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Top 10 questions
With the first training camp opening on Tuesday -- in Cleveland, where the Browns need all the two-a-days they can get -- it's time to answer the 10 most pressing questions you'll all be asking as players file into their stuffy dorm rooms over the next two weeks. 1. Have the Redskins spent their way to the Super Bowl? I say no. Buying Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders and Jeff George is great for the Hot Stove League, but all are past their Prime Times. Top pick LaVar Arrington will have the most immediate impact on the 'Skins. If they struggle out of the gate against a soft September schedule, look for coach Norv Turner to feel the hot breath of owner Dan Snyder on his neck. 2. How will Ray Lewis fit in back in the NFL world? He'll get tons of support from his hometown Raven fans, but beware of life outside the Baltimore cocoon. Lewis is not a media magnet who does well in the public eye. I question whether he'll be ready for incessant media probing about his accepting a lesser charge on double-murder charges. And I question whether he'll be able to turn the other cheek when Baltimore opens in Pittsburgh Sept. 3 and he gets roasted by the fans. 3. Is this the Jaguars' last stand? It could well be. Tennessee's ready to assume AFC Central dominance. Jacksonville is poised to be $35 million over the cap in 2001. Notre Dame will come after Tom Coughlin hard after this season. And the two franchise players -- quarterback Mark Brunell and left tackle Tony Boselli -- are looking gimpier by the year. Win now or forever hold your peace, Jags. 4. Do the Cowboys have one last run in them? Not on my playoff board. They did the right thing in going away from the stiff, too-structured offense of Chan Gailey, but players win. And this is a team with an aging running back, a quarterback coming off two subpar years and three speed receivers with no over-the-middle roughneck in the bunch. This looks like a 7-9 team waiting to happen. 5. Can the Rams repeat? I don't think so, but they've got a better shot than most of you wiseacres think. Let's debunk the tough schedule angle right now. St. Louis doesn't play a 10-win team from last year until Minnesota in Week 14. Unless teams catch up to Mike Martz's funny stuff on offense early, there'll be a rematch of last year's NFC title game on Jan. 14 in Tampa. 6. Speaking of the Rams, what team will be this year's surprise story? Chicago. Coach Dick Jauron is building a sturdy defense, and he already has a track team on offense. Wideout Marcus Robinson is the NFL's next great receiver. 7. What players enter training camp under the most pressure? I'll give you one in the NFC, one in the AFC. Ricky Williams has to add a yard to his 3.5-yards-per-carry rookie-year average to keep the boobirds off him in New Orleans. He has a better shot at that than Kordell Stewart has of regaining his touch in Pittsburgh. 8. Can the Jets survive the double loss of Bill Parcells and Keyshawn Johnson? New York will join Indy as the AFC East's playoff representatives, but they won't be good enough to win at Tennessee or Jacksonville in January. The Jets will miss Parcells' heart and Johnson's reach come playoff time. 9. Is Daunte Culpepper ready to rally the Vikings? No. By October, we'll all see what a dumb move it was to jettison Jeff George without a competent quarterback in reserve. 10. Who will win the Super Bowl? I think Keyshawn makes Shaun King 20 percent better. And so I like Tampa, playing on its home field, shutting down potent Tennessee 19-10. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and appears each Sunday on CNN's NFL Preview. Chat with Peter on Thursday, July 13, at 1 p.m.
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