SPOTLIGHT / A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL : THE SHOE FITS
Morten Andersen, kicker for the New Orleans Saints, has a future in the shoe business.
Andersen, who wears a special kicking shoe he designed that costs more than $5,000, made a 60-yard field goal against the Chicago Bears Sunday, equaling the second-longest kick in NFL history.
So is it the shoe?
Even Andersen had to acknowledge that while the shoe helps, it’s the leg that counts.
“You’ve got to have the right tool, the one that works for you, and I was probably a little lucky, but I really hit the ball well,” Andersen said.
Andersen’s distance was second only to another Saint, Tom Dempsey, who set the record of 63 yards in 1970 against the Detroit Lions. Steve Cox, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, also made a 60-yard field goal.
“I knew from the second my foot hit it it was good,” Andersen said. “I was standing there in the third quarter thinking I should have moved it back five yards before I kicked it. I think it would have been good at 65 yards.”
The kick, with three seconds left in the first half of the Saints’ 20-17 loss to the Bears, capped a 27-yard drive and put New Orleans ahead, 10-6.
Coach Jim Mora said he has confidence in his kicker.
“He’s been kicking very well. He was pumped and wanted to give it a shot,” Mora said. “We gave him a chance and he came through like a champ. It was a great, great kick. You don’t see that too often. You guys should marvel that you got to see it.”
Andersen has made 16 of 18 field-goal attempts this season, 16 of 16 extra points, and 24 of his 38 kickoffs have gone into the end zone for touchbacks.
With 17 field goals of 50 yards or more, Andersen is tied with Jan Stenerud for third in NFL history, one fewer than Kansas City’s Nick Lowery.
Andersen kicked a school-record 63-yard field goal against Ohio State in his senior year at Michigan State. That kick also came just before halftime, he said.
NAMES AND NUMBERS
Bernie Kosar, the only starting quarterback without an interception this season, has been intercepted 62 times in 2,603 career passes, an percentage of less than 2.4, best in league history. His has thrown 262 passes without an interception, the second longest streak in NFL history. Bart Starr threw 294 passes without an interception during in 1964-65.
The Bears are 6-2, yet have been outscored 128-127. . . . Jim Harbaugh completed two of 19 passes before going three for three on the Bears’ final drive that culminated in a 12-yard touchdown pass to Tom Waddle in Chicago’s 20-17 victory over New Orleans.
Tampa Bay is 0-6 in games Chris Chandler has started at quarterback, and 0-9 in games Vinny Testaverde has not started in the past three years. . . . Half of Minnesota’s four victories have come against Phoenix. . . . Green Bay defeated Tampa Bay, 27-0, for its second victory of the season and third in 14 games--all against the Buccaneers.
Houston’s Cris Dishman had an interception against Cincinnati, his fifth of the year and the seventh consecutive game in which he has had a turnover.
STIFF COMPETITION
For the second time in five years, the Redskins-Giants game in Giants Stadium went against the seventh game of the World Series.
In 1986, a rain delay pushed the New York Mets-Boston Red Sox onto Monday night opposite the Redskins-
Giants game, which wound up being the lowest-rated Monday night.
Sunday, 76,627, the third-largest crowd ever at Giants Stadium, ignored alternate viewing opportunities and saw the Redskins take a big step toward the NFC East title, improving to 8-0 with a 17-13 victory.
DOING A JOB
Joe Collier, three years removed as the defensive coordinator at Denver, had the perfect defense for his old team. Problem is, the New England Patriots didn’t have the offense to allow Collier a measure of revenge.
Collier, the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, was fired in 1988 after completing his 20th season as an assistant at Denver.
In a 9-6 loss to the Broncos, his knowledge of that system was evident. Denver, entering the game with the sixth-ranked offense in the NFL, managed only 243 yards. The Patriots, with the league’s lowest-ranked pass defense, held quarterback John Elway to 154.
But the Patriots were done in by their offense.
Their final drive put them in position for a game-tying field goal that would have forced overtime. New England called its last timeout to plan a play that would either result in a touchdown or give Jason Staurovsky, who had kicked field goals of 17 and 20 yards, a chance to tie the game.
Instead, quarterback Hugh Millen, who had directed two game-winning drives in recent weeks, ran nine yards up the middle and was tackled at the six-yard line with five seconds left. Time expired before the Patriots could set up another play.
“You have to give them credit on that last drive,” Denver coach Dan Reeves said. “They worked it right down the field and had it in field goal range. I think Millen will be thinking about that for a long time.
So might Collier.
DOES BO KNOW?
Andre Rison, who caught five passes for 75 yards and a touchdown against the Rams, has more than football on his mind.
The Falcon receiver is working on his second rhythm and blues release that will appear on the Warner Brothers label next spring.
And, after averaging 26 points and 12 assists on a summer league team with former high school teammate Glenn Rice of the Miami Heat, Rison has hinted that he might be interested in an NBA tryout.
All in all, he’s a perfect complement to Deion Sanders, the baseball entry of Falcon moonlighters.
ON ICE
A sno-cone stand set up near the Louisiana Superdome on Sunday did a brisk business before the Bears-Saints game. Fans weren’t eating the balls of shaved ice. In fact, they didn’t even want the usual sweet syrup on them.
Chicago and New Orleans fans were buying them to hurl at each other.
The last time the two teams met was a playoff game in 1990 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Not only did the Bears win 16-6, but Chicago fans pelted the Saints’ fans with snowballs throughout the game.
Sunday, with it sunny and 80 degrees in New Orleans, the battle resumed. In the other battle, the Bears handed the Saints their first loss, 20-17.
UNDER COVER
Thousands of Kansas City fans geared up for tonight’s showdown by wearing Raider-hater T-shirts and hats to Raider-hater parties.
A sellout crowd of about 78,000 is expected for the second Monday night game this month in Kansas City, which before this year had gone eight years without one.
The Chiefs expect the crowd to be a factor, much as it was in a 33-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
“I think without a doubt it will be more intense,” defensive end Bill Maas said. “You’re looking at the Raiders, which this town goes crazy about anyway. It will be three days before Halloween. Maybe 78,000 fans will show up wearing Halloween masks.”
MARKED MEN
This is no time to be a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.
On opening day, they lost Randall Cunningham for the season with a knee injury.
Cunningham was replaced by Jim McMahon, who lasted until the first quarter of the fifth game, when he went down with a knee injury. He underwent arthroscopic surgery and missed the next two games.
In his place, rookie Brad Goebel and veteran Pat Ryan were unable to produce a touchdown, and Ryan was released when Jeff Kemp was signed as a free agent a week ago.
McMahon came back Sunday against San Francisco, and, in the second quarter, aggravated the knee.
McMahon was replaced by Kemp. But with 7:53 to go in the third quarter, Kemp sustained a concussion and McMahon limped back into the game.
Kemp was taken to a nearby hospital for an X-ray and CAT scan.
Larry Roberts, the 49ers’ defensive end, said he hit Kemp low, and the quarterback’s head hit nose tackle Michael Carter’s knee.
“I was scared,” Roberts said. “He had blood coming from his mouth and his eyes were rolled back. You don’t feel so great when something like that happens. You never want to go out and hurt someone, especially someone like Jeff, who is a great guy. You just want to do your job.”
Kemp played for the 49ers in 1986, and Coach George Seifert said the players still consider him part of the family. “It’s a tragedy when you see something like that,” Seifert said. “All of our concern was on him.”
Kemp’s new family in Philadelphia is running short of bodies to take the snap from center. Their fragile starter, McMahon, said he was sore after the Eagles’ 23-7 loss.
But, he said, “I’m more frustrated than sore. . . . If you turn the ball over against these guys you’re going to have problems.”
ON CALL
Another team that gets plenty of mileage out of its backup quarterbacks is the Detroit Lions, who usually go about as far as injury-prone Rodney Peete can take them.
The former USC quarterback injured his right Achilles tendon on a bump by Tony Tolbert after completing a 15-yard pass in the first quarter and retired to the dressing room.
In his stead, Erik Kramer, who played at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, helped the Lions maintain a share of first place in the NFC Central with a 34-10 victory over Dallas.
Kramer, who played two years in the Canadian Football League, then spent last season on the Lions’ injured list, completed nine of 16 for 108 yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys.
With Peete possibly lost for the season, the Lions are glad to have Kramer around.
SPIKED
Cornerback Ray Crockett of the Detroit Lions has flair. That much was evident when he returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys.
At the end of his return, he stopped at the one-yard line and walked into the end zone--and drew a penalty from a straight-faced official for excessive celebrating.
Wonderful rule.
IN QUOTES
Seattle rookie John Kasay after making a 54-yard field goal against San Diego: “Making a 54-yarder is like making a 50-foot putt uphill.”
Houston quarterback Warren Moon after the Oilers defeated winless Cincinnati, 35-3: “We didn’t show a lot of things today, but basically it was because we didn’t have to.”
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