16—The Daily Collegian Friday, Jan. 7, 1983
Steelers to activate running game
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH The Pittsburgh Steelers again
plan to rely on an oft-neglected part of their
offense, the running game, in Sunday's playoff
game against the San Diego Chargers.
"We're going to run the ball, and we're going to
be effective," said Terry Bradshaw. "And we're
going to throw the ball."
Thp Steelers, 6-3, have qualified for the National
Football League playoffs for the ninth time in 11
years. They used the run only infrequently after
returning from the players' strike, but Coach
Chuck Noll resurrected the running game in recent
victories over New England and Cleveland.
Franco Harris, the third-leading rusher in NFL
history, has had consecutive 100-yard games, in
cluding 120 yards and a touchdown in a 37-21 victory
last Sunday over Cleveland.
Walter Abercrombie, the Steelers' top draft pick
from Baylor who was bothered by a knee injury,
had his best day as a pro against the Browns,
running 10 times for 73 yards and a touchdown.
"Walter looked good," Noll said. "He turned
some plays into big gains things that looked like
losses."
Redskins don't plan to take Lions lightly
By BRUCE LOWITT
AP Sports Writer
The last time the Detroit Lions beat
the Redskins on the road, the game
was in Boston. Yes, the Boston
Redskins. In 1935. In nine games
since the 'Skins moved to Washing
ton, the Lions have come up on the
short end every time.
But they are not being taken lightly
by Washington Coach Joe Gibbs as
the two teams prepare for their play
off game tomorrow in the nation's
The blend of the running game and Bradshaw's
passing he threw for 269 yards against the
Browns reminds several players of the offensive
scheme the Steelers used in winning four Super
Bowls.
"We threw very sparingly and I think that was
the key to winning," Bradshaw said. "Evidently,
we've found our place by establishing the run and
using the pass off that. That seems to be the best
utilization of talent. It wears down the opposing
team.
"It kind of reminds me of the 19705. We've
playing ball control, passing when we have to.
We're mixing it up.
"Our offensive line is blowing people out. We're
getting three, four, five, sometimes eight yards at a
pop. They're making things happen."
After being shut out twice in a month in losses to
Seattle and Buffalo, the Steelers scored 74 points in
victories over New England (37-14) and the Browns
(37-21).
"We've been concentrating more on running, a
more balanced offense," said tackle Ray Pinney.
"I think that's taken some pressure off Terry. The
defense can't load up on the pass. They have to play
it straight."
Guard Ron Wolfley said the last two weeks of the
capital
"All I know about Detroit is that
they came in here last year, gained a
ton of yards, lost by two points and
had the ball on the.2-yard line when
time expired," Gibbs said.
The 'Skins won that game 33-31 on
Mark Moseley's 44-yard field goal
with 43 seconds to play after Eddie
Murray put the Lions on top 31-30 with
a 50-yard field goal with 2:58 remain
ing.
"If this game comes down to a field
goal, it should be some finish," Gibbs
offered. "If it wasn't for the year
Mark has been having, everyone
would be talking about Ed Murray."
Like Moseley, Murray missed only
one field gohl during the 1982 season.
Unlike Moseley, Murray hit all of his
extra points.
In the other National Conference
playoff opener tomorrow it's St. Louis
at Green Bay. Sunday in the NFC it's
Atlanta at Minnesota and Tampa Bay
at Dallas. In the two American Con
ference playoff games tomorrow,
Cleveland visits the Los Angeles
regular season were "fun" for the Steelers' line.
"This is what's fun," he said. "It's the only type
thing for an offensive lineman. You don't score a
touchdown, you get satisfaction from body rolling
or knocking him down. When you get Franco
yardage and protect Brad (Bradshaw), that's what
makes the game fun. We're winning and that's the
bottom line."
But the Chargers, 6-3, have also been winning.
They had won five in a row until a 41-34 loss to the
Los Angeles Raiders last Sunday in San Diego cost
them the home field advantage in the first round of
the playoffs.
"We wanted to play (San Diego) at home," said
Jack Lambert. "It'd be silly to say the cold weather
doesn't bother them."
Although Sunday won't be an Artic-type day at
Three Rivers Stadium, the National Weather Serv
ice is calling for cloudy skies, a chance of flurries
and temperatures in the 30s.
The Steelers have played nine playoff games at
Three Rivers, losing only once, the 1972 American
Conference title game to the Miami Dolphins.
The Steelers last played at home in the playoffs in
1979, beating Miami (34-7) and Houston (27-13)
before beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 in the
Super Bowl.
Raiders and New England is at Mi
ami. On Sunday in the AFC it's the
New York Jets at Cincinnati and. San
Diego at Pittsburgh.
"The Lions may not be a great
team," said Richie Petitbon, Wash
ington's defensive coordinator. "But
then, they're not playing a great team
either.
"They are very talented, have a
great running back in Billy Sims, and
their outside receivers can catch the
ball.
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Fouts voted as top
player of the year
NEW YORK (AP) Quar
terback Dan Fouts of the San
Diego Chargers, who continued his
assault on the National Football
League record book, was named
Offensive Player of the Year yes
terday by The Associated Press.
Fouts was the runaway winner
in•balloting by a nationwide panel
of 84 sports writers and broadcast
ers, receiving 43 votes ' . 'Marcus
Allen, the Los Angeles Raiders'
running back and unanimous
choice as Offensive Rookie of the
Year, was second to Fouts with 18
votes.
Mark Moseley, the record-set
ting place-kicker for the Washing
ton Redskins and a narrow winner
over Fouts in the . balloting for
Most Valuable Player, was third
in the Offensive Player voting with
11.
Others receiving more than one
vote were San Diego wide receiver
Wes Chandler and Dallas quar
terback Danny White with three
apiece and Chargers tight end
Kellen Winslow with two.
Fouts, the pilot for Air Coryell
the awesome aerial game of Coach
Don Coryell in his 10th NFL
season, passed for 2,889 yards in
nine games to extend his own
record to four seasons leading the
league in yardage.
In five of those games he threw
for at least 300 yards and now has
30 games of 300 or more yards.
Going into the 1982 season, Johnny
Unitas had held the record with 26
such games.
"There's no question he's the
catalyst," said Coryell. "He's the
sparkplug of this team. He's per
fect for our offense. He's so intelli
gent, he sees the field and he's
very tough, both mentally and
physically."
Fouts also became the first
passer in NFL history to throw for
400 or more yards in consecutive
games, teaming with last year's
two Super Bowl quarterbacks
San Francisco's Joe Montana and
Cincinnati's Ken Anderson in a
pair of extraordinary games
which toppled still more NFL re
cords.
On Dec. 11, in a 41-37 victory in
San Francisco, Fouts completed
33 of 48 passes for a career-high
450 yards and five touchdowns. He
and Montana (and, biiefly, 49ers
reserve quarterback Guy Benja
min) teamed for a record 65 com
pletions.
And on Dec. 20, in a 50-34 shel
ling of Anderson and the Bengals
in San Diego, Fouts completed 33
of 48 passes for 435 yards and a
TD, the teams combined for 66
completions to break the 9-day-old
record and also combined for 851
yards passing, surpassing the
mark of 834 by Philadelphia and
St. Louis in 1962. The two teams'
total offense for the game, 1,102
yards, fell 31 yards short of yet
another record.
Eastern
Highly-touted and often overrated
Eastern football took it on the chin
more often than not during the re
cent festive, let'i-everyone-have-a
bowl-game holiday period.
The Sugar Bowl is slowly becom
ing the Super Bowl of college foot
ball, and deservedly so. Because of
its excellent facilities and gala at
mosphere, it was easy for football
fans and pollsters around the nation
to see who exactly was the best
college football team this year.
It was clear to me, and many
others, that Georgia's light sched
ule which included the likes of Mis
sissippi and Memphis State, and its,
let's face it, one-man attack, were
just a couple of the obvious down
falls for the Bulldogs. While Penn
State's theory of play-the-best-to
become-the-best ultimately proved
that cream does rise to the top.
But just because Penn State is an
Eastern football team people should
not be led to believe that Eastern
football is this holier than thou,
mightier than all concept.
While. Penn State is, for the first
time, the best in the nation, it has
always been the Beast of the East
the class act of the region plain
and simple. But one great program
does not a whole bunch make. -
11111
The East's other powerhouse,
archrival Pittsburgh, found out
New ,Year's Day at the Cotton Bowl
in Dallas, Texas ,that they do play
football down south and play it
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football
rather well. The Panthers stepped
out of their eastern backyard and
gave up a mediocre schedule to take
on No. 2 Southern Methodist.
The undefeated Mustangs, who
handed Pitt a 7-3 loss in the most
boring bowl of all, have been heard
crying everything but, "We wuz
robbed." SMU Coach Bobby Collins
found out that this time the Presi
dent of the United States could not
steal one from the Nittany Lions
and make an undeserving Texas
team national champions.
SMU could have controled its own
destiny on Jan. 1 if it had proven
earlier in the season to the nation's
sports writers and sportscasters
that it was a legitimate national
football power. But instead the Mus
tangs opted for a 17-17 tie against
'Arkansas and conveyed to me, and
apparently others, that it was more
concerned with not losing than win
ning, and was not ready to handle
the pressures of being a bonafide
Division I-A power.
In the other major bowl games,
the Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl and
the Fiesta Bowl, Eastern football
teams failed to make an appear
ance. Though in itself this does
illustrate one important point, one
must realize that only two open
invitations were available, as those
three bowls have become entrapped
in the automatic conference bids.
By not succumbing to What seems
illogical conference bowl berths, the
Sugar Bowl continues to dominate
the rest.
"gb
Penn State foes Maryland, Boston
College and West Virginia did little
this holiday season to change the
minds of Eastern football skeptics
as all three dropped bowl decisions.
Maryland, who fared the best
among minor bowl losers from the
East, lost a 21-20, last-second deci
sion to the seventh-ranked Washing
ton Huskies in the inaugural Aloha
can't
Bowl. in Hawaii
Boston College, yet another team
troubled by southern football, was
unable to control the Auburn offense
as the Eagles lost 33-26 in the high
scoring Tangerine Bowl in Orlando,
Fla. Meanwhile in Jacksonville,
Fla. at the Gator Bowl, the WVU
Mountaineers were embarrassed by
the Florida State Seminoles, 31-12.
The only other eastern winner (if
you want to consider them eastern,
which most don't), the North Caroli
na Tar Heels, did manage to notch a
26-10 victory over the Texas Long
horns in the Sun Bowl in El Paso,
Texas.
Taking a quick look at the final
Associated Press' rankings, one ob
viously finds Penn State on top but
then the eyes begin to strain a bit to
find another Top Ten team from the
East. Not until one comes to No. 10
Pitt, does the East appear again.
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Ohio State, more accurately de
scribed as a Mideastern team, gives
the East a boost at No. 12, but
eastern teams are left out until
North Carolina, West Virginia and
Maryland arrive at 18, 19 and 20.
Even then the trio's records add up
to 25-10, not exactly what you'd call
dominating.
All of this may inevitably be say
ing that maybe this year was a
rather weak year for college foot
ball. But one thing is for sure, the
best team in the country bar none
began slowly and peaked at the
most opportune moments, while
others in the East began the season
playing well, perhaps over their
heads, then settled down to play
real Eastern football.
Bobby Dale Morgan is an Ilth
term journalism major and a sports
writer for The Daily Collegian.
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The Daily Collegian Friday, Jan. 7, 1983
Education
is an end in itself.
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