Friday, Oct. 31, 2003 | 9:58 a.m.
All-time series: Dolphins lead, 46-21.
Last time: Miami won, 21-13, in Indianapolis last season.
Notable: Forgive Colts LB David Thornton, when the subject of Dolphins QB Brian Griese's relationship to former Miami legend Bob Griese came up this week. "Are they brothers, or what?" said Thornton, who came up with an excuse. "I'm only 24 years old," he said ... Indy has lost its last five playoff games, and four were on the road. Remaining one of two AFC teams that are undefeated in the conference, then, is priceless for postseason tie-breaker purposes ... but it won't happen, because we like Miami RB Ricky Williams over counterpart Edgerrin James, and we believe Bob's boy will turn in a second consecutive strong effort.
Prediction (5-3) -- Miami 28, Indianapolis 24.
While learning the nuances of a new quarterback during his first season in Tampa, receiver Keenan McCardell experienced a crowning achievement when the Bucs won the Super Bowl in January.
He helped that cause with two touchdown catches in the Buccaneers's 48-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders in San Diego.
That comfort level with Brad Johnson could not be more evident now, as McCardell, 33, has shown that his skills have not deteriorated one iota in his 12th season.
Two weeks ago, in San Francisco, the former UNLV Rebel recorded a 75-yard touchdown pass, the longest of his career. Two weeks earlier, he had ripped off a 74-yarder against Indianapolis.
He is averaging 16.8 yards per reception, his highest in nine seasons and the third-best average in the league among receivers who have caught at least 30 passes.
What's more, the 4.4 yards he's averaging after the catch is tops in his career. Even more impressive, injuries have caused him to miss only three starts in six seasons.
Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer knew what he was doing when he signed McCardell to a four-year, $10-million contract before last season to complement Keyshawn Johnson.
During a Tuesday interview with nationally syndicated radio maverick Jim Rome, McCardell repeatedly said how blessed he's been and how his longevity, and durability, has surprised even himself.
According to McCardell, he never envisioned sticking around the game for more than 10 years or what it would feel like to thrive on the game's premier stage, like he did in January.
"Not really," he said, before going into the trite one-year-, one-day- and one-play-at-a-time mantra that has worked so well for him.
"You just never know (when it will end). You have to go out and make a play each and every day, in practice and in games. If you continue to do that, you'll stick around a little bit."
McCardell is sixth on the active receivers chart with 670 receptions. If leader Jerry Rice (1,485) quit today, McCardell, at his current pace, would have to play another 12 years, at least, to get close to the king of the catchers.
Fifth among UNLV's all-time receivers, with 141 receptions, McCardell, a Houston native, almost sounded as if he would give Rice a run for his lofty perch.
"It's being in shape, knowing how to play the game, knowing what your opponent is doing, (regularly) going into that film room, going into that training room to get ice when you don't want ice ... doing the little things," he said.
"I've been blessed to do that and, hopefully, I can continue to do that and continue to play for many more years."
Soon enough, the crowd in Cincinnati was chanting "Roo-Dee" for that third man.
They were a trio of unheralded and unknown running backs who have made names for themselves with recent sterling performances.
The first, Hofstra grad Arlen Harris, filled in for banged-up Marshall Faulk and Lamar Gordon by scoring three times in a 33-21 victory for St. Louis in Pittsburgh.
Harris touched the ball on more than half of the Rams' plays, turning 34 rushes into 81 yards (and the three TDs) and catching four passes, for 15 yards. He emerged a week earlier, running for 85 yards and a touchdown in a win over Green Bay.
He split time with the first team in practice this week and is expected to touch the ball a few more times Sunday in San Francisco.
"All this stuff seems like a dream," Harris told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "My family calls and expresses how proud they are of me, but it still doesn't register. I don't know what's wrong with me."
Domanick Davis, the Houston Texans' rookie from LSU, has also turned in splendid back-to-back weeks. He romped for 199 total yards two weeks ago in a loss to the Jets, then he hit paydirt for the first time as a pro Sunday.
Again, the Texans lost, in Indy. But Davis ran 25 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. He's a true double threat, having nabbed 27 catches, for 205 yards, in Houston's last four games.
Johnson, from Auburn, turned in his best pro performance on a moment's notice, in the wake of troubled $26-million man Corey Dillon's latest transgressions.
By the time the Bengals locked up the third victory in their last four games, Johnson, whom one scout called an inside runner with "wiggle," had become a fan favorite for his 101 yards and touchdown on 27 carries.
After all of his shenanigans, Dillon can only dream of currying such adoration.
Any of the three would have given a boost to a clairvoyant fantasy owner if, in fact, we gave any validity to those geeks who get their vicarious athletic or general managerial thrills every Sunday.
The hope is that the player known as "Tui" to his teammates gives VivaLasVegas, 4-4 but in a three-way knot for the lead of a meek division after three wins in a row, the boost it needs to continue a playoff push.
We also swiped Davis, too, for those keeping track of "Viva" at home.
Via his cell phone, he informed plenty of buddies on the East Coast about the parlay windfall that undoubtedly awaited him in a matter of hours.
Then San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas and Minnesota, four of his lucky half dozen, all lost against their opponents and the spread.
Tough town, ain't it?
Division hits
NFC: West -- St. Louis QB Marc Bulger, 11-1 when he starts and finishes a game, bought more than 100 hero sandwiches from the famous Jimmy & Nino Sunseri in Pittsburgh last week for his teammates after beating the Steelers. South -- Carolina, at 4-0, is the only NFC team that hasn't lost a game in the conference. North -- Lions owner William Clay Ford gave the team a pep talk forfive minutes after Wednesday's practice. East -- By winning in Minnesota, the Giants avoided the first four-game losing streak in coach Jim Fassel's seven seasons.
AFC: West -- The 8-0 Chiefs are halfway to perfection, and don't bet against them; their second-half schedule is tied for the second-easiest (foes' winning percentage of .397) in the league. South -- Two more games of triple-digit receiving yardage and Indy WR Marvin Harrison will match the club record of six in a row that Raymond Berry set in 1960. North -- The Steelers are 1-5 in Seattle, where they play Sunday. East -- New England RB Kevin Faulk had a career-high 96 yards in the 9-3 win in swampy Foxborough last week.
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