Tournament of Past Champions - 2014 Title Defense of the '99 St. Louis Rams

During the Spring of 2011, 128 of the greatest teams in football history came together and competed in Creative Misfortune’s Tournament of Past Champions. The tournament, comprised of 35 league champions (teams from the NFL, AFL and AAFC, who won their titles between 1941 and 1965), 45 Super Bowl champions, 45 Super Bowl runner-ups looking for redemption and 3 wild-cards pulled from the ranks of those modern-era teams so great during the regular season the football world was shocked when they did not make it to the Super Bowl (the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, the 2005 Indianapolis Colts and the 1987 San Francisco 49ers), proved to be a grueling task for all but the hardiest of teams.

In a single elimination tournament, with virtual game results determined by What If Sports computer simulations, 128 of the greatest teams in football history fought for supremacy and only one team – the 1999 St. Louis Rams, aka The Greatest Show on Turf – emerged victorious.

The road to the title for St. Louis was not an easy one. The Rams opened their tournament with a dominating 21-13 victory over the 1958 Baltimore Colts and really hit their stride in the second round when they absolutely crushed the 2001 New England Patriots, 29-12, in a matchup where they won every possible simulated game and avenged a real-world loss by the 2001 St. Louis Rams in the process.

St. Louis struggled mightily against the ’95 Cowboys in round three, advancing despite winning less than half of the simulations, but managed to find their high gear again when they defeated the 1962 Packers in their Fortunate 16 matchup, 21-14.

The Greatest Show on Turf punched their ticket to the Elite 4 with a gutty, one-point victory over the #1 seeded 1985 Chicago Bears and then rolled into the title game after defeating Brett Favre and the 1996 Green Bay Packers. A victory over the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers completed St. Louis’ championship run.

Four years removed from their outstanding Tournament of Past Champions victory, two new upstarts are set to challenge the ‘99 Rams for the title of greatest team ever – this season’s Super Bowl entrants, the 2014 New England Patriots and the 2014 Seattle Seahawks.

The Tournament of Past Champions games are played using the What If Sports SimMatchups software (try it for yourself here) that allows you to simulate historical games as many times as you would like with teams using different “offensive playbooks” while competing in both home, away or neutral game sites. To determine the title defense results, each matchup will be based on the result of 20 head-to-head simulations.

For example, to decide who would prevail – the 1959 Baltimore Colts or the 2009 Indianapolis Colts, 20 game simulations will be run – 10 at the home stadium of the ’59 Colts and 10 at the home stadium of the 2009 Colts.

Each of those 10 simulations will be broken down into “playbook” matchups in order to better gauge the overall strength and weaknesses of each team taking part in the tournament. The What If Sports game engine provides four separate playbook options – Balanced, Run Heavy, Pass Heavy and West Coast style. Over the course of a single, 20-game sim matchup, teams will play eight Balanced sims, four Pass Heavy sims, four Run Heavy sims and four West Coast style sims.

The final score for each team in the virtual matchup will be the average of the team’s scores over the course of all 20 simulations. The higher average “wins” the virtual matchup. In case teams are tied after 20 simulations, an additional 10 overtime sims, five at each team’s home stadium, will be played until one winner emerges.

Results for each virtual matchup are recorded as follows:

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		1959 Baltimore Colts	7	7	10	0	24
		2009 Indianapolis Colts	7	7	0	7	21
		*Baltimore won 14 of 20 simulations

Now, without further ado, the 1999 St. Louis Rams defend their Tournament of Past Champions title against this year’s Super Bowl teams…

1999 St. Louis Rams vs 2014 Seattle Seahawks

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		2014 Seattle Seahawks	0	7	3	7	17
		1999 St. Louis Rams	14	0	7	0	21
		*St. Louis won 14 of 20 simulations

St. Louis jumped out with quick touchdowns on their first two drives to take an early, commanding 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Seahawks used their run game to slow the Rams down in the second quarter, and scored a touchdown midway through the quarter to pull within 7 at halftime.

The Rams reestablished control of the game after the break, scoring a quick touchdown to go up 21-7. Seattle made it 21-10 with a field goal to end the 3rd quarter, but still trailed by two scores heading into the final stanza of their virtual matchup. St. Louis, content with their two-score lead, controlled the remainder of the game until Seattle managed to score a late touchdown with just over three minutes left in the game. The subsequent onside kick failed and the Rams ran out the clock to preserve their 21-17 victory.

1999 St. Louis Rams vs 2014 New England Patriots

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		2014 New England Patriots	0	7	0	7	14
		1999 St. Louis Rams	10	3	0	0	26
		*St. Louis won 15 of 20 simulations

The Rams traded punts with the Patriots before St. Louis scored on their next two drives. The first quarter ended with them ahead 10-0. St. Louis tacked on a field goal midway through the second quarter to take a two-touchdown lead before New England answered with a touchdown of their own to pull within one score at halftime.

St. Louis dominated the third quarter, scoring every time they touched the ball. After one touchdown and two field goals put them up by a commanding 26-7 lead, the Rams continued to control the game until the Patriots finally managed to score a last second, meaningless touchdown as time expired.

Congratulations again to the 1999 St. Louis Rams.

Still Creative Misfortune’s reigning Champion of Champions.

On Friday, the final blog announcement of Creative Misfortune’s fourth season…

Predictions of Creative Misfortune - TNF - Week 15 (2014)

Since I have both of these defenses starting in various fantasy leagues, I'm really hoping this slugfest goes into overtime with a final score of 16-14. Each team gets two defensive touchdowns and a safety in the extra period wins the game! Hey, it could happen. 

Thursday Night Game Prediction:

Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams
     Overall Points Per Yard Pick: Arizona Cardinals by 3
     Home/Away Points Per Yard Pick: St. Louis Rams by 3
     Vegas Lines Pick: St. Louis Rams by 5. Rams by 4.5, Over/Under 39.5
     Pythagorean Theorem Pick: Arizona Cardinals by 3. Arizona Cardinals projected to win by a 2014 Pythagorean Rating of 0.585 - 0.500
     Fantasy Projection Pick: St. Louis Rams by 1. St. Louis Rams projected to win by a fantasy score of 65-64
     Best Record Wins Pick: Arizona Cardinals by 3. Cardinals better at 10-3
     Home Team Wins Pick: St. Louis Rams by 3

Check back tomorrow morning for predictions of the rest of the NFL's week 15 slate...

Predictions of Creative Misfortune - MNF - Week 6 (2014)

At the coast this weekend, so no weekly prediction recap this Monday. All systems favor the 49ers to win in St. Louis tonight, except the Home Team Wins formula. Enjoy! 


Monday Night Game Prediction:

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams
     Overall Points Per Yard Pick: San Francisco 49ers by 9
     Home/Away Points Per Yard Pick: San Francisco 49ers by 8
     Vegas Lines Pick: San Francisco 49ers by 3. 49ers by 3, Over/Under 43.5
     Pythagorean Theorem Pick: San Francisco 49ers by 9. San Francisco 49ers projected to win by a 2014 Pythagorean Rating of 0.522 - 0.305
     Fantasy Projection Pick: San Francisco 49ers by 1. San Francisco 49ers projected to win by a fantasy score of 64-62
     Best Record Wins Pick: San Francisco 49ers by 3. 49ers better at 3-2
     Home Team Wins Pick: St. Louis Rams by 3


Week 6 "If Real Football Used Fantasy Scoring..." results will be posted on Wednesday. How many teams improved their fantasy records this week, despite losing in real life?

Tournament of Past Champions - 2013 Title Defense of the '99 St. Louis Rams

During the Spring of 2011, 128 of the greatest teams in football history came together and competed in Creative Misfortune’s Tournament of Past Champions. The tournament, comprised of 35 league champions (teams from the NFL, AFL and AAFC, who won their titles between 1941 and 1965), 45 Super Bowl champions, 45 Super Bowl runner-ups looking for redemption and 3 wild-cards pulled from the ranks of those modern-era teams so great during the regular season the football world was shocked when they did not make it to the Super Bowl (the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, the 2005 Indianapolis Colts and the 1987 San Francisco 49ers), proved to be a grueling task for all but the hardiest of teams.

In a single elimination tournament, with virtual game results determined by What If Sports computer simulations, 128 of the greatest teams in football history fought for supremacy and only one team – the 1999 St. Louis Rams, aka The Greatest Show on Turf – emerged victorious.

The road to the title for St. Louis was not an easy one. The Rams opened their tournament with a dominating 21-13 victory over the 1958 Baltimore Colts and really hit their stride in the second round when they absolutely crushed the 2001 New England Patriots, 29-12, in a matchup where they won every possible simulated game and avenged a real-world loss by the 2001 St. Louis Rams in the process.

St. Louis struggled mightily against the ’95 Cowboys in round three, advancing despite winning less than half of the simulations, but managed to find their high gear again when they defeated the 1962 Packers in their Fortunate 16 matchup, 21-14.

The Greatest Show on Turf punched their ticket to the Elite 4 with a gutty, one-point victory over the #1 seeded, 1985 Chicago Bears and then rolled into the title game after defeating Brett Favre and the 1996 Green Bay Packers. A victory over the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers completed St. Louis’ championship run.

Three years removed from their outstanding Tournament of Past Champions victory, two new upstarts are set to challenge the ‘99 Rams for the title of greatest team ever – this season’s Super Bowl entrants, the 2013 Denver Broncos and the 2013 Seattle Seahawks.

The Tournament of Past Champions games are played using the What If Sports SimMatchups software (try it for yourself here) that allows you to simulate historical games as many times as you would like with teams using different “offensive playbooks” while competing in both home, away or neutral game sites. To determine the title defense results, each matchup will be based on the result of 20 head-to-head simulations.

For example, to decide who would prevail – the 1959 Baltimore Colts or the 2009 Indianapolis Colts, 20 game simulations will be run – 10 at the home stadium of the ’59 Colts and 10 at the home stadium of the 2009 Colts.

Each of those 10 simulations will be broken down into “playbook” matchups in order to better gauge the overall strength and weaknesses of each team taking part in the tournament. The What If Sports game engine provides four separate playbook options – Balanced, Run Heavy, Pass Heavy and West Coast style. Over the course of a single, 20-game sim matchup, teams will play eight Balanced sims, four Pass Heavy sims, four Run Heavy sims and four West Coast style sims.

The final score for each team in the virtual matchup will be the average of the team’s scores over the course of all 20 simulations. The higher average “wins” the virtual matchup. In case teams are tied after 20 simulations, an additional 10 overtime sims, five at each team’s home stadium, will be played until one winner emerges. 

Results for each virtual matchup are recorded as follows:

                                                          

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		1959 Baltimore Colts	7	7	10	0	24
		2009 Indianapolis Colts	7	7	0	7	21
		*Baltimore won 14 of 20 simulations

Now, without further ado, the 1999 St. Louis Rams defend their Tournament of Past Champions title against this year’s Super Bowl teams…

1999 St. Louis Rams vs 2013 Denver Broncos

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		2013 Denver Broncos	0	7	0	14	21
		1999 St. Louis Rams	7	3	14	0	24
		*St. Louis won 10 of 20 simulations

   
            The Broncos stayed close with the Rams until halftime, then stumbled after the break. Peyton Manning led them down the field and threatened in the 4th quarter, but it was too little, too late and Denver fell short of dethroning the Greatest Show on Turf.  

1999 St. Louis Rams vs 2013 Seattle Seahawks

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		2013 Seattle Seahawks	0	7	10	0	17
		1999 St. Louis Rams	0	7	3	10	20
		*St. Louis won 11 of 20 simulations

            Seattle fared slightly better against the Rams and played them dead even through the first half. The Seahawks even managed to take the lead into the 4th Quarter, but could not hold on to it when their offense sputtered in the final stanza. Kurt Warner led the Rams to two late scores to overtake the Seahawks and retain their title as the greatest statistical team of all time.

Congratulations again to the 1999 St. Louis Rams.

Still Creative Misfortune’s reigning Champion of Champions.

           


On Friday, the final blog announcement of Creative Misfortune’s third season…

Season Recap - 2013 St. Louis Rams

St. Louis Rams



Final Record: 7-9
Finished: 4^th Place in the NFC West
2014 Draft Position: 13th

Preseason Ranking: 21

Week 1: Defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27-24
    Ranked - 13
    A tough, gritty come-from-behind win is just what this young team needed to propel them on to bigger and better things.

Week 2: Lost at the Atlanta Falcons, 31-24
    Ranked - 21
    The Rams were hammered by the Falcons in the first half, but showed a lot of spirit in the second half, proving that this young team is close to taking that next step towards greatness.

Week 3: Lost at the Dallas Cowboys, 31-7
    Ranked - 25
    The Rams took a step back against Dallas this past weekend, but this is a young team full of potential.

Week 4: Lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 35-11
    Ranked - 28
    The Rams looked terrible last Thursday… maybe they needed more than 3 days to recover from the beating Dallas put on them the Sunday before. Bradford needs to step his game up, otherwise St. Louis will be looking for a new QB by season's end.

Week 5: Defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 34-20
    Ranked - 24
    The Rams still need a lot of improvement, but after being manhandled by the Cowboys and 49ers, being able to kick the Jaguars had to feel pretty good.

Week 6: Defeated the Houston Texans, 38-13
    Ranked - 20
    Looks like the Rams have finally recovered from their losses to the Cowboys and 49ers a few weeks back.

Week 7: Lost at the Carolina Panthers, 30-15
    Ranked - 23
    Sam Bradford done for the year and new quarterbacks are being tried out as we we speak. That does not bode well for the rest of the season.

Week 8: Lost to the Seattle Seahawks, 14-9
    Ranked - 24
    St. Louis shocked everybody last week by almost knocking off the Seahawks. If the defense keeps playing strong, the offense may be able to get into gear and notch a few more wins before the season is over.

Week 9: Lost to the Tennessee Titans, 28-21
    Ranked - 24
    Who needs a quarterback when you have a running back that can rush for 150+? Ya, the Rams still need a quarterback.

Week 10: Defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 38-8
    Ranked - 20
    Holy cow, St. Louis! Where the heck did that game come from?

Week 11: BYE WEEK
    Ranked - 21
    The Rams have no shot at the division title, but some slim hopes still remain for a Wild Card spot if they keep playing like they played in Indianapolis.

Week 12: Defeated the Chicago Bears, 42-21
    Ranked - 19
    I don't know what has gotten into the Rams, but they are playing outstanding football lately.

Week 13: Lost at the San Francisco 49ers, 23-13
    Ranked - 20
    After a couple solid weeks of play, St. Louis did not look good against the 49ers - a team they have to learn how to beat if they ever hope to regain dominance within the division.

Week 14: Lost at the Arizona Cardinals, 30-10
    Ranked - 21
    The Rams have a lot of potential… just need to get their execution down so they can keep pace with the big boys in their division.

Week 15: Defeated the New Orleans Saints, 27-16
    Ranked - 19
    The Rams won't make the playoffs this year, but they are certainly putting the pieces in place for a run in 2014.

Week 16: Defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-13
    Ranked - 19
    Out of the playoffs, the Rams have an excellent opportunity to finish the season at .500 and mess with Seattle's playoff seeding if they can pull off the week 17 upset.

Week 17: Lost at the Seattle Seahawks, 27-9

Final Ranking: 21

Tomorrow, the 2013 Chicago Bears... 

Tournament of Past Champions - Title Defense of the '99 St. Louis Rams

Last year, 128 of the greatest teams in football history came together and competed in Creative Misfortune’s Tournament of Past Champions. The tournament, comprised of 35 league champions (teams from the NFL, AFL and AAFC, who won their titles between 1941 and 1965), 45 Super Bowl champions, 45 Super Bowl runner-ups looking for redemption and 3 wild-cards pulled from the ranks of those modern-era teams so great during the regular season the football world was shocked when they did not make it to the Super Bowl (the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, the 2005 Indianapolis Colts and the 1987 San Francisco 49ers), proved to be a grueling task for all but the hardiest of teams.

In a single elimination tournament, with virtual game results determined by What If Sports computer simulations, 128 of the greatest teams in football history fought for supremacy and only one team – the 1999 St. Louis Rams, aka The Greatest Show on Turf – emerged victorious.

The road to the title for St. Louis was not an easy one. The Rams opened their tournament with a dominating 21-13 victory over the 1958 Baltimore Colts and really hit their stride in the second round when they absolutely crushed the 2001 New England Patriots, 29-12, in a matchup where they won every possible simulated game and avenged a real-world loss by the 2001 St. Louis Rams in the process.

St. Louis struggled mightily against the ’95 Cowboys in round three, advancing despite winning less than half of the simulations, but managed to find their high gear again when they defeated the 1962 Packers in their Fortunate 16 matchup, 21-14.

The Greatest Show on Turf punched their ticket to the Elite 4 with a gutty, one-point victory over the #1 seeded, 1985 Chicago Bears and then rolled into the title game after defeating Brett Favre and the 1996 Green Bay Packers. A victory over the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers completed St. Louis’ championship run.

One year removed from their outstanding victory, two new upstarts are set to challenge the ‘99 Rams for the title of greatest team ever – this season’s Super Bowl entrants, the 2011 New England Patriots and the 2011 New York Giants.

The Tournament of Past Champions games are played using the What If Sports SimMatchups software (try it for yourself here) that allows you to simulate historical games as many times as you would like with teams using different “offensive playbooks” while competing in both home, away or neutral game sites. To determine the title defense results, each matchup will be based on the result of 20 head-to-head simulations.

For example, to decide who would prevail – the 1959 Baltimore Colts or the 2009 Indianapolis Colts, 20 game simulations will be run – 10 at the home stadium of the ’59 Colts and 10 at the home stadium of the 2009 Colts.

Each of those 10 simulations will be broken down into “playbook” matchups in order to better gauge the overall strength and weaknesses of each team taking part in the tournament. The What If Sports game engine provides four separate playbook options – Balanced, Run Heavy, Pass Heavy and West Coast style. Over the course of a single, 20-game sim matchup, teams will play eight Balanced sims, four Pass Heavy sims, four Run Heavy sims and four West Coast style sims.

The final score for each team in the virtual matchup will be the average of the team’s scores over the course of all 20 simulations. The higher average “wins” the virtual matchup. In case teams are tied after 20 simulations, an additional 10 overtime sims, five at each team’s home stadium, will be played until one winner emerges. 

Results for each virtual matchup are recorded as follows:

                                                          

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		1959 Baltimore Colts	7	7	10	0	24
		2009 Indianapolis Colts	7	7	0	7	21
		*Baltimore won 14 of 20 simulations

Now, without further ado, the 1999 St. Louis Rams defend their Tournament of Past Champions title against this year’s Super Bowl teams…

1999 St. Louis Rams vs 2011 New England Patriots

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		2011 New England Patriots	7	7	0	0	14
		1999 St. Louis Rams	7	7	14	3	31
		*St. Louis won 18 of 20 simulations

   
            The Patriots held strong through halftime, but could not keep pace with the high-flying Rams who dominated the second half by outscoring New England 17-0.  

1999 St. Louis Rams vs 2011 New York Giants

			1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
		2011 New York Giants	3	3	7	7	20
		1999 St. Louis Rams	14	7	7	3	31
		*St. Louis won 16 of 20 simulations

            The Giants fared slightly better against the Rams than the Patriots, but fell into an early 14-3 hole at the end of the first quarter. Despite scoring two second half touchdowns, the Rams proved to be too much for the Giants.

Congratulations again to the 1999 St. Louis Rams.

Still Creative Misfortune’s reigning Champion of Champions.

           


On Friday, the final blog announcement of Creative Misfortune’s second season…

Season Recap - 2011 St. Louis Rams

Final Record: 2-14

Finished: 4^th Place in the NFC West
2012 Draft Position: 2^nd

Preseason Ranking: 13

Week 1: Lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-13
    Ranked - 29
    Ouch. The Eagles put the hurt on the Rams and with so many early season injuries, St. Louis could be hard-pressed to challenge for the division title.

Week 2: Lost at the New York Giants, 28-16
    Ranked - 30
    The Rams are better than their 0-2 record and are probably better than their 30th ranking, but injuries and bad decisions have St. Louis trying to figure out what is going on. The game against the Giants was sloppy and not the best way to highlight your talents in primetime. Like Seattle, the Rams still have more than a good chance in the NFC West, but how truly terrible is the division if two of its four teams are considered Forked?

Week 3: Lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 37-7
    Ranked - 31
    Note to self: Bruised, but not broken. Shaken, but not stirred. Winless, but not out of it. Signed, Sam Bradford.

Week 4: Lost to the Washington Redskins, 17-10
    Ranked - 32
    Even in the NFC West the Rams won't be able to overcome their horrible start.

Week 5: BYE WEEK
    Ranked - 32
    Normally teams that start winless look forward to coming out of the bye weeks locked and loaded for their first win of the season. Unfortunately for the Rams, they have the Packers waiting for them this week in Lambeau. That can’t be good.

Week 6: Lost at the Green Bay Packers, 24-3
    Ranked - 32     Indiana Jones Style Recap
    [At a press conference discussing the Rams woeful 0-5 start]
    Coach Spagnuolo: We have top men working on it now.
    Media Member #1: Who?
    Coach Spagnuolo: Top... men.

Week 7: Lost at the Dallas Cowboys, 34-7
    Ranked - 32
    The Rams keep looking worse every week. They haven't even been close to winning a game all season.

Week 8: Defeated the New Orleans Saints, 31-21
    Ranked - 30
    Unfortunately for the Rams, and the people of St. Louis, the Cardinals can’t celebrate a World Series championship at the Edward Jones Dome every Sunday.

Week 9: Lost at the Arizona Cardinals, 19-13
    Ranked - 31
    Giving up a 99-yard punt return touchdown is a devastating way to lose in overtime. But scoring 4 points in the third quarter on the strength of two safeties was pretty cool. The Rams have that going for them… if nothing else.

Week 10: Defeated the Cleveland Browns, 13-12
    Ranked - 31
    Just when you think the Rams might have figured out how to gain the #1 overall pick, they go and win another one against a suspect team like the Browns.

Week 11: Lost to the Seattle Seahawks, 24-7
    Ranked - 31
    The Rams should have been so much better this year.

Week 12: Lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 23-20
    Ranked - 31
    The Rams have been close to breaking through all season, but they just aren’t good enough.

Week 13: Lost at the San Francisco 49ers, 26-0
    Ranked - 31
    Nothing says "we haven't given up" like scoring 0 points against your division rival.

Week 14: Lost at the Seattle Seahawks, 30-13
    Ranked - 31
    The Rams have showed just enough promise to avoid earning the #1 overall pick next year, but that's about it.

Week 15: Lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-13
    Ranked - 30
    The Rams are having a devil of a time winning this year, but their strength of schedule could end up hurting them come draft time if they end up tied with the Vikings.

Week 16: Lost at the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-0
    Ranked - 31
    The Rams could be on the clock as early as 4:00pm Eastern on Sunday… if Indianapolis can get past Jacksonville.

Week 17: Lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 34-27


Final Ranking: 32


Tomorrow, the 2011 Minnesota Vikings...

Tournament of Past Champions ~ Championship Matchup

The two championship contenders - the Mythical bracket champion 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers and the Fabled bracket champion 1999 St. Louis Rams - have survived six rounds of intense, simulated action against the greatest of the great NFL champions of the past 70 years. Both teams have won games easily and both teams have also struggled to escape defeat by the slimmest of possible margins. But regardless of how they reached the championship game, they alone made it here while 126 other championship hopefuls fell by the wayside.

After all has been said and done, it is time for Creative Misfortune’s Tournament of Past Champions to be done. Now, on a simulated neutral field, the Tournament of Past Champions Championship Matchup gets underway, featuring the 20-seeded 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers vs the 11-seeded 1999 St. Louis Rams.

First Quarter:

St. Louis received the opening kickoff and sent their quick strike offense on the field. After two outside runs by Marshall Faulk netted only three yards, their third offensive play showed everybody why they were the Greatest Show on Turf. Isaac Bruce blazed down the right sideline and Kurt Warner hit him in stride a full five yards clear of the Steelers secondary. Bruce crossed the goal line without being touched and the Rams took an early 7-0 lead on the 77-yard bomb.

Pittsburgh, rattled by the early score, but undeterred, put their power running game on display when they first touched the ball. The Steelers pounded the Rams and marched down the field on the strength of the O-Line and Franco Harris. Their long drive finally stalled inside the Rams 20-yard line. A field goal put the Steelers on the scoreboard, though they still trailed 7-3.

St. Louis countered with more precision passing and reached deep into Pittsburgh territory once again before they, too, kicked a field goal as the quarter ended.

End of First Quarter: St. Louis 10, Pittsburgh 3

Second Quarter:

The Steelers again marched the ball into field goal range on their first drive of the second quarter with another heavy dose of Franco Harris and some timely play-action passes to close the deficit to 10-6. Both offenses sputtered and traded punts following the Steelers score.

Late in the second quarter Warner finally got the Rams moving again and connected with Torry Holt on a quick slant that covered 17 yards for another St. Louis touchdown.

Down 17-6 at the two minute warning, Bradshaw managed to convert one first down for the Steelers, but three straight incompletions ended their drive. Warner kneeled down after a Steelers punt, content to take St. Louis into the locker room with the lead.

Halftime: St. Louis 17, Pittsburgh 6

Third Quarter:

After fiery halftime locker room speeches, the Steelers came out of the break loaded for Ram and immediately set to work. Punishing runs, play-action passes and a deep out route to Lynn Swann all contributed to a touchdown drive punctuated by Franco Harris to pull the Steelers within four points.

Still leading 17-13, the Rams offense struggled and failed to move the chains on their first second-half drive. The teams alternated punts until the Pittsburgh D picked off an errant Warner pass and returned the ball deep into Rams territory. Four plays later, the Steelers kicked another field goal and the quarter ended with St. Louis nursing the slimmest of leads.

End of Third Quarter: St. Louis 17, Pittsburgh 16

Fourth Quarter:

The fourth quarter continued the defensive standstill of the third quarter. Neither the Rams nor the Steelers were able to advance the ball past midfield. As the seconds ticked away, each team thwarted the other at every opportunity. With six minutes remaining in the game, still leading by one, St. Louis caught a break when Pittsburgh’s punt coverage broke down and Az-Zahir Hakim scampered 63 yards to the Steelers 27-yard line. Four plays later, with little over four minutes remaining, Kurt Warner hit Isaac Bruce for a 7-yard touchdown pass.

Pittsburgh received the ensuing kickoff, down 24-16, and set their passing game in motion. Lax zone coverage by the Rams allowed the Steelers to get across midfield in three quick plays. An incompletion stopped the clock just outside of two minutes. Steelers fans looked grim in the stands. Their team, down by eight, still needed to cover 34 yards to get into the end zone. A draw play to Franco Harris on second down netted Pittsburgh 12 yards and the two-minute warning came with 1:53 showing on the clock.

The Rams tightened their coverage and blitzed on first down, though Bradshaw read the blitz and hit Swann for a quick pickup of five yards. 1:37… 1:36… 1:35… The clock counted down. An incomplete fade pass to John Stallworth on second down stopped the clock at 1:24. Third down and five, a hitch to Tight End Bennie Cunningham netted a first down, but little else, and Pittsburgh was forced to take their final timeout with 57 seconds remaining, still 11 yards away from a touchdown and a possible game-tying two-point conversion.

Bradshaw missed on his first down pass and was forced to throw the ball away when flushed out of the pocket on second down. 31 seconds remained with the Steelers facing a long third down with no timeouts. Pittsburgh split Wide Receivers Stallworth and Swann out wide and then hit Franco Harris on a flare pass out of the backfield. Harris fought his way out of bounds at the four yard line.

Fourth down. 19 seconds remaining. Four yards from the end zone. Bradshaw took the snap, glanced left, and then fired the ball right to Stallworth. The ball hit Stallworth’s hands at the goal line just as Rams Cornerback Todd Lyght barreled into the fleet-footed receiver. The football caromed into the air and was corralled by Rams Linebacker London Fletcher in the end zone for a touchback.

Kurt Warner gathered the Rams offense at the 20-yard line, called for the final snap and ended the Championship Game with a kneeldown.   

Final Score: St. Louis 24, Pittsburgh 16

Congratulations to the

1999 St. Louis Rams.

Creative Misfortune’s Tournament of Past Champions

Champion of Champions

Tomorrow, the final blog announcement of Creative Misfortune’s first season…

Tournament of Past Champions ~ Elite 4 Matchup – Battle of the ‘90s

The Legendary Bracket champion 1996 Green Bay Packers are no strangers to big games. The last surviving team from Titletown, USA, the Super Bowl XXXI champion ’96 Packers, led by young Brett Favre, rolled through their bracket matchups, despite entering the tournament seeded 12^th, based on their regular season win percentage.

Their journey started with a solid, if underwhelming, 17-13 victory over the 2000 New York Giants, followed by a second-round win against the 2003 New England Patriots. Another modern era team matched up with them in the third round, but the ’93 Cowboys were no match for the ’96 Packers and fell, 21-17.

When Favre led them onto the field for their Fortunate 16 matchup against the tournament’s top seeded 2007 New England Patriots, it looked like the Pack’s run was at an end, but an MVP performance shocked the world as the Packers not only defeated the Patriots, but completely outclassed them by winning a surprising 16 of 20 simulations en route to a 24-16 victory.

Momentum carried them to victory in a gritty, defensive battle against the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, all that stands between the 1996 Packers and another title game appearance is the upstart, Fabled bracket champions, the 1999 St. Louis Rams.

The Rams opened their tournament with a dominating 21-13 victory over the 1958 Baltimore Colts and really hit their stride in the second round when they absolutely crushed the 2001 New England Patriots, 29-12, in a matchup where they won every possible simulated game and avenged a real-world loss by the 2001 St. Louis Rams in the process.

St. Louis struggled mightily against the ’95 Cowboys in round three and managed to advance despite winning less than half of the simulations, but managed to find their high gear again when they defeated the 1962 Packers in their Fortunate 16 matchup, 21-14.

The Greatest Show on Turf punched their ticket to the Elite 4 with a gutty, one-point victory over the #1 seeded, 1985 Chicago Bears.

Now, on a simulated neutral field, the first of the Elite 4 Tournament of Past Champions matchups gets underway featuring the 12-seeded 1996 Green Bay Packers vs the 11-seeded 1999 St. Louis Rams.

First Quarter:

St. Louis struck first when they took the opening kick-off and steadily drove down the field. Their balanced attack kept the Packers guessing and they came away with an early field goal to go up 3-0. Green Bay countered with a long drive of their own that faltered in the red zone, though they tied it up with a field goal of their own.  

The Rams offense kicked into a higher gear and moved the ball freely down the field. A quick slant TD strike from Kurt Warner to Torry Holt gave the Rams a 7-point lead. The quarter ended when both quarterbacks traded interceptions at midfield.

End of First Quarter: St. Louis 10, Green Bay 3

Second Quarter:

Green Bay took over and Favre marched the Packers down the field only to stall once again outside of field goal range. Warner missed on his next few passes, but Marshall Faulk picked up the slack and helped get the Rams out of the shadow of their end zone. The two teams traded punts at midfield. With little time remaining in the first half, Warner played perfect pass-and-catch with his receivers during the two-minute drill. The Rams tacked on another field goal as the half expired and headed into the locker room with a comfortable, 10-point lead.

           

Halftime: St. Louis 13, Green Bay 3

Third Quarter:

The Packers went three-and-out on their first drive and punted the ball away to open the second half. On the Rams' second play from scrimmage, Warner hit Isaac Bruce streaking down the far sideline for a devastating, quick-strike touchdown. The Packers defense walked off the field shaking their head at the scoreboard. Favre took the offense back onto the field following the ensuing kick-off, grim determination on his face, his team now down by 17 with little over a quarter-and-a-half to play.

The Green Bay offense did not strike quickly, but moved the ball efficiently down the field. After long runs by Dorsey Levens and Edgar Bennett, Favre connected with Antonio Freeman in the back corner of the end zone to give the Packers some life. Both offenses stalled following the Packers touchdown and the quarter ended with St. Louis in control of both the ball and the scoreboard.

End of the Third Quarter: St. Louis 20, Green Bay 10

Fourth Quarter:

St. Louis, content to keep the clock moving, handed the ball off to Marshall Faulk and kept the chains moving with their short, precision passing game. The Green Bay defense could do little to stop them, but finally caught a break when a well-timed blitz sacked Warner on third down in Green Bay territory, forcing the Rams to try a long field goal. The field goal missed wide and Favre rushed the Packers offense back out onto the field. Playing like a gunslinger, Favre quickly led the Pack down the field and pulled them within one score when Dorsey Levens pounded the ball in from the one-yard line.

The Packers, down by three with just over five minutes left to play, kicked away. An untimely three-and-out by St. Louis made the stadium start rocking as Green-and-Gold fans cheered for another great Favre comeback. Green Bay’s offense picked up where it left off and marched right back down the field. With just over a minute remaining, Favre was flushed from the pocket and was hit just as he launched a dangerous pass across the middle toward Antonio Freeman. The pass was intercepted just short of the goal line as Favre was driven into the turf by two Ram linebackers.

The stadium fell silent as Warner made two successive kneel downs inside his own five-yard line to end the game and knock the 1996 Green Bay Packers out of the tournament.

Final Score: St. Louis 20, Green Bay 17

Congratulations to the 1999 St. Louis Rams.

They now wait for their championship opponent – either the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers or the 1977 Dallas Cowboys.

Check back tomorrow to see which of the great ‘70s franchises will take their place alongside the 1999 St. Louis Rams in the Tournament of Past Champions Title Game…