6B
Friday, September 27, 1996
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
San Diego may test 4-0 KC
Kansas City (4-0) at San Diego (3-1)
Think Kansas City's 13-3 record last season was a fluke? The Chiefs are 4-0 this year and winning the same ugly way they won last year.
One of four survivors of last week's head-to-head showdowns among the NFL's unbeatens, Kansas City gets its most severe test on Sunday. The Chiefs travel to San Diego to meet the Chargers, whose only loss in four games was two weeks ago at Lambeau Field.
For one thing, the Chiefs are coming off a high — a come-from-behind 17-14 win against Denver that gave them undisputed possession of first place in the AFC West, probably the NFL's strongest division. Now they have to sustain their momentum on the road against a team that figures to be one of their main challengers.
The Chiefs also have injuries. Tight end Lake Dawson is out for the season, and wide receiver Tamarick Vanover might not play this week. Still, backups Chris Penn and Danan Hughes have come through, a tribute to Kansas City's depth.
"We play a lot of players," said coach Marty Schottenheimer. "That has enabled us to develop some of the younger players."
San Diego does the same. In fact, in a lot of ways, the Chargers are the same team with fewer name players. Kansas City has Marcus Allen, Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith and Steve Bono. Other than Junior Seau and Stain Humphries, who are these Chargers?
wen, Tony Martin last year caught more passes in a season, 90, than any Charger in a history that includes Hall of Famers Lance Alworth, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow. This year, Martin leads the AFC with 29 catches in four games, good for six touchdowns.
Dallas (1-3) at Philadelphia (3-1)
This is the last game the Cowboys have an excuse. They have a bye next week and then Michael Irvin returns from suspension.
But if they lose this one, it may be too late, particularly the way the offensive line played last week in Buffalo, when Dallas ran for only 32 vards.
A Philadelphia victory will give the Eagles a three-game lead against Dallas in the NFC East, leaving the Cowboys to struggle for a wild-card spot and seriously jeopardizing their shot at a fourth NFL title in five years.
This is the scene of last year's "Bozo the Coach" game, when Barry Switzer twice went for a first down on fourth-and-1 from his 29-yard line with the game tied and with two minutes left. He failed, and the Eagles won 20-17.
But more is being made of Switzer's comments about kicking the Eagles' butts after Dallas' 30-11 playoff win. Ray Rhodes said he was upset, but Switzer said the Philadelphia coach was only looking for bulletin board material.
"In no way did I feel I'd incite him," Switzer said. "Ray uses those things to motivate his team, but I didn't mean it personally."
Houston (2-1) at Pittsburgh (2-1)
Since the Oilers are averaging 23,905 fans for two home games, they may not be unnerved as much as most teams at Three Rivers Stadium, where the Steelers have won 14 of their last 15 regular-season games.
These two teams look like the class of the AFC Central. Before last week's bye, the Steelers had righted themselves after an opening-week loss in Jacksonville. The Oilers' only loss was 20-19 to unbeaten Kansas City in the Astrodome.
Coach Bill Cowher seems to have solved his quarterback problem for the time being by using Mike Tomczak in the middle of the field and Kordell Stewart in short-yardage and goal-line situations. A good running game also helps: The Steelers rushed for 222 yards against Buffalo.
Minnesota (4-0) at New York Giants (1-3)
If the Giants were a little better, this would be a trouble game for the Vikings, coming off an emotional 30-21 home victory against Green Bay. It still could be if the air comes out of Minnesota and the Giants' sloppy 13-6 win against the Jets gives a young team some momentum.
But New York's weakest link, its inexperienced offensive line, goes against Minnesota's strength, a defensive front in which Derrick Alexander, last year's top draft choice, and journeyman Martin Harrison have emerged to give John Randle some help.
Carolina (3-0) at Jacksonville (1-3)
Another dangerous game for an unbeaten team. This was supposed to be the Expansion Bowl, but Carolina's 23-7 win against San Francisco last week gives the Panthers the look of a legitimate playoff contender — 10-9 lifetime and 10-4 since an 0-4 start last season.
The Jaguars are 5-15 in their short history, they are at home, and they are competitive enough to catch Carolina on a letdown. Steve Beuerlein, Jacksonville's first pick in the 1995 expansion draft, likely will be at quarterback for Carolina, while Kerry Collins rests a bruised knee.
Green Bay (3-1) at Seattle (1-3)
The Packers, who lost at the Metrodome for the fifth straight time last week, don't like domes. They lost their only game in the Kingdome 24-13 in 1987, when Brett Favre was a college freshman, Reggie White was an Eagle and Rep. Steve Largent, R-Okla., was a Seahawk.
This should be a bounce-back game for the Packers. Coach Mike Holmgren is known for getting his teams up after a bad loss.
"We're still the best team in the league," says Green Bay defensive end Sean Jones. "I don't care what anybody says."
Atlanta (0-3) at San Francisco (2-1)
Should Steve Young have played against Carolina with a pulled groin? Elvis Grbac starts this week against Atlanta's newly anointed starter, Bobby Hebert. All signs indicate that Jeff George has played his last game for the Falcons after his run-in with coach June Jones earned him a suspension.
The Falcons, who upset the 49ers at the Georgia Dome in the final game of last season, don't exactly burn up San Francisco. In the last two years, they have lost there by a combined 83-13 and have allowed 176 points in their last four visits.
Denver's Terrell Davis, who leads the league with 461 yards, was a sixth-round pick in the same draft in which Cincinnati's Ki-Jana Carter was No. 1 overall. Carter, who missed last season with a knee injury, has 90 yards on 40 carries, although he had a 31-yard touchdown run in the Bengals' 30-15 victory against New Orleans two weeks ago.
Denver (3-1) at Cincinnati (1-2)
Two more teams with contrasting running backs.
Otherwise, it is notable for the matchup between the running backs. Arizona's LeShon Johnson ran for 214 yards in last week's 28-14 victory in New Orleans. St. Louis' Lawrence Phillips is averaging just 2.5 yards a carry.
St. Louis (1-2) at Arizona (1-3)
The first meeting between a St. Louis-based team and Bill Bidwill's Cardinals since the owner left town after the 1987 season.
The Broncos lost 17-14 in Kansas City last week, but the game may have proven their legitimacy as contenders. Davis, who had a 65-yard touchdown run in that game, has taken the heat off John Elway, who is having a subpar season.
Detroit (2-2) at Tampa Bay (0-4)
Starting with Barry Sanders and Herman Moore, there are a lot of reasons why this should be an easy victory for the Lions. But there also are a lot of reasons why it could be close, particularly Detroit's history of erratic starts under coach Wayne Fontes.
The Rams also will start rookie Tony Banks at quarterback for Steve Walsh.
One good sign for Detroit was the revival of Scott Mitchell last week. In the 35-16 victory against Chicago, he had 336 yards and four touchdowns --- double the number of touchdown passes he threw in his first three games.
Oakland (1-3) at (Chicago 1-3)
Both have been hit hard by injuries, and both are two of the more disappointing teams in the NFL.
The Bears' latest problem is a neck injury to quarterback Erik Kramer, who will be replaced by Dave Krieg, now in his 17th season and on his fourth team in four years.
Oakland (1-3) at (Chicago 1-3)
The Raiders broke an eight-game losing streak two weeks ago when Jeff Hostetler returned from a knee injury. However, they began a new one last Sunday in a 40-34 loss at home to the Chargers. Hostetler helped by throwing two interceptions.
New York Jets (0-4) at Washington (3-1)
The Jets expected to beat the Giants last week, and the finger-pointing started as soon as they lost. One target: Rich Kotite, 3-17 as coach and 3-24 in his last 27 games, which includes a seven-game losing streak in 1994 with Philadelphia.
This would be a nice victory for the Redskins because it would guarantee them a spot atop the NFC East. It is early, but it says a lot for a team that came into the season with a 13-35 record since 1991.
New Orleans (0-4) at Baltimore (1-2)
The Ravens' first home game since opening week, when they beat the Raiders 19-14.
They have beefed up with ex-Steelers since then by signing Bam Morris and Eric Green, although Morris is serving a league-imposed suspension for drugs, and Green has a bad knee.
The Saints gave up 267 yards rushing last week to the Cardinals,110 more than Arizona had run for in its first three games.
—The Associated Press
Team's legacy not found in Baltimore
Ravens'records lost in transient
The Associated Press
When Art Modell packed up his franchise and headed for Baltimore, he left the Cleveland Browns in football limbo, their records missing in action until the league restores a team to the city.
Look in the media guide of the Baltimore Ravens, the linear descendants of the Browns, and the franchise's Cleveland legacy is nowhere to be found. The records section instead offers a recitation of pro football marks set by the Colts, accompanied by a disclaimer.
"This set of statistics is not officially recognized by the National Football League," it says, "but is meant to honor and salute the players and teams who represented then citizens of Baltimore for so many years; plus, give a historical perspective to the Baltimore pro football history."
And if you need to know the won-lost record of the Browns last year, you're out of luck. Cleveland is on its own.
That's all right with Bill Futterman, president of the Cleveland Browns Trust, who was hired by the NFL and is in charge of keeping alive the traditions and legacy of the franchise. He has no complaints. He's happy to to be caretaker of an invisible team.
"The Brownns exist," Futterer said. "They are alive in our offices, and they are alive at the Hall of Fame, which treats the Brownas as the NFL's 31st franchise. The Brownns exhibit is still in clear display there and at the induction ceremonies there were 31 flags flying over the stadium."
But it's difficult to find the records of some NFL immortals like Jim Brown and Otto Graham, who played for the Cleveland Browns. The last place to look is in Baltimore, where the Ravens have chosen to look the other way.
So Joe Don Looney and Marty Domres, obscure names from Baltimore's football past, are in the Ravens' press guide, and Browns Hall of Famers Marion Motley and Lou Groza are out.
And Raul Allegre and Johnny Sample are in, while Hall of Famers Leroy Kelly and Dante Lavelli are out.
Other transient teams have not treated their past quite so cavalierly.
Rams records accompanied the franchise when it moved, first from Cleveland to Los Angeles and then on to St. Louis with Hall of Famers like Bob Waterfield and Merlin Olsen celebrated in the record book.
The Cardinals took their heritage from Chicago to St. Louis and then Arizona and brought Hall of Famers Charley Trippi and Dan Dierford along.
The Ravens, though, were less nostalgic about their past.
In the Raiders' periodic moves up and down the California coast, from Oakland to Los Angeles and back again, Al Davis would never dream of leaving behind Hall of Fame names from the team's history like Gene Upshaw and Jim Otto.
"We left the name and colors there," said Kevin Byrne, a vice president of the club in Cleveland and Baltimore. "The Cleveland Browns exist. They're not playing this year. The Ravens are a new team without a history. That's why we created the Baltimore section in the media guide. It gives our players something to shoot for in terms of history."
It also leaves overlap Cleveland-Baltimore players like Vinny Testaverde and Earnest Byner in a bit of a statistical bind. Their year-by-year records are dutifully listed, although there is no mention that they were accomplished when the franchise played in Cleveland.
"They can add to their career statistics, but they can't add to their Cleveland statistics." Byrne said. "What they do this year are Ravens records. We're an expansion team with veteran players."
And because expansion teams have no history in their first year, the Ravens reached for Baltimore's roots. Modell even approached the Indianapolis Colts about surrendering their nickname, which that team took along when it moved from Baltimore.
That proposal and the nickname went nowhere, and the Colts continued to hang onto records from both of the franchise's incarnations — Baltimore and Indianapolis.
That means that the records of Looney and Domres are celebrated not by one team, but by two. And the achievements of Jim Brown and Lou Groza are celebrated by no one, locked in a sort of football twilight zone.
The Associated Press
Bill delays Oilers' move to Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Yellow and blue "NLFYES" bumper stickers are peeling and fading. Nashville football fans can't buy an Oller's tee-shirt or cap for the NFL franchise that will eventually play in their town
chase that will eventually play in their home. In short, not much has happened in Nashville, the future home of the Houston Oilers.
When the team announced its move, the city expected to see the Oliers play the 1998 season in a brand-new 65,000-seat stadium. Four months have passed, and there has not been one brick or shovel of dirt moved on the banks of the Cumberland River, the future location of the stadium.
The lack of activity in Nashville can be blamed on the Cleveland Brown.
Nashville cannot begin construction until Congress has adjourned, and Hoke's "Fan Freedom and Community Protection Act" is officially dead.
when owner Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore and renamed them the Ravens, Rep. Martin Hoke, R-Ohio, wanted the NFL to compensate Cleveland for the loss of the team and drafted a bill.
Congress is expected to adjourn no later than Oct. 4, and Bredesen will be ready.
There are a final round of documents to sign with the Oilers and the NFL, including a pledge that the city won't sue the NFL. Then, Bredesen can sign a construction contract.
"Until then, we're just running out the clock," said Phil Bredesen, mayor of Nashville.
Bredesen said that when the final round of documents and the construction contract were signed, the city would have an NFL team.
N. Breath. The delays caused by Hoke's bill mean that the Nashville's stadium will not be finished until 1999. During their first season in Tennessee, the Oliers will play in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
"There were some pretty hard feelings," Bredesen said.
Memphis has worked for 20 years to secure its own NFL franchise only to be passed over and then watch as Nashville secured the Oilers.
The Oilers have a weekly radio and television show in Nashville, which has been on the air since the preseason.
The Oilers have also joined boards and charity groups in Nashville, said Mike McClure, executive vice president.
The Oilers' low attendance in Houston has given fans the hope that the team will arrive in 1997, a year earlier than scheduled. But McClure said the franchise was tied to the Astrodome, unless Bob Lanier, mayor of Houston, changed his mind.
"You always hope that sqmbody will basically realize that what he perceives as leverage is really doing a disservice for his city and his constituents over the long run," McClure said.
For Nashville's part, Bredesen is focusing on the stadium. He thinks that Nashville's enthusiasm will rebound once construction starts.
"It looks like nothing's happening because we're acquiring property and signing deeds and moving businesses," he said. But pretty quickly there'll be a hole in the ground over there and people will be able to see."
Juccers Showgirls
Wednesdays
are
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$2 admission
with student ID
Open at 7:30
everyday until 2a.m.
913 N. Second
today's question How funky is too funky?
Annette Hoover
Wilmette, IL, junior
A: "Nothing is too funky for
mel"
Mojo's
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