Sunday, October 19, 2003

From wire dispatches

Who will be the first NFL coach fired this season? A good bet is Buffalo's Gregg Williams, but a midseason change isn't likely.

Williams is in the final year of his contract and Bills fans are overwhelmingly in favor of him being fired. Owner Ralph C. Wilson hardly gave a ringing endorsement after the Bills' 30-3 loss to the New York Jets last week.

"We sleepwalked," Wilson said. "We didn't have any emotion. We just haven't shown any enthusiasm, not today, not for the last three weeks."

It's the fourth consecutive week in which the Bills have looked like a shell of the unit that won the first two games of the season.

The Bills' brain trust will be reluctant to fire Williams during the season, simply because it's almost always a prescription for disaster.

There have been 53 in-season coaching changes since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, but only nine of the replacement coaches posted winning records. That includes three who coached three games or less.

But it's looking unlikely that Williams will be back next year.

Growing pains

Cornerback Chris McAlister finally resurfaced last week, but it was a good news/bad news story for the Baltimore Ravens.

His 83-yard interception return for a touchdown against Arizona in the third quarter broke the game open. But his hot-dogging antics as he raced to the end zone drew a flurry of flags and raised anew the question of whether McAlister is ever going to grow up.

McAlister was benched four weeks ago for missing curfew and a team meeting before a game in San Diego.

"At some point, he's going to learn," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "It's always bittersweet with Chris."

Foot fault

Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer might be the first NFL player to be seriously injured getting off his couch.

Plummer was at home Monday night when he felt his left foot pop after getting up from his sofa. He reported the incident to the medical staff Tuesday, but the initial diagnosis was a strain.

When he returned Wednesday, his foot was clicking each time he took a step and more extensive X-rays showed a fracture. It turns out that Plummer probably sustained the fracture in a game Oct. 5 against Kansas City, the same game in which his shoulder was injured.

"I'm still shocked," Plummer said.

Rivalry rekindled

Cleveland Browns president Carmen Policy spent the week leading up to the Oakland game tweaking the nose of Raiders owner Al Davis, his one-time rival from the San Francisco Bay area.

Policy regaled the Cleveland media in the middle of the week on the history of his disagreements with Davis, and even orchestrated an Al Davis look-a-like contest on WKYC -- the NBC affiliate that is the official broadcast partner of the Browns.

At the game Sunday, two huge, professionally done banners were mysteriously hung in Cleveland Browns Stadium. Both had a silver-and-black backdrop. One read, "Just sue, baby", and the other, "Commitment to litigation." The Raiders apparently complained to the league, but that wasn't expected to get them anywhere.

Quick slants

The Titans are riding the arm of Steve McNair (1,601 yards, 11 touchdowns), and the running game has taken a hit as a result. Tennessee is ranked 29th in the NFL with 76.3 rushing yards per game. Eddie George is averaging only 2.8 yards a carry, which would be a career low for a season.

The undefeated Chiefs are allowing 17 points per games through six games -- 15.2 fewer than this time last season.

Although it's unlikely to happen, the Chiefs appear set up for a 12-0 start. Kansas City's next six opponents (Oakland twice, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati and San Diego) have a current combined winning percentage of .324.

The Chargers have given up a first-quarter touchdown in their past 11 games. In that same span, San Diego's offense has scored just one first-quarter touchdown.

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