Striking Paydirt With Chargers
A review of Week 8 in the NFL, and can you blame the Chargers for getting a delay of game penalty on the opening kickoff?
Give them credit for coming out of the locker room--although it must have been a close vote.
FREE GOODS
It’s so unlike insurance companies to give away money, but that’s what they did in Kansas City. They offered to cover an electronics store’s promotion offering free merchandise for anyone spending at least $399 if the Chiefs shut out the Chargers.
Why should Middle America catch all the breaks? Talk about your lock of the century--this was free goods. The Chargers scored a field goal last week, haven’t had more than one touchdown on offense in 30 of their last 39 games, were matched against a vengeful Gunther Cunningham, a former Charger coach whose team blew a 14-0 lead in San Diego a few weeks ago. Cunningham was going to embarrass the Chargers--not just beat them.
And only 381 customers stepped forward, betting almost $450,000 that San Diego would go belly up. Wake up, Middle America, you will never get the chance to go on a looting spree like this again.
The electronics store paid an insurance premium of $20,000-$30,000, and the insurance company will now be responsible for rebate checks for the rest.
If a big-screen TV is spotted being delivered to the home of San Diego quarterback Jim Harbaugh, someone might want to check the receipts to see if he was one of those 381 lucky customers. Harbaugh fumbled the snap from center on fourth and goal from the one in the fourth quarter, preserving the shutout.
HE’S THE REAL DEAL
He’s not as chubby, or as slow, and certainly not as crusty as former Charger quarterback Dan Fouts, but in defeat, St. Louis quarterback Kurt Warner flashed the kind of toughness and leadership that made Fouts such a force.
Warner, the league’s feel-good story of the year, has thrown 21 touchdown passes in his first seven NFL starts. The pressure of being in demand--having Georgia Frontiere bake him cakes and having to tell his story over and over again, drawing tears from Coach Dick Vermeil each time--will take its toll. But he looked like a champion in defeat against Tennessee.
The Titans blasted Warner all day, and although he held the ball too long at times, he kept pitching with poise and had the Rams in position to tie the score, only to be let down by kicker Jeff Wilkins.
JUST STAY WHERE YOU ARE, BABY
All those die-hard Raider fans in the Bay area must have, um, passed away since the team returned. For the 19th consecutive game, the Raiders failed to sell enough tickets to lift the local TV blackout. They have four more tries to excite the locals and, in a spirit of willingness to boost the lowly Raiders, the following marketing campaign is provided, free:
* San Diego versus Oakland: Come and watch Erik Kramer and Jim Harbaugh throw passes to your favorite Raider defenders.
* Kansas City versus Oakland: Compare jail stories with Bam Morris or get autographs from future Raiders such as the recently arrested Andre Rison and Lonnie Johnson.
* Seattle versus Oakland: Join us for a PSL bonfire.
* Tampa Bay versus Oakland: Where else can you go on Fan Appreciation Day and have a better chance to win door prizes than a place where so few gather?
SOSA, MCGWIRE, MARE. . .
Consider last year’s excitement of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa pursuing Roger Maris, and now the NFL gives you the thrills and chills of Olindo Mare chasing John Kasay.
Be still my beating heart. . . . Kasay holds the NFL record for most field goals in a season, 37 for Carolina in 1996. Mare has 25 in seven games for Miami, and somewhere out there a lucky fan is hoping he kicks his record-breaker over the net, giving him the chance to sell the memento for 10 or 20 bucks.
Do you think ABC or ESPN will be cutting live to Miami in December, a nation trembling in anticipation to see if Coach Jimmy Johnson points to Mare for another field goal blast?
Johnson, doing his best to squeeze all the excitement out of the NFL by stressing the running attack when Dan Marino was at quarterback, has had Mare try 48 field goals in the team’s last 17 games. And as any serious field goal follower knows, Mare has made 43 of those.
THE PITS
* Tampa Bay quarterback Trent Dilfer had set an NFL record, most consecutive games started by a stiff, 70, before being benched. Eric Zeier replaced Dilfer--in football this is known as a lateral move--and the Buccaneers ran their streak of not scoring a touchdown to two games.
* Do not let this man hold your baby: Baltimore quarterback Tony Banks has fumbled 47 times in 44 starts.
* The Arizona Cardinals were feeling pretty good about themselves after taking advantage of a fifth-place schedule to make the playoffs and beat Dallas before getting pulverized by Minnesota last season.
And the beatings just keep coming. The team’s quarterbacks have thrown four touchdown passes and 18 interceptions, and hit rock bottom against the New England Patriots, turning to seventh-round pick, Chris Greisen of Northwest Missouri State. Greisen proved he has what it takes to be a Cardinal, completing one of six passes for four yards.
MOST OVERRATED TEAMS
1. Buffalo--Doug Flutie (10 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) is your basic touch football quarterback, and although he has passed for 50,000 yards in the NFL, CFL and USFL, when it comes time for the playoffs the Bills will be AWOL.
2. New York Giants--The Eagles, as pathetic as they are, blew a 17-10 lead because Duce Staley fumbled on his five-yard line late in the game. “You can call it a lot of things,” admitted Giant defensive lineman Michael Strahan. “I call it a miracle from God.” That pretty much describes the Giants’ 5-3 start.
3. Dallas--Take away Deion Sanders, and the Cowboys are lifeless. Dallas doesn’t have the offensive punch to survive the next leg of its schedule, which includes dates with Minnesota, Green Bay, Miami and New England.
GET YOUR PLAYOFF TICKETS
1. St. Louis--The Rams faltered, but they should go 13-3, 12-4 at the worst, and will have the NFC home-field advantage through the playoffs. In this case “through the playoffs” probably means an eventual loss to Green Bay or Minnesota.
2. Tennessee--The Titans are not that good and Steve McNair on the run is another injury waiting to happen, but they have games with Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Atlanta and currently the tie-breaking advantage in the AFC Central, thanks to a victory over Jacksonville.
3. Washington--Like a pacifier, that should appease 34-year-old Redskin owner Dan Snyder. Snyder has undermined the Redskins’ confidence in Coach Norv Turner by treating him with disrespect and Turner has shown no backbone, but the Redskins can score and not many other teams can do that.