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Chicago hope Posted: Thursday May 16, 2002 1:51 PM
Nice sprinkling of favorable replies about my five-year draft analysis. Frankly, I was very glad to receive this response because the project entailed a ton of work and if it had just bounced off everybody, I'd have junked the idea forever. A few people said they want me to do it every year in the offseason. Does that really make sense? I mean, then it would become a formula thing and ... well ... I'm not sure. But as the Flaming Redhead said before she baked that million-calorie cheesecake, "If you really want it, you'll get it." Oh yes, the names of the favorable responders -- I mean, the e-mailers who responded favorably -- Alex of Toronto, Chuckles B (huh?) of Stirling, Va., Dave of Boston, Mike of Cedarburg, Wisc., and Linley of Silicon Valley, as opposed to Silicon Mountains, which you can get on the Cinemax After Midnight flick. Biff of Albany, N.Y. asks if I have ever seen an Arena Football League game, and, if so, what's my take on it. Yes, I did see one in the flesh, in Chicago some years ago. I was doing a quickie feature on the phenomenon for the magazine. I went there cloaked in arrogance, ready to make fun of it and rip. Instead I had a great time and so did the people in the arena. It was wild and exciting and just so refreshingly informal, with players and coaches signing autographs during the game and the fans right on top of the action, etc. I covered the second half from the sideline, standing next to Chicago coach Perry Moss and chatting with him. "How do you like my middle linebacker?" he asked me. "Well, I'd like to see him blitz," I said. So he hollered in a blitz call and the guy blitzed. Then he did it on the next play. "Seen enough?" he asked me. I mean, how could you not love it? Mike of NYC is understandably high on the Cowboys' defense but feels that QB Quincy Carter, learning a new system, will bring the club down to .500. Kind of a harsh evaluation, but I can't really find anything there to disagree with. As far as .500, well, let's look at a logical scenario. A split with all the division teams, that's three wins. Give them Ws against Carolina, Jacksonville and Seattle at home and we're up to six. On the road? Let's see. How about wins over Detroit and Houston? So we're at .500, just what you picked. If Carter tanks, then it'll be worse. If the defense is really great, then it'll be better. You realize that I'm going way out on a limb here. Bill of Cincinnati wonders why Joe Namath, with his shaky career stats, is in the Hall of Fame and Ken Anderson is not. Namath's statistics are bad in two areas, completion percentage and interceptions. What he was good at does not show up on the charts -- the two-minute offense, bringing a team back, scoring in a hurry. I wasn't a selector when he got in, but what decided it for him was his impact on the game (i.e., what he did for an entire league) and I don't think you can argue with that. As for Anderson, all I can say is that he was a fine, greatly underrated QB, and I've been a vocal supporter every time his name has come up. John of Erlanger, Ky., is upset about Chiefs GM Carl Peterson's rather nasty position in his contract dealings with Tony Gonzalez. Yeah, it's nasty now, but most of the time this stuff is forgotten once the deal is done and football is on the agenda. What are they, $3 million apart? Doesn't seem terminal. "Summer madness," was Al Davis' term for offseason money talk, the implication being that it all blows over come the fall. Occasionally it doesn't, and that's still another way a team can lose a player. Kurt of Westlake Village, Calif., wonders whether the Chargers' announced plan to move their training camp to the L.A. area in 2003 presages an eventual transfer of the franchise. Well, a pair of Spanoses, Dean and Alex, say absolutely not. But they still want a new stadium, built by ordinary folks who can't afford it, naturally, and there are hints that Los Angeles is trying to get a package together. Recent history tells us that L.A. can't even get together a package in which to wrap a fish. Could I see Spanos One and Spanos Two double-crossing the people of San Diego and moving to L.A. in the unlikely occasion of a sweet stadium deal? Course I can, brothers. Jeff of St. Paul, Minn., wants my favorite small players of all time on offense and defense. On defense? Easy. Sam Mills. On offense ... well, you're not asking for the best, just my favorite, right? OK, get ready. Wally Yonamine. And I'll put up $100 and lay you 5-to-1 right now that you won't find one person in St. Paul, or Minneapolis, either, who has ever heard of this guy. Halfback. The old AAFC San Francisco 49ers, 1947. College? Well, no college. Farrington High in Honolulu. Why was he a personal favorite? Because he was the only player in pro football history that I felt I could play better than. Make that, than whom I could play better. Joel of New Orleans, who says he has never before written to any sportswriter (not sure I believe this), takes the big plunge because he's so upset about Saints owner Tom Benson firing Randy Mueller and replacing him with his own guy, Mickey Loomis. Seemed rough to me, too, and I've never seen any previous indication that Benson was some kind of football genius. Don't forget, though, that he did OK the hiring of Jim Haslett, who gave him one terrific year before the wheels fell off the wagon last season. Jude of Tioga, Texas, asks if the Browns could go deep into the playoffs thanks to rookie RB William Green and the free agent additions. I don't think they'll even be in the playoffs. Just look at the schedule. Pretty good at home, but on the road they face the Jets, Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Jaguars, Titans, Saints and Bucs. How many wins do you see coming out of that array? Please, if they wind up 12-4 and become the Cinderella team of 2002, no nasty letters, OK? I could have copped out and said something mealy-mouthed to make you happy, such as "Well, they could be up there," or, "They certainly have improved," but I took the low road and tried to give it to you straight, so go easy on the poor doc. Nathan of New York City has two questions, "the second of which I've asked before repeatedly, to no avail." OK, your prayers have been answered. Here comes avail. First question: If I were Philly coach Andy Reid, would I go for a running back or play a pat hand with Duce Staley and rookie Bryan Westbrook? Staley is a terrific back who has been hurt. Westbrook is an intriguing prospect, a tremendously productive runner at a lesser level of competition. Can he be a heavy-duty backup if needed, or a Dave Meggett-type? We'll see. If they want to pick up someone, well, who's out there? The Lions' James Stewart, who figures to become available in June, might be a good fit, or possibly one of the Denver mob. I think Reid's going to wait and see what develops in camp. Personally, I might go for Stewart and then use Westbrook as a third-down back. And question No. 2? Hey, Nate, there is no question No. 2. You had your big chance and you blew it. A continuation question from Linley of Silicon Valley. How can I expect Kevin Gilbride to change his offense to suit Drew Bledsoe, when he couldn't cut it with Kordell Stewart in Pittsburgh? Well, he'd better or the Bills will realize pretty quickly that a severe error has been made and Gilbride will be history. Latham of Bay City, Texas, says that he picked Baltimore to win the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Yeah, sure, when did you pick them, at the beginning of the season or when they were in the playoffs? He adds that at halfway through last season he picked the Patriots to go all the way. At the midway point New England was 4-4, coming off a loss to Denver and a win over Atlanta. Well, Latham, if you picked the Pats at this point, I hope you got serious about it and made a trip to Vegas because you'd own half of Bay City by now. At any rate, our master handicapper likes San Diego, Cleveland and Dallas as his sleeper picks for 2002. He wants to know my surprise team. I've already kissed off Dallas and Cleveland. San Diego? A little iffy in the O-line and wideout departments, unless the rookies really come through. I'll stick with a pick I made a few weeks ago. Not really a surprise, but a surprise to go all the way. Chicago, if Chris Chandler gets his shot at QB and has the season your faithful narrator expects him to have. Mike of Round Rock, Texas, wants to know what the odds are of Roger Craig ever getting into the Hall of Fame. I'd say about 12-5 against. Of course, and I've said this a million times, it will depend on who he comes up against when he's nominated. My opinion? Undecided. Dr. Z and his CNNSI.com contributions will be on spring vacation until June 20. To send a question or comment while he's away click here.
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