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(Sunday, Sept. 13, 1998) -- Forget statistics. For rookies Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf, one of the most important lessons in life as an NFL quarterback was driven home last weekend: survival. Eight starting quarterbacks did not finish, knocked out with varying degrees of injuries. Up to five of them will sit out this week as well, depending on the status of Baltimore's Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh missed four games last year (one with an ankle injury, three with post-Jim Kelly hand disorder) and either removed himself or was knocked out of four other starts while with the Colts. In his first start with the Ravens, he injured his ring finger after being knocked to the turf by blitzing Pittsburgh defensive back Carnell Lake. Then, he revealed he'd been suffering from tendinitis in his throwing elbow for two weeks. After missing practice Wednesday, he returned Thursday and declared himself ready to play today against the New York Jets -- another team that was interested in acquiring him from the Colts during the offseason. Head coach Ted Marchibroda, apparently unconvinced Harbaugh was completely healthy, reserved the final decision until more evidence could be weighed. Marchibroda doesn't want Harbaugh to do further damage to the elbow by throwing with a bad finger, so he will be cautious. If Harbaugh can't go, the Ravens will turn to backup quarterback Eric Zeier. • Danny Wuerffel replaces Billy Joe Hobert, out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, for the Saints. In his two previous NFL starts, the Saints were outscored 36-0 by the Panthers and 49ers, the first consecutive shutouts in franchise history. Wuerffel dropped back 109 times as a rookie, was sacked 18 times and threw eight interceptions. He was also nearly decapitated by linebacker Andre Royal, then with the Panthers, who turned his helmet around on one particularly vicious hit. • With Elvis Grbac out a couple of weeks with a minor shoulder separation, Rich Gannon takes over for the Chiefs today in Jacksonville. Gannon made his first start last year in the Gator Bowl and was sacked six times, fumbled four times and was intercepted twice in a 24-10 loss. Gannon then bounced back and led the team to five consecutive victories. "To be real honest with you," Gannon said, "I don't consider myself as a backup quarterback." • There's some serious karma working in Miami, where Buffalo's Doug Flutie faces Jimmy Johnson for the first time since 1984, when he hurled the 48-yard Hail Mary pass to Gerald Phelan that produced Boston College's memorable 47-45 upset of Miami in the Orange Bowl. Forced into the lineup by Rob Johnson's concussion, Flutie will lead the Bills against the Dolphins. "I'd rather be remembered for the skillful things I did, rather than a prayer of a pass I threw," Flutie said. "But at least there's a signature play people do remember you by." • Former Indiana University quarterback Trent Green takes over for Gus Frerotte in Washington, though it's more a pure benching than an injury replacement. Frerotte was knocked out of last week's loss to the Giants with a shoulder injury, but Green came on to complete 15 of his first 16 passes to nearly rally the Redskins to victory, so he was given the start for Monday night's game against San Francisco. How desperate are teams for backup help? For Rick Mirer, who washed out with Seattle and Chicago, the Packers provided a four-year, $8.55 million contract that included a signing bonus of $800,000 -- to be the team's third quarterback. Extra points • Ryan Leaf's Chargers won his debut, but his performance was shaky. On his first snap, he fumbled. On his second, he misread the defense and threw an incomplete pass into an uninhabited area. Before his third, he had to call a timeout to confer with head coach Kevin Gilbride. Leaf finished 16-of-31 for 192 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions -- and he had two more interceptions nullified by penalties. He admittedly tried to do too much, including calling far too many audibles. "I've got to let the team do what they have to do, and not try to put as much of the load on my shoulders," Leaf said. "I think I tried to make a lot more plays than I (should have). I feel like I was pressing myself to do that." • Now that Cleveland's ownership (Al Lerner) and price tag ($530 million) are set, the NFL can hardly wait to gouge, er, welcome another city back into the fold. Next up on the expansion list: Houston and Los Angeles. Two groups from the formerly spurned cities will be invited to make presentations to all 31 owners at meetings in Kansas City next month. Houston is the early favorite, but Los Angeles has a strong case, too. • Don't jump to the conclusion that Carmen Policy and George Seifert worked together well in San Francisco, therefore they will be reunited in Cleveland. Policy, a former 49ers executive who is making Cleveland's football decisions, plans to talk to Seifert about the Browns head coaching job, in part because he's one of the few qualified names he can interview without exposing the franchise to tampering charges. Keep in mind that Mike Holmgren has said he wants to be a head coach and general manager, and the Browns just happen to have both positions open. • As knee-jerk reactions go, this one's a chin-buster. True, Vikings rookie receiver Randy Moss had an impressive debut, but teammate Robert Smith went so far as to say he's destined for the Hall of Fame. "I'm serious," Smith said. "I mean, you could see it after the first day of practice: There is nothing he can't do." There is, however, much he hasn't done. |