The University Daily Kansan
Friday, November 6,1998
Quarterbacks face trials of football season
Seasoned players prove more effective than touted rookies
The Associated Press
This NFL season was expected to be about four quarterbacks: John Elway and Dan Marino in the twilight of their careers; Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf in the dawn of theirs.
To some extent it is. Elway is leading the defending champion Denver Bron
cos toward the NFL's first unbeaten season in 26 years. Manning and Leaf are, as expected, undergoing normal rookie traivals.
Manning: Is experi-
encing normal
rookie problems.
But halfway home, they are joined by unexpected heroes at quarterback, such as Doug Flutie, Randall Cunningham, Vinny Testaverde, Charlie Batch and Donald Hollas.
And Manning and Leaf are joined in adversity by Kerry Collins, who two years ago looked like a rising star.
"It gives me a thrill just to watch that little guy run onto the field," Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buffalo Bills, said of Flutie, who at 36 has come back from eight years of exile in Canada and become the centerpiece in a five-game winning streak.
Some highlights and low lights
QUARTERBACKS: Five of the top six quarterbacks in the NFL rankings are 35 or older — Cunningham, Flutie, Testaverde, Steve Young and Elway.
"Nobody's giving quarterbacks time to develop now," said George Young, the league's vice president for football operations and general manager of the Giants for 19 years. "These kids get thrown right in and look bad."
That refers to Manning and Leaf, the first two picks in the draft, and Batch, who got the Lions' job after Scott
Mitchell threw away Detroit's second game of the season. Batch played well for five weeks, then threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half against Arizona last week.
They're not alone in having trouble. So are Jake Plummer of Arizona, Danny Kanell of the Giants, Bobby Hoying of Philadelphia, Trent Dilfer of Tampa Bay, and Gus Froster and Trent Green of Washington.
But none has had as bad a season as Collins, who was the quarterback at Carolina who lead the team to the NFC title game two years ago.
With the Panthers 0-4, Collins went to Coach Dom Capers and asked to be benched. Capers went a step further — he cut him, Collins, signed by New Orleans, returned to Carolina last Sunday. Although he didn't play, he was booed and then arrested Sunday night for driving under the influence.
Three of the successes began the year as backups.
Cunningham was out of football in 1996, running a marble and granite business in Las Vegas. He took control for Minnesota in Week 2 when Brad Johnson broke his ankle. The Vikings are 7-1.
Another Johnson who apparently is healthy but won't get his job back is Rob.
Obtained by the Bills from Jacksonville and signed to a $25 million, five-year deal, he bruised his ribs in the fourth game. The 5-foot-10 Flutie, banished to Canada for being too short eight years ago, took control and has demonstrated the same magic that won him the Heisman Trophy in 1984, leading Buffalo to four wins.
restaverde is 5-0 for the Jets, and his touchdown to interceptions ratio is 12.2, which is a major turnaround for a guy who in 1988 threw a modern NFL record 35 interceptions.
THE RAIDERS: Last year, the Raiders were 4-12 under Joe Bugel. Under 35-year-old Jon Gruden, they are 6-2, led by a defense that was last in the NFL last season and is now second.
Innen there's Hollis, a 31-year-old quarterback who in eight seasons has been cut by the Bengals, Lions and Oilers. He was inactive for all 16 games with the Raiders last season and had
But he took control for injured Jeff George with the Raiders 3-2, and they've won three straight games, an interesting comparison to George, whose career winning percentage is below.400.
thrown just two regular-season passes in the last six seasons.
The Raiders have been ignored nationally because of the Broncos, who are 8-0 and have a good shot to become the first unbeaten team since the 1972 Dolphins. Still, Oakland should make the playoffs for the first time since 1993, barring a dive such as the one in 1995, when Oakland started 8-2 and finished 8-8.
HALF-SEASON AWARDS:
MVP: 1. Terrell Davis, Denver, on a record pace with 1,150 rushes rushing in half a season. 2. Steve Young, San Francisco. 3. Doug Flutie, Buffalo.
Honorable mention: Antonio Freeman, Green Bay; and Deion Sanders, Dallas, whose impact has been on special teams and offense as much as on defense.
COACH OF THE YEAR: 1. Mike Shanahan, Denver. 2. Dan Reeves, Atlanta. 3. (tie) Jon Gruden, Oakland; Dennis Green, Minnesota.
Coaches on championship teams rarely win awards because they do what is expected. But Super Bowl winners usually falter the next year and Denver, obvi-
Denver obviously hasn't.
Like Flutie,
Thomas is too
short (listed at 5-11 but closer to 5-9). He has 122 tackles in eight games for a defense that has allowed fewer points than any in the NFL.
ROOKIES: Randy Moss, Minnesota, is starting to fall off because he doesn't run routes yet; he just jumps. Look out for running backs Fred Taylor of Jacksonville and Robert Edwards of New
"Nobody's giving quarterbacks time to develop now. These kids get thrown right in and look bad."
George Young
NFL vice president for football operations
MOST CRIPPLING INJURIES:
MOST CRIPPING INCISIONS:
1. Jason Sechorn, Giants. 2. Dorsey Levens, Green Bay. 3. Dave Fiore, San Francisco.
England. On defense, it's cornerback Charles Woodson of the Raiders and defensive end Vonnie Holliday of the Packers.
Sehorn, one of the few impact cornerbacks in the NFL, was lost for the season in an exhibition game, which is one reason the Giants' defense hasn't dominated and the team is 3-5.
Levens' broken leg has hurt the Packers' running game, so Brett Favre has thrown 14 interceptions in his last five games. Flore won the 49ers' left tackle job in camp and started brilliantly but injured a knee, leaving Young under too much pressure.
COMEBACK PLAYERS:
1. Jerry Rice, San Francisco. 2. Reggie White, Green Bay. 3. Doug Flutie, Buffalo.
rice is Rice again after missing almost all of last season with two knee injuries. White is White again after being hampered by a back injury last year. Flutie is the Flutie of 1984 who was expected to be unsighted again south of the border.
1. Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson, Washington. 2. Kordell Stewart, Pittsburgh. 3. The NFC East.
The Redskins paid Dana and Dan $57 million to ensure that they finally would make the playoffs. The Redskins are 1-7.
Stewart has been confused since Chan Galley, his offensive coordinator, left to coach the Cowboys.
The NFC East, which won three Super Bowls with three different teams 1991-93, has only one team above .500 and is 5-17 against outside competition.
Bearcats lose scholarships, receive two-year probation
The Associated Press.
The university avoided a postseason ban and was cleared to reinstate assistant coach John Loyer, who was involved in some of the major violations.
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati lost three men's basketball scholarships and was put on two years' probation by the NCAA yesterday for wide-ranging violations in coach Bob Huggins' program.
"I feel very bad about it particularly because it's affected people's lives," Huggins said. "I think it's affected the university—I feel bad about that.
Huggins, who was not named directly in any of the dozens of violations, expected less severe sanctions. The university will not appeal the NCAA's findings.
"There were a lot of mistakes made by a lot of people. I don't think you can narrow it down to one or two people."
"There were a lot of mistakes made by a lot of people. I don't think you can narrow it down to one or two people."
The NCAA maintained there was a lack of institutional control, resulting in violations including Loyer, Huggins' top assistant.
The Bearcats will lose three scholarships between 1998 and 2001 and will be limited in their recruiting.
Bob Huggins
Cincinnati is the second Conference USA school to face the NCAA's judgment in the last three months.
Huggins top assistant University president Joseph Steger said Loyer would remain on paid leave while the administration decided whether he had violated the university's code of conduct with his involvement in the infractions. A decision on whether to reinstate him could be reached within a week or two, he said.
Bearcats coach
Louisville's basketball team was banned from postseason play for one year and the university received three years' probation last September. Louisville has appealed part of the decision.
The sanctions against Cincinnati are in addition to the recruiting restrictions the university put in place last summer as part of a self-imposed one-year probation.
"It is a serious case," said Yvonne Slatton, acting head of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions. "We considered it a serious case, and I think the penalties imposed are consistent with that."
In its report yesterday, the committee decided that more punishment was warranted in addition to the self-imposed probation given the significant violations over a lengthy period of time.
If any further violations occur within the next five years, the program will be subject to more severe penalties under the NCAA's repeat-violator provisions.
The sanctions came 22 months after the university began looking into the eligibility of point guard Charles
Williams, an investigation that expanded and found numerous problems in the program.
Loyer, linked to some of the most severe violations involving Williams, has remained on paid leave during the investigation. If he is reinstated by the university, he would not be allowed to recruit off campus for one year.
year.
Cincinnati's problems were first uncovered during the 1996-97 basketball season when questions were raised about Williams' eligibility.
in the months that followed, the university uncovered violations involving a manager, Loyer, boosters and players. The manager was fired, Layer placed on leave, players suspended and the program's supervision tightened.
Athletic director Bob Goin withdrew the university's admission to some of the violations and contested the lack-of control allegation. He also imposed a one-year probation — essentially, a limit on recruiting — and hoped that would appease the association.
The NCAA's conclusion that Huggins' program lacked institutional control left it subject to major penalties. The university responded by doing an about-face last June in hopes of softening the blow.
The NCAA A's Committee on Infractions heard testimony last August.
williams received a one-year suspension from the NCAA for receiving improper academic and financial assistance. He withdrew from the school and filed a lawsuit claiming the university should have followed the NCAA rules.
The Associated Press
Doug Flutie to face Jets in New York
When Boston College's Doug Flutte threw the desperation pass that upset Miami on the day after Thanksgiving in 1984, Vinny Testaverde was a redshirt quarterback for the Hurricanes.
Buffalo has won five straight, meaning it's due to lose. Only dominant teams win that many, and Buffalo hardly is dominant.
JETS. 20-16
On Sunday, Flutie and Testaverde, two of the pleasant surprises of this NFL season, meet at Giants Stadium. Flutie is back from eight years of exile in Canada, and Testaverde is having a career season for the New York Jets. Even more important, Flutie's Bills and Testaverde's Jets are part of a four-way tie for first in the AFC East.
Testaverde is due to throw interceptions. He has 12 touchdowns with just two interceptions this season.
have has the stronger supporting cast PACKERS, 24-16
Kordell Stewart is 31st of the 34 quarterbacks ranked by the NFL.
PACKERS, 24-16 Kansas City at Seattle
Kansas City at Seattle
Green Bay at Pittsburgh (Monday night) Brett Favre has thrown 14 interceptions in the last five games, not a good way to go into Pittsburgh.
Atlanta at New England
The loser's probably out of the playoff picture. At least the Chiefs get better weather indoors, so scratch Seattle.
The Falcons haven't won in Foxboro since 1980 when they beat the Pats 37-21. Of course, they've only played there once since.
Oakland at Baltimore
Who gets more TV time in this one, the players or Art Modell and Al Davis?
Indianapolis at Miami
The losing owner, in this case it is Modell
RAIDERS. 77-17
The future (Peyton Manning) at the past (Dan Marino).
DOLPHINS, 4-10 San Diego at Denver
The future (Ryan Leaf) at the present (John Elway).
BRONCOS.31-3
Tennessee at Tampa Bay
The Tennessee Travelers are coming on. The Bucs are 4-0 at home.
New York Giants at Dallas
The Giants won't lie down like the Eagles. They won't kick it to Deion Sanders either — not after what happened to them six weeks ago.
COWBOYS, 16-11
Detroit at Philadelphia
who in 1995 lost 58-37 in a playoff game at the vet. At the rate they score, it will take the rest of the
At the rate they score, it will take the rest of the season for Philadelphia to get 58 points. LIONS 24.3
If anyone can lose to the Eagles, it's the Lions,
who in 1995 lost 58-37 in a playoff game at the Vet.
Carolina at San Francisco The 49ers had better be a little careful. 49ERS.27:16
Cincinnati at Jacksonville The Bengals gave everything they had against the Broncos. Do they have anything left? JAGUARS 47-19
Cincinnati at Jacksonville
Washington at Arizona
Washington at Arizona
The Cards are charging.
The Cards are charging?
CARDS 17.13
New Orleans at Minnesota The Vikings rebound. VIKINGS, 27-9
St. Louis at Chicago
It's hard to tell with the Bears,but they should win this one.
Last Week: 7-7.
Season: 77-43.
BEARS, 22-11
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