The King's Corner

My Two Cents

Please explain to me how the Steelers are winning with a Kordell Stewart- Kent Graham rotation at quarterback....

No coach works harder and cares more than the Lions' Bobby Boss, whom you may have seen throw a headset on Sunday in Indianapolis. The man's coaching with a blood clot in his leg....

Troy Aikman (below) took six cortisone shots in his lower back early in the week, then lasted less than a quarter against the Jaguars on Sunday. The Cowboys have to persuade Aikman to retire, regardless of the cap implications....

There is no more clutch performer than Rams running back Marshall Faulk, who, with a bad shoulder and bruised knee, had 144 total yards and four touchdowns in a 34-24 win at San Francisco.

The Book

An NFL pro personnel director sizes up Tampa Bay's second-year defensive tackle Anthony (Booger) McFarland, a run stuffer who has also contributed 5� sacks in his first season as a starter:

"It's comical now that there was an outcry when the Bucs cut Brad Culpepper. They had to make room for McFarland, who is every bit the player Warren Sapp is. He holds the point of attack as well as any run player, even though, at 300 pounds, he's not the biggest tackle. He's aggressive too. He surprises you with how quickly he can knife through the guard-center gap. The Bucs can leave him in on passing downs. He chased down Charlie Batch twice in one series at Detroit, which shows what kind of pass rusher he can be."

The Buzz

The Steckel Effect
In 1984 Les Steckel coached the Vikings to a 3-13 record. On Sunday, Steckel, now the Bucs' offensive coordinator, helped hand Minnesota its first loss, 41-13. All week Tampa Bay players and coaches talked about going back to the run. "We threw you reporters a bone," said tackle Jerry Wunsch, "and you ran with it." Then the Bucs won with four touchdown passes from Shaun King.