Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 19

3C NFL PLAYOFFG PLAYOFF WJUP KfC AFC COURIER OST, 8aturday, January 3, 19S1 Tl is Wildcard dllVl suonai emi- OAKLAND 27 HOUSTON 7 Dex.23 0 ALIAS 3 llOSANGELfS 13 Dc28 DMstorl ISttSOTAU DALLAS II EAGLES 11 ATLANTA 1 HTl CiHifarencoTOo 1 1 1 ITEAMTOBEDECDED Jan. 11 SUPER BOWL XV Jan. 25 the weekend, there are three intriguing pairings. Buffalo's top-rated defense goes against the high-powered attack of the San Diego Chargers today. Tomorrow, it will be Oakland's sack-happy Raiders challenging Cleveland, the sole survivor of the brutal American Football Conference Central Division, and brash, young Atlanta challenging longtime kingpin Dallas for National Football Conference survival Then there is Minnesota at Philadelphia.

The Vikings are the have-nots of the playoff field, carrying a 9-7 record as champions of the NFC Central Division. It is a record that could qualify them for post-season play only in their division. The Eagles were the first team to clinch a playoff berth, and at 12-4, tied with Dallas and Atlanta for the best record in the NFL On paper, it looks like a mismatch, and yet the Vikings come into the game with some legitimate qualifications. There is, for example, their passing game, which averaged 230.5 yards per game and was rated No.l in the NFC. No quarterback in the NFC playoffs completed more passes (299) for more yardage (3,582) than Minnesota's Tommy Kramer this season.

And if momentum means anything, the Vikes may have an edge. They won six of their last eight games and three of their last four to take the division title. Philadelphia lost three of its last four after an 11-1 start. The Eagles spent the week in the warmth of Tampa, preparing for, the game. They have their share Home teams tougher playoff By BOB MATTHEWS Gannett News Service Since 1970, there have been 64 NFL playoff games en route to the Super BowL Home teams have a 43-21 record Home teams were only 122-101-1, (.545) during the 1980 regular season.

History suggests they'll be tougher throughout post-season Jlay. This week's NFL playoff games (home teams in CAPS): NFL PLAYOFFS Today's Games EAGLES 23, Minnesota 20 The Eagles are favored by seven points and that seems steep. Philadelphia bombed the Vikings, 42-7, Sept. 14 in Minnesota, but things have changed. The Eagles peaked early and looked sluggish down the stretch.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are vastly improved. Minnesota probably can't go all the way, but the Vikings have enough firepower to pull off a surprise or two. Minnesota leads the scries 71 SAN DIEGO 27, Buffalo 17 The Bills upset the Chargers, 26-24, on the road Oct. 5. Look for San Diego to turn the tables as five-point favorites here.

Dan Fouts' short Eagles confident of tipping off appearance since 1972, are the lone survivors from the division considered to be the toughest in the Cleveland quarterback Brian Sipe passed for 4,132 yards only the third quarterback in NFL history to go over 4,000 yards in a single season. The other; are Fouts, who has done it each of the past two years, and Joe Namath. Sipe, the NFL's top-rated passer, will be the target of the tough Raiders' defense, which sacked Houston's Ken Stabler seven times in last Sunday's AFC wild card game. Oakland was second in the conference with 54 sacks and second in defense. The Raiders also led the league with 35 interceptions, 13 by cornerback Lester Hayes, who fell one short of the league record.

So, when Sipe starts triggering the Browns' passing game, averaged 244.6 yards per game, second in the league, the Raiders will be ready. Of all the playoff teams, Atlanta may be the biggest surprise. After a 6-10 season in 1979, the Falcons split their first six games this season, then spun off nine consecutive victories to win their first NFC West crown. Dallas' multi-faceted offense will be tested by a young, talented Atlanta defense. The Falcons start three rookies on defense linebackers Al Richardson and Buddy Curry and cornerback Kenny Johnson.

And another rookie, tight end Junior Miller, is a vital part of the offense. EAGLES, VftiriGS MATCHUP OFFENSE Eagles Vlklflfl GAMES (W-U tt-4 FIRST DOWNS 354 314 Ruthlngi' IH 100 Pissing Ut HI Penalty 33 YAROS GAINED 5S S330 Avj.ptf Jmt 144.4 133.1 RUSHING 1f5 M4I Avj.pfgam IH.7 102.4 Avf. perron 1.1 1 1.1 PASSING 34N Avg.ptrgam 220.1 230.5 Pct.comp. 577 57.7 Sacked 12 1 41 Vdllost -147 244 Had intercept 12 23 PUNTS 74 II Avo. yards 31.1 M.I PUNT 43 14 Avg.ret.

I. 7.4 43 Avg.ret. 11.0 22.0 PENALTIES ..........94 0 Yds. 109 717 FUMBLES BY ,...,...29 15 Fumbles lost II 1 1 1 Opp. tumbles 27 33 Opp.

fumbles lost 0 TOUCHDOWNS .....41 19 Rushing 19 14 Passing 21 22 Returns I 3 EXTRA PTS. .....................41 33 FGFGA W-JI 14-24 314 -317 DEFENSE Eagles Vikings OPP PTS .......222 301 OPP FIRST DOWNS 270 330 Rushing 17 115 Passing K7 170 Penally 24 25 5154 Avg. per game 277.7 344.0 OPP RUSHING 1411 2454 -Avg. per 101.1 153.5 Avg. per run 3.4 4.4 OPP PASSING 3400 Avg.

per game 174.1 1 211.5 Pctcomp. 41.1 54.7 Sacks 44 30 Yards lost 355 244 INTERCEPTED BY 25 24 Yards returned 170 294 OPP PUNT 42 Avg. return 4.4 4.2 OPP KICKOFF RETURN ...70 .42 Avg. return 11.7 14.9 OPP TOUCHDOWNS 24 40 By rushing I 15 Bypassing 24 By returns I 1 Dallas' Tony Hill is expected to play DALLAS (AP) Wide receiver Tony Hill, suffering from a bruised thigh, was held out of practice yesterday and will watch from the sidelines in the Cowboys' light practice today, but is expected to play in the NFC playoff game against Atlanta tomorrow, a team spokesman said. These are National Football League playoffs, the battle of the best in the annual Pete Rozelle Tournament So naturally, you'd expect to find outstanding matchups, created by esoteric tie-breaking formulas Which would challenge the most sophisticated computer.

Associated Prsss Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Steve Bartkowski and Coach Leeman Bennett reflect the loose and confident mood of the team as It prepares for tomorrow's playoff game with the Dallas Cowboys. Vikes bank Continued from Page 1C BEING ARROGANT helped when I threw 10 interceptions in two of those early games," he said. "Everybody was on my back. I had to be arrogant. There was no problem, no reason to get down on myself.

I had taken a few chances at the wrong time. I had a bad start. But I'm playing better than anybody else right now" Kramer's main target is the crafty Rashad, who caught 69 passes for 1,095 yards. White caught 53 for 887, while running back Ted Brown had 1,535 combined yards, 912 running and 623 more on 62 catches. Rickey Young, the other running back, caught 64 for 499 yards.

"It's a one-game series. That's what makes footall so intriguing," Grant said. "It's not like the Stanley Cup or the World Series, when you can have a bad day and come back. If Philadelphia slips, we can win. "But, no, we don't have tricks in our bag.

We emptied it to get here." Chargers activate safety Stringert SAN DIEGO (AP) The San Diego Chargers announced yesterday they have activated backup safety Hal Stringert and placed kick returner Bernard Jackson on the injured reserve list. Stringert, a six-year pro out of Hawaii, will participate on the Chargers' special teams in today's American Football Conference semifinals with Buffalo. ii i I 1 of weapons toemploy against a Minnesota defense that finished near the bottom of the NFC statistically. Start with Ron Jaworski, who won the NFC passing championship, throwing for 3,529 yards and 27 touchdowns. Running back Wilbert Montgomery, limited by injuries to 778 yards, could test a Minnesota defense that yielded opponents 4.6 yards per carry.

This will be the second meeting for these teams this season. The first time, Philadelphia walloped the Vikes 42-7. Today's other playoff game offers what appears to be a better pairing. Statistically, San Diego and Buffalo provide classic matchups. The Chargers ted the NFL in offense and the Bills were No.l in defense.

Defensively, San Diego recorded 60 quarterback sacks while Buffalo, on offense, allowed only 20. Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts set a passing record for the second straight year, throwing for 4,715 yards, and San Diego had the league's top three receiving trio in tight end Kellen Winslow and wide receivers John Jefferson and Charley Joiner. Each of the three went over 1,000 yards another first Much of Buffalo's offense is constructed around rookie running back Joe Cribbs, who rushed for 1,178 yards, second in the confer-- ence behind Houston's Earl Campbell. The game is the Bills' first playoff contest since 1974. Cleveland won its first AFC Central title since 1971.

With Pittsburgh and Houston finished for the year, the Browns, making their first play- to attack them like we did earlier in the year and, hopefully, we'll be as successful as we were then," You would think Coach Dick Vermeil, fearing overconfidence, would want his players to forget the score of the first meeting between the Eagles and Vikings. That's hardly the "I HOPE they remember if Vermeil said. "To me, confidence is critical going into a ballgarne. If you go in with doubt that you can win, you usually don't I think we're confident but not overconfident, and something that happened that long ago won't have any influence on how we play this time." And this time, Vermeil doesn't expect his team to win by 35 points. "I expect it to be a tight game," he 1 said.

"I can't picture us scoring as many points as we did the last time. That was just one of those days when everything went right for us and everything went wrong for them. I don't think it should distort the quality of their team." I Still, linebacker Frank LeMaster thinks the Birds are a superior team. "There's no dbout in my mind we have better personnel," he said. "But When you go on the field, you have to prove it You don't win games just because you have good personnel.

You have to execute." EAGLE NOTES The Vikings have won seven of their last eight games against the Eagles, twice winning in Veterans Stadium At 7-1, the Atlanta Falcons were the only team to post a better record than the Vikings in the second half of the season If the Eagles win today, they're expected to return to Tampa Tuesday to prepare for the NFC championship game against either Dallas or Atlanta. tare didn't, I'd fire him right there," Phillips reasoned. "I know you all don't believe this, but Bud Adams did everything I asked him to ioK He gave me the football to run with. I guess I just didn't run far enough." The Oilers' three offensive coaches have shared the duties of offensive coordinator for the past years. The Oilers have made the playoffs in each of those years and finished second in total offense this season.

The lack of scoring punch, however, led Adams to request that Phillips hire a coordinator. Phillips refused. ima Vikes place BUFFALO OAKLAND at it SANDEGO CLEVELAMD Todtay 1 1 Tomorrow I TEAMTOBEDKCED Jan. 11 durin; games DEST BETS passes against Buffalo's deep-conscious secondary and Chuck Mun-cie's legs should get the job done. San Diego leads the series, 144-2.

Tomorrow's Games Oakland 28, CLEVELAND 20 -Upset speciaL The Raiders are 'the most dangerous wildcard entry in years. They demolished Houston despite a sub-par passing day by Jim Plunkett Cleveland, favored by three, has a slight edge offensively, but Oakland is much stronger defensively. Forget the home-field advantage here. Raiders lead the series, 6-1, including a 19-14 home win last year. ATLANTA 27, Dallas 14 The Falcons are favored by two and are no fluke.

Atlanta features the best balanced offense in the NFL and a young, aggressive defense. The Cowboys have problems in the secondary and are a mediocre 4-4 record outside Texas Stadium this season. Dallas leads the series, 6-1. LAST WEEK'S RESULTS 4-3 picking winning teams (145-85-1 for the season); 4-3 picking winners against the point spread (113-111-7 for the season). the second half," be said.

Then he compared two halves of football to a golf game. "It's not what you shoot on the first nine; it's what you get for 18." Against Buffalo, San Diego took a 24-12 lead into the fourth quarter, only to lose 26-24. Three weeks later, the Chargers roared to a 24-14 balftime lead against Dallas, then collapsed under their own mistakes, losing 42-31. In a 22-21 victory over powerful the Eagles, San Diego bolted to a 19-0 lead and held on for a 22-21 triumph. As Fouts goes, so go the Chargers, it seems.

A humiliating 40-17 loss at Washington came after Fouts was intercepted four times and sacked four times. "It seems like we lay an egg about this time every year," All-Pro cornerback Willie Buchanon said afterwards. Fouts acknowledges that "people in charge tend to get a little conservative" as the stakes grow. "That's only natural when you're playing for all the marbles." However, he emphasized, "I don't expect us to play conservatively (today)." For the second straight year, Fouts shattered the NFL's single-season record for most yards passing with 4,715. But, he said yesterday, "I wont be satisfied with anything less than winning the Super Bowl." Losing to crippled Houston was a bitter blow, he acknowledged.

"I think it will be a motivating factor, if we need one," he said. Facing the NFL's 1 defense is another. San Diego, with five victories in its last six games, is a 5-point favorite. "We have a lot of respect for them. Nose-tackle Fred Smerlas gave us a lot of problems.

And their linebackers are excellent." Chargers won't get conservative Continued from Page 1C vely, but, on defense, they're playing pretty much the same people who played the first time we met them. v'-Vf' i "They've changed their coverages a little, but nothing so. significant that we'd have to change our game plan around. We'll pretty much try Vermeil gets $2,000 fine for remarks PHILADELPHIA Eagles Coach Dick Vermeil was fined $2,000 by the National Football League yesterday for his criticism of the officials who handled the Birds' 35-27 loss to the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago. Vermeil called the officiating "horrible" during his post-game press conference and was particularly upset over a holding call that wiped out a 71-yard interception return by Eagle linebacker Jerry Robinson.

"I've just got one comment on the fine: horsebleep," Vermeil -said at a press conference yesterday. "But I don't want to say anything about it. If I told you how I really eeL they'll probably triple it." When informed Minnesota Vikings Coach Bud Grant had been fined $2,500 for his criticism of officials this year, Vermeil said, Td like to shake his hand." Granf who spoke at a later press conference, said, "Coaches in this league pay for a lot of things. I don't know what the money goes for, but we certainly put up a lot." -VICCARUCCI named head coach at a scheduled 3 p.m. news conference.

Phillips, whose homespun wit and shrewd knowledge of talent helped the Oilers to the National Football League playoffs three straight years, asked the media to let his firing be forgotten. "Instead of talking about the last six years, look forward to the next six years," PhillipS said. "I just got fired, I didn't die. I am a survivor and I'll land on my feet." The immensely popular Phillips said Adams was within his rights to fire him. I told somebody working for me to do something and they Biles SAN DIEGO (AP) San Diego quarterback Dan Fouts, the force behind San Diego's high-flying offense, sees no chance of the Chargers turning conservative in today's American Football Conference semifinal clash with Buffalo.

"We all realize how fast the season can end. We either win Saturday or we pack Sunday," Fouts said yesterday. 1 A year ago, San Diego's Super Bowl hopes went up in smoke when injury-depleted Houston grounded the Chargers' awesome passing game. Fouts was intercepted five times in the 17-14 loss. That same self-destruct tendency flared several times this season, often after San Diego streaked to quick leads.

In two of their five losses to Buffalo and Dallas the Chargers raced out front early, only to go flat in the second half and lose. Fouts rejects the idea that San Diego tends to get too conservative. "We don't feel we've let down in couldn't accept it when my cutting time came. i "I came here eager and I'm going out the same way, eagerly looking forward to the next job." Phillips next stop could be New Orleans, where the Saints are searching for a new coach. Phillips said he had not been contacted by the Saints but that he is interested in the job.

Phillips said he was not ashamed of the job he had done with the Oilers and asked fans to give his successor a chance. "The Oilers are a good football team but they are not better than everybody," Phillips said. coach Oilers Phillips as name "If I ever form another staff, I'll hire an offensive coordinator but it wouldn't be right here," Phillips said. "I felt our setup was adequate. Ho could I bring in another guy and say he's over the other, three.

I just felt it wasn't worth it." Phillips said his dismissal would not affect the Oilers' success and that he felt no bitterness toward Adams. "This game is way too big for one guy to have any effect," Phillips said. "I've had to tell hundreds of players that we had somebody we thought could do a better job than they did. I'd be a hypocrite if I Continued from Page 1C Biles attended Miami of Ohio University where he played under Ara Parseghian and later was an assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets before joining the Oilers in 1974. Biles replaced Phillips as sive coordinator when Phillips was elevated to the head coaching job in 1975.

1 Phillips, fired New Year's Eve in a dispute with Adams over Phillips' refusal to hire an offensive coordinator, requested a final news conference to "clear the air" amid speculation that Oiler defensive coordinator Ed Biles would be.