Winless Teams Vying For Shot At Manning
The quarterfinals of the Peyton Manning Sweepstakes begin Sunday.
Three pairs of 0-3 games - Seahawks at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants at New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints - blight this weekend’s NFL fare. Losers can dream of next year’s draft class, which is expected to be headed by Tennessee junior quarterback Peyton Manning. It’s the annual NFL ritual to lust after the league’s next great arm.
Like his father, Archie, who languished during his career on losing New Orleans Saints teams, Peyton Manning will come into the NFL with figuratively one arm tied behind his back. The theory that one quarterback can right the wrongs of losing franchises is destroying the NFL young guns.
Says Minnesota Vikings quarterback Warren Moon:
“For any quarterback coming out of college, no matter how high a draft pick, it’s going to take a certain amount of time before he turns into a great quarterback,” Moon said. “You look at all the great players in the league that are playing now. They didn’t come into the league and set it on fire. You are going to get some bumps and bruises and obstacles along the way. I think the earlier you can play the better … as long as it’s not going to destroy your confidence.”
Although Kerry Collins of the Carolina Panthers is on a modest roll at the moment, failures out-weigh successes. Three former first-round quarterbacks in the 1990s - Trent Dilfer, Rick Mirer and Dave Brown - are among the six lowestrated quarterbacks in the NFL. And that’s the good news. Heath Shuler (Washington Redskins), Steve McNair (Houston Oilers) and David Klingler (Cincinnati Bengals) are backups. Even worse, Andre Ware, Todd Marinovich and Dan McGwire don’t have NFL jobs. xxxx HAWKS vs. BUCCANEERS The game: 10 a.m. in Houlihan’s Stadium in Tampa. Coaches: Seattle - Dennis Erickson, 8-11, second season. Tampa Bay - Tony Dungy, 0-3, first season. The records: Seattle and Tampa Bay each 0-3. The series: Seahawks lead 3-0. Last week: Seattle was ripped 35-17 by Kansas City. Tampa Bay was edged by Denver 27-23. The line: Seahawks by 2. On the air Television: NBC, with Don Criqui and Beasley Reece. Radio: KXLY (920 AM) with Steve Thomas and Steve Raible.