A 30-yard field goal. One stinking yard, with three plays to get it. A lousy 21-yard field goal.
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| The Mad Dogs fell just short of making the 1995 CFL Playoffs. |
If any one had been different, the Mad Dogs would have been in the playoffs.
But the Mad Dogs blew all three opportunities, so their 9-9 record is all there is.
-- Igwebuike misses: Former NFL kicker Donald Igwebuike was supposed to be the answer to Memphis's early kicking problems. But Igwebuike missed a 30- yarder early in a July 29 game against Toronto, when the Mad Dogs needed every point they could get. By the way, there was another opportunity. In the fourth quarter with the game tied, 7-7, defensive back Don Odegard stepped in front of a pass and would have had clear sailing - if only he was able to hold onto the ball. Toronto won the sloppily played game, 10-7, in overtime.
-- Three downs, no yards: The Mad Dogs had beaten eventual South Division champ Baltimore once, and had a golden opportunity to do it again Aug. 19 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The Dogs trailed by three in the fourth period when an interference penalty gave them the ball at the Stallions 1. Three straight running plays into the middle of the line went nowhere. On the second and third plays, Memphis linemen simply failed to block Stallions nose tackle Jerald Baylis. Baltimore held on for a 16-13 victory.
-- Mystrom's nightmare: Kicker Nick Mystrom
reached a personal high point with five field goals, including a game-winning
37-yarder, in a 22-21 victory over Shreveport Sept. 10. There was no reason to
believe it would fall apart a week later at Saskatchewan. He had already made
three in a row when he was asked to kick a 21-yarder on the game's final play to
tie the game. As he said afterward, he could make one that distance in his
sleep. The kick went wide left, and Memphis went to bed with a 34-32 loss.
-- The Mad Dogs spent most of the season in inner conflict. Sometimes the stellar defense won out over an inept offense. Sometimes, the better the defense, the worse the offense.
This was probably illustrated best by the show
defensive end Tim Cofield
put on in the July 29 loss to Toronto.
Cofield was credited with two sacks, but he also forced quarterback Robert Daugherty to fumble (the CFL doesn't count the sack if the hit forces a fumble and the defense recovers), and generally had to be held to be blocked. Cofield did all that despite having to leave the game twice with leg cramps.
Later in the season, Cofield had five sacks in the first half of a 34-17 loss at Edmonton, but the performance against Toronto - in extreme heat and with little effort from the offense - rates as almost superhuman.
Cofield also finished with 24 sacks, the
third-highest total in CFL history.
-- Memphis finished with the seventh- most victories in the CFL this season. Eight of the 13 teams go to the playoffs.
Memphis just happens to be on the wrong side of the U.S.-Canada border. The CFL took five teams from the North Division (Canada) and three from the South for its playoffs.
It would be easy to cry foul, except for one thing. Memphis was the only South team to finish below .500 (5-6) against North teams. Shreveport finished last in the South at 5-13, but the Pirates went 5-5 against the North.
Birmingham was only so-so (3-4) against the
South. The Barracudas' excellent (7-4) record against the North is responsible
for their playoff spot.
-- Nothing that happened on the field could compare with the loss of defensive back Junior Robinson.
Robinson, 27, was killed in a car crash in High Point, N.C., Sept. 30 - while the Mad Dogs were enjoying an off weekend.
Players wore Robinson's No. 2 on their helmets for the rest of the season in honor of their teammate.
Note: this article appeared in the Memphis Commercial Appeal on 8/29/95, written by Thomas Harding.