Signs of wear and dissension increased nationwide Saturday among striking NFL players as picket lines thinned and thoughts of returning to camp swelled.
The biggest name considering a return to his team is San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana, twice the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl.
Montana is not a member of the striking NFL Players Association. Some 1,600 players walked off the job early Tuesday morning after five months of contract talks with management failed to produce a new collective bargaining agreement.
Montana is believed to be one of a dozen or so 49ers who voted against going on strike, but agreed to walk out with the rest of the team.
'There is a possibility I'll play,' Montana said Friday.
San Francisco player representative Keith Fahnhorst said, 'I suppose there is that possibility, but so far we're all sticking together.
'It's too early to say if anybody here will cross, because nobody's really lost any money yet,' Fahnhorst added. 'The tough time will be the middle of next week. I guess we just have to see how long it lasts.'
The 49ers are not the lone team that has players considering coming back to camp.
While the Steelers' replacement players practiced Saturday at Johnstown, Pa., reports swirled that veterans will start to cross picket lines next week. Veteran Pittsburgh center Mike Webster has been a vocal opponent of the unions' plea for an improved system of free agency, which is considered the major stumbling block in negotiations.
'I've been hearing names mentioned since Tuesday, but that's been it,' Steelers assistant coach Hal Hunter said of players returning. 'It's like waiting for somebody at the bar -- the only thing you can count on is the Iron City Light (beer) until they show up.'
Meanwhile, the turnout at picket lines across the country decreased Saturday. The news that it was likely to be a long strike that came from Friday's break off in negotiations in Philadelphia appeared to effect picket-line size.
At Hempstead, N.Y., a group of 8-10 Jets picketed briefly before dispersing while in Denver there was no picketing at all.
Replacement teams, which are expected to play their first games Oct. 4 if the NFLPA is still striking, continued practices.
At Denver, defensive end Ray Woodard, one of the Broncos' final cuts during the preseason, said at the time he was released he would never cross a picket line. But he did.
'I learned a valuable lesson,' he said. 'I learned never to say never. I thought I'd sit still two or three weeks and see what would happen. But Monday night, I said, 'Hey, this is going to go down. There's going to be a strike.''
At Johnstown, Steelers Coach Chuck Noll said the replacement players of today sparked his memory of when he worked for the Chargers of the old American Football League in the early 1960s.
'This reminds me of 1960, when we started the AFL with guys who are just like this,' Noll said. 'They ended up coming along pretty good after a bit. It proved to me there are lots of people, and all they need is an opportunity. Now there is an opportunity for them. Not all of them are going to benefit by it, but all you need is a few people.'
Fans nationwide braced for their first Sunday without NFL games. NBC has said it will televise the Detroit Tiger-Toronto Blue Jays game Sunday and CBS announced it will replay last year's Super Bowl between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.
'I usually watch the NFL on Sundays, but I'm sure I can find something to do instead,' said Bob Hillhouse, a fan at the Tennessee-Auburn game in Knoxville.
At the Arizona State-Nebraska game in Tempe, Ariz., some fans said the strike did not concern them while others expressed disappointment.
Larry Taylor of Phoenix said the college game 'is as big a game as any pro game.
'We don't watch that much pro ball,' he said. 'I guess it would affect me more if we had a team here. I'd like to get tickets if we did.'
Danny Kurtilla, who flew in for the game from Casper, Wyo., was especially disappointed because his team, the Vikings, were 2-0 before the strike.
'I was getting my hopes us, but there's not much I can do about it,' Kurtilla said. 'I don't necessarily agree with it, but there's not much I can do.'
A banner at the game expressed the anger of some fans. 'Unemployment: The Ultimate Free Agency!' it read.
