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| If you were Coach Shula, would you have benched NFL MVP Earl Morrall for the great Johnny Unitas? |
I can't believe I am writing this article, but I need to vent my spleen. In an earlier article, I wrote about the amazing upset by the New York Jets over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, which is still the most compelling Super Bowl of all time for me. Briefly, in my view the AFL was more innovative than the NFL and knew how to generate takeaways via the Zone Defense and Bump-N-Run, and they were better at the Blitz and countering the Blitz with the Hot Read and Hot Receiver, and made better use of the quarterback's ability to call audibles. That's how an 18 point underdog dominates its opponent, and by the way the next year a 14 point underdog was even more dominant. You can find this article here:
Super Bowl III was not a Fluke. Why the AFL beat a Superior Team
and the Chiefs upset here:
What about Super Bowl III did you not get? Kansas City Chiefs Destroy Vikes in SB IV.
Anyway, I had a huge response on that blog, and many of the readers felt strongly that Earl Morrall was to blame, and if only Don Shula had started Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas, the Colts would have surely won that game. Shula himself occasionally expressed regret about not having inserted Unitas at halftime.
Obviously, the Colts had their chances. If they could have done it again without five turnovers and a blown flea flicker, maybe they would have won. But they could not have foreseen that in advance, and you don't get do-overs.
Thee idea that Unitas should have started is not only wrong, at least in my opinion, it's crazy. Supposing you were Coach Shula, you would not start Johnny Unitas for the following reasons:
What about Super Bowl III did you not get? Kansas City Chiefs Destroy Vikes in SB IV.
Anyway, I had a huge response on that blog, and many of the readers felt strongly that Earl Morrall was to blame, and if only Don Shula had started Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas, the Colts would have surely won that game. Shula himself occasionally expressed regret about not having inserted Unitas at halftime.
Obviously, the Colts had their chances. If they could have done it again without five turnovers and a blown flea flicker, maybe they would have won. But they could not have foreseen that in advance, and you don't get do-overs.
Thee idea that Unitas should have started is not only wrong, at least in my opinion, it's crazy. Supposing you were Coach Shula, you would not start Johnny Unitas for the following reasons:
1. Your team has gone 13-1 in a presumably much more powerful league (the previous two years the NFL teams beat the 14 point spread).
2. Your Colts gave up only 144 points (10.3 points per game), tied for the lowest in NFL history for a 14 game season (the 1963 Chicago Bears also gave up only 144 points).
3. You have the league MVP in Quarterback Earl Morrall. He has led the NFL with 26 TD passes, 4 more than the second place guy. He is number two in Yards and Yards Per Game. He was comfortably ahead almost all the time and didn't have to pass that much, or he would have led the league in yards, too.
4. Morrall has taken first string reps for the entire year. Unitas has not.
5. In your last game, your team won the NFL Championship 30 to 0. And NOW you want to make a change? Really?
4. Morrall has taken first string reps for the entire year. Unitas has not.
5. In your last game, your team won the NFL Championship 30 to 0. And NOW you want to make a change? Really?
6. In the one game you lost, your boy Unitas went 1 for 11, with 3 INTs. Overall, for the season he was 11 for 32 (34.4% completion), for 134 yards, 2 TDs and 4 INTs.
7. Unitas is 35 years old and you have no guarantee that he is going to be able to perform. Hey most experts believe he was the greatest of all time, but how sound is his arm? You can't know how long his arm is going to hold out, and at no point in the season has he looked like his old self.
So Coach Shula, are you nuts? You're going to bench the NFL MVP for a guy who went 11 for 32? To play the New York Jets,a team of unknowns? Who are they? You are going to be laughed out of the stadium if you sit Morrall.
As it turned out, Earl Morrall had a terrible game with 3 turnovers and a blown play in which he somehow did not pick up Jimmy Orr during a flea flicker. Unitas came into the game in the second half and did better. He threw only 1 INT, an underthrown and completed 11 passes out of 24, a 45.8% completion rate. His quarterback rating was an abysmal 42.0.
Namath, on the other hand, was never pushed. His favorite receiver, Don Maynard, had a pulled hamstring so they used him only as a decoy. He still went 17 for 28 with zero INTs and a rating of 83.3. So, if the Colts are going to get a do-over, so will the Jets. If the game had been closer, Namath might have launched an aeriel bombardment of his own.
In Super Bowl V two year later, Unitas would have the chance to redeem himself in the Super Bowl versus the Dallas Cowboys. Do you remember that game? Evidently not. Unitas went 3 for 9 with 2 INTs before getting injured, leaving his team behind by a touchdown, 10-3. So in came Earl Morrall, who also had a shaky game versus the Doomsday Defense, but the Colts scored 10 unanswered points to win 13-10. Early 70's football was characterized by tough defense. Morrall also received two more rings as a backup with the Dolphins. He did not play in those Bowls, but did contribute during the season, especially for the 1972 undefeated season when he rescued the Dolphins in the championship game, subbing for injured Bob Griese.
Anyway, looking at the total stat line, Colts qbs just had a tough go of it in the Super Bowl. In SB3, Unitas relived Morrall and lost, and in SB5, Morrall relieved Unitas and came from behind to win. I would say overall, Morrall had the better career performance in Super Bowls than Unitas, though neither was very good. Total stat lines:
Unitas (2 Super Bowls, 1 ring): 14 for 33, 42.4% 198 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTS
Morrall (4 Super Bowls, 3 rings): 13 for 32, 40.6%, 218 yards, 0 TD, 4 INTS
Earl would pick up two additional Super Bowl Rings, 3 for his career, as a backup for the Miami Dolphins. He saved the perfect season for the 1972 Dolphins by subbing for an injured Bob Griese in the AFC Championship and leading the team to victory over the Steelers. Morrall, by the way, was selected as first team All Pro that year, starting 9 times. You want to call him a career backup, fine. But he's a backup with an MVP award, 2 All Pro seasons, 4 NFL Championship rings, 3 Super Bowl rings, and 102 NFL starts. He was 63-36-3 as a starter and overall his teams went 150-103-12 Super Bowl 3 was one of his worst games, but in my view the NFL was simply not prepared to play football the AFL way, and that was proven in Super Bowl 4 when the Kansas City Chiefs steamrollered the Purple People Eaters of Minnesota. It's very hard to second guess Coach Shula. The NFL just had to get beat before they could learn.
As it turned out, Earl Morrall had a terrible game with 3 turnovers and a blown play in which he somehow did not pick up Jimmy Orr during a flea flicker. Unitas came into the game in the second half and did better. He threw only 1 INT, an underthrown and completed 11 passes out of 24, a 45.8% completion rate. His quarterback rating was an abysmal 42.0.
Namath, on the other hand, was never pushed. His favorite receiver, Don Maynard, had a pulled hamstring so they used him only as a decoy. He still went 17 for 28 with zero INTs and a rating of 83.3. So, if the Colts are going to get a do-over, so will the Jets. If the game had been closer, Namath might have launched an aeriel bombardment of his own.
In Super Bowl V two year later, Unitas would have the chance to redeem himself in the Super Bowl versus the Dallas Cowboys. Do you remember that game? Evidently not. Unitas went 3 for 9 with 2 INTs before getting injured, leaving his team behind by a touchdown, 10-3. So in came Earl Morrall, who also had a shaky game versus the Doomsday Defense, but the Colts scored 10 unanswered points to win 13-10. Early 70's football was characterized by tough defense. Morrall also received two more rings as a backup with the Dolphins. He did not play in those Bowls, but did contribute during the season, especially for the 1972 undefeated season when he rescued the Dolphins in the championship game, subbing for injured Bob Griese.
Anyway, looking at the total stat line, Colts qbs just had a tough go of it in the Super Bowl. In SB3, Unitas relived Morrall and lost, and in SB5, Morrall relieved Unitas and came from behind to win. I would say overall, Morrall had the better career performance in Super Bowls than Unitas, though neither was very good. Total stat lines:
Unitas (2 Super Bowls, 1 ring): 14 for 33, 42.4% 198 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTS
Morrall (4 Super Bowls, 3 rings): 13 for 32, 40.6%, 218 yards, 0 TD, 4 INTS
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| Earl Morrall relieved injured Johnny Unitas in Super Bowl V with the Colts down by 7, and led them to score 10 unanswered points for a 16-13 redemption versus Bob Lilly and the Dallas Cowboys. If Morrall was 17 points better than Unitas in SB V, why would you think Unitas would be so much better in SB III? |
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| Do you remember Garo Yepremian's attempt to imitate Joe Namath after a blocked kick in Super Bowl VII? His lead blocker on that blown play was none other than holder Earl Morrall, who also made All-Pro that year in addition to collecting his second Super Bowl ring. |
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