Football Digest articles from December 2003

Football Digest archives from December 2003

Three teams to watch.(Kickoff)
December 1, 2003... THE 2003 SEASON HAS OFFERED even more proof that the NFL is the league of opportunity. It's a league in which a team can be down and out one season and a championship contender the next. Here are the latest three examples: Minnesota...

Cleveland rocks.(The Fans Speak Out)
December 1, 2003... I am angry that the Cleveland Browns receivers never get any praise. The Browns were third in the NFL last year in receiving touchdowns and have one of the most explosive and versatile groups in the NFL with Quincy Morgan, Kevin Johnson, Dennis...

Best and worst.(The Fans Speak Out)
December 1, 2003... I have been a reader of FOOTBALL DIGEST for two seasons, and you guys do the best job on football that I have seen. Your article on the best and worst of the NFL was pretty good ["You Name It, We've Got It," October 2003]. I didn't agree with...

The crossroads.(The Fans Speak Out)
December 1, 2003... I agree with the fact that you put Dave Wohlabaugh as your center on your article on players facing a make-or-break season ["At the Crossroads," October 2003]. He hasn't played great football since coming to the Rams. He certainly hasn't been...

Not the real LT.(The Fans Speak Out)
December 1, 2003... I really enjoy my subscription to your great football magazine. I look forward to receiving it each time and love reading the fantastic articles. But I must take issue with Joe Donatelli regarding his article on LaDainian Tomlinson ["LT,...

Ready to roar?(The Fans Speak Out)
December 1, 2003... I'm a huge fan of the Detroit Lions, and I've suffered through some tough times. Obviously, the team has been terrible in recent seasons. But I think the Lions will turn things around very soon. There are two reasons why I think this:...

In a fog.(The Fans Speak Out)
December 1, 2003... Your article on Kurt Warner turned out to be particularly insightful ["A Foggy Future," October 2003]. Warner had a couple of the greatest seasons in the history of the NFL, but he is too beat up now to be productive for any period of time. He...

Buffalo's back.(The Fans Speak Out)
December 1, 2003... You guys are going to regret the fact that you picked the Buffalo Bills to finish last in the AFC East [September 2003]. The Bills have everything they need to be a good team his year. On offense, they have playmakers like quarterback Drew...

The genius?(The Fans Speak Out)
December 1, 2003... I'm amazed that everyone though Bill Parcells would turn the Cowboys into winners in his first season in Dallas. Last time I checked, he didn't play running back or quarterback. The Cowboys don't have many weapons on offense, and no amount of...

The NFL's soft side.(Behind the Scenes)
December 1, 2003... EVEN WHEN HE BEAT THE ODDS and earned a roster spot with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1994, Troy Barnett knew his days in the NFL were numbered. The unheralded defensive end from North Carolina immediately started...

Road trips: the Pro Bowl defensive end talks about a varied NFL career that has taken him from New York to Philadelphia to Jacksonville.(Interview: Hugh Douglas)
December 1, 2003... IN HIS NINE NFL SEASONS, HUGH Douglas has been one of the league's best pass-rushers, as well as one of its most traveled. Drafted by the Jets in the first round in 1995, the defensive end spent three years in New York before being traded...

Surf's up: Los Angeles fans do indeed love pro football, but they have better things to do than sit around and worry about landing a new team.
December 1, 2003... THOUSANDS OF WORDS HAVE been written about Los Angeles' failure to land an NFL franchise. Since Al Davis took the Raiders back to Oakland and Georgia Frontiere moved the Rams from the West Coast to the Midwest following the 1994 season, the...

Nowhere men: as several players have proved, just because you start your NFL career in obscurity doesn't mean you have to finish it that way.
December 1, 2003... KURT WARNER IS THE PATRON of NFL quarterbacks who came out of nowhere and found Super Bowl glory. Tom Brady followed in his footsteps a couple of years later. But such success stories aren't limited to the QB position. Virtually every NFL...

Change is good: the NFL is at the peak of its popularity, but we still have 10 suggestions that would make the league even better.
December 1, 2003... SURE, THE NFL IS IN GREAT shape. One look at the TV ratings, merchandise sales, and season-ticket waiting lists will tell you that However, that doesn't mean the league can't afford to make some important lifestyle changes in the interest of...

Picture-perfect: the NFL's television future is bright, starting with the newly launched NFL Network.
December 1, 2003... IN THE TELEVISION WORLD, THE NFL never lacks suitors. If pro football wanted a reality show, someone probably would commission 26 weeks of programs. If NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue wanted a football-oriented game show, a network probably...

Joe Football: there are better players than Panthers wide receiver Ricky Proehl, but none who more keenly exemplify what the game is supposed to be about.
December 1, 2003... HE HAS NEVER BEEN A NO. 1 receiver on a team. He has never gained 1,000 receiving yards in a season. He has never been named to the Pro Bowl. If you timed him in the 40-yard dash these days, he figures he would run about a 4.65, mediocre at...

Game-breakers: Priest Holmes headlines our list of offensive players who are capable of changing the momentum of a game in an instant.
December 1, 2003... DICK VERMEIL IS A LUCKY MAN. When he led the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl title in 1999, Marshall Faulk was his running back. Now Vermeil is head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, and the man carrying the ball for him is Priest Holmes. ...

Glory days: three topnotch NFL linebackers--Dexter Coakley, Zach Thomas, and Derek Smith--share their most enduring memories from college.
December 1, 2003... LINEBACKERS DEXTER COAKLEY, Zach Thomas, and Derek Smith all are enjoying solid NFL careers, but their minds never are far from their college days. Coakley is in his seventh year with the Dallas Cowboys and has been named to the Pro Bowl...

Dermontti Dawson: back in 1988, the offensive lineman's Hall of Fame-caliber NFL career began against Dallas in a blur of excitement.(The Game I'll Never Forget)
December 1, 2003... MANY FOOTBALL PLAYERS spend their whole lives dreaming about their first NFL game, wondering what it's going to feel like and sound like and look like. Funny thing, but that's not how I grew up. Oh, I loved sports--just not football. As a...

The biggest little games: we go to Division III for a look at three classic college rivalries.
December 1, 2003... THE FIERCEST RIVALRIES IN COLLEGE football don't take place in the Horseshoe, Rose Bowl, or Bryant-Denny Stadium. They aren't played before nationally televised audiences. And no bowl games are ever at stake. These rivalries are contested...

Team-by-team single-season records.(Names and Numbers)
December 1, 2003... Team-by-Team Single-Season Records ARIZONA CARDINALS Category Name, Year Record Rushing Yards Ottis Anderson, 1979 1,605 Passing Yards Neil Lomax, 1984 4,614...

Remaining 2003 NFL schedule.(Names and Numbers)
December 1, 2003... Remaining 2003 NFL Schedule YOUR FINAL GAME TIME GUESS SCORE WEEK 7 Open dates: Arizona, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and Pittsburgh Sunday,...

NFL directory.(Names and Numbers)
December 1, 2003... NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE 410 Park Avenue New York, NY 10022 (212) 450-2000 ARIZONA CARDINALS PO BOX 888 Phoenix, AZ 85001 (602) 379-0101 Coach: Dave McGinnis Sun Devil Stadium 72,273 capacity,...

Quick quiz.
December 1, 2003... 1. The Chicago Bears lost to the San Francisco 49ers 49-7 in Week 1. True or false: Since their inception in 1920, it was the Bears' worst opening-day loss. 2. Joey Harrington looks to be the quarterback who eventually can lead the Detroit...