Quick Kicks
No Tuna helper, please …
Glenn Foley was the backup quarterback who had never led the Jets to victory. And this was a Jets franchise that was trying to make a statement against the division-leading New England Patriots, who had beaten them six straight times.
Fortunes changed Sunday - dramatically, loudly - and, for all anyone knows, significantly.
The Jets toppled the Patriots, 24-19, as Foley, replacing Neil O’Donnell at the start of the second half, led the team to touchdowns on his first three drives. He completed 14 straight passes at one point.
The Jets emerged with a 5-3 record at the halfway point of the schedule. Now, with a bye week, coach Bill Parcells can keep everyone guessing.
Does he go back to his incumbent quarterback, the experienced, efficient, accurate O’Donnell, who had been producing good numbers? Or, does he stay with the freckle-faced second-stringer Foley, whose previous great football moment came when Boston College upset Notre Dame in 1993?
“Don’t start that,” growled Parcells to a questioner. “I’ll decide what to do.”
School of hard kicks
Tommy Thompson, the 49ers’ punter and kickoff man, normally has an easy work shift each Sunday. He trots onto the field. He whacks the ball. He trots off the field.
Sunday, against the Atlanta Falcons, Thompson went from whacker to whackee. Not just once. Several times.
Thompson’s intimate encounters with the Falcons included being hit on a roughing-the-punter play and twice making tackles on kick returns. But his afternoon of collisions began in the second quarter, when Thompson, also the holder for placekicker Gary Anderson, picked up a bad snap on a PAT attempt and passed to Jim Schwanz, who was driven out of bounds before reaching the end zone.
It was Thompson’s first pass attempt at any level of football - high school, college or pro.
That was obvious. Steve Young, the Niners’ quarterback, was asked to comment on the play.
“Does the word ‘Garo’ mean anything to you?”’ Young replied.
By the numbers
When Herschel Walker accounted for 153 all-purpose yards for Dallas, he moved past Kansas City’s Marcus Allen (17,271) into second place on the NFL’s career list with 17,344… . Terry Kirby’s 82-yard pass reception on the final play of the third period was the longest non-scoring play in 49ers history… . Irving Fryar of the Eagles marked his 200th game with five receptions for 83 yards… . Barry Sanders of Detroit had more than 100 yards rushing for the sixth straight game, the longest streak of his career.
Noteworthy
Former Eastern Washington University offensive tackle Kevin Sargent, who missed all of last season with a herniated neck disc, was activated by the Bengals and played much of the second quarter… . Sargent’s Cincinnati teammate, Corey Dillon, twisted his left knee midway through the first quarter and the ex-UW back eventually left the game… . San Francisco has not allowed a rushing touchdown all season.
The final thought
“Well, we’ve hit rock bottom, gang.”
- Coach Mike Ditka, whose New Orleans Saints were shut out at home for the first time since 1979
, DataTimes