DATE: Friday, September 12, 1997            TAG: 9709120816

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   88 lines

ONCE-INEPT CARDS HAVE GONE FROM WHINING TO WINNING IT'S A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE FOR A FRANCHISE CONSIDERED AN NFL DOORMAT

Before he decided on a career in football, Vince Tobin wanted to be a priest. Last November, he preached a sermon to the Arizona Cardinals football team he coaches that didn't save their souls, just their season.

The Cardinals carried a 3-6 record into Washington for what everyone presumed would be another day as sacrificial lamb.

The Redskins were 7-2, home and supposedly angry after having their seven-game winning streak rudely snapped in Buffalo.

Tobin, a soft-spoken, few-words kind of guy who spent 18 seasons as a defensive coordinator before receiving a head-coaching chance in Arizona, turned on the radio Saturday afternoon.

No one in Washington was talking about the Cardinals-Redskins.

Everyone seemed focused on the following week's game in Philadelphia.

Whatever emotion had been simmering inside of Tobin during his first nine weeks as a head coach rushed to the surface like lava. By the time he entered the team's meeting room Saturday night, he was brimming with fury.

No one will reveal exactly what was said during the team meeting that night, but Tobin spoke more passionately than his colleagues could ever remember.

He was outraged, embarrassed, stunned - and sincere.

And the bottom line to his players was that he was tired of them playing the doormat, that when he looked at the roster, he saw no reason why they couldn't beat the Redskins, or anyone else, for that matter.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the Cardinals beat Washington in overtime the next day.

They went on to win three straight and finish with a 7-9 record that gives Tobin and suffering Arizona fans hope that they're finally upwards.

``That Washington game was the ultimate in team work,'' said Pro Bowl fullback Larry Centers. ``Everybody in that room dug in and made it happen. It was a great feeling. You remember those games forever.''

Even before Arizona came back from an 18-point deficit to beat Dallas in overtime last week, Cardinals' insiders were saying more great memories are right around the corner.

If so, it's about time. It's been 10 seasons since the Cardinals left the Gateway Arch for the Valley of the Sun.

``Now, (owner Bill Bidwill) has Vince, one of the best administrators in the game, and a talented staff surrounding him,'' said former Cardinals player Garth Jax, a member of the team's community relations department.

``The owner has put the pieces in place.''

Cynics say Bidwill, who had a history of ignoring the men he paid to advise him, is putting his money where his mouth is because he craves a new domed stadium in Arizona's East Valley and the only way to curry support among the taxpayers is to win.

Others say the change began when Bidwill named his son Michael as team vice-president and general counsel almost a year ago. The younger Bidwill saw to it that the Cardinals had every player signed by the time training camp opened.

That was a first.

They also signed their marquee offensive player, Centers, to a three-year, $5.7 million contract rather than let him test the free-agent market.

He convinced his dad to move training camp from one end of the Northern Arizona University campus to newer accommodations on the other side of the school.

``It's night and day,'' Tobin said. ``Last year, out meeting rooms were chemistry labs. There were beakers and stuff lying around. Now, we have theatre seating and plenty of room. It makes a difference to the players.''

At a mini-camp last May, Michael Bidwill updated the team about the prospects for a domed stadium, then sent them back to the field by saying, ``It's time for us to win.''

``To hear it coming from him, it was like, `Damn, somebody up there is serious,' '' linebacker Eric Hill said. ``It's not just talk.''

Football fans in Arizona still need convincing. Last week's crowd of 70,060 seemed to be a 50-50 blend of Cardinals fans and Cowboys fans.

Did the first victory in 13 games over Dallas help sway some of them towards the home team? The Cardinals typically are close to the bottom in home attendance.

``Winning is the magic tonic, the cure-all,'' Jax said. ``Nothing else gets it done.''

LEGALLY DRUNK: Redskins running back Terry Allen was legally drunk when he engaged in a high-speed chase with Georgia state troopers in July, Georgia law enforcement sources said Thursday.

Allen's blood alcohol level was .14, well over the legal limit of .10 in Georgia, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

No drugs were detected in Allen's system, the source said.

Allen was clocked at 133 mph in a 55-mph zone before crashing his Ferrari into a tree in the early hours of July 5.

Allen walked away from the accident with minor injuries, but was issued six misdemeanor traffic citations.

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