Happy Talk

"It seems�like we're chasing a ghost," one NFL executive said last week, referring to efforts to catch players who take banned performance enhancers. For years the NFL has touted its drug testing program as one of the strictest in sports, a foolproof policy that ensures that the league is clean. But it appears that there are cracks in the NFL's antidrug armor, and some players know it. Last month The Charlotte Observer reported that five Panthers were issued prescriptions for banned steroids and/or human growth hormone between 2002 and '04 and that none tested positive in the NFL's steroid program. (Only one of the players, tackle Todd Steussie, is still in the league.) And last week Redskins tackle Jon Jansen told HBO's Costas NOW that "maybe 15, 20 percent" of NFL players are using illicit bodybuilding substances.

Last week new commissioner Roger Goodell defended the NFL's testing program. (The league banned HGH in 1991 but does not test for it.) "We have no indication that we have a significant issue with HGH," he said, "but that doesn't mean you shouldn't approach it as aggressively as possible." SI promised anonymity to five veterans with at least six years of pro experience last week and asked, "Have you heard of any player using performance-enhancing substances in recent years?" All said no, though one added, "I have heard guys talk about how it happens--that guys can use low doses of steroids and stay under the testosterone limit."

The typical ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone (another hormone) in the male body is 1 to 1. But the NFL's ratio for what it considers a failed steroid test is the Olympic standard of 4 to 1. A player could use testosterone-elevating steroids but stay under that ratio, allowing him to gain benefits from the drugs without failing a test. As for HGH, science offers no reliable detection method and there is widespread speculation that players are using it. Former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield, who failed a steroid test in 2003, told Costas that 30% of the league's players use HGH.

The league has committed $500,000 to developing a urine test for HGH, but a dependable screen may be years away, and it will probably require drawing blood. Though NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw opposes blood testing, the players SI interviewed wouldn't close the door on the idea. "It's incredibly invasive," said one NFC defensive end, "but as long as we're not getting poked once a week, if it levels the playing field and if it allows the public to believe we're clean, I'd be in favor." For now, despite the commissioner's assurances, the excitement of the new season is leavened by more than a little suspicion.