MSNBC:San Francisco, Owens may part ways

[TK]

http://msnbc.com/news/1002041.asp

San Francisco, Owens may part ways

49ers unlikely to designate wide receiver with franchise tag

NFL NOTEBOOK

SPORTSTICKER

Dec. 6 — Quarterback Peyton Manning and cornerback Champ Bailey are eligible to become unrestricted free agents in March. Yeah, right.

WITH THE FRANCHISE player designations in the NFL, rest assured that Manning and Bailey will not be wearing different uniforms in 2004.

The same cannot be said for Terrell Owens, who is one of three prominent players on the San Francisco 49ers eligible to become unrestricted free agents in March. The Niners can only use their designation on one of the three and it’s unlikely to be slapped on Owens.

First, let’s eradicate any thought that Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian will let Manning get away. Polian refuses to discuss contract negotiations publicly but look for both sides to hammer out an agreement before March.

Bailey turned down a nine-year, $55 million offer from the Washington Redskins in the preseason. But the Redskins will certainly place the franchise designation on Bailey, which would obligate them to give him the average salary of the top five cornerbacks in the NFL.

Now the Niners are in a different situation with Owens, coveted linebacker Julian Peterson and cornerback Ahmed Plummer all eligible to become unrestricted free agents.

Tiring of Owens’ antics, the Niners have made Peterson their primary target and will likely use the franchise tag on their most important defensive player. That will allow Owens, who needs a change of scenery, to legitimately test the market. It’s an opportunity that Manning, Bailey and Peterson will not truly have.

Quarterbacks like Kurt Warner, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, Mark Brunell and Tim Couch will likely be released after the 2003 season, making them “true” unrestricted free agents. Rich Gannon, the NFL Most Valuable Player in 2002, may also be waived for salary cap purposes.

The St. Louis Rams would face a $4 million salary cap hit if they cut Warner, but if Marc Bulger remains the starter they may have no choice. Bulger will be a restricted free agent, and the Rams will offer him the highest tender possible to make compensation steep.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are now Byron Leftwich’s team. The 33-year-old Brunell has $10.5 million left on his deal, but will be cut before March 1, when he is due a $2 million bonus.

Couch lost his starting job to Kelly Holcomb. The Cleveland Browns will not keep a second-string quarterback slated to make $7.6 million next season and $8 million in 2005.

And the Oakland Raiders may have to cut the cord with Gannon. Next year, when Gannon turns 39, his base salary jumps to $7 million. ...

REGRETS

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones admits he made a mistake in passing over 1,000-yard rusher Stephen Davis in the free agent market. Davis would have been a perfect fit for Bill Parcells, but the Cowboys did not want to make a financial commitment to Davis when they didn’t expect to be a playoff contender in 2003.

“If I had known it would work out this way record-wise, we probably would have backstopped ourselves with Davis,” Jones said. “But we held out hope that (Troy) Hambrick might be better (than Davis).”

Speaking of the Cowboys, Parcells cut kick returner-cornerback Derek Ross to send a message to the rest of his players. Ross fumbled two kickoffs in Dallas’ 40-21 Thanksgiving loss to Miami and missed a team run the following day.

A third-round pick out of Ohio State in 2002, Ross was awarded to the Atlanta Falcons on waivers. ...

PATIENCE, PATIENCE

Remember back in April when six defensive tackles were selected in the first round? Well, only one has given instant gratification — Kevin Williams of the Minnesota Vikings. The ninth overall pick out of Oklahoma State, Williams has started all 12 games and provided an interior pass rush with 5 1/2 sacks.

The New York Jets and New Orleans Saints traded two first-round picks to move up to select Dewayne Robertson and Johnathan Sullivan, respectively. The fourth overall pick out of Kentucky, Robertson has started every game but has just 1 1/2 sacks and the Jets rank 30th in the league against the run. The sixth overall pick out of Georgia, Sullivan has been hampered by injuries and has just one sack.

The others undergoing a steep learning curve are Jimmy Kennedy of the St. Louis Rams, Ty Warren of the New England Patriots and William Joseph of the New York Giants. Selected 12th overall out of Penn State, Kennedy has played sparingly in nine games and totaled only 10 tackles.

Picked 13th overall out of Texas A&M, Warren has played both end and tackle for Bill Belichick and recorded 26 tackles and a sack. Selected 25th overall out of Miami, Joseph was nicknamed “The Haitian Sensation” but has been anything but for the Giants, compiling six tackles and a sack in 10 games. ...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan after his team committed three turnovers, failed to reach the end zone and was penalized 11 times for 89 yards in a 22-8 loss to Denver: “We’ve gotta be the dumbest team in America in terms of playing the game and I’m highly critical because we give games away. We give ‘em away! Period. And it’s embarrassing that I represent that and I apologize for that. If that’s the best we can do, that’s a sad product.”

Some of the Raiders objected to their coach’s harsh words. The only opinion that matters belongs to Raiders owner Al Davis. He could get rid of the players that have been critical of the coach or he could fire Callahan. The feeling here is the roster should be overhauled. ...

SAY WHAT

New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, who has been levied with numerous fines for on-field infractions, says he wants to be an NFL official after he retires.

“I thought about coaching, but then I felt, what if I had a chance to ref,” Harrison said. “I want to actually be on the field when I’m done playing and still be involved.”

But, of course, Harrison couldn’t resist taking a helmet-to-zebra hit, saying “I really don’t think I’ll make a lot of mistakes like other refs make.” Ouch. ...

EXTRA POINTS

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed just two passes of more than 40 yards last season. He already has seven this year. ... Safety Lance Schulters led the Tennessee Titans with six interceptions last season. This year, he has none. ... Since the 2000 season, the Philadelphia Eagles are 23-5 after November. ... Baltimore Ravens receiver Marcus Robinson has nine catches for 202 yards and five touchdowns in the last two games. Before that, he had nine catches for 76 yards and no touchdowns and appeared to be a free agent bust. ... Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre has six interceptions in the last two games. He has not passed for 300 yards in a game since Week 10 of last year. ... St. Louis Rams receiver Torry Holt has seven or more catches in eight games this season.

PARTING SHOT

Comes from New York Giants owner Wellington Mara, who all but fired coach Jim Fassel after noticing his stadium was three-quarters empty in the closing seconds of last week’s 24-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“It’s a message that comes loud and clear. It tells me we’ve got to improve our product,” Mara said of the vanishing fans.

Remember that after the 1996 season when the Giants fired coach Dan Reeves, Mara said, “I saw empty seats and I heard silence. Those are things you just can’t tolerate.”

Most of the Giants are resigned to the fact that Fassel is a goner.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of strength behind a comment like (Mara’s) and I think it obviously puts (Fassel) in a tough situation,” said Giants quarterback Kerry Collins.