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Aug 10, 2003 The NFL preseason kicked off recently and the long road to the Super Bowl is starting. Last year’s participants each played last night as they hope to arrive again at the big game. Recent Super Bowl participants were involved in the early games so far. New England pounded the New York Giants in a lop-sided event, with new linebacker Roosevelt Colvin putting on a show for the Patriots. Tampa Bay defeated Miami by a single point, and the Los Angles Raiders defeated the St. Louis Rams by a single point also. The Bucs scored early as their offense took off, and then relied on the defense to hold off a Dolphin rally. This was actually the second game of the new season for Tampa Bay, who opened with an exhibition in Japan the week before. The Buc’s Super Bowl partner, the Oakland Raiders, opened their season with only a single set of plays from starting quarterback Rich Gannon, who then turned the helm over to the other three hopeful players. As is often true in early season games, the defenses were dominant. Remove the single 50 yard burst by Madre Hill and the Raider’s performance was stifled by the Rams active defense. The Raiders defense gave the Rams offense fits as well, sacking and intercepting Kurt Warner in his token appearance, and then sacking and intercepting his replacement, Marc Bulger. The Rams defense looks much improved over last year, shutting down Gannon and Marques Tuiasosopo with sacks from a variety of players, including a pair by the cat-quick Leonard Little. The Rams young secondary (Aeneas Williams excepted) was suspect in the eyes of many around the league, but it played superb. The Rams young linebackers were flying around and hitting hard as well. On offense the tandem of Lamar Gordon and Arlen Harris made the Ram’s decision to trade Trung Candidate look like a good one. For the Raiders, Madre Hill looks good carrying the ball. It is obvious the Rams will have a full receiving package this year as the entire group looked great, with everyone making some nice catches. Kevin Curtis in particular looks like a definite speed threat and it appears that Dane Looker is finally going to make it big time. Kirk Farmer put in a strong bid to be the number three quarterback on the Rams, putting points on the board and rolling up the most passing yards on either team. On the down side of the game, both St. Louis and Oakland struggled with special teams. The Rams allowed a 50 yard return on the opening kickoff, and lost the game due to a blocked extra point and a missed field goal. Oakland was also off-target, with Sebastian Janikowski missing both of his field goal attempts. Although special teams are only on the field 10% of the time, they can have a major impact on close games, and it appears that both the Rams and the Raiders need to address a couple of issues. Saturday’s early game saw Detroit knocking off Pittsburgh in Steve Mariucci’s coaching debut with his new team. The teams that expect the Lions to be the pushover they have been for the past couple of years will be in for a shock this season. Joey Harrington is looking even better this year, and the receiving group for Detroit is already vastly improved. The Lion defense also appears to be upgraded. Boss Bailey and Cory Redding look like they were very good draft choices; Redding scored off a fumble recovery he carried 6 yards into the end zone. Will Pittsburgh regret the departure of Slash? Maddox was off target in this game and Charlie Batch, the former Detroit Lion, was no better, putting up 5 of 13 numbers for only 34 yards. The Steelers did get a nice run from Dante Brown, but Jerome Bettis really struggled, averaging just a couple yards per carry. It is early to make a judgment but it appears that Pittsburgh has a lot of work to do if they expect to make the playoffs this year. For Detroit, the gamble on injured former BYU star Luke Staley looks like it may pay off – he had a fine game. The picture will become clearer as the preseason progresses and the teams start playing their front line players longer and longer. For the fans who have waited long and patiently, the start of the 2003 NFL season is tantalizingly close. ------------ About the author: Dwayne Hines currently has 12 books selling in major bookstores and writes for major magazines such as Physical and FitnessRX. Email Dwayne Hines: dhines@3dinet.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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