Danny Wuerffel's Backwards Helmet (1 Viewer)

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I think that was his first start. I definitely remember the Panthers defensive players were talking a lot of trash in the press about 'introducing him to the NFL'. I'm sure they didn't 'try' to flip his helmet around, but they definitely delivered on the trash talk. I kinda liked Danny... I wish he'd stuck around in a coaching assistant capacity or something.
 
It seems so recent guys, but to look at those Saints teams back then under Ditka, you wonder how we even went in Ditka's first two seasons as our HC. No direction, a HC who didn't realize the game had past him bye along time ago, and a GM that in all honesty, only hired Ditka to save him from being cast out to sea after Mora resigned in 1996. Jim Mora realized that his glory days as Saints HC were behind him by the 1994 season. He was trying to make something happen by getting Jim Everett and opening up the new offense, making us a more passing oriented team but the only problem was that it was too little too late. Jim Everett could have helped us a hell of a lot more in 1993 then coming a year later. IMO, if we had brought in Everett in instead of Wade Wilson, The Saints may have ended up better off, because unlike his predecessor, Jim Everett did have some gas left in the tank, if he had a better defense in 94, and 95, we might have been a playoff team and I'm not joking there either. The defense though was shot by the time Everett came aboard, and IMO that's a shame, if he had Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, Vaughn Johnson, and Renaldo Turnbull, who knows what might have happened?

But the Ditka years were tough for me. I don't think I realized how badly they were until Ditka was long gone and his replacement came in, we all know about Haslett and Venturi and how they slowly turned us into a break-even team at best, but anyone can see that Haslett, at the time, was world's better then Ditka was for this team. The 2000 season was something not many people expected from this team and from the Saints franchise. It was great while it lasted that one season, but in that time, Haslett was the king of New Orleans. He and Mueller both in that one season where we struck gold and hit the big time. Then everything kind of slowly unraveled after that, but it was much better then having to endure Ditka.
 
daniel said:
I think that was his first start. I definitely remember the Panthers defensive players were talking a lot of trash in the press about 'introducing him to the NFL'. I'm sure they didn't 'try' to flip his helmet around, but they definitely delivered on the trash talk. I kinda liked Danny... I wish he'd stuck around in a coaching assistant capacity or something.
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That was the last play of the first game he ever started, IIRC. I was in the Dome that day, but by the time that play happened I was highly "desensitized". That was a miserable day...it was the first time the Saints had been shut-out since 1982, again IIRC. I do remember being very tempted to throw my beer at a bunch of obnoxious Carolackey fans who were about 20 rows down from me...but chivalry won over emotion.
 
Remember that game well, he did not have a chance and if I remember right, it was not his fault for trying to QB behind a revolving door. Did not think he would come out that game under his own power.
 
All I remember is thinking "how did they NOT throw a flag for a facemask?" Helmets don't turn themselves around, refs!
 
feoinfunroe said:
That was the last play of the first game he ever started, IIRC. I was in the Dome that day, but by the time that play happened I was highly "desensitized". That was a miserable day...it was the first time the Saints had been shut-out since 1982, again IIRC. I do remember being very tempted to throw my beer at a bunch of obnoxious Carolackey fans who were about 20 rows down from me...but chivalry won over emotion.
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Danny's first start was against Carolina in the Dome, it was week 2 of the 1998 season, the week after Hobert ruptured his achillies in St. Louis.
Danny actually played well his first start and we won the game 19-14.
He also won his 2nd start in that overtime thriller in Indy.

However, the wheels came off quickly after that.
The shutout you might be remembering occured in week five of that season -- 31-0 to the Niners.
 
HouseCall said:
Danny's first start was against Carolina in the Dome, it was week 2 of the 1998 season, the week after Hobert ruptured his achillies in St. Louis.
Danny actually played well his first start and we won the game 19-14.
He also won his 2nd start in that overtime thriller in Indy.

However, the wheels came off quickly after that.
The shutout you might be remembering occured in week five of that season -- 31-0 to the Niners.
Click to expand...

Umm...no. The "backward helmet" game was during the 1997 (Game 8, October 19) season, Danny's first NFL start, against Carolina in the Dome. The Saints posted back-to-back goose-eggs, also being shut out in the Dome by the 49'ers the next week.

1997 season:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1997.htm

Box score for week 8:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199710190nor.htm

I remember specifically that I was happy to be going to the game because it was Wuerffel's first NFL start. :covri:
 
Saintman2884 said:
It seems so recent guys, but to look at those Saints teams back then under Ditka, you wonder how we even went in Ditka's first two seasons as our HC. No direction, a HC who didn't realize the game had past him bye along time ago, and a GM that in all honesty, only hired Ditka to save him from being cast out to sea after Mora resigned in 1996. Jim Mora realized that his glory days as Saints HC were behind him by the 1994 season. He was trying to make something happen by getting Jim Everett and opening up the new offense, making us a more passing oriented team but the only problem was that it was too little too late. Jim Everett could have helped us a hell of a lot more in 1993 then coming a year later. IMO, if we had brought in Everett in instead of Wade Wilson, The Saints may have ended up better off, because unlike his predecessor, Jim Everett did have some gas left in the tank, if he had a better defense in 94, and 95, we might have been a playoff team and I'm not joking there either. The defense though was shot by the time Everett came aboard, and IMO that's a shame, if he had Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, Vaughn Johnson, and Renaldo Turnbull, who knows what might have happened?

But the Ditka years were tough for me. I don't think I realized how badly they were until Ditka was long gone and his replacement came in, we all know about Haslett and Venturi and how they slowly turned us into a break-even team at best, but anyone can see that Haslett, at the time, was world's better then Ditka was for this team. The 2000 season was something not many people expected from this team and from the Saints franchise. It was great while it lasted that one season, but in that time, Haslett was the king of New Orleans. He and Mueller both in that one season where we struck gold and hit the big time. Then everything kind of slowly unraveled after that, but it was much better then having to endure Ditka.
Click to expand...


One of the most accurate post I have ever read. I just got a lil nauseated thinking about all that.
 
feoinfunroe said:
Umm...no. The "backward helmet" game was during the 1997 (Game 8, October 19) season, Danny's first NFL start, against Carolina in the Dome. The Saints posted back-to-back goose-eggs, also being shut out in the Dome by the 49'ers the next week.

1997 season:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/1997.htm

Box score for week 8:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199710190nor.htm

I remember specifically that I was happy to be going to the game because it was Wuerffel's first NFL start. :covri:
Click to expand...


Good call -- that was my mistake! I can't believe I had forgotten about that first season under Ditka. The meds do wonders to supress the Ditka years.
Yeah, it's all painfully coming back to me now. Back to back shutouts.... uggghhhh.
Didn't we pick up Hobert later that season after Buffalo cut him loose for not knowing the playbook?
 
The Ditka years for me were by far the darkest and the hardest to be a Saints fan.
 
It's pretty easy to see how bad Ditka was. Ricky Williams. Period.

NO PLAYER is worth an entire draft.
 

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