Football Digest articles from April 2005

Football Digest archives from April 2005

Let the stars shine.(Kickoff)
April 1, 2005... THIS IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE issues to put together. It's our annual awards extravaganza, so we get to honor the best players the NFL has to offer. Sometimes the choices can be difficult, but this year, anyway, the pick for Offensive Player...

Manning musings.(The Fans Speak Out)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... I felt so bad for Peyton Manning after the Indianapolis Colts' loss to the New England Patriots in the playoffs this season. Manning had such an incredible season, and it was a shame to see it end that way. For whatever reason, he just can't...

Nerves of steel.(The Fans Speak Out)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... Tom Brady continues to amaze me. He's never talked about as one of the best quarterbacks in football, but there is no doubt in my mind that he should be. Some players have better stats, but no one works better in the clutch than he does. The...

Underrated.(The Fans Speak Out)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... I've never understood why San Diego Chargers linebacker Donnie Edwards doesn't get more publicity. He does it all, week in and week out. You guys should do a story on him. He deserves it. Justin Knobel Springfield, Mo.

Franchise snapshot: Pittsburgh steelers.
April 1, 2005... * Ben Roethlisberger became the first quarterback to be named NFL offensive rookie of the year since the award's inception in 1957,. * Roethlisberger set an NFL rookie quarterback record by winning all 13 of his regular-season starts in...

Shooting for the stars: we spotlight 10 players who had breakthrough seasons in 2004.
April 1, 2005... THE USUAL SUSPECTS CAME TO the fore in 2004: Peyton Manning set records with his passing, LaDainian Tomlinson once again was a stud, and Terrell Owens was everything he advertised he would be when he moved from the San Francisco 49ers to the...

Does character count? In the NFL, that all depends on how you define it.
April 1, 2005... EVEN IF HE HAD WON THE Super Bowl this season, Jamal Lewis wouldn't have gone to Disney World. At least not for a while. The Baltimore Ravens running back had other plans for his offseason. There would be no vacation. Instead, soon after...

A season for the ages: the Colts quarterback rewrote the record book en route to winning our award in a landslide.(Player of the year: Peyton Manning)(Cover Story)
April 1, 2005... PEYTON MANNING HAS A GREAT sense of history. So when he surveys the names of players who have won major individual awards, he appreciates having his moniker among the likes of Joe Montana, John Elway, John Unitas, and Dan Marino. In some...

Baltimore's new king: the safety rose to the top of Ravens defense that is among the most fearsome in football.(Defensive player of the year: Ed Reed)
April 1, 2005... MIDDLE LINEBACKER RAY LEWIS is the heart and soul of the Baltimore Ravens' defense. Yet in 2004, he wasn't its best player. That distinction was held by safety Ed Reed, who carried his stellar play even beyond the Ravens' roster. Reed is...

Star power: we had some easy choices--like New York's Curtis Martin--in picking the very best of the best.(All-pro team: Curtis Martin)
April 1, 2005... EASY CHOICES? HOW ABOUT Peyton Manning, Terrell Owens, James Farrior, Dwight Freeney, Ed Reed, and Adam Vinatieri? Difficult decisions? How about not including Ray Lewis, Champ Bailey, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Kevin Mawae at all? ...

Back on top: the Steelers coach returned to the smash-mouth style of football he knows best and with stunning results.(Coach of the year: Bill Cowher)
April 1, 2005... BILL COWHER IS ANYTHING BUT a fool. Still, he knows he allowed himself to be fooled in 2003. Cowher is as meat-and-potatoes as anyone in the Steel City. He'd fit perfectly on a construction site or in a coal mine. His kind of football has...

Up and running: it didn't take long for players like Kevin Jones to get used to life in the NFL.(All-rookie team: Kevin Jones)
April 1, 2005... SOME YEARS, IT'S ALMOST impossible to fill out an all-rookie team. Not in 2004. How often is there such an easy choice at quarterback--or at any position at all--as the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger? Indeed, Big Ben deserved...

Believe it or not: the life of Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson is so remarkable that it seems to have come right out of, well, Hollywood.
April 1, 2005... HAD A SCRIPT OF WHAT WOULD become Thomas "Hollywood Henderson's amazing life story been pitched to a movie producer years ago, it likely would have been dismissed as far too sensational to believe. But the former-Dallas Cowboys star is living...

A legend remembered: some former opponents and teammates share their memories of the late defensive end.
April 1, 2005... REGGIE WHITE'S PLACE IN FOOTBALL history would have been cemented on the numbers and accomplishments alone. Yes, in between sobs of sorrow at University Park Baptist Church in Charlotte in December, there were tales of sacked quarterbacks and...

Final 2004 NFL rosters.(Names and Numbers)
April 1, 2005... Final 2004 NFL Rosters ARIZONA CARDINALS No. Name Position Height Weight 30 Ayanbadejo, Obafemi FB 6'2" 235 92 Berry, Bert DE 6'3" 250 81...

Quick quiz.
April 1, 2005... 1. The New England Patriots have been to five Super Bowls. Name all the seasons in which they made it to the big game. 2. How many consecutive NFC title games had the Philadelphia Eagles lost before they finally broke through in 2004? ...