Dr. Z's Forecast
Posted: Tuesday December 08, 1998 05:07 PM
By Paul Zimmerman
 I'm glad they're rounding up as
many of the players from the unbeaten 1972 Dolphins as they can to give the
team support next week when it tries to keep the Broncos from duplicating
their feat. There's only one problem: What if the Broncos aren't unbeaten
going into that Dec. 21 Monday-nighter? Everyone assumed that Denver would
have no problem with Kansas City on Sunday. Ditto the Giants this week.
I'll bet there were some nervous ABC execs when the Chiefs opened a 21-7
lead and when they led by 10 in the fourth quarter.
Can the Giants beat Miami to the punch by one week and muddy Denver's
clean slate? Let's take a look.
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With K.C. focusing elsewhere, Smith caught eight passes for 165 yards Peter Read Miller | Against the Chiefs, the Broncos spent half the time trying to win, half
the time trying to lose. Their first three series were three-and-out, as
K.C. built a 14-0 lead. Denver punter Tom Rouen fumbled a snap.
John Elway was
intercepted in the end zone. Denver had a field goal blocked. After 836
clean touches, Terrell
Davis saved his first fumble since November 1996 for the goal line.
That's the bad part. The good part? Elway was as good as he's ever been on
his throws and reads, and the coaching staff was sharp, as usual, in
countering the opponent's adjustments. The Chiefs assigned their best cover
man, cornerback James
Hasty, to tight end Shannon Sharpe, whom they
read as Denver's most serious threat, so Elway killed them with his
wideouts, Rod Smith and
Ed McCaffrey. When it
was crunch time and the Broncos had third-and-one at the K.C. 24 and the
Chiefs had bunched up to stop the inevitable Davis run, Elway put his team
on top with a touchdown pass to Sharpe, who was being covered by the
safeties, whom he feeds off.
Same old efficient machine, except that Denver took awhile to get it
cranked up this time. And remember that the Chiefs played hard for the
whole game, which they didn't do in their 30-7 loss to the Broncos at
Arrowhead last month.
What do the Giants have going for them? The Meadowlands. The winds there
can get severe in December. The Giants can put up a pretty decent defense
when aroused. The question is, Will they be? Why not? There's the chance to
make headlines, and (dare I say this?) at 5-8 they still have a playoff
shot. O.K., I'll end the suspense. Denver's the
pick , but I don't see Elway putting up the big numbers he did
against K.C.
How, you say, did I ever figure out that the Giants are in the playoff
picture? Easy. Only five NFC teams have a winning record, and since there
are six playoff spots, one of the current 6-7 teams, or heaven forbid one
of the 5-8s, will be there like ants at a picnic.
Let's quickly go through that rather grim roster: New Orleans (6-7) hosts
Atlanta in a trend game. The Saints haven't allowed a touchdown in the last
13 quarters at the Superdome, but the Falcons have won the last seven
meetings between the two teams. I like
Atlanta . Arizona, another 6-7 hopeful, visits Philadelphia.
Even with another defeat the Cardinals will be in the playoff hunt.
Arizona's defensive line is hurting, but Philly has been hurting all year.
Let's give the Cardinals a win. Detroit (5-8) will
lose at San Francisco in the Monday-nighter, but bear this in
mind: Carolina, which came into Sunday's play as the league's worst rushing
team (72.2 yards a game) ran for 203 yards on a Niners defense minus
defensive tackle Bryant
Young, who's out for the season. Now the 49ers face Barry Sanders. Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh , which regressed
offensively and defensively in a loss to the Patriots.
Let's move to the most interesting matchup on the board, the Jets at
Miami, probably for the AFC East title. After the Dolphins picked off six
passes against Oakland, the Raiders said that Miami defenders had a pretty
good read on everything that was coming. I don't see that happening against
a Jets attack that is good at changing on the go. Ditto the New York
defense. Here's why I think the Jets will win
: Defensive mastermind Bill Belichick's quick striking forces will be
too much for a Dolphins offense that's minus three starters on the line.
Oakland at Buffalo is a who-wants-it-more game. I say the Bills do. The same goes for Dallas at Kansas City.
I can't see the Cowboys beating any decent team with their secondary in
such a shambles. K.C.'s the pick , unless
Deion returns. Finally, there's a weird angle to Washington at Carolina. If
the 4-9 Redskins win, they'll drop in the draft order with their own
first-round choice, but they'll also improve their chances of getting the
second pick on the board. That's because, as a result of trading Sean Gilbert to Carolina
last April, Washington also owns the first-round pick of the 2-11 Panthers.
I like the Redskins.
Issue date: December 14, 1998
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