Quick Kicks

Making up for lost time

The clock showed less than a minute to go. All the Chicago Bears had to do was snap the ball to make official an unlikely 13-10 upset of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bears tackle Blake Brockermeyer grabbed quarterback Shane Matthews and gave him a real-life Bear hug. The two had been teammates with the Carolina Panthers in 1997 and `98 - where Matthews never played a down in two seasons - and have been reunited on the Bears.

“This one’s for you,” Brockermeyer said.

Matthews, who set 50 school records and 19 Southeastern Conference marks while starring at Florida from 1990-92, has been in the NFL eight years. But Sunday marked just his 10th career game and eighth start. Yet there he was, making solid decisions against one of the league’s most aggressive defenses.

“They don’t give up the big play,” said Matthews, who finished 20 of 34 for 165 yards and one interception in his first start of the season. “I was going to be patient. When you go into the wind here, it’s almost impossible to throw long. Against them, you just have to take what they give you, not make mistakes and play a field-position game.”

Matthews played it perfectly.

Green headed elsewhere

St. Louis Rams Coach Mike Martz is known for going against the prevailing trends.

And now, he is conceding his current starting quarterback won’t be with his team next year.

While most NFL coaches choose not to speculate on the coming and going of players for the next year, Martz will tell anybody he has no intentions of keeping Trent Green.

The lame-duck quarterback starts his fourth straight game for the injured Kurt Warner tonight against the Washington Redskins at the Trans World Dome.

“At this point, what we plan to do is entertain some sort of a trade (in the off-season),” Martz said of Green.

The Rams signed Warner to a seven-year, $46.5 million contract extension during training camp, which essentially erased any question of whether Green could regain his starting position.

Running backs take hits

Four of the NFL’s premier running backs were sidelined Sunday. Mike Alstott sprained his left knee in Tampa Bay’s loss at Chicago, the Jets’ Curtis Martin sprained his back at Miami, where the Dolphins’ Lamar Smith hurt his hamstring. Denver’s Terrell Davis couldn’t even get onto the field.

Also, three starting quarterbacks were hurt.

Injured QBs were New Orleans’ Jeff Blake, Arizona’s Jake Plummer and Miami’s Jay Fiedler.

New Orleans’ Jeff Blake fractured and dislocated his right foot against Oakland. Arizona’s Jake Plummer was sidelined in Philadelphia with bruised ribs and an injured left thumb. And Miami’s Jay Fiedler was sacked by the Jets’ Mo Lewis and injured on the first play from scrimmage, sustaining a pinched nerve in his neck.

They said it …

“I think anyone who talks about the weather really does a disservice to the Bears. I wouldn’t want to taint their victory with any talk about the weather.”

Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy after the Buccaneers fell to 0-18 in the franchise’s 25-year history when the official temperature at kickoff was below 40 degrees.