NFL just around the conor!

New England looks even stronger than a year ago, having worked a deal to get running back Corey Dillon out of Cincinnati. The Patriots, who also made some moves on defense, have the most focused coach in the game in Bill Belichick, but they also have the title of "Super Bowl champion."
_Seven teams have new coaches, but the freshest story of them all also is the oldest. When Joe Gibbs walked away from a wildly successful 12-year run in Washington in 1993, he did so at the top of his game, after three consecutive playoff appearances and just a year removed from a Super Bowl crown. A dozen years later, Gibbs, 63, agreed to come out of retirement and assume the mess Steve Spurrier (12-22 in two seasons) left behind.
_With Gibbs on board, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder made a trade that rated as one of the biggest in NFL history, when the Redskins and Denver pulled off a rare superstar-for-superstar deal. Washington shipped five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey to the Broncos for running back Clinton Portis, who has rushed for 3,009 yards and 29 touchdowns the past two years.
_Speaking of trades, wide receiver Terrell Owens, with the help of the NFL Players Association, managed to beat the system by freeing himself of a deal orchestrated by San Francisco with Baltimore. Instead, Owens got the swap voided and signed with Philadelphia, which finally landed a big-play component for Donovan McNabb and its passing game. The arrival of Owens, plus the blockbuster signing of former Tennessee defensive end Jevon Kearse, considered the No. 1 free agent on the market, left the Eagles as the team to beat in the NFC. Then again, they've also lost three consecutive conference-title games, including two at home.
_In Atlanta, fans will hold their breath with each step quarterback Michael Vick takes from the pocket. In `02, Vick almost single-handedly guided the Falcons from futility to a victory from the NFC title game.
Vick broke his right leg on a preseason scramble last year, which caused him to miss 11 games, ending Atlanta's dreams for another wild season. How Rich McKay, the team's new general manager, and first-year Coach Jim Mora Jr. use Vick in the exhibition season bears watching.
_The amount of player turnover was noteworthy. Aside from Bailey and Portis, other familiar faces in new places include quarterbacks Kurt Warner (New York Giants), Jeff Garcia (Cleveland) and Mark Brunell (Washington); wide receivers Keyshawn Johnson (Dallas), Joey Galloway (Tampa Bay) and David Boston (Miami); running backs Charlie Garner (Tampa Bay), Garrison Hearst (Denver) and Duce Staley (Pittsburgh); defensive linemen Warren Sapp and Ted Washington (both in Oakland), along with end Grant Wistrom (Seattle); cornerbacks Troy Vincent (Buffalo), Antoine Winfield (Minnesota) and Bobby Taylor (Seattle); and safety John Lynch (Denver).
NFL parity dictates that some team will vault from mediocrity (or worse) into title contention.
Last year, Carolina and Dallas were the league's big surprises, with the Panthers falling to the Patriots on a field goal with four seconds left in perhaps the greatest Super Bowl of them all. Who doesn't want another finish like that?
The NFL is just days away . . . and it can't get here soon enough.

posted by Anonymous @ 7:41 AM

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