h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

'AFC East Champion' T-Shirts!!!? Damn, after Ricky's consecutive 200 yard days, I had the 'Super-Bowl Champions' T-Shirts printed up... , know anyone who wants a job-lot going cheap

My speech? Why it's coming along tremendously... (never said anything about a bloody speech...wrings hands furtively)

I think you guys are way off thinking it was done in the 80's. That was a pass-wacky time in football. There were more great QB's in the game at that time than at any other. I could name about 15 high-caliber QBs from the 80's, but I don't think I'd make it that far for RBs, and there are more to choose from.

The last time an RB was named Pro Bowl MVP was 1995, when some kid named Marshall Faulk got it. I'll take a shot in the dark with him, and Barry Sanders as the NFC rushing leader.

I was just going on the fact that circa 1994 onwards we seem to have 100 catch receivers all over the shop. Although the Marinos / Elways / Montanas were doing a great job in the 80s, the offensive coordinators hadn't committed to anything more exciting than 2WRs/2RBs/1TE on a regular basis, until the Run&Shoot came along ...

But keeping with the 1990s theme, I'll plump for 1994 with Jerome Bettis (Rams/NFC) and Thurman Thomas (Bills/AFC). Actually I struggled to think of a great AFC RB from the early 90s.

Re: "never said anything about a bloody speech"

I'll point you to post 4 - Question 0071.

Right I'll start knocking up the schedule ...

Okay then... going on the 90's thing (no real theories, just following the crowd) and bearing in mind Sharkey said Dickerson and Warner were not a million miles away... how's about Faulk (Ram connection) and Chris Warren (Seahawk connection), in 95' (tips hat to Blathers)....

FF

Hah ha... I did say my speech is coming along tremendously... (scrabbles around to find an old receipt and a crayon!)

Chris Warren represented the Sea Chickens that year, who were still an AFC team. Marshall Fault represented the Dolts, an AFC team. So it couldn't be that pair.

And since I now get a new guess, I'll profer Marshall Faulk AFC and Emmitt Smith for NFC... still 1995.

Faulk and... (, mid 90's NFC RB's not called Smith or Sanders...) Ricky Watters?.... 95 still.

I'm out of guesses, so I guess all I can do now is wait to see if I got one right.

Meanwhile, FF... did you see the Pro Bowl? I didn't, but I just read up on it. Ricky Williams was the MVP, rushing for two touchdowns and forcing a fumble on kickoff return coverage. On the box scores, the top three in tackles for AFC were all Phish... Thomas, Madison, Taylor, and each also got an interception.

With so many great individual players, it sucks that we didn't get better performance out of the team.

Well unless the Official NFL/Pro-Bowl site is entirely up the wall, *they* think it's Faulk for the NFC and Warren for the AFC in '95 so the point, and the pint, according to my sources, goes to FF...

Faulk gained a massive 180 yards, Warren only 127, but Warren also set the record for longest average gain in a pro-bowl with a whacking 9.07 yards per carry.

Just for a pint, anyone care to tell me who won the game, who scored the winning touchdown and why the player who scored it and the Head Coach of the winning side had a good laugh about it afterwards?

Whilst pleased to have 'won' the point despite the handicaps now imposed, I'd have to believe that the official NFL/Pro-Bowl site have gone completely 'up the wall' as Faulk did indeed play for the Colts in 1995... his move to the Rams in '99 was the catalyst (along with Trent Greens injury) to their Super Bowl winning season...

Ho hum... if you can't trust official sites.....

Blathers - I wasn't intending to watch the Pro-Bowl (although I taped it just incase) and after hearing about the Fins strong showing have started watching it... so far have seen Taylors interception and Ricky leading the way to the AFC's first TD.... and cheered mightily I did too...

You're right, with so many star quality individuals (I think, after injury replacements are taken into account, Miami had the joint largest contingent present), it's incredibly frustrating they couldn't even make the playoffs...

Waanstedt on borrowed time?

Nothing wrong with the site ... the AFC gained 400 yards rushing in 1995 - Faulk & Warren with the bulk of it.

So invalid question perhaps?

Much though one *hates* to say anything good about Jimmy Johnson, he clearly was the glue that held Waanstedt and Turner together, and vice versa. A definite case of a coaching staff being greater than the sum of its parts, I think, as none of them have exactly set the world alight since they went their seperate ways...

No guess for the pint then, FF...(which probably would have made a better question as it goes, because i remember the answer from memory...)

And apologies to all for the answer being wonky - my memory of when players went to teams is strictly non-existent,( and that includes Seahawks) so my ability to internally check the veracity of sites is a little limited...

I'm obviously going blind (too much sitting on computers posting to this damned thing, perhaps...) in my old age ...Apologies to all concerned...and my memory is wrong on the other as well, as scoring the wining TD in a 41-13 (did the NFC not have a run defence? they were taken for over 10 yards a carry... rout is hardly memorable.



Ok, re-set - who scored the winning TD in the '98 Pro-Bowl, and why was it 'embarrassing' for the head coach of the winning side? (and this, *i promise*, is right...)

Total guess - was it Curtis Martin and Bill Parcells shortly before they got together at the Jets having previously been together at the Pats?

Nope, though you have the right Conference...

as an aside, I am pleased to see that as far as the 'Phins are concerned, we could all work as professional sports journalists;

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/6157846

For FF's benefit, this is Bill Brandt's 'What to expect in 2003' column from ESPN. It givesd a rundown of all 30 teams and what they need to do. Advice for 'Phins - get a sports psychologist in and sort out the head problems...

I, not knowing just about anything about Pro-Bowl history, have no idea... I'll just sit and await what promises to be an interesting anecdote!

(Notices everybody scrabbling for Pro-Bowl refernce material to set future questions...)

These head problems are probably caused by something in the local water... The Fins fortunes have pretty much remained the same since 1990, whether it by Shula, Johnson or Waanstedt in charge....

Hmmm, a sports psychologist. Worked well in Jacksonville didn't it

Well the AFC headcoach would have been the losing Conference Championship. Denver won that game, and they were a wild-card. Chiefs won the division. Steelers probably won theirs (usually do), and as for the East I guess the Pats or Jets.

So it was probably the Chiefs head coach, which at the last time of looking for me was Marty Schottenheimer. So that shows my lack of 1990s knowledge.

I'd guess Terrell Davis scored the winning touchdown in the Conference Championship to beat this coaches team, then won the Pro Bowl for him