Super Bowl rankings update...

Riggins rumbles in Super Bowl XVII...



Paulie, thanks for your input, I value your insights as if they were my own. I have been rethinking some of the rankings, too (I mean, how can one really differentiate betweeen Super Bowls IX & XXXI?), but some random thoughts:

1) I suppose Raiders-Vikings might deserve a bump up. But I found that game a terrible letdown, as the Vikings were simply outclassed. Once this one got going, there was little or no drama, as it was obvious the Raiders were much better.

Game-wise, I might compare this to another of my bottom ten, Broncos-Falcons, though that one featured an 80-yard TD pass and a superb individual performance by Elway, which I ranked slightly above the heroics in SB XI (to take nothing away from Clarence Davis). Though you are probably right, XI might deserve a little bump up.

My SB rankings are no knocks on the greatness of any winning team, indeed, I think that '76 Raider team gets far too little credit in any best-ever debates, where it could state a valid case. SB XI was a celebration if you loved the Raiders, but in retrospect I believe it was memorable only from that perspective.

Having said that, it gets lumped with at least about another dozen or more Super Bowls with the same dynamic.

In truth, this one might deserve a higher ranking than Raiders-Redskins, which was perhaps an even more disappointing game. For Marcus Allen's spectacular heroics, however, I thought that one deserved a few notches higher.

2) No argument, the SF-Denver game might have been the greatest one-team performance in SB history. Or, it might have been the most feeble, as some figured that Bronco team would put up a better fight (like me...I mean, nobody expected 55-10!).

As one of the main participants in SB XXIV, however, Denver's absolute and startling lack of competitiveness is a knock against this Super Bowl in comparison to the others.

Still, I rated this one ahead of most of the other big blowouts simply because of the 49er excellence. I rated it just below the Bears-Patriots, however, because I think there was a little extra something about that Bears team, how they gleefully took the Patriots apart in a manner and style I have rarely seen, how that defense destroyed opposition, and the added color of the Super Bowl Shuffle, McMahon (and his pre-SB comments in New Orelans, however silly), the Fridge, Ditka, Buddy Ryan, etc. Those guys became icons of sorts, and that whole experience with the Bears was fun that season, and it carried over to the Super Bowl. Whereas the 49ers were, on the personality and colorful scale, very George Seifert and more businesslike. Just a personal preference, that's all.

3) I hear you on Dallas-Miami, though there was at least a little mystery attached to that one into the 3rd Q, when Dallas finally took charge. For that reason and that reason alone, I ranked it above Raiders-Vikings, where the drama was mostly gone by halftime. There are other similarities to Raiders-Vikings in this one, too, as it was finally Dallas' turn to win a big one, as it was for Oakland a few years later. I do recall, however, that Calvin Hill fumbled at the 1-yard line in the 4th Q, or that score could have been 31-3.

Just a personal quirk, but silly things like Duane Thomas' one-word postgame interview with Brookshier make this one more memorable...for me, at least.

4) Yes, Dallas-Denver was an ugly game, as the Cowboys made their share of mistakes, too. But I have this one rated down there pretty far as it is. There was still a shred of drama into the 4th Q, when Dallas' lead was only 20-10 for a while, and though they didn't do anything, the Broncos did have the ball a couple of times with a chance to get closer. And Weese did provide a spark for the Broncos, as they marched in for their only TD immediately after Morton was pulled after a bad 1st down pass. That 4th-down pitch to Jim Jensen (for a 1st down to the 1) was the first option play I ever recalled in a SB. There were more exciting plays in this one than many SBs, too. Rick Upchurch's long kickoff return was a SB record until Fulton Walker's return for the Dolphins a few years later, and those spectacular Dallas TDs. Hard to separate such mid-range (14 to 21-point) SB beatings, but I thought this one had a little more going for it (though maybe not much) than some of the others rated below.

Morton's showing, however, might have the worst-ever for a SB QB, and Dallas' defense really controlled this game, except for that little spark the scrambling Weese gave Denver in the 2nd half.

For the record, I do believe the Raiders would have put up a much better fight vs. Dallas, and that might have been a great game. Just as I believe the Browns would have put up a much better fight against the Giants and Redskins in the late '80s than Denver did. Hey, there's an idea for another story!

5) NE-Philadelphia. I agree, I should probably put this one down further, because it was an exasperating game. But since competitive games are one of the criteria for my rankings, and so many SBs weren't competitive affairs, this one probably deserves to be where it is. The Eagles certainly could have won this game, which I can hardly say for most of the losing teams in SBs I ranked below this.

6) Dallas-Pittsburgh, 1995 at Tempe. Perhaps the fact the underdog Steelers covered the pointspread makes this one seem better than it was. Or the fact that it was the first SB since Giants-Bills that was in doubt deep into the 4th Q, and only the second interesting SB since, well, Redskins-Dolphins '82. But there really was palpable excitement (at least I thought so) for a while in the 4th Q after the Steelers threatened a major upset and cut the deficit to 20-17, which, again, is one of my criteria, and does in fact set this one apart from the vast number of SBs.

Though I only have this one in the middle of the second ten, which I think is about right.

I still haven't forgiven O'Donnell for making Larry Brown a SB hero, either. I always thought this one was somewhat exciting.

7) Steelers-Dallas Bicentennial. You might be right that this one should be bumped down a little. I thought Swann's brilliance in this one, however, ranks with or above the best-ever individual SB highlights. So, in this case, I more rewarded spectacular plays, and Swann made two huge catches in this game that are forever in the pantheon of great NFL receptions. This one did go down to the wire, with Staubach bombing at the endzone in the final plays. Steeler fans still remember that last-minute very nervously. But the winning points weren't scored on the last play like Rams-Pats, so I will probably make this change.

8) Washington-Miami 1982. The '82 strike had no bearing on my rating, as I judged these SBs purely by the games themselves (I think). I still believe this one was a more interesting and entertaining game than it is given credit for, as it was indeed close throughout, and the Dolphins, unlike many SB losing sides, compensated for their offensive ineptness with a few huge plays (the long Cefalo TD catch and Fulton Walker's kickoff) to stay in this game until the late stages. The Redskins finally found a way to forge ahead in the 4th Q, but we had several big plays (none bigger, perhaps, than Theismann heroically knocking away from Kim Bokamper his own tipped pass that could easily have resulted in a Miami TD to put the Dolphisn up 24-13), the Riggins heroics, and some real excitement. This was in fact a much better game than SB III, which I have ranked above it (mostly for historical reasons).

I will continue to tinker and adjust the story here and there. Feel free to send along further commentary, and others are welcomed to do the same!