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Trend under center First-round QBs a rarity in modern-day NFL
NEW YORK (AP) -- Brett Favre had a great game Sunday. So did Tom Brady and Jeff Garcia. None was a first-round draft choice, illustrative of what's been happening for a long time in the NFL. Drafting a quarterback in the first round guarantees nothing -- these days, teams have just as good a chance picking one up off the street. Brady, a sixth-round draft pick last year by the Patriots, was forced into service when Drew Bledsoe was knocked out with a chest injury three weeks ago. On Sunday, Brady was 33-of-54 for 354 yards and two touchdowns in New England's 29-26 overtime win against San Diego, rallying his team from 10 points down in the final eight minutes of regulation. "Tom Brady came in and played the game of his life," San Diego linebacker Junior Seau said. "We couldn't get them off the field. He played an exceptional game."
Said Bill Belichick, Brady's head coach: "Tom does a good job of seeing the field. That's one of his real strengths. He knows where the coverage is and doesn't throw too many into the crowd." Despite that praise, Brady will sit when Bledsoe is healthy. That means as soon as Bledsoe throws an interception or fumbles, the "Brady! Brady!" chants will start in Foxboro -- second-string quarterbacks are always fan favorites, particularly if they've performed well in clutch situations. Given Bledsoe's $103 million contract, Brady is more likely to be traded for a draft pick - as Green Bay did with low-round choices Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck and Aaron Brooks. That's the pattern. Of the four best quarterbacks in the NFL, only Peyton Manning was a first-round pick, No. 1 overall in 1998. The others are Favre, a second rounder, plus two guys from the Arena League/NFL Europe (Kurt Warner) and the Canadian Football League (Garcia). Favre, obtained by the Packers in a 1992 trade, was drafted by the Falcons in 1991, when Dan McGwire and Todd Marinovich were taken in the first round. McGwire has spent what should have been his NFL career watching his brother, Mark, hit home runs, while Marinovich has been in Canada and the Arena League but was done in by personal problems, mostly involving drugs. So, counting Bledsoe, just nine of the 31 starting quarterbacks in the NFL were first-round draft picks. The others are Manning, Vinny Testaverde, Tim Couch, Steve McNair, Trent Dilfer, Kerry Collins, Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper. Testaverde, Dilfer and Collins all are with teams other than those that drafted them. And though Dilfer is 2-0 as Seattle's starter and has won his last 13 starts, including the Super Bowl for Baltimore, Mike Holmgren says he goes back to the bench when Hasselbeck is healthy. At the other end are first-round disasters like Marinovich, McGwire, Heath Shuler, Jim Druckenmiller, and, of course, Ryan Leaf, who just was signed by Dallas. Plus Jeff George, the No. 1 overall pick in 1990, whose churlishness has gotten him fired by Indianapolis, Atlanta, Oakland, Minnesota and Washington. Couch, McNabb and Culpepper are three of the five QBs taken No. 1 in 1999. The other two: Akili Smith (Cincinnati) and Cade McNown (Miami) are third-stringers. More of the same.
Flag dayThere were 202 accepted penalties in the 13 games played Sunday, an average of 15.5 per game. That's nearly 50 percent more than in Week 2, the first week worked by regular officials. Then, there were 142 penalties in 13 Sunday games, or 10.9. In Week One, worked by replacement officials, there were 161 accepted penalties in 15 games, or 10.7. Still, the overall figures seem pretty constant. After four weeks last season, there were 11.98 accepted penalties per game. After four weeks this year there were 12.16, a figure that will go up when Week Five's flags are added in. The final figure last season was 12.7. The most penalties Sunday were the 24 in the Rams' 15-14 win against the Giants. They were divided evenly, but the Giants were penalized 125 yards to 89 for the Rams, and the calls against New York came on critical plays -- a pass interference call that set up St. Louis' only TD and a holding call that negated a New York field goal. "I don't want to talk about the officials," Giants head coach Jim Fassel said, noting that coaches who criticize officials publicly are fined. "I don't have enough money."
And ...The Tampa Bay-Tennessee game was delayed almost 10 minutes by replay confusion. With the Titans leading 17-14, Steve McNair threw to Kevin Dyson on the left sideline for what was ruled a 26-yard touchdown. The Titans snapped the ball for the extra point, but the officials stopped the play -- referee Dick Hantak said Tampa Bay had called a timeout before the snap. The play was reviewed and overturned, and the Titans had to settle for Joe Nedney's 44-yard field goal, which was good even though the ball was re-spotted at the 27 when it should have been at the 26. But Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher claimed there should have been no replay because Tampa Bay's Tony Dungy didn't throw a red flag before the ball was snapped for the extra point. "We thought Dyson was out of bounds," said Dungy, who said his replay buzzer apparently wasn't working. "I was pushing the button and Dick Hantak was looking at me. I guess he wanted me to throw the red flag." Although the Titans won 31-28 in overtime, Fisher echoed Fassel, saying: "In my opinion, if Tony tried to get him to call a timeout, his pager wasn't working and he didn't have a flag. In my opinion the timeout was not called before the ball was kicked, period," Fisher said. "That's enough as far as comments on that. I've got kids' tuitions to worry about."
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