AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
Pats better look out for Cats.(My Turn)
OK, so you want my pick for the upcoming NFL season? No you don't. You don't want to hear it because evidently nobody else believes this team can do anything in 2004. I ask you right now, without thinking, what team played the Patriots in last year's Super Bowl? How long did it take you to answer?
Not many would get it right away. They would say Philadel--err ... Carolina. The Panthers were good. This year, they will be great.
Everyone cannot wait to dub the Patriots the next dynasty, following in the footsteps of the Mings, Steelers, 49ers, Cowboys and Iglesiases. People think this for good reason: The Patriots have the best coach in Bill Belichick and the still young-and-hot QB in Tom Brady. They draft well, and their defense is tough and built for January weather.
How about Carolina's John Fox, though? How about a guy who takes over a 1-15 team, improves it to 7-9 and follows that up with 11-5 and a date with Janet and Justin? How about Jake Delhomme--the nicest multimillion-dollar athlete you will ever meet--who is a late-game, pressure quarterback and has the fire to lead and an arm to dazzle? Get Delhomme on a field with stuff flying, and he becomes a demon. He yells, he grabs and he fights.
Who pays attention to Steve Smith? Terrell Owens is a better self-promoter, but Smith is a better receiver. He's not big, but he can fly. A former punt returner, Smith has moves that make him hard to bring down in the open field. Smith has possession receiver-type hands and the burners of something Wile E. Coyote would order from Acme.
Now let's talk defense. There is no better front seven than the Panthers'. The defensive line is dynamic, cohesive and signed through 2007.
The linebackers are underrated. Mark Fields is back after a year of dealing with Hodgkin's disease. His raw speed coming on blitzes when that front four is beating up an offensive line gives the Panthers the best pass rush in the NFL. Last year, Fields cheered from the sidelines as he recovered; this year, his teammates will be clapping for ...