QUICK SNAPS

CBS analyst Steve Beuerlein, a former NFL and Notre Dame quarterback, referred to Tennessee’s LenDale White as a “USC thug” when the network came out of a commercial break in last Sunday’s game.

Beuerlein was talking to play-by-play announcer Bill Macatee when the network came back from a commercial, and apparently didn’t know his comments were broadcast. It came after White was flagged for a personal foul after giving a tackler a quick, surreptitious knee to the face mask.

When asked later about the comment, White didn’t seem offended.

No offense

“I am pretty sure it was a joke; I know it was a joke,” he told reporters. “SC-Notre Dame has a great rivalry. At this point, Notre Dame is horrific; that is just how it is. But I know he was joking. From what I understand, I have talked to coaches and they say he is a great guy.

“I don’t think he really means I am a thug at all, although SC is in a different neighborhood than South Bend. But I don’t think he meant to say it like that. It is nothing big to me at all. It is over.”

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Rude guests

Seattle plays at Philadelphia today. The last two times they’ve played road games against the Eagles, the Seahawks posted shutouts -- 38-0 in 1998, and 42-0 in 2005.

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Browntown

Tony Grossi of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland points out this could be the first year since 1970 that all three of that city’s major sports teams make the playoffs. The Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals, the Indians made it to baseball’s American League Championship Series, and now things are looking good for the Browns to advance to the NFL playoffs.

All but one of the five remaining games for the Browns (7-4) come against sub-.500 teams: at Arizona (5-6), at the New York Jets (2-9), home against Buffalo (5-6), at Cincinnati (4-7) and home against San Francisco (3-8).

“The fact of the matter is the Browns are doing it. They’re finally doing it,” General Manager Phil Savage said. “So we’re looking forward to the rest of the year.”

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Baby steps for Beck

Miami rookie quarterback John Beck hasn’t had big numbers, but he hasn’t put up bad ones, either. He also hasn’t had an interception.

“I would say definitely from my first start to my second start I felt even more comfortable,” he told reporters last week. “Certain plays I was definitely feeling like I was able to move around and stay with all of my reads like I’m supposed to.

“As a quarterback, you want to move quick and think quick but not move too quick and think too quick, if that makes sense.”

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Phickle phans

Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb told reporters last week that he’s not surprised there’s public outcry for backup A.J. Feeley to replace him.

“People have short-term memories,” said McNabb, a five-time Pro Bowl selection. “We’ve had a lot of success here. People are going to have their opinions. This situation is a no-win situation for me. If I play, I play. If I don’t, I don’t.”

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Say cheese

Arizona kicker Neil Rackers surprised an NFL Films cameraman after last Sunday’s loss to San Francisco. While walking off the field in frustration after the defeat, Rackers intentionally jammed the camera back in the face of the photographer after the game.

The photographer, Evan Shaw, said he wasn’t sure if he would file charges against Rackers. The kicker later called to apologize but couldn’t reach the photographer.

Shaw told the Arizona Republic he was “very surprised” by the actions of Rackers, and that “it’s a very dangerous thing to have a camera shoved into my face.”

-- Sam Farmer