Sunday, October 26, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Either Kordell Stewart didn't see the handwriting on the wall or he was trying to hide behind it. He still thinks he lost his job as Chicago's starting quarterback to Chris Chandler because of an injury, a pulled left thigh muscle.

"The only reason I'm not in there, for the most part, in my opinion is the injury," Stewart said. "That's the way we have to approach it. It's not a situation where I've just been yanked and I'm sitting on the bench."

Coach Dick Jauron made it sound more like a demotion.

"Chris Chandler is our [No. 1] right now," Jauron said. "We'll see where it goes. If he does well and we win, then obviously we're not going to make a change."

After Jauron said that, Stewart backtracked.

"Just to be in this situation right now, to go through all this, it's tough," Stewart said. "I had high expectations, we all had high expectations. I'm not here to contest anything that coach Jauron said or anything with, 'Did they betray you?' The only thing I can do is be supportive of the issue and move forward, be healthy so when the bell does ring, I can go in and do it."

Stewart's passer rating is 56, beating out only Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb, who has a 51.1.

Damage control

Falcons owner Arthur Blank bought a full-page ad in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to encourage fans to stand by his team and to tell them how disappointed he is with Atlanta's 1-6 start. He also met with his players to ask them to stop complaining in public.

Coach Dan Reeves reacted to the team's horrible start by giving his players off the rest of their bye week after practice Tuesday.

"They just need to get away from it, hopefully come back refreshed, get a little healthier, just enjoy the time off," Reeves said.

Some players were using their time off to visit Blank's dude ranch in Montana, where they might learn, if they fall off a horse, to get right back on and ride.

A Ray of hope

NFL teams who need quarterbacks are looking closely at Ricky Ray of the Canadian Football League, and Dallas is said to be laying the groundwork to sign him. The former Sacramento State player completed 123 of 163 passes as the CFL offensive player of the month for September. He cannot sign with an NFL team until after Nov. 25.

Change in plans

The number of teams that use the 3-4 defense was reduced by one when the Falcons switched to the 4-3 the past week. Injuries to linebackers Sam Rogers, Will Overstreet and Keith Brooking helped force the move. Atlanta also wants to start both Ellis Johnson and Ed Jasper at tackle instead of splitting their snaps. The Falcons rank last in the NFL on defense.

"We haven't been teaching 4-3, but I've always said you have to get your best players on the field," said defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

Rally cry in Carolina

The Carolina Panthers lost their first game, and already they're being criticized for not having a team that can come back from a big deficit. Sound familiar? It's the same thing the Steelers heard when they had Kordell Stewart at quarterback.

Jake Delhomme, like Stewart, a New Orleans native, is Carolina's quarterback. The Panthers lost to the Titans, 37-17, to go to 5-1.

"I think most teams in this league when they are behind, 27-3, are a little concerned," Panthers coach John Fox said. "No team is built to come back from 27-3."

Hail to Moss

Randy Moss not only had the play of the week with his no-look, over-the-shoulder lateral touchdown toss to Moe Williams on the last play of the first half of Minnesota's 28-20 victory over Denver last Sunday, he had the quote of the week.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing that only happens every so often," he said.

The play has acquired the name "Hail Randy."

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