Cunningham Back From Ego Trip : Pro football: Cocky quarterback humbled as the Philadelphia Eagles get off to 0-2 start.

Anyone who has seen Randall Cunningham play football knows he’s something special. At least once or twice a game, the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback shows off his incredible blend of athleticism and knack for the dramatic.

He’s the NFL’s primary outlet of Big Plays R Us.

Remember the 1987 scramble in St. Louis? He rolls right, then left, then right, dodging Cardinal tacklers for 15 seconds after the snap. Finally, while sprinting back to his left, he throws the ball more than 75 yards in the air and into the outstretched arms of Kenny Jackson, who never breaks stride as he runs into the end zone.

Or how about the Monday night game against the New York Giants in 1988? He’s scrambling out of the pocket when he has both feet knocked out from under him. At this point, most quarterbacks would have been facing a helmet-first date with the Giants Stadium Astroturf, but Cunningham seems to float on air for a second. He touches down on his left hand, then his feet hit the ground and he’s upright again. His knees have yet to touch the ground, so he puts a six-point exclamation point on the acrobatic move by firing a touchdown pass.

And anyone who has heard or read what Randall Cunningham has to say about Randall Cunningham, knows this man doesn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable when he’s referred to as the “Quarterback of the ‘90s.”

After all, he was quoted comparing himself to Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan in a 1988 Sports Illustrated story. And before his first full season as a starter in 1987, Cunningham told the Philadelphia media he would take the Eagles to a Super Bowl in three years if he was the starting quarterback.

Now, Cunningham is embarking on his fourth season at the controls and it has all the markings of a rocky ride. The Eagles are 0-2 and Cunningham has thrown five interceptions and just two touchdown passes.

Not surprisingly, he’s coming off considerably more humble these days.

“There’s always been a lot of pressure here since we lost that playoff game (to the Rams last year),” he said. “We feel the pressure. We haven’t played like ourselves these first two games. Last year, we were playing together and we had that attitude where we’d go out rough and tough.”

Losing the season-opener to the Giants in New York wasn’t so bad. Last Sunday’s 23-21 loss to Phoenix in Philadelphia, however, had to be embarrassing for some of the Eagles’ Rough and Tough Guys. It certainly didn’t bolster anyone’s confidence.

After the game, Cunningham complained that the team lacked leadership. “We’ve got a lot of guys on our team who have a lot of ability, but there’s actually only a few of us who are leaders and want to be leaders,” he said.

And this week, he indicated that the rash of interceptions has made him more cautious.

Cunningham cautious? Isn’t this a player who’s at his best when he plays with abandon? The quarterback who Eagle Coach Buddy Ryan says is the “best athlete ever to play the position?” The one Giant Coach Bill Parcells says is a unique talent who always manages “to do something of an improvisational nature that creates havoc with your defense?”

Actually, the seeds of doubt sprang to life long before the Eagles staggered to an 0-2 start. They germinated in the preseason with the installation of a new offense, a sweeping turnover in pass-catching personnel and the arrival on the scene of backup quarterback Jim McMahon.

THE NEW DEAL

For two seasons, Cunningham had let it be known that he felt the Philadelphia offense would be more potent if the coaches would just step back and let him improvise. Then, along comes new offensive coordinator Rich Kotite with an entirely restructured scheme and Cunningham can’t just wing it any more.

His role changed from grand improviser to just another player who had to learn the script. Early in the preseason, Cunningham wasn’t convinced the new offense was a step in the right direction and he certainly didn’t embrace it. He says now that there really never was any resistance on his part, but he will admit that it has been a frustrating adjustment.

“It’s just a new scheme and when you’re used to doing old things, it just becomes second nature,” Cunningham said. “I said to myself, ‘Wow, man, I’ve got to learn a new offense.’ So I came in and got to learning this new offense.

“It’s an offense where I don’t run a lot. Basically, I drop back and throw the ball. Some people have said it’s not an offense that caters toward my talent, but it doesn’t make any difference what kind of offense I’m in, I’m going to try and make it work.”

Ryan doesn’t think Cunningham is having any trouble adjusting to the new system and dismisses the wave of early season interceptions as a fluke.

“I think Randall’s playing good football,” Ryan said. “About 60% of his passes have been complete and he’s had some drops, so he could be way up there, you know. Our offense is real close to being an excellent offense. We’re just inches away from making some great plays. It’s about ready to pop.

“Randall’s seeing the coverages and throwing where he’s supposed to. A couple of (the interceptions) were tipped balls and one the receiver was supposed to come back inside and he didn’t, so they got the ball.”

Take away the interceptions and Cunningham has fairly impressive statistics, all right. If you got the feeling Cunningham was running with the ball less often in this new scheme, you were misled. When Cunningham says “it’s an offense where I don’t run a lot,” he really means it’s an offense in which he doesn’t scramble as often.

Kotite is well aware that there were 37 running backs drafted in 1985 and only one has gained more yards than Cunningham (a second-round pick in ‘85). So he has slipped a number of designated running plays for the quarterback into the game plan.

Cunningham, however, prefers the “craziness” of the old system.

“The thing I like most about the new offense is getting the ball off faster, dropping back and hitting guys quick,” Cunningham said.

“The one point I don’t like about it is they’re calling all these plays for me to run the ball. Rolling left and keeping it. Running quarterback draws. The kind of stuff that (used to) happen naturally.”

NEW KIDS ON THE WINGS

Ryan drafted three wide receivers on the first five rounds this year and one--fifth-round pick Calvin Williams--is now a starter. Five-time Pro Bowl selection Mike Quick is the only veteran among the four wideouts.

The absence of tight end Keith Jackson, who returned Wednesday after a lengthy holdout, has also been a destabilizing factor for Cunningham. Jackson has been Cunningham’s favorite target for two seasons and even though Mickey Schuler, who was picked up on waivers from the Jets, has done a good job, Cunningham has missed his favorite familiar faces in the huddle.

“At one point, we had four new wide receivers and two new tight ends,” Cunningham said. “It’s been a different outlook. I’ve got to get them down quick, you know, (understand) their personalities and how I can work with them.”

A NEW CHALLENGE

Ryan has made it clear that McMahon is on hand only in a backup capacity, but he also says things like, “Jim McMahon is better than half the starting quarterbacks in the league so we’re glad to have him here,” in the same breath.

Speculation that Cunningham might not see as much playing time this year has run rampant in Philadelphia, a city known for its love of sports-related gossip.

If Ryan intended to light a fire under Cunningham, the ploy might have worked. Cunningham stated flatly that he wouldn’t let anyone take his job. Or could it have backfired? Could Cunningham’s uneven start in some way be traced to stress resulting from a lack of job security?

Cunningham doesn’t want to consider any such ramifications of McMahon’s presence. Instead, he prefers to take a strict it’s-all-part-of-the-business approach.

“He knows his role and I know my role,” Cunningham said, “but if something happens and he goes in there, and I have to back him up, I will.”

At the moment, Cunningham is concentrating his efforts on beating the Rams, a team whose straightforward zone defenses thoroughly frustrated the Eagles during the Rams’ 21-7 playoff victory last December.

“I think they’re going to run the exact same thing,” he said. “They had a good scheme against me, but I’m looking at this year’s films and last year’s films and I’m going to do as much as I can to counteract that.

“Plus, we’ve got a different style of offense now.”

Cunningham may not yet be convinced, but he’s hoping “different” translates to “better” Sunday.

RANDALL CUNNINGHAM YEAR-BY-YEAR Passing and rushing statistics of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham:

PASSING

Year G Att Cmp Pct. Yds LG TD Int 1985 6 81 34 42.0 548 69 1 8 1986 15 209 111 53.1 1,391 75 8 7 1987 12 406 223 54.9 2,786 70 23 12 1988 16 560 301 53.8 3,808 80 24 16 1989 16 532 290 54.5 3,400 66 21 15 1990 2 66 42 63.6 478 41 2 5 Totals 67 1,854 1,001 54.0 12,411 80 79 63

RUSHING

Year No. Yds Avg LG TD 1985 29 205 7.1 37 0 1986 66 540 8.2 20 5 1987 76 505 6.6 45 3 1988 93 624 6.7 33 6 1989 104 621 6.8 51 4 1990 13 62 4.8 16 2 Totals 381 2,557 6.7 51 20