Rattay to start for S.F. again

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Quarterback Tim Rattay will get his third straight start for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Green Bay.

Rattay has revived the 49ers' playoff hopes with two outstanding performances in place of Jeff Garcia, whose injured ankle still isn't back to full strength.

Rattay led the 49ers (5-5) to wins over St. Louis and Pittsburgh, completing 40 of 56 passes for 490 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. Garcia hasn't played since an overtime loss to Arizona on Oct. 26, when he strained ligaments around his sprained ankle.

Coach Dennis Erickson named Rattay as his starter on Wednesday, saying Garcia still can't move well enough to play. Garcia participated in several drills during practice at the Niners' training complex, but Rattay worked with the starters as San Francisco prepared to go after its first road victory of the season.

"He's disappointed that he's not healthy," Erickson said of Garcia. "These are critical games for us, so we've got to give our team the best opportunity to win."

Both Erickson and Rattay insist Garcia will be the 49ers' starter when healthy. Garcia was the emergency No. 3 quarterback in Rattay's first two starts, with rookie Ken Dorsey backing up Rattay, but Garcia might be the backup against the Packers.

Garcia said he felt "better than last week," but declined further comment while rushing to a team meeting.

"I'd say he's about 70 percent, 75 percent," Erickson said.

UNION INVOLVED IN RAIDERS' DRUG CASE: The NFL Players' Association is expected to challenge the league's right to retest drug samples for evidence of the previously undetectable steroid THG.

A union source, who spoke on condition he not be identified, said Wednesday that under the collective bargaining agreement, the union must first agree to it.

"Our position is that retesting old samples is not permitted under the drug policy we've negotiated," the source said.

The NFL said last month it would retest urine samples for traces of THG after the designer drug became the target of an investigation by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

The union prepared to challenge the retesting by hiring Jeffrey Kessler, one of the lawyers who in 1992 helped win the NFLPA's lawsuit that led to free agency and the salary cap.

"We're not going to disclose any details," Kessler said.

The union also is upset because of what it considers to be a premature leak — that four Oakland Raiders face possible suspensions by the league after testing positive for THG.

The NFLPA's involvement probably will delay whatever discipline is meted out to the players, who have been identified as linebacker Bill Romanowski, center Barret Robbins and defensive linemen Dana Stubblefield and Chris Cooper.

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