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Sunday, December 15, 2002

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Everyone knows that to win in the North late in the season, you must run the ball. Right?

"No," said Ernie Accorsi, New York Giants vice president and general manager, "because Unitas didn't run and Baltimore isn't South."

Accorsi saw Johnny Unitas up close when Accorsi was the Colts' public-relations man. Later, he was executive vice president of the Cleveland Browns when they lost three AFC championship games to Denver and John Elway.

He says it's a myth that teams must run in cold weather.

"Elway played in cold weather," Accorsi said. "He beat us in Cleveland throwing the ball."

Elway's famous drive in the AFC championship game Jan. 11, 1987, in Cleveland occurred on an overcast, blustery day and 30 degrees. The wind chill was minus-5. Among his plays on that famous 98-yard drive that tied the score with 37 seconds left were completions of 22, 12, 20 and 14 yards, and a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Elway was 22 of 38 for 244 yards. Cleveland's Bernie Kosar was 18 of 32 for 259 yards. No one on either team rushed for 100 yards.

"He beat us in three championship games in January," Accorsi said. "It was cold in all three places."

Yet the myth persists that teams must run in the cold in the North in order to be successful. Two of the most productive Steelers believe it, one a runner, the other a receiver.

Jerome Bettis does not think Oakland's passing machine could survive on the road in the winter.

"Until they play in 30 degrees in Pittsburgh weather, until they show they can do it in a cold-weather environment," Bettis said. "Sometimes you don't know where the football's going to go. Your hands aren't moist so they can't stick to the ball, so the ball's going to slip around and slide around out there. The footing is never that great in the winter, grass fields don't normally grow that well in the winter."

Hines Ward, a Georgia native, said it's tougher to throw and catch in the cold.

"I don't know any receivers who like to catch in cold weather," Ward said. "When you have that, catching in cold weather, you really can't play that physical style of game by passing the ball 50-some times a game."

But who said you can't win that way?

"It's easier to throw the ball" in cold weather, Accorsi counters. Not necessarily easier than throwing it in 70-degree weather, but all else considered, he thinks a team can be more successful throwing in the cold than running because the defense is at a distinct disadvantage.

"It's tougher to play defense with cold footing," Accorsi said. "If you have a good passer, it's harder to defend in that kind of weather. Sure it's harder to run patterns, but you know where it's going."

He gave another example: Dec. 31, 1967, Green Bay, Wisc.

"The Ice Bowl!" Accorsi said. "They threw the ball. Both teams threw it. It was supposed to be the worst conditions in football history."

The temperature for that NFL championship game was minus-13 degrees and the wind blew at 15 mph. The Packers' Bart Starr threw touchdown passes of 8 and 46 yards to Boyd Dowler. Dan Reeves of Dallas threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Lance Rentzel.

In the Steelers' version of the Ice Bowl, they beat Oakland, 16-10, Jan. 4, 1976 in an AFC championship game played on a frozen field at Three Rivers Stadium after a tarp tore overnight.

John Stallworth scored the winning points on a 20-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw. The Raiders nearly pulled it out when Ken Stabler completed a 37-yard pass to Cliff Branch to the Steelers' 15 as time ran out.

Just because it's December in Buffalo doesn't mean teams abandon the pass.

"We kind of feel there are some advantages on a bad field," said Bills President Tom Donahoe. "You know where you're going and the defense doesn't.

"One thing in Buffalo, you need a strong-armed quarterback because the weather conditions here get nasty, particularly the wind -- we get wind in September. If you have a quarterback without a strong arm, it can present problems. That's why Jim Kelly was successful all those years here and now Drew Bledsoe. Against Miami a couple weeks ago, we were throwing the ball all over the place. It was cold and windy the whole game and in the fourth quarter it was snowing."

As Accorsi said, "If you have a great quarterback who can throw the ball, you can play at the North Pole. If I have Elway, I play right on the Arctic Circle."