Quick Kicks

What friends are for …

Green Bay wide receiver Don Beebe was knocked unconscious in the second quarter against Detroit on Sunday, but doctors said he was not seriously injured despite being hospitalized as a precaution.

Beebe was expected to be released from Henry Ford Hospital on Sunday evening.

Beebe was motionless for several minutes, but regained consciousness on the field, and was able to move all of his limbs.

Lions tight end Pete Metzelaars and quarterback Frank Reich, longtime teammates of Beebe in Buffalo, stood nearby while he was being attended to on the field.

“Unfortunately, as soon as I saw it, I thought back to a couple times that we’ve seen him get knocked out in Buffalo,” Metzelaars said. “I was saying a prayer for him on the sidelines, but then Frank and I couldn’t take it any more, so we went out on the field to see how he was. We might not be teammates anymore, but friendship is a lot more important that football in a situation like this.”

Arresting development

A part-time police officer under investigation for leaving his rounds to drive a Cincinnati Bengals player to the player’s home has resigned.

Michael Schmidt was the only officer on duty in Addyston, Ohio, a village west of Cincinnati, when he stopped quarterback Jeff Blake early Monday for a traffic offense.

Schmidt clocked Blake at 46 mph in a 25-mph zone, but did not write a ticket. Blake said he passed a field sobriety test, but parked his car and accepted Schmidt’s offer of a ride to his home on Cincinnati’s east side.

A pointed remark

When Giants quarterback Dave Brown threw his second touchdown pass in a 14-9 victory over the New Orleans Saints, he turned to the Saints’ bench and pointed his right index finger directly at their coach, Mike Ditka.

“He’s just another ex-Dallas assistant coach who thinks he knows it all,” Brown later said of Ditka, putting him in a category that could include Brown’s old Giants coach, Dan Reeves.

Our hometown hero

Detroit’s Jason Hanson, formerly of Mead High School and Washington State University, kicked field goals from 53, 44, 22, and 39 yards.

By the numbers

John Elway’s three TD passes for Denver moved him past Dave Kreig into fifth place on the NFL’s career list with 262… . With 12,191 yards, Detroit’s Barry Sanders passed Franco Harris and took fifth on the rushing list… . When Denver’s Shannon Sharpe caught six passes, he and his retired brother, Sterling, became the first brothers to combine for 1,000 career receptions.

Noteworthy

The Denver-Atlanta matchup was the first since 1985 that pitted a team with a 4-0 record against one with an 0-4 mark… . Deion Sanders of the Cowboys had an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown… . Dallas was held to zero yards rushing in the first half by Chicago… . Neil O’Donnell of the Jets improved his record against the Bengals to 9-1… . Arizona’s Aeneas Williams had the 34th interception of his career and returned it 42 yards for a TD, his fifth… . Tampa Bay had six sacks, led by Brad Culpepper with three.

The final thought

Hermits are more likely to score than the Bears.

- Bernie Lincicome, Chicago Tribune