Around the NFC

By Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 4, 2000

BEARS: It will only be for three exhibition games, and he will be in the broadcast booth, not on the sideline. Yet the symbolism can't be understated. Mike Ditka is back with the Bears. Ditka will be on hand as an analyst for the Bears-Giants game at Giants Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday. Since the Bears are co-producers and sell the ads for the preseason games, this marks Ditka's first official association with the team since his dismissal as coach following the 1992 season.

CARDINALS: Defensive tackle Mark Smith showed up at training camp just in time to avoid having to wait another season before becoming a free agent. Smith, who signed a one-year, $1.03-million contract during the off-season, held out last year, then was injured and appeared in only two games. Still believing he deserved better, Smith stayed away from camp this year. He will pay a $65,000 fine, $5,000 for each day he missed. If Smith didn't report by today, he would not be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season; he would have been bound to the Cardinals for another year. Coach Vince Tobin said Smith would not play Saturday against Denver but would practice Monday in Flagstaff, Ariz., and travel with the team to San Diego for joint workouts with the Chargers. Smith had indicated he would report to camp on time, but he changed his mind. "It's proven year in and year out that you need training camp to progress as a football player," Tobin said. "The question is how quickly can he catch up. That still remains to be seen." Smith once was part of what was considered one of the top young defensive lines in the NFL. But tackle Eric Swann was released after a series of knee problems and Pro Bowl defensive end Simeon Rice is a holdout after being declared a franchise player. The fourth member of that line, defensive end Andre Wadsworth, is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and has not practiced.

EAGLES: You won't read about Jon Runyan or his back injury without the phrase "$30.5-million free agent" somewhere in the account. That's how it goes when you place your autograph on a contract that gives you a $10-million bonus. Runyan, who left the AFC champion Titans for the green, green, green pastures of Philadelphia, understands that. "If I had gone anywhere as a free agent, it would be the same thing," Runyan said this week. "People want to see you on the field. They want to see what you can do. You'll hear about some big free agent who gets hurt and never does anything. That's not going to be the situation here." Runyan pulled a muscle in his back on the Eagles' second day of full-contact drills. He hurt himself by being himself. Not content merely to get the best of defensive end Mike Mamula in a one-on-one drill, Runyan reached down and threw Mamula across his body. In that motion, he injured his back. Since then, the Eagles and Runyan have been very cautious. Runyan attempted to practice last week, got into a similar position and felt another twinge. He was sent to the training room for further treatment and rest. Thursday, he did more in practice than he has at any time since his injury. Coach Andy Reid, calling Runyan's presence "a positive sign," said he would decide today whether Runyan will play in Baltimore on Saturday. Runyan said he will respect the coach's decision, but he feels it's time to get out there. "That's why I didn't play last week, so I can get healed and play this week," Runyan said.

FALCONS: Atlanta's charter plane arrived in the Land of the Rising Sun looking at a setting sun. As players, coaches and staffers staggered off buses and into their hotel in Japan, it was the Atlanta equivalent of 6:35 a.m. It was 7:35 p.m. in Tokyo. The team's flight left training camp in Greenville, S.C., about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Including a stop in Atlanta to pick up cheerleaders, the team spent 18 hours on a plane. The bus ride from Narita airport east of Tokyo took nearly two more hours, because highways were choked with rush-hour traffic in the early evening.

49ERS: Jeff Garcia says he could have used a little more help from Steve Young last year, claiming the superstar quarterback kept to himself and didn't do enough to pass along his knowledge of the team's complex offense. "He was dealing with his own thing," Garcia said. Young went down in the third game of the regular season with a concussion and never played again. Garcia, a five-year veteran of Canadian football but an NFL rookie, was rushed into the lineup. Garcia said that other than some discussions on the sidelines during games, he and Young didn't talk much. "He kept to himself. ... I would have liked to have seen more of the coach come out in him," Garcia said. "It would have been helpful." ... San Francisco announced that 3Com would extend its stadium sponsorship for two more years. 3Com also made a commitment to enhance the stadium with new wireless technologies.

GIANTS: Safety Sam Garnes returned to practice, fewer than 24 hours after being elbowed in the throat and experiencing some shortness of breath. "They checked me out and everything was okay," said Garnes, who said the incident was a little scary. "I slept well last night." Garnes was injured in a collision in the end zone with linebacker Mike Barrow late in practice Wednesday. Barrow tweaked his right knee. "We ran into each other and it's not like he's an itty-bitty safety," Barrow said. "He went one way and I went the other. I thought I was in a matrix. It took forever for me to hit the ground."

LIONS: Defensive end Robert Porcher won't play this week against the Patriots, nor will starting quarterback Charlie Batch, who is recovering from a broken bone in his right leg. For now, Mike Tomczak is Detroit's starting quarterback on Opening Day, even though he hasn't looked great. Defensive tackle Luther Elliss, who had knee surgery Wednesday, also will not play.

PACKERS: Quarterback Brett Favre should start, but Matt Hasselbeck and Danny Wuerffel will share most of the final three quarters against the Jets tonight.

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