|
Week 18 (Final) |
| Rank
| Team | LW | Comment |
| 1. | Minnesota
Vikings
(15-1) | 1 | Is this the greatest scoring machine of all time? It
is not. Sixteen games, 556 points, average 34.8. The 1950 L.A.Rams (
Bob Waterfield, Norm Van Brocklin, Tank Younger, Deacon Dan Towler, Glenn
Davis, Crazylegs Hirsch, Tom Fears, Vitamin T. Smith ... surely you
remember) scored 466 in 12 contests, average 38.8. That's more scoring by
my estimate. But the Vikes can put the numbers up there, and now we'll
find out how good that defense really is. |
| 2. | Denver
Broncos
(14-2) | 2 | Things came together, whew, just in time vs. Seattle
in a meaningless game coached by a guy who had his bags packed. This was a
tired team down the stretch, and the one-week layoff will have great
therapeutic effect. |
| 3.
| Atlanta
Falcons
(14-2) | 3 | In his last season in New York, Dan Reeves
was accused by his QB, Dave
Brown, of running a system so complicated that it could barely work.
Don't want to knock Dave, who's a nice fella, but look where he is now, and
look where Dan is. The big change on the '98 Falcons was in the secondary,
which is now functional, thanks to Ray Buchanan and Eugene
Robinson. |
| 4.
| New York
Jets
(12-4) | 4 | What kind of a price will Vegas give you on the
Jetsies winning it all -- 8-1, 9-1? If I were into this kind of action I
might consider a small investment. They're tough road warriors and they're
innovative, still able to come up with new wrinkles on both sides of the
ball at this stage of the season. |
| 5. | San
Francisco 49ers
(12-4) | 5 | The drama goes on. Will Garrison Hearst be healthy
enough to lead an offense now keyed by its ground game? Will Steve
Mariucci be back? Is Mike Holmgren on the horizon? What's
with the ownership situation? And when's the last time these guys drew a
relaxed breath? |
| 6.
| Green Bay
Packers
(11-5) | 7 | A terrific coaching job by Holmgren this season,
keeping his injury-wracked forces from submerging. They know how to beat
the Niners -- and lose to the Vikes. |
| 7. | Buffalo
Bills
(10-6) | 10 | Well, they slaughtered the Saints, thereby earning the
right to face Dan Marino
instead of Jonathan
Quinn, or a limping Mark Brunell. They're
tough and focused, and the unsung hero in the operation is pro personnel
director A.J. Smith , who brought in Doug Flutie. |
| 8. | Jacksonvi
lle Jaguars
(10-6) | 9 | The offense has been scaled way down for Quinn. The
defense got shoved around by Pittsburgh. They beat Miami back in October,
which is why I rate them one notch higher. |
| 9. | Miami
Dolphins
(10-6) | 6 | Just how far the Dolphins go in the playoffs depends
on the health of their offensive line. The running attack doesn't scare
anybody, but the defense, led by the best cornerback tandem in the NFL (Terrell Buckley and Sam Madison) and the
game's best cover MLB (Zach
Thomas) can keep them alive. |
| 10. | New
England Patriots
(9-7) | 8 | A courageous team led by an angry, swarming defense,
which, unfortunately, is beginning to wear down. |
| 11. | Dallas
Cowboys
(10-6) | 12 | I thought Emmitt Smith would be with
the walking wounded at this stage of the season, but here he is, breaking
tackles, picking up steam, as he leads the Chan Gailey forces into
the postseason. |
| 12.
| New York
Giants
(8-8) | 11 | The only non-playoff team in the top dozen, but they
arrived here via their five straight victories to close out the year. Their
defensive front four ranks with Atlanta's as the best in
football. |
| 13. |
Tennessee
Oilers
(8-8) | 13 | Can this team ever escape 8-8? Not until its defense
finds a couple of big-play people. |
| 14. | Seattle
Seahawks
(8-8) | 14 | I
think I've said this already: Dennis Erickson didn't deserve to
get fired. Inconsistency was a problem, but that describes 70 percent of
the league. |
| 15.
| Arizona
Cardinals
(9-7) | 15 |
Love the QB and his wideouts, and LCB Aeneas Williams, and
that's about it. |
| 16.
| Tampa
Bay Buccaneers
(8-8) | 18 | Unsung hero -- blocking fullback Lorenzo Neal. The
pass-catch game never came together, though, and if you can't throw the
ball in this era of airmail football you're a dead duck. |
| 17. |
Kansas
City Chiefs
(7-9) | 19 | All season long they were on a record-setting pace for
penalties, and by golly, they finally made it. Sorry, but their heads just
weren't in the game this year. |
| 18. | Oakland
Raiders
(8-8) | 16 | Right cornerback Eric Allen, having a
career year, went down in game No.10 and the Raiders proceeded to go 1-5
the rest of the way. The Jeff George situation is
too complicated to speculate about. Somehow I just can't see these guys
rallying around him, if he gets another chance. Here's one factor that
hasn't been mentioned too often: that heavy Coliseum turf, which is just
murder on the legs. |
| 19.
| Washingt
on Redskins
(6-10) | 17 | I'll repeat myself here, too. Don't fire Norv
Turner , Mr. New Owner, whoever you might be. With a full camp under
his belt, and Norv once again calling plays, QB Trent Green will be
terrific next season. Hey, Norv, a word of advice: Stun the world and put
Michael Westbrook on
your expansion list and let Cleveland worry about him. |
| 20. | Pittsbur
gh Steelers
(7-9) | 20 | I am shocked, absolutely shocked, by the way the
Steelers' defense mailed it in against Jacksonville. Billy Cowher
didn't look very concerned, either. There are more problems here than a
confused QB. |
| 21.
| New
Orleans Saints
(6-10) | 21 | Billy
Joe Tolliver is the best QB on the roster. Kerry Collins is the
worst. Pumping up Collins as the guy to lead the forces in '99 will be
Mike Ditka 's greatest offseason challenge, assuming Mike is still
chasing rainbows. |
| 22.
| Baltimore
Ravens
(6-10) | 23 | I could start listing areas of concern but it would
take too long. Simply stated: this is a team that hasn't learned how to
win. |
| 23. |
Detroit
Lions
(5-11) | 22 | What would I bring in? Offensive linemen. Before Barry Sanders goes into the
negative yardage column. Before Charlie Batch becomes a
basket case. |
| 24.
| San
Diego Chargers
(5-11) | 24 | If you're thinking of an award for Assistant Coach of
the Year, how about defensive coordinator Joe Pascale ? This unit
never cracked. It could have many times. Maybe they can make a linebacker
out of Ryan
Leaf. |
| 25. |
Chicago
Bears
(4-12) | 25 | Owner and president Mike McCaskey is the
problem, and will continue to be so as long as he's empowered with any
decisions relating to football. |
| 26. | Carolina
Panthers
(4-12) | 27 | When Sam Mills 's name comes up in the Hall of
Fame voting I will ask people to kindly notice what happened to the
Panthers' defense when he was no longer around to hold it together. There
was no one to lead it on the field. Ditto for the offense. |
| 27. |
Indianapoli
s Colts
(3-13) | 26 | Peyton Manning will cut
down on the picks next year. The defense will play better. The result?
Oh, about 6-10. |
| 28.
| St.Louis
Rams
(4-12) | 28 | They've decided that Dick Vermeil wasn't at
fault this season, offensive coordinator Jerry Rhome was. Well,
what happens if they bring in a guy who's an absolute whiz and they're
still in the dumper? It could happen if they don't seriously address that
disastrous offensive line. |
| 29. | Cincinnat
i Bengals
(3-13) | 29 | I threw out the Tampa Bay finale because that was a
bags-packed-and-ready-to-lam situation. And so, amidst muffled cheering,
the Bengals hold onto their 29th position, as the Eagles gnash their
teeth. |
| 30. |
Philadelph
ia Eagles
(3-13) | 30 | When I visited this team at camp last summer, the beat
writers whom I knew told me, almost to a man, that this could be the worst
team in football. Every phase of the operation declined, with the lone
exception of running back Duce Staley. |
