August 17, 1998 | Volume 89, Issue 7

1997 Record 11-5 (2nd in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 18/4/7; defense 13/24/23

Bryce Paup, signed by the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent after three seasons with the Bills, was one of five players chosen for the Pro Bowl who changed teams during the off-season. The...

Running back James Stewart won't give up the starting position to first-round pick Fred Taylor of Florida without a fight. In his lone appearance as the feature back last season, a 38-21 win over...

1997 Record 11-5 (1st in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense½3/6; defense 1/18/6

Free agency and salary-cap constraints have stripped the Steelers of several of their best defensive players in recent years. But Pittsburgh's stout defense against the run, a signature of its...

The shift of Justin Strzelczyk from right to left tackle, necessitated by the departure of free agent John Jackson to the Chargers, recalls a similar move Strzelczyk made in '95 after Jackson went...

1997 Record 8-8 (3rd in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 3/29/18; defense 4/27/22

Tennessee's Anthony Cook was the only defensive lineman in the NFL to start all 16 regular-season games last year and fail to get a sack. (In addition, the Oilers' Barron Wortham was one of only...

If there were such a thing as the Thick Skin Award, then sixth-year left tackle Brad Hopkins would have been a multiple winner early in his career, with coaches and the media constantly on his...

1997 Record 7-9 (4th in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 9/13/10; defense 29/21/28

Bengals center Darrick Brilz has played in 159 regular-season games, more than any other active player who has never appeared in an NFL playoff game. The 34-year-old Brilz is still more than two...

Outside linebacker James Francis had 3½ sacks and one interception in '97, but his disdain for off-season workouts is growing tiresome. The Bengals used their third-round pick on a possible...

1997 Record 6-9-1 (5th in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 22/5/9; defense 10/28/25

In 1997 the average age of the Ravens' starting linebackers—Peter Boulware, Ray Lewis, Jamie Sharper and Cornell Brown (who started one game in place of Sharper)—was only 22.7 years (based on the...

The Ravens could have one of the league's best linebacking crews, keyed by second-year OLB Peter Boulware, who bulked up 15 pounds in the off-season in anticipation of facing more double teams....

1997 Record 12-4 (2nd in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 4/9/1; defense 16/5/5

Last January the Broncos became the oldest team to win a Super Bowl (which has been played since the 1966 season) based on the average game-day age of the players who participated in the title...

In the wake of their Super Bowl victory, the Broncos identified cornerback Ray Crockett as the one free agent they could not afford to lose. So on Feb. 12, the day before the free-agent signing...

1997 Record 8-8 (3rd in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 13/1/3; defense 12/14/8

It will not go down as the most memorable event to occur in Dallas on a Nov. 22, but on that date in that city this year, Warren Moon and Kevin Glover have a chance to become the oldest...

Outside linebackers Darrin Smith and Chad Brown are the keys to a promising defense. Signed away from the Eagles as a free agent, Smith is noted for his speed. Brown, who lined up solely on the...

1997 Record 13-3 (1st in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 5/24/14; defense 7/16/11

Ten teams allowed fewer yards in 1997 than did the Chiefs, but none allowed fewer points. How did Kansas City do it? Some factors: The Chiefs finished fourth in the NFL in takeaways, held their...

New No. 2 receiver Derrick Alexander gives quarterback Elvis Grbac not only a big (6'2", 195) target but a familiar one. The two played together at Michigan....

Mike Ditka reinvents himself more often than Madonna.—MICHAEL RANOS, Annawan, Ill,

Letters to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED should include the name, address and home telephone number of the writer. They may be mailed to The Editor, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Time & Life Building, New York,...

1997 Record 4-12 (4th in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 23/8/13; defense 30/30/30

Last year the Raiders suffered a loss of yardage on 17.5% of their rushing plays (excluding quarterback kneel-downs), the highest percentage of negative-yardage rushing plays by any team. The...

A standout with NFL Europe's Rhein Fire in 1996, punter Leo Araguz established himself Stateside last season. He dropped 28 punts inside the 20, tying him with the Chiefs' Louie Aguiar for the AFC...

1997 Record 4-12 (5th in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 28/21/28; defense 11/22/21

Sixty-three players appeared in at least one game for the Chargers last year, but only four of those entered the league as first-round selections in the regular NFL draft. That was the lowest such...

Left guard Aaron Taylor admits he's not the same player he was before knee injuries in '94 and '96, but that didn't stop San Diego from offering up a four-year, $10.8 million contract to pry him...

Believing that college football hotbeds can provide players and fans for their franchises, NBC and Time Warner are moving forward with plans to give birth to a new league by the summer of 2000

1. With all due respect to Dr. Z, Mike Holmgren will guide his Packers to a 31-20 win over the Jaguars in the Super Bowl. Five days later Seahawks owner Paul Allen will hand Holmgren the keys to...

Giants safety Shaun Williams and other first-year players increase their chances for NFL success if they play it by the book

1997 Record 10-5-1 (1st in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 7/28/27; defense 3/26/18

Danny Kanell's 7-2-1 regular-season record as an NFL starting quarterback is the best through 10 career-opening starts since Mike Tomczak went 10-0 as a Bears starter during the 1986 and '87...

Coordinator John Fox's defensive schemes, which allow for more improvisation up front, gave end Michael Strahan the chance to show off his pass-rushing skills last year. Strahan, who had been...

1997 Record 8-7-1 (second in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 21/11/16: defense 28/3/16

If he starts in the Redskins' Week I game against the Giants, Darrell Green will become the oldest defensive back to start an NFL regular-season opener since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. On Sept. 6,...

Defensive end Rich Owens should be salivating at the prospect of being joined by tackles Dan Wilkinson and Dana Stubblefield. Playing alongside underachievers William Gaines and Chris Mims last...

1997 Record 6-10 (4th in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 20/20/20; defense 24/1/2

Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin have led the Cowboys in passing yards, rushing yards and receptions, respectively, in each of the last seven years. That's an NFL record that, in the...

The Cowboys have not had a consistent No. 2 receiver since Alvin Harper left after the 1994 season. Will free-agent pickup Ernie Mills (138 catches in seven years) be the solution? He knows Chan...

1997 Record 4-12 (5th in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 30/10/24; defense 27/15/27

Cardinals linebacker Jamir Miller left UCLA after his junior year and entered the NFL in 1994 at age 20. He played 58 games in his first four pro seasons and is now within striking distance of the...

Fullback Larry Centers had only 54 receptions last season compared with his 101 and 99 in '95 and '96, respectively. Centers's productivity should pick back up under new offensive coordinator Marc...

1997 Record 3-9-1 (3rd in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 10/6/5; defense 25/7/13

Last year the Eagles averaged 349.4 net yards per game, their third-best single-season figure since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. But Philadelphia's scoring average of 19.8 points per game was not...

Coach Ray Rhodes is high on rookie Jeremiah Trotter, a third-round selection out of Stephen F. Austin, and expects Trotter to push James Willis at middle linebacker....

Believe it. Armed with a real, live passing attack, the Bucs now have the arsenal to take on Green Bay and take command of the division

1997 Record 10-6 (2nd in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 11/30/29; defense 6/10/3

Seven players drafted by the Bucs in the 1990s have represented the franchise in the Pro Bowl. That's the highest such total in the league—one more than that of San Francisco, Dallas or...

Fiery second-year right guard Frank Middleton has the ever-expanding girth of a young Nate Newton, but if he can keep the weight down, the Arizona product can be as dominant a player as his...

1997 Record 13-3 (first in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 12/3/4; defense 20/8/7

Is Brett Favre unbeatable at Lambeau Field? Not quite, but Favre has the highest career winning percentage in games started at home of any quarterback who began his NFL career since 1967, the year...

Second-year man Darren Sharper's move from corner in the Packers' dime package to starting free safety will create more big-play chances for the defense. He set a Green Bay record with three...

1997 Record 9-7 (4th in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 6/14/8; defense 23/29/29

Last year Randall Cunningham was reunited with Cris Carter, a teammate of his on the Eagles in the late 1980s. By hooking up for five regular-season touchdown passes in 1997, the duo became only...

The left side of the offensive line boasts Pro Bowl players Randall McDaniel and Todd Steussie, but in one regard the pair has nothing on the right-side tandem of guard David Dixon and tackle...

August 20, 1979

1997 Record 9-7 (3rd in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 2/12/2; defense 18/13/14

The Lions had the NFL's most efficient two-minute offense last year, averaging 2.23 points per drive on their 39 possessions that began in the final two minutes of a half. The top five teams in...

Rookies looking to win their coach's heart need look no further than fourth-year defensive tackle Luther Elliss. Not only did Elliss finish second on the team with 8½ sacks in '97, but the...

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1997 Record 4-12 (5th in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 16/15/17; defense 19/11/12

The 1998 Bears are only the fourth team in NFL history to begin a season with five consecutive games against teams that made the playoffs the previous year. Coach Dave Wannstedt would surely...

The Bears may have discovered a deep threat in second-year wideout Marcus Robinson. After spending last season on injured reserve, Robinson led NFL Europe with 811 receiving yards and a 20.8-yard...

1997 Record 13-3 (1st in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 8/18/12; defense 2/2/1

The 49ers signed Ty Detmer this winter to back up Steve Young. Both quarterbacks played their college ball at Brigham Young, the school that boasts the highest cumulative career passer rating in...

Second-year fullback Marc Edwards will have to do more than just block for Garrison Hearst if he is to replace the departed William Floyd, a key player in the short passing game. Edwards had six...

1997 Record 7-9 (3th in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 19/22/23; defense 8/20/20

Dan Reeves, a college quarterback at South Carolina who played running back for the Cowboys from 1965 to '72, threw three regular-season touchdown passes during his NFL career (all to Lance...

First-round pick Keith Brooking of Georgia Tech doesn't plan on dueling with David Brandon and Henri Crockett for the strongside linebacker spot. "They wouldn't have taken me with the 12th pick if...

1997 Record 7-9 (tied for second in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 15/26/26; defense 22/9/15

Carolina's slide to a 7-9 record last year following an appearance in the 1996 NFC Championship Game was one of the season's biggest surprises. A harbinger of this decline was the Panthers' 0-4...

Left guard Matthew Campbell is the feel-good free-agent story of the year. Of the original 10 Panthers signed as off-the-street walk-ons before the team's '95 startup, Campbell is the only one...

1997 Record 5-11 (5th in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 24/17/21; defense 9/17/17

Tony Banks has already fumbled 36 times in his first two pro seasons. That's the most fumbles by any NFL player over a two-year span since the league began compiling individual fumble statistics...

After going undrafted out of Howard, reserve safety Billy Jenkins Jr. proved his worth last year with a team-high 23 special teams tackles. On Dec. 14, in his first start at strong safety subbing...

Ballplayers' lament: Breaking up is hard to do

•What David Stern shave.

1997 Record 6-10 (4th in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 27/27/30; defense 14/6/4

Few positions in professional sports require thicker skin than quarterback for a Mike Ditka-coached team. Seventeen men have started a game at quarterback for Ditka, but only the seven below have...

The top priority of general manager Bill Kuharich is to extend the contract of weakside linebacker Mark Fields before Fields becomes an unrestricted free agent next February. Fields had 108...

BASEBALL

Best You've Never SeenGet a load of Vladimir Guerrero—if you can

In late June, Arizona pitcher Brian Anderson burned his face in a most embarrassing fashion: He used the side of his jaw to test the temperature of an iron in his Texas hotel room. Then he missed...

For one month at least, Tiger Rudy York was the greatest of sluggers

918At bats without hitting into a double play, a major league record, by Pirates second baseman Tony Womack.

NO

After hitting his 46th home run on Aug. 8, Mark McGwire snapped to reporters that people should "worry about their families" and not his pursuit of Roger Maris's record. Unfortunately, tickets for...

On Aug. 6, Irish swimmer Michelle Smith, who won three gold medals at the 1996 Olympics, was banned for four years for tampering with a urine sample she had submitted for a random drug test. Over...

An Irish boxing organization has offered 40-year-old Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley, who was an amateur fighter two decades ago, $1.65 million to shed his tights and climb into the ring.

TERRY FRANCONAPhiladelphia Phillies manager, on San Francisco Giants outfielder Marvin Benard, who was 12 for 18 against the Phils in a recent series: "If he goes to arbitration, he should take us...

After having had cancer surgery in the spring, Eli Marrero is hitting his stride

Worlds' FairestA Yugoslav center turned heads courtside-and Stateside

Pacers center Rik Smits was in so much pain from damaged nerves on the bottom of both feet that he considered retiring last spring. Then coach Larry Bird hooked him up with physical therapist Dan...

There's a man buried in your kitchen.

Saturday 8/15Rangers at YankeesIt's not the heat, it's the humanity. This summer theDallas-Fort Worth area has suffered through 42 days of100°-plus temperatures and an MLS team ill-advisedly named...

Nobody did a double-take, much less a triple-double-take, upon hearing that Magic Johnson's late-night car wreck of a talk show, The Magic Hour, had been canceled last week. After all, when you...

Ryan Chalmers, Churchville, N.Y.Wheelchair SportsRyan, 9, competing in the 7-9 age division, set a national record in the boys' Softball toss, with a throw of 14.84 meters at the U.S. junior...

Departments

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and CNN team up on the Internet to offer up-to-the-minute sports news and stats. This week, follow the action at the PGA Championship with our real-time scoreboards,...

Striking big league success and a record of 129-47 for the Cuban national team don't change the fact that Orlando Hernandez is still a rookie—and one of only four Yankees pitchers whose next...

Grand LarcenyWho says crime doesn't pay? On Aug. 9 at Tiger Stadium, in broad daylight, Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr. robbed Detroit's Luis Gonzalez of a home run. In the sequence on this and the...

To get an idea of what an NFL quarterback must learn, SI sat in on a meeting at a Redskins minicamp in June. On this day, during a 45-minute classroom session for Washington's four signal-callers,...

Talk about culture shock. Here was Brad Johnson—a meek, gawky Southern kid who had never dreamed of being in Minnesota until the Vikings plucked him in the ninth round of the 1992 draft—standing...

Ever wonder what's going on in the mind of a quarterback between snaps? Here are 40 heart-pounding Super Bowl seconds, as seen through the eyes of Brett Favre

AFC WILD-CARD PLAYOFFSJets over DolphinsSteelers over Patriots

1997 Record 9-7 (3rd in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 25/16/22: defense 21/19/24

The Jets, who improved from 1-15 in 1996 to 9-7 last year, jettisoned both their leading passer and their leading rusher in the off-season. Since 1961, when the NFL expanded to a 14-game schedule,...

Strong safety Victor Green's drop-off in tackles from a team-high 210 in '96 to 124 last year is a testament to the defense's improvement. It means Green wasn't forced to make as many crucial...

Can Drew Bledsoe flourish under his fourth offensive mentor in as many years? That's the biggest question facing these Pats, but not the only one

1997 Record 10-6 (1st in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 26/7/15; defense 5/23/19

Highly touted rookies Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf could learn a thing or two from Drew Bledsoe, who was the most recent quarterback before Manning to be chosen No. I in the NFL draft. Bledsoe has...

By drafting Alabama tight end Rod Rutledge, the Patriots weren't trying to light a fire under Ben Coates. Rather, they hope to use Rutledge to occasionally spell Coates, who looked worn down in...

1997 Record 9-7 (2nd in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 29/2/11; defense 17/25/26

Miami left tackle Richmond Webb has been protecting Dan Marino's blind side since 1990, and he has seven Pro Bowl appearances to show for it. Marino and Webb have started 110 regular-season games...

The Dolphins running attack, which rushed for a measly 3.1 yards per carry last season (the league's fifth-worst average in the past 20 years), should get a much-needed shot of nastiness from...

1997 Record 6-10 (4th in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 14/25/25; defense 15/12/9

Doug Flutie last played in the NFL in 1989, when he appeared in five games with the Patriots. Only one player has returned to the league after a longer absence. Frank Walton, whose son Joe would...

Whoever ends up carrying the ball will have the luxury of running behind fullback Sam Gash. Gash earned his reputation as a dependable blocker at New England by chauffeuring Curtis Martin to three...

1997 Record 3-13 (5th in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 17/19/19; defense 26/4/10

The Colts and the Oilers were the only teams to start the same five players on the offensive line for every regular-season game last year. Included in Indianapolis's quintet were rookies Tarik...

The offensive line, which surrendered an AFC-high 62 sacks last season, returns virtually intact, but it will have a new look. Only center Jay Leeuwenburg will stay put. Tarik Glenn moves from...

No-frills Billy Mayfair knew precisely what to do once he took the lead in the Buick Open

Powerball BluesRookie Caroline Blaylock drives the ball a mile but has trouble making a dollar

What do these players have in common?

With whom would you most like to play golf?

THE AVERAGE winning score in the PGA Championship since 1993, 12.4 under par, matches the Masters for the lowest such figure among the majors. (The British Open winner has averaged eight under,...

1,135

It hurt to lose the U.S. Open in a playoff to Se Ri Pak, but maybe not as much as you'd think. As I told my family after the playoff, it might be for the best that I lost. I wasn't ready to be the...

Lost Ball: An Elmwood (N.Y.) Country Club caddie sued actor Michael Douglas for $155 million last week, charging that Douglas hit him in the groin with a wild tee shot last October. Caddie James...

PGA

The pros could take a lesson from a gleesome threesome of amateurs

What happens when the biggest name in the computer industry interfaces with golf?