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Posted: Tuesday August 31, 1999 03:08 PM

Remember Me?  

Giants quarterback Kent Graham gets ignored, though he's the starter

By Peter King

In the Giants' impressive preseason wins over the Vikings and the Jaguars, starting quarterback Kent Graham completed 66% of his passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Two days after the victory over Jacksonville, as Graham walked toward the cafeteria at New York's training camp in Albany, none of the media members who had assembled in the area asked him a thing. Eight reporters instead surrounded Graham's backup, Kerry Collins, who was questioned about his already well-documented abstention from alcohol. That's the way it has gone in the Giants' camp: Graham has owned the playing field; the newcomer Collins has owned the interviewers.

In three preseason games, Graham has five touchdown passes and a gaudy 122.9 rating. John Biever

Though he won't say it, the lack of attention bothers Graham, an eight-year journeyman who, in addition to two stints with the Giants, has played for the Cardinals and the Lions. It also irks him that the football world seems to be waiting for his first bad game so Collins, who signed an eye-popping four-year, $16.9 million deal in February can move into the starting job. After all, Collins is making so much more than Graham, and money talks.

"Four times as much," Graham said last Saturday after completing 13 of 22 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown in the Giants' 16-10 loss to the Jets. "I think the media have blown it up a bit, but I understand it's a valid story. It's something I've thought about."

The most stunning aspect of the Giants' acquisition of Collins was the $5 million signing bonus he received, though he was coming off a disastrous season with the Panthers and the Saints, and hadn't performed well in 1997 either. With 11 completions in 24 attempts, Collins has done little to distinguish himself this preseason, but his presence apparently has done plenty for Graham, a career 51% passer. "I'll tell you why Kent's a different player," says cornerback Jason Sehorn. "Kerry Collins. Kent's a battler, and he knows the team has given all that money to Kerry and everyone's handed the job to Kerry. It's been all the motivation he needs."

Spielman Retires:  
Knowing When, And Why, to Go

What was going through the mind of Browns linebacker Chris Spielman as he lay on the field at Cleveland Browns Stadium last Saturday, with no feeling in his arms and legs? What was he thinking later that night when he knew retirement was inevitable? After sitting out last season to care for his wife, Stefanie, who was battling breast cancer, and their two children, he must have been contemplating how unjust this turn of events was. Surely, after 10 seasons with the Lions and the Bills he thought he had to fight through this injury so he could play one year for the team he had worshiped as a kid in Massillon, Ohio.

"He had a couple of emotions," Stefanie recalled on Monday, after her husband was forced to retire because of a narrowing of his spinal canal. Doctors told him that stingers like the 45-second deadening of the nerves that he experienced after colliding with Bears center Casey Wiegmann would only get worse with every tackle. (Spielman missed the second half of the '97 season after having neck surgery.) "He said that he felt like he was letting down [their children] Madison, and Noah because they'd never get to see him play. And he said he felt sorry for all those people who bought his Browns jersey, the 54 SPIELMAN jersey."

She sighed deeply, trying to collect herself as she recalled Chris's words. "That shows what kind of man I married," Stefanie said. "He feels so much for other people."

On Sunday morning Chris, one of the best middle linebackers of his generation, met with Browns coach Chris Palmer. Head bowed, he told Palmer, "I'm sorry I let you down."

"Let me down?" Palmer said, repeating the story with incredulity. "He had to be kidding. This guy's one of the most inspirational players the league has seen." So it shouldn't have surprised Palmer when he walked into the weight room at the Browns' training facility at 7 a.m. on Monday to find Spielman, alone, getting in some lifting. That work ethic, as much as his being from Massillon or having played at Ohio State, was why Spielman was the reborn Browns' poster boy.

A few years ago, when SI wanted to do a profile on Spielman, I asked him if I could spend an evening at home with him, watching game film and understanding how he prepared for his weekly Sunday war. "My life ain't The NFL Today," he snarled. "Some things are sacred."

Fans can bemoan the loss of the retired John Elway and Barry Sanders all they want. I'll miss Spielman even more.

Turf Wars:  
Grass Getting A Hard Look

Every year the NFL Players Association polls its members to find out what their major concerns are, and every time a hot-button issue is artificial turf. Last year 87% of the players said they would prefer to play on grass. In 1992, 15 of the league's 28 teams played their home games on artificial turf. Assuming that grass is installed at Giants Stadium, as is likely, 23 of 32 teams -- including an expansion club in either Houston or Los Angeles -- would be playing on grass by 2002.

Teams are exploring various options for using natural turf. Grass trucked in from Alabama and installed over the artificial surface at the Superdome held up well in the Packers-Saints game last Saturday. Giants Stadium, which was sodded for the preseason, would be the ultimate test; at least 26 football and soccer games are scheduled there from August through early January. However, the number of games shouldn't be a problem, because sections of a field can be replaced. A walk across the grass after the Jets-Giants game last Saturday found the midfield area worn but eminently playable.

"I need to get two quarterbacks ready," says Bills coach Wade Phillips, explaining his rationale in having Doug Flutie, who finished '98 as one of the league's best quarterbacks, and Rob Johnson split passing duties in camp. Flutie is expected to start the opener against the Colts, but Phillips added to the air of uncertainty by announcing that Johnson will get the final preseason start on Saturday against the Steelers. "Teams have used two quarterbacks successfully," Phillips says. "Look at Dallas, with [Roger] Staubach and [Craig] Morton."

Not so fast, Wade. In 1971 the Cowboys played Staubach and Morton during the first half of the season, going so far as to alternate the two repeatedly during a Week 7 loss to the Bears that dropped Dallas to 4-3. Then coach Tom Landry gave Staubach the job full time, and the Cowboys ran off 10 straight wins, culminating with a 24-3 rout of the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI -- of which Staubach was the MVP.

Quarterback Trent Green was playing like Dan Fouts reincarnated in the Rams' revamped Air Coryellesque attack. He had 28 completions in 32 attempts in preseason play and hadn't missed on any of his 11 throws last Saturday when Chargers strong safety Rodney Harrison dove into Green's left knee, tearing two ligaments and sidelining Green for the season. St. Louis players considered the hit a cheap shot, but in an illustration of why he has a checkered relationship with his team, coach Dick Vermeil said afterward the hit didn't look malicious. ...

Here's why the Lions will fight to get the prorated portion of Barry Sanders 's signing bonus back: Sanders is due to count $5.5 million against the cap in 2000; by getting $7.3 million from Sanders, the Lions will receive a $1.8 million credit on their cap, freeing up money to pursue a star free agent. ... After watching Jaguars running back Fred Taylor twice in preseason, one AFC scout says, "The only back better -- and it's close -- is Terrell Davis ."

Issue date: September 6, 1999

 

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