Carolina Caper Has Another Villain

Carolina Panther quarterback Kerry Collins made a mistake.

Had he assaulted his girlfriend, been caught driving drunk to work or failed a drug test. . . . All right, that’s not so bad in the world of professional football--when can you get ready for the next game, my man?

Collins did something worse by athletic standards--he quit.

At least that’s the Panthers’ story, and they’re sticking with it, so downright indignant that they quit on Collins, cut him and got nothing for a franchise quarterback. That will teach him.

“If I saw him walking down the street, just the sight of him would [tick] me off,” said Warren Sapp, Tampa Bay Buccaneer defensive lineman. “Forever noted he is the first pick [in Carolina history] and the first quitter in the NFL.”

The immediate condemnation of Collins from players, coaches and NFL observers suggested nothing less than a lifetime banishment from football. The sentence, when finally handed down, was even more severe: assignment to the New Orleans Saints and Devil’s Island taskmaster Mike Ditka.

“He’s a coward now, and he’ll always be a coward,” said Sapp, whose own stock plummeted in the draft after published reports that he had tested positive for drugs. “I wouldn’t be him for all the money in the world and all the riches, gold and diamonds either. He disgraces the game. Never disgrace the game. He disgraced Johnny Unitas and all the great quarterbacks who played the game.”

Heath Shuler, Bobby Hoying and Chris Chandler too.

Collins “should not get another chance in football,” said ESPN’s Joe Theismann, apparently not ruling out a public stoning in the Charlotte town square.

Something is out of whack here, and it’s not Collins.

The way this whole thing developed, Collins was feeling the pressure, he was coming off a terrible performance in Carolina’s 51-23 loss to Atlanta, his team was 0-4 and he went to his head coach for comfort, said he was letting his teammates down and his heart was no longer in it.

Most NFL coaches might respond with a pick-me-up speech, a kick in the pants or a call to Theismann to ask what he would do. Most NFL coaches would keep such a conversation private. Some might give their young quarterback a break and start another quarterback the next week, but would publicly indicate it was just time for a change given the team’s record and recent play.

“Kerry thought he was walking into Capers’ office to bitch and complain,” said Leigh Steinberg, Collins’ agent. “This happens all the time around the league. I’m glad that people don’t know what [Dallas quarterback] Troy Aikman has said to some of his coaches.”

Since when do NFL coaches ask reporters to whip out their notebooks so they can tell the truth? Meet Carolina Coach Dom Capers, a blabbermouth, the NFL’s Linda Tripp.

Collins poured his soul out to Capers, who is under pressure for fielding such a disappointing team. The pressure’s off Capers now, the focus on Collins after Capers couldn’t wait to tell everyone Collins would no longer be captain of the Titanic.

“I really don’t know what his state of mind is,” Steve Beuerlein said of Collins. “Not that he is going to do anything crazy, but I think he needs friends and people to talk to.”

That would rule out Capers at this point.

Collins’ teammates, feeling pressure themselves for failing to win a game two years after advancing to the NFC championship game, pounced on Collins’ collapse with such gusto it raised the question, Why don’t they care as much every Sunday?

Collins’ exit also provided a remedy for all that has gone wrong on the field, a rallying point in Beuerlein, who actually told his teammates there’s a “new sheriff in town,” which was too bad, because what the Panthers needed was a quarterback.

“When you’re as down in the dumps as we are right now, any little change brings a glimmer of light,” Panther offensive guard Corbin Lacina said. “This is a little rainbow for us. Steve took over. . . . He’s the general now, and we’re going to go to battle with him.”

Jerry Richardson, owner of the Panthers, obviously gave the nod to release Collins. It’s what you would expect from an ex-player (Baltimore Colts)--lots of self-righteousness and very little business sense.

Hard to sympathize and defend Collins, of course, because he’s a knucklehead who usually acts as if he’s on his way to his next fraternity party. There have been all kinds of allegations that he drinks too much, and after one particularly sloshy night he told a joke that was not funny, but far worse, included a racial slur directed at Muhsin Muhammad--a teammate.

Labeled a racist, Collins was already coming off a troubling season with his teammates. During a secret team meeting in November 1996, Panther linebacker Lamar Lathon accused Collins of drinking and partying too much to be an effective leader. How’s that for a trifecta: Being known as a racist, a boozer and a quitter?

Oh, and you could also call him a lousy quarterback last year. He led the league with 21 interceptions, and team officials opted not to exercise an option to extend his contract, which would have forced them to pay a $6-million bonus. Efforts were made to trade him to Indianapolis to gain position to draft Peyton Manning.

Why didn’t he quit sooner? Collins surprised everyone, though, and came back committed, slowly gaining the respect of his teammates and, until his meeting with Capers, Carolina officials were negotiating a five-year, $26-million contract with Collins. Why would anyone walk away from $26 million?

“I never wanted to leave the team,” said Collins, 22-20 as a starter. “I never wanted to quit. I never wanted to relinquish my job. I never said my heart wasn’t in it. I went in there and was very frustrated with myself, the team and the way things were going.

“I went to Dom and said, ‘Is it me? Am I the reason for what’s going on here? I would understand if you went in a different direction, even if it meant trading me.’ ”

Tripp, ah, Capers, asked about Collins’ contention that he never said his heart wasn’t in it, declined comment, saying, “I’ve spent enough time on this.”

He has had all the time in the world until now to win a game this season and that hasn’t made a difference, so what else has he got to do? Collins’ career is at stake here, and given reaction across the league--only New Orleans spent $100 to claim him--it appears that career has been virtually destroyed.

“He might have been through a lot of stuff that none of us know about going on over there [at Carolina],” said New Orleans tackle Willie Roaf, the first understanding voice.

“I know he had an incident with Muhammad, a racial incident. Everybody knows that he’s had a drinking deal through the last couple of years.”

OK, so Collins won’t be nominated for NFL man of the year, but why so much venom for a 25-year-old immature quarterback needing a release from pressure?

Can’t wait, suggested Sapp after being asked about the prospect of playing against Collins in two weeks when the Saints and Buccaneers meet. “I’d really rough him up.”

Sapp, speaking on behalf of so many other anti-quitters in the NFL, was accused in published reports of failing six drug tests for cocaine and marijuana at the NFL’s combine, although he admitted to only two failed tests for marijuana. No matter the number, he received his second chance.

“Nobody ever questioned my ability on the field,” Sapp said. “It was questioning my actions off the field. That’s a totally different situation.”

Of course, and nowhere near as serious as Collins’ crime.