PRO FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT

AND THEY SAY NFL COACHES ARE STUPID

Green Bay Packer rookie left tackle John Michels, a big Rush Limbaugh fan, called his father earlier in the week to tell him he was starting his first NFL game. What did Dad do?

What any father would do under the circumstance. He called Limbaugh to tell him the news.

During Limbaugh’s show.

Before the team announced it.

“Coach [Mike] Holmgren didn’t say anything about it,” Michels said. “I guess he doesn’t listen to Rush Limbaugh.”

NEXT FROM SPIKE LEE: “GET OFF THE BUS”

Dallas running back Emmitt Smith reacting to his team’s rediscovered popularity in Dallas now that the Cowboys are winning:

“Everybody counted us out. Now, they’re trying to climb back on the bandwagon. Well, the bandwagon is full. There are about 50 people on it. Nobody else can get on.”

STILL BACKING HIM UP

Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly admitted he was nervous heading into Sunday’s game with the Jets.

“Tonight, there was more pressure on me than usual,” Kelly said. “I had to prove to those who were doubting me . . . that I can play my style of football.”

Former teammate Frank Reich, quarterback for the Jets, disagrees.

“Jim Kelly has not only done a lot for that football team, he has done a ton for all of Buffalo,” Reich said. “I don’t think there is any question he is still a top-notch quarterback.”

BUT IT WAS IN COACH Patriot defensive tackle Devin Wyman was attending junior college in 1995 when his mother told him Kentucky State had sent him a plane ticket for a tryout.

“It wasn’t until I got to the airport to catch my flight that my mother told me that she bought the ticket and it was one-way,” Wyman said. Devin made the team and was New England’s 1996 sixth-round draft choice.

HEY DR. BOMBAY PLEASE COME OUR WAY

Giant linebacker Corey Widmer left the game against Washington because of a bruised chest and was complaining of shortness of breath after the game. He’ll undergo tests today. . . . Redskin injuries: left guard Tre Johnson sprained a ligament in his right knee and will be assessed today. Darrell Green suffered a bruised calf. . . . Carolina guard Greg Skrepenak hyperextended his right knee in the third quarter against New Orleans and did not return. Defensive end Shawn King also suffered a groin strain. . . . The Saints’ lone reported injury was guard Craig Novitsky’s strained calf muscle. . . . The Colts have had 17 players miss a total of 41 games this season. When Jason Mathews sprained his right ankle in the second half against Denver, Tony Mandarich took his place and saw his most extensive playing time since 1991. . . . Cowboy special teams captain Bill Bates exited in the third quarter against Atlanta because of a broken thumb. The Cowboys lost left offensive tackle Mark Tuinei in the first quarter because of a recurrence of a strained ligament in his right knee. He did not return and was replaced by George Hegamin. . . . Atlanta defensive tackle Travis Hall left in the first quarter because of a sprained left ankle. . . . The Eagles lost rookie linebacker Ray Farmer in the second quarter against Miami because of a pinched nerve in his right arm. Kickoff returner Derrick Witherspoon injured his right shoulder in the third quarter and did not return. . . . For the Dolphins, tight end Troy Drayton sprained his right knee moments before halftime.

A KID WHO RESPECTS HIS DAD? IMPOSSIBLE

By playing in his first NFL game, Houston cornerback Anthony Dorsett immediately vaulted himself and his father, Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, into second place on the NFL’s all-time father-son scoring list with 546 points. The Dorsetts are one touchdown away from the record of 551 points set by Bobby and Ian Howfield.

Of course Tony has accounted for all of the points himself, but that doesn’t matter to Anthony:

I don’t look at it as following in my dad’s footsteps,” Anthony said. “It’s just living out a dream of mine, to play in the NFL. Sometimes I sit back and see all he did and I’m amazed. But seeing him every day and living with him, it really didn’t hit me how good he really was.”