Fisher’s Not at End of Rope Yet

Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “The noose may be tightening around former Bear [and Trojan] Jeff Fisher’s neck in Tennessee. ‘We’re not looking good,’ Titan owner Bud Adams said after last week’s loss to Washington. ‘We should be better than we are right now. It looks to me like we’re being out-coached.’ ”

That didn’t happen Sunday. Fisher coached the Titans to a 23-14 victory over Jacksonville.

More Rapoport: “If it seems as though NFL teams are scoring almost at will these days, that’s because they are. After five weeks of play, the average points per game was 45.7, the most since 1958.

“The single-season record, 46.5 points per game in 1948, could be in jeopardy.”

Trivia time: Where did the Angels play home games in 1961, their first season?

Desperation time: Don Pierson in the Chicago Tribune: “Whistling past the graveyard, [Coach] Mike Martz of the 1-5 Rams is searching history. ‘You look at Cincinnati, they started off 1-7 and they made the playoffs.’

“Actually, it was 1-6, and it was 1970, but the Bengals did make the playoffs that year, winning their last seven in a 14-game schedule.”

One-sided: Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times, commenting on Florida State’s losing another game to Miami when, once again, a Seminole kicker missed a late field goal:

” ... Miami seems to win the ones that rip the heart out of FSU and leave it in the grass. FSU has rarely taken something precious away from Miami.”

Bye options: Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer, commenting on the bye week in the NFL:

“If you have lost going into it, then the bye week in the NFL is like a walking-the-floor toothache at 3 in the morning -- you know that relief will be awhile in coming.

“If you have won going into it, bye week is party hats and confetti.”

Spare us: Ken Stone in the San Diego Union-Tribune: “Reno tourism officials said they planned to review details of a private party involving scantily clad women who performed lap dances at the National Bowling Stadium.

“At least six women mingled with about 150 competitors at the bowling event, performing lap dances and touching some men. But were the ladies wearing proper shoes?”

No fishing fan: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “Confess now, does anyone watch those fishing shows on the toob? I mean, how many ways can you pull a bass to the boat and deliver that dramatic soliloquy: ‘Nice fish!’ ”

Looking back: On this day in 1950, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Lions in Detroit, 30-28.

And, later, in the NFL championship game, the Rams lost by the same score to Cleveland.

Trivia answer: Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, home of the former minor league Angels of the Pacific Coast League.

And finally: Quarterback Trent Dilfer of the Seattle Seahawks on the fickleness of fans: “The league is so crazy now. A guy has a couple of bad games, or he doesn’t meet everybody’s expectations, and it’s not just, ‘OK, he’s going to be good.’ It’s, ‘He’s a dog.’ ”