Back in 2003, Frank Walker was a cocky rookie cornerback on the New York Giants. Although he was a sixth-round pick from Tuskegee, he didn't think any receiver could beat him.
Now in his ninth year, and on his fifth team — well, sixth, if you count Tennessee this pre-season — Walker is glad that one of his teammates on the '03 Giants wasn't turned off by his youthful arrogance. Especially because that guy, Jason Garrett, is now his boss on the Dallas Cowboys.
"I used to give him a lot of trouble," Walker said Wednesday, a day after joining the Cowboys. "But we had a lot of fun."
Garrett was a backup quarterback, but more like another coach. He would call for starter Kerry Collins to throw a particular pass, and Walker would ruin it.
"He would always say, 'Frank, are you sitting on my routes?" Walker said, laughing. "I'd say, 'No, I ain't sitting on nothing.' So they'd start running double moves and everything on me. But it was cool. I liked him a lot."
Dallas' top three cornerbacks are banged up, so it's likely that Walker will be in action Sunday against the 49ers. Garrett would love to see his old pal in his '03 form.
"He came in and he had a tremendous amount of confidence and spirit and energy and enthusiasm, just love of playing football," Garrett said. "If you were around then, you saw this young kid come onto the football team — nobody really knew that much about him — and you saw how he went about it. It doesn't surprise you at all what he's doing."
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TURNING BACK THE PAGES ON TURNOVERS: Todd Haley often draws on his experiences growing up around the Pittsburgh Steelers when he wants to put things into perspective for the Kansas City Chiefs.
His father, Dick Haley, played for the Steelers in the 1960s, and served as director of player personnel from 1971-90, an era in which Pittsburgh become synonymous with success.
So when the topic of turnovers came up this week after the Chiefs fumbled twice and threw an interception in an embarrassing 41-7 loss to Buffalo, the younger Haley went back to the '89 Steelers for an illustration on how important turnovers can be.
"Some say it's the greatest non-Super Bowl season in Steelers history, which I remember," Haley said. "That was a team you can say a lot of things about, they weren't very good, but they turned the ball over eight times in their first game (a 51-0 loss to Cleveland)."
The Steelers wound up plus-11 in turnover margin, a big reason they finished 9-7 and squeaked into the playoffs. They rallied to beat the Houston Oilers in overtime before losing 24-23 to the Broncos on one of John Elway's patented last-second drives.
"They managed plus-11, and they managed their way into the playoffs, and they managed their way almost into a shock-the-world situation," Haley recalled. "To me, that plus-minus, that's No. 1 for us, both offensively and defensively. We need to create more turnovers and we need to protect the ball. If you do that, just that alone, even if you struggle in some other areas, you can win games."
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SCHEDULE CHANGE: Jim Harbaugh has long believed in giving his players the day off after a game — and that's just what he is doing so far as a first-year NFL coach. So when most teams around the league return to work Monday, the San Francisco 49ers don't — although players aren't barred from coming in on their off day.
It's back to work on Tuesday for this team.
"That's really, to me, how it's done," he said. "You play the game and then the next day is the day off. Just like in the training camp."
Several players still showed up to team headquarters on their own Monday to work out or get treatment after the Niners' season-opening 33-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks. For the veterans and others so accustomed to a Monday work day, this might take a little getting used to.
Harbaugh is committed to doing it this way for now, but left open the chance he might change his mind and alter the schedule.
"I wouldn't say anything is set in stone," he said.
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NOT MISSING THE TOCHO SHOW: Without mentioning the receivers by name, Bengals players are making it clear they're glad to be done with the TOcho show.
Receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco are gone — Owens as a free agent, Ochocinco in a trade to New England. Ochocinco was the Bengals' most visible — and most self-promoting — player for the last few years. Owens came aboard last season, and the two of them dominated the locker room while the team fell to 4-12.
The Bengals won their season opener in Cleveland 27-17 with a young offense. A few days later, left tackle Andrew Whitworth noted that teams don't need stars in order to succeed.
"Sad to say, as much as I love you guys, sometimes stars are born from y'all, not necessarily success on the football field," Whitworth said to media members. "Some guys run their mouths a lot or say a lot of things so they get a lot of attention. It doesn't mean they always play football the way it is supposed to be played."
Last season, the offense often had trouble getting lined up and getting plays off on time. Ochocino in particular was flagged for presnap problems. The Bengals' new offense had no such issues in the opening win over Cleveland.
Why so many problems last year?
"Because you had some challenges out there on the edges you had to deal with," said running back Cedric Benson, referring to the wide receiver position. "You don't have those anymore. Guys line up and generally know what they need to do and what the task is on each play."
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NO MATCHING PETERSON: Tennessee running back Chris Johnson had barely a week to enjoy his four-year contract extension worth $53 million with $30 million in guaranteed money before he no longer was the highest-paid player at his position. His deal was surpassed by Adrian Peterson's with Minnesota.
Johnson isn't looking for a time machine or wishing he had done something different in his holdout.
"The more the better, the more the better," Johnson said. "I would never sit here and be mad about somebody else what they got. I'm happy for him. He's a friend of mine off the field."
Johnson agreed to terms on his extension on Sept. 1, giving him $53 million over six years in redoing a deal with two years left for a running back originally drafted 24th overall in 2008.
Peterson was the seventh overall pick in 2007, and he was going into the final year of his deal. He reached his extension Sept. 10, giving him $36 million in guaranteed money, with as much as $100 million over the next seven years if he lasts that long in Minnesota. Johnson said reported numbers on contracts don't always match up to what's actually on paper.
Does he think about what might have happened if Peterson's extension came first?
"Hey, there's nothing I can really speak on," Johnson said with a laugh.
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AP Pro Football Writer Jaime Aron in Dallas, and Sports Writers Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Janie McCauley in San Francisco, Dave Skretta in Kansas City, and Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this story.
