Banner Graphic, Volume 15, Number 91, Greencastle, Putnam County, 19 December 1984 — Page 15

Ten interceptions brings top defensive honors to Kenny Easley

NEW YORK (AP) Strong safety Kenny Easley of the Seattle Seahawks, a man his coach says had the best season of any defender he’s ever seen, was named today as the National Football League’s defensive player of the year by the Associated Press. Easley was the bulwark of Seattle’s offensive defense, a defense that produced turnovers in bunches and scored eight touchdowns on its own. Easley, who led the NFL with 10 interceptions, scored two of them himself. “Kenny Easley is simply a great football player,” says his coach, Chuck Knox. “I’ve never seen a defensive player have a better year in the 31 years I’ve been coaching.” Easley defeated linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants in the voting by three sports writers or broadcasters covering each of the league’s 28 teams. Easley had 25 first-place votes to 19 for Taylor. Mark Gastineau of the New York Jets was third, followed by Randy White of the Dallas Cowboys and Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton of the Chicago Bears. Easley’s great season may have been made by adversity in Seattle’s first game of the season, a 33-0 victory over Cleveland, the Seahawks lost running back

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Curt Warner, the man around whom the offense was built. “We certainly knew that there was chance that the offense wouldn't be productive with Curt out,” Easley says. “We felt as a defense obligated to to pick up the slack by taking the ball away to get them decent field position from where they could score ” So they did, led by the hitting and ballhawking ability of Easley, whom Knox termed one of his “RBI men” the men he counted on for the big play. The Seahawks’ turnover ration of plus 23 led the league as Seattle finished at 12-4 and earned a wildcard playoff spot in the AFC West. “I feel an obligation to create turnovers for the offense, that’s my job,” Easley says. “Just like Dave Krieg throws the touchdown passes and Steve Largent makes the big catches, I create turnovers.” But Easley did more than that when punt returner Paul Johns was injured, he went to special teams coach Rusty Tillman and asked if he could return punts, something he did at UCLA. Tillman checked with Knox and Knox concurred. So Easley returned 16 punts averaging 12.1 yards per return. That would have put him second in the AFC and third in the NFL if he had returned enough to be listed among the leaders.

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DAN MARINO: Offensive playef of the year

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Marino obviously is tops on defense

MIAMI (AP) The accolades keep rolling in for Dan Marino. The Miami Dolphins’ record-breaking quarterback was named Tuesday as The Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year, winning the honor over Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams, who set a new National Football League singleseason rushing record. Marino, in only his second NFL season, shattered five league passing marks in leading the Dolphins to a 14-2 record and the AFC Eastern Division title. “It’s nice to have all the records,” he says. “But it’s better to play on a team that can win as many games as this one has.” The 23-year-old quarterback finished the season with 362 completions; 5,084 yards passing and 48 touchdown passes. He also had nine 300-yard games passing and topped the 400-yard plateau four times both all-time highs. “What can you say?” Dolphins Coach Don Shula asked after watching Marino toss four TD passes to lead his team to a 2821 victory over the Dallas Cowboys Monday night. “It’s hard to believe Dan is only in his second year considering all the things he has accomplished.” Marino collected 52 votes for Offensive Player of the Year to 18 for Dickerson, also a second-year pro, who smashed O.J. Simpson’s single-season rushing record. A scattering of votes also went to Chicago’s Walter Payton, San Francisco’s Joe Montana and Marcus Allen of the Los

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December 19,1984, The Putnam County Banner-Graphic

Angeles Raiders. Marino’s 48 touchdown passes in 16 games was 33 percent better than the previous record, 36 in 14 games by \ A Tittle of the New York Giants in 1963 and George Blanda of the Houston Oilers in 1961. There was no asterisk involved, though Marino had 40 after 14 games.

Anderson .will play CINCINNATI (AP) Veteran Cm cinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson isn’t talking like he plans to retire after 14 seasons but concedes he’ll know when it’s time. “As long as the game is still fun and I’m physically able to play and play well, I’ll continue to play. I always feel better when the warm weather comes, so I don’t want to make that decision now,” he told reporters after the Bengals closed out their season by defeating the Buffalo Bills, 52-21, Sunday. He turns 36 on Feb. 15. “When the time conies. I’ll wake up in the morning and it’ll be like somebody hit me over the head with a brick,” Anderson said. “I’ll know it. It won’t be a hard decision to make.”

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