'What Ifs' in NFL History

What if Scott Norwood makes the field goal.

 

One that'll sting for Eagles fans -- what if that son of a bitch Bryce Paup doesn't go low into Randall Cunningham's knee in the 1991 season opener?
I'm firmly convinced the Eagles win the Super Bowl that year, for starters. Beyond that, Cunningham remains at the top of his game for a few more years and possibly becomes a hall of famer. And, of course, Vikings fans never have to endure the heartbreak of 1998.

 

What if Bo Jackson played football full-time?

 

What if Danny Noonan missed the putt?

 

What if there was an NFL thread and spnited actually contributed something rather than just bitching about how much he hates the NFL?

 

I've had this exact conversation with a lot of Bears fans and the consensus is the latter. He probably would have been better than the collection of stiffs Chicago ran out under center in the mid-70s - I'm looking at YOU Bob Avellini - but that's about it. Bradshaw became a HOF quarterback because he was playing with a roster full of HOFers.

What probably happens is that Bradshaw is just good enough that they don't wind up with the No. 4 pick in the '75 draft and Walter Payton winds up somewhere else.

BTW, to keep with the kick-in-the-nuts-for-Cleveland theme, the Browns had the pick immediately after the Bears in '75 and took some guy named Mack Mitchell from the University of Houston. If Bradshaw is a Bear Payton might have wound up in Cleveland.

 

What if the Packers draft Barry Sanders instead of Tony Mandarich in 1989?

What if the Jets take Emmitt Smith instead of Blair Thomas in 1990?

 

What if Larry Brown wasn't standing there?

What if the Steelers drafted Dan Marino?

What if Mo Lewis hadn't injured Drew Bledsoe?

What if the Falcons had kept Mr. Drama Queen?

 

What if the Steelers hadn't gotten down to one healthy running back in the 76 playoffs?
Would there have been five Super Bowls for the Steel Curtain?
For that matter, what if the answer to that shortage had been to open it up and throw on every down? I know it was short turnaround to reinvent the entire offense, but the game might have been more wide-open sooner if the Steelers had played a more electric style in that game.

 

What is Noll and Cowher coached the team they played for?

 

He still would have destroyed his hip and ended his carreer.
Had he played baseball full-time, he might have been a Hall of Fame player.