Chat Reel: SI's Peter King

The important answer: his favorite 'Seinfeld' episode

Posted: Friday January 28, 2000 08:23 PM

SI's Peter King chats online while simultaneously signing copies of Sports Illustrated for fans in the atrium of CNN Center in Atlanta. Brian Crane/CNNSI.com

CNNSI Host: Welcome to our Super Bowl chat with SI's Peter King live from the atrium of the CNN Center in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us, Peter.
Peter King: Thank you.

From Guest: What's the mood in Atlanta this week?
Peter King: It's a little of a different mood because there are two new teams, the weather has been weird so people aren't outside very much, and a lot of people have been delayed getting in here because of weather elsewhere and in the South. So I think it's got a different feel because the Super Bowl fever really hasn't kicked in.

From Steeler Fan in Dallas: I keep hearing speculation that the Steelers are talking to the Rams about a trade of their eighth overall pick for Trent Green. Is there any truth to that, and if not, will the Steelers try to find a new starting QB through free agency or trade?
Peter King: The Steelers have not had any discussion with the Rams yet. And Dan Rooney really wants Bill Cowher to give Kordell Stewart every opportunity to get the job done. Having said that, I think Trent Green is an excellent fit for the Steelers and I don't think Kordell Stewart is their long-term answer at QB.

From Guest: What kind of job do you think Bill Belichick will do as the new coach of the New England Patriots and who do you see the Patriots bringing in to handle their GM job?
Peter King: I was fairly sure that if Belichick went to the Patriots, he'd end up being the GM as well as coach, and I still think that could happen. Bob Kraft was sure that he wanted Belichick to coach and I believe he will end up hiring him also as GM. But he just wanted him to get in the door right now. My gut feeling is that he is going to do a good job with the Patriots, despite his much-discussed poor people skills. Like I said in the magazine late in the season, the guy's a very good coach and you don't need to be Dale Carnegie to coach an NFL franchise.

From Guest: How is Kurt Warner holding up? After his performance last week, there is some speculation that he is ineffective against quick defenses that attack him.
Peter King: Kurt Warner is the decisive figure in this Super Bowl. He was jittery, a little nervous against Tampa and for the first time, probably all season, he started the game inaccurate and totally out-of-whack. If that happens against Tennessee, the Titans are winning.

From Guest: Could the "Super Bowl fever" not be present because the game doesn't really carry the "superstar" power of past Super Bowls?
Peter King: Excellent point. I think the reason that a lot of people haven't warmed up to this game as much as some others is because there isn't, for example, John Elway's retirement hanging in the lurch or all the hoopla surrounding Brett Favre. There's just a bunch of normal guys playing in this Super Bowl. To me, that's reassuring because the focus is on the game, not all the other stuff surrounding it.

From Guest: Mr. King, Do you think the NFL is better off now then say 10 years ago in 1990? Do you think the Green Bay Packers are a cornerstone franchise in the NFL.
Peter King: The Packers are definitely a cornerstone franchise, because they represent everything that is good about sports. Going to Green Bay two or three times a year is one of the best things I do in my job. As to whether the NFL is better off than 10 years ago, I'm torn on that issue. I think that it's great to see new teams in, rather than the same teams every year, but I don't really like the fact that 12 days after the Super Bowl, the Rams and Titans will each say goodbye to five, six, seven players because of the salary cap. I understand why the salary cap exists, and I'm in favor of it, but it isn't good for the long-term future of the game when football teams change personalities as much as baseball teams do every year.

From Andy: What are your thoughts on the "incomplete pass" in the Bucs-Rams game? I can't believe there wasn't more of an uproar about it!
Peter King: I spoke this morning with Mike Perereira, the NFL's assistant supervisor of officials. I think he's a good guy and sees things in a common-sense way. But I disagreed with him today. He said there was no question that the reversal was the right call. I thought it was wrong all the way. As for the outcry, or lack thereof, I would only say this: I bet eight out of 10 people who watch that game would feel that Tampa wasn't going to get in the end zone anyway. Not that this matters, but this was a different call than one with 5 seconds left in the end zone that would determine the outcome of the game. This was a big play in the game, but not THE big play.

From Guest: With the hiring of Dave Campo as head coach, in your honest opinion, did the Cowboys take a step forward, backward, neutral in once again becoming an elite team in this league?
Peter King: Good question. The Cowboys made the decision that probably was the best for their franchise. Because of two things. If Dave Campo did not get the head coaching job, he likely would have resigned. And if he resigned, then Jerry Jones would not have not only had to build a new offensive coaching staff, which he would have to do anyway, but he would also have had to build the defense all over again. Campo consistently had the Cowboys in the top 10 in the NFL in team defense. Jerry did the right thing in not disrupting the defensive continuity after he lost any hope of signing Rams offensive coordinator Mike Martz a couple of weeks ago.

From Guest: Peter, I love Monday Morning Quarterback and look forward to it each week. What do you think about not having a bye week? It seems as if it would force the players to focus directly on the game and be less caught up in the hype.
Peter King: First, thanks for the nice words about MMQB. I love it too. It's one of the favorite parts of my job. I also like the one-week gap instead of two. I think the two-week gap dulls fans' enjoyment of the game, because by the time the 10th or 11th day of hype rolls around, you're so sick of everything concerning the Super Bowl that you just want to play it already.

From Guest: What is the best that the Seahawks can expect to receive for Joey Galloway? Any chance under the sun that he will stay in Seattle?
Peter King: I think there's zero chance that Galloway stays in Seattle. Mike Holmgren doesn't like him very much and he thinks that if he can get something concrete for him, then he'll do it. In fact, about a month ago, Holmgren and Ron Wolf were talking over the telephone when Holmgren proposed a Galloway-for-Freeman trade, straight up. Now this wouldn't work because of a lot of cap rules, but I think it shows exactly how Holmgren feels about Joey Galloway.

From Rob: I noticed you wrote about "Seinfeld" in your cnnsi.com article. What is your favorite episode of "Seinfeld"?
Peter King: No question: "The Nip." Probably the greatest "Seinfeld" scene of all time is when Elaine first discovers that part of her breast is exposed on her Christmas card. It is one of the great moments of television history. Every time my wife and I watch a "Seinfeld" rerun, we sob uncontrollably at the end because they're not making it any more. Just kidding. Sort of.

From Andy: Do you believe there will be a quarterback controversy for the New York Jets next season? And do you believe with a banged up linebacker crew the Jets could afford to lose Mo Lewis?
Peter King: If Mo Lewis wants $6 million a year, which he does -- and he can get it somewhere -- then the Jets will lose him. I believe Mo is going to be 31 at the start of next season, and I don't think you invest that much money in a 31-year-old linebacker. There will be no controversy whatsoever with the Jets at QB. If Vinny Testaverde can walk and chew gum at the same time, he will start 16 games. And I love Ray Lucas. It's just a fact.

CNNSI Host: From Guest: How do you think the Chiefs will fill the void left by the lost of Derrick Thomas?
Peter King: Good question. I think any team that needs a pure pass-rusher has to count on paying $5 million a year for one. The Chiefs are not in great cap condition. So they're most likely going to have to develop it from within. They don't have an obvious logical candidate. I would not be surprised to see them draft in the first round a good edge-rusher.

From Guest: What do you think will happen with Dan Marino? I think he should retire, although it would be nice if he could make one last run.
Peter King: I think Dan Marino's options were cut down considerably after his game against Jacksonville. He really looked old that day. I think Marino right now is on the fence, whether he even wants to play next year. And I can't imagine there would be many, if any, teams willing to take on what would be a tremendous sideshow by bringing Dan Marino in. I definitely don't think he'll be back in Miami.

From Steve: Have you changed your opinion of Steve McNair since you said, and I quote: "Steve McNair is a mobile Trent Dilfer"?
Peter King: Good memory. I think Steve McNair played a very good game in Jacksonville, although he certainly didn't win the game passing. I just have doubts in my mind whether McNair will ever be a great passer. I don't think he's accurate enough. Now, his game is very much more than just throwing the ball, so he can still be a good NFL QB by not being the most efficient one. In response specifically to your question, I haven't totally changed my mind yet about the Dilfer comment, and need to see McNair throw the ball better before I'd consider him one of the best QBs in the game.

From Andy: I don't think I have ever seen worse behavior from a football team than I saw from the Rams last week, in the week leading up to the game, and at the game itself. Their arrogant trash-talking all week, and their embarrassing display towards the Bucs when they squeaked out a victory was ridiculous. Do you think they're too cocky?
Peter King: What do you really think? I agree. A handful of Rams looked absolutely foolish. Paul Tagliabue talked about that issue today at his press conference and one of the things he said was that he's going to send over game and league officials to the NFL Players Association annual meeting in Hawaii in March to talk specifically about the area of player behavior. I thought it was shameful as several Rams went over the Buc bench after barely beating them at home and taunted them. I hope the league does something about it.

From Guest: Who's your pick in the game and why?
Peter King: St. Louis, 24-20. I have decided, after much thought this week, to put my stock in Kurt Warner to play like he did in the first 17 games of the Rams' season and not like he played in the last one. If he does, I feel sure the Rams will win. But that's why this game is going to be so much fun. Because you could probably find half of the real intense fans who will watch this game who think, logically, that Tennessee will be all over Warner and will disrupt him and force him to play an ineffective game. I think that's the good part of this matchup. People really don't know what's going to happen.

CNNSI Host: Thanks for joining us today, Peter.
Peter King: Thanks very much.

CNNSI Host: Thanks for visting us everyone! Great questions today. Sorry we didn't have a chance to get to all of them.

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