By
Paul Turse aka Samurai
Raider
Interviewed by
LG
Nothing throws terror and fear into the hearts of those who
defend the territory than the specter of a mad bomber running amok and preparing
at any moment, without warning, to use his incendiary skills to decimate all
those who may attempt to thwart his cause.
Despite covering all zones, the defenders know that nothing can stop the
bomber from his goal: planting the bomb deep into their turf with explosive
results. During the late 60’s and
early 70’s, defensive backs lived in fear when they were forced to face the
Oakland Raiders aerial assault led by Daryle Lamonica, whose atomic arm earned
him the name, “The Mad Bomber.” His aerial assault gained the respect of opposing ground
forces, fans, and sportscasters, and especially that legend of Monday Night
Football, who always “told it like it is.”
 |
|
Howard Cosell |
The Mad Bomber-- “Howard Cosell gave me the
name on a Monday night game,” Lamonica recalled.
“When I first heard the name, I really didn’t like it.”
However, as the name became known to the sports world, Lamonica became
resigned to his new nickname, especially when he saw the devastating effects of
his bomb. “I was able to utilize
it as a weapon and as a tool, and it worked out well for me,” he explained.1And utilize the bomb he did throughout his exciting career.
Daryle came to the Raiders via a trade with the Bills, and in his first season, he led the team into the Super Bowl
by defeating the Houston Oilers (40-7). Throwing
for 3,227 yds and 30 TD’s, he helped set the best team record in the history
of the Raiders (13-1).2
Although losing to GB in SB II (33-14), Lamonica went on to
have many explosive seasons with the Raiders and his career 16, 655 yards is
second only to “The Snake” Ken Stabler’s 19,087
yds.3
Aside from his individual Raider records, Lamonica has
distinguished himself by holding some impressive League records:
His 2 consecutive games with 300 or more yards passing in a playoff game,
in 1968, ties him with the likes of Dan Marino, Joe Montana, and Steve Young, to
name a few. Only Dan Fouts (4), Jim Kelly (3), and Warren Moon (3) have
had longer streaks. His 93-yard TD
pass to Elbert Dubenion, as a Buffalo QB, in the AFC Division game vs. Boston,
in 1963, is third only to Trent Dilfer’s 96-yd TD pass to Shannon Sharpe in
the 2000 Championship game vs. Baltimore and to Troy Aikman’s 94-yarder to
Alvin Harper in the Dallas vs. Green Bay 1994 NFC Division game.
His 6 TD’s against Houston in an AFC Division game ties him with Steve
Young for the most TD completions in a playoff. His 47 consecutive pass attempts, without an interception,
against the N.Y. Jets, in 1968, places him 3rd all time behind Chris O’Donnell
with 54, and behind Warren Moon and Randall Cunningham, who are tied with 48 (in
OT games).4
In 1967 and in 1970, Lamonica shared MVP honors with impressive company from the NFL side: Johnny Unitas and Roman Gabriel, respectively.5 He was also a two-time winner of the UPI AFL -AFC Player of the Year award in 1967 and in 1969.6
Raiders,
Past & Present-- Daryle understands that it is difficult to determine
how our Raiders today stack up against his teams of the past.
“But to compare athletes of today with a different era,” said Daryle,
“they could probably compete on yesterday’s level, and we could probably
compete on today’s level, when I played.”
Lamonica has faced some great teams: the L.A.
Rams when they were dominant; the Dallas Cowboys with Bob Lilly; the steel
curtain of Pittsburg; and even
Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay
Packers. If our Raiders of
today could play with the best of those teams, faced by Lamonica, the
implication is that we are still a Super Bowl contender in the coming season. There is one thing, however, that Daryle thinks could give us
an edge: “I just wish we could
throw the ball a little deeper now, because I think we could score a few more
offensive points.”
As an
ex-quarterback, Daryle would like to believe that a team can win with offense
only, particularly when teams, like the Raiders of the past, threw the long ball
and played the vertical offense. “But
you don’t win championships with offense,” Daryl admitted; “you win
championships with defense. Down
the stretch, [teams] that go to the Super Bowl are those best defenses in the
League.”
The Bomb vs. the Cannon-- But even with a stellar defense, it will still help to have a
great leader at the QB position to make
it to the SB. And that leads us to
the inevitable comparison between Rich Gannon and Daryle Lamonica.
“Rich Gannon is a great athlete, and he’s under a
different system with a West
Coast type of offense,” said Daryle. “When
I was playing with the Raiders, we had more of a vertical- type game; and, of
course, I had some great outside receivers like he has now.”
Daryle also acknowledges the fact that the present QB has
great athletic ability: “Rich
Gannon is a pretty darn good athlete that has mobility, precise with his passes,
and a darn good all around athlete.” The
crucial difference, of course, is the long bomb: “I used to rely on my vertical game with my arm for the
long passes, and, of course, we also had our short to medium range passes as
well. But, as I said, I mostly
relied on my receivers with speed…for big yardage with quick strikes.”
Although the vertical game may set them apart, both QB’s
have at least two things in common: rivalries
and records. The Raiders had a
great battle with the Chargers and Dan Fouts back then.
“That was one of those wild games… lighting up the score board!”
Daryle exclaimed.
However, the biggest foes were the KC Chiefs, mainly
because both teams were usually in a tight race for the division title every
year. “And, of course, they were
wars,” Daryle recalled. “They
weren’t just games because it was hard fought physical games in the trenches.
The NY Jets was another team that we always played for the AFC Eastern
Division, like now when we lost and then came back to beat them for the
playoffs. The Denver Broncos was
also a rival, like now; everybody in our division was a rivalry, but all in all,
the Kansas City Chiefs for us were the wars in the trenches.”
While neither has won a Super Bowl, both Lamonica and
Gannon have each thrown over 3,000 yds in three consecutive seasons, tying them
for the Raiders’ record. Furthermore,
if Gannon, who has thus far thrown for 11,098 yards, can sustain another two
years and play through the 2004 season—and continue his past productivity—he
could, conceivably, usurp Lamonica’s second place position in the Raiders’
all-time passing list. While
Lamonica did play in SB II, Gannon has yet to be there, but since Lamonica is
retired and Gannon may have a couple of years left, Gannon’s cannon could out
gun Lamonica’s bomb and win a SB.
The Swiss Miss— But one thing Gannon can never do is have the distinction of playing in and winning the
“Heidi Bowl,” or more commonly called, the Heidi Game,
where unknown to millions of TV viewers, the Raiders came from behind to defeat
the Jets, 43-32. Little Heidi was aptly named the Swiss Miss since, because of
her, those fans viewing the Raiders/Jets game were forced to miss the
conclusion of one of the most exciting games ever played, because the network
switched to the regularly scheduled program, the film Heidi.
Just ask Daryle which was his most memorable game, and it
won’t take long for him to answer: “Oh,
wow! It was the Heidi game, against
the NY Jets, when we were taken off national TV.
We had like a minute and 28 seconds left, and they had gone ahead of us
by three points. I was able to hit
Charlie Smith for a long TD pass. We
kicked off, they fumbled the ball, we recovered the ball in the end zone, and we
scored 14 points in the matter of 9 seconds. In that game, that one particular pass that I threw changed
the game of the networks today. They
cannot take the NFL game off today until its entirety and, to me, that was one
of our more exciting finishes.”
“It was back and forth,” Daryle explained.
“Joe Namath "Broadway Joe" (upper left) and I would light it
up, and the lead probably exchanged hands five or six times. And I know Turner had just kicked a field goal to put the
Jets up by three; and then they took us off the TV, and we were able to come
back and make history in the sports world, you can say.
That was exciting for us,” Daryle reminisced with a laugh.
Still part of the family— Those exciting days with
the Raiders are not the only thing that makes the Raiders special.
The memories of the Raiders are kept alive not just in the record books
or on NFL films, but also through the close-knit ties that bind the Raider
organization together. Amy Trask of the Raiders did a survey at an NFL owners
meeting, where she asked owners from around the League how many kept in touch
with former players from their teams. She
was surprised to find out that the Raiders were the team that more than the
others kept former players, coaches and staff tight to the vest and treated them
all as family—with luncheons, dinners, and reunions.
Daryle confirmed this point: “Yes, we still get together, and last
Friday we had a Raider reunion. The
Raiders are a very special family—they really are!
When we get together, it’s like we really never left; it’s like
we’re still playing, and that says a lot about the organization and about all
the players that were Raiders. Because
we’re a special group of guys, sort of like a fraternity, we never changed and
are all still very close and friends. We
are a family, and that is what’s so special.”
The Bomber defused--
Although the Mad Bomber has been somewhat defused since those campaigns
of the late 60’s and early 70’s, he still supports the Raiders, is active in
sports, and keeps his competitive instincts alive. He has made his home in Fresno, California, where he was born
and raised. But he still gets a
vicarious thrill by coming to Oakland as much as possible to watch the Raiders
play. “I still keep my eye on the
game,” said Daryle, “and feel privileged to have played in the NFL.”
And when Daryle is not near a football field, he is
enjoying the fields of nature. “I’m
doing some outdoor hunting and fishing, hosting some outdoor shows and trying to
hunt and fish, myself, as much as I can,” Daryle said.
I enjoy myself today by doing such things as fishing the Pro Bass circuit
in California, and that’s just one of my hobbies.
But I have a passion for the great outdoors-- like hunting and fishing.
I just got back from Iowa, where I was able to hunt with my son, who
lives back in Minnesota. The
outdoors are very special to me.”
While the Raiders have been involved in their share of
exciting finishes with Gannon as QB, the nostalgia freaks and old-timers may be
getting bored with the dink and dunk of the Raiders’ present version of the
West Coast Offense, and they may be longing for the old days.
Maybe this coming season, with Coach Bill Callahan’s implied promise to
return to the vertical game, the Raiders will be infused with a new spirit, one
that has it roots in the past and in the shootouts at the at O.K. Corral,
between the likes of Namath and Lamonica, as in the Heidi duel.
One thing is certain should Gannon and Testaverde meet in another
exciting Raiders/Jets playoff, and they decide to air it out, right down to an
exciting finale, the TV viewers won’t miss this ending, thanks to The
Mad Bomber, Daryle Lamonica.
May the Autumn Wind be with you!
Browse
the Samurai’s Archives.
Check
out Samurai’s Martial Arts.
Notes
1Lamonica quotes taken from interview with RDL.
2Raiders.com, History (http://www.raiders.com/Home/History/1967/1967.html).
3Raiders.com, History (http://www.raiders.com/Home/History/Raiders_Record_Holders/raiders_record_holders.html).
4SuperBowl.com (www.superbowl.com/xxxvi/history/records/playoffs/indiv_passing.html).
5McMillen and Wife.com (http://www.mcmillenandwife.com/mvp_nfl.html).
6Infoplease.com
(www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0104412.html+Daryle+LaMonica&hl=en&ie=UTF8).
