European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 09, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse Severe Walters damage by Ray ratio san Francisco examiner Ricky Watters never thought hews fully understood in Sanfrancisco. The bad break for him though came when he got to Philadelphia and found out he was. By now Captain courageous performance sunday afternoon both in word and deed has been seen by every interested party in the universe and enjoyed Only by a Small band of weirdos in Western Florida. Seventeen carries 37 Yards and two fumbles one killing a potential game tying drive in the team s 21-6 loss to Tampa Bay. All from the second highest paid Eagle in the building. Complaining that the outraged Pohuly fans were booing too loudly for him to hear the plays As though they should be Happy their team stayed so close to Tampa Bay in the Home opener. Not trying his Best to catch two passes thrown his Way late in the game blaming quarterback Randall Cunningham for throwing the balls poorly and explaining almost defiantly that no he did t see the need to give his All on every Ball thrown his Way and _ what exactly was your problem with that tuesday he found out what the _ problem was and did what nobody in the Bay area Ever thought he would do. He apologized to his employers his supervisors his teammates his fans. Or fan. Indeed to every Carbon based life form that has Ever passed through Philadelphia. As though in Philadelphia where Organ donors clo not get the Benefit of the doubt an apology would matter at this Point. Still Watters tried. Excerpts follow right Here,.i jus want to say to Niy teammates to. The coaches to the fans everybody that i am sorry. I am very sorry because i was put of line and out of character. That s not me i know what everybody might be. Thinking that my agent wrote something for me to say or Eagle coach Ray Rhodes told me to say something. But these Are just a few notes i jogged sic Down myself to make sure i Don t miss anything.". was t anyone else. It was my timing that was off. 1 Felt like the Ball was too High that it was out there and i had to really reach for it and it was closer to the other Guy than it was to Rne. But after seeing it Over and Over i should have made the catch. I be made catches like that before.". I did something that no athlete should do. I committed the Cardinal sin. I fad my own press clippings. 1 read them i liked what i was seeing i Felt Good about myself and in fact i started to feel a Little bit too Good about that was t me playing it was Ricky Watters fumbles while hit by Tony Stargell in the bugs win Over Philly. Somebody i was pretending to be or trying to i m going to Tell you right now from this Point on i m going to walk r the walk and i m going to do it in a Good manner like i m supposed to. I m going to work hard within the framework of the Philadelphia fans have a right to be upset with me. My teammates have a right to be upset with me. They really Eagle fans will buy that last one. The rest of it though one suspects will land like coins in a bog sink without a Trace. In to Watters his is a history of leading with his Yap or trying to talk the talk before fully walking the walk his gifts As a running Back do not need reiteration and he did not leave san Francisco with a reputation for quitting on plays. Of he could Bitch up a Hurricane and throw a great sideline fit and he always found he was suffering from attention deficit syndrome he never got enough attention. And in a lot of towns his abject self debasement this week might have Watters that was t me gotten a few people off his Back including in san Francisco the City of love. It May just be that Many of us have diminished memory capacity from those Jerry Garcia retrospectives. Still it is there. But in Philadelphia where vindictive Ness has a season ticket where Cal Ripken could be roasted As just one More .262 hitter no Chance. As of this moment Ricky Watters is buried so deep that he could legally be reclassified fossilized remains. These Are the people who booed Mike Schmidt for years and that was because he was merely great instead of infallible and because he whined about not being loved by the fans with sufficient ardor. And he never to anyone s recollection overtly passed on a ground Ball hit right to him or turned Down a hanging curve Ball because he was afraid he might pull a toe. What they saw sunday was singularly self entered disinterest from a football player being coached by a Man who has made a Point of assembling a Tough and fearless team. And in this crusty As an old birkenstock town once was enough. The second one took it beyond the Point of reasonable doubt t indeed Only recent relocates. Anda. Tourists would have saved their outrage for the pos game sentence that will become his epitaph in Philadelphia 1 err not going to trip up there and get knocked out. For whom for what no you Vatters fans aut there Are simply going to have to Hope he can find his Bliss in another town where a first impression is not killing where forgiveness is the Rule rather Chan an impossibility where a Man can atone for his past without being crucified. Maybe in other words he can become Amish. Lancaster county is Only about 90 minutes South of the vet on route 30 As the horse drawn buggy Flics and the Best part is he Wilf never hear this i this is Seth from Dala Cynwyd and i want to talk about that barn raising and quilting never looked so Good. Scripps Howard news service Pope Hopes without Deion by Frank Blackman san Francisco examiner while the civil Rcd world breathlessly awaits Deio Sanders decision about which football team he will Honor with his presence this season Marquez Pope tries to ignore the hoopla. It s not hard Pope said smiling after practice in Santa Clara Calif. Ask the other Corners in Dallas Miami and Denver. It s a Challenge. It s enjoyable. You make it hard on yourself if you want it to be even if Sanders announces that he will return to the san Francisco -i9ers at the end of the baseball season Pope must get ready to play fight cornerback sunday in their Home opener _ against Atlanta Marc Uez ppe but it can t be easy to know that your Job depends less on what you do than on what someone else decides Pope could. Go out and play like former 49er All pro Jimmy Johnson against the Falcons and it would t make a difference. If Sanders signs with the liners the Job is his As soon As he shows up who knows that Pope said., j where arc you getting that from " you re making reference to something that s going to happen.". Sanders is assuming he will Start wherever he goes. He dumped on the cornerback in All four cities when he said sunday " with the junk i saw today the Price is definitely going he said that Pope said. I did t read the papers. A that s just until Sanders walks into the 49er locker room and says i Pope has decided prime time does t exist. He is functioning As if this is his Job and will remain his until further notice. has no doubt he has the ability to do it. ". I can be. A great cornerback just Ike iwas a great safety he said. Unless the Falcons coaching staff loses the game film from the 49ers 24 22 opening win Over the saints or has brain lock quarterback Jeff George will be instructed to seek out no. 23 s location on the Field and throw the football in that direction. It s going to happen anyway Pope said. I Don t care who it is. A lot of people get picked Scripps Howard news service. Page 8 beyond the game. September 9-15, 1995
