Buddy System Is for Eagles

After that overtime loss to the New York Giants a couple of weeks ago, Philadelphia Eagles Coach Buddy Ryan was asked by a reporter if there was any confusion when the Eagles were whistled for having 12 men on the field.

According to the Sporting News, Ryan replied: “You’re full of bull. There wasn’t any confusion. You don’t know anything anyway. You go into the locker room and ask the players and then come back and I’ll kick your butt.”

Add Eagles: The next week, after the Miami Dolphins beat the Eagles, Dolphin fullback Jim Jensen, asked about a block he put on All-Pro defensive end Reggie White, said: “Yeah, I put Reggie on his butt. He was kind of set up for it. I don’t think he liked it, so he punched me in the face and it started a little spat. He seemed to be frustrated toward the end of the game, showing the character of the Buddy Ryan defense, no class.”

Said Steve Largent of the Seattle Seahawks when asked which record he cherishes the most: “Probably the Beatles’ “White Album.”

Add Forgettable Quotes: After charging that the Dallas Cowboys disgraced themselves and their uniforms in the 21-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Frank Luksa of the Dallas Times Herald said: “Losers they will remain. I don’t see Dallas beating anybody the rest of the way. Chalk it up as a 5-10 season, and wonder if this is the bottom.”

Trivia Time: What do University of Texas halfback Eric Metcalf and receivers Vance Johnson of the Denver Broncos and James Lofton of the Raiders have in common? (Answer below.)

A reader called to add the following to the list of former Express players in the National Football League: Guard Derek Kennard of the St. Louis Cardinals and safety Dwight Drane of the Buffalo Bills.

That brings the total of ex-Expressers to 15.

Former Times staffer Ed Gilbert called to say that he couldn’t believe it when the wire reported that only 18 seconds elapsed on those back-to-back kickoff returns for touchdowns by Atlanta’s Sylvester Stamps and San Francisco’s Joe Cribbs last Sunday.

Stamps went 97 yards and Cribbs 82. That’s an average of 90 yards in 9 seconds.

“That’s running in full football gear while dodging their way down the field,” Gilbert said. “If the time is right, I want those guys on my Olympic team.”

Asked about the deal that landed Bob Welch in Oakland, Athletics General Manager Sandy Alderson was quoted in the San Francisco papers as saying: “I think the Dodgers panicked.”

From Jack Craig, TV sports columnist for the Boston Globe: “Joe Namath’s performance on the Jets-Patriots game was passable only to those in the audience with low expectations. Namath supposedly runs out of energy as games continue, a sign that his real enemy is boredom.”

Oklahoma football Coach Barry Switzer, on former Sooner linebacker Brian Bosworth: “Bosworth is a great player; I like Bosworth. Brian Bosworth is a super football player. I’d like to coach a bunch of them. I just didn’t like The Boz, the media egomaniac.”

Trivia Answer: All three have won National Collegiate Athletic Assn. long jump titles--Metcalf for Texas in 1985, Johnson for Arizona in 1982 and Lofton for Stanford in 1978.

Quotebook

Notre Dame football Coach Lou Holtz, on close losses: “The fact that you’re $3 million ahead at the gaming table with five minutes left doesn’t matter. What matters is, you went in a $20,000 Cadillac and came home in a $200,000 Greyhound.”