Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 21, 1993 TAG: 9307210131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: CARLISLE, PA. LENGTH: Medium
That's where the comparisons of Wilber Marshall and Carl Banks should end. When they definitely will end is on payday.
Marshall left the Washington Redskins as a free agent for Houston, where he will rejoin his one-time Chicago defensive mentor, Buddy Ryan. That could be an unbearable reunion.
When Marshall moved to the Oilers for $2.9 million annually, amid much controversy and charges of chicanery from even NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the Redskins stayed in their division and removed Banks from the New York Giants' free-agent list.
Banks will earn $1.5 million this season, the start of a three-year, $5.4 million contract. He's the second-highest paid Redskin, behind $3 million quarterback Mark Rypien. It was a great deal, and not just because Banks came an annual average of $1.1 million cheaper than Marshall.
Marshall never seemed to fit with the Redskins' defense, which has been full of guile but not gamble. He came to Washington from the Bears as the game's most-celebrated free agent when player movement was all but prohibited, but he was a round peg for a square hole.
He was a weakside sacker playing out of position. Coordinator Richie Petitbon flopped his defense to accommodate and make the most of Marshall's abilities. Having become the head coach when Joe Gibbs resigned in February, Petitbon sounds like Marshall was a headache he no longer needed.
"Wilber is Wilber," Petitbon said after the Redskins reported Sunday. "I wish he were a different type of person, but he's not. . . .
"We're going to be fine. You can't have enough guys like Carl Banks. He's a solid football player."
That's what they called Banks in New York, where it's likely the 6-foot-4 Michigan native and third pick in the 1984 draft would have been more of a giant had he not been playing in the shadow of another linebacker of some note, Lawrence Taylor.
The Giants had made Banks their "transition" player under the NFL's revamped free-agency system. That meant Banks had to be offered a contract at the average of the 10 highest-paid linebackers. That meant they would have had to double his $1.1 million salary of last season.
Banks, 30, already is joining one of the NFL's best defenses. Although the Giants played a 3-4 defense, Redskins linebackers coach Larry Peccatiello said Banks' spot in Washington's 4-3 presents little difference except a change in terminology.
Banks has found what he expected in a club he always thought provided "a great rivalry, a tough rivalry but a classy, healthy rivalry" for the Giants.
"There are no jerks here," Banks said.
Well, then Banks should certainly fit. Even in the Big Apple, Banks' civility and professionalism were as much trademarks as his tackling. Of course, as a businessman of some success outside of football, he often was seen scanning the Wall Street Journal while teammates were screeching about the tabloids.
Banks has had a daily, off-season radio job in New York for several years. He's also president of Carl Banks Enterprises, a designing and apparel company. He's an NFL licensee for women's and children's leather NFL jackets. This spring, some of his firm's silk and sheer creations were featured in a very upcale Manhattan fashion show.
"You can't play football forever," Banks said. "I tried to take advantage of being in New York, which is the center of the garment industry. I didn't have any problems in New York.
"There are too many guys who seem to get off on the wrong foot. Some guys seem to think, `This is my town,' and that's when the trouble starts. You can't become bigger than the town you're in."
Banks realizes there already is one Washington Monument. He is joining a defense that will have a higher profile because its boss now is the man in charge. And, if Redskins fans are looking for another Marshall in their history, well, diplomatic Banks seems just as much like club founder George Preston in one way as he is like linebacker Wilber in another.
"I don't think I'm replacing Wilber," Banks said. "He took his No. 58 to Houston with him. I brought my No. 58 with me from New York."
It really didn't take much of a selling job. Banks wanted to stay in a tough division that has produced four straight Super Bowl champions and five of the past seven.
"I know the fans here expect quite a bit," Banks said. "That's nothing new for me. It's the same in New York.
"Training camp is only different if you go to a team that's not accustomed to winning. I think I should be a pretty good fit here."
by CNB