PRO FOOTBALL / BILL PLASCHKE : Vikings Give Salisbury His Big Shot

This weekend couldn’t come at a better time for Sean Salisbury, who figures he has dealt with his demons long enough.

He has chance to throw for big yardage on national television while finally erasing memories of the most disappointing afternoon of his life.

He can get the yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will play host to Salisbury’s Minnesota Vikings Sunday night on ESPN.

The demons are lurking around the edges of today’s USC-UCLA game. It marks the eighth anniversary of the only time Salisbury walked off a football field in tears.

He was the Trojans’ starting quarterback as a senior early in the 1985 season before losing his job to Rodney Peete. Against UCLA, a game he still calls the most important of his life, he did not play a down.

“I still remember sitting in my cubicle with my father, and we’re both crying,” Salisbury said. “My college career was ending, and I was finishing it on the bench. The emotions were overwhelming.”

That stigma of failure has tugged at the edges of his career until now, when he believes that with the Vikings, he is finally in the right offense at the right time.

Yeah, we know you’re saying, “Do we have to read another story about this 30-year-old journeyman who’s played for four teams in two countries and has started only seven NFL games?”

This is different. For the first time, Salisbury is starting in a play-action offense that takes advantage of his intelligence and his arm.

For the first time, he is supported by a strong defense, one that ranks second in the NFC.

For the first time, perhaps because the injured Jim McMahon cannot throw farther than Ed McMahon, Salisbury has the confidence of teammates and coaches.

And for the first time, he has thrown for more than 300 yards in consecutive games.

McMahon has thrown for 300 yards three times in his career.

“I get out of bed every morning and say, ‘Goodness gracious, this is just what I have always envisioned for myself,’ ” Salisbury said earlier this week. “What is happening to me now, is this the real McCoy? You betcha.”

Those who said Salisbury would never be more than a competent NFL backup--just about everybody in the league--figured there would be no argument after he turned the biggest start of his life into a 24-7 loss to the Washington Redskins in the first round of the playoffs last year.

But in a wide-open scheme under former Stanford whiz Brian Billick, he has caused everyone to take another look.

Since replacing McMahon, who suffered a dislocated shoulder 11 quarters ago, Salisbury has thrown for 947 yards and five touchdowns.

McMahon threw for fewer touchdowns, three, and barely more yards, 1,054, while starting the Vikings’ first seven games .

After passing for an NFC season-high 366 yards in the Vikings’ improbable 26-23 comeback victory in Denver last week, Salisbury is averaging 344 yards passing and leading the offense to 25.6 points per game.

McMahon’s averages were 168 yards passing and 13.6 points a game.

McMahon will miss at least the next two games with his injury, but few expect him to leave the bench for the rest of the season.

This means that in the Vikings’ Dec. 5 showdown with the Detroit Lions, Salisbury figures to be the starting quarterback.

The starter for the Lions that day? Most likely Rodney Peete.

“We always get together on the field and talk about our old friends from USC, and then talk about what it would be like to start against each other, just once,” Salisbury said. “Would that be fun, or what?”

Salisbury could stand a little fun right now. He’s had enough of the “or what.”

MORA, MORA, MORA

When asked about Monday night’s battle for first place with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West, Jim Mora, coach of the New Orleans Saints, said, “I don’t know of any game that is huge.”

He’s wrong, for several reasons:

--The Saints need this game to prove they are not choking dogs.

They started 5-0, and are now 6-3. Two years ago they were 9-1, then fell to 9-5. In 1988 they were 9-3, then lost three consecutive games and didn’t even make the playoffs.

--They need this game to prove they can score under pressure.

They haven’t scored a touchdown in the final 15 minutes against the 49ers in the last 10 games between the teams. The 49ers have mounted fourth-quarter comebacks to defeat the Saints at least once a year in the last four years.

--Heck, they need this game to prove they can make a first down under

pressure.

They would have beaten the Green Bay Packers last week if they could have gained 10 yards in the final two minutes. Instead, they ran the ball three consecutive times, gained two yards, and punted. The Packers then drove for the game-winning field goal.

--They need this game to prove that Wade Wilson is better than Bobby Hebert under pressure.

Wilson threw seven touchdown passes and one interception in the first five games. He has thrown four touchdown passes and eight interceptions in the last four games.

Many people forget that since 1987, New Orleans has the third-best record in league, behind only the 49ers and Buffalo Bills. It’s time they do something to make them remember.

“It’s a game we need more than they do, psychologically,” Saint cornerback Toi Cook said. “If we lose this game, everybody will say, ‘I told you so.’ ”

WEEKEND WITH BERNIE

It will not be a pretty sight Sunday when the Cleveland Browns play their first home game since Coach Bill Belichick cut Bernie Kosar.

There has been talk of demonstrations outside Municipal Stadium. Talk of ticket burnings. Talk of fans parading around in Dallas Cowboy apparel.

Apparently, there has also been talk of inflicting bodily harm upon Belichick, considering he recently received police protection at his home.

Then again, maybe nobody will show up. With the game between Kosar’s Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons being shown on the local CBS affiliate at the same time the Browns play host to Houston, several thousand tickets have gone unsold.

Not that Belichick has a clue. He began his Wednesday news conference by saying, “It’s been a busy morning. My hands were dirty from trying to get us out of the grave and back to life. Maybe we should ask Jack Pardee how that’s done.”

Maybe they should. Pardee did it with the Oilers by returning his veteran quarterback, Warren Moon, to the starting lineup, not by cutting him.

BY DEFINITION

Genius: Any fan who can register an educated Pro Bowl vote for an offensive lineman.

Optimist: Sam Wyche, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who told his players before last week’s game against San Francisco that they should not think ahead to the playoffs.

The Buccaneers, 2-6 at the time, have not made the playoffs in 11 years.

Blob: William (the Refrigerator) Perry, who was seen standing on a corner two blocks from Veterans Stadium before a recent practice there.

When asked what he was doing, he said, “Waiting for a cab.”

Unappetizing: Jim Harbaugh in one Thanksgiving Day game, and Kosar vs. Steve DeBerg in the other.

Humiliating: Celebrity interviews during Monday night games that are really shameless promotions for ABC programming. We’re sure Al, Frank and Dan were just dying to know how Billy Ray Cyrus would run the ball against Reggie White.

Confused: Eugene Robinson and Aikman.

After intercepting two Cleveland passes last week, the Seattle Seahawks’ Robinson said he thought Brown quarterback Todd Philcox’s name was Todd Pilchuck.

Aikman, during a regrettable TV interview conducted after he had mixed muscle relaxers and alcohol, three times referred to Kosar as Vinny.

Sprint: The race between the Rams and Raiders to reach Baltimore.

Meat: Nice guy Joe Bugel of the Phoenix Cardinals if they lose to the New York Giants next week.

Chicken: The NFL, for not giving Baltimore the ball.