They No Longer Cowher Before Him

Bill Cowher, considered by many the best coach in the league, came under criticism for the first time in Pittsburgh after an emotional outburst in a televised press conference this week.

“This guy has never had to face a lot of adversity,” said John Steigerwald of KDKA-TV. “You know, one of these years, he’s going to have a bad year, maybe go 6-10 or something like that. Then what will happen? It’ll be ‘Silence of the Lambs’ time. They’ll be rolling him in here in a straitjacket.”

Raven owner Art Modell, who will probably fire Coach Ted Marchibroda at season’s end, delivers some of the best “woe is me” speeches in the NFL. After Jacksonville pounded his team 45-19, he said: “I have never been as embarrassed or as disgraced as I was last night. It was a horror show and neither my family nor I will tolerate losing, especially in that manner. Our fans deserve much more than they are getting right now.”

Baltimore fans, required to buy PSLs to earn the privilege to buy tickets, were chanting “Ted must go!” The Ravens are 1-3 in their new stadium.

Tennessee wide receiver Willie Davis has caught six touchdown passes this season. Only one problem--four of them didn’t count because of penalties or incorrect out of bounds calls by the officials. The NFL has apologized for the officials’ mistakes.

“I told Willie that if they stopped taking his touchdowns away, he’d be leading the league,” teammate Yancey Thigpen said.

EAST / He Not Only Wins but Is No. 1 at Box Office

Doug Flutie is not only winning games, but selling tickets in Buffalo. The Bills are averaging 74,615 at home--best in the NFL, ahead of Kansas City, Detroit and Washington. Why would anyone pay to see the Chiefs, Lions and Redskins?

“He’s like Mighty Mouse . . . he’s come in to save the day,” Buffalo Coach Wade Phillips said. “He’s a hero right now. He deserves to be playing. You play that well, you should be out there.”

Rob Johnson won’t argue now, but next year. . . . “I don’t see myself as a backup,” said Johnson, who joined the Bills in February for first- and fourth-round draft picks. “I don’t think I’ve played like a backup. I’m not a backup.”

He’s a backup as long as Flutie rules.

“If [that’s the case], I probably won’t be here then,” said Johnson, who played for USC.

Said Phillips: “Long-term, [Johnson] is the future. Everyone can see that.” Well, not everyone.

WEST / Now the Chargers Can Shock the World

Don’t they realize the Chargers are coming to town this week? Denver Coach Mike Shanahan apparently told his players that they have the chance to become the all-time greatest team in NFL history.

“It didn’t surprise me to hear that talk simply because of our standing,” Bronco cornerback Ray Crockett said. “When you’re (8-0), there is no law that says you have to lose. When you look at the teams that we’ve played and the teams that we have left on our schedule, they’re all winnable games.”

But the Chargers. . . . Shanahan refused to discuss his remarks, saying they were meant only for the team, as if it’s some kind of secret. Miami went 17-0, including playoff games, in 1972 when the NFL played a 14-game schedule; the Broncos will have to go 19-0--and beat the Chargers twice.

The Chiefs were 5-1 with Rich Gannon in place of Elvis Grbac last year, then losers in the playoffs with Grbac back in control, and since Grbac’s return from injury this year are 0-3. The conclusion: Bench the lug.

A call-in vote by newspaper readers this week showed that 17,762 think Gannon should start and 6,795 think Grbac. Unfortunately, Kansas City Coach Marty Schottenheimer casts the deciding vote, along with an interested front office that committed $20 million to Grbac over four years.