Football Digest articles from September 2001

Football Digest archives from September 2001

Remember the Titans?
September 1, 2001... I MISS THE DAYS OF DYNASTIES. I miss Goliath. When parity arrived in the NFL soon after the inception of free agency in 1993, something meaningful departed. Teams like the Green Bay Packers of the 1960s, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the...

The Fans Speak Out.
September 1, 2001... Old-time alignment How were the 16 NFL teams aligned prior to the NFL-AFL merger? A friend of mine claims there were four divisions: East, Central, West, and Century. I say there were two conferences: Eastern and Western. Who is correct? I...

The Stat Sheet: Emmitt Smith.
September 1, 2001... 1,561 The number of yards Smith needs to break Walter Payton's all-time rushing record of 16,726. Smith currently stands at 15,166 yards, which is third on the list, 103 yards behind Barry Sanders. 88.7 The number of rushing yards...

Franchise Snapshot: Baltimore Ravens.
September 1, 2001... * The Ravens defense of 2000 has been called the best of all time by some, but the Tennessee Titans defense actually gave up fewer yards (3,813 to 3,967). * Defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis got his troops motivated the night before the...

No End in Sight.
September 1, 2001... The good times are just starting for the Kansas City tight end, who has the world in the palm of his hand IT WAS JUST THIS PAST FEBRUARY that Tony Gonzalez played in his second straight Pro Bowl game, posed in the Hawaiian surf with...

Time's Up.
September 1, 2001... The pressure is on Mike Holmgren to bring his rebuilding plan in Seattle to fruition MIKE HOLMGREN LEANED back from the breakfast table at the NFL owners' meetings last March in Palm Desert, Calif., adjusted his sunglasses, placed his...

The Super Bowl Shuffle.
September 1, 2001... AS ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE THE case these days, there is no clear-cut favorite to win the Super Bowl. There are numerous legitimate candidates to go all the way in 2001, including: * The Baltimore Ravens. After riding their defense to the NFL...

Our Predicted Order of Finish.
September 1, 2001... American Football Conference AFC East 1. New York Jets 2. Indianapolis Colts 3. Miami Dolphins 4. Buffalo Bills 5. New England Patriots AFC Central 1. Baltimore Ravens 2. Tennessee Titans 3....

Starting Over.
September 1, 2001... First-year coach Herman Edwards is making football seem fun again for the new-look Jets HAS ANY DIVISION BEEN MORE competitive and more topsy-turvy in recent years than the AFC East? All five members have finished first since 1995, and all...

The Strong Get Stronger.
September 1, 2001... By signing Elvis Grbac, the Ravens have added some pop to their offense and--gulp!--improved their team as a whole WINNING THE AFC CENTRAL title, it seems, isn't the ticket to the Super Bowl. The past two seasons, the division's runner-up...

Instant Gratification.
September 1, 2001... Rod Smith and the loaded Broncos have been doing everything they can to reclaim the Lombardi Trophy HAD MIKE SHANAHAN PREpared the ark prior to the Flood, he might well have decided that two animals of every variety weren't enough. Noah's...

An Eagles.
September 1, 2001... A winning feeling surrounds Donovan McNabb and Philadelphia as they prepare to make a title run THIS IS A DIVISION WITH TWO classes: The upper class includes the defending NFC champion New York Giants and the rapidly rising Philadelphia...

If at First You Don't Succeed ...
September 1, 2001... After falling short of expectations last year, the Bucs simply reloaded with players like Brad Johnson IT WASNT ALL THAT LONG AGO that the NFC Central was the NFL's weak sister. The division, however, has ascended the league's family tree...

Out of Reach.
September 1, 2001... Marshall Faulk and the Rams should run to the front of the pack and toward another Super Bowl IF YOU LIKE PARITY, YOU HAVE to love the NFC West. Over the past five years, each of the five teams has won the division rifle. You can't ask for...

Names and Numbers.
September 1, 2001... 2001 NFL Team-by-Team Schedule 2001 NFL Team-by-Team Schedule ARIZONA CARDINALS Sep. 9 OPEN DATE Sep. 16 at Washington Sep. 23 DENVER Sep. 30 ...

NFL Realignment.
September 1, 2001... HERE'S HOW THE NFL'S DIVISIONS WILL LOOK STARTING WITH THE 2002 SEASON, when the league expands to 32 teams with the debut of the Houston Texans: NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE NFC EAST Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia...

QUICK QUIZ.
September 1, 2001... 1. True or false: No team that captured a division title in 1999 duplicated the feat in 2000. 2. Who holds the Green Bay Packers' single-season rushing record: Jim Taylor, Edgar Bennett, Dorsey Levens, or Paul Hornung? 3. Randall...