NFL "what-if" scenarios thread

[7DnBrnc53]

What if the Eagles kept Jimmy Smith by the end of the 1994 season, and what if they were able to come to a contract agreement with Mark Brunell (and complete the trade) in 1995? Those two could have come of age as Eagles instead of Jaguars.

[JameisLoseston]

I think Jim Kelly's career with the Bills would've been basically the same if he'd signed with them originally, just the 3 extra years added on at the beginning. His best year by far was his 3rd, so if he had that in the NFL, he'd have been considered along with Montana and Marino one of the top tier QBs in football. He got in the HOF anyways, though, so that doesn't change. Young, being in lowly Tampa, would likely still be unproductive until he got to SF, if he does. The main ramifications come in the USFL, where Herschel Walker is now its only star on offense. There's a chance the league folds even quicker in this scenario, after year 2 or even 1. It doesn't matter which, because either brings Walker over to Dallas before his ridiculous 1985 outburst. Reggie White would also come sooner, and have the career sack record. But much more significantly, if Walker's nearly 3000-total-yard whopper in 85 translates to about 1800 rushing, 400 receiving, and 18-20 total TDs in the NFL, then it suddenly becomes much more likely the Cowboys do not trade him, changing the face of the NFL forever.

Does Minnesota then become the dominant dynasty of the early 90s? ...Probably not. Dallas still has the 89 #1 pick because it had nothing to do with the trade, so Aikman stays in Dallas, and Irvin also had nothing to do with the trade. With them and Walker, I still believe they have a great offense and win at least one Super Bowl. Walker becomes a first-ballot HOFer. Emmitt Smith, however, was taken with a pick that originally belonged to the Steelers, obtained by Dallas through another trade. If the Vikings keep the pick Dallas traded to Pittsburgh, the Steelers keep the 17th pick, not that Dallas would want him anyway with Walker on the team. Their lead RBs in 1989 were one Tim Worley and, yes, Merril Hoge himself, so it's very likely they take Smith. Emmitt's presence in Pittsburgh keeps Jerome Bettis away, who stays with the Rams. He, in turn, makes Marshall Faulk stay on the Colts. Would the Greatest Show on Turf have happened with the Bus instead of Faulk? I'm not convinced the difference is so big that he'd prevent it. But Faulk, in turn, keeps the Colts from drafting Edgerrin James. Prime Peyton Manning with Faulk would have been an absolute thing of beauty, but Edge was just as good for a while, so it may not have made a lot of difference in wins. Edge was drafted 4th overall in 1999, the next pick being... the infamous Ricky Williams pick. Would Ditka have traded all his picks if Edge was available? The man WAS awfully obsessed with Ricky Williams, so I'm gonna provisionally guess it doesn't matter. Edge's next suitor would be... the Rams again, who in this reality have the Bus. And then the Redskins, who were starting an old Terry Allen in 1998, so they'd definitely take James. For the sake of continuing this cascade of events, let's say Edge lasts long enough to keep Clinton Portis in Denver. And that tragically denies us the triumphant return of the great Mike Anderson, but not much else; the Broncos didn't have much more running success during Portis' career in Washington. So thus ends this who's who of great RBs shifting around, but still. Wow. Jim Kelly, the USFL, and Herschel Walker combined to cause HUGE ripple effects all around the NFL's running games for two decades. And this right here is why what-ifs can be so awesome.

If we put Marino in the USFL, the result is probably about the same as what happened with Kelly, with the catch that the USFL tragically consumes Marino's 1984, which is probably closer to 6000 and 60. If Kelly's 5200 yarder and Herschel couldn't save the league, though, I doubt this would've either. It lasts the same 3 years, Marino goes to Miami in 86, and there's really hardly anything else to say afterwards.

Now if the #SaintsGotRobbed play never happened and the Saints made the Super Bowl, well, we might not have gotten the worst Super Bowl of all time, that's one positive. Seriously, that game was AWFUL. The offenses played so poorly that I can confidently say the Rams-Chiefs game, a 54-51 game mind you, had more clutch defense in it than that dumpster fire, honestly the perfect capper to an overall terrible playoffs. While the Saints offense was also flat at that point in the season, and I doubt anything was going to save this game from sucking, I feel like the Sean over in NO is more used to being in this position and would've been less creatively exhausted than the Sean over in LA, and given how poorly the Pats played, the Saints very well could've won the game. Let's say they do. I can't really find anything it changes going into the 2019 season, other than who owns the Lombardi. It wouldn't have kept Brees from hurting his hand, it wouldn't have kept Goff from looking terrible and the Rams becoming mediocre, and I don't think it'd have kept the Pats D from becoming world-beaters either. The "let's hire coaches who know Sean McVay" craze probably still happens, and everyone is still in their places.

[conace21]

I think Jim Kelly's career with the Bills would've been basically the same if he'd signed with them originally, just the 3 extra years added on at the beginning. His best year by far was his 3rd, so if he had that in the NFL, he'd have been considered along with Montana and Marino one of the top tier QBs in football. He got in the HOF anyways, though, so that doesn't change. Young, being in lowly Tampa, would likely still be unproductive until he got to SF, if he does. The main ramifications come in the USFL, where Herschel Walker is now its only star on offense. There's a chance the league folds even quicker in this scenario, after year 2 or even 1. It doesn't matter which, because either brings Walker over to Dallas before his ridiculous 1985 outburst. Reggie White would also come sooner, and have the career sack record. But much more significantly, if Walker's nearly 3000-total-yard whopper in 85 translates to about 1800 rushing, 400 receiving, and 18-20 total TDs in the NFL, then it suddenly becomes much more likely the Cowboys do not trade him, changing the face of the NFL forever.

Does Minnesota then become the dominant dynasty of the early 90s? ...Probably not. Dallas still has the 89 #1 pick because it had nothing to do with the trade, so Aikman stays in Dallas, and Irvin also had nothing to do with the trade. With them and Walker, I still believe they have a great offense and win at least one Super Bowl. Walker becomes a first-ballot HOFer. Emmitt Smith, however, was taken with a pick that originally belonged to the Steelers, obtained by Dallas through another trade. If the Vikings keep the pick Dallas traded to Pittsburgh, the Steelers keep the 17th pick, not that Dallas would want him anyway with Walker on the team. Their lead RBs in 1989 were one Tim Worley and, yes, Merril Hoge himself, so it's very likely they take Smith. Emmitt's presence in Pittsburgh keeps Jerome Bettis away, who stays with the Rams. He, in turn, makes Marshall Faulk stay on the Colts. Would the Greatest Show on Turf have happened with the Bus instead of Faulk? I'm not convinced the difference is so big that he'd prevent it. But Faulk, in turn, keeps the Colts from drafting Edgerrin James. Prime Peyton Manning with Faulk would have been an absolute thing of beauty, but Edge was just as good for a while, so it may not have made a lot of difference in wins. Edge was drafted 4th overall in 1999, the next pick being... the infamous Ricky Williams pick. Would Ditka have traded all his picks if Edge was available? The man WAS awfully obsessed with Ricky Williams, so I'm gonna provisionally guess it doesn't matter. Edge's next suitor would be... the Rams again, who in this reality have the Bus. And then the Redskins, who were starting an old Terry Allen in 1998, so they'd definitely take James. For the sake of continuing this cascade of events, let's say Edge lasts long enough to keep Clinton Portis in Denver. And that tragically denies us the triumphant return of the great Mike Anderson, but not much else; the Broncos didn't have much more running success during Portis' career in Washington. So thus ends this who's who of great RBs shifting around, but still. Wow. Jim Kelly, the USFL, and Herschel Walker combined to cause HUGE ripple effects all around the NFL's running games for two decades. And this right here is why what-ifs can be so awesome.

I disagree about the what-if scenario: if Herschel Walker joins the Cowboys earlier and has an All Time season, it's less likely they trade him. Even if Dallas had been slightly more successful from 1984-85, Walker couldn't stop their downturn from 1986-1988. And he certainly wouldn't have stopped the downturn of the economy that cut Dallas owner Bum Bright's net worth in half and forced him to sell the team to Jerry Jones, who was bringing Jimmy Johnson. Johnson was never a fan of Walker and his stiff, upright running style. Walker was 2nd Team All Pro in 1988, so he was definitely a major star in 1989. Dallas received intense criticism for trading their only proven star, but the JJ's didn't care. I can't imagine they would have cared if Walker had been a mega-star for Dallas 5 years earlier, as opposed to a star in the preceding season. They would have traded him anyways.

[7DnBrnc53]

Emmitt Smith, however, was taken with a pick that originally belonged to the Steelers, obtained by Dallas through another trade. If the Vikings keep the pick Dallas traded to Pittsburgh, the Steelers keep the 17th pick, not that Dallas would want him anyway with Walker on the team. Their lead RBs in 1989 were one Tim Worley and, yes, Merril Hoge himself, so it's very likely they take Smith. Emmitt's presence in Pittsburgh keeps Jerome Bettis away, who stays with the Rams.

The Steelers took Tim Worley in the first round in 1989, and Hoge was coming off of a great playoff performance in Denver. The Steelers still probably take Eric Green, most likely.

Staying with the subject of Emmitt Smith (and the 90 draft) though: What if the Bengals take someone other than Baylor DE/OLB James Francis with their first round pick in 1990? Francis was the player that Jimmy wanted in that draft, and he was ready to trade up with the Chiefs from 21 to 13 to get him.

Jimmy wasn't too high on Smith. The scout (Yaworski) had to sell Jimmy on Emmitt.

[RyanChristiansen]

What if Babe Ruth had never replaced George Halas in right field for the New York Yankees? Chew on that one!

[JuggernautJ]

What if Babe Ruth had never replaced George Halas in right field for the New York Yankees? Chew on that one!

Hank Aaron would've broken all Halas' home run records on April 8, 1974?

[BD Sullivan]

What if Babe Ruth had never replaced George Halas in right field for the New York Yankees? Chew on that one!

Someone else would have created what became the NFL.

[JameisLoseston]

What if Babe Ruth had never replaced George Halas in right field for the New York Yankees? Chew on that one!

Doubt it would have mattered much, because A. Halas was a terrible MLB player and would have been replaced by someone in short order if not Ruth, and B. Halas was involved with football simultaneously, so he probably wouldn't have just dropped it entirely.

[JKelly]

As a 1970's Cowboys fan

1) What if the ref in Super Bowl 5 calls the fumble recovery correctly?
2) What if Percy Howard starts instead on Golden Richards on Super Bowl 9?
3) What if Jackie Smith catches the ball?

My opinion Cowboys win 5 but probably don't get to 6.
Howard was a bigger receiver and Blount would have had a hard time being physical. Not saying they win but may have made a difference.
Again not saying they win but could have changed the outcome.

As a football fan my biggest what if:

To me the biggest what if is what if Bill Walsh gets hired as HC with the Bengals after Brown steps down............No 49ers dynasty and Montana where would he have ended up?

[7DnBrnc53]

To me the biggest what if is what if Bill Walsh gets hired as HC with the Bengals after Brown steps down............No 49ers dynasty and Montana where would he have ended up?

I don't think it changes a whole lot in the 70's, except for the fact that the Bengals win the Central in 1977 (and maybe 76 as well).

By 1979, though, Walsh probably drafts Phil Simms in the first round over Jack Thompson if they still finish with the same record that they did in reality (with Anderson still getting hurt). Walsh liked Phil Simms in workouts his first year with SF, but they didn't have a first-round pick.

In 1981, they probably win the SB with Anderson at QB, and maybe they do better in the ensuing years since Walsh is their coach. Since Anderson bounced back, though, Simms may have been the one to be shipped off to Tampa, and Steve Young may have started his NFL career with the Bengals.

As for Montana, maybe the Cowboys, Packers, or Bears end up using a 4th or 5th-rounder on Joe (the Bears planned on taking him in the third, but Jim Finks changed his mind at the last second. Also, he was the best player on Dallas's board in Round 3, but they passed on him).