I had picked Seattle to win this one 24-10, I was way off, but the good Houston team showed up and they were way too much for Seattle. Dan Pastorini has had a very solid year and had a fantastic day. Houston also got a solid game from Ralph Nelson who has had a very quiet year, and they put constant pressure on Brian Sipe.
Houston
Dan Pastorini 22/30 274yds 2TDs
Ralph Nelson 21car/90yds 1TD
Ron Smith 6tt/5rec/53yds
George Andrews 6 tackles 1 sack
Dwight Hicks 4 tackles 1 sack 1 knockdown 1 Fumble recovery
Seattle
Brian Sipe 16/25 234yds 2TDs
Sterling Rolfe 16car/32yds 1 Fumble
Duke Fergerson 5tt/5rec/58yds 1TD
Keith Butler 9 tackles
Houston
Dan Pastorini 22/30 274yds 2TDs
Ralph Nelson 21car/90yds 1TD
Ron Smith 6tt/5rec/53yds
George Andrews 6 tackles 1 sack
Dwight Hicks 4 tackles 1 sack 1 knockdown 1 Fumble recovery
Seattle
Brian Sipe 16/25 234yds 2TDs
Sterling Rolfe 16car/32yds 1 Fumble
Duke Fergerson 5tt/5rec/58yds 1TD
Keith Butler 9 tackles
One wonders if this might've been last call for several charter Seahawks, among them:
ReplyDelete-- Inactive TE2 Ron Howard, who "has been described as a great competitor," says his NFL76 card. "He came to the Cowboys in 1974 as a free agent basketball player with no college football experience but made the squad and was a valuable and fierce hitter on the specialty teams. Ron was a two-year starter at forward for the (University of) Seattle basketball tean, turning down an offer to play pro basketball in France, to join the NFL."
-- WR6 Sam McCullum, who came to the Seahawks in the NFL76 expansion draft after two seasons in Minnesota.
-- Inactive G2 Bob Newton, a 12th-year pro "possessed with strength and hitting ability in abundance," his 1975 card says. "Bob was a unanimous All-American with University of Nebraska's National Champions in 1970 and it was there that he picked up nickname of 'Fig'. ... (C)oaches feel he has definite All-Pro potential." Newton was the Bears' third-round draft choice of 1971.)
-- LB6 Ed Bradley, who was drafted from the Super Bowl-champion Steelers after excelling on special teams with Pittsburgh. "A very hard hitter with good speed, Ed was a 3-year starter at outside linebacker at Wake Forest," his 1975 card says. He was a fourth-round draft choice in 1972.
-- S4 Lyle Blackwood, who was considered "a rugged tackler with good hands" who "gives 100% all the time," his 1976 card says. "An All-Southwestern Conference selection at TCU, he holds school mark for longest touchdown interception with an 83-yarder against Washington." The Broncos picked Blackwood in the ninth round of the 1973 draft, and he played three seasons with the Bengals before coming to the Seahawks in the expansion draft.
Neither Ronnie Coleman nor Ralph Nelson is the type of runner that makes any defensive coordinator shudder when he watches film, and yet both have ground out productive careers. Maybe the real star of the Oiler run game is 6-foot-2, 230-pound FB1 Don Hardeman, who has carried the ball only 223 times since Houston selected in the first round of the 1975 draft out of Texas A&I. "One of NFL's finest rookies of 1975, Don made starting lineup for Oilers," his 1976 card says. "He played fullback for the first time in college career in 1974 after being All-American at linebacker as junior. Don rushed for 1547 yards on 216 carriers for 7.2 average. He scored 18 touchdowns during his senior season." Incidentally, though Hardeman has carried the ball infrequently over his eight seasons of action, his career per-attempt average (3.8 yards) is better by a tenth than Coleman's and Nelson's matching 3.7s.
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