Ray's Revival

Players in the Eagles' locker room are getting used to this. Bad defeat, coach Ray Rhodes erupts; Philadelphia wins the next week. One day after Philly's season-opening 31-17 loss to the Giants, Rhodes blistered the team "like I've never seen before," third-year defensive end Mike Mamula said on Sunday. "It was total rage. I was worried something would happen to him." The Rhodes rage went something like this (but considerably more profane): "I'm going to start firing guys around here. I don't care how long you've been here. You don't bust your rear end this week and you're gone."

The "pep talk" worked, as these things usually do for Rhodes. In the two-plus years he has been in charge, the Eagles have suffered six double-digit losses. In the game following those defeats, they are 6-0. The latest win, a 10-9 decision over the Super Bowl champion Packers on Sunday, was a product of three things: raw emotion, the type of hard work by Rhodes that has made him one of the league's most admired coaches and, perhaps most important, the schemes of defensive coordinator Emmitt Thomas, who had been preparing for the Packers game since the last weekend of April.

After tearing into his players on the Monday after the loss to the Giants and giving them Tuesday off to let his message sink in, Rhodes spent the next two days building his squad back up, telling them they could beat the team that had shellacked them by 26 points a year ago. On Wednesday night Rhodes walked into the defensive coaches' meeting and sang sweet music to Thomas. "Emmitt," Rhodes said, "we've got nothing to lose. Let's take the gloves off and go after 'em with everything." He okayed Thomas's plan to play a lot of "zero dog" defense, which is one of the riskiest things a team can do: blitz the house without a safety in the middle of the field to support single coverage by cornerbacks. "We could do that because we felt we had four NFL-caliber cover corners for the first time since we've been here," Thomas said afterward. Starters Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent were supplemented by journeymen Willie Clark and Charles Dimry.

"Every day in training camp we'd practice against the Packers attack in seven-on-seven drills," strong safety Mike Zordich said, referring to the kind of passing drills every team uses. "It worked so well because our offense is the Packers offense; it mirrors Green Bay's. So when we got to this week, we felt like we knew everything about them."

In addition Thomas figured the only way to frustrate Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre was to hit him with an assortment of the most confounding schemes he'd ever seen. "We sent three-man fronts and four-man fronts, and we sent them from five different defensive groupings," Thomas said. "The idea was to never let him get a read on us." It worked. Thomas estimates that the Eagles blitzed on 35 of 42 passing downs. They sacked Favre only once but hit him 18 other times, six by an inspired Mamula. In the end Green Bay was held without a touchdown for the first time in almost five years.

"The key to beating the Packers," outside linebacker William Thomas said, "is to jam their receivers at the line, get great coverage on them and break up their timing. Their offense is all timing, all rhythm. If you study them long enough, you can figure it out."

Emmitt Thomas should have a Ph.D. in Favrology by now. Which begs the question: Why isn't this talented defensive coordinator a head coach? He is 54. He is black. He had three job interviews in the off-season, with the Giants, the Lions and the Rams, and he is one of the leading candidates put forth by those advocating more black coaches in the NFL.

Asked on Sunday if he yearned to be a coach, Thomas replied, "Yes, but it's not a situation where I'll be ticked off at the league if I'm not one. I just hope I get a chance because I know what kind of job I could do."

No Longer a Sap

Warren Sapp may no longer be a legend only in his own mind. The Buccaneers third-year defensive tackle has put together strong back-to-back games (a total of 13 tackles and 3½ sacks against the 49ers and the Lions) and might be the brightest new star to emerge early this season. The most amazing aspect of the 283-pound Sapp's play has been his speed and quickness. Jerry Rice couldn't elude him on a reverse, and when Sapp made a face-mask tackle. Rice lost 10 yards—and was lost for the season with two torn knee ligaments. Sapp also dragged down Steve Young from behind. Not bad when you consider that Young may be the NFL's best running quarterback of all time.