Masterpiece of NFL theater

NFL Films has done as much as any single entity to create the mythology of pro football, helping transform the game from a sport into an art form for some and a religion for others. With a deft blending of unrivaled cinematography with music, emotion, and revealing interviews, NFL Films has become the mythmaker of pro football, and its latest project may be its greatest work.

In a series that began airing Friday and will run through the eve of the Super Bowl on the NFL Network, NFL Films president Steve Sabol and his crew will count down the top 20 Super Bowl teams of all-time, as selected by a panel of experts. Sabol's crews have produced 60-minute documentaries on each of the 40 Super Bowl champions (as well as a show on how the panel made its selections), but only the top 20 will be shown between this weekend and Super Bowl Saturday.

Each story is told from the perspective of three people: a player, a coach, or another key staff member such as Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, who worked for the Colts when they finally won in 1970. That idea was pure genius and one that involved more thought and staff meetings than one might realize.

"We tried to get one star, someone from the other side of the ball and a storyteller who is maybe not as well-known but who was an articulate observer," Sabol explained.

The NFL Network originally considered commissioning NFL Films to produce a signature series like ESPN's "SportsCentury," in which it would count down the game's greatest players, but Sabol pointed out that football is not about the individual. It is a team sport, so the decision was made to select the greatest team of all-time using the people who were there to tell the stories.

But Sabol hit upon a brilliant twist. He would not use a cacophony of voices but only three. Some, like Tom Brady and Joe Montana, would be stars. Others, like Duane Thomas and Mike Curtis, would be dark figures. Then there would be the surprises, people whose emotions reveal the game's raw impact on them and turn these documentaries into masterpieces. Three such men were Curtis, Bill Curry, and Todd Christensen.

Curtis was the anger-fueled middle linebacker of the 1968 Colts team that was the first NFL team to be beaten by an AFL entry, the Jets. Not even victory two years later in a sloppily played Super Bowl V or 37 intervening years could erase the pain of that defeat.

As Curtis, Curry, and Bubba Smith tell their stories of Super Bowl V, they cannot stop themselves from drifting back to Jan. 12, 1969, the day Joe Namath legitimized the AFL by beating the Colts, 16-7. It is not a fond memory.

For Curtis, the pain of recalling that defeat when his team was considered to be one of the greatest ever assembled is written across his craggy face. So, too, is the intensity that terrorized many NFL running backs when he says, "We lost to somebody we would beat 1,000 times. It was humiliation . . . to be kind."

As Curtis speaks, his disgust leaps off the screen. Same is true for Smith, a far more jovial type until Super Bowl III comes up. "I still haven't gotten over it to this day," Smith says. "They have that game on [TV], and I turn right away. I don't want to have no dreams about it."

The fact that men still feel such pain over a game 37 years ago is, one senses from the documentary, part of what made them great. But it is Curry, a center on that team and with the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl I, who puts the other side of such emotion into stark perspective.

"It was not the redemption we desperately sought for what had gone before," Curry said of winning Super Bowl V. "There was almost a sense of longing . . . If we could just do that again. That's a bunch of old men wasting time, is what that is. There's something sad about that . . . [but] you just can't help but wish we'd done a little bit better. I guess we'll go to our graves like that."

It is such vignettes that reveal so much. Take, for example, Christensen, an erudite tight end for the Raiders, whose command of the language, impish sense of humor, and raw emotion combine to tell us not only about the greatness of a team but what it can mean to play for one.

As he recalls hearing an announcer's voice talk of star running back Marcus Allen "running through the night" as he makes his remarkable weaving touchdown run in Super Bowl XVIII, he is overcome with emotion. As he wipes his eyes, the camera switches to Christensen on one knee in the end zone that night, overcome with emotion when the game is over. He explains how his father, a college professor, had told him as a boy the only sin is the sin of ingratitude.

It would be a sin not to be grateful to Steve Sabol and his father, Ed, who founded NFL Films, for these documentaries.

Wrong turns in New Jersey

After fast starts, Jets quarterback Chad Pennington and Giants quarterback Eli Manning have begun to fade. Maybe it's something in the water at the Meadowlands.

In Pennington's first four games this season, he went 82 of 122, a completion percentage of 67.0, good for 1,015 yards, 6 touchdowns, and only 2 interceptions. That produced a quarterback rating of 102.3 and headlines in New York.

In his last six games, Pennington is 95 of 164 (57.9 percent), for only 873 yards, 4 TDs and 9 interceptions. That produced a rating of 57.8 and more headlines.

Pennington's recent problems have resulted in public cries for his benching, even though he remains clearly the Jets' best quarterback. It's no surprise to one of the men paid to protect him.

"I'm not surprised," said ex-Boston College lineman Pete Kendall. "I'm from the Northeast, too. 'I'm with you, win or tie.' That's the nature of the beast. That's the way it goes around here."

Manning, meanwhile, is also taking the heat, and another wise offensive lineman, Shaun O'Hara, said after the Giants had been slapped around by the Jaguars last Monday night, "Life ain't fair. If you want to live and play where we play, someone's going to get blamed. But we're behind him. You can't be perfect all the time. You can be hot for five or six weeks, then you're a horse's behind. I'm not worried."

Maybe he'd better be. Manning completed 19 of 41 passes for 230 yards, with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions against the Jaguars, and his decision-making and accuracy have been questionable for more than a month. In his last six games, he's 95 for 188 (50.5 percent), with 7 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

Manning did a similar fade in the second half of last season but that was attributed to his youth.

"He's been streaky this year," said Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. "There have been times when he's played extremely well.

"He's still a young quarterback. He doesn't have the command that some of the other guys have with decision-making. But if you let him get hot, he can stay hot."

Rumors of sabotage blow in the wind at Meadowlands

Since the 2002 season, NFL kickers have converted just 4 of 18 attempts from 50 or more yards in 74 regular-season games played at Giants Stadium, a success rate of 22.2 percent. That is far below the league average of 54 percent in other stadiums and makes one wonder about the disparity. Dolphins kicker Olindo Mare believes he can explain it.

Mare was on the Giants practice squad in 1996 and claims there is truth to the rumor that workers at the stadium open doors to the tunnel system under the stadium to cause winds above the field to swirl. Mare said he was told "by somebody I know up there" that that was what happened in the fourth quarter of last month's Dolphins-Jets game, in which Mare's 51-yard attempt in the final minute fell short.

Mare said the problems are compounded by NFL rules that require kickers to use new "K-balls" provided by the league rather than their own footballs. Mare said the K-balls' toughness from not being broken in makes long field goals more difficult.

Mare spoke after his miss to Jets kicker Mike Nugent, who also kicked toward the west side of Giants Stadium on four kickoffs that day. None of his kickoffs landed beyond the 7-yard line, including one that was fielded at the 18. The wind was officially coming out of the west at 13 miles per hour at kickoff.

Etc.

Hines Ward knows what will fuel today's game between his sagging Steelers and the 8-2 Ravens: Hate. "The coaches hate each other, the players hate each other," said the receiver, a gleeful smirk on his face. "There's no calling each other after the game and inviting each other out to dinner. But the feelings are mutual. They don't like us and we don't like them. There's no need to hide it. They know it and we know it. It's going to be one of those black-and-blue games." Ward claims the Ravens are the only team in the league he hates, including the Bengals. Loquacious Ravens coach Brian Billick doesn't entirely agree with Ward. "Hatred is a little strong," Billick said. "I think there is a huge amount of respect that I have alluded to many times. As heated as this game gets -- and it gets heated -- two seconds after it's over and once the players come together, watch them interact with one another. I think 'hate' is a little strong of a word, but it is a pretty strong emotion from the kickoff to the last down."

Here's one for the Money Badly Spent Dept. Redskins reserve tight end Todd Yoder caught a touchdown pass last week against Tampa Bay, his first of the season. That gave him as many touchdown catches as Washington's $30 million receivers, Brandon Lloyd and Antwaan Randle El, combined. Despite the huge salaries being paid to Santana Moss (who missed two of the past three games with a strained hamstring), Lloyd and Randle El, Washington is one of only four teams on which a running back (Ladell Betts) and a tight end (Chris Cooley) are 1-2 in receptions.

Now that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is done for the season, he can reflect back on many things. One may be trying to figure out what was wrong with his pregame preparation. In his last five starts before a knee injury finished him for the year, McNabb was 35 of 79 (44.3 percent) for 485 yards, with 1 TD and 4 interceptions in the first half. It didn't often matter much what he did after that.

Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, a Minneapolis native and former Vikings ballboy for Dennis Green in Minnesota, was on the weekly conference call last week and had an interesting questioner. His father, Larry Sr., is sports editor of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, and his first question was one in which he jokingly tried to get his son to say whether he was more like Randy Moss or Cris Carter. His son replied, "Who's asking that question?" No one said anything, so Larry Jr. answered it by saying he can't be compared to either because they're future Hall of Famers. After several more questions from his father, Larry Jr. said, "Dad, you can ask me those questions at home."

Anyone who thinks the Bears' defensive success on third down is a recent phenomenon needs to know that since 2004, Chicago has allowed just 30.2 percent of third downs to be converted. They've also held 13 of their last 26 regular-season opponents to 10 points or fewer. And the fact that they force turnovers at a league-leading rate is only half the story. Chicago leads the NFL with 119 points off turnovers, which represents 42.2 percent of their 282 total points. Against the Jets last week, they failed for the first time this season to score off a takeaway, although they forced two.

It says a lot about the sorry state of the Bills that the biggest story in Buffalo is the punting of Brian Moorman, but his footwork is worth noting. After 10 games, Moorman has a net average of 41.4 yards. No punter has had a net average of 40 yards for a season since the statistic first began being kept in 1976. Mike Horan, who punted for the Giants in 1993, came the closest with a 39.9-yard net average. It goes to show what a lot of practice can do for you. Moorman has punted an AFC-high 57 times this season.

Not much has gone right in Tennessee this season, but one thing is quietly beginning to. Over the last seven weeks, the Titans have the best rushing game in the NFL, averaging 166.2 yards per game. That improvement has been keyed by Travis Henry, who has had four 100-yard games in his last six outings. The Titans averaged only 70.3 rushing yards in their first four games, all losses. Henry started one of those games in relief of an injured Chris Brown, who began the season as the starter but has been inactive for five of the last six games and won't be used again unless Henry or backup LenDale White is injured. In seven starts, Henry has averaged 101 yards. But that doesn't mean he is about to cash in. Just the opposite. He has an $8.3 million roster bonus due in March, so the Titans intend to rework his package.

"Ocho cinco" lives. Cincinnati's Chad Johnson has 17 receptions for five touchdowns and an NFL-record 450 yards in consecutive games. Johnson needs 163 yards today to establish a three-game mark. That record is now 612 yards set by Houston's Charley Hennigan in 1961.

Ron Borges can be reached at borges@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.