NFL.com notebook: Bears at Giants
By Andrew Mason
NFL.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Aug. 5, 2000) — For the last three years, Chicago Bears quarterback Mark Hartsell has peddled pharmaceuticals. Saturday, he tried to sell himself.
The signal-caller entered the preseason game with the New York Giants in the second quarter — about one quarter before his expected arrival — after second-stringer Jim Miller suffered an elbow strain when Christian Peter sacked him in the end zone for a safety.
One might have expected Hartsell to be rusty; after all, it has been three years since he participated in a training camp. But over one quarter and 10 points later, the field felt like home all over again.
"I didn't want to get off the field," he said with a broad smile after completing eight of 11 passes for 90 yards. "You just want to stay out there all day."
"I didn't want to get off the field. You just want to stay out there all day."
-Mark Hartsell
Given an earlier-than-expected entry, all he did was complete six consecutive passes and lead the Bears to their first touchdown of the night, paving the way for them to turn an 8-3 halftime deficit into a 20-8 victory at Giants Stadium.
Not bad for a man out of football since being waived by the Washington Redskins in their 1997 training camp. Since then, the former Boston College backup has kept busy as a salesman and spending more time on the court than the gridiron.
"I've played a lot more basketball than football (since then)," he said.
It was his connection with Bears offensive coordinator Gary Crowton that gave him one more shot. Crowton, who joined the club before last season after serving as the head coach at Louisiana Tech, was Hartsell's quarterbacks coach at the beginning of his BC matriculation.
"The last time he saw me was 1993," Hartsell said. "He said, 'Why don't you give it one more shot?' I can always go back to work; I'm 26 years old, so I gave it one more shot and I'm glad I did."
However, Hartsell's stunning performance might not equate to a roster spot come the end of the month. Cade McNown is firmly set as the starter. Both of his backups, Jim Miller and Shane Matthews, flourished last season in Crowton's offense, with each enjoying the most productive seasons of their careers.
In spite of his efforts Saturday night, his odds may still be long. But that didn't enter into his mind when he took the field.
"I don't even think about it," he said. "Those decisions are out of my control."
"I'm 26 years old, so I gave it one more shot and I'm glad I did."
-Mark Hartsell
GREAT DAYNE? NOT YET
Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne found out in his first preseason game with the Giants that college hardware doesn't necessarily engender a quick start in the professional ranks.
The call for the New Jersey native finally came with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter, when he entered the game after watching Tiki Barber carry the load for the first two possessions of the game. And while Barber wasn't done when Dayne came in — in fact, he gained 28 of his 36 total yards as a change of pace after Dayne's entry — the focus was on the Wisconsin product.
The record will show that Dayne's first NFL preseason carry was a modest one-yard plunge up the middle. But it will also point out that he gained 15 yards on his next five carries, gaining a first down and moving the Giants into field-goal range for their first points of the evening — a 38-yard Brad Daluiso field goal.
However, Dayne ended the game with just 2.8 yards per carry on 17 rushes, and while he didn't fumble and managed to fall forward when hit, he didn't break a run longer than 12 yards, either.
"There may have been some times that he was losing his weight just a little bit and seeing some things," Giants head coach Jim Fassel said. "But I will wait to really hold that judgment until I see the tape."
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS EARLY FOR WHITE
On the first snap of the Bears' second possession wideout Dez White had his best chance to make an immediate impact.
Starting in place of Marcus Robinson, who missed the game with an abdominal strain, White sped his way behind the Giants' coverage and got open at the Giants' 30-yard-line for what could have been a 44-yard reception. But McNown's bomb slipped through the rookie's hands and onto the ground.
If anything, White's wide-open status was too good to be true.
"Both safeties came up, which you don't expect, and at the same time, the corner sat there," McNown said. "He got past them and he's like, 'Shoot, what do I do?' and he started looking at me and I just put the ball down there. There was no miscommunication.
"I just told him in the huddle, 'We'll get them next time.' " |
