THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Bettis
doubtful
for Sunday
By Alan Robinson
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PITTSBURGH Jerome Bettis, the
NFL's rushing leader, likely will default
from the Pittsburgh Steelers' matchup
Sunday against the second-leading
rusher, Curtis Martin of the New York
Jets.
Bettis is listed as doubtful with hip
and groin injuries, but Steelers coach
Bill Cowher said even that might be
overestimating his chances.
"We'll see how he is by the end of the
week but, by listing him as doubtful, you
can see where I'm heading," Cowher
said yesterday.
An MRI test on Bettis' hip showed no
serious injury, and surgery is not neces
sary. He also was bothered by a sore
groin and abdomen before coming out
of a 21-16 victory Sunday over Minneso
ta after gaining 81 yards in three quar
ters.
Bettis, who went over the 1,000-mark
for the sixth consecutive season Sun
day, has 1,072 yards to Martin's 1,070
yards. Martin is a former star at Pitt
and Allderdice High School in Pitts
burgh. Bettis has some internal bleed
ing, but said it is not serious. He wants
to play Sunday, but realizes it might be
better to miss a regular-season game
for only the fourth time in his nine NFL
seasons.
"I want to make sure I'm healthy for
Eagles control 'own destiny' to win first division title
By Rob Maaddi
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Seven win-
ning seasons. Six postseason appear- The Eagles play the San Diego
ances. Three playoff victories. Zero divi- Chargers (5-7) at Veterans Stadium on
sion titles. Sunday. San Diego is 1-5 on the road,
Despite having varied success in the but the Eagles are just 2-4 at the Vet.
last 12 seasons, the Philadelphia Eagles Games at Washington and San Fran
haven't won the NFC East since 1988. cisco follow, then a home game against
But with five games left this year, the the Giants and the regular season finale
Eagles are 7-4 and have a two-game at Tampa Bay. The Redskins, Giants
lead in the division. and Arizona Cardinals are all tied for
"We control our own destiny," fullback second place at 5-6.
Cecil Martin said. "We can't rely on
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Pittsburg)! Steelers' Jerome Bettis (36) plows through Minnesota Vikings defender
Tyrone Carter in the first quarter in Pittsburgh. The 9-2 Steelers won 21-16 Sunday.
the rest of the season because we've
got a lot of games to go," said Bettis,
who initially hurt the hip Nov. 25 against
Tennessee.
Cowher also suggested he doesn't
want to risk sidelining Bettis for a sig
nificant period just as the Steelers (9-2)
are closing in on their first trip to the
playoffs since 1997.
With Bettis leading the NFL's top
ranked rushing offense, the Steelers
are tied for the NFL's best record and
own the AFC's best record. The confer
other people. It's good to be two games
ahead, but if we want this, we have to
take it. We have to rely on our game,
and the games that we have to play"
"Right now, we're just concentrating
ence team with the best record at the
end of the season will have home-field
advantage throughout the playoffs.
"I'm going to look at the big picture,"
Cowher said. "It's not a playoff game. It
might have playoff implications, but it's
not a playoff game, and I'll keep that in
mind"
If Bettis can't play, he would be
replaced by Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala,
who at 255 pounds is the same weight
as Bettis, and Amos Zereoue, who is
usually Bettis' backup.
on San Diego," cornerback Troy Vincent ous wording," he said. "Everyone
said. 'We're not that good to look ahead. understands that you're in first place,
We're just not that good. We have some but the guys behind you know that, too.
things that we need to shore up defen- You better put on a set of blinders and
sively. Offensively, we still have some worry about each game and putting the
things we need to do. maximum effort forward, especially in
"Right now, we're in the driver's seat, the last quarter of this season. You bet
and we have to continue to play good ter focus and keep your urgency level
defense each week The offense has to up."
continue to score points and the special The Eagles would be in position to get
teams has to continue to do what a first-round bye if they did a better a
they're doing for us to have success." job focusing against lesser opponents.
Coach Andy Reid is careful not to look Two of their four losses were to the Car
too far ahead. dinals and Redskins. Both teams were
"I think 'the driver's seat' is danger- underdogs by more than a touchdown.
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Edwards:
Testaverde not goat
in Jets loss to New England
By Barry Inner
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) Anyone
who Wants to come down on Vinny Tes
taverde as the main reason for the
New York Jets' sputtering offense is
out of line.
That's the opinion of Jets coach Her
man Edwards. Does any other view
point matter?
"There ain't no way losing the game
is on Vmny Testaverde," Edwards said
of Sunday's 17-16 loss to New England
in which Testaverde struggled in the
second half. "He is still the starting
quarterback and he is going to make
good throws. We didn't lose the game
because he didn't make a couple
throws. We've got to block better and
tackle better.
Testaverde's decision-making, gen
erally strong as the Jets have gone 7-4,
was questioned after Sunday's defeat.
Specifically, his throw to double-cov
ered Anthony Becht on fourth-and-5
with just over two minutes remaining,
a pass that was intercepted by Terrell
Buckley. On the play, Curtis Martin
was the primary receiver in the flat
and, according to Edwards and several
others, Martin was open with plenty of
room to run.
"It was a poor throw, and the film
confirmed that," said Testaverde, who
usually has managed games well for
an offense built around Martin's run
ning.
"Had I hit Curtis and we got to kick
the field goal and win the game, we're
in here smiling about going to Pitts
burgh for possibly the No. 1 seed in the
H f o .,.
_FL
D
0
CD±'
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5, 2001 I 15
AFC, instead of talking about how mis
erable it is to lose a game."
IP Testaverde said he could not see the
wide-open Martin because right tackle
Ryan Young carried his block into the
quarterback's line of vision. He
thought he saw Becht coming open.
"I wish I had that play again," Tes
taverde admitted.
This has not been a stellar passing
year for Testaverde, who just turned
38. He ranks only 10th in the AFC and
has just 10 touchdown passes with
eight interceptions. Of course, with
Martin near the top of the league in
rushing and the defense coming
around, the Jets haven't asked Tes
taverde to win many games.
He would like the opportunity. Few
quarterbacks wouldn't chafe under the
restrained play-calling of offensive
coordinator Paul Hackett.
Does the strong-armed Testaverde
expect things to open up as they did
in the first half vs. the Patriots? Espe
cially if the weather remains temper
ate?
"That's going to be a coaching deci
sion," he said. "Part of being a leader is
being able to listen to authority, such
as Herm and Coach Hackett and what
they're telling you to do.
"In the first half, I felt good, had a
nice rhythm throwing the football and
got a feel for their pass coverages and
where to throw the ball. It was one of
our most consistent halts.
"It's concerning that we're not able"
to put together back-to-back games, or,
even halfs. It would be more troubling
if we were not trying to improve on
that, but we work hard on that."
since 1988
Chicago, St. Louis and San Francisco
each are 9-2, and Green Bay is 8-3,
Philadelphia most likely would get the
No. 3 seed in the NFC if it wins the divi
sion, allowing one playoff home game.
"We have to worry about us. We can't
worry about them," running back Brian
Mitchell said. "We have to make it into a
five-game st. son."
Since the Eagles last won the NFC
East on a tiebreaker over the Giants
every team in the NFL has won at
least one division title except Arizona
and Baltimore, last year's Super Bowl
champs.