Sunday, October 05, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Some closer looks at items from the first four weeks of the NFL season:

Item: Trailing by three with two seconds left, Houston coach Dom Capers has quarterback David Carr successfully run a sneak to win the game rather than try to tie it with a field goal.

Closer look: Texans owner Bob McNair gave Capers a game ball, and the NFL named him AFC coach of the week. Had Carr been stopped, Capers would have been buffoon of the week and ridiculed across the NFL.

Remember when ex-Detroit coach Marty Mornhinweg last season won the coin toss in overtime and took the wind instead of the ball? The Lions lost, and Mornhinweg was roundly mocked for his choice -- one reason why he's the ex-Lions coach. Never mind that Mike Ditka once did it and won.

Too many coaches worry about the reaction to their choices if they are not successful instead of just making the right choice.

Item: Atlanta coach Dan Reeves suspends cornerback Tyrone Williams for "conduct detrimental to the team" last week.

Closer look: What's up with the coaches these days? That's the third suspension a coach has issued for a game this season. Baltimore's Brian Billick kicked things off when he suspended starting cornerback Chris McAllister for a game in San Diego. Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer followed by suspending wide receiver David Boston for a game last weekend at Oakland.

It's rare when one coach suspends one player during the season, and already there have been three in the first five weeks. Maybe the coaches are taking back some authority. Odds on the next player to get it: Terrell Owens in San Francisco.

Item: Rush Limbaugh quits ESPN after saying Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb gets more credit than he deserves because he's black: "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well," Limbaugh said.

Closer look: ESPN deserves what it got, and it took the network too long to come down on Limbaugh, at first trying to defend him. What did ESPN think it was getting when it hired Limbaugh? It would be like inviting Hannibal Lecter to Thanksgiving dinner and then expressing shock because he did not use a fork. Maybe McNabb is overrated, but it's safe to say the quarterbacks who preceded him were not.

Item: Rookie quarterback Kyle Boller throws three interceptions to cost Baltimore an upset victory against Kansas City.

Closer look: The Ravens would be 3-1, maybe 4-0 if Billick had signed Charlie Batch or another available veteran quarterback in free agency. Instead, he threw his rookie smack into things to open the season on the road in Heinz Field. Batch would not have cost them that much -- he cost the Steelers $1 million this year. They could have had Gus Frerotte. They could still have Neil O'Donnell; he's available. Playing one season behind O'Donnell might do Boller more good than getting chewed up every week. With O'Donnell, the Ravens would be more of a threat in the AFC North because they might be a team that could win the division if it had better quarterback play.

Item: Maurice Clarett sues the NFL to enter the 2004 draft after playing only one season in college.

Closer look: First off, how are his studies coming along in the fall term at Ohio State? If he fails to win his suit, will he be eligible to play college football next season? Clarett might be doing all the dirty work for Pitt sophomore Larry Fitzgerald. If Clarett's suit prevails, Fitzgerald could join him in the draft, and Fitzgerald would be chosen higher than Clarett.

The biggest fear of the NFL is not that Clarett will win, but that the NCAA would then permit players to return to play college football if they did not like where or by whom they were drafted, similar to how it treats basketball players. Of course, the NFL could then counter by ruling an underclassman must ultimately play for the team that drafted him.

Item: The NFL is investigating whether there was tampering by the Washington Redskins and/or other teams before the New England Patriots released Lawyer Milloy and he signed with Buffalo for more money.

Closer look: Good luck with that. Every team tampers one way or another -- yes, even the Steelers. One agent told me the telephone calls for the March 1 free agents begin in October. The conversations go something like this: "Say an All-Pro middle linebacker with the Chicago Bears were to be interested in playing for you, what do you think you might pay him?" Then, try to prove the conversation ever took place. Said the agent, "Every single conversation I've had in the last 15 years in this kind of situation is the same. It's like an episode out of 'The Sopranos': 'We've never had this conversation. I don't know who you are, I never heard of you.' "

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