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Carjackers cleaned out New York Giants rookie wide receiver Tim Carter, but it didn't change his opinion of his new hometown.

"I'm from St. Petersburg, Florida," said Carter, who played at Auburn. "You have crime everywhere you go. Have I ever been carjacked before? I never owned a car that was worth carjacking. So no, that never happened to me. You have crime and gangsters everywhere."

At least these guys gave Carter cab fare so he could go home.

Stolen in the 3¹/₂-hour ordeal last Sunday night were Carter's BMW M3, $10,000 in jewelry, $120, credit and ATM cards and his crutches. Carter, a second-round draft choice, is on the injured reserve list with a torn Achilles tendon.

He had been home Sunday during the Giants' 16-14 loss to the Houston Texans and went out later to see a movie.

"I came out of the movies, got into my car and realized it had been broken into (police said the door lock had been punched out)," he said. "Because I was on crutches, I really couldn't do anything. But I felt the guys walking up on me and I was mentally prepared for the situation.

"There were two guys. One of them had a gun that he stuck in my ribs. He said, 'Give me the keys.' I turned around and gave him the keys. I thought he was just going to take the car, but then he told me to get in the back seat. He didn't want me to tell the cops right away. So, I got in the back seat of the car and they took off out of the parking lot."

The robbers headed toward Newark, N.J., while a passerby called police, who pulled over the wrong car, another white BMW.

Finally, police spotted Carter's car and took off in pursuit, "but they couldn't catch up to the M3," Carter said. "We got to Newark, and they ran a whole bunch of lights. We almost hit a cop running a light."

The thieves communicated by mobile phone with friends, who were listening to the scanners and keeping track of the police. Finally in Newark, the thieves felt that they had comfortably eluded the police and met friends, who used Carter's ATM card.

Carter remained in the back seat with one carjacker while the other drove a circuitous route through Newark and surrounding towns. Someone also used Carter's credit cards to do some shopping at a couple of 24-hour mini-marts. Police do not know what was purchased, who used the cards, or how much they ran up on Carter's accounts. Carter said his exchanges with the criminals were civil.

"We both knew our goals," he said. "I wanted to get home unharmed. They wanted the car. For them, it's just business."

The ordeal ended when Carter was let out of the car in Passaic. The bandits did not know Carter is an NFL player, nor did he volunteer the information.

"They left me off somewhere close to the stadium (Giants Stadium)," he said. "I told them I needed money for a cab, so they gave me money and dropped me off."

IT'S BUSINESS, NOT PERSONAL

Former NFL quarterback and current CBS-TV analyst Phil Simms said the confrontation between Tampa Bay Buccaneers lineman Warren Sapp and Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman is not surprising and the effects will not linger.

"It was understandable from both sides," Simms said. "Professional football is so hard, so physical, so mentally grinding, that you've got to expect emotional outbursts between opponents or even between teammates every now and then.

"In the real world, those outbursts can linger for a lifetime, or at least for months. In the NFL, they can go away the following day. I think the Sherman-Sapp flap will end quickly.

"This situation was big and emotional. But the recovery period can happen almost overnight in the National Football League. When I played, I had emotional outbursts with my head coach, Bill Parcells. And the next day, or even after the game, I would be nervous about it. But Parcells would laugh about it and say, 'Yeah, that was pretty good.'

"Can anybody in the business world yell at their boss and say things that you might regret, and have their boss brush it right off? I would think not. I would think that most of them would be fired. But you just have to understand that the healing powers in the NFL are different. Never compare real life to the situations in the NFL world."

QUICK START

Denver Broncos running back Clinton Portis is the league's leading rookie running back (836 yards). His 4.95 per-carry average is the third-best for a rookie since 1990. Only the New York Jets' Blair Thomas (5.04 in 1990) and the Broncos' Mike Anderson (5.01 in 2000) have been better. The Steelers' Jerome Bettis is fourth (4.86 with the Los Angeles Rams in 1993).

FLEETING SUCCESS

The Tennessee Titans had won five in a row before losing to the Baltimore Ravens, 13-12, this past Sunday, pointing out to coach Jeff Fisher the importance of each game.

"Before the kickoff, if the playoffs were to start, we would have had a home playoff game. By Sunday night, we would not be in the playoffs."

The Titans (6-5) are a game out of first place in the AFC South.

ANOTHER WARNER?

New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington has the second-highest passer rating after seven starts in NFL history (108.8). Kurt Warner is No. 1 (125.9), and Pennington is followed by Dan Marino (94.9), Brett Favre (83.5) and Joe Montana (82.1). John Elway's rating was 37.2, with nine interceptions, one touchdown and a completion percentage of 44.4.

BY THE NUMBERS

There are a record 14 AFC teams within a game of .500 or better. The Steelers have the third-easiest schedule — their five remaining opponents are 25-30 (.455). The Miami Dolphins' opponents are 24-31 (.436) and the Baltimore Ravens play five teams with a combined record of 23-31 (.427). … There are nine NFC teams in the same situation, and the Giants have the toughest road. They close the season against the Titans, Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles (30-25, .545). … Ravens rookie safety Ed Reed has the first two blocked punts in team history this season. … A recent Harris Poll found that 27 percent of adults over 18 chose football as their favorite sport, followed by Major League Baseball (14 percent), the NBA (11 percent) and auto racing (10 percent). Football's lead over baseball was 24-23 in 1985.

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