Chiefs turn down
Phillips, release 20
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -
After saying no to Lawrence
Phillips, tiie Kansas City Chiefs said
goodbye to 20 other players, includ
ing veteran quar
terback Billy Joe
Tolliver and run
ning back Jesse
Haynes.
And although
second-year man
Pat Barnes
appeared at first
to have beaten
out Tolliver for
third-string quar
rmilips terback, he was
soon gone as
well. The Chiefs released him
Tuesday night after acquiring Todd
Collins on waivers from the Buffalo
Bills.
One day after disclosing he’d had
a face-to-face meeting with Phillips,
Coach Marty Schottenheimer said
the Chiefs would not be signing the
troubled running back who had
already been cut by St. Louis and
Miami.
“We made a decision we’re going
to go in another direction,”
Schottenheimer said. “We evaluated
the information available to us both
through research as well as personal
interviews”
Schottenheimer said Phillips’s
problems off the field were no more
a factor in their decision than they
would have been for any other
prospect.
“We looked at Lawrence in the
same light we look at every player,”
Schottenheimer said. Media and
public opinion had been running
strongly against signing Phillips,
who has been controversial since his
playing days at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
“I don’t ever listen to the talk
shows, and I haven’t read a newspa
per in a few days, so that wasn’t a
factor,” Schottenheimer said. “We
took the process we’ve always taken.
That gives you the best opportunity
to make the right decision.”
Haynes, who played in Division
II at Northwest Missouri State, had
become something of a fan favorite
even though he spent all last season
on the practice squad. He fumbled
three times in three exhibition
games, including twice inside the 15.
“I think he pressed,”
Schottenheimer said. “The fumbles
were the biggest issue. He felt as
though every play he was in there, he
had to make a big play. It kind of got
to him. We talked a little bit about it.
I think he’s a pretty good player. But
until you actually do it in the games
99
Barnes, a fourth-round draft
choice from California last year, had
been picked over Tolliver as the No.
3 quarterback behind Elvis Grbac
and Rich Gannon, despite throwing
five interceptions during die exhibi
tion season.
But when Collins cleared
waivers, Barnes was released.
“The obvious is Pat, statistic
wise, had a horrendous pre-season,”
said Carl Peterson, the Chiefs’ presi
dent and general manager. “He
struggled, sometimes not his fault,
not always playing with the first
team guys.”
The Chiefs had wanted Barnes to
get some game-condition experience
playing in Europe during the spring,
but he declined to do it
Collins, who followed Grbac as
the quarterback at Michigan, was
Buffalo’s second-round draft choice
in 1995. He began last season as the
starter for the Bills, but was benched
twice. He did start 14 games, com
pleting 215 of 391 passes for 12
touchdowns, with 13 interceptions
and 39 sacks.
He became expendable at
Buffalo after the Bills signed Rob
Johnson, with Doug Flutie as his
backup.
“He's had some good games, he’s
been up and down at Buffalo, but as
a third quarterback, he can help us,”
said Peterson.
Other veterans released were
center Eugene Chung and comer
back Anthony Prior. Also waived
were tackle Tavarr Closs, defensive
end Herb Coleman, comerback Matt
Dorsett, punter Shayne Edge, center
ELMashtoub Hicham, tight ends
Chad Flick and Damian Johnson,
guard Brad Kubik, wide receiver
Shawn Me Washington, linebacker
Brandon Moore, wide receiver Chris
Ortiz, linebackers Terry Rice-Locket
and Mark Smith, safety Rod Thomas
and wide receiver Toussaint
Waterman. Placed on injured reserve
were defensive tackle Jay Heimsoth
and wide receiver Kevin Huntley.
Among the happiest players to
escape getting released was tight end
Willy Tate, who failed to make the
team last year and ended up spend
ing the season on the practice squad.
“When somebody tells you, ‘You
tried your hardest and that’s not good
enough,’ that’s a very difficult
thing,” Tate said. “I can’t think of
anything more stressful than that.
This day is not a lot of fun. You try to
avoid eye contact with the guys from
the personnel department.”
Bulldogs’ coach confident
Crowton says Louisiana Tech’s experience will curb intimidation
By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
Though Louisiana Tech will open
its season on the turf of Memorial
Stadium in Lincoln in front of a sea of
76,000 fans
Saturday, Coach
Gary Crowton is
confident the
Bulldogs won’t
be intimidated.
They’ve
played in big sta
diums before -
and survived.
At Auburn
last season on
Crowton Oct. 11, in front
of 84,761 fans,
Louisiana Tech fell 49-13.
But three weeks later, the
Bulldogs defeated Alabama 26-20 in
the Crimson Tide’s homecoming
game, before a crowd of70,123.
“I don’t feel intimidation at all,”
Crowton said. “We’ve played in a lot
of big games, as far as packed house
stadiums. We’ve been on the road a
lot We’re used to that”
In two seasons under Crowton,
the Bulldogs are 7-3 on the road and
15-7 overall. But the Alabama game
last season was one of Louisiana
Tech’s biggest upsets, Crowton said.
That’s what receiver Troy
J~' ' " ■ ..■
y
Edwards is hoping for this Saturday,
when the Bulldogs take on the
Comhuskers at 3:08 pm.
“I kind of compare it to the
Alabama game,” Edwards said.
“We’re reader for that. We’ve played
in front of more people. A crowd
can’t come out there and play.
“Thqr can’t live on their tradition.
That’s their past. That’s their history.
This is a new team.”
Quarterback Tim Rattay, a
Heisman Trophy candidate, agreed
with Edwards.
“There’s no intimidation here,”
Rattay said. “I don’t think you can be.
We respect them like we respect
every opponent, but we’re not intimi
dated.”
Crowton said he is not going to
change his game plan for Nebraska.
The Bulldog offense, he said, will run
about 55 percent passing plays - but
the passing game, he Said, won’t open
up without a solid running game.
Last season, Louisiana Tech
passed the ball on 61 percent of its
plays and ran the ball 49 percent of
the time. Furthermore, passing
accounted for 73 percent of the total
offensive yards, while rushing
accounted for only 27 percent.
As a team, the Bulldogs’ 1,491
rushing yards were 386 yards fewer
than Ahman Green’s 1,877 yards for
the Huskers last year.
When Louisiana Tech does run
Sum results
The Nebraska art Louisiana Tech offense get
yards in dtiferent wave, but they end getting
to the same place often: the endzone. Below
are the rankings for both teams in scoring and
total offense and the ranking in rushing and
passing offense for either team.
Total Offenae yards par game ranking
Nebraska 513J7 1
Louisiana Tech 496.3 3
Scoring points par game ranking
Nebraska 47.1 1
Louisiana Tech 33.1 20
JonFrank/DN
the ball, junior running back Bobby
Ray Tell will get most of the carries.
The 5-foot-6, 200-pounder led the
Bulldogs with 800 yards rushing last
season.
“We have a good running game,”
Crowton said. “Bobby Ray Tell is fast
and strong and hard to bring down.
“I think our running and passing
games complement each other well.”
But ultimately, there’s no telling
what will happen on Saturday until
kickoff, Crowton said.
“You never know how good a
OVER ONE MZLIION
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