'What Ifs' in NFL History

History will be made.

 

Can't argue with well-sourced evidence like that.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Kael

 

Oh, come on, Smasher. Don't you know that anecdotal evidence from Junkie's social circle is more than enough?

I know many more people who play fantasy baseball than football. Hell, I watch as a fantasy player first since I don't have a particular team to root for. My interest in football is the same every year, even those when I don't have a fantasy team.

 

What if Jim Lee Howell decided not to hang on for two extra years?

The Maras wanted Lombardi to suceed Howell as the head coach. The Eagles had offered Lombardi the head coaching job in 1958, but Lombardi desperately wanted to coach the Giants, and the Maras convinced him that Howell was going to retire soon. However, after the '58 title game, Howell decided to stay on.

The Packers came calling for Lombardi, who agreed to join them as coach and GM. Wellington Mara let Lombardi go, with the understanding that if the NY job opened again, the Packers would allow Lombardi to go back. Howell decided again to hang on again for another year, and the Cowboys ended up hiring Landry. When Lombardi was being swayed by the Giants, George Halas convinced him to stay because of what he had begun to build in Green Bay.

The Giants ended up with Allie Sherman, who had three division winning years, then crashed and burned. The Cowboys ended up with Landry, who was a Hall of Famer. And the Packers kept Lombardi, who built one of the greatest dynasties. All this, because Jim Lee Howell decided he wanted to coach two more years.

 

We also might not have instant replay in the NFL for a couple more years, at least. That was the call that finally convinced people some sort of system was needed.

 

If Dallas pulls out the 1981 NFC title game, they easily romp past Cincinnati in Super Bowl 16 and gives Danny White the confidence in his teammates that he sorely lacked. Brimming with the fact he has reduced the shadow of Roger Staubach, White leads the Cowboys to at least one more Super Bowl before the three-decade run of success in Dallas flames out in 1988.

Jerry Jones still buys the Cowboys in 1989, but allows Tom Landry to coach one last season and allows him to walk away with dignity. Jimmy Johnson remains in Miami (Fla.) and takes the reigns in Dallas in 1990 where the team finds moderate success before finding their franchise quarterback (Brett Favre) in 1992.

The win also locks up Drew Pearson's status as the most clutch WR in league history and assures him a bust in Canton.

 

What if the Cuban Missile Crisis hadn't stopped the Kennedy family's attempt to purchase the Philadelphia Eagles?

 

Of course, that means the Cowboys probably never blow up the roster in Jimmy Johnson's first year and trade Herschel Walker, thus setting the stage for their dominance in the early 90s.
That's another great 'what if?' What if the Vikings turned down the Herschel Walker trade? Do the Cowboys get the same mega-package from someone else, or does Walker just quietly go away when his contract expires? Do they stay mediocre enough that they're not able to draft some of the players that were key to their Super Bowl teams?
That trade not happening would have far-reaching implications around the league, too. I remember reading that something like 100 players were eventually involved in that trade when you count up all the draft picks that were traded for other picks.

Another thought on your Favre to the Cowboys idea, too ... I'm not sure the drunken, vicodin-popping Brett Favre of 1992 would have gone on to bigger and better things with the party animal Cowboys of the early 90s. Seems like a bad, bad mix.

 

Better, Junkie. Still doesn't prove spnited's bullshit argument, but it is certainly a much more viable source than what you offered before.

 

What if the Bengals hadn't wasted No. 1 draft picks on the likes of David Klingler, Ki-Jana Carter, Akili Smith and Dan Wilkinson?

What if Al Davis dropped dead and the Raiders hadn't picked JaMarcus Russell?

What if Brady Quinn had gone through something like a dozen offensive coordinators in Cleveland?

What is Ben Roethlisberger could keep his fly closed?

What if Michael Vick's mother got him a sweet puppy dog when he was a kid?

 

And I play fantasy football sparingly and rarely pay attention to my team until the end of a Sunday's games.

I play fantasy baseball fanatically and I check my league sites before I look at a day's actual game results. I'm in three leagues with three different groups and maybe two of those guys plays fantasy football.