10 Reasons Browns backup Jacoby Brissett can win it all
8. Terry Bradshaw, Steelers
In 1974, Joe Gilliam, not Terry Bradshaw, was the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gilliam’s story is a tragic one, but he was one of the most spectacular talents that the NFL has ever seen, but only briefly.
Everybody knows Terry Bradshaw, the handsome, blonde-haired Louisiana gunslinger (and a pretty fair country-western singer, too, by the way) who became a Hall-of-Fame quarterback after a rocky start to his career under the tutelage of a tough coach in Chuck Noll.
Browns fans were introduced to Gilliam in 1973. Bradshaw was out with a shoulder injury, and backup Terry Hanratty went down with a broken wrist. So in came third-string Joe Gilliam. Hanratty was famous and highly respected because of being the former starter for Notre Dame, but who was Joe Gilliam?
He was an unknown out of Tennessee State, so we were expecting an easy win. We were so wrong, and totally unprepared for what happened next.
Gilliam came out firing laser shots that we had never seen before. Remember, Bradshaw had one of the strongest arms in the NFL up to that time, but Gilliam seemed to be way beyond Bradshaw.
The only comparison that might be made for Cleveland fans is if you ever had the chance to watch Sam McDowell pitch. The velocity was simply inhuman and deadly accurate. If passes fell incomplete, it was because the receivers were unprepared to catch balls thrown at such high velocity. The Browns managed to eke out a win, 21-16 as Gilliam’s last four passes were incomplete, but it was a frightening experience.
The next year, coach Noll chose Gilliam as the starter over Bradshaw. This caused great excitement as well as a controversy because Gilliam was the first African American starting quarterback in Steelers history, and Bradshaw had been the first overall draft pick. The Steelers started 4-1-1, but what no one knew was that Gilliam was fighting a drug problem. Noll had no choice but to demote him.
Bradshaw, for his part, has had nothing but complimentary things to say about Gilliam and has praised his ability. In the trailer for Jefferson Street Joe, Bradshaw speaks frankly.
"“He absolutely had what it took to lead the Steelers to the Super Bowl. He gave me my job back. I didn’t earn it back. I didn’t beat him out.” — Terry Bradshaw, in Jefferson Street Joe"
At the same time, you hear from Gilliam’s own lips the terrible battle he fought with drug addiction and realize that it was impossible for him to continue as an NFL starting quarterback. Some writers have quibbled that Noll would have waited longer had Gilliam been white, but listen to Gilliam tell his own story about the fight with drugs and judge for yourself.
In any case, Bradshaw became the starter for the Steelers in game seven of the 1974 season and helped them to re-establish the running game. The Steel Curtain defense allowed 13.5 points per game that season and held Minnesota to six in Super Bowl IX, winning 16-6. It should have been a shutout, but the Vikings got their six points by blocking a punt and recovering in the end zone.
Bradshaw was 9-of-16 for 96 yards in the victory. For the season, he completed 45.3 percent of his passes and threw for seven TDs and eight INTs. That’s proof positive that dominant quarterback performances are not necessary to win the Super Bowl if your team has a truly dominant defense and a very good running game.
If you want to say that it’s a Browns hack writer taking shots at a Steeler Hall of Famer, okay. But I will also admit that by the end of his career Bradshaw had established himself as top five in my personal all-time list, along with Otto Graham, Johnny Unitas, Roger Staubach, and Joe Namath. But not in1974. The Steel Curtain deserves most of the credit for that Super Bowl, rather than the offensive unit. The fans who say it is always all about the quarterback are just not correct.
At the beginning of the season, all the buzz is about quarterbacks, but you know the old saying: “Defense wins championships.” It’s often true.