Offense Keeps Chiefs in Playoff Hunt

The season isn't over, after all, for the Kansas City Chiefs, who have in recent weeks resembled the Super Bowl contender that they had hoped and planned to be all along. The offense is revved up like the unit that led the NFL in scoring in each of the previous two seasons, and the defense has made some improvements under coordinator Gunther Cunningham -- even if they weren't always evident in their wild 45-35 victory Sunday over the Indianapolis Colts at Arrowhead Stadium.

But Coach Dick Vermeil knows there is little room for additional missteps now, not after his club opened with three straight losses. The Chiefs have won three of four games since, and they're coming off consecutive home triumphs over the Atlanta Falcons and the Colts in which they amassed 101 points, 69 first downs and 1,130 yards of total offense. They have climbed back into the AFC West race as they reach the midway point of their season with Sunday's game at Tampa Bay.

"For us to keep gradually climbing out of a hole that we dug for ourselves, we've got to continue to play well,'' Vermeil said during a news conference this week. "One loss can be an avalanche in the situation we're in right now. I think the pressure's good for us because it doesn't really matter where we play or who we play or when we play. It's how we play that counts. We've put pressure on us that, I think, pushes a football team that has great ambition and expectation into a higher level of focus and concentration.

" . . . Right now we'd like to think we're back up to playing like a playoff-caliber team plays. . . . Our goal is to get to 4-4. We've got to get to that 4-4 spot. We have to do it. Then we have the next eight games, and five of them are our division games. Even though the hole is deep, we can peek out and see the sun come out."

Not much sunshine was evident when the Chiefs, on the heels of their quick ouster from last season's playoffs by the Colts in an AFC semifinal after a 13-3 regular season, lost to Denver, Carolina and Houston to open this season. The defense was playing poorly again after the team's decision-makers failed to significantly upgrade the unit's personnel in the offseason and pinned their hopes for improvement on the hiring of Cunningham. The offense was not playing well enough to compensate, and the competitive portion of the Chiefs' season was on the verge of being extinguished practically before it started.

But they gave a gritty performance in a Week 4 Monday night game in Baltimore to beat the Ravens and restore realistic hope in their locker room. They returned from a bye week to lose at Jacksonville, but rebounded by rushing for 271 yards and an NFL-record eight touchdowns in a 56-10 drubbing of the Falcons and then outlasted the Colts, 45-35, in a game in which the two clubs totaled 1,095 yards (the third-highest single-game total in league history). The Chiefs had 33 first downs and 590 yards. Tailback Priest Holmes ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Trent Green had 14 straight first-half completions and threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns -- two of them to tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had eight catches for 125 yards.

"It's hard to do; 600 yards in a game is astonishing,'' Buccaneers Coach Jon Gruden, whose team is ranked third in the league in total defense, said during a news briefing this week. "That's back-to-back incredible shows they've put on offensively. . . . They won 13 games last year and were knocked out of the playoffs in a game that they didn't punt. Their offensive prowess is well-documented. They can run it. They can throw it. They can pass-protect. And they've got star power at a lot of key positions, which is going to be a challenge for us.''

Cunningham also is managing to squeeze some respectable play out of the Kansas City defense, even if that improvement wasn't on display against the Colts until safety Greg Wesley's late end-zone interception prevented a prospective sixth touchdown pass by Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning and sealed the win. The Chiefs are ranked 20th in the league in total defense, up from 29th last season.

"With Gunther Cunningham at the helm, they've improved tremendously, in my opinion,'' Gruden said.

Said Vermeil: "I'm confident that our defense is going in the right direction. . . . I feel good about that.'' . . .

In his 37 regular-season games since the start of the 2002 season, Holmes has 61 rushing touchdowns. He set an NFL record last season with his 27 rushing touchdowns, and he has 13 in seven games this season. . . .

With Holmes's usual backup, Derrick Blaylock, bothered by a bruised thigh this week, the Chiefs are readying Larry Johnson to possibly serve as Holmes's backup. Johnson was a first-round draft choice last year out of Penn State who has been unhappy with his role on the team the past two seasons. He clashed publicly with Vermeil earlier this season when Vermeil said that Johnson would have to "take the diaper off'' to be ready to play, and he expressed his frustration when the Chiefs didn't send him elsewhere by last month's NFL trading deadline. Johnson got his first carry of the season last Sunday against the Colts and ran for 19 yards.

Vermeil said this week: "Larry Johnson is a very likable kid. I like him. Just because I get mad at him -- I get mad at my wife, but I still love her.''

Neither Blaylock nor Holmes practiced Wednesday. Holmes is suffering from a sore ankle and has taken an overall physical pounding lately but probably will practice today. . . .

Bucs wide receiver Joe Jurevicius experienced back soreness after playing his first game of the season following preseason back surgery. But Jurevicius had a bye week to recover and is scheduled to start Sunday.

Collins Struggling

So maybe quarterback Kerry Collins isn't the perfect fit, after all, for the Oakland Raiders' offense.

When the Raiders signed Collins after his offseason release by the New York Giants, many in the league thought that he was better suited than incumbent starter Rich Gannon to the down-the-field passing approach favored by owner Al Davis and new coach Norv Turner. Turner stuck with Gannon as his starter entering the season, though, and the Raiders won two of the three games that the 2002 NFL most valuable player started. But Collins took over after Gannon's season -- and perhaps his career -- was ended when he suffered a broken vertebra in his neck during a Sept. 26 win over the Buccaneers.

The results have been calamitous. Collins has thrown 11 interceptions and only five touchdown passes. He's been sacked 11 times, and the Raiders are winless in his five starts to drop their record to 2-6. They have committed an NFL-high 21 turnovers this season and have matched the 1-7 Miami Dolphins for the league's worst turnover margin, at minus-14. . . .

Linebacker Junior Seau said during a news conference Wednesday that he felt no sense of relief about having a chance to separate himself now from the Dolphins' miserable season. The 12-time Pro Bowl selection suffered a torn pectoral muscle during Miami's loss Monday night to the New York Jets and is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery today in San Diego.

"I would rather be part of this team than be in the situation where I am,'' Seau said. " . . . The game is only a game when you win. But when you lose, it becomes a business. Sometimes, through the business, we lose track of how special it is to be part of the National Football League, to be part of Sundays and Mondays and practices and training rooms and weight rooms. It's something that you don't ever want to take for granted.''

Seau, 35, said he will have to make an assessment after his surgery whether to continue his 15-year NFL career next season. The Dolphins placed him on the injured reserve list Wednesday. . . .

The Dolphins must sell 3,000 tickets by 1 p.m. today for Sunday's home game against the Arizona Cardinals to avoid their first local television blackout since 1998. . . .

Buffalo cornerback Troy Vincent on Wednesday practiced for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery early this month, but Coach Mike Mularkey told reporters it was too soon to know whether Vincent would play Sunday against the Jets. Bills wide receiver Josh Reed didn't practice because of a bruised and hyperextended knee and probably won't play Sunday. . . .

Rookie J.P. Losman has been the Bills' No. 3 quarterback in their past two games. But the first-round draft selection continues to experience discomfort as he works his way back from the broken leg he suffered before the season, and it's unclear when or if he will be a viable alternative to veteran Drew Bledsoe if Mularkey wants to make a quarterback switch. . . .

Three Philadelphia offensive starters -- guard Jermane Mayberry, tackle Jon Runyan and wide receiver Todd Pinkston -- sat out Wednesday's practice. Pinkston has a bruised knee. Runyan has a strained groin muscle, and Mayberry has a strained calf. Of the three, Runyan is the most likely to play Sunday at Pittsburgh. Eagles tailback Brian Westbrook participated in portions of Wednesday's practice, but his status for the Steelers game remained unclear because of the cracked rib that kept him out of Sunday's win over the Ravens.

Leftwich To Be Re-Evaluated Monday

Backup quarterback David Garrard worked with Jacksonville's starting offense during the Jaguars' bye-week practice Wednesday. Starter Byron Leftwich's injured left knee will be re-evaluated by doctors on Monday after the swelling subsides, Coach Jack Del Rio said during a news briefing. A determination will be made at that point whether surgery is required and how long Leftwich will be sidelined, Del Rio said.

Jaguars officials said after a preliminary examination of Leftwich's knee by Birmingham orthopedic specialist James Andrews on Tuesday that they did not think surgery was needed. The initial diagnosis was that Leftwich had suffered a sprained lateral collateral ligament that could keep him sidelined as long as four to six weeks but perhaps could heal quicker and enable him to play sooner -- perhaps as soon as the Jaguars' next game, against Detroit on Nov. 14.

It appears increasingly likely, though, that Garrard will be Jacksonville's quarterback against the Lions. It also appears that Leftwich suffered damage to more than one ligament in the knee, and his playing status for the remainder of the season still could be in jeopardy if Monday's examination reveals an injury more extensive than the club has described so far. Del Rio spent part of his news conference Wednesday defending himself to reporters against charges that he tried to cover up the injury earlier in the week. . . .

The New England Patriots will be without both starting cornerbacks Sunday at St. Louis. Ty Law will be sidelined for at least a month by a broken bone in his foot, and Tyrone Poole remains shelved by a knee injury. New England's starters will be Asante Samuel and either undrafted rookie Randall Gay or Eugene Wilson, who would be moved from safety. If the Patriots move Wilson from safety to cornerback, they would have to play rookie Dexter Reid at safety. . . .

Dallas released Chris Cooper and promoted fellow defensive tackle DeVone Claybrooks from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. . . . The Cowboys are targeting Nov. 16 as the day they expect rookie tailback Julius Jones to resume practicing. The second-round draft choice suffered a broken shoulder in the second game of the season, but the Cowboys have left him on the active roster. . . . .

Anthony Thomas should remain in Chicago's lineup at tailback this week, with Thomas Jones's sprained toe keeping him sidelined as long as three weeks. . . .

Seattle had to resort to having practice-squad wide receivers Jason Willis, Taco Wallace and Jerheme Urban work with the starting offense during Wednesday's practice, with wideouts Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram and Jerry Rice sitting out because of sprained ankles. Rice undoubtedly will do his best to play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, his original team.

The Seahawks should get back offensive tackle Chris Terry and linebacker Anthony Simmons this week. Both missed the club's last two games because of shoulder problems. Simmons's return means that the Seahawks will have all their starting linebackers on the field together for the first time this season. Terry's return enables Coach Mike Holmgren to move Floyd (Pork Chop) Womack from right tackle to left guard to potentially replace Steve Hutchinson, who has a sprained ankle.

Spurrier Focus Shifts to Dolphins

The focus of the Steve Spurrier Watch shifts to the Dolphins with today's announcement by the University of Florida that Spurrier has withdrawn from the school's coaching search.

Spurrier associates reiterated today that Spurrier has seemed intrigued recently about the prospect of taking another shot at coaching in the NFL in Miami. Some knowledgeable observers believe that Spurrier could fare far better in a second go-around in the pro game if he learns from the mistakes that he made during his two-year stint with the Washington Redskins in which he went 12-20, and brings along a veteran coaching staff with plenty of NFL experience. Those observers think that Spurrier would have to work with a strong defensive coordinator, offensive line coach and general manager, and would have to be willing to modify his offensive system to run the ball more often and protect his quarterback better.

Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga undoubtedly would be urged by others in the league not to hire Spurrier, based on the failure with the Redskins, if he dismisses his coach, Dave Wannstedt. But Huizenga always has been an admirer of Spurrier's coaching, and perhaps would opt against heeding that advice.

People close to Spurrier believe that he wants to live in Florida full-time again after his youngest son, Scott, graduates from his Northern Virginia high school next year. Associates said that Spurrier wavered about whether to accept the Florida job after initially telling university officials that he was interested in possibly returning to the school where he won 122 games in 12 seasons before leaving for the NFL. Ultimately, Spurrier's friends believe, his uneasy relationship with Athletic Director Jeremy Foley and the been-there, done-that feeling that he had about coaching the Gators contributed heavily to his decision not to take the job that was his, they say, if he wanted it.

So Spurrier will continue to wait for the phone to ring and it's possible, according to one source close to him, that he could take a second season off from coaching if the Dolphins don't pursue him. But Spurrier is unpredictable, his friends warn, and any current plans could change, given that he almost certainly will be on the receiving end in the coming weeks of a steady stream of offers and feelers from college programs across the country looking for a coach.