Thursday, Dec. 27, 2001

All over the place

My mind wanders around the NFL

By Keith Schleiden, managing editor

But like I said, that’s done and it’s back to business. With that in mind, there are several things on my mind. Rather than being disciplined and focusing in on one thing, I’m going to ramble on about a number of subjects. Call it a cop-out column, if you will.

Here we go.

• Terrell Owens isn’t talking to the media this week, as the 49ers prepare for a game against the Cowboys. However, the 49ers’ No. 1 head case is letting a t-shirt speak for him. You will remember his deplorable actions last year in Texas Stadium, when he sprinted to midfield twice after scoring touchdowns to pose on the Cowboys’ midfield logo. Well, he had a photo of the incident screened onto a t-shirt, which he was wearing around the lockerroom on Wednesday. I know Owens is a supremely talented player. But I find his latest behavior classless.

• The Houston Texans can officially begin signing players today. But the club is expected to hold off on announcing their first-ever players until a news conference on Saturday. It’s the first step toward building the roster that will be used during the inaugural campaign of 2002. When the Texans do introduce their first signings, I would expect that former Jets DB Kevin Williams is among them. Another guy who could land with the team right away if former Packers FB Matt Snider. Both apparently have agreed to terms with the Texans, but the franchise has adopted a policy of not announcing deals until a signature has been put on a contract.

• You really have to admire the job that Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin has done in recent weeks. You may accuse him of being too rigid or not very personable, but you can’t accuse him of giving up. The Jaguars are clearly out of contention. But he has his players up and ready to fight every week, as evidenced by back-to-back wins on the road in Cleveland and Minnesota. The Jaguars simply destroyed the Vikings last week. It would be easy to pack it in at this point in the season, but Coughlin has found a way to keep his guys playing, even though there is little left at stake other than pride.

• Don’t look now, but the Eagles could be in trouble. They hold a two-game advantage over the Giants heading into this week’s showdown. If the Giants win this week, and then beat the Packers in Week 17, and Philly then loses in Week 17 to the Bucs, the Giants win the division. Yes, the Giants and Eagles would be tied, but the New York team would get the division on a tiebreaker. Last year’s Giants club was a team of destiny, coming out of nowhere to win down the stretch and reach the playoffs. Believe it or not, it could happen again. And you know what? I wouldn’t mind that a bit. I know I’m not supposed to root for teams, me being an impartial and unbiased reporter and all. But with all that New York has been through this year, it might be nice for the Giants — and heck, the Jets, too — to have a nice little postseason run.

• There are rumblings surfacing in Washington that owner Daniel Snyder may be planning to bring in a new personnel boss. Apparently, the hands-on boss made sure that Schottenheimer’s contract allowed for the hiring of a general manager who would report to Snyder — not the coach. How would Schottenheimer respond to such a move? Probably not very well. I wonder if there is some sort of power struggle beginning to heat up here. There are also suggestions that the front office would like to see a change made in the offensive coordinator spot. But Schottenheimer says he plans to make no changes on his staff, the one thing that he does have absolute control over. Just when you thought things might be starting to run smoothly in Washington, things could be on the verge of being shaken up.

• And finally, one thought about Cris Carter. He may have played his last game as a Viking last week. He’s playing coy about his future plans. He won’t say if he’s retiring from football, or if he plans to sign as a free agent elsewhere. If I am a general manager of an NFL team, I would think long and hard about adding this guy to my roster. Yes, Carter is a great talent who certainly can still play, but he is also a divisive force who will mope and complain if he doesn’t get the ball.

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2001 - 2002 Season