Ultimate NFL Tournament: LA Coliseum Regional Overview (Part 1)

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by user False Prophet

cross posted from http://nfl-goat.blogspot.com

The Ultimate NFL Championship

Intro/Brackets

Stadium Overviews

LA Coliseum Regional Overview (Part 1)

LA Coliseum Regional Overview (Part 2)

Dolphins Stadium Regional Overview (Part 1)

Aaron Schatz's reseeding of the teams

Round 1 Results

Round 2 Results

So now, we get to the time where I go over each team to give some background Knowledge. I'll start with the upper half of the LA Coliseum Regional, and work my way down. Some teams will have me writing it, some will be quoted. All sources will be listed.

'98 Vikings

1998 was a year to remember for the Minnesota Vikings, with a spectacular offense led by quarterback Randall Cunningham, who had his best NFL season ever, running back Robert Smith, veteran wide receiver Cris Carter, and explosive rookie Randy Moss, the Vikings set an NFL record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game. The Vikings finished the season 15-1, their only loss by 3 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week nine. In the playoffs, the Vikings rolled past the Arizona Cardinals 41-21, and came into the Metrodome heavily favored for their NFC title showdown with the Atlanta Falcons, who had finished 14-2. However, kicker Gary Anderson, who had gone 35 for 35 in the regular season, missed a 38-yard attempt with less than 2 minutes remaining. That allowed the Falcons to tie the game. The Vikings had one more opportunity to score at the end of regulation, but Head Coach Dennis Green opted to down the ball and go to overtime (even though the Vikings had arguably the most potent offense in NFL history). Atlanta won the toss and went on to win it 30-27 in overtime on Morten Andersen's field goal, which was, coincidentally, also a 38-yarder. The Vikings became the first 15-1 team to fail to reach the Super Bowl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Vikings#1990s

'99 Rams

The '99 Rams were one of the Greatest Offenses ever. They were the first team of what became known as "The Greatest Show on Turf", which lasted from 1999-2001, where they were the top offense in both Yrds/game and Points/game. This turned out to be Dick Vermil's last season as the Rams Head Coach. They ended up winning the Super Bowl this year, 23-16 over the Tennese Titans

own work, using pro-football-reference.com for information

'89 49ers

During 1989, the Niners accumulated more yardage than any other NFL team. Joe Montana had the best season of his career. He was consensus player of the year and capped it with Super Bowl MVP honors. Seifert's 14 regular-season victories were more than any other rookie head coach in NFL history, and he is just the second NFL rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl. (Don McCafferty of the Baltimore Colts was the first, in 1970). Seifert was named NFL coach of the year by Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Weekly and Football Digest.

http://home.earthlink.net/~seifertsite/1989.html

'90 Giants

For the Giants, the 1990 season would go down as one of the most satisfying and emotional seasons in the team's long history. With the Parcells tried-and-true formula of a smashmouth offense and ferocious defense, the Giants won their first 10 games of the season, setting a record for the best start in the team's history. To secure a first round bye, the Giants needed to beat two of the NFL's worst teams, the Phoenix Cardinals and New England Patriots on the road. The Cardinals game was close throughout before the Giants finally won, 24-21. Their game against the Patriots was a de facto home game, as many Giants fans made the trip up to Foxborough to sell the stadium out. The Patriots played the Giants surprisingly tough, and were within 13-10 late; but a missed Patriot field goal late would prove the difference as the Giants held on for the 13-10 win, securing a 13-3 record, and the playoff bye as the NFC's second seed. The Giants beat the Bears in the Divisional Round, 31-3; setting up a regular season rematch with the 49ers. They earned a bid to the super bowl by defeating the 49ers 15-13. In Super Bowl XXV, the Giants beat the Bills, 20-19.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_Giants#1990:_Champions_Again

'99 Packers

The 1966 season saw the Packers be led by NFL MVP Bart Starr. The Packers went 12-2 and in the NFL Championship, with the Packers leading 34-27, the Dallas Cowboys had the ball on the Packers' 2-yard line, threatening to tie the ball game. But on 4th down, the Packers' Tom Brown intercepted a Don Meredith pass in the end zone to preserve the victory. The Packers went on to win Super Bowl I 35-10 over the Kansas City Chiefs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay_Packers#Franchise_history

'02 Bucs

Upon his arrival in Tampa, Gruden immediately went to work, acquiring former Jacksonville Jaguars WR Keenan McCardell, and RB Michael Pittman from the Arizona Cardinals. The Bucs needed to improve their sluggish offense, as the league's sweeping realignment sent the Bucs to the new NFC South Division, along with the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. The offensive retooling worked, and combined with the league's top defense, the 2002 campaign was the Buccaneers' most successful season to date. They won the NFC South title with a 12-4 record--the team's best ever--then defeated the San Francisco 49ers in what became coach Steve Mariucci 's last game with that franchise. In a surprising upset, the Bucs won their first NFC championship on the road against the Eagles in the last NFL game ever played at Veterans Stadium. Cornerback Ronde Barber capped off the win by intercepting a Donovan McNabb pass and returning it 92 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia fans could only watch in stunned silence. The Bucs went on to rout Gruden's former team, the Oakland Raiders, by a score of 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII. Gruden's familiarity with the Raiders' players and playbook paid off, as John Lynch and other Bucs players recognized some of Oakland's formations and plays at crucial points in the game. Also, the Raiders did not attempt to use one rushing play. This was the first game that had one team not attempting a pass or rushing play once in a single game. The Bucs became the first team to win the Super Bowl without any picks in the first two rounds of the previous spring's NFL Draft, having traded these picks to the Oakland Raiders for the rights to acquire Gruden. Gruden became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Bucs#The_2002_season:_Super_Bowl_champions

'85 Bears

The 1985 Chicago Bears season was their 66th regular season and 16th post-season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 15-1 record, earning them the top seed in the NFC for the playoffs. The franchise did not stop there as they rolled through the playoffs crushing their three opponents by a combined score of 91-10 en route to a victory in Super Bowl XX, their ninth NFL Championship. Also, linebacker Mike Singletary was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year and the UPI Defensive NFC Player of the Year. Running backs Walter Payton won the NFC Offensive Player of the Year, head coach Mike Ditka was named NFL Coach of the Year and defensive end Richard Dent was named Super Bowl MVP. Many of the Bears players from the 1985 season contributed to the Grammy -nominated song " The Super Bowl Shuffle ", a song which became the Bears' anthem on their road to Super Bowl XX.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Chicago_Bears

'06 Colts

2006 Indianapolis Colts season began with the team trying to maintain or improve on their regular season record of 14-2 from the 2005 season, and advance farther into the playoffs. They finished the season 12-4, a record that was obtained by the Colts in 2003 and 2004. The Colts have now won at least 12 games in each of the past 4 seasons. They also won the AFC South Division Championship for the fourth time in a row, and won the American Football Conference Championship title against the New England Patriots on January 21, 2007 by a score of 38-34 to advance to Super Bowl XLI and play against the Chicago Bears. Indianapolis defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 on February 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium