Bucs/NFL

Quick reads

By Times Staff
Published September 17, 2006

GOOD OMEN

Baltimore could be headed for big things this season. Before last week's 27-0 victory at Tampa Bay, it had won just two season openers in seven seasons under coach Brian Billick but went to the playoffs both times, in 2000 and 2001. The last time the Ravens opened the season with a shutout win on the road, at Pittsburgh in 2000, they went on to win the Super Bowl.

LEARNING A TRADE

As if No. 1 overall pick Mario Williams wasn't the subject of enough scrutiny, some believe the Texans are making it harder on the rookie by making him play several positions on the defensive line. "If you want a guy to get better, you have to have him do the same thing over and over and over," said Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. "Think of it as a concrete layer. To become a good concrete layer, you have to lay a lot of concrete. If you're not doing the same thing every single day, it's going to catch up to you. You have to be put in a position to excel."

SAD DAY

The long-range impact remains to be seen, but the Patriots seem stung by the departure of popular receiver Deion Branch, traded to the Seahawks after a lengthy holdout. Traditionally, the Patriots just plug in the next player. This time might be different.

"He embodies everything as a football player and everything that we talked about as the type of guys we want on this team," defensive end Richard Seymour said. "It's a tough day for a lot of the guys on this football team; not only what he means to us on the football field, but in the locker room as a person. I saw a lot of hearts broken when coach (Bill) Belichick announced that move, and I guess we just have to play with the guys we've got."

MAKE A WISH

Former Bucs and current Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson turned 38 on Wednesday. During a news conference, the NFL's oldest offensive starter walked to the podium and cracked, "What, no birthday cake? No rocking chair?"

WHAT ROTATOR CUFF?

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jets quarterback Chad Pennington's completions of 41 and 38 yards to Laveranues Coles against the Titans marked only the second time in his career he had two of 30 or more yards in the same game. He also did it against the Redskins in 2004.

SPEAKING OF STUPID

Detroit receiver Roy Williams guaranteed a victory today at Chicago: "We will win this game." After a 9-6 Week 1 loss to Seattle, Williams said: "It was stupid how close we were to putting 40 points on the board." Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher, a former teammate of Williams at Texas, had to laugh. "Forty points? Wow! I guess there were 40 I didn't see."

MR. UNPOPULAR

Despite the almost constant call for the Broncos to play rookie Jay Cutler, coach Mike Shanahan is committed to quarterback Jake Plummer, above, because he is the best chance to go deep in the postseason. But Denver is a quarterback-crazy town, so Plummer is going to have to deal with the fans' infatuation with Cutler. It didn't help that Plummer committed four of the team's five turnovers and finished with the lowest passer rating in the NFL last week (26.3). "Jake knows his first assignment is to protect the ball," Shanahan said. "Any time you have five turnovers, regardless of how they happened, he knows he's got a job to do. And his job is to protect to ball."

STAT OF THE WEEK

In 2005, the Cardinals scored 27 points in the first quarter all season on nine field goals. In the season opener against the 49ers, they scored 21 in the first quarter on three touchdowns.

TUMS ANYONE?

Late last season, unheralded Browns cornerback Leigh Bodden held Bengals receiver Chad Johnson to two catches for 22 yards. During the offseason, Johnson told ESPN's Dan Patrick that "Lee-high Bowden" was the only player to cover him last year. Leading up to today's game between the teams, Johnson was less flattering, claiming he and quarterback Carson Palmer were off because of strong winds, not Bodden's coverage.

Johnson had the worst game of his career in 2004 against the Browns, catching three passes and dropping three in a 34-17 loss. In the days before the game, Johnson sent Browns defensive backs bottles of Pepto-Bismol for their impending nausea. So despite having his two worst games against Cleveland, Johnson insists it is "humanly impossible" to cover him.

"You didn't see anyone knock the ball down, physically jam me at the line, re-route me, any of that stuff," Johnson said last week. "C'mon now, stop thinking like a writer for a minute and talk football. You're kind of insulting me a little bit. I cannot be stopped, period. I gave the guy his credit because we were off, but you can't go overboard."

STAT OF THE WEEK II

In his past three games against the Cardinals, Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander has 467 yards on 75 carries with nine touchdowns. Last season, he had 313 yards and six touchdowns on 45 carries.

Compiled by Times staff writer Joanne Korth, including information from other news organizations.

[Last modified September 17, 2006, 05:52:39]