1973 Profile: Norm Snead

Quarterback

No. 16

Wake Forest

"Snead surprised a lot of people in New York and points west, including Minnesota, when he led both AFC and NFC passers in 1972 after being a backup quarterback for the Vikings in 1971. He completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 2,037 yards and 17 touchdowns and had only 3.7% intercepted. Snead completed one for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Norm came to the Giants in the trade that sent Fran Tarkenton westward. He drives a green Jaguar and has a passion for Civil War history.

'I can say I played 13 seasons in the NFL and that's something a lot of people can't say.

'I have a great deal of confidence in my ability. I could throw a football between that chair and table if it meant winning. I do much better when I know what's expected of me.'"

-John Devaney, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1973 Edition

HOW NORM SNEAD RESTORED PRIDE IN NEW YORK

By Completing Passes at a 60% Rate to Pace the NFL, He Led the Most Improved Offense in the NFL in '72

"Norm Snead shrugged off the question. 'We happened to have the most improved offense in the league last season, and I was the quarterback. That doesn't mean I was the only one responsible for the big improvement.'

Speaking from his Yorktown, Virginia., home, the National Football League's leading passer of 1972 spoke crisply and confidently as he looked back in time. Though he has been maligned through the years, Snead chose his 12th season as a pro quarterback to write the best chapter of his career.

'I thought I was stepping into a perfect situation when I was traded to Minnesota in 1971,' Norm recalls. 'After seven years in Philadelphia with the Eagles, I thought the Vikings represented a real chance for a championship team. I was pretty bitter about the way things worked out there. But now I feel the Giants have a tremendous future, and I'm thrilled to be involved in it.'

Snead, a 6-4, 215-pound product of Wake Forest and a pro since 1961, will be 34 by the start of the 1973 season, and any 'future' the Giants have will have to arrive in a hurry for Norm to reap its benefits. But after his ups and downs in the NFL, Snead isn't about to start making rash predictions.

'There are a lot of guys on this club with tremendous potential,' he says. 'Some of them haven't reached it yet, and it's going to take some time. But that's all it's going to take- time. In Philadelphia, we got worse instead of better. But the coaching staff in New York, from Alex Webster down, has put this club together well and things can't help but get better.'

Snead is one of the more ironic stories in recent pro football. When he was dealt to the Giants in the much-heralded return of Fran Tarkenton to the Vikings, Norm was accompanied by wide receiver Bob Grim and running back Vin Clements. Many football people nodded knowingly and said sympathetically, 'Well, that's the end of the line for old Norm. He had his shot in Minnesota, blew it, and now it's back to the second division.'

Anyone who would have dared to predict that the Giants, with Snead, would finish 1972 with a better won-lost record than the Vikings with Tarkenton, would have earned a quick removal to the funny farm. But the Giants were 8-6 and the Vikings, despite the added offensive impetus supplied by Tarkenton, were 7-7 and by a wide margin missed winning their fifth consecutive Central Division title.

Alan Page, the great defensive right tackle of the Vikings, was an outspoken critic of the trade that took Tarkenton back to Minnesota last season. But, Page says, his criticism wasn't personal against Tarkenton. 'I couldn't figure out why Norm didn't get a better shot with us than he got,' says Page. 'He had a couple of good games in the 1971 preseason, and our offense was beginning to jell the way it had when Joe Kapp was our quarterback.

'But once the season started the coaching staff had Norm and our other quarterbacks follow that old conservative offensive game plan the Vikings are famous for, and that's one of the worst things you can tell a quarterback- almost like telling him to stop trying to move the ball. I think Norm could have had a good year for us given half a chance.'

When Norm showed at the Giants' training camp last summer, he wasn't certain he would have that 'half a chance' with New York, either. Randy Johnson, who had patiently waited for Tarkenton to either grow old or feeble, seemed to have a corner on the number one quarterbacking job. In the last game of 1971, Johnson had fashioned a 370-yard passing performance, as if serving a warning to the competition that in 1972 he would be the regular Giant signal-caller.

But Johnson, a seven-year pro, was injured in the preseason and Snead encroached on his number one status. By the season-opener, Norm was Webster's selection as the starter. Snead did well enough statistically, completing 16 of 25 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Bob Tucker. But the Detroit Lions romped to a 30-16 victory.

Though Snead's performance in the opener was reasonably good, Webster felt he had an obligation to give Johnson a chance to show what he could do, so he started Randy against Dallas in the second game. Johnson didn't last his first series. On the second play of the game he was tackled viciously by a horde of Cowboys and suffered a mild concussion. After that, Snead came in and the Cowboys did the suffering.

In one of the greatest performances of his career, Snead pitched 19 completions in 26 throws for 298 yards. He and sprinter-speedy Rich Houston teamed on touchdown plays of 55 and 94 yards, beating all-time great cornerback Herb Adderley both times.

Dallas beat the Giants, 23-14, but after that afternoon there was no question about the identity of the regular Giant quarterback. Snead, disappointed at the loss to Dallas, refused to acknowledge that his passing the first two games of the year gave him an advantage over Johnson for the rest of the season. 'Is 0-2 an advantage?' was his chagrined reply.

The Giants gave Snead the job from then on, however, fully aware that the losses to Detroit and Dallas were expected. The next opponent was Philadelphia, and if the Giants had lost to the Eagles, their season might have fallen apart right then. But New York won, 27-12, and in the process, Snead became the eighth pro passer in history to surpass the 25,000 mark in aerial yardage.

Three more victories followed then, including a 23-17 upset of eventual Western Division champion San Francisco. A victory over Denver was sandwiched by two close losses to Washington, and the Giants reached their zenith of the year with a record-shattering 62-10 slaughter in their second meeting with the Eagles.

A disappointing 13-10 defeat by Cincinnati seemed to erase the Giants' hopes for finishing above .500. The Bengals and Giants met in game 12 of the regular season and the remaining opponents on the schedule were Miami and Dallas. With a 7-5 record going into those games, it appeared the Giants would have to be content with a 7-7 final slate.

But after bowing to the Dolphins, 23-10, to give Miami a 13-0 record, the New Yorkers rose for a sweet 23-3 clobbering of the Cowboys before a large home crowd in their new home in Irving, Texas.

Before 1972, Snead had played on only one club that had a winning record: the 1966 Eagles (9-5). Mostly, Norm toiled on teams like the 1961 Washington Redskins, when the club was 1-12-1 (his rookie year) and spent a substantial part of the season on his back.

'Obviously, I'm glad we had a winning season,' Snead says of 1972, 'but I was happy at first just to be a starter again. When you've been in as many losing games as I have, you become, unfortunately, a little used to it. But what good was it to be with a winner like the Vikings in 1971, when you're not playing?' In 1972 Snead thew 325 passes compared to 75 in his seven appearances for Minnesota the previous autumn. Throughout his career Norm has averaged well over 300 passes a season.

If Snead lit the spark for the 1972 Giants, there were plenty of other fuses. 'How can you go wrong when you had the kind of line we had, and with guys like Ron Johnson to carry for more than 1,000 yards?' Norm asks. 'Bob Tucker at tight end makes it impossible for the defense to concentrate on covering our outside passing routes. Bob's the best tight end in football right now. And Don Herrmann, who runs great patterns, and Rich Houston, with his great speed and moves, give us tremendous receivers.

'Then, too,' adds Snead, 'look how injury-free we were in 1972. Luck had to play a large part in that. Until Charlie Evans broke his leg late in the season, we didn't have a major injury. And then Joe Orduna gave us a lift by filling in for Charlie like he did. But I think everyone knows about guys like that. You really have to mention our offensive line. Those guys were tremendous.'

Okay, Norm, they're mentioned. The defensive improvement in the Giants was perhaps more evident and certainly more heralded because of the addition of All-Pro end Jack Gregory, and fine rookies like John Mendenhall and Larry Jacobson. But the offensive line played a major role in taking the Giants from a club that scored only 228 points in 1971 to one that scored 331 in '72 and posted the best overall offense in the National Conference, 320.2 rushing-passing yards per game.

Here are the principals in the Giant offensive line which allowed enemy defenders to sack Snead only 11 times in 1972, compared to 40 sacks against Giant quarterbacks in 1971. The evaluations of those of Ray Wietecha, the great New York center of the 1950s who coaches the Giant offensive line for head coach Alex Webster:

-Left tackle Willie Young (6-0, 265) - 'He's no picture player, as his size would indicate, but he's efficient. Has no one thing he does best, but gets it all done with hard work.'

-Left guard Dick Enderle (6-2, 250) - 'Very bright and a student of the game. Our best puller and gets his man when he does go outside.'

-Center Greg Larson (6-3, 250) - 'The leader, if there is one. Calls assignment switches. Very strong blocker handling man over center. Also, very good at whipping a man by turning him around.'

-Right guard Doug Van Horn (6-3, 245) - 'Great line blocker. Good strong legs and stiff back that make his straight-ahead drive very effective, good knowledge of opponents.'

-Right tackle Joe Taffoni (6-3, 255) - 'A fine pass-blocker. Has good agility, quickness and balance. Has a gliding motion.'

These were the men who certainly share a lot of the credit that went to Snead for his league-leading passing marks of 1972. His 60.3 completion percentage (196 completions for 325 tries) was the key statistic in enabling Norm to rank one point better than Miami's Earl Morrall for the overall NFL title. It was the first time Norm had ever led the league in a single passing category- except interceptions. Norm led all quarterbacks in interceptions in 1963 when he was with Washington,  and in 1968 when he was toiling for Philadelphia.

Now, it's different. Heretofore known as the guy the Redskins traded one-on-one for Sonny Jurgensen in 1964, Norm now stars while Sonny sits.

There's really no figuring these things in the whacky world of pro football. Suddenly Snead is a big name in New York. Fortunately, Norm had only a one-year contract with the Giants, so he is able to command a much larger salary for the 1973 campaign. 'I didn't think I would get a salary cut,' Snead chuckles, 'but the way things have worked out here, it's been great.'

Early in his career with New York Norm was signed by a shoe manufacturer in the city to do a couple of newspaper advertisements. The shoe man explained he had chosen Snead instead of a better-established New York player because, 'He wasn't as well-known as other athletes, so I figured I could get him cheaper.'

They can't hold Norm Snead so cheap anymore. He's filling a bigger pair of shoes now that he's directing a winner."

-Larry Bortstein, Football Digest, June 1973

SNEAD: NEW LIFE

"The New York Giants didn't do any crying over the trade that sent scrambling Fran (Tarkenton) to the Vikings in exchange for veteran Norman Snead, who has bounced from Washington to Philadelphia to Minnesota to New York.

Snead, at 34, enjoyed his best season in '72 and the Giants may indeed be the dark horse if Norman has another year in '73 like the one last year. All he did in 1972 was lead the NFL in passing, completing a nifty 60.3 percent of his tosses for 2,307 yards, an average of seven yards per gain. He hit on 196 of 325 passes, 17 for touchdowns.

Giant tight end Bob Tucker (55 catches) feels Snead is a bonafide, underrated NFL pro. 'You always read about other people in the magazines, but Norman meant so much to our team last season,' Tucker says. 'With his passing and Ron Johnson (1,182 yards, second in the NFC) both clicking, we'll be contenders again. We're a lot more experienced.'

Snead's coming to the Giants made New York a stronger offensive team. Snead's dropback patterns certainly differed considerably from the scrambling tactics of Tarkenton, who suffered disappointments with Minnesota in the NFC Central.

If Snead did anything, he brought 'new life' to the Giants."

-Frank Dascenzo, 1973 Gridiron News Pro Yearbook

"Norm was the NFC's passing leader in 1972 and also led the NFL. He had the best percentage of completions with 60.3. Norm threw a 94-yard touchdown pass to Rich Houston."

-1973 Topps No. 515

THE GAME I'LL NEVER FORGET by Norm Snead

"For a number of years now I've knocked around or kicked around this game, whatever it is- first with Washington, then with Philadelphia, then on to Minnesota and now back east to the New York Giants.

In almost a decade and a half I've known the heady euphoria that comes with the spectacular and the almost humiliating shame that comes over you when you bomb out. Not when you just get beat, when you just give it away through carelessness or a lack of good attitude, for want of a better word.

While that may be the worst way to lose, I think that the best way to win is when you pull one out that everyone said you had no chance of winning. They call that an upset,  although I don't like to  use the word. Football's such an emotional game that wanting to win more than the other guy can offset almost any difference in talent. I've seen it happen too often to doubt it.

That's why in looking back to close than 200 league games, the one that stands out most in my mind was the game played between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants on the night of November 23, 1970.

I was with the Eagles then, and we were going no place. Until you've gone no place with the Eagles you just haven't gone no place yet. We lost our first seven games then got hot and beat Miami and tied Atlanta to go into that game 1-7-1.

The Giants were riding a six-game winning streak, which they started, by the way, seven weeks before by beating us. In a way you could say the game figured to be a clash between two hot teams, figuring our win over the Dolphins and our tie with the Falcons, but only in a way you could say that. Most everyone was saying that the Giants would restore us to our natural pace, they being contenders and all that.

But there is a natural rivalry that exists in this east coast Washington-Philadelphia-New York axis. Part of it is the closeness of the franchises, and another factor is that they've all been in the league and played each other so long, and they've all seen good days and bad days and there are so many old scores to settle and this whole thing gets passed down from one generation of players to another. I should know, I've seen it from all three angles now.

So there was very little brotherly love for the Giants in the city of Philadelphia that cold, windy night.

The Giants, I suppose, figured there was no way they should lose to us and that's the way they started off. Tarkenton, my old friend Fran, looked like he was going to have a good night. He got the Giants 

moving right away, but our defense managed to stall them a little and they had to settle for a field goal.

I was just standing there on the sideline wearing my thermal mittens trying to keep my hands warm watching him and going over in my mind the things I wanted to do once we took over. The boys were popping pretty good and we got off a march of our own. We brought it down to the Giants' one-yard line and I sneaked it over from there.

Now some people might think that by keeping the ball himself down close to the goal line the quarterback is looking for some glory. That isn't it at all. He'll do it for a couple of reasons and none have anything to do with glory. One reason is that by keeping it himself he reduces the danger of a fumble, and fumbles on your opponent's goal line are one of the most demoralizing things that can happen to a team; and by keeping it himself the quarterback has a chance of getting it into the end zone before the defense can react, certainly before they can mass.

Our touchdown seemed to stimulate the Giants, as much to say, 'All right, you fellas have had your fun,' and they completely took over the ball game.

Tarkenton got them off on a long drive and Ron Johnson went over for the touchdown from a couple of yards out and then they took the ball away from us right away. We made them settle for a field goal, but the tempo of the game was theirs.

One of the key plays of the game came on the following kickoff. With 10 straight points, they were in a position to blow us out if we didn't do something. Bill Walik did it for us. He ran the kickoff back 57 yards to put us in real good position. All we got out of it was a field goal, and we went into the locker room down 13 to 9 at halftime, but we had broken the Giants' momentum.

In the locker room we agreed that we were letting them control the ball too much. We decided we had to do the same thing, to run the ball as much as we could and pass only when we had to.

That strategy put us into the lead. Cyril Pinder and Lee Bouggess were terrific on the quick openers and off-tackle slants, and when we got it down real close we crossed them up when I passed to our tight end Fred Hill for the touchdown.

There was still a lot of time left and the Giants put together the same type of long drive with Tarkenton spinning in the last yard to put them on top by four points.

Walik gave us a shot again. He returned the kickoff back to the Giants' 46-yard line, and with the Giants expecting the ball-control game, I again popped Ben Hawkins with a pass. A penalty, two good runs by Pinder, and we had it down to the one again and I sneaked it in again to put us up again, 23 to 20.

Our defense was real tough and stopped the Giants without a first down. There was still a lot of time to play though, over 10 minutes, and we had the ball deep in our territory. We wanted to move the ball and eat up as much time as we could.

We certainly did it. We practically inched it up the field with Pinder and Bouggess getting the tough yardage, getting one first down then another, and another, grinding out the yardage and the clock. They finally stopped us, but not until we had it inside their 30. We tried a field goal and missed, but when they took over on their 20-yard line they had a little more than 50 seconds to play. Our drive had eaten up almost nine and a half minutes!

It might not have been an artistic success because we didn't score, but it sure accomplished what we wanted to accomplish.

We played the best we knew how and on that night it was good enough. We did what we had to do when we had to do it. It was a sweet win because of the kind of season both teams were having and it gave me a personal satisfaction to put a dent in the wheel that the Giants thought was going to roll them to a championship."

-Norm Snead, as told to Bob Billings, Football Digest (September 1973)