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Sunday, October 21, 2001

Compiled by Ed Bouchette

Maybe Trent Dilfer was the reason Baltimore won the Super Bowl last season. The quarterback nobody wanted has led the Seattle Seahawks to victories in their past two games after they started 1-2 with golden boy Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback.

Seattle fans want Dilfer to stay in the pocket, but genius Mike Holmgren is leaning toward Hasselbeck -- derisively called Mr. August for his elevated play in the exhibition season -- when the Seahawks resume play after their off weekend.

Dilfer, a free agent available to any team that wanted him before Seattle signed him just before the season began, has a 93.0 passer rating. Hasselbeck has a 48.9.

All Dilfer did in Baltimore was win, right through the Super Bowl, and the Ravens dumped him in favor of Elvis Grbac.

It's not better to block

Memo to Steelers tight end Mark Bruener: To block is sublime, to catch passes is the path to stardom.

Shannon Sharpe needs 19 receptions to pass Ozzie Newsome for the all-time lead among tight ends. Newsome has 662. The only other tight end with 500 receptions is Kellen Winslow.

"All the tight ends that have 500 catches -- me, Kellen, Ozzie -- we didn't do any blocking," Sharpe said. "You don't get credit for blocking. They consider you an offensive lineman if you block. They don't throw you any passes if you block. You don't make any money if you block. You don't set any records if you block. They call you a servant if you block -- you make minimum, plus tips. No thank you. I'd rather own my restaurant."

Excessive celebration

You can celebrate an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown with 1:40 left in the game if you play for the Denver Broncos. Just don't do it if your team is getting trounced.

Deltha O'Neal, the AFC's leading punt returner, tried it last week against Seattle and Coach Mike Shanahan let him have it on the sideline.

"I guarantee, he won't do that again," Shanahan said.

Anthrax scare

Tough-guy Bill Romanowski, who has spit in the face of opposing players, is too frightened to open his fan mail.

He's afraid there might be anthrax in it.

"For right now, no, I will not open it," the Denver linebacker said. "Unless one of those guys on TV covered in those white suits wants to be hired, I'll hire him to do it. Other than that, I don't think anyone else would want to do it."

How about his own quarterback?

"It's an important part of my job," Brian Griese said, "and I'll continue to do that. I will take a little bit more precaution when looking at where the mail's coming from and whether it looks suspicious. I will heed those warnings. But I will continue to open the mail and respond to it."

Quick slants

Trivia question: Only one team with a winning record has a quarterback it drafted on the first round. Name him.

Think linebacker Levon Kirkland has helped Seattle's defense? The Seahawks rank sixth against the run, their best since the third week of the 1994 season, or in the past 120 weekly NFL rankings.

Chiefs Coach Dick Vermeil: "I think we're a pretty good 1-4 football team." Is that better than being a darn good 0-5 football team?

Vinny Testaverde, who led the NFL with 25 interceptions last season, has thrown none this year. Some credit the Jets' new West Coast offense.

Tennessee's Steve McNair has run for 2,067 yards since 1997, more than any quarterback during that time. Kordell Stewart is No. 2, at 1,712.

Jacksonville has had two consecutive home games blacked out on local television because the stadium did not sell out. "We need our fans here," Coach Tom Coughlin said.

Oakland Coach Jon Gruden, answering Raiders' critics who say they do not throw deep often enough. "We hit a couple of big ones. I think our longest gain is now 38. So take that, Raider Nation. Thirty-eight yards, man. We're moving up."

Trivia answer: Tim Couch of the 3-2 Cleveland Browns. Other winning teams have first-rounders at quarterback, but they did not draft them --Testaverde, Trent Dilfer of the Seahawks and Kerry Collins of the Giants.