N.F.L. Notebook

N.F.L. SEES FEWER FLAWS IN TESTING FOR DRUGS

This month, Chicago Bears fullback Daimon Shelton was notified by the
National Football League that he had violated the league's steroid policy.
According to Bears officials and some teammates, Shelton is asserting that
the test was faulty.

He has appealed the positive result, those officials and players said, and
the appeals process could take weeks. Meanwhile, under N.F.L. rules Shelton
is allowed to continue playing. But since the league has a zero tolerance
policy when it comes to anabolic steroids, if Shelton's appeal is rejected
by the commissioner's office, he would face a four-game suspension even if
this were his first offense.

Shelton could not be reached for comment.

Shelton has started 27 total games in Chicago and Jacksonville since
entering the N.F.L. in 1997 and is considered a reliable blocker. If he is
suspended, he would be the third Chicago player suspended in the past few
years for violating the league's steroid policy. This past Friday defensive
lineman Henry Taylor was suspended four games for violating the policy and
last year quarterback Jim Miller was also suspended. The Bears claim these
players were taking not steroids but over-the-counter supplements.

The most important aspect of Shelton's failed test is what his and other
positive test results for steroids in recent years -- as well as positive
test results for illicit substances like cocaine and marijuana -- represent
in terms of the larger drug testing picture. The N.F.L.'s drug testing
policy was sloppier in the 1980's and 90's, and claims of flawed results
ring much more hollow now for many reasons.

This past week, N.F.L. officials and union representatives had their annual
meeting about the league's drug testing policy and how to fine tune the
system. But almost everyone in football -- even the program's harshest
critics among owners and team executives -- maintain that the policy has
never been more thorough, accurate or fair.

Fair is perhaps the key word here. There has long been a belief among black
players that the program penalized them but went easy on star white players.

That belief was strengthened early last decade when an investigative report
from a Washington television station said that three white quarterbacks had
failed drug tests but were not punished. The N.F.L. denied the report. Now,
owners, players and union officials say, the league's drug testing program
is extremely accurate -- so much so that some owners have complained to
league officials that it is too good, meaning they believe too many players
are being caught.

There are several reasons that the program has vastly improved:

The testing technology has become extremely sophisticated and can catch
more players who use masking agents.

The people who gather the specimens from the players are monitored more
closely by the N.F.L., something that was a problem in the past. Now, if a
collector makes too many mistakes, he is dismissed and another is hired in
his place.

The league has tightened the processing of samples to prevent errors.

And finally, almost all collectors now do what is called a "frontal
observation" of a player from chest to knees while the player is delivering
a sample.

This is one of the most important steps in making a drug testing program
valid and something that was not done regularly in the past. Too many
players were slipping in clean samples held in a bottle strapped to their
leg, and the tester would be outside the room or immediate area, unaware of
the deception.

Of course, the system is not perfect. Mistakes are made, just seemingly
fewer of them.

Vikings' Controlled Chaos

It was just a minute or so before halftime last Sunday and Minnesota
quarterback Daunte Culpepper had just thrown an incomplete pass, the
football going in the opposite direction from wide receiver Randy Moss, who
was covered one on one by a Tampa Bay defender. Moss apparently thought the
pass should have gone his way, and was visibly irritated.

He was scheduled to leave the field anyway since halftime was approaching,
but as he walked toward the Vikings sideline, there was still time left on
the clock for several plays. Other Vikings players stared at the field
intently as the Vikings offense tried to move the ball within field goal range.

Moss did not. He kept walking toward the locker room, not looking at the
on-field action, leaving even as there was still time left on the clock.
Then, at the end of the first half, wide receiver Cris Carter got into a
small argument with a Buccaneers player and had to be kept away by a teammate.

During the game, Culpepper, Moss and Carter exchanged their customary
snipes. But their actions were nothing like those of the week before
against Chicago, when Carter had an embarrassing sideline tirade that led
to his apologizing to teammates and fans, and had Coach Dennis Green
chastising the team in a closed-door meeting after the game.

The relationships among Green, Carter, Moss and Culpepper are as
complicated as nuclear fission. Green gives his players freedom yet demands
their respect. Carter will quote Scripture in one moment, but in the
Chicago game, his behavior was so horrid, it caused people to pause and
wonder about his sincerity. Moss is prone to childish tantrums if the ball
does not go his way enough, yet Culpepper, who is often the target of his
displeasure, is among his best friends on the team. Meanwhile, most of the
time Culpepper brushes off the antics of Moss and Carter, showing great
maturity.

This mix of talent and ego, like the men who compose it, cannot easily be
defined.

It is combustible, productive, awkward, beautiful, ugly. The Vikings get
their intelligence and fight from Green, their savvy from Carter, their
street sense from Moss and their reliability from Culpepper.

"We're emotional," Carter said. "Randy's yelling, Daunte's yelling. Randy
yelled at me. Daunte yelled at me one time. We just said we're going to
stay on the same page, no matter what we do."

In other words, intense emotion can be both their ally and their enemy.
Green is skilled at guiding his team through these emotional rapids, but
one person to watch closely is Moss, filled with talent but also possessing
a volcanic temper.

When asked if Moss had gotten out of control, Green said Moss reminded him
of a young Allen Iverson, the Philadelphia 76ers guard and N.B.A. most
valuable player who went through years of turmoil on and off the court
before growing into a reliable star.

"He's not out of control," Green said of Moss. "He's a great competitor.
Think about how long it took Allen to figure out all the nuances of the
game. He had to figure out that he can't win a game by himself, that it
takes more than great athleticism to be a complete player."

"I feel like Randy is similar," Green added. "Randy has got to understand
that everything cannot go his way all the time. I've talked to him about
that and I tell you what, he will get it. I'm not worried about Randy."

Football's Iron Man

One of the most remarkable records in professional sports will be set
during the Tennessee-Baltimore game today when Titans guard Bruce Matthews
will play in his 283rd N.F.L. game, becoming the league's all-time leader
in career games played by a nonkicker. Jim Marshall played in 282 straight
games from 1960 to 1979.

Matthews, who has 215 consecutive starts entering Sunday dating from
November 1987, began his playing career with the Houston Oilers in 1983.
This is his 19th season. He has played with 11 quarterbacks, 32 offensive
linemen and in 40 N.F.L. stadiums.