Friday, Sept. 10, 2004 | 3:05 a.m.
Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4076.
I'm sure the announcement concerning the Packers' starter at quarterback will come any day now.
I mean, I'd like to think that Brett Favre's streak of 189 consecutive regular-season starts will continue when Green Bay plays at Carolina on Monday night, but there has been no official press conference to announce it, so I'm a little worried.
That seems to be the trend these days, although obviously, it usually involves teams with a battle that's a little more heated than a three-time MVP versus Doug Pederson.
On Tuesday, the Dolphins "officially" tabbed Jay Fiedler the starter, for the fifth season opener in a row. But was a press conference really necessary? I suppose with Fiedler and a backup named A.J. Feeley, there was a decent chance some people would confuse the two names without proper clarification. But at Tuesday's news conference, head coach Dave Wannstedt spoke, followed by the team's general manager, Rick Spielman, followed by Fiedler, and then Feeley.
I understand that Feeley would likely face a barrage of questions from reporters anyway, but imagine applying for a promotion and having your boss tell you that you were second in the running, and then having to stand up in front of hundreds as your boss celebrates the other person getting the gig. And then, as part of the consolation prize, he asks you to tell everyone why you failed to get the job. Great morale booster. I assume Feeley also received a case of Turtle Wax and a year's supply of Rice-A-Roni for finishing as the runner-up.
I wonder if Fiedler's parents were there, or if perhaps Dan Marino showed up to give Fiedler a congratulatory hug or something. John Elway's Hall of Fame speech didn't last as long as Miami's ceremony enshrining Fiedler as the No. 1 guy. And the best part is that Wannstedt insisted he's only guaranteed to be the starter for the first game.
But Miami wasn't the only team creating headlines. On Aug. 30, new (and old) Washington head coach Joe Gibbs tabbed Mark Brunell as the Redskins' starting quarterback, amid similar fanfare.
And the Arizona Cardinals also held a press conference to announcer their starter, but nobody can seem to remember when it was or just who that player is.
In the most bizarre of such announcements, however, the Bengals had a press conference on March 1 -- only four weeks after the Super Bowl -- to say that Carson Palmer would be the team's starter this season, supplanting Jon Kitna. Oh, by the way, Kitna had just thrown a career-high 26 touchdown passes in leading Cincinnati to an 8-8 record, its best mark in eight years. So much for loyalty and open competition in camp.
But biggest preseason question mark had to be the competition between another former most valuable player, Kurt Warner, and rookie Eli Manning, who were vying to become the new starting quarterback for the New York Giants.
On Aug. 29, coach Tom Coughlin made his choice, opting for the more experienced Warner.
Manning, the top draft pick in April and younger brother of last year's co-MVP, Peyton Manning of Indianapolis, tried to put being cast into the backup role into perspective by saying, "It doesn't change anything."
Similar comments were made Monday by Drew Brees when the Chargers named him their opening day signal-caller.
San Diego drafted Manning, but essentially had little choice but to trade him to the Giants for rookie quarterback Philip Rivers after Manning said he wouldn't play for the Chargers.
"It doesn't really change anything for me," Brees said.
He's right. He's no worse this year than he was last year, when he was benched for five games and still managed 15 interceptions.
Yet there he is, back under center to start 2004. Oh yeah, he's also being asked to revive a team that is coming off a league-worst 4-12 record.
Maybe, just maybe, that's why Manning refused to play there.
With the dawn of a new season comes the rebirth of Sal's Celebrity Selectors and the battle for the Golden Nerf, the traveling trophy for the competitor with the best record during the regular season.
All 10 combatants from last season are returning in 2004, which means either they really enjoy the contest, or they all suffer from an inexplicable desire to gain temporary possession of a spray-painted foam object.
Regardless of their motivation, the field consists of:
Rita Rudner, headlining comedian at New York-New York and last year's winner with a record of 30-21 against the spread.
Past champions Lance Burton, master magician and Monte Carlo staple, and Clint Holmes, who headlines at Harrah's, are also in the field, along with Mirage impressionist Danny Gans, Stardust singer and Mr. Las Vegas Wayne Newton, the Rio's magic duo of Penn & Teller, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, local TV host Robin Leach, KLAS meterologist Kevin Janison and the KMXB-FM (Mix 94.1) morning team of Mark and Mercedes.
The graphic charting their picks will accompany this column each week.
This week's picks: I'll open the season by taking Tennessee -3 against Miami, Seattle -2 against New Orleans and Atlanta -3 1/2 at San Francisco.
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