PRO FOOTBALL / Bob Oates : 49er, Raider Victories Reflected Heritages

For the better part of a century, it has often seemed that the more things change in football, the more they stay the same.

In last weekend’s games, for example, the Raiders and San Francisco 49ers crushed good opponents with offenses that were:

--Very different.

--Basically true to the designs of their authors as plotted many years ago.

Former coach Bill Walsh, who created the 49er way, installed a short-pass offense that is still the marvel of the NFL. Awesome is one word for what quarterback Joe Montana did to the New Orleans Saints in a 31-13 game Monday night as the quarterback in the familiar Walsh system.

Former coach Al Davis, creator of the Raider way, installed a wholly different kind of pass offense years earlier--a more exciting one than Walsh’s, actually, with an effective blend of long passes and power, as there was Sunday in the Raiders’ 28-7 victory over Cincinnati.

It was no fluke that quarterback Jay Schroeder’s first bomb--which wide receiver Willie Gault fielded more than 60 yards away--preceded halfback Bo Jackson’s 92-yard touchdown run.

Davis’ system, the only one in football that deliberately uses long-pass plays to set up power plays, hasn’t changed greatly in his years as owner-manager.

It reached a peak, however, against the team that represented the American Conference in the Super Bowl only last winter.

Cincinnati lost to two big passes to Gault and two powerful runs by Jackson, whose 92-yard score began as a power play launched between convoys of Raider blockers striking the left side of the Bengal defense.

Today, Art Shell has Davis’ old job as coach of the Raiders. And in San Francisco, George Seifert has Walsh’s old job. But on both teams, everything else is fundamentally the same.

One thing that makes football so interesting is that there are so many ways to play it.

At Notre Dame, Coach Lou Holtz wins with intricately timed option plays. At Florida State, Coach Bobby Bowden has a pass-oriented offense. The wishbone formation is still alive in some places.

The 49ers move on short passes, the Raiders on long. The Rams, who used to run their way into the playoffs with Eric Dickerson, have a much different look today.

The Houston Oilers and Detroit Lions are different kinds of run ‘n’ shoot teams.

Part of the reason for this variety is that football is a 22-man game whose offensive performers don’t play defense. Thus offensive coaches have time to experiment with different schemes.

Part of the reason is that the players differ so greatly. A decade ago in San Francisco, Walsh, who had coached long-ball teams, running teams and others, found himself with a quarterback whose lack of arm strength dictated exactly what you see today from the 49ers.

In Los Angeles, Davis is convinced that the surest way to win is with long passes and tough running plays.

Accordingly, Shell is facing something of a challenge in his first season as an NFL head coach. The player he calls his best all-around quarterback, Steve Beuerlein, doesn’t have Schroeder’s downfield passing range.

How Shell solves this problem will be much more than a footnote to the ’89 Raider story.

In the Ram game at Minneapolis last week, it was easy to see why Minnesota’s critics have been offended this year by the offensive coaching of the Viking leader, Jerry Burns, and his deputy, Bob Schnelker.

Against the Ram defense, the Vikings’ close-in offense was consistently unimaginative and unsuccessful, as it has been for several years.

On drive after drive, the Minnesota coaches gave their good players good plays to move the ball. But in scoring position they turned conservative, sending in simple running plays to set up field goals.

Their seven field goals were a monument not to the artistry of the kicker--who was seldom called on to kick the ball more than 25 yards--but to the Vikings’ undistinguished leadership.

One of the best things the Rams have done this season was to hold their own with Minnesota, which, plainly, has the best players in the league.

The Vikings were recruited by a knowledgeable general manager, Mike Lynn, who recently paid the price to bring in, among others, a Pro Bowl linebacker, Mike Merriweather, the former Steeler who earned the overtime safety that beat the Rams.

The Vikings put more Pro Bowlers on the field than any other team. It’s hard to beat their receivers, Anthony Carter and Hassan Jones, or their defensive linemen--particularly Keith Millard--or the rest of their defense, particularly safety Joey Browner.

But it isn’t hard to beat the Vikings. And their critics in Minneapolis and St. Paul think they know why.

When the Green Bay Packers upset the Chicago Bears Sunday, 14-13, the NFL’s instant replay officiating system did what it was designed to do.

It made the right team win the game. The team that earned it got it.

If there hadn’t been an instant replay official on the job that afternoon, the Bears would have won, 13-7.

The officials on the ground had ruled that Packer quarterback Don Majkowski crossed the line of scrimmage before he threw the winning pass on fourth down with 32 seconds left.

“The game hinges on this play,” replay official Bill Parkinson said. “So we took our time, and looked at (several TV versions). The ball did not cross the line of scrimmage (before Majkowski threw it).”

Although many NFL club owners in recent years have voiced strong objections to continuing replay officiating--which costs them a lot of money--they may take a look at the Green Bay result and decide they need it after all.

What happened in the last 32 seconds of the Bear-Packer game could have happened to any of them.

One of the worst fates in team sports is to lose on an official’s erroneous call. It’s still possible in most sports, but with instant replay it is less likely these days in pro football.

There is one good reason why it would be disastrous for the NFL’s owners to eliminate replay officiating now: they can’t eliminate replays. Television will continue to show them as long as there is television.

The only real question is whether or not the owners are willing to keep paying to end some of the most harmful mistakes made by their highly professional officials, who, 98% of the time, the tapes show, make the right call.

Quote Dept.:

Dan Henning, San Diego coach, on quarterback Jim McMahon, whose leadership helped upset the Philadelphia Eagles on the day that McMahon’s former team blew a big game in Green Bay: “The best thing he does (is) get rid of the ball without a sack. That allows you to go back for the next down without creating a (long-yardage) situation.”

Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh coach, after quarterback John Elway--despite considerable adverse publicity in Denver--led the Broncos to a 34-7 victory: “They’re a super team.”

Carl Banks, New York Giant linebacker, after the officials called three late hits against him, Lawrence Taylor and Adrian White in a game at Phoenix: “(Referee Howard Roe) said I cheap-shotted (quarterback Gary Hogeboom). He said I gave him a shot to the back. I never touched the guy. If I did, it was unintentional.”

Haywood Jeffires, Houston inside receiver, on the Oilers’ four-wide receiver offense, which deploys Drew Hill and Earnest Givins outside and Curtis Duncan as the other inside receiver: “This might be the best foursome that has played in a long time. Most quarterbacks don’t have the confidence to go to four guys.”

Ron Rivera, Bear linebacker, on instant replay officiating: “It’s basically taken human error, human effort and human nature out of the game.”

Lindy Infante, Green Bay coach: “Who says the game has to have the human element at the officials’ position?”