Queue the quarterback queries

Regarding my recent quarterbacks column, Jimmy tells me that quite a few e-mails came in that began, "How about ...?" or "How come you didn't mention ...?" And the name that followed was Favre or Aikman or somebody. I wasn't trying to stiff anybody. It's just that the purpose of the piece was not to compile a roster of individuals. But I'll answer the e-mail from Chris of Kansas City, Mo., who points to Jeff Garcia's physical toughness and winning persona (sounds like a brand of deodorant) as the qualities that separate him from the guys who bombed out.

Sure, all that is fine, but as Troy Aikman says, it doesn't mean much if you're not accurate. And Garcia combines accuracy with his intangibles, which, I believe, lifts him to the level of the elite. He has never fallen below the 60 percent completion rate.

Mary May of Astoria, Ore., and I'm listing first and last names here because I am always honored by the presence of a woman in this humble arena (just got a big hee-haw from the Flaming Redhead), wonders how Jake Plummer would have done in the 49ers system, reminding us that Bill Walsh was pushing very hard for his selection. I think Plummer would have been a perennial Pro Bowler. Without going into too much detail, I don't think he has received very good coaching in Arizona. I read one scout's evaluation of Plummer, pointing out that his screwups get the Cardinals in a hole in the first place, then he gets much applause for bailing them out or coming close at the end. I think this is unfair. I think he's a superior talent who's never been in a really good system.

James of Apalachin, N.Y., site of the famous mafia roundup of a number of years ago, thinks that the biggest factor in a QB's development is the experience and maturity he got before he came into pro football, pointing out that the NFL is not the place to learn the ropes. Hmmm, interesting thought. I think you can learn the game if you're not thrown into a bad situation as an instant starter, if you sit around a while, à la Tom Brady. As far as guys who started three or more years in college having a big jump on the other people, well, you've given me a research project. If the stats prove your theory beyond a doubt, then in a few weeks I'll come up with one of those special charts we so dearly love to run.

Jim of Eagan, Minn., feels that great quarterbacks make great quarterback coaches, and that's why there are so few of them -- because the great ones don't usually go into coaching. Let's see. Last week I mentioned three guys I thought were exceptional QB coaches, Walsh, Norv Turner and Jim Fassell. Walsh was an end in college. Fassell and Turner were both QBs but neither of them was what you'd call great. I found three Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Otto Graham, Bart Starr and Norm VanBrocklin, and a fourth who should be a Hall of Famer, Frankie Albert, who coached in the NFL. None of them had what you'd call real success. Paul Brown and Weeb Ewbank, both Hall of Fame coaches, were QBs in college but never great stars. So I'd say, in answer to your theory, that it helps to have been a quarterback, but not necessarily a great one. Keep your eye on the Vikings' new coach, Mike Tice. He was a QB at Maryland. I saw Matt Millen and Bruce Clark sack him about a million times when the Terps played Penn State, but once again my tired old brain is drifting into nostalgia totally unrelated to the subject.

Paul of Orient, N.Y., wonders why I named Fassell as one of my superior quarterback coaches when things are so screwed up at times on the Giants. Roll the tape back. I said Fassell was exceptional when he was an assistant. Particularly memorable was the job he did in bringing Boomer Esiason back to the land of the living. As a head coach? Well, he has a lot to worry about and much of the actual quarterback coaching -- and game planning -- is left to assistants. Which is a sugar-coated way of saying I agree with you and wonder, as you do, why they have Kerry Collins rolling out of the pocket when he's so bad at it.

Dan of Pittsburgh, and thank you, Dan, for your comments, wants to know what I thought of Terry Bradshaw when he first came into the league. A wild stallion with a magnificent arm. As the old Browns coach, Sam Rutigliano, once said, "He could throw the ball through a pipe." Uncontrolled at first. Too many picks. Frequently benched. But honestly, I never thought he was a Ryan Leaf type, maybe because he was a good guy and I was rooting so hard for him.

Final QB question from Jeff of NYC: What do I think of Chris Redman's chances with Baltimore? Zip right now. In the future, who knows? But remember, I'm one of the many who scratched their heads and brayed, "Who's he?" when Kurt Warner got his first start.

Now, on to the real stuff. Where do I rate the famous Brooklyn steak house, Peter Luger's? A lot lower than everyone else does. I don't like to go to a restaurant and pay big bucks and get insulted and nearly come to blows with a waiter. Why? I didn't want them to pre-slice the steak. I wanted it served whole. This drew much laughter as the guy related it to his buddies, and then I was notified that this was the way they always did it and if I didn't like it I could take a hike. I came up with something clever like "Oh yeah?" and my ex-wife told me to sit down and shut up and I finished the meal in grumpy silence. One of those evenings. How was the steak, after all this? OK, I guess. Screw them!

Chris of Edmonton, Alberta, is scratching his head about Chris Weinke being benched for Rodney Peete in Carolina. Oh brother, me, too. Every preseason there seems to be at least one "Gosh, did you see that?" move. This is a triple-gosher. Rodney's been an OK backup, but you have to wonder how many squads he'd even make. Each Panthers coach ought to report to Sunday's Ravens game with a big D stamped on his forehead. D for Desperation. The only thing I can think of is that there was a feeling that Weinke hadn't seen much of the 3-4 defense and Peete had, and this is a one-game-only move, but still ...

I remember one year when the season's No. 1 gosher came from the Raiders after they started Vince Evans, who was 39 or 40 or something. I remember talking about it with Walsh and he was as flabbergasted as I was. "I'm not sure he'd even start for one of those World League teams," he said.

Chris of Florence, Ky., recites an impressive list of talented Bengals and wonders about the continuing mediocrity, which probably will extend into this season as well. I don't see a lot of Bengals games every year, but I see some, and I see them playing hard and usually losing in different ways. I see little consistency or coherence in approach. I don't think they're well coached. Plus, of course, Akili Smith bombing out was a real setback. Seldom is their QB better than the one they're playing against.

Dan of Beaverton (Beaverton where? Oregon? Tonga? You'll have to be more specific, Dan) has been watching the HBO show, Hard Knocks, and has noticed that the owner, Jerry Jones, seems to take it upon himself to personally tell a player, even the lowliest one, that he's been cut. Do all owners do this? No, of course they don't, and until I called the Cowboys to get an answer to your question I was a bit suspicious ... whether it was done for the benefit of the cameras, etc. What I found out was that it's a real thing with Jerry, his feeling being that since he was the guy who greeted a player on his arrival, it would be only decent for him to be the one to say the final goodbye, if necessary. Or as the Cowboys' Rich Dalrymple, one of the more honest PR directors in the league, put it, "I've heard Jerry say this quite a few times: 'The way free agency is now, in two or three years I may be on my hands and knees begging you to come back.'" Couldn't you just see the fightin' used car dealer, Tom Benson in New Orleans, for instance, telling a kid, "Son, we're going in a different direction, but if you need a nice, affordable pre-owned automobile ..."

Chris of Evansville, Ind., wonders about Edgerrin James' incentive-laden contract and the whole idea of packages such as this fostering the Me instead of Team mentality. It's a funny thing. During the season, only team goals are stressed. But when it comes time to talk contract, management pulls out the individual stats and studies them very closely. Many great players want top dollars, and want to put up the numbers to justify them. Until I see a guy taking plays off or doing stuff that's detrimental to the team, I won't start yelling. Personally, I'm not wild about greed, either, but it's a sad fact that many top performers in a lot of different fields happen to be greedy as well.

Two questions from Jason of Montreal. What is more important in the development of linemen as a unit, coaching or facing good opponents in practice? In developing a running game, coaching. Most of the schemes in this area aren't as sophisticated as they used to be because the unit doesn't stay together as long. In pass blocking, working against a good rusher every day. Second question: Why the fascination with size, i.e., wideouts who must be 6-foot-2 or taller, runners over 215, linemen over 330? Well, taller wideouts naturally give you an edge, and you can't have too many shrimps on your unit because the QB won't be able to find them downfield, but there will always be a place for the 5-10 guy. Running backs? Durability is a factor, but I think the scouts are coming around to the thinking that 200-215 is big enough, if the guy is talented enough. The monster linemen? It's the vogue. I've often wondered why an extra 30 pounds hanging over a guy's belt is an asset, but I've also seen linemen 350 and up who look fairly trim, examples being the Bills' Mike Williams and the Cards' Leonard Davis.

Andruw of Macon, Ga., (have I heard from you before? The variant spelling of your name looks familiar) would like an offensive and defensive player from each conference to keep an eye on. Superstars need not apply. OK, AFC -- WR Chris Chambers, Miami. Not exactly a secret. Showed real downfield promise as a rookie last year, but in Norv Turner's offense he could put up spectacular numbers. DT Richard Seymour, New England. Depends on whether he's a role player in the Belichick defense or if they turn him loose. NFC -- RB Troy Hambrick, Dallas. Will he get enough carries, as Emmitt shoots for the record, or will he have to free-agent himself to another team before the Pro Bowl selectors tap him on the shoulder? R.W. McQuarters, CB, Chicago. Well, he's no secret as far as I'm concerned. I picked him on my all-pro team last year. But no one else was as high on him. Just watch him this season.

I'll end it with a sincere thank you to Alexander of San Jose for the extremely kind sentiments you expressed. My daughter, Sarah, and granddaughter, Natasha, live in San Jose, incidentally. Sarah, being a union kid, as her father is, works for a labor group called Working Partnerships, trying to make the world better for ordinary folk, while her daddy plugs away in his land of make-believe.

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