European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 5, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday january 5,1989 the stars and stripes Page 21 All comes easy to 49ers Rice but the catch nil playoffs by Thomas George Santa Clara Calif. Not everything in pro football has come so fast and in such a flurry for Jerry Rice that at first glance he remains not Only the game s consummate wide receiver but also the Happy Carefree youth he recalls being As he grew up in Crawford miss. That Spunky kid Learned How important it was to build his foundation from the ground up like the houses he helped his father build laying bricks under the scorching summer Sun. In Only four seasons Rice has been named All pro and the National football league s most valuable player. He holds the league record for most touchdown receptions in a season 22. Last june he signed a $5.05 million contract Over five years. This season though nursing injuries he still managed 64 catches 9 for touch Downs. He grabbed his first three playoff scoring receptions in the san Francisco 49ers 34-9 Victory Over the Minnesota Vikings last sunday and appears rested and healthy for the National football conference championship game sunday against the bears at Soldier Field in Chi Cago. Yet one thing is missing for Jerry Rice the monumental play that would forever make him a part 9f nil lore the one title clinching exhilarating game breaker. The catch. You know Rice said before practice tuesday everybody remembers the catch that play Dwight Clark made. Joe Montana to Dwight Clark the 49ers win beat the Dallas cowboys in the pfc championship game in those last secondhand go on to win the super bowl in 1982. You just can t forget something like that you really can t. It is something Dwight will have for the rest of his life. I would really like to make a play like  his eyes Are sparkling. He seems to Bem a trance. Will it happen for him Sun Day the time is Ripe. Although Montana and Clark shared a relationship on and off the Field that is almost impossible to duplicate Montana and Rice Are devel Oping a Knack of their own. Montana was born in new Eagle pa.,starred at notre Dame and in this dec Ade has been the nil s Glamour Quarter Back. Rice left Crawford for Mississippi Val Ley state and arrived in California a stranger in a strange land. I m still adjusting Rice said. And so is his game. In his first couple of years said Roger Craig the 49ers prize tailback he was producing off raw Talent. Jerry ran Joe threw. Now he is cutting his routes quicker More  i think he s learning now said Ron Nie Lott a 49er safety that if he works his Way All the Way through a pattern that Joe is going to find a Way to get the Ball to him. It s like How Joe and Dwight Lark were. That extra move and leap toward the Ball is making All the  Montana does not deny that what hand Clark shared and still share is unique. Late in the regular season when the49ers held a Dwight Clark Day Montana surfaced at halftime to make a presenta Tion and recall their glory years from 1979 to 1987. Jerry and i Are still working toward that kind of relationship and it s getting better All the time Montana said. Dwight was More a Possession Type receiver. He d get in a area and adjust for you. Dwight was always there. He would find the Hole and he d come Back to  what Clark could never match is Rice s sheer Speed and the ability to catch the Long Ball on almost any Down. But in the playoff Victory Over Minne Sota Rice showed just How far he has come by not going so far. He caught touchdown passes of 2, 4and 11 Yards on each reception working his Way free with nifty moves and work High flying Jerry Rice spikes the Ball after his second scoring catch sunday. Up ing his Way Back toward the football. That prompted Carl Lee the Vikings All pro cornerback to say it s frustrating because you Don t expect that from Jerry Rice. If you keep him from beating you deep you feel like you be done you Job. And then that  that is a compliment Rice relishes. He has fun playing the game. He Points to fans in the stands after a touch Down. To no one in particular Rice said he is just trying to get the fans involved. On one score against the Vikings Heran into a cameraman outside of the end zone and hugged him rubbed his headband said Happy new year i feel like i m still a Rookie out therewith no super bowl ring Rice said. I thought i would come Back and have uneven better season than last year. It did t work out but i m still healthy Andi be still got a shot at the super bowl. I know me and Joe can go a Long Way. I have the greatest Confidence in  Craig said the passer and receive would continue to meld. Off the Field they May not be As closes Dwight and Joe but on the Field they blend just like All the personalities do on this team Craig said. On the Field they Are one  that s the most important  bengals fighting overconfidence for title game or to i v a\7 a ,. ,. By Joe Kay Cincinnati a As they prepare for their first acc championship game in seven years the Cincinnati bengals Are making some excuses. Not for themselves but for the Buffalo Bills their opponent. The bengals beat the Bills 35-21 in their meeting in riverfront stadium in the 13th week of the regular season and Are trying to keep themselves from getting too confident for the rematch Here sunday. We Haven t experienced a convincing win around Here yet coach Sam Wyche suggested tuesday. We usually try to keep them in the stands As Long As Pecan. & we have very rarely walked away saying convincing win because the teams Are too Good. Nobody s going to dominate anybody in this league very often for four quarters. It happens but it s rare. And it won happen this  it happened for most of their earlier game. Cincin Nati ran off to a 21-0 first half Lead before the Bills fought to within a touchdown in the fourth Quarter. Rob Riddick s Fumble scuttled a potential tying drive and the bengals ground out the clinching touchdown for the final margin. Cincinnati s offence ranked no. 1 in the nil got the Best of the acc s top ranked defense in the earlier game Rushing for 232 Yards and passing for 223. The 455-Yard total was the bengals second highest of the season. They killed us Buffalo nose tackle Fred Smerlas said. It was like playing under Niagara Falls every thing kept leaking through  As the bengals Are Quick to Point out however the ills had several factors against them in that game. They d just clinched the acc East title with an emotional win and were without starting cornerback Der Rick Burroughs and linebacker Shane Conlan. Linebacker Darryl Talley also got Hurt Early in the game. By comparison the bengals were generally healthy had an excited Home crowd behind them and viewed the game As a Chance to prove themselves one of Thebes teams in the conference. Both teams have 13-4 Overall records going into the title game. One of the bengals first jobs this week was to forget about How easily they moved the Ball in the earlier Victory surprising even themselves. I think we were a Little bit surprised quarterback Boomer Esiason said. But i can Tell you this we Don t expect that at All this time around. There Are no excuses now there Are no reasons for being Down. I m sure both teams will be very High emotionally. I m sure what this game is going to come Down to like most games is who makes the crucial turnover the crucial mistake. That s something we be avoid Edall year Long and hopefully they la turn the Ball  the Bills Are healthier this time around which should make the bengals Job tougher. We feel that Darryl Talley is one of the Best outside linebackers in the league at stopping the run and one of the fortunate things for us in the first game was that he got Hurt Esiason said. We kind of found a Little soft spot. It s not going Tobe that Way  there s one other Job for the bengals this week ignore the Praise coming from Buffalo and observer who rate them solid favourites to go to the super bowl. I Don t know if even if we would have had everybody healthy we could have stopped them Smerlas said. They were on. They were running right left up the Middle. They were passing. They were doing every thing they wanted to do against our defense which we weren t accustomed