FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-PRE-4       8/19/03

THREE NATIONAL TV GAMES HIGHLIGHT WEEK;
TWO NEW STADIUMS OPEN, NINERS RETURN TO KEZAR

There will be three national TV games...renewal of “neighborhood” rivalries...new stadiums debuting...and the return of the San Francisco 49ers to their roots.

All that and more takes place starting Thursday night as the NFL charges into Week 3 of preseason with roster spots on the line and time to secure them getting short.

“Guys are still trying to make the team,” says New York Giants wide receiver AMANI TOOMER.

Fans across the nation will be able to see that effort starting Thursday night when the Dallas Cowboys travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers on FOX at 8:00 PM ET.

The Steelers are set at their quarterback position, with last year’s Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year TOMMY MADDOX comfortably at the controls of the AFC North Division champion.  New Dallas head coach BILL PARCELLS will use the game to further test his two young QBs vying for the starting spot -- QUINCY CARTER and CHAD HUTCHINSON.

On Friday night on CBS (8:00 PM ET), the Miami Dolphins host the Atlanta Falcons, who begin a stretch of at least six weeks without quarterback MICHAEL VICK, who fractured his right leg against the Baltimore Ravens last Saturday.  Fourth-year veteran DOUG JOHNSON takes over for Vick.  The Dolphins are set at QB, with returning starter JAY FIEDLER backed by newcomer BRIAN GRIESE, son of Dolphins Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback BOB GRIESE.  Miami signed Brian Griese in the offseason after five seasons with the Denver Broncos.

The final national TV game of the preseason takes place on Monday night, as quarterback PEYTON MANNING and the Indianapolis Colts travel to Denver to take on the Broncos and the QB who replaced Griese, JAKE PLUMMER. 

Other interesting preseason Week 3 scenarios:

“Neighborhood rivalries” will be waged with the New York Jets at the New York Giants, Jacksonville at Tampa Bay, and Baltimore at Washington.

Two stadiums -- one new, one renovated -- make their debuts.  On Friday night, Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field opens when the Eagles host the New England Patriots.  Lincoln Financial features seats closer to the field than Veterans Stadium, the Eagles’ former venue, two giant Eagles insignia in the upper deck, and two end-zone video boards standing 27’ x 96’.

The next night, a refurbished Lambeau Field debuts as the Green Bay Packers host the Carolina Panthers.  The seating capacity of the hallowed Lambeau has been increased from 66,110 to 71,500.  The Packers Hall of Fame, interactive amenities, a stadium club and food court have been added to Lambeau’s 366,000-square-foot Titletown Atrium.

And speaking of “hallowed,” the San Francisco 49ers will return to their roots next Monday night.  The team, after hosting New Orleans on Saturday night, will hold an open practice as its “birthplace” -- San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium, where it played from 1946-70.

It will be the 49ers’ final practice of training camp, and the team will honor its Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle BOB ST. CLAIR.  The native of San Francisco played 17 years and 189 games at Kezar -- two years with Polytechnic High School, three seasons at the University of San Francisco, and 12 for the 49ers.  Kezar was renamed “Bob St. Clair Field” in January 2001.  The city will unveil a plaque with the name change Monday night.

“It will be great to return to Kezar,” says former 49ers wide receiver R.C. “ALLEY OOP” OWENS, now a consultant for the team’s alumni department.  “When I heard about it, I immediately started thinking about the thrills the 49ers’ fans gave the team when I played there.  Now the current players will get a chance to share some of the Kezar experience.  They will get a chance to play in 49ers history.”
 

LAST WEEK’S NFL RESULTS (AUGUST 14-18)
(Home team in caps)

THIS WEEK’S NFL SCHEDULE (AUGUST 21-25)
(All times local)