Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 19, 1991 TAG: 9103190018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK TV/RADIO SPORTS COLUMNIST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"Here's my deal of the century," Theismann said. "The Redskins don't really know what to do with a first-round draft choice anyway, since they haven't had any. So, I think [Washington general manager] Charley Casserly should work a three-team deal with someone to get a shot at Rocket Ismail."
Theismann, the former Redskins' quarterback, was sitting Monday afternoon in a Roanoke hotel room when he offered this opinion. Theismann was in the Roanoke Valley for an American Heart Association fund-raising dinner, and he was dishing out the sort of pointed commentary that often creates high blood pressure in the NFL when he speaks on cable's ESPN.
Theismann, who led Washington to a pair of Super Bowls, talks a great game, too.
"The Redskins could give up a quarterback, Mark Rypien or Stan Humphries, or a wide receiver and their first draft pick to somebody else to get New England's first pick and a chance at Rocket. It makes sense.
"The Redskins have always liked using [All-Pro cornerback] Darrell Green as a kick and punt returner. Ismail is as fast as Green, and his job has been to return kicks. He could also fill in at wide receiver, and you could also feature him as a third-down back.
"On third down, you'd have Art Monk, Gary Clark, Ricky Sanders and Rocket Ismail on the field. Who would you want to cover one-on-one? It would be instant Super Bowl. You'd have to do a triangle deal though, because New England cannot afford to draft Rocket. They need more than him."
Theismann's Roanoke visit - one of about 75 personal appearances he makes annually - coincided with the NFL owners' meetings in Hawaii. The former Notre Dame and NFL star was happy to hear the league's competition committee altered the "in the grasp" rule.
"It's about time," he said. "These people have to understand they're in the entertainment business. There are different styles in quarterbacks. There's a Dan Marino, and then there's a Randall Cunningham. Why should a Cunningham, with his mobility, be penalized by a rule? . . . Saying everyone's alike in the NFL would be like saying Bill Laimbeer and Michael Jordan get the same step-and-a-half to the basket in the NBA."
Theismann would like to see the owners discard instant-replay officiating. He cited the discrepancy between teams and games and the telecast equipment used for each. "A Monday night game has 13 cameras and nine tape machines. An early Sunday afternoon game might have six cameras and four tape machines," he said. "How can it be fair, be equitable, when you have more equipment to utilize for the replay in some games than others."
Theismann said he is certain the NFL will vote to pull the 1993 Super Bowl from Tempe, Ariz. - a hypocritical move, in his opinion.
"What right does the NFL have to try and dictate political policy to a state?" Theismann wondered. "The NFL awarded the Super Bowl to Phoenix. Why change it now?
"The thing is, they say it's because of a political vote. What's interesting is [Arizona] didn't recognize Martin Luther King's birthday when the [St. Louis franchise move] was approved. Why, all of a sudden now, is it an issue? Where's the consistency.
"For lack of a better term, it's political blackmail, plain and simple. Let's not kid ourselves. There's no great mystery to this, and the NFL doesn't belong in politics. . . . It's going to be moved, because the commissioner has tabooed this, and the Tempe area is going to lose $250 million in revenue.
"Don't get me wrong. I think Martin Luther King was one of the truly great Americans. But I still think it's the right of every American to decide in free voting to decide whether something is right or not. People in Arizona might be all for a holiday, but the fact is, it's not the place of the NFL to punish Phoenix, especially after they OK'd a franchise there in the first place."
Theismann is intrigued by the World League of American Football, which begins its first season Saturday, although he's not certain the international audiences "will get excited about a Barcelona team that has a bunch of players nobody knows. . . . We could be totally misled about what Europeans think of our football, because their football, soccer, is a game with non-stop play."
Asked about the lack of Plan B signees to date in the third year of the NFL rule, Theismann, 41, wondered about whether he should plan a comeback.
"[Giants coach] Bill Parcells pointed out to me that with Plan B, where would the quarterbacks of the future get a chance?" Theismann said. "There probably aren't 28 quality quarterbacks in the NFL. God knows there aren't 56 . . . People now see that Plan B [in which teams can protect 37 veterans] is a self-defeating system that doesn't allow good franchises to continue to replenish themselves."
Theismann also sees expansion as a certainty because of the financial windfall in expansion fees to current owners - "four more teams in six years or less." He sees former 49ers coach Bill Walsh as the president as one of those clubs. He figures Charlotte, N.C., will get a franchise.
He envisions the return to two-back offenses in the NFL, and few clubs jumping on the run-and-shoot concept. He thinks Humphries should get a better shot at becoming the Redskins' No. 1 quarterback. He likes Rypien, he said, but says Washington's incumbent starter needs to lose 15 pounds to gain mobility.
Like the Energizer bunny, Theismann just keeps going . . . and going . . .
by CNB