Barry Sanders has enjoyed seven 100-yard games against the Bears, and yet of all the NFC Central Division teams, the Bears are the stingiest against the incomparable Lions runner.
After the worst two-game stretch in his career (53 yards), the question has to be asked whether anything is wrong with the 29-year-old Sanders.
“Oh, Lord, no,” new Lions coach Bobby Ross said. “There’s nothing wrong with him.”
Ross then explained the fault was partly his for not sticking with the run, a familiar lament of former Detroit coach Wayne Fontes. It was also partly the fault of quarterback Scott Mitchell, who failed to loosen up the Bucs last week with either his passing or his audibles.
The Bucs held Sanders to 20 yards on only 10 carries. Sanders had gained more yards against the Bucs (2,116) than against the Packers (1,518), Vikings (1,416) or Bears (1,376).
“As I see Barry, there’s going to be plays where there’s no gain, 1 yard, 2 yards, then all of a sudden, boom. That’s why it’s so important to be patient and persistent with it,” Ross said.
It took Fontes years to convince himself of this truism. The Bears hope it will take Ross more than two games. Receiver Herman Moore has another theory:
“At some point in time, people become wise. After having someone abuse them to where he’s abused them, they say, `Hey, look, we’re not going to let this guy beat us doing this,’ ” Moore said.
“Barry’s a marked man. It’s amazing he has been able to do what he’s done for as long as he’s done it, given the fact that every team has really designed their defense to try to take him away. That’s when the other guys have to step forward.”
As for Sanders, he remains on an even keel, never complaining, panicking or hinting at frustration.
“You guys haven’t learned yet . . . we always seem to get things clicking eventually,” he told a group of reporters Wednesday.
Concerned?
“No,” he said. “I’m not concerned. A lot of it is because everything is new to us. The teams we played (Atlanta and Tampa Bay), they had good defenses with veteran players, good players. That put us at a little bit of a disadvantage. I don’t think it’s time to panic. We’re 1-1, and there’s a long way to go. People are making a lot of very fast and quick judgments. I don’t think it’s time to scrap anything.”
Buc starts here: The undefeated Buccaneers and Vikings play for the NFC Central lead Sunday in Minnesota.
“It’s still very early. I still think we have the reputation, `Oh well, they’re Tampa Bay and we’ve seen this before and they’ll fold up eventually when they have injuries or whatever,’ ” Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen. Our team has started showing character and belief in itself, and I’ll be surprised if we don’t continue to improve.”
And if the Bucs do keep it going, there should be 29 teams ashamed of themselves for not giving Dungy a job before now.
“I always felt I could do the job if I got a chance to do it,” he said.
The Bucs were 2-0 in 1992 and in 1980, and ended up 5-11 both times. The only other time they were 2-0 was 1979, when they started 5-0 and ended up 10-6 and in the NFC title game.
Da Coach update: Chicago isn’t the only city marking the return of Mike Ditka. San Francisco, site of the infamous 1987 gum-throwing incident and Ditka’s most lopsided losses (23-0, 41-0, 26-0, 52-14), is happily awaiting his entrance with the Saints, who couldn’t beat the 49ers even when New Orleans was good.
Speaking of patience with the run, look for Ditka to get running backs coach Tom Moore more involved in the play-calling. In last week’s loss to San Diego, offensive coordinator Danny Abramowicz quit running with the score 13-6.
Ditka broke his headset and was seen giving Abramowicz an earful.
“Agitated? Gang, you haven’t seen agitated,” Ditka said. “With Danny, we had what I would call a friendly discussion.”
Marino-Favre matchup: The Packers have not beaten the Dolphins in eight games dating to 1971. Dan Marino vs. Brett Favre this Sunday is their first faceoff since 1994. Since then, Favre’s 38 touchdown passes in 1995 and 39 in 1996 are second only to Marino’s 48 in 1984 and 44 in 1986. So this is a rare pairing between the two most prolific single-season touchdown passers in NFL history.
Favre believes Marino’s 48 TD passes is more impressive than Roger Maris’ 61 home runs in 1961.
The question still lingers: Will Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson bench Marino this season for Craig Erickson? The story has taken on a life of its own, but Johnson gave it birth when he admitted he was thinking about it.
Butler hit it: Arizona fans carried the goal post out of Sun Devil Stadium after the Cardinals beat the Cowboys 25-22 on ex-Bear Kevin Butler’s field goal in overtime. The goal post eventually was returned.
“I hope they brought it back a foot wider,” Butler said.
His 20-yard winner hit the left upright and clanked through.
“I flat-lined for a second,” he said.
Boy George: Oakland’s Jeff George, on how he expects Atlanta fans to greet his return Sunday: “Well, it can’t be any worse than last year and I was a Falcon back then. They didn’t cheer me then, and they obviously won’t cheer me now. I will expect the worst and that’s fine. But who knows? They might surprise me and it might be different.”
A new battery: Without Steve Young and Jerry Rice around, who makes up the NFL’s top pitch-and-catch duo? Cincinnati’s Jeff Blake to Carl Pickens has connected for 39 touchdowns since Blake became the starter in mid-1994. Young and Rice had 27 touchdowns in the same period and 74 for their career, second all time behind Miami’s Marino to Mark Clayton (79).
