1979: Eckwood and Turnovers Key Tampa Bay Win Over Lions

Getting a jump on the rest of the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started off the 1979 regular season with a Saturday night game against the Detroit Lions on September 1. There were 68,225 in attendance on an 80-degree evening at Tampa Stadium.

Since first taking the field in 1976, the Buccaneers, coached by the patient and quotable John McKay, had endured plenty of growing pains. They lost all 14 games in their inaugural season and, in fact, 26 straight before finally reeling off two wins to finish out ’77. In 1978, they got off to a 4-4 start before injuries and inexperience caused the bottom to fall out on a 5-11 campaign. There was reason for hope as the ’79 season got under way, with second-year QB Doug Williams, power-running RB Ricky Bell, and tight ends Jimmie Giles and Jim Obradovich healthy and ready to go on offense and a defense anchored by the Selmon brothers, DE Lee Roy and LB Dewey, and including a backfield that led the NFL with 29 interceptions in 1978. In the season-opening game, a newcomer to the offense, third-round draft pick RB Jerry Eckwood (pictured above), played a key role as well.

The Lions, coached by Monte Clark, were coming off of a 7-9 season, but had closed out the schedule at 6-3 after a slow start. Rookie DE Al “Bubba” Baker accounted for an unofficial total of 23 sacks (individual sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982) and Gary Danielson had emerged as a competent starting quarterback. However, Danielson was lost for the year with a knee injury suffered just a week before the opening contest – starting in his place was eighth-year veteran Joe Reed, a mediocre career backup.

Things started off badly for the Lions on the first play from scrimmage when RB Dexter Bussey fumbled and Tampa Bay LB David Lewis recovered at the Detroit 17. The offense couldn’t get into the end zone and Neil O’Donoghue kicked a 31-yard field goal at just over a minute into the opening period to give the home team the early lead.

The Bucs took advantage of another Detroit fumble in the first quarter, this time by RB Horace King, with Lee Roy Selmon picking up the ball and running 29 yards for a touchdown and 10-0 lead (it was the only TD of Selmon’s Hall of Fame career).

In all, the Lions turned the ball over three times in the first quarter, but seemed as though they would get back into the game when CB Luther Bradley recovered a fumble by Eckwood that was forced by LB James Hunter. Six plays later, Reed passed to TE David Hill for an 11-yard TD, cutting Tampa Bay’s margin to 10-7.

The Buccaneers came back as Bell powered over for a seven-yard touchdown to cap an 11-play, 62-yard drive that was helped along by penalties on Detroit DB Walt Williams (pass interference and an illegal chuck, which turned an incompletion on a third-and-eight play into a Tampa Bay first down). Later in the second quarter, Doug Williams passed to Giles on a touchdown play that covered 66 yards. The Buccaneers held a solid 24-7 lead at the half.

Following a scoreless third quarter, Tampa Bay put together a drive that was aided by two fourth-down conversions and ended with Williams tossing a two-yard TD pass to Obradovich early in the final period.

Joe Reed suffered a pulled muscle and was relieved by backup Jeff Komlo in the fourth quarter. The rookie quarterback from Delaware led the Lions to a touchdown as RB Rick Kane ran for a three-yard score with 4:39 remaining in the contest, but it was too little, too late. Detroit got two last points when Tampa Bay backup QB Mike Rae was tackled in his end zone for a safety, but the final score was a resounding 31-16 win for the Buccaneers.

It was Tampa Bay’s first win over the Lions as well as its first opening-game victory. The Bucs ground out a club-record 229 rushing yards as they outgained the Lions (334 yards to 231) and had the edge in first downs (18 to 16).

Jerry Eckwood spearheaded the running game with 121 yards on 20 carries while Ricky Bell added 53 yards on 13 attempts that included a touchdown. Doug Williams completed just 4 of 16 passes for 99 yards, but two of the completions were for touchdowns and there were no interceptions, and he kept the offense moving effectively as a result of the running attack. Jimmie Giles (pictured below) caught three passes for 97 yards and the one long TD.


Neither quarterback was particularly effective for Detroit, as Joe Reed completed 8 of 15 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown and Jeff Komlo, attempting to play catch-up, was successful on just 5 of 21 throws for 45 yards; neither was intercepted (Komlo quickly supplanted Reed as the starter). Horace King led the running attack with 53 yards on 10 carries. David Hill was the top receiver with 5 catches for 48 yards and a TD.

The convincing opening-night win signaled a major turnaround by the Buccaneers. They won their first five games on the way to topping the NFC Central with a 10-6 record and advancing to the conference title game. For the Lions, the loss was a bad portent as they proceeded to go 2-14 and finish at the bottom of the division.

As the primary outside running threat, Jerry Eckwood gained 690 yards on 194 carries (the 121-yard performance remained the best of his three-year career). Ricky Bell was the team’s top rusher, accumulating 1263 yards with a 4.5 average. As the opening day showing indicated, Doug Williams was still very much a work in progress, throwing for 2448 yards and 18 TDs, but with 24 interceptions and a 41.8 completion percentage. But the defense ranked first overall in the NFL and Lee Roy Selmon was the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year.

1934: First College All-Star Game Ends in Scoreless Tie

August 31, 1934 marked the first installment of an annual preseason football event that lasted until 1976 when the reigning NFL Champions, the Chicago Bears, took on a team of College All-Stars at Soldier Field in Chicago. The All-Stars were chosen in a poll conducted by the Chicago Tribune with the assistance of 105 other newspapers.

The contest was the idea of sportswriter Arch Ward, creator of major league baseball’s All-Star game the previous year (and later a prime mover of a significant rival to the NFL, the All-America Football Conference) and was played on behalf of Chicago Charities. While it was anticipated that the pro champions would dominate the All-Stars, it was a great publicity vehicle for the National Football League at a point when college football was still dominant and the professional game sought wider acceptance.

There were 79,432 fans in attendance for the Friday night contest. College rules were used for the most part, although the goal posts were on the goal line, as was the case in the NFL at that time. An impressive ceremony opened the proceedings as the lights were turned off and each All-Star was introduced while running in a single spotlight onto the field, accompanied by his college team’s fight song.


The All-Stars, coached by Noble Kizer of Purdue, got off to a fast start in the first quarter when Iowa HB Joe Laws (pictured at left) intercepted a pass by Bears QB Carl Brumbaugh and returned it to the Chicago 38 yard line. Laws ran twice around left end to get the ball to the 21. HB Beattie Feathers from Tennessee got inside the 20 but, on his next carry, fumbled and LB Ookie Miller recovered for Chicago on the 16, ending the scoring threat.

In the second quarter, it was the turn of the Bears to move into scoring position as they completed consecutive passes that brought them to the All-Star nine yard line and also brought the spectators to their feet. However, star end Bill Hewitt fumbled a lateral from HB Gene Ronzani and Notre Dame tackle Ed Krause recovered.

The All-Stars once again threatened as Michigan HB Herman Everhardus guided them to the Chicago 27, but once more they fumbled it away when back Fred Hecker of Purdue lost the ball and the Bears recovered.

The All-Stars had the longest gain of the game when FB Mike Mikulak of Oregon returned the kickoff to open the second half 45 yards. They again came close to getting on the board, but Washington end Bill Smith barely missed a 40-yard field goal attempt.

In the fourth quarter, the Bears intercepted a pass and had good field position at their own 45. HB Johnny Sisk ran for six yards to take the NFL champs into All-Star territory. HB Red Grange then threw a pass to Sisk that covered 25 yards, but the drive stalled and the Bears again came up empty.

Later in the final period, Chicago end Wayland Becker blocked a punt and the Bears took over at the All-Star 19. However, when the Bears attempted to go for a quick scoring strike, Laws intercepted HB George Corbett’s pass on his goal line. Everhardus (pictured below) punted the ball 50 yards to again pin the pro champs back.


With time running out, Nebraska HB George Sauer intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards to the Chicago 36. Smith attempted another field goal, this time from 42 yards, but missed and the 0-0 duel came to an end.

The All-Stars outgained the Bears on the ground (136 yards to 62) and also had more first downs (6 to 3). Joe Laws was the most consistent runner for the All-Stars while Michigan center Chuck Bernard played notably well on the line.

“They were better than we thought they would be,” said Chicago’s Head Coach George Halas. “You can't beat that Notre Dame running attack.”

As would be the case throughout the series, several of the players who had notable performances for the All-Stars went on to play pro football. The Bears benefited from the presence of Beattie Feathers, who became the NFL’s first thousand-yard rusher with 1004 in an impressive rookie season. Joe Laws played 12 seasons and George Sauer three for the Green Bay Packers.

While the games were often competitive in the early years, gradually the pro teams tended to dominate the contests. They won 31 times, to 9 for the All-Stars, and there were two ties. Eventually, the College All-Star Game fell victim to pro teams complaining about their top prospects missing time in training camp and being exposed to injury, athletes themselves becoming less willing to jeopardize big contracts through potential injury, and the predictable domination of the pro clubs. But for many years, it served as the annual kickoff to the preseason and a vehicle for the top players coming out of college to show what they could do against pro competition.

Past Venue: Luna Bowl

Cleveland, OH



Year opened: circa 1912
Capacity: 20,000

Names:
Luna Park Stadium
Luna Bowl (unofficial)

Pro football tenants:
Cleveland Panthers (AFL), 1926
Cleveland Bulldogs (NFL), 1927

Postseason games hosted:
None

Other tenants of note:
John Carroll Univ. (college football)

Notes: Constructed as part of Luna Park, an amusement park. A separate baseball park was adjacent to the football stadium. Stadium also used for soccer.

Fate: Destroyed by fire in 1929. Following the closing of the amusement park, a housing development was built on the site.

1974: Injunction Removes Matuszak, but Texans Beat NY Stars

The Houston Texans had the oldest and most veteran-laden team in the World Football League’s 1974 season, but that did not bring them a great deal of success. By the time of their Week 8 matchup against the visiting New York Stars on August 28, the Texans were just 2-4-1. The solid defense had performed well until just the week before, against the Stars at Downing Stadium, when they were blown out by a score of 43-10. The offense had difficulty putting points on the board and had yet to score more than 15 points in a game.

Houston’s defense was to be further bolstered by the addition of 6’8”, 282-pound DE John Matuszak, who had jumped from the NFL Oilers to the Texans during the preceding week. An All-American at Tampa and the number one overall draft choice in 1973, he had played in a preseason game with the Oilers and practiced the two days before leaving camp suddenly and announcing the next day that he had joined the Texans. He indicated that he had found a loophole in his contract with the Oilers that allowed him to sign and play immediately with the Texans – a point of dispute with the NFL club that would lead to a bizarre situation during the game.

New York, in the meantime, had won five straight games, including the big win over the Texans the previous week, after losing the first two.

There were 10,126 fans in attendance for the Wednesday night contest at the Astrodome. They saw yet another ex-NFL veteran, safety Richmond Flowers, return the opening kickoff 30 yards. They also saw the home team get the first big break of the game when safety Joe Green recovered a fumble at the New York 17 yard line. Shortly thereafter, QB Mike Taliaferro threw a six-yard touchdown pass to TE Willie Frazier. The action point attempt failed, but the Texans led by 7-0 (in the WFL, touchdowns counted for seven points and were followed by an action point, which could not be kicked).

Early in the second quarter, Taliaferro was intercepted by New York CB Larry Shears, who returned it 48 yards. Following the defensive series by Houston, Harris County sheriff’s deputies entered the field at the Astrodome looking for Matuszak and handed him a temporary injunction ordering him not to play for the Texans. Matuszak had been escorted down the sideline by owner Steve Arnold.

“I didn't have time to read the court order and evaluate it,” the flashy owner of the Texans said, “but God, it looked real. And I didn't want to go to jail.”

Matuszak waved the papers at the stunned and silenced crowd and then received a roar of approval as he made his way to the bench and watched the remainder of the game from there (pictured at top). Moses Lajterman proceeded to kick a 34-yard field goal for New York following Matuszak’s removal from the contest and the score remained 7-3 at the half.

Early in the fourth quarter, Taliaferro threw a second scoring pass, this time to a wide-open WR Rick Eber for a 25-yard TD. Later, with just over two minutes remaining, the Stars scored when QB Tom Sherman connected with WR Kreg Kapitan for an 11-yard TD. The two again combined for the lone successful action point of the game.

New York got the ball back with less than a minute remaining but, having no time outs left, couldn’t get into field goal range before time ran out. Houston held on to win, 14-11.

The Texans outgained New York (327 yards to 205) and had more first downs (18 to 13). There were just three turnovers, with Houston giving the ball up twice, but a total of 10 penalties, with 11 committed by the Texans.

Mike Taliaferro completed 11 of 20 passes for 182 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. FB Mike Richardson led the Texans in rushing with 83 yards on 18 carries. Rick Eber caught four passes for 81 yards and a TD.

For the Stars, Tom Sherman was successful on 12 of 29 throws for 119 yards with one TD and none intercepted. RB Ed White rushed for 42 yards on 9 attempts. Kreg Kapitan and WR Tommy Spinks each caught five passes, with Kapitan gaining 54 yards to 50 for Spinks.

In all, John Matuszak appeared in five plays for Houston, and was outstanding during that brief period. The sheriff’s deputies had intended to serve the papers before the teams took the field, but Oilers owner Bud Adams said they had left too late to get to the stadium on time (at least one account indicated that the deputies got lost in the Astrodome).

In another twist, Stars GM Bob Keating protested the game afterward because Houston dressed 39 players instead of the league limit of 37.

“Terry Cole and Paul Zaeski were the extra players dressed by (Head Coach) Jim Garrett of the Texans,” said Keating. He further indicated that the problem was caused when Houston picked up DT Bill Yost and WR Billy Walik prior to the game and did not declare them active or inactive. Nothing came of the protest and the result stood.

Matuszak was left behind the following week when the team went to Hawaii, as the hearing on the court order was set for September 5. In the end, he never played again for either the Texans or the Oilers. Unappreciative of his antics, the NFL club dealt the big defensive end to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he lasted two seasons while having off-field issues with drugs and alcohol. He was traded again, this time to Washington, but never made it to the regular season after running afoul of Head Coach George Allen (when asked by reporters why Matuszak had been cut, the coach responded, “Vodka and Valium, the breakfast of champions.”). Picked up by the Oakland Raiders, the player known simply as “The Tooz” finally achieved some level of the success that had been anticipated for him and was part of the team that won the Super Bowl following the 1980 season (his next to last).

By the time the WFL season ended, neither the Texans nor Stars were in their original location (or under the same ownership). The Texans moved to Shreveport, Louisiana (and were renamed the Steamer) less than a month after hosting the Stars and finished at a disappointing 7-12-1 and tied for third place in the Western Division with the Portland Storm. Shortly thereafter, the Stars shifted to Charlotte, North Carolina and became the Charlotte Hornets. From their promising beginning, they ended up at 10-10 and second in the Eastern Division.

1948: Sanders Leads Yankees to Win Over Brooklyn

The All-America Football Conference kicked off its 1948 season with games in Brooklyn and Chicago on August 27. The contest in Brooklyn featured the league’s two New York City-based teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. Both operated out of single-wing offenses, but the similarities ended there.

The Dodgers had struggled during the AAFC’s first two seasons, losing money while posting identical 3-10-1 records. The franchise had been purchased by the baseball Dodgers at the suggestion of Branch Rickey, the pioneering major league executive who hoped to prove equally adept at operating a pro football team. The Dodgers had a new head coach, Carl Voyles, and a star rookie tailback in Bob Chappuis from Michigan to join holdover Bob Hoernschemeyer.

The Yankees had been much more successful under Head Coach Ray Flaherty, who had led the NFL Redskins to championships, dominating the Eastern Division in 1946 and ’47 while posting a combined 21-5-2 regular season tally. They had lost the league championship game in both instances to the Cleveland Browns, but were a talented team that included small (5’5”, 170-pound) but quick HB Buddy Young, ends Jack Russell and Bruce Alford, and most significantly, tailback Orban (Spec) Sanders (pictured above), an all-around talent who led the AAFC in rushing in each of the first two seasons, including 1432 yards and 19 touchdowns in ’47.

There were 16,411 fans in attendance at Ebbets Field for the game played on a Friday night in 92-degree heat. That it felt far more like baseball than football weather was enhanced by those in attendance who were listening to the game between the baseball Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds on portable radios.

Brooklyn outplayed the Yankees in the first half, although both teams appeared sluggish in the heat. Chappuis and Hoernschemeyer led the passing attack, but the Dodgers managed to score only once, on a 17-yard Lee Tevis field goal in the second quarter to hold a 3-0 lead at halftime.

New York’s offense came alive in the third quarter, and it was Sanders who keyed the rally. Four minutes into the second half, he gained 27 yards on consecutive carries, including an eight-yard run for a touchdown as he powered into the end zone with DB Carl Allen on his back.

Following Brooklyn’s next possession, the Yankees moved the ball to their 40 yard line and Sanders ran off tackle and went untouched for a 60-yard TD. In sudden fashion, New York had taken a 14-3 lead and control of the game.

While Sanders keyed the offense and with the game still in the third quarter, rookie tailback Tom Casey came up with the most sensational play of all when he returned a punt an AAFC-record 94 yards for a touchdown. Harvey Johnson followed with his third extra point of the game, giving him a total of 43 straight to break his own prior record of 42.

There was no further scoring, but the three-touchdown outburst in the third quarter was more than enough to propel the Yankees to a 21-3 win.

New York outgained the Dodgers, 333 yards to 233, with 250 of that total coming on the ground. The Yankees also accumulated 15 first downs, to Brooklyn’s 11. Spec Sanders carried the ball just 11 times, but gained 147 yards and scored two touchdowns.

The opening win was not a prelude of another division-winning season for the Yankees, however. They lost their next four games, by which point the highly-regarded Flaherty was gone and replaced by Red Strader. While the team rallied somewhat in the second half of the year, it could not overcome the 2-6 start and finished in third place at 6-8 – still only a game behind the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Colts, who tied for the division title at 7-7 (the Bills won the playoff, thus earning the dubious honor of being the team thrashed by the undefeated Browns in the title game).

Despite Branch Rickey’s efforts, the Dodgers finished last with their worst record of all, 2-12. The baseball Dodgers sold the franchise back to the league, and it was merged with the Yankees for the AAFC’s last season in 1949.

Running into injury problems over the course of the season, Spec Sanders didn’t lead the league in rushing in ’48, but finished fourth with 759 yards on 169 carries that included nine TDs. Adding in 918 passing yards, Sanders generated 1677 yards of total offense to rank seventh in the league (just behind Brooklyn’s Chappuis with 310 yards on the ground and 1402 through the air for a total of 1712). A knee injury knocked him out of the 1949 season, but he returned to play for the New York Yanks of the NFL in 1950 and, as a defensive back, led the league with 13 interceptions.

MVP Profile: Len Dawson, 1962

Quarterback, Dallas Texans



Age: 27
6th season in pro football, 1st in AFL & with Texans
College: Purdue
Height: 6’0” Weight: 190

Prelude:
Highly regarded coming out of college, Dawson was taken in the first round of the 1957 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. After sitting on the bench and throwing just 17 passes in three years, he was dealt to Cleveland, where he backed up Milt Plum for two seasons. He requested his release from the Browns and joined his former backfield coach at Purdue, Hank Stram, who had gone on to become the head coach of the AFL’s Dallas Texans. Stram worked intensively with Dawson, rusty from his years as a reserve, and he took over as the team’s starting quarterback.

1962 Season Summary
Appeared and started in all 14 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 310 [4]
Most attempts, game – 33 at Buffalo 12/2
Completions – 189 [3]
Most completions, game – 19 vs. NY Titans 10/21, vs. Houston 11/4
Yards – 2759 [3]
Most yards, game – 306 at Boston 10/12
Completion percentage – 61.0 [1]
Yards per attempt – 8.9 [1]
TD passes – 29 [1]
Most TD passes, game – 3 on six occasions
Interceptions – 17 [6]
Most interceptions, game – 3 vs. Denver 12/9
Passer rating – 98.3 [1]
300-yard passing games – 1
200-yard passing games – 7

Rushing
Attempts – 38
Most attempts, game - 5 (for 59 yds.) vs. Buffalo 9/30, (for 18 yds.) vs. San Diego 12/16
Yards – 252 [18]
Most yards, game – 59 yards (on 5 carries) vs. Buffalo 9/30
Yards per attempt – 6.6
TDs – 3

Points
TDs – 3
Points – 18

Postseason: 1 G (AFL Championship at Houston)
Pass attempts – 14
Pass completions – 9
Passing yards – 88
TD passes – 1
Interceptions – 0

Rushing attempts – 5
Rushing yards – 26
Average gain rushing – 5.2
Rushing TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:
AFL Player of the Year: Sporting News
1st team All-AFL: League, AP, UPI
AFL All-Star Game

Texans went 11-3 to finish first in the AFL Western Division while leading the league in points scored (389) and touchdowns (50, tied with Houston). Won AFL Championship over Houston Oilers (20-17).

Aftermath:
The resurrection of Dawson’s career in 1962 paid off significantly for his team. The Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in ’63 and, while they failed to retain their AFL title, Dawson again led the league in TD passes (26). By the rating system then in use, he led the league in passing three times over the next five years (by the modern system, he led it in all five). He also led in completion percentage five straight times, TD passes twice (although not when he had his career high of 30 in 1964), yards per attempt twice, and, further testimony to Dawson’s efficiency as a passer, four times in percentage of TD passes. The team won AFL championships in 1966 and ’69, losing in the inaugural Super Bowl following the first and winning Super Bowl IV (the last prior to the merger of the two leagues). Dawson missed time to injury in that 1969 season but was behind center in the postseason. He remained with the Chiefs through 1975, at age 40, and retired with 28,711 passing yards, 239 TD passes, and an 82.6 passer rating. The Chiefs retired his #16 and Dawson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1987.

--

MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/14/14]

1982: Ken Stabler Joins the Saints

Following the 1981 NFL season, there were plenty of doubts that QB Ken “The Snake” Stabler had much, if any, of a pro football career left. At age 36, he was the most accurate passer in NFL history for anyone who had thrown at least 1500 career passes, with a completion percentage of 60.3. But with bad knees that were getting even worse with age and following a largely ineffective season with a declining Houston Oilers team, he was released. To make matters worse, published reports had linked Stabler to a known gambler and he was briefly under investigation by the league.

NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle gave clearance for teams to approach the wily lefthanded quarterback, and the very next day, August 24, 1982, he signed with the New Orleans Saints, reuniting him with former Oilers Head Coach Bum Phillips.

Phillips had been coaching at Houston when Stabler arrived in a celebrated trade with Oakland for veteran QB Dan Pastorini in 1980. It seemed like a huge acquisition at the time - after taking over as the starting quarterback for the Raiders in 1973, Stabler had been exciting and successful, gaining selection to the Pro Bowl four times, twice garnering MVP recognition (the second while leading the 1976 Raiders to an NFL Championship), and leading the league twice each in completion percentage and TD passes and once in passer rating.

The Oilers were a strong team that had lost the AFC Championship games following the 1978 and ’79 seasons to the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers, and were looking for an upgrade at quarterback to push them over the top. Alas, it was not to be as Stabler threw more than twice as many interceptions (28) as touchdown passes (13). Still, with star RB Earl Campbell pacing the running attack, and while utilizing a double tight end offense after another Raider stalwart, TE Dave Casper, was obtained during the season to pair with TE Mike Barber, the Oilers made it into the playoffs with an 11-5 record. However, they fell in the Wild Card round to, ironically, the Raiders (where an injured Pastorini had been supplanted at quarterback by a resurgent Jim Plunkett), costing Phillips his job.

With Ed Biles as head coach in ’81, the aging club dropped off to 7-9. Stabler had briefly retired during the preseason but came back when his replacement, Gifford Nielsen, suffered a shoulder injury. Often in conflict with his new head coach, Stabler suffered through the difficult year that culminated in his release. From there, he sought a rebirth in New Orleans.

The Saints had an aging quarterback of their own, 33-year-old Archie Manning, as well as his longtime backup, Bobby Scott. But Dave Wilson, the player they had taken with the first choice in the supplemental draft out of Illinois to be their quarterback of the future, underwent knee surgery, creating an opening.

The arrival of Stabler meant the departure of QB Craig Bradshaw, brother of Pittsburgh’s star QB Terry Bradshaw, who was cut along with WR Ike Harris while Wilson and FS Tom Myers were put on injured reserve. Scott would later also be placed on injured reserve and was released after the season – he would resurface in the USFL.

“I've never walked on the field when I thought I was going to be a backup quarterback,” said Stabler following his signing. “I may wind up being one, but I'm not taking that approach.”

He was not a backup in 1982, beating out Manning, who was dealt to Houston during the strike-shortened season. The team was 1-1 when the strike occurred and won its first two games when play resumed before losing three straight that included a 29-of-43, 333-yard performance by the veteran quarterback against Tampa Bay. Still, they won the finale and, even with a 4-5 record, barely missed the postseason.

Stabler provided not only passing proficiency but leadership to the offense, which was damaged by an injury to RB George Rogers, who had led the NFL in rushing as a rookie in 1981. “The Snake” completed a healthy 61.9 % of his passes for 1343 yards with six touchdowns and 10 interceptions. While his 7.1 yards per attempt and 71.8 passer rating were both less than his career averages, they were improvements over his numbers with the Oilers, as was his interception percentage of 5.3.

While there was speculation that the battle-worn veteran would retire, he was back for another season with the Saints in 1983. A knee injury in the season-opening game hobbled him further, and the numbers dropped off – he threw twice as many interceptions (18) as TD passes (9) and his passer rating dropped a full ten points to 61.4. However, the team went 8-8 for only its second .500 finish, helped along by an improving defense.

The Saints dealt for QB Richard Todd from the New York Jets in the offseason, and while “The Snake” saw some action, he was largely a backup in 1984, his last year. Altogether in New Orleans, Stabler completed 57.2 % of his passes for 3670 yards with 17 touchdowns, but also 33 interceptions. The team broke even at 11-11 in his starts, which was an improvement for the perennially losing Saints, and his veteran leadership proved stabilizing. It was not an altogether bad postscript to Stabler’s outstanding career, but he no longer had enough left physically to lift the Saints further.

At the time of his retirement, Stabler ranked second all-time in pass completion percentage at just under sixty percent (59.85). While his TD passes (194) were outnumbered by his interceptions (222), he passed for a total of 27,938 yards and, most importantly, had an overall regular season record of 96-49-1 as a starting quarterback in the NFL.