NFL films should show lots of Gore
Never had three running backs been drafted so high as Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Cadillac Williams, who went 2-4-5 last year.
This season’s leading rusher among that 2005 class? San Francisco’s Frank Gore, selected No. 65. The third-round selection was the fifth running back chosen, behind J.J. Arrington, who went to Arizona in the second round.
Gore comes to Chicago’s Soldier Field today with 520 yards on 112 carries, putting him eighth in the league. He’s ahead of Miami’s Brown (122-464) and Tampa Bay’s Williams (104-394).
In fourth and fifth places among rookies ahead of Benson are two fourth-round picks, Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants (44-217) and Marion Barber of Dallas (43-215). Chicago’s Benson is sixth with 148 yards on 47 carries.
Steelers excel at turnovers
When the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers gave up 41 points to Atlanta last week, it didn’t bode well for a repeat.
Not since the 1976 Oakland Raiders has a Super Bowl winner given up that many points in any game during its championship season. The Raiders lost 48-17 to New England early in the ‘76 season but rallied to beat the Patriots in the playoffs.
What do the 2-4 Steelers have in common with this year’s 1-5 Raiders, 2-5 Buffalo Bills, 1-5 Cleveland Browns, 1-6 Detroit Lions and 1-6 Arizona Cardinals besides poor records? They are the six bottom feeders of the NFL when it comes to turnovers.
The Steelers lost three more fumbles against Atlanta, all of which led to touchdowns in the Falcons’ 41-38 overtime victory. That gives Pittsburgh 14 turnovers in six games. Turnovers also cost the Steelers a loss to Cincinnati.
Romo becomes latest Dallas hope
Tony Romo becomes the ninth quarterback to start for the Dallas Cowboys since Troy Aikman retired after the 2000 season. The others are Quincy Carter (31 games), Ryan Leaf (three), Anthony Wright (three), Clint Stoerner (two), Chad Hutchinson (nine), Vinny Testaverde (15), Drew Henson (one) and Drew Bledsoe (22).
Romo was a free agent out of Eastern Illinois in 2003. Testaverde and Bledsoe were former No. 1 overall draft choices. Leaf was drafted second overall. Hutchinson and Henson were former baseball players whom Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tried to reform with sizable bonuses.
“Since Troy, I’ve been trying to get a quarterback without going to the top of the draft and having to make that commitment and the consequences of missing with that kind of commitment,” Jones said at a news conference.
“Now I may have ended up paying the same price over a period of time, but I have consciously tried not to go to the top of the draft to get a quarterback. I’ve seen the damage that can happen when you go to the top of that draft, make the kind of commitments that you make with your cap for the future – can’t avoid them when you get up there – and bet it all right there.”
Romo is a native of Burlington, Wis., who won the Walter Payton Award given annually to the nation’s top player at the NCAA Division I-AA level.
Battle of Barbers awaits
In one of the many good matchups this weekend, Ronde and Tiki Barber face off for the fifth and probably final time in their 10-year careers when Tampa Bay visits the Giants.
Tiki is the league’s leading rusher, and cornerback Ronde scored on two interception returns against Donovan McNabb last week.
The brothers rarely went head to head in their first three faceoffs early in their careers. Only in the most recent, a Bucs victory in 2003, did both start and play major roles.
Tiki is the 14th player in NFL history with at least 16,000 total yards. Ronde is the only cornerback in NFL history with at least 20 interceptions and 20 sacks.
“He is a better athlete than I am, than I have been,” Tiki said. “Circumstances have made me the more popular one, and that’s a relative description, because of the nature of my position. But he’s always been the better athlete.”