Pro Football / Bob Oates : Dorsett Has Nothing to Fear From Walker

Based on his performance at Georgia and in the United States Football League, here’s what can be expected of Herschel Walker as a Dallas Cowboy:

--He probably will be largely ineffective at tailback in the running attack that Coach Tom Landry prefers.

Tony Dorsett probably needn’t fear that Walker can beat him out as an I-formation runner. The Cowboys, watching Walker at tailback, may soon find that they have jeopardized $5 million.

--He is likely to be more effective as a receiver coming out of the backfield. On a football field, Walker’s strength is that he has the hands and speed of the great wide receivers.

To get the most out of him, the Cowboys would have to redesign their offense. In three-receiver formations, Walker can be used, in effect, as a fourth wide receiver out of the backfield.

In his USFL days, Walker once admitted that he doesn’t have the instincts of a running back. What he has is speed coupled with size, strength and good hands.

The most effective ball carriers are the fast ones who also demonstrate three other qualities. They instinctively use their feet properly, they instinctively know how and when to cut, and they instinctively gather themselves when necessary and deliver a blow to the tackler.

William Perry, the Chicago Bears’ defensive tackle, exhibits those instincts when he is doubling as a running back. When carrying the ball, Perry has a natural understanding of how to proceed and, particularly, how to hit a defensive man.

So do Eric Dickerson of the Rams, Marcus Allen of the Raiders, and Dorsett, who is a notably good example.

The difference between Dorsett and Walker is that Dorsett has repeatedly shown that he has a running back’s understanding of how to use his feet and how to cut, and, when he can’t avoid a hit, how to explode into a tackler.

NFL linebackers, in contrast with USFL linebackers, are merciless. The problem facing all new NFL running backs is how to keep from getting beaten up.

Ask Dickerson. Ask Dorsett.

Raider fans have complained in recent years that it is unfair of owner Al Davis to insist on selling 93,000 Coliseum seats before lifting the home-game TV blackout.

They may be happy to hear that, deep down, Davis agrees with them.

In the near future, but perhaps not this season, Davis expects to reduce the lift-off figure to about 72,000.

Or so he said on NBC the other night--during a game that was blacked out in Los Angeles.

“In a short period of time, we’re going to take the stadium down to about 80,000,” Davis promised. “We’re going to bring some of the (Coliseum) seats closer to the field. (At that time) I will not be averse (to lifting the blackout) if we have a maximum 72,000 tickets sold.”

Davis will be the third owner of a Coliseum-based pro club in the last 40 years to black out some of the seats instead of all the games.

Dan Reeves and Carroll Rosenbloom, former Ram owners, also found the place too big and tailored it to Cozy Park.

What do the Raiders really think of their three quarterbacks, Marc Wilson, Jim Plunkett, and Rusty Hilger?

Perhaps nobody but Coach Tom Flores knew Davis’ feelings until Saturday night, when, during the exhibition telecast, Davis told an Eastern audience that the Raiders are going to be struggling again this year without a great quarterback.

“We don’t have a dominating player at that position,” he said.

“Plunkett is a great old warrior whose velocity isn’t what it should be (on the long pass). But he still has touch in close.

“Wilson is a good deep thrower, but he still has trouble in the middle (ranges), as you saw on that interception (of Wilson’s first pass against Dallas).”

Hilger has the most promise, Davis said again, but still is too inexperienced.

Fans who listened to Davis on NBC got an impression that he would probably nominate Plunkett for No. 1 this year if defensive football hadn’t changed so much since 1985, when the Bears started going for the quarterback first on every play.

“Eighty percent of the teams are attacking the quarterback now,” Davis said. “A few years ago, only three teams could do it (the Bears, Steelers and Raiders). At least 18 want to get him now.

“To expose Plunkett to that kind of attack early in the season wouldn’t be intelligent.”

In other words, if the Raiders are to get some value out of Plunkett during the stretch run later in the season--and in the playoffs--they can’t expose him to almost certain injury now.

A 16-year NFL veteran, Plunkett, who looked sharp and comfortable in the pocket against Dallas, will be 39 in December.

“Realistically, you can’t expect (any) quarterback to last 16 games these days,” Davis said.

So if you’re a Hilger fan, or a Wilson fan, or a Plunkett fan, don’t fret. The Raiders this season will probably need them all.

The occasion of an Eastern telecast apparently seemed like the right place for Davis to comment publicly, for the first time, on his reasons for testifying against the NFL in the USFL’s recent trial.

“I was just protecting the rights of the Raiders,” he said Saturday night.

He meant that, from the inside, he was sure that the NFL would be found guilty and that he didn’t see any point in paying a big antitrust fine.

Thus, the USFL sued only the 27 other NFL teams.

Coach Buddy Ryan’s new Philadelphia Eagle defensive team was blown apart by the San Diego Chargers last week in a 45-38 game.

“Our defense looked like Swiss cheese,” he said in the locker room afterward. “Full of holes.”

What happened?

The answer starts with the weakness that Ryan’s 46 defense, which helped the Chicago Bears win Super Bowl XX, has always had.

It’s an attacking defense, and when a defensive team goes on the attack, there are always some good ways for a clever offensive team to exploit it, as the 49ers and Dolphins have.

Ryan’s is an especially difficult defense to learn. He spent many years teaching it to the Bears before they got the hang of it, finally, in 1985, the year before their Super Bowl.

The Eagles won’t learn it overnight.

The Chargers are among many NFL teams changing to a Bear-type attacking defense instead of the rubber band variety that has been in use for many years.

First out, they blanked Dallas two weeks ago. And although they got into a shoot-out with Philadelphia last week, they are convinced that they are on the right track.

“Our approach is that two guys control football games,” said Ron Lyn, San Diego’s new defensive coordinator. “The guy who throws the ball and the guy who rushes him.

“If you can hurry the passer with one man, fine. If it takes three, fine. If you need more, do that. Whatever it takes.

“The rules today favor the offense if you don’t rush the passer.”

Lyn, a former USFL coach who was with the Oakland Invaders last season, has a defense that differs from Chicago’s in its first-down alignment.

“They start in the 4-3,” he said. “We start in the 3-4. We use it as a teaching device. We think the 3-4 is the best possible teaching approach.

“Everything you do on defense is an adjustment from the basic 3-4, so you learn that first. You learn how to react with one tackle and two ends.”

What’s more, a three-man line may be enough.

“The idea is to make the pocket move, make the passer throw (prematurely),” Lyn said. “The fewer (defensive players) it takes to do that, the more you’ll have for other things.”