Power of Caring
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Spielman still a football guy

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Posted: Thursday September 02, 1999 03:07 PM

Click here to send your NFL questions to SI's Peter King.

So I'm on the phone the other night with Chris Spielman , six or seven hours after he announces his retirement ...

"Wait a minute," Spielman said. "I never said I retired. I never used the word." Okay, but that's what it was.

Anyway, Spielman reminded me about what he said just before going in for neck surgery 20 months ago. "Remember I said the day I had to be helped off the field is the day I'd quit playing? I stuck to it," he said. Now Spielman was trying to tell me how fortunate he had been to have had the career he had. But the way it ended punched him in the gut. He was going to be what he always wanted to be -- the middle linebacker for his hometown team, the Cleveland Browns. At least, I told him, he had the privilege of playing middle linebacker in the new Browns' first game, and then in their first game in the new stadium on the lake. Right, he said. He appreciated that. And he would take the pain, just like he's taken the pain on and off the field over the last two years. Undergoing neck-fusion surgery at the end of the 1997 season. His wife's battling breast cancer in 1998. Taking a year off to take care of her and the family. And now this, getting crushed helmet-to-helmet with Bears center Casey Wiegmann and losing all feeling in his extremities for 45 seconds. And then getting helped off the field.

"I've dealt with hard reality the last two years," he said. "I've been smacked left and right with reality. But what am I going to do? Be sad? Cry? I've had enough of that in recent years. I've got the mental fortitude to deal with this, and I will."

Now, Spielman said, he will go home to be with his family for a while, in Columbus, Ohio. "My intentions are to be involved with football in some way," he said. "I'm a football guy." I keep hearing he'll work for Ohio State as a volunteer assistant coach. Whatever he does, the game will miss him more than he, and we, can know right now. Because this was a man who respected the game more than anyone I've ever covered.

Now on to your questions:

Actually, wait a minute. Nobody asked me, but let me ask all of you one: Why does Ricky Williams always wear his helmet when doing interviews?

He looks absolutely ridiculous fogging up his shield while surrounded by notepads and minicams. Is this fashion? Is it blatant silliness? He's doing a great job marketing himself, covering his face like that.

Now, your questions:

Peter, last week No. 81 of the Vikings caught a great pass as he flew into the end zone against the Giants. Question is: Who is Chris Walsh and why haven't people heard about him since he's been a pro for seven years? All we hear about is Cris Carter and Randy Moss.
-- James Puccio, Carlsbad, Calif.

Walsh is one of the best special-teams players in the league. Dennis Green tries to get him some downs in four- and five-receiver sets, but what he's become is a latter-day Steve Tasker , a guy who will do whatever he can to get on the field -- and usually that's covering kicks. For the record, he's 6'1", 199 pounds, a Stanford guy (played for Green, when he coached there) with 24 career catches and two touchdowns.

I would like your overall view of the Bills, their biggest strengths and weaknesses. Will there be a QB controversy in Buffalo sometime during the season?
-- Mohammed Omar, Bronx, New York

Interesting team. I love their rookies. Peerless Price will soon take over for Andre Reed , and Antoine Winfield will take over for one of their pedestrian corners soon. I don't like that Wade Phillips , in trying to keep Rob Johnson 's interest level high, has opened up the quarterback job this summer, but it will end up that Doug Flutie , rightfully, starts the first game and, wrongfully, will play the season on a short leash. I think it's 60-40 they return to the playoffs, probably at New England's expense.

What do you think of Bucs performance in preseason? It seems to me they are very talented on the defensive line. However, my concern is the offensive line. Any major injury on that unit will be disastrous. Also, are you convinced that the Bucs' passing game will finally be a threat?
-- Ray Esmailzadeh, Houston

I agree. The offensive line is a question mark. But the real question mark here, as I wrote (shameless plug ahead! caution!) in our NFL Preview issue last week is whether Trent Dilfer can finally became an efficient quarterback. He's been a career 55-ish percent QB, and that won't pay the bills in today's NFL. The good thing about the Bucs, I think, is that Tony Dungy is not going to be afraid to pull the plug on Dilfer, whose backups are Eric Zeier and Shaun King , if need be.

What do you realistically think of the Redskins? I know they are 3-0 in the preseason, but do you think they're for real? Has their defense really improved? Will their offense be any good, period?
-- Ken Rice, Baltimore, Md.

The preseason in Washington has proven nothing except two things: