Do Raiders Really Have More Fun? Ask Patriot Ramsey

Tight end Derrick Ramsey and placekicker Tony Franklin of New England are making their second trip to New Orleans for a Super Bowl. In 1981, Ramsey was with Oakland, and Franklin was with Philadelphia for Super Bowl XV.

They were asked what they did upon arrival five years ago.

Franklin: “We headed straight for the practice field.”

Ramsey: “We headed straight for the nightclubs.”

The Raiders won the game, 27-10.

Trivia Time: Who is the only member of a losing team to be named the Most Valuable Player in a Super Bowl? (Answer below.)

Wait a Minute: New England linebacker Larry McGrew, claiming Chicago will be hurt by overconfidence, said: “I don’t know if Chicago knows how to play catch-up ball.”

Fact is, in five of their first seven games, the Bears came from behind to win. They beat Tampa Bay, 38-28, in the opener after trailing at halftime, 28-17. They were trailing Minnesota, 17-9, in the third quarter when an ailing Jim McMahon came off the bench and threw touchdown passes the first two times he handled the ball. Chicago won, 33-24.

Guard Tom Thayer of the Chicago Bears, on why the players like Jim McMahon: “Quarterbacks in this league are so straightlaced. He won’t come in and have a Perrier and lime, he’ll have 10 beers and a pinch of snuff. He’s an offensive lineman in a quarterback’s role. He doesn’t run around with the quarterbacks, he runs with us.

“He’s goofy. He can’t help it. He’s not of this world.”

Add McMahon: Ex-Philadelphia coach Dick Vermeil told the New York Times: “I see a throwback to people like Bobby Layne, Don Meredith and Billy Kilmer. But I think McMahon is more talented than they are. He exudes confidence and is a fierce competitor.”

Note: McMahon has a career rushing average of 5.8 yards. He’s caught two touchdown passes and he’s averaged 42.5 yards on two punts.

You’d have to say that New England Coach Raymond Berry hardly measures up to Chicago Coach Mike Ditka in the macho department, but Kansas City owner Lamar Hunt remembers a different Berry in college.

“I remember him more for his defense,” says Hunt, who was a classmate at SMU. “We didn’t throw the ball that much, and in those days you had to play both ways. He played defensive end, and he was the best defensive lineman we had.”

Add Berry: Former Baltimore tight end Jim Mutscheller told William Gildea of the Washington Post this story: “I remember a game with the Bears. The scouting report said to beat the Bears we should run to the left. This meant that Raymond had to play tight left end, and the defensive end in front of him was Doug Atkins, who was 6-8, 280.

“Raymond took home the films to try to figure out how to block him. Finally, he came up with it. Instead of trying to block Atkins before Atkins took a step, Raymond would wait until Atkins took his first step, then--he noticed on the films--when Atkins had his legs crossed, he’d block him. He did that all day.”

Mutscheller added: “So now it’s the Bears again. Raymond will have to figure out a way.”

Trivia Answer: Linebacker Chuck Howley of Dallas in 1971. He intercepted two passes in the 16-13 loss to Baltimore.

Quotebook

Winnipeg Jet Coach Barry Long, asked after a lopsided loss if he considered changing goaltenders: “No, but I considered putting both in at once.”