THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409250161
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
Who's the busiest man on the Seahawks? Not Rick Mirer. Not Cortez Kennedy.
It's John Monson.
Who?
Monson is the Seahawks' facilities manager. The switch of Seahawks games from the Kingdome to Husky Stadium means enormous stress for him on and around game days.
Working around the Seahawks' schedule as well as that of the University of Washington football team, Monson is in charge of converting Husky Stadium from a college field to an NFL field and back again.
That will include two quick turnarounds in two days, from college to pro after the Huskies home game against San Jose State on Oct. 8 in preparation for Seattle's game against Denver on the 9th, and then back again for Washington's practice on the 10th.
It will be a formidable task.
The NFL let a lot of things slide for Seattle's two preseason games at Husky Stadium, but its tolerance for variations is pretty small for the regular season.
Specifically, Monson has to add a set of hash marks closer to the center of the field, erase the existing yard-line numerals, paint a new set of numerals closer to midfield and make the goalposts 10 feet taller and turn them from white to yellow.
Then, at least for the field numerals, the changes have to be reversed by the time the Huskies practice the next day.
The Huskies may let them leave the goalposts and hash marks as is. But the field numerals have to be repainted in Washington's white-with-purple trim every time the Seahawks turn the field back over.
In other words, by the time he's done getting Husky Stadium back to college specifications after Seattle's game against Denver on Oct. 9, Monson and his crew of 8-10 workers will have painted numbers on the field six times and painted them over or power washed them off five times.
One thing the Seahawks won't do is paint the end zones in their colors. They also won't add the NFL's 75th anniversary logo to the field.
CHATTING WITH . . . DOLPHINS QB DAN MARINO:
Q: Do you wonder when you'll be fully recovered from your ruptured Achilles tendon?
MARINO: There's a question in your mind, and it will continue: ``Are you ever going to be as healthy as you were before?'' That's something you just deal with. You turn it loose, and whatever happens, happens. You can't worry about it.
I'm sure I will eventually; I just don't know when that will be. I don't think it's any different from any other Achilles injury, although the doctors told me it was ruptured badly and might take longer than normal to heal.
Q: You spent the first decade of your career throwing to Mark Clayton and Mark Duper. Relatively speaking, you've had just a few games with Keith Byars and receivers Irving Fryar and Mark Ingram. How's the new chemistry?
MARINO: Are we the way I was with Clayton and Duper? No. But we're at the point where we can do well.
Q: Other than the Achilles, how do you feel?
MARINO: My body feels great, other than the fact I need to strengthen my right calf muscle and my ankle a little more. The rest of my body feels in better shape than it has in a lot of years, because I've been working on it a lot. I think I'm going to have the opportunity to play for a lot of years.
RIGHT UNDER THEIR NOSE: The Patriots needed help at wide receiver. Big-name free agents like Anthony Miller and Tim Brown were available. The choice was clear: sign one of them or stick with Michael Timpson, Vincent Brisby and Ray Crittenden, all unproven young players.
The Patriots chose to spend their free-agent money to shore up other positions and the decision has paid off. Timpson, Brisby and Crittenden are catching on.
Timpson, who caught just 42 passes for two touchdowns last year, already has 21 catches, second most in the AFC, and three touchdowns.
Brisby, who had 45 receptions as a rookie last year, has 11.
And Crittenden, who caught 16 passes after being signed as a rookie free agent last year, has four receptions.
Patriots coach Bill Parcells cautioned against getting too carried away with the performance of the wide receivers.
``We now have gone (from) where we should have signed one in free agency to the whole training camp scenario to now,'' he said. ``I think the elevator's moving too fast.''
SHORT YARDAGE: In four of their last five drafts, the Bengals have looked to improve their pass rush in the first round by taking James Francis, Alfred Williams, John Copeland and Big Daddy Wilkinson. After three games, the Bengals have no sacks. ... The Chiefs are 3-0 against the NFC West and finish their out-of-conference schedule this week against the Rams. Joe Montana always did play well against the NFC West. ... San Diego safety Stanley Richard has scored this season on interception returns - a 99-yarder in the season opener against Denver and a 73-yarder Sunday against Seattle. That puts Richard ahead of Pro Bowl running backs Thurman Thomas and Ricky Watters on the NFL touchdown list and ties him with Marcus Allen, Jerome Bettis, Barry Foster and Rodney Hampton. ... To make salary-cap room for DT Tony Casillas, who will make $534,294 for the remainder of the season, the Jets cut three players - defensive end Coleman Rudolph, wide receiver Rob Carpenter and linebacker Tuineau Alipate. That leaves them about $20,000 under the cap, with only 51 players on the roster, two under the limit. by CNB