From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe

BAD DECISIONS

I was listening to Joe Giglio on Saturday night on WIP when he posed a question about the worst decisions in sports history. The question was motivated by Bonehead Carroll’s Super Bowl decision to pass rather than having Marshawn Lynch pound the ball into the end zone to win the game.

My mind – usually fertile when it comes to sports history – came up almost blank. All I could think of was Barry Switzer’s stubborness in trying to get a first down by running Emmitt Smith, and Cards honcho Joe Bugel doing the same thing at the Eagles goal line. Both resulted in historic defensive stands.

But Joe’s listeners had no problems coming up with suggestions.

Since I was driving, I wasn’t able to write anything down. Later, I asked Joe if he’d post the list. He gave me this link to his Facebook page – check them out for yourself.

The one that intrigued me the most was “Giants not taking a knee before the Miracle at the Meadowlands I.” So I did a little digging and learned a lot. Most Eagles fans remember it as Joe Pisarcik botching a handoff to Larry Csonka and Herm Edwards picking up the ball and running it in for the game-winning touchdown.

But for Giants fans, the repercussions from that fumble and such a shocking loss sent tremors rumbling throughout the Giants organization.

Let’s set the scene:

Giants Stadium – November 19, 1978

With the Giants leading 17-12 and less than two minutes remaining, the Eagles were driving the ball into enemy territory. But Giants DB Odis McKinney picked off a Ron Jaworski pass to end the threat. With the Eagles out of time outs, the game appeared to be over and Giants fans started heading for the exits.

The Giants ran Larry Csonka up the middle for 11 yards. A little over a minute remained. Only time for two more plays.

Here’s an important point – There was no kneel-down rule in the NFL at that time. So common practice was for the quarterback to take the snap and then drop into a fetal position and wait to be touched. Football etiquette called for the lineman on both sides of the ball to become passive. No blocks would be thrown. A defender would step into the backfield unabated and gently touch the quarterback.

But that day, Bill Bergey and the Eagles defied etiquette.

Pisarcik took the snap and dropped onto the ground into a defenseless position. But instead of standing back and watching, Bill Bergey rolled up Giants center Jim Clack and sent him flying ass-over-teacups. Clack landed on top of Pisarcik. Bergey’s intent was that Clack would hit Pisarcik hard enough to dislodge the football.

But the ploy didn’t work.

Bob Gibson was the Giants offensive coordinator. At that time, many quarterbacks still called their own plays. But Gibson was a pioneer. He sat upstairs and called the plays for Pisarcik. Concerned that the Eagles would try the same tactic again, Gibson called for “65 Power-Up.” Pisarcik would take the snap and hand it off to Larry Csonka plowing straight up the middle.

In the huddle, the Giants players couldn’t believe the call.

“Don’t give me the ball,” Csonka told Pisarcik.

Other players asked Pisarick to change the play.

But Pisarcik had changed a play the week before and Gibson threatened to bench him if he changed another play. So Pisarcik stayed with 65 Power-Up. But the discussions in the huddle delayed the process of getting to the line of scrimmage.

As the Giants lined up, Csonka was still grousing about the play to Pisarcik. With the play-clock winding down – 30 seconds back then instead of today’s 40 seconds – Pisarcik was turning to make sure Csonka was lined up properly and ready to take the hand-off.

On the Eagles side of the ball, defensive coordinator Marion Campbell called for an all-out 11-man blitz. The Eagles were coming and they were going hell-bent to jar the ball loose.

Center Jim Clack noticed that the play-clock was almost out of time. Rather than take a delay-of-game, Clack decided to snap the football.

The game-clock showed 0:31 when Clack snapped the ball.

But Pisarcik wasn’t ready for the snap. The ball hit his middle finger so hard that it drew blood. Somehow, Pisarcik controlled the ball, sort of, but he was bobbling it as he turned to hand it off to Csonka. The handoff hit Csonka’s hip instead of his bread basket, and the ball popped loose.

Herm Edwards scooped up the fumble and etched his place in Eagles history by returning it 26 yards for the winning score in what was truly a Miracle at Meadowlands memory. The unexpected victory sent the Eagles into the Playoffs and started building the momentum that would carry the team to the Super Bowl two years hence. But it was disastrous for the Giants.

GIBSON FIRED

The Giants fired Bob Gibson the next day.

The collapse continued for the Giants:

• The next week they blew a 10-point lead versus the 3-9 Bills and gave up 27 fourth-quarter points in losing 41-17.
• The following week, outraged by the ineptitude running rampant throughout the Giants organization, fans protested. Prior to the game against the L.A. Rams, fans demonstrated outside the stadium by burning their tickets in a giant bonfire.
• And the next week, Newark furniture magnate Morris Spielberg hired an airplane for the team’s final home game, versus the St. Louis Rams, and had the plane drag a banner proclaiming “15 years of lousy football – We’ve had enough.”
• When the plane flew into view during the game, Giants fans chanted “We’ve had enough.”

The Giants finished the season at 6-10 and tied for last place in the NFC East.

Head coach John McVay was not retained at season’s end.

Former star defensive end and director of operations Andy Robustelli was fired.

The Giants hired Ray Perkins to replace McVay. Perkins, a former Giants receiver, came from Bear Bryant’s staff at Alabama.

The Giants hired a general manager for the first time. His name was George Young, and Young drafted Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor in his first draft.

Ray Perkins brought in a new defensive coordinator. His name was Bill Parcells. When Bear Bryant retired after the 1982 season, Perkins replaced Bryant at Alabama and Parcells replaced Perkins as the Giants head man.

Bottom line: The Giants underwent a restructuring that turned them into Super Bowl contenders for generations to come. That fumble was the precipitant that made everything happen. As it worked out, the Miracle at the Meadowlands was beneficial to both teams.

Joe Giglio is one of my 10 Favorite WIP Hosts.