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Football frenzy
'NFL Preview' debuts on CNN
Posted: Thursday July 13, 2000 10:25 PM
You're sitting there on this long, hot holiday weekend, and your thoughts turn to ... football. I thought so. I'm just the guy to get you caught up on the biggest stories of the NFL offseason and what they mean when 31 NFL teams tee it up in training camp this month.
Player behavior. The league made lots of noise following the double-murder case involving Ray Lewis on Super Bowl night, but be realistic. What can the league do about what a player does in the offseason at 3 in the morning? If the Lewis and Rae Carruth cases teach players anything, it should be this: Get rid of bad off-field influences. Ban the posses. Each player needs to have the guts to tell shady friends from the past goodbye.
More heroes retired. Dan Marino and Steve Young spurned one last real chance at Super Bowls. No, not in Miami. Not in San Francisco. Minnesota coach Dennis Green handed this chance to Marino, who said no. As did Young in Denver. And it's incredible how the shape of the NFL was dictated by these retirements. Denver now turns to the questionable Brian Griese or Gus Frerotte, Minnesota to Daunte Culpepper. Miami will struggle with either Damon Huard or Jay Fiedler, while the 49ers throw Jeff Garcia to the wolves behind a bad offensive line.
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Keyshawn Johnson flew south. The Jets better know what they're doing. After dealing their biggest star in the prime of his football life and stockpiling an unprecendented four first-round draft picks, they raised ticket prices $10. In Tampa Bay, the scatter-armed Shaun King is thanking his lucky stars, because the reach and athleticism of Johnson should make him a 65 percent passer. And the Bucs are my July pick to be the NFC's Super Bowl team.
Coaching and front-office brain drain. Gone are Super Bowl champion coaches Mike Ditka, Dick Vermeil, Bill Parcells and Jimmy Johnson. Gone is general manager Bobby Beathard, who helped three franchises reach Super Bowls. Least-likely to be missed? Easy. Ditka, who put too many eggs in the Ricky Williams basket. Most likely to be missed? That's easy. Parcells. Al Groh is absolutely unproven.
The Redskins got rebuilt. Ray Rhodes is the new sheriff in town, imported to be the butt-kicking defensive coordinator Mike Nolan never was. Owner Dan Snyder, who sees Jerry Jones as his personal anti-christ, might be more like the Dallas owner than he thinks. He spent jillions on old guys with recent injury histories, Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders. And he put the first admission fee on training camp practices -- 10 bucks -- in NFL history. Be afraid of the ax, Norv Turner. Be very afraid.
Breakthrough players Now here are my five breakthrough players, the five guys who will turn into their teams' best players in 2000:
1.) Saints quarterback Jeff Blake. He'll be reborn as a run-and-shoot mad bomber in New Orleans.
2.) Washington linebacker LaVar Arrington. He'll look like a rookie for about 10 minutes, rushing around the weak tackles of the NFC East.
3.) Cleveland cornerback Daylon McCutcheon. The Browns thought they were drafting a cover guy when they got this 5-foot-8 gnat out of Southern Cal last year. But he's surprisingly physical and will emerge as one of the game's best corners this year.
4.) Philadelphia tackle Jon Runyan. His run-blocking will make Duce Staley a contender for the rushing title.
5.) Chicago quarterback Cade McNown. The perfect quarterback for offensive coordinator Gary Crowton's wide-open system busts out with a 3,500-yard passing season. The Bears enter heady territory: Wild Card-ville.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and appears each Sunday on CNN's "NFL Preview." Come back and chat with Peter about the upcoming NFL season at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, July 13.
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