No defending Super Bowl champion ever lost its opener as badly as Dallas lost to Washington last Monday night 35-16. The 19-point margin was the worst for a defending NFL champion since the 1952 Los Angeles Rams lost to Cleveland 37-7 after beating the Browns in the 1951 title game. Yes, there were titles before there were Super Bowls.
Only one other defending champion ever lost by more than 19 points. That was the 1950 Philadelphia Eagles losing 35-10 to the Browns.
Losing openers is not unusual for defending champions. It has happened 24 times in the 61 years that a title game has determined the NFL winner. It has happened to 11 of the 27 Super Bowl winners, including the Cowboys. None of the previous 10 ever has recovered to repeat. Only two teams, the 1981 San Francisco 49ers and 1986 New York Giants, have lost openers and gone on to win Super Bowls.
Lopsided Super Bowl winners such as the Cowboys, who trounced the Bills 52-17, seem especially vulnerable. Fourteen champions have won Super Bowls by 17 or more points, but only five of them made it even as far as the conference title game the following year. Only the 1967 Packers and the 1977 Cowboys returned to the Super Bowl the next year.
Crass reunions: Free agency’s first big reunion week brings together old friends and new enemies all over the league:
– Reggie White gets to show Green Bay to those left of his Eagles teammates. Too bad the game isn’t in Philadelphia, and it’s really too bad Eagles owner Norman Braman isn’t playing offensive right tackle instead of Antone Davis.
White said one reason he signed as a $17 million free agent with Green Bay is the Packers have no owner. White has been reluctant to say much about Braman, although he told the Philadelphia Daily News that Braman would “have to answer to God” for questioning White’s religious sincerity.
White has yet to register a sack for the Pack either in preseason or last week against a skittish Jim Everett of the Rams. He vowed he wouldn’t hold back against Randall Cunningham.
“If I get a shot at Randall, I’ll hit him with everything I’ve got. I’d be cheating my team if I didn’t,” White said.
– Jim McMahon gets to show Minnesota to those left of his Bears teammates. Too bad the game isn’t in Chicago, and it’s really too bad Bears President Michael McCaskey isn’t playing defensive back.
– Bobby Hebert gets to show Atlanta to his old Saints teammates. Too bad the game isn’t in New Orleans, and too bad Hebert isn’t starting. Beleaguered Jerry Glanville might replace Chris Miller with Hebert to take advantage of Hebert’s knowledge of the Saints’ defense. Glanville and his coaches had no idea what the Lions’ defense was doing last week.
– Gary Clark brings his new Phoenix Cardinals to Washington, where the wide receiver used to regularly express his unhappiness with the program. Clark didn’t know what unhappiness was until he went West, where the grass is browner.
– Rod Bernstine gets to show Denver to his old Chargers teammates. Too bad the game isn’t in San Diego. “I see he made it through the preseason without injury,” scoffed San Diego linebacker Junior Seau of the oft-injured running back.
– Kevin Greene brings his new Steelers teammates back to Los Angeles, where the pass rusher gets to chase Everett. A lot of Rams apparently would like the same chance after watching Everett’s lackluster performance against the Packers last week. The Packers got a kick out of Everett studiously avoiding a block by linebacker Bryce Paup after an interception.
Total losers: Not only did the Cowboys get knocked off their pedestal last week, everybody who had anything to do with last year’s champions got their comeuppance.
Former Cowboys backup quarterback Steve Beuerlein was benched in the Cardinals’ loss to Philadelphia.
Former Cowboys kick return man Kelvin Martin lost in his debut with Seattle.
Former Cowboys linebacker Vinson Smith lost with the Bears, along with former Cowboys coaches Dave Wannstedt, Tony Wise and Bob Slowik.
Former Cowboys punter Mike Saxon lost with the Patriots.
Former Cowboys tight end Derek Tennell lost with the Vikings.
One exception: The only Cowboy who didn’t lose was unsigned Emmitt Smith, and he hasn’t exactly won yet. Owner Jerry Jones didn’t call 911 or Smith’s agent after Monday night’s loss. The latest offer is four years, $11 million, but the $2.75 million average remains well below the $3.38 million average Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas got after Smith outplayed him in the Super Bowl.
Why would Smith report this week to play against Thomas in a head-to-head comparison of salaries as well as skills?
“We’re talking about such huge sums of money that I think he will play,” Jones said.
What a Buddy: Reporter Mike Ditka took a shot at Oilers defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan last week, saying he might be capable of taking a deliberate shot at a quarterback. Because the Oilers face Joe Montana and the Chiefs this week, Ryan had to defend himself: “As far as trying to take a cheap shot at a quarterback, we’ve never done that. We’ve knocked a few out of the game, but it’s by a legal blitz. It’s their responsibility to pick up the blitz, not mine.
“If my great friend Joe Namath was playing, we’d be after him, too.”
Costly emergency: Reluctant Colt Jeff George, football’s first $2 million holdout, is now football’s first $2 million third quarterback, playing behind Jack Trudeau and Don Majkowski.
Former Colts center Ray Donaldson, now with Seattle and never a George backer, thinks George will have a hard time moving up the depth chart. Asked to compare Seahawks rookie Rick Mirer to George, Donaldson said: “About the only comparison would be the strong arm. After that there’s none. (Mirer) has more heart than Jeff George has ever thought about having. And he’s a much better athlete. The stuff he was doing out there today? Running with the ball? Making plays? Jeff George would never have done that. Barring injury, he’s going to be a heck of a lot better than Jeff George.”
Bledsoe, too: Patriots rookie Drew Bledsoe already has drawn comparisons in Boston to hockey’s Bobby Orr and basketball’s Larry Bird.
