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Read-letter day in Miami
Posted: Wednesday January 27, 1999 02:26 PM
Click here to send a Super Bowl question to CNN/SI NFL analyst James Lofton. MIAMI (CNN/SI) -- In between all the press conferences, I've found time to answer some questions you've sent in over the past few weeks. Now, we dip into the CNN/SI mailbag ... Who do you think will win the Super Bowl and why? -- Jason Lofton, New York We start off with a tough one. To me, these two teams are mirror images of each other -- very similar at so many positions. Both have underrated four-man fronts, veteran safeties and good linebacking crews keyed by veterans -- Romanowski and Tuggle -- who hit as hard as they can on every down. Offensively, they have non-descript offensive linemen, receivers who get the job done. What's surprising about the two veteran quarterbacks is that Chris Chandler has the better numbers. I can remember Bart Starr telling a young Packers team that respect had to be earned -- not handed to you. In his first 10 years in the NFL, Chandler was never respected, even by his own coaches and players around him. This year, through adversity and flat-out toughness, he earned the respect of not only his teammates, but everyone else around the NFL. Regardless of whether or not the Falcons win on Sunday, Chandler has done what every NFL player wants to do in his career -- he's gained the respect of his peers. Back to the game -- this has undoubtedly the two most productive running backs in the game, with two great fullbacks helping them out. The game may swing at tight end -- Denver's Shannon Sharpe is at the top of his game, while Atlanta's O.J. Santiago may be four or five years away from being perhaps the best tight end in football. But when I've talked with people about this game, everyone says that Sharpe is the player that Atlanta must be able to deal with. OK. You want a score. Let's say Denver, 31-27. How would you compare the receivers for the two teams in the Super Bowl? What are their strengths? -- Bob D., Philadelphia Both teams have a great pair of 1,000-yard receivers, but I'll break it down by their attributes: Speed: The best quick-step going deep goes to Atlanta's Tony Martin. I talked to Denver's Darrien Gordon, who played with Martin in San Diego a few years back, and he said Martin has a "dead leg" move when he's about to go deep -- by the time you see that leg, though, you're five yards behind him. Route-running: This has to go to Atlanta's Terance Mathis. He's the only guy of the bunch who can really stop on a dime. Blocking: Denver's Ed McCaffrey. He can take defensive backs out at the knees, and he can crack-block linebackers, too. He uses his size better than anyone else in the game. Toughness: It's a tossup between Mathis and McCaffrey, the smallest and biggest of these receivers. Play in and play out, they're giving it up for their team. Mathis, who's 5-foot-10 at best, does his best work between the numbers, which is unusual, and McCaffrey's body has got to be black and blue after a game he's played. Big-play ability: Here, I go with Denver's Rod Smith, who has an unusual combination of size, speed, power and jumping ability. His numbers weren't as good this year as last, but I think he's still a big threat and in a game of this magnitude, he'll come up with a big play. With Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Jake Reed, how will the Vikings' receiving corps rank as far as history, compared with a group like the Dolphins had with Mark Clayton and Mark Duper? -- John R. Manogue, Honolulu Way too early to rank these guys historically, and Reed probably won't be back next year. I should point out that the first team ever to send two receivers and a tight end to the Pro Bowl in the same year was the '82 Packers -- that's me, John Jefferson and Paul Coffman. It hasn't been done again since. What is the most difficult position to master in the NFL, and how many years does it take to master? -- Armando Alaniz, Hereford, Texas Believe it or not, I'd say place-kicker. Just handling the pressure of winning and losing games in the NFL is tough. These guys come in to the league undrafted, unheralded, often having to beat out veterans to make a roster. A lot of kickers' resumes have quite a few stops on them. You have to get mentally tough, and I'd say it takes about six years. Just look at how long Gary Anderson, Morten Andersen and Jason Elam have been working at it. Is Jake Plummer the real deal at QB? -- Jim Palma, Scottsdale I love Jake Plummer. Offensive coordinator Marc Trestman has done a great job this year -- his decision to move down from the press box to the sidelines really helped build a good relationship with Plummer. In getting Plummer and trading down in the Ryan Leaf deal, you have to take your hat off to Bob Ferguson as Executive of the Year. This team is poised to make a quantum leap next year, but a big concern is re-signing promising linebacker Jamir Miller.
Man, where is Alvin Harper? Why haven't the Cowboys brought him back, being that there is chemistry between him and Aikman, rather than trying new WRs every year? -- Kevin Moss, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Alvin Harper is alive in well in South Florida. All he does is golf, and he weighs about 240 pounds. In your "Rating the '98 rookies" column, how could you give Detroit's Terry Fair, who is leading the NFC in kickoff returns and is solid in coverage, the same grade as the 49ers' R.W. McQuarters? -- Lionheart, Los Angeles They got the same grades because McQuarters plays for a winning team, and he showed what he can do more late in the season. Fair is also a solid player, but I think R.W. might have a better upside in long-term potential. What do you think are the Raiders' biggest needs? If you were a general manager, who would be your first three picks in this year's draft? -- Carlos Miyares III, Grapevine, Texas The Raiders need offensive line help. Any time you have three quarterbacks go down with injuries in the same year and your main running back weighs 185 pounds, you need the best line in football. As for the picks, I'd go with Texas tailback Ricky Williams for the Browns, then Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch to the Eagles and Georgia cornerback Champ Bailey to the Bengals. Do you think the Patriots will draft and/or pick a free agent at wide receiver -- someone fast and durable? I think Terrell Owens from the 49ers would be ideal -- what do you think the Pats' chances of getting him are? -- Jodi Furtado, Fall River, Mass. The Patriots need help at wide receiver. Going after Owens would be great, because he's the best guy out there. They need to go big rather than small -- they don't have anyone over 200 pounds right now. I like what I saw from rookie Tony Simmons, but he still has a long way to go. I don't think the Patriots can get Owens, though -- free agency is like college recruiting. Regardless of money, the Patriots are a team who's about to move to Hartford -- do they sell players on their team based on the facilities they have now or what they think they'll have in two or three years? Two questions: What happened to Greg Lloyd? He went from making NFL history to "where are they now?" Second, do you think the Chargers are smoking crack for extending Bobby Beathard's contract? He went from Bobby Ross to Kevin Gilbride and June Jones! My 4-year-old daughter can pick names out of a hat and do better than that! -- Torrey McLendon, San Diego The answer on Lloyd is injuries, injuries, injuries. He's just a shadow of his former self now, and he may be retiring. I don't think the Chargers are smoking anything. You need stability -- you need someone who's going to be around a few years later. I talked to Bobby and he was surprised that things hadn't worked out with Gilbride. He likes their new coach, Mike Riley. First as a longtime fan, I wish to express my longtime admiration for you, not only for your accomplishments on the field (a class act in all aspects) but also on CNN, where you have carried over those same qualities. My question is this: Ryan Leaf has had his problems both on and off the field. Do you it takes longer for quarterbacks to mature than it used to? Do the inflated hopes of fans, media and the team inhibit a quarterback's development? -- Stephen J. Feeney, San Diego I'm still a big fan of Leaf, physically. Mentally, he can only get better. Let's not write him off yet. I think the thing that inhibited his development was not having any receivers to throw to. Gilbride wouldn't simplify his offense for the rookie -- think about how good Leaf looked in preseason. Wait and see, wait and see. Can anyone stop Randy Moss, and if so, how, because as I watch what he does on the field, it amazes me. Teams know what is coming but still are helpless to stop him. -- Chuck Genung, Elmira, N.Y. Teams need to double-team him. Get a big, physical corner to bang on him, and back that guy up with a safety. And make him run his routes across the middle. He's shown he can beat anybody deep outside the numbers. He's going to have to grow a little -- put on 8-10 pounds of muscle. He's never going to look heavy, but it will help him. He needs to expand the field -- he's stretched it vertically, but now he needs to show he can stretch defenses horizontally. Lions rookie receiver Germane Crowell made some amazing catches this season, but he also made some drops that should have been routine grabs. Do you think Crowell will ever pan out as a go-to guy? -- Mike, Tampa Crowell is a good, physical young receiver. The Lions need somebody with size and speed -- Herman Moore has the size, but no speed at all, an Johnnie Morton has the speed but is a bit small. The Lions are kind of married to those guys because of big contracts, but Crowell could certainly develop as a big target for them. These are my questions. First, who do you think is the best receiver in NFL? Second, who is the best defensive end in the NFL? Last, do you think Jerry Rice is thinking of retiring? -- Alex Ikejiani, Atlanta Randy Moss gets my vote for best receiver. He's redefined what teams want at the position. Nobody has come into the league as big or as fast as a receiver since, well, I came in. Best end? I like Jacksonville's Tony Brackens, looking to the future a little bit. He's had some injuries, but when he's healthy, nobody can stop him. I don't think Rice is really thinking of retiring, but two or three years down the line perhaps. I really think 2000 might be his swan song. Once you're elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, what team will you represent: Green Bay Packers or Buffalo Bills? -- Carlos Bledsoe, Buffalo Really, it's not usually up to the players. They weigh it on who you played for the longest, which means I'll go in as a Packer. The only player who had a choice was Michael Haynes, who had seven years each with the Raiders and Patriots -- he went in with the Raiders. If it were my choice, I'd split the helmet right down the middle and go in as both.
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