The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 31

SUNDAY NEWS JOURNAL C3 OCT. 29. 1989 Broncos bamk oia mile-high advantage Change of scene no better Chargers bench QP McMahon Irrterconlerenco Favorite Comment Eaglet (5-2) al Denver (6-1) Den.by 3 Eagles' plus-10 in takeaways leads NFL; offense is ready to wake up San Francisco (6-1) at N. Y. Jefr (1-6) S.F.by9 49ers start Q8 Steve Young; Jets can't play terribly forever Tampa Bay (3-4) at Cincinnati (4-3) Cin.by6 Bucs 0-13 on the road vs.

AFC; Bengal TE Rodney Holman on a roll Washington (4-3) al LA. Raiders (3-4) Wash.by 2 First meeting in L.A.; Raider QB Schroeder won't lace old mates NFC 1 Favorite Comment Atlanta (2-5) at New Orleans (34) N.0.by7 Interceptions scarce when Saints' Bobby Hebert duels Chris Miller Detroit (1-6) al Green Bay (3-4) G.B.byg Lions' Ed Murray made last 18 FGs; Rodney Peete's dad on G.8. staff LA. Rams (5-2) al Chicago (4-3) Chi, by 1 TE Thornton starring in Bears' slump; can Ditka take a fourth loss? Phoenix (34) al Dallas (0-7) Phx.by3V Birthday party: J.T. Thomas turns 34 today RBDarryl Clack is 26 Minnesota (5-2) al N.Y.

Giants (6-1) N.Y.by 2 Vikes' lirst game in Giants Stadium; N.Y.'s Taylor got divorce papers AFC Favorite Comment Miami (4-3) at Buffalo (5-2) Butt. by 4 Shula 154 at Buffalo; Bills rely on pass rush with Reich at QB again Houston (4-3) at Cleveland (4-3) Cle.by 2 Eric Metcalf spices Cleve. attack; Oilers PK Tony Zendejas has 60 pts. Kansas City (3-4) at Pittsburgh (3-4) Pitt by 2 Pitt QBBIackledge faces ex-mates; K.C.'sOkoye has rushed 709 yards San Diego (2-5) al Seattle (3-4) Sea by 6 Seattle OB Krleg, always hot against San Diego, has WR Largent back New England (2-5) at Indianapolis (4-3) Ind.by 6 Pats Coach Berry 8-2 vs. Colts; Eric Dickerson ran 152 yds, last week make sure their star didn't get hurt.

His replacement, Turk Scho-nert, fractured his hand on the game's final play and will miss six weeks. Selling tickets is not a problem for the Broncos. Denver has sold out 153 consecutive non-strike home games. "It's a rowdy crowd," said Eagles linebacker Al Harris, who played in Denver as a member of the Chicago Bears. "If they get out front, any time you have a crowd that big and that rowdy, it's hard for the offense to hear anything.

That's what we have to try to avoid." Denver went 8-8 in 1988, their first non-winning season since 1982. But this year, the Broncos are off to a strong start behind Elway, an improved running game and a revitalized defense that ranks fourth in the league. "They're just another football team," Ryan said. "I don't think they're anything you're going to be scared to death of. They're a pretty good football team.

They're 6-1 that's a pretty good deal." Denver Coach Dan Reeves is not one to downplay an advan tage, real or imagine. Reeves said the thin air has a big effect uu visiting teams, especially in fourth quarter. "The altitude really has effect," Reeves said. "It's when I was in Dallas will, heat there early in the yeat bothers teams. "No question it's an That's the reason that mufinft.

that train in high altitude ut if) do it for a long time. It lnl while to adjust." Said Harris: "It's nolicaliln we're in pretty good shape. wiy runs us pretty much. WVp played in all kinds of extremes, We played in Miami earlier in tbt year. We played in Phoenix in ()0 degrees.

We'll be OK." Eagles safety Wes Hopkins played in Denver as a rookie in 1983, when the Eagles lical I he Broncos by a 13-10 score mi a late Tony Franklin field goal. "I can't remember any difference," Hopkins said. "The altitude might be a factor, but as long we have oxygen on the sideline we'll be all right." Maybe just the sight of oxygen containers on the visiting sideline is an advantage for the Broncos. "It's not something you imagine," Reeves said. "It's real." der, and gave every Monday morning quarterback in the Pacific Northwest something to second-guess.

Not surprisingly, reporters broached the subject with Knox, and he replied: "Let me ask you this. What if we had tried to advance it forward and fumbled the ball. What would they be saying today? You see, in that situation, the only time you're right is when it's successful." Bengals caged up The Cincinnati Bengals, the defending AFC champs, are struggling. The Bengals (4-3) were unbeaten at home in 1988, but have now lost two straight at Riverfront Stadium. The problems have been on offense.

Cincinnati has just one touchdown and six field goals in its last two games and no TDs in the last seven quarters. The Bengals keep coming close to the end zone, but they can't seem to get in. They scored 59 TDs last year and have scored just 17 this season. Plus they've already tried 14 field goals, compared with 18 for all of 1988. "It's inches, that's the thing," said quarterback Boomer Esiason of his team's problems scoring TDs.

"All of us have to be a little disappointed in what we're doing. This is a game of centimeters, when you think about it. If you're not concentrating on what you're doing, it's going to come back and bite you." By the way, the Bengals made at least one good move lately. At the end of last week's 23-12 loss to the Colts, the Bengals pulled Esiason in the final seconds to NFL NOTES Kevin Noonan game with no sacks, no interceptions and not many tackles. But there's a reason for that: The Chargers came up with a two-part scheme to handle Taylor they threw short passes, which means he didn't have as much time to get to the quarterback, and the Chargers blocked him with half their team.

The plan worked, and it didn't. Taylor didn't do much, but the San Diego offense didn't do much, either, and the Chargers didn't score any TDs on offense. San Diego Coach Dan Henning defended his staffs strategy: "We went out with a plan to try to keep people Taylor at bay. We kept seven men on the line of scrimmage all day. Now that takes away some people that have the capabilities of making a big play, but if you can't keep their people out of your backfield, you won't have a chance to make a big play." School of hard Knox Another coach who found himself defending his strategy is Seattle's Chuck Knox.

His team was in overtime last week against Denver and, facing a second-and-two with plenty of time left in OT, Knox decided to go for a 40-yard field goal. His kicker missed and, a couple of minutes later, Denver's kicker didn't. The Broncos' David Treadwell made a 27-yar- By PHIL ANASTASIA Special to The News Journal DENVER The Denver Broncos' home-field advantage seems part fact and part fiction, part science and part superstition. One thing is certain: The Broncos win much more often than they lose in Mile High Stadium. Denver is 39-7 at home over the last five-plus seasons, including a 4-0 mark in 1989.

But why? Is there some real advantage, or have the Broncos manufactured their edge out of thin air? The boisterous backing of orange-clad, sellout crowds probably is one factor. The team's consistently high quality of play probably is another. Consider the mountain weather, too, especially since today's forecast calls for a snowstorm. But the most-often cited (if not sighted) reason for the Broncos' phenomenal success at home is Denver's high altitude. The thin, oxygen-poor air is said to be especially tough on visitors.

Buddy Ryan, Eagles coach and myth debunker, thinks the Broncos promote concern about the altitude as a psychological ploy. "It's something they try to make you believe," said Ryan, whose 5-2 team plays the 6-1 Broncos this afternoon in Mile High Stadium. "I've gone out there early and got beat. I've got out there early and won. I've gone out late and won.

Went out late and got beat. "I don't think the altitude has anything to do with it. You got the best football team, you'll win, if you play good that day." Both teams have won three in a row and are jostling for playoff position as the regular season hits the halfway mark. Denver is first in the AFC West; the Eagles are second in the NFC East, a game behind the New York Giants. The game matches two of the league's glamour quarterbacks in Philadelphia's Randall Cunningham and Denver's John Elway.

Both players have struggled in recent weeks, especially Cunningham, who passed for just 64 yards in last Sunday's 10-7 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders. Ryan said the game will hinge on factors other than the play of the two quarterbacks. "The thing that's going to win the game is the team that can run the football and the defense that can turn the ball over the most," Ryan said. "The two marquee quarterbacks will be there to sell all the tickets." Anyone who watched Monday night's game between the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers saw a sad performance by the former bad boy of football, quarterback Jim McMahon. The Chargers lost 20-13, and McMahon, who started despite a sore shoulder, completed just 12 of 27 passes, for 133 yards, and the Chargers didn't score an offensive touchdown.

It's not just the stats; it's the way McMahon got them. Even the Giants noticed a change in the once-brash quarterback. "McMahon was rushing to get nd ot the ball. He just didn't want to get hit," said Giants defensive end Leonard Marshall. "You know, if I hadn't played against him before, I wouldn't have MCMAHON known it was the same guy," said Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

"Part of him is gone. There's something missing. He's a different type of Jim McMahon now. It seems he was more worried about me than getting the ball to his receivers." The Giants noticed, and the Chargers noticed, too. That's why McMahon has been benched for this week's game with Seattle, in favor of Billy Joe Tolliver.

"We're a team that, when we get the opportunity to score, we've got to make it," said Ted Tollner, San Diego's quarterbacks coach. "And McMahon isn't playing at the level it takes for us to win. That's why we're 2-5." Taylor-made game plan McMahon wasn't the only well-known player to have a bad night, statistically speaking, in that game. Taylor, the All-World outside linebacker, finished the Schroeder By JOHN NADEL Associated Press LOS ANGELES Jay Schroeder apparently won't have an opportunity to do something he really wanted to do play against his former team, the Washington Redskins. A year ago last month, Schroeder finally got what he wanted from the Redskins, a trade to the Los Angeles Raiders, where he's been the starting quarterback most of the time since.

But that's not the case right now. Raiders Coach Art Shell announced Wednesday that Steve Beuerlein was replacing Schroeder as the team's starting quarterback. So Schroeder will be wandering the sideline at the start today, when the Raiders and Redskins meet at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Kickoff time for the interconfer-ence game is 4 p.m. A crowd of about 50,000 is expected.

The Redskins (4-3) were listed as 2-point favorites over the Raiders (3-4). "They've got two good quarterbacks," Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs said. "I don't want to play against either one of them. As far as preparation goes, this won't make any difference." Actually, it hasn't made much difference who's played quarterback against the Redskins so far it-y QBs in Shell game If you couldn't believe how bad Raiders quarterback Jay Schroeder was last week against the Eagles, it won't be a surprise to find out he's been benched. Coach Art Shell said this week that Steve Beuerlein will start today against the Redskins, Schroe-der's old team.

The Raiders have discovered what the Redskins already knew Schroeder just isn't very good. There doesn't seem to be any doubt the demotion is merited, but that didn't make it easier for Shell, who made his first difficult personnel decision as head coach. "It's tough, it's a totally new experience for me," said Shell, who replaced Mike Shanahan as head coach on Oct. 3. "It's something I've always dreaded, but it's part of the business.

"I made the decision more so because I thought Jay was pressing a little bit, trying to do too much so his play became bad. It's not all his fault. I don't like doing it. For the good of the team and the organization, I felt like I had to do it." "If an offense struggles, it's always been the coach or the quarterback," said Schroeder. "This year, it's been both." Kevin Noonan is a sports reporter for The News Journal.

Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders. They can throw the ball real well and they're going to try to run the ball down your throat." Results of previous games involving the Redskins indicate the game should be close six of Washington's seven games have been decided by five or fewer points. The exception was the Redskins' 30-7 victory over Dallas on Sept. 24. Redskins quarterback Mark Ry-pien has completed 130 of 228 passes for 1,828 yards and 13 touchdowns with six interceptions.

Beuerlein, who started eight games last season, is 21 of for 296 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions this year while Schroeder is 70 of 144 for 1,145 yards and six touchdowns with eight interceptions. Gerald Riggs leads the Redskins in rushing with 658 yards on 154 carries. Bo Jackson will be playing his third game for the Raiders since reporting to them after baseball season ended. Jackson has gained 164 yards on 31 carries. denied chance to face 'Skins Phil Anastasia is a sports reporter for Gannett's Camden (N.J.) Courier-Post.

1 popeeoyi I muffler king Then came the acrimonious training camp of 1988, after which Schroeder was traded. He started eight games for the Raiders last season and all seven so far this year. But he was lifted in favor of Beuerlein in the second half in each of the last two games after playing ineffectively. Before the change was announced. Redskins defensive end Dexter Manley vowed to "cut Jay's lights out." Schroeder said he had no problem with Manley.

"None at all," Schroeder said. "Those guys are competitors. I would have liked to have thrown against some of their defensive backs. We'll see what happens. I still may get that chance." The Raiders have played exceptionally well on defense in their last three games, allowing only 31 points.

But they'll be challenged bv the Redskins, who lead the NFL in total offense with 2,842 yards. "They give you problems," Shell said. "They have three outstanding receivers (Art Monk, Jmf this season they've all succeeded. Washington has allowed the opposition to pass for 1,801 yards, the second-most in the NFL behind the 1,874 yards given up by the Los Angeles Rams. It could grow worse in the future because cornerback Darrell Green, the Redskins' best defensive back, will miss at least six weeks of action because of a dislocated left wrist, suffered last Sunday in the third quarter of Washington's 32-28 victory over Tampa Bay.

Bucs quarterback Vinnie Testa verde passed for 197 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone. "When you lose a guy like Darrell, it affects you a lot," Gibbs said. "Darrell was having his best year. Besides playing very good coverage, he also helped us as a leader." Barry Wilburn, who led the NFL in interceptions two years ago as a cornerback, replaces Green. Wilburn was shifted to free safety earlier this season.

Schroeder played in the Pro Bowl following the 1986 season, when he passed for 4,109 yards. But he struggled after separating his shoulder in the first game of the 1987 season and eventually lost his starting quarterback job to Doug Williams, who led the Redskins to a Super Bowl victory. FflR ANIY LARGEST AUTO PAINTER YEARS IN BUSINESS I a T.r... LJ COUPON OFF LIFETIME MUFFLERS Get on board! The Snowball Express! Installation included light trucks. Lilctimc guaranteed fur as long as you oii your vehicle.

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