Casserly shaping things up in Houston

Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 10:05 a.m.

NFL SNAPSHOT

All-time series -- Steelers lead, 17-7.

Last time -- Pittsburgh won, 20-17, in Kansas City in 2001.

Notable -- Oddly, this will be the eighth consecutive time a game between these two teams will have been played in Kansas City, and the Steelers have won four of the past seven. ... These are two of the league's most-efficient passing teams, but Steelers QB Tommy Maddox has had passes picked off by foes in 10 of 12 starts. ... Give the shootout to Chiefs QB Trent Green.

Prediction -- Kansas City 31, Pittsburgh 30.

Coach Dom Capers has the old-school, no-nonsense discipline and demeanor that serves as the foundation of a fledgling team that can't afford distractions.

Young, bazooka-armed quarterback David Carr has grown up quickly. Corey Bradford is the speedy deep threat every contender needs. Experienced kicker Kris Brown doesn't get rattled in late situations. The lines are becoming settled.

In fact, so many Texans played so well Sunday in their shocking 21-20 victory at Miami, Capers gave game balls to all of them, then he gave them a rare Monday off.

Bob McNair is the billionaire owner who started it all, securing the rights to the NFL's 32nd team and overseeing the construction of Reliant Stadium, a glass-encased jewel that will stage this season's Super Bowl.

However, general manager Charley Casserly has been the key figure in Houston.

Fans of the Texans, who filled 71,054-seat Reliant to 92-percent capacity last season, can thank Daniel Snyder, imperial owner of the Washington Redskins, for playing such a vital role in shaping the Texans.

Casserly, the 53-year-old architect of the second-year franchise, was forced out of Washington by Snyder three years ago, after the Redskins came within an errant field goal of playing St. Louis in the NFC championship game.

Casserly rose from Hall of Fame coach George Allen's unpaid gofer, to scout and ultimately to general manager during his 23 years in Washington.

He was the assistant general manager to Bobby Beathard when the Redskins won Super Bowls in 1983 and '88, and he was the GM when they won it all in '92.

Those glory days took place during the ownership of the late Jack Kent Cooke, an era when the franchise was considered a first-class sports organization.

After Cooke's death, before the '99 season, Snyder organized his takeover. Washington hasn't played in the postseason since Snyder cut Casserly, who sent an unsolicited blueprint for success to McNair four months after his dismissal.

Two months later, McNair hired the one-time high school athletic director and football coach. Fifteen other former Redskins front-office types also went to Houston.

"We had something special back then," Casserly told the Houston Chronicle in December. "Those were great times. But we've got something special here, and we're going to have some great times, too."

Indeed, Houston is the first expansion team to win its first two season openers. And by beating the Dolphins, widely considered a favorite to go deep in the playoffs, the Texans eclipsed last year's inaugural-game victory against the rival Cowboys.

Houston's sharp steer head-and-horns logo even has cool official colors -- deep steel blue, battle red and liberty white.

The Texans, 4-12 a year ago, play their first game against New Orleans on Sunday, in the Superdome, then play host to Kansas City and Jacksonville before their bye week.

Washington fans are still thanking Casserly, too, because he drafted cornerback Champ Bailey and offensive tackle Jon Jansen, also leaving Washington with three first-round picks.

It used one on offensive tackle Chris Samuels and combined the others to get outside linebacker LaVar Arrington. Last season, Bailey and Arrington were voted to the Pro Bowl.

Casserly had also spotted the talent of Brad Johnson, trading for the quarterback who wound up leading Tampa Bay to its first Super Bowl title in January. Tackle Andy Heck, fullback Larry Centers and safety Sam Shade were Casserly acquisitions, too.

"I feel good about the shape we left the (Redskins) in," Casserly said.

Casserly hasn't lost a step, either. When he gave Pittsburgh a seventh-round draft pick to sign Brown, a free agent, he called Brown one of the most valuable Texans. His 35-yard field goal, with 25 seconds left Sunday, dumped the Dolphins.

Trailing 17-0 halfway through the third quarter, Carolina coach John Fox put Delhomme in and watched the Panthers rally behind his two touchdown passes, the last with 16 seconds left on a 12-yarder to Ricky Proehl.

Fox responded by naming Delhomme as the starter Sunday against the Buccaneers' ferocious defense in Tampa Bay.

Delhomme agent Rick Smith convinced Hurney of his client's value in the offseason, and the Panthers signed him to a two-year, $4 million deal. Overcoming a 14-point deficit to beat Atlanta in 1995 had been the team's biggest turnaround.

A native of Breaux Bridge, La., Delhomme played at nearby Louisiana-Lafayette and had thrown 86 passes in six seasons, all with the New Orleans Saints, before going to Carolina.

"Breaux Bridge?" former Saints quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver, one of Delhomme's best friends, told the Charlotte Observer. "I'll go there if my son's playing baseball. They've got some nice Little League parks. But you really don't want to go there unless you have to.

"I mean, those people eat snakes and squirrels."

It was also the coaching debut of Mike Singletary, a Hall of Fame linebacker with the Chicago Bears who is that position's tutor for Ravens coach Brian Billick.

The pregame side drama, however, might not be forgotten by the time the two teams play again Sunday night, Dec. 28, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

The Ravens were whipped, 34-15, by the Steelers. Shenanigans starter early, as Lewis claimed he was just trying to console Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter, who didn't play after getting shot last week.

Porter saw it differently. As he talked with a Baltimore assistant coach, Porter said he watched Lewis mock the kicking-sand action Porter usually does after making a big hit or tackle. Porter said the consoling words followed the insult.

"I don't think he meant it. You come out there and you do 'the boot,' and then you say, 'Oh, yeah, you're in my prayers.' That does no good," Porter told the Baltimore Sun.

"He's been to, what, one Pro Bowl, and he knows it all now?" Lewis said. "What are you challenging me for? ... Why would I argue with Jerry Porter? He's done nothing in this league."

Hanson was standing inside his own 10-yard line when Smart, who gained notoriety by wearing "He Hate Me" on the back of his Las Vegas Outlaws jersey in the XFL, zipped in and blocked the ball, which rolled into the end zone.

Hanson kicked it out of bounds for a safety, cutting the Jaguars' lead to 17-12. The Panthers eventually won, 24-23.

"I'm a playmaker," Smith, 26, told the Observer. "I try to make something happen whenever I get around the ball. That's my game plan. We've got the best special teams (in the NFL), and it's real."

If not bluster. Wasn't it Warner who, just days earlier, talked about the great shape he was in and how he was stronger than ever? Not anymore.

Warner's career average-yards-per-pass figure dropped from 8.68 to 8.60, slipping him to second on the all-time chart behind Otto Graham (8.63).

Brunell, who turns 33 next week, was the only quarterback in the opening week to complete at least 80 percent of his attempts, going 23 for 27 (85.2 percent) against Carolina.

Twenty-two quarterbacks had at least one pass picked off by the other guys. Brunell wasn't one of them. Sixteen others fumbled, with 10 of those rolling to the paws of the other guys. Brunell never dropped the ball.

His yards per attempt, which veteran offensive coordinators use to gauge true efficiency in a quarterback, is 10.1. Nobody else is in double figures.

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