THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410160167
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
``Natrone Means Business.''
That's what the T-shirt seen around San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium this week read. That's the financial spinoff Chargers' second-year running back Natrone Means is enjoying for his stellar performance this season.
Means jogged out to practice the other day wearing the T-shirt, a gift from an admirer following Means' career-high 125-yard, one-touchdown game in San Diego's 20-6 victory over Kansas City last week.
With the Chargers at 5-0, Means is one of many toasts of the town, joining coach Bobby Ross, quarterback Stan Humphries and linebacker Junior Seau.
By the middle of last week, Means had a personalized wardrobe that played off his catchy name.
Among the items were a box of baseball caps, sent by a friend of a friend, that said, ``By Any Means Necessary.'' Each starting offensive lineman got one, and Means saved some for family members he'll see before today's game at New Orleans.
On Thursday, Hall of Famer Lance Alworth presented Means with a weekly NFL award, then had the running back autograph two copies of Sports Illustrated. Means was on the cover.
None of which would have happened had he followed the course originally mapped out for him at the University of North Carolina. Instead of being in his second NFL season, Means would have been a fifth-year senior this year at Chapel Hill.
``It just goes to show, man, there's a plan for everybody,'' Means said. ``I just happened to be fortunate. I looked at a lot of things before I came out. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.''
CHATTING WITH . . . BROWNS PLAYER PERSONNEL DIRECTOR MIKE LOMBARDI:
Q: Why did Antonio Langham last so late in the draft?
LOMBARDI: ``We got Langham with the ninth pick for one reason - because he ran a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. If he had run a 4.4. ... maybe even a 4.42. ... I'm convinced someone ahead of us would have drafted him. When you have to draft a defensive back, you want him to run a 4.32, something that will knock your eyes out.
``I'll tell you, that even bothered us a little bit, and we had been in love with Antonio for three years. I remember watching a game he played last year with (director of pro personnel) Ozzie Newsome, and we both agreed that Antonio could have started for us right then and there.''
Q: Why would one-tenth of a second mean so much? Everyone knew that Langham was a great defensive back at a high-profile program.
LOMBARDI: ``Evaluating football players, especially players on the line and on defense, is much different than scouting basketball or baseball players. You don't have scoring averages, batting averages, earned-run averages or other statistics to measure them with. In football, you have height, weight and their times in the 40-yard dash. But getting hung up on that can lead to a lot of mistakes.''
HOW'S THAT FOR MOTIVATION?: The Patriots can thank Redskins rookie Heath Shuler for Drew Bledsoe's incredible progress as an NFL quarterback. After Bledsoe's most frustrating game last season, a five-interception abomination against the Steelers on Dec. 5 during which he also was stopped at the Pittsburgh 1-foot line in the closing seconds, coach Bill Parcells pulled Bledsoe aside and offered the following words of comfort: ``I said, `You better get your (rear) going because Heath Shuler's coming out in the draft. If you don't, you're just going to be another guy who got picked high who wasn't doing very good,' '' Parcells said.
It worked. Bledsoe caught fire, leading the Patriots to victories in their four remaining games. Seven of his 15 touchdown passes came in those contests. This season, Bledsoe has become the player everyone's talking about, ``the next Dan Marino,'' according to people who should know.
AFC ATOMS: The next win will be very profitable for Indianapolis coach Ted Marchibroda. He needs one more victory to get his 1995 salary ($500,000) guaranteed. A clause in his contract stipulates that if he won 16 games in the first three years of his deal, the fourth and final year would be guaranteed. QB Jay Walker, a rookie. Harris, a former NFL quarterback, has tutored Walker throughout his career. The Jets had eyes for the former Howard star in the seventh-round of the draft, but he was taken 10 slots before their pick. ... From her seat in the stands last week, Lisa Trudeau, wife of Jets backup quarterback Jack Trudeau, knew something was wrong with her husband moments after he was slammed to the turf last week against the Colts. How? She saw him keep his helmet on when he reached the sidelines, something he never does. Trudeau was removed from the game, groggy, after that hit from linebacker Tony Bennett. ... Raiders LB Winston Moss, now 6-3, 245 pounds, started football as 5-9, 145-pound sophomore FB at Miami's Southridge High. ... Maybe it's the fact that he's a Richmond native, but Bobby Ross knows his history. That's why he's not impressed with the fact that his Chargers are off to a 5-0 start. ``This time last year New Orleans was 5-0, and ended up 8-8,'' Ross said. ``It can change so fast.'' The Chargers play four of their next six on the road, at New Orleans, Atlanta, Kansas City and New England. MEMO: Material in this column was obtained from Virginian-Pilot wire
services. by CNB