Chief concerns

On wine, impact owners and a certain K.C. running back

Either Jimmy's being kind or the rippers are all on vacation, because this week's collection was as placid as the waters of Lake Bled. And don't I just know what your next question's going to be. Where the deuce is Lake Bled? And by a clever transition we arrive at our first query, which is from Will of Chicago and begins: "Did you fall off the face of the earth, or are you in a drunken wine stupor in some exotic locale?"

Past tense. Was in the stupor, and the exotic locale was Lake Bled, which is in Slovenia, which was part of our vacation, the other parts being the Istrian Peninsula in Croatia and Italy's Adriatic Coast, and Venezia and Trieste and then up to the Dolomites and Alto Adige, where they speak Italian and German and their own little creation called Ladinish. So now all that's over and it's time to get back to the pressing problems of the NFL and free agency and all manner of whatall. Which begins with Will of Chicago's question about the Chiefs and Priest Holmes.

OK, I like the Chiefs as a serious playoff team this year, but not without Holmes. That's how important I think he is. He was the league's most dynamic back last year. No matter what happens in minicamp, working out in half-pads, we won't know about his hip until the real action starts. A hip injury can be a terrible thing, and, though I haven't researched it, I have a feeling that hip injuries have ended more careers than knee injuries have. And once Holmes comes back, you have to wonder about his durability. I wish I could be more optimistic, but the whole thing makes me nervous.

Mark of Ann Arbor, Mich., and thanks for your comments, wants to know how I got "the plum job of writing about wine." It's not actually a job, Mark, although it once was. It's more of a sometime thing. I've been doing it for 30 years, which answers a question, but not the one you asked. I was working in the sports department of the New York Post. We had a wine columnist who was actually in the trade. I told the features department I thought I could write a better and more honest column than this guy did ... I'd been a dedicated amateur and note-taker for years. So they gave me a shot at the column. Then took it away from me some years later when I wouldn't make it a "support column" for the advertising department.

On a serious note, Mark wonders if I can help him with his pessimistic prediction that his beloved Redskins will go 9-7. Well, I can't come up with a record for them until I play the season, game by game, as I do for my handicapping piece in Sports Illustrated's Pro Football Preview issue. I like what they've done in free agency so far. Their draft showed me zip, unless you count Laveranues Coles, and I think he'll be better than people expect. I agree with you that their D-line is subpar, but it wasn't too great last season, either, and the Skins still finished fifth in the league in defense. Tough schedule. A 9-7 record sounds about right.

Tim of Holtsville, N.Y., where we send our income tax payments, is upset because the 9-7 Jets have a tougher schedule than the Raiders, Packers, Niners and Steelers. And the Super Bowl winner always seems to have an easy one, he says. Is the NFL rigging the action? he asks. The system is fair. The difficulty of the schedule depends on how you finished in the division, not on the won-lost. The Jets' schedule seems rougher because their division is rougher and they have to play each team twice, i.e., Bills, Dolphins and Patriots. The Steelers, on the other hand, are in an easier division, with two games each against the Bengals, Browns and Ravens. The Packers have it softer, too, with the Lions, Bears and Vikings getting the double-dipper.

Thanks from your comments, Seth. That's Seth from Columbus, Ohio, not the Biblical one. A Browns fan. How do they improve? he wonders. And then he mentions the three crucial areas: O-line, QB, running game. What can I add? You saw them. Did you like the offensive line or the running attack? The QB situation suffers from a case of Highdraftitis. The players respond to more positively to Holcomb than they do to Couch. Everyone who plays them would rather face the latter. Yet the Browns have so much invested in Couch and all that blah-blah. It's a familiar ailment.

Erik of Kyoto, Japan, is greatly impressed with the sumo performers. He wonders why no one's ever given these gigantic athletes, who are remarkably light on their feet, a shot in the NFL? One year I was in Hawaii with my son, Mike, and we were watching the sumo bouts on TV. It was great fun ... we were betting on every one ... and then along came Konishiwa, at 566 pounds. He got down in a defensive lineman's four-point stance, came out of it with a two-hand shiver in perfect form, and simply blasted his guy out of the ring. Holy hell! When I got back to the mainland I called Al Davis. Get a couple of these guys, alternate them at nose tackle and who's gonna run on you? You ever consider this?

"At one time we looked into it," he said. "Two things wrong with the idea. One, you couldn't pay them enough. They make big money there and don't get the hell beat out of them. No. 2, no stamina. Their bouts last a few seconds. Make 'em go much longer than that and they'd give out."

Second question from Erik, and it's certainly a lot less imaginative than the first one: How do I like the Vikes this year? Well, I thought they were fairly active in free agency and I liked their draft. But looking at their schedule, I found eight losses. In two months, when I handicap them for real, I might find another one.

"Who are the top five cornerbacks in the NFL?" asks Richard of Miami. Also, where would I place Champ Bailey? Is he better than the Dolphins corners? My top corners last year were Ronde Barber of the Bucs, Fred Thomas of the Saints, Aaron Glenn of the Texans, Troy Vincent of the Eagles, Patrick Surtain of the Dolphins, Mario Edwards of the Cowboys and Antoine Winfield of the Bills. I thought Miami's other corner, Sam Madison, had an off year. Even so he was better than Bailey, who is too inconsistent for my tastes.

Zach of Atlanta wants to know how Mike Vick and the Falcons will do. I think they have a thing going there. Great spirit, etc. At this point they look very attractive as a sleeper Super Bowl pick, but things change and I'll probably wind up chickening out and going with the Rams or someone like that. Part 2: "Any advice for someone who does not drink wine but is interested in getting his feet wet?" Yeah. Take off your shoes and socks and become a grape-crusher. "For God's sakes, will you please answer the man!" yells The Flaming Redhead. OK, OK, relax already. Here's what you do, Zach. Find a bookstore, or search the Web, and get yourself a set of the Dummies books by Ed McCarthy and Mary Mulligan. You know, Wine for Dummies, Champagne for Dummies, Female Dummies for Dummies, etc. They're the best that I know for people just starting out.

Ed of Baldwin, L.I., is worried about his beloved Giants, specifically the loss of the right side of the offensive line, Jason Whittle and Mike Rosenthal. I don't blame him. Seems a shame, just when the line was coming together at the end of last year, thanks mainly to the terrific work of their coach, Jim McNally, that two-fifths of it departs and McNally has to start all over again. I expressed similar regrets to him when I was out at their minicamp last week. He didn't seem worried. "This one's gonna be better," he said, circling three names on the roster -- guard Tam Hopkins and tackles Ian Allen and rookie David Diehl.

A thank you to Brent of Colorado Springs, Colo., who raises an interesting point. There are impact players and impact coaches, he says, so how about impact owners? "Which owners do you think are committed to winning versus those committed to making a buck?" Some owners are dumb but they get lucky. Or remain unlucky. Others are hands-on but make the wrong moves. Or maybe the right ones. The owners I like the best are the ones who are committed to assembling the best staff, and then stepping back and letting that staff run things. It's a fine idea, provided they're smart enough to figure out who the good people are. Don't forget that most owners are newcomers to the football business. I can't see someone like Billy Bidwill ever having the brains or the funds to produce a winner. The Brown family in Cincinnati let frugality dictate for years, but seems to be breaking out of it now. The interesting thing is that Mike Brown has been a football man all his life, going back to his days as a QB at Dartmouth. I feel that the Vikings' Red McComb is suspect. The good ones? Well, Wellington Mara and Bob Tisch in New York put the victory motive ahead of the profit motive, but Mara had some hard times for many years. The Rams have a very solid organization now, but Georgia Frontiere isn't exactly what I'd call an astute owner. I think what she has is good people advising her. The answers to your question are limitless. Jerry Jones is a very solid football man, and he'll spend a buck when he has to, but there have been occasional ego problems. Eddie DeBartolo, when he was with the Niners, made buddies out of his players by spending huge amounts of money on them, including little goodies that were off the books. They loved him. They won. But they were also coached by Bill Walsh. As per instructions, I've said hi to The Flame That Burns Eternal On Top of the Head, in the next room. Unfortunately she can't return the hi ... because she's busy eating a turkey sandwich.

To Aldo from La Punta, Peru: Thank you for your very kind comments. I can understand your dislike of the out-of-bounds punt because it removes the excitement of the return, but look at it this way: Your team is protecting a two-point lead late in the contest. You have a big bet riding on the game's outcome. Your punter sends one out of bounds on the enemy 2-yard line, and someone watching the game with you says, "I really hate that because there's no return." What do you say to him?

Part 2 of Aldo's query deals with an old statement of mine that I wasn't a big fan of Argentine wines. Well, let's say that they're better than they were when they first came to the U.S., but, of course, we weren't really getting the good ones then, just the commercial stuff. My complaint is usually the same one I have with most warm-weather wines, be they Australian or South African or Portuguese or Midi wines from the south of France. Short finish. Not enough acidity. But there are exceptions. I do like the fact that Malbec is such a popular grape in Argentina. The only other places they seem to take it seriously is in Cahors -- and in some Bordeaux and California blends. Answer me one thing, Aldo: How come we never see any Peruvian wines? I've been to Peruvian restaurants, and the wines are usually from Chile or Argentina, once even from Uruguay. But never from Peru. I mean, Chile is also an Andean country and its wines are terrific. So what's with the Peruvian wines? (Jimmy, if you get a response from Aldo of La Punta, please pass it through).

Sorry, fans, for the usual wine digression. We're back to football now, and no more straying. Janus of Kingston, Ont., takes a dim view of Kyle Turley's rip of his old club, the Saints, as reported by Michael Silver on SI.com last week. Hey, I loved the piece. Let the guy sound off if he wants to, and you certainly can't say Michael didn't give the opposition its fair chance for rebuttal. Personally, I think there was more truth than smoke in Turley's rant, particularly the part about Mickey Loomis, although I do think he was too rough on Jim Haslett. I've always found Jim a fairly straight shooter. Your question: How will his switch to the Rams affect the O-lines of both teams? Well, I never thought Turley was comfortable as an LT, although I think it'll take the Saints a while to cover his loss. Going to his natural spot, RT, on the Rams will, I believe, really firm up that operation. He cures a real trouble spot on that line. Great pickup for St.Louis.

Same basic question from another Canadian, Don of Glencoe, Ont., plus his prediction that Jason Sehorn will be an "impact safety" for the Rams. I'm not so sure about Jason. I think his burning desire was left somewhere on the streets of L.A. I give him one year at best in St. Louis until the Rams are looking for another body to fill that spot. It's a reach to say that the pair of Jacks, Reynolds and Youngblood, would have loved him. Maybe they'd have loved the parties Sehorn could have gotten them into ... Thanks for your nice comments, by the way.

Patricia of Edgerton, Wisc., wonders which is more valuable, a great pin-'em-deep punter or a nifty returner. Well, despite my paean on Jeff Feagles last week, I'd have to take the returner. A punter can't put six on the board.

Jason of Chicago wants to know why today's punters have lost their coffin corner skills. Well, Feagles and I talked about that at great length, and we both despise the mindless bombers who send those towering boomers into the middle of the end zone. I think that positional kicking is tougher now because the ball is slimmer and slicker, and given that, some of the punters chicken out and just boom it because the downside potential -- a shank job -- is simply too great.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Paul Zimmerman covers the NFL for the magazine and SI.com. His "Inside Football" column and Mailbag appear weekly on SI.com. To send a question to Dr. Z, click here.

 

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