Aeneas Williams

Arizona cornerback Aeneas Williams, a two-time Pro Bowler who has intercepted 12 passes the last two seasons, yesterday agreed to a five-year, $17 million contract to stay with the Cardinals. The Cardinals gave Williams a $6 million signing bonus and $11 million in salary over the next five years. "It's a good sign, no question," said new Cardinals coach Vince Tobin. "It tells the other players, 'Here's one of our best ones, and he wants to be in Arizona.' This is a new team, going in a new direction.

There was a time when Aeneas Williams would have had little use for Irving Fryar, and it had nothing to do with their vastly different job descriptions. Williams, the Arizona Cardinals' all-pro cornerback, and Fryar, the Eagles' most productive wide receiver, are adversaries on the field. Today at Sun Devil Stadium, they will attempt to make each other look foolish. Off the field, however, they have become friends. It would have been the oddest of couplings a few years ago - the straitlaced, devoutly religious Williams and the hell-raising Fryar, whose personal life was about as stable as the stock market.

Fred Barnett actually looked happy. He was cheerfully clapping the hands that had just let a pass ricochet away. "That was for me," he said yesterday. "An encouragement for me. " Barnett had dropped the ball inside the 10-yard line, a fourth-quarter delivery from quarterback Randall Cunningham that could have yielded a touchdown for the Eagles' moribund offense. That play was over. Now the Eagles' star wide receiver had to hold on to something else on this chilly Sunday afternoon in the desert.

Quarterback Shane Matthews, whose left shoulder was injured in the Washington Redskins' loss to the Eagles on Monday night, said he expects to play Sunday against San Francisco. Matthews bruised the shoulder when he was hit on the final Redskins drive of the first half in a 37-7 loss. He finished the series, but Danny Wuerffel replaced him at the start of the second half. An exam yesterday revealed nothing more serious than a bruise. Coach Steve Spurrier said Matthews will remain the starter if he is healthy.

Brent Grimes was the unwanted man of NFL Europa when the league's six teams broke training camp in March and headed across the Atlantic. A 10-week season later, the cornerback is a key starter and playing for a championship. Having been traded from the Amsterdam Admirals to the Rhein Fire for a brief seven days, the former Northeast High standout moved again, eventually landing in Hamburg. Today, he will lead the Hamburg Sea Devils' defense in the World Bowl XV championship game against the Frankfurt Galaxy (1 p.m., NFL Network)

Coach Mike Martz cut the St. Louis Rams' drills short yesterday and held quarterback Kurt Warner and his bruised ribs out of practice as the team began winding down its preparation for tomorrow's NFC championship game against the Eagles. Martz said that he had cut practice short because his players had done all they could do. "There's a lot of focus and enthusiasm," he said. "We're ready to play. " Marshall Faulk, the brilliant Rams running back, agreed. "I read us as being ready, being prepared to go out and play this game," he said.

John Donne - the 17th-century English poet who once wrote, "No man is an island, entire of itself" - didn't know what he was talking about. He never walked through Philadelphia in the shoes of an Arizona Cardinals fan - a rare, solitary species in these parts, more likely to be pitied than jeered by fans of a far mightier bird. The Cardinals fan flies alone in Eagles country. Proud. Ignored. Exiled to that little TV in the back of the bar near the bathroom. Or alone in his living room with DirecTV Sunday Ticket.

In 10 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, Aeneas Williams has excelled while the team failed - again and again. Yesterday, he returned a Stephen Davis fumble 103 yards for a first-quarter touchdown, and followed with a crucial interception as the Cardinals stunned visiting Washington with a 16-15 victory. The second-longest fumble return in NFL history will rank among Williams' most coveted moments as a player. The only longer fumble return was 104 yards by Oakland's Jack Tatum against Green Bay on Sept.

You perhaps have heard the talk. Andy Reid has landed in Philadelphia with a true West Coast offense. He drafted a quarterback with the team's first-round pick and brought in another one as an interim measure for the first few games, if not the first couple of years. He signed two new starting wide receivers and drafted a pair of offensive linemen, all to shore up the worst offense in the league in 1998. Well, guess what? You can ignore all of that. The Eagles have exactly one proven offensive weapon: running back Duce Staley.

Chris Boniol remembered the one that went awry. The Eagles' kicker hit two field goals yesterday - a 38-yarder with 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the score and a 24-yarder at 10 minutes, 58 seconds of overtime to win the game. But the four-year veteran also banged a 40-yard attempt off the right upright with eight seconds to play in the first half. "We wouldn't have been in that situation if I would have made that first one," said Boniol, who is known for his accuracy from 40 yards in. "Everybody asks about the kicks in the fourth quarter or the last second of the game.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Jim Johnson was a football lifer who made a dozen stops along the coaching thoroughfare. He started in college, leaving an indelible imprint, and eventually moved on to the United States Football League. But it was in the NFL where he made his mark - and affected lives. Johnson succumbed to cancer at the age of 68 yesterday, but for many of the players who toiled under him and the coaches that taught beside him, his legacy will live. Long before he made his last and lasting stop as the Eagles' defensive coordinator, Johnson got his NFL start with the Cardinals in 1986.

John Donne - the 17th-century English poet who once wrote, "No man is an island, entire of itself" - didn't know what he was talking about. He never walked through Philadelphia in the shoes of an Arizona Cardinals fan - a rare, solitary species in these parts, more likely to be pitied than jeered by fans of a far mightier bird. The Cardinals fan flies alone in Eagles country. Proud. Ignored. Exiled to that little TV in the back of the bar near the bathroom. Or alone in his living room with DirecTV Sunday Ticket.

Brent Grimes was the unwanted man of NFL Europa when the league's six teams broke training camp in March and headed across the Atlantic. A 10-week season later, the cornerback is a key starter and playing for a championship. Having been traded from the Amsterdam Admirals to the Rhein Fire for a brief seven days, the former Northeast High standout moved again, eventually landing in Hamburg. Today, he will lead the Hamburg Sea Devils' defense in the World Bowl XV championship game against the Frankfurt Galaxy (1 p.m., NFL Network)

Ricky Williams is living out of a tent in Australia and, according to the Miami Herald, recently was bitten by some insect he described as a caterpillar, causing so much pain and swelling in his legs he could hardly walk for days. Against that backdrop, Williams called Miami Dolphins general manager Rick Spielman and coach Dave Wannstedt this week to gauge their interest in letting him come back to the team this season. The conversations did not go well. Williams said Wannstedt seemed focused on getting an apology from the player for retiring seven days prior to the start of training camp.

Quarterback Shane Matthews, whose left shoulder was injured in the Washington Redskins' loss to the Eagles on Monday night, said he expects to play Sunday against San Francisco. Matthews bruised the shoulder when he was hit on the final Redskins drive of the first half in a 37-7 loss. He finished the series, but Danny Wuerffel replaced him at the start of the second half. An exam yesterday revealed nothing more serious than a bruise. Coach Steve Spurrier said Matthews will remain the starter if he is healthy.

The Washington Redskins are the most valuable franchise in the NFL, worth $845 million, according to Forbes magazine. The Dallas Cowboys are second at $784 million. The Eagles are 16th with a value Forbes estimated at $518 million. They are just ahead of both New York teams, with the Giants listed 17th at $514 million and the Jets 18th at $512 million. The Arizona Cardinals are 31st and last at $374 million. The new Houston franchise was not included in the rankings.

The Louisiana Superdome will be full of NFL big shots today. Maybe some of them should be looking around the stands as well as at the field. Two of the St. Louis Rams' stars, Marshall Faulk and Aeneas Williams, worked at the dome as youngsters, selling peanuts and popcorn. They are among a large group of Super Bowl participants who grew up in and around New Orleans. "I played high school games here," Williams, the veteran cornerback, said. "I played college games here. I sold popcorn and peanuts.

Coach Mike Martz cut the St. Louis Rams' drills short yesterday and held quarterback Kurt Warner and his bruised ribs out of practice as the team began winding down its preparation for tomorrow's NFC championship game against the Eagles. Martz said that he had cut practice short because his players had done all they could do. "There's a lot of focus and enthusiasm," he said. "We're ready to play. " Marshall Faulk, the brilliant Rams running back, agreed. "I read us as being ready, being prepared to go out and play this game," he said.

While looking at the rooms set up for postgame interviews yesterday, somebody pointed to a nearby door and asked who was on the other side. Brett Favre walked right past the questioner toward the door and said: "That's a good question. " It was the Green Bay quarterback's way of saying that he hadn't been himself yesterday, and, as usual, he was right on the mark. Favre had possibly the worst game of his career as the Packers fell to the St. Louis Rams, 45-17, in an NFC divisional playoff game at the Dome at America's Center.

In 10 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, Aeneas Williams has excelled while the team failed - again and again. Yesterday, he returned a Stephen Davis fumble 103 yards for a first-quarter touchdown, and followed with a crucial interception as the Cardinals stunned visiting Washington with a 16-15 victory. The second-longest fumble return in NFL history will rank among Williams' most coveted moments as a player. The only longer fumble return was 104 yards by Oakland's Jack Tatum against Green Bay on Sept.