Adams Nance syndrome

Grapevine

Too much neon by Deion

Sanders needs to tone down act as TV commentator

By RICK BRAUN

Thursday, October 18, 2001

In the uniforms of both the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, he won Super Bowl rings that Wisconsinites just knew should have gone to the Packers (OK, maybe not).

And his flashy style was just a bit too over the top for good old, solid Midwestern values.

But in his debut Sunday with the NFL Today team on CBS, Sanders showed some potential.

As he was introduced by studio host Jim Nance, Sanders got off an excellent line about his last two teams, the Cowboys and Washington Redskins. "If Deion's jumping off the ship, the ship is sinking," Sanders noted.

Sanders' first assignment for the NFL Today was a sit-down interview with a former teammate. That former teammate and friend just happened to be Packer quarterback Brett Favre, who had his locker next to Sanders' back in 1991 when Favre was a rookie with the Atlanta Falcons.

Unfortunately, Sanders' interview style is still a bit too hammy. Nonetheless, the interview was entertaining as he ribbed Favre with highlights of his own interceptions of Favre passes -- even one from college when Sanders was at Florida State and Favre at Southern Mississippi.

"We go way, waaay back," Sanders said as he and Nance introduced the piece. "Brett and I faced each other in college. We were NFL teammates briefly in Atlanta under the great Jerry Glanville (another NFL Today panelist). We were rivals who always brought out the best in each other. These days, Brett is a little older, a lot wiser. But he still has that passion for the game that sets the great ones apart."

The interview begins with a video highlight of Sanders' interception of Favre in 1988.

"I figured you'd bring that up," Favre said.

Sanders was drafted by the Falcons in 1989, Favre in 1991. With their lockers next to each other, Favre became "Country Time" to Sanders' "Prime Time" and Andre Rison's "Show Time."

"My locker was right beside yours and I knew I could play," Favre recalled. "No one would give me a chance. Even though I wasn't a starter, I took pride in going against you (in practice)."

The two reminisced about a shopping trip Sanders took the naive rookie on in Atlanta.

"You got me some shoes, you got me a suit," Favre said. "Of course, once I got home I didn't know how to put it all together. But it looked good going home."

Although they clowned around enough, Sanders did a decent job of getting some good questions in.

He asked Favre his initial reaction to being traded. "I was shocked," Favre said. Sanders then followed up well with, "Shocked because of (going to) Green Bay or shocked because you were traded?"

"Shocked because I was traded," Favre said. "You hear the word traded and you think `No one wants me.' That's your first impulse.

"I didn't know where Green Bay was. I knew it was cold and I knew it was way up there (north)."

Rest assured, Favre also has gotten over those "No one wants me," fears.

Sanders has the potential to be pretty good, but one pesky problem he has to overcome is that he ruins a good question by too often interrupting the answer. Here's a hint, Deion: It's not about you, it's about the person you're interviewing.

Oh, and get rid of the gaudy suits, too.

A compliment?

At the end of the NFL Today show leading into the game telecast, CBS' Bonnie Bernstein noted that Ravens coach Brian Billick warned his players about Favre's abilities.

"Since post-game last Sunday, Brian Billick has been telling his Ravens, `The caliber of quarterback you're going to see today in Brett Favre is nothing like we've seen yet this year.' He told his Ravens' top-ranked defense, `Don't get frustrated with Brett's "Favre- ian" throws because while he'll make a bunch, there's also a good chance we'll be able to take one and take it the other way."

Bernstein and game broadcasters Dick Enberg and Dan Dierdorf then tried to define what a "Favre-ian" throw was.

"I'd say something like throwing across your body, off your back foot, into double coverage," Bernstein said.

"I think that's exactly the way it's written in the dictionary here in Green Bay," Enberg said.

"You'll see a couple," Dierdorf said.

The implication appeared to be that Favre would probably be picked off a few times.

But by the end of the game, Dierdorf and Enberg were using "Favre- ian" as only the highest form of praise.

Best option

As the panel on HBO's "Inside the NFL" was making its picks for the games this past weekend, Cris Collinsworth noted the best pick for the Monday night game between the Cowboys and Redskins was "Everybody Loves Raymond" on CBS.

Ditka cracks

As we noted last week, one of the better NFL features on the Internet is Mike Ditka's 10 Cracks On The Weekend, which appears Mondays on the RealTeam Website (realteam.com).

This Monday's cracks included the Packers and a rather interesting thought on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Brett Favre showed intelligence yesterday, putting Baltimore's safeties into coverage, where they're vulnerable, and moving to avoid the rush," Ditka writes. "He threw two touchdowns from out of the pocket.

"Here's Baltimore's problem right now: They don't like to blitz, but they're getting no pressure from the front four except for Michael McCrary. The other three -- Sam Adams, Tony Siragusa and Rob Burnett -- are just run-stoppers. Sure, they shut down Ahman Green yesterday, but you can't beat a quarterback like Favre without getting a pass rush."

Ditka also made the bold statement that the Bucs would struggle just to make the playoffs.

"You might think I'm nuts, but I'm telling you that Tampa Bay will have a hard time making the playoffs," Ditka wrote. "Their games against Chicago will probably decide a wild-card spot. Tampa Bay is probably counting on the wheels coming off Chicago, but those wheels look pretty solid to me. The Bears will be even better once Anthony Thomas takes over full-time at running back, which is coming soon."

Money talks

Trent Dilfer is 2-0 as the Seattle Seahawks starter and has won 13 straight starts going back to his Super Bowl-winning season with the Ravens last year.

Matt Hasselbeck is 1-2 and has a quarterback rating of 48.9. In the one victory, Hasselbeck led his team to no touchdowns and just three field goals.

So who does coach Mike Holmgren say will be his starter on Oct. 28 when the Seahawks return to action following a bye? Why Hasselbeck, of course.

Dilfer, while always talked down, appears to have Doug Flutie Syndrome. All he does is win, and teams reward him by sending him packing.

Of course, the fact that Hasselbeck was acquired by Holmgren in a big pre-draft trade last spring may have Holmgren feeling pressure to help his quarterback make good.

Bulletin board stuff

If the Minnesota Vikings are looking for some extra incentive in media reports as they prepare for the Packers, they don't need to look in Wisconsin newspapers.

Bob Sansevere, a sports columnist for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, writes that the Vikings simply are not a playoff team.

"Fans who continue to harbor the opinion the Vikings will be a playoff team are either among the most optimistic people on the planet or in some form of denial," Sansevere writes.

"As part of a Vikings Fan Survival Kit, fans watching games should load up on Tums and take a few anger management classes. Also, they should watch the games at the home of someone they don't particularly like. That way, when they put their foot through the TV after Michael Bennett gets stopped for little or no gain or Randy Moss drops another pass, they won't feel so bad."

Bad attitude

New Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg isn't taking his team's 0-4 start very well. Following Sunday's 31-26 loss to Minnesota, Mornhinweg got rather abrupt with reporters, beginning his post-game visit with the statement that he was only answering five questions.

It's obvious the media is to blame. We're sorry, Marty. Not.

`Sun-bathing'

Packer fans may recall how Tampa Bay receiver Keyshawn Johnson collapsed on the field as he was walking off during the Bucs' 14-10 victory over the Packers. After sitting out a play, Johnson returned healthy as ever.

In a weekly column he writes for RealTeam.com, Johnson notes there was a bit of gamesmanship going on.

"On my way off the field, as I got near our sideline, I heard all our offensive coaches yelling, `Get down, get down, get down.' " Johnson wrote last week.

"They wanted time to get a new personnel group into the huddle and get a play called. If an injured player needs help getting off the field, the referee stops the clock without charging a timeout. So I did as I was told -- went down in a heap.

"Bill Parcells used to call this `sunbathing.' He used to tell us, `Unless you're seriously hurt, get off the field. I don't want to see anybody "sunbathing" out there.'

"So, Bill, sorry, I was sunbathing for a few seconds. The trainers came out and did a charade, picked me up, took me off the field. All very dramatic. One play later, I was back in the game. Hey, this is the NFL. You help your team any way you can."

Tie-breaker

Tennessee running back Eddie George and Tampa Bay's Johnson have a friendship that includes a rather interesting tradition that continued Sunday.

In games played against each other, the winner gets the loser's game jersey -- right there on the field after the game.

Johnson played at USC and George played at Ohio State. Each has one of the others' college jerseys, and George has one of Johnson's jerseys from his New York Jets days, while Johnson has one of George's Titans jerseys. George now has added a Buccaneers jersey to his collection.

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