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Sunday, November 26, 2000

Compiled by Ed Bouchette

Charley Casserly, the general manager of the Houston Texans, not only paid a visit to the Steelers' facility on the South Side last week. He also spent some time next door at Pitt.

It's no coincidence that Pitt Coach Walt Harris is high on the list of candidates to become the first coach of the Texans, who will begin play in the AFC in 2002.

Among others high on Houston's list of candidates are Butch Davis of the University of Miami, Gary Kubiak of the Broncos, Dom Capers of the Jaguars and Marvin Lewis of the Ravens.

Casserly has been checking out each of them, the main reason he visited town last Monday.

Dangerous duo

The duo of Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey in Denver may be the best receiving pair in the league. They have a shot at becoming the first teammates in NFL history with 100 receptions apiece.

They have combined for 149 receptions, 2,193 yards and 15 touchdowns. Minnesota's Randy Moss and Cris Carter have 127 catches for 2,009 yards and 16 touchdowns between them.

"Best tandem, best duo I've ever worked with," quarterback Gus Frerotte said. He also worked with Herman Moore and Johnnie Morton in Detroit.

Zero tolerance

Baltimore's defense is so good that the Ravens may tie the 1976 Steelers today by recording their fifth shutout when Cleveland visits.

The Ravens keep talking about it as if that's an NFL record. But it's only the most since 1970, when many in the NFL think the league was born because that was the year of the merger with the old AFL.

The record is actually 10, and 27 teams have had eight shutouts or more in one season before 1970.

Who needs defense?

Oakland continues to defy the logic of winning. The Raiders are 9-2 even though they have the 26th-ranked defense. Only three teams have allowed more first downs.

They have the 28th-ranked pass defense. But the three times quarterbacks have thrown for 300 yards against them, the Raiders have won all three games, including the league-best 504 yards by Kansas City's Elvis Grbac.

Quick slants

Ricky Watters has started 108 consecutive games, the most of any current running back. Eddie George has 76, Mike Alstott 45, Curtis Martin 39 and Jerome Bettis 38. Alstott won't play today and Martin is in question.

San Diego has lost four games by two points or fewer. The Chargers are 4-18 in their past 22 games and their previous five losses have been by a total of 18 points. They have lost six games by three points or fewer, proving once again that bad teams lose close games.

Baltimore Coach Brian Billick is 7-0 against Cincinnati and Cleveland, and 9-12 against everyone else.

The Bengals' Peter Warrick needs 384 yards receiving to reach 801 and get a $1 million bonus. He has 417 yards in 11 games and only five more to nearly double that. The Bengals think he needs to wear contact lenses and will fine him $600 if he blows off an eye exam scheduled for this week.

Only three times since 1970 has a team come up with seven turnovers and still lost the way the Browns did in Tennessee last Sunday, 24-10. One was a strike game in 1987 and the other was a 1983 game in which Tampa Bay lost to the Steelers, 17-12.

Fred Taylor's 234 yards against the Steelers last week and teammate Jimmy Smith's 291 yards receiving against Baltimore on Sept. 10 make the Jaguars the only team in NFL history with a 230-yard back and a 250-yard wide receiver in a game in the same season.