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Dining In The 80’s:
Defending The Airwaves
by Chris Brophy
11/9/2008
Just like all those radio stations that claim to play the hits of the 80’s, the Diner is joining in on a trend and taking you back to the 80’s in a serious of articles recalling the early days and memories of when football was first being shown and starting to build it’s fan base in this country. For those of you not old enough to remember vinyl, VHS and who shot JR, hopefully you’ll gain some insight into some NFL history experienced first hand. For those of you old enough to regret that mullet haircut and buying a Betamax video maybe it will stir up some fond thoughts on days gone by. Forgive me if occasionally we slip in and out of the decade – just like an old record on the radio, you might well remember it, but you can’t always remember where it is from.
 We start by recalling one of the great defensive backfields of the time. If you banged in an old VHS tape (we were posh in our house!) you might end up watching Top Gun. The need for speed via the air was often to be found in the old AFC West, where attacking through the skies was the favoured option. If it wasn’t the rocket arm of John Elway and his Three Amigos (Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson and Ricky Nattiel) flying through the thin vapour of Mile High Stadium it was the Raiders – whether they had the personnel or not – throwing bombs. In San Diego, the Chargers and the heyday of “Air Coryell” was starting to wind down by the mid 80’s but they had acquired in Anthony Miller, one of the up and coming receivers in the league. Up in Seattle, Steve Largent was busy setting all time records for receiving and even when he retired, the underrated Brian Blades picked up the slack to team up with the plucky Dave Kreig.
Notice here, I haven’t made it to the Kansas City Chiefs yet. That’s because, if you ranked those AFC West passing offenses the Chiefs would come last on most peoples list. Most of the decade was pretty forgettable for the Chiefs but when it came to defending passes rather than completing them, they possessed a standout secondary that could handle the best passing attacks around and was a foundation for Marty Schottenheimer to build upon when he took over as Head Coach of the franchise in 1989.
The main focus of this unit comes in the form of three players – Free Safety Deron Cherry and Cornerback’s Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross. Cherry joined the team as an undrafted free agent (remember, it was a 12 round draft back then) out of Rutgers where he had played safety and punted. He figured his best chance to make the team was as a punter so that was where his early concentration fell but the coaches soon seen his potential and he quickly got involved on defense. He was actually cut after his first camp but was soon brought back and stayed on the roster for 10 years. Once a starter, his level of play continued to climb and in 1983 he made the first of six straight Pro Bowl appearances. He’d also be named All-Pro five times. He played the game with a high level of intelligence and was rarely found out of position. Given his history, he is regarded as one of the most successful undrafted free agents in NFL history.
 Flanking him on the corners were Lewis – drafted in the 3rd round of the 1983 draft – and Ross who came one year later in the 7th round. Lewis was a major physical talent. He had good size (6’2″) and excellent speed. His superb burst enabled him to break quickly on the ball and also made him a valuable weapon on special teams where he would block ten punts over his career (four of which were returned for TD’s) coming quickly off the edge. Ross was less of a physical presence, not as tall or as fast he was one of the team’s hardest workers and set himself high standards earning the nickname of “Rock” from his team mates for his dependability. Whilst not matching Cherry individually for Pro Bowl appearances, Ross and Lewis managed another six trips to Hawaii between them (Ross twice, Lewis four times). All three of these guys were also excellent tacklers, enjoying laying the wood and contributing to run defense and reducing opponents run after catch yardage.
Both corners also loved to play bump and run and excelled at it. In a time when the rules on bumping receivers were not so intensely policed, physical corners could really gain an edge on receivers if they could control them off the line and maintain contact down field. Ross especially, despite being the physically less well endowed of the two, loved to get in opposing receivers faces and gain an edge early. Lewis with his size would try to gain leverage at the line so that he could gain positional advantage to use his superb ability to break on the ball. It was often well rewarded although a low light of Lewis’ career may well be the play-off defeat to the Dolphins in 1990 when he gambled and lost with Dolphins receiver Mark Clayton, pushing off hard at the line only to break the wrong way and allow Clayton to take in a TD that would prove decisive (the Chiefs lost by a point, 17-16).
The first thing Schottenheimer did upon his arrival was realize he that improving the pass rush would give this set of play makers more chances to show off their skills. Defensive End Neil Smith had come to the team as the overall number 2 pick in the 1988 draft and he was quickly followed in 1989 by Linebacker Derrick Thomas. All of a sudden, opposition QB’s were under pressure and Cherry, Lewis and Ross were masters of clearing up behind. 1989 would see the Chiefs defense rank number two in the league and from 1990 until by the time Ross and Lewis had moved on after the 1993 season (Cherry retired after the 1991 season), the Chiefs made post season every year. Whilst a Super Bowl eluded them, after the barren 1980’s which seen only one play-off berth, getting close was better than never having a chance to get close.
Lewis and Ross would move on after 1993, giving way to the likes of Dale Carter. Both would go on to play for divisional rivals and also make the move into Cherry’s old position of free safety at some point. Lewis added five years onto his career with the Raiders and Ross turned up in San Diego (via the Falcons) but whilst they still showed flashes of what they once were – especially Lewis, who became the oldest man to return an interception for a TD aged 38 whilst a Raider – they’ll always be remembered, along with Cherry, for being a unit that was greater than the sum of its total parts in Kansas City.
Learn More about past NFL greats in our History Archive
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