Jets/Broncos 41 years later

[titan]

New entry on my sports blog at http://sportsindenver.blogspot.com/ - copy below.

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http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv291/titanphotos/costalogo.jpg

As I am excited about going to the Broncos/Jets game tomorrow I think back to one of the most memorable Broncos/Jets games played in Denver - September 21, 1969.

It was my 2nd year of having Bronco season tickets. I was 13 years old, sitting in the South Stands for the game. The Broncos had won handily over the Patriots in the first game that season (35-7), but the Jets would be a much stiffer test. Joe Namath's team was coming off a stunning Super Bowl winning season, and the Jets had easily defeated the Bills 33-19 in their opener. This Bronco/Jets game in week 2 of the AFL season was to be televised across the country on NBC, one of the first ever national games featuring the lowly Broncos. The draw of course was Broadway Joe and the Jets, not the Broncos.

This game featured 3 memorable plays:

1. The Hit - Dave Costa's helmet to the gut hit on Joe Namath (pictured above) is one of the best sports photographs ever and captures what AFL football was like in the late 60's. No doubt Costa would be suspended for weeks if he made such a hit in the sanitized NFL of 2010 - back in 1969 there were no such restrictions. The grizzly old vet Costa had a clear shot at Namath and he took full advantage of it.

2. The Catch - The Broncos had quickly fallen behind the Jets 13-0 after the 1st quarter and it looked like it would be a long day for the home team. Floyd Little scored to make it 13-7, then later in the quarter Mike Haffner made one of the greatest catches in Bronco history to give Denver a 14-13 lead. Haffner was wide open in the end zone, but Bronco quarterback Pete Liske overthrew him. Haffner dived and caught the ball with his fingertips in the back of the South end zone. I wish I had an old video clip to show you how great a catch this was. Haffner's catch made all the football highlights shows that week, including a showing on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

3. The Perfect Punt - This one comes from the Jets. With New York backed up to its 1 yard line Steve O'Neill pulled off the greatest punt in AFL/NFL history. I was sitting in the South Stands watching the punt come towards me from the shadow of the North goal posts. The punt came off O'Neill's leg like a low rocket. Not much height - just a line drive. Bronco returner Billy Thompson misjudged the ball and jumped up trying to catch it, but it sailed over Thompson's head. When it hit the ground the ball rolled and rolled and rolled before resting on the Broncos 1 yard line - a 98 yard punt! To this day that punt has never been equaled, and what made it more amazing was that it went from the 1 yard line to the other 1 yard line. Truly the perfect punt!

More than these three plays, the best thrill of the day was watching the Broncos upset the Jets 21-19 on a national stage. For one day the Broncos upset was the talk of the pro football world.

Would the 2-0 Broncos finally be contenders? It was not to be, as Denver went on to a disappointing 5-8-1 season, while the Jets again made the playoffs with a 10 win 4 loss record.

Tomorrow the injury plagued Broncos are again the underdogs with the Jets coming to town. New York is rated the 2nd best team in the NFL by Sports Illustrated and ESPN coming into the game, very much like that powerhouse Jets team of the late 60's. Will the Broncos win? I don't know, but one thing I have learned over the years is never count the Broncos out at home. Maybe, just maybe, like that Denver team of the late 60's, the Broncos have a Mile Hi surprise waiting for the visitors from New York!

[Dreadnought]

New entry on my sports blog at http://sportsindenver.blogspot.com/ - copy below.

=====================


http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv291/titanphotos/costalogo.jpg

As I am excited about going to the Broncos/Jets game tomorrow I think back to one of the most memorable Broncos/Jets games played in Denver - September 21, 1969.

It was my 2nd year of having Bronco season tickets. I was 13 years old, sitting in the South Stands for the game. The Broncos had won handily over the Patriots in the first game that season (35-7), but the Jets would be a much stiffer test. Joe Namath's team was coming off a stunning Super Bowl winning season, and the Jets had easily defeated the Bills 33-19 in their opener. This Bronco/Jets game in week 2 of the AFL season was to be televised across the country on NBC, one of the first ever national games featuring the lowly Broncos. The draw of course was Broadway Joe and the Jets, not the Broncos.

This game featured 3 memorable plays:

1. The Hit - Dave Costa's helmet to the gut hit on Joe Namath (pictured above) is one of the best sports photographs ever and captures what AFL football was like in the late 60's. No doubt Costa would be suspended for weeks if he made such a hit in the sanitized NFL of 2010 - back in 1969 there were no such restrictions. The grizzly old vet Costa had a clear shot at Namath and he took full advantage of it.

2. The Catch - The Broncos had quickly fallen behind the Jets 13-0 after the 1st quarter and it looked like it would be a long day for the home team. Floyd Little scored to make it 13-7, then later in the quarter Mike Haffner made one of the greatest catches in Bronco history to give Denver a 14-13 lead. Haffner was wide open in the end zone, but Bronco quarterback Pete Liske overthrew him. Haffner dived and caught the ball with his fingertips in the back of the South end zone. I wish I had an old video clip to show you how great a catch this was. Haffner's catch made all the football highlights shows that week, including a showing on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

3. The Perfect Punt - This one comes from the Jets. With New York backed up to its 1 yard line Steve O'Neill pulled off the greatest punt in AFL/NFL history. I was sitting in the South Stands watching the punt come towards me from the shadow of the North goal posts. The punt came off O'Neill's leg like a low rocket. Not much height - just a line drive. Bronco returner Billy Thompson misjudged the ball and jumped up trying to catch it, but it sailed over Thompson's head. When it hit the ground the ball rolled and rolled and rolled before resting on the Broncos 1 yard line - a 98 yard punt! To this day that punt has never been equaled, and what made it more amazing was that it went from the 1 yard line to the other 1 yard line. Truly the perfect punt!

More than these three plays, the best thrill of the day was watching the Broncos upset the Jets 21-19 on a national stage. For one day the Broncos upset was the talk of the pro football world.

Would the 2-0 Broncos finally be contenders? It was not to be, as Denver went on to a disappointing 5-8-1 season, while the Jets again made the playoffs with a 10 win 4 loss record.

Tomorrow the injury plagued Broncos are again the underdogs with the Jets coming to town. New York is rated the 2nd best team in the NFL by Sports Illustrated and ESPN coming into the game, very much like that powerhouse Jets team of the late 60's. Will the Broncos win? I don't know, but one thing I have learned over the years is never count the Broncos out at home. Maybe, just maybe, like that Denver team of the late 60's, the Broncos have a Mile Hi surprise waiting for the visitors from New York!

This was the first game I ever saw the Broncs play, in any form. Living in Upstate NY we got no coverage, and I was following them via newspaper and Pro Football Weekly.

I had been taught to detest Namath by my parents, because h was cocky - plus my Mom was a Johnny Unitas fan. Being cocky and beating Johnny U. in Superbowl III were reasons enough for her to Hate Namath :D

This game cemented my growing love of the Broncos in place forever. i remember all three of those plays, Titan - and the catch by Haffner was a thing of beauty. Its in these Hulu highlights - enjoy!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/151821/team-highlights-1969-denver-broncos?team=denver-broncos

[titan]

Thanks for the hulu link! I got it mostly right though the haffner catch was more towards the front of the end zone than I remembered - great memories!

[OrangeHoof]

I was at this game and remember it well (I have the Broncos' highlight film for that season). I was probably a few sections over from where you sat. Our tickets were near the goal line on the SW side of the stadium about 30 rows up the first deck.

Thompson misjudged the punt and I couldn't believe the roll it took. Thompson picked it up and ran it back about 35 yards but we were anticipating having the ball in Jet territory so we were not happy to be starting where we were.

IIRC, the Jets scored in the final minute and tried to go for two points to tie and were turned away. The Haffner catch was a thing of beauty. He was practically parallel to the ground when he snagged that ball.

[BroncoTech]

Great memories as I attended that game too. I remember almost catching a football in the North stands from a point after attempt, but the fellow in front of us jumped up and made one of the most amazing catches of the day. Depriving us of having a game ball from that memorial day.

[Northman]

Definitely before my time.

[Shazam!]

New York is rated the 2nd best team in the NFL by Sports Illustrated and ESPN coming into the game

That's ******* hilarious.

[topscribe]

I saw that game. I remember the epic punt and Costa's hit on Namath. I thought
at the time the hit was a thing of beauty: Costa came up the middle like a shot,
and Namath never had a chance even to think of what to do.

IIRC, Namath was knocked out of the game . . . for a couple plays. He then came
in and proceeded to launch a TD pass. You did not want to make Namath mad.

That was a moment of glory for my beloved Broncos. The rest of the season . . .
well, I'm not too fond of remembering, except for Floyd Little . . .

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[topscribe]

This was the first game I ever saw the Broncs play, in any form. Living in Upstate NY we got no coverage, and I was following them via newspaper and Pro Football Weekly.

I had been taught to detest Namath by my parents, because h was cocky - plus my Mom was a Johnny Unitas fan. Being cocky and beating Johnny U. in Superbowl III were reasons enough for her to Hate Namath :D

This game cemented my growing love of the Broncos in place forever. i remember all three of those plays, Titan - and the catch by Haffner was a thing of beauty. Its in these Hulu highlights - enjoy!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/151821/team-highlights-1969-denver-broncos?team=denver-broncos

Thanks for that. I liked the narrator's' comment during the highlights to the final
game against Cincinnati: "The defense put up a stone wall then hit them over
the head with it." http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh256/AZDynamics/Smilies/throckon.gif

Maybe that is the attitude our guys today need to adopt.

But what a defensive line that was! Rich Jackson, Dave Costa, Pete Duranko,
Paul Smith . . . the type of wrecking crew the Broncos could use today . . .

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[titan]

IIRC, Namath was knocked out of the game . . . for a couple plays. He then came
in and proceeded to launch a TD pass. You did not want to make Namath mad.

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Contrary to his "Broadway Joe" persona Namath was really a tough cookie. I remember he tore up his knee one year making a tackle on an interception ... in a preseason game.

[BroncoWave]

Is it just me or is Joe Namath the most overrated player in NFL history? I obviously never watched him play so I can only base it on his numbers and his career stats are absolutely terrible. Now I realize QB stats in general were much worse in that era than they are today but even for his era Namath's numbers weren't that good. He also had a career losing record as a starter. If not for the "guarantee" and then going out and winning the game would he even been in the HOF?

[Dreadnought]

Is it just me or is Joe Namath the most overrated player in NFL history? I obviously never watched him play so I can only base it on his numbers and his career stats are absolutely terrible. Now I realize QB stats in general were much worse in that era than they are today but even for his era Namath's numbers weren't that good. He also had a career losing record as a starter. If not for the "guarantee" and then going out and winning the game would he even been in the HOF?

Terry Bradshaw is up there, but yes, I agree. Namath was a phenom for @ 3 years (66-68), first man to hit 4K yards passing in a season and all, but mostly he generated huge media buzz. They loved him, from the time of his then outrageous contract (generated by the NFL/AFL bidding wars), his flamboyant clothes, the girls, the stories of the "Bachelors III" (his ultra-hip Austin Powers 1968 type bar in NYC), his commercials - all of it. His football accomplishments never measured up to the hype, though when healthy he threw a lethal long ball. Len Dawson was the best of the AFL QB's, not Namath, and it wasn't even close. He was just too "square".

[topscribe]

Terry Bradshaw is up there, but yes, I agree. Namath was a phenom for @ 3 years (66-68), first man to hit 4K yards passing in a season and all, but mostly he generated huge media buzz. They loved him, from the time of his then outrageous contract (generated by the NFL/AFL bidding wars), his flamboyant clothes, the girls, the stories of the "Bachelors III" (his ultra-hip Austin Powers 1968 type bar in NYC), his commercials - all of it. His football accomplishments never measured up to the hype, though when healthy he threw a lethal long ball. Len Dawson was the best of the AFL QB's, not Namath, and it wasn't even close. He was just too "square".

It's true. Namath had an arm and a head, just no wheels. Orton is Fran Tarkenton
compared to what Namath was, Namath's knees were such a football tragedy.
The more his mobility was limited, the more he was a sitting duck to get hurt even
more.

But I'm glad Lenny was finally inducted into the HOF. He was not only a good
QB but also a class act. You may be right about his being the AFL's best in his
era, although Bob Griese might have an argument with that . . .

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[Dreadnought]

Griese was awfully good, but Dawson was better IMO. That Chiefs offense was a machine under Stram. Griese didn't QB the Dolphins for much of their perfect year anyways - that was Earl Morrall.

[topscribe]

Griese was awfully good, but Dawson was better IMO. That Chiefs offense was a machine under Stram. Griese didn't QB the Dolphins for much of their perfect year anyways - that was Earl Morrall.

Ah yes, Earl Morrall. That guy never has gotten enough credit, IMO. His career
spanned two decades. Never had the great stats, but when he joined the Colts,
his career seemed to take off. He could step in for the great Johnny U., and the
Colts would just keep plugging. After joining the Dolphins, he could step in for
Griese, and they would just keep plugging.

I daresay that Morrall may be the greatest backup QB ever to play the game
(although I never saw any football prior to the late 1950s), with the possible
exception of Green Bay's Zeke Bratkowski. (Well, maybe George Blanda could be
in that argument, too?)

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