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Gentlemen, start your Web sites
Posted: Monday October 25, 1999 10:52 AM
Week 7Awards | Top 10 Teams | 10 Things I Think I Think Click here to send a question to Peter King's NFL Mailbag. SEATTLE -- Fitting I came to the Land of Microsoft this weekend. Since I wrote in my Sports Illustrated column, Inside the NFL (Oct. 25, 1999), about Jerry Jones ' hope to dominate the Internet universe as it relates to all things NFL, I find myself thinking about the 'Net as the next big NFL battleground. One of these fellows who follows sports business on the Web told me that when the NFL's three-year, $10-million contract with ESPN to manage the league's NFL.com Web site expires, the next three-year deal could fetch as much as $100 million. That's basically a million new dollars a year for each team in the league starting in 2001 -- plus what each team can make on its own on the Internet. The upshot of this is simple: When you start throwing a million a year at these owners, they start getting very serious. And what Jones wants to do, in short, is make money off it . Big money. His Cowboys made a $57 million profit last year, and Jones, setting his sights on Internet pay sites, knows the sky's the limit on future earnings when the Cowboys are involved. Look for the league to try to split the 'Net revenue somewhat like network TV money, and look for Jones to scratch and claw in the near federal court. "I think the Internet today is like television in 1948, with infinite potential,'' said New England owner Bob Kraft , who thinks so much of the power of the 'Net that he broadcasts a live post-game Patriots show on the team's Web site. "The Internet is going to completely change the way commerce is done in the whole world.'' Which brings us to Jones' insatiable desire to be first to make big money on the World Wide Web. "I have a lot of respect for Jerry,'' Kraft said. "And where you draw the line on splitting revenue from the Internet on a local basis is something we have to discuss. We want all owners to have an incentive to work hard to tap into the passion fans feel for NFL football. The Internet, properly used, allows us to tap into that passion.'' But Kraft, preliminarily, favors some splitting of the 'Net revenue, perhaps by putting all teams on one portal and divvying up the proceeds from hits on individual team sites based on which teams get the most action. Jones, I sense, will oppose any kind of socialism that would take a nickel away from the hits he's getting on dallascowboys.com -- hits that I think will be voluminous with the placement of cameras around the Cowboy facility to bring Web crawlers close to the Cowboys. And I must say I don't blame him. Each team gets $70 million, on average, from the eight-year network TV contract. That's enough money to be competitive. Why shouldn't teams have to work for most of the rest? I say: Put up your dukes, NFL owners, and let the best Web site win. The Packers are trying. Last April, on packers.com, you could have watched the Green Bay war room-cam all day. There's a 24-hour-a-day camera inside Lambeau Field, so you can see live Lambeau whenever you want, for free. "When they were replacing the sod inside the stadium last week, that site got very heavy traffic,' said Packer publicist Jeff Blumb . In addition, you can buy Packers Premier, a six-month subscription for all the Packer radiocasts, coaches' TV shows and "vanity e-mail''--e-mail with your name attached to "--gbpackers.com.'' Cost: $29.95. Back to the Pacific Northwest for a second. The Seahawks are doing some neat things on seahawks.com, as you'd expect a Paul Allen -owned team to do. (Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates .) You can click on video highlights of practice sessions -- game highlights are the sole property of the NFL and are mostly embargoed from these sites, except for NFL Films-produced one -- and see some interesting stuff. I watched Sean Dawkins catch a go-route from Jon Kitna ; even heard one player scream: "Go get it Sean!'' And I heard Kitna bark out signals in a seven-on-seven drill l-- "White 92! White 92! set! Huthut!'' -- before handing off to Ahman Green . Then the Seahawk PR assistant in charge of the web, Lane Gammel , showed me some still pictures on the site -- and there I was, interviewing Seattle defensive end Michael Sinclair at club headquarters Saturday. "This is what I call a great Web site," I said. Now for this week's
awards ...
Week 7 Awards OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: San Francisco WR Jerry Rice . This is not awarded because Rice caught a pass in his 200th consecutive game in the 40-16 loss to the Vikings. This is because Rice, who in the back of his mind (and maybe not that far back) is considering retirement because now his non-repaired knee is killing him, played this game the way true superstars should play. The 49ers, without Steve Young and Garrison Hearst and J.J. Stokes ("That's like the Cowboys playing without Troy [Aikman] , Michael [Irvin] and Emmitt [Smith] ,'' coach Steve Mariucci told me Saturday, accurately), were scratching and clawing and trying to stay in the game in the first quarter when Vikings DB Kenny Wright made a chippy play after the whistle and elbowed Rice. So Rice shoved Wright back, and two more Vikings came and blasted Rice, which started a mini-brawl on the field. On the sidelines, Rice got in his offensive mates' faces, and told them, I assume, to go out there and kick the living bleep out of those cheap-shot artists. The Niners got embarrassed. Rice didn't. He gutted out five catches for 45 yards. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Seattle DT Sam Adams , who set the pace for the Seahawks' win over Buffalo with three superstar plays on the Bills' first two series of the game. Play one: Second and eight from the Bills' 28. Looping from behind, Adams caught Buffalo running back Antowain Smith three yards behind the line of scrimmage, setting up third and 11. Chasing a well set-up screen pass on the next play, Adams kicked it into a higher gear and caught Jonathan Linton from behind. Play three: Adams -- on a second and 10 play that looked to me like he was offside -- burst through the line, beating his man off the snap, and enveloped Doug Flutie in a five-yard sack. Adams will be a free agent in February unless Seattle signs him sooner, and the first quarter of this game would make a nice little resume tape for him. SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: (tie) Dallas PR Deion Sanders , whose 70-yard punt return for touchdown sparked the Cowboys to a 38-20 win over Washington. (And, presumably, shut Albert Connell up.) And Buffalo K Steve Christie , who, for the first time I've ever seen it happen, recovered his own onside kick in the third quarter of the Bills-Hawks game at the Kingdome. COACH OF THE WEEK: Detroit coach Bobby Ross , who bossed a 24-9 win in Charlotte yesterday. If the Lions (4-2) go 2-8 down the stretch, they're better than the Barry Sanders Lions of 1998. Ross is one heck of a coach and one superb motivator of men. GOAT OF THE WEEK: Baltimore QB Stoney Case . (Now you really have to go some to beat Erik Kramer , who, at one point Sunday had thrown six picks over a three-quarter span against Seattle and Green Bay.) This is a mantra every week in the NFL, but I have to say after Case's 15-of-37 disaster against the Chiefs: Is that the worst-quarterbacked game you've ever seen in your life? "I was terrible,'' Case admitted. Sure looked it to me. Next time you suit up, Stoney (if there is a next time), your guys have the dark helmets with the weird bird thing on them. Now for my MMQB Week Seven top
10 ...
The Top 10 1. St. Louis (6-0). Average margin of victory: 25.6 points. With the
fifth-ranked defense in the league entering the weekend, now there's no one
close to the Rams, as incredible as that
sounds.
And finally, for the Ten Things I Think I
Think ...
The 10 Things I Think I Think This Week 1a. I think the more I watch Doug Flutie, the more I'm despondent that he didn't magically reappear in the NFL until last year. What a great player. What a rare football gift he has. And what a shame we missed the best years of this guy's life because scouts couldn't accept a 5' 10" guy playing great at quarterback. That's why my executive of the year last year was Buffalo pro scout A.J. Smith , who pushed hard for the Bills to give Flutie a minimum-salary shot in training camp. "We had him dead to rights three or four times [Sunday], and somehow, some way, he got away,'' said Seattle coach Mike Holmgren . "Then plays break down, and you can't believe it's happening. He is absolutely amazing.'' Agreed. If I'm in the civilian world, I pay money to watch Doug Flutie play. 1b. I think Buffalo wideout Peerless Price (five catches, 106 yards, his first NFL touchdown) is the real deal, and if you'd seen this game, you would agree. 2. I think (and I am reporting this exclusively!), barring getting some celery stuck in his teeth at the pre-game meal, Chris Chandler will start at quarterback Monday night for Atlanta at Pittsburgh. 3. I think I was all ready to sing the praises of Jeff George for playing so well in the first quarter of the Vikings-49ers game, and how his quick release and rocket arm fit Minnesota perfectly in place of the slow-armed Randall Cunningham . Then, 18 seconds into the second quarter, George was in the midst of driving the Vikes to their second touchdown in two possessions. Leroy Hoard fumbled. San Francisco defensive back Darnell Walker picked it up at the 49ers' 31 and started running the other way. Not saying George could have caught Walker, but his slow-jog effort was pathetic. I thought I was watching Rickey Henderson dog it for the Mets there for a minute. Jeff, this is why people dislike you. 4. I think these are the current candidates for the expansion team Houston GM job: Tampa personnel czar Jerry Angelo , former Washington GM Charley Casserly , New Orleans senior VP Terry O'Neil and Green Bay scout Ted Thompson . There will be more. Key thing to remember: Owner Bob McNair is going to separate the football and business sides -- with Steve Patterson running the financial end -- and they're going to stand as co-honchos atop the franchise. Big egos, therefore, need not apply. 5. I think it's pretty odd that Drew Bledsoe has met neither Nomar Garciaparra nor Pedro Martinez, but that's what Bledsoe tells me. Don't stars of the intergalactic variety in the same market move occasionally in the same circles? Apparently not in the Boston area. 6. I think it sounded pretty strange when I heard the Browns were trying to peddle a defensive end, Roy Barker , with double-digit sack potential at last Tuesday's trade deadline. The scoop: Barker's a me guy all the way. And he got off to a crummy start with the Browns when he flew into Cleveland for the first time and mid-level club executive went to pick him up at the airport. Barker told the guy he'd wait in the car while the guy fetched his bags. Not a good start, Roy. Who are you, Michael Jordan ? 7. I think Giants coach Jim Fassel better have a bunch more performances in the second half like he had Sunday, because Marty Schottenheimer and Nick Saban are silently dusting off their resumes if Fassel can't get that awful offense clicking. 8. I think there's very little better about covering the National Football League than a weekend in Seattle. I mean, you get off the airplane and see an apple concession, and Tom Petty 's playing on the airport sound system, and then there's a latte joint on every corner downtown. As soon as they blow up that dreadful dome, I'll be coming here nine weekends a fall. There's only eight games? Don't tell the boss. 9. I think the one thing we're all missing about the Rams is a defense that finally has some bite. I talked to Grant Wistrom the other day and he mentioned how motivated he was after getting the snot beat out of him in the press and public last year, the victim of high expectations after being the sixth pick in the 1998 draft, and I told him how impressed I was with the nonstop motor he had. The kid doesn't stop. Before the draft last year, Dick Vermeil told me, "Obviously this was a huge pick for us, and I had to make sure we were right. I'd done a bunch of Nebraska's games while working for ABC, and I remember Grant as this undersized guy who was going 100 miles an hour all game. So I called one of the coaches on the staff at Nebraska [whom] I trusted, and asked him if he was positive this was a solid pick. He told me, 'Coach, Wistrom's a scorpion.' And that's what he's played like here.'' 10. I think I will close with a tribute to one of my good buddies in the business, Vic Carucci , whose last game of an 18-year run covering the Bills for the Buffalo News came yesterday in the 'Dome. "I am emotional about it,'' Carucci said, looking out onto the field at halftime. "The Bills must be, too. They're really going all out to win one for the Carooch, aren't they?'' Carucci leaves to be national editor of NFL Insider magazine, and they're lucky to get one of my best and most loyal correspondents for SI over the years. Click here to send a question to Peter King's NFL Mailbag.
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