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Sunday, December 02, 2001

Compiled by Ed Bouchette

Jacksonville wants to pattern itself after the Steelers again, only now the Jaguars want to do it in their financial statements.

The spendthrift Jaguars cited the Steelers as the team to beat when they arrived in the NFL and the AFC Central Division in 1995.

Now they see them as the models of the salary cap to follow.

"In my opinion, Pittsburgh has done it best," Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver said. "They were out of the playoffs for a couple of years, but their salary cap was not the reason. They lost some key players and decided to let some go when they had a lot of football left in them, but I think they have managed their salary cap well, because they are right back on top again."

The Jaguars are in so deep, that getting out might take a while.

"We have to make some very difficult decisions," Weaver said. "I've said from the beginning, we made a big bet on keeping this team together, and now we have to make some difficult decisions on how we start to rebuild this franchise. It's going to be painful and it's not going to be easy."

Weaver, though, gave Coach Tom Coughlin a vote of confidence.

"My analogy would be if you hired a COO in business, a chief operating officer. You bring him in and you have five magnificent years and all of a sudden you've had one-and-a-half down seasons. Do you throw the COO out with the staff, or do you say, how can we retool and rebuild this and get things on the right road again?" he said.

Titans hanging on

Tennessee (4-6) hasn't given up ship yet, even if it looks more like the Titanic than the Titans these days.

"You fight until you hear the bell," safety Aric Morris said, "and as long as there is a little light at the end of the tunnel, you keep chasing it until it goes out."

Only 20 players on Tennessee's 53-man roster were with the team in 1998, when they previously missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record.

"I think the guys who were here then, who saw it, really don't want to go back to that," receiver Kevin Dyson said.

Jets vs. December

The New York Jets enter troubled waters today that they call December. The month has not been a season's greetings for them.

Last season, they lost their final three games to go from 9-4 to out of the playoffs. That ran their record to 18-41 in December over the past 15 seasons. It might be why they've made the playoffs only three times in that span.

"We can't think, 'Ah, December, we're going to lose,' " strong safety Victor Green said. "It's the first December game and we're playing good football. December? So what? It's a new year."

Quick slants

The Colts' Marvin Harrison has 66 catches for 934 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he's no road warrior. All four of his 100-yard games and 10 of his touchdowns have come at home.

Broncos quarterback Brian Griese threw 50 touchdown passes in his first 34 games. It took John Elway 44 games to do it.

Steelers cornerback Chad Scott has two interceptions returned for touchdowns, part of 39 such scores league-wide that is the most at this stage of the season since 1970.

Brian Billick on all the Ravens' injuries and how they will play on: "The alternative is to roll up in the proverbial ball and call for your mama."

Billick came off the field after Baltimore's win in Jacksonville last week sporting a bloody nose, thanks to Tony Siragusa. "If you're wondering, I got head-butted by Goose," Billick said. "It was a hell of a win over Pittsburgh, I mean Jacksonville."

Alex Van Pelt could be Buffalo's starting quarterback next season as the Bills evaluate whether to release or extend Rob Johnson. In two starts, Van Pelt has completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 625 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.

Cleveland has intercepted 25 passes, five more than their previous two seasons combined.