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Send a question to Peter
King
Sports Illustrated's NFL Insider, Peter King, received more
than 300 letters from CNN/SI Interactive users this week.
We posed a selection of your questions to Peter, who
answered them in an
interview.
Posted: Fri July 25, 1997
Who are the three biggest free-agent
pickups?
My three impact free
agents:
1) Jeff George, QB, Oakland. I'm not in favor of the way
the Raiders coldly dumped Jeff Hostetler, but George will
be a consistent 3,500-yards-per-season
passer.
2) Henry Thomas, DT, New England. Thomas will regain his
dominant form in new head coach Pete Carroll's
defense.
3) Chad Brown, LB, Seattle. The best two-way linebacker in
football will lead Seattle to an AFC wild-card
spot.
Here are my two free-agent bonus
picks:
Rod Woodson, CB, San Francisco. This isn't very difficult:
Woodson or Tyronne Drakeford? You make the
call.
Steve Everitt, C, Philadelphia. Everitt will prove that
he's the second-best center in football, behind the
Steelers' Dermontti
Dawson.
What NFL rookie will make the biggest impact with his team
and why?
I would have said wide receiver Yatil Green of the
Dolphins—before he got hurt. He would have given Marino
the deep threat he has lacked in the '90s. Then, I would've
said Antowain Smith of Buffalo. But then I visited the
Bills' camp, and Thurman Thomas
looks like a
stud.
My upset special: cornerback Shawn Springs of the Seahawks.
He has the ability to be 95% as good as Deion Sanders the
first day he steps on the field. And he can
hit.
Could you explain the concept of the "zone blitz"
and perhaps provide a few examples as illustration?
The zone blitz features a linebacker or a defensive lineman
blitzing through the same gap as another defensive lineman,
while a third defender drops back into a shallow zone for
pass coverage. At the same time, five other defenders go
into zone coverage
and blanket the field: Two defenders drop into shallow
zones, and the other three drop into intermediate or deep
zones. The quarterback is seeing double or triple pressure
from one side and is forced to hurry his
throw.
The key to the zone blitz is
this: It is designed to leave no cornerback alone in man-to-man
coverage on a great receiver. In the zone blitz, he'll
always have help. The weakness of the 46 defense that the
Bears and the Eagles used in the last 15 years
was that they always had corners in single coverage against
strong receivers. When they got beat deep in the 46, they
had no
help.
Are the Buffalo Bills the leading contender to move to
Cleveland? If not, which team is?
Negotiations between the Bills and the state of New York
are heating up. Over the last couple of weeks, Bills owner
Ralph Wilson has become more confident that he can get a
new stadium deal done. There is growing sentiment among the
owners not to put an
expansion team in Cleveland but to put an existing troubled
franchise there instead. My best guess is
that Minnesota will move to Cleveland for the 1999
season.
With coaches like Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells and Tom
Coughlin, is the AFC in good hands or will the NFC continue
to dominate the Super Bowl?
The AFC has gotten a terrific infusion of coaching talent
in the last few years, but coaches don't play. The top four
teams in football right now are Green Bay, Carolina, San
Francisco and Dallas. Denver or Jacksonville is No. 5. So
I'm not exactly sure
that a great coach makes a great
team.
In your opinion, is Peyton Manning as good as everyone
says, or is he overrated? In addition, what are the chances
the NFL will expand to
Canada?
Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak tells me that when
he looked at all of the quarterbacks in the 1997 draft and
then popped in a tape of Peyton, there was no comparison:
Manning slayed 'em. I think that he can be an efficient,
mobile quarterback
right off the bat—he'll have to be if he plays for Atlanta
or with some team without a good
line.
About Canada: It's inevitable that the NFL will
come to Toronto, in part because of the decline of the CFL,
in part because of the Americanization of
Canada. When that will be, I just don't know. My best guess is
that Canada will have a franchise by the year
2005.
Do you think that Dave Brown will finally become a
formidable QB, or should the Giants give up on him and
start developing Danny Kanell?
I'm skeptical that Brown will become a good quarterback.
Anybody who has watched the Giants the last few years would
be. My gut feeling is that he is not as accurate or as
talented as an NFL passer needs to
be.
Having said that, I think the Giants have done absolutely
everything right. They spent a first-round draft pick and
they're giving him every chance to succeed. They've hired a
quarterback-friendly head coach in Jim Fassel. In addition,
the fans will be
doing Brown and the Giants a grave disservice if they jump
on him after his first bungled play this season. Give him
an honest chance. Give him eight games. Withhold judgment.
If he stinks after eight games, then start screaming for
Danny Kanell. But
you're slitting your own throats as fans if you're down on him
before he's played a game this
year.
Is Jamal Anderson simply another one of those RBs
who gain 1,000 yards one year only to disappear the next,
like Craig Heyward or Derek Loville?
Please see page 8 of the Sports Illustrated
Presents pro football preview issue. I picked Anderson to lead
the NFL in rushing in 1997. The reason?
Atlanta's passing game will be pitiful this year. New head
coach Dan Reeves loves to run anyway, and I think the stage
is set for Anderson to gain 1,600 yards, even though he's
running behind a pedestrian
line.
A note to all you online football junkies: I am happy to
answer your questions, and I look forward to addressing as
many of them as I can throughout the season. Thanks for a
great start—and keep them coming!
—Peter
King
Send a question to Peter
King
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