European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 22 a the stars and stripes saturday december 21,1991today�?Ts pro football Houston receiver Haywood Jeff res needs tour receptions to become fifth player in nil history to get 100 in a season. 11-4 oilers preparing to Battle mystery giants byte Canavan a sports writer East Rutherford . The biggest game of the year for the Houston oilers is going to be played against an unknown opponent. Sure the oilers 11-4 know they Are going to face the new York giants saturday at giants stadium but they really done to have a clue which giants team is going to show up. It might be the defending super bowl champions who at times at looked of this season. Then again it might be the team that seemed to pack it in Early last weekend in a 34-17 loss to the Washington redskins knowing there would be no playoffs this year. Even the giants 7-8 Arentt sure who will show up. A its kind of a mystery Point now a giants linebacker Pepper Johnson said. A i guess it will be Tough to get motivated. I guess when saturday gets Here my thought process will change. There is still work to do. A a right now i want to hurry up and get it Over with a he added. A i wish today was while the game might not mean anything to the giants it has a lot of implications for the oilers. If they win they will Clinch a first round Bye in the playoffs and the Home Field advantage for the second round. Houston could also gain the Bye if it were to lose to new York. However Denver 11-4 would have to lose at san Diego 4-11. The oilers done to want to leave the Bye decision up to the Broncos. A a we have to win this ballgame in order to have the Type of advantage we want in the playoffs a Houston quarterback Warren Moon said. A Etnis is going to be a Tough football game. We Are coming up against a team that has a lot of Pride and wont Roll Over because its Houston 114 at , giants 78 6 30 . On seb to 9 25 on an to Green Bay 3-12 at Minnesota 8-7 immediately following on seb to and an to the last game of the giants coach Ray Handley has spent a lot of time this week talking to the team about Pride and reminding them of years past when new York was the team going into the last game needing to win against somebody with nothing to gain. A a we be been in a lot of these games where its meant nothing to the other team and there is the Chance that a team can be embarrassed if it does no to come to play a Handley said. Several giants veterans said they were embarrassed last weekend. A i Tell you what a giants defensive end Leonard Marshall said. �?o1 Hope we play Well. I Hope our bags Are not packed the engines Are running the cars Are loaded with Gas and they Are pointed in a certain direction. I really Hope Vikings coach ends lame Duck Campaign today by Mike Nadel a sports writer Minneapolis a Jerry Burns lame Duck coaching Parade is finally near an end. Ever since dec. 3, when the Minnesota Vikings head Man said he would retire after the season he has been bumping into Peers sure to join him on the list of flex coaches. On dec. 8, the Vikings beat Tampa Bay in what was expected to be Richard Williamson a third to last game As bucs coach. Last sunday Minnesota topped the rams and los Angeles coach John Robinson announced his retirement three Days later. And saturday the Vikings 8-7 finish the season at the metronome against the Green Bay packers i 3-12 a whose coach Lindy Infante also is reportedly in trouble. A a in a like to win the last game but id Trade it for three or four in the Middle of the season a said Burns 64, whose six year run As head coach followed 18 years As Minnesota a offensive coordinator. A a in a not glad its nearing an end. I wish we had played a Little better and had it bums bums whose nil career began in 1966 As an assistant to Green Bay a Vince Lombardi came under fire the last two seasons because the talented Vikings never reached the super bowl played for the pfc title Only once 1987 and won just one pfc Central Crown 1989. But Many coaches including Infante would take Burns career record 52-39 in non strike games with five non losing seasons. Infante a packers have gone 412,10-6,6-10 and now 3-12. A i would love to be sitting Here the Way our seasons gone playing for a 9-7 record a Infante said. A the league is going to miss Jeny Burns. I think he a got a remarkable record. I Only knew him casually from league meetings and playing a round of Golf with him and i have a great Deal of admiration for Infante said that if the packers fire him he Wilt leave the profession. A a there a quite a Strain in this business a he said. A it s not an easy Way to spend a Day for six months every year. Players on both teams downplayed any lets win one for the coach attitude. A a we be tried to do that the last four five six weeks a said Mike Tomczak who will be making his seventh Start in place of injured Green Bay quarterback Don Majkowski. A but its still a team game. When you Start noting that this is for him you kind of lose your focal Point. We just want to win said Minnesota a Hassan Jones a if we were going to have Tjit attitude we should have had it in the first game of the season. I think it would be great for Burns to go out on a winning note but i think that attitude is too Little too the Vikings were mathematically eliminated from playoff Contention last week but were realistically finished when they lost their last two Home games of november. It was after that second loss to Detroit that Burns called it a changes image for next year East Rutherford . A Ray Handley took Over the new York giants with a reputation of being or. Nice Guy. The image apparently is going to disappear next year. Handley said monday that some players took advantage of his somewhat Laid Back Demeanour and Hurt the team in the process. A obviously they did no to respond the Way i wanted them do a Handley said just one Day after accepting responsibility for the giants dismal season. A that will be part of the evaluation process. How do i get them to respond it can to be a repeat performance by me of the things i have Handley treated giants players differently than Bill Parcells. Where Parcells would yell and play mind games to get a player going Handley tended to use a More scholarly approach. He explained what he wanted to be done and then relied on the players to do it. For the most part it did no to work especially on sunday when new York looked pitiful in a 34-17 loss to the Washington redskins. The loss was the third in a Row for the giants 7-8whose season will end saturday after playing Houston at giants stadium. Handley Wasny to sure whether his Demeanour would change next season or he would opt to threaten players who did no to perform. A if i am incapable of getting the response i want ill get new players to do it my Way a Handley said. A there wont be a question in anyone a mind who a the Boss and who a making the decisions an that you better do it my Handley denied that he was in Dewish this season. A there might have been some Peop who did no to see the decisiveness a he sail a there will be no question in anyone mind As to decisiveness next Handley said that once the seas ends he will evaluate it and decide on course of action. He also expects each player to step Back see what they i wrong and find ways to Correct it
