It was more than an obscure line on the transaction wire this week but less than a Herschel Walker-to-Minnesota-for-three Super Bowls earthquake. The Washington Redskins added 2005 NFL MVP Shaun Alexander to their backfield as insurance behind Clinton Portis.

Nice insurance policy. Although his numbers plummeted from 1,880 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns in his MVP season to 896 and then 716 because of a foot injury, many believe Alexander, 31, still has some football in him. Particularly as a No. 2 back.

"It's really an honor," said Portis, who leads the NFL this year with 643 yards. "You get a league MVP, a guy who's had success and touchdown records and everything else. I want to know how you get 28 touchdowns [in a season], so who better to ask than Shaun? He did it."

Redskins coach Jim Zorn knows all about him from his days as an assistant in Seattle. Said Zorn: "He's got things to prove. I don't think he doubts what he can do. ... It's one of those pre-owned Mercedes. I think it's got some mileage to go on it."

Former defensive tackle Chris Mims, who was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment Wednesday, was the fifth member of the Chargers' '94 Super Bowl team to die. Steelers fans might remember that Chargers team as the one that upset the Steelers in the AFC title game at Three Rivers Stadium. Linebacker David Griggs died in a 1995 car crash in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Running back Rodney Culver was killed in a plane crash in '96. Another linebacker, Doug Miller, was struck by lightning in '98. Center Curtis Whitley was found dead in his West Texas trailer home in May. "Kind of crazy, huh?" said long snapper David Binn, the only Chargers player from that '94 team who still is active. "Five guys out of 45. That's statistically amazing."

So much for needing time to acclimate himself to the offense. New Jets quarterback Brett Favre has completed 71.3 percent of his passes, the highest completion percentage after five games in his long and storied career.

Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer took out the sharp knives after the Seattle Seahawks' 27-17 home loss to the Green Bay Packers last week. Wrote Thiel: "The game began with an unwanted third-string quarterback throwing his first pass to a recovering alcoholic, recently jobless until his emergency hire by the Seahawks, who once fired him. Movies are made of such weeper stories. First downs, however, are not."

What financial crisis? The official price of Super Bowl tickets will reach $1,000 for the first time this season. The NFL confirmed Thursday that 25 percent of the tickets for the Feb. 1 game in Tampa will be priced at $1,000. Of course, for those pinching pennies, it also announced it will drop the price of 1,000 tickets for this season's game by $200... to $500.

Tony Dungy is 0-7 as a head coach at Lambeau Field. The Colts play the Packers there today. ... Why have the Vikings seemed to stagnate? Receiver Bobby Wade has been in the league six years and played with 17 QBs. ... Of the 88 games played in the NFL this season, 28 (31.8 percent) have been decided by a fourth-quarter comeback. If that continues, it will be the highest percentage in NFL history, surpassing the 31.3 in 1989.