The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Page 20

PAGE 16 Eagles back didn't throw away career TAMPA. Fla. (AP) Philadelpia running back Wilbert Montgomery once tossed his belongings out a window to get away from Chicago's Walter Payton and Jackson State. That was in 1972-73, says Jimmie Giles, tight end for Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a longtime friend of Montgomery, the Eagles outstanding runner. Former team-mates Giles and Montgomery played together on the Mississippi state champion high school team in 1972.

Now the onetime team-mates will be opponents Saturday when the Eagles meet the Bucs in Tampa Stadium in another round of the National Football League playoffs. When the two athletes finished high school, Giles headed for Alcorn State and Montgomery to Jackson State. "He ran away from Jackson State," Giles says. "They had Pay-ton and some other running backs and Wilbert was only a freshman." Wait his turn "He didn't see how he could play. "He had to wait his turn.

He wasn't going to move Payton out. So he was going home. They had two coaches who tried to keep him there," Giles said. "But he called a guy from Abilene Christian and threw his clothes out the window and left." Montgomery went on to score 76 touchdowns at Abilene Christian and led his team to the NA1A championship with 37 TDs in his freshman year. At Philadelphia last year he ran for 1,220 yards, breaking Steve Van Buren's one-season record set in 1949.

"The guy is good," Giles says. "He was good coming out of high school, he was good coming out of college and he's good now. He's an excellent athlete." Record-setter Giles said Montgomery and his brother, Cleotha, set records In the 440-yard relay. At Abilene Christian, Wilbert ran a 9.6 100-yard dash and a 22.8 in the 220. "He's a real super guy," Giles says.

"He's a quiet guy. He was a Gayle Sayers in high school. But his mama didn't want him playing football. In my case, that's all I wanted to do. They put restraints on me but 1 saw it was going to be my livelihood." Giles said the Eagles' charger is "unbelievably strong; I'd hate to get him in a fight." "He's a lot like (Bucs defensive star) Lee Roy Selmon.

Don't get him riled up. I think Lee Roy got mad once this year. You don't want to get Lee Roy mad." Montgomery rushed for 1,512 yards for Philadelphia this year to become the No. 3 rusher in the National Conference. Giles was one of five ends in the league to lead his team in pass receiving this season, pacing the Bucs with 40 catches for 579 yards and seven touchdowns.

"I was fortunate," he says. "I was able to stay healthy and play consistently." Different from Bears Giles says he's glad to be playing the Eagles and thinks the Bucs will give them something different from Chicago, which Philadelphia beat in the wild-card game last week. The Bears don't often throw to their tight ends. "Yes, it's a much different look," Giles said. "We play a two tight end offence sometimes and sometimes we have four receivers." "So they will have to show some different coverages than they used against the Bears." Tampa Bay's line leaky with injury to offensive tackle TAMPA, Fla.

(AP) Tampa Bay Buccaneers say the chances of Charley Hannah being healthy enough to play by the Jan. 6 National Football Conference championship are 50-50. But the Bucs' chances of getting there were reduced by an injury to Hannah, their right offensive tackle, called the most valuable player of the Tampa Bay line by coach John McKay. Experienced Eagles "We miss Charley Hannah a lot," said McKay, whose Bucs must hold an experienced Philadelphia Eagles defensive line in this Saturday's playoff. Since Hannah suffered a knee injury three games ago, the Bucs' offence has averaged about one touchdown a game.

Quarterback Doug Williams has-had little protection. In Hannah's place has been Dar-ryl Carlton, a beefy Miami Dolphin castoff. Carlton didn't come close to stopping Kansas City defensive end Art Still in the Bucs' regular season final game, prompting McKay to Philly boss not exuding confidence PHILADELPHIA (AP) Philadelphia Eagles have passed their first National Football League playoff hurdle, but coach Dick Vermeil still seems to be running as if he's trying to catch up from the outside lane. "Tampa Bay looks like an outstanding defensive team," said Vermeil, whose Eagles, 27-17 victors over Chicago Bears in the National Conference wild-card playoff game last Sunday, travel to the Buccaneers' stronghold this Saturday as the second round of the conference playoffs get under way. "We're going to have to play our best game to beat them, but that's the way it has to be in the playoffs," said Vermeil, who always says the Eagles have to play their best game.

And if the once-lowly Eagles haven't always played their best, they certainly have played well, raising their record to 12-5 with regular season wins over Pittsburgh, Dallas and Houston. snap: "Darryl doesn't get paid $70,000 for eating ham sandwiches." Remarkable development The injury interrupted Hannah's remarkable development at a position he began learning only last winter. "I'd never played offence at all, not even in high school," Hannah said. "The only time I ever played offence in my life was in peewee football when I was 12 years old. I don't think I used much technique back then just going straight ahead." McKay, desperately needing help for his leaky line and with no No.

1 draft choice ahead, decided late last season to make the unusual switch. McKay said he thought Hannah's size six-foot-six and 255 pounds and, more important, his desire, would enable him to make the transition. Brother all-pro Also helping was Hannah's brother John, New England's perennial all-pro offensive guard. "In the off-season, we'd talk a lot about the position, but a lot of it went over my head. I couldn't relate to the importance of a lot of things.

When he'd talk about putting your foot down here, it didn't mean anything to me. "But after training camp started, I got an idea of the little things about the position. We talked every week and I started getting something out of it." Hannah said his brother John is more explosive than he is. John is three inches shorter and outweighs Charley by 10 pounds. Snubbed in draft Hannah learned with rookie Greg Roberts next to him at guard.

Roberts, the nation's Outland Trophy winner at Oklahoma, was snubbed in the National Football League's first round because of his inexperience at pass blocking. With the two rookies, the Bucs' line Improvement was obvious early. Rookie Jerry Eckwood set a team rushing record in the first game, Ricky Bell broke it later in the season and Bell became the first Buc to rush for 1,000 yards, totaling more than 1,200. Quarterback Doug Williams was sacked only once through the first 10 games of the season. 11 PHOTO S- OTTAWA JOURNAL THURSDAY.

DECEMBER 27, 1979 I 4 iTrrA Willi r- Player of the year Ottis Anderson, the record-setting running chosen a narrow winner over veteran Dallas back of St. Louis Cardinals who fell only five quarterback Roger Staubach as United Press yards short of the National Football Confer- International's NFC player of the year, ence rushing title in his rookie season, was Anderson was named on 18 of 56 ballots. Steelers show emotion PITTSBURGH (UPI) Believe it or not, Pittsburgh Steelers, who play with such mechanical and businesslike precision on the football field, are anticipating Sunday's American Football Conference playoff with Miami Dolphins with the zest and enthusiasm of a bunch of rookies. Raucous sounds From the raucous sounds of laughter, chatter and music drifting into the indoor corridors of Three Rivers Stadium yesterday, it sounded as if the usually fairly quiet Steelers' locker room had been overtaken by their zany neighbors, the Pirates, or the college kids uptown at the University of Pittsburgh. To reporters, the Steelers talked about the game in terms of "wanting it" and "getting emotionally prepared" somewhat unusual for a team that has been going to the playoffs for what now is an National Football League record-tying eighth consecutive season.

"It's going to be simply a matter of who wants it the baddest," veteran defensive end Dwight White said of the game with the Dolphins, the first playoff meeting between the Ho, 3 3 two teams since Miami defeated Pittsburgh in the 1972 AFC title game en route to a perfect 17-0 season capped with a Super Bowl victory. "This is a game that's not going to be won in the newspapers or by the televison commentators," White added. "This game is going to come down to a matter of physical execution." "It's going to be an individual challenge for each player to get ready to play his most physical and emotional game. "Miami isn't the bunch of patsies some people down there would like us to believe. They're a good team and they're hot." White and another defensive lineman, John Banaszak, said the 12-4 AFC Central Division champion Steelers and the 10-6 East champion Dolphins are similar and fairly evenly matched in that both present multi-faceted offences and defences.

That fact is not surprising, considering that their coaches, Miami's Don Shula and Pittsburgh's Chuck Noll, coached together. "I don't think it'll be the type of game where we know they're just going to go with one guy, like 1 hum is i mm Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer seems a bit bored during a picture-taking session in Miami's Orange Bowl yesterday. His Sooners take on Florida State New Year's Day. Switzer's team has been to the Orange Bowl four times, winning three of them. Houston does with Earl Campbell," Banaszak said.

"We're not going to be able to key on one player and that's good because our defence is built to stop an entire offence, not just one guy. They've got a varied, multiple offence. And that means it'll be a good battle out there." Banaszak also said some of his and his team-mates' excitement about the game stems from the fact that they have played the Dolphins so rarely the last time was in 1976. Little change "It's more of a challenge because we haven't seen them," Banaszak said. "We know that they're not going to change that much from the regular season just because they're playing us." "But they might put in a few plays we haven't seen them use before, plays that maybe other teams used successfully against us.

But the hardest thing about not playing them in a while is that we haven't seen their offensive line. We don't know their techniques and tendencies. "It's going to be a good game, for the fans and for the two teams." Rams' record lecture material if Dallas listens DALLAS (UPI) The last time the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams met, back on Oct. 14, Dallas won in a walk, 30-6. In last year's NFC championship game the Cowboys were 28-0 winners over the Rams.

So Dallas Coach Tom Landry may find it necessary to drag out his "you have to take this game seriously or you are going to get beat" lecture this week. "The only trouble, though," Landry said, "is that the players don't always listen to me." Attitude important Other than penalties and turnovers, the thing that might be the largest factor in Sunday's Dallas-Los Angeles divisional playoff game is mental attitude. The Rams, long frustrated in their bid to make the Super Bowl, have had their periodic problems with Dallas. And Landry recognizes that those problems will probably make Los Angeles play Just that much harder on Sunday. "It's got to work in their favor," Landry said.

"They are too good a football team team not to get there (to the Super Bowl) eventually. Good record "Their record speaks for Itself. They don't have to apologize for their record. They have been a very successful football team and a very successful franchise. They will keep trying and keep working and they will get there eventually." Landry has long since stopped trying to measure the potential psychological makeup of a football Three bidding Miami farewell MIAMI (AP) When Miami Dolphins' season ends, quite likely this Sunday in Pittsburgh, the careers of three Dolphins players may also end.

Linebacker Bob Matheson, 35, offensive guard Larry Little, 34, and fullback Larry Csonka, who turned 33 on Christmas Day, all will be weighing retirement after the National Football League playoff game. Little said from the first day of training camp that this would be his last year. However, after the Dolphins' final regular-season game, Little said he'd like to come back next year. Ankle improves Little said an ankle injury that had bothered him all season had improved in the last few weeks and that if coach Don Shula wants him back, he'll return. Shula, though, may want to go with young guards Eric Laakso, Jon Giesler and Jeff Toews next season.

Matheson is healthy and has played well in a spot role this season. But as the NFL's eldest linebacker, he's realistic. "This is the last year of my contract. I guess I'll sit down and talk about with coach Shula after the season. If I can compete for a job around here, I'll probably come back.

But if he wants to bring in more young guys, I'd probably become a free agent and I'd check around," he said. Key on defence Matheson, a 13-year pro in his ninth year with Miami, was the key figure when Dolphins developed the three-four defence in the early 1970s. In the Dolphins' 53 Defence, Matheson (No. 53) blitzed in with the three linemen in passing situations. Although the Miami futures of Little and Matheson may be up to Shula, Csonka doesn't have to worry about whether he's wanted and needed.

In a remarkable comeback after being let go by New York Giants, Csonka led the Dolphins in rushing with 837 yards on 220 carries, with 13 touchdowns. His only backups are rookies Bob Torrey and Steve Howell, who totalled just 16 carries between them for the season. "To be honest, at this point I don't know about next year," Csonka said. "My wife is kind of down on the idea right now. team before a game is played.

But he says if his team is not geared for the Rams it will be all over for the Cowboys. "You might get the opinion that you can do it (beat a certain team) every time you step out on the field," Landry said. "But it doesn't work that way. I just hope we play a good football game. "Los Angeles is very much improved from when we played them earlier this year.

When we played them before they were hurting very badly. They had a lot of injuries and were not going well at that time. "Since then they have recovered some players and performed well enough to win their division again for the seventh straight time which is a pretty good record for any football team." And what does Landry hope to learn from studying his team's earlier game against the Rams. Every game valuable "Every game is valuable from a preparation standpoint," he said. "You see what you were trying to do and whether you could accomplish it or not.

The disadvantage is when you look at it you see you were going well and they were not going to well. That tends to work against you to some extent. "The win in that game does not have much relevance. If the Rams had been up to par In that game and we had been able to beat them there would have been some relevance. But as long as they weren't up to par it really doesn't mean anything.

"1 think you have to play this one as a new game and see what you can do in it.".