It would be more comforting to Bears fans if Cade McNown were the only young quarterback trying to make a name for himself in the unforgiving NFL.
Just when McNown scrambles around and wins a game against the Packers at Lambeau Field, immediately endearing himself to generations of Bear lovers, he looks around and sees Minnesota’s Daunte Culpepper and Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb heading to the top of the class of developing QBs from the class of 1999.
Neither McNown nor any other quarterback would even want to consider matching St. Louis phenom Kurt Warner, who has played only 21 NFL games and is threatening passing records every week.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s Shaun King has hit a wall along with the Buccaneer promise of improved offense with receiver Keyshawn Johnson. The Bucs have lost two straight to the playoff-caliber Jets and Redskins and don’t appear ready for Monday night’s prime-time matchup with the undefeated Vikings in the Metrodome.
Ram romps: Does anybody know why the Rams aren’t on another Monday night game until Nov. 20? Shouldn’t they be on in prime time every week?
In Sunday’s 57-31 track-meet win over the San Diego Chargers, the Rams averaged 9.9 yards on first down. The Chargers are winless, but their defense really isn’t that bad.
“We have had a good defense in San Diego. This is a little bit hard for us to stomach, for sure,” coach Mike Riley said.
It wasn’t hard for San Diego running back Terrell Fletcher, who couldn’t help sitting back and enjoying the show: “They were actually a pleasure to watch,” he said of the Rams.
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San Diego quarterback Jim Harbaugh agreed: “In hindsight, we should have onside-kicked every time. And that’s no disrespect to our defense, because that’s the best group of offensive talent I’ve ever seen, probably ever assembled in the NFL.”
St. Louis linebacker Mike Jones sounded as if he almost felt a twinge of sorrow for his San Diego counterparts.
“Watching our guys go up and down the field, it was just amazing,” Jones said. “San Diego has a very, very good defense, and we’re just running through them. You’d look at their guys and (think), `Man, those guys are just helpless out there.'”
St. Louis coach Mike Martz is not one to “establish the run” before turning on his jets. He said he called 14 passes to start the game because he didn’t want to slug it out with San Diego’s front seven.
“In my mind, Junior Seau is the best defensive football player in this league,” Martz said. “I haven’t been in this league that long, but I have such great admiration and respect for how he plays the game and his ability.
“We tried to negate him. If we had to throw the ball on every snap, that’s the kind of respect we have for him.”
Ram schedule: At 5-0, the Rams have a bye, and Martz gave them a week off from practice. When they resume, they will be heavily favored against Atlanta at home before traveling to Arrowhead to face the Kansas City Chiefs. That will be their toughest test until Monday, Nov. 20 when they entertain the Redskins at the TWA Dome.
On Dec. 10, the Vikings play in the dome where the Rams rolled them in the playoffs last year. On Monday, Dec. 18, the Rams play at Tampa Bay.
Moss and pepper: Culpepper’s three touchdown passes to Randy Moss unveiled the beginning of a scary relationship between two unusually gifted talents–the 6-foot-4-inch, 255-pound strong-armed quarterback and the 6-4 receiver who runs faster and jumps higher than any defensive back.
“We might have the same mom, you never know,” Moss said. “Pepper’s an Aquarius. He was born on Super Bowl Sunday. I’m an Aquarius. I was born the day before Valentine’s Day. Man, we have a lot in common.
“I met Pepper in ’96 and we started joking right away. We acted like normal brothers, me and Pep. We came to each other and we were talking about us playing together. So we had a chance when we drafted him last year, and [Sunday] I felt good about him making it happen.”
Culpepper said the Vikings benefited from watching video of how the Lions played the Bears last week.
Safety Kurt Schulz had three interceptions by playing deep, but Schulz also was breaking on receivers and anticipating routes.
“We knew we were going to get vertical on them,” Culpepper said. “We knew we could get Randy deep on the post, because their safety had made a lot of plays jumping on the crossing routes. We knew if we pumped him and went deep we could get a couple of plays behind him.
“My decision-making is getting easier. The more plays and more reps I get, the more comfortable I’m getting.”
McNabb taking off: Philadelphia’s McNabb had his first 200-yard passing game in Week 2, against the New York Giants.
Last week McNabb threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints. On Sunday night, McNabb’s 311 yards and two touchdowns represented his third career-high in four games.
“And he will do nothing but get better as this thing moves on,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “He’s a competitor. He’ll work on his game. Sometimes he’s trying to make too much happen. I’ve seen that before. He’ll learn, and he’s going to get better. He sees this as a challenge.”
Looking ahead: After the Bears entertain the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, their next two opponents are Culpepper and McNabb.
Bucs stop: The 3-2 Bucs went into this season planning to become the first team to play in their home stadium at a Super Bowl. At the moment, they would settle for winning a game.
They lost to the Jets in the final minute and to the Redskins in overtime. Keyshawn Johnson has scored one touchdown–against the Bears–all season. King, who hadn’t thrown an interception the first three weeks, has three in the last two games.
Coach Tony Dungy benched defensive tackle Warren Sapp for the first quarter against Washington after Sapp was late for a team meeting on Saturday.