Learning From His Myth Takes

Ten NFL myths exposed this season:

Myth: You can’t beat the Packers in a playoff game at Lambeau Field.

Myth debunked: Brett Favre, who had never lost a home game when the temperatures dipped below 34 degrees, looked more old man than Old Man Winter last Saturday in a 27-7 loss to the Falcons. Atlanta became the first team in league history to win a playoff game at Lambeau. What in the name of Lombardi is going on?

“One day it had to come to an end,” Falcon quarterback Michael Vick said. “Why not let us be the team to do it?”

Myth: The Eagles are a one-man show.

Myth debunked: There’s no question Donovan McNabb is one of the best quarterbacks in the game, and his return should give the Eagles a lift against Atlanta tonight. But Philadelphia didn’t crumble when he was nursing that broken ankle. The Eagles went 5-1 with Koy Detmer and A.J. Feeley, proving Andy Reid understands a thing or two about coaching quarterbacks. It didn’t hurt that the Eagles can play some defense too.

Myth: In the eyes of the NFL, all teams are created equal.

Myth debunked: OK, so the Giants got rooked on that bad call at the end of the 49er game. It’s commendable that the league stepped in and ‘fessed up to a blunder by its officials. Paul Tagliabue called it the most disappointing moment involving officiating in his 13 years as commissioner. Kind of makes you wonder, would the people at the league’s Park Avenue headquarters be so up in arms if it had been, say, the Chiefs, Seahawks, Saints or -- heaven forbid -- Raiders who’d been robbed, instead of the Giants?

Myth: Chad Pennington is too methodical to make it as an NFL quarterback.

Myth debunked: Believe it or don’t, but before this season the New York Jets were hinting that Pennington might be too analytical in his reads and too cautious in his playmaking to make an impact at this level. As we now know, Pennington stepped in for Vinny Testaverde and rescued the Jets from the Dumpster, leading them to the playoffs and establishing himself as a household name. That’s not to say he was an overnight success. From 1982 through 2000, only one NFL quarterback who was drafted in the first round failed to make at least one start in his first two seasons: Pennington.

Myth: Mike Shanahan, mastermind.

Myth debunked: The Broncos missed the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, and they haven’t won a postseason game since John Elway retired after the 1998 Super Bowl season. In three of four seasons, Denver has finished .500 in the AFC West. Oh, yes, and Brian Griese, who played horribly late in the season, is in the middle of a blockbuster deal. Shanahan’s status as a super-genius is looking a little dated.

Myth: Steve Spurrier’s offense will take the NFL by storm.

Myth debunked: Although his team played better down the stretch, it could take some time for Darth Visor to strike fear into the hearts of opponents. Remember all those ex-Florida players Spurrier signed because they were “cheap and available,” guys such as Danny Wuerffel, Jacquez Green, Shane Matthews, Chris Doering, Reidel Anthony and Willie Jackson? Well, there were reasons they were cheap and available.

Myth: The Raiders always gag away the second half of the season.

Myth debunked: From their return to Oakland through last season, the Raiders were 36-20 (64.3%) in the first eight games of seasons, and 21-35 (37.5%) in the last eight games. In his first season as coach, Bill Callahan reversed that trend with a 4-4 record in the first half, a 7-1 mark in the second. Now, the Raiders need to prove that they really have what it takes to finish a season strong.

Myth: Ram Coach Mike Martz is king of the Show-Me state.

Myth debunked: That title belongs to Kansas City Coach Dick Vermeil, who led the Rams to their only Super Bowl title, and now has applied his offensive blueprint to the Chiefs. Kansas City had the league’s No. 1 passing offense this season and finished third in total yardage. If the Chiefs had had anything resembling a defense -- they finished dead last in yards allowed -- they probably would have made the playoffs.

Myth: Marty Schottenheimer will be the instant antidote to San Diego’s losing ways.

Myth debunked: Even Schottenheimer, who has a history of turning franchises around, wasn’t able to do that with the Chargers. They started 6-1 before losing seven of nine. Recognize that pattern? The 2001 Chargers started 5-2, then lost their last nine. In 2000, they lost their first 11 on their way to a 1-15 season. In 1999, they started 4-1 before dropping six in a row.

Myth: Bill Parcells is absolutely, positively retired.

Myth debunked: A year ago, Parcells indicated he was done with coaching and was ready to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ira Miller of the San Francisco Chronicle is one voter who didn’t believe it, and he took a lot of heat for standing between Tuna and Canton. Turns out Miller was right. Parcells, the new Dallas coach who changes his mind as often as most people change their socks, couldn’t stay away.

Long Snappers,

Not Just Nappers

When New York Giant long snapper Trey Junkin blew his chance at the end of last Sunday’s game, misfiring on the snap for a do-or-die field goal, he had a sympathizer in Mike Bartrum.

Bartrum is the long snapper for the Eagles and has always admired Junkin, who carved out a niche at the position for nearly two decades.

“Everybody thinks snapping is easy until they try to do it,” Bartrum said. “It’s really hard, especially because you know you’re going to get hit. They put 290-, 300-pound guys just to mow you over, just to get in your head a little bit, even if they’re not going to block the punt.”

Once, Bartrum pulled off his jersey to reveal a massive purple lump on his lower back where a defensive player repeatedly rammed his helmet. Another time, he had to line up against Chicago’s James “Big Cat” Williams, who tips the scale at 325, outweighing Bartrum by 80 pounds. Williams is three inches taller too, at 6 feet 7.

“At those times, you just look up at the guys and say, ‘Come on, take care of me,’ ” Bartrum said. “Sometimes they do.”

Nice Comebacks

The Jets and the 1970 Bengals are the only teams to have started 2-5 or worse, then won their division titles.

Uncoordinated Start

Jet Coach Herman Edwards says defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell is ready to become a head coach. Earlier this season, though, Cottrell was ready to repeatedly thump his head against a brick wall.

The Jet defense was awful, having surrendered 102 points in its first three losses, and its players looked utterly confused most of the time.

“That was the worst month of my coaching career,” said Cottrell, 55, who joined the Jets in 2001 after six seasons as Buffalo’s defensive coordinator. “Those four or five weeks were terrible. I was not fun to be around. It was hard. I was not sleeping back then.”

The Jets, who began the season with six new defensive starters, have made a remarkable turnaround. They’re communicating better -- the first thing Cottrell fixed -- and in the past three weeks put the clamps on Tom Brady, Favre and Peyton Manning, who was shut out for the first time in his NFL career.

Still, the memory of the slow start lingers for Cottrell.

“It was just terrible,” he said. “You work so damn hard all your career, and we had a product out on the field that was not looking good. I take a lot of pride in our work, when people look at our tapes they see the type of defense I’m involved with.... Oh, yeah, it was embarrassing. We had some criticism, and that criticism was justified.”