UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, September 11, 1996
5B
Packers turn over a new leaf with takeaways
White emphasizes defense, is met with quick improvements
The Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Reggie White, ashamed by Green Bay's inability to create turnovers last season, vowed it wouldn't take 10 weeks to get 10 takeaways this year.
He was right. It took the Packers' revamped defense all of six quarters.
"That's all we've been talking about this year — getting turnovers," said White, a defensive end whose unit produced three interceptions and a fumble recovery in the Packers' 39-13 thrashing of Philadelphia Monday night.
The All-Pro defensive end was as perplexed as anybody last season when the powerful Packers produced just 16 takeaways — the lowest number ever recorded by any team since the NFL adopted a 16-game regular season in 1978.
This year, they already have gotten three fumble recoveries, as many as they had all last season, when MVP quarterback Brett Favre made amends by throwing an NFC-record 38 touchdowns.
The defense was haunted all off-season by the thought of just how good the Packers could have been with a little more production.
"We were one game away from the
Super Bowl last season, and we let the offense down," said safety LeBoy Butler.
"We didn't hold up our part of the deal."
"Last year these guys were putting points on the board without us putting them in a position to score." White said. "We knew coming into this year, if we could put them in a position to score, they could put a lot of points on the board. The last two games, that's exactly what happened."
The Packers offense has turned six of the 10 turnovers into 30 points.
Coach Mike Holgmren and defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur, who took much of the blame for the unit's lack of production last year, can joke about it now.
"I told Fritz I'm glad he's finally coaching turnovers this year. He didn't do that too well last year." Holmgren said. "But actually, we're not doing anything different, except maybe just talking more about turnovers."
And they've left the rest of the league muttering over their newfound thievery, which included six takeaways in a 34-3 shellacking of Tama Bay.
The addition of free agent tackle Santana Dotson and the emergence of fourth-year tackle Gilbert Brown, teamed with White and Sean Jones, makes the Packers' front four the
best in the business.
Shurmur said the Packers are much quicker with the acquisitions of Dotson and safety Eugene Robinson, along with the new linebacker corps of George Koonce, Wayne Simmons and second-year sensation Brian Williams.
"This defense is by far the fastest defense I've ever been on," Butler said. "I have to go back that far to find athletes that are running to the ball like that. This is unbelievable."
Part of the reason the Packers have been so dominant defensively is that Butler is lining up closer to the line of scrimmage, like he did in his Pro Bowl season of 1993.
"Plus, LeRoy can see better," White said.
Butler went to eye doctor after
dropping an interception in an exhibition game last month and was fitted with contact lenses, as was second-year cornerback Craig Newsome.
Both say it has made a dramatic difference, and both proved that in the opener, when Butler picked off two passes and Newsome caused two interceptions with jarring hits on Alvin Harper.
Against the Eagles, cornerback Doug Evans stripped Chris T. Jones for an interception on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage, and the rout was on.
"I can't conceive of a better way to start the game than with a takeaway," Shurmur said.
And what better way to start a season than with 10 of them?
Dallas says defense is better
The Associated Press
IRVING, Texas — While it's not exactly the dominant Doomsday Defense of the 1970s, the Dallas Cowboys appear to have a better defense than last year's Super Bowl champions.
"I've been telling everyone we have a better defense than last year," wide receiver-cornback Deion Sanders said. "Because of all the acquisitions we've made, we're definitely better."
The early September statistics give credence to Sanders' observation. The Cowboys currently own the third-best defense in the NFL. Last year, despite a Super Bowl win, the Cowboys had only the 16th-best defense.
Some of the credit goes to coordinator Dave Campo, who saw linebackers Dixon Edwards and Robert Jones, tackle Russell Maryland and cornerback Larry Brown exit through the free-agent door.
Campo has taken such newcomers as linebackers Fred Strickland and Broderick Thomas and lineman Tony Casillas and worked them into a cohesive unit that plays a more aggressive game than the 1995 Cowboys.
Dallas coach Barry Switzer said, "We have a much more aggressive scheme this year. We are
more physical and thicker inside. And we're not as predictable as we have been in the past. We're not missing tackles and have very few mental mistakes. With Kevin Smith back and teaming with Deion on the corners, we're getting a lot of coverage sacks."
Smith, who missed last season after getting hurt in the opener, has rebounded strongly with two interceptions in two games.
"Having Smith back has really helped us," Switzer said. "It has been a big key to the way we are playing on defense."
Casillas has given the Cowboys depth in the solid first-team defensive line featuring Tony Tolbert and Charles Haley at the ends, and Chad Hennings and Leon Lett at tackle.
Herrings Strickland, who came from Green Bay to sign with the Cowboys, replaced Jones in the middle.
"I love this defense," Strickland said.
"The front four friend my job easy. They don't allow the ball carrier to get to the linebackers or secondary with a head of steam."
Dallas has allowed an average of 111 rushing yards in two games against Chicago and the New York Giants.
Safety Brock Marton said, "The addition of Fred and Broderick has made our defense much better. I think we are playing better than last year."
So does quarterback Troy Aikman, who goes up against the Cowboys defense in practice.
"They have just been outstanding," Alkman said. "I feel like they are better than they were a year ago. Having Kevin Smith back is the big thing. Having him back helps our coverage. He looks like he was never injured."
The Cowboys still have 14 games to go, and nobody has suggested they are even close to reaching Doomsday Jr. status.
But this could be a year the Cowboys can do with less offense because they're getting more defense.
Johnson cautions Dolphin fans
Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts should be a critical measuring stick.
The Associated Press
DAVIE, Fla. — When Jimmy Johnson was asked to compare his young Miami Dolphins with the two championship teams he coached in Dallas, he laughed.
Miami fans, however, already are wondering if the new coach's three-year plan to reach the Super Bowl was too conservative. The Dolphins outscored New England and Arizona by a combined 62-20 in their two victories.
Johnson said fans were going to be thinking with their hearts and hoping the Dolphins looked good, because they were hoping to be part of the best.
"I'm not going to kill their hopes, but we know what's real," Johnson said Monday. "What's real is that we've got to get a lot better to get to the level where we want to be. How long is that going to take? I don't know."
Longer, at least, than Saturday night's WBA heavyweight championship fight. The night before the Dolphins pummeled Arizona 38-10. Johnson
took the team to a dog track in Phoenix to watch a telecast of Mike Tyson's 109-second victory against Bruce Seldon.
The fight served Johnson's purpose of keeping the team together and away from family distractions. That's the key to winning on the road, he told his players.
"This is why I keep things so regimented on the road," Johnson said. "Everything we do is as a team to stay focused.
"I knew the fight would be of interest to the players and to myself."
Johnson knows the schedule will get tougher for his team, but it won't happen this week. Miami is a 12-point favorite Sunday against the winless New York
Jets, who have been outscored 52-13 in their first two games.
"It's going to be our job this week to keep our guys focused on the Jets," Johnson said. "We have so many new players that I'm sure they're going to be listening to the media and reading the papers and watching television, and all of it is going to be talking about how the Jets have played the past couple of weeks.
"Our guys don't know the tradition of the Jets and how this is their big game of the year. Traditionally, the Jets have always played the Dolphins extremely well."
The Dolphins had Monday and today off, a reward for their victory at Arizona. But Johnson will remind his players soon enough of last year's 17-16 loss in New York. The Jets have won six of the last 10 games against Miami
"In this particular case, our guys shouldn't have short memories," Johnson said.
Surviving in college is tough enough, right? That's why we've designed a package to make things easier. Choose AT&T and look at all you can get:
AT&T True Reach $ Savings
Luckily, you can still sign up for all this great stuff from AT&T.
Save 25% on every kind of U.S. call on your AT&T phone bill when you spend just $25 a month.1
AT&T True Rewards®
Get savings at Sam Goody/Musicland, TCBY "Treats" and BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO with the Member Benefit Card.
AT&T Universal MasterCard®
A credit, cash and calling card that brings you discounts on USAir. And no annual fee-ever. $ ^{2} $
AR&T WorldNet Service
Get 5 free hours of Internet access every month just for having AT&T long distance. $ ^{3} $
To sign up, look for us on campus or call 1800654-0471
AT&T Your True Choice
http://www.att.com/college
5. ___