Sean Landeta

Sean Landeta made an exceedingly quiet entry into professional football, during Ronald Reagan's first term as President, as the 14th-round draft choice of the USFL's Philadelphia Stars. Few careers in sports that started with so little fanfare have lasted so long at so high a performance level as that of Landeta, the Eagles' exceptional punter. At the age of 40 and 19 seasons removed from his Stars debut, Landeta still kicks the football high and far as one of the best and most consistent field-position specialists in the game.

Talk about hang time. When Sean Landeta began his professional punting career in 1983 with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL, Jason Baker was 4 years old. Last week, when Baker was getting ready to report to Lehigh for his first NFL training camp, he got phone calls from Landeta and Eagles kicker David Akers. And no, they weren't giving him directions to Millersville or Slippery Rock. "They wanted to let me know what to expect," Baker said yesterday. "Who does that? Especially when you're here to compete for the guy's job. " Baker, 22, will do just that.

Some things just don't go away whether it's fair or not. Fred Merkle touched second base plenty of times. Jim Marshall ran the right way with other fumbles he recovered. Sean Landeta has had one of the best careers of any punter in NFL history. But once, 16 years ago, he missed a punt during a playoff game at Soldier Field. Yesterday, with the help of a bunch of reporters, he had the opportunity to relive it. Again and again. It wasn't something he much wanted to do. "Would you?"

Andy Reid expressed concern about his team's punting situation at the end of the Eagles' first minicamp. The head coach addressed that concern yesterday. After watching the inconsistent punting of Dirk Johnson and Derrick Frost in no-pressure situations earlier this month at the NovaCare Complex, Reid decided they were not the answer to the vacancy left by Sean Landeta's free-agency departure. Reid hopes that Kyle Richardson can provide the same dependable work that made Landeta so popular during his four-year stint with the Eagles.

The Eagles are starting to put up big numbers. Not in the standings, where they are 9-3, or in the stats, but in the injury department. Sean Landeta was officially placed on injured reserve yesterday, ending the veteran punter's season. Jason Baker, who was released by San Francisco last week, was signed to a two-year contract to take Landeta's spot. Baker, who was in the Eagles camp in 2001, will step right in and punt in Seattle on Sunday. "One of the reasons I was happy to come here was that I knew what to expect," Baker said.

One of the best punters in NFL history will remain with the Eagles for at least one more year. Sean Landeta - the league's punter of the decade in both the 1980s and the 1990s - signed a one-year contract worth $750,000 yesterday. The 40-year-old is coming off one of the best seasons of his 17-year career. He tied for second in the NFC in punting average (43.5) and fourth in net average (36.4). On Dec. 9, Landeta passed Lee Johnson's career mark of 1,187 punts. He has 1,216 career punts and has appeared in 257 games, including 16 in the playoffs.

Standing there in the stairwell he could have been any man, any Philadelphia suburbanite, a little broader across the shoulders than most, a well-preserved fellow just past, say, 35. He stood there as Eagles training camp opened, a living anachronism. He wore gray sweat pants older than most junior-high students - you know, the nylon type with that permanent crease stitched down the center of the legs, zipper pockets in front, wide at the cuff. Soft-spoken, anonymous, ordinary but for a hint of worldliness and an aura of class, Sean Landeta might blend as a bank manager, an architect, a seasoned maitre d' coming home from the health club, hair slicked down and meticulously parted.

The Dallas Cowboys have scheduled a news conference for today to announce an agreement with free-agent fullback Daryl Johnston, the team's top offseason priority, a source told the Dallas Morning News. The source would not confirm any details about the deal. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said talks are still ongoing. "We're still negotiating," Jones said. "We're not done yet. " The newspaper also reported that Baltimore probably will announce today it has reached an agreement with Cowboys free-agent free safety Brock Marion.

Sean Landeta, who has punted more often than anyone in NFL history, agreed to a one-year contract with the St. Louis Rams last night. There was no word on the Eagles' expected attempt to pursue restricted free-agent defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila of Green Bay. The buzz was as strong as ever that the Eagles have targeted Gbaja-Biamila as a possible replacement for Hugh Douglas, but still no word on an offer sheet. Agent Bruce Tollner, who represents Gbaja-Biamila, did not return a phone message yesterday.

The postseason honors are piling up for the Eagles' Reggie White. The second-year defensive lineman was announced yesterday as a first-team selection on the Associated Press All-Pro squad. He was named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad last week. Wide receiver Mike Quick, the Eagles' other representative in the Pro Bowl, did not win a spot on the AP's first or second team. The New York Giants placed four players - linebacker Lawrence Taylor, tight end Mark Bavaro, running back Joe Morris and punter Sean Landeta - on the All- Pro squad.

THE MOST important thing Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones wanted to see from Tony Romo this season before giving his talented young quarterback one of those crazy Monopoly-money contracts, was respect for the football. "He's got those quarterback things," Jones said in late-July. "You get a sense from his demeanor that somehow, he gives you a chance to win the game. And that's pretty big. "However, what we want to do is for him to have an emphasis on protecting the ball.

The New York Giants signed 44-year-old punter Sean Landeta as insurance yesterday because they are uncertain whether a knee injury will keep Jeff Feagles from playing in today's NFC East showdown with Dallas. Landeta played on both of the Giants' Super Bowl championship teams under Bill Parcells, who now coaches the Cowboys. He and Feagles also played for the Eagles. The San Diego Chargers officially transferred star linebacker Shawne Merriman to the team's active roster.

After not practicing Wednesday and Thursday, right offensive tackle Jon Runyan will be in the Eagles' starting lineup tomorrow against the host St. Louis Rams. Runyan practiced yesterday and was moving well after missing the previous two days with a bruised knee. Runyan has started 141 consecutive regular-season games, including all 93 as an Eagle. Did the thought of sitting out a meaningless game between 5-8 teams ever cross Runyan's mind? "In a couple of weeks, I will have plenty of time to rest up," Runyan said.

Sean Landeta did not spend the last nine months creating a portfolio, earning a real estate license, or opening a car dealership. Although the 43-year-old punter has been out of football since the Rams cut him in November, Landeta kept faith that his leg could still earn him a paycheck. And now it will, at least for a while. The Eagles signed him yesterday morning to a second stint with the team on a one-year deal. Landeta is an insurance player while the Eagles await the return of Dirk Johnson, who has missed all of training camp after a sports hernia operation but plans to be ready for the Monday night opener in Atlanta on Sept.

At age 41, Sean Landeta is still alive and punting, still so adept at what he does that he is the only punter the St. Louis Rams bothered to bring to training camp. This will be Landeta's 19th NFL season and his second tour with the Rams, with whom he spent half of 1993 and all of 1994. He spent his first 8 1/2 years with the New York Giants, and he also has played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Green Bay Packers and the Eagles. Landeta wants to be the last survivor of the USFL, where he began his career with the Philadelphia Stars, under coach Jim Mora.

Andy Reid expressed concern about his team's punting situation at the end of the Eagles' first minicamp. The head coach addressed that concern yesterday. After watching the inconsistent punting of Dirk Johnson and Derrick Frost in no-pressure situations earlier this month at the NovaCare Complex, Reid decided they were not the answer to the vacancy left by Sean Landeta's free-agency departure. Reid hopes that Kyle Richardson can provide the same dependable work that made Landeta so popular during his four-year stint with the Eagles.

Sean Landeta, who has punted more often than anyone in NFL history, agreed to a one-year contract with the St. Louis Rams last night. There was no word on the Eagles' expected attempt to pursue restricted free-agent defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila of Green Bay. The buzz was as strong as ever that the Eagles have targeted Gbaja-Biamila as a possible replacement for Hugh Douglas, but still no word on an offer sheet. Agent Bruce Tollner, who represents Gbaja-Biamila, did not return a phone message yesterday.

The Eagles are one victory away from Super Bowl XXXVII and, to a man, are upbeat, proud, and ready to do whatever it takes to beat Tampa Bay for the NFC championship. The Eagles are no less a cheerful bunch, which makes sense for all but one of their number. That would be Sean Landeta, the team's 41-year-old punter who sustained a torn right calf muscle in the St. Louis game Dec. 1. That injury, the unknown length of time it would take Landeta to heal, and limitations imposed by their roster forced the Eagles to put the 18-season veteran on the injured reserve list at that time.

Buddy Ryan used to say it was no big deal to add a kicker to your team. "Just teach 'em the bunt sign and let 'em go," the old Eagles coach said. So it's not as if Jason Baker, signed this week to replace the injured Sean Landeta, has to learn a new offense or defense. The ball is the same size and shape as it was in San Francisco, where Baker spent the last two seasons. "He just has to step in and punt as well as or better than Sean did," special-teams coach John Harbaugh said.

The Eagles are starting to put up big numbers. Not in the standings, where they are 9-3, or in the stats, but in the injury department. Sean Landeta was officially placed on injured reserve yesterday, ending the veteran punter's season. Jason Baker, who was released by San Francisco last week, was signed to a two-year contract to take Landeta's spot. Baker, who was in the Eagles camp in 2001, will step right in and punt in Seattle on Sunday. "One of the reasons I was happy to come here was that I knew what to expect," Baker said.