Crunch time for long shots
Tennessee Oilers looking to two-step into the playoffs
Posted: Friday December 18, 1998 03:46 PM
With two weeks left in the NFL's regular season, it's Hail Mary time for a
lot of teams with playoff hopes.
There may be no team in the league that will be heaving up as long a pass
at the playoffs as the Tennessee Oilers.
The Oilers, a respectable 8-6, need to win their final two games -- and
get a lot of other help -- to make the playoffs for the first time since
1993. But their final push starts in one of the most difficult places in
the league to play: Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
And next week, they finish in Nashville with the 13-1 Minnesota Vikings.
"When we first saw the schedule, glancing through it, you see 'at
Pittsburgh, at Tampa, at Seattle' and you go, 'Oh, my...,'" said Floyd
Reese, the executive vice president and general manager of the Oilers.
"Then you get to the end of it -- and then you fainted."
The Oilers, in all practicality, have to win their final two games and
have Jacksonville lose its final two to get in. They could lose one, but so
many other possibilities would have to fall into place that it's too much
to even consider.
As it is, winning the final two is a decidedly long shot, but Reese
realizes that's no one's fault but the Oilers'. Tennessee has gone 7-1 in
the AFC Central -- sweeping Baltimore, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh while
splitting with division leader Jacksonville -- but the Oilers have some
painful out-of-division losses.
The most egregious of those came when the Oilers fouled up what could have
been a tying field goal in the waning seconds of a game they lost to the Chicago Bears, 23-20, on
October 25. They didn't even get the attempt off as kickers Al Del Greco and Craig Hentrich got their
signals crossed on who would take the kick, and the Oilers were called for
12 men on the field.
"When you're in a situation like we are, so very, very tight, you see how
important games like that are," Reese said.
The Oilers, of course, have been battling more than on-field foulups in
the past couple years. Since announcing their move from Houston, they've
played in two states in three different stadiums (a new 67,000-seat stadium
in Nashville opens next season) under what will soon be three separate
names (next season, they're being christened the Tennessee Titans). They
were unwelcome in Houston in their last year there and unwelcome last year
in their "home" games in Memphis. Only this year, after settling down to
play their homes games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, have they begun
to feel at home.
Through it all, the Oilers have continued to improve under coach Jeff
Fisher, with up-and-coming offensive stars like quarterback Steve McNair, running back
Eddie George and rookie
wideout Kevin Dyson and
veterans like wide receiver Yancey Thigpen and Pro
Bowl guard Bruce
Matthews. And that's just on offense.
Their defense has struggled at times, but this year leads the AFC in
red-zone defense. Opponents have converted on 30 of 39 trips inside the 20.
This week, though, they face their toughest test in years with their game
against the Packers. The Oilers are 3-0 at Lambeau -- Kansas City is the
only other team in the NFL that is undefeated at Lambeau -- and have one of
the best road records (5-2) in the NFL against the toughest road schedule
in the league.
But these are the Packers.
Green Bay (9-5), still looking to lock down a playoff berth of its own,
can dash the Oilers' playoffs hopes with a win. A Tennessee loss also could
help open the playoffs door for the Bills, Dolphins and Patriots.
"If you look at us on a Sunday when we played, maybe Cincinnati, or a
Sunday playing in Tampa (a 31-22 win), or a Sunday when we first played
Pittsburgh (41-31), you'd have to say, 'Yeah, maybe they are a playoff
team," Reese said of his team. "But then you look at a team that played
some of those other games, and you say "Hmmm, maybe I don't think so.'
"I'm not sure if we're not one of those teams that plays better with our
backs to the wall."
We'll find out Sunday.
Around the AFC
EAST : The Indianapolis Colts are 0-7
on the road this season as they make their final road trip of the season
Sunday, this time to play the Seattle Seahawks. The
last time the Colts didn't win a road game was in 1950, when an 0-6 road
record contributed to a 1-11 record ... Coach Pete Carroll says the New England Patriots
will pare down their playbook this weekend for quarterback Scott Zolak, who is taking
over for Drew Bledsoe
against the 49ers ... New
York Jets coach Bill Parcells called Falcons coach Dan Reeves on
Thursday to give him some encouraging words as Reeves recovers from
quadruple-bypass heart surgery. Parcells underwent a bypass surgery in
1992.
CENTRAL : The Baltimore Ravens, like
many teams at this point of the season, are trying to fight through
injuries to make it to the end of the season. The Ravens could be without
both their starting offensive tackles for the second straight week when
they play the Bears on Sunday. They could also be without at least three
other linemen. "In all my years, I've never seen anything like this," said
67-year-old coach Ted Marchibroda ... Cincinnati Bengals
running back Corey
Dillon, one of the few bright spots on the team, may not play Sunday
when the Bengals play the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dillon, who is 180 yards shy of breaking James Brooks' single-season team
rushing record of 1,239 yards, has a number of injuries, including a hip
pointer ...Jonathan
Quinn will start for the Jacksonville Jaguars this
week when they travel to Minnesota. Will Furrer will back him
up. Quinn will be making his first NFL start, but he has the confidence of
his teammates. ''I'm the only guy left,'' Quinn told the Florida
Times-Union. ''They have to believe in somebody.''
WEST : Rich
Gannon will be back as the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs this
week despite the team's contention that Elvis Grbac is still the
team's quarterback of the future. He's played only three games this season.
"Three games doesn't give a guy a chance to develop at all," Grbac told the
Kansas City Star ... Even though the San Diego Chargers are
out of the playoff race, lame duck Chargers coach June Jones still is
sticking with Craig
Whelihan, rather than rookie Ryan Leaf, at quarterback.
"My feeling is it's still important to me that we finish as well as we can,
and I think Craig gives us a little better chance at this point. You're
playing for pride right now, as far as we're concerned," Jones said ... The
Seattle Seahawks have named defensive tackle Sam Adams their Man of the
Year. The fifth-year pro has established the Sam Adams Earthquake
Foundation and the Quake Club, which helps students with computer and
reading skills.
Around the NFC
EAST : The Philadelphia Eagles, for
the first time in 27 years, had no one named to the Pro Bowl this week. A
headline in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Another shutout." The Eagles
have been blanked, on the field, three times this season. There are six
former Eagles, though, who made the Pro Bowl ... Sources told the
Washington Post Thursday that Washington Redskins
president John Kent Cooke is leaning toward keeping coach Norv Turner and
general manager Charley Casserly -- if his bid to buy the team is approved.
The Redskins have won five of their past seven after an 0-7 start ... Kevin Smith of the Dallas Cowboys has played
left cornerback his entire career. This week, injuries to other players
have forced him to practice at the right side. It's still unclear if Deion Sanders will play.
CENTRAL : Brad
Johnson returns to action, maybe, this week as the Minnesota Vikings'
backup quarterback. A season full of injuries, including a broken leg and a
bad thumb, apparently have healed. "I feel good again," he told the
Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I just kind of hope my uniform fits and
they can find it." ... Trent Dilfer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
squares off against Trent
Green of the Redskins this week. Green has nothing to play for, but the
Bucs still have a shot at the playoffs. The Bucs will earn the final NFC
wild-card spot if they win their last two games and the Arizona Cardinals lose
one of their last two ... How far has Scott Mitchell fallen with
the Detroit Lions? Even
if starter Charlie
Batch can't play Sunday against the Falcons, Mitchell will rise no
higher than backup to Frank
Reich.
WEST : San
Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young, who broke
his right leg in two places during a game against the New York Giants on
November 30, was released Thursday from Stanford Hospital ... New Orleans Saints tackle
William Roaf, a Pro
Bowl pick this week, is battling a sore knee and says he won't go to the
Pro Bowl. The knee has been sore since he underwent arthroscopic surgery in
Week 8 ... The rumors are hot and heavy in Charlotte about who will be the
next coach of the Carolina Panthers -- if,
indeed, the Panthers will fire Dom Capers after the season, as has been
reported. Tops on the wish list are former 49ers coach George Seifert and
current Packers coach Mike Holmgren. Even that may have changed now that
the Packers have offered Holmgren a package reportedly worth close to $4
million a year.
Around the NFL appears every Friday on CNNSI.com.
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