In This League, a Wink Is as Good as a Nod

A review of Week 12 in the NFL, and this insight from Kansas City linebacker Anthony Davis after he played against Denver quarterback John Elway: “He winks at you.”

Added Davis, “It’s the strangest thing. I mean, how can you hit a quarterback that winks at you?”

Say What?

It is not a dream. One day later, the victory still stands--the Colts beat the Packers.

“If you had told me [Sunday morning] the Colts would beat the Packers, you could have had my house,” said a disbelieving Bill Parcells, New York Jets’ coach.

Yeah, But Who Was President?

Someone actually figured this out: Before Sunday, the last time the Colts, Saints, Buccaneers, Jets and Falcons all won on the same day was Oct. 22, 1978.

Middle America Hurrahs

There isn’t much to get excited about in Kansas City, unless you’re into watching the thermometer drop, but Sunday the Chiefs got a 54-yard field goal from Pete Stoyanovich with no time remaining to upset Denver.

“Whatever my life expectancy was, it’s less now,” said Chiefs’ owner Lamar Hunt.

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Tampa Bay’s Trent Dilfer completed 21 of 29 passes for 209 yards with no interceptions and one touchdown. New England’s Drew Bledsoe completed 13 of 25 for 117 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns.

Who Needs Parcells?

New England.

Patriot Coach Pete Carroll, sounding more like Parcells, tore into Bledsoe at a press conference Monday.

‘He’s been here four years and I don’t think he’s the recognized leader of the team,” Carroll said. “He’s the quarterback. Right now [being a leader is] not what is going on.”

The Patriots set out this year to show everyone what they could do without Parcells, and they’ve done that.

“They didn’t seem like they were in it,” said Tampa Bay nose tackle Brad Culpepper. “They didn’t seem feisty. It was more like, ‘Wow, let’s get this thing over with and get out of here.’ ”

Three Teams to Watch Closer

1. Tampa Bay--Proving there might even be hope for the Clippers--some day.

2. Minnesota--Remember, Dennis, “No Room for Crybabies.”

3. Atlanta--2-0 against the Rams, 1-8 against the rest of the league.

The Great Race

The Packers, Vikings and Buccaneers are tied for first place in the NFC Central Division and check out the schedule:

The Packers play Dallas at home and then travel to Minnesota and Tampa Bay.

The Vikings travel to the New York Jets, get the Packers at home on Monday night and then travel to San Francisco.

The Buccaneers go to Chicago, then play the New York Giants on the road, return to take on the Packers and then go back to Giants Stadium to play the Jets.

And what if Detroit wins out?

Eighth Wonder of the World

They continue to sit atop the NFC East Division standings, a sight almost no one could have anticipated, but there are two very good reasons for the New York Giants’ success:

1. They only play losing teams.

2. They don’t fumble.

Before Sunday’s games, the Giants had played only one team with a winning record--Jacksonville--and were stomped, 40-13.

Impressively, however, they have now played 367 minutes and 24 seconds--more than six games--without losing a fumble.

Sad Sacks

Whatever they are paying the Cardinals’ offensive line, it is too much. A year ago, Arizona allowed 36 sacks in 16 games. To date, they have surrendered 54, and with five games remaining, they should be able to break the team record of 59 set in 1983.

Sad Sacks II

Holy Cheeseheads, the Packers lost to the Colts, prompting Green Bay safety Leroy Butler to almost cry, “Cincinnati came in here and beat them. Tampa Bay came in here and beat them. We’re embarrassed. This was unacceptable. This irks me.”

He forgot to mention that Miami, New England, Seattle, Buffalo, the New York Jets, Pittsburgh, Buffalo again and even lowly San Diego also beat the Colts. The only team that didn’t was the defending Super Bowl chumps.

Seifert Update

Five weeks to go in the season and so far former San Francisco Coach George Seifert’s name has been linked to Dallas, as a potential replacement for Barry Switzer, and to Baltimore, where he would take Ted Marchibroda’s job. Any day now, there’s bound to be a report from Chicago.

Keep this in mind: If Seifert goes anywhere, he will probably demand complete control, which rules out Dallas.

If the Planets Are Aligned

The New York Giants and the Cowboys will be tied for first place in the NFC East Division and will play a winner-take-all season finale in Dallas.

Statistics To Ponder

Baltimore’s Greg Montgomery punted the ball 45 times this season without a touchback but his 46th found the end zone after traveling 60 yards. . . . Ricky Watters, who has toned down his act to make himself more appealing come contract time at season’s end, has gone too far. The docile one ran 12 times for 36 yards against the Ravens. . . . Jay Graham, understudy to Baltimore’s Bam Morris, ran 35 times for 154 yards. . . . Arizona’s Leeland McElroy and Ron Moore combined to run the ball 10 times--presumably forward--but accounted for one negative yard. . . . Kansas City ran Greg Hill on the first offensive play of the game. He gained 35 yards but didn’t get the ball again until the fourth quarter.

This Week’s Kevin Butler Goof Award

Seattle punter-kick holder Kyle Richardson and kicker Todd Peterson. Richardson, a rookie free agent signed last week, fumbled a snap from center, setting up New Orleans’ first touchdown, and then had a punt blocked, which led to a Saint field goal.

Despite all that, Peterson had a chance to bail out Richardson and his teammates with a 45-yard field goal to win the game with 22 seconds to play. He missed wide right--his second miss of the day--giving New Orleans a chance to win in overtime.

An Immediate Checkup, Please

For the 63,546 in attendance at the Philadelphia-Baltimore game, who sat through 75 minutes of absolutely terrible football so they could go home and tell their friends and family that they were there for the first tie in NFL history since Nov. 19, 1989. With fans like this, owners will continue to build those luxury boxes, club seats and get away with PSLs.

This Week’s MVP

Tamarick Vanover. The Chiefs were losing, 13-0, their season falling flat to Denver when Vanover busted loose with a 77-yard kickoff return with 6:27 remaining in the first half to set up Kansas City’s first touchdown. Vanover had a career-high 199 yards in kickoff returns, and although the Chiefs have no offense now with Rich Gannon at quarterback, they remain in the hunt for the AFC West Division title.

Numbskull Alert

Last week, before the Cowboys were set to take on the Redskins, quarterback Troy Aikman went to a Dallas Maverick game in Reunion Arena, and was booed.

Aikman has three Super Bowl rings, has had to play for Barry Switzer, live in the same locker room with Michael Irvin and the people of Dallas are booing him. The Cheeseheads aren’t so bad after all.