Northwest Herald from Woodstock, Illinois • Page 14

Pag 6B Thursday, December 9, 2004 Northwest Herald nwheraldxom Colts sign for ldckoffs Pks Fcstsau 03LrgQEir I Teams try to stay in playoff hunt if HERALD WIRE SERVICES The Indianapolis Colts have turned to Martin Gramatica to handle kickofis. They also made sure wide receiver Marvin Harrison will remain with the team. Gramatica was cut last week by Tampa Bay after miss- By NICK HUT nhutnwherald.com LAKE FOREST Even though the Bears and Jacksonville are in different conferences, Sunday's matchup in Florida has the feel of an elimina LJ. A seven ms 'ast nine field goals. Gramatica will re- FJRK P'ace Jason Baker as 11 JJ) the Colts' kickoff spe- tion game.

igame. teams Both ms are I 1 iting to yr in the Vy ayoff ciausi. ivuKe Vanderjagt will continue to kick field-goal fighti KOTES stay play race. A loss would NOTES AP photo Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning has been fielding more and more questions about his pursuit of the NFL single-season record for toucnaown passes. Uneasy in the spotlight Manning reluctant to talk about chasing record Injury report: Bears tight end Desmond Clark (ribsshoulder), guard Steve Edwards (hamstring), fullback Bryan Johnson (foot) and tackle John Tait (knee) are questionable for Sunday.

All four missed practice Wednesday. "We think the guys will be OK," Smith said. "We don't know for sure about John Tait, exactly how he'll be this week." Safety Bobby Gray (heel), defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee), defensive end Adewale Ogunleye (leg) and linebacker Brian Urlacher (leg) are probable. Of that group, only Gray missed practice. Jacksonville free safety Deon Grant (knee) is questionable.

New guy: The Bears signed rookie tackle Bo Lacy, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad, to a three-year contract Wednesday. Lacy was a sixth-round this year by the Steelers. The Cleveland Browns signed him off Pittsburgh's practice squad Sept. 30, but released him three weeks later. He rejoined the Steelers' practice squad the next day.

"We liked him an awful lot coming out of college Arkansas," Smith said, "We brought him through, got a chance to meet and talk with him then. He looked good as far as showing athletic ability and toughness out there Wednesday." Birthday boy: Jeff George, who is expected to replace Jonathan Quinn as the No. 2 quarterback Sunday, turned 37 on Wednesday. A look at the NFl's ail-time leaders in passing touchdowns for a season: not mathematically eliminate either one, but it would make a tall task that much harder. "What I try to think about is we have to win," defensive end Alex Brown said.

"That's it. If we don't win, then it doesn't matter. A lot of things can happen we can win out and still not make it. "But we have to try to win out. That's our only chance." The Bears (5-7) actually would retain an outside chance even with a loss Sunday.

Jacksonville (6-6) has a better record but less margin for error because the AFC is the superior conference this season. "You can't win four consecutive if you don't win one," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. Bears coach Lovie Smith said his team views itself as postseason-worthy. "Is this a playoff team? Yes," he said. "I'm the head coach of this crew here.

We have a lot of confidence in them. We think we can get it done." Player, team Season IDs Dan Marino, Dolphins 1984. 48 Peyton Manning, Colts 2004 44 Dan Marino, Dolphins 1986 44 Kurt Warner, Rams 1999 41 Brett Favre, Packers 1996 39 Brett Favre. Packers .1995 38 'Season In progress, four games remaining By MICHAEL MAROT The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS Colts quarterback Peyton Manning would rather talk about anything but himself. He will have little choice this week.

As Manning was peppered Wednesday with questions about his chase after Dan Marino's record 48 touchdown passes in a season, he tried to steer the attention toward other issues his receivers, his offensive line, the Colts' chance to clinch the AFC South on Sunday at Houston. "The opportunity I'm thinking about is to go down to Houston and get a win and get into the playoffs," he said. For two decades, Marino's record of 48 touchdown passes has stood as the sport's crowning achievement, football's version of the home run record. Many considered the record untouchable until Manning, last year's co-MVP, began to deliver what could go down as the greatest season a quarterback has ever had. Manning already has thrown 44 touchdowns and owns a quarterback rating of 126.3.

The NFL record for QB rating is Steve Young's 112.8. Manning has thrown for five or more touchdowns in a game a league record five times this season. With two TD passes Sunday, Manning also would break John Unitas' 45-year-old NFL mark by throwing for at least two touchdowns in a record 13 con- secutive games to open a season. Manning grew up in a football family his father, Archie, played for three NFL teams, and his brother, Eli, is starting for the New York Giants. But this time has been different In recent weeks, TV networks have been tracking Manning's record pace, and each week the questions come more frequently and become more pointed.

Marino said during a conference call Wednesday he did not endure the same scrutiny in 1984 when he was pursuing George Blanda's NFL record, which then was 36. "It was totally different," Marino said. "I remember it not being much 'til I got close to Blanda. When it was a couple weeks away, Harvey Greene, the Dolphins' PR guy, came up to me and said I had chance to break it" and extra-point attempts for the Colts. Baker was released.

Gramatica is the leading scorer in Buccaneers' history, with 592 points over six seasons, but he was released Nov. 30 after missing seven of his last nine field-goal attempts. He made 1 1 of 19 field-goal tries this season. Harrison signed a seven-year deal that will keep him from becoming a free agent after the season. Fox Sports, citing unidentified NFL sources, said the contract is worth $66 million and includes a $22 million signing bonus that is the second highest in league history.

The highest bonus remains the $34.5 million given to Colts teammate Peyton Manning. Harrison, 32, has a team-leading 67 catches for 870 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. CBS, Fox sign extensions: NFL owners approved a six-year, $8 billion extension of its Sunday afternoon TV broadcasts with CBS and Fox through 2011. The networks and league had agreed to the extension a month ago. CBS will pay $3.7 billion to show AFC games, and Fox will pay $4.3 billion to keep the NFC.

NFL owners, meeting in Atlanta, also approved an extension of the league's exclusive agreement with DirecTV Group Inc. for its "Sunday Ticket" package. The new five-year, $3.5 billion contract, also agreed upon a month ago, keeps games on satellite television through 2010. The NFL also has said it might develop late-season prime-time packages of eight games for Thursday and Saturday nights. The league also might show the eight games regionally in prime time on Sundays and Mondays.

CBS first aired NFL regular-season games in 1956 and had broadcast the NFC from 1970-93. CBS began televising AFC games in 1998, and Fox started showing the NFC package in 1994. Buffalo TE out for season: Buffalo Bills starting tight end Mark Campbell will miss the final four games of the season with a knee injury-Campbell was hurt during the first quarter of the Bills' 42-32 win against the Dolphins on Sunday when his leg twisted as he was blocking on a run by Willis McGahee. The Bills put Campbell on season-ending injured reserve but did not disclose details of the injury. The 29-year-old Campbell was the Bills' third-leading receiver with 17 catches for 203 yards and five touchdowns this season.

He scored three times in Buffalo's Nov. 21 win against the St. Louis Rams. Rookie Tim Euhus, who has 11 receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns this season, will replace Campbell in the starting lineup. Put Your Management Into Our Hands Bears Continued from page 1 I Medical Chiropractic Therapy Centers MR "itu winning four of its last six games.

The Bears are young and do not always know how to do the right thing, Smith said, but they learn in a hurry. Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye jokingly said Smith's relaxed personality must not have rubbed off on the team when extroverts such as Terrell continue to make headlines. Smith responded by saying he and Terrell have established common ground. "I have a lot of the same qualities that David has," Smith said. "We both are passionate about what we believe.

You always do it a little differently sometimes, but I'm just glad David Terrell is on our team. "I like him an awful lot. His teammates like him a lot. David dropped a few passes this past week. He came back and made big plays after that.

"As a young football team, we just ask the guys not to make the same mistakes over and over. If you make a mistake, make up for it." As for criticizing Terrell's hairstyle, Smith dodged the question. "I don't remember that," the coach said. 'That's all I'll say." For Terrell, who continues to wear the mantle of de facto No. 1 receiver, the spotlight especially will be intense as the Bears chase a playoff spot.

He dropped two passes from Craig Krenzel in a victory at Tennessee before failing to haul in a strike from Hutchinson last weekend. Terrell rebounded with key catches in both games, but he knows he must make more of the few chances he gets each week. "It's my worst month," Terrell said, "I had all my drops this month. Our next four games, it's all good. It's just one of those things.

Stuff like that is going to happen. "We don't have a lot of opportunities, so when you drop the ball, it's more visible, there's more attention on you. We're not in the Indianapolis Colts' offense, where you can drop the ball and get three more thrown at you." Smith cited Terrell's resiliency as a primary example of the team's success in I. A -jmT Rams' Jackson wants to play THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ST. LOUIS Coming off his first career 100-yard game, Steven Jackson will not let a sprained right knee stop him.

Marshall Faulk's understudy expects to shake off the injury and start again Sunday for the St. Louis Rams. "It's a little tight, but it should be all right for this weekend," Jackson said Wednesday. "I know me and Marshall, we're working on getting back to playing." I I ilmll' Reliable, Fast Internet for Less I I t-t JM 5 mm mm mm Highspeed DSL Service the "Golf Savings Passbook1 K0lti AUTO VOBK yWL AcapzxjTSmjURss (PIS) 3flQlQ20 TffTraiWlf r1 Mb tiT for AS lOWN. ($21.95) $7.92 fawMl Gal (iwy (U OmimI Comkv Oub Crag Woods CMy Qui WwnowGolCki rKttMUmkytU All accounts feature: Gof OutiftnoR flumlwlafriUl(U kfriMhn Mi District fa Si 247 Wv phone tdi support Powerful tntl-tpcm and minis Qowcjiet e-mail accounts proftoe tools.

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