The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 27

Sunday, Dwtmbcr 27 1998 5C SI 'OK IS: VIKINGS 26, OILERS 16 THETENNESSCAN GAME Vikings at Oilers Minnesota Tennessee 2 3 6 10 15 3 26 16 iJAII yl )(' I AA I Bud stays home: Team owner Bud Adams decided to watch his franchise's final game as the Oilers with his grandchildren in Houston instead of making the trip to Nashville. "ft was a very emotional day for me," he said from Houston. '1 just thought it was better to spend it with our family and grandchildren." The last ball in play for the game will be given to the Hall of Fame. "When you start thinking about it you realize that 39 years as the Oilers is a long time," Adams said. "The Oilers name is such a part of our lives.

But we're looking forward to the Titans now." Oilers safety Blaine Bishop was disappointed the Oilers couldn't win their final game, but he feels the change is what the team needs. 'That way Tennessee will welcome us in," Bishop said. "We can get a new stadium and take off and we won't be in this position next year, we'll hopefully be going to the playoffs." Kicking records: ai Dei Greco felt he was snubbed when he missed the Pro Bowl, and yesterday he fell just short of a consolation prize. He hit three field goals (or more) for the ninth time this season and finished with 36, tying the AFC's single-season record of 36 set by Cary Blanchard of the Indianapolis Colts in 1996. The Oilers scrambled on their last possession to try to get him one more shot, with which he could have matched the NFL record of 37 held by Carolina's John Casey, but failed.

"I did not want to let the fact that I did not make the Pro Bowl ruin the year," Del Greco said. "I was one kick short of an NFL record. I played with a great bunch of guys who made me look really good." He finished with 136 points, breaking his team record of 131 set in 1996. His Minnesota counterpart, Gary Anderson, completed the most accurate season in NFL history. With two field goals and an extra point, he finished the year a perfect 34-of-34 on field goals and 59-of-59 on extra points.

He also tied former Redskin Mark Mosley for most points in a season with 161. "I'm just so excited because the pressure during the last month just FIRST QUARTER MINNESOTA Safety, McNair intentional grounding in end zone, 10:55 Minnesota 2, Tennessee 0. TENNESSEE FG Del Greco 36, 3:27. Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards. 6:56 Key plays: McNair 14 and 7 runs: George 10 run; McNair 21 pass to Harris.

Tennessee 3, Minnesota 2. SECOND QUARTER MINNESOTA FG Anderson 39, 14:53. Drive: 7 plays, 42 yards, 3:34. Key plays: R.Smith 27 run, Cunningham 13 pass to Hatchette. Minnesota 5, Tennessee 3.

TENNESSEE FG Del Greco 33, 10:22 Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 4:31. Key plays: George 10 and 18 runs; McNair 8 pass Wycheck. Tennessee 6, Minnesota 5. TENNESSEE George 2 run (Del Greco kick). 5:06.

Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:54. Key plays: McNair 23 pass to Dyson; McNair 26 pass to Harris; McNair 15 pass to Wycheck on 3rd-and-11. Tennessee 13, Minnesota 5. MINNESOTA FG Anderson 23, :14. Drive: 12 plays, 68 yards, 4:52.

Key plays: Cunningham 22 and 19 passes to Hatchette; Cunningham 13 pass to R.Smith. Tennessee 13, Minnesota 8. THIRDQUARTER MINNESOTA Moss 5 pass from Cunningham (Moss pass from Cunningham), 9:02. Drive: 9 plays, 76 yards, 5:58. Key plays: Cunningham 15 pass to Carter on 3rd-and-9; 32-yard pass interference penalty on Walker to Oilers 5 Minnesota 16, Tennessee 13.

TENNESSEE FG Del Greco 45, 4:07. Drive: 11 plays, 32 yards, 4:55. Key plays: McNair 17 pass to Mason; McNair 11 pass to George. Minnesota 16, Tennessee 16. MINNESOTA Carter 38 pass from Cunningham (Anderson kick), 1:18.

Drive: 6 plays, 79 yards, 2:49. Key plays: Cunningham 21 pass to R.Smith; Hoard 9 run; Cunningham 12 pass to Moss. Minnesota 23, Tennessee 16. FOURTH QUARTER MINNESOTA FG Anderson 39, 1 1 0. Drive: 6 plays, 9 yards, 1 :08.

Key plays: Vikings take over on downs at Oilers 30: Hoard 7 run. Minnesota 26, Tennessee 16. ERIC PARSONS STAFF Oilers H-Back Frank Wycheck can't hold on to a pass during the third quarter yesterday as Robert Griffith of the Vikings closes in. the red zone "Yeah, they put up touchdowns." Thigpen said. "They have a lot of confidence that when they are in that situation they're going to score," "We need improvement in that area." George said.

"And we need to take more shots at the end zone." No Oilers wide receiver had more than three touchdown catches this year. That total includes Thigpen. who was tied for the team lead despite missing seven games during the heart of the season. It also included Derrick Mason's three touchdown catches two of which came last week in Green Bay. "I don't think it's any big deal where we need to take apart everything." Thigpen said.

"Some changes probably will be made because we didn't do as well as we should, but a lot of it is confidence. "Where you don't feel like you have to have a 200-yard receiving game to win, where Eddie doesn't feel like he has to run for 150 yards for us to win. Where we all have the confidence everybody is going to do what we're supposed to do, where everybody just knows if I do my job, we'll score. It's all confidence, just throwing it in there and having some confidence." after the first eight weeks. "We've been working to score more than anybody in our scoring territory.

We're not making plays, specifically in the passing game. We have to get better." Something the numbers certainly agree with. Vikings rookie wide receiver Randy Moss finished with 17 receiving touchdowns. The entire Oilers receiving corps caught 16 TD passes. Although the Oilers were indeed perfect inside their opponents' 20-yard line, they kicked field goals just over half of the time (on 23 of the 42 trips).

They also lost four games by a touchdown or less, lost two games by a field goal or less, all of which could have put them in the playoffs. "We're not scoring touchdowns," said running back Eddie George. "We're putting field goals on the board. When we start scoring touchdowns we separate ourselves from the rest of the teams in the league. Putting six points on the board would give us the confidence we need." The contrasting approach was across the field from them yesterday.

The Vikings, with their 556 points, had the highest scoring season in NFL history. season. On 42 trips, they scored points 42 times. Points, yes. but just three points more than half of the time.

Yesterday, in a game they lost by 10 points. Al Del Greco again kicked three field goals his ninth game this season where he kicked at least three field goals. The passing game in the scoring zone struggled and seemed to take the run game down with it. McNair did not throw a touchdown pass against the Vikings he had just five touchdown passes in the team's final eight games and three of those came last week against the Packers. That means Thigpen did not finish with a touchdown catch yesterday, that Dyson didn't finish with a touchdown catch, or Frank Wycheck or Jackie Harris.

Eddie George ran for the team's only score against Minnesota. But he, too, has found the scoring zone difficult to reach for the last two months with just two rushing touchdowns in the team's final seven games. "The negative is we haven't gotten our share of touchdowns," said Coach Jeff Fisher. "That's what we have to do better. If I knew what happened I would have changed it Oilers trend in '98: Field goals aplenty, but not enough TDs By JEFF LEGWOLD Sports riter The Oilers' season ended yesterday, ended with their third consecutive 8-8 finish, fifth consecutive playoff miss.

And although reasons are varied, at least part of it all was truly played out inside their opponents' 20-yard line. On the surface, things were fine. The statistics looked healthy, percentages good. But in the end the Oilers were again merely close, unable to close the deal. "That's our season." said wide receiver Yancey Thigpen.

"We get down there and don't score touchdowns. We didn't finish out drives with touchdowns enough. We have the players, but we don't play with enough confidence. We have to trust each other that we'll all do the right things." Discounting Steve McNair's Hail-Mary toss to the Vikings' 8-yard line just before halftime yesterday, the Oilers were indeed perfect inside opponents' 20-yard line (the so-called "red this MINN TENN FIRST DOWNS 22 20 Rushing 5 6 Passing 14 13 Penalty 3 1 THIRD DOWN EFF 6-13 2-9 FOURTH DOWN EFF 0-0 0-1 TOTAL NET YARDS 338 354 Total Plays 64 59 Avg Gain 5.3 60 NET YARDS RUSHING 103 90 Rushes 29 21 Avg per rush 36 4 3 NET YARDS PASSING 235 264 Sacked-Yds lost 0-00 2-21 Gross-Yds passing 235 285 Completed-Att. 23-35 18-36 Had Intercepted 1 0 Yards-Pass Play 6.7 6.9 KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB 6-1-0 6-2-fl PUNTS-Avg.

Punts blocked 0 0 FGs-PATs blocked 0-0 0-0 TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE 147 169 Punts Returns 0-00 3-23 Kickoffs Returns 6-147 6-146 Interceptions 0-00 1-0 PENALTIES-Yds 80 13-105 FUMBLES-Lost 1-0 0-0 TIME OF POSSESSION 31:37 28:23 Vikings made more big plays rw ii wz -fif iHM, ,1 i. -W iMV A. r- RUSHING Minn Att Yds Term Att Yds R. Smith 15 73 George 14 54 Hoard 9 26 McNair 3 35 Evans 2 8 Thomas 3 10 Cunningham 2 2 Archie 1 -9 Palmer 1 -6 PASSING Minn Comp Att Int Yds Cunningham 23 35 1 235 Tenn Comp Att Int Yds McNair 16 33 0 261 Matthews 2 3 0 24 RECEIVING Minn Rec Yds Tenn Rec Yds Carter 6 78 Harris 4 83 Moss 5 32 Mason 3 75 Hatchette 3 54 Dyson 3 40 R. Smith 3 46 Wycheck 3 32 Palmer 2 8 Thigpen 3 31 Evans 2 7 Roan 1 13 Glover 1 10 George 1 11 Goodwin 1 0 PUNTRETURNS Minn No Yds Tenn No Yds None 0 Mason 3 23 KICKOFF RETURNS Minn No Yds Tenn No Yds Palmer 6 147 Archie 5 136 Wycheck 1 10 kept building and building, said Anderson, who went out of his way to thank his linemen and teammates.

Minnesota Coach Dennis Green didn't risk the streak when the Vikings chose to punt from the Oilers' 34-yard line rather than send Anderson out to attempt a 51 -yard field goal. Grounded: Steve McNair was flagged twice for intentional grounding and the Oilers debated both calls. On the first, officials ruled McNair threw from the end zone, and awarded the Vikings a safety. "No, I wasn't in the end zone," McNair said. 'They told me from the coaches box that Steve was on the one-and-a-half yard line when he threw the football," Coach Jeff Fisher said.

The second call against McNair came in the fourth quarter when, as he was pulled down from behind, he threw well short of the only receiver down the middle. Referee Tom White ruled that the hit did not alter the throw. "He was scrambling around for his life," Fisher said. "I've had quarterbacks drop back behind the guard this year and throw the ball in the seats and not have them called grounding. I thought Steve was going down." Outta here: Oilers offensive tackle Jon Runyan was ejected in the first quarter after hitting Vikings defensive lineman Jerry Ball in the groin.

The play came on Del Greco's 36-yard field goal when Ball pushed Runyan to the ground. Still on the ground, Runyan threw a punch at Ball. "What can I say about it? The man hit me below the belt," Ball said. "It was a field goal protection play for them and I gave a good, hard rush and he didn't like it. The referee came over to me and I couldn't even talk.

It still hurts." Fisher didn't second-guess the ejection. Scott Sanderson had to replace Runyan the rest of the way. "I don't care who you are. or where you're playing, you can't punch someone," Fisher said. Injuries: McNair injured the index finger of his right hand but coaxed Fisher into letting him continue to play.

"I threw the ball and I hit my hand on a defensive lineman's helmet," McNair said. "It's sore right now but I have a long time to let it heal, that's the sad part about it." Running back Eddie George did not finish the game because of a hip pointer. Defensive back Steve Jackson strained a hamstring. Free safety Marcus Robertson, still recovering from an appendectomy, did not play and comerback Samari Rolle (knee) didn't play much. Quick hits Comerback Darryll Lewis moved into fourth place tie with W.K.

Hicks and Tony Banfield on the Oilers' career interception list with his 27th. The Vikings broke the NFL record for most touchdown receptions by a receiving duo with 28 by Randy Moss (17) and Cris Carter (11). The previous records were set by San Francisco's Jerry Rice (22) and Dwight Clark (five) or Mike Wilson (five) in 1 987 and Rice (1 7) and John Taylor (10) in 1989. Oilers H-back Frank Wycheck became the sixth player in team history to lead the club in receptions (or three straight seasons. GEORGE WALKER IV STAFF Coach Jeff Fisher questions an interference call in the third quarter.

Report card: vs. Vikings Beat writer Paul Kuharsky TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS grades the Oilers' performance RAQE CATEGORY "To get the respect, you'v got to in the big-time game against the big-time team." Blaine Bishop On the successful 2-point conversion, the rookie receiver reached over Walker to stop the pass with one hand and pull it in. On the Vikings' next possession, Cunningham found his other Pro Bowl receiver, Cris Carter, with a 38-yard scoring strike down the right sideline. Fisher said the Oilers talked all week about how they didn't want to be a sparring partner for a heavyweight champ. But comerback Darryll Lewis sure looked like a boxer down for the count as he slid off Carter just short of the goal line.

Still, it was 23-16 and the Oilers were in range heading into the fourth quarter. But they managed to move just 79 yards the rest of the way. On their second-to-last possession, set up by a Lewis interception, Steve McNair threw incomplete on five of six attempts. When the Oilers got the ball the final time, Steve Matthews came in" for McNair and the Oilers' mission was reduced to trying to position Al Del Greco for a fourth field-goal, so he could try to match the NFL's all-time season record (37). They couldn't make the plays to get close enough to have a chance, and they ran out of time.

Just like what happened to their season. B6SSING QFFENS5 A completion percentage of 50 wasn't good enough, though they did a better job of involving the receivers. QB Steve McNair finally hit on something that qualifies as deep but his 47-yard completion to WR Derrick Mason was a fluky Hail Mary to end the first half. said comerback Denard Walker. The offseason won't bring a major reconstruction, but there will likely be some dramatic changes on Jell' Fisher's stalT, on the defensive line, in offensive philosophy.

"It is frustrating to play a team who is 15 1. and you're f8, and you know it is like that because they made big plays here and there and you didn't." running back Eddie George said. The Oilers hung tough for 30 minutes in their Vanderbilt Stadium swan song. But in the end the Vikings were able to do what they have done all season demolish an opponent with big strikes. Minnesota trailed 13-8 at the half, but the Vikings came out of the locker room and headed straight for the end zone.

They got to the Oilers' 37 yard line and quarterback Randall Cunningham lofted a pass down the right side for All Pro receiver Randy Moss. Walker looked to play him clean, but drew a debatable pass interference flag. "We'll never get that call until we get the respect," Bishop said. "To get the respect, you've got to win the big-time game against the big-time team. "The refs, they're human, they watch TV.

Moss is Jerry Rice now, you can't Ling touch him." From the 5, Cunningham found Moss for the touchdown that put Minnesota ahead for good, and Moss put an exclamation point of the play with a spike in Walker's face that drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed on the kickoff. c- RUSHING OFFENSE RB Eddie George showed some flashes. Still, the run game was not much ot a factor except when McNair took off three times for 35 yards. Minn T-A-S Tenn T-A-S McDaniel 6-2-1 D.Walker 7-3-0 Griffith 6-1-0 Bishop 7-2-0 Thomas 6-0-0 Jackson 7-0-0 Hitchcock 5-1-0 Lewis 6-0-0 Rudd 4-1-1 Bowden 3-2-0 Ball 4-0-0 Evans 3-1-0 Houston 3-1-0 Marts 3-0-0 Randle 1-2-0 Robinson 3-0-0 Bercich 2-0-0 Roberson 2-1-0 Mays 2-00 G.Walker 2-1-0 Fuller 2-1-0 Stallings 2-1-0 T.Williams 1-1-0 Salavea 2-0-0 Fisk 1-00 Rolks 2-0-0 Bass 1-0-0 Lyons 1-1-0 Berger 1-0-0 Sidney 1-1-0 Bland 1-00 Ford 0-2-0 Goodwin OQ Sutton 1-0-0 Morrow 1-00 Dorsett 1-0-0 B.Williams 1-C-O Killens 1-0-0 Banks 0-1-0 Phenix 1-0-0 INTERCiPJlONS Minn No Yds Tenn No Yds None 0 Lewis 1 0 I j.Jtiimmtmilmliii It'll PASS DEFENSE Take away a debatable pass interference call against CB Denard Walker and a 38-yard TD given up by CB Darryll tewis and the Oilers' defensive backfield did a pretty solid job on two Pro Bowlers. RUSHDEFENSE.

RB Robert Smith got 4.9 yards a pop, which was not good. The Vikings ran well enough to balance things out offensively. The Oilers' four top tacklers were defensive backs, not a good sign. SPECIAL TEAMS Nice work by Mike Archie on kick returns (he had returns of 36, 30, and 30 yards). But why is Derrick Mason catching a punt at the goal line going backward at full speed? COACHING the Oilers held the Vikings to their third-lowest point total this season, and played a relatively sound game all around.

They were just ATTENDANCE 41,121 (no-shows NA). TIMe-3 04. OFFICLALS Referee Tom White, Ump Jim Quirk, HL James Wilson, ben Montgomery, FJ Scott Steenson, SJ Dave Wyant, BJ Bob Waggoner. i -PAUL KUHARSKY, JOE BIDDLE I.