Raiders vs. 49ers, week one 1982
AlanAllen
Posts: 1,530 ✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
I got a nice surprise today when I opened a package of Marcus Allen cards from Sports Card Proofs, and they had included a DVD of Marcus Allen's first game! I was 8 when this game was played, and I'm sure it wasn't on in Cleveland, so I'd never seen this game before. My wife and I watched it after the Florida game this evening. My thoughts:
The Broadcast
Dick Enberg and John Brodie called the game, and were outstanding. They were smooth, interesting, called the game accurately (except they kept calling LA Oakland), and provided good analysis. Enberg's voice hasn't changed one bit in 25 years.
They gave frequent updates of scores from other games, without the information overload of constant fantasy stats and scrolling scores. They only showed highlights from one other game, though. They had technical difficulties a few times, losing video and missing plays switching between games. They apologized at the start that those slated to watch Broncos/Chargers were watching this game instead because they lost that feed.
The Players
Marcus was a stud from the get-go. He was sharing carries with Kenny King and Frank Hawkins at the start, and the announcers said Flores planned to rotate those three all year, but by the end of the first half Allen was clearly the man. I'd forgotten how quick he was early in his career... he was slashing like Barry Sanders and at the end of each run he would lunge and fall forward for an extra couple yards. He also blocked solidly and caught 4 passes. He ended the game with almost 200 yards from scrimmage and 1 TD. I won't gush any more since I'm biased about my favorite player
.
Speaking of Kenny King, he was better than I remember. He was a solid fullback, running downhill and getting decent yardage.
On Raiders D, Ted Hendricks was a man amongst boys. Not only was he huge, he was a playmaker. They called his name constantly. Rookie Howie Long didn't play much and I think just made one tackle.
Ray Guy showed he is the best punter ever by a wide margin. Every punt was booming with a long hang time, except the coffin corner kick he aimed to go out of bounds at the 1 yard line. He ran for 7 yards on a fake punt, breaking 2 tackles but falling half a yard short of the first down. It's a crime that he's not in the HOF.
Montana controlled the offense experty, but didn't have much of a supporting cast. His line coundn't stop the Raiders and he had no rushing game. Young Montana had such a quick release... I don't know if anyone even today is faster. He was also surprisingly quick on his feet.
Dwight Clark was the only other bright spot on the Niners' O. His success was more from route running than athleticism, but he was a big reason they stayed in the game.
Ronnie Lott made a few big plays in the first game of his second year, but they kept they ball away from his for the most part. He hit hard!
The Game
The thing that struck me the most is how little the game has changed in 25 seasons. The major difference I noticed was the involvement of the fullback. The Raiders in particular involved the fullback much more often than most of today's teams, and even the 49ers threw to the FB regularly. It was fun to watch the 49ers run an early version of the west coast offense. They were throwing short on first down, and Enberg and Brodie kept saying it was because the Raiders had such a good run defense. They might have been half right. The pace of the game seemed a bit faster, with fewer commercial breaks, no replay, and less time between plays. It was also interesting to see kickoffs from a 3" tee again. There was much more leeway given to late hits. They called two "leg whip" penalties... I can't remember the last time I've seen that called. The players barely celebrated even after scoring, in contrast to the choreographed dances after routine tackles we see today.
The Raiders won the game 23-17 thanks to 4 turnovers and some rookie running back
Joe
The Broadcast
Dick Enberg and John Brodie called the game, and were outstanding. They were smooth, interesting, called the game accurately (except they kept calling LA Oakland), and provided good analysis. Enberg's voice hasn't changed one bit in 25 years.
They gave frequent updates of scores from other games, without the information overload of constant fantasy stats and scrolling scores. They only showed highlights from one other game, though. They had technical difficulties a few times, losing video and missing plays switching between games. They apologized at the start that those slated to watch Broncos/Chargers were watching this game instead because they lost that feed.
The Players
Marcus was a stud from the get-go. He was sharing carries with Kenny King and Frank Hawkins at the start, and the announcers said Flores planned to rotate those three all year, but by the end of the first half Allen was clearly the man. I'd forgotten how quick he was early in his career... he was slashing like Barry Sanders and at the end of each run he would lunge and fall forward for an extra couple yards. He also blocked solidly and caught 4 passes. He ended the game with almost 200 yards from scrimmage and 1 TD. I won't gush any more since I'm biased about my favorite player
.Speaking of Kenny King, he was better than I remember. He was a solid fullback, running downhill and getting decent yardage.
On Raiders D, Ted Hendricks was a man amongst boys. Not only was he huge, he was a playmaker. They called his name constantly. Rookie Howie Long didn't play much and I think just made one tackle.
Ray Guy showed he is the best punter ever by a wide margin. Every punt was booming with a long hang time, except the coffin corner kick he aimed to go out of bounds at the 1 yard line. He ran for 7 yards on a fake punt, breaking 2 tackles but falling half a yard short of the first down. It's a crime that he's not in the HOF.
Montana controlled the offense experty, but didn't have much of a supporting cast. His line coundn't stop the Raiders and he had no rushing game. Young Montana had such a quick release... I don't know if anyone even today is faster. He was also surprisingly quick on his feet.
Dwight Clark was the only other bright spot on the Niners' O. His success was more from route running than athleticism, but he was a big reason they stayed in the game.
Ronnie Lott made a few big plays in the first game of his second year, but they kept they ball away from his for the most part. He hit hard!
The Game
The thing that struck me the most is how little the game has changed in 25 seasons. The major difference I noticed was the involvement of the fullback. The Raiders in particular involved the fullback much more often than most of today's teams, and even the 49ers threw to the FB regularly. It was fun to watch the 49ers run an early version of the west coast offense. They were throwing short on first down, and Enberg and Brodie kept saying it was because the Raiders had such a good run defense. They might have been half right
. The pace of the game seemed a bit faster, with fewer commercial breaks, no replay, and less time between plays. It was also interesting to see kickoffs from a 3" tee again. There was much more leeway given to late hits. They called two "leg whip" penalties... I can't remember the last time I've seen that called. The players barely celebrated even after scoring, in contrast to the choreographed dances after routine tackles we see today.The Raiders won the game 23-17 thanks to 4 turnovers and some rookie running back
Joe
No such details will spoil my plans...
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