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America's team and the next LT
Posted: Wednesday December 08, 1999 12:55 PM
Click here to send your NFL questions to SI's Peter King. Remember that SI cover of a couple of years ago, the one with Emmitt Smith on the cover? The one that said "Running on Empty'' with a story about Smith's demise? Oops. I saw Smith in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday night. His numbers were O.K. -- 19 carries, 75 yards -- but as much as any game I've seen him play in recent years, Smith was a big-time back, cutting so effectively that Patriots defenders were left grasping at air, getting an extra yard when two guys were dragging him down, bouncing up with fresh legs even in the fourth quarter. His best run-blocker, Larry Allen, missed the game with an injury, as did good run-blocking center Mark Stepnoski. Smith is 30 now. He's won four rushing titles, and there's no question he wants a fifth badly. That's going to be tough. With four games left to play, he trails Edgerrin James by 157 yards, 1,210 to 1,053 -- and Stephen Davis (1,146), Duce Staley (1,058), Curtis Martin (1,046) and Marshall Faulk (1,026) can't be eliminated as factors in the rushing race just yet, either. Not only is Smith trailing, but he has a tougher schedule of run defenses than James does. Of the four remaining foes for the Colts, James will see three bottom-10-ranked run defenses. "Anything can happen,'' Smith said. "I've been there before. I've been down late in the season and won. I've got to have all my dogs healthy, and if I do, I have a shot.'' By "dogs," Smith means linemen. And the five starters should be in there Sunday when the Eagles come to Dallas. One other Smith note: He has always told me he wants to leave footprints in football history. He has. Smith is third on the alltime rushing list. He's 3,107 yards behind Walter Payton, the leader. This means he should end up, say, 2,800 yards behind Payton by season's end. This means he'd almost have to play three years to have a good shot -- and I mean three healthy years, which will be a challenge for a 30-something back -- at breaking Payton's record. That's assuming, of course, that Barry Sanders stays retired. Which is absolutely no sure thing. Now on to your questions of the week:
Peter, I heard you were at the Cowboys game. As a Cowboys fan, it's getting very boring watching their offense. We never pass for more than 10 yards and it looks like one of the Notre Dame teams that the "Rocket" was on -- a running team that only passes vertically once in a while. What did you think about the Cowboys' attack? And also, why aren't they using Alvin Harper? If he doesn't know the offense well, just throw him the deep balls and the skinny post! My first mailbag question from Korea! Wow! You heard right. I was at the Cowboys' game. Word travels around the world fast, I guess. Dallas' problem right now is that the team is a shell of its former self. They have to rely on receivers like Jeff Ogden and on guards like Solomon Page. They have to patch a secondary together almost weekly. They became thin because of signing so many big stars to keep them off the free-agency market, and signing those stars cost them player after player of quality depth. You even know the skinny post! Wow! It would be nice if Harper were healthy enough to play, but he's been out of the game for so long that when he came back he got some nagging injuries that are keeping him off the field. Their best hope? Banging the defense with Smith, then using the tight ends on intermediate stuff where Troy Aikman's accuracy can be most effective.
CHINESE PROVERB: To know one's enemy is to know oneself. Let's make both Steelers and Cowboys fans happy at the same time ... I am being REALLY serious. Mr. Rooney: you can have Troy "Mr. Ball-Control, Relatively Error-Free" Aikman. Mr. Jones can have Chan Gailey and Kordell Stewart, together again. See you both in the Super Bowl! Bizarre trade idea, because the cap would prevent such big stars from being dealt. But there's no question the Steelers would be three wins better with an accurate quarterback throwing to decent receivers, and Aikman would make a lackadaisical guy like Troy Edwards work hard.
Did you see Titans rookie defensive end Jevon Kearse run down the Ravens' Priest Holmes? Not only did he make the tackle without a true angle on the play, he nearly ran right up the DB's back. This was one of the most amazing plays I have ever seen on the football field, based purely on athletic ability. How good can this guy get? Are we watching Lawrence Taylor's rebirth in the new training/conditioning days of the '90s or what? And is he the NFL's rookie of the year on defense? Casey, you must be in my brain. I've seen Kearse three times this year, and I said on some talk show or other last week that I truly think we're seeing the next Lawrence Taylor. People always think that's a silly thing to say, but I saw this man sprint around a very good right tackle with excellent feet, Orlando Brown of Cleveland, in Week 2 and make three sacks. His teammates tell me they think, in all seriousness, that Kearse would probably beat every wideout on the team in a 40-yard race. You picked up on something smart: Kearse will be a great player in this league for a long time.
How come the NFL wants to make such a big deal out of the "slashing throat" move, when the game of football (now) is about entertainment? There are fans out there who like the theatrics and to some others, like me, it doesn't matter what kind of gesture they do. They don't allow spiking because supposedly it upstages the refs. Bull crap. They just want to control everything. Spiking is allowed. I saw four or five grandiose spikes in the games I watched on Sunday Ticket. Theatrics are allowed. I am totally supportive of the throat-slashing ban. It is gang-related, and common sense tells you it has no place in the NFL. It imitates a person slitting someone's throat with a knife. There is nothing good or creative or remotely worthy about that. Let me ask you this: If a player wanted to simulate a sexual act with a woman on the field after a touchdown catch as a means of celebration, would you think of that as entertainment? There's no place for actions like that by players.
I am a die-hard Dolphins fan, and once again it looks as though they will fall flat on their face again this season. I'm starting to lose confidence in Jimmy Johnson. He has built a quality defense, but this offense has nothing to offer. I see that you ranked them third this week. How? They couldn't beat Buffalo even if Buffalo gave them their game plan, their "running game" is awful and the play calling by Kippy "Let's Run it On First Down Every Time" Brown just plain stinks! Do you really think they have a shot to go far in the playoffs? Please explain to me how. Jose, the Dolphins will likely have to win two road games to get to the Super Bowl, and I think you're right. They can't do it. My feeling? Fate has played a cruel trick on Dan Marino and Johnson. Marino hung around for years with Don Shula and then Jimmy said, basically: Hold on while I build a defense and running game that can get you to a Super Bowl. As for Jimmy, he picked the Dolphins over Tampa Bay three years ago, and it would have been much, much easier to build a great team with the cap room and defensive base he'd have had in Tampa. Now it looks like Marino can kiss his Super Bowl chance goodbye. Sad, really. But I'm not sure I blame Johnson for much of this, other than the enmity he's built up with Marino. Johnson built a good -- not great -- defense, and we all thought he'd built a strong running game. But the offensive line just isn't the dominating type he'd had in Dallas.
Here's a simple question: Why doesn't anyone, besides Detroit Lions fans, take the Lions to be a real deal team? They've beaten the Seahawks, Packers, Bucs, Vikings, Skins and, to top it off, the Rams! We all take the Lions seriously. They've had some big wins, some valiant efforts. Bobby Ross is my hands-down coach of the year. I love their front seven. This team has a solid shot to play for the NFC title. I base my ratings, as I've said before, on how a team would do against the team below it on a neutral field. And right now, I think there are a handful of teams that would beat the Lions on a neutral field. That's no insult. I mean, before the year --be honest -- where did you have them overall in the NFL? Twenty-sixth? Enjoy the ride. If they keep winning, respect will come.
Living in the Boston area (even though I'm a Broncos Fan who grew up in Connecticut ... go figure), we're hearing a lot lately about the demise of Pete Carroll. Because of Carroll's precarious job status, names of head coaching candidates are flying all over the place. Some of the names being thrown about are previous head coaches who haven't succeeded, but they keep popping up anyway. My question is why do these guys get brought up for potential head-coaching jobs if they haven't won? Is the pool that shallow? Or are owners just so nervous about inexperienced coaches that they are willing to take a chance of catching lightning in a bottle with a "re-tread"? The coaching pool is very shallow. Bill Belichick and Marty Schottenheimer are the top two guys in it, probably, assuming that Steve Spurrier isn't coming out, which is the case. The coaching talent has been picked over pretty well over the last two years, and when a Nick Saban stays in college (he went from Michigan State to LSU) and a Tyrone Willingham says he won't consider offers to leave Stanford, that makes the market even tighter.
Any merit to the rumor of Marty Schottenheimer going to the Giants if Jim Fassel is dismissed? He used to work with current Giants VP Ernie Accorsi in Cleveland. Schottenheimer to the Giants has been out there for some time, and Accorsi does know Marty very well. I'm not sure how strict the Chiefs would be on compensation. Schottenheimer still has two years on his contract with the Chiefs, and that contract doesn't end just because he decided to resign. Who would Ernie and club president John Mara hire? Good question, and I don't know the answer. That's why they're hoping Jim Fassel can somehow go 3-1 against a very, very hard schedule down the stretch.
Do you feel any coach can win in Cincinnati as long as the Browns run the franchise? Also, do you have any insight as to who will be Houston's coach? No coach will win long-term in Cincinnati without front-office help. Houston's coach will depend on Houston's general manager. And the GM may not be picked until early 2001. So it's pretty useless to speculate on the first Houston coach, unless you just want to say that Gary Kubiak, the Texas native and Denver offensive coordinator, will get an interview.
I've been a Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams fan for 28 years, since I started following football. What do you think is going to happen next year when Trent Green comes back after Kurt Warner has played so well in his absence? Dick Vermeil has said in the past that a starter can't lose his job to injury. But it seems to me that Warner is the QB that the Rams have been looking for for three decades. It will definitely be a tricky situation. I hope Vermeil makes the right decision for the benefit of the team, and not the player. Would Green be potential trade bait, and what do you think he would be worth? My gut tells me Vermeil keeps Warner and deals Green to one of a number of quarterback-needy teams (New Orleans, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Baltimore). The Rams might, and I emphasize might, be able to get a low first-round pick for him, depending on the desperation of the trading team.
Send a question to Peter King, and check back for his latest NFL Mailbag.
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