Abner Haynes shared time with the 1967 Miami Dolphins and New York Jets
New! Improved! Analysis below!
1967 AFL “Wideboy” Cards for Strat-O-Matic Pro Football,
Including Updated Special Teams, Penalties, and Extra Players. It is 85 new sides, about a quarter of the AFL season of new content. You should be able to print these off Landscape on A4 and while they are not an exact match, size wise, they’ll work for gameplay.
1967 AFL Players List (Drop Box Link) :
20 extra players, at least one for each team, with some teams having as many as three. Consult this table for potential block ratings.
1967 AFL Extra Player Cards (Drop Box Link) :
67AFLExtraPlayers.pdf (21 Player’s Cards in PDF format)
It should be noted I’ve left some Year One only card quirks in, like the absence of QB double team completions, and certain results where defense right is greater than defense wrong for a few split numbers for runners on certain teams. I figure Hal might have wanted them that way.
The original method of carding Field Goals is, to me, unplayable. Towards the late Seventies the Game Co. started to “blend” results if there was a longer range with better percentages than a shorter range, which meant you didn’t have to take a knee to lose five yards to set up a longer kick at a better probability. I will say you can use the old kicking cards with the new plus minus five yard rule and they kick a lot better but these kickers I’ve made can adhere to the bylaws of the time.
Note that the yardages reflect the 1-12, 13-22, 23-32, 33-42, 43-47 scrimmage lines of the time and you subtract 10 yards from these spots if playing another Wideboy team from 1974 on.
These cards include penalties, team carding for punts, and kick and punt coverages. They are different than the cards in the updated PC game, as a different model was used there.
Summary:
The AFL's best overall special teams belong to the 13-1 Raiders, with Blanda as an excellent kicker, good return coverages and punting, and solid returns. The AFL does not have the kick returners the NFL had, but Denver can return punts as well as anyone.
Analysis:
1967 Boston Patriots
Special teams:
Swanson could use more punt yardage, but the return coverages are pretty good (especially against punts) and Gino Cappelletti can nail kicks at 2-7 all the way out to 49 yards, and Jay Cunningham is sneaky as a #2 punt returner. Cappalletti would retire after 1970 as one of only three men with over a thousand points in Professional Football History (1,130) and with the most points in AFL history (1,100).
Personnel:
Added John Huarte’s 9 pass attempts as a QB, HB JD Garrett, and Tony Romeo’s 1 rated blocking TE card.
1967 New York Jets
Special teams:
The Jets give up a long gain on punt return defense but are otherwise sound, above average both against kicks and punts. Curley Johnson is a good punter with no blocks. Jim Turner had a bit of an off year, only 2-10 on extra points and his range really drops off after 40 yards. Bill Baird and Earl Christy are average on punt returns with the ten and four spot fumbles (a Seventies era occasional head-slapper for teams with low fair catches) and the kick returns are just so-so. I subbed in Emerson Boozer for Abner Haynes for KR #2 since Haynes is now “returned” to Miami.
Personnel:
I gave the Jets FB Billy Joe and the ability to trade back Abner Haynes to Miami. You’d think the addition of a 37 carry runner wouldn’t matter much, but if you try a 1967 Jets replay (as I am doing) you hit the wall on carries real quick, especially late in the season if you trade Abner Haynes back to Miami:
1967 Jets Carries by Runner and Availability by Game
This grid shows the real-life availability of each runner from the rushing records, and it shows why 1967 Namath had to throw as much as he did. Boozer was actually an AFL All-Star off of what are seemingly middling stats (442 rushing yards and 205 receiving yards) but he led the AFL with 13 TDs (and 10 on the ground) and accomplished everything he did in only 8 games. Meanwhile Snell was missing in action after the first game, returning for Game 9 onward. But after the third game, the Jets are scrambling for team carries, and while real Pro Football teams do not have Strat-O-Matic football attempt limits it is easy to see that they were hurting. A late trade with Miami gave them Abner Haynes, and that is how Hal carded the Jets in Year 1- Snell, Smolinski, Boozer, Mathis and Haynes, not giving Mathis a FB/HB rating which would have helped. But that would also allow his to be a receiving FB, Smolinski’s role, so I can see why he carded the positions the way he did. In that context, Billy Joe’s added extra carries at FB certainly help.
A cards and dice gamer has a choice for a 1967 Jets replay – rotate the carries around a version of the “per 14” row number, or in the case of the utility, where you are limited to four backfield runners, let Joe be the FB and Smolinski back him up for games 2 through 8. If you don’t let the Jets have Haynes, you will need to be creative from Game 9 on, since you will have only Bill Mathis (albeit a great receiver) at HB. Easy to see why they faltered down the stretch, and if you check Game 11, a 33-24 loss to the hapless 2-10 Broncos, you find the three runners they had mustered only 9 carries among them out of the backfield for 40 yards, forcing Namath to throw 60 passes in a game they trailed 33-3 at one point.
The other player added to the 1967 Jets is Curley Johnson as a backup TE, something Mike Kane had caught for the recards. Since Hal carded 5 RBs in the 11 positions, he also used George Sauer as the backup TE with a block of 0. But Johnson was a RB/TE type earlier in his career, with 26 carries and 14 catches as recently as 1962, so he’s on the extra player list as a TE with a block of 1 for goal line situations.
1967 Buffalo Bills:
Special teams:
Paul Maguire is a great punter with good coverages, and Mike Mercer is better than most at hitting long field goals. Buffalo has a minus seven penalty ratio, though, and none of the return men are very good.
Personnel:
Added Jack Spikes and Ed Rutkowski, mostly fringe players.
1967 Miami Dolphins:
Special teams:
Larry Seiple punts for good yardage, even with a blocked punt. The Dolphins have excellent punt coverage but the kickoff coverage lags. They are plus three on penalties. Booth Lusteg is a sub-par kicker. The kick and punt returns are fairly average.
Personnel:
As noted in the Jet’s section, Miami gets Abner Haynes and his second on the team 56 carries back. The Dolphins also get carries from their quarterbacks, particulary Griese, but they needed backfield help. Note that this goes beyond just changing the team name on his card; the team’s blocking ratings for the offensive line and different fumble range must also be added. The Dolphins add a fringe wide receiver in Frank Jackson and a third quarterback in Archie Roberts. His one game career is now memorialized in his lone SOM passing card. The re-addition of Haynes does make them more playable.
1967 Houston Oilers:
Special teams:
Kicker John Wittenborn loses his range after 30 yards, but he hits all his extra points, and Jim Norton is a good punter for average, minus the block on twelve. Larry Carwell makes a nice PR #1 and Zeke Moore has a KR TD in the 11 spot as KR #2. The Oilers are the best KR defender in the 1967 AFL but punt coverage is average.
Personnel:
Glenn Bass and Larry Elkins are fringe receivers.
1967 Denver Broncos:
Special teams:
Bob Scarpitto can punt for distance, but he has a block in the 12 and the Bronco punt and kick coverages are among Pro Football’s worst. Bob Humphreys is a poor kicker. But Denver Special teams mean you get Floyd Little, and he is a great punt returner, with a TD on 3, and kick returner, even if the #2 guys let the side down a bit.
Personnel:
Unfortunately Scarpitto (WR), Fran Lynch (RB) and Cookie Gilchrist are mostly fringe players. For Gilchrist this was his last card, as he retired having led the AFL in carries three times, rushing yards twice, and rushing TDs four times in his short but brilliant career.
1967 Kansas City
Chiefs:
Special teams:
Jan Stenerud fell off a bit on longer (33-42 yd line) kicks, but he stll nailed the most touchbacks. Jerrel Wilson has decent punt yards but a block on 12. They give up a LG on kick returns and the punt coverage is below average. But they have Noland Smith, a capable punt returner and an excellent kick returner. Smith has a TD in the 2 spot on kick returns.
Personnel:
The lone Kansas City extra player, Frank Pitts, doesn’t catch many but when he does, look out. He has some Long Gains on his card and averaged over 30 yards a grab, albeit on limited touches (4).
1967 Oakland Raiders:
Special teams:
One way to win 13 games and lose only one is to feature the best special teams in your league. Punter Mike Eicheid kicks for great yardage, albeit with a block in the 12 spot. But he is backed with great punt return yardages, and the kick coverage is above average, too. Kicker George Blanda is a real weapon, too- 2-7,12 out to the 42 yard line, 2-11 on extra points, he is the All-AFL kicker. Rodger Bird is a good punt returner, and the kickoff guys are solid. No real weaknesses, with Blanda a big strength.
Personnel:
Another trick is to be deep off the bench. Dave Kocourek, a sub TE, picks up a 2 block rating, and the running game gets a boost from HB Larry Todd, who adds 29 serviceable carries to an already strong backfield.
1967 San Diego Chargers:
Special teams:
The Chargers’ return coverages were not great, but Dick Van Raaphorst was a 70 plus percent kicker inside 40 yards and Rick Redman escaped the punt block hex. At least they don’t give up Long Gains. Speedy Duncan is a great punt returner, though, and the Chargers get above average kick returns from both Jim Tolbert at #1 and Dickie Post at #2.
Personnel:
The original cards have two wonderful runners, Brad Hubbert and Dickie Post, both All-AFL, but Gene Foster and Paul Lowe are sub-par running substitutes. Russ Smith and Jim Allison give San Diego 32 useful carries to back up Hubbert, who had only 116 for the year at FB.
A ‘68 will be on the way, probably later this year.
Fred J. Bobberts
Original Date of Publication: January 15, 2024
