Backup quarterbacks can win - just ask Tide coach's dad Tuesday, October 12, 2004 By PAUL GATTIS Times Sports Staff [EMAIL PROTECTED] Maybe it's a Shula thing, something in the genes that passed from father to son.
Before the Super Bowl became an overblown circus known more for its wardrobe malfunction than the game itself, there was Don Shula. He was a sideline fixture in the days when the Super Bowl was just a game and not a corporate festival. The father of Alabama's football coach guided teams to four of the first eight Super Bowls. And a more subtle aspect of that legacy is that twice Shula did it with backup quarterbacks. "I won a lot of games with backup quarterbacks," Shula said Saturday while watching Alabama's 45-17 win over Kentucky. To which son Mike might ask, "What's the secret?" That's because the Crimson Tide has used three starting quarterbacks in six games this season in compiling a 4-2 record. Brodie Croyle started the first three games before tearing a knee ligament and being sidelined for the season. Marc Guillon then stepped in and struggled through two games before missing the Kentucky game with a stiff back. Third-string quarterback Spencer Pennington turned in an "admirable" effort, according to offensive coordinator Dave Rader, in the blowout victory over Kentucky. But where is Earl Morrall when you really need him? Morrall, now retired and living in Naples, Fla., was Shula's backup quarterback with the Baltimore Colts in 1968. But he became the starter when Johnny Unitas went down with an elbow injury in the final game of the preseason. That injury, in fact, caused nerve damage in Unitas' arm and was once the subject of a cover story in Sports Illustrated. With Morrall at quarterback, the Colts went 13-1 and marched into Super Bowl III as the NFL champions and the overwhelming favorites to whip the AFL's New York Jets. Of course, no one remembers Super Bowl III for Morrall. That was another quarterback. The New York Jets' Joe Namath - ironically, a former Alabama quarterback - guaranteed a victory and then led a 16-7 win over the Colts. Morrall would get his Super Bowl ring with the Colts in the 16-13 win over Dallas in Super Bowl V, again stepping in when Unitas was forced from the game with bruised ribs. But by then, Shula had already moved on to coach the Miami Dolphins. After that game, though, Shula engineered Morrall's arrival in Miami. "He was a veteran quarterback who had been around and played a lot," Shula said. "He was brought in just for that reason - as insurance. When I got to Miami and he became available, I said to my owner that I wanted to bring him in." Yes, Shula wanted him, but Dolphins owner Joe Robbie didn't. As Shula remembered more than 30 years later, this is the conversation they had: "Why? You've got Bob Griese?" Robbie said. "Just as insurance," Shula replied. "What's he making?" "Well, he's making a lot of money - $90,000." "$90,000 for a backup?" Indeed, that insurance policy became a sweet safety net for the Dolphins when Griese broke his ankle in the fifth game of the 1972 season. And Shula and Morrall were united again. In NFL history, 1972 stands alone without explanation - an acronym of sorts for perfection. Each season, until all 32 teams lose a game, the '72 Dolphins are the inevitable standard of comparison until their 17-0 record remains unmatched and largely unchallenged for still another year. Perfection, achieved with a backup quarterback. Morrall completed 83-of-150 passes that season for 1,360 yards and 11 touchdowns - laughably modest numbers in today's pass-happy game. But Morrall was named the AFC's Player of the Year by The Sporting News. Morrall wasn't a part of the ultimate win that season - the 14-7 victory over Washington in Super Bowl VI - because Shula chose to go back to a recovered Griese. Morrall, according to a 2002 story in the Boston Globe, was disappointed but understanding. So is there a moral in this story for Mike Shula? "You've got to have them for a while and make sure that you train them properly," his father said. "And you've got to give them some reps in practice." That's the advantage father had over son. Morrall had been in the NFL for 12 years before replacing Unitas in 1968. And in the undefeated season with the Dolphins, Morrall was 38 years old. That hardly compares to Guillon and Pennington, who had one career start between them coming into this season. And in that start, Pennington was forced from the game in the third quarter with a separated shoulder. "There's no magic things I can tell him," Shula said. "I'll watch a game and we'll talk and go over situations. Nobody knows me better than Mike and nobody knows Mike better than me. "He's paying for sins of the past. When he gets his fulfillment of scholarships and gets them coached, that's when Mike should be judged." It's the plight of a coach, to be defined by your surroundings - be it the plays your players make or the NCAA sanctions that came long before you arrived. Or maybe even the injuries that are beyond your control - whether they be to Johnny Unitas, Bob Griese or Brodie Croyle. So did Earl Morrall make Don Shula a great coach? Or did Shula make Morrall a great quarterback? "That had to have been," Shula said of signing Morrall to the Dolphins, "one of the wisest moves we ever made." ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP.
