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Sunday, October 07, 2001

Compiled by Ed Bouchette

Cleveland is off to a good start, but the Browns aren't off to their best start since they returned to the league in 1999.

They are 2-1. They were 2-1 last year.

Of course, they claimed only one more victory over their next 13 games in 2000. Still, they had beaten the Steelers, and quarterback Tim Couch was off to a better start than he is now. He had a passer rating of 107.7 last year after three games compared to 72.2 today. Their running game was more productive and their defense had more sacks last season after three games.

"Trust me," safety Earl Little said, "it's totally different around here than what it's been the past two years."

Said cornerback Corey Fuller, "Guys are believing more than we did last year. There's a belief in the team working together."

Not all of them believe to the point they blindly believe.

"I think everybody appreciates what we're doing," said safety Percy Ellsworth, "but I think the jury's still out."

Advantage, offense

Baseball and all its 60-home run seasons isn't the only game that has been changed on offense. Unlike baseball, football did not juice up the ball and it has taken some of the juice out of its players.

The NFL found a different way to juice up its offense. It changed the rules.

Rules changes implemented in 1978 to favor the offenses, and subsequent changes and interpretations since then have helped NFL passing games. Passing and receiving statistics are ever increasing.

That's why Raymond Berry finally fell out of the top 20 in pass receiving, pushed out by a tight end, Shannon Sharpe. He moved into the top 20 with 636 receptions. It took a long time to knock Berry out. He retired in 1968.

"That's a reflection of the style of play," said Cincinnati Coach Dick LeBeau, a former cornerback who covered Berry. "Raymond played in the [Vince] Lombardi era when teams ran the ball 60 percent and threw 40. Now they throw it 60 and run it 40. It's a different game."

Pump up the volume

It has become so quiet at new Mile High Stadium in Denver, you can hear an opposing quarterback call his signals.

Built with 12 million pounds of reinforced steel that was supposed to create even more noise than the old one, the new stadium has gone flat. The old Mile High may have been the noisiest open-air stadium in the NFL.

"It wasn't anywhere close," Denver Coach Mike Shanahan said about the noise in the new stadium after the Ravens won in Denver last week. "But even Mile High over the last couple of years wasn't as loud. I think people kind of expect you to win a little bit."

Proceed with caution

Jerry Rice quickly discovered the difference between playing in San Francisco and across the bay in Oakland. 49ers fans come dressed in furs. In Oakland, they're lucky if they dress at all.

And they throw things, even on their stars.

Last Sunday, Rice scored two touchdowns against Seattle and jumped into the south end zone on the first and the north end zone on the second.

On the second, he found out what it was like to be Kordell Stewart.

"Beer just came everywhere," Rice said.

It was a good scouting mission for halfback Charlie Garner, who awaits his first touchdown as a Raider.

"I wouldn't mind getting into that end zone, but I am not jumping into the crowd," Garner said. "Jerry came back smelling like a beer."

Quick slants

With the Titans 0-2, critics have taken aim at offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger. "I went to my kid's high school game," Heimerdinger said, "My kid's team throws a 96-yard touchdown. And the guy behind me says, 'Ah, the Titans should put that one in.'"

Doug Flutie is 33-14 as an NFL starter, 20-3 at home.

Baltimore's Matt Stover has kicked a field goal in 29 consecutive games, two short of the NFL record set by former Pitt kicker Fred Cox.

The Bengals' Corey Dillon rushed for 114 yards in the first three quarters against New England in the opener, but has only 93 in his past nine quarters.