1978 Season
Expected Record - 3-13
At Barcelona Dragons (0-0)
We return to the scene of last year's most disappointing performance. Right on halftime, we go from 10-10 to 20-10 ahead when we recover a kickoff fumbled by the Dragons. Another ten points in the third quarter mean we can afford to coast home. Barcelona restore respectability with a touchdown on the final play of the game, to no avail.
Won 33-25 (1-0)
Home v Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)
We play the Eagles for the second time in three seasons, and get the same result, although we have to work hard for it. Gary Huff tosses 262 yards and a touchdown, while Gerg Wilson boots home two field goals, the second in extra time. We have our first ever 2-0 start to a season.
Won 20-17 in extra time (2-0)
At San Diego Chargers (2-0)
The schedule-makers have a sense of humour, as we have our third trip to the west coast in our first three seasons. We shock the Chargers by going ahead 7-0 on our first drive of the game, and are building towards increasing the lead before a pick six puts the home team on the board. Huff, in great form, puts London back up with a touchdown pass to Tom Carrell. Dave Lewis grabs his second interception and we have a ten point lead. Dan Fouts exits the game and we lead at halftime. Two more field goals wipes our lead to a single point with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter. The Chargers put together a 14-play drive to go in front for the first time. Dave Lewis is having a great game as he recovers a fumble on the next San Diego drive. We hold the ball at the two-minute warning, down by six. The ball goes over on downs but the Chargers mess up their timeouts, and we have 44 seconds and 83 yards to go. We gain 28 yards but are called for a penalty, and then a sack ends the game. We've done well but not got the points.
Lost 17-23 (2-1)
Home v Cincinnati Bengals (1-2)
A game where we never really got going. Huff too inefficient with the ball again sees veteran backup Brian Dowling close out the game. Bengals safety Glen Edwards has a great game, with 3 interceptions and 8 tackles. We are tied for the lead of the AFC South with the Colts.
Lost 10-33 (2-2)
Home v Cleveland Browns (3-1)
A dour first half sees the Monarchs lead 3-0 at the break. The trend of playing the game almost exclusively in the middle of the field continues, and the score is the same heading into the fourth quarter. We've had a 3-0 result before (against the Dragons in 1976) but this would be something else. We get the break we want when Perry Smith intercepts Brian Sipe at midfield. Huff throws our chance away in typical fashion by tossing an interception. The Browns then implode. We back them up to the 9 yard line with a sack, then Cleveland gets called for intentional grounding, with a safety awarded in our favour. We close out the game in gritty fashion and earn our third win of the season. Our defense comes up big!
Won 5-3 (3-2)
At Baltimore Colts (2-3)
Huge, huge game in the context of our season. A win here will see us establish a two game lead in the NFL's weakest division. The Colts are up for the challenge, and spurred on by a big Memorial Stadium crowd, establish a 27-0 lead at halftime. Drats. The memorably-named Derwin Kafentzis throws a sympathy touchdown as the last scoring play of the game, as we sit Huff and then Dowling.
Lost 7-37 (3-3)
At Pittsburgh Steelers (6-0
The Steelers are on fire this year, with an average of 34.3 points per game. They look poised to have another excellent season, with five of the 1976 expansion teams on their schedule. You can only beat who is in front of you though. The Monarchs have a great start to the game, intercepting Bradshaw for just the third time this year, and turning it into three points. We trade field goals and intercept Bradshaw once more, leading 6-3 after 15 minutes. It must be our lucky day, as a third interception is taken and we lead 9-6. We may rue not turning more of these field goals into touchdowns though. We thrown an interception of our own, and the Steelers lead 12-9 in a mildly shocking halftime lead. It sounds like a broken record, but Bradshaw throws yet another touchdown! Four in one game, and six for the season. Some resemblance of normality is restored when the Steelers break through for the first touchdown of the game, Bradshaw to Theo Bell. The Monarchs aren't done yet, and Jim Jodat storms in for a touchdown with less than a minute to go. We can't recover the onside kick though and Pittsburgh win the game on the scoreboard, if not on the field. One telling stat is that Huff was sacked seven times, Bradshaw just once.
Lost 19-22 (3-4)
At Toronto Huskies (1-6)
We win a tough game. If turnovers are your thing, this was probably the game of the year. Three interceptions in the space of 35 seconds in the third quarter sums up how effective the offenses were. We get our second safety of the year, and Edwards gets his first interception of the year.
Won 15-0 (4-4)
Home v Houston Oilers (3-3-1)
There is a three-way tie at the top of the AFC South, but we are the third cog in the wheel thanks to our big loss to Baltimore. Our defense has forced 20 turnovers in eight games so far and we'll have to continue this form if we are any chance of playoffs in 1978. Playoffs??!!! I just hope we can win another game, given our first half performance. The Oilers blow us out, we get some sympathy scores in the second half but the horse had bolted by then.
Lost 13-31 (4-5)
We have a bye week, a perfect time to reflect on standings elsewhere in the NFL. I had previous said the AFC South was the weakest division, and our 15-16-1 is certainly nothing to skite about, but the NFC South is positively putrid. 8-30. Atlanta and New Orleans are tied for the division lead at 3-7. Pittsburgh are clearly the class of the NFL at 10-0, and it will take an almighty effort to stop them winning Super Bowl XIII. The NFC North looks beastly, with Chicago (7-2) leading the other three sides tied at 6-3. The Niners are falling hard this year, from losing last year's Super Bowl to sitting at 1-8.
Home v Barcelona Dragons (2-7)
A great first half sees us lead our Spanish cousins 21-5. Huff has his usual mix of brilliance (3 touchdown passes) and futility (2 interceptions and a safety). Doug Williams doesn't have a good game at all, handing us a pick six en route to our biggest ever win. We blow him apart with eight sacks, which might have something to do with it - Burnell Bullard gets credited with 2.5 sacks in an MVP performance.
Won 38-5 (5-5)
Away v Dallas Cowboys (7-3)
Three of our last six games are against the NFC East, where the Giants are holding on to a half-game division lead. Huff tosses two picks on our first two drives, and we never recover. Dowling plays the whole second half and throws a touchdown pass...for the Cowboys. We are blanked.
Lost 0-38 (5-6)
Home v Buffalo Bills (5-6)
We try to get our season back on track with a home game against the Bills. Leading 6-0 at the break, we fall behind when quarterback Vince Ferragamo lights up the offense. Gerg Wilson restores our lead to 12-7, which we maintain until the dying moments. Ferrgamo has the chance to win the game for Buffalo but tosses a pick six for Max Wilkins, who takes it back to the house! That's our sixth win of the season, a new club record.
Won 19-7 (6-6)
Home v Washington Redskins (7-5)
A typically dour game by the home side, although Washington don't blow us out of the park either. The game is notable for no turnovers from the entire Monarchs offense. Way to go, team!
Lost 6-20 (6-7.
We are two games behind the current wildcard holders, the Chargers and Browns. But we are only one game out of the AFC South lead. Our path to the playoffs lies in three remaining games, each of which is virtually a playoff game in themselves, provided we actually win them in order. First up, the Colts travel to Wembley with a half-game lead.
Home v Baltimore Colts (7-6)
Our final home game of the year. The Colts lead 8-0 at the break thanks to a pair of field goals and a safety. Our first touchdown is set up by a field goal block which is recovered at midfield. Huff finds Jodat on the ensuring drive. The Colts extend the lead to 11-7 early in the fourth quarter, and miss another field goal attempt. We drive all the way down to the Colts 1 yard line but fail on four attempts to score - failing to run on any occasion! We are too pass-wacky, which is a bad thing with an ordinary quarterback! The Colts are able to run out of trouble, and we run out of time. [i]Lost 7-11 (6-8)
We are hanging by a thread but the permutations for playoffs involve so many results going our way that we are virtually out of contention.
At New York Giants (10-3-1)
Marcos Will has a huge 116 yard game, and Huff tosses 300 yards for the first time (the first Monarchs QB to do so too). Ron Jaworski has a big game of his own, with 77 (!) pass attempts and 346 yards. The game is tied with a Danelo field goal in the final minutes, and the game seems destined to be a tie, when Danelo ends it with another field goal, this time from 53 out.
Lost 13-16 in extra time (6-9)
At Houston Oilers (7-7-1
Two teams with nothing to play for, given that the Colts sealed the division last week. We go into the Astrodome and beat a flat Oilers team to finish the season on seven wins. Huff looks like a franchise quarterback for the second week in a row, this time tossing 287 yards and three scores. Houston make the score seem closer than it actually was with a late touchdown, but the result was never really in doubt.
Won 31-28 (7-9)
Code:
1978 Summary for London Monarchs
Year 1978
Record 7-9
Winning Pct. .437
All-Time 16-32
Winning Pct. .333
Playoffs 0-0
Playoff Visits 0
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach K.C. Beckam
Record 16-32
Winning Pct. .333
Off. Coord. J. Martin
Def. Coord. G. Crane
Asst. Coach J. Cornplow
Stren. Coord. C. Runowski
London Monarchs Team Rank
Rushes per Game 22.3 28
Rushing Yards 70.1 30
Yards Per Carry 3.15 31
Pass Attempts 39.7 7
Completions 21.8 20
Completion Pct. 55.0 31
Passing Yards 225.4 17
Yards Per Attempt 5.68 25
Yards Per Catch 10.34 10 (T)
Total Yardage Gained 271.5 28
3rd Down Conversions 25.8 30
Points Per Game 15.8 27
Pass Rush Pct. 17.5 27 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 59.3 6
Turnovers 28 14 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 10 (T)
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 29.3 30
Rushing Yards 117.8 28
Yards Per Carry 4.03 25
Pass Attempts 40.4 30
Completions 23.6 24
Completion Pct. 58.5 5
Passing Yards 237.1 24
Yards Per Attempt 5.87 7
Yards Per Catch 10.04 16
Total Yardage Gained 342.8 30
3rd Down Conversions 34.5 27
Points Per Game 19.8 15
Pass Rush Pct. 25.9 32
Pass Defense Pct. 61.7 26
Turnovers 32 9
Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 33 at BAR 25
2 20 PHI 17
3 17 at SD 23
4 10 CIN 33
5 5 CLE 3
6 7 at BAL 37
7 19 at PIT 22
8 15 at TOR 0
9 13 HOU 31
11 38 BAR 5
12 0 at DAL 38
13 19 BUF 7
14 6 WAS 20
15 7 BAL 11
16 13 at NYG 16
17 31 at HOU 28
Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
19 G. Huff QB 585 326 3357 5.74 15 23 64.5
13 B. Dowling QB 41 17 177 4.32 0 1 44.5
**Team --- 635 349 3607 5.68 16 24 64.2
$$Opp --- 646 378 3794 5.87 19 21 71.5
Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
20 J. Jodat RB 169 598 3.54 4 3
43 C. Davis RB 46 101 2.20 0 2
**Team --- 356 1121 3.15 6 18
$$Opp --- 468 1885 4.03 10 22
Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
84 T. Carrell WR 92 57 589 10.33 6.40 4 5
17 J. Perkins WR 122 57 568 9.96 4.66 4 2
80 M. Will WR 107 51 743 14.57 6.94 4 2
20 J. Jodat RB 70 49 356 7.27 5.09 3 2
86 W. Gillette WR 60 33 463 14.03 7.72 8 2
36 B. Smith FB 42 23 140 6.09 3.33 6 1
Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
99 T. Kearney ILB 89 18 0.5 0 2 7 75.3
30 E. Buckner S 77 27 1.0 2 3 7 80.9
38 P. Smith CB 72 26 1.0 0 5 7 79.0
98 D. Lewis OLB 56 16 0.0 0 4 9 82.1
46 M. Wilkins S 49 16 2.0 1 2 11 83.0
91 E. Price DE 48 20 4.5 9 0 1 81.3
21 T. Henke CB 45 16 1.0 0 1 7 76.3
95 T. Fielder DT 43 17 3.0 10 0 1 81.9
53 T. Ruud ILB 42 13 0.0 0 0 3 75.0
47 H. Edwards CB 38 6 0.0 0 1 10 81.1
31 T. Lassic CB 34 9 0.0 1 2 3 77.9
49 G. Reynolds S 32 9 0.0 0 0 5 80.6
92 C. Tittle DT 31 17 2.0 6 0 1 81.8
78 J. Yeates DE 30 13 3.0 13 0 0 80.3
71 D. Reese DT 29 15 5.0 11 0 0 82.5
96 H. Dunn OLB 29 11 1.0 0 0 1 67.6
54 J. Gardner OLB 25 11 1.0 0 0 1 75.6