THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412040192
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
New Oilers coach Jeff Fisher has the reputation as a guy always one step ahead of the competition - and sometimes his own teammates - as evidenced by this tale from his high school days.
L.A.-area Taft High School was up by four points with little time remaining in a 1975 game and had the ball at its own 4-yard line. It was decided that the team would take a safety rather than risk disaster deep in its own end.
The quarterback dropped back, but the Chatsworth High defense fell off completely, covering Fisher and other receivers. The QB, under no pressure, began to roam back and forth in the end zone, looking upfield for a receiver.
``The next thing I know,'' said Hal Lambert, Fisher's coach at Taft, ``Jeff comes flying by our sideline, running toward the end zone. He hit (the QB) and knocked him out the back for the safety. When we asked him why he'd done that, he said, `I thought he'd forgot.'
``That was Jeff. Always thinking.''
CHATTING WITH ... Jets rookie cornerback Aaron Glenn
Q - You had the first bad game of your career last week against Miami, getting burned twice by Mark Ingram and Dan Marino in what must have been a very tough loss. Has it been hard to handle?
GLENN - With a guy like Marino throwing the ball around, it's hard to stop him. When you have a guy like that throwing and receivers who can catch, it can happen. It doesn't matter who the defensive back is. He's going to complete some passes.
Q - You didn't get much help up front.
GLENN - You don't want to let the quarterback sit back and throw the ball. You can hold a guy down only so long, especially in man-to-man coverage. The receiver knows where he's going and you don't.
And the balls were perfectly thrown. When a guy of Marino's caliber, with time, gets into a zone, he's going to kill you. We have to put some pressure on (Drew) Bledsoe this week. We can't let the guy sit back there and throw the ball or the same thing will happen to us. If we get a little pressure on the quarterback, it helps a lot.
Q - How are you preparing for the Patriots after last week's performance?
GLENN - You just go on to the next one. If you're a player, it's easy to do. I'm learning that right now. Any team can get beat on any given day.
EX-REDSKINS NEVER DIE, THEY JUST GO TO CLEVELAND: Carl Banks was considered washed up a year ago when the Redskins pulled the plug on the once-great Giants linebacker. But Banks, 32, is back on top, a key member of a 9-3 Browns team headed for the playoffs.
The starting left outside linebacker, Banks is the fourth-leading tackler with 76. He's being credited for providing the type of leadership and character the Browns had been lacking. Last Sunday, he earned a game ball for his six-tackle performance in the Browns' 34-10 victory over the Oilers.
And the Browns have opened discussions about a multiyear deal, unthinkable when they signed him for a base salary of $250,000 last off-season.
``It won't be a blockbuster deal,'' Alan Herman, Banks' agent, said. ``But Cleveland is where he wants to be and this is where he wants to play. He's playing with renewed enthusiasm, and he feels so good about himself he wants to play more.''
Banks joins other ex-Skins Mark Rypien and Earnest Byner in Cleveland. But it was long conversations with ex-Giants mate Pepper Johnson during the off-season excited Banks about joining the Browns.
``We wanted to get together and play football the way it should be played, with a player who you know you could do battle with,'' Banks said. ``These days there are a lot of selfish players who are just worried about money. The young guys have to learn that winning is important.
``Nobody remembers how much money somebody made, but they remember winning teams. Guys are concerned about all the wrong things. If two guys like Pepper and myself can set the right example, then it becomes contagious.''
LIKE THE COLTS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OTHER PROBLEMS: Marshall Faulk is on the verge of setting a team rookie-rushing record - and teammate Sean Dawkins is slightly unhappy about it, though maybe he has a point.
``He is getting the ball a little too much,'' Dawkins said last week. ``People are trying to key on him and they are stopping him, piling up the line to stop Marshall, and we're still giving him the ball. We should spread the ball more.''
Faulk, the second overall pick in the draft, has improved a running attack that had consistently been among the league's least productive. The Colts are fourth in rushing.
``He's a good player.'' Dawkins said of Faulk, who has rushed for 957 yards and leads the team in receptions with 44 for 462 yards. ``But you've got to spread it around more than we have. We'll never be a team like the Dallas Cowboys if we don't spread the ball around.''
AFC ATOMS: Due to injuries, Seattle used three cornerbacks last week - Orlando Watters, Tony Brown and Terry Taylor - none of whom was on an active roster after the final training-camp cut Aug. 28. . . . New York writers say Browns coach Bill Belichick spent a fair portion of his conference call with them this week recruiting Giants running back Dave Meggett, a free agent at the end of this season. . . . Stranger than fiction: Jeff Blake of the Bengals is the highest rated quarterback in the AFC (90.7 rating) and averages 7.83 yards per pass play. . . . The Broncos defense has allowed 107 points in their last six games and are 5-1. . . . Buffalo reserve running back Kenneth Davis has five touchdowns in his last two games at Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium.
THEY SAID IT:
Phoenix coach Buddy Ryan (who else?), on whether he was disappointed his Cardinals defense won't be facing the Kevin Gilbride-coached run-and-shoot of the Oilers: ``As long as I don't have to play with it.'' MEMO: This column was compiled from Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star wire
service reports. by CNB