WEBVTT - 1981 - Losers, and Winning Losers 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.520 Welcome to Special Teams, a production of my Heart Radio 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:18.560 Greetings and Welcome inside Special Teams with Jason Smith and 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:20.960 Mike Harmon, a podcast in which we look back in 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:24.520 a specific year and a very special team or teams 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:27.400 in the world of sports and what made them stand 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.280 out in a bit of a nineteen eighties run right now, 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:32.879 because it's been a very popular decade for that, you've 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:35.479 wanted us to break down some teams and games and 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.520 things going on for so we're gonna continue that on 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:40.559 and take a look at what some of the worst 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:44.239 of the year one was. But here's a twist. We 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:47.000 have a really bad worst worst, but then we have 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:49.960 worst that turned out to be almost best. If that 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:51.640 makes sense, my Carmen, I don't know if it does, 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:54.000 but I think it does. Well. You know what, you've 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:57.360 got to talking out sometimes, you know, best laid plans, 0:00:57.440 --> 0:00:59.920 all of those kind of things, but the the idea 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:04.120 being that, yeah, you sometimes you gotta hit absolute depths 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:07.319 before you know you can rise like the Phoenix at Arizona. 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:09.839 To steal from the late Jerry Steeler, I mean, there's 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.480 gotta be in that rock bottom. I mean, as a 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.120 Mets fan, you know, that. No, no, no, there's no 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:18.039 rock bottom. You you hit the bottom and you keep 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:20.560 digging going. Nope, I am going through this and I'm 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:22.280 gonna get through to the floor. There's gotta be a 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:24.560 level of magma, and then under that there's got to 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:27.120 be some kind of moving tectonic plates, and then under 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:29.399 that maybe then I get to the bottom. But no, no, no, 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:31.959 I'm gonna keep digging through the mud and the sludge 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:35.520 and go all the way through the center of the Earth. Wow, 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:38.720 straight to the Earth's crust. It makes me want to 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:43.240 eat a pizza Earth's crust. Yeah, alcome, no one's ever 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:45.520 done that, had a pizza and called it Earth's crust? 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.960 Or is there a there's somebody out there? Is there 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:53.160 a place that's called Earth's Crust pizza? Crust pizza? Hey? Yeah, listen, 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:56.680 can I get double anchovies and one with pepperoni? Yeah? 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:58.240 You gotta get it out there in a half hour. 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.360 How hot is your pizza? You know what? I looked 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:07.120 at her hand out. It's really fair earth crust pizza. 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:12.320 Let's see there there is an Earth's crust pizza in Montana. 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:15.200 Who knew? Seems like we're gonna have to get it said, oh, 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:17.880 you can eat pizza buffet, buddy, Yes it is. Well, well, 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:21.280 so maybe not anymore than well, but maybe you just 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:23.600 have to go sit in the yeah, and I don't 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:26.000 think anything in the lot, and then you go walk 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:30.520 back in and say more so what we mean? The 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:34.600 New Scientist magazine said that the Earth's crust is just 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.240 like a pizza dough. So there you go. No, I 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.320 mean there's like a big level of layer of cheese 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:43.080 on it. Cheese. Boy, if I could walk through cheese 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:44.800 and just pick up cheese and put in my mouth. 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.920 It's like Homer in the Land of Chocolate piece up 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:49.360 the dog and takes a bite out of it as 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:53.760 it runs by it. Chocolate half price, like everything's made 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:59.519 of chocolate. It's free eat anything. Uh, the Simpsons. But 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:02.000 that's what we have going on today. We have a 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:04.840 worst of the worst in one and then we have 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:08.160 the worst of the worst that actually becomes nearly the 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:12.359 best of the best. So we'll save that for later on. Uh, 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:17.639 let's get into what was possibly and probably the worst 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:23.520 single season defense in the history of the National Football League. Now, 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.160 immediately people want to jump back and go, oh, look 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:28.040 at the Saints in two thousand and twelve. I think 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:31.160 it over seven thousand yards. It was a horrendous season, 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:33.680 but this is an age in the National Football League 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.720 where everybody is throwing the football and you have inflated 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:40.480 passing statistics. So seven thousand yards, even though it's really really, 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:44.040 really really bad, it doesn't compare to this team that 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:48.520 gave up sixty hundred yards when teams threw the football 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:50.640 about four times a game, so it's not like you 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:53.720 were facing all these big offensive juggernauts. We put it 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:58.040 into the late two thousands. Everybody's throwing the football, quarterbacks 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:01.120 throwing for three no, no, no, this is seven thousand yards. 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:07.119 That stinks. This was undred yards back in in one 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:10.280 three yards and a cloud of dust. And even the 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.559 passes that were thrown up, let's face, and completion percentages 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.440 were trash. Yeah if you were because you were a 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:20.240 good quarterback, right, Because interceptions were not looked at the 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:24.360 same way at all, and ball possession, which is kind 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:26.880 of funny. Did they just not have the computers to 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:33.719 run the stats. It's like the entire room is one computer. Yeah, no, 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:37.800 it's It's amazing though that people didn't catch onto this sooner. 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.440 You know if we go to the shortened intermediate game, 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:44.560 we will be more effective and keep moving the ball. 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:50.320 Throw for the downs the night one. Then Baltimore cults 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:56.520 worst NFL defense in history. Here's the evidence. Now. First 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:01.840 of all, actually they had pretty decent expectations in one. 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:04.840 They still led Burt Jones at quarterback, Roger Carr was 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:07.839 a pretty good wide receiver. Curtis Dickey was projecting to 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:09.680 be a pretty good running back. These are names would 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:13.719 probably remember from the Colts teams. David Schula, former Bengals 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:15.880 head coach, was a wide receiver on this team. But 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.440 things just went absolutely terrible from the jump. They went 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:21.760 to out one good name though, you an all name 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:24.480 team guy, Okay, go on, what do you got linebacker 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:29.479 Joe Federspiel. Yeah, Federspiel is pretty good. It's a tough 0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:32.200 name to say in the heat of battle. Good play Feederspiel. 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:34.440 I can see you messing that up a lot day. 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:36.520 And maybe you call him glock in Spiel at some 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:39.920 point that was probably his nickname was Yeah. He eventually 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:43.280 became an SEC referee, by the way, Oh and they 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:45.760 probably called him the glock I metued. I was, Hey, 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:48.480 what's up block, but it's okay, I get it. Glocklock 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.440 to see that as other connotations and now you've gone 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:53.279 into a deep dark place. So it's just a nickname 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:58.320 like Clock, except it's glock, except it's for glock and spiel. Anyway, 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:01.400 uh so the Colts team just to give you the 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:03.480 framework before you give you with some stats that you're 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.280 gonna go there's no way this happened. They actually went 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:11.080 too and fourteen. They won their first game against New England. Hey, congratulations, back, 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:12.680 this is when Baltimore is in the a f C East. 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:15.960 They then lost fourteen games in a row, and then 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:18.760 they beat New England the final week of the regular seat. 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:21.360 Hey did. New England also finished two and fourteen in 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.240 the A f C East, so these were the only 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:25.680 wins Baltimore had. They beat New England opened the season, Hey, 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:28.160 we're feeling great. Then they lost fourteen in a row, 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:30.119 and then they beat New England to end the season. 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.120 So at least you can say, well, we started strong, 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:34.159 we finished strong, and if we played New England every week, 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.720 maybe they're sixteen and oh, but they don't, so this 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:39.000 is what they wind up. Well. What's funny, though, is 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:41.760 just the when you think about, all right, how bad 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:44.640 does this team have to be? Right, you hit the 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:49.000 bookends where you have these wins, go to tie breakers, 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.480 all of that kind of fun stuff. But looking at 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:56.839 the Patriots schedule, they had their moments of uh, wealth dominance. 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:01.960 They held six opponents to nineteen points or fewer during 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:05.720 the season, so uh put themselves in position. But and 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:09.840 absolutely anemic offense leads you to the woeful two and 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:14.120 four record, fourteen record, I should say, uh, including two 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:19.640 losses to these historic Baltimore Colts. Here's how bad the 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:22.400 Colts were. Okay, here here's some numbers that it just 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:25.640 blow you away. They allowed five hundred and thirty three 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:27.720 points on the season. All right, that's an average of 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:32.440 thirty three a game. They scored two hundred and fifty nine. Okay, 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:37.320 so they gave up twice as many points as they scored. 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:40.320 This isn't a one hundred point differential like you see 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.280 the worst teams in the NFL. Boy, we got outscored 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:45.560 by hundred points. They scored to fifty nine. They gave 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:49.440 up five thirty three. They literally gave up twice as 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:52.680 many points as they scored. That's how bad of a 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:54.720 defense this was. I mean, it wasn't a great offense, 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:58.760 but boy, that's how bad a defense this was. Well, 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:02.280 if if you laid some money down on them against 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:08.120 the number and you took the over, you really did hardly. Yeah, no, exactly. 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.720 They took the over every week. How far can we stretching? Guys? 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:15.960 Just keep going. Uh, you know, it's just that curiosity, 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.920 right at some point you would think there'd be some 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:22.960 consistency and something would click. But as you mentioned, it's 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.080 not like you're walking around with a bunch of household 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:29.480 names that even went somewhere else and became pivotal cogs 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:32.920 in some other machine. Uh. This is just, you know, 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:36.920 not good for anybody. As you're rolling through five hundred 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:41.240 thirty three points. They gave up four hundred twenty five 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:49.160 yards per game, four football fields per game. Just staggering. 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.920 This is a season in which the Colts gave up 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:57.760 thirty five points or more in nine games. Nine games 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:00.880 they allowed thirty five points and more. They allowed three 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:04.200 seven points in the first half of games. That means 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:07.120 teams were averaging twenty points in the first half against them. 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.680 So whatever you have, you're allowing twenty a team is 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:12.800 walking in a half time going, boy, we feel great. 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:16.199 We scored twenty points. This is this is terrific um. 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:19.240 All those early adopter fantasy leagues were having a blast. 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:22.520 I mean this, Look, this Colts defense still had a 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:25.080 couple of good players on it, right you know, you 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:28.360 had John Dutton who wound up getting traded during the season. 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:31.319 You know, uh, you had a couple of Bruce Laird, 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:33.920 who was a pretty good strong safety. Nesby Glasgow was 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.920 a pretty decent cornerback turned into You had a couple 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:39.680 of decent players on this team. But this defense was 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:44.600 just so bad. And maybe the best most damning statistic 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:46.240 is what I'm gonna give you right now. This is 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:51.840 how bad. Okay, they only returned twelve punts all season 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:58.320 punt so nobody punted. They returned twelve punts. That's less 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:00.920 than one punt return a game you could have gotten 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:02.880 by without a punt returner. I can just let the 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:04.480 ball at the ground right now, Okay, we'll take over 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:08.720 wherever it is. They returned twelve punts, and they had 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:13.640 thirteen sacks on the seat in and if full see 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:18.120 and sixteen games they had thirteen sacks, So every game 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:21.319 they basically were good for almost one punt return and 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.400 almost one sack. That's how mad it was for the cults. 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:27.480 Think about that, because we we had a good laugh 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:31.160 at it here in When a team goes through and 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.680 dozen't punt, it's like, all right, that guy gotta check 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.120 and just got to hang out and do his weird 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:41.320 ball tricks like he's in the middle of training camp. Uh, 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:43.679 and you go through. I mean that that's just amazing. 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:50.360 I'm looking at the totals from last year and it's 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:56.800 just staggering. Thinking thirteen for an entire year, you're low 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:02.880 in nineteen was the doll for with twenty three only 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:06.559 three more teams finished with fewer than thirty, and then 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:11.440 your league leaders Steelers, Panthers, Saints and RAN's all finished 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:14.880 with at least fifty. Just by way of contrast. I mean, 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:19.360 that's that's just pathetic for a bass rush. That's that's 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:24.120 almost like you're not trying. Uh. Mike McCormick was the 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:26.760 head coach and he only made it through this year 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:29.400 and then he got fired. Uh. And and as if 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:31.880 all those stats all remember how bad this defense was 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.200 losing games the way they did. Look, they beat the Patriots. 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:41.439 Then they lost thirty five, three, thirty seventeen, No, then 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.000 forty one, nineteen. Then they give up forty three, then 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.319 forty two, then twenty seven, then forty one, then thirty eight, 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:51.720 then thirty five. It was just a pummeling all season long. Right, 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:54.120 But this is okay, it's historically bad. They got a 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:56.560 really bad Dave and maybe one of the worst defenses ever. 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.680 They couldn't stop anybody. But this story about the Colts 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:04.520 season may give you everything you need to know outside 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:06.400 of the fact that, boy, this defense was bad. All right, 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:08.440 check this out. So I told you you know, Burt 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:12.560 Jones was still a pretty decent quarterback and things got 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:15.000 so bad at one point. This is then Colts owner 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:17.640 Bob er Say, who players hated. Right. John Dutton, who 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:20.040 got traded in the middle of the season, said I'll 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.080 do anything Dallas wants me to do right now except 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:24.160 shoot someone. He was so happy to get off the 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.600 Baltimore Colts. That was his That was his big quote 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:28.640 after he got traded, right, all of these things. They 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.400 couldn't stand back Burt Jones, Oh it was, it was. 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:34.000 It was just one of those seasons where you couldn't 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:38.040 believe what the owner did. Bob Er say. At one point, 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:41.839 during a loss to Philadelphia in November, they lost, the 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:46.440 owner got so mad he jumped into the booth and 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:50.679 started calling plays from the coaches booth. He started calling 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:54.840 offensive plays from the booth. So Burt Jones said he 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:57.280 just ignored them. Like every time the play call came 0:12:57.320 --> 0:12:59.400 in to go left, he would go right. If it 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:01.720 was a run, he would call a pass. But Bob 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:04.840 ar say calling plays from the coaches booth. In fact, 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:08.040 he says that he called one of Burt Jones's touchdown 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:11.080 passes in this game. Burt Jones says, no, I just 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:13.880 went and did my own thing. The players couldn't stand 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:17.199 or say. But not even Jerry Jones, Mike and I, 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:20.000 I know he's probably been tempted to. I could just 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:24.520 get the headphones off of Jason and uh just start 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:26.480 calling plays because I know the names of some of them. 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:28.840 You know there's that red ride eighty eight or did 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:31.400 I see that on the NFL films? Uh? What about 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:33.679 that sixty five toss power trap Let's run? Now, No, 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:37.559 that's NFL films. Not even Jerry Jones on his worst 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:40.320 day says, you know sorry, slide over, I'm gonna start 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:42.959 calling plays. But this was the NFL where the owner 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:47.160 comes in and starts calling plays in How fantastic would 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.160 that be? Though? Jerry Jones finally, just you know, before 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.080 Jason Garrett was dismissed, saying, you know what I got, 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:57.360 I got something for Dak. I got I got something 0:13:57.440 --> 0:14:01.120 special I cooked up on this here napkin, and he's 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:05.760 got some weird ass alignment still legal, uh in terms 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.960 of formations, but just crazy town. I mean there's several 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:12.120 owners that you know, you would not be surprised if 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:15.840 they actually did it. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if er, say, 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:21.480 Jim Ursay would do while playing guitar. I always wanted 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:24.000 to do that, you know that. I was always jealous 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:26.000 that he did that. I really would like to death 0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:31.640 He's playing Jimmy Hendricks's guitar while calling plays and sending 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:33.960 it down to Philip Rivers. Maybe you just have to wait. 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:36.320 That's why Andrew Luck retired. I couldn't. I couldn't take 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.160 it because you know, all the year says they all 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:39.920 want to call plays that I just had to walk out. 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:41.440 It was just too much for me. I was done 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:46.080 absolutely amazing. This was the season that was for the 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:51.360 one Waltimore Colts looking at being the worst defense in 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:56.040 NFL history. Coming up next, Uh, two things that were 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:59.480 really bad and then they met together and things got 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.040 really it. I'll explait trust me, I'll explain it all. 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:17.400 Coming up next right here on special teams from the 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:19.760 worst of the NFL. And boy, the Cults were really 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:23.760 that bad to the NBA and the nineteen eighty one 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:29.520 Western Conference playoffs because in one things really got weird 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:33.320 in something that we have never seen anything even close 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:36.000 to this since this happened. Now, we had the Knicks 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:39.320 make it to the NBA Finals in the in the 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:42.440 lockout year. They were an eight seed and they pulled 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:45.560 a bunch of upsets. We watched the Golden State Wars, 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:48.480 an eight seed, pull a few upsets a few years ago, 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:50.720 knocking out the Mavericks. They were the number one seed. 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:53.680 But normally the bottom seed doesn't make it to the 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:57.720 NBA finals. Also, normally the bottom two seeds don't make 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:00.640 it to the conference finals. But this is what happened 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:05.200 in one. The NBA regular season ended with the Sons 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:07.800 at the top best record in the Western Conference. The 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:11.840 Suns were loaded, followed by the Spurs. The Lakers were third. 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:14.440 Remember this is the early days of Magic Johnson. The 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:18.000 Blazers were fourth and in fifth and sixth place because 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:19.880 it was the top six teams that made the NBA 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:23.640 playoffs back then were the Kings and the Rockets. The 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:26.480 Kansas City Kings, who was before they moved to Sacramento. 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:30.440 The Kansas City Kings and the Houston Rockets, the five 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.640 and six seeds, the two lowest seeds, both make the 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:38.360 playoffs with records of forty and forty two. Who do 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:42.000 you think winds up playing in the Western Conference Finals? 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:46.080 The Kings and the Rockets. Again that this is a 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.320 journey that no one could. This is never gonna happen 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:52.000 in the NBA. You're never gonna see seven eight seeds 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:54.640 pull these big upsets and saying, hey, we're playing here 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.000 in the in the conference finals. But it happened here 0:16:57.000 --> 0:17:00.600 in one. Both teams finished seventeen games out of first place. 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.520 They were under five hundred on the road. They were 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:07.560 just an average team, couldn't even finish even five. But 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.480 the Kings and the Rockets make it to the Western 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:15.359 Conference Finals, bolstered by the fact that the Dallas Mavericks 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:19.159 were an absolute train wreck. The Utah Jazz, with twenty 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:22.200 eight wins, allowed you to get fat a little bit 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:26.680 and overcome the other members of the Pacific Division, which 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:31.600 had several teams in the mid thirties in terms of wins, like, 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:35.840 thank you very much, we're under five. Like nowadays, think 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:39.639 about all the ink that gets slung and when it happens. 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:43.119 Remember the Seahawks when they were seven and nine and 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.200 you would have thought the world was ending, Like everything 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:50.800 we knew about sports was going into some wormhole. Uh, 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.320 and the pundits were out for blood. No, they should 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:57.480 just not be a playoff team. The playoffs should go 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.560 a team Short's like, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:08.760 But folks advocated for so many random tweaks to playoff rules, 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:12.160 and you know what they're they're an emalies. And this 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:16.200 one sure stands out all these years later. Only time 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:19.520 two teams with losing records met in the conference finals. Right, 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:21.320 So how did they get there? Well, let's do the 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:24.639 Kansas City Kings. First. Kansas City was led by Otis 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:26.960 bird Song, who had a terrific NBA career. The guy 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.760 scored twenty five points a game. You know, late seventies, 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:33.320 early eighties. Otis bird Song was fantastic. Phil Ford was 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:36.160 terrific NBA Rookie of the Year in seventy nine. They 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:39.560 both were All Star players alright. Scott Wedman before he 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:42.800 settled into being a rotation piece for the Celtics throughout 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:45.360 most of the mid eighties when everybody watched Lakers Celtics 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:48.960 on TV, he was pretty decent. And so Kansas City 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:51.160 had some time, I mean some talent because they finished 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:54.080 five hundred. They worked really great. Well, there's just just 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:59.399 a game. One game decided it, right sure, uh you 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.159 know who. And also but they also missed making the 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:05.159 playoffs by a game because the Warriors almost snuck in 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:07.439 a thirty nine and forty three, so they were that 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.520 close to being out to uh now, their first round 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:12.960 they played Portland, who wasn't that much better. They won 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:14.800 two out of three. They won a couple of games 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:17.960 in overtime. But then their rewards they get the Phoenix Suns. 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:20.440 All right, the number one seed in the West. This 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:24.200 is gonna be pretty easy. They knock off the Suns 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:27.520 in seven games. They had a three games to one lead. 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:30.760 Kansas City jumped out and the Sons, who like to 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:33.920 play a lot of players, they were loaded, Dennis Johnson, 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:38.080 Walter Davis, Truck, Robinson, they were all stars. They were 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:41.080 so deep and they just kept running players out there, 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:44.480 you know, their rotations going through. They were so good. 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:48.080 But they couldn't beat the Kings. But they come back 0:19:48.119 --> 0:19:51.920 to tie at three three before the Kings win games 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:54.880 seven on the road. But check this out. Not only 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:57.680 do the Kings win game seven in Phoenix, where you think, okay, 0:19:57.800 --> 0:19:59.439 there's a lot of silliness here. Now the Suns are 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:02.679 gonna straight and up and win. The King's won without 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:05.840 birds Song and Ford, who were both hurt. Bird Song 0:20:05.920 --> 0:20:08.480 played a little bit with a sprained ankle, but but 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:10.880 Ford was out. He got he got hit in the eye, 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:13.800 and somehow they were able to win that game. So 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:17.240 the so the worst team in the West is able 0:20:17.280 --> 0:20:19.800 to beat the best team in the East without their 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:23.440 two best players. Okay, so this is like looking at 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:26.160 a team like this is like if if the Portland 0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:29.080 Trailblazers beat the Lakers in the first round of the 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:32.040 playoffs this year, and they and they won Game seven 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:35.240 without Lillard and McCollum. I mean, that's that's the equivalent 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:37.440 of what the Kansas City Kings did to beat the 0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:40.360 Suns and move on to the Western Conference Finals. I'm 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:43.960 just gonna put it in its most blunt terms, that 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:50.000 would have been. So yes, it would have been, because 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:52.960 it's be something forever that you'd be looking back going 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:58.000 that really can't be right, can it? Can it? No? 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:04.320 It is? It's uh yeah, it's It's strange when you 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:09.399 watch teams that are that are well put together, that 0:21:09.560 --> 0:21:13.439 have some depth to them, and guys assuming roles. Right, 0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:15.919 we watched it a couple of years ago what the 0:21:15.960 --> 0:21:18.639 Celtics were trying to do with all that young nucleus, 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:24.159 and then you you're you're missing Kyrie Irving and Gordon 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:27.639 Hayward and all those guys grew into roles really fast. 0:21:27.840 --> 0:21:29.720 So when the veterans came back, it's like, all right, no, 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:32.639 we don't got room for you. We got problems and 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:36.320 what did you have? Dysfunction? And you know, dude had 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:39.960 to leave uh in Kyrie uh and Jayson Tatum and 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:42.760 all the young guys, you know, building off of that, 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:45.800 I guess here you looked at some veteran leadership, not 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:49.159 that he played a ton of games for them, but 0:21:49.200 --> 0:21:51.600 I mean you did have Jojo White finishing up his 0:21:51.640 --> 0:21:56.639 career there, motivational speaker. Some commercials to Jojoe White if 0:21:56.640 --> 0:22:00.320 I remember, sure, I I think I think he did. 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:02.520 He was in a like in the early eighties when 0:22:02.560 --> 0:22:04.919 certain guys to do commercials and they were all like 0:22:04.960 --> 0:22:07.600 the stars of the seventies and like X A B 0:22:07.760 --> 0:22:09.879 A stars and they were the ones that were in 0:22:09.920 --> 0:22:12.040 the big commercials in the early eighties, and I'm like, 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:14.800 who's that? I remember? It was just one of those 0:22:14.800 --> 0:22:18.119 weird things where certain guys were in commercials and I'm like, well, 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:19.760 I don't know who that is. I don't. I don't know. 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:21.080 I am I supposed to know who that is. I don't. 0:22:21.080 --> 0:22:22.640 I don't know who that is. Well, you were trying 0:22:22.680 --> 0:22:25.399 to pick out all the characters from the uh what 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:27.760 was it? The Miller light adde right right? Well, because 0:22:27.760 --> 0:22:29.920 it's great, less filling, it's like, who's that guy in 0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:32.560