In Defense Of... Stagger Lee (Oilers @ Broncos - 1987 NFL Playoffs) 

Stagger Lee was used by several wrestlers over the years. Koko Ware is the one I remember (He ddn't have the "B" yet).

I'm wondering if Rozier's USFL numbers were added in. Though he didn't fumble much in Pittsburgh, he seemed to start with Jacksonville where he played injured a lot.

Rozier catches the ball and turns it up to the sidelines #75 doesn't come within 5 yards of touching him. He is close because rozier is needing to jump back towards the middle of the field to try to recover the ball. There may have been a safety that could have gotten him out by the 30 yard line with a good pursuit angle but even that is debatable.

Denver was probably the better overall team in this Divisional playoff game in 1987, but although Elway led a miraculous, "Drive II", 98-yard last-second FG win vs. these same Oilers in 1991, I still believe Houston was the better team in their nose classic, yet somewhat now forgotten postseason 1991 classic. That being stated, even if Oilers had beaten Denver and advanced to play the Bills next week in the AFCCG, they probably lose just like Denver did. Although late 80's-early 90's old Oilers run and shoot offense was one of the few AFC offenses that could keep up with Buffalo's K-Gun offense, Houston lacked the power rushing game and while the early 90's Oilers defenses had their fair share of hard-hitting, nasty Pro-Bowlers, how many of them ended up eventually in Canton? Ray Childress? Bubba Mcdowell? William Fuller? Sean Davis? Contrast this lack of representation to Buffalo's HOFers or perennial All-Pros: Darryl Talley, Bruce Smith, IMHO, Cornelius Bennett, Phil Hansen, later on, although he was a bit of a dirty, edgy player(Bryce Paup), Nate Odomes, Steve Tasker, etc.

@@davidroberts7282 Well the next year, the Oilers had the Bills beat in the Wild Card game, only to give up the greatest comeback ever. I give them a fair chance in 1991 AFC Championship if they got there, they seemed to match up well with the Bills in that era.

I was thinking the same thing. Turn that lateral into a forward pass and the risk is gone. Even if Moon drops back two more steps there’s no fumble just an incomplete pass.

@@freeparking301 There’s still some risk but at least a potential fumble would be eliminated completely. I’ve been watching a lot of Oilers football lately. Most / all of their playoff games from 87-93 are on youtube! Look forward to watching this one.

@@Ragtime4 You’re right because there was always a chance of a safety or fumble after the catch because the play was so convoluted to begin with and other things had to go right after the fact. Glanville was a lunatic that disregarded those things from time to time. I’ll have to check those games out too. The first football game I ever watched was when I was seven and got to witness a certain game involving the Oilers in Buffalo. One helluva first impression that had me wondering if all football games were like that. I grew up an Eagles fan which until 2017 felt like a curse my father passed down to me but watching that game left me with a sympathy towards Oilers fans which later became a hatred for Bud Adams.

@@freeparking301 Coach Glanville has always been a free spirit. He’s an idiot or a lunatic if you’ve got a conservative mindset and always want to do what everyone else is doing, or the status quo of “what works.” But he was also a free thinker willing to try things, and was probably fun for most of his guys to play for. In an era where black quarterbacks were just starting to become common, it should be no surprise that Coach Glanville would embrace Warren Moon and surround him with good people like Coach June Jones.

@@Ragtime4 So true! It was nice to see Warren getting the opportunity he deserved much sooner and with a coach that was willing to build around his talents. I enjoyed Glanville’s experimentation. The NFL needed someone like him to get where the game is today simply because someone had to try his concepts to see if they worked. It was fun to see him covered in the recent SB Nation/Jon Bois series on the Falcons as well. I especially enjoyed the part when they talked about his 1977 defensive scheme with the Gritz Blitz showing the younger generation there was more to him than just leaving tickets at will call for Elvis.

Or what Dusty Rhodes often called Lee Marshall in WCW

OJG9 said it was the Oilers first possession, so unless Mike Rozier worked too hard in pregame warmups his hands shouldn’t have been too banged up.

There's an article where Rozier said afterwards "I just jammed my finger trying to catch the ball." www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-11-sp-23404-story.html%3f_amp=true Also if you look at this video link below, it has the full "Stagger Lee" sequence in full. After Rozier and the Oiler offense left the field, he was surrounded by trainers as he was pointing to his right hand and wrist. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Qb5IUW9aKLk.html My suggested answer is the initial jolt of pain from jamming his finger distracted him in that split second he had to catch the ball. Chalk it up to bad luck.

I was just starting to type the same thing, then I decided to see if anyone else had. Unfortunately pass target data isn't available before 1992.

And to clarify I’m including myself and all the other commenters on that video.

The oilers were not exclusively a 4-wide team under coach glanville. They did plenty of 2 back, along with single and double TE stuff.

Lol. Run and shoot? Absolutely not. They were among the top of the league in run to pass ratio. Their tight end was an offensive lineman in disguise. They were anything but finesse and pass happy.

@@orangelab6846 Not accurate to say “absolutely not.” Surely they used Run and Shoot concepts.

The oilers went to the Run and Shoot offense in 1990. The Houston Gamblers introduced the Run and Shoot to pro football from 84 to 85 in the USFL under Jack Pardee. Glanville is using 2 backs etc. In these clips from the game.

@@r.jackson7162 I’m sure with June Jones and Kevin Gilbride coaching Warren Moon there were Run and Shoot concepts in place during Glanville’s tenure. But they were definitely not exclusively a 4-wide team.