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NFL '99

Some important -- and not so important -- details

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Posted: Friday August 27, 1999 04:25 PM

Even with No. 1 pick Tim Couch, Chris Palmer's first year as the Browns' head coach will not be easy. AP

By John Donovan, CNN/SI

So, your fantasy draft is coming up in a week or so. Or, maybe you actually have a life, and you just need to budget your fall Sundays.

Or maybe, just maybe, you've been paying attention to something else since John Elway retired -- the Dow Jones industrial average, politics, the NBA lockout, Mac and Sammy, Austin Powers ... your job, perhaps -- and you need to be brought up to speed on what's going on in the NFL.

Hey, that's why we're here.

The NFL season begins Sept. 12 and, yeah, a lot has changed. There's a new Cleveland Browns, for one. Unfortunately, we still have the old St. Louis Rams.

Elway retired, and so did Barry Sanders -- an important tidbit for you fantasy freaks. And Reggie White finally called it quits up in Green Bay. And Dan Dierdorf was hip-checked out of the Monday Night Football booth.

Coaches came and coaches went, though not necessarily in that order. Ray Rhodes, for instance, was canned after a 3-13 year in Philadelphia and arrived in Green Bay as some kind of a long-lost hero.

No one ever said the NFL was easy to figure out. The trick is knowing what's important to know.

Running backs

This is important: Terrell Davis is the best running back in football, and no one else is close . With Barry Sanders in retirement -- we're avoiding saying he's in self-imposed exile, considering he played in Detroit all those years -- there should be no question that Denver's Davis, who ran for 2,008 yards and scored 23 touchdowns last season, is the best going. Jamal Anderson? Fred Taylor? Curtis Martin? Emmitt Smith? No. No. Nope. And not any more.

Ricky Williams' running totals this year: Not important . The NCAA's all-time leading runner may have a good rookie season with the New Orleans Saints, who handed over their entire draft for the one pick that landed Williams. But he's going to have to work for it. And the Saints, shut out of the postseason since 1992, still will have to scramble to make the playoffs. A key point to remember: If you know Ricky's going to get the ball all the time, don't you think everyone else does, too?

Coaches

Andy Reid is an NFL coach . In Philadelphia. There is some guy named Dick Jauron in Chicago, and longtime coordinator Gunther Cunningham has taken over in Kansas City. Cleveland has some math teacher masquerading as a coach, guy by the name of Chris Palmer. The list -- and we have one -- goes on. It's important to know this because in the past five seasons, first-year coaches have not been all that successful. Of the 10 new head coaches in the past five years, only three (Dallas' Chan Gailey, the New York Giants' Jim Fassel and San Francisco's Steve Mariucci) have had a winning first season.

Bruce Coslet is still in Cincinnati, Dick Vermeil still is in St. Louis and Bobby Ross toils yet in Detroit . That's not all that important to know because, really, does anybody expect them to be there next season? Heck, they all may be gone by the end of this one.

Quarterbacks

Bubby Brister is the new starting quarterback in Denver . Considering the Broncos were the best team in football last year, with Elway at quarterback, this is fairly important. Brister completed nearly 60 percent of his passes and had 10 touchdowns to three interceptions in limited time last season. And he has Davis in the backfield. But will the Broncos be as good as last season? You'd have to think that, no, they won't.

Elway is gone . Get over it, for Pete's sake. It's not important. Sorry, you Broncos babies, but you can't do anything about it.

Brett Favre is the best quarterback in the league . This is important to know if you don't want to come off as an NFL idiot. Yeah, Steve Young is still pretty darn good. And there are other good ones -- Mark Brunell and Randall Cunningham, for two, and we like that Jake Plummer fellow. But Favre has thrown for more than 30 touchdowns in each of the past five seasons, something no other quarterback in the league has done.

It's not important to know the starting quarterback on every team . How can you? Brad Johnson's in Washington, Trent Green's in St. Louis, Tony Banks is backing up Scott Mitchell in Baltimore, some guy named Doug Pederson is in Philadelphia. Don't try to figure it out. It'll only confuse you more.

Defenses

It's important to know the good ones . Tampa Bay will still be good, and so will Green Bay, and San Diego's 'D' is vastly underrated. Look for big things out of Vonnie Holliday in Green Bay (eight sacks as a rookie, and now takes over for Reggie White) and rookie Champ Bailey in Washington. Oakland's Charles Woodson had five interceptions as a rookie last year and could be the next great corner -- if Bailey isn't.

"This kid has an A-No. 1 personality, and seems like an A-No. 1 character to go along with his talent," Washington cornerback Darrell Green said of Bailey, who will play opposite Green.

It's also important to know that Cincinnati's run defense is bad . The Bengals gave up more than 163 yards a game last season. The Bengals also allowed more than 14 yards a pass, again the worst in the league. The Colts were almost as bad against the run (allowing 4.7 yards a carry), and the Carolina Panthers gave up a whopping 30 touchdown passes. You don't need to know much else about those teams.

New rules

Instant replay is back, and that's important to know . Instant replay means fewer blown calls. Simple as that. And this is not your old, creaky IR, either. The reviews this time should not take as long, so that helps. And it's a challenge system, where a coach gets two challenges per half (except inside the last two minutes of the half). Will it be foolproof? C'mon. Is anything in the NFL foolproof?

Balls just for kickers ... that's not important . The NFL isn't allowing kickers to over-inflate balls or rub them down before the game so they act like Underdog in the Macy's parade. The new procedure may result in punts and kickoffs and field goals that aren't quite as long. But kickers are used to getting picked on anyway. No big deal.

What to watch, prime time

These are the best games on national TV this season . Important to know, 'cause who wants to get stuck watching a Chiefs-Ravens game? Steelers at Browns (Sept. 12), Jets at Bills (Sept. 19), 49ers at Cardinals (Sept. 27), Bills at Dolphins (Oct. 4), 49ers at Falcons (Jan. 3), Seahawks at Packers (Nov. 1), Packers at 49ers (Nov. 29), Vikings at Bucs (Dec. 6), Packers at Vikings (Dec. 20), Jets at Dolphins (Dec. 27).

It's important to know that these prime-timers are really, really not important . Chiefs at Ravens (Oct. 21), Cowboys at Giants (Oct. 18), Titans at Dolphins (Nov. 7).

 

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