European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Silver anniversary status seeker Thomas does t doubt his claim to stardom by John f. Bonfatti a sports writer Tampa Fla. A lie has been the a Fly a Leader in combined Rushing and receiving Yards the past two seasons. Yet Thurman Thomas still feels like a relative unknown. �?o1 done to think in be gotten the respect i deserve Quot Thomas said tuesday. A a we be got so Many superstars on this team in a  left m the shadows a a although he scored Only once in the Buffalo Birls a 51-3 rout of the los Angeles raiders in sundays acc championship game Thomas was the springboard for the Victory. I be got the Ball on 10 of buffaloes first 17 plays and 30 of the Bills 63 offensive plays during the game. The damage at games end 25 rushes for 138 Yards and five catches for 61 Yards. The super bowl provides the ultimate platform for any player to establish superstar credentials. Thomas who led the nil with 1,807 All purpose Yards this season. Said he does no to care about that. A i just want to let what happens happen Quot he said a if i have a Good game let it  v if Thomas has a Good game a especially As a rusher a new York will have failed to achieve one of its pregame goals giants linebacker Pepper Johnson said. A i think Thurman Thomas is the Nutte us of their offence a Johnson said. A you never a at least to my knowledge a see buffaloes running game totally stopped. The Guy can run inside or outside. He a going to constantly Hammer in  Thomas ability to run inside and outside impresses other giants defenders. A a he a a Fine inside running Back and he has Good Speed to the Corner a defensive end Leonard Marshall said a Pic finds the crease and once he finds it he takes the Ball in  Thomas Knack for bursting through a Small Hole m the line is appreciated  blockers. A the never makes a bad read Quot tackle will Wolford said. A for an offensive lineman that a great it makes us look  Bills offensive coordinator Ted Marchi Broda says running is Only half of the Thomas  when he got Here we May have underestimated his pass catching skills a Marchibroda said. A they did no to throw the Ball much to him at Oklahoma  playing ahead of Heisman trophy Winner Barry Sanders Thomas caught 87 passes for 618 Yards in four seasons with the cowboys. He has been the Bills Sec Ond leading receiver behind Andre Reed the past two seasons with a total of 107 catches. ,. At Best Thomas said he a the fourth option for Jim Kelly in most of the Bills passing plays. A a in a like an outlet to Jim Quot he said. A most of the patterns Are designed to go to James Lofton Andre Reed or Keith Mckellr. A a a a i think that s Why we be been so successful because every time we Call a play to those Guys and they re covered pm always an outlet and Lam always  a buffaloes Thurman Thomas runs and catches his Way out of a the  in Las vegas apr bookmakers and bettors Are downbeat Over this years super bowl with the War in the persian Golf and other factors sex acc cd to drag betting on the game to the lowest evil in several years. Operators of the states Legal sports books say they expect betting on the game to be Down at least 20 percent from last year when an estimated $50 million was wagered on the contest. A people wont come out this year and bet the super bowl with both fists As they did in the past Quot said Bob Gregorka manager of the Sands hotel sports Book. Bookmakers cite the War As the biggest reason for the expected drop but. Say an unattractive matchup and the loss of an extra week of hype will also Cut into the betting. A a there a so Many things overshadowing it this year As compared to previous years Quot said Lou do Amico who runs the sports Book at Caesars Palace. A a it Sall kind of taken the Lustre from the game.�?�. Also hurting the game is the fact its a contest Between two last coast teams playing in Florida. A this is the least favourable matchup a do Amico said. A it does no to have the excitement  the California teams certainly have. And the super bowl Isnit in California this year so w e get less fans coming through Here that would normally bet a a a giants close their eyes against the naysayers a. A. A a. A by Tom can Avan a a 7 / a. A sports writer Tampa Fla a the new York giants have heard it from the naysayers for the last two months and it has gotten to the Point w Here they be heard enough. A we be been bad mouthed All around the league by other teams by the so called experts on to and a lot of other people Quot tackle John Elliott. Said As the giants arrived in Tampa to prepare for the super bowl against Buffalo a a ,. A new York comes into the game off a stunning last second 15-13 win Over the two time defending Chan Ipi on san Francisco 49ers. Buffalo earned the trip to the no l title game with a 51-3 Romp Over the los Angeles raiders for the most part the giants problems seem to lie in How they win. New York just does t win like the High scoring Bills. They plod along survive the scares and get the Job done which is indicated by their 15-3 record. Elliott said the frequent slaps have helped the giants. A a we be been Able to use that to become a closer unit a he said a it gets you to fight harder and play  a Good motivator Quot. This is a giants team that will jump on anything for motivation. Elliott said they got some this past weekend from 49ers owner Edward Debartolo or. A was soon As we got to Frisco we kept on hearing How he was so sure he was going to the super bowl that he had the hotel Here Florida take out All their furniture so he could bring in his own furniture a Elliott said. A we heard it from quite a few people a Elliott said he was never Able to verify the rumours but he did no to seem to care. A anything you can use what the hell a he said. A a it a the old school of to Schembechler and i know what that Sall about a /. Elliott a attitude is common among the giants. Despite going 13-3 in the regular season and winning the pfc East for a second straight year the team has Felt it has not gotten its share of respect. Too often they said everyone has focused on the negative things like the teams a 3-3 finish in its final six regular season games its conservative offence and. Its recent history of not beating the 4ljers. A last week we beat the hell out of Chicago and the first thing everyone said was not How w cell we played but you re not going to beat san Francisco a cornerback Mark Collins said. A we came to san Francisco where everyone in the Park except my Mother and father is rooting against us and we did a Good  come the Bills and the Odd makers have already said nay to the giants making them 6/2-Point under a efm sure there were a lot of people who Felt we d win the pfc championship a giants punter Sean Landeta said. A but pm sure there were hundreds More that Felt wed lose a so its kind of natural for us to be upset. So yes we re Here again and we feel the same As last week. We feel we can  Page 4 the stars and stripes super bowl special Friday january 25, 1991