This, finally, looks like an AFC year.
The Denver Broncos are the only undefeated team after beating the previously undefeated New England Patriots. The AFC holds a 12-6 edge over the NFC so far. With the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers all struggling, none of last year’s NFC division winners is alone at the top.
Then you look more closely.
If defense wins championships, the edge remains with the NFC. Seven of the top 10 defenses are in the NFC. The San Francisco 49ers, No. 1 in the league in total defense, also lead in fewest points allowed. NFC teams have allowed fewer points overall than AFC teams. The NFC leads the AFC in takeaways and sacks. Of the eight teams that have allowed fewer than 300 yards a game, six are from the NFC.
Father knows best: The Detroit Lions’ Barry Sanders needs 15 yards Sunday against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay to surpass Jim Brown’s 12,312 career yards, the standard for running backs until Walter Payton. Sanders is playing his 128th game in his ninth season; Brown set his record in 118 games in nine seasons. Both have had 58 100-yard games. Brown’s record 5.22-yard average is best among the top 10 rushers; Sanders’ 4.92 is second. Pretty good, but Sanders is unlikely to get big-headed about it, at least not at home.
“Let me tell you this here,” father William Sanders said. “O.J. Simpson, Tony Dorsett, Franco Harris, Eric Dickerson, the kid from Dallas, Emmitt Smith–they’re only imitations of Jim Brown.
“Even Barry. They’re just imitations of how great a back Jim Brown was and what he did over his lifetime.
“You’ve seen how many games Jim Brown played. He didn’t carry the ball 50 times a ballgame. They didn’t play a 16-game schedule. Even Walter Payton–those guys are only replicas of what Jim Brown is.”
Barry Sanders doesn’t disagree.
“I never saw him play, obviously, but I always had great respect for him,” he said. “I heard about him. For me (to pass Brown) it just says I’ve been incredibly fortunate and blessed.
“With Jim I think it was a little different, because Jim, if he wanted to, probably could have had 20,000 yards. It tells the story when you look at his average carry.”
William Sanders became a Jim Brown fan when Cleveland Browns games were televised in Wichita, Kan. It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate his son; he just has indelible memories of Brown.
“Sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize what Barry has done and to realize the position Barry has put me in in life,” William said. “It still doesn’t seem real, and I really don’t do a lot of gloating over it.”
Sanders managed only 20 yards against the Bucs the second week of the season, but has averaged 111 yards against them over his career.
How time flies: The Indianapolis Colts travel to Three Rivers Stadium for the third time in 21 months to try to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. The first time, Jim Harbaugh’s last-second pass left the Colts inches from the Super Bowl. The second time, Harbaugh was left inches from traction in a 42-14 playoff beating. This time, Harbaugh is clinging to his starting job with the winless Colts. Another ex-Bear, Paul Justin, has finished three of the five losses.
“We do not have a quarterback controversy going on around here, at least in my mind,” coach Lindy Infante said. “It’s totally unfair for anybody to blame Jim Harbaugh, totally. I will always reserve the right to make a change if I feel change is necessary. . . . What’s best for our football team right now is Jim Harbaugh starting at quarterback.”
Said Harbaugh: “One thing I’m not going to do, and I expect the rest of the team can’t do, is play tight. We’ve lost five games now. You can’t go out there playing tight, conservative and afraid to make a mistake. We’ve just got to let it go, let it rip. You hate to say that there’s nothing to lose, but there’s no sense in playing tight.”
Change is good: Quarterback change isn’t always bad. The Steelers will be starting their third quarterback in those 21 months. Neil O’Donnell got them to the Super Bowl. Mike Tomczak beat old Bears pal Harbaugh last year. Now, it’s Kordell Stewart.
Envy of green: Darrell Green, 37, was asked how long he plans to play cornerback for the Washington Redskins and how he has lasted so long. His answers belong in the Hall of Fame:
“I really just want to play this Monday. A great injustice I could do to myself is not live in today and not breathe in and appreciate Monday night playing against the Dallas Cowboys and the wide receivers they have in front of America. I’m not going to let myself or anyone else to allow me to miss it.
“Physically I feel good. If I continue to feel good and play good, you’ll see me out there hopefully for years to come.
“God has created me to do this and uniquely made me do this. The practical application of that is as a Christian I’ve never smoked, drank a beer or taken drugs. I don’t run the street. I’ve been married most of my career, so I go home at night. A lifestyle is important. . . . There are a number of things, but the bottom line is the Lord has purposed me to be here and I’ve tried to be in cahoots with him. Lo and behold, it’s 15 years later.
“I can’t toot my own horn. It’s been a blessing for a little midget guy like me to play and not get broke up. There’s no explanation we can give in ourselves.”
What could have been: While the Philadelphia Eagles ponder quarterback questions, they face Mark Brunell and the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday for the first time.
In the spring of 1995, the Eagles had agreed with the Packers on a trade for Brunell, but it fell through because Brunell wanted a three-year contract and the Eagles insisted on five.
“Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for us,” said Eagles coach Ray Rhodes, who was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator in 1993, Brunell’s rookie season. “I knew early on he would be one of the top quarterbacks in this league given an opportunity. He went down to Jacksonville and got that opportunity, and everything else is history.”
