Around the NFL : Coaches Start on Different Notes

Two coaches directed their first NFL games last weekend, and they had drastically differing results. The Indianapolis Colts of Rod Dowhower were soundly throttled by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Detroit Lions of Darryl Rogers came from behind to beat Atlanta by a point.

“The biggest problem I’ve had so far,” said Rogers, is that everything is an unknown. I’ve never been in the NFL. Everything is unknown.

“The players don’t know who we are half the time. They don’t know how me and my coaching staff will react in adversity.

“Another problem is the players the opposition has. They are all good. And they are good every week. Still, I think there are less problems coaching in the pros than in college. You have fewer distractions to worry about. For me it is a very good coaching situation.”

Rogers’ second test as a coach could be a stern one since the Lions will face the Dallas Cowboys, who are coming off their surprising romp over the Washington Redskins.

“We are going to have to play a lot better in every phase against Dallas to keep from getting embarrassed,” Rogers said.

The team which upset the Miami Dolphins last Sunday may rank as one of youngest NFL organizations in recent years. The average age of the Houston Oilers is 24.7 years and the average length of experience in the NFL is 2.9 years.

Every player on the Houston roster is under the age of 30, although offensive lineman John Schulmacher will be 30 later this month. There were 12 rookie or first-year players on the team when the season began and only six members of the 45-man roster have more than five years of NFL experience.

It did not take long for grumblings to be heard around the league, the most noticeable coming out of Philadelphia and Green Bay.

After not scoring a point against the New York Giants, the Eagles changed quarterbacks. It was not just that Philadelphia coach Marion Campbell benched Ron Jaworski, but the manner in which it was done could bring about ill feelings on the team.

When the Philadelphia writers and broadcasters gathered for Campbell’s weekly news conference, no mention was made of the quarterback change. That came via a prepared statement distributed later in the day.

Jaworski said he was not going to be used as a, “scapegoat.”

The effort put forth by the Packers against the New York Giants this week might be worth watching because of what Green Bay coach Forrest Gregg had to say following his team’s loss to Detroit.

He expressed displeasure at his team’s effort, saying it had to do with attitude.

“Things will not be very pleasant around here,” Gregg said.

There may never have been a more woeful start to a year than the one New Orleans’ Dave Wilson got off to in the Saints’ opener against Kansas City.

Wilson completed just two of 22 passes for 30 yards and had two intercepted. The NFL has a complicated formula by which it rates quarterbacks, using completion percentage, yards per attempt, interceptions and touchdown throws as a basis for its compilations.

A rating of 100 is very good while most fall in the area of the 70s and 80s. After the first week Wilson’s rating was 1.8.

When Vince Ferragamo stepped on the field for Buffalo last Sunday he became the first quarterback other than Joe Ferguson to start a regular season game for the Bills in 13 years.

Leftovers from the NFL’s kickoff weekend: Six of last weekend’s 14 losers--Cincinnati, Buffalo, Cleveland, Atlanta, San Francisco and Washington--outgained the teams that beat them. Ten of the winners scored first with the comeback teams being Minnesota, Detroit, Houston and Chicago.

Tampa Bay scored four touchdowns and had drives of 71 and 78 yards. But the Buccaneers converted only one third down all day.

Contrasting totals came up in the San Diego-Buffalo and Detroit-Atlanta contests. The Chargers and Bills combined for 763 yards of total offense, but produced only 13 points. The Lions and Falcons teamed for just 355 yards but they scored 55 points between them.

Quote of the Week: “I hope things are better when we play them in Washington. I can’t take many more of these.”--Washington Redskins linebacker Neal Olkewicz after his team lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 44-14.