Quotes from JJ about his "not caring if the other team scored" quote

Asked "where he got that sickness from" after he said that he just wants the defense to take the ball away, not caring if the other team scored, JJ said:
"I'll tell you where I got it. Because I was never that way. I was brought up (defense wins ball games), yeah. I was on the sideline, this is an unbelievable story, and I watched it happen." (HSB)

"We're playing Montana and I'm quarterback, this is 1977. They're like one of the top offenses in the country, but they're running the veer, and they're optioning, but their quarterback is throwing for like 300 yards that day, they had like 600 yards, we had like 600-something yards. The game is whoever has the ball just scores, and it's going like this all game. So we scored a touchdown to go ahead 44-42 with 2 1/2 minutes to go. OK, so we kick off and they get the ball on their own 20." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The young Jones is standing on the sideline, watching, horrified, standing next to Mouse as hope fades away. He looks over, only to see that Mouse is walking toward the defensive coach.

"Let 'em score," Mouse says.

"What?!!!"

Mouse is serious. "Let 'em score."

In the retelling Jones uses italics in the tone of his voice: "They got into a physical altercation." "


JJ said that as Mouse was fighting with the defensive coordinator:
"And as they're doing that, the quarterback throws a 60-yard touchdown pass to go ahead. The d-coordinator goes, 'There, you got your #%^&*@$ way now!' " (HSB)


JJ continued the story:
"We got the ball back with a minute, 20 to go, I throw a touchdown pass on the last play of the game to beat 'em 50-48. That's the God's honest truth." (HSB)


JJ shook his head and concluded:
"Let 'em score. I never heard that." (HSB)