Football Digest articles from January 2002

Football Digest archives from January 2002

Bottoms up. (Kickoff).
January 1, 2002... WE HAVE ONLY ONE COMment regarding all of the rags-to-riches teams in the NFL this season: We would have been surprised if there hadn't been any surprises. You with us? The way the NFL works nowadays, each season offers a chance for...

Our all-underrated team. (The Fans Speak Out).
January 1, 2002... As always, I thoroughly enjoyed your December 2001 edition. However, I really struggled with some of your choices for your All Underrated Team ["Running to the Light"]. I find it difficult to believe any player on high-profile, high-visibility...

Da Bears. (The Fans Speak Out).
January 1, 2002... As a lifelong fan of the Chicago Bears, and as someone who has suffered through so many terrible seasons recently, it's great to see that the Monsters of the Midway are back. The Bears are finally starting to play tough defense, and they're...

Hail to Flutie. (The Fans Speak Out).
January 1, 2002... The Chargers probably won't win the Super Bowl this year, but you have to give them credit for how much they've improved. It all starts with their quarterback, Doug Flutie. Now that he's finally in a situation where he knows he's going to be...

The Bucs go bust. (The Fans Speak Out).
January 1, 2002... What a disappointment the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been this year. The defense, which was supposed to be one of the best in the league, has been strictly average. And the offense is as inconsistent as ever. I don't know what it is about the...

Trash talker. (The Fans Speak Out).
January 1, 2002... I enjoyed reading your "Interview" with Ray Buchanan in the December 2001 issue, and I'm glad you put him on the cover. He seems like an interesting guy with a lot to say. Keep great "Interview" subjects like him coming. That's my favorite...

A star is born. (The Fans Speak Out).
January 1, 2002... I've suddenly become a big fan of Tom Brady, who came off the bench to put up some monster numbers after Drew Bledsoe got injured. I've been impressed with his leadership and his athletic ability. Had he ever even thrown a pass in the NFL...

A new face at Peyton's place. (Rising star: Jerome Pathon).
January 1, 2002... JEROME PATHON TOOK A roundabout route to the NFL. Pathon is a native of Capetown, South Africa, but he made his name as an athlete in Canada. He played in high school in British Columbia and spent a year at Arcadia (Nova Scotia) University. ...

The stat sheet: the Heisman trophy.
January 1, 2002... $328,110 The amount of money 1936 winner Larry Kelly received when he sold his trophy a few years ago. $230,000 The amount of money 1968 winner O.J. Simpson received when he auctioned his trophy off to help pay for a $33.5 million...

The road to glory. (Uncovering the Past.).
January 1, 2002... DURING THE MID- AND LATE 1990s, it seemed as if players from the Green Bay Packers--particularly Brett Favre--were constantly making appearances on our cover. And why not? The Packers, one of the game's cornerstone franchises, were on top, and...

All is well at Green's Bay: the running back was an anonymous figure when he arrived in 2000, but now he is the toast of the town. (Interview: Ahman Green).
January 1, 2002... WHEN THE GREEN BAY Packers traded backup cornerback Fred Vinson to the Seattle Seahawks for halfback Ahman Green on the eve of the 2000 draft, they were looking for a sound backup who could give Dorsey Levens an occasional breather. What...

Leading the pack: Brett Favre and the Packers have returned to the forefront--and they're enjoying every minute of it.
January 1, 2002... BRETT FAVRE TURNED TO THE sideline and shrugged. Then he smiled. Sure, he'd just thrown an interception in an October game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but somehow the quarterback knew it wouldn't hurt his Green Bay Packers. He knew...

Standing the line: it shouldn't come as a surprise that the best offenses in the league have the best players down in the trenches.
January 1, 2002... THINK OF THE FIRST serious lesson you ever had about football. Maybe it was from a Pop Warner coach or a gym teacher or your father. Whether you played professional football or never got further than the playground, that first lesson always has...

The comeback king: no obstacle--not even a career-threatening stomach ailment in the offseason--has been big enough to stop the indomitable Jimmy Smith.
January 1, 2002... JIMMY SMITH MAKES IT LOOK SO EASY and effortless. Watch the Jacksonville Jaguars wideout, and you'll think he was born to play football. From 1996 through 2000, he had 450 receptions, more than any other wideout in the league. The only...

Cleveland rocks: fueled by a tenacious defense, the Browns are beginning to get their act together.
January 1, 2002... AS THEY LEFT THE FIELD ON October 7 as one of the few survivors of a Hail Flutie, the Cleveland Browns defenders looked more relieved than impressed with themselves. After all, it was merely the fourth game of the season. But it was a defining...

Seeing red: once one of the league's model franchises, the Redskins have become an embarrassment.
January 1, 2002... JUST TWO YEARS AGO, THE Washington Redskins were among the elite teams in the NFL. All that prevented them from reaching the 1999 NFC Championship Game was a botched field goal in their divisional playoffs matchup against the Tampa Bay...

"I'm still helping my team win": at 36, Eric Allen is one of the game's oldest players--but the Raiders cornerback has learned to use his age to his advantage.
January 1, 2002... ERIC ALLEN BEGAN HIS NFL career as an eager student of the game. Fourteen years later, he's applying all the lessons he's learned on a weekly basis, defying age and time to remain among the game's top cornerbacks. At 36, Allen is one of...

Chuck Muncie: the running back was dazzling under the bright lights of "Monday Night Football" in 1979, but the Saints were still no match for the Raiders. (The Game I'll Never Forget).
January 1, 2002... WHEN YOU PLAYED FOR THE New Orleans Saints in the 1970s, you weren't used to being on "Monday Night Football." But late in the 1979 season, we played the Oakland Raiders on Monday night, and we built up a three-touchdown lead. I had more than...

Team-by-team postseason standings. (Names and Numbers).
January 1, 2002... Team-by-Team Postseason Standings Team W L Pct. PF PA Baltimore Ravens 4 0 1.000 95 23 Green Bay Packers 22 10 .688 772 558 San Francisco 49ers ...

Individual career postseason records. (Names and Numbers).
January 1, 2002... Games, player 27 D.D. Lewis, Dallas 26 Larry Cole, Dallas 25 Charlie Waters, Dallas Games, head coach 36 Tom Landry, Dallas Don Shula, Baltimore-Miami 24 Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh 22 Bud Grant, Minnesota ...

Team postseason records. (Names and Numbers).
January 1, 2002... Seasons participating in postseason 26 Dallas Cowboys 25 New York Giants 24 Cleveland Browns, L.A./St. Louis Rams Games 53 Dallas Cowboys 39 San Francisco 49ers 38 Minnesota Vikings Games won 32 Dallas...

NFL Directory. (Names and Numbers).
January 1, 2002... NATIONAL FOOTTBALL LEAGUE 410 Park Avenue New York, NY 10022 (212) 450-2000 ARIZONA CARDINALS PO Box 888 Phoenix, AZ 85001 (602) 379-0101 Dave McGinnis, head coach Sun Devil Stadium 72,273 capacity, grass ATLANTA...

2001 NFL weekly schedule. (Names and Numbers).
January 1, 2002... 2001 NFL Weekly Schedule Your Final Game Time (EST) Guess Score WEEK NINE (Open date: Washington) Sunday, November 11 Buffalo at New England ...

Quick quiz.
January 1, 2002... 1. Dan Reeves' last season as coach of the Denver Broncos was 1992, and Mike Shanahan took over in 1995. Who coached Denver in 1993 and '94? 2. True or false: Former New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers linebacker Sam Mills now is the...