MAKING AN IMPACT : One Player Can Make the Difference for Some Pro Teams

It is said--and believed -- throughout the NFL that one player can’t make a difference in such a team-oriented game. Don’t say it. Or believe it.

Want proof? Try Reggie White of the Philadelphia Eagles. Or Bernie Kosar in Cleveland. How about Wilber Marshall with the Washington Redskins? And, there is Jerry Rice, who singlehandedly destroys defenses for the San Francisco 49ers.

These are some of the impact players of the NFL, the guys who can turn around a unit, a team, even a franchise. Throughout this decade, players such as Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway, Lawrence Taylor and Eric Dickerson have had major impacts on their teams and the league. Today, they are still key performers, but even those stars might have to take a backseat to White, Kosar, Marshall and Rice.

They don’t merely win, they dominate.

“No player had a better season than Reggie,” said Eagles Coach Buddy Ryan, who knows a little about defensive standouts, having coached dozens of them with the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. “There were plays that the whole offensive line wouldn’t have blocked him.

“But,” Ryan adds ominously, “he can do better.”

White agrees.

“Last year was not so outstanding that I should give myself credit for a great year,” White says. “Yes, the sacks, the statistics were good. My overall performance was not that good. It was not the way I wanted it to be. I wasn’t too pleased with my pass rush and play against the run.

“This year I plan on being pleased with everything.”

Uh-oh. All White had last year was 21 sacks in 12 games. Without the players’ strike, he would have shattered Mark Gastineau’s NFL record of 22 sacks. This year, it could be 30.

When White joined the Eagles four games into the 1985 season, he came with a heavy reputation after dominating United States Football League defensive statistics for two years. In his first NFL season, the 1983 All-American from Tennessee had 110 tackles, 13 sacks and was the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

He’s graduated to defensive player of the year and you might be able to drop the defensive this season.

“I know I can break the record with the year I’m going to have,” he warned. “It will be done. I’m going to get it. Sometimes I say things and I have doubts. But I have no doubts. I’m going to get it somehow.”

Even opposing coaches concede that White can do just about what he wants in many situations.

“You have to design blocking schemes to get at least two and maybe three people on him,” Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs has said. “Even then, it might not be enough, but how many blockers can you put on one guy?”

White says he doesn’t care how many guards, tackles, tight ends and running backs he has to elude.

“If there are three guys on me,” he said, “they’ll get a ride to the quarterback.”

Marshall isn’t quite so effusive about his talents. But the All-Pro outside linebacker and first significant free agent to change NFL addresses knows he will play a major role for the Redskins. Washington’s linebacking corps lacked speed and pass-coverage ability. Marshall has both.

“I’ll just be trying to do the best I can,” he said. “Gibbs said, ‘I don’t expect you to be Superman. You’ve been consistent. Just play like you usually play.’ ”

“I have to earn my new teammates’ respect. . . . I have to get the confidence of the players here. What I did in Chicago doesn’t matter.”

Ah, but it does. Everyone in the NFL knows how good Marshall was the last two seasons, even though others on the league’s second-ranked defense got more attention.

“We’re expecting him to be awful good,” Gibbs said. “With a guy like that, you’re expecting him to be the best player he can be and take care of everything over there on that side with everyone else. The point is, do your job and don’t think that you have to handle everything and do everything yourself. That kind of guy normally becomes a good player when he does that.

“If he plays just like he did against us when he was with the Bears, that would fit in very well.”

Fit in? It could make Marshall dominant.

“Wilber is going to do some things a lot better than we’ve had done in the past,” defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon said, noting Marshall’s skills as a rusher and in pass coverage. “He’s still learning the system. I don’t think he’ll have the impact with us that say, Lawrence Taylor has with the Giants. It’s just not in our scheme of things. We have our ends do most of the blitzing.

“But the things that we do, I think he’ll do better.”

Some players have an impact that spreads beyond the field. Bernie Kosar, the AFC’s top-ranked quarterback, has meant more than touchdown passes and field leadership to the Cleveland Browns.

Kosar wanted to play in Cleveland at a time when the Browns were in decline. He grew up nearby and always rooted for the Browns. He said the day he signed with Cleveland, which got him in a supplementary draft in 1985, was “the biggest moment of my life . . . a dream come true.”

“I think it has been a big boost for the fans more so than for the team,” Gary Danielson, Kosar’s backup and closest friend on the team, says of Kosar’s desire to play in Cleveland. “As the team has improved and gained the respect of the NFL, everybody has been able to hold their heads higher. I think that’s more of an impact on the fans and for the city.”

Adds tackle Cody Risien of Kosar’s effect on the city:

“I’ve always enjoyed my playing days here. The fan support the Cleveland Browns get, win or lose, every year makes it very easy to play for the city, to take pride in it and to want to do well. It was nice for him to come out of college and express an interest in coming here.”

Kosar’s impact has not been limited to boosting civic pride, of course. In his three years as a starter, the Browns have won the AFC Central. They’re strong favorites in the division this year.

“Besides the obvious,” Danielson says, “there are things that escape the casual fan that are attributes that the team notices closely, such as his toughness in games. He has the ability to control the tempo of the game. Whether you’re into a physical game or a game which the referees have total control of, he can fit himself and the team into the game. The obvious things you see, but the subtle things you take close notice of.”

There’s little subtle about a long touchdown pass. Usually, it has a sledgehammer effect on the team that yields it.

So Rice’s presence has as much impact on a game as anyone’s.

“When you’ve caught 22 touchdown passes, it’s obvious you’ll make a difference in a lot of games,” Rams Coach John Robinson says.

“I believe he’s one of the top echelon receivers in the NFL for years to come,” 49ers Coach Bill Walsh adds. “We feel he’ll reach his true potential in his fourth and fifth years. He hasn’t done too badly in his first three.”

Rice is so dangerous not because of his burning speed or slippery moves or great hands. He’s a gamebreaker because he’s smart.

The 49ers use multiple sets and have such a complex passing attack that the receivers must read the defense when they line up and while running downfield. The quarterback also is making those reads and, as Joe Montana says, “Jerry never guesses. He know where to go and where I want to throw.”

“The best thing about Jerry is that on any play--whether you throw deep or a quick slant-in pass or a screen--he has the defense worried about him. He’s loose, they’re tight. It’s a big edge.”