THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511120235
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: AFC Grapevine
SOURCE: Jim Ducibella
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Raiders defensive end Pat Swilling, who vividly recalls his miserable two years with the Lions, had reason to gloat last week when he was named AFC defensive player of the week. Couldn't do it. Having too much fun to sour his mood.
``These guys let me play the game, that's what I enjoy doing,'' Swilling said of the Raiders, whose decision to sign him as an unrestricted free agent last April has paid off handsomely. Swilling has eight sacks, the third-most in the AFC, one reason the Raiders are 7-2.
``I wasn't able to play my game (in Detroit),'' he continued, ``and that's getting into a rhythm, playing every down, rushing the passer. I wasn't put in that situation. I'm a play-maker.''
Swilling, 31, is part of a front four he calls the NFL's finest. The others are Jerry Ball, another former Lion; Chester McGlockton and Anthony Smith. Four solid players give the Raiders as much depth as any team in the league. ``I've never seen so many guys in my life who can play,'' Swilling said.
Swilling, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, didn't lose confidence despite his problems in Detroit, which started in September 1993 when his father died. Later that year, during a bye week, he was fined $10,000 for leaving the team to take care of family business involving his father's death.
``After that point, I just couldn't fathom playing for them anymore,'' Swilling said. ``(Lions coach) Wayne Fontes said I was washed up, he said I was a malcontent. You don't handle people like that; it always comes back to you. Without a doubt, it's coming back to him now.''
HUDDLING WITH . . . Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino:
You need 38 yards to break Fran Tarkenton's NFL career record of 47,003 passing yards. How do you feel about becoming the league's all-time leading passer?
Guys I played with a long time are obviously big contributors to these records I'm breaking. I hope they're proud of it also.
It's going to be exciting to break Fran's record in yardage. Hopefully, it will come in a winning game.
We did some checking and came up with the names of 54 players who caught passes from you. How many do you think you could name?
Maybe half.
You have a realistic chance to catch Warren Moon, whose record of 61,284 yards passing as a pro include six seasons in the CFL. After all, you're on pace for your 11th 3,000-yard season, another NFL record.
Hopefully I can play at the level I've been playing at for a lot of years. I want to play for a long time, so you never know. I might be able to break 60,000 yards.
FAN LOYALTY - TO FANS: To show sympathy and support for their shocked and suffering Cleveland counterparts, some Steelers fans will wear orange armbands to the Browns-Steelers game Monday night at Three Rivers Stadium.
A radio station also will distribute 60,000 signs displaying empathy for the soon-to-be-abandoned Browns fans: ``How Can We Hate a Brown-less Cleveland?''
The impossible has happened, thanks to Art Modell's stunning move. For perhaps the first time in the 45-year-old rivalry, Browns fans and Steelers fans are united in a common cause.
Usually, it is commonplace for Steelers fans to passionately dislike the Browns, and vice versa, and a true Steelers supporter never would be caught wearing any shade of orange or brown.
But as much as Steelers rooters abhor the team that plays in the stadium they call the ``Mistake by the Lake,'' most cannot fathom an end to one of the NFL's most intense rivalries.
``You walk around Cleveland Stadium and you can feel and see the history,'' said Steelers quarterback Mike Tomczak, an ex-Brown. ``It wasn't until I played for the Browns that I realized how it is one of the rowdiest, rock 'n' roll stadiums I've ever played in.
``The players got free agency, and now the teams want it, too. You talk about the history, the nostalgia, and the players in that venue ... and now there will be just empty shadows.''
BLUE DARTS: A cynic might say NFL owners took another shot at the Cowboys last week by raising the price of Super Bowl tickets by $50. By the way, what kind of rate of inflation are owners employing? When the Cowboys went to the Super Bowl in 1993, all 100,000 seats at the Rose Bowl cost $175. ... Believe it or not: In addition to his papers and his programs, NBC color analyst Paul Maguire has another piece of paraphernalia he uses in working with Dick Enberg and Phil Simms - a washcloth. He uses it to signal Enberg if there's a penalty flag on the field away from the play, where Enberg can't see it right away. joining O.J. Simpson and Eric Dickerson, to run for 2,000 yards in a season will be tested today. The 49ers' defense allows an average of just 59 yards on the ground. If Smith does well against the 49ers, it gets only easier. Of the Cowboys' six games after that, three are against rushing defenses ranked near the bottom: Giants (27th), Redskins (28th) and Cardinals (30th). ... For what it's worth, the Cowboys haven't won their 10th game of the season since 1984. catches. RB Ernest Byner leads Browns with 30. ... The Eagles are the only team with two backs with more than 400 yards rushing (Ricky Watters and Charlie Garner) and two runners ranked in the top 15 in the NFC. ... The Broncos have held four opponents under 10 points this season, something they accomplished just once last season. ... The Vikings pass rush has been stalled since midway through last season. Minnesota had 27 sacks in first nine games of '94. Since then, they have played 17 games (including playoffs) and recorded just 32 sacks. ... Kansas City's Marcus Allen has run for 100 yards three times in his career at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, his most in any opposition ballpark. ... With a touchdown catch today, Chicago's Curtis Conway can tie the team record of seven straight games set by Ken Kavanaugh in 1947. the only players in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards in their first seven seasons. Sanders ran for 237 yards in last meeting with Buccaneers, including 200 in second half. He averages 129.5 yards per game, 6.0 yards per carry in 10 career games vs. Bucs. ... Ram Isaac Bruce reached 1,000 yards receiving this season faster than anyone since Jerry Rice did it in nine games in 1990. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Pat Swilling
Dan Marino
by CNB