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Quiz about NFL in the 1970s 2
Quiz about NFL in the 1970s 2

NFL in the 1970s #2 Trivia Quiz


You remember the undefeated Dolphins team. You remember the Steel Curtain. You'll have to remember a lot more to tackle these 10 challenging questions (but I promise you'll learn a few things and have fun doing it)!

A multiple-choice quiz by d2407. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
d2407
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
202,452
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
2511
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 173 (6/10), Guest 110 (6/10), Guest 208 (6/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. What happened in 1973, making it easier than ever before for NFL fans to watch all of their hometown team's games? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. A friend invites you over to watch a tape of a game (from which year, he's not sure) featuring the Electric Company squaring off against the 'No Name Defense'. You want to politely decline. Which of the reasons below could you accurately use? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. How did Clint Longley make a name for himself in a 1970s NFL game? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. We were one of the most fearsome teams in the league in the early 1970s, and the core of our team made four Super Bowl trips. But for a few years, we put a real emphasis on the "professional" part of football. We had a dentist playing quarterback. We had a future lawyer and state Supreme Court justice on our defensive line. Maybe if we had a good CPA or two playing linebacker, we might have actually won one of those four Super Bowls we were in. Which team are we? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which player below was not part of a group that Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll referred to as a "criminal element"? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Dallas Cowboy coach Tom Landry, a master offensive strategist and leading innovator in NFL history, helped his 1971 team turn their season around and go on to win the Super Bowl, when he dropped one of his more dubious innovations at midseason. Which innovation did he drop? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Quarterback Bobby Douglass completed 43% of his passes during his career, threw 36 touchdown passes, and had 64 interceptions. So why is he still remembered by many NFL fans? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What was the historic significance of the 35-35 tie game played by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos on September 22, 1974? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which future Hall of Fame running back became the first rookie to lead the NFL in rushing since Jim Brown had done it in 1957, as he slammed through defenses like a well-oiled piece of construction equipment? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. John Madden won 75% of his games coaching the Oakland Raiders, a winning percentage higher than that of any other 20th century NFL coach. Which are the only NFL teams that managed to win more than half their games against Madden's Raiders? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 173: 6/10
Mar 25 2024 : Guest 110: 6/10
Mar 21 2024 : Guest 208: 6/10
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 162: 8/10
Mar 10 2024 : Guest 96: 6/10
Mar 07 2024 : Guest 208: 8/10
Mar 07 2024 : Guest 174: 6/10
Mar 07 2024 : Guest 147: 5/10
Mar 06 2024 : Guest 172: 4/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What happened in 1973, making it easier than ever before for NFL fans to watch all of their hometown team's games?

Answer: The league lifted rules that had prohibited the televising of home games

Since 1951, the NFL had prohibited television stations from broadcasting games being played within 75 miles of the station, forcing fans to either attend the games in person, or drive far enough away to be able to watch the game in a distant city. Beginning with Super Bowl VII, played in Los Angeles in January 1973, the league allowed home games to be televised, if they had been sold out for 72 hours prior to kickoff.

The 1973 season set a new record for in-person attendance at NFL games, so the new rules satisfied both fans and the league.
2. A friend invites you over to watch a tape of a game (from which year, he's not sure) featuring the Electric Company squaring off against the 'No Name Defense'. You want to politely decline. Which of the reasons below could you accurately use?

Answer: You already know who won

The Electric Company was the clever name given to OJ Simpson's Buffalo Bills offensive line from the 1970s (they "turn on the Juice," get it?). The Miami Dolphins defense of the 1970s created the nickname "No Name Defense" after hearing too many cracks that they lacked any players with name recognition. Bitter divisional rivals since the Dolphin franchise started in 1966, the teams locked horns twice each season.

Although they had many memorable contests, Miami managed to win every one of the 20 games from 1970 through 1979. So whatever drama those games may have had, if you're watching a Miami-Buffalo game from the 1970s, you can easily predict the winner.
3. How did Clint Longley make a name for himself in a 1970s NFL game?

Answer: Led a thrilling comeback win by the Dallas Cowboys over the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving Day

"The triumph of an uncluttered mind", was how Dallas Cowboys lineman Blaine Nye described 22 year old Clint Longley's 1974 moment in the sun. On Thanksgiving day that year, the archrival Washington Redskins built up a 16-3 third quarter lead over the Cowboys, then knocked starting quarterback Roger Staubach out of the game. Longley, the backup quarterback, entered the game and went 11 for 20 with two touchdown passes, including a 50 yard bomb with 35 seconds remaining, to give the Cowboys an improbable 24-23 win over the Redskins.

The following week, Staubach returned, and Longley's NFL career had only two years and 48 passes left in it. After his Thanksgiving heroics, he became enamored of himself, to the great annoyance of his teammates. During training camp in 1976, Staubach promised to "knock those Bugs Bunny teeth out of Longley's mouth", arranged for some friends to distract the coaches, then beat Longley. Two days later, Longley told friends he'd figured out a way to get traded and punched Staubach.

He was dealt to San Diego within days.
4. We were one of the most fearsome teams in the league in the early 1970s, and the core of our team made four Super Bowl trips. But for a few years, we put a real emphasis on the "professional" part of football. We had a dentist playing quarterback. We had a future lawyer and state Supreme Court justice on our defensive line. Maybe if we had a good CPA or two playing linebacker, we might have actually won one of those four Super Bowls we were in. Which team are we?

Answer: Minnesota Vikings

From 1969-76, the Minnesota Vikings may have been the most feared team in the NFL, rolling up an 87-24-1 record and usually annihilating opponents in the process. Their quarterback, Gary Cuozzo, who backed up Joe Kapp in 1968-69 and started the next two seasons, was a practicing dentist and orthodontist in the offseason. Defensive lineman Alan Page, a future Hall of Famer and the 1971 league MVP, earned a law degree while in the NFL and went on to become an assistant attorney general in Minnesota before being elected to the state's Supreme Court in 1993.
5. Which player below was not part of a group that Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll referred to as a "criminal element"?

Answer: Conrad Dobler

Dobler, who shows up on many lists of the dirtiest NFL players of all time, managed to avoid showing up on what was the first list of dirty players ever compiled from sworn court testimony. After a 1976 game in which George Atkinson of the Oakland Raiders injured Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann with a vicious blow to the head, Noll told reporters that Atkinson was part of a "criminal element" in the NFL. Atkinson sued Noll for slander. During the trial, while under oath, Noll added Raider Jack Tatum and his own player Mel Blount to the "criminal element" collection.

Although Noll prevailed in the lawsuit, he was then threatened with a lawsuit from Blount after the player took offense with his coach's testimony. The two worked out their differences, however, and Blount remained with the team until his 1983 retirement.
6. Dallas Cowboy coach Tom Landry, a master offensive strategist and leading innovator in NFL history, helped his 1971 team turn their season around and go on to win the Super Bowl, when he dropped one of his more dubious innovations at midseason. Which innovation did he drop?

Answer: Alternating quarterbacks with each offensive play

In the NFL of the early 1970s, it was quite common for teams to situationally substitute quarterbacks, and Tom Landry took this approach to the extreme in the first half of 1971. Craig Morton had been the team's starting quarterback the previous season and taken the Cowboys to the Super Bowl. Roger Staubach had shown promise as a backup and in training camp. So Landry had the two quarterbacks alternate offensive plays for the first half of the season.

After the team had struggled to a 4-3 record, including losses to the awful New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears, Landry made Staubach the starter and full-time quarterback.

The team ended the season 7-0, then sailed through the playoffs and into the Super Bowl, where they defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3. Under Staubach, the Cowboys played in three more Super Bowls in the decade. Morton had a solid NFL career, but may be best remembered for his woeful performance in two Super Bowls: 16/41 passing, with 166 yards, one touchdown, and seven interceptions.
7. Quarterback Bobby Douglass completed 43% of his passes during his career, threw 36 touchdown passes, and had 64 interceptions. So why is he still remembered by many NFL fans?

Answer: He rushed for 968 yards in 1972

If Woody Hayes had seen Bobby Douglass play, he might have changed his famous adage ("There are three things that can happen when you pass, and two of them are bad") to say "and they're all bad." Douglass's 1972 Chicago Bear season saw him obliterate the existing NFL rushing record for quarterbacks, with his 968 yards almost cracking the list of the league's top 10 rushers. Typically for Douglass, this was far more impressive than his passing line for the year (38% completions, nine TDs, 12 INTs).

In 10 NFL seasons, Douglass only once completed more than half his passes, never had more touchdowns than interceptions, and somehow wound up with a rushing average (6.5 yards per carry) that dwarfed his passing average (5.5 yards per completion).
8. What was the historic significance of the 35-35 tie game played by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos on September 22, 1974?

Answer: It was the first regular season overtime game in NFL history

The NFL became increasingly frustrated with the prevelance of tie games. Starting in 1972, the league began counting ties as half a win and half a loss in the standings (previously, they had counted as neither), hoping to encourage teams to play for a win.

There had been nine ties in 1970 and eight in 1971; the number dropped to five in 1972, but increased to seven the following year. Hoping to eliminate ties altogether, and anticipating a good amount of excitement from using overtime, the NFL again changed the rules in 1974, mandating a ten minute overtime period for regular season games that were tied after 60 minutes.

However frustrated the league must have been when the first overtime game ended in a tie, they must have been delighted with the long-term results: after the Steeler-Bronco contest, there were only two more tie games for the remainder of the 1970s.
9. Which future Hall of Fame running back became the first rookie to lead the NFL in rushing since Jim Brown had done it in 1957, as he slammed through defenses like a well-oiled piece of construction equipment?

Answer: Earl Campbell

Campbell joined the Houston Oilers in 1978 and came into the league like a sledgehammer, leading the NFL in rushing each of his first three years. He piled up 9,407 yards during his career, but his love of slamming into people took a quick toll on him, putting him out of the NFL after just eight seasons.
10. John Madden won 75% of his games coaching the Oakland Raiders, a winning percentage higher than that of any other 20th century NFL coach. Which are the only NFL teams that managed to win more than half their games against Madden's Raiders?

Answer: Seattle Seahawks & New England Patriots

The best the NFL had to offer was no match for Madden's Raider teams. Against the Dolphins of Shula, the Steelers of Noll, and the Vikings of Grant, they were 9-3-1. Against the NFC East, which included Tom Landry's Cowboys and George Allen's Redskins, the Raiders went 7-0. Yet somehow, the Seahawks (16-28 while Madden was coaching) managed to take two of three from his Raider teams, and the Patriots (61-81) took three of five.

Other than going 1-1 against three NFC West opponents (49ers, Falcons, Rams), Madden's Raiders had winning records against every other team in the league.
Source: Author d2407

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