Committee May Reverse Position on Fumbles

The NFL's competition committee is considering reviving a proposal that would enable game officials to use instant replay to correct calls involving fumbles.

Committee members discussed the measure last week in Indianapolis and might propose it to the NFL's team owners in late March at the league meeting in Orlando. Last year, the proposal fell four votes shy of receiving the 24 votes among the 32 teams needed to be enacted.

Under the proposal, the referee could award possession of the ball to the defensive team after a replay review on a play on which the officials erroneously ruled on the field that the offensive ballcarrier had been down by contact before fumbling. Under the current rules, there can be no change of possession on such a play.

Cap Situation, Etc.

Next season's salary cap likely will be about $108 million per team if the owners and the players' union can agree to an extension of their collective bargaining agreement. It probably will be set at $95 million to $96 million per club if there's no labor extension. Last season's salary cap was $85.5 million per team. . . .

According to several reports, Texas quarterback Vince Young took a second version of the Wonderlic intelligence test over the weekend in Indianapolis at the NFL scouting combine and scored a 16. He reportedly scored only a six on the 50-question test in his initial try, but officials determined that the test had been improperly administered. . . .

Seattle Seahawks Coach Mike Holmgren told members of the competition committee last week that he was tired and needed to spend more time on other things, and was quitting the committee. Other committee members said they still hoped to get Holmgren to reconsider. They said they didn't think Holmgren's decision was related to the officiating decisions that went against the Seahawks during their Super Bowl loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. . . .

Former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick apologized to former Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil at the scouting combine for the incident during the Gator Bowl in which Vick stomped on Dumervil's leg. The incident played a role in Vick being dismissed from Virginia Tech and entering the draft, and Dumervil had denied Vick's previous assertion that Vick already had apologized. This time, Dumervil said he accepted the apology.

"Things happen," Dumervil said. "I spoke to Marcus and he apologized. He was a man. He came up to me, and I respect him." . . .

Dallas Cowboys Coach Bill Parcells created a stir when he had lunch Friday in Indianapolis with agent Drew Rosenhaus. The meeting created speculation that the Cowboys could be the front-runner to land the Philadelphia Eagles' banished wide receiver, Terrell Owens, who is represented by Rosenhaus. The Eagles would like to get something in return for Owens by trading him, but it appears that most or all of the clubs interested in Owens plan to wait for the Eagles to release him.