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Thoughts on the final four ...
Posted: Wednesday January 13, 1999 02:31 PM
Every once in a while, I get something right. Way back at the end of August, on our opening show of "NFL Preview," I said, "Not only will Randy Moss be the best rookie to come out of this year's draft but, by the middle of the season he'll be the best receiver in the NFL." When the Atlanta Falcons started the season off 2-0, I predicted they would be in the playoffs. Albeit I did mention the words "wild card" and "Falcons" in the same sentence. Be that as it may the Dirty Birds have been a breath of fresh air. During the season, we at "NFL Preview" predict each week's winners. I must say I just about lapped the field, which of course contained Ron Meyer and Sports Illustrated's Peter King. Along the way, I've learned quite a bit from each. Peter talked about the "hungry team theory," which down the stretch when teams were fighting for playoff spots proves to be true more often than not. Ron, who I spent a lot of time with off camera, taught me words I can't repeat even on the Internet. The Vikings and Falcons combined for a grand total of three losses. The Vikings fell short of perfection when Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott each rushed for more than 100 yards in a 27-24 loss. The Falcons looked like the "same old Falcons" in Week 3 when they fell behind the 49ers 14-0 early in the first quarter at 3Com Park. The other Falcon loss occurred against the Jets, when a 44-year-old man was under center while Chris Chandler nursed a few boo-boos. The old man, Steve DeBerg, did come to the rescue later in the season. (Now I'm at peace with the AARP.) The Falcons don't come at you with the firepower that the Vikings possess. They do it the old-fashioned way with a bulldozer named Jamal Anderson. Defensively, the Falcons aren't overly tricky or cute. They don't have blazing speed. They play a basic four-man front and tight zone coverage. The Falcons make you earn your keep. Safeties William White and Eugene Robinson should have been washed up long ago. The same could be true of Cornelius Bennett and Jessie Tuggle. The Vikings are like Amazon.com. You think you've seen how high they can go and then split 3-for-1 and post a new all-time high. Speed and size on offense and defense. Think about how wild this is. Who ever heard of a kicker having a perfect season? There are two types of good teams. Type A, being good enough to beat everyone you face. Type B, playing with fewer mistakes than your opponent and not beating yourself. The Denver Broncos are definitely a Type A team. They throw offense galore at you. John Elway, Terrell Davis and receivers Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey. Shannon Sharpe can beat you with his hands -- and his tongue. Howard Griffith is the best blocking fullback in football. The unusually mobile offensive line, they run, trap, pull, screen block and cut and chop (legally) with the best of them. Defensively, when the offense rolls up those big leads, the defense will tease with a score or two, but you can't make up the lost ground. Bill Parcells told me during the 1997 season that his Jets team wasn't there yet, but that he knew what the finished product was supposed to look like. He's close. No one would have believed that Vinny Testaverde could play the way he has this year. Who would have ever thought that novelist Keyshawn Johnson and Wayne Chrebet could co-exist and flourish on the same team. Quick name one Jet defensive lineman you're not related to. Couldn't do it, could you? Parcells is on the doorstep of taking his third team to the Super Bowl this decade. Too bad that door step is a mile high. CNN/SI NFL analyst James Lofton offers up his weekly column every Thursday on CNNSI.com.
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