Smith Is Unsure About 2004

After the worst season in his 14-year NFL career, Emmitt Smith will wait a month or two before deciding whether to return to the Arizona Cardinals next year or retire.

“I have to talk about next year as if I will be back because I’m under contract to be back next year,” Smith said Wednesday. “But I can still make a decision. There is an asterisk there. There’s a decision I can make, but I’m not making it today.”

Smith holds the NFL career rushing record at 17,398 yards, but with one game to go this season, he has rushed for only 236 yards in 83 attempts -- 2.8 yards per carry -- for a 3-11 Arizona team.

His previous worst rushing total was 937 yards in 1990, his rookie season with Dallas. Smith then had 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons before gaining 975 yards in 2002, his last year with the Cowboys.

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One of the craziest finishes in NFL history now has an equally odd epilogue.

Tired of hearing the New Orleans Saints gripe about the way Jacksonville tried to block the decisive missed extra-point try in its 20-19 victory, Jaguar Coach Jack Del Rio suggested the Saints should have more important things to worry about.

“I think that last year at this time, we were in Carolina knocking them out of the playoffs,” said Del Rio, who was defensive coordinator for the Panthers last year. “We knocked them out again this year. Really, instead of worrying about what our guys are doing on extra points, they probably ought to shore up their run defense.”

A few minutes later, Del Rio said he regretted making the statement. He called Saint Coach Jim Haslett and left a message to apologize, then approached reporters to concede he shouldn’t have said that.

“It was inappropriate,” Del Rio said. “I feel bad about making that kind of comment.”

On the final play Sunday, the Saints used three laterals to score a 75-yard touchdown and pull within one point, but John Carney missed the extra-point kick wide right. After the game, Haslett complained that the Jaguars had been using “leverage” -- the illegal practice of having defenders climb onto other players to gain height -- in an attempt to block field goals all season.

Saint General Manager Mickey Loomis called the NFL to complain.

“There’s no question on film that it’s a blatant violation of the leverage rule, and it should be called,” Loomis said. “The game is over, so there’s nothing we can do about that. The more important question is, what are they going to do to prevent it from happening again?”

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A somber Brett Favre was surrounded by family and friends Wednesday as he said goodbye to his father.

Hundreds gathered on a crisp, sunny day at a church in Pass Christian, Miss., for funeral services for Irvin Favre, who died Sunday. Some waited in line for as much as an hour.

Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packer quarterback, dressed in a dark sport coat and black polo shirt, greeted mourners with a smile and hugged those he knew among the crowd.

He did not speak at his father’s funeral, according to a family spokesman.

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Terrell Owens was put on injured reserve, and the San Francisco 49ers signed receiver James Jordan from the practice squad to replace him.

Owens broke his collarbone in Sunday’s overtime victory over Philadelphia. He had 80 catches for 1,102 yards and nine touchdowns this season, the lowest totals since 1999 for the four-time Pro Bowl selection.

Owens also might have played the final game of his eight-year career with the 49ers, because he is expected to void the final three years of his contract and become a free agent in the off-season.

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Running back Clinton Portis and two other starters won’t play this week as the playoff-bound Denver Broncos wind up their regular season in Green Bay. Portis, who has a sprained right ankle, will be joined on the sidelines by offensive guard Dan Neil and cornerback Kelly Herndon. Neil has a sprained ankle and Herndon has two broken bones in his left hand.... Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair didn’t make an appearance Wednesday during a 90-minute walk-through, instead staying inside and receiving more treatment on his sore left ankle. Coach Jeff Fisher said there was very little chance that McNair would practice before the Titans play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.... Miami Dolphin receiver James McKnight will sit out the season finale Sunday against the New York Jets because of a sprained left wrist.