Pro Football Spotlight

ONCE AROUND THE LEAGUE

Quick Hits:

--ESPN’s Joe Theismann, who knows a thing or two about the Washington quarterback scene, has stood alone in praise of backup quarterback Gus Frerotte, who made his first NFL start for the Redskins ahead of first-round pick Heath Shuler and veteran John Friesz.

Theismann says Frerotte, a seventh-round draft choice from Tulsa, already has better passing mechanics than 20 NFL starters.

“I think he’s got a real chance to be something special,” Theismann said on ESPN’s Sunday morning pre-game show.

Go ahead and gloat, Joe.

Frerotte completed 17 of 32 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns (no interceptions, no sacks) in the Redskins’ 41-27 victory over Indianapolis.

--Speaking of Washington insiders, former Redskin coach Joe Gibbs, now with NBC, thought it was a mistake for the Bears to start Erik Kramer at quarterback instead of Steve Walsh. Walsh had led Chicago to three victories in a row in place of Kramer, who had been out with a separated shoulder.

“It takes guts,” Gibbs said of the move before the game. “This is not a safe way to go.”

Right you were, Joe.

Bear Coach Dave Wannstedt started Kramer. Detroit defeated Chicago, 21-16. Kramer was intercepted three times.

--Odd statistic: Some teams can’t wait for bye weeks. Not Seattle. With their loss to Kansas City, the Seahawks are 0-6 in games played following their bye week. Seattle has also lost 12 out of its last 13 games at Kansas City.

--It was bound to happen. Cincinnati defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson, the team’s first-round pick, finally got his first career sack when he dropped Vinny Testaverde for a 12-yard loss in the first quarter.

--New York Giant quarterback Dave Brown threw two more interceptions, giving him nine in the last four games and 11 for the season. That’s two more than salary-cap cut Phil Simms had all of last season.

SURE, BUT CAN HE KICK?

The most interesting broadcast booth exchange came to us from the Fox team of Joe Buck and Tim Green, who were overly impressed with Morten Andersen’s leg strength after the New Orleans Saints’ kicker connected on a routine field goal against the Rams.

Buck: “Does he have a leg? Does he have a leg?

Green: “He has a leg.”

Two, actually.

SAD STATE VS. GOLDEN STATE

One of the NFL’s most enduring streaks was extended when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their 22nd game in a row to teams based in California.

Fittingly, it was the 49ers who tattooed loss No. 22 on the Buccaneers, 41-16. The 49ers are the winningest California team versus Tampa Bay in the span, owning a 9-0 record.

Ironically, the Buccaneers’ last victory against Golden State was Oct. 26, 1980, when they defeated the 49ers at Candlestick Park, 24-23.

California breakdown vs. Tampa:

San Francisco: 9-0.

Rams: 6-0

San Diego Chargers: 5-0.

Oakland Raiders: 1-0

Raiders: 1-0.

Tampa Bay quarterbacks during the streak: Doug Williams, Jack Thompson, Steve DeBerg, Steve Young, Vinny Testaverde, Trent Dilfer, Craig Erickson.

Presidents since Buccaneers’ last California victory: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton.

TONIGHT’S GAME: Houston at Philadelphia

6 p.m., Channel 7

Since Warren Moon was allowed to go to the Minnesota Vikings, the Oilers have used two ineffective quarterbacks. Now it’s going on three.

Cody Carlson inherited the starting job when Moon went to the Vikings, and Bucky Richardson entered the picture when Carlson got injured. Richardson was ineffective against Cleveland last week, so Billy Joe Tolliver took over. He threw a touchdown pass and prevented the Oilers from being shut out for the first time since 1976.

However, Carlson will start if he gets medical clearance before the game--but it seems likely Tolliver will start for the first time since last year with Atlanta.

“It’s very disappointing,” Oiler Coach Jack Pardee said. “This has been a season with a lot of change. We’ve been playing what would normally be our third or fourth quarterback all year long.”

Offense has been the big problem for the Oilers, who scored their season high in points (21) in the opener.

The Oilers (1-5) run the same 4-6 defense that Buddy Ryan used. It’s a blitz-oriented defense, and the Eagles (4-2) expect defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher to rush a lot of people in an attempt to hurry Randall Cunningham.

“As we speak, they’re blitzing,” joked Philadelphia Coach Rich Kotite last Wednesday.

NOTEWORTHY

Joe Montana’s 46-yard pass to Willie Davis at the end of the third quarter of the Chiefs’ 38-23 victory over Seattle was his longest completion of the season. The 21-yard touchdown pass to Lake Dawson that followed was Dawson’s first career touchdown as two Notre Dame alumni teamed up for the score. . . . The Chiefs have won 10 consecutive from AFC West opponents at home and are 16-2 against the AFC West at Arrowhead since 1990. . . . Derrick Thomas of the Chiefs had one sack and now has 72 for his career, a half-sack behind Art Still’s team record. . . . When Gus Frerotte started at quarterback for Washington, it marked the first time the Redskins had two rookie quarterbacks start in the same season. Top draft pick Heath Shuler, who had been starting but was out with a sprained ankle, became the first rookie to start at quarterback for Washington since Norm Snead in 1961 when he played against Dallas Oct. 2. . . . Indianapolis handed the ball to rookie Marshall Faulk 11 times in the opening quarter. His previous high for carries in a quarter was 10. Faulk gained 74 yards rushing in the first quarter, but was held to 12 yards in 11 carries in the final two quarters. . . . Henry Ellard advanced three places into ninth on the NFL all-time list for receptions with six, bringing his career total to 633. He moved past Gary Clark and Raymond Berry while tying Don Maynard. His 108 yards lifted his career total to 10,539, the seventh highest in league history. He needs 177 to catch Stanley Morgan for sixth place. . . . Washington’s Brian Mitchell, who went into the game as the league-leader in total offense, returned one punt for 17 yards, had three kickoff returns for 61 yards, caught two passes for 16 yards and had four yards rushing. That brought his total for the season to 1,248 yards in eight games. The league record is 2,535, set by San Diego’s Lionel James in 1985. . . . First quarter hibernation: The Bears have not scored in the opening quarter since their first drive of the season. . . . Cleveland’s Eric Metcalf has returned two punts for touchdowns in two consecutive years. He’s the first player to do that since Kansas City’s J.T. Smith in 1979-80. . . . Vinny Testaverde’s touchdown pass in the second quarter for Cleveland was the 100th of his career. . . . Cleveland has won five consecutive games for the first time since 1986. . . . The Bengals have lost 12 consecutive AFC Central games. . . . Pittsburgh’s Gary Anderson kicked a 29-yard field goal in his only attempt, giving him 300 for his career and tying him for sixth with Mark Moseley. . . . San Francisco’s Steve Young has started 41 consecutive games, the longest active streak among quarterbacks. . . . San Diego’s Natrone Means is the first Charger running back to have three consecutive 100-yard games since Chuck Muncie in 1982. Junior Seau matched his career-high with 19 tackles, including 16 solo. . . . Arizona receiver Gary Clark had three receptions, lifting his career total to 629, two shy of Raymond Berry at No. 10.

PLEASE PASS THE OXYGEN MASK

There might have never been a better day for breath-taking, highlight-reel plays in the NFL. The mad-cap recap:

--Tyrone Hughes of New Orleans returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, of 98 and 92 yards, against the Rams.

--Toby Wright of the Rams picked up a fumble and rumbled 98 yards for a touchdown.

--Robert Bailey of the Rams returned a punt 103 yards for a touchdown . . . and the Saints still don’t know it.

--Cleveland’s Eric Metcalf returned a punt 73 yards for a score.

--Mel Gray of Detroit returned a kickoff 102 for a touchdown against Chicago.

--Detroit tailback Barry Sanders broke off an 84-yard run and didn’t score.

--Running back Marshall Faulk of Indianapolis had an 85-yard touchdown reception and finished with 127 receiving yards.

Best yet. No Deion Sanders!

CHEESE AND WHINE REPORT

Shame, shame, San Francisco fans. Three weeks ago, only hours after the Bay Area’s beloved 49ers were thumped by Philadelphia, 40-8, 85% of fans polled in a radio call-in show said Coach George Seifert should be fired.

The team was supposedly in shambles. The offensive line was decimated, the defense porous, and the quarterback wasn’t Joe Montana.

Yet, somehow, the 49ers have managed to reach the season’s halfway point with a 6-2 record and a two-game lead in the NFC West.

Is this a bad thing?

Quarterback Steve Young, playing minus two starters on the offensive line since the opener against the Raiders, has battled through tough times to re-emerge as the NFL’s top-rated passer. Young has completed 35 of his last 42 passes.

What’s more, several of the 49ers’ key injured players (right tackle Harris Barton, defensive end Richard Dent) are expected back soon. The team appears to be positioning itself nicely for its annual championship run.

Yep. Probably best Seifert start packing.

SLOW DOWN, YOU’RE MOVING TOO FAST

Apparently, Anthony Miller is slowing down.

After catching only 12 passes in his first five games, the Denver Broncos’ receiver has 10 receptions the last two weeks.

Miller had five catches for 51 yards in helping Denver hand his former team, San Diego, its first defeat of the season Sunday.

Explaining Miller’s slow start last week, Denver Coach Wade Phillips said the player was out of sync with the Bronco offense.

“He’s too fast,” Phillips said.

INJURY UPDATE

Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman suffered a concussion on his team’s first possession and did not return. . . . Kansas City wide receiver J.J. Birden sustained a back contusion on the first series and did not come back. . . . Cleveland quarterback Vinny Testaverde was removed in the third quarter after complaining of headaches and blurred vision early after taking a hard hit. . . . Cincinnati quarterbacks David Klingler (sprained knee) and backup Don Hollas (injured shoulder) were sidelined against Cleveland.

QUOTEWORTHY

“You wonder when you hit rock bottom. The Dallas Cowboys are coming into Cincinnati next week .”

--Bengal Coach Dave Shula after his team fell to 0-7 following a 37-13 loss to Cleveland.

“Any win is good for us. Believe me, at 2-5 all wins are good for us. This was a great one. I’ll tell you that was a wild, wild sucker.

--Saint Coach Jim Mora after his team’s 37-34 victory over the Rams.