Section B · Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, September 9, 1999
Football
Moss says team dragging its feet
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Randy Moss sounded the alarm. The star receiver said the Minnesota Vikings don't have that special feeling they did last year.
The Associated Press
He sees evidence everywhere — from the mood in the locker room to the play on the field. Things just aren't the same for this new cast of Vikings.
"I think it's probably something we probably could recapture," Moss said yesterday. "But last year, it was something special. It was something inside that knew the '98 Minnesota
Vikings were something special.
"And this year, we lost a lot of guys on defense. We have our whole
Moss's worries stem from a lackluster exhibition season in which the Vikings looked nothing like the team that went 15-1 last season.
offense back (but) we lost our offensive coordinator. ... So, there's a lot of things that we have to get used to."
They lost eight free agents in the off season and failed on draft day to shore up the holes left by the departures of defensive stars Jerry Ball, Derrick Alexander and Corey Fuller.
Despite returning all 11 starters, the offense, under new coordinator Ray Sherman, has yet to get on track.
Moss, who set a rookie record with 17 touchdown catches last season, alternately proclaimed his team
ready to put its troubles behind and
bemoan its many inadequacies.
"It's going to be hard. It's going to be a struggle this year," he said.
"You know there's a lot of high expectations this year for us to go out here and try to duplicate last season and I don't think there's any way possible — well, I wouldn't say any way possible that we can do that again — but it's going to be very hard to do."
"It kind of shocked me, to be honest with you, to see as far as the veteran group of guys we got playing the offensive line. ... You know it kind of hurts when it's third-and-short and then it ends up third-and-long." Moss said.
Moss said he was shocked by the shoddy preseason play of the veteran offensive line that was so integral to last season's success.
But Moss added that nobody can stop the Vikings if Todd Steussie, Randall McDaniel, Jeff Christy, David Dixon and Korey Stringer keep Randall Cunningham upright.
"We're going to put 60 points up on that board, 50, 60 points." Moss said. "We capable of that if everybody's on."
The Vikings visit the Georgia Dome Sunday to face the Falcons, who upset them in the NFC championship by holding Cunningham, Moss and the most productive offensive machine in league history to just one touchdown during the final 42 minutes in the thunderous Metrodome.
"You know, that loss to Atlanta's probably going to always be in the back of my mind." Moss said. "Probably until the day I died."
Miami looks to shed pass-only label
The Associated Press
MIAMI — If Jimmy Johnson has his way, this season will mark the end of an era for the Miami Dolphins.
The perennial sputtering ground attack, feeble short-yardage offense and reliance on Dan Marino to win games are things of the past. Johnson said.
"Everybody knows the running game has been our downfall for many years," he said. "We're determined we're going to run the football."
That mantra is predictable part of each Miami training camp, but this season there's reason to think Johnson's pledge might be fulfilled. He drafted two running
backs and a fullback and acquired a veteran guard and tight end, all with the goal of bolstering the ground game.
The Dolphins averaged 3.4 yards per carry last year, worst in the
NFL, and at that rate they'll never get to the Super Bowl. Short-yardage situations were especially vexing, so Johnson added some muscle, and the Dolphins say they're ready to flex it.
Rookie running back Cecil "the Diesel" Collins created the biggest buzz in training camp, but Miami's success or failure on the ground
likely hinges on what happens up front. And the offensive line could be the deepest and most talented in Johnson's four years as coach.
Donnale and guard Mark Dixon are beginning their second season in Miami and have settled into the offense. Three-time Pro Bowl guard Kevin Gogan and veteran tight end Hunter Goodwin, a fierce blocker, were acquired in the off season. Despite the absence of tackle Richmond Webb, who sat out all four exhibition games before signing a new contract, improvement was noticeable in training camp.
"No question they're much better as a group than last year," defensive end Trace Armstrong said. "They're really coming after guys and opening up seams and breaking runs on us in practice. A year ago it was unusual to see them break a big run against our group in practice. On paper, I'd say they can be as good as anybody."
"We've added size and power to the offensive line, tight end, fullback and running back," coach Johnson said.
The backfield should be better, too. Collinson, running back J.J. Johnson and fullback Rob Konrad were all acquired in the April draft.
Most of all, the Dolphins want to keep the ball on the ground, because experience has shown that's when they win.
In Johnson's first three seasons, the Dolphins were 17-4 when they rushed for 100 yards and 11-19 when they didn't.
Colts hope housecleaning improves 3-13 record
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS - A young offensive line and a rebuilt defense will tell only part of the story for the Indianapolis Colts in 1999.
Peyton Manning, the most prolific rookie passer in NFL history a year ago, and running back Edgerrin James, whom the Colts picked ahead of Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams in this year's draft, are major parts of the story.
But both of them will be behind a questionable line whose most experienced starter has only one year at his current tackle position.
Joining Tarik Glem, a first-round pick in 1997, are tackle Adam Meadows, guard Steve McKinney, center Larry Moore and guard
Waverly Jackson. The five have a total of 85 NFL starts among them.
"They played well in the preseason, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. You have to do it in the regular season," said Manning, who went through four exhibition games without being sacked.
"This is a good unit with five good athletes who will get better throughout the season. All of the guys can run and move well, have solid strength, and you can't ask for much more on an offensive line."
The Colts, 3-1 in exhibition games, open at home Sunday against Buffalo.
Coach Jim Mora and president Bill Polian put the roster through major revisions since the team compiled a league-worst 13-13 mark
for a second consecutive year in 1998. Only 13 players on the 53-man roster have survived the housecleaning since Polian was hired 20 months ago; 21 players have joined the Colts this year.
category and has spent heavily in an attempt to improve. Linebacker Cornelius Bennett, safety Chad Cota and defensive ends Shawn King and Chad Bratzke were signed to expensive contracts as free agents, and Vic Fangio replaced the fired Rusty Tillman as defensive
coordinator.
"Our defense last year ... conservative is probably too soft of a word," tackle Ellis Johnson said. "This defense we're playing now is very aggressive. He's (Fangio) a let's-get-after-it kind of guy."
The defense produced 19 sacks, half as many as the team had all last year, during the preseason.
"It says a lot. It says that we've got a lot of guys that are eager to rush the passer, a system where they can do it, and talent enough to do it." safety Jason Belser said.
On offense, much of the spotlight will be on James. The 6-foot, 216-pound James, the No.4 pick overall in the draft, missed three weeks of training camp and two exhibition games as a holdout.
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