THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9410300154
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
Here are my midseason NFC Ducie's:
BEST PLAYER: Barry Sanders, Lions. The guy could become just the third player in NFL history to hit 2,000 yards. And he plays on a team with an average offensive line and a struggling quarterback. Can't get the memories of that Monday Niter vs. Dallas out of my mind.
BEST COACH: Barry Switzer, Cowboys. Yeah, he's got the best talent and all those coaches left over from last year. But there was every opportunity for mutiny aboard this ship in the wake of Jimmy Johnson's departure. Switzer's personality actually has most Cowboys delighted Johnson and Jerry Jones had that little quarrel.
BEST ROOKIE: Charlie Garner, Eagles. Heath Shuler has too many strikeouts to qualify; Gus Frerotte not enough starts. Garner gives the Eagles an explosion out of the backfield they haven't had since Wilbert Montgomery.
COMEBACK PLAYER: Henry Ellard, Redskins. The Rams looked at his age and thought this guy was washed up. He's made one big catch after another and been so wide open you'd think there was an ordinance prohibiting defensive backs from covering him. High honorable mention: Jeff George, Falcons.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: William Fuller, Eagles. Surprised? There's more to this than his sack total, which, by the way isn't bad. Fuller has eight and is the first player in Philly history to record at least one sack in seven straight games. He's been a vocal leader on the Eagles, helping them overcome the ravages of free agency and an owner who shook down some reserve players for money a couple days before the season-opener.
BEST TEAM: Dallas Cowboys. You were expecting maybe the Chicago Staleys? Jones recently said he noticed this team playing with the same fury as Jimmy Johnson's last two ballclubs. Cowboys haters, that's not good.
CHATTING WITH . . . Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.
Q: How disappointed are you that the coach you wanted, Joe Gibbs, turned down the job in February? How anxious are you to hire a coach?
RICHARDSON: I'm not anxious at all. . . . We wanted to have Joe Gibbs as our head coach in place to help us go forward. We still want him. He is the perfect guy for us. He is our dream coach.
Q: What was your reaction when he said no?
RICHARDSON: I received it as information and didn't accept it.
Q: Have you accepted it yet?
RICHARDSON: Not yet. When you think of where we started in April of 1987, you think of every step of the way, we got delayed or we ran into some hurdle, it's just something you've got to deal with. We've probably got, in my judgment, from now until Thanksgiving to try to continue to persuade him to be our head coach. The issue, which he knows better than I, is that what makes him successful is he becomes consumed. He is so single-focused it closes out his wife and his children. That's his concern. To be totally frank about it, if we were lucky enough to hire him as the coach, I would not try to persuade him not to become consumed, because we want to win. If we don't get Joe Gibbs, I'm confident we'll get a quality coach.
NOT SO FAST: The Cowboys are good (great?), yes, but remember this: The won-loss record of their first seven opponents is 16-28. Only the Steelers and the Eagles have winning records, and the Oilers, the Lions, the Redskins and the Cards have one or two victories. The Cowboys' schedule gets tougher in November: The Giants at home on Monday night, at San Francisco, Washington at home, Green Bay at home four days later. December begins with games at Philadelphia and at home against Cleveland.
HERE'S BENSON: Many owners are upset that Tom Benson angrily quit as chairman of the Finance Committee recently after five years at the post. Benson, who owns the Saints, sent a letter to commissioner Paul Tagliabue saying that he won't reconsider even though many owners have tried to talk him out of it. ``Tom says he is tired of being the league's policeman,'' says one owner close to Benson. ``He tries to do the right thing for the league, and he doesn't feel like he is getting the support.'' Benson has San Francisco, Miami and Dallas on his hit list. He has publicly called the 49ers ``Mickey Mouse'' for what he believes is their continual abuse of the salary cap. He never wanted Wayne Huizenga in the league and bristled when the NFL changed its rules to allow him to own the Dolphins. And he is upset with Jerry Jones of Dallas for constantly battling the league over NFL Properties and other issues. There's more. Benson reportedly sent a tape to the league office on which the general manager of a racetrack in Louisiana owned by the DeBartolo Corp., which owns the 49ers, tells how the corporation is involved with a casino riverboat on the Mississippi River. According to NFL rules, owners cannot have any interests in casinos.
NFC NUGGETS: This is the second year in a row the Bears have played a stretch of six of eight on the road. No other team in the league plays six of eight on the road this season. Last year, the Bears won the first four and lost the last four. They won three road games in 11 days. When Bears president Mike McCaskey complained about this year's schedule, he was reminded of the victories. . . . The three longest runs in the NFL this season have not resulted in touchdowns. Johnny Johnson of the Jets has had a 90-yard run and Detroit's Barry Sanders has had runs of 85 and 84 yards. Johnson's run and Sanders' 84-yarder both came against the Bears. Sanders' career-best 85-yarder came against the Bucs. . . . Tampa is on its way to a 12th straight season of 10 or more losses.
THEY WROTE IT . . .
Phoenix Gazette columnist Joe Gilmartin, on bombstic Buddy Ryan: ``The thrust of Teddy's oft-quoted advice, of course, was `Speak softly and carry a big stick.' But Buddy got it backward. He spoke loudly and carried a small twig.'' MEMO: Material in this column was obtained from Virginian-Pilot and
Ledger-Star wire services. by CNB