Two coaches whose very lives were threatened through dissimilar circumstances this season will escort their teams into the National Football League`s sudden death playoff scramble Saturday.
Bears coach Mike Ditka, who suffered a mild heart attack on Nov. 2, and Eagles coach Buddy Ryan, who was rescued by an assistant coach after having a pork chop bone lodged in his throat, bring their teams to the NFC semifinal at Soldier Field.
The NFC East champion Eagles (10-6) won six of their final seven games behind Pro Bowl quarterback Randall Cunningham, rookie tight end Keith Jackson, running back Keith Byars and defensive lineman Reggie White.
”The Eagles have a very interesting team,” said Bears defensive end Al Harris. ”They use Randall Cunningham in their offense maybe more than any other team uses their quarterback. He throws bombs, he scrambles out. He`s going to try to put a move on you in the open field. He`ll put his head down. They take a lot of chances with him.”
Cunningham ran for a team-high 624 yards and completed 301 of 560 passes for 3,808 yards and 24 touchdowns.
”The first thing to do is just control him. You can`t completely stop somebody with that kind of ability. We have to be able to control him,” said Harris.
The Bears (12-4) landed their fifth straight NFC Central crown despite losing their final game, 28-27, to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bears did not face the Eagles this season but respect their many weapons.
”I see a good football team,” said middle linebacker Mike Singletary, once a disciple of Ryan. ”I see an extremely dangerous quarterback who is capable of making a lot of things happen. He`s a great scrambler. And I think in order to be effective against him, we have to have controlled rushes and be very smart about how we`re going at it.
”As far as the running backs are concerned, they run very hard and they prefer to run inside. The wideouts run good patterns, and of course (Mike)
Quick is a very good receiver.”
”The tight end (Jackson) is really good. They have a host of talented people at the skilled positions. And their offensive line is blocking well. So I think it`s going to be an excellent challenge for us.”
Will Ryan be able to extract any advantage after having coached many of the Bears` defenders?
”When you think you know the advantages and disadvantages of players, sometimes it can be a disadvantage for you when you go someplace else,”
Singletary said. ”That`s because some of the disadvantages can be perceived.”
Ditka is not so sure that Ryan might not have an advantage.
”Anytime you know anything about anybody, it has got to be an advantage,” Ditka said.
Vince Tobin took over as Bears defensive coordinator after Ryan departed in 1986. While his low-key personality is the antithesis of Ryan`s, Tobin`s effectiveness as a coach has been comparable.
”As far as coaching, Buddy was more the type of coach that really challenged you,” Singletary said. ”Vince will really not put you in vulnerable situations. You can really tell Vince: `This is the best I can do that.` And he will say: `Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I want you to do this.` ”
Mike Tomczak will start at quarterback for the Bears in his first postseason action. Jim McMahon, who hasn`t played since suffering a sprained knee on Oct. 30, is ready if Tomczak falters.
”This is another opportunity for me to play another game,” Tomczak said. ”I`m not going to go out there and say: `Geez, this is postseason. I`ve never thrown a pass in postseason. I haven`t even played a game in postseason.` That doesn`t even enter in my thinking.
”I`ve been watching the Eagles on film for the past four days and they will get after you,” Tomczak said. ”Their interior defensive line is very strong and aggressive. Their secondary does some interesting things. They mix up their coverages more than a lot of other teams we faced this year.”
The Eagles` overall defense ranked last in the NFC. They were fifth against the rush and last (14th) against the pass.
”The biggest thing we have to do, when they put eight guys up on the line of scrimmage . . . obviously we can`t run the ball too effectively,”
Tomczak said. ”On paper, they are not ranked too high on their pass defense. We`d like to push the ball downfield. We`re not going to be afraid to throw the football. We`re going to be aggressive as hell.”
Tomczak thus far has been able to deflect distractions surrounding any quarterback controversy involving him and McMahon.
”We all get along real well. It`s not a problem with me or anyone else,” Tomczak said.
”This is postseason and everybody kind of comes together. Camaraderie tightens up because it`s the dash for the cash.”
