Thursday, January 7, 1999
Tanuvasa wants
By Pat Bigold
revenge on Miami
Star-BulletinMaa Tanuvasa, Hawaii's newest millionaire, is hoping the Miami Dolphins will vaporize on Saturday the way his breath does everyday in the frigid Denver air.
But the Broncos' defensive end recalls all too vividly the aerial fireworks that exploded in his face Dec. 21 in Miami.
Dolphins' quarterback Dan Marino threw for four touchdowns and 355 yards against the Denver defense. Seventeen of 19 Miami first downs came through the air.
"They have timing patterns where his ball is out in 3.5 seconds or less, and you can't get there," said Tanuvasa, the Broncos' co-leader in sacks who recently signed an $8.9 million deal to extend his stay with Denver. "So you just try to jump up to get a hand up to knock down the ball. We tried everything."
Tanuvasa said Marino and his offensive line complement each other.
"They don't have to hold their blocks too long because he gets the ball off so fast," he said.
"They caught us with a lot of things we didn't see on film."
Asked what the Broncos might do different against Marino, Tanuvasa said there'll be a better game plan. But that's all the Mililani High/University of Hawaii product would say.
"You'll just have to see on Saturday," he said.
"Hopefully, our defensive backfield will cover his guys pretty well and we can get up and get in his face," Tanuvasa said.
Pro Bowler Neil Smith, still hampered by an abdominal injury, is likely to see 15 to 20 snaps on Tanuvasa's line Saturday.
"This is a great opportunity for Neil to come in on pass rushing downs and do his stuff," said Tanuvasa. "He looks as healthy as I've ever seen him. He looks real good in practice, and I know he's hungry for a playoff win."
New Orleans Saints defensive end Pio Sagapolutele said last week that one of Tanuvasa's greatest assets as a sack man is his hand extension in getting off the blocks.
Sagapolutele said he probably developed it through martial arts instruction, as have some other outstanding NFL linemen.
But Tanuvasa, who has had 17 sacks over the past two seasons, said martial arts had nothing to do with it.
"I have just emulated some of the defensive linemen I played behind, like Michael Dean Perry," he said.
Tanuvasa said former St. Louis School and Colorado defensive tackle Viliami Maumau is with the Broncos' practice squad.
He said he's glad to have another Hawaii native going with him on the playoff ride this year.
"I'm glad he's here, and we have him over for dinner all the time," said Tanuvasa. "When I was with the Rams, I had Pio and Bern (Brostek) there. It's always good to have Hawaii people around you. So I'm showing Vili the ropes and helping him out."
Tanuvasa said Maumau, who was drafted in the seventh round last year by the Carolina Panthers, has made an impression on the practice squad.
"The offensive linemen rave about him, and we have pretty good offensive linemen," he said.
Tanuvasa said that if there's going to be an upset this weekend, it could be Arizona over Minnesota in the NFC playoffs.
Although he doesn't like to look that far ahead, the prospect of facing the Arizona Cardinals' 1,000-yard rusher, Adrian Murrell, in the Super Bowl intrigues Tanuvasa.
"He used to kill us (Mililani) when he played for Leilehua (in the late 80s)," Tanuvasa said.
But in a 1996 NFL game, Tanuvasa and the Broncos' line shut down Murrell when he was with the New York Jets.
Tanuvasa said one reason he didn't have a better shot to join former Hawaii kicker Jason Elam in the Pro Bowl next month is that he doesn't play defensive end all the time.
"I play end two out of three snaps and go inside on third and long," he said.
