Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005 | 9:18 a.m.
SUN WIRE SERVICES
Shaun Alexander apologized Monday to fans -- but not his coach or teammates -- for saying he was "stabbed in the back" by Mike Holmgren's quarterback sneak call that may have cost him a rushing title.
"I'm human," Alexander said at team headquarters. "Anybody can, at one time, pop off. I've done it several times. I think in the position I'm in, I need to own up to it."
Alexander created a stir after Seattle won the NFC West by beating Atlanta 28-26 on Sunday. Immediately after the game, he used strong language to challenge Holmgren's play call.
"We were going to win anyway," Alexander said after the game. "We were on the freakin' goal line, and I got stabbed in the back."
Curtis Martin of the New York Jets ran for 153 yards in a loss at St. Louis and edged Alexander by 1 yard for the rushing title, the closest margin ever.
Walker had his head slammed into the ground and Franks jammed his left knee.
Coach Mike Sherman said Monday that backup running back Najeh Davenport, who missed the regular season finale with a strained shoulder, also is expected to play against the Vikings next Sunday.
Unsure that both can happen in Carolina, Monday's season-ending team meeting might have been his last.
"I definitely think that I've done all I can do," the receiver said as he headed out of Bank of America Stadium with his personal belongings in a large brown box. "I definitely can say that I played this year as hard as I can possibly play and I don't have any regrets."
"The one thing I do know is, twice -- I know of two and maybe three times since I've been coaching -- I've been on teams that won five and six games and the next year won 10 or 11 games," Turner said, looking back to his 1998-99 experience as head coach of the Washington Redskins, when a dysfunctional 6-10 team in '98 reversed its record the following year and reached the second round of the NFC playoffs.
Erickson has three years and $7.5 million remaining on his contract. General manager Terry Donahue signed a four-year extension in September. The dismal 2-14 season also placed his job in jeopardy.
Wide receivers coach Robert Ford was also fired.
"It shouldn't happen, and if it happens again there might be some problems," Birk said Monday, choosing his words carefully.
Middlebrooks, 25, was arrested Saturday on misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault and harassment and held in county jail. Middlebrooks had not posted the $20,000 bond as of noon Monday, court spokeswoman Lori Rutlege said.
Abraham injured his lateral collateral ligament against Pittsburgh on Dec. 12. The Jets have sorely missed him in the last two games, when they struggled to generate a pass rush in losses to New England and St. Louis.
NFL Draft
San Francisco, Miami and Cleveland will have the first three picks in the NFL draft, with the Dolphins getting the second choice because their 4-12 record came against easier opposition.
The NFL released the order for the first 17 teams on Monday with the rest to be decided by the outcome of the playoffs. The team that wins the Super Bowl will pick last.
The 49ers, who had the league's worst record at 2-14, will have the first pick followed by the Dolphins and Browns.
Then come Chicago, Tampa Bay, Tennessee and Oakland, all 5-11; Arizona, Washington, Detroit and Dallas, all 6-10. Playoff-bound San Diego picks 12th with the choice of another 6-10 team, the New York Giants. New York and Dallas finished in a tie, but the Cowboys pick ahead of the Giants because they lost twice to New York.
San Diego got the Giants' pick in the trade during last year's draft that sent Eli Manning to the Giants for Philip Rivers in a deal of rookie quarterbacks.
The Chargers are followed by Houston, Carolina and Kansas City (7-9), and New Orleans and Cincinnati (8-8).
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