Oiler Blues Recap

[scine09]

This book has been discussed many times on this website.  Well I just finished the book.  Here are my thoughts:

 

1. I'm not sure if the author had an editor but if he did then the editor did a lousy job. It's by far the worst edited book I've ever read and I am an avid reader. This is not an exaggeration...there may have been 500 typos, incomplete sentences and incorrect facts in the book.

 

2. Warren Moon does not belong anywhere near the Hall of Fame. He was a solid QB for a few years with the Oilers but the fact that he's in the Hall of Fame is an absolute joke.  After reading through the years about the Oilers with Moon and looking at his career as a whole I think you'd agree.

 

3. How the Oilers/Titans kept Al Del Greco as long as they did should have been investigated.  The author went season by season and went through the most important games of each season. It's amazing how many times I read the phrase "Del Greco missed what would have been the game winning or game tying field goal." Yet they did nothing about it. And this book didn't even include 1999 and 2000. He should have been cut after 1992. I am going to do some research on all the big kicks he missed (or was asleep for, in the case of the 1998 Bears game).

 

4. I think Bud Adams in the 90's into the 2000's until his death last year lived off of his reputation that he built in the 60's. I did not get the idea that he was as bad an owner as many on this board that live in Houston or follow the team would lead you to believe. I think people just got the idea that he was cheap (which it appears that at a time he was) and the reputation never left him. But if you think about his time with the Titans he stayed out of the way outside of the Vince Young fiasco, let the coaches coach and management do their thing, and did his part to help them become a competitive team. And from 1987-2003 they had either the 2nd or 3rd most wins in the NFL.

 

5. The fact that this team did not get to the Super Bowl in the early 90's is just hard to believe even more than 20 years later. You really have to read about the 3 seasons, 1991, 1992 and 1993 to see just how loaded the teams were. They were by far the most talented team in the AFC and right on par with any team in the NFL. And some of the ways that they lost games in those days was unbelievable. It led to them either playing playoff games on the road or not getting home field.

 

6. Jeff Fisher changed in some ways and is still the same in other ways. He was just as boring back in the mid 90's as he was in 2010 and continues to be today. The one difference between Fisher then and now is he was must more into discipline back then. He was such a pain in the ass that Haywood Jeffires gave him the finger (I got a chuckle out of that). He'd routinely kick guys out of practice, fine them, etc. I think that's something that somewhere along the way he lost. Maybe it was the success, maybe it was the double duty of the draft and player personnel, who knows.

 

7. You would be absolutely amazed at the amount of Hall of Famers that the Oilers either had on the roster and got rid of or had chances to draft, came close to picking, and picked someone else.

 

8. If you think that the Titans are in chaos now they are a bunch of choir boys compared to pretty much the entire history of the Houston Oilers until Fisher got there. It was a circus. Basically every year there were 3-4 Chris Johnson situations and everyone was in it for himself.

 

9. @CanadianTitansFan is right about 1994. The Oilers completely botched it. They could have easily competed that year instead of blowing it up. They misjudged the cap and Floyd Reese was at the forefront. San Diego went to the Super Bowl and if the Oilers kept even half the players that they let go there's no doubt in my mind that they could have competed with Pittsburgh and San Diego.

 

10. I can't imagine just how painful 1999 was for Houston fans that chose not to follow the Oilers to Tennessee. I wish that the writer had written this book at the end of the 1999 season just to give a Houston point of view on having the team that left Houston play in the Super Bowl when it failed so many times in Houston.

 

11. I didn't realize just how badly the franchise botched the move from Houston to Tennessee. It's laughable to think that a franchise less than 20 years ago was holding their practices in parking lots and had their headquarters 3 hours away from where they played their games.

 

Overall it's a good book but very long. It's only 360 pages or so but it's like a workbook. If the pages were novel size it would be over 1,000 pages long I think. But it's interesting to see all the garbage that went on with the franchise even if the writer had trouble writing complete sentences and misconstrued a few things.

[OILERMAN]

Of course Moon doesn't deserve the HOF, it's not even close

 

Do you remember the open letter Ian Howfield(former Oilers kicker) wrote about Del Greco? He nailed it, he was bitter and sucked himself but he accurately laid out how bad Del Greco was. He cost the team a SB win 00 in all likelyhood.

 

Some of thee hold out situations in the early 90s were insane. Guys would hold out get paid, another guy at the same position would get paid then the first guy would get pissed.

 

Bud Adam's cheapness is why the team was blown up in 94. They could have easily kept Jones, Fuller and Moon and contended for the SB.

 

The move is really under reported concerning how terrible it was handled.

[TitanedUpSince'70]

Bud Adam's cheapness is why the team was blown up in 94. They could have easily kept Jones, Fuller and Moon and contended for the SB.

 

 

I never have any pity for cheap bastards when trying to get the job done right.  Bud didn't get it done and he also didn't live to see his team win the SB.  Will make it that much sweeter when they finally do win it all.  Hopefully TR is still operating then so people here can finally relish in the victory.

[scine09]

Of course Moon doesn't deserve the HOF, it's not even close

 

Do you remember the open letter Ian Howfield(former Oilers kicker) wrote about Del Greco? He nailed it, he was bitter and sucked himself but he accurately laid out how bad Del Greco was. He cost the team a SB win 00 in all likelyhood.

 

Some of thee hold out situations in the early 90s were insane. Guys would hold out get paid, another guy at the same position would get paid then the first guy would get pissed.

 

Bud Adam's cheapness is why the team was blown up in 94. They could have easily kept Jones, Fuller and Moon and contended for the SB.

 

The move is really under reported concerning how terrible it was handled.

Has anyone ever explained what Moon did to get in? If it was the CFL then why isn't Doug Flutie in?

 

I didn't realize that Moon wanted to return to the team in 1997 and they decided to sign Dave Krieg instead. I wonder if had they signed Moon if they'd have benched McNair early since he struggled mightily early on in that season.

 

I didn't remember Howfield, I had just starting following the team when he was there, but I'd say you could argue that Del Greco cost the team multiple Super Bowls. I'd have to go back and look but he missed game winners in games that had they won their playoff position would have been dramatically improved. You could also blame the team for continuing to rely on him and employ him. 

[OILERMAN]

Has anyone ever explained what Moon did to get in? If it was the CFL then why isn't Doug Flutie in?

 

 

I guess you missed the long thread debating this

 

I'll find it later

 

I asked McClain who actually argued for Moon, the CFL had nothing to do with it

[scine09]

I remember the thread. It just makes no sense that Moon would get in if the CFL had nothing to do with it. I don't care what McClain said.

[CreepingDeath]

I read this book a few years back.  

1 - I agree on this.  I remember thinking "should I mark this in the book and then share with the author?" while I was reading.

2 - Eh, I don't think he's any worse than the majority of players in the hall.  No, he's not a Manning, Marino or Elway.  But I'm happy he's in there.  Look at all the Steelers in the HoF that are there simply for being on a dynasty.  

5 - "That's why they play the game."  A few turnovers at the worst time and then poor officiating always hurt games.  I can't wait for one of the stat-based websites track the penalties for the more popular teams vs the "who cares" teams.  The Steelers always seem to get favorable calls to swing the momentum.  

7 - That's what my parents were always telling me prior to me reading this book.  However, I bet the same is true of each franchise in the NFL.  Anyone drafted after the first round was passed on by all (or most) of the teams.

10 - Yeah, I'd like to read about this, too.

 

I'd like to read the Del Greco and Moon articles/threads if links are provided.

 

(Does anyone remember those odd Fox football promos back in mid 90s when they first got the NFL?  They'd do a countdown of some top players ... but usually ended every one with "#1, Al Del Greco.  Work your magic!"  It was because of those commercials I overlooked most of his failures, I suppose.  Ah, to be an innocent teen easily swayed by gimmicks and popular opinion...)

[OILERMAN]

 

I'd like to read the Del Greco and Moon articles/threads if links are provided.

 

[Face]

I actually do think Bud was a good owner in Tennessee, especially when Jeff Diamond was there. He spent money & stayed out of football decisions. But the talent he wasted in Houston was unforgivable. You ever wonder what could've been had Parcells or Gibbs coaches those early 90s Oiler teams?

I can see the discipline thing with Fisher, he was a better coach back then. The team had much less penalties & won most of their close games. I don't want to get into the whole Jeff being .500 thing again but those Tennessee Oiler teams, '96-'98, were pretty good teams. No question they make the playoffs at least once with a real homefield.

[OILERMAN]

I actually do think Bud was a good owner in Tennessee, especially when Jeff Diamond was there.

 

Yea, get him out of the state and let a real football guy like Diamond make the football decisions and Adams is a great owner!

[Tex in a Can]

I'm not sure how many years of Houston Oilers you would have to live through before you developed an enduring despise of Bud.

 

For me, it would be hard to find even a 5 year period pre-1997 that didn't have Bud doing something unforgivable, I can search through the years again and see if I can find such a window, but it's going to be tough.

 

Reading Oiler Blues and the early years just cemented the fact that he was born despicable and it was all downhill from there.

 

Maybe in his later years he lost the energy or will to carry out his deeds, but I really dispute the "changed man" proposition.

 

BTW, I'm glad Moon is in the HOF even as a fringe call.

 

Tex

[scine09]

I actually do think Bud was a good owner in Tennessee, especially when Jeff Diamond was there. He spent money & stayed out of football decisions. But the talent he wasted in Houston was unforgivable. You ever wonder what could've been had Parcells or Gibbs coaches those early 90s Oiler teams?

I can see the discipline thing with Fisher, he was a better coach back then. The team had much less penalties & won most of their close games. I don't want to get into the whole Jeff being .500 thing again but those Tennessee Oiler teams, '96-'98, were pretty good teams. No question they make the playoffs at least once with a real homefield.

The Oilers lost a ton of close games in those days that the author highlighted. They lost 3 games in Seattle, one in each season, that should have been wins. They lost home games to San Diego and Chicago when they were both bad. They lost a game against SF that they never should have lost. They had two against Miami that they never should have lost. They lost a game against KC that they shouldn't have lost. There were others but you could argue that they should have made the playoffs all 3 of those years. And Al Del Greco was a big part of at least some of those losses. And the author tried to point out that although they were not as undisciplined as they were under Glanville and Pardee that they underachieved all three of those years (and even in 1995). Did homefield have anything to do with it? I think somewhat, but it doesn't excuse always settling for field goals and being conservative to a fault. And pretty much every single time they played a big game in that four year period they lost.

 

It was funny the author in discussing the future of the franchise said that the only way the franchise would succeed in Nashville is to win right away and that they were a fringe playoff team at best going into 1999.

Edited November 12, 2014 by scine09

[Face]

The Oilers lost a ton of close games in those days that the author highlighted. They lost 3 games in Seattle, one in each season, that should have been wins. They lost home games to San Diego and Chicago when they were both bad. They lost a game against SF that they never should have lost. They had two against Miami that they never should have lost. They lost a game against KC that they shouldn't have lost. There were others but you could argue that they should have made the playoffs all 3 of those years. And Al Del Greco was a big part of at least some of those losses. And the author tried to point out that although they were not as undisciplined as they were under Glanville and Pardee that they underachieved all three of those years (and even in 1995). Did homefield have anything to do with it? I think somewhat, but it doesn't excuse always settling for field goals and being conservative to a fault. And pretty much every single time they played a big game in that four year period they lost.

It was funny the author in discussing the future of the franchise said that the only way the franchise would succeed in Nashville is to win right away and that they were a fringe playoff team at best going into 1999.

I remember some of these. One in Seattle where Michael McCrary blocked a FG, I remember the Miami game I think Marino just led a comeback, we started the game off up 14-0. I remember they lost to Ryan Leaf & I sort've remember the Chicago loss. Some brutal ones for sure.

[wtenn]

When Moon retired he was 4th or 5th in passing yards.  I think one's statistics relative to their own era are taken into consideration.

 

As for the Oilers' talent level in the early 90s, I followed the league closely and I never remember having the impression that they were clearly better than the Bills.

[scine09]

I remember some of these. One in Seattle where Michael McCrary blocked a FG, I remember the Miami game I think Marino just led a comeback, we started the game off up 14-0. I remember they lost to Ryan Leaf & I sort've remember the Chicago loss. Some brutal ones for sure.

Apparently Al Del Greco missed the game winner in the 2nd Miami game. He may have missed a big one in the first one I'd have to look but you're right it was 14-0.