THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411130193
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
Forever, it seems, the D in Dolphins has stood for Don (Shula) and Dan (Marino).
Defense? You gotta be kidding.
On Sept. 26, Miami had the worst defense in the league. The Vikings had just finished doing about anything they wanted the previous day. Miami was 28th in total defense, last against the pass.
Entering today's game against the Bears, Miami has vaulted 14 spots, to 14th in the league. That's some leap - and Miami players insist it's just the beginning.
``By the time this season is over, we're going to have plenty of respect from everyone,'' safety Gene Atkins said.
Beginning Oct. 2, the Miami defense started a streak of five games in which it allowed 240.2 yards per game. The Dolphins are 4-1 in that span. By comparison, the Cowboys have been the second-best defense statistically during that time, allowing 240.5 yards per game.
How'd it happen?
Injured starters have returned, most notably cornerback Troy Vincent.
Playing at middle linebacker because of an injury to Hank Bullough, Bryan Cox has become one of the league's best.
Defensive ends Marco Coleman and Jeff Cross are having big seasons - at least partially because of the fine play of tackles Chuck Klingbeil and rookie Tim Bowens.
Safeties Gene Atkins and Michael Stewart - both free agents - are finally familiar with the scheme.
``Basically what we're getting is some pretty good players playing well together,'' defensive coordinator Tom Olivadotti said. ``Even when we weren't playing well, I knew there were reasons for it. I feel better about things now, but there is still some improving to do.''
CHATTING WITH . . . Bengals QB Jeff Blake
Q: Bengals general manager Mike Brown says your success and the way you have been embraced by the team and Cincinnati town is a Hollywood story.
BLAKE: I try to keep a low profile, because I know that I'm here for a purpose and that is to play football. I try not to get caught up in the other stuff. With everything that's going on, I'm going to change my telephone number.
Q: It sounds like the Jets cut you without ever giving you a chance. After three seasons in the league, you still make the NFL minimum of $162,000. But you are a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Do you sense things are beginning to change in your favor?
BLAKE: I think my stock has risen. The more I play, the better I get. People were waiting to see what I would do after Dallas. . . . They said, `He won't be able to top that.' I did. I completed 72 percent of my passes and threw for 387 yards. I know there are still a lot of people still doubting me. But there's nothing I like better than proving people wrong.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Courtesy of Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel columnist Charles Bricker: ``Now that we have the two-point conversion, it's only a matter of time before some wily NFL coach comes up with this imaginative and possibly controversial move.
``The situation: Bears have the ball, first-and-10, at midfield, leading the Vikings, 21-20. There is 1:45 to play and the Vikings are out of timeouts. They can't stop the clock on defense. Chicago figures to run out the final 105 seconds and celebrate.
``Bears quarterback Erik Kramer hands to Lewis Tillman, who covers up the ball with both hands as he ducks into the right side of the line. By a preconceived scheme, worked out for just such a situation, the Vikings grab at but don't tackle Tillman.
``Of course, Tillman keeps plodding ahead until he hits the open spaces, then churns for the end zone. None of the Minnesota players catch him. They don't want to catch him. They want him to score and take a 28-20 lead.
``The Vikings have conspired to get the ball back with a chance to tie the game. It couldn't happen without the two-point conversion. With about 1:30 left, quarterback Warren Moon has plenty of time to drive Minnesota to a TD and two-point conversion to tie. Overtime!
``That's something that never came up in our discussions,'' said Buccaneers vice president Rich McKay, a member of the Competition Committee, which proposed the two-point conversion. ``But I don't see anything anti-competitive about the fact that I let you score just to get the ball back.
``It's interesting.''
DID YOU KNOW? Carolina GM Bill Polian will make one last run at ex-Redskins coach Joe Gibbs around Thanksgiving. If, as expected, he turns them down again, Polian will move on. Names sure to surface are Florida's Steve Spurrier, Miami's Dennis Erickson and Vikings defensive coordinator Tony Dungy, a runner-up in Jacksonville. . . . Last Sunday's Chiefs-Raiders game, the first ESPN contest of the year, drew a Nielsen cable rating of 11.1, the highest for an NFL game in nearly four years on the network, which translates to nearly 7 million households. . . . Cortez Kennedy is frustrated. Through nine games, the Seahawks' powerful defensive tackle has only one sack - in the season-opener against Washington's Heath Shuler - and hasn't had a hand in a single turnover.
SAY WHAT? A few more years in the NFL and Steelers coach Bill Cowher might be mentioned in the same breath as Yogi Berra when it comes to malaprops.
Judging by this recent sampling, he's climbing the charts fast.
On a 14-10 victory Oct. 16 over the winless Bengals: ``It wasn't a Mozart.''
``We're not attempting to circumcise the rules.''
``He takes a licking and keeps on ticking, like that Eveready bunny.'' MEMO: Material in this column was obtained from Virginian-Pilot and
Ledger-Star wire services. by CNB