A work in progress

Remember the line in Bad Day at Black Rock, when Spencer Tracy tells Ernest Borgnine, "You're not only wrong, you're wrong at the top of your voice?" That's me, folks.

Our Co-E-mailers of the Week, Dave Sobush of Clearwater, Fla., and then, in more detail, Brendan Powers of Orange, Calif., pointed out the true origin of the quote I mentioned the other day and attributed to Keith Jackson. You remember, the one about the ball not being heavy and the ball carrier not belonging to a union. Of course I knew that John McKay was the author of the quote. It was attributed to Jackson by some TV guy, probably from the Monday night show. Just another thing they got wrong, and it plugged right into my brain cells, which were fast asleep.

Sorry for the rip, Keith old boy, well, actually the major rip concerning the demeaning of unions. And thank you fellas, for your research on the subject.

A couple of interesting queries about Michael Vick. Joe of Ceres, Calif., wonders what the outcome of the Falcons-Patriots game would have been if a healthy Vick had participated. Chad of Dakota Dunes, S.D., feels that maybe Atlanta would be better off with Matt Schaub at QB and Vick as a runner.

Well, I think the Falcons would have won with Vick. There were times when the Patriots defense broke down and Schaub just couldn't exploit it, either with arm or leg. Vick would have gashed it. As far as the position switch, the question we have to ask is will Vick ever become an accurate QB? Randall Cunningham did. Remember that great comeback year he had with the Vikings? He was a complete quarterback then. Right now Vick is incomplete. Breathtaking, but inaccurate, despite the jive those guys at ESPN keep feeding us about how he has to do his own thing, etc. Could a great quarterback coach fix the problems? I'm not sure. They're in short supply, and some of them are too timid to mess with a superstar's fundamentals. And I don't know of a head coach brave enough to take him out of the spotlight and assign him a lesser role. And then we have to mention the following, as touchy as it is. There would be a racial undercurrent, too, hints of the old belief that goes back many years, that black quarterbacks automatically have to be converted to another position. Thanks for what you wrote, Chad

Bill of Stuttgart, Germany, is annoyed at the practice of teams writing off a season to give a young QB more experience, the kind of situation the Bills' players hinted at. Well, that's kind of rough, and if the team is wrong about the youngster, that's when coaches lose their jobs. But let's look at this situation. The coach knows he's got a middle of the road team, nothing much better. He's got a young quarterback with tremendous potential, but right now a journeyman vet is better able to win a game, to get the team to, let's say, .500. Which way do you go? Put the kid on hold to buy another couple of wins, or give him his baptism of fire, looking ahead to a great return on the investment? Every case must be looked at individually, of course, but it's not that easy, right?

Doug of Perry Hall, Md., wants the word on the LaVar Arrington situation. For the record, I was told that he freelanced too much, and "I have to know what everyone on my defense is doing at all times," the coordinator, Gregg Williams, told me. I was going to ask him why he doesn't just put him in a situational role, such as edge rusher in the nickel, which he can't really screw up, but then the answer became apparent. You don't reward someone with whom you're having problems by giving him an easier job, and one that could earn him great acclaim. It would be negative reinforcement. The fact that Arrington is a tremendous physical talent just compounds the problem.

Hugo of Toluca, Mexico, and I thank you for your sentiments, is puzzled by the softness of some of Ben Roethlisberger's deliveries. Me, too. First time I ever saw him I was kind of surprised. He looks like he could knock down a building, but then he's got kind of a feathery touch. Well, that's his style. His passes aren't as soft as, say, Chad Pennington's passes were when he was making his comeback, and they're not so soft that the DBs can get an extra jump on them, or his interception rate would be higher. Among all the active QB's, he and Drew Brees are tied for fewest regular-season picks over a two-year period. Big Ben has thrown none so far this season. As for Luis Castillo taking a deliberate shot at his knee, I don't think so, only because Castillo never has been that kind of player. I must admit, though, that it did look suspicious.

Christian of Melbourne, Fla., wants my take on the Philly defense, specifically what happened in Dallas. Chris, I hate to cop out, but I've been late getting to the tapes this week, because of the flooding here in Jersey. As soon as I finish writing this thing, I'm going to try to break down that game. Can you hold off a week for your answer? Thank you, and thanks for what you wrote.

Andrew of Wolverhampton, U.K., would like to know if the problem in Houston is David Carr holding the ball too long, or a hopeless O-line. The latter. When his protection was OK, and he was in rhythm, he got the ball out on time. And I remember something the old Jets' QB, Ken O'Brien, once told me. He used to get sacked a lot early in his career. Everybody used to tell him to throw the ball away, get rid of it. Once I asked him straight up why he didn't do it. "Because when you're a young quarterback," he said, "you have to get accepted by your teammates. And if they feel that you're getting rid of the ball too early, they'll question your courage and then you're dead." I think Carr's courage is way beyond question now. FOR GOD'S SAKE, DAVID, GET RID OF IT! Glad you enjoy my column. Guess things are slow over there in Merrie Olde ...