They Were Who We Thought They Were; Or Were They?
Posted on July 25th, 2008 – 8:30 AMBy Michael Rand
Stu is going to be your substitute daddy today. Really, it’s just one post. But it’s awesome. Sir, you have the floor:
(Quick recap: the brainchild of Brandon from Deadspin-approved blog World of B, TWWWTTWOWT’s goal is to analyze past Minnesota sporting figures to see if they were, in fact, who we thought they were. They will be graded on a scale of Absolute Dennys, with a 1 being We Let ‘Em Off the Hook, and a 10 being Crown ‘Em.)
Today’s Subject: Tommy Kramer
Who We Think They Were: how do you replace a legend? If you’re Torii Hunter, you make a legend of your own. If you’re Les Steckel, you fall flat on your [redacted]. If you’re Tommy Kramer, you own the fourth quarter (hence the nickname, “Two-Minute Tommy”) and then go haunt the 494 strip. And always, always, always throw the ball to Rickey Young.
Were They Really? You’d think there’d be a readily available stat for 4th quarter/OT comebacks. You’d be wrong. If it’s out there, it’s in a media guide that I’d have to pay for or hidden on the internet by mind-bottling amounts of fetish pornography. So, I looked at the box scores for all the Vikings victories with Kramer at the helm and hand-tallied them, starting with his ridiculous comeback against the 49ers on Dec. 4, 1977. I came up with 16 comeback victories, plus four more wins in games that were tied in the 4th quarter. This pales next to John Elway’s NFL record of 47, but it’s not bad, all things considered. This Football Outsiders write-up from 2006 about the most comeback victories since 1996 shows that 16 is a pretty good number for a decade’s worth of football, especially given Kramer’s significant downtime due to injury.
Then there’s off-field stuff. Kramer’s reputation was not unearned, as you will note here and here. More recent news available about him continues that trend.
Finally, if you remember roughly 85 percent of all Kramer’s passes going to Rickey Young swinging out of the backfield, that’s a slight exaggeration. Young finished fourth in the NFL in receptions in 1979, Kramer’s first year as the full-time starter. This was actually a step back from Young’s league-leading 88 receptions in 1978. Young’s reception totals continued to decline until he retired after the 1983 season.
The Grade: Tommy Kramer gets 8 Dennys. He really could move the team down the field when it counted. He really did earn his off-field reputation. He also threw the ball to Rickey Young, just not all the time.
Have a subject for Stu’s feature? Agree to disagree about Kramer? Want to make a mockery of the comments while we’re away? It’s free-for-all Friday.
42 Responses to "They Were Who We Thought They Were; Or Were They?"
“It’s free-for-all Friday.”
Does that come with a side of ranch?
I have an off-subject question: is the WNBA done? Tough for anyone to call it a legitimate sport when, after the brawl, you read this:
“I don’t even know why (Mahorn) was pushing me down,” said Leslie, who called herself a role model and mommy during an overdone postgame interview. “I wasn’t swinging or hitting anybody. I was just going to help my teammate up.”
Called herself a mommy. Oh my god.
So, we’re responsible for our own movie quotes today?
Brandon
Answer: I sure hope so. These women make more money playing overseas anyway. That Leslie interview made my stomach hurt. She trips over her own clown shoes and blames Mahorn. I am no Mahorn apologist but that was no shove. And on top of that he has some 5′2 women trying to jump on his back while punching him. If she was trying out for the WWE, she failed miserably.
I’z on ur internetz… Hidin ur combak statz.
That WNBA brawl couldn’t hold this brawl’s jock. And nobody even got ejected.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/dragons/2008/07/25/dragons-brawl.html
Here’s some vidoe from above brawl. You gotta like the guy who threw the ball at the other teams dugout, missed and hit a fan. I guess if he had better control he probably wouldn’t be in the minors.
Two historic brawls in one week. One because it (probably) signified the demise of the sport’s legitimacy, and the other because a felony will be charged. Incredible.
(Stu: love this feature. Other suggestions: Dino Ciccarelli, Randy Breuer, Willie Burton, Juan Berenguer.)
Jama: That guy got suspended for 15 games and is now facing criminal charges.
Maybe they need to add checking in the WNBA, this brawl has gotten a lot more people interested in it… still not me though.
Tommy Kramer - 5 Dennys, down from 8 after I read he told the cops he played for the Vikings…
Next TWWWTTWOWT- Malik Sealy
OR
Pooh Richardson
We all know that Rand is really in Mankato as Brad Childress’s Cabana boy. He’s probably fetching him a large mocha latte and a scone right this minute.
Love the topic, love Tommy Kramer and l-o-v-e Starting Lineup figures (even though the contemporary McFarlane creations are far more advanced and detailed… yes, I’m 34 and have strong opinions on action figures).
I nominate Greg Gagne for They Were Who We Thought They Were treatment.
How about John Daly circa 1995 for TWWWTTWOWT
@ lattewarrior-
What are your thoughts on the 97 A-Rod starting lineup where he’s jumping above a slide at 2nd to complete the double play?
/also a huge nerd
This series came about when I randomly looked up the career stats of Dan Gladden. I seem to remember the Dazzle Man being pretty awesome when I was a kid, but (I’ll save you the time, Stu) it turns out that he was pretty awful. Career OBP of .324. No power. He’d be like the sixth best outfielder on today’s squad.
Though, on the plus side, he did beat the tar out of Steve Lombardozzi that one time.
Future TWWWTTWOWT: Johan Santana
after the outcome of the mets first playoff game.
So does that minor leaguer throwing the ball into the stands mean we’ll stop seeing video of that one guy throwing his bat towards an ump and ACCIDENTALLY hitting him? Please??
+1 to Mr. Young
Mr. Young, no.
Just curious, is everyone else pronouncing “TWWWTTWOWT” as “twit-twat”? Just me?
I am… now!
@muxhut-
I am now. I think you’ve given us a great new insult, too.
“Shut up you twit-twat!”
….might want to avoid using it on the ladies, though.
Well at least we can’t call Rand a liar when he says he is taking a day off.
We need a new topic… has anyone been following this Brett Favre Deal?
(prepares to be pelted with office supplies)
New Topic?
McDonald’s is thinking about raising the prices of their dollar menu. I love me a $1 Double Cheeseburger.
Who’s to blame?
My money is on George Bush or Global Warming.
Or maybe it’s P3’s fault.
Fasola
I see you taught Fasola Jr. well. One question, when did you move to Texas?
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080724_mo_escape.8a4682a4.html
Can they raise prices and still call it the Dollar Menu?
How does a 5 year old buy stuff at a gas station with no one questioning it?
Also, who’s P3… I’m new.
Let’s be careful here folks. Last time we said P3 too much he came back from his hiatus. My brain still hasn’t recovered.
Imagine:
Brett Favre(pre-retirement) + 100% Grain Alcohol + Rush Limbaugh + Spandex Biker Shorts + Mustache + 450 word comments. Throw all that in a blender and you have P3
You’ll find out who P3 is in about a week when Rand starts talking more football. You’ve been warned
Looking through the comments, it seems that Friday Daddy has abandoned us just as much as Regular Daddy.
Isn’t jama next on the Randball hierarchy? Does that mean he’s babysitting?
You know how everyone always fights to be first commenter or “top post” on most blogs? Well I don’t care much for most blogs. Therefore I suggest that we who depend upon The Rand for our blogstunance compete for bottom post instead. At least on slow days like this where I weep because I have nothing new to read. Actually just writing this made me feel like less of a human. But there you go. I’m pretty sure this will win for today. Most of you probably aren’t still stuck at work. “Last Post!”
Read it. On blackberry. On the train. On the East Coast.
I am a loser.
But the “Last!” poster is a great idea…
black-berry?
We’re gonna need to make some rules regarding medium and content and such so that it’s entertaining for the other losers / so that I can win this easier, otherwise I no longer like my idea. For instance “You must be posting from your cubicle. You must include a movie reference. You must be this tall. Etc.”
And the reward? Last poster prior to Rand’s next post earns 1 coveted COW point. Only applies when a Rand-Post goes un-Rand-Followed for over 3 hours.
I have absolutely no right to dish out the COW points like that, but at 5:45 on a Friday I no longer care. I’ll bribe you all with silence later if you’ll just entertain me now.
LAST!
I got a sunburn playing kickball at the company picnic today. Can I file a worker’s comp. claim?
LAST!
I’ll be back full time on this pitful excuse for a blog after the lawsuit is settled…until then no further comments…unless The Savior follows through with his plan and shows up at camp this weekend. Uh, last?
I miss you P3. Like Oscar misses Felix. The season is upon us and we await you.
Hey that looks like P4? Is that an upgrade… I’m still new.
Also, does lasties count on Saturday after a weekend post?
Yes they do, Newbie. Your prize is a jpg. of Rand’s pug and a Fresh Wok vegetarian spring roll.
