Cunningham, Young Pass, Run Teams Into Semifinals

This is a story about legs. Strong, sturdy, agile legs. Running legs. Legs that belong to Randall Cunningham and Steve Young. National Football League quarterback legs. Legs that want to wind up in the Super Bowl. But the question remains: Is it far better to pass, rather than rely on those legs, to get to the Super Bowl?

Classic drop-back passers make it to the title game more often than running types. Fran Tarkenton and John Elway did not fit the classic mold, not with the way they could elude tacklers and scramble. But they were exceptions. And, if anything, Cunningham and Young are even more committed to running than those two marvels. Cunningham and Young always have been on the edge, quarterbacks who almost too frequently want to be running backs. Those wonderful legs instill in them an attitude that, when in doubt, they can do it themselves. It is that attitude that can get them in trouble. And keep their teams out of the Super Bowl.

Listen to what Philadelphia Eagles coach Rich Kotite had to say after Cunningham and the Eagles had rallied to defeat the New Orleans Saints, 36-20, last Sunday in a first-round National Football Conference playoff game. Kotite said Cunningham “stayed very calm. He didn’t try to win it himself.” When the Eagles scored 29 second-half points on the NFL’s second-best defense, Cunningham threw for 142 yards and did not run once. He and his legs relied on help from teammates.

And listen to what personnel expert Ernie Accorsi has to say about San Francisco’s Young, who should be the league’s most valuable player this season. “He became a better quarterback when he became a better passer,” says Accorsi, the former general manager of the Cleveland Browns. “If the first thing you do when you get in trouble is to run, you take away a large part of your offense. He wasn’t staying still long enough before; he didn’t seem to have confidence in his throwing. But now he does. He’s a big league passer.”

But when Cunningham and Young suit up this weekend for their NFC semifinal games, will they be passers who only run when necessary? Or will those sturdy, athletic legs take over, trying to do too much?

“They both can drive you nuts, but I don’t like either one when it comes down to it,” an NFL coach says. “I don’t think they can beat you with their legs. They can’t win big games that way. I think you win throwing, with your arm. They can scramble for first downs sometimes, but they do it too much.”

The Washington Redskins, who play at San Francisco Saturday, and the Dallas Cowboys, who will meet Philadelphia Sunday at Texas Stadium, will counter these scramblers with classic drop-back passers. Mark Rypien lacks the natural athletic skills to do much helter-skelter running. This season, he has struggled just to be a competent passer. Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman has more agility than his Redskins counterpart, but his strong arm is reason enough for him to stay as much as possible in the pocket.

Rypien would like to use this game to reverse what has been a disappointing past few months, after his magical 1991 season. And Aikman would like to take the next step in his steady development by getting past the Eagles and into the NFC title game. But for Cunningham and Young, these are signature contests in careers where questions of credibility continue to linger.

Cunningham has spent seven seasons trying to establish himself as a legitimate quarterback, not some gifted athlete who happens to play that position. When Cunningham -- whose 1991 season was all but wiped out by a knee injury -- was benched by Kotite midway through this season, his career appeared on the verge of falling apart. But now, with the Eagles riding a five-game winning streak and Cunningham recalling how to throw accurate long passes again, he has started to smile. Again.

“It’s been a long two years,” he says, reflecting on the knee injury and the long months of rehabilitation. “People said I wouldn’t be back. Now to have this opportunity makes me very happy. We are just going out and having some fun and enjoying it.” What’s more, he also has won a playoff game as a starter, whipping another ghost. In his last playoff game, a loss to the Redskins after the 1990 season, he was benched in the second half. It marked the third consecutive season in which the Eagles lost their playoff opener, and Buddy Ryan was fired as coach after that game.

Playing Dallas has particular significance for Cunningham, who moved past Tarkenton this season to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks. After Cunningham had a dreadful first-half performance in a 20-10 loss Nov. 1 at Dallas, Kotite replaced him with Jim McMahon. Cunningham stayed on the bench for one more game before being reinstated as a starter, then began playing well three weeks later, in the second half against San Francisco. Since then, he has thrown six touchdown passes and two interceptions and completed 62 percent of his attempts. It is no coincidence that Philadelphia’s late-season surge developed when Cunningham’s play improved.

Young’s season has been much more consistent and much more rewarding. Yet, playing for a team accustomed to winning Super Bowls and having great play at quarterback, he really hasn’t proved much yet. Washington provides the next major test. The Redskins have a veteran defense directed by one of the league’s finest coordinators, Richie Petitbon. The Redskins have had success containing Cunningham and his scrambling. That is the kind of experience they will use to push Young.

“When you pick the 49ers to be the best team and win the Super Bowl, you have to look at Young,” Accorsi says. “He’s been the difference. When he first came into the league, no one thought he could develop into a passer. But he has proved that to be wrong. Yet you’ve got to like how he runs. He’s like a halfback, the way he tucks the ball under his arm and goes after it. He has an impressive toughness.”

Joe Montana has shown that the 49er passing system doesn’t need a halfback-quarterback to make it work, particularly in the playoffs. It makes more sense to get the ball to Jerry Rice. Young has embraced that notion more and more as the season progressed. It will be a sign of his maturity if he continues to embrace that approach against Washington.

“All I know is that defensive teams hate to play guys like Cunningham,” Redskins defensive tackle Tim Johnson says about scramblers. “He wears you out because you can never relax against him. He’s always running around.”

But should he be throwing instead?

Here’s a look at this weekend’s matchups:

WASHINGTON AT SAN FRANCISCO

Talking about running, guess what Washington coach Joe Gibbs rediscovered in the Redskins’ 24-7 first-round victory over the Minnesota Vikings? Washington’s sometimes-dormant rushing attack was revitalized by an unlikely source, kick returner turned halfback Brian Mitchell.

Gibbs’ commitment to a ground game last season was a major reason Washington eventually won Super Bowl XXVI. Rypien needs solid support from his runners to take pressure off his passing. But the Redskins’ offensive-line woes this season not only unnerved Rypien, but they undermined the rushing attack. Washington plays its best when Gibbs sticks with the run.

Maybe with Mitchell’s emergence, Gibbs will make a strong commitment to the run against the 49ers. Mitchell represents one of two poor personnel decisions by Gibbs this season. He should have made greater use of Mitchell earlier in the season, especially when Ricky Ervins was struggling. And he should have found some playing time for rookie wide receiver Desmond Howard when the Posse floundered.

Howard is out with a separated shoulder, but Gibbs at least can continue to use Mitchell, who gained 109 rushing yards and accounted for 209 all-purpose yards in the romp over the Vikings. With Washington running so well against Minnesota (196 yards), Rypien suddenly began passing like Rypien of last season. “We’re back,” offensive tackle Joe Jacoby says. Just that quickly, the Redskins began sounding more confident than the team that had backed into the playoffs a week before.

Expect the 49ers to attack the middle of Washington’s defense, which could be bolstered by the return of tackle Eric Williams, its best run defender. The Redskins are extremely vulnerable to inside power rushes, and one of San Francisco’s major improvements this season has been in its running scheme with halfbacks Ricky Watters and Amp Lee. Washington also could benefit from the return of cornerback Darrell Green, who missed the first-round game with a sore heel.

“Nobody expects Washington to go all the way, so there is no pressure on them,” 49ers receiver Jerry Rice says. “That’s the kind of team you have to worry about.”

PHILADELPHIA AT DALLAS

Like Washington, Philadelphia’s first-round playoff success can be attributed, in large part, to an effective running game. The Eagles, who have been an offensive mystery all season, overwhelmed the New Orleans Saints, in part, because of 136 rushing yards, including 88 in the second half and 105 overall by Heath Sherman, who has replaced Herschel Walker as Philadelphia’s No. 1 running threat.

Like the Redskins’ Mitchell, Sherman represents a major personnel mistake for Philadelphia. The only reason he got a chance to play this season was because Kotite was forced to move Keith Byars to tight end in place of departed free agent Keith Jackson. Sherman replaced Byars in the two-back alignment and now has totaled 490 yards rushing in the last seven games. Against New Orleans, Walker, who is coming off a 1,000-yard season, carried five times for 12 yards.

Although Philadelphia is the league’s No. 2 rushing team, Kotite too often has forsaken the run and tried to win behind Cunningham’s passing. That put too much pressure on an offensive line that has allowed an incredible 63 sacks, although it has performed more consistently the past month. When the Eagles are more balanced, the line holds up better and Cunningham is more effective. Cunningham and his receivers have even begun teaming up for long completions, including two for touchdowns against New Orleans. That also had been a missing element from Philadelphia’s offense.

The Eagles represent a stern test for the young Cowboys, who have to prove they indeed are one of the NFC’s two best teams. But look back to Week 4, when the Eagles were undefeated and were entertaining dreams of the Super Bowl, not Dallas. Well, Philadelphia is convinced those early birds have returned.

“Winning a playoff game is a sense of relief, but it’s just the first step,” middle linebacker Byron Evans says. “We are still like a baby taking its first step. Once the baby gets going, everyone is happy. We’re happy, and I think we can keep winning until we win the Super Bowl.”