Marshall Faulk

The Jacksonville Jaguars had scored under 20 points for three consecutive games. Critics said the offense had become too conservative with coach Tom Coughlin calling the plays instead of last season's coordinator, Chris Palmer, now coach of the Cleveland Browns.Coughlin's answer to his critics was that he was running the same offense as last season.And now that running back Fred Taylor is back in the lineup, people are starting to believe him.Taylor had five carries in those three games after suffering a hamstring injury.

The Indianapolis Colts have had preliminary talks with the Ravens about trading for their No. 10 overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft Saturday in exchange for Colts versatile running back Marshall Faulk, one of the league's premier performers this past season.The 5-foot-10, 210-pound Faulk, 26, was the league's sixth-leading rusher last season with 1,319 yards on 324 carries. He was also tied for third in the league in receptions with Denver's Rod Smith with 86. Faulk finished with 908 yards receiving and four touchdowns.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Fifteen minutes after the New York Jets lost a game they couldn't lose, Bill Parcells stood at a podium outside the locker room, trying to explain the unexplainable. His flushed face was covered with streams of sweat, and his words were doused with venom. He took "hot and bothered" to a new level."This is as disappointed as I've been since I've been here," the Jets coach said after yesterday's stunning 24-23 loss to the previously 1-8 Colts at the RCA Dome. "It makes me sick."

The formation: One-back set with two tight ends.The action: At the snap, the receivers and one tight end run off their opposing defensive backs. The offensive line uses a zone-blocking scheme, the objective of the play being to stretch out the defense and get a five-on-five matchup inside the box or near the line of scrimmage. Left guard Steve McKinney and left tackle Tarik Glenn double-team the tackle and seal off the back ** side. Center Jay Leeuwenburg steps play-side and reaches on the defensive tackle.

Watch for:Barry Sanders, Lions: The Lions have scored at least 20 points in 13 straight regular-season games; Sanders is the catalyst.Steve Young, 49ers: In San Francisco's past three season openers, Young has passed for 808 yards and nine touchdowns for a QB rating of 107.7.Yancey Thigpen, Steelers: Thigpen, who caught a club-record 85 passes for 1,307 yards last season, had a career-best 160 receiving yards against Jacksonville last year.Marshall Faulk, Colts: Look for a big day from Faulk, who is going against the worst defense against the rush last year.

The coach was under fire, the 40-year-old quarterback was breaking down, and the offensive line was getting manhandled.In the wake of an embarrassing 42-23 loss at Seattle on Nov. 10, with the season collapsing around him, embattled Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green made a series of calculated lineup changes.Brad Johnson, an undistinguished reserve in four previous NFL seasons, replaced ailing Warren Moon at quarterback. New signee Leroy Hoard, cut by two teams this season, was inserted at running back.

PITTSBURGH -- Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers breathed a sigh of relief when running back Jerome Bettis returned from the locker room with 2: 58 left in the third quarter.Bettis had left the field with 5: 20 remaining to have a stretched groin muscle evaluated.Bettis returned to carry three more times for 13 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run with 14: 21 left in the game.And he is expected to play Sunday in the AFC semifinal against the New England Patriots."I'm feeling pretty good right now," said Bettis, who also has an ankle injury but still rushed for 102 yards yesterday against the Indianapolis Colts.

NFC divisional gameEagles (11-6) at Cowboys (12-4)Site: Texas Stadium, Irving, TexasTime: 12:30 p.m.TV/Radio: Chs. 45, 5/WBAL (1090 AM)Line: Cowboys by 13 1/2Injuries: Eagles -- DT Rhett Hall (knee), and LB James Willis (hamstring) are doubtful; G Harry Boatswain (knee), DT Mike Chalenski (knee), T Antone Davis (concussion), DE Andy Harmon (shoulder), DE Mike Mamula (shoulder), QB Rodney Peete (flu), LB William Thomas (shoulder), and RB Derrick Witherspoon (knee) are questionable; WR Calvin Williams (ankle)

Colts (11-7) at Steelers (12-5)Site: Three Rivers Stadium, PittsburghTime: 12:30 p.m.TV/Radio: Chs. 11, 4/WBAL (1090 AM)Line: Steelers by 11Injuries: Colts -- RB Marshall Faulk (knee) is out; WR Wendell Davis (hamstring) and DT Freddie Joe Nunn (hamstring) are questionable; G Randy Dixon (elbow), DT Ellis Johnson (wrist), DE Tony McCoy (foot) and DT Tony Siragusa (virus) are probable. Steelers -- CB Rod Woodson (knee) is out; WR Andre Hastings (quadriceps), T John Jackson (knee) and WR Ernie Mills (knee)

NFC wild cardAtlanta Falcons (9-7) at Green Bay Packers (11-5)Time: 12:30 p.m.Site: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wis.TV/Radio: Chs. 45, 5/WBAL (1090 AM)Line: Packers by 9Injuries: Falcons -- G Mike Zandofsky (knee) is out; CB Ron Davis (quadriceps), QB Jeff George (neck), DT Jumpy Geathers (toe), DT Pierce Holt (ankle), LB Ken Tippins (ankle) are probable. Packers -- G Aaron Taylor (back), DE Reggie White (hamstring) are probable.Outlook: Before 1995, only five teams in NFL history had a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in a season.

Wrapping up some sports media notes while reminding you it's not the size of the present that matters, it's how much it costs: * Not only has the NFL bestowed the honor upon the Ravens to play in what is most likely the Dallas Cowboys' final game at Texas Stadium, but the league also made tomorrow night's game an NFL Network telecast (carried locally on WBAL/Channel 11). And, as if that weren't enough, the analyst pair for the game will include Deion Sanders. Regular NFL Network game analyst Cris Collinsworth can't call the game because he needs to be in New York for his NBC duties Sunday, so Sanders and Marshall Faulk - the regular studio analysts - join play-by-play man Bob Papa.

Even before it was mercifully put to rest in 2004, I never believed, not for a minute, in the Curse of the Bambino. It was, in my opinion, a lame excuse that people trotted out when they attempted to rationalize or ignore the bad decisions made by countless Boston Red Sox teams. That's true for the Chicago Cubs, as well. Curses, whether they're named after a billy goat or a man wearing headphones and a hoodie named Bartman, are a cop-out. In sports, people choose their own destiny. Nothing is predetermined.

Today's games BROWNS@VIKINGS BROWNS -- Doubtful: G Joe Andruzzi (knee/calf); S Brodney Pool (ankle). Questionable: WR Joshua Cribbs (neck); RB William Green (ankle). Probable: G Cosey Coleman (knee). VIKINGS -- Out: CB Fred Smoot (shoulder). Doubtful: G Toniu Fonoti (groin). Questionable: DT Spencer Johnson (knee). Probable: RB Mewelde Moore (ankle); WR Troy Williamson (shoulder). PATRIOTS@CHIEFS PATRIOTS -- Doubtful: T Matt Light (ankle). Questionable: T Tom Ashworth (knee); LB Monty Beisel (back)

EXTRA POINTS GOING LONG Rich Gannon's pump fake helped spring Doug Gabriel (58 yards) and Alvis Whitted (38) for long TD passes in a losing cause. After playing in the short passing game of the West Coast offense, Gannon showed he has enough arm strength to go vertical. HELD IN CHECK The Seahawks' much-maligned defense held up in the Superdome, limiting Saints RB Deuce McAllister to 57 yards on 16 carries. TOOTHLESS Cincinnati's run defense is still atrocious. The Bengals were shredded for 196 yards by the Jets' 31-year-old Curtis Martin.

Coming in handy The Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson became the first halfback in NFL history to catch 100 passes. And he broke his own club record for combined yards with 2,370. He has four 200-yard rushing games, tying him for second place on the career list with Jim Brown, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders. The record is six, by O.J. Simpson. Five-digit man The Titans' Eddie George is the 17th NFL player with 10,000 career rushing yards. The other active running backs over 10,000 yards rushing are Emmitt Smith, Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin and Marshall Faulk.

Arizona (1-2) at St. Louis (1-2) Time: 1 p.m. Line: Rams by 10 1/2 Key stat: Rams haven't held an opponent to fewer than 23 points. Players to watch: Rams RB Lamar Gordon, averaging 5.1 yards per carry in limited action, takes over from the injured Marshall Faulk. RB Emmitt Smith is averaging only 3.6 yards a carry for the Cardinals. The buzz: No Kurt Warner. No Marshall Faulk. These are not the Rams you have known. Despite last week's upset of the Packers, these are pretty much the Cardinals you have known, although Jeff Blake-to-Anquan Boldin is a solid passing combination.

NEW ORLEANS - The blueprint for beating the St. Louis Rams is already out there. The New York Giants showed how, in effect, 11 years ago when they dismantled the Buffalo Bills' no-huddle offense in another war-time Super Bowl. New York dominated Buffalo with a power running game and swarming third-down defense, sending the Bills to a 20-19 upset defeat in Super Bowl XXV. The Giants' best defense turned out to be a clock-eating offense. The defensive coordinator on that Giants team was none other than Bill Belichick, now the head coach of the New England Patriots, who will attempt to re-create history tonight against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

NEW ORLEANS - Ten years ago, Mike Martz was out of a job but not ambition. He had been fired as offensive coordinator at Arizona State, along with the rest of the staff. All his job leads dried up. He had nowhere to go. And the more he thought about it, the more he figured it was time to test the waters of the NFL. Why not? He had watched - and fallen in love with - the San Diego Chargers' powerhouse offensive teams of the early 1980s. He was infatuated with the scheming of Chargers coach Don Coryell.

ASHBURN, Va. - Ask Washington Redskins running back Stephen Davis a silly question, like whether he should be considered one of the NFL's elite backs, and be ready to get bowled over head-on, just as an opposition linebacker would. "Yeah. Why shouldn't I be?" Davis said after a practice last week. "I've been in the top five or 10 rushers the last two years. I'm a guy who works hard, and I do what it takes to get prepared. You just have to go out and do it, and I've been doing it for the last two years, but I don't want to stop there.

1 -- interception return for a touchdown Ravens' Rod Woodson needs to become the all-time leader. 2 -- number of new stadiums opening this season, in Pittsburgh and Denver. 7 -- rushing touchdowns by Vikings' Daunte Culpepper, a league high for QBs. 8 -- 300-yard passing games by Rams' Kurt Warner, a league high. 9 -- 100-yard rushing games by Colts' Edgerrin James to lead league. 17 -- sacks by Saints' La'Roi Glover, most in league. 17.5 -- number of sacks Redskins' Bruce Smith needs to pass Reggie White for the all-time record.