UUCP (William Dewey) (01/09/86)
Congratulations to the Patriots. The way the Raiders played this Sunday, they did not deserve to win. Howie Long summed it up after the game with the following quote: "Shame on us". Now to straighten out a few misconceptions. Lest the avid Patriot fans get too excited, take note that the Patriots were able to sustain only on drive against the Raider defense. Seventeen of the Pats points were directly attributable to turnovers which left them with better than excellent field position. The first was the fumbled punt by Walker at the beginning of the first quarter. Two plays later the Pats were up by 7. Not much later, a Wilson interception was turned into a field goal, and then the final blow, not one fumble by Seale on the kickoff but two, right back into the end zone. The Pats didn't need the offensive unit at all for those 7 points. Now to respond to a few allegations from Jim.... >From: jmccollum@latour.DEC >Subject: The Raiders are out! >What a pleasure it was to watch the Raiders go down on their home field >yesterday. It's been a long time coming for the Patriots. It seems that >nobody outside of New England has been paying any attention to them. All I >heard from Raider supporters before this weekend was how well they matched >up against the Bears in the Super Bowl. It really disgusted me. Here's a >team with a one-man offensive attack and their fans feel like they should The Raiders not only have the NFL MVP in Marcus Allen but a few very talented receivers on the squad, Todd Christensen, Dokie Williams and Jessie Hester, he's the fella that caught a touchdown pass remember?. Unfortunately, Marc Wilson is much better at throwing the ball 2 yards to short. Makes it real tough for even the best to catch em. >have some sort of automatic berth in the Super Bowl. The Patriots have an >overall more talented roster and a first year coach that knows how to win Please explain. I would be happy to run down the roster by position with you. >in a tough division. Young as he is, Tony Eason is an infinitely better QB >than Marc Wilson. I was really amazed at just how lousy Wilson was >yesterday (and those two time outs were STUPID). It makes me wonder about I couldn't agree more. I hope that Al Davis and Tom Flores are doing some real soul and quarterback searching. Jim Plunkett was ready to play a month ago, but wasn't activated due to the need to keep the 45 man roster open for other returning injured players. I still feel they would have been better to bring Plunkett back and just forget about Wilson. I felt, and still do, that it would have been better to play Rusty Hilger after Plunkett was injured and give the kid some experience, even if we didn't have a winning season. Don't wonder about the rest of the division. The number one defense in the AFC is what kept the Raiders winning. A couple of more thoughts on Wilson. After a little reflection, the above comments seem a bit harsh. Marc was injured early in the season, seperated shoulder and a badly sprained ankle. He broke his thumb last year and was still being bothered by it during spring training. The treatment he has received in the press has yet to take this into account. I don't know what the situation would have been if he had been 100% physically for the whole season. >the rest of the AFC west if the Raiders are the best they can turn out for >divisional champions. >I have to admit, I'm a life-long Raider-hater. I've seen too many cheap >shots and victories by intimidation by them over the years. And a lot of it >came at the expense of the Patriots. Everyone here remembers what Jack >Tatum did to Darryl Stingley. Everyone here remembers the last time the Jack Tatum hasn't played for a number of years. It should be mentioned here that Jack Tatum has visited with Daryl both in and out of the hospital and the reports are, no personal knowledge here, that Tatum felt very bad about the incident. This does not excuse a flagrantly bad hit, just shows that Tatum is human. I personally don't agree with a number of the statements he made in his book Assasin, especially those regarding the point system for injuring opposing players. Unfortunately, this image has stuck with the Raiders, no matter what happens. I don't know if you saw the hit that injured Plunkett. He was in the grasp of the defender, going nowhere, and was then lifted and body slammed to the ground. No flag was thrown, Plunkett out for the season. An almost identical play happend to another team two weeks later, immediate 15 yard roughing the passer. All I wish to point out here, is that it cuts both ways. >Raiders and the Pats met in a playoff game. But as usual, the Raiders lived Huh? Explain Please? >up to their reputation. They couldn't beat the Patriots on their own field >so Matt Millen decided to beat up on New England GM Pat Sullivan. Howie >Long (quickly losing his popularity in his home state of Massachusetts) had >called Sullivan a "wimp", "spineless", and a "classless slob". But it was Please read the comments below. I believe that Long's comments were justified. This "gentleman" stands on the sidelines where he faces no consequences for his actions. It got so bad during the game, that his own players moved him from the end of the bench to the middle in order to calm him down and keep him from being killed. It really takes a lot of class and courage to taunt opposing players from the safety of your own sideline when you don't have to take the field against them. By the way, to finish out Howie's statements we should not forget the following: "He's 32 or 33 going on 12" >the Raiders Millen who showed his lack of class by beating on Sullivan with >his helmet after the game. I think if any team in the NFL characterizes You obviously did not get your facts from any eye witness accounts of the Sullivan incident. 1. Pat Sullivan was taunting the Raiders, Howie Long and Lester Hayes mainly, throughout the game. This is from an interview in the South Bay Daily Breeze, from the mouth of Mr. Sullivan, in the Monday, 1/6/86 issue. 2. Dennis Harrah told Howie to just ignore Sullivan. 3. Sullivan continued to taunt the Raiders after they had lost while they were congratulating the Patriots for their win. While we are on the subject of name calling, ever heard the expression "good sport" or "gracious winner"? 4. Again, from the mouth of Mr. Sullivan, he grabbed Howie Long as they were leaving the field. This was the beginning of the fight in the tunnel. 5. Matt Millen saw someone, not in uniform obviously, grabbing at one of his fellow players. He took exception to this and hit him. Unfortunately, for all those who are screaming about the helmet, the phots show Matt with his helmet in his left hand and his right hand in Sullivans face. A quote from Matt on the incident, "I didn't know who it was at the time, but if it was Sullivan it was a good hit". Matt may not have been "right" to hit someone but I would have to say that Mr. Sullivan did not exactly perform in an exemplary manner throughout the game. As far as "pounding" on Sullivan, it only took one punch. >"classless", it is now and always has been the Oakland/LA Radiers. Great >win! The Patriots and their fans deserve it. See above for another definition of classless. I am rooting for the Pats on Sunday and in the Super Bowl. You are right that they are a very talented team who certainly deserve a shot. The way they played on Sunday they certainly deserve it. The Raiders had there chances, down by 7 with almost 14 minutes to go. The Pats defense should be credited with doing a fine job on the field. It's tough to play almost an entire season with multiple turnovers and still win games, but the Raiders did it 11 times this season with Wilson at the helm. Looking forward to the Pats winning their first Super Bowl, it sure would be sweet if they could beat the Rams doing it :). Really looking forward to the 86 season, hopefully with a real honest to goodness NFL quarterback. Bill Dewey New England transplant and Raider fan. p.s. I will STILL have season tickets next year p.p.s. By the time I got around to posting this I saw the following: > Subject: Re: The Raiders are out! > See Bob Ryan's column in today's (Jan 7) Boston Globe... I agree with him > 100%. Pat Sullivan acted like a total jerk and probably got what he > deserved. If nothing else, he demonstrated he can by every bit as > "classless" as the hated Raiders. He and Daddy shouldn't be allowed on the > sidelines, where their petty vindictiveness and childish name-calling > detracted from a well-earned New England victory. Yesterday's Globe carried > a photo of Stanley Morgan consoling a tearful Lester Hayes after the game > ended... The Pats and their coach demonstrated much more "class" than their > owner and GM. > Roger Fradenburgh > Cambridge, MA > P.S. You want to talk about "classless"? How about Schaeffer Stadium fans? > I'll bet the league is glad none of the Pats' playoff games are in > Foxboro... I'll bet the Town Of Foxboro is glad, too! To you I say congratulations. You know what it means to be a true fan not of one team only but of the sport as a whole.
pjk@teddy.UUCP (01/10/86)
In article <255@ttidca.UUCP> dewey@ttidca.UUCP (William Dewey) writes: > >Now to straighten out a few misconceptions. > >Lest the avid Patriot fans get too excited, take note that the Patriots >were able to sustain only on drive against the Raider defense. Althought the PATS only scored once as a result of a "sustained" drive (the 80 yard 2nd quarter drive when they were down 17-7), this one drive was worth much more than the 7 points it resulted in !! At a time when the RAIDERS were taking total control of the game, and when they (the RAIDERS) were talking on the sidelines about how the PATS were about to abandon the game plan, panic, and start throwing the ball downfield, the NEW New England PATRIOTS buckled down and ran all over the RAIDERS, regaining the momentum they'd lost. In addition, taking a quick look at time of possession (37 minutes for New England versus 23 for L.A), it's apparent that the PATS were able to sustain many drives, eating up what precious little time the RAIDERS had left. >Seventeen >of the Pats points were directly attributable to turnovers which left them >with better than excellent field position. Yup, you're right !! However, Ronnie Lippett reacted faster to the ball than the receiver on both his interceptions - that's a takeaway, not a "turnover". Likewise Sam Seale's kickoff fumble in the 3rd quarter (the 2nd of the 2 on that play) was caused by Mosi Tatupu's hit - another takeaway, not a turnover. He had plenty of time to recover from the first fumble - he just never put the ball away. You might be able to say the RAIDERS "gave away" the game if there were 1 or 2 "turnovers", but 6 turnovers (along with 2 more fumbles that the PATS caused but didn't recover) states the facts PLAINLY - the RAIDERS were outplayed on offense, defense, and special teams. By now you've guessed that I just might be another of those lifelong frustrated PATRIOTS fans, who, given the current situation, has lost any grip on reality that they might have had, and guess what: YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enough of this "the RAIDERS gave MIAMI a gift" crap - the PATS took the game from the RAIDERS by beating them at their own game - tough dominating defense, and clutch plays made when the opportunity arose.
ekblaw@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (01/15/86)
Your claim that injuries from LAST year that bothered Wilson this season and contributed to his poor performance is NONSENSE! Good quarterbacks can over- come that sort of adversity. Look at Chicago's McMahon or New England's Grogan. Those guys got tossed around like salads last year, yet both came back this year to do superbly. And I don't want to hear claims that Wilson suffered worse injuries. Hell, last February the doctors were saying that McMahon would never play football again; his shoulder and ribs were that bad. Hah, alot those docs knew! Robert A. Ekblaw
dewey@ttidcc.UUCP (William Dewey) (01/17/86)
[ there is NO line eater ] If you will re-read my original posting you will note that the only mention of an injury from last year was that the thumb was still bothering Marc at the beginning of spring training. The current injury to his shoulder and ankle happened this year ( well, if you want to be picky it was 1985 ) and not last. I also stated that it would be interesting to see what, if any, difference it would have made if he had been 100% physically all season. Personally, I think that sitting on the bench for a few years has made him 'stale'. It may be that he is the kind of guy who should have been played immediately. GO PATS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bill Dewey Still a Raider Fan
mykes@3comvax.UUCP (Mike Schwartz) (01/18/86)
In article <13000095@uiucdcs> ekblaw@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU writes: > >Your claim that injuries from LAST year that bothered Wilson this season and >contributed to his poor performance is NONSENSE! Good quarterbacks can over- >come that sort of adversity. Look at Chicago's McMahon or New England's >Grogan. Those guys got tossed around like salads last year, yet both came >back this year to do superbly. And I don't want to hear claims that Wilson >suffered worse injuries. Hell, last February the doctors were saying that >McMahon would never play football again; his shoulder and ribs were that bad. >Hah, alot those docs knew! > >Robert A. Ekblaw McMahon suffered a lacerated kidney last year. The doctors said that if he lost the kidney, he would not play again (if he lost the 2nd, he would die). McMahon's injury does not at this point look like it will have any effect on his future ability. However, a knee operation or broken leg or some other crippling injury can take a long time to heal (and most players never heal all the way, it seems). mike schwartz @ 3Com Corp.