Rough Injustice: The 1976 Patriots ON NOW 98.5 Sports Hub

[Actual Pats Fan]

A pleasant, surprise treasure. Besides stories about Russ Francis flying around Foxborough in a helicopter, some insights on the builders of and players on one of the greatest football teams in history. No one publicly (I was just another local teenager) was prepared for the erstwhile distant last/fourth place local franchise to be competitive, let alone win a world championship. However, this was the reality of just how good this team was. After being ravaged by injuries the previous two seasons, the team was healthy, young - and loaded. There are several parallels to the 2001 Patriots, but this team was an underdog in the eyes of Vegas and the nation, but not here.

People today during the Brady era expect us to win every game, and expect to be in the Super Bowl, and win it. But in 1976, I did not envision any team being able to handle us, and I was right. I was a huge basketball fan then too, and I was not surprised by Golden State ('75) and Portland ('77) seemingly coming out of nowhere to win it all those seasons, because they were simply very good-the best. Like our Bicentennial Pats of the Spirit of '76.

Right now, (5:47 pm) they're reviewing the stretch drive and Nellie's dislocated kneecap(ouch).

Certainly hope the whole thing is available again somewhere/sometime. Didn't know Bucko Kilroy was the guy who was insistent upon drafting Francis out of Oregon (didn't even play as a senior). You put Tom throwing to Russ, then you have your proof that Francis was the best.

 

[BobDigital]

I never got to see that game. Couldn't find a copy of it.

 

[oldrover]

Catch 'Rough Injustice: The 1976 New England Patriots' On 98.5 The Sports Hub

I believe you can listen to the show in segments here.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I never got to see that game. Couldn't find a copy of it.

Should be in the NBC vault. Not something the NFL will happily trot out publicly unedited, because it blatantly shows the officials' prejudice in total favor of the home team. The unmatched nadir of officiating in the long history of professional team sports in North America.

 

[mosslost]

Pats were definitely robbed in that game. But they deserved some of the blame for underperforming in that game. That Pats team was blowing the doors off teams, including totally blowing out the Raiders in their only regular season loss. If you want to win a playoff game and not get robbed by a bad call, put up the 40 points that you need so its not close enough to steal. The Raiders were not as good as that Pats team. And it is really too bad because we would have killed the Steelers and the Vikings in the Super Bowl. I know, old news.. I'm not bitter.

PS: Also, it is lame to blame a call for a loss. The Pats should have played better because they were the best that year, and the Dynasty Steelers were all hurt badly. That 76 team SHOULD have been part of history, rather than just being in the hearts of aging Pats fans. lol

 

[ralmat55]

The bad/corrupt officiating permeated the entire game and not just the Sugarbear Hamilton roughing call which is one big reason the game was close enough to be decided by one massively bogus roughing call.

I've grown up and grown old rooting for the Pats and Sox. But that lost was the most devastating one I had ever endured as a fan including Game 6 86 World Series until the 08 Super Bowl.

I don't think Ben Dreith officiated another Pats game after that one. A few years ago a satellite repair man who was a Raiders fan came to repair my satellite reception. We started talking football and, of course, he brought up the Tuck rule game and how unfair it was. So, I told him to me that game was an injustice righted after 25 years recounting the roughing call. I told him to look it up on the internet but the NFL has done a darn good job of burying that dirty deed he probably thinks I made it up.

NFL corruption didn't start with Roger Goodell.

 

[jimnance]

That '76 team was one of the greatest in Pats history and the best in the nfl that year.

Yes they got royally screwed by the officials in that game. But as one poster pointed out,the Pats also underperformed. Maybe it was overconfidence since they destroyed the raiders in reg. season. It really should've been Pats 1st SB title.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The bad/corrupt officiating permeated the entire game and not just the Sugarbear Hamilton roughing call which is one big reason the game was close enough to be decided by one massively bogus roughing call.

I've grown up and grown old rooting for the Pats and Sox. But that lost was the most devastating one I had ever endured as a fan including Game 6 85 World Series until the 08 Super Bowl.

I don't think Ben Dreith officiated another Pats game after that one. A few years ago a satellite repair man who was a Raiders fan came to repair my satellite reception. We started talking football and, of course, he brought up the Tuck rule game and how unfair it was. So, I told him to me that game was an injustice righted after 25 years recounting the roughing call. I told him to look it up on the internet but the NFL has done a darn good job of burying that dirty deed he probably thinks I made it up.

NFL corruption didn't start with Roger Goodell.

Indeed, Goodell accepted the baton and was practically pushed by Kraft into dropping A-bomb in '07 and then H-bomb on us in '15. '08 SB was lost by eschewing a simple, common, indoors on turf 48 yard FG in favor of a going for it on 4th-and-impossible; and by dropping Brady back to pass over fifty times against a team whose single strength was rushing the passer.

Raider fans are stupid. The Tuck Rule play, along with the Immaculate Reception, were properly called plays.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The reason I'm continuing to harp on the sh*t today is, ever since, for forty years plus, the league has been pretending it didn't happen and sweeping it under the rug.

Two years later, in '78, a big deal was made of officiating in the NFL (SI cover). A few random incompetent calls on random individual plays in various regular season games. What a load of crap. Like crowing over your neighbor's kid's pipe bomb that woke people up at 3am sometime in 1947, with nobody hurt, and ignoring Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

We've just spent two hours fawning over the legendary Raiders and their historic 13-1 regular season, then they won a close game against the Patriots And now we'll spend two hours with John Facenda droning on endlessly about the immortal rivalry with the Pittsbuuuuuugh Steeluuuuuuhs and then endlessly about the fraudulent Raiders' crowning glory in the Supah Bole...

The NFL wants people to consider important and relevant what THEY tell people is important and relevant. Things like the Byner fumble and the Jones tackle have been replayed a zillion times, but they are boring, ordinary, stupid plays.

 

[oldrover]

APF, I kifed a printer for you from the Raiders' office...

...knock yourself out.

 

[italian pat patriot]

crucial were also 3 plays infortunately...:

Sam Cunningham not able to reach the first down
false start crucial penaly
missed field goal

a very very sad day for our team history...

1976-1978 the Pats were so good...

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

APF, I kifed a printer for you from the Raiders' office...

...knock yourself out.

Thanks, I feel better.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

crucial were also 3 plays infortunately...:

Sam Cunningham not able to reach the first down
false start crucial penaly
missed field goal

a very very sad day for our team history...

1976-1978 the Pats were so good...

NFL wants people to believe the myth that the Patriots committed enough errors to deserve to lose the contest.

The truth is that the officials committed whatever calls and noncalls were necessary for the Raiders to "win".

And there were many, especially down the stretch.

 

[italian pat patriot]

NFL wants people to believe the myth that the Patriots committed enough errors to deserve to lose the contest.

The truth is that the officials committed whatever calls and noncalls were necessary for the Raiders to "win".

And there were many, especially down the stretch.

i agree with you but mmm...i think infortunately too that also we were VERY VERY unlucky...a combination of errors at the wrong time...Cunningham 'could' have reached the first down...he was so so near...

but you are not wrong at all...

the Pats players were furious...

it is in my opinion the worst loss in the 'old hera'...

 

[1960Pats]

The bad/corrupt officiating permeated the entire game and not just the Sugarbear Hamilton roughing call which is one big reason the game was close enough to be decided by one massively bogus roughing call.

I've grown up and grown old rooting for the Pats and Sox. But that lost was the most devastating one I had ever endured as a fan including Game 6 86 World Series until the 08 Super Bowl.

I don't think Ben Dreith officiated another Pats game after that one. A few years ago a satellite repair man who was a Raiders fan came to repair my satellite reception. We started talking football and, of course, he brought up the Tuck rule game and how unfair it was. So, I told him to me that game was an injustice righted after 25 years recounting the roughing call. I told him to look it up on the internet but the NFL has done a darn good job of burying that dirty deed he probably thinks I made it up.

NFL corruption didn't start with Roger Goodell.

After hearing Dreith talk about the play over the years, I think it was his corruption in play in that game, not from a higher level. He sounded like a Raider fan.

At first I didn't like comparing 1976 and 2001 because one was a rule violation and one was not. I do enjoy the Raiders players and fans thinking they were robbed now though.

Wouldn't it be incredible if the Raiders lost a playoff game to the Pats on a fumble by their QB that was called because the rule was changed? That would be just too glorious for words.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

i agree with you but mmm...i think infortunately too that also we were VERY VERY unlucky...a combination of errors at the wrong time...Cunningham 'could' have reached the first down...he was so so near...

but you are not wrong at all...

the Pats players were furious...

it is in my opinion the worst loss in the 'old hera'...

I don't blame Sam. How many "perfect" games has Tom Brady ever played? The Patriots were good enough to overcome their relative inexperience. John Smith tried, but fifty yards on grass was just a bit too much to ask. If we had Mike Patrick punt instead, would that have changed Dreith's behavior in the last drive? No.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

After hearing Dreith talk about the play over the years, I think it was his corruption in play in that game, not from a higher level. He sounded like a Raider fan.

At first I didn't like comparing 1976 and 2001 because one was a rule violation and one was not. I do enjoy the Raiders players and fans thinking they were robbed now though.

Wouldn't it be incredible if the Raiders lost a playoff game to the Pats on a fumble by their QB that was called because the rule was changed? That would be just too glorious for words.

Well, of course there's never a shortage of hatred for the Raiders. I won't mind if they move to Vegas and take our fake logo with them. Their fans are simply stupid, which normally would be neither here nor there. Their franchise was unworthy and did not "win" anything in '76; it was given to them.

Later, they did have the best team in football and won two deserved titles - with former Patriots leading them there.

What's simply more significant is the league's decades-long war against us, not made up, not embellished by any Pats fan, but mostly not comprehended and acknowledged by most Pats fans. Their awareness - and anger - should correspondingly rise the more Kraft's credibility plummets.

 

[1960Pats]

Well, of course there's never a shortage of hatred for the Raiders. I won't mind if they move to Vegas and take our fake logo with them. Their fans are simply stupid, which normally would be neither here nor there. Their franchise was unworthy and did not "win" anything in '76; it was given to them.

Later, they did have the best team in football and won two deserved titles - with former Patriots leading them there.

What's simply more significant is the league's decades-long war against us, not made up, not embellished by any Pats fan, but mostly not comprehended and acknowledged by most Pats fans. Their awareness - and anger - should correspondingly rise the more Kraft's credibility plummets.

One of the biggest thefts was in an early season game in 1978 vs SD.



Stabler (RIP) admitted years later what we already knew, that he was trying to throw it.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

One of the biggest thefts was in an early season game in 1978 vs SD.



Stabler (RIP) admitted years later what we already knew, that he was trying to throw it.

Stabler's honesty is appreciable. But, the Holy Roller was not a championship-affecting play or call; furthermore, I absolutely loved the San Diego Chicken's classic, incredulous reaction.

Come to think of it, normally I would never accept it, but if we restore our logos to out helmets and our real uniforms, then it's okay with me if Kraft wants to have a chicken. What the hell.