Fight On, Bears, Fight On

The T-shirt award is named after Raider Ted Hendricks, whose distasteful nickname was Kick 'em in the Head, and is presented to the top defender by Zeman.

"We wanted to give [Raider defensive end] Greg Townsend a shirt," joked Martin, "but we figured a lot of people wouldn't understand."

Like Chiefs offensive tackle David Lutz, who wasn't wearing his helmet when Townsend kicked him in the head earlier this season.

Joe Montana is not the only NFL player to rebound from major back surgery this year. Another who has done so is Buffalo Bills linebacker Lucius Sanford.

Sanford, like Montana, had disc surgery; the operation was performed March 31, and Sanford was back on the field seven months later against Indianapolis on Oct. 19. He, too, had a superb first outing and has played well since then.

In some ways Sanford's comeback is even more surprising than Montana's. "They're two totally different positions," Sanford says of his responsibilities as an outside linebacker. "With mine, there's a lot more pounding, a lot more contact. I'm the aggressor. I'm definitely going out and trying to make things happen, cause a lot of conflict. In his position, he's trying to stay out of it."

Dwight Hicks, the former San Francisco 49ers defensive back, is doing his best to turn things around for Indianapolis, the struggling team he joined Oct. 23. The other day at practice Hicks held his own version of show-and-tell, bringing his two Super Bowl rings to the Colts' locker room before placing them in a safe-deposit box.

A number of players asked Hicks if they could try the rings on. Hicks then decided to make a little speech.

"This is what it's all about," he told his new teammates. "You work hard. You sweat. You hurt. But to wear a Super Bowl ring makes it all worthwhile."

Prior to Sunday's game against Detroit, Ron Jaworski, the Eagles' quarterback, had missed only four games in 10 years with Philadelphia. Now it seems likely that his era in Philly has come to an end because of a torn tendon in the pinkie of his throwing (right) hand. If Randall Cunningham, the Eagles' second-year quarterback, plays well in the remaining five games, the starting job will be his to lose next season.