NFL Notes: Fumblitis hurting Rams’ rookie QB

Thursday, Oct. 31, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

Watching Tony Banks is like attending one of those greased pig contests. You never know when he'll drop the ball next.

When the St. Louis Rams handed Banks the quarterback job in September, they expected some rookie mistakes from their second-round pick. Not this kind. In six games -- five of them starts -- he has 15 fumbles, losing seven of them.

"I don't know if that has anything to with being a rookie," Banks said. "It's something I can control. Maybe I'm not strong enough, I don't know."

The NFL's only rookie starter at quarterback has thrown for 1,074 yards and seven touchdowns. He has a powerful arm, is nimble on his feet and is getting more comfortable with the offense with every week.

Last week he had the first 300-yard passing game of his career, going 26-for-40 for 353 yards -- a record for a Rams rookie. He's thrown a TD pass in all five starts and led the NFL's worst offense to a season-high 486 total yards in last week's 37-31 overtime loss to Baltimore.

Banks' arm is a major improvement over Steve Walsh, who has tendinitis and was demoted to third string when Banks was promoted. He can wing it 60-65 yards without much effort and finally made a connection with Isaac Bruce against the Ravens as Bruce caught 11 passes for 229 yards.

But if Banks had to grade himself on the first half of the year, it wouldn't be pretty.

"I'm what, 1-4?" he said. "I don't know, that sounds like a D or an F to me."

Blame the fumbles. At the midpoint of the season, Banks is only three fumbles shy of the single-season NFL record shared by Dave Krieg and Warren Moon. Krieg fumbled 18 times with Seattle in 1989 and Moon 18 times with Houston in 1990.

* YOUNG TO START: Three days after suffering a concussion severe enough to scramble his senses, Steve Young resumed practicing Wednesday, and barring any setbacks, will start for the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night at New Orleans. "Every day, it's getting better," said Young, who visited a neurologist Tuesday and has been cleared to play. "I've seen a specialist. I feel comfortable. They've given me the go-ahead. I'm sure we've done as much as we can with the experts, a lot of testing and reactions and reflexes. A lot of questions. Some were tough. I don't know if I'd know either way." Young, already playing with a groin strain, was knocked out for a few seconds on the third play of last Sunday's game at Houston when he was hit by linebacker Micheal Barrow as he set up to pass. Unknown to most players, including Young, the play was whistled dead due to a timeout called by a Houston defensive back an instant before the snap. Young, who sustained his fourth concussion but first since 1992, remained dazed for several hours and was told later he had answered "in Pasadena" when medical staff in Houston asked him where he was.

* NASH BACK: Halfway through what Joe Nash thought would be his first season of retirement, he's back for the Seattle Seahawks' final eight games. Nobody, including Nash, thought there would be a team-record 15th season for the 1984 Pro Bowl starter. The Seahawks signed Nash, 36, as an off-the-street free agent to take the roster spot of Glenn Montgomery, who went on injured reserve because of an ailing left shoulder.

* SKINS' RAYMER OUT: Injuries suffered in an automobile accident will keep Washington Redskins center Cory Raymer on the sidelines for 4-6 weeks. Raymer, 23, was admitted to Arlington Hospital on Wednesday with a fractured vertebra in his lower back, a bruised kidney and a severely sprained shoulder. Redskins trainer Bubba Tyer said Raymer will remain hospitalized a day or two for observation.

* SUPER PITCHES: Four cities -- Miami, Tampa, Atlanta and Phoenix -- are making pitches to play host to the 1999 and 2000 Super Bowls. Today was the second day of NFL owners' two-day meeting. Tampa and Miami were considered front-runners for the games. The 1999 game originally was supposed to be awarded to San Francisco, but uncertainty with the stadium's future forced the NFL to look elsewhere. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has essentially promised a Super Bowl to Tampa, which is building a new stadium. He said he would remind the owners of that before the vote.