The New York Giants never have been 8-0 before now, but Dave Duerson has. He explained to coach Bill Parcells last week what happened to the 1985 Bears, who were 12-0 before the Miami Dolphins knocked them off.
”We were divided in 1985. We had two head coaches,” Duerson said after Monday night`s 24-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Duerson was the starting strong safety for the 1985 Bears under coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. Cut loose before this season, Duerson was signed by the Giants and is playing and relaying signals in nickel situations. His 31-yard touchdown run with a fumble-the first TD of his pro career-clinched Monday night`s game.
He said the Giants are a loose bunch, similar to the 1985 Bears except for the coaching friction that existed between Ditka and Ryan and trickled down between players.
”Our first day of practicing last week, we were laughing and clowning,” Duerson said. ”Bill calls us older guys his board of directors. He asked,
`Why is everybody laughing? There`s nothing funny.`
”I said, `Bill, we`re having some fun out there. I`ll tell you what: You keep the edge, and I`ll see to it we`re ready to play on Sunday.`
”He said, `Remember what happened to the Bears against Miami.` I told him the difference between us and the Bears was we had two head coaches. Here, he runs the show. There was a complete division. We had fun together, but there was a clear-cut division. The defense was one team, and the offense was another. Everybody on defense followed Buddy`s lead, and the offense followed Mike`s lead.”
On the Monday night the Bears lost in Miami, the animosity between Ditka and Ryan exploded into a halftime confrontation that nearly resulted in a fistfight. After Ryan insisted on using linebacker Wilber Marshall instead of a defensive back to cover Dolphins receiver Nat Moore, Ditka challenged Ryan to fight outside the locker room.
The Giants figure more unity cannot hurt their cause. Linebacker Lawrence Taylor draws similar comparisons between these Giants and the 1986 Giants that followed the Bears as world champions.
”This is the closest team I`ve been on,” Taylor said.
The 1986 Giants were 14-2 and lost their opening game, so the experience of going for an undefeated season is new.
”In `86, I didn`t know everybody`s name on offense,” Taylor said. ”The offense was the offense and the defense was the defense. Now, it`s a little bit different, and everybody mixes together.”
Taylor is part of an over-30 nucleus on the Giants that got recognized with ”Good Old Guys” T-shirts before the Indy game. Duerson officially will join them Nov. 28 when he turns 30. They include Taylor, 30; Ottis Anderson, 32; Phil Simms, 35; Everson Walls, 30; Bart Oates, 31 and Johnie Cooks, 31.
Anderson, Duerson, Walls and Cooks came from other teams. They are models and leaders for young players like safeties Greg Jackson and Myron Guyton, linebacker Pepper Johnson and running backs Dave Meggett, Lewis Tillman and Rodney Hampton.
”I think we`re at a point where we`re mature enough to set our minds on what we have to do,” Taylor said. ”We don`t have to be completely focused every minute of the week. We can set our minds on what we have to do, get it straight by Saturday, play on Sunday and win. That`s a sign of maturity. We`re starting to be a pretty good football team.”
Simms said the pressure of being undefeated motivates instead of distracts.
”We seem to come out every week and play pretty alert and emotional football,” Simms said. ”What`s happening is everybody wants to be a part of it. The more we win, the more alert we`ll be. As athletes, we like to have pressure on us.”
And what about the 8-0 San Francisco 49ers, who play host to the Giants Dec. 3?
”Too long down the road,” Taylor said. ”We`re looking forward to the Rams this week.”
Meanwhile, the Bears lurk a game behind both but not out of mind. ”The Bears relish that situation,” Oates said. ”They`re not getting the attention like the Giants or 49ers. They`re kind of quietly collecting those victories and rolling along.”
