King's Corner

MORE ISN'T ENOUGH

The abrupt retirement of Jacksonville wide receiver Jimmy Smith last week focuses attention on the lack of receivers from the 1980s and '90s in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Of the 17 modern-era wideouts enshrined in Canton, only three-- Steve Largent, James Lofton and John Stallworth--played the bulk of their careers after 1980. Smith (above) finished with 862 catches, 43 more than any receiver in the Hall. But his chances of seeing his bust in Canton are slim. Why? Because pass-heavy schemes like the West Coast offense that came into vogue during the '80s have inflated the league's reception numbers. Five players in NFL history have 940 or more catches, and all of them began their careers after 1979. Only one of those five, Jerry Rice (1,549 receptions), is a lock for the Hall. Cris Carter (1,101) may eventually get voted in, but Tim Brown (1,094), Andre Reed (951) and Art Monk (940) will be lucky to make it.

PARCELLS BANKS ON CARPENTER

After drafting 252-pound strongside linebacker Bobby Carpenter, Cowboys coach Bill Parcells might finally have a linebacking corps to rival his great 1986 Giants unit. He has already compared weakside pass rusher DeMarcus Ware with Lawrence Taylor, and he's hoping inside guys Akin Ayodele and Bradie James (average weight: 248) can be the run-stuffers that Harry Carson and Gary Reasons were. But what made that New York group tick was Carl Banks, who neutralized big tackles, covered tight ends downfield and rushed the quarterback. That's Carpenter's job in Dallas. Says Banks, who last year was a linebacking consultant at Dallas's training camp, "No question Bill's been aiming to re-create that unit."

PASSING TIME

Eager to see those big-name quarterbacks from the 2006 draft in action? Don't hold your breath. Matt Leinart, picked 10th, has veteran Kurt Warner starting ahead of him in Arizona and coach Dennis Green saying, "Hopefully Matt doesn't play this year." The 11th pick, Jay Cutler, will be an understudy to Jake Plummer in Denver for a year, maybe two. Second-rounder Kellen Clemens is a project for the Jets; Chad Pennington and Patrick Ramsey should make sure he doesn't see the field until 2007. The most pressure to play a rookie QB might come in Tennessee. If incumbent Steve McNair is traded to Baltimore, Billy Volek (above, 7, with McNair) will become the starter. Imagine the We want Vince! chants in Nashville if Volek, 30, a career backup with a 3--7 record as a starter, struggles at the outset. But No. 3 pick Vince Young, who's moving from a simple offense at Texas to coordinator Norm Chow's complicated rhythm scheme at Tennessee, will surely need a full season of playbook study. "I keep telling him not to look too far ahead," says Chow. "Don't look at page 10 before you understand page 2."

> Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback, every week at SI.com/football.