Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 60

Glantint49e1i matchup is 4 9er a surprise 1 2n 01982 FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM Ruha favors Cincinnati SUNDAY JANUARY 3 1982 "r---V-T-R 11" 11 Ir mr-mv- ar Aqinroo-tro er es pr -t 1 2 is FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM III SUNDAY IANUARY 3 1982 1 1 lan 0 1: 1100 ig: i 7N favors :::::::::::::1:::::: )) (444(1041-44iN Cincinnati 1 '11040 sA i I -1 -7-'-r'': 41-M-- -f r'-'-'4: 'M'iriLAg''- no: 40: le 1 0 ''1' It" 4'' 1-X' Liv 4(w :::4 ::::::4: 4' ---4 6 :4 li 11 -1 Aft SAzti- iiiki ii5W-4gl't I ::::1: 1 ft -''t0 3:440:4::: 7 igtitt 'i'''''-'e 't (4 w4'--4-: -v114 By WILLIAM WALLACE New York Times News Service NEW YORK The Buffalo Bills will have more problems to solve than will the Bengals in Sunday's American Football Conference semifinal at Cincinnati according to Cleveland coach Sam Rutigliano Rutigliano whose Browns split two games with the Bengals and lost to the Bills this season cited three points in favor of Cincinnati as he reviewed the matchups in a telephone interview: MI The Bengals can expect the usually flawless game from Ken Anderson their quarterback while the Bills do not know what to expect from Joe Ferguson Anderson's counterpart who has not been as consistent Cincinnati's offense makes far better use of its tight end Dan Ross than does Buffalo with Mark Brammer which gives Anderson even more versatility in selecting pass receivers The Bills again will be missing a key performer in their defensive unit inside linebacker Shane Nelson while the Cincinnati unit is complete Rutigliano is a great admirer of Anderson "In the area of consistency Kenny Anderson has been solid all year" Rutigliano said "Also he is the second-leading rusher on the team which presents a tremendous problem to Buffalo's defensive ends Sherman White and Ben Williams They have to contain him not allow him to get outside and that makes it a little more difficult for them to put pressure on him" Pete Johnson the fullback is the Bengals' leading rusher with 1077 yards gained Then comes Anderson 320 on 46 carries for a 70 average and Charles Alexander the halfback with 292 Rutigliano pointed out that on the passing plays Anderson always has what the football trade calls an outlet meaning a receiver set on the perimeter behind the line of scrimmage That is Johnson a 250-pounder who punishes cornerbacks "That's why Kenny doesn't get sacked very often" Rutigliano said "If he cannot get the ball upfield he'll turn and lay the ball off to Johnson As far as Cincinnati is concerned that's an end run And if a linebacker or a cornerback is going to challenge Johnson he'll get some positive yards" On rushing plays Johnson runs only to the inside Alexander hardly is used at all a factor that puzzles Rutigliano As for Ferguson his game against the Jets last Sunday (268 passing yards but four interceptions) was representative of his season brilliant and dismal "Ferguson seems to have a sense of urgency" Rutigliano said "But the playoffs are not like the World Series You have only one game" In Joe Cribbs a marvelous runner and pass receiver Ferguson has a weapon that the Bengals lack and this of fsets in part Cincinnati's advantage in the use of its tight end Rutigliano described Nelson the injured Buffalo linebacker who has been replaced by the veteran Phil Villapiano as "one of the more underrated players" "And they do miss him" he said But Rutigliano expects the tempo of the game to revolve around the two quarterbacks and the results of the first-down plays Both sides use the three-four defensive alignment on first down and they are likely to stay with the three-four if that down gains 4 or 5 yards or more If not then for second and third down the specialty substitutions are made: four-man defensive lines for more pass rush and added defensive backs Buffalo uses seven backs at one time on the passing downs second or third and long yardage Each offense wants to keep the other team in the three-man line rather than the four with nickel backs inasmuch as the three-four presents less pass-rushing pressure and more room for receivers to get open pr Ai ci ar th tb tb it v( et SI a CI if ir A A ai bi tE A A el Si Si di la le By WILLIAM WALLACE New York Times News Service NEW YORK Buffalo Bills will have more problems to solve than will the Bengals in Sundcay's American Football Conference semifinal at ill cinnati according to Cleveland coach Sam Rutigli- ano cited Rutigliano whose Browns split two games with three points in favor of Cincinnati as he reviewed the Bengals and lost to the Bills this season the matchups in a telephone interview: MI The Bengals can expect the usually flawless while the Bills do not know what to expect rom Joe game from Ken Anderson their quarterback been as consistent Ferguson Anderson's counterpart who has not Cincinnati's offense makes far better usewi tohf its tight end Dan Ross than does Buffalo Mark Brammer which gives Anderson even more versatility in selecting pass receivers II The Bills again will be missing a key perform- er in their defensive unit inside linebacker Shane Nelson while the Cincinnati unit is corn plete Rutigliano is a great admirer of Anderson "In the area of consistency Kenny Andersop has been solid all year" Rutigliano said "Also he is the second-leading rusher on the team which presen a tremendous problem to Buffalo's defensive ends Sherman White and Ben Williams They have contain him not allow him to get outside and that makes it a little more difficult for them to pu pressure on him Pete Johnson the fullback is the Bengals" lead- ing rusher 'with 1077 yards gained Then comes Anderson 320 on 46 carries for a 70 average and Charles Alexander the halfback with 292 Rutigliano pointed out that on the passing plays Anderson always has what the football trade calls an outlet meaning a receiver set on the penmoenea behind the line of scrimmage That is Johns 250-pounder who punishes cornerbacks "That's why Kenny doesn't get sacked very of As far as Cincinnati is concerned that ten" Rutigliano said "If he cannot get the ba upfield he'll turn and lay the ball off to Johdnson: 's asngeoninrgutno And if a linebacker or a cornerback I hallenge Johnson he get some positive yards On rushing plays Johnson runs only to the in side Alexander hardly is used at all a factor that puzzles Rutigliano As for Ferguson his game against the Jets last Sunday (268 passing yards but four interceptions) was representative of his season brilliant and dismal "Ferguson seems to have a sense of urgency" Rutigliano said But the playoffs are not like the World Series You have only one game" In Joe Cribbs a marvelous runner and pass ceiver Ferguson has a weapon that the Bengals lackand this offsetsin part Cincinnati advantage in the use of its tight end Rutigliano described Nelson the injured Buf fa- to linebacker who has been replaced by the veteri an Phil Villapiano as "one of the more underrate "Anti thou' tin micc him ha cniti 2 i By FRANK LITSKY New York Times News Service SAN FRANCISCO Instead of being home for the holidays as almost everyone thought they would be the New York Giants and the San Franv cisco 49ers will play here at 4 pm (CST) Sunday in the semifinals of the National Football Conference playoffs The first concern for the Giants will be first down If their offense can gain good yardage on first down it will help keep Fred Dean the 49ers' superb pass rusher off the field If their defense can stop Joe Montana the 49ers' mobile quarterback on first down they will interrupt the 49erss ball-control offense which relies on the short pass And at the same time the Giants will give Lawrence Taylor their all-pro rookie linebacker more opportunities to pass rush The soggy grass and tear-away sod at Candlestick Park may be a major factor in creating big plays though it is difficult to tell which team if either will be helped more No matter which the 49ers are 6-point favorites The 49ers had the NFL's best regular-season record 13-3 while the Giants struggled to a 9-7 record by winning their last three games and four: of their last five The 49ers had last weekend off while the Giants were upsetting the Philadelphia Eagles 27-21 in a wild-card playoff game And the 49ers beat the Giants 17-10 here five weeks ago in their only regular-season meeting That game was a series of horrors for the Giants eight dropped passes (four by Tom Mullady) four holding penalties three interceptions three sacks and two lost fumbles The Giants' defense though it played well created no turnovers "We were self-destructing" said coach Ray Perkins of the Giants "They made the plays and we didn't Their defense has been averaging four or four-and-a-half turnovers a game which is great They deserved to win" "We beat them" said Bill Walsh of the 49ers "but it gives no psychological advantage When you get to the playoffs you start over Now it's another game" To win Sunday the Giants must move the ball on the ground a task that has often proved difficult' for a team that ranked last in the league in total' offense But last week against the Eagles Rob Carpenter ran for 161 yards the most by a Giant in 30 years In Carpenter's 11 starts since the Giants obtained him from the Houston Oilers the Giants are 8-3 and Carpenter has had five 100-yard games The Giants' offensive line ineffective much of the season has improved dramtically in recent weeks Its blocking especially from Jeff Weston and Bill Ard on the left side has helped Carpenter pick holes for good gains Dwaine Board who starts for the 49ers at right defensive end is strong against the run Dean who relieves Board in pass situations weighs only 230 pounds and can be run on but on passes his quickness can be difficult to contain Of his 13 sacks this year one came against the Giants 27 seconds left Except for that Weston held him out Walsh complained this week that that was precisely the problem that Weston was holding on almost every play "Dean puts great pressure on you" said Scott Brunner the Giants' quarterback "If we can get 4 or 5 yards on first down it will keep the third-down distances shorter" Walsh said Dean would play 65 to 70 percent of the time That works out to two out of three downs "Teams have been passing on first downs a lot to keep him off the field" said Walsh "But if that first-down pass is incomplete here he comes And because he won't play every down if we're ahead in the fourth quarter he'll be fresh" One way the Giants hope to get that first-down yardage is through Brunner's short passes to the tight ends and running backs The Giants probably will use two tight ends on many plays preferring the safe pass to longer ones into the 49ers' young but opportunistic defensive backfield Perkins called Brunner's game against the Eagles last week his best ever Brunner completed 9- of-14 for 96 yards and three touchdowns and always seemed in command The Giants are 5-1 since Brunner replaced the injured Phil Simms and Perkins'is staying with him even though Simms's separated passing shoulder has mended "In Scott's first two or three games" said Perkins "he had a tendency on some plays to outthink himself Now he has become very confident and poised He's been in pressure situations He pulled out two games at the end That's pressure football" The Giants have advanced this far primarily' with a defense that has made fewer errors each week Montana the leading passer in the conference is a big test for that defense because he is dangerous when driven from the pocket aid Scott can get 4 tird-down )ercent of downs ins a lot to lut if that nnes And ahead 'irst-down ses to the probably preferring young st the Eanpleted 9- ns and ale 5-1 since mms and Simms's I said PerD outthink 'ident and He pulled football" primarily' 7rors each he conferause he is ket Associated Pms Chargers' Chuck Muncie does a hand stand as Dolphins' Fulton Walker trips him up Associated pms Chargers nip Dolphins in 01 "But if the Bills can hold Johnson and if the Bengals can stop Cribbs" Rutigliano said "then each team will have a better chance to control the other's quarterback" And what about the coaching factor? "It will be interesting to see how the coaches react in terms of their plan" Rutigliano said "Is there going to be a sense of urgency on their part to try to force the ball?" Rutigliano's point was that the taking of risks in the playoffs is a particularly dangerous business because it increases the chances of a turnover principally the pass interception that can turn a game upside down On defense the risk is blitzing which increases the pressure on the passer but which can leave receivers open 1 'er 1110111111010' zir 10m iont: oster POIMWe11 Continued from Page 1 In the end it came down to a tale of two kickers Miami's Uwe von Schamman had two chances to win it for the Dolphins but his first field goal attempt was blocked by Kellen Winslow on the last play of the fourth period and the second was low and hit the linemen in front of him with 3:33 to play in the first overtime Benirschke missed a 27-yarder earlier in the overtime and so the two teams that scored 76 points in regulation time battled for all but 1:08 of the first overtime period before either could get the points to win "I have coached for 31 or 32 years" said the Chargers' Don Coryell "and there has never been a game like this It was probably the most exciting game in pro football history" "It's going to be a tough one to live with" Miami coach Don Shula said "There's just no way to describe how I feel or how our players feel Just the things that went into the effort they put forth then not to see it end ma positive result" Both sides were bedraggled battered and fatigued in the aftermath "This is about the toughest game I ever want to play in all my life" said Charger defensive lineman Gary Johnson "I don't ever want to go through this again" Dan Fouts who completed 33-of-53 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers sat in the locker room with an ice pack on his neck and sweat pouring from his forehead "I feel great" he said but he didn't smilo Charger owner Eugene Klein came up grabbed Fouts' hand and said: "I have never ever ever seen a guttier performance" Fouts took the Chargers 82 yards to the touchdown that tied the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter He completed seven-of-eight passes including the 9- yarder to James Brooks to make the score 38-38 with 58 seconds to play And he took the Chargers 80 yards on their first possession of the overtime period only to have Benirschke miss the kick to the left "We hurried it a little bit" Benirschke said "We were down to 10 seconds (on the 30-second clock) I should have called time out It was stupid" But the Chargers were to stay alive in the overtime just as they stayed alive to get into the overtime period Von Schamman was to have nothing but misfortune when it was his turn to kick Don Strock who had brought the Dolphins back from that 24-0 deficit in relief of starter David! Woodley had only 58 seconds left in time after the Chargers tied the score but he succeeded in getting his team to the Charger 25 Von Schammah set up for a 42-yard field goal but the Chargers sent Winslow their towering tight end onto the field to try to block it And he succeeded "I didn't even know he was back there" Gary Johnson said "But I'm sure glad he was" The Chargers' defense so porous as the 24-0 lead disappeared stopped the Dolphins in the overtime Miami got only one big play in the overtime and it was a 21- yard pass from Strock to Jimmy Cefalo to position Von Schamman for a 35-yard field goal attempt But this kick was low and hit the Chargers' Leroy Jones The reprieve seemed to inspire the Charger offense San Diego started at its own 16 moved out to the 31 on passes from Fouts to Brooks and Wes Chandler then exploded with the two big plays which carried the ball to the Miami 11 Chandler made one of the plays leaping catches across the middle while being jarred by Lyle Blackwood to gain 19 to the 50 "I was pretty badly shaken up" Chandler said It did not seem to diminish what had to be an enjoyable afternoon for the wide receiver from Florida His 56-yard punt return for a touchdown had been a part of the Chargers' 24-point first period burst But that seemed so long ago as the clock wound down on the overtime period From the 50 Fouts dropped back and found the veteran Charlie Joiner all alone in the middle Two Dolphin defenders converged on him but collided Larry Gordon finally caught him at the 11 after a gain of 39 On first down fearing the possibility of a fumble or an interception Coryell sent Benirschke onto the field for another shot at winning what had become a marathon affair He kicked this one right through the middle It was almost unbelievable that the Chargers did have to work so hard to win it It looked very much like a blowout of such proportion that Dallas and Tampa Bay would have been a cliffhanger by comparison A 47-yard pass from Fouts to Chandler positioned Benirschke for a 32-yard field goal on the Chargers first possession of the game and that was to be the good news for Miami in the first period A little more than two minutes later Chandler followed the blocking of Ray Preston and Keith Ferguson down the right sideline for the 56-yard punt return touchdown And more bad news was to come for Miami No one fielded Benirschke's pop-fly kickoff and Hank Bauer recovered for the Chargers on the Dolphin 29 It took San Diego seven plays to get into the end zone which was scored by Muncie on a sweep of right end from the 1 More bad news? Right Glen Edwards intercepted a pass deflected off the hands of Miami's Tom Vi gorito and ran it 35 yards to the Dolphin 11 Brooks caught the first of his two touchdown passes from the 8 catching the ball coming out of the backfield to the left and outracing AJ Duhe and Fulton Walker to the end zone But suddenly the Dolphins were to have their turn Strock replaced Woodley with 12:05 to play in the half and proceeded to complete 28-of42 passes for 397 yards and four touchdowns "Strock" said Fouts "was awesome He did a super job" Strock drove the Dolphins 63 yards to a Von Sehamman field goal then 39 yards to a touchdown a 1-yard pass to Joe Rose after Kim Bokamper forced a Fouts fumble Down 24-10 with six seconds to play in the half the Dolphins borrowed a playground play and stunned the Chargers with a 4I3-yard scoring strike Strock hit Dune! Harris at the 25 and Harris promptly lateraled to a flying Tony Nathan He covered the last 25 yards virtually uncontested 'that was Nathan Suddenly the rout was a 24-17 game When the Dolphins started the second half with a 74-yard drive which led to another Strock-toRose touchdown pass the score was tied The Chargers regained the lead later in the quarter on a 25-yard pass from Fouts to Winslow who spiked the ball over the goal post crossbeam He would better utilize that jumping ability later as it turned out Strock was far from through however and the Charger lead was short-lived He connected with Bruce Hardy on a 50-yard scoring play to tie the score once again 31- 31 The Chargers who seemed invincible soon found themselves on the verge of elimination from the playoffs when the Dolphins scored again touchdown set up another playground play Lyle Blackwood intercepted a Fouts' pass at the Charger 45 and lateraled to Gerald Small when he was hit at the 36 Small ran the ball to the 15 Two plays later Nathan circled the right side for a 12-yard touchdown and a 38-31 Dolphin lead It was deja vu for the Chargers Almost Miami controlled the ball for 7:19 on its next possession and seemed to be in position to wrap it up just as Oakland had deflated the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game last year with a ball control drive through the fourth period When Keleher stripped the ball from Franklin however it gave San Diego new the Chargers took advantage of it Thus a gallant Miami team suffered about as tough a loss as they would care to imagine in their darkest nightmares And the Chargers survive to play another week Bill Berig FRANCISCO 7 Guy Ray Werschlog 16 Joe tAoritatia: OS 20 Amos 21 Eric Wright CS Dwight Hickt 24 Rick Gervais 27: Caritoti Wiiliamsoqr Lynn CS 29 Saiad10 in QB osi 5 1 CB CB Ijo BUFFALO BILLS CINONNATI SIMMS 5 Nick MikeMayer 10 Jim Breeds 7 Greg Cater 12 Jack Thomason ::08 12 Joe Ferguson OB 13 Ken Riley 'CB 17 Matt Robinson 08 14 Ken Anderson OB 20 Joe Cribbs RB 15 Turk Schonert 08 -72 Steve Freeman 21 Oliver Davis 25 Roland Hooks RB 25 John Simmons' CB 26 Charles Romes CB 26 Bobby Kuno DB 27 Owis Williams Ca -27 Bryan Hidts 211 Rufus Bess CB 34 Louis Breeden CB SUFFALO BILLS ONONNAT1 VENOMS 5 Nick Jim Breeds 7 Greg Cater :12 'Jack Thotnisson'011 12 Joe Ferguson OB -'13 Kn Riley CB 17 Matt Robinson 08 14 Ken 20 Joe Cribbs RB 15 Turk OB 72 Steve Freeman- 21 Oliver Dans 25 Roland Hooks John Simmons CB 24 Charles Romei CB 26 Bobby Kuno DB 27 Owls Williams Ca 27 Bryan -Hidts 26 Rufus Bess- CB 34 Louis Breeden a CB I I I) Phil jne 2 Louis Jackson RB 26 Rob 22 Bill DR 3oLeo(Pemt 351kForte Re S1 Frank ICURI LB S3HrryCirion LB Levirencel'evierA8 Owen' Hut Ed 3:::: 40 Brad Mike Whittingtonle DT dlBItIvArd ''1 70 Gary letti DE flGordoKin OT George DE Curtis McGrilt DE 77 Bill Neill DT to Pkit- Tebot' DE 81 Tom MuId TE :512 Danny Pittman bVR 13 EernestGray IS John Mistier -466 jetmny PorkiniVIR Mike Fried' OT'': DE I I 29 Mario Clark CB 36 Jim 14argrove R8 31 jeif Nixon 40 ChariesAtexander R8 a) Robb Riddick R8 -42 Mike Fuller 5 41 Phil Villaviano LB 44 Ray Griffin CB "-42 Rod Kush 45 Archie R8 45 Bill SiMPSon Pelt Johnson R8 0 Curtis Brown---''''- R13 0 Guy Frazier- LB 16 Roosevelt Leaks (R13-50 04enn Cameron LB 50 Mike Humiston LB Rick LB St Jim Torn DnkI LB 53 Will Grant S3 Bo Harris L8 SS Jim Hasiett Le ss Jim -LeClair LB 57 Lucius Sanford LB Ramie Wallin44 Le 58 Isiah Robertson LB 58 Blair 8010k- 61 Tom Lynch 59 Jeff Schkoll -LB 62 Ervin Parker LB 60 Blake Moore C- 65 Tim Vogler 0-C 62 Dave Lanham 69 Conrad Dobler -1' Max Montoya-- OT Joe Devlin OT Gary Burley DE -71 Mike Kash NG 66 Mike Obravac-- OT 72 Ken -Jones OT 71 Rod Horn NO 73 Jon Borchardt 00-1 St Cloit DE 76 Fred Smerlas NG 73 Eddie Edwards DE 77 Ben Williams OE 75 Vfilsoo NG 81 Jerry Butler WR 77 tAike OT" al Ron Jessie WR 71 Mihaly Munoz OT 12 Frank Irefis WR 79 Ross Browner DE 13 Sherman ihtlite DE SO Collinsworth 114 Buster Barnett TE 11 David Verger V4R 15 Byron Franklin WR 13 Mi Harris TE ----116 Mark Bramnlet TE 14 Don Bess Steve Alvers TE 15 Isaac Curtis WR 19 LOu Piccone WR Steve Kreider ViR I Ken Johnson DE Pat McInally-t----- Darrell Irvin DE IA Den Ross TE '29 Mario Clark CB 36 Jim Hargrove R8 3B log Nixon 40 CharlesAtexander R13 40 Robb Riddick R8 42 Mike Fuller 41 Phil Villayiano LB 44 Ray Griffin CB 29 Mario Clark CB 36 Jim Hargrove R8 3g leg Nixon 40 CharlesAtexanderR13 40 Robb Riddick RB: --42 Mike Fuller Phil Villayiano LB 44 Ray Griffin CB Rod Kusi Archie RB 64 Barnett TE el 13SM Versor IS Byron Franklin WR 13 Mi Harris TE 111 Nark Branmle TE $4 Don Boss WR Steve Alvers TE IS Isaac CurtiS WR SO LOu Piccone WR Stove Kreider ViR OI Ken Johnson DE Pat Mcinally Darr '10 SW 31 Walt 32RidcvPilton 36 Paul Motet RB 38 Johnny Davit 42 Ronnie Lofl CB EarlCooper RB ys-St Randy Cross 52 BabbYleCoold--K18- S3 Craig Puki 56 Fred OthIIfl: Dan 1502 Keene Willie P4wper LB 60 john 62 Walt 64 Jack Reynolds 65 Lawrence Pillers DE-- :66 Allan- OT 68 John Avers :71 kelln Fahnhorst OT 74 Fred Dean DE John Harty DI 76 DWain -Board' DE 78 Arthie DT 79 Jim DE Eeson Ratnson84 Mk 94R -SS tAike 86 -Charlie- -Young I rtg Dwight Clark WR OS Soloman RB RB 5 CB RB i4d LB LB LB ir LB d5 ittes OT 'erg OT DE DI rd DE DI 1: OE 10t mWR WR In WR I 1 1 i tt i I 4 I I til I I 11 1 1.