MONSTERS AT THE MIDWAY: : After 8 Games, NFL Boasts Big Bad Bears, Then Parity

It was the third week of the pro football season, and the Chicago Bears were struggling.

This was at Minnesota in September, when the Vikings carried a 17-9 lead late into the third quarter.

The Bear quarterback, Jim McMahon, hadn’t been seen. He had sat out the offensive practice day during the week, pleading illness, and his coach, Mike Ditka, was using him to make a point to the team: no practice, no play.

With only a quarter and a half left, Ditka was almost out of time. But he had one shot left. He had McMahon standing on the sideline with him, not seven paces away.

The lesson--practice is beautiful--would have to be taught another way, another day. Swallowing his pride, Ditka sent for the truant, and put him in.

McMahon’s first play was a long pass for a touchdown. His second play was also a long pass for a touchdown. Then he threw for a third touchdown, and the Bears had converted a probable defeat into a 33-24 win.

That performance was the most spectacular of the season so far in the National Football league, in which the 1985 race is now half over, eight weeks gone, eight left. And since McMahon’s big night, the 66-year-old league hasn’t been the same.

There have been some dramatic changes:

--The Bears, winners of eight straight under Ditka, have jumped past San Francisco, Miami, Dallas and the Raiders to become the No. 1 team in football. They have also taken over as the Super Bowl favorite. For the first time since the days of George Halas, the Bears are what Halas made them 50 years ago, the intimidating Monsters of the Midway.

--Their quarterback, McMahon, is football’s new star. During two months of winning, the free spirited Chicago passer has caught up with such NFL celebrities as Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson and Marcus Allen. He has been the most valuable player of the first half of the season, and is the leading candidate for the 1985 award.

--Most of the others in pro ball are experiencing erratic times. A half-dozen of the clubs planning to contend for Super Bowl XX--San Francisco, Washington, Seattle, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh--are laboring. All are at .500 or below.

The trend is widespread and, apparently, continuous: NFL clubs today are winning some and losing some almost everywhere--except Chicago.

“We have so many dimensions,” Ditka said of his team. “McMahon, Payton, defense. We’re a complete team.”

The Rams (7-1) are next for diverse reasons--among them the leadership of John Robinson, a big-play defense, and some strange breaks--but they’re not yet a complete team. They lack something on offense.

Result: As of midseason, this is the year of the Bear.

PARITY LEAGUE The dominant characteristic of the pros in the first half of 1985, coast to coast, was their balance of strength.

Looking around the other day, Gil Brandt, vice president of the Dallas Cowboys, said: “We’re seeing more and more parity all the time.”

After eight weeks this year, most NFL clubs have parity records of 5-3, 4-4 or 3-5. Nineteen of the 28 franchises--or 68%--are in that range.

There are only three cellar clubs--Atlanta, Buffalo and Tampa Bay--and only six with records of 6-2 or better, among them the New York Jets, the surprise team of the East.

No 1980s entry has been able to win two straight Super Bowls. The champion 49ers, 18-1 last season, are 4-4 this year.

“The players are about even everywhere,” Ditka said. “It’s the opportunities--the breaks--that keep changing. A lot of the time, that’s what makes the difference.”

Is there anything else?

Dick Steinberg, director of player development for the New England Patriots, said:

“I think the thing that kills most winners these days is complacency. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, the great old champion Packers and Steelers faced similar problems. But the league was weaker then. A coach could win the fight against complacency then. It’s much, much harder today.”

An executive of a .500 team, who asked not to be identified, summed up the NFL today in seven words: “The players are equal. The coaches aren’t.”

He contends that the playing talent has been so evenly divided that most of the 28 clubs have playoff potential. They all spend $500,000 or more on the draft each year. They’ve all built their teams out of the best material in college football. The difference each week, then, is made by the coaches who can get their players to play with more intensity and concentration than their opponents.

Steinberg agrees. “The edge in every game is with the (coach) who can get his guys to play the hardest,” he said.

At halftime in the NFL, only three teams are winning the way they they were expected to win: Dallas, Denver and the Raiders, all 6-2.

The only race with three winners is in the AFC East, where the 6-2 Jets--with a great runner, Freeman McNeil, and a promising quarterback, Ken O’Brien--are ahead of Miami and New England, each 5-3.

THE ALL-PROS What players have dominated the first eight weeks of the season?

Here’s a lineup selected with the help of club personnel in each of the six divisions, and two reporters.

Offense

Wide receivers: Dennis McKinnon, Bears; Louis Lipps, Steelers; Steve Largent, Seahawks, and Henry Ellard, Rams.

Tight end: Todd Christensen, Raiders.

Offensive line: Jim Covert, Bears; Mike Kenn, Falcons; Dwight Stephenson, Dolphins; Chris Hinton, Colts; Anthony Munoz, Bengals.

Quarterback: Jim McMahon, Bears, and Ken O’Brien, Jets.

Running backs: Freeman McNeil, Jets; James Wilder, Buccaneers; Tony Dorsett, Cowboys, and Marcus Allen, Raiders.

Defense Line: Howie Long, Raiders; Bill Maas, Chiefs; Leonard Marshall, Giants, and Mark Gastineau, Jets.

Linebackers: Mike Singletary, Bears; Andre Tippett, Patriots; Mark Brown, Dolphins; Jim Collins, Rams; Chip Banks and Clay Matthews, Browns.

Backs: Gary Green, Rams; Ray Clayborn, Patriots; Kenny Easley, Seahawks, and Wes Hopkins, Eagles.

“There are more great linebackers this year than anything else,” Brandt said. “I don’t know how you can hold it to four on an All-Pro team.”

Chuck Noll, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, said: “Howie Long plays in a different league. So does Dan Marino. The best backs we’ve seen this year are Tony Dorsett and (the Cardinals’) Ottis Anderson.”

Ram Coach John Robinson said: “Three guys who impressed us were (wide receiver) Steve Largent (of Seattle), Henry Marshall--the big Kansas City receiver--and (fullback) Roger Craig (of the 49ers). James Wilder (Tampa Bay running back) didn’t do it against us.”

Ditka said: “We think Wilder is the best back in the league--our guy (Payton) excepted. I’m impressed with the Green Bay people--(wide receiver) James Lofton and their cornerbacks, Mark Lee and Tim Lewis.”

Joel Buchsbaum, the veteran personnel expert from Brooklyn who spends his days and nights grading football players on film and videotapes, made these comments on the half season:

On Bengal quarterback Boomer Esiason: “The comer.”

On Lipps: “Maybe the best player in the league, the best combination of quickness, speed, acceleration, cutting ability and jumping ability. He runs like a running back.”

On Lofton: “Still the best when he wants to play.”

On tight ends: “There aren’t any classic blocker-receivers. The toughest position to play.”

On Allen: “Carries the Raiders with his clutch plays.”

On Easley: “Great anticipation and hitting ability, but plays too nasty. One of these days, he’ll cripple someone for life.”

On Charger quarterback Dan Fouts: “Still unbelievable when healthy.”

On McNeil: “As McNeil goes, so go the Jets.”

THE ROOKIES Most NFL critics are calling wide receiver Eddie Brown the rookie of the half year. Not surprisingly, he plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, who are usually among the leaders in the draft if not the standings.

At Miami of Florida, Brown was perhaps the most talented athlete on a national championship team. He has made a fast transition to the pros.

Otherwise, the rookie class of 1985 has been mostly disappointing.

“No kid is making an instant impact,” Buchsbaum said.

One possible exception is linebacker Reggie McKenzie, who has started every game for the Raiders and held his own in a good defense.

Another is Charger guard Jim Lachey.

Dieter Brock of the Rams, who at 34 is the oldest kid in the league, will be the all-rookie quarterback.

He’s doing better than some. The Buffalo Bills have benched the NFL’s top draft choice, defensive end Bruce Smith. The top-drafted back, Ethan Horton, hasn’t done much for Kansas City. Top drafted lineman Bill Fralic isn’t doing much for Atlanta.

“It’s just about what we expected,” said Brandt, speaking for the scouts of America. “Everyone thought there’d be some bench strength in this draft, but no Pro Bowlers, and that’s been borne out.”

No Pro Bowl rookies? It will be a long day in Honolulu if they play the 1986 Pro Bowl without the Bears’ No. 1 choice, the Refrigerator, William Perry.

THE OFFICIATING One major rule change made pro football a considerably better game during the first half of the season.

“There’s a lot less pass interference,” said Norm Schachter, the NFL’s West Coast supervisor of officials. “And the public likes that. They hated to see the offensive team pick up a cheap 40 or 50 yards when the defensive back barely made contact with the receiver.”

Interpreting the new rule, Schachter, a former NFL referee, said:

“The receiver and the defensive back both have the same right to a ball in the air this year-- provided the defensive back turns his head toward the ball before the pass gets there. Of course, it’s still a penalty if he uses a hand to grab the receiver at the same time.”

It’s also a penalty if he runs through the receiver to try for a deflection or interception.

“When the defensive back does that, it means he’s out of position,” the former referee said. “But if the ball is between him and the receiver, he can go for it even if there’s contact. The smart defensive backs are all turning their head toward the passer now as soon as they get near the receiver. That way, they can’t be called for illegal contact.”

That has radically changed the nature of football this year, Schachter said, adding: “There isn’t the same talk there used to be about the officials deciding the games. Most of the judgment has been taken out of what used to be a very controversial judgment call.”

He said that TV commentators and others are sometimes ignoring another new passing rule.

“After the receiver catches the ball he must come down (to the ground) with both feet to make it a completion,” Schachter said.

HONORS DEPT. The coaches of the half year are surely Ditka and Robinson. Many of Robinson’s admirers had thought he couldn’t do it with this offense. Many others thought Ditka could never do it.

Accordingly, they have surprised more fans and critics than any two other NFL coaches in some time.

With eight games remaining, Tom Flores of the Raiders still has a chance to be the coach of 1985. He may have done his best work this year, considering his plight, including new young wide receivers.

At Denver, Dan Reeves is still fooling his critics. At Miami, Don Shula is still doing it with mirrors and Marino. The dark horses are in New Jersey, Coaches Joe Walton of the Jets and Bill Parcells of the Giants.

The candidates for most valuable player are quarterbacks--with McMahon far ahead of Marino and John Elway of Denver.

Elway, surprisingly, is beginning to come across more as a winner than a passer. Coaches continue to boost Marino, who is stuck with journeymen in Miami.

For much of the year, McMahon has been the NFC’s top-rated passer, but he has also been impressive otherwise.

“His statistics are hardly the most important thing about him,” Steinberg said from New England. “The biggest thing he gives the Bears is leadership. He’s an ideal leader for that team.”

Known far and wide as crazy and wild, McMahon is, above all, a fine athlete, the scouts say. He is more athlete than passer, and on the frozen shores of Lake Michigan--where passing specialists often have trouble in the wind--that may make a difference for the Bears for the next 10 years.

THE RACES Chicago and an AFC survivor--Broncos? Dolphins? Jets? Raiders?--are aiming for the Super Bowl in a league that still has contests in four divisions along with two walkovers:

AFC West: Denver and the Raiders, each 6-2, seem slightly stronger than the others. But there is time for Dan Fouts to get San Diego (3-5) back in the race. Seattle (4-4) isn’t playing defense, and Kansas City (3-5) isn’t playing well.

AFC East: The Jets (6-2) are giving Miami (5-3) more trouble than Shula wants. New England (5-3) may have an outside wild-card chance. Indianapolis (3-5) is improving. Buffalo (1-7) is out.

AFC Central: Cleveland (4-4) and Pittsburgh (3-5) could hang in with any NFL contender if they were a touch better on offense. Cincinnati (3-5) is unreadable. Houston (3-5) is improving.

NFC West: The Rams (7-1) have won the division title every way but mathematically. San Francisco (4-4) would settle for a wild card. The others, New Orleans (3-5) and Atlanta (1-7) are hopeless.

NFC East: Dallas (6-2) is leading the best race in the conference. The others--the Giants (5-3) Washington and Philadelphia, each 4-4, and St. Louis, 3-5--are more erratic.

NFC Central: Chicago (8-0) has won the division every way but mathematically. Detroit (5-3) is surprising with its rookie coach, Darryl Rogers. Minnesota (4-4) doesn’t have the players. Green Bay (3-5) doesn’t play as well as its talent warrants. Tampa Bay (0-8) isn’t real good and has been unlucky besides.