European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 4, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday january 4, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 25 Payton Quick elusive for Media Suwanee a. A _ chicag bears running Bock Walter Payton was Quick Sharp and elusive. The National football league s greatest career rasher was i in a game. He was at a news conference As the dears prepared Loja inc new York giants in a National conference divisional playoff sunday asked if his 31-year-old body was going through workouts every Day Paylon quipped i work As Many Days As you do bul not is Many  and How he was asked did he plan to beat the giants fearsome linebacker Law rence Taylor you Hope he Falls Down so you can run around him he said. Also sunday in an american Confer ence playoff the new England patriots Are Ai the los Angeles raiders. Saturday it Cleveland at Miami in the other acc play off clash and Dallas at the los anode srams in the pfc. This weekend s winners meet Jan. 12 inthe conference championships the lost step before the super bowl Jan. 26 in the Loui Siana super dome. Paylon had one liners for players other Han himself. He spread them among his teammates Loo. We re gentle As a Iamb until aroused he said. We be got a Bunch of crazies on this team. A menagerie of loonies. 1 wish could Tell you some of the stories but kids arc  on his Fine but often unnoticed blocking skills it does t Mailer if it s Lawrence Taylor Hugh Green Mike Ditka or bugs Bunny you Vegi to do the  on sunday s playoff game. Payton s first at Home in his 11-year nil career it la probably boil Down to who gels the Blac Coffee fastest. We be got to get up Al 6  raiders May not activate vet Plunkett Al Segundo Calif. A i appears that the los Angeles raid ers won t activate Veteran Quarter Back Jim Plunkett for the upcoming nil  the Way we re leaning right  coach Tom Flores of tiie raid ers said when asked whether the raid in would continue in the playoffs a they finished the regular season. If no changes Are made that would mean Veteran wide receiver Jim Smith would also be on the injured Reserve Lis when the raiders face the new eng land patriots  has been sidelined since in Fleming a dislocated shoulder in the fourth Quarter of the raiders 34-10 loss to the 49ers on sept. 22,the loss to san Francisco gave the raiders a 1-2 record. They finished12-1, meaning they were 11-2 since Marc Wilson took Over As the Start ing quarterback. Also if no changes Are made that would mean Stacey Toran would continue As the raiders starting Strong safety and Mike Davis would serve in a Reserve , the starter at Strong safety for several years suffered a Bee in jury last month and was placed on the injured Reserve list. He was activated before the raiders beat tie los Angeles rams in m in enl � final regular Mason game on dec 23, but was used  Mckinney started the game against the rams it free safety bul  Vann Schroy. Who was Kilt died because of a Hamsun no in jury will Start against the patriots. A photo Walter Patton. Just gels belter on iconoclastic quarterback Jim mama Tion making his first playoff appearance after missing last year s game with injuries he presents a lot More problems for the defense. They can t figure him out. Pecan t even figure him  and when asked a personal question you re looking for dirt Aren t you but then the Man known As ".sweetness," who is As adept at sidestepping Persona questions As he Sal eluding tacklers turned  still think i have a Tang Way logo said Payton who has rushed for u.e6dyards in his nil career including 1.551 in 1985.Payton has expressed some exasperation in recent years because while he is the league s leading career rusher he rarely has been acknowledged As the Best runner of any Given period being overshadowed by players like George Rogers Earl Campbell Eric Dickerson and Billy Sims. I feel i be been overlooked he said Why is the $65 million  criticized in the past for sometime being difficult with the Media Payton silenced reporters by saying he wanted tomake a statement. What 1 want to say is that i be enjoyed he game of football. I Don t like talking about myself and dealing with you people has been a Challenge for me. It s helped me Deal with people outside of the game Al times i Haven t been in the Best of moods. I want to thank you people for Pul Ling in with me and doing what had to be done,1 he  Holder of eight n Al records has no problem earning the Awe of  s a Guy who is 31 years old but slopped aging m 21," mall Surcy another Chicago running Back said. I can t think of a belter person to be around linebacker Otis Wilson said. I be Only known him five years but Yearby year he s been getting belter linebacker Mike sing Clary said. He likes to  Walter s a Garcal Guy a grinning Wil Liam the refrigerator Perry Saij As pay Ion laughed. If you get to know Waller you know the whole  patriots who reached the second round of inc playoffs by a caring the Newyork jets 26-14 in the acc wild card game arc Honing to avenge a 35-20 loss Tilic raiders during inc season. The big thing is they re not hurting themselves raiders coach Tom Flores said of i he patriots. They hurl themselves when we played them earlier when Lester Hayes and Sam Seale resumed interceptions for los Angeles  and Lyle Alia recovered a Fumble for another. Flares said he believes Bath teams have improved a great Deal since that sept. 29 game. A lot of things have happened since that Lime. It seems so Long ago when we leaved he said. They re a very Good foot All learn playing with a lot of Confidence now. They seem 10 believe in  Mark Clarion one of Miami s super receivers says he is impressed by Cleveland s defensive Hiick Field but in t worried about it. The Browns Young defensive backs known As the dogs because they started Barking like docs both to psyche them selves up and to make the opposition won Der a bout their  and the rams have met seven times in the postseason with inc cowboys winning the Only two previous playoff games at los Angeles. In the teams mos recent meeting that counted last year in Anaheim stadium Dallas won 10-1j asgard hog Boom passed for 343 Yards. We know the rams Well and scrimmage them during training Cump Tom Landry the cowboys coach said. The  los Angeles is easier for us Ilian any where  thwarted Miami s title bid super Effort by vols defense new Orleans a what was described As an Ordinary Tennessee defensive unit four months ago reached extraordinary Heights in the sugar Dowl bottling up one of the nation s most productive offensive machines and stifling Miami s dreams of a National College football championship in a 35-7 trouncing. Miami went into wednesday night s game 0-1 and ranked second in the nation averaging Over 461 Yards and 36 Points a game. But the hurricanes managed Only 269 total Yards and one touchdown against the blitzing Gam bling swarming Tennessee defense. I did l think they d be that  said Tennessee defensive coordinator Ken Dona Hue. I knew hey could be a Heck of a lot better than they were Back then because we weren t very Good Al  he said there were a half dozen or Sone wrinkles that Tennessee used wednes Day night the Roost significant having to do with re positioning his linebackers and sending them crashing into the Miami Backfield o disconcert quarterback Vinny Testaverde and disrupt the nation s third Best passing offence. We did t change All that much but you can change a Little More for a bowl game because you have a lot of  Donahue said. And you have to change some because the other team has a lot of Lime to study what you  they did was sack Testaverde n in limes for 84 Yards in losses and intercept three of his pisses. They kept Miami m miserable Field position most of inc  is Miami possess Bris nine were inside the hurricanes 20. Miami s ions touchdown came four min uses into the game Oit an 18-Yard pass from Testaverde to flanker Mike Irvin after a 25-Yard run off a fake punt. Dale Jones Mark la Ovanic the Tennessee scoring flood began a about the time the Louisiana super dome Loudspeaker system announced that no. 3oklahoma had gone ahead of lop ranked Penn state in the Orange bowl lifting Miami s Hopes for the National title. Tennessee scores came on a 6-Yard Pas from Daryl Dickey to Jeff Smith and a Fumble recovery in the end am by Alt America wide receiver Tim my acc both in the second Quarter touchdown runs of i Yard by Sam Henderson and 60 Yards by Jeff pour of in the third Quarter and 4 6-Yard run by Charle Wilson in the fourth Quarter. Powell s scoring sprint was the longest by Tennessee running Luck this season and the longest against the Miami defense this  completed 15 of 25 passes for 131 Yards bad just one interception and was named the game s Musl valuable player. He s one of the Moil of Ondulic football stories of All time said Tennessee coach Johnny  waited patiently for five year As a backup before gelling his Chance when Star quarterback Tony Robinson went Down with a season ending knee injury in the fifth game of the season. And the team loves to play for him he s so unselfish majors said. With Dickey a i quarterback Tennessee wrapped up its first Southeastern Confer ence championship since 1969 and Roundup with a 9-1-2 record Tennessee linebacker Dale Jones who had seven tackles and two sacks in the game said he believed Miami May have been a bit Over confident i think they Felt that they could just com out and walk away with it and we just weren t going to let them do that he  Mark Hovanic who had six tackles and two sacks for the volunteers said he had a bit of an emotional Edge going in because of something Miami Star Alonz Highsmith was quoted As saying. He said something about the Only vols vowels i know anything about Are a. E. I. Of u and sometimes a i guess he knows about some other vols now Hovanic  he was trying to be humorous but he was  Miami coach Jimmy Johnson said it Wasiqi Artuto watch the dashing of his Leam a dream of winning the National  nights you came out and it is just not meant to be. Tennessee certainly had a Loito do with thai but we did l do much to change matters he  said it was l so much what Tennessee s defense was doing As what them Miami offence was Noi doing. Tennessee did a very Good Job  but it was not anything that we Hud not prepared for he said. Their Gume plan was sound bul our execution was very poor and hat is a combination that makes ii difficult 10come of i with any Chance to  the hurricanes Hurt themselves with 11penalties for a sugar bowl record us Yards and were knocked Oul of scoring position four times by penalties sacks and interceptions