08-09-2010, 12:55 PM
Jakensama Wrote:Unitas was gone by 70 right?
No he was there. He hurt his ribs in the Superbowl and couldn't finish the game. I think he played until 71 with the Colts and ended up with the Chargers in 72 then retired.
By 1970 Unitas was a liability though. The problem with QB's then is they called there own plays. I like that in general but it can be a problem for an older quarterback. He was calling plays as if he was 26 still and he physically just couldn't pull off the things he used to. He became a turn over machine.
Unitas wasn't surrounded by great talent anymore either. They had some young kids (Roy Jeffereson is one I remember) that had speed in 1970 but the days of Mackey and Orr in there prime, Berry, Mattie and Lenny Moore were long gone.
The 70 Colts won because of defense. Bubba Smith, Mike Curtis, Ted Hendricks, Billy Ray Smith etc.
It was kind of sad that year. The 70 Colts over all were a shell of there former self and still won a world championship. The 68 Colts that lost to Namath was not only the best Colt team ever but that was the best team I personally ever saw until the 76 Raiders came along. All the teams inbetween the 68 Colts and 76 Raiders were subpar.
That just goes to show how much 1970 sucked. An over the hill aging shell of its glory days won the Superbowl.
Vllad