John Fredrick Parker
Donor
Did not remember that; sounds like TTL, Steve Smith is gonna get a lot of hate.
Sports What Ifs.
- Thread starter Dave
- Start date
Did not remember that; sounds like TTL, Steve Smith is gonna get a lot of hate.
If a certain Mr Swann wasn't the ringer, we would have beaten Gonville and Caius!
What if:
The top association football league in Italy kept being organized on a regional basis, with the winners of the regional tournaments facing each other at the end of the season? I think such a format would prevent the teams from getting too rich, and the league from being dominated by a handful of teams (Juventus, Milan & Inter + Roma, Napoli, Fiorentina & Lazio behind them).
Even better, what if world football developed along gaelic football-like lines? Amateur teams representing a single region, and no transfers. Without much money being involved, even poorer nations could have a shot at world domination - Senegal winning the World Cup in 2002?
Prevent the downfall of once glorious teams, like Austria and Hungary. For Hungary, winning the 1954 World Cup and no/successful 1956 revolution could be enough.
No baseball - the USA, the Caribbean and East Asia are cricket nations instead.
The top association football league in Italy kept being organized on a regional basis, with the winners of the regional tournaments facing each other at the end of the season? I think such a format would prevent the teams from getting too rich, and the league from being dominated by a handful of teams (Juventus, Milan & Inter + Roma, Napoli, Fiorentina & Lazio behind them).
Even better, what if world football developed along gaelic football-like lines? Amateur teams representing a single region, and no transfers. Without much money being involved, even poorer nations could have a shot at world domination - Senegal winning the World Cup in 2002?
Prevent the downfall of once glorious teams, like Austria and Hungary. For Hungary, winning the 1954 World Cup and no/successful 1956 revolution could be enough.
No baseball - the USA, the Caribbean and East Asia are cricket nations instead.
Surely it would happen a bit later on, like how West Germany didn't have a national league until the early 60s.
Dave Dameshek did a N"if"L segment on this a year ago:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/n-if-l/09000d5d82ab1596/N-if-L-What-if-Scott-Norwood-made-the-kick
I agree with Dave that they go back the next year against Washington, but they lose in a close one.
In 1992, however, they aren't quite as motivated, and they lose two games that they won on Monday Night in OTL in come from behind fashion (at Miami and at NYJ).
They end up 9-7 instead of 11-5, and lose the tiebreaker to the Colts for the last Wild Card spot because of conference record (7-7 to 5-7) after losing to Houston on Sunday Night Football.
In the 92 playoffs, you have the 11-5 third-seed Chargers at home against Indy, and Houston at home against KC. The Oilers win, and go to 12-4 Miami, and the Bolts go to the Burgh after beating the Colts.
The Steelers win, and Miami pulls out a second half comeback after being down 28-14 at the half, capped by a Marino to Clayton TD pass with 30 seconds left.
The Steelers go to Miami for the AFC Title Game, and the Fins pull it out. However, they lose to Dallas 35-17, as Marino's three picks and Emmitt's 130 yards rushing against an average Miami run D are the difference.
The next year, the Bills are picking 16th instead of 28th as in OTL. They take Notre Dame CB Tom Carter in Round 1, and Colorado LB Chad Brown in Round 2 to help a needy defense.
Both guys take some time to get established, though (even though Carter starts as a rookie), and without the motivation that they had in OTL (losing three SB's in a row), and with Marino maybe not getting hurt (the Fins may have had a little different schedule had they went to the Super Bowl), the Bills fail to win the East again.
That year, the Oilers get the Home field at 12-4 (after winning a tie-breaker with Miami), the Chiefs are the three seed at 11-5, the Raiders the fourth at 10-6, Denver the fifth seed at 9-7, and the Bills sneak in this time with the same 9-7 record.
Buffalo loses to KC and Montana, and the Raiders still beat Denver. That sends them to Houston, and KC goes to Miami. The Dolphins and Oilers hold serve, setting up a rematch of the previous year's AFC Divisional Playoff classic.
This time, though, it's in Houston, and the Oilers don't let this opportunity slip away. Buddy's 46 sacks Marino six times, and Houston goes to the SB for the first time in a 28-10 win.
Two weeks later, the 46 pulls it out, knocking a groggy Aikman from the game, and also bringing the heat on Bernie Kosar. The Oilers are World Champs for 1993.
After 93, the Bills are able to gain AFC East power back from the Dolphins, who decline some due to Shula's eroding skills and poor team chemistry.
However, the Steelers take some steps forward after they took two steps back in 93, the Broncos would emerge big time by 96, and the Oilers wouldn't have broken up with a SB ring.
The Oilers decide (after their players tell Bud Adams that they want Buddy to stay) to make Buddy Ryan the HC instead of letting him go to Arizona (which means that Pardee is fired). They also promote an unknown assistant by the name of Jeff Fisher to DC (he will take over after Ryan retires following the 1995 season).
Ryan and Fisher stay with the 46 Defense, and they re-sign DE William Fuller and LB Wilber Marshall (DE Sean Jones still goes to Green Bay, though). On offense, Ryan tells Moon that they will change the offense some, but not too much. There will be some 4-wide, but the Run and Shoot will be scrapped for a different scheme with more TE and FB use.
QB Cody Carlson is traded to the Vikings for a first rounder (19th overall. Don't laugh, this could have happened). RB Gary Brown is also traded for a third-round pick.
The Oilers draft DT Henry Ford and FB William Floyd with their first-round picks, and they take RB Bam Morris in the second round.
As for the Bills, they continue to work on their defense, taking DT Tim Bowens in Round 1. They also take FSU TE Lonnie Johnson in Round 2.
AFC 1994 is dominated by the World Champion Oilers, the Steelers, the resurgent Bills, and the surprising Chargers. The Oilers, Bills, and Chargers win their divisions, with the Steelers, Browns, and Dolphins as Wild Card teams. Houston still gets home field, and it is announced that the city will work with Bud Adams on a new stadium situation.
The Chargers beat NE, and the Steelers beat Miami in the WC round, setting up Pit@Hou and SD@Buf in the divisional round. The Oilers and Bills win, setting up an AFC Title showdown in the Astrodome. The Oilers, behind five sacks by the 46, and a balanced offense, go back to the SB for the second year in a row.
This time, they get to face the 49ers and their high-powered offense. They did beat SF in Candlestick the year before, but the 49ers are a better team than they were at that time, and they beat the Oilers 31-21 for their first SB win in five years.
With two SB appearances in a row, however, and one victory, the Oilers are able to get a new stadium built. It will be right next to the Astrodome.
The next few years, the Oilers remain playoff contenders, but decline some due to a coaching change (Ryan retires after the 95 season), age, and some FA defections (even though Moon stays with the team until he retires after the 96 season).
The Bills make it to SB 30 against the Cowboys after beating Pittsburgh in the AFC Title Game, and they are able to knock them off. However, they struggle down the stretch in 96, and Jim Kelly still retires, leaving Rob Johnson (they take him in the second round in 95) as his successor.
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This has some effects...
For one thing, this butterflies away the Oilers getting Steve McNair.
For another thing, this probably also butterflies away the Oilers getting Eddie George.
Here's a sidenote: George's agent, Lamont Smith, persuaded George's mother, Donna, to change her schedule so she could go to San Antonio to participate in her son's pro football contract signing (with the then-Houston Oilers) and be part of one of the most important days of her son's life.
His mom Donna was a flight attendant for TWA and had been scheduled to fly the New York to Paris flight...on July 17, 1996.
The name of that flight? Flight 800, which exploded due to a fuel tank malfunction near the southern end of Long Island and killed all 230 aboard, including the flight attendant with whom Donna George had switched schedules (as well as many TWA employees she knew).
Here's the article: http://www.texnews.com/sports/georgemom081096.html.
For one thing, this butterflies away the Oilers getting Steve McNair.
For another thing, this probably also butterflies away the Oilers getting Eddie George.
Here's a sidenote: George's agent, Lamont Smith, persuaded George's mother, Donna, to change her schedule so she could go to San Antonio to participate in her son's pro football contract signing (with the then-Houston Oilers) and be part of one of the most important days of her son's life.
His mom Donna was a flight attendant for TWA and had been scheduled to fly the New York to Paris flight...on July 17, 1996.
The name of that flight? Flight 800, which exploded due to a fuel tank malfunction near the southern end of Long Island and killed all 230 aboard, including the flight attendant with whom Donna George had switched schedules (as well as many TWA employees she knew).
Here's the article: http://www.texnews.com/sports/georgemom081096.html.
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I'll fade the Oiler Superbowl. There was a segment on ESPP (maybe 30 for 30) where they talked about that season. Ryan punched Gilbride on the sideline and the whole season went to hell. Ryan was such a divisive personality that unless you had a Ditka like personality above him, it would be hard to make it work. Eventually his arrogance and obnoxiousness would undermine the effort.
I heard about that. If George isn't an Oiler, his mom may not be here today.
Well, what didn't help was the fact that they ran into Montana and KC in the divisional round.
However, if they play the undisciplined Raiders and the Fins, I can see them getting to the big show. And, since Aikman was struggling with a concussion, they give him and Kosar some major problems in SB 28.
If that happened, I see it being a good possibility that Ryan ends up staying, and he may have been promoted to HC for a few years before retiring.
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John Fredrick Parker
Donor
Me and ASH talked before about how the Patriots could have won the 2008 Super Bowl, but I'm still a little curious as to the effects. For example, since they had controversies that season of videotaping other teams, could that explode if they win anyway? I remember it pissed off Senator Arlen Spector a great deal, so if it did, Congress may well get involved. Would it have any impact on the next season?
SunDeep
Banned
Here's a new one- WI Clint Dempsey scored from that free kick to level the USA-Belgium match 2-2 in extra time, taking it to penalties? Could the USA have won the shootout, and advanced to the quarter finals instead of Belgium? And if so, could they stand a chance of knocking out Argentina in the quarter-finals, perhaps even going all the way?
Specter was more doing it because i believe comcast was one of his biggest supporters and it was beneficial to them for him to raise a stink.
If Clyde Drexler eventually settles in at Small Forward, and they mesh together, that could have been a devastating team.
Here's another one: What if Sabonis is healthy, and comes over to Portland around 1990? You have a starting lineup of Sabonis, Drexler, Cliff Robinson, Jordan, and Terry Porter. That's good for at least three titles.
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
Ah, so no change there then. Still, you've got a whole lot of victorious fans yelling "Bawstun!", and people comparing Tom Brady to Terry Bradshaw -- that's all got to have some effects...
Kurt Warner
I was watching the SB 43 replay on NFL Network tonight, and it got me thinking about Kurt Warner.
In 1994, he came into the league as an undrafted FA with the Packers, but since they had Favre, Mark Brunell, and Ty Detmer, there was no room for him.
After that, he went from grocery store worker to QB in the World and Arena Leagues to starter for the Rams. The rest was history.
However, what if he came into the league with the Rams right off the bat (they didn't have anyone established at the position)? Or a team like the Bills (Jim Kelly and Frank Reich would be gone in a few years)?
I was watching the SB 43 replay on NFL Network tonight, and it got me thinking about Kurt Warner.
In 1994, he came into the league as an undrafted FA with the Packers, but since they had Favre, Mark Brunell, and Ty Detmer, there was no room for him.
After that, he went from grocery store worker to QB in the World and Arena Leagues to starter for the Rams. The rest was history.
However, what if he came into the league with the Rams right off the bat (they didn't have anyone established at the position)? Or a team like the Bills (Jim Kelly and Frank Reich would be gone in a few years)?
Roger Craig
On another board, one of the participants mentioned something about Roger Craig. I said that he was a product of the 49er system to some degree, and that they should have traded him in 1990.
He was on the decline, but he ran for a little over 1,000 yards in 89, so they may have been able to get a first or second round pick for him (as opposed to getting nothing for him a year later).
Depending on who they traded Craig to, and what they did with the extra pick, they could have had either Harold Green, Rodney Hampton, and maybe even Darrell Thompson or Emmitt Smith.
And, if they wanted to wait until the later rounds, they could have had Chris Warren or Barry Foster.
Another possibility would have been to try to trade Craig to the Raiders for Marcus Allen. You could have had the Allen-Montana partnership three years earlier if they were successful.
Imagine a 49er team by 92 with Allen, Haley (they hold on to him), and Lott (they decide to keep him a few more years, which would have made Haley happy, and more likely to want to stay).
On another board, one of the participants mentioned something about Roger Craig. I said that he was a product of the 49er system to some degree, and that they should have traded him in 1990.
He was on the decline, but he ran for a little over 1,000 yards in 89, so they may have been able to get a first or second round pick for him (as opposed to getting nothing for him a year later).
Depending on who they traded Craig to, and what they did with the extra pick, they could have had either Harold Green, Rodney Hampton, and maybe even Darrell Thompson or Emmitt Smith.
And, if they wanted to wait until the later rounds, they could have had Chris Warren or Barry Foster.
Another possibility would have been to try to trade Craig to the Raiders for Marcus Allen. You could have had the Allen-Montana partnership three years earlier if they were successful.
Imagine a 49er team by 92 with Allen, Haley (they hold on to him), and Lott (they decide to keep him a few more years, which would have made Haley happy, and more likely to want to stay).
I recall him saying that the experience of playing in the arena league really helped him develop his accuracy. All those crisp passes to Bruce and Holt were the result of his experience there.
In 1989 he was as good as any rb in the league. I dont think they expected him to slow down as quickly as he did. And given Montana was already older and more fragile, you dont exactly want to trade away a key component for the future when potentially your window is closing. Of course Young carried reigns quite well but that wasnt a foregone conclusion in 1989.
Also, none of the RBs cited above were a good fit for the 49ers. Keith Byers would have been a good add but not first round worthy.
Montana got hurt in early 1991 IIRC. The Allen/Montana combo was only going to be together for a year. And by this point Allen was barely any better than Craig.