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Back Page Van Pelt or Johnson? Numbers make it no controversyPosted: Friday November 30, 2001 3:12 PM
By Bob Harris, Special to CNNSI.com As we head into December, I find myself in a reflective mood. Maybe I watched the same half hour repeat of last night's SportsCenter five more times than I should have. Or perhaps I'm just a little frazzled from the 24-hour sports talk radio buzzing in the background. Whatever, I feel a need to look at a story or two not plastered in three-inch tall blinking letters on every sports Web site this side of the Pecos. So here are a few thoughts on topics you may have overlooked amid Jim Mora's meltdown, Peyton Manning's angry response, Terry Glenn's suspension and Terrell Davis' return to the starting lineup.
DATELINE: Orchard Park, N.Y. But wait. There's more! Van Pelt's five touchdown passes match Johnson's total output in eight previous starts -- and Van Pelt has thrown four more TD passes as a backup, bringing his season total to nine scoring strikes! He's also proven to be more adept at making quick decisions and he clearly gets rid of the ball more quickly than Johnson. Van Pelt has been sacked once for every 20 times he's dropped back this season, Johnson once for every eight. All of which becomes much more interesting given that the Bills will be making a major decision about their future at quarterback this offseason. Let's see. Johnson, who has yet to start five consecutive games without being knocked out by an injury since his arrival in Buffalo, has one year left on his current contract, which represents an $11.2 million hit against the team's 2001 salary cap. Van Pelt, on the other hand, is making right around the veteran minimum this season. However, he's eligible to become a free agent next year and is certain to draw considerable interest from around the league. Nonetheless, I'd be willing to bet you the Bills could hang onto Van Pelt with a reasonable offer to extend his contract -- and he'd probably be willing to settle for far less than $11.2 million. ... By the way ... does anybody else find it just a little unusual that the Bills won't even allow Johnson to stand on the sidelines to watch games because they're afraid he'll get hurt by an errant tackle?
DATELINE: Minneapolis, Minn. After dropping at least two -- and maybe three -- passes against the Bears, it quickly became obvious Moss didn't want to play in this one. All of which reminds me of something Moss said this summer before Vikings owner Red McCombs came up with the pile of jack necessary to sign Moss to a long-term deal. Speculating on his chances of playing for the Vikings in 2002, Moss said: "If they've got the money, then they can sign me. If they ain't got the money, then they can't sign me." Now that I look back on it, Packers safety LeRoy Butler nailed this one by predicting Moss would get his money -- but: "If he's hurt or disgruntled like he normally is, you have to eat it. You could never trade him; the cap would be all messed up; and you would have to get rid of most of the people on the team." Case closed.
DATELINE: Oakland, Calif. "Nah," he said. "I only threw 20 times. There were just some big ones at the right time." Sure. The truth is Gannon posted his Raiders career best in average yards per attempt (just over 11 yards) and his third-best in average yards per completion with 17 yards (17.0).
DATELINE: Chicago Miller said Ross indicated to him that he'd have a shot at the Lions quarterback job when, in fact, he had Scott Mitchell and Charlie Batch in line for the job, with Frank Reich on call. "I was a guy who was just in the way," Miller said during a conference call with the Detroit media this week. "They wanted to play Charlie right away, so I was just in the way. They had already called Frank Reich before I even got to training camp. They had already made up their minds they were going to bring Frank back, so it was basically a waste of four weeks of my life. If I would have known that, I wouldn't have even shown up in Saginaw. "Quite frankly, if Bobby Ross was the captain of the Titanic, he'd be the first one in the life boat. The guy's a liar and a loser, and that's the way I look at him."
DATELINE: San Diego, Calif. I can't imagine why -- unless it's the fact that Butler acts just like he looks. And if you're not sure what that means, ask Kansas City offensive coordinator Al Saunders. After the Chargers' Nov. 4 loss to the Chiefs in which Doug Flutie suffered a concussion, Butler verbally assaulted Saunders, a former Chargers head coach, for holding up the elevator from the press box to the locker rooms. When Saunders asked Butler how Flutie was doing, Butler responded with an obscenity-laced diatribe. When Saunders asked someone what was bothering Butler, the mean-spirited executive shot back with more obscenities. But what else would you expect from a guy who badmouths one of his team's mainstays -- in this case star tight end Freddie Jones -- for getting a second opinion on a painful ankle injury the Chargers wanted him to play on? Commenting on Jones' case two weeks ago, Butler said: "Anytime someone wants a second opinion, he's sure welcome to it. What else can you do? I don't know what the second opinion is going to show. Our doctors have done their work. ..." Sure they did. Right up to the point where they failed to notice the ligament damage that could have left Jones with a chronic or possibly arthritic condition down the road. Hey! With everybody trying to figure out why the Chargers have taken a nosedive in recent weeks, why don't we start looking for answers at the top, eh? In the meantime, the line to work for Butler starts -- nowhere! There you have it, boys and girls. ... Further proof that there is life beyond the "big" headlines -- not to mention some interesting and useful info that might give you an edge over the competition. Bob Harris is Editor and Webmaster of the TFL Report and Senior Editor for Fantasy Sports Publications
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