Cameras Know Where He Is

On the day Emmitt Smith broke the NFL rushing record, San Diego defensive end Marcellus Wiley was breaking new ground for CBS.

The Chargers were off that Sunday, and Wiley, whose vibrant personality and skill as a player have made him a media magnet, was in New York as a guest analyst on “The NFL Today.” The show is shot on an outdoor set on Fifth Avenue that’s fashioned to look like part of a football field.

Instead of quietly mulling what he wanted to say, or nervously waiting for the red light to pop on, Wiley used the commercial breaks to work the live audience into a lather. He urged cheers by throwing his arms into the air, just as he might at Qualcomm Stadium. He did his “Bucking the Bolt” sack dance. Frankly, he put all other guest hosts to shame.

“Marcellus is the first guy we’ve ever had that got the crowd involved,” said Eric Mann, the show’s senior producer. “He also had his full name stitched into the cuff of his sleeve, and gold buttons on his suit with MW on them. He’s the first guy I’ve ever seen whose clothes put Deion Sanders in his place.”

It isn’t just his sartorial splendor that makes Wiley the most likely NFL player to wind up in America’s living room. He has emerged as a high-profile fixture on a San Diego defense that already has Pro Bowl players Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison.

“He’s the No. 1 guy that the media requests,” Bill Johnston, Charger director of public relations said of Wiley. “Even if the story isn’t about Marcellus, people want to talk to him. They all want to hear what he has to say.”

That’s not to say Wiley is all talk. He has made two huge plays in the last two weeks, one in a loss and the other in a victory. Two weeks ago, he forced Marshall Faulk to fumble near the goal line, just as the St. Louis running back was about to score. Last Sunday, Wiley tackled San Francisco quarterback Jeff Garcia for a five-yard loss in overtime, meaning 49er kicker Jose Cortez had an even longer field goal attempt two plays later -- a kick Cortez missed. The Chargers lost to the Rams and beat the 49ers.

Wiley, who went to Columbia, is one of the few Ivy League players to make an impact in the pros. He was a second-round pick by Buffalo in 1997 and spent his first four seasons with the Bills. He went to San Diego last season and made the Pro Bowl with 13 sacks and five forced fumbles. He missed the better part of three games this season because of a groin injury and is well off his 2001 pace with four sacks and one forced fumble, but he still commands the respect of offensive linemen.

“He learned a lot when he played with Bruce [Smith],” said Miami offensive lineman Mark Dixon, whose team will play host to the Chargers on Sunday. “He mimics [Smith’s] game a lot. Speed. Quickness. He’s the total package. Coming off an injury, he looks like his game is back.”

Off the field, Wiley’s game never left. Like the glossy black Hummer he drives, he’s capable of covering all terrains. A sampling of a recent conversation:

* On attending an Ivy League school: “Kids will say, ‘Man, you’re smart. You went to Columbia.’ I say, ‘No, all I did is stay in the house one more cartoon.’ Maybe somebody else went out to play, and I’d say, ‘I’m going to study 30 more minutes, then I’m going outside to play.’ I didn’t miss anything, and I finally got used to that.”

* On the influence of his parents, both postal employees in Los Angeles: “All my character comes from my mom, and all my objectives and principles in life come from my dad. He’s kind of like my outline, and she colors me in.”

* On collecting throwback football jerseys, a staple of his wardrobe: “I have a Johnny Unitas one, an all-white one. Oh, man, that’s crucial. That’s big time. That’s when you’re at the party. I want to wear that at a black-tie function, a place where athletes are exceptions, and I’ll walk in with that. Oh, my goodness. With a white headband on? People wouldn’t even talk to me; it would kill them.”

* On a potential stumbling block to a TV career: “I’m not a football historian. I draw a blank when you go prior to 1996. I’m like, ‘Uh, who?’ I always thought that was going to hold me back. People have always said I have the personality or I can articulate well enough to do it. But when people say, ‘Oh, I see a comparison between Jeremy Shockey and Mark Bavaro,’ and I’ll say, ‘Mark Bavaro? Who’s Mark Bavaro?’ ”

* On the anonymity of playing at Columbia: “If we were on TV, we were on ESPN3 with our game score running across that ticker across the bottom of the screen.”

Rest assured, Wiley will never be trapped in the ticker again.

Around the League

AFC EAST -- Miami players won’t soon forget playing the Ravens and getting an earful from Baltimore Coach Brian Billick, who was talking some trash during the game. “We had a little jawing on the sidelines,” Miami’s Sam Madison told reporters. “Billick asked me, ‘Sam, y’all are winning this game, but how does it feel not to have a [Super Bowl] ring? You want to see my ring?’ That just goes to show you the type of program they have. Without Ray Lewis, they wouldn’t be diddly-poo.” Dolphin players said Baltimore assistant coach Bennie Thompson did some barking too. Said Miami’s Jason Taylor, “The coaches need to quit talking and let the players play the game.” ... Through 10 games last season, Buffalo was 1-9. This season, the Bills are 5-5. That represents the league’s biggest improvement so far. The biggest drop-off is that of 2-8 Chicago. The Bears were 8-2 at this point last season.

AFC NORTH -- When Pittsburgh’s Tommy Maddox lay motionless on the turf last Sunday, it rekindled some disturbing memories for Terance Mathis, a Steeler receiver. Mathis played for the Jets when teammate Dennis Byrd was paralyzed in a game. “It’s the same reaction all over again,” Mathis said. “When the gurney comes out, the EMS truck comes out, it’s a scary, scary feeling, a scary thought.”

The Browns are heading back to New Orleans, where in 1999 they logged their first victory as an expansion team. That game ended on a 56-yard Hail Mary pass from Tim Couch to Kevin Johnson, sealing a 21-16 victory and bringing then-Saint coach Mike Ditka to his knees, and beyond. “Anytime anyone asks who was the first team I beat as a starting QB, I’ll always remember that,” Couch said. “I can remember Mike Ditka lying on the carpet and seeing him when I was running down the sideline. That was probably the best part of it all.” Meanwhile, Johnson was nearly squashed in the celebration. “To be honest, I couldn’t breathe at the bottom of the pile,” he said. “You see guys on the bottom of those piles, it’s not a pretty sight.”

Not pretty? How’s this: Cleveland rookie William Green frequently throws up before, during and after games. The Browns have gotten used to it and know the ground rules. Said Coach Butch Davis: “Just don’t stand close to him.” Noted.

AFC SOUTH -- All of a sudden, the NFL’s most accurate kicker isn’t so accurate. Indianapolis’ Mike Vanderjagt has missed five of his last eight field-goal attempts, including a 23-yarder against Dallas, the shortest miss of his career. His teammates are unfazed -- “We’re not going to start going for it on fourth down,” Peyton Manning said -- but the mini-slump is troubling to Vanderjagt. “I’m 100% healthy,” he told reporters this week. “It’s not as if I’m a bad kicker. I’m just not getting it done right now. I have no answer as to why it’s happening or what I’m doing differently.”

History repeats? That’s the hope of the Titans, who started 1-4 and since have won five in a row. During the club’s 1993 season in Houston, the then-Oilers started 1-4, then won 11 straight to clinch the division title.

AFC WEST -- Responding to his team’s 0-3 record in night games, Denver Coach Mike Shanahan conducted Friday’s practice in the evening under the lights at Invesco Field. “Sometimes you do some things when things aren’t going right to change the mind-set,” Shanahan said. “Normally we practice about 48 hours, somewhere in that area, before we play a game. Since we haven’t been successful in the three later games and practiced a little bit earlier, we’re going to try and keep that [time frame].” By the way, the Broncos are 7-0 in day games.

NFC EAST -- Were the Cowboys to keep him under his current contract, Emmitt Smith would count $9.8 million against the salary cap next season. They’ll either tear up that deal, or, more likely, bid him adieu. Smith will be 34 next season, and Troy Hambrick already is taking a serious bite out of his playing time. That said, Cowboy owner Jerry Jones hinted to reporters this week that Smith could stick around. “It’s been my experience, just as sure as you start thinking, ‘No way,’ or got logic figured it will go a certain way, it doesn’t,” Jones said. “Emmitt Smith is still very productive, and we need him to win games and we’ll make a decision when the season ends. But, no, I don’t know you can say this is the beginning of the end.” Oh, go ahead and say it. Smith’s gone.

Philadelphia tight end Chad Lewis is way down on catches this season and suffered a rather embarrassing injury against Arizona last week, a lacerated backside. He left the game and had to be stitched up before returning. Now, he has been carrying around an inflatable pillow to sit on, a device his teammates have taken to calling his “booty tube.” Eagle Coach Andy Reid doesn’t like his players to discuss their injuries with reporters, instead opting to handle those questions himself. Lewis abides by the rules, so when he was asked this week about his tender area, he said: “If you want to know anything about my butt, you’re going to have to ask Andy.” Doubly noted.

NFC NORTH -- Their season has been reduced to tatters, but all is not lost for the Vikings. They have the league’s top-ranked ground attack, led by second-year running back Michael Bennett, who’s looking more and more like Robert Smith. Bennett is the first player in league history with runs of 60 yards or longer in three consecutive weeks.... Joey Harrington is still working out the kinks. The Lions haven’t scored more than two touchdowns in the last five games.

More evidence Brett Favre is feistier than your typical quarterback: He was penalized 15 yards last Sunday for tackling Viking safety Jack Brewer three steps out of bounds. It wasn’t Favre’s first such transgression against Minnesota. In a 1992 game at the Metrodome, he was flagged for an illegal hit when he took out defensive end Roy Barker at the knees on an interception return. And, in 1999, he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct when he gave the throat-slash gesture to Detroit nickel back Robert Bailey.... In their four-game losing streak at Tampa, the Packers have averaged 71 yards rushing a game and have zero rushing touchdowns.

NFC SOUTH -- Penalties are becoming a big problem for the Saints, who have 88, ranking them second behind Minnesota with 91. New Orleans players were flagged a season-high 16 times for 133 yards in a loss to Atlanta last week. Twice, they were called for roughing Falcon quarterback Michael Vick on third down. Saint Coach Jim Haslett called Supervisor of Officials Jim Daopoulos on Monday, seeking clarification on those personal fouls, but didn’t glean much from the conversation. “I’m not really sure what roughing the quarterback is,” Haslett told reporters. “There are a number of different explanations.... Our quarterback got hit twice the same way and got clipped at the knees one time, and we did not get any calls. I don’t think there’s a clear understanding throughout the league on exactly what the call is.”

In his first four years as a head coach, Jon Gruden directed Oakland teams that routinely dropped off in the second half of seasons. Those Raiders were 23-9 in the first eight games, 15-17 in the last eight. His teams finished 8-8, 8-8, 12-4 and 10-6. Gruden, whose Buccaneers are 8-2, doesn’t worry much about the Raider trend. “We’re counting on finishing strong,” he said. “Hell, we’re not counting on anyone disappearing, crumbling up and blowing away. There has been some talk that I’m a crumbler, that I fade down the stretch, but that’s just idle chatter.”

NFC WEST -- The 49ers have been outscored in the fourth quarter, 77-48. “We need to get away from the mentality of working the clock and keeping their offense off the field,” quarterback Jeff Garcia said. “We’re losing our killer instinct to continue to get after it.” OK, Terrell Owens has said and done a lot of dumb things over the past few years, but it’s worth noting he took some heat for saying the 49ers lacked killer instinct. When Garcia says it, no one flinches.

Since the merger, only two NFL teams have started 0-5, then won their next five to even their records -- last season’s Redskins and this season’s Rams.... Marc Bulger had 1,496 yards passing, more than any other NFL quarterback in his first five games. Even that couldn’t keep him in the Ram lineup.