kve820
12-05-2005, 09:17 PM
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/minipsh4nm.png
A Play that Changed the Game
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/Chargers1_968481.jpg (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=847&c=41)http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/raiders1_506850.jpg (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1188&c=43)
A little bit of a personal perspective thrown in.
Very few plays in the NFL can change rules. But there is one that will always be a thorn in the side of Charger fans.
The game: Oakland Raiders at the San Diego Chargers September 10th 1978.
Oakland trailing 20-14, .10 seconds left in the game. Oakland ball at the Chargers 14 yard line.
4th down, Oakland must score a touchdown to win the game.
The play is simply know as the Holy Roller, or the "Immaculate Deception" named by charger fans afterwards,
a "intentional fumble" of the football. Yes thats is correct, a intentional fumble, freely admitted by Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler after the game. His comments were" you bet your "rear end" I did!" Well he knew that he going to be sacked for a
loss that would have ended the game. So he gambled, he "tossed" the ball underhanded towards the goal line, now the referees claim they didn't see the toss, so it was ruled a fumble.
Oakland Running back Pete Banaszak was the first Oakland player to touch it after Ken Stabler tossed the ball,
he recovered it on the 12 yard line, but couldn't keep his footing and again tossed it forward towards the goal line,
then Oakland Tight end Dave Casper tried to pick it up but couldn't so he kicked the ball, batted the ball
towards the end zone in which he recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. The Raiders won the game with
the kicking of the extra point 21-20.
http://www.geocities.com/kve820/holyroller.jpg http://www.geocities.com/kve820/holyroller1.jpg
This play was a outrage to the Chargers and their fans. As you might guess The San Diego Chargers hire extra security when they hosted the Raiders after that game. There is still to this day fights with Raiders fans more
than any other teams that visit the Chargers. The Rivalry is more important today with fans of the Chargers than that of the Raiders. Well the Chargers lost so it makes sense.
The refs in this game were correct according to the rules of the day, because they had not witnessed the first forward toss by Stabler, in their eyes, it was fumble and was treated as such, so it had already hit the ground before anybody else touched it well the rest is history.
The following year the NFL modified the rules to prevent this from happening again. If a ball is intentionally fumbled it is a incomplete pass. Also rules agaisnt illegally batting the ball
and fumbles in the final 2 minutes of a game or on fourth down any time during the game the ball is dead at the point where the fumble happened. Unless the player who fumbled the ball recovers it himself.
Wow all of this because of one play! It is really hard to believe that all of this is the result of the last 10 seconds of a game. I remember that game myself, I remember the disscusion afterwards of how the Chargers were ripped, the play was illegal, the play should be reveresed and the Chargers awarded the win. In those days most teams didn't like the Raiders so this play sorta added fuel to the fire so to speak.
I even remember John Madden walking the sidelines perplexed wondering what had happened and if it was going to count, well at least that was the annoucers analogy of what he was seeing.
http://www.geocities.com/kve820/johnmadden.jpg
The impact of this game were a team lost that maybe shouldn't have, cause a incomplete pass or sack would have ended the game, a incomplete pass missed and ruled a fumble, a batted ball and then shoved forward
allowed to continue, the ball kicked and batted forward again towards the end zone. Unreal, but it was called a fair play. Now I'm not here to rewrite history, just to show how important 1 play can be in football. A "1 play" can win ball games and do alot it seems lately these days. But most don't change the game itself like this one did. Sure a play may make or break a season but does it really? I mean if you had taken care of business all year why would you have it all come down to just one play? Maybe it was a game breaker in week one that cost you more and didn't know it until much later in the season.
Someday there will be a play that will result in a rule change it may happen to your team which side will you be on is the question. All I know is that if I were a Charger Fan In the day I would have reacted the same way. Just month's earlier the Raiders were on the other end of a bad call, Rob Lytle's fumble in the AFC Champiomship game that wasn't called or the Immaculate Reception years earlier in Pittsburgh.
Has the NFL gotten any better about rules and these plays that change the game? I don't know the answer really, today it is clear that there is always room for improvement. It seems there is alot more penalties called today, I believe mostly because of the nature of the game has changed and players are bigger and that the safety of star players is of great concern which should be considered. Seems that the competition committee has alot more work to do. There are many other plays that changed the game but none quite so dramatic as these 10 seconds in September in 1978.
A Play that Changed the Game
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/Chargers1_968481.jpg (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=847&c=41)http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/raiders1_506850.jpg (http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1188&c=43)
A little bit of a personal perspective thrown in.
Very few plays in the NFL can change rules. But there is one that will always be a thorn in the side of Charger fans.
The game: Oakland Raiders at the San Diego Chargers September 10th 1978.
Oakland trailing 20-14, .10 seconds left in the game. Oakland ball at the Chargers 14 yard line.
4th down, Oakland must score a touchdown to win the game.
The play is simply know as the Holy Roller, or the "Immaculate Deception" named by charger fans afterwards,
a "intentional fumble" of the football. Yes thats is correct, a intentional fumble, freely admitted by Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler after the game. His comments were" you bet your "rear end" I did!" Well he knew that he going to be sacked for a
loss that would have ended the game. So he gambled, he "tossed" the ball underhanded towards the goal line, now the referees claim they didn't see the toss, so it was ruled a fumble.
Oakland Running back Pete Banaszak was the first Oakland player to touch it after Ken Stabler tossed the ball,
he recovered it on the 12 yard line, but couldn't keep his footing and again tossed it forward towards the goal line,
then Oakland Tight end Dave Casper tried to pick it up but couldn't so he kicked the ball, batted the ball
towards the end zone in which he recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. The Raiders won the game with
the kicking of the extra point 21-20.
http://www.geocities.com/kve820/holyroller.jpg http://www.geocities.com/kve820/holyroller1.jpg
This play was a outrage to the Chargers and their fans. As you might guess The San Diego Chargers hire extra security when they hosted the Raiders after that game. There is still to this day fights with Raiders fans more
than any other teams that visit the Chargers. The Rivalry is more important today with fans of the Chargers than that of the Raiders. Well the Chargers lost so it makes sense.
The refs in this game were correct according to the rules of the day, because they had not witnessed the first forward toss by Stabler, in their eyes, it was fumble and was treated as such, so it had already hit the ground before anybody else touched it well the rest is history.
The following year the NFL modified the rules to prevent this from happening again. If a ball is intentionally fumbled it is a incomplete pass. Also rules agaisnt illegally batting the ball
and fumbles in the final 2 minutes of a game or on fourth down any time during the game the ball is dead at the point where the fumble happened. Unless the player who fumbled the ball recovers it himself.
Wow all of this because of one play! It is really hard to believe that all of this is the result of the last 10 seconds of a game. I remember that game myself, I remember the disscusion afterwards of how the Chargers were ripped, the play was illegal, the play should be reveresed and the Chargers awarded the win. In those days most teams didn't like the Raiders so this play sorta added fuel to the fire so to speak.
I even remember John Madden walking the sidelines perplexed wondering what had happened and if it was going to count, well at least that was the annoucers analogy of what he was seeing.
http://www.geocities.com/kve820/johnmadden.jpg
The impact of this game were a team lost that maybe shouldn't have, cause a incomplete pass or sack would have ended the game, a incomplete pass missed and ruled a fumble, a batted ball and then shoved forward
allowed to continue, the ball kicked and batted forward again towards the end zone. Unreal, but it was called a fair play. Now I'm not here to rewrite history, just to show how important 1 play can be in football. A "1 play" can win ball games and do alot it seems lately these days. But most don't change the game itself like this one did. Sure a play may make or break a season but does it really? I mean if you had taken care of business all year why would you have it all come down to just one play? Maybe it was a game breaker in week one that cost you more and didn't know it until much later in the season.
Someday there will be a play that will result in a rule change it may happen to your team which side will you be on is the question. All I know is that if I were a Charger Fan In the day I would have reacted the same way. Just month's earlier the Raiders were on the other end of a bad call, Rob Lytle's fumble in the AFC Champiomship game that wasn't called or the Immaculate Reception years earlier in Pittsburgh.
Has the NFL gotten any better about rules and these plays that change the game? I don't know the answer really, today it is clear that there is always room for improvement. It seems there is alot more penalties called today, I believe mostly because of the nature of the game has changed and players are bigger and that the safety of star players is of great concern which should be considered. Seems that the competition committee has alot more work to do. There are many other plays that changed the game but none quite so dramatic as these 10 seconds in September in 1978.