Nothing Modest About Success of His Offense

The San Francisco 49ers are averaging 406 yards on offense, which is more than they ever averaged under former coach Bill Walsh. Their top figure with Walsh was 398 yards per game in 1984.

Said Mike Shanahan, the 49ers’ offensive coordinator: “There’s no way you’ll get me to say I’m doing a better job than Bill or Mike (Holmgren) did.”

Shanahan added: “I do hope the people are noticing that I can coach.”

Fans in Los Angeles noticed that he was fired after 20 games as head coach of the Raiders in 1989 because Al Davis didn’t like Shanahan’s offense.

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Trivia time: What is the highest-scoring overtime game in NFL history?

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Low roller: Dan Hampton, former Chicago Bear defensive lineman and now a radio analyst, had this to say about his former coach, Mike Ditka:

“You go to Vegas and see guys like him all the time. Five or six years ago, they were big-money players. Now they haven’t got the money to be there and you can tell by the look in their eyes that they have a lonesome wish for it to be the way it used to be.”

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Film at 11: Before last week’s victory over the Minnesota Vikings, the Houston Oilers were struggling. With two defeats in a row, including one at home against the Cleveland Browns, fans and players were looking for answers.

“It was bad on the inside, but not as bad as everyone wanted to make it,” defensive end Sean Jones said. “It began to be a syndrome like the 6 o’clock news. Murder, rape, fire. Anything for sensationalism. That sells.”

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On the run: As usual, quarterbacks are suffering injuries at a high rate, but not all of them are the results of sacks. Many occur when the quarterback becomes a runner, a situation in which Houston’s Warren Moon suffered a broken left arm, Denver’s John Elway a shoulder injury, Pittsburgh’s Neil O’Donnell a pulled hamstring and Indianapolis’ Jeff George a broken wrist last Sunday.

Quarterbacks, of course, can slide to the turf and avoid being hit. Elway and Moon, however, tried to do their best imitations of a fullback, and paid the price.

“You can’t legislate against that,” said Jim Finks, president of the New Orleans Saints and chairman of the Competition Committee. “If he wants to run the ball, it’s buyer beware.”

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Too hot to handle: The Virginia Slims Championships title match is the only time women play more than best-of-three sets. Arthur Ashe said he enjoys it at New York’s Madison Square Garden, but he isn’t sold on women playing best-of-five sets at Grand Slam tournaments.

“I wouldn’t want to see it at the Australian Open,” he said. “It’s so hot and you’re playing on a cement court.”

“It’s unique here at the Garden.”

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Horse sense: Andrew Beyer of the Washington Post, on horse racing facing competition from lotteries: “Track owners have the benefit of operating the greatest game on earth, and there’s something wrong with their promotional skills if they can’t compete effectively with a mindless game like keno.”

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Trivia answer: On Nov. 27, 1983, Seattle defeated Kansas City, 51-48, on Norm Johnson’s 42-yard field goal.

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Quotebook: Pittsburgh Steeler Coach Bill Cowher, on the joy of coaching in his hometown: “The biggest benefit is having my parents here as very accessible baby-sitters.”