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The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - September 18, 1989 - Page 3
Richard Eisen
Associc
Look what i found!!!
New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks (58) recovers a fumble by the Lions rookie running back Barry Sanders. Sanders made a bid for a
touchdown with seconds to go in the half before he had the ball jarred loose by Banks. He did score a touchdown mid-way through the third
quarter to give the Lions a 14-3 lead, but the Giants rallied to win 24-14.
N.Y. comes back against Detroit for second straight year.
oted Press.
Giants defeat Lions,win by.
10
Associated Press
East Rutherford, N.J - A year ago when the
Detroit Lions made the New York Giants look
bad for a half, Harry Carson woke up the team by
throwing a few chairs in the locker room.
When the Lions did the same thing to the
Giants yesterday, Carson, who has retired, wasn't
around to stir things up, so the job fell to Phil
Simms and he got the team going his way,
completing pass after pass after pass.
Simms hit 12 of 14 second-half attempts to
set up three touchdowns and rally the Giants
from an 11-point deficit to a 24-14 victory over
the Lions, 0-2.
"We didn't make mistakes, like we did in the
first half," said Simms, who completed 20 of 26
for 218 yards and two touchdowns. "In the first
half, the plays were there and we blew it, missed
passes and the fumble at the goalline."
Simms said there was no comparing this
year's victory to the 30-10 win here a year ago.
In that game New York scored 23 second-half
points to come back from a 10-7 deficit.
"Last year they really beat us up," Simms
said. "Today we came out and played hard."
Coach Bill Parcells backed up Simms'
evaluation after seeing the Giants win their first
two games for the first time since 1984.
"I don't think we were anywhere near the
emotional state of a year ago," Parcells said. "We
were ready to play, but we just didn't execute."
Carson, who was in the press box, said
somebody had to say something at halftime and
cornerback Mark Collins seemed to bear that out
talking with Carson, now a television
commentator, after the game.
"There were a few choice words in the
lockerroom at halftime, Parcells and (defensive
coordinator Bill) Belichick," Collins said.
"No chairs were thrown, Harry. You weren't
there. The guys just got an attitude and turned it
up.
Simms seemed to raise his game the most.
He hit Odessa Turner on a 9-yard go-ahead
touchdown pass with 43 seconds left in the third
quarter and found tight end Mark Bavaro on a 24-
yard scoring pass with 9:42 to go.
The Lions and their new Silver Stretch
offense built a 7-3 halftime lead on a 71-yard
scoring pass from Bob Gagliano to Richard
Johnson and they stretched it to 14-3 early with
9:55 left in the third quarter as rookie Barry
Sanders bounced off two tackles to score on a 4-
yard run.
Suddenly, Simms found holes in the Lions'
secondary and the Giants defense, which had been
pushed all over the field in the opening half,
made a stand and forced four turnovers.
"In the first half, they were playing a regular
3-4 and we were getting the ball off quickly and
hitting the seams," said Gagliano, who hit 21 of
31 for 344 yards and three interceptions. "But
they went to a more aggressive five down style
in the second half and put a lot more pressure on
us.
Right after Sanders' score, Simms hit all
four of his passes in a 64-yard, eight-play drive
that Ottis Anderson capped with an 11-yard run.
The Giants defense then pinned Detroit deep
in its territory and New York got the ball back at
its 45. Seven plays later, Turner scored after
catching a square out in the left flat from Simms,
wno kept the drive alive with a 15-yard scramble
on third down.
An interception by Myron Guyton and a
fumble by Gagliano caused by Lawrence Taylor
ended the Lions next two possessions, and
Simms took advantage of the second mistake by
finding a wide open Bavaro for the final score.
"No team is going to be surprised from here
on out," said Anderson, who rushed for 85 yards
on 25 carries. "We just have to keep on going."
The Giants' defense came into the game
ranked last in the NFL in total defense and the
Lions, ranked just 24th in offense, stretched New
York all over the field in the first half, but only
came away with a 7-3 lead as both teams blew
scoring chances.
New York got its points on its opening
drive as Raul Allegre hit a 49-yarder to cap a 12--
play, 39-yard drive.
Detroit, which collected 239 yards in the
half, finally took the lead on the scoring pass
from Gagliano to Johnson on second-and-16.
Johnson, who caught nine passes for 172 yards,
caught it at the Lions 40 and then ran down the
right sideline.
Ironically, Johnson said he ran the wrong
route on the play, but it worked in the Lions'
favor.
New York came right back and drove from
its own 27 to the Lions 1, but Anderson fumbled
on a dive at the goalline.
Detroit looked like it would turn the mistake
into points as Gagliano hit five passes to move
the Lions to a first-and-10 at the Giants 12. But
on first down, linebacker Carl Banks hit Sanders
from behind and recovered the fumble at the 10.
How things will look
in the NFL this year
Well, the baseball pennant stretch is heating up, Pete Rose is in an
OTB (Off Track Betting) outlet somewhere and everybody's paid their
last respects to the late Bart Giammati. Guess it's time for football.
You get that itch every year. After watching baseball, a beautiful
yet peaceful game, for an entire summer, you get the urge for football.
Enough of this graceful pitching stuff. Let's see some people bang
some heads.
So, throw away the glove and put on the pads. It's time for some
NFL predictions. In other words, come January, everybody can take
out this article and realize that, when it comes to predictions, I'm
pretty clueless.
But then again, who's going to save this anyway?
AFC EAST
*Buffalo Bills (12-4 last year). Just as the memories of Joe
Ferguson and Joe Cribbs begin to fade away, the Bills become good
again. Actually, the Bills should win because everybody wants to see a
playoff game in the freezing cold. To hell with warm weather playoffs.
Let's see some breath. Let's see the turf freeze up. Let's see the Bills
win the East.
'Indianapolis Colts (10-6). Now that the Colts are halfway decent,
you've got to wonder: How can the Colts really be good? The sight of
that comical horseshoe on the helmet brings Wilbur to mind, not a
Super Bowl ring. Eric Dickerson, however, does not a team make.
With adequate receivers and quarterbacking, the Colts might gallop to
a wild card game-but no further.
-New England Patriots (9-7). Every year, the Patriots seem good
enough to cause some major trouble. But then headcase/receiver Irving
Fryar decides to do something crazy, Tony Eason injures himself and
the Patriots trot out fan favorite/annoying shrimp Doug Flutie. And
the wheels fall off the wagon.
'New York Jets (7-9). This is it. This is the year Jet fans finally
get rid of Joe Walton. Despite bonehead playcalling and streaky play,
the Jets sign Walton to contract extensions. Does Joe have naked
pictures of the owner or something? The Jets offense can destroy any
team, but the defense lacks, uh, what's the word, uh, talent.
'Miami Dolphins (6-10). Can anything be more pleasurable than
watching the Dolphins futile attempt to win by passing 50 times a
game? When Miami decides to get a diversified game plan, watch out.
Until then, Don Shula can mail it in.
AFC CENTRAL
'Cleveland Browns (11-5). New head coach Bud Carson has
obviously gotten the defense in order with the opening day 51-0 win
over the Steelers. While Cleveland should win the division and maybe
a playoff game, they shouldn't go much further. Remember, fltobedy
from Cleveland wins anything.
'Cincinnati Bengals (10-6). Despite coming off a Super Bowl
appearance, Sam Wyche should blow a few. Actually, don't be
surprised if Wyche uses the same playbook as Joe Walton's. Needless
to say, if the Bengals don't go anywhere this year, there won't be any
Ickey Shuffle. And we'll all be better off.
'Houston Oilers (10-6). The Houston campaign got off on the
wrong foot in Minnesota, but they won't be held down long. Warren
Moon, an excellent two-minute drill quarterback, leads the offense
while the defense hits harder than any other NFL team. These
guystackle.
'Pittsburgh Steelers (4-12). The quarterback's name is Bubby. End
of story.
AFC WEST
'Denver Broncos (10-6). With John Elway, who also brings Wilbur
to mind, there should be no stopping the Broncos in the West. And
since this division is weak, the Broncos seem the logical choice.
'Seattle Seahawks (9-7). The best helmets in the game puts 'em in
second place. Another logical choice, huh?
'Los Angeles Raiders (9-7). Bo comes out of baseball too far into
the season and won't make any huge impact. But, the improved
Raiders see a move to Oakland in the horizon and play their butts off.
Look for the silver and black attack to return to old form.
-San Diego Chargers (6-10). Dan Fouts is gone. Jim McMahon is
still made of paper maich. Who cares anymore?
'Kansas City Chiefs (5-10-1). Gotta put a tie in the predictions
somewhere. I'd lose it if the Chiefs actually tie somebody this year.
NFC EAST
'Philadelphia Eagles (13-3). Awesome. Look out, because here
comes Randall Cunningham - the best quarterback in the game
today. Redneck irritant/coach Buddy Ryan has got the defense all set.
Winners in the East and the Conference. No doubt about it. Maybe.
'New York Giants (11-5). Let's hope they don't do any better.
Nobody wants to hear it.
'Washington Redskins (9-7). Has Doug Williams played a game
since they won the Super Bowl two years ago? The Skins defense
looked as resilient as tapioca pudding against the Giants. Look for this
record to be 7-9.
'Phoenix Cardinals (5-11). When did they move to Phoenix?
-Dallas Cowboys (4-12). Believe me, the Cowboys' demise will be
the sweetest thing to watch the entire NFL season. How could you
root for fatboy/coach Jimmy Johnson and Beverly Hillbilly/owner
Jerry Jones? This will be fun.
NFC CENTRAL
-Minnesota Vikings (12-4). It's time for Anthony Carter, Chris
Doleman and company to finally beat the Bears for the title. Windy
City fans will wince, but the changing of the guard has come. The
Vikings will overcome quarterback Wade Wilson's mistakes with their
smothering defense.
-Chicago Bears (11-5). It's also time for Mike Ditka to get rid of
his thing for quarterback Mike Tomzcak. Let's put Michigan alum
Jim Harbaugh under center already. Running back Neal Anderson
should make things interesting, but as long as Tomzcak is running the
show, good night nurse.
-Green Bay Packers (5-10-1) Well, the Chiefs have to tie
somebody. Final score: 3-3, at Green Bay, December 10. 10,000 fans
die of frostbite, the other 60,000 of boredom.
-Detroit Lions (pathetic). They should call the offense "The run-n-
snooze offense" instead. The fact that it took Lions managent four
months to sign Barry Sanders shows that the team is still cheap and
not committed to getting a winner in Detroit.
NFC WEST
-Los Angeles Rams (12-4). Much like the Vikings, quarterback Jim
Everett has arrived. Who'd have thought that the Dickerson deal
actually helped the Rams? Coach John Robinson deserves a conference
title and he'll finally get one.
-San Francisco 49ers (11-5). Losing the best coach in the league to
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Eagles rally past Redskins, 42-37
WASHINGTON, DC - Randall
Cunningham threw five touchdown
passes as the Eagles rallied for a 42-
37 victory over the Washington
Redskins yesterday.
The winning touchdown came with
52 seconds left on Cunningham's
third touchdown pass of the day to
Keith Jackson, a 4-yarder.
1 The touchdown came after Wes
Hopkins ran 77 yards with a lateral
-from Al Harris, who had recovered a
fumble by Gerald Riggs as
Washington was running out the
clock.
Cunningham completed 34 of 46
passes for 447 yards as the Eagles
capitalized on six Washington
turnovers.
The Redskins led 20-0 early in the
game and 37-28 when Cunningham
hit Mike Quick with a 2-yard scoring
pass with 1:48 left.
Bengals 41, Steelers 10
CINCINNATI, OH -Cincinnati
extended its home-field winning streak
to 11 games, building a 20-3 halftime
lead and handing the Steelers their
second straight rout.
Eddie Brown, who just ended a
Pcontract holdout, ignited the big
27 passes for 328 yards without an
interception.
Atlanta 27, Dallas 21
ATLANTA, GA - Atlanta came
back from an 11-point deficit behind
the passing of Chris Miller, giving
the Cowboys their first 0-2 start since
1963. Miller completed 21 of 29
passes for 255 yards.
Atlanta (1-1) cut into a 21-10
halftime deficit early in the third
quarter on a 38-yard field goal by Paul
McFadden on a drive that featured a
33-yard pass interference penalty on
the Cowboys' Ron Francis.
Miller then hit five passes for 61
yards in a 75-yard drive that ended
with a 1-yard touchdown run by
Kenny Flowers, the first of his career.
Dolphins 24, Patriots 10
FOXBORO, MA - Dan Marino,
who has beaten New England in only
four of 12 meetings, completed three
first-half touchdown passes, leading
Miami (1-1) over the Patriots (1-1).
The Dolphins capitalized on
botched punt plays on the Patriots'
first two possessions.
Jim Jensen caught scoring passes of;
16 and 10 yards, and holdout Mark
Clayton grabbed the other for 15 yards
to Sterling Sharpe with 1:26 left coach Bud Carson's first against the
rallied Green Bay over New Orleans, team for which he was offensive
which led 24-7 at halftime. coordinator for the past four years.
Majkowski, who had 18 straight Cleveland has outscored the
completions at one point, moved the opposition 89-24 in its first two
Packers 80 yards in 55 seconds on the games. The Jets are 0-2.
winning drive. Rams 31,Colts 17
Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert RaS.31GCLtS,17
had first-half touchdown passes of 32 LOS ANGELES, CA -Jimn
yards to Lonzell Hill and one yard to Everett and Henry Ellard combned on
Hobey Brenner as the Saints scored on a record-setting pass-catch show,
their first three possessions. upstaging Eric Dickersons
Chief 24 aides 19homecoming for Indianapolis.
Chiefs 24, Raiders 19 Everett went 27-for-25 for 368
KANSAS CITY, MO - Kansas yards and completed a club record 14
City came back from a 19-17 deficit in a row. Ellard caught 12 for 230
on Christian Okoye's 1- yard TD with yards, third in Rams' history and well
7:51 to play. above his previous career high of 177
The touchdown ended an 87-yard yards as the Rams won their second
drive aided by 50 yards in pass straight.
interference penalties against Raiders Dickerson, in his first game at Los
cornerback Terry McDaniel. Angeles since he was traded from the
Kansas City then sacked Raiders Rams to the Colts in 1987, had 116
quarterback Jay Schroeder on yards and also caught five passes
consecutive plays as the Chiefs held before a crowd of 63,995, about 3,00
on to make Marty Schottenheimer's less than the football record at
home debut as head coach a successful Anaheim Stadium.
one.
Okoye also had an 8-yard scoring Bears 38, Vikings 7
run as Kansas City (1-1)snapped a CHICAGO, IL - Neal Anderson
three-game losing streak against the scored three touchdowns, one on a 24-
Raiders (1-1 .-F--11 -.
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