Pro Football / Bob Oates : Eason Now in Same Spot Waterfield Was About 30 Years Ago

New England’s Tony Eason isn’t the first quarterback to come down with the flu coming up to a big game.

More than 30 years ago, Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Waterfield was running a fever of 102 the day he led the Rams to a key playoff win at the Coliseum.

Seized by the flu a few hours earlier, Waterfield threw three touchdown passes to Hall of Fame receiver Tom Fears that afternoon to eliminate the Detroit Lions.

“A quarterback can play football with a bad cold or even the flu,” Waterfield said afterward. “You can play with anything but a broken leg.”

Or, perhaps, a broken arm.

The current New England quarterback appears to be a better passer than the 1950s Ram leader, but the one question that always comes up about Eason is whether he’s tough enough.

Nobody ever asked that about Waterfield.

The Patriots will have two advantages if Steve Grogan replaces Eason as their passer today:

--Chicago’s defensive game plan, which has been two weeks in the making under defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, is based on an offense with Eason at quarterback. With Grogan, the Patriots are a different team, even when they’re running the ball.

--Many NFL coaches and scouts call Grogan the smartest quarterback in the league. They say he has an IQ of 130.

Moreover, his passing arm is stronger than Eason’s.

Grogan’s problem, and it’s a big one, is that he doesn’t throw the ball very straight, as a rule, or very well.

Raider owner Al Davis had a lot of support Saturday at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Committee Selection Meeting in New Orleans.

He just didn’t have quite enough.

Nor did former Ram guard Tom Mack.

Davis and Mack, who were among the 15 finalists considered by the committee of 28, survived the first cut Saturday morning.

Both were in a group of 10 Hall of Fame candidates who advanced to the final ballot. But in that final voting, under the committee’s rules, only six can advance.

Although no winners will be announced until Tuesday, seven men, including halfback Doak Walker--the old-timer candidate--are still theoretically alive. The others are halfback Paul Hornung, quarterbacks Fran Tarkenton and Len Dawson, wide receiver Don Maynard, linebacker Willie Lanier and safety Ken Houston.

At least four of them will make the Canton (Ohio) Hall of Fame, the four with the most votes on Saturday’s last ballot. And all seven could make it if each got at least 23 votes.

In his first year as a nominee, Davis suffered the same fate Commissioner Pete Rozelle has often known. The committee turned down Rozelle for seven consecutive years until he was accepted a year ago.

If the game is tied after four quarters today, sudden death will be invoked and the action will continue until there’s a winner.

New England doesn’t view this prospect optimistically.

The Patriots’ won-loss record in a total of eight overtime chances is 0-8.

The principal reason there’s never been an overtime period at the Super Bowl is that one team or the other usually gets ahead and pours it on.

This is a game where the pressures are always severe--particularly on the losing players. When they fall behind, they can’t seem to catch up in the pressure.

Sometimes, as a losing Philadelphia coach, Dick Vermeil, once complained, they can’t even catch their breath in the noise and tension.

It’s a fact that the teams scoring first have won 15 of the 19 Super Bowls.

Furthermore, the winner usually beats the point spread--particularly in the recent era of extensive passing.

During the Super Bowls of the 1980s, the winners have won by an average of 16 points--although the point spreads of the last five games were never more than three points.

On paper, the Bears and Patriots figure closer than 10 1/2, but the winner will probably win by more than that.

Which two teams will be in Pasadena next winter for Super Bowl XXI?

A reporter questioning scouts, coaches and other executives representing a number of NFL teams this week got this consensus answer:

--The San Francisco 49ers will be back with Bill Walsh and Joe Montana. They’re still perceived by many to be the NFL’s best team.

--If the Raiders don’t get a new quarterback, the clubs with the best chance to represent the AFC are the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos.

Coach Dan Reeves’ Denver team finished 11-5 last month--dead even with the wild-card Super Bowling Patriots--and needs only a slightly improved running attack to get over the hump.

Quarterback John Elway threw 405 passes for Denver this season--possibly 105 too many to insure a balanced offense.

The all-time high for one NFL passer in one season is 409, and the man who threw that often, Dan Fouts of San Diego, plays on a team that doesn’t do much else.

The Broncos have youth, experience, a solid defense and an improving young quarterback. But, lacking a first-class ground attack, they’re as one dimensional as the Raiders, who can’t pass.

In competitive terms, looking to the future, the Jets are potentially in even better shape than the Broncos. A team on the come, the Jets don’t have a serious personnel weakness.

“We only need two things,” says Jet President Jim Kensil. “Our younger players will have to have a bit more experience. And as a team, we’ve got to do a better job of pass protecting.”

Although it hurts this club that halfback Freeman McNeil always seems to be hurt, the Jets own one backfield edge over many clubs. The backup for their big man, Johnny Hector, is a halfback with considerable talent.

Kensil doesn’t list quarterback Ken O’Brien among the Jets who need more experience.

“O’Brien came with a rush this season,” Kensil says. “He’s already playing like a veteran.

Super Bowl XXI? Let’s say the 49ers and Jets.