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Not the Sapp you might think
Posted: Monday January 24, 2000 04:39 PM
This Week's Awards | The Top 10 Teams | Click here to send a question to Peter King's NFL Mailbag. ST. LOUIS -- Saturday, 10:30 a.m., on the Tampa Bay Bucs' bus from the hotel to practice at the Trans World Dome: " Siddown ,'' Warren Sapp says. I actually fit next to him. The seat next to him is the last unoccupied seat on the bus. I thought I'd stand. Now, I'm a large guy. Sapp, (listed) at 288 pounds, is slightly larger. You want loose? You want nothing to lose? Board the bus of the Bucs the day before they were to be led to the slaughter against the heavily favored and homestanding St. Louis Rams in the NFC Championship Game. Sapp, the captain of this pirate ship, is in the back of the bus, reading the St. Louis Post Dispatch . Across the aisle is the Bucs' fine director of public relations, Reggie Roberts, and behind him are linebacker Derrick Brooks and quarterback Shaun King. Sapp is in a rollicking mood, driving the back streets of Clayton, Mo., toward the dome. Sapp comes to the story of the New York obstetrician who'd carved his initials in a woman's abdomen after a particularly deft Cesarian section. "Listen to this,'' Sapp announces. "'Witnesses in the operating room said that after delivering the baby on Sept. 7, the doctor announced, 'I did such a beautiful job that I'm going to initial it.'" The bus occupants laugh as one. "Hey! You believe that?'' Sapp says. "I'd kill the guy! Kill him!'' And so on. Sapp reads about the price of Kurt Warner memorabilia, and everything else in the paper. The guys love it. You get the idea that Sapp is exactly where he wants to be. "I'm lucky,'' he says. "Last year I'm overweight and we go 8-8. I'm sick about it, because if I'm in shape and playing well, I know I can take over two games and we get into the playoffs. Tony [Dungy] gets the message across to me that if I'm in shape and playing at 295, we go to the Super Bowl and I win defensive player of the year. I owe everything to that man. There's no way I ever want to let him down.'' I asked him about the game. "Their strength is our strength,'' he says. "Their offense is great, and our defense is great. But I'll tell you this: They haven't been hit like we're gonna hit them. We're gonna hit them so hard their teeth will fall out. It'll be a game in the fourth quarter, and we'll win.'' Interesting. Brooks knocked Torry Holt out of the game with a bruised lung and bruised ribs ("He hit me dead in the ribs and I coughed up a glob of blood,'' Holt said after the game), then later in the game, Brooks knocked him out with a bruised shoulder. And it was a game in the fourth quarter. St. Louis made one big play on offense. Tampa made none. That was the story of the game. Just thought you'd like to take a ride with Sapp. Green not enviousLet the hype begin But let the sadness intrude for one moment of Super Bowl week. Let us consider the case of Trent Green. I saw Green on the field yesterday morning, dressed in a fine dark green suit after doing a TV interview on one of the morning shows. I know him a bit from the he time spent in the Washington Redskins' quarterback meetings -- when the 'Skins had Gus Frerotte, Jeff Hostetler and Green 1-2-3 on the depth chart. "How's everything going?'' I asked, treading vanilla and lightly. "Fine,'' he said with a wide smile. "How you doing?'' He means it, sort of. "Hey, it's pretty surreal,'' he says. "But what are you going to do? All you can do is go forward. I've been running for about three weeks now, and the only thing that hurts is sprinting forward. I'm really happy with my rehab. No question I'll be ready to play this year.'' Question is, where will that be? His agent, Jim Steiner, obviously will try to put Green in a situation where he could win the starting job. The Rams will want to keep Warner and Green. Stay tuned. OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tennessee QB Steve McNair. Don't know what his stats were. Wait, here they are: 91 rushing yards, 112 passing yards, one TD, one pick. All I know is this: McNair didn't do much to help his team win the first two games of the playoffs, and yesterday, he ran when he needed to and threw (just O.K., but good enough) when he needed to. He was a solid NFL quarterback in an AFC Championship Game victory, which is good progress for McNair. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tennessee DT Josh Evans, who broke through a double-team block to sack Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell for a safety 10 minutes into the third quarter of the AFC Championship Game. That made the score 19-14, Titans, and set the stage for ... SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tennessee KR Derrick Mason, whose touchdown on an 80-yard return of the ensuing free kick from Jacksonville punter Brian Barker gave the Titans a 12-point lead entering the fourth quarter. I watched this game in the Trans World Dome press box, and Paul Zimmerman, my SI colleague, made the cogent point of the moment. "Barker's got no pressure on him,'' Dr. Z says, "and his hangtime is 3.78 seconds. Terrible.'' In other words, the coverage team didn't have enough time to cover Mason at the time he caught the punt, so he had plenty of time to get up a good head of steam to make the runback. COACH OF THE WEEK: Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who put a sign up in his defensive team meeting room last week that said: "IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TACKLE SUNDAY, DON'T BOTHER SHOWING UP.'' His unit was picture-perfect for about 52 minutes and, really, only gave Kurt Warner one play all day -- the touchdown to Ricky Proehl. 1. St. Louis (15-3). I can't say they're that much better than Tennessee right now. I think they're a field goal better, maybe. I do think they'll have a better day in the passing game next week than they did against the Bucs. 2. Tennessee (16-3). One question: How can I get a job as an oddsmaker? How can I get a job that looks at a matchup between Tennessee and Jacksonville -- when the Titans have won the last three meetings, when two of these meetings came at Jacksonville -- and determine that, at Jacksonville, the Jaguars should be favored by seven points? 3. Tampa Bay (12-6). So last week I meet Shaun King for the first time, and he says, "Hey, they put your column too far in the back of the magazine! Man, tell them to move it up.'' Consider it done, My Favorite Quarterback In Football History. 4. Jacksonville (15-3). Hate to rub it in, Jagsfans. But you lost yesterday not only because you had a turnover-fest. You lost because you weren't challenged enough during the season. You weren't big game-tough. Stat of the Week for Jacksonville: The Jags were 1-3 against teams above .500, 14-0 against teams .500 or below. 5. Indianapolis (13-4). Just a hunch, but my guess is that Bill Polian is looking at film of Ruben Brown right about now. Guard. Bills. Free-agent. Peyton Manning just got quasi- Sopranoed. Know what I mean? 6. Minnesota (11-7). Way to fire the opening volley in Jeff George negotiations, Denny Green. 7. Washington (11-7). I am pretty sure Ray Rhodes will go down in history as a better defensive coordinator than head coach. The question: Is Foge Fazio a better defensive coordinator than Ray Rhodes? Maybe not, but it's a contest. And now both are on the same staff with the defense-needy 'Skins. 8. New York Jets (8-8). On Jan. 2, this was one of the best half-dozen teams in football. I like Al Groh, but pardon me if I don't think they're one of the best half-dozen anymore. 9. Buffalo (11-6). Rob Johnson's team now. 10. Oakland (8-8). Kansas City will sign Willie Shaw on Monday as defensive coordinator, I hear. Shouldn't have fired him, Raids. The 10 Things I Think I Think This Week 1. I think Bill Carrollo blew that call ( Bert Emanuel's diving catch in the fourth quarter) at my game on Sunday. Memo to Jerry Seeman: THERE HAS TO BE INDISPUTABLE VISUAL EVIDENCE TO OVERTURN A CALL. THERE WAS NOT INDISPUTABLE VISUAL EVIDENCE TO OVERTURN THAT CALL. YOU MUST LEARN TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN A 100-% SURE THING AND SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE A SURE THING, O.K.? OR ELSE YOU'RE GOING TO BLOW THIS REPLAY SYSTEM UP. 2. I think Tom Coughlin is physically sick right now. Here's a precision guy, who practices and drills his team as much as any coach ever has. And they turn it over six times. 3a. I think if I hear one more player on a 14-3 team say, "We haven't gotten any respect all year long,'' I'm going to puke right here on the carpet of my Hyatt hotel room. I actually heard Marshall Faulk (Of the Rams! The powerful Rams!) say that last week. What continent has he been living on? 3b. I think if I hear one more player from Sunday's winners preface a post-game remark with, "Nobody gave us a chance to win this game,'' I'm going to dry-heave after puking right here on the carpet of my Hyatt hotel room. 4. I think I'd be hard-pressed to find a man in the NFL whom I respect more -- as a coach, as a person, as a motivator, as a human being who will have meaning in his players' lives long after they stop playing football -- than Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy. There are more good guys per square inch in the Bucs locker room than in any locker room in the NFL, and Dungy is a big reason why. 5. I think I understand why Houston owner Bob McNair picked Charley Casserly to be his general manager. McNair wanted a guy who knew the ropes in the NFL in everything -- scouting, salary cap, front-office machinations, and where the bodies are buried on sensitive league issues. And Casserly is as plugged-in as anyone in the league. But (you knew there'd be a but) I don't understand why McNair told Tampa Bay director of player personnel Jerry Angelo he'd interview him and never did. For my money Angelo is the best scout on the market today ready to be a general manager. New Orleans, Pittsburgh and the Jets would be wise to jump on Angelo. 6a. I think life has little better to offer than my culinary experience in Tampa last Thursday afternoon on West Shore just down the street from the Bucs' training facility: three cheese eggs, raisin toast, hash browns and a large orange juice at the Waffle House, washed down with a grande hazelnut latte at the Starbucks Drive Thru (What a concept! What a country!). 6b. I think I wasn't hungry again until Friday afternoon in St. Louis. 6c. I think the personal trainer that my wife got me for Christmas is going to be pretty darned vital come Feb. 1. 7. I think I need a break from Sports Talk America. Guys, I have nothing left to say. Not that I ever had much to say to begin with. 8. I think I have these thoughts on the world of sports: a. Derek Jeter is finalizing a contract worth $16.9 million a year for the next seven years. He is worth it, simply, because to lock up one of the game's best 10 players for his entire prime at a rate of pay barely above the highest-paid player in the game right now is a smart thing to do. b. In the past week or so, Cliff Robinson has scored 50 points in an NBA game and Jamie Feick has grabbed 25 rebounds. I think I've been away from the NBA for a long, long time. c. The three-man defensive line in nickel pass-rush situations is the stupidest thing in football. Why give the quarterback all the time in the world to complete a pass? Why not pressure him and cover with seven players instead of eight? d. The most underrated player in the NFL is Cris Carter. That's saying something, because he's rated quite high by most. He's one of those players you won't fully appreciate until he's gone, because no one catches the ball on the sidelines, and no one lays out for balls, and no one makes the acrobatic physical catch like Carter. I think he's one of the top five receivers of all time. e. I have eaten breakfast in that same booth -- I'm pretty sure -- at the Claremont Diner on Route 3 West in New Jersey that The Sopranos used to reunite Tony Soprano and his lady shrink on the opening episode last week. (Oh, that's not a sports nugget? Well, you're right. But I wrote it, and I want to keep it in, so here it stays.) Note from the editors: No problem, Mr. King. 9. I think that's one heck of a contract extension the New York Giants are talking about for Jim Fassel. One whole year. Wow . That's showing faith that you think the guy's going to get it done. Interesting, though. I almost agree with it. The Giants just haven't gotten any consistent offense from this offensive mind in four seasons. 10a. I think the right teams are in the Super Bowl. I'm sorely tempted to pick Tennessee. I might. Give me a couple of days to figure it out, and I'll write from Atlanta. 10b. I think we all should hope for the best for a quality football player, Derrick Thomas, after his tragic accident Sunday afternoon. Thomas was going to be in Atlanta this week working for the One-on-One Radio Network after watching the game in St. Louis on Sunday. Sad. Very sad. Click here to send a question to Peter King's NFL Mailbag.
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