In His Own Words: ex-Raider George Atkinson on Super Bowl XI

In His Own Words: Safety George Atkinson

“In my 10 years with the Raiders, that week of practice was the best we ever had. I can’t remember one dropped ball all week. Guys were so focused and confident. Minnesota just so happened to run into us at the wrong time for them.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say they were the best team we played all year, but they had Fran Tarkenton at quarterback and Chuck Foreman at running back and Sammy White and Ahmad Rashad at receiver. They had a good offense. But our defense from every spot was as committed as I ever saw to stop them. We just focused on Tarkenton, Foreman and White. We totally shut them down. Everyone but those three could do what they want. We knew by shutting them down, that’s all we needed to do.

“I think the most important part of the game came late in the first quarter, when our punter Ray Guy had a kick blocked for the first time in his career. They got the ball inside our 5-yard line, but we managed to force a turnover and then our offense drove the field for a field goal. That set the tone for the entire game.

“Two of the biggest plays were the Jack Tatum hit on Sammy White and the Willie Brown interception return for us. On the Tatum play, it was a setup. Minnesota liked to run a lot of crossing routes with White and, usually, we would try to stop the route before it really got going. But on that particular one, they played right into what we wanted to do.

“The idea was, let (White) take his route all the way across and let him think he’s breaking open. What they didn’t count on was Jack coming from the other side. It worked perfectly. White came across my area and there was Jack, waiting for him.

“On Willie’s interception, he just made a great read on the ball and Tarkenton never saw him. We kidded Willie about that for a long time — that Tarkenton just threw it right to him. I mean, it was right in his hands.

“They got a touchdown in the fourth quarter when the tight end (Stu Voigt), who was my responsibility on the play, got open. I was trying to bait a throw, but he got a step behind me. But the game was long over by then.

“I’m telling you, we were never prepared like we were for that game. We were so ready for them, man. Without a doubt, we wore them down. They never could get anything going.

“Without a doubt, to win the world championship and first (for the Raiders) is one my proudest moments in football. Nobody can ever take that away from you. That was a fun game.”

As told to the Review-Journal’s Ed Graney.