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King's Corner
TRADING E-MAIL WITH ...
Ravens coach Brian Billick
SI: How much time do you spend online each day?
Billick: 20 minutes.
SI: Favorite nonfootball website?
Billick: Any boating website.
SI: How has cyberspace changed your life?
Billick: The speed of information is unimaginable. I have sat in
[senior vice president of football operations] Ozzie Newsome's
office, made a decision to cut a player, walked to the
kitchenette to get coffee, walked back to my office and found the
news on the Web.
SI: What motivational message have you given to your team recently?
Billick: [Before the opener against Carolina] I'll show my team
the first few minutes of Saving Private Ryan. The D-Day scene. I
am trying to communicate to them the difference between the
preseason and the regular season. No training can prepare you for
that.
SI: Is rebuilding a painful process?
Billick: The joy of working with young players is unmatched. The
hard part is not getting beaten down by the constant belittling
you all will subject us to.
SI: Is one Super Bowl ring worth starting over?
Billick: Yes. Just ask those who have gone through this process without one.
SI: Last book read?
Billick: A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind.
SI: Last movie seen?
Billick: Insomnia.
SI: CD in your car right now?
Billick: Brand New Day by Sting.
SI: Time your alarm clock is set for?
Billick: A half hour before whatever time [Bucs coach Jon] Gruden
lies about coming in.
MATCHUP OF THE WEEK
Falcons QB Michael Vick versus Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher.
When asked who was the toughest defender he faced as a rookie
last year, Vick answered without hesitation, "Brian Urlacher.
Very fast. Very hard hitter. I couldn't get away from him."
Chicago routed Atlanta 31-3 in Week 3. Now Vick gets a chance to
even the score.
THE LIST
Inside the locker of Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith
1. Workout clothes, shoulder pads, turf shoes, flak jacket
2. Bible, well-worn
3. Nail clipper
4. Four jars of calcium tablets
5. Spray can of Tinactin
6. A container of Optimal Complete Nutrition Powder
7. Lucky horseshoe
8. Black porcelain cherub
9. Playbook, including the upcoming week's game plan
MY TWO CENTS
1. It's bad enough that Browns linebacker Dwayne Rudd cost his
team a victory when he flung his helmet in premature celebration,
only to be hit with a 13-yard penalty that led to the Chiefs'
game-ending 30-yard field goal. Far worse was his refusal to
accept responsibility for his stupid act. If I were Butch Davis,
Rudd would be on the bench this week for the game against
Cincinnati.
2. I think Barry Sanders is seriously thinking about coming out
of retirement. Not in Detroit, though. If Dennis Green gets back
into coaching next year, Sanders might want to play for him, so
long as it's not in Atlanta, where the Falcons have an abundance
of backs. --Peter King
