Eagles Playing Third Man Theme

It’s official. Bobby Hoying will get his first NFL start at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Coach Ray Rhodes said he made up his mind to go with the former Ohio State star in the closing minutes of Monday night’s 24-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which all but eliminated the Eagles (4-6) from playoff contention.

“I want to give this young man a chance to see if he can get things done,” Rhodes said Tuesday.

Hoying, chosen in the third round of the 1996 draft, was the second quarterback taken that year, behind Michigan State’s Tony Banks, who went to the Rams in the second round and became a starter as a rookie.

Hoying entered Monday night’s game with 6:49 left and, after missing on three of his first four passes, led the Eagles to their only touchdown, a 6-yard toss to rookie tight end Chad Lewis.

Seifert to Cowboys?

Former San Francisco 49ers coach George Seifert is Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones’ choice to take over the Dallas head-coaching job once the season is over, longtime Cowboys commentator Skip Bayless reported Tuesday.

Bayless, who has written a number of controversial stories about the Cowboys in the past few years, said that sources inside the Cowboys’ organization have told him that Jones and Seifert have come to a preliminary oral agreement about Seifert taking the job when Barry Switzer is fired at the end of the season.

Bayless said Jones was motivated by concerns some of the high-profile Cowboys’ advertisers had about Switzer’s character as much as the Cowboys’ slump on the playing field.

Colts sign Torretta

The Indianapolis Colts signed 1992 Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta on Tuesday to bolster a quarterback corps that has lost a different starter to injuries three weeks in a row.

Backup Paul Justin, who started after Jim Harbaugh was injured, dislocated a finger. Then Kelly Holcomb, who made his first NFL start last week in a 28-13 loss to Cincinnati, broke a bone in his left wrist as the winless Colts dropped to 0-10.

Harbaugh and Justin plan to practice Wednesday, but their status is uncertain for Sunday’s game against Green Bay.

Torretta was with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this season.

Humphries still ailing

San Diego quarterback Stan Humphries says that he’s still showing symptoms of a concussion he suffered on Nov. 2.

His headaches are starting to go away, “but I’m having a lot of problems not sleeping,” Humphries said Tuesday. “I guess that has a little something to do with it, they said.”

The Chargers said last week that once Humphries’ symptoms clear up, he’ll have to sit out one month. That could effectively end his season, because he won’t be able to practice during that month.