Rams Would Pull All the Strings

When the New England Patriots are on offense, the plays are called by backup quarterback Steve Grogan, who sends them in from the sideline to quarterback Tony Eason.

As the New York Jets prepared for Thursday night’s game against the Patriots, the New York Times asked Jet quarterback coach Zeke Bratkowski about the strategy.

“I’ve never heard of another quarterback calling the signals,” he said. “But I once alternated with Roman Gabriel when we were on the Rams. I used to start, and we’d have a running play, and then he’d come in and have an incompletion.

“And then I’d have those third-and-longs.”

Add Patriots: After they took the lead in the AFC East at 2-0, running back Craig James said, “We’re trying to keep pace with the other teams in Boston, the Celtics and the Red Sox. We put some pressure on the Red Sox tonight.”

Despite the loss at Denver, Lester Hayes is guaranteeing the Raiders will be there at playoff time.

“It’s academic,” he told Gary Pomerantz of the Washington Post. “We’ll go 13-3 this year. As for the National Football League, the Bears will go 16-0 or 15-1, but we’ll go 13-3. The game at Denver tells me that offensively we’ve got a scoring machine.

“In years past, it’s always been up to our defense. Stop ‘em, D. Stop ‘em, D. Now our offense is so diversified, it’s stupendous.”

Add Raiders: Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell, a Washington Redskins executive, had this to say about Napoleon McCallum, whom he used to watch at Navy: “If you sit and watch him time after time, you realize he has those ‘runner’s eyes.’ That’s what saves him. He’s not someone who grabs your attention, not a runner that you’d say, ‘What a move!’ You’ve got to watch him over and over.

“He’s deceptive. Faster than you think. He gets yardage you thought for sure wasn’t there. When the play’s over, he’s gotten more yards than you expected.”

Trivia Time: Who made up the front four in the Steel Curtain defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers? (Answer below.)

From a wire service story on an NBA benefit game at Dallas Thursday night: “Some notable absentees were Manute Bol, Mychal Thompson and Dominique Wilkins. Also missing was Dallas Cowboy Herschel Walker, who was to be a judge in the slam-dunk contest. Handily replacing him was his teammate, Tony Dorsett.”

Hmmmm.

Notre Dame defensive tackle Wally Kleine, asked the difference between Lou Holtz and Gerry Faust, told Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: “Coach Faust came in right before Christmas break and said goodby to the team. We were all slumped in our seats, and Coach Holtz came in to say hello to the team and he said, ‘The first thing is, take your hats off and sit up in those chairs.’ We knew he meant business.”

Did Ronnie Lott of the San Francisco 49ers get a lot of sympathy after undergoing off-season surgery to remove part of his little finger? Of course. When he reported to camp, there was a message from the trainer. It said, “You have just been traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Stump Mitchell.”

50 Years Ago Today: On Sept. 13, 1936, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians, 17, beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-2, on two hits and struck out 17 to set an American League record.

Trivia Answer: L.C. Greenwood, Mean Joe Greene, Ernie Holmes, Dwight White.

Quotebook

Lou Holtz, on why he decided to take the job at Notre Dame after watching a game there: “I saw that the fans were unarmed.”