Eagles Uncover Rhodes To Riches While Philadelphia Thrives, Hawks Struggle For Identity

This is a tale of two down-on-their luck football teams - one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast.

Things had deteriorated so badly last year that new coaching staffs were brought in to halt and hopefully reverse the downward spirals that were sucking them under.

Philadelphia hired Ray Rhodes, who could flash five Super Bowl rings, all earned as an NFL assistant with San Francisco.

Seattle employed Dennis Erickson, who owned a pair of collegiate National Championship rings from the University of Miami.

Rhodes quickly cleaned house - doing everything short of fumigating - by bringing in 34 new players.

He also discovered that the long-time starting quarterback could not lead the team to wins, so Randall Cunningham was benched and the Eagles ran off a string of seven wins in eight games.

They now have an 8-4 record, the second-best in the NFC.

On the other coast, Seattle’s quarterback, Rick Mirer, continues to struggle and the Hawks’ improvement has been spotty as the team stands at 5-7 with no realistic playoff aspirations.

The two teams meet today in the Kingdome, with one rookie coach zeroing in on a playoff berth and the other trying to dodge disaster.

In 12 years with the 49ers, Rhodes had gained a sense of what constituted winning teams - players with winning attitudes.

“I felt change was needed,” Rhodes said of his first impression of the Eagles, who had nose-dived with seven straight losses at the end of last season. “You evaluate the players and know you have to replace some to upgrade in certain positions.

“I wanted to bring in guys who were winners, guys who had won before and knew what it took to be winners; guys who were going to be good people in the locker room.”

How important was a winning background in Rhodes’ evaluation? Consider that the free agents he’s brought in (not counting receiver Art Monk, who might be active this week), Rhodes signed players who own a total of 19 Super Bowl rings.

In contrast, no current Seattle Seahawk has ever been on the active roster of a Super Bowl-winning team.

And once Rhodes filled the locker room with winners, he made certain that no one would feel comfortable enough to sit around and polish up their championship jewelry.

“Ray made it clear from the start that the best guy was going to play, no matter who it was, whether he’d been to the Pro Bowl or whatever,” said the Eagles’ Pro Bowl defensive end William Fuller.

“I always told them, from the start, that I evaluate on production,” Rhodes said. “And I’m not going to just live with a mistake, I’m going to try to rectify it. If you’re not producing, it’s going to be very hard to play for me.”

And if that means benching Cunningham, or calling running back Ricky Watters on the carpet for selfish statements in the press - well, so be it.

“I’m not going to win any popularity contests,” Rhodes said. “But I don’t give a rat’s behind.”

“He’s not going to sugar-coat anything,” said quarterback Rodney Peete, who spent a short time on the bench last week before returning to the lineup to lead the Eagles on the game-winning drive against Washington. “But the players respect somebody who’s like that instead of somebody who is just always going to tell you what you want to hear.”

He also took an unconventional route in manning his staff with young coaches primarily from the college ranks - including former Washington State staffers Ted Williams and Gerald Carr.

“I put a lot of emphasis on guys who are going to teach; I wanted detail guys who were teachers, first of all, who could communicate,” Rhodes said. “I didn’t want guys from the old school that did a lot of yelling and screaming; I wanted somebody who could put their arm around a player and walk him through something until he understood exactly what we wanted.”

Peete has been the most visible beneficiary of Rhodes’ approach, seeing that he has landed the starting job - in part because of his attitude.

“Rodney came in and moved the team; he’s a fiery guy who started putting pressure on the team,” Rhodes said. “If a lineman missed a block or a receiver ran the wrong route, he made sure he addressed that. He came in and brought some urgency to the field.”

Urgency is exactly what the Seahawks should feel, particularly after taking the pratfall that was Sunday’s 16-10 loss to the lowly New York Jets.

“It was such a disappointing effort that it’s hard to describe,” Erickson said. “(The players) know it and they’re embarrassed how they played.

“Now, we’ll find out what we’re made of,” he added. “If you’re embarrassed how you played, you better come out and play better next time. If some guys don’t, they had better realize that every Sunday is an evaluation period as far as I’m concerned.”

Rhodes sympathizes with Erickson’s plight. “Coach Erickson is doing a fine job,” Rhodes said. “To come in the first year and try to put things together is not the easiest thing to do. The important thing is trying to get the right chemistry on the field and in the locker room, and that can take time.”

Erickson hinted that he might tinker with the team’s chemical composition this week if Mirer can’t move the Seahawks - meaning John Friesz could see more action now that he’s healed from a shoulder separation.

This game could be attractive in one way, at least, as it features two of the top three rushing attacks in the NFL, with the Eagles rated second and the Seahawks third.

The two individuals that will indirectly battle in that regard are Seattle’s Chris Warren (third in the NFL with 1,040 rushing yards) and Watters (fourth in the league with 1,005 yards).

Another important subplot will be the matchup between the Philadelphia defensive line and the Hawks’ offensive line. The Eagles lead the NFL with 37 sacks, while the Hawks line has left Mirer to run for cover with distressing regularity. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 color photos

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HAWKS VS. EAGLES The game: 1 p.m. in the Kingdome. Coaches: Seattle - Dennis Erickson, 5-7, first season. Philadelphia - Ray Rhodes, 8-4, first season. The records: Seattle 5-7. Eagles 8-4. The series: Eagles lead 4-1. Last week: The Hawks snapped a three-game winning streak with a 16-10 loss to the New York Jets. The Eagles topped the Redskins 14-7 to run their win streak to three straight. The line: Eagles by 3. On the air Television: FOX with Kenny Albert and Anthony Munoz. Radio: KXLY (920 AM) with Steve Thomas and Steve Raible.