Trent Green

A couple of quick impressions before we get to the football game, the Bears' finale. This place is quite red and great ribs. OK, that's it. Football time. First quarter Dangerous return man Dante Hall returns the opening kickoff 44 yards, but the Chiefs...

Here come the Broncos. Revived by quarterback Jake Plummer's return from injury, Coach Mike Shanahan's Denver team can take another giant step toward the playoffs next Sunday against Cleveland at Denver, where Bronco tailback Clinton Portis scored last...

If you've never tried fantasy football before this season, be careful. You could become obsessed. This pastime can make you more addicted than: 1. Mayor Daley is to Wrigley Field paperwork; 2. Donald Trump is to himself; 3. A tweener is to a "North...

Two teams with a long history of pounding the ball into the line on running plays--college football's Oklahoma Sooners and the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers--have apparently changed direction: • In Sunday's game at Atlanta, the Buccaneers will get an...

The New England Patriots, still strangely underrated despite their successes and still short of great players, are approaching greatness as a team this year only because of the unique talents of two football men, their coach, Bill Belichick, and...

As Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning prepares for the Detroit game Thursday, the question is not whether he can extend his impressive touchdown-pass streak to 36 or more that day. He'll puncture the Lion defense a time or two. The key Manning...

With a new quarterback named Trent Dilfer, the Baltimore Ravens (7-4) have suddenly emerged as one of the NFL's quality teams on the eve of the easy section of their schedule, which continues against Dallas (4-6) Sunday and then Cleveland (3-8). All...

As of the 21st century, passer Tom Brady and pass-offense enthusiast Bill Belichick are on board to succeed the Joe Montanas and Joe Namaths and the Vince Lombardis and Bill Walshes who in the 20th century topped the NFL. Since the 2000 season, when...

It was only a 3-yard pass, hardly worth watching on a highlights film. John Unitas, the Colts' rookie quarterback, flipped the ball to his tight end, who fell into the end zone. The play averted a Baltimore shutout. It also provided a glimpse of a...

Coaching seems to be the decisive variable in the development of a successful football team, although, in New Orleans as well as in Philadelphia on Sunday, that might not be apparent. One game doesn't make a career. The odds are that Jim Haslett of...

When the phone rang at Mae Smith's home in Tyler, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon, she knew who it was and why he was calling. A mother knows. The Bears had just hired her son, Lovie Smith, to become the 13th coach in franchise history, and one of the...

The AFC West is having trouble getting jump-started. The Oakland Raiders, who won it last year, staged a walkout during a preseason rules session with NFL officials in protest of the infamous "tuck rule" that knocked them from the playoffs in New...