8A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
NFL
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2005
Rams' rookie more than OK
St. Louis Rams quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, right, tries to avoid being sacked by Houston Texans' Jason Babin during the fourth quarter Sunday in Houston. In injuries to Marc Bulger and Jamie Martin, who took a blow to the head in the first half of Sunday's game at Houston and still had blurred vision on Monday, thrust the untried rookie Fitzpatrick into the limelight. Fitzpatrick was ready for his moment, throwing for 310 yards, including the tying touchdown in the final 30 seconds and the winning touchdown in the Rams' improbable overtime victory over the Texans.
BY R.B. FALLSTROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS - Out of high school, the choice was easy for Rvan Fitzpatrick.
With only one college scholarship offer, and that from Division I-AA Eastern Washington, the St. Louis Rams' third-string quarterback chose to pay his way to Harvard. Now, he's got the education and a game to match.
"I think it would have made my decision a little bit tougher as far as passing up a scholarship from a bigger school or going to the Ivy League and paying my way," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm glad it worked out that way."
Injuries to Marc Bulger and Jamie Martin, who took a blow to the head in the first half of Sunday's game at Houston and still had blurred vision on Monday, thrust the unheralded rookie into the limelight. Fitzpatrick was ready for his moment, throwing for 310 yards, including the tying touchdown in the final 30 seconds and the winning touchdown in the Rams' improbable overtime victory over the Texans.
Pretty impressive for the 250th pick of this year's draft.
"Once I let that first ball go, everything was fine," Fitzpatrick said. "I was in a situation where going in, you're not the starter and you're just thrown into the situation and you don't have much time to think about it."
He presided over a whirlwind in the final minute of Sunday's 33-27
Victory. First, he hit Isaac Bruce for a 43-yard touchdown on 4th-and-6 to cut the gap to three. After Jeff Wilkins' perfectly executed onside kick was recovered by Torry Holt, he hit Holt for a 19-yard gain to set up Wilkins' 47-yard field goal that forced overtime.
hooked up on a quick screen that turned into the game-winning 56-yard score in overtime
be good score in overtime.
Fitzpatrick was coach Mike Martz' sleeper pick after setting a career total offense record at Harvard and being named the Ivy League player of the year as a senior, prizing him for his
Then he and Kevin Curtis
The Rams took him in the seventh round and he quickly outshone second-year player Jeff Smoker for the third-string spot
arm and savvy.
"Fitz is a smart guy," Vitt added. "I think you need more than a valid fishing license to get into Harvard."
NFL
BY DOUG TUCKER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The half-eaten hot dog had sat on his desk overnight. It looked awfully stale.
It's been a while since a Kansas City defense felt good about itself. Not since Cunningham was in his first tour of duty as defensive coordinator in the 1990s have opponents had much to fear when they lined up against the Chiefs. The past four years, the Chiefs have had one of the
But a workaholic doesn't want to waste precious minutes scaring up something fresh. And besides, everything tastes wonderful to a defensive coordinator the day after his team intercepts four of Tom Brady's passes.
So Gunther Cunningham washed it down with a glass of water Monday morning and plunged right back into the work he so dearly loves: rebuilding a Kansas City defense that seems to be getting good enough for the Chiefs to become playoff contenders.
"I just saw this thing laying there and remembered I hadn't finished it when I left the office about 7 o'clock last night," Cunningham said with a laugh. "People would probably say it was terrible. But I don't care. This defense is coming on. They're getting better. The good part is they feel good about themselves."
sorriest defenses in the league.
But with a host of newcomers, particularly at linebacker and defensive back, Kansas City seems to be turning the corner. A 26-16 victory Sunday over Brady's injury-tattered New England Patriots was the third win in four games for the Chiefs (7-4), keeping them squarely in the AFC playoff hunt.
"It's been a long, long journey to get this to this phase," Cunningham said. "I'm happy with the way they work."
Though they're injurywracked and missing such key players as running back Corey Dillon, the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots still had won two straight games. Blitzing often, as Cunningham loves to do, Kansas City kept up a relentless pressure on Brady. Three of his interceptions were deflected, but he hardly got off an unhurried throw all day.
The road will get tougher the next five weeks for the Chiefs, who will probably have to wrest a wild-card slot from several contenders because Denver holds a two-game lead over Kansas City in the AFC West. Every opponent the rest of the season has a winning record, starting with the Broncos, who are in Kansas City on Sunday.
"The pleasure I feel is we've changed the culture," said Cunningham. "We're back to a bunch of rough guys, tough guys."
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