THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412110171
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
No one should be surprised at the collapse of the Houston Oilers. It happens every 11 years.
In 1972, the Oilers went 1-13, defeating only Joe Namath and the Jets. They lost their last 11 games and would lose seven more to start the next season.
In 1983, the Oilers went 2-14. Ed Biles, who had presided over a seven-game losing streak to end the strike-shortened '82 season, resigned with an 0-6 record.
1994? Try a 1-12 record and a coaching change.
I understand that season-ticket orders for 2005 are way down.
The career of Bruce Matthews - poor Bruce Matthews - spans two of the nightmare seasons. He was a rookie in '83.
``This is much, much worse,'' Matthews said. ``There's no comparison. Nobody expected anything of that team. We didn't figure to be very good, and we weren't. But this year . . . who could have seen anything like 1-12 coming?''
Only those with a keen memory.
FAIR SHAKE FOR BLAKE: Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake doesn't mince words when asked if the Jets gave him a fair shot.
``I did the first two years, but I don't think they really gave me a fair shot this past preseason,'' he said. ``I think it was already predetermined basically on who they were going to go with. Like I said before I left there, there is nothing I can do about it. It's out of my control.''
After drafting Glenn Foley out of Boston College, the Jets released Blake, who's so popular in the Queen City that there's a whole line of Jeff Blake souvenirs.
Blake doesn't blame racial prejudice for the way his career in New York disintegrated. In fact, his race hasn't been an issue since he left high school, when it was ``something that hurt me a lot.''
BOOMER LOWERS THE BOOM: According to Troy Vincent of the Dolphins, who intercepted Boomer Esiason in the final period two games ago, the lefthanded Jets QB favors throws down the left side - and defensive players know it.
Esiason also was intercepted on a pass to the left last Sunday against the Patriots. That one was returned for a touchdown, by Ricky Reynolds.
Asked about it, Boomer came down hard on Vincent, the Dolphins' third-year cornerback.
``He said I threw to my left? He's a first-rounder not playing to first-round potential. How come everyone throws for 300 yards against them?
``Here's a guy trying to sound like he knows what he's talking about, which he doesn't.''
Still, is it possible that Esiason favors one side over the other?
``If it were skewed out of whack, the coaches would tell me from the tendency chart,'' he said.
Teams chart their own tendencies to see whether, for example, a quarterback throws significantly more to one side. And defensive backs often claim after an interception that they knew what the quarterback was thinking. It's part of the game.
Boomer rattled off the statistics of passes he threw to the right side. He does not favor the left, he insisted.
Or those who say he does.
AFC ATOMS: Talk about your Lombardi School of Coaching. A couple weeks ago, Blair Thomas told a reporter about his frustration over lack of playing time with the Patriots. Last week, Pats coach Bill Parcells called Thomas into his office, told him they were overcrowded at running back and informed Thomas he was being waived. Now he's with the Cowboys, where he could easily stick as a backup to Emmitt Smith. . . . Middle linebacker Marvin Jones isn't going to be the force the Jets had expected; not this season anyway. ``He still can't accelerate,'' coach Pete Carroll said. It will take at least six weeks of rest for Jones' injured ankle to heal completely. . . . The Broncos' offensive linemen wore ear filters last week against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The filters, which look like hearing aids, block out crowd noise and allow the players to hear the quarterback. A few other clubs have used them this season. on their way to becoming the most penalized team in pro football history. . . 1-15 record, but if it happens, I guess we'll still be known as a record-setting team. We were part of the biggest comeback (the Bills' playoff rally) in history and if we're 1-15, we'll be another part of history.''
SHULA SURGERY: Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula returned to practice Saturday just one day after undergoing surgery on a ruptured Achilles' tendon.
Shula wasn't expected to attend the workout. But with his right leg in a cast, he watched from a golf cart as the Dolphins prepared for Monday night's game against Kansas City. Shula missed a regular-season practice Friday for the first time in his 25 years with the Dolphins.
THEY WROTE IT:
Bill Plaschke, LA Times: Ten ways to tell there's only one month left in the regular season.
1. Barry Foster is suddenly hurt.
2. Troy Aikman suddenly isn't.
3. Dennis Green says, ``The areas that we still have to improve on, we still have to work on.''
4. Bill Parcells is the approximate size of a mobile home.
5. Buddy Ryan's current team plays his former team, but Buddy has screwed both of them up so badly, nobody cares.
6. Each NFC Central team has 146 playoff possibilities.
7. Referees not only announce calls, they explain them.
8. Raiders fans prepare for the playoffs by viewing videotape of prison riots.
9. The Bucs begin a search for the worst football-playing college senior in America.
10. You decide that the person in your house responsible for taking out the garbage should be determined by a fifth tie-breaker. by CNB