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Show Saturday Iectnitr I tah 3d. 1W5 THE DAILY HERALD. Proto, Page B3 Bills picked; to defeat ; By RICK GOSSELIN Dallas Morning News ( 1 GREEN BAY, Wis. Brett Favre's portrait of a champion is flawed. It's the facemask he wears, K.that half cage. There are way too i, 1 many bars on the mask, way too v much protection for that face. ., For Favre has the mug of a leader. It needs to be seen by , friend and foe. Like Bobby Layne in the 1950s. No facemask. And .; Billy Kilmer in the 1970s. One bar, under the nose. Easily visible on Layne and Kilmer were their sneers of a gunslinger. ', These guys come around once " every 20 years or so quarter-- . backs w ho succeed by sheer force 'J of their w ill. That inner fire. They t' won't lose and they won't allow their team to lose. '." Layne didn't have the arm of " Otto Graham or the flair of Norm Van Brocklin. He completed less than 50 percent of his career passes. But he won. During a stretch in the 1950s, Layne took the Detroit Lions to four NFL i! championship games, Kilmer played an even uglier j" i game. He couldn't gun it like Joe Namath and lacked the pocket six-ye- ar j presence of Roger Staubach. Kilmer waddled, and his passes ' fluttered. But he won. The Red- j skins went to the playoffs four i years in a row plus a Super Bow l Ji .with an aging Kilmer (1971-74Now along comes Favre. At '( t . 2, 220 pounds, he's Troy Aikman through a trash compactor. He doesn't throw the perfect spiral 'j - - - ). J rv ? , 6-- I .1 like Dan Marino. He slings it sidearm, underhand, overhand ... whatever it takes to get there. But it gets there. And he wins. Favre quarterbacked the Green Bay Packers this season to their first division title since 1972. the Packers begin their j Now Super Bowl quest Sunday when in ' I ' the opening they host Atlanta round of the playoffs. Favre, 26, has replaced Aik-"- J. man as the best young quarter--j back in the NFL and may be the guttiest competitor since Kilmer. He appreciates both comparisons. Especially Kilmer, now that he f knows who he is. Favre was born in 1969. so he has no recall of Kilmer's exploits. But he finally caught up with Kilmer on television late one night m this fall in the NFL Films presen-- t tation, "Heart of a Champion." He vvi-amused and impressed. i "His shirttail is hanging out." said. "He's got a little pot t Favre nbelly. If he didn't have a uniform on, you'd think he was some jan- . i i. nor.. or.. ..... irucK uriver. it;.. riis nose was .smashed up. There was tape all 'over it. He had blood all down his jersey, his arms, his sweatbands. '.His eyes were kind of swollen around his nose. "Then he scrambles around for ,va play, dives into the end 'one. I got chill bumps. How'd he do it? He can't outrun anybody. ; He's slower than I am. which is ; bad. But he found a way to do it. the great r, That's what separates '.ones from the average ones." f Favre gave the NFL a Hash of Kilmer on Nov. 12. He hadn't ..practiced that week because of a sprained ankle. He could hardly , walk, much less take a snap, drop throw. t into a pocket, set and But first place was on the line Chicago. against their arch-riva- l. Favre had his ankle w rapped and There was enough r 4 i. i 5 AP Photo : , s i . . ' ' 2()-ya- : , : rd I By the Miami Dolphins talk Dout the Buffalo Bills, they talk bout the run. When the Bills talk tout the Dolphins, they talk about e run. Saturday, thev run into each "Ihcr in the first round of the NFL i When layoffs. Their 12:30 p.m. EN game at luffalo kicks off the lund of nlavofl's for the AFC. 'jith Detroit at Philadelphia 1 wild-car- d fol-'iwi- at 4 p.m. in the NFC game, "iinday's games have Atlanta at "reen Bay in the NFC and Indi- at San Dicco in the AFC. ' tapolis The last time the Bills (10-6- ) ' id Dolphins ) met. two weeks ' :o, Thurman Thomas rushed for 18 yards and Buffalo won (9-7- 23-2- Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre reacts after against the Cincinnati Bengais. Favre is a throwe NFL QBs. throwing a touchdown pass in an earlier contest back to several roommate says, 'Damn. I know tape on his foot to qualify as a night, play all day. cast. But Favre hobbled around Favre's persona was forged by you were hurting.' But somehow his background. A product of that day and flicked five touchplayed. Back then it probably is Favre relaxed down passes. He completed 25 of nie. was so nervous all Mississippi. his 33 passes for 336 yards. It was a pickup-tructhe time. was more worried about the hangover." a victory of the heart. quarterback. Maybe two He remembers his first Favre also gave Texas A&M a "There are some quarterbacks Missisat Southern scare that can outrun me. probably that season, slapped 65 college game old-tim- I small-tow- 0. inching its sixth AFC East title in ' cht ' " "Ifyears. we're going to have a shot at Thur-a- n inning, we've got to stop Miami safety Louis Thomas," liver said. "They want to say, ' Ve're going to run it until you op us.' I'm pretty sure they're ling lo line up and try to blow us 'If the football." Bdls arc :j At the same time, the Winced that if they can stop the . am. lami rusmiij; I n I k, s. "We wound $25,000 apiece." me. ones that are more accurate." Favre said. "But why aren't you hearing about them? What separates me from some other guy w ho's the same sie as me. same speed, same arm and everything? It's the fire inside, the emotion. I love to play the game. "Picking up the (pay) checks on Tuesdays is fun. but it's more fun for me to go out and play the game. I hate during the week, practicing and waiting for Sunday to come. Then when Sunday comes. I have to control myself." This past Sunday against Pittsburgh, with the division title on the line. Favre was knocked out of the game and came to the sideline spitting up blood. But he returned to the field and led the Packer to a 24-1victory. 9 But the legend of Brett Favre hasn't always been his passion for the game on the field. It was his est for life off the field. He played Bobby Layne party all successful. 17 games Lions (10-6- ) third-stringe- 1 reality, however. Detroit's offense is the biggest concern to the Eagles. Scott Mitchell is playing well, receivers Herman Moore and Brett Perriman 231 combined for a league-recor- d receptions, and Barry Sanders is doing w hat Barry Sanders does. at F.a-l- es ( 10-6- ) The challenge is clear in this game. Lions veteran tackle Lomas Brow n made sure of that. "There is no question in my mind that we're going to win this game." Brown said. "It's just a matter of how much are we going to win it by and how long is it going to take." Brown says he's serious about the prediction, and the Lions do take a seven-gam- e winning streak into Philadelphia. Eagles coach Ray Rhodes thinks Brow n made a mistake popping off. "I'm going to make sure that the whole lineup" gets a copy of Brown's remarks, he said. Falcons (9-- at Packers ) With temperatures forecast (11-5- 7) in and w ind expected to the mid-20- s come ripping through Lambeau Field, the Falcons might be down a TD or two to the weather before they even arrive in Green Bay. For one. the Packers have never lost a home playoff game. For another. Green Bay QB Brett Favre has never lost in freezing conditions. In Atlanta's coldest game of the wind chills at year in below-zer- o on Buffalo, the Falcons lost 23-1- 7 Nov. 12. Yet. Falcons coach June Jones say s: "The cold's not going to be a major factor." on Louisville and upset in his career would come upsets at Florida State. Alabama and Auburn. Favre became a giant-killon the field and a giant off it. He was an night owl. Favre shakes his head at that reputation now. "I think everyone's got to have some sort of aura thai people remember them by." Favre said. "I don't want it to be thai he was a drunk. liked it in a way that he's one of the guys who'll go out anil suck them down with the best of 'em. then go out the next day and be at his best. "In college. I was famous for it. But I look back now and think. "You drank six beers the night before a game." I wanted people to remember me as a great quarterback. But w hat you always got was. 'Did you hear about him the other night?"" points Mississippi State. Later er 1 His reputation followed him to Packers strong safety LeRoy In top-rank- against Buffalo. Marino has thrown for more than all losses. 300 yards four times In four Dolphins victories over the same period, however. Marino has passed for just four touchdowns and averaged seven fewer attempts. "We want to stop their running game and force Dan to throw the football." Bills linebacker Cornelius Bennett said. "That's always been the key to beating Dan Marino, letting him throw 45 times a game." In sippi. He was a freshman and the Golden Eagles were playing r, Tulane. He was a and knew he wasn't going to play. So Favre and his roommate played a drinking game called "Quarters" in their room the night before the game. That's where you try to bounce a quarter into a glass of beer. But the two players didn't have any change. So they pried a metal washer off of the sink anil used that. They picked up a case of Schaefer Light "Six bucks a case." Favre and into the night they recalled played, polishing off the case. "Sure enough, we're in the second half of the game and I'm hurting." Favre recalled. "It's like 95 degrees in Hattiesburg (Miss.), and both quarterbacks are playing awful. So coach says to me. 'Get in there." My stomach ... I felt was going to throw up. "But I go in there and throw two touchdown passes, we come from behind and beat them. Mv Butler agrees, to a point. "They've come too far now to let weather stop them, but they're saying that now in Atlanta.' Butler said. "Once they get here on Saturday, they'll know real cold." Favre is 13-- with the temperature at or near freezing. In those contests, f avre has completed 281 of 419 passes (67 percent) for 3.273 yards. 31 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. "I hate the cold as much as any one." he said. 0 at Chargers ) Colts (9-Natrone Means is as healthy as he's been since straining his groin 7) last November, and that might be an unhealthy situation for Indianapolis. Especially w ith his backup, Aaron Hay den doing so well. Hayden. a rookie, will make his fifth straight start. "Aaron doesn't really let too much faze him. so I think he'll be OK." said Means, whose onlv wf t winning Favre's daring hit the local papers, rekindling memories of Max McGee. He was an aging leserve on Green Bay's first Super Bowl team, having caught only four passes all season. So he stay ed out late and missed curfew the night before the Super Bowl, figuring what the heck, he wasn't going to play any way. But Boyd Dowler was injured on Green Bay 's first possession, and Vince Lombard i sent in the McGee. He wound bleary-eye- d up catching seven passes for I3S yards and two touchdowns in a rout of the Kansas City Chiefs. Party ail night, play all day ... love those Packers. "People like that stuff up here." Favre said. "But I think (my) reputation is starting to fade away. You hear I was out every night before the game, drinking, which is totally false. You couldn't do it. I don't know that I'd even want to do it. I'm aeltinc old." . Slt 27th Annual Wlnltr Super Mens & ladies Cord & Tweed Trou 20-50 OFF Of m ayvagoo -- sers 1 JV: ; ' By DAVE GOLDBERG AP Football Writer Parity applies to the regular season. It rarely applies to the playoffs, where home field means more and favorites lose less. That applies a little less in the wild-car- d round one visitor, Detroit, is actually favored at Philadelphia. But form usually holds. order of appearance: ' Miami (plus 4) at Buffalo A replay of the game played In - two weeks ago at Rich Stadium. It but'it was won by the Bills 23-2the Dolwasn't really that close phins got 10 points off turnovers in the third quarter. Buffalo and Thur-ma- n them 342-22- 9 Thomas ran for 148 yards. 0. out-gain- "We've always had trouble Thurman." says Don Shula. But Thurman "s not really Miami's biggest problem. The Dolphins themselves are. Off this season, the Bills have the chemistry, the Dolphins don't. The Bills also have the home in the 0 field, where they're w and the weather, hich is playoffs, one reason for that edge. ; w ith 8-- . BILLS. 24-1- 6 Detroit (minus 2 12) at Philadelphia The Lions have won seven . straight, are the only road favorite and could make trouble for Dallas and San Francisco. But they're not a team suited best for playing outdoors in cold weather, which may make earning that trip to Dallas tougher than, people think. The Eagles have the, weather advantage and the tactical advantage (Ray Rhodes is a better coach than the lovable game-da- y Wayne Pontes) Still, as much as Rodney Peete would like revenge against his old buddies, the Eagles defense will be pressed to stop the Lions on the unless ground and in the air Fontes goes for it on fourth-and-- 1 from his 29. 7 LIONS. 21-1- Atlanta (plus 8 12) at Green Bay If there's a no contest, this is "if,: Could the system have found a worse spot to send Atlanta, which requires conditions that allow for precision routes and precision pass- mtT Ii(nh.''ifl W.'Vi mi" I limine a Kit he can slog or slidi. on tundra but Jeff George or Bobby Heberf will have trouble with cold hands. If it's George, he'll spend more time whining about the conditions than taking care of business. In fact, this is one reason the isn't run (or shot) ' anv where else. PACKERS. 24-- 6 Indianapolis (plus 5 12) ' at San Diego ' The second AFC game that's a k turnaround except that the Chargers beat the Colts ot two-wee- in Indianapolis. The Chargers have one big advantage beyond home field playoff experience (and snowball experience, although that won't be a problem here). Assuming thai Stan the Humphries plays, resilience the Chargers showed should get them past this week, although not much further. 27-2- 4 CHARGERS 17-1- 0 TOUT 27-2- at Indy on Dec. 17. at his numbers, for himself." Means they speak said on Thursday. "He hadn't play ed in a long time, and he came in and from his first start, he just picked it up. He wasn't awed by anybody. He just went out there and played his game." Sunday is a big day for Hayden. because if the Chargers win. Means probably will start in the next round. "I'm probably the only rookie running back to get a chance to play." Hayden said. "It's exciting." w in "If you look IHOII! i: mm ATV CASES Author of ImqAtK ATV H f' 1 ; Dolphins appearance since his injury was three carries for six yards in a 4 . 39 Umvoflty MH, (9-7- up Ever the gamer. out-thro- w Dan Marino to throw, they can be ne Mssuuiaieu ricaa Atlanta, where he became a secondraft pick of the Falcons in 99 1. He didn't play much, throwing only five passes that year without a completion. But Southern football fans loved him just the same. "Everyone told me you're like Billy Kilmer. Sonny Jurgensen guys that were chubby, drinking beer all the time, didn't really care, then would show; up and play." Fav re said. That reputation followed him to Green Bay when he was traded to the Packers in 1992. This was a tow n that put Paul Hornung on a pedestal as much for his escapades off the field as his accomplishments on it. Green Bay won championships, and Hornung threw the party back in the 1960s. A good time was had by all. Green Bay has long yearned for those day s of glory. The Packers haven't been to a Super Bowl since 1968 and seemingly had forgotten how to win. Then along comes Favre, who has revived memories of Bart Starr on the field and Hornung off it. Green Bay is a small enough town that every time Favre gis out. the whole town knows when and w here. So he has reeled himself in. His focus now is on football. "I'm like a normal working person." he said. "I'll still go out after the game and have a few. But I've cut way back." But a reputation is hard to shake. Especially when Favre occasionally stokes it himself. Like last May at the Cadillac Classic in New Jersey, a I'GA Seniors' tour stop. NFL quarterbacks were shootout paired in a one-da- y before the tournament, and Favre drew Stan Humphries of the San Diego Chargers as a partner. Favre and a couple friends decided to go in to New York City on the eve of the event, and wound up staying out all night. They rolled in at 6:30 in the morning and Favre teed off less than two hours later in an alternaformat. ting-shot "I showed up. and I'm hurting." Favre said. "I'm trying to look like I'm with it. but it's cold and windy and raining. Stan's out there real serious 'C'mon. let's go. let's sink this putt' ... and all that. I'm like. '1 need a Coke ... .' d-round I I CAU. TOU FREE IN UTAH Don B'te Os WRONGFUL DEATH 24 HOUR MESSAGE 942 72S2 CAN SEE YOU TODAY1" IfVV HAVVN AHORVfY lTHiM WHIPtASHl V4JV f.mlltnn In LOW BACK CLINIC . for Oitr 25 itrt Stn-ic- t 225-3S9- 3: H 777? &AUST b06 East BOO South. Orpm. ul J j j |
