5 football documentaries we'd love to see

With ESPN's "The Last Dance" whetting the appetite of folks desperate for any sort of sports content, theScore editors have joined forces to look back at some of the most captivating narratives that deserve similar treatment to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty.

Today, we're looking at five football documentaries we'd love to see:

'Spygate: What Really Happened?' Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Anyone with even a vague interest in football knows about one of the most infamous cheating scandals in recent NFL history, "Spygate." But that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of unanswered questions about the New England Patriots' conduct and the league's response to the 2007 incident.

Here's a quick refresher for those who understandably can't keep up with all of New England's attempts to skirt the rules: then-New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini, a former Patriots assistant, alerted the NFL that New England was conducting possible illegal videotaping of opponents. League security officials then caught a Patriots staffer in the act, and commissioner Roger Goodell - only 18 months into the job - quickly (and controversially) jumped into action.

Just four days after the Patriots were caught, and before league investigators were even sent to New England to find the tapes, Goodell hit Bill Belichick with a $500,000 fine and the team with a $250,000 fine, and docked the Patriots a first-round pick.

The tapes found by investigators were then destroyed on Goodell's orders. The commissioner said it was to stop anyone from exploiting the footage again, an explanation many don't accept to this day.

So, what exactly did those tapes show, and how extensive was the Patriots' system for finding out opponents' signals? ESPN's Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. gave us some answers, but when it comes to possibly the greatest dynasty in NFL history, "some" is nowhere near enough.

'Busted: JaMarcus Russell' Robert Galbraith / Reuters

Widely regarded as the biggest draft bust in NFL history, Russell found himself unemployed four years after being selected No. 1 overall in 2007. How about a closer look at the bizarre tales that surrounded him during his time with the Oakland Raiders until his release in 2010?

Here's what we already know: Lane Kiffin begged the Raiders not to draft Russell but owner Al Davis overruled him. Matt Millen - a Raiders alum who was a Detroit Lions executive - advised Davis against selecting Russell after kicking the disengaged quarterback out of a predraft meeting. At his rookie skit in front of the team, Russell - who held out until signing a six-year, $68-million contract after the first game of the regular season - apparently threw $1 bills all over the meeting room. He later told the coaching staff he felt comfortable running every play they asked him to study on a DVD the night before - the DVD was blank.

Russell finished his career with 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, and a notoriously awful work ethic. In 2009, the LSU product reportedly weighed over 290 pounds when he arrived at training camp. He made multiple comeback attempts after the Raiders cut him, but no team ever signed him.

'Rivalry Revisited: Patriots-Colts' Jamie Squire / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Patriots and Indianapolis Colts were divisional opponents for decades starting in 1970. Though the teams weren't powerhouses, they faced each other 63 times until the NFL realigned its divisions in 2001. The last two meetings of that era featured Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in what was the early stages of one of football's most important rivalries.

The Brady-Manning saga is worth an entire film itself: the two quarterbacks - arguably the greatest of all time - were never able to meet in a Super Bowl as they always played in the same conference, but that doesn't take away from their remarkable clashes and respective dominance.

Brady faced the Colts in his first career start and then put up a six-game winning streak against them. Manning finally changed the narrative with three straight victories of his own, including an 18-point comeback in the 2007 AFC Championship Game. Two years later, the iconic "4th and 2 Game" happened. Meanwhile, kicker Adam Vinatieri experienced both sides: he played 10 years and won three Super Bowls in New England before starting a 14-season stint in Indianapolis, which included another Super Bowl ring.

The Patriots became an even tougher challenge for the Colts when Manning departed. The Andrew Luck-led squad lost all six matchups against New England from 2012 to 2018, including one AFC Championship Game. The rivalry extended off the field thanks to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The Colts announced McDaniels as their new head coach in 2018 before he withdrew from the position that same day and decided to stay in New England.

'How 'Bout Them Cowboys?' CHRIS WILKINS / AFP / Getty

There's no sports story that rivals the "Last Dance" Bulls as much as the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the early 1990s. Scottie Pippen's decision to put off surgery due to a contract dispute is reminiscent of Emmitt Smith's holdout to begin the 1993 season. Phil Jackson's power struggle with Jerry Krause is much like Jimmy Johnson's and Jerry Jones' mutual decision to part ways after winning a Super Bowl.

And, like the Bulls, the Cowboys - winners of three championships in four years - played hard and partied just as hard. Those Dallas teams included big personalities such as Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, and Charles Haley, and featured their even more outrageous exploits, as documented in Jeff Pearlman's bestseller "Boys Will Be Boys."

Those enthralled by the Bulls' mix of winning and partying will be similarly captivated with the level of debauchery - including one teammate allegedly attacking another with scissors - that followed the Cowboys.

'The Most Powerful Man in Sports' Andy Lyons / Getty Images Sport / Getty

One of the most polarizing and influential figures in sports history, Goodell has spent 38 years in the league office. He began his career as an intern and slowly worked his way up to his current position in 2006.

Goodell's legacy will certainly be a complicated one. From the moment he was voted in as commissioner, he's had to navigate some incredibly choppy waters. Following a year of significant off-field incidents including a handful of players, Goodell created a new personal conduct policy in 2007. But the scandals didn't stop there: the various "gates" (Bounty, Spy, and Deflate); a brief lockout in 2011; the replacement ref fiasco; Michael Vick's dogfighting investigation; national anthem protests; high-profile domestic violence suspensions for Ray Rice, Kareem Hunt, and Greg Hardy; and the evergrowing concerns about concussions and the effects head trauma have on players.

Despite the unprecedented number of challenges placed in front of him during his tenure, Goodell led the league through dark times and football's golden age. Television revenues are as strong as ever and the NFL has emerged as arguably the world's biggest sports organization. Following the commissioner through every up and down would be must-see television.

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