THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410230160
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Long : 180 lines
Wade Phillips spent 11 seasons establishing a reputation as one of the best defensive coordinators in pro football. Not even halfway through Season 2 as a head coach, all that, and more, is in serious jeopardy the way his Denver Broncos have been playing.
Last Monday's 31-28 loss to Kansas City left the Broncos at 1-5. Joe Montana drove the Chiefs 75 yards to the winning touchdown in the final 1:22, continuing a trend in which three of their losses have come by three points and another by a touchdown.
``It's like `Groundhog Day,' '' Phillips said of his team's failure to win close games. ``It just keeps happening over and over.''
It doesn't appear as if things will get any easier in the next two weeks, with the Broncos going to San Diego to play the 6-0 Chargers today and then coming home to play 5-1 Cleveland on Oct. 30. If it doesn't, Phillips will almost certainly pay a heavy price.
Owner Pat Bowlen says he won't shake up his coaching staff during the season. But he also told a Chamber of Commerce luncheon before the start of the year that he expected the Broncos to go 19-0 and win the Super Bowl. Bowlen wasn't the only one with high expectations. Not making the playoffs surely should get him in the mood for change.
``We can't do anything about our record now except play the next ballgame,'' Phillips said. ``Sure, people are going to be saying that this season is over, but these guys enjoy playing. As long as I can keep them playing and trying to get better, I think they will.
``They didn't sign a contract that says they're only going to play hard and have a good attitude if we're winning all our games. I expect them to play as hard as they can play. We'll see what happens.''
CHATTING WITH ... DOLPHINS RUNNING ALL-PURPOSE BACK KEITH BYARS
Q: You had a great game last week against Buffalo, blocking for Bernie Parmalee. Is that satisfying for you?
BYARS: I was just as happy as Bernie was. During the game, he's telling me, `Hey, man, I'm following you.' I'm saying, `All right, follow me, because I'm gonna take you somewhere. I'm gonna level this linebacker.' It's a great feeling when you've got things clicking like that as a team.
Q: You got off to a slow start, but lately you've been on pace to break your career-best number of 81 catches in 1990. Yet you say you'd trade it all for a legit shot at the Super Bowl.
BYARS: It's very important. I played for Buddy Ryan, and he said it's a crime to play such a long time in this league and not get a ring. I've been in the league nine years now. I don't want to commit that crime. We have a chance to win it this year, and I want to make the most of it.
IN HIS MIND, HE SHOULDA GONE TO CAROLINA: The unluckiest man in pro football may be Kevin Gilbride - and that's got nothing to do with his being the recipient of a Buddy Ryan right last season. The Oilers offensive coordinator likely will take the fall for Houston's abysmal start, yet he probably shouldn't even be in Texas. Gilbride had a chance to become head coach at South Carolina a year ago, with a $3 million, five-year contract offer. But Oilers owner Bud Adams wouldn't let him out of his contract. Now Gilbride is looking over his shoulder, and the executioner is gaining on him. Word has it that Dick Coury will take over the offense and may be in line to be head coach next year when/if Adams moves Jack Pardee to the front office.
AFC ATOMS: Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana has never lost three straight games as a starter since he became a full-time starter with the 49ers in 1981. Monday night's last-second win over the Broncos kept that streak intact. Know the best thing about that drive? Montana called all his own plays. ... New England's Ben Coates is rewriting the record book for tight ends. In seven games, Coates has 51 catches for 744 yards and five touchdowns. At that pace, he will have the best season of any tight end in NFL history. The record for receptions by a tight end is 95 by Todd Christensen in 1986. Coates projects to 112. The record for most yards belongs to Kellen Winslow, who had 1,290 in 1980. Coates projects to 1,738. The most touchdowns by a tight end is 12, a mark shared by Mike Ditka (1961), Jerry Smith (1967) and Christensen (1983). Coates projects to 13. ... They've started calling Browns punter Tom Tupa ``Two-Point'' because of his ability to make the two-point conversion part of the Cleveland offense. Tupa, who flunked a trial as quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals (who hasn't?), before settling into the life of a punter/holder. Although the league's teams are slightly better than 50 percent on their two-point tries, Tupa is 3-for-3, with all of his coming on runs out of point-after formation. ... Bengals strength coach Kim Woods calls rookie defensive tackle Dan ``Big Daddy'' Wilkinson ``freakishly strong ... (at) the far end of the human race. He is neurologically special. What that means is an abnormal percentage of his muscle mass is hooked up to his brain. You can't train and become Big Daddy. He knows how to use his strength to be a good football player. And he's just getting started.''
QUOTABLE:
Vikings QB Warren Moon on the descent of his old Oilers team: ``They made a mistake trading me. You look at what management did, and they got what they deserve. Sometimes what you think is best is not always right. They are involved in a bad situation from top to bottom, and I don't see any way out.''
Steelers president Dan Rooney, an advocate of extensive realignment. ``You go up to an owner and talk to him face to face, and he says he is all for realignment - but don't change his division. You could make just six moves and have a great realignment, but no one wants to move.'' Wade Phillips spent 11 seasons establishing a reputation as one of the best defensive coordinators in pro football. Not even halfway through Season 2 as a head coach, all that, and more, is in serious jeopardy the way his Denver Broncos have been playing.
Last Monday's 31-28 loss to Kansas City left the Broncos at 1-5. Joe Montana drove the Chiefs 75 yards to the winning touchdown in the final 1:22, continuing a trend in which three of their losses have come by three points and another by a touchdown.
``It's like `Groundhog Day,' '' Phillips said of his team's failure to win close games. ``It just keeps happening over and over.''
It doesn't appear as if things will get any easier in the next two weeks, with the Broncos going to San Diego to play the 6-0 Chargers today and then coming home to play 5-1 Cleveland on Oct. 30. If it doesn't, Phillips will almost certainly pay a heavy price.
Owner Pat Bowlen says he won't shake up his coaching staff during the season. But he also told a Chamber of Commerce luncheon before the start of the year that he expected the Broncos to go 19-0 and win the Super Bowl. Bowlen wasn't the only one with high expectations. Not making the playoffs surely should get him in the mood for change.
``We can't do anything about our record now except play the next ballgame,'' Phillips said. ``Sure, people are going to be saying that this season is over, but these guys enjoy playing. As long as I can keep them playing and trying to get better, I think they will.
``They didn't sign a contract that says they're only going to play hard and have a good attitude if we're winning all our games. I expect them to play as hard as they can play. We'll see what happens.''
CHATTING WITH ... DOLPHINS RUNNING ALL-PURPOSE BACK KEITH BYARS
Q: You had a great game last week against Buffalo, blocking for Bernie Parmalee. Is that satisfying for you?
BYARS: I was just as happy as Bernie was. During the game, he's telling me, `Hey, man, I'm following you.' I'm saying, `All right, follow me, because I'm gonna take you somewhere. I'm gonna level this linebacker.' It's a great feeling when you've got things clicking like that as a team.
Q: You got off to a slow start, but lately you've been on pace to break your career-best number of 81 catches in 1990. Yet you say you'd trade it all for a legit shot at the Super Bowl.
BYARS: It's very important. I played for Buddy Ryan, and he said it's a crime to play such a long time in this league and not get a ring. I've been in the league nine years now. I don't want to commit that crime. We have a chance to win it this year, and I want to make the most of it.
IN HIS MIND, HE SHOULDA GONE TO CAROLINA: The unluckiest man in pro football may be Kevin Gilbride - and that's got nothing to do with his being the recipient of a Buddy Ryan right last season. The Oilers offensive coordinator likely will take the fall for Houston's abysmal start, yet he probably shouldn't even be in Texas. Gilbride had a chance to become head coach at South Carolina a year ago, with a $3 million, five-year contract offer. But Oilers owner Bud Adams wouldn't let him out of his contract. Now Gilbride is looking over his shoulder, and the executioner is gaining on him. Word has it that Dick Coury will take over the offense and may be in line to be head coach next year when/if Adams moves Jack Pardee to the front office.
AFC ATOMS: Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana has never lost three straight games as a starter since he became a full-time starter with the 49ers in 1981. Monday night's last-second win over the Broncos kept that streak intact. Know the best thing about that drive? Montana called all his own plays. ... New England's Ben Coates is rewriting the record book for tight ends. In seven games, Coates has 51 catches for 744 yards and five touchdowns. At that pace, he will have the best season of any tight end in NFL history. The record for receptions by a tight end is 95 by Todd Christensen in 1986. Coates projects to 112. The record for most yards belongs to Kellen Winslow, who had 1,290 in 1980. Coates projects to 1,738. The most touchdowns by a tight end is 12, a mark shared by Mike Ditka (1961), Jerry Smith (1967) and Christensen (1983). Coates projects to 13. ... They've started calling Browns punter Tom Tupa ``Two-Point'' because of his ability to make the two-point conversion part of the Cleveland offense. Tupa flunked a trial as quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals (who hasn't?) before settling into the life of a punter/holder. Although the league's teams are slightly better than 50 percent on their two-point tries, Tupa is 3-for-3, with all of his coming on runs out of point-after formation. ... Bengals strength coach Kim Woods calls rookie defensive tackle Dan ``Big Daddy'' Wilkinson ``freakishly strong ... (at) the far end of the human race. He is neurologically special. What that means is an abnormal percentage of his muscle mass is hooked up to his brain. You can't train and become Big Daddy. He knows how to use his strength to be a good football player. And he's just getting started.''
QUOTABLE:
Vikings QB Warren Moon on the descent of his old Oilers team: ``They made a mistake trading me. You look at what management did, and they got what they deserve. Sometimes what you think is best is not always right. They are involved in a bad situation from top to bottom, and I don't see any way out.''
Steelers president Dan Rooney, an advocate of extensive realignment. ``You go up to an owner and talk to him face to face, and he says he is all for realignment - but don't change his division. You could make just six moves and have a great realignment, but no one wants to move.'' MEMO: Material in this column was obtained from Virginian-Pilot/Ledger-Star
wire services. by CNB