Force Is With Cardinal

It may sound odd, but working with defensive line coach Joe Greene to improve his run defense, his coaches say, has made Simeon Rice of the Arizona Cardinals one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. He leads the league in sacks with 12 and, in his fourth season, is emerging as one of the league’s best defensive ends.

“He committed himself in training camp to the practices, to the techniques, to the drill work to learn how to play the run,” said Dave McGinnis, the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator. “It’s not a mystery why it’s happening. He and Joe had a lot of talks. The thing you have to do in this league as a pass rusher is earn the right to rush the passer. If you’re never a threat to stop the run, they will never worry about you.”

In New Jersey, where the New York Giants are trying to figure out how to end a three-game losing streak, two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan blew off some steam this week, saying that he was mentally and physically drained from the defense carrying the offense and criticizing Coach Jim Fassel for telling fellow Pro Bowl player Jessie Armstead not to openly criticize his offensive teammates.

“You can’t be a leader unless you can comment on the whole spectrum, and we can’t comment on the whole spectrum of this team,” Strahan said. “I learned from watching what happened to Jessie. There is no leader right now.

“You have a guy who is a leader and a lion and you tell the lion to stop roaring. The lion is going to be quiet, period. He just ain’t going to be the same lion in that den, and the locker room is the den.”

Strahan emerged from the den later in the week to apologize.

CENTRAL / Buccaneers Are Believers

Trent Dilfer had temporarily silenced his critics, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to four consecutive victories and a share of the division lead before suffering a broken collarbone early in the second half of Sunday’s 16-3 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Now the Buccaneers will have to turn to rookie Shaun King as they begin their stretch run Monday night against the division co-leading Minnesota Vikings.

The Buccaneers are putting up a brave front, even though King’s experience was limited to mop-up duty in exhibition games before he completed three of seven passes for 32 yards and a touchdown against the Seahawks.

“Shaun’s going to do a good job for us,” Coach Tony Dungy said, shrugging off the second-round draft pick’s inexperience and how it might affect an offense that has struggled much of the season. “He’s a guy that we have a lot of confidence in.”

Said King, “The thing is, I know I’m going to be a great quarterback. I just want to see if I can take this team where it’s capable of going right now.”

In Green Bay, the Packers are concerned about Dorsey Levens, their leading rusher and receiver, who has been playing with cracked ribs for at least three weeks but hasn’t told the Packers how badly they hurt.

After Levens was held out at game’s end in Monday night’s 20-3 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis said, “You could tell he was staying away from some shots, if he didn’t have to take them along the sidelines.”

Still, Coach Ray Rhodes said he expected Levens to play “three-quarters of the game or more” when the Packers play the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

WEST / Rams Tout a Specialist

Who is the Rams’ most dangerous offensive player? Kurt Warner? Marshall Faulk? Isaac Bruce?

Some say it might be kickoff returner Tony Horne, who returned four kicks for 160 yards in Sunday’s 43-12 rout of the New Orleans Saints in his second game back after serving a four-game suspension for substance abuse.

“I’ve never been around a kickoff return game that’s as explosive as this,” Coach Dick Vermeil said. “It’s the best offensive weapon we have.”

Horne has two touchdown returns this season, a 97-yarder and a 101-yarder, and leads the NFL with a 36.9-yard average.

In New Orleans, Coach Mike Ditka is no fan of the throat-slashing gesture that was recently banned by the NFL.

“I don’t understand why they do it,” he said. “Sometimes guys get too exuberant, but this game deserves to be played with dignity. If you beat the other guy, fine. Wow for you because you’re getting paid to beat the other guy. And if he beats you, fine. Let’s not get in a frenzy about it. It’s a football game. Handle it with class.”