Friday, Oct. 24, 2003 | 10:30 a.m.
All-time series -- Bears lead, 82-59-5.
Last time -- The Bears won, 20-17, in OT in Chicago last season.
Notable -- Don't laugh. Just because first place in a division is not at stake doesn't mean we won't spotlight an under-the-radar game that might be the most exciting and entertaining contest of the weekend ... this series has been played uninterrupted since 1930, and last year was the first time that both games went into a fifth period ... neither team does anything even half-way well, so expect the absolute unexpected ... we'll give Chicago RB Anthony Thomas 140 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bears get the victory.
Prediction (4-3) -- Chicago 31, Detroit 27.
-- Terry Bradshaw, Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox broadcaster, on an ESPN2 production about immaturity the led to him skipping Steelers owner Art Rooney's 1988 funeral.
Carolina running back Stephen Davis doesn't know how to stay put, and second-year Panthers coach John Fox might have to master his hiding skills.
As the NFL season creeps to its midway point, it has become abundantly clear that Carolina's acquisition of Davis was the best offseason move in the league.
With an average of 165 aerial yards a game, the Panthers' air attack is the worst in the NFL.
However, Carolina (5-1) leads defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay by two games in the NFC South because of a ground game that trails only the Baltimore Ravens in productivity.
The Panthers grind out 151 yards a game, of which Davis averages 110. Only the Ravens' Jamal Lewis (141) owns a higher average in the league.
Davis has failed to break the 75-yard barrier only once, when he covered only 20 yards in last week's 37-17 defeat to Tennessee.
Fox has learned to protect his team better by protecting Davis.
In Indianapolis two weeks ago, Fox yanked Davis when Fox believed that his running back was hurting from a bruised right forearm that he had sustained in a previous attempt to block a defensive lineman.
Then DeShuan Foster begged for a breather after three consecutive carries, and Davis snuck back into the huddle. He ran for 4 yards, then fumbled away to the Colts.
The Panthers won, 23-20, and Fox out-foxed his team's main cog. When Davis returned to the sideline after the fumble, Fox kept him there -- by instructing Panthers trainer Ryan Vermillion to hide Davis's helmet behind the bench.
Fox took the blame for Davis's return to the game, saying he should have had Vermillion hide the helmet earlier.
"There was a miscommunication there," Fox told the Gaston (N.C.) Gazette.
"Stephen wanted to go back into the game," Vermillion said. "Coach didn't want him to, and Coach knows best."
Davis admitted that he panged to get back into the game, even when he couldn't find his helmet anywhere.
"I kind of knew I wasn't supposed to go back in, but I did anyway," he told the Gazette of his first return. "I snuck in. After that, they took my helmet away. It was probably best for the team (though) that I didn't (return a second time)."
The top acquisitions:
Stephen Davis, Carolina.
What enhanced this move was that Davis returned home. At training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., where he was born, the Panthers practiced within eyesight of the prep stadium in which he starred.
Carolina beat Houston to him, rewarding Davis, 29, with a five-year deal worth $15.5 million that could be boosted to $36 million if he reaches certain incentives.
Expect Davis to have extra incentive Nov. 16, when Carolina plays host to the Washington Redskins, for whom Davis played seven seasons.
Rodney Harrison, New England.
The 11th-year safety has deflected seven passes, one fewer than NFL leader and teammate Tedy Bruschi, and only six players have made more tackles than Harrison's 58.
The AFC East-leading Patriots coveted his tenacity, after San Diego released him, then paid him $15 million to have it for six years.
Laveranues Coles, Washington.
Perhaps the receiver can do nothing to justify his seven-year, $35 million windfall, but he's trying. Coles is second in the NFL with 631 reception yards, and his 7.6 yards after the catch is the best figure among regular targets.
If only he could play both ways for the 3-4 Redskins, whose 171 points allowed are the fourth-most in the league.
The worst:
David Boston, San Diego.
Poor, poor 1-5 Chargers. After the Ryan Leaf fiasco, they could have hired someone to start doing background checks into prospects' character and professionalism. Apparently, they missed that memo.
Boston bolted west from Tempe, Ariz., to steal a seven-year contract for $47 million from San Diego, where his list of enemies already includes one of the team's trainers.
Three weeks ago, he nabbed 14 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. In his other three games, he had 10 receptions for 121 yards and no TDs. Monday night against Miami in San Diego, he should play in consecutive games as a Charger for the first time.
He caught five passes Sunday for 23 yards, in New Jersey against Philadelphia, but one was a 1-yard touchdown reception from Kerry Collins. It was the fourth TD of Shockey's two-year career.
Elated, or wanting to take out a heap of frustration, Shockey punted the ball into the stands.
The Giants should dump punter Jeff Feagles and give Shockey the gig -- and double pay -- because Philly pulled off a dramatic, if not typically NFC East-dull, 14-10 victory on Brian Westbrook's 84-yard punt return for a TD with 76 seconds remaining.
New York, at 2-4, dropped to sole possession of the basement of its division
Shockey was fined $2,500 for booting the football.
We think he can afford the bill. If not, the Palms might want to help out one of its favorite lads.
At 7-0 and 6-0, respectively, Kansas City and Minnesota are the NFL's only undefeated teams.
Current odds at the Green Valley Ranch Station Casino pit Kansas City at 4-1, after opening at 10-1, to win the AFC title. After opening at 15-1, the Vikings have slipped to 5-1 to win the NFC championship.
To win the Super Bowl, the Chiefs are 8-1 and Minnesota is 10-1.
Lewis is on schedule to run for 2,248 yards this season.
AFC: West -- Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson gets 5.7 yards a carry, the second-best average in the league. South -- OLB David Thornton, in his first year as a starter, leads the NFL with 53 solo tackles. North -- By beating Baltimore, Cincy (2-4) matched last season's victory total and is stunningly only a game off the division lead. East -- The Jets (2-4) are 2-0 since coach Herman Edwards shifted senior offensive assistant Jimmy Raye upstairs to the coaches' booth, alongside coordinator Paul Hackett.
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