Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Seau it ain’t so

Junior Seau said it was a good play. Stephen Davis said Seau got caught breaking the no-blitz-rule in the Pro Bowl.

The referee ruled with Davis and flagged Seau 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, leading to some finger-pointing from both players during the third quarter of the National Football League all-star game, won by the American Football Conference, 38-17.

"He got caught blitzing and they threw the flag," Davis said. "I told him that, and he started pointing his finger. There was a little trash-talking. It wasn't a big thing."

Seau said it looked like it was going to be a pass to Davis, when actually it was a run to Charles Garner of San Francisco.

"I made what I thought was a good play," Seau said, who tackled Garner for no gain. "I wasn't blitzing. I was guarding the running back."

Helmet switch

Tampa Bay's John Lynch and Cincinnati's Corey Dillon traded helmets after the game. Lynch felt he got the better of the deal.

"I'm keeping this," the Bucs' hard-hitting safety said. "This is the one he wore when he broke the single-game rushing record."

The Bengals' running back made NFL history when he rushed for 278 yards against Denver last fall, breaking Walter Payton's record.

Yesterday, Dillon carried five times for 16 yards and caught two passes for 36 yards.

No unveiling

The NFC did not unveil its "secret weapon" yesterday. That would be 6-foot-4, 339-pound offensive tackle Korey Stringer of the Minnesota Vikings returning punts. Stringer fielded a few in practice during the week.

"Yeah, if things get rough out there, I might have to take over that job," Stringer joked. "No fair catches. I have to take it to the house and show off my skills for the XFL."

Records fall

The West Coast offense was in full swing in yesterday's game. And the proof is in the numbers.

The National Football Conference set the mark for attempted passes with 56. The previous record of 55 was held by the NFC in the 1993 Pro Bowl.

Not to leave the AFC out -- Jon Gruden's Oakland Raiders coaching staff devised a pass-happy game plan as well. Rich Gannon, Peyton Manning and Elvis Grbac threw 42 passes of their own, helping to set the combined total at 98. The old mark of 94 stood since the 1983 game.

Injury update

Denver Broncos' wideout Rod Smith injured his shoulder diving for a pass in the first quarter. He wound up with one reception for 12 yards.

He was the only player injured in the 51st annual game. It was listed as a slight sprain.

Fame introductions

Nick Buoniconti and the six other inductees who will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Aug. 14 were introduced at yesterday's game.

Earlier in the week, Buoniconti, linebacker for the Dolphins' "No Name Defense" of the early 1970s, was asked to compare the Miami defense of that time with that of the current Baltimore Ravens.

"They have what I call a compression defense, meaning everything is three-and-out and they win by field position," Buoniconti said. "Ours was more bend-but-don't-break. We'd let teams drive slowly down the field on us, not giving up any big plays. We just knew that eventually, they'd make a mistake or we'd make a big play."

He declined to rank the defenses all-time.

Marv Levy, Mike Munchak, Jackie Slater, Lynn Swann, Ron Yary and Jack Youngblood are the other new Hall of Fame inductees.

---

Paul Arnett and Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin