The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 27

STATE 16-D THE TAMPA TRIBUNE-TIMES, Sunday, September 22, 1985 Miami, K.C. have something to prove valuable linebacker the last two seasons, ended his two-month contract holdout Saturday and immediately was activated for today's game against. To make room on the roster for Brudzinski and recently activated defensive back Glenn Blackwood, Dolphins Coach Don Shula released defensive back Fulton Walker and wide receiver George Shorthose. Starting Lineups mmuw 1 1. iiiinju.nL.mii iii.ijuji.ii iMji.iuiMMLimiun.

iii.i-u.i.uipu L.i. i iiwmii.humii 1 Mumii I II I. II HJ X-5' I v'v. i 1 Hit iV 5 I i .1. 4 and Miami's defense hasn't shown that it will be up to the task.

"From what I've seen, Kansas City is the most improved team in the NFL," Shula said. "The Chiefs are clicking on all cylinders, both offensively and defensively, and they have really come on this year." The Dolphins can't say that. They were upset at Houston in the opening week, then struggled before putting Indianapolis away last Sunday. Their offense showed some signs of coming together last week, and although the Dolphins got a major jolt with the news that wide receiver Mark Duper will miss six weeks with a fractured bone in his right knee, veteran Nat Moore is expected to fill in capably. The Chiefs have won five straight dating to last season, and arrive at today's game with one of the NFL's most potent passing games.

"We really feel we have a good, young team, a team that can cointinue to improve," KC Coach' John Mackovic said. The Chiefs have scored 83 points in their two wins, and Kenney has thrown five touchdown passes and only one interception. But that's not the only facet of their team that impresses Shula. "Defensively, they have some All-Pros playing there, and they showed what they're capable of by their (36-20) domination of the Raiders," Shula said. The Chiefs have six interceptions, including two each by corners Kevin Ross and Albert Lewis.

Lewis also recovered a fumble in the Raiders' end zone for a touchdown. NOTES: Bob Brudzinski, the Dolphins' most On TV: Channel 8, 4 p.m. On radio: WFLA(970 AM), 4 p.m. By JOE HENDERSON Tribune Sports Writer MIAMI It might seem a little early in the season for crossroads games, but the Dolphins are not deceived by the clock. There is no underestimating the importance of today's game.

The Dolphins, 1-1, host Kansas City, the National Football League's No. 1 surprise team, at the Orange Bowl. A national TV audience will tune in for the 4 p.m. kickoff. For Kansas City, 2-0, it is a chance to conclusively prove that it belongs among the NFL elite.

And for the Dolphins, it is an opportunity to prove that the troublesome summer, filled with injuries, holdouts and acrimony, is a thing of the past. Unfortunately, it comes at a time when linebacker Charles Bowser suffered a severely sprained ankle and will miss today's game. Then, safety Mike Kozlowski spouted off after losing his starting job to Glenn Blackwood. Kozlowski, who was embarrassed in a loss at Houston and was only marginally better against Indianapolis, had a closed-door meeting with coach Don Shula this week and the subject of a trade came up. "He (Kozlowski) had the chance to win the job and keep it, but it didn't work out," Shula said.

Shula had to do something, which may have prompted the Blackwood-Kozlowski switch. The Dolphins will oppose one of the league's best passers today in the Kansas City bomber, Bill Kenney, Ml AM Offense Wt 89 Nat Moors. 59. 168: IT 79 Jon Giesler, 65, 260: LO 61 Roy Foster. 64.

275: 57 Owlght Stephenson. 62. 25S: RO 72 Ronnie Lee, 64, 265: 74 Cleveland Green. 63, 262: TI 84 Bruce Hardy, 65, 232; WR 83 Mark Clayton, 59, 175; 8113 Don Marino, 64, 214; 8122 Tony Nathan. 60, 206; Pt 34 Woody Bennett, 62, 225.

75 Doug Betters. 67, 265; NT 99 George Little, 64, 278; 58 Kim Bokamper. 66. 255: 1X1 52 Room Sendttm, 63. 225; UU 50 Jackie SNpp, 62.

236: RtLl 51 Mark Brown. 62, 225; RLI 56 Charles Bowser. 63, 235: LCI 45 Robert Sowed, 511. 175; RCB 49 WlWom Judson, 61, 190; 47 Glenn Blackwood, 60, 190; FS 43 Bud Brown, 60, 194. Kickers 7 Food Reveli, 511, 222; 4 Reggie Roby, 62, 243.

HANS At CITY Offense WR Carlos Carson, IT Matt Herkenhotf, 64, 286; LO Brad Budde, 65, 271: Bob Rush, 65. 270: RO Bob Olderman, 64, 262: RT David Lutz. 65. 287; TE Walt Arnold. 63.

221: WR Henry Marshal, 62, 213; as Ba Kenney. 64, 211; Rt Herman Heard, 510, 182: Rt Bruce King, 61. 219. Oefense Art Sri. 67, 254; NT Bi Moas.

64, 259; Rl Mike Bed, 64, 259: LOU CoMn Daniels, 63. 241; UU Scott Rodeclc, 63, 246: Rill Jerry Blanlon, 61, 229; Roll Ken Jolly, 62. 220: IC Albert Lewis, 62, 192; IS Uoyd Burruss, 60, 209: Ft Deron Cherry, 511, 196: RC Kevin Ross, 59, 182. Kickers HC Nick lowery, 64, 189; Jim Arnold, 62, 220. AP photo Don Shula claims Dolphins defenders will be challenged by Chiefs quarterback Bill Kenney.

Beat-up McMahon in hospital again mm we- otTW cur 1,000 cc'e HeRS'e itf tfieil potency --wmm wL HMfciW DRfDD -fiUJurucoNceiKRMtoH Hi mm ewH disuse ouueo eeRUl-mjVooc JHR Pro Football mates 400 men who played prior toj 1959. when the pension Dackaee be- Art by LAMAR SPARKMAN came were in the '83 and '84 games in the Super-dome. TRIBUNE PICK: Bucs 32, Saints 27. Tribune Wires CHICAGO Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, who came out of the hospital to lift his team to victory Thursday and returned to the hospital because of an infected leg Friday, probably will continue to play despite the new problem. Team spokesman Bryan Harlan said McMahon -was scheduled to make a television appearance Sunday, would begin practice with the rest of the club Tuesday, and was expected to play against Washington next Sunday.

"It's not going to affect his playing," Harlan said, adding that McMahon would likely be released from the hospital Sunday morning. McMahon's injury is a scraped hand suffered in an exhibition game, that has not healed, Harlan said. "He has an open cut on his hand, and every time he's played on Astro-Turf its been broken open," said Harlan. "They (doctors) think the infection started there." McMahon also has a bruised shin, suffered against Tampa Bay in the season opener, and Harlan said bacteria from the cut hand apparently has also infected the area of the bruise on the leg. Officials at Lake Forest Hospital refused to answer questions about McMahon's condition, referring reporters to the team.

McMahon is taking antibiotics at the hospital, and is also receiving treatment for the neck and upper back spasms he suffered earlier in the year, Harlan said. Prior to Thursday's game at Minnesota, Bears' officials had revealed only the spasms. McMahon, who suffered a severe lacerated kidney injury and missed seven games last season, had been in traction last Sunday and Monday because of the spasms. He re-entered the hospital Friday for treatment of the "infected hematoma" on his right leg, Harlan said. The 6-foot-l, 190-pound fourth-year player from Brigham Young was taking antibiotics during Thursday night's game, said Harlan.

McMahon did not practice all last week, and was not expected to play. But he came on in the third period in relief of Steve Fuller with the Bears trailing 17-9, threw touchdown passes in his first two attempts, and added a third scoring pass as the Bears came back to whip the Vikings 33-24 in a nationally televised game. McMahon is not the only battered Bear. Team officials said safety Dave Duerson is nursing a pulled groin muscle, but they could not say if he would miss any games. NFLPA votes money for old players ORLANDO The NFL Players Association has asked the NFL Management Council and Commissioner Pete Rozelle to amend the player's agreement and give pensions to the players who pioneered the game.

"Out of the 120 players in the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, there are 60 of them who are not getting pensions," said Dave Williams, former wide receiver with St. Louis and San Diego and spokesman for the NFL Retired Players Association, a subsidiary of the main union. "On the one hand the NFL wants to brag about them, and on the other hand we're not taking care of them," he said. "Neither management nor the players have done a good job on this." The players association esti- came effective, are not receiving! benefits. About 80 retired players signed the proposed amendment Friday at" their second convention and dis-' patched the document to Rozelle's; office.

Williams said management-shouldn't object to the plan, since it! asks for no additional contributions; from owners to the pension fund. I "We're asking them to go through the formality of passing this addendum," he said. "We feel there is currently a surplus in the fund that could cover pensions for these men." Williams said under the formula for determining benefits, a 5-year veteran not currently receiving a pension would get only about $500 each "We're not talking about a lot of money from management. But to the players, would mean a lot," he; said. Jets look for consistent effort Given the choice of personalities exhibited by the Jets in the first two weeks of the NFL season, New York fans must prefer the one that emerged last week against the Buffalo Bills.

The Jets were obliterated by the Raiders 31-0 in their opener, but did a complete reversal last week, whipping Buffalo 42-3. Having played one of the strongest, then one of the weakest franchises in the league, it will be interesting to see how they fare against the Green Bay Packers in Milwaukee Sunday. Green Bay, 1-1, defeated the New York Giants 23-20 last weekend after dropping their opener 26-20 to New England in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. Against the Bills last week, New York's Freeman McNeil broke loose for a club-record 192 yards rushing, and leads the AFC with a 236-yard total. The Jets offensive line was bolstered by the return of training-camp holdouts tackles Marvin Powell and Reggie McElroy.

"You can't structure everything toward stopping one man," Green Bay head coach Forrest Gregg said.1 "You've got to make a concentrated effort to do your job. If you play good team defense and tackle well, you've got a chance." The Jets' passing game has been hampered by injuries to wide reciev-ers Wesley Walker and Lam Jones, but recently-signed draft choice Al Toon has quickly become a potent weapon. Third-year quan terback Ken O'Brien hit Toon, a 6-4, 200-pounder with blazing speed, with three passes last week to the tune of 67 yards. Packers quarterback Lynn Dickey has as much heart as any in the league, and given ample protection, is an accurate passer, with an outstanding corps of receivers. Wideout James Lofton led the NFL last year in yards per catch, and is Joined by speedster Phillip Epps and tight end Paul Coffman.

Also today, Kansas City Is at Miami, San Francisco at the Raiders, Houston at Pittsburgh, St. Louis at the New York Giants, Philadelphia at Washington, Denver at Atlanta, San Diego at Cincinnati, Cleveland at Dallas, Detroit at Indianapolis, New England at Buffalo, Tampa Bay at New Orleans. Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams visit Seattle. Game Facts OPPONENTS: Buccaneers (0-2) vs. New Orleans Saints (0-2) in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

KICKOFF: 1 p.m. today. FAVORITE: Saints by 2V2 points. SERIES RECORD: Saints lead 4-3. LAST MEETING: Saints 17, Bucs 13 in the Superdome, Sept.

9, 1984. RADIO: Buccaneer network, WSUN (620 AM), flagship station, 12:30 p.m. with Mark Champion, Dave Kocourek and Ken Broo. TELEVISION: CBS regional, Channel 1 3, 1 p.m., with Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw. Lineups TAMPA IAT Bucs From Page ID home-field advantage.

Kickoff is 1p.m. KEY INJURIES: Bucs right guard Sean Farrell is questionable with a strained calf. Untested Rick Mallory may be the starter there because experienced Gene Sanders Is out with a pinched nerve in the neck. Rookie defensive end Ron Holmes continues to be bothered by an Achilles tendon problem, but starts. Saints starting linebacker Jim Kovach had knee surgery Monday and starting strong safety Russell Gary is out with a banged-up knee.

Terry Hoage starts at free safety and Scott Pelluer subs for Kovach. The Saints do welcome back inside linebacker Dennis Winston, who missed the first two games with a bad back. WHAT THE BUCS DO ON OFFENSE: They desperately want to take an early lead to force the Saints to pass. However, quarterback Steve DeBerg said the game plan is set up to make the Saints have to stop the running of James Wilder, who leads the NFL in rushing with 279 yards and in in total offense with 355 yards. Wilder caught a team record 13 passes against the Vikings last Sunday.

Will he be that active today? "You can't tell," he said. "I anticipate the game plan, but sometimes you can't tell how things will go until you see what the defense does." DeBerg has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for four touchdowns, but has four interceptions. Other than Wilder, the key receiver is U-back Jerry Bell, with 1 1 catches and two TDs. WHAT THE SAINTS DO ON OFFENSE: Quarterback Dave Wilson led the Saints to a 10-0 lead over the Bucs during the exhibition season, but the Bucs won 14-10. Forced into catch-up situations the last two weeks, Wilson has completed just 38.5 percent of his passes for two TDs with two Interceptions.

But, the reason for such a low percentage was his two of 22 performance against Kansas City. He hit 18 of 30 for 280 yards and two scores without no Interceptions against Denver. His play led the Saints to a 17-10 second-half advantage over Denver Sunday. This Is primarily a running team featuring Earl Campbell and Gajan. Campbell is off to disappointing start, but Gajan's performance (119 yards) has him on the same pace that ranked him No.

1 last year in yards-per-carry in the NFL (6.0 yards) THE BUCS DEFENSIVELY: They are still trying to come together with new starters Holmes at right end, David Greenwood and Ivory Sully at safeties and Chris Washington moving from right outside linebacker to the left side. With two starts, Greenwood and Sully should be more comfortable, however. Basically a three-man front, they go to a four-man rush on passing downs, but a safety or linebacker will rush virtually every play otherwise, THE SAINTS DEFENSIVELY: Ranked fourth overall and first against the pass in 1984, they are 27th after giving up 570 yards and seven touchdowns on passes in two games. The problem? Coach Bum Phillips blames it on not getting the three defensive ingredients rush, underneath and deep coverage synched. The loss of leading tackier Kovach hurts.

Winston, the No. 1 tackier In 1984, has missed both games with a back injury and may not play today. KEY MATCHUPS: Saints defensive left end Bruce Clark vs. Bucs right tackle Ron Heller: Clark made the Pro Bowl in 1984. Heller is in his second year.

The absence of Farrell could affect Heller's play. Bucs U-back Jerry Bell vs. Saints strong safety Terry Hoage: DeBerg likes to throw to his U-backs, especially near the goal. Hoage is stepping into big shoes as Gary's replacement. Bucs running back James Wilder vs.

Saints cornerbacks Dave Waymer and Johnnie Poe: After catching a swing pass, the 225-pound Wilder is a tough man for 188-and 194-pound corners to bring down. Bucs kicker Donald Igwebulke vs. Saints kicker Morten Andersen: Both have powerful legs. If the game develops into a field-goal duel, Andersen's experience could pay off handsomely. He already is three of four on field goals after going 40 of 56 since 1982.

Igwebuike is one of three. INTANGIBLES: Bucs Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye will miss the game while recovering from a fractured leg and other Injuries received when hit by a car while Jogging last Tuesday. Bennett will take over his play-calling responsibilities. Bennett had a 9-3 record against the Saints while coaching Atlanta from 1977-82 and won his exhibition meeting as head coach of the Bucs. Home-field advantage has not been a factor in this series.

The only two wins by a home team WR 89. Kevin House, 61. 185; IT 66. George Yorno. 62.

260; LO 72. Steve Courson. 61, 270: 60. Randy Grimes. 64, 265; RO 62.

Sean farrell, 63. 260, or 68. Rick McMory. 62. 265; RT 73, Ron Heller, 66.

285: Ti 88, Jknmte Giles. 63. 240: WR 87, Gerald Car ler. 61, 190; OS 17. Steve DeBerg.

63, 210; Ut 82, Jerry Bel, 65, 230; Rl 32, James Wider, 63. 220. II 78, John Cannon, 65. 265; NT 76. David Logan, 62, 250; Rl 90.

Ron Holmes. 64, 255; LOU 51. Chris Washington. 64. 220: UU 58.

Jell Davis, 60, 230: RU 52. Scot Brantley, 61. 230; ROLI 53. Hugh Green, 62, 225: IC 23, Jeremiah Canine. M0, 175: RO 21, John HoH, 611.

180; tl 30, David Greenwood. 63, 210; PS 44. Ivory Susy. 60. 200.

Kicking 1, Donald Igwebufce. 69. 185; 5, Frank Garcia. 60. 205; 7, Alan Rlsher, 62.

190: RC 86. Calvin Mogee, 63. 235; KC 79, Ken Kaplan, 64. 275: RR 29, Leon Bright, 69. 200: KR 29, Bright, and 81, PI Freeman, 611, 185 Nf ORLIAMI Offense WR 88.

lugene Goodiow. 62. 181; IT 64. Dave Lafory, 67, 285: LO 63. Brod fdelman.

66. 262: 60. Steve Korte. 62. 271: BO) 68.

Kelvin Clark. 63. 273; RT 67, Stan Brock. 66, 288; 71 85, Hoby Brenner. 64, 245; WR 84.

trie Martin. 61, 195; At 18. David WKion, 63. 211; MB 35, fart Compoes, 611, 233; FB-46, Hokle Gaan, 611, 226. 1175 Bruce Clark.

63. 281: NT 99, Tony (Molt. 62. 280. Rt 94.

Jkn was, 68, 265; LOLI 47, Rickey Jackson. 62. 239: LUB 53, Icott Pelluer, 62, 227: RUB 56. Dennis Winston. 60.

244: 1 Oil 51, Whitney Paul, 63, 21B; 1044. Dave Waymer, 61, 188; RO 25, Johnnie Poe, 61, 194; BI 24, Terry Hoage. 63. 199; PB 49. Frank Wattelet, 60.

185. Kicking 7, Morten Andersen 62. 205 10, Brian Hansen. 62, 3 18 19. Guido Merkens.

61, 197. RC KO 61, Joel Hsgenberg, 63. 253; Pt 86. Jefl Grorh, 610, 181. KR B4, Inc Martin..