Spying in pro football had been a lost art until the Washington Redskins unwittingly revived it this year by charging admission to their training camp practices. For $10, that opened the gate to scouts from rival teams who are banned from camps that don’t ask the public to pay.
The Dallas Cowboys sent a scout many times to Redskin Park and coach Dave Campo said his reports helped the Cowboys upset the Redskins on Sept. 18. The Philadelphia Eagles also sent a scout, although it didn’t help them avert last week’s loss.
The Baltimore Ravens are only 36 miles away from the Redskins and face them Sunday, but chose not to spy.
“We scrimmaged them, plus we have videotape of five games,” said Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens’ vice president of player personnel. “You almost need a coach to go to interpret what they’re looking at, and a coach can get what he needs off tape because we are creatures of habit.”
George Halas always suspected spies at Wrigley Field when the Bears practiced there, so he had security guards everywhere. Defensive end Doug Atkins used to bring a .22-caliber pistol to practice and yell: “Hey, there’s somebody up there watching us.” Then he would shoot at pigeons.
When Hamp Pool coached the Los Angeles Rams, fullback Joe Marconi said he was so wary of spies he held impromptu practices.
The Rams would stay in Milwaukee during trips to play Green Bay or Chicago. They would pile into a bus to go to a practice site and Pool would suddenly tell the driver to stop. He would see a city park or a parking lot and order players to practice on the spot.
Before the Bears played the Packers in 1980, Halas ordered scout Bill Tobin to steal the Packers’ sideline hand signals. Tobin studied them and relayed them to coach Neill Armstrong and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who was able to forewarn his players to watch for run or pass. The Bears won 61-7.
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Scouts from opposing teams get press box seats to prepare for upcoming games, so spying has lost much of its covert charm. Tobin, for example, was not sneaking around the Packers. He was only paying attention.
The value of scouting varies by circumstance. After the Vikings broke down video of last week’s lame showing by the Bears against the Saints, Viking coaches had virtually nothing useful from the tape to prepare their players.
Instead of the usual 20-25 defensive plays gleaned from a tape to demonstrate what the opposition does particularly well, the Vikings could splice together only five plays worth replaying.
Forced rivalry: The Ravens and Redskins have played only once before, in 1997, and not many players have much sense of a rivalry. Owners Art Modell of the Ravens and Daniel Snyder of the Redskins aren’t best friends. The Redskins infringed on Baltimore territory when they advertised there last off-season, so the Ravens advertised in Washington. The Redskins also raided the Ravens for a marketing expert. Citizens in both cities insist this is not one market, even though they are closer than the northern and southern suburbs of Chicago.
They do have the two highest payrolls in the NFL, according to NFL Players Association figures–$88 million for Washington and $77 million for Baltimore.
“We play the NFC East once every three years. How can you get a rivalry out of that?” Ravens safety Rod Woodson said.
Said Redskins quarterback Brad Johnson: “It’s way too new for a rivalry. It’s great for the fans. I don’t think too many players know those on the other team.”
Best friends: Bill George, the late Bears Hall of Famer, used to tell sons Leo and Biff they would find out who his real friends were after he was dead and gone. Fred Williams was his best friend, so after George was killed in a car accident in 1982, Biff, then 22, turned to Fred for advice on everything from girlfriends to ceiling fans.
“Fred was my best man at my wedding,” Biff said.
Biff gave a eulogy at Williams’ funeral in Arkansas on Thursday. He told a story about how the two players–roommates on the road for 12 years–once got into an argument and didn’t speak to each other for eight weeks. They still roomed together, sat in the plane together and played cards together, but they didn’t speak.
“It’s the end of an era because he was a link I had to my father,” Biff said. “It was like I could grab a picture and see what life was like as a football player in the ’50s and ’60s.”
How Wanny does it: Last week, Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt took his players to the movies to see “Remember the Titans.” He has brought in a psychologist, Dr. Kevin Elko, to talk to his players. He ended a practice with an impromptu softball game. He took players to the IMAX movie featuring Michael Jordan. He will keep the players out of pads as the season goes on, hoping they don’t revert to their past of fast starts followed by sudden collapses.
He let players wear an all-white uniform for the first time since a Sept. 21, 1997, loss to Tampa Bay. They hadn’t worn white-on-white at home since 1995.
“It’s a good thing to know you’re wearing the same uniform as Bob Griese and Doug Betters,” defensive end Trace Armstrong said.
Said Wannstedt: “I think I’ve got a good pulse of where our team is and where our players are.”
Go east, young man: Wannstedt’s Dolphins are not only in first place, they are in first place in the tough AFC East.
Said Indianapolis coach Jim Mora, whose defending champions are currently in third place: “Anybody who doesn’t think this is the toughest division in the NFL, they ought to have their head examined. The Patriots are right in there with everybody, and we are too. And so are the Jets, Miami and Buffalo. It’s going to be a real battle. I don’t think we’re in a hole at all. We’re right in the hunt, baby.”
Out of Favre: Packers quarterback Brett Favre explained why he doesn’t mind criticism that he is trying to do too much: “The year we went to the Super Bowl and won it, the year we lost the Super Bowl, our offense almost ran by itself,” he said. “We were hard to stop. Everyone was making plays, everyone wanted the ball, everything we did seemed to go our way.
“Even when things went wrong it wasn’t that bad. So as a quarterback, if you’re up by two touchdowns or three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and a pass is called, your mind-set is simple–if the guy is open I throw it. If he’s not, I check down and dump it off. No big deal. Punting is OK.
“But when you’re down and your team is struggling, someone has to make a play. You have to get points on the board somehow. If you’re down by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, your mindset is much different.
“I can throw check-downs all day and complete 80 percent, and we lose by three touchdowns but that doesn’t do any good. To say I try to do too much, I think is a fair assessment. But my comeback is always, `Well, if I don’t, who will?’ That’s the way I play the game.”
Brian’s rant: Ravens coach Brian Billick doesn’t like to be told that quarterback Tony Banks is reverting to his old inconsistent ways. You could almost hear music playing in the background when Billick said:
“Stereotypes are a terrible thing; they really are. … Strictly in athletic terms, that’s a terrible form of bigotry. That says you’ve done something in your career that I’m never going to forgive you for. And I’m going to say you can never get better. That’s un-American.”
Weather change: In their three games since playing the Bears, the Thunder and Lightning running game of the New York Giants appears to have gone south for the winter. In their first three games, Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber had rushed for 523 yards in 104 carries, a 5.0-yard average. But over their last three games, they have rushed for 170 yards in 55 carries, a 3.1-yard average.
“Teams get a few games on tape and it becomes a little bit harder, just part of the NFL,” quarterback Kerry Collins said.
Dayne’s 3-yard average on the season doesn’t bother coach Jim Fassel, who said: “I definitely think he’ll be fine.”
DON PIERSON’S NFL RANKINGS
1. Rams–Will a week’s vacation slow down their pace?
2. Vikings–Started fast and getting faster.
3. Titans–They have a chance to bury Jaguars early.
4. Dolphins–The Dave and Trace show continues.
5. Ravens–Can steal beltway spotlight from Redskins.
6. Colts–Two losses nearly matches last year’s three.
7. Jets–First loss probably won’t be the last.
8. Buccaneers–Three losses in a row puts team on defensive.
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9. Raiders–They’ll know more after trip to Arrowhead.
10. Lions–A bye and trip to Tampa, then bye-bye.
11. Redskins–They face must-wins every week.
12. Chiefs–Home games against Raiders, Rams will tell much.
13. Giants–Offense stalled, already played Bears.
14. Bills–Now 0-3 in division and already shoveling.
15. Jaguars–Doctor didn’t order Monday visit to Tennessee.
16. Eagles–Warming up in Arizona before visit by Bears.
17. Patriots–The best 2-4 team in football gets Jets.
18. Broncos–Cleveland should restore Mile High magic.
19. Seahawks–Punchless in Seattle; Holmgren reeling.
20. Falcons–They get to host Rams’ parade in St. Louis.
21. 49ers–Jeff Garcia getting as popular as Jerry.
22. Cowboys–They want to make it in New York.
23. Steelers–Two in row, Kordell. Now grab more bench.
24. Saints–Bears provided enough hope to sustain season.
25. Panthers–Still not sure which way they’re headed.
26. Packers–They’re getting worse instead of better.
27. Cardinals–Another chance to shine in hot sun.
28. Browns–Could they be drafting after Bears?
29. BEARS–Now the schedule gets really hard.
30. Chargers–Harbaugh, Conway, Graham, all is forgiven.
31. Bengals–Their losses are getting more respectable.