Thursday, January 13, 2000
These aren't your father's playoffs
Nameless QBs may be stars of postseason
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It's not exactly Rollerball, but the 21st century NFL is off to a breakneck start, barging through the postseason leaving tradition and defense by the wayside.
Welcome to the 2000 playoffs, where the best teams can score from anywhere on the field, led by any man from anywhere.
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NFL PLAYOFFS
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SATURDAY'S GAMES
• Miami at Jacksonville, 12:35 p.m.
• Washington at Tampa Bay, 4:15 p.m.
SUNDAY'S GAMES
• Minnesota at St. Louis, 12:35 p.m.
• Tennessee at Indianapolis, 4:05 p.m.
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Six of the eight teams still alive for the Super Bowl finished in the NFL's top seven in scoring, and their quarterbacks weren't exactly spit out of the John Elway-Troy Aikman-Drew Bledsoe computer.
Miami's Dan Marino has 16 playoff starts, more than the seven other quarterbacks combined.
Kurt Warner of St.Louis bounced off an Arena League wall into the lap of the startled Rams and wound up becoming league MVP.
Following the trend set last year by the New York Jets' Vinny Testaverde, Buffalo's Doug Flutie and Vikings teammate Randall Cunningham, former No.1 pick Jeff George has come off the trash heap to lead the Vikes into the second round.
Then there's Tampa Bay's Shaun King, a rookie who is not one of the five quarterbacks (including the Bengals' Akili Smith) drafted in the first round last spring. He's a second-rounder who's supposed to be too short but who has proven to be long on poise.
Even Marino, at 38, is no longer the classic drop-back passer who rewrote the NFL record book. Instead, he's starting to look more and more like the gimpy Jim Plunkett, who, far past his prime, led the Raiders to the Super Bowl on guts and heart.
“With these quarterbacks coming out of nowhere, clearly the league has changed in a basic way,” Bengals President Mike Brown said. “Traditionally, it was the guy taken high in the draft. Now he can come from anywhere.”
Brown couldn't help notice what the Warners of the world did to the Bengals.
The Rams, who led the NFL with nearly 33 points a game during the regular season, rung up Cincinnati for 38. Jacksonville's duo of a fourth-round draft pick (Mark Brunell) and a free agent from Dartmouth (Jay Fiedler) averaged 33 points against the Bengals in two games. Overall, the Jaguars' offense averaged 25 points, sixth in the NFL.
Tennessee, which averaged slightly fewer points than the Jags for No.7, and Indianapolis, No.3 with nearly 26.5, did their damage against the Bengals with the more traditional, highly drafted quarterback. The Colts' Peyton Manning, the No.1 pick in '98, produced 31 points against the Bengals, while the Titans' Steve McNair, the third pick in '95, scored 60 in two games.
Still, the playoff pressure is tightening playbooks. Last week's games averaged a combined 38 points, by far the lowest-scoring first-round since 1991.
To highlight good defenses and protect up-and-down quarterbacks, Miami, Tampa Bay and Tennessee plan to play close to the vest. But that may not work in the 21st century.
Look at McNair. A miracle saved him from losing his first playoff game Sunday, when his longest attempted pass was 15 yards.
Against Manning, running back Edgerrin James and wide receiver Marvin Harrison, the Titans will need a more prolific offense.
“Tennessee is a good team,” said former Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason, who in three weeks will call his first Super Bowl as an ABC analyst. “But I just don't see how they can score with Indy.”
Esiason likes Minnesota, which finished fifth in the NFL in scoring.
“Good team. (Running back) Robert Smith is something, and a good kid, too. But I wouldn't be surprised if they lost by 14 to 17 points to St.Louis. It's all about speed, speed and more speed, and the Rams have it.”
Esiason thinks the Vikes' only shot is running the ball and keeping Marshall Faulk and Co. off the field. In the 21st century, offense is the best defense.
“Don't get me wrong,” Brown said. “Defense is important. You just have to look at Tampa Bay or the great job Miami did (in Seattle).
“(But) one of the reasons defenses have played so well is because their offense was very effective and continually put the defense in good position. I will maintain that the leading teams in our league are the ones who can score.”
Jacksonville brings the NFL's No.4 defense to the table, and Tampa Bay and Miami are here because of the third- and fifth-ranked defenses, respectively. But the rest of the defenses are middle-of-the-pack or worse, and the Rams' No.6 ranking is questioned because their offense is so dominant.
Look at the Rams' top-ranked rush defense: Foes have attempted an NFL-low 338 running attempts against St.Louis, 100 below the league average.
“Can they stop the run?” Esiason asked. “I don't know. They haven't had to.”
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