Roy Gerela made a lot of important field goals at the beginning of the Pittsburgh Steeler dynasty. But in 1976, he missed a late game-tying field goal which gave the upstart Patriots a 30-27 win at Three Rivers Stadium, the first time the Patriots had beaten the defending Super Bowl champs on the road. At the time it was the most significant win in team history. Gerela would eventually help the Steelers win four Super Bowls in the 1970s. He manages to drop a perfect pop-up kick into the landing zone, and we’re still getting used to these new kickoff rules.
Some thoughts after a surprising NFL Week 2:
1) It’s too bad that it wasn’t the Giants that hit the game winning FG in overtime. There is nothing greater than seeing Jerry Jones’ reaction to a home loss.
2) Speaking of kickers, were any of you paying attention to the Atlanta-Minnesota game Sunday night? Parker Romo was five for five on field goals. I think I’m hopping on the “don’t draft kickers” bandwagon. Stephen Gostkowski was the exception, not the rule.
3) Also, the quarterback matchup in that same game was Michael Penix Jr. against J.J. McCarthy. They opposed each other two years ago in the College Football National Championship (Michigan-Washington). Minnesota needs to cut McCarthy a little slack given he missed all last year with an injury and is hurt again this year, but Penix is off and running for the moment.
4) The worst play call of the weekend may have been that late second and 8 call which allowed Miami to save a timeout and nearly cost the Patriots a win. I say run the ball even if they stuff it. The Dolphins get the ball back with less than a minute and no timeouts and need a touchdown.
5) Joe Burrow can’t keep getting hurt like this. Out till December with turf toe. Burrow is a native of the same state where Canton is. He also plays in it. He has the talent to join that fraternity some day. Either protect this guy or tell him how to run away from these sorts of injuries better.
6) Kansas City is 0-2. Could it be that this team needs a (gulp) makeover? Travis Kelce must have more Taylor Swift on his mind than football.
7) Geek of the Week: Colts head coach Shane Steichen seemed perfectly okay with a 60-yard game-winning field goal. Thank goodness for leverage penalties. Indy still won, but that was a nice gift from the Mile High City.
8) I do hope you Patriot fans wished Mac Jones well in his start replacing Mr. Other Turf Toe (Brock Purdy). Jones led his team to a win over New Orleans, and in his postgame presser he sounded much like when he was here with his standard answers (“I did _____, that’s on me, we’ll look at the films and try and fix it”). Jones cannot be as petulant as he was in Foxborough, and he could do well if he grows up. But Purdy will resume his job when he gets back.
9) Detroit should not be scolded for running up 52 on Chicago. Ben Johnson bolts to a rival. Enough said. How did you all feel when Bill Parcells opposed the Patriots as Jets head coach? Much the same thing.
10) The Globe said that this was the eighth highest scoring week in NFL history. Given that this is week 2, how many more times will this week’s total be surpassed this year?
11) You might be tempted to use the Parcells phrase “Don’t put him in Canton just yet” when referring to Drake Maye. But he is receiving praise that is starting to meander into the “Wow, this guy has got it going on!” category.
12) Green Bay now looks like the team to beat in the NFC North, something that seems feasible when you add someone like Micah Parsons.
13) Back to school: Okay, so Bill Belichick is now 2-1 at UNC. He got two wins over cupcake schools which probably play basketball better than football (which also applies to UNC). Unfortunately for His Hoodiness, he will see more pastings by legitimate football programs than he will easy wins over teams which think that a three pointer doesn’t involve kicking a football.
14) While we’re on the subject of UNC, if you ranked the ten worst college fight songs, UNC’s would be on that list. I’m A Tar Heel Born is only 8 bars long and sounds only a little less bad indoors versus outdoors.
15) It’s been over a week now, and it still feels like that Buffalo-Baltimore game remains one of the best regular season games in the last maybe 50 years. On the flip side, Derrick Henry may never live down that fumble.
16) Notice lately that the Monday night and Thursday night games are getting much better and the games much more competitive? The broadcasters, led by Joe Buck and Al Michaels, help give both games a sense of legitimacy. The sideline reporters, Lisa Salters, Laura Rutledge and Kaylee Hartung are terrific. Analysts Troy (Hall of Famer) Aikman and Kirk Herbstreit are also great, though some still criticize Herbie for being too into college football.
17) Despite Rhamondre Stevenson having a career day at Miami, this reporter would love to see more of TreVeyon Henderson. A die-hard hater of Ohio State, I have seen this guy gash Michigan and many other Big Ten teams. Give him some more touches. And keep him at the ready in case Stevenson still puts the pig on the ground.
18) I know they want that new stadium in Buffalo. I just hate the thought of closing down Highmark Stadium. I remember when it was Rich Stadium when it opened in 1973. This new stadium looks beautiful, but it won’t prevent fans from not making it to the game when there’s 2-3 feet of snow outside. Then again, Bills fans are hardy stock who used to bring kegs of beer to the old War Memorial Stadium, known as the Rock Pile, in the AFL days.
19) Remember him: I want to applaud John “Frenchy” Fuqua for making good on his promise to never reveal if the ball hit him first or Jack Tatum first on the Immaculate Reception play in 1972. The most famous play in NFL history (thank goodness it’s not the David Tyree play) hinges on that collision between Pittsburgh’s Fuqua and Oakland’s Tatum near midfield. If the ball hits Tatum first, Franco Harris’ subsequent catch is good. If it hits Fuqua first, no catch. Those were the rules back then. Asked what his take on the play is, Fuqua gets super coy and gives you something like “Well, I’m not sure…it might have hit me…but then it might have hit Jack…I’m really not sure!” Of course he’s sure. College professors of physics have tried to prove that the ball rebounding that hard means only Tatum could have hit the ball. But we will never really know. Let’s hope Frenchy keeps it that way.
20) Lots of boos from the Texans fans Monday night. They played well much of the time but in the end missed a lot of plays that could have won the game, and Tampa Bay is 2-0 but hardly looks like a 2-0 team.
Baker Mayfield, however, looks like a 2-0 quarterback.
21) Happy to see Las Vegas come down to earth, generating only three field goals against the Chargers. Too bad New England can’t have a rematch with them.
Ashton Jeanty will soon learn that he’s in the NFL and not the Mountain West conference anymore. Players at this level are just a wee bit better.
22) It will be interesting to see Aaron Rodgers for the final time this weekend in Foxborough. Belichick used to extol praises on this guy every time he saw him.
When he walked away, he then remembered, oops, I’ve got Brady. Nothing like little white lies to sound polite.
We invite you to catch Bob George’s Boston Sports Podcast, broadcast on YouTube. Go to YouTube handle thepic413 to view the podcasts. Please click on the Subscribe button so you don’t miss any of the podcasts.
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Covering Boston Sports since 1997. Native of Worcester, Mass. Attended UMass and Univ of Michigan. Lives in California. Just recently retired after 40 years of public school teaching. Podcasts on YouTube at @thepic4139
