European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 19, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday january 19,1993 sports i the stars and stripes b Page 33bills won t be bullied this time analysis by Bob Oates the los Angeles times Miami a after consecutive starts against physically Superior National football conference teams in the two most recent super bowls the Buffalo Bills have developed an pfc Type defense of their own. That is the biggest change in the Bills in the last three years. And although they re favored to lose again in the Pasadena calif., super bowl Jan. 31, the Bills this time will at least be As Tough As the pfc champions. That seemed to be the lesson of the american Quot football conference title game sunday when the Buffalo wild cards stuffed the Miami dolphins 29-10, on a Day when Miami showed up with a passer Dan Marino and nothing else. The thing it takes to produce a great defensive team coaches say is two superstars plus seven or eight others who Plav Ood team defense. And that a what Bufalo has. The superstars Are defensive end Bruce Smith and inside linebacker Cornelius Bennett who combined to limit Marino on sunday. In buffaloes first two super bowl performances Smith and Bennett weren to that effective. Their coaches weren table to decide whether Bennett was an inside or outside linebacker. And last year Smith was injured. This year Smith is Well and he a a Load again. Is he Everl Bennett has become the running game enforcer in the Bills defense As Well As the Leader in a disciplined machine that has two Bright new parts a defensive end Phil Hansen and Strong safety Henry Jones who were at North Dakota state and Illinois respectively two Winters ago when the Bills began their Long super bowl run. Bennett lining up in. The Middle moves easily from Side to Side and hits anything that comes through carrying a football. A we simply run a Miami coach Don Shula said uttering the four words that explained the mismatch in the acc title game. The irony is that the Bills Are finally defensively powerful enough to beat any pfc super bowl team except the one they will Nave to beat. Theoretically big game pressure could get to the Dallas cowboys in Pasadena but it probably wont. The cowboys Are the better team. One trouble with the acc is that it has a lot of wimp teams. The of cd a leading 1990s representatives a except Buffalo a All seem to Lack pfc toughness. The Denver Broncos have been the a their experienced offensive line Miami tackle Chuck Klingbeil quietly suffers through his teams defeat sunday. Most obvious wimp example in the acc but the dolphins Arentt far behind. Against the Bills sunday what Marino needed most was a Field full of body guards but he had none. Ana when he do1 it alone his coach Shula ended his 23rd season at Miami with another defeat. The weather should have aided the Marino air Force. After two weeks of rain it turned sunny in Miami which was nicely cooled by a gentle Southern Breeze moreover the dolphins got a couple of first half turnovers. But when they lineup on offence nothing happened. I they were never in it. Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly a fans might have trouble believing it but he has become his teams weakness. Two years ago in the Bills first super bowl their quarterback was about All they had. Going into their third super bowl they have almost everything else. Although Kelly is a charismatic Leader who operates the Bills fast striking no huddle offence with great skill a and although he came Back with great courage from his recent injury a his passing was As usual hit or miss. And so against a defense As Stout As the one from Dallas the Buffalo question is whether Kelly will be consistent enough to sustain Long drives. In their other departments the Bills showed a balance of strengths against Miami exit made plenty of time for Kelly. A their spark plug halfback Thurman Thomas who has been injured could go hard when he was in there because his substitute Kenneth Davis is Good and faster. A their receivers Andre Reed James Lofton and Don Beebe arc game break cars. A and so is their defense. But Kelly is Only a part time game breaker. The truth is that his backup Frank Reich would have been a better bet to Complete the passes that Kelly threw for interceptions to keep a rout from looking like a rout on the scoreboard. Kelly a first interception was an under throw the second an overthrow. If he had put the Ball in front of Rcd instead of behind him the Bills would have had two Early touchdowns instead of one. And shortly thereafter if Kelly had thrown the Ball far enough to reach a cube they would have had three first half touchdowns instead of one. The Bills cd Csc to use screen passes As their primary weapon in this game and Kelly excels As a screen pass quarterback. He looks deep at just the right time and just Long enough to open up the track for Thomas and buffaloes other screen pass threats. It Isnit easy to believe however that an pfc. Champion As carefully coached As the cowboys can be beaten with screen passes i a. A a a a. In san Francisco on sunday the 49crs�?T pass defense their problem department All season let them Down again and opened the super bowl Gates to Dallas. After a 93-Yard touchdown drive the 49crs were still in it in the fourth Quarter when on the next play the cowboys offensive coordinator Norv Turner made the games turning Point Call a a pass that surprised everyone. Turner was taking advantage of the psychology of the moment. The 49ers, lining up and charging on first Down and behind of Only four Points had geared themselves to Stop running Back Immitt Smith. Turner caught the 49ers off balance with the Call of the season a Short pass quarterback Troy Aikman to wide receiver Alvin Harper who ran 70 Yards through the 49ers to set up the decisive touchdown. Workhorse Thomas with his backup Man by Fred Goodall Miami a Thurman Thomas does no to mind sharing playing time with Kenneth Davis. Let there be no misunderstanding though about who s the offensive catalyst for the Buffalo Bills. Thomas shrugged off an assortment of nagging injuries sunday to Rush for 96 Yards and catch five passes for 70 Yards to help the Bills beat Miami. The fifth year pros Job was made Thomas a Little easier by a revitalized defense that harassed Dan Marino All afternoon. It forced turnovers that set up two Short Field Goat drives in the first half and a 17 Yard March that produced a touchdown and a 20-3 Lead Early in the third Quarter. Davis was a big help too Rushing for 61 Yards on 19 carries and catching four passes for 52 Yards. Most of his production came in the second half after Thomas helped the Bills take control in the opening half. A i can to say enough about Kenneth Davis. He a the Best backup in the nil a Thomas said. A the and Frank Reich accept their roles better than anybody on this team. He could Start for any other nil team. In a glad we be got him and Hope he s Here for the rest of my the Good Field position afforded by the defense enabled Kelly to repeatedly hand off and dump passes to Thomas who scored on a 17-Yard reception in the second Quarter and gained 15 Yards on another screen pass to set up the third of Steve Christie s five Field goals. A we run and they could and they also Hurt us with those screen passes a said Dolphin coach Don Shula whose club gained Only 33 Yards Rushing. Thomas rushed for 1,487 Yards and caught 58 passes for 626 Yards during the regular season but had been slowed during the playoffs a first by a hip Pointer sustained against new Orleans on dec. 20, then by a Groin Strain that forced him into a subordinate role in the Bills 24-3 playoff Victory Over Pittsburgh last week. A this is the first time in be been banged up like this for a Long time a Thomas said before the game adding that he a had to change his running style because of the injuries. A when i break into the secondary now. Its not so much trying to break away from Guys i try to let the defender absorb the blow. Davis who filled in admirably for Thomas against the Steeles with 104 Yards Rushing was a major contributor again sunday. He scored on a 2-Yard run and carried most of the offensive Load with the Bills comfortably ahead. A a in a just trying to do whatever is necessary said Davis Thomas has had some of the Best games of his career against Miami and Davis performance in the Bills first two playoff games enabled him to get the kind of rest he needed to step up against the dolphins. A i thought this would be a Good Opportunity a said Thomas who s averaged 4.8 Yards per Rush and 11.1 Yards per pass reception against the dolphins. A the couple of years when in be played Well against them we seem to win the ame. We ran the Ball and passed it effectively All Day. When you of that there Are so Many things you can do to a
