The Bears made themselves at home Sunday. Playing in a foreign land and using a foreign defense, they turned Wembley Stadium into familiar territory by physically dominating the Dallas Cowboys.
The 17-6 exhibition victory in the ”American Bowl” might as well have been the Super Bowl for 82,699 fans who heartily cheered the match from start to finish with little knowledge or care of detail.
They cheered Dave Duerson and William ”the Refrigerator” Perry and a streaker, all of whom got into the end zone. Duerson and Perry were fully clothed; the streaker was only demonstrating Great Britain`s apparent love affair with America`s most macho sport.
”I had to look around to see if it was anybody from our bench,” said coach Mike Ditka.
The fans knew they didn`t like ”America`s Team” as well as its cheerleaders, so they started booing long before the Cowboys started fumbling and dropping passes.
Clearly, the crowd was on the side of the world champion Bears, but Ditka could barely resist trying to make new enemies where the National Football League wants new friends.
Ditka called the Brits ”different” and had to bite his tongue to keep from chastising them for chanting ”Boring! Boring!” during a typically dull span in a typical opening preseason game.
”They`re entitled to their own opinion. I`ll leave it at that. I might have to come back. I think they enjoyed it, but it`s hard to give them the action they want,” said Ditka.
For the Bears, it was exactly the kind of action they wanted.
First and foremost, no one was hurt, according to Ditka. No Bear even limped off the field. In contrast, the Cowboys lost receiver Mike Renfro with a shoulder separation when linebacker Mike Singletary flattened him.
Second, the Cowboys couldn`t seem to tell much difference between Buddy Ryan`s old defense and Vince Tobin`s new one.
”Our defense gave up yardage, but we`ll be more that way,” said Ditka.
”But we stressed turnovers, and we got them.”
Statistically, the Cowboys outgained the Bears, got more first downs and ran more plays–all unusual accomplishments against recent Bear defenses. But the Cowboys are still trying to figure out how to score touchdowns and hang onto the ball against the kind of talent and aggression the Bears possess.
Playing only basic fronts and a lot of zone coverages, the defense opened the scoring on the Cowboys` fourth play when safety Duerson scooped up a fumble by wide receiver Tony Hill and ran 48 yards for a touchdown.
The defense had only three sacks, none by Richard Dent, but it was a stunning block by Dent on Tony Dorsett that sprang Duerson.
Linebacker-defensive tackle Perry turned fullback in the second quarter to make it 14-3 from the 1. That touchdown was set up by championship special- teams play when Brian Baschnagel and Cliff Thrift downed a Maury Buford punt at the 2.
The Cowboys lost three fumbles and an interception and had a field-goal try blocked. The Bears committed only one turnover, when second-string quarterback Steve Fuller called an ill-advised audible, according to Ditka, and popped a pass into the chest of defensive end Jim Jeffcoat.
The offense got only 12 snaps with first-string quarterback Jim McMahon, backs Walter Payton and Matt Suhey and receivers Willie Gault and Ken Margerum in the game, so it was difficult for anyone to make an assessment, although the Bears did outrush the Cowboys.
McMahon completed only one of six passes for 12 yards and managed to scare coaches with two scrambles for 12 yards. Third-string quarterback Mike Tomczak looked good with five completions in six attempts, including a 24-yarder lofted over a linebacker to Thomas Sanders that was the nicest pass of the night.
”Once we get our timing down, we`ll be a better offensive team this year and we scored more than anyone else last year,” said tackle Jimbo Covert.
”We`re older and more mature.”
Doug Donley, Keith Ortego and Baschnagel were the only wide receivers to catch passes for the Bears, so Ditka is still looking for someone to blossom opposite Gault during the absence of injured Dennis McKinnon.
”Willie might be doubled all year,” said McKinnon.
”We didn`t catch the ball well,” said Ditka, who had no complaints compared to Tom Landry, whose Cowboys dropped a dozen passes on the rainy day. The new Bear defense got passing grades from itself, even though it left Cowboy quarterback Danny White standing this time. It wasn`t 44-0, but it didn`t count, either.
Tobin started in a 3-4 front with Perry at linebacker and stayed very basic without many blitzes, stunts or mixed coverages.
”If we can play a base defense well, when the time comes to outmaneuver and out-trick people, we ought to be able to do a good job,” said Ditka. ”We didn`t get a good pass rush, but we haven`t done anything, either.”
”I thought we got better as we went along,” said Tobin. ”We also flew around and knocked some balls away and we played a lot of people.”
Once, they played with 12 and had an interception by Shaun Gayle nullified when line judge Jack Fetta threw a flag with Tyrone Keys only one step from the sideline.
Tobin didn`t attack the Cowboys with a specific game plan.
”We probably won`t have a game plan until well into the exhibition season,” said Tobin.
Singletary said the Cowboys` offense–with a new coordinator, Paul Hackett–is in a similar situation as the Bears` defense.
”We were pretty basic, not creative. We`re at a third of what we can do, and that`s what I`m excited about,” said Singletary.
”We played a lot of zone, and they kind of ripped us apart at certain times,” said safety Gary Fencik. ”But we communicated well, and once we introduce more and more of our defenses, we should be able to stop the penetration.”
What zones give up in yardage they often make up in turnovers because the defenders are always facing the quarterback and the ball and therefore get a split second more to react.
When cornerback Reggie Phillips had Hill wrapped up and Hill fumbled, Duerson saw it immediately and picked up the ball. Suddenly, there was Dent, as usual in the right place at the right time.
”I wouldn`t have made it without Richard`s block,” said Duerson. ”I didn`t get to see it, but I heard it. When Dorsett came onto the field the next time he said, `If that happens again, I`m not going to try to make any tackles.` ”
Six plays later, Perry grabbed Dorsett and Dent stripped the ball for another fumble. Duerson bobbled the ball or he might have had a second touchdown. Phillips recovered.
Rookie cornerback Vestee Jackson made the Bears` interception and returned it 40 yards.
If the fans exposed their inexperience by cheering indiscriminately, they knew to look for Perry when Fuller scrambled to the 1. Perry obliged with some second effort over Randy White.
”We`ll keep using him and teams will keep saying, `We can stop him,` and they won`t,” said Ditka.
Perry as a linebacker still seems experimental.
”I have to watch the offense and watch him, too,” said Singletary.
”Anytime a guy that big stands up, it`s awkward for him.”
”I enjoyed it,” said Perry. ”But I was running around back there thinking I would get me some KO`s, and I was so excited I overran some plays.”
Special-teams coach Steve Kazor was happy with his unit`s play, although kicker Kevin Butler missed field-goal attempts of 42 and 48 yards after hitting from 35, and wide receiver David Williams fumbled in a surprise appearance as a punt returner.
”He should have fair-caught that one,” said Kazor.
Russell Willsmer, the English player the Bears signed Saturday to kick off, had three chances and couldn`t get the ball past the 10-yard line. For that, he failed to earn a trip back to Platteville, Wis., Sunday night with the rest of the Bears. But he got his $450 standard rookie pay and left the locker room with a smile.
Like his countrymen, Willsmer seemed glad enough to have merely seen a glimpse of the Bears.
