Winning Combinations Are a Rarity

A review of Week 6 in the NFL, and dreadful as it was, next weekend would be a good time to begin Christmas shopping. The NFL has 13 games scheduled and only one features teams with winning records: New Orleans (3-2) at Atlanta (4-1).

And in that biggest game of the week, Billy Joe Tolliver, the answer to the trivia question--Who is the worst player to ever play the game and do so for a remarkable 10 years in the NFL?--will reportedly replace Danny Woeful, ah, Wuerffel at quarterback for the Saints.

Not exactly Steve Young stepping in for Joe Montana.

Where Have All the . . .

. . . Good games gone? There were 11 NFC teams in action Sunday, combining to turn the ball over 30 times, 19 times on fumbles.

San Francisco’s Young was the only quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards--and he was playing against the Saints.

Oakland punted on 15 consecutive possessions--16 for the game--and won.

Baltimore went one for 15 in third down conversions, 0 for two on fourth down--and lost by only four points.

The Bears committed eight turnovers in a 20-7 loss to Arizona and Coach Dave Wannstedt debated with himself about showing the game film.

“I was tempted to [burn] it,” he said.

Stats Don’t Mean Anything . . .

. . . Unless you’re Seattle, playing the Broncos or Chiefs. The Seahawks have compiled a 63-87 record in the last decade. They would stand 58-57 had they not had to play the Broncos and Chiefs.

The Raiders now have as many wins, four, as they had all last season--well, most seasons. . . . San Francisco Coach Steve Mariucci began his postgame remarks by noting the team had cut its penalties in half from last week, when they had a team-record 22. Maybe they didn’t teach math at Mariucci’s alma mater, Northern Michigan, but half of 22 is 11. The 49ers had 14 penalties. . . .

Don’t Count Your . . .

. . . Victory until you make sure you have 11 men on the field. After the Raiders had shocked the Chargers with a 68-yard touchdown pass play in the final minutes to tie the game, Oakland needed the extra point to go ahead. Lining up, the Raiders realized they had only 10 men on the field. The special teams coach began yelling for a timeout, but they had none left.

James Folston was supposed to line up on the wing to protect the kicker, but he was hurt. His backup, Mike Morton, didn’t realize Folston was hurt. So with time running down, wide receiver Tim Brown yanked on his helmet and ran onto the field to block--the first time he had ever done so in a high school, college or pro game.

Children Should Be Seen . . .

. . . But not allowed to call audibles. The Chargers had the ball at the Oakland 19-yard line in the first quarter with first down, and the play from the sideline came in calling for a run.

But instead of sticking the ball in Natrone Means’ belly, Charger quarterback Ryan Leaf called an audible, took three steps back to pass, hesitated, got hit, tried to throw the ball away, threw an interception instead.

When Leaf reached the sideline, Coach Kevin Gilbride scolded him but, alas, did not send him to his room without supper.

When the Going Gets Tough . . .

. . . Go to New Orleans. It’s the Big Easy for the 49ers every time they go to New Orleans. The 49ers, proven to be frauds on defense a year ago after finishing No. 1 before being demolished in the playoffs, fell to No. 30 this season, but promised a turnaround this weekend.

Frauds they may be, but not necessarily dummies. They were playing the Saints this weekend, a team they shut out last year in the Superdome, 23-0. This time, they got them 31-0.

Next week they get Indianapolis, the week after St. Louis, and by then the 49er defenders will once again have inflated their reputation--just in time to have it pricked in Green Bay.

The Cream Always Rises . . .

. . . To the top after aging in Canada for a while. Doug Flutie, banished to the Canadian Football League because he’s 5 feet 10, has returned to Buffalo to save the day. Flutie was 23 for 28 Sunday, threw for two touchdowns, was not sacked and did not throw an interception--at 35, still 5-10 and maybe even shrinking. . . . The Falcons have won 10 of their last 13 games, Sunday’s a revenge victory over the Giants to remind fans in New York what they lost in Coach Dan Reeves after his firing in 1996. Reeves passed Hall of Fame Coach Steve Owen--winningest coach in Giants’ history--with his victory over New York, giving him 152 regular-season victories, ninth-best in NFL history. . . . The Cowboys have a game lead on the Cardinals, a win over Arizona, a 3-0 mark in the NFC East and a 4-0 conference record and will be getting Troy Aikman back in two weeks, making them prohibitive favorites to advance to the playoffs again--even though they’re not very good.

It’s Never Over . . .

. . . As long as Dewayne Washington is on the coverage, and not Larry Brown. The Bengals received plenty of attention for their “fake spike,” with Neil O’Donnell looking as if he was going to stop the clock, but then fooling the Steelers and throwing to Carl Pickens over Washington for a game-winning 25-yard touchdown against the Steelers.

But moments earlier, the Steelers had the Bengals stopped, the game all but won. Cincinnati was stuck at fourth and 12 on its 15-yard line with less than a minute to play. O’Donnell lofted a bomb to Pickens, who out-jumped Washington for a 50-yard gain.

Had Brown been there, however, as he was for Dallas against Pittsburgh and O’Donnell in Super Bowl XXX, O’Donnell would have thrown right to Brown.