Eagles Have Landed, but Remember the Titans

Twenty questions about the 2003 NFL season:

1 When will Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells have their first Texas-sized, finger-pointing blowup? It could be awhile. So far, both guys are playing nice. Parcells accepts the constant presence of Jones, who says, “It’s my sideline,” and acts as a de facto general manager. Jones accepts Parcells’ role as not only coach but personnel director. Neither has particularly high expectations for this season, and that eases some of the pressure. Jones said the problems didn’t start with Jimmy Johnson until the success came. Parcells, the first Cowboy coach with previous NFL head-coaching experience, hasn’t led a team to the playoffs in his first season. But he got the Giants, Patriots and Jets there in his second. So maybe 2004 is when he and Jones start fighting over who deserves the credit.

2 Is Brett Favre going to retire after this season? He would love to go out the way John Elway did, so if the Packers win the Super Bowl, my gut says yes. But this Favre retirement speculation has been going on for a few years, and was only heightened recently when the All-Pro quarterback put his Green Bay mansion for sale on EBay. (He subsequently took it off after a wave of bogus offers.) You can’t read too much into the fact he wants to sell his house. It’s a lot of upkeep, and his elder daughter is living in Mississippi, where she’s finishing high school. He, his wife and their younger daughter live in a condominium during the season.

3 How does the disposal of the “Randy Ratio” help Minnesota quarterback Daunte Culpepper? In all sorts of ways. The Randy Ratio was basically a publicity stunt to inspire fans and receiver Randy Moss, who was promised at least 40% of pass attempts would head his way. Moss caught a career-high 106 passes, but had career lows in touchdowns (seven) and yards per catch (12.7). Culpepper was utterly boxed in; he had to force a lot of passes just to keep the ratio intact.

Culpepper has looked far more relaxed and sharp this summer. He didn’t throw an interception in an exhibition game and only three of his passes were picked off all summer in what was roughly a season’s worth of throws. This is a guy responsible for 32 turnovers last season -- 23 interceptions and nine lost fumbles -- more than the total of 21 teams. One of the big differences is that Culpepper has learned to throw the ball away when nobody’s open.

4 Has Pittsburgh’s pass defense improved enough to carry the Steelers beyond a division title? My guess is no. The team has made some changes, drafting USC safety Troy Polamalu and replacing safety Lee Flowers with a faster, more athletic Mike Logan. But corners Chad Scott and Dewayne Washington are soft and overpaid. They will get more help in coverage from the safeties this season. One thing that could help the Steelers put additional pressure on quarterbacks is that they are using the nickel defense more, which allows 250-pound linebacker Kendrell Bell to rush up the middle rather than around the edge, where he is often about 100 pounds lighter than opposing tackles.

5 The Eagles have been knocking on the door for two years, but twice fell one victory shy of the Super Bowl. Is this their breakthrough season? I think it is. In years past, though, the defense has shouldered more than its share of the load. Now, with five new starters on defense, the offense has to come through. Having a healthy Donovan McNabb helps. He only started feeling good around April, even though he returned for the playoffs after breaking an ankle during the regular season. Duce Staley missing most of training camp was a blessing; it got backup running backs Correll Buckhalter and Brian Westbrook lots of extra work. The defense is less experienced and smaller with the loss of Hugh Douglas, Shawn Barber and Barry Gardner, but it’s quicker. There will be new starters at both ends, two linebacker spots and strong safety.

6 Is Jevon Kearse still “the Freak?” Not now, but the Titans are holding out hope. Injuries and contract disputes have taken the edge off the freakishly talented Tennessee defensive end. He missed 12 games last season and had only two sacks. He had a couple of problems -- first, a broken left foot in the opener that required two surgeries, then a sprained left ankle when he returned. He looked pretty good at the beginning of camp this summer until the ankle problems flared. The contract stuff has lingered for a while and seems to be a distraction. The Titans really need him and could make a serious Super Bowl run this season.

7 Which new coach could use a fistful of headache medicine? No question, it’s Jacksonville’s Jack Del Rio. He left the Panthers, where he coordinated the NFL’s second-ranked defense, and has had nothing but problems with the Jaguars. From the suspension of Jimmy Smith to the collapse of three overheated players at training camp, the summer-long holdout of rookie quarterback Byron Leftwich to the murky future of Mark Brunell, Del Rio has to be pining for a simpler time. This week, three Jaguars were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury investigating an auto-accessories salesman who’s a suspected drug dealer.

The Jaguars open at Carolina. When the Jaguars get to the airport for the flight home, somebody had better make sure Del Rio doesn’t defect.

8 Will Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk ever make it look so effortless again? Well, folks who watched Warner at training camp this summer say he was zipping prettier passes than ever and looks totally recovered from the broken pinkie on his throwing hand. He completed 23 of 26 passes in exhibition games, looking nothing like the quarterback who went 0-6 as a starter last season. Faulk, who has had knee and ankle problems the last three seasons, is gingerly easing back into action. He took a helmet to the knee early in camp and played only half of one exhibition game. With Warner and Faulk at full speed, as we’ve learned, the Rams can cause big problems for every defense, including Tampa Bay’s.

9 How does the addition of defensive tackle Ted Washington transform the Patriots from a team that missed the playoffs to a Super Bowl contender? Washington is 35 and doesn’t have many good years left, but he’s listed at 360 pounds -- although he looks heavier -- and can really clog the middle. An inability to stop the run was the biggest reason the Patriots missed the playoffs last season. Washington, who suffered a broken leg when he was with Chicago last season, played in one exhibition game this summer, against Philadelphia, and the Eagles just couldn’t run with him in there. With so many good backs in the AFC East -- namely, Ricky Williams, Curtis Martin and Travis Henry -- a human dam such as Washington is a necessity.

10 Can the Chargers make good on the promise of team owner Alex Spanos that they will make the playoffs? Don’t bet on it. With four new starters in the secondary and defensive fixtures Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison gone, the Chargers have a long way to go to prove they’re playoff-ready. The franchise’s stadium wars with San Diego could become a distraction too, so it might have been more productive for Spanos to promise the team will be sticking around.

11 Is rookie quarterback Kyle Boller good enough to lead the Ravens back to the playoffs? We won’t have to wait long to find out; Baltimore opens at Pittsburgh. Boller, a first-round pick from California, didn’t have to beat out any name guys for the job (Chris Redman and Anthony Wright), but Brian Billick must have seen something he really likes. Boller has a very strong arm -- he can get on his knees at the 50-yard line and throw a pass through the uprights -- and he has a lot of charisma. He’s not terribly accurate though.

12 Will we see Willis McGahee carrying the ball for Buffalo this season? At some point, yes. McGahee, the star running back from Miami who suffered three torn knee ligaments in the Fiesta Bowl, was a luxury pick for the Bills, who drafted him 23rd overall. They already had Henry, who rushed for 1,438 yards last season. McGahee is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation, but because he was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list, he can’t practice until Oct. 13 at the earliest. Indianapolis’ Edgerrin James came back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament after 10 months and rushed for 989 yards last season, yet he was nowhere close to the 1,600-yard back he once was. So the Bills might be best served giving McGahee a breather this season and letting him start fresh next fall.

13 Is Kordell Stewart a good fit for Chicago? No. The Bears, whose conservative offense is designed to augment a game-winning defense, now have a quarterback who doesn’t fit the controlled-passing mold. Coordinator John Shoop’s offense is a dink-and-dunker’s dream, not one that makes use of Stewart’s ability to cut loose and turn broken plays into big gains. Can that change? Sure, but there weren’t many signs of that in the exhibition season. Another problem is that Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz, a fantastic blocker, isn’t an especially good snapper in the shotgun formation. He had better learn, though, because that’s the way Stewart likes to get the ball.

14 What’s the latest sign Los Angeles could wind up with the Colts?

Even though the RCA Dome is the smallest stadium in the league, it looked empty when only 26,000 people showed up for the exhibition opener against Seattle. Just before he ran onto the field, Peyton Manning turned to rookies Mike Doss and Dallas Clark and told them, “Welcome to the NFL!” Manning called the size of the crowd “embarrassing.” As for his words to Doss and Clark -- who went to Ohio State and Iowa, respectively -- “I felt like an idiot for saying that. Those guys had more people in college come to a scrimmage.” The mayoral campaigns are in full swing in Indianapolis, and what to do to keep the Colts is a pivotal issue. From the look of things, the citizens are voting with their checkbooks.

15 Is it important to win every exhibition game? No, but it might help to win some. Consider these numbers, crunched by Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: Of the 74 teams that have played in the Super Bowl, only two were winless in their preseason -- the 1991 Bills and the 2000 Giants -- which is a 2.7% chance. Ten Super Bowl teams won one exhibition game, and the vast majority of Super Bowl teams (32) went either 2-2, 2-3 or 3-2 in games that didn’t count. Nine Super Bowl teams went undefeated in the exhibition season.

16 Can Jake Plummer make his typical mistakes and still lead the Broncos to the playoffs? Yes. Only once in his six seasons has Plummer finished with more touchdowns than interceptions. His low point in Arizona was the 1999 season when he had nine touchdowns, 24 interceptions and a passer rating of 50.8. OK, so a season like that in Denver will get him a one-way ticket out of town, but it’s unlikely Coach Mike Shanahan would let things get that out of hand. The Broncos have lots of ways to help Plummer, especially with their outstanding receivers and running back Clinton Portis, the AFC’s fourth-leading rusher last season. Shanahan plans to get Portis more involved in the passing game this season, not only as a safety-valve receiver but as a guy who runs routes. Plummer is more mobile than any Denver quarterback before or since John Elway, so he has the ability to bolt downfield if his receivers are covered. The Broncos are headed back to the postseason.

17 In Dennis Erickson, have the 49ers found a coach who clicks with Terrell Owens? That’s what they’re hoping. Steve Mariucci’s bumpy relationship with the moody receiver was one of the factors that led to the coach’s undoing. Accordingly, each coaching candidate who came through the team’s Santa Clara facility was asked how he might interact with, and if necessary, discipline, Owens. Making things more touchy, this is the last year of Owens’ contract and he recently told Jim Rome he would love to play with a big-armed quarterback in the Donovan McNabb mold. The 49ers aren’t ready to lose one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the league, even if he is combustible.

18 Will the Raiders overcome their Super Bowl hangover and surge to the top of the AFC again? I think they will, or at least they will be very competitive. Although they were the NFL’s most fragile team in the late 1990s, one that fell apart at the first hint of adversity, the Raiders have been very resilient of late. They bounced back after losing the AFC title game to the Ravens at home, and rebounded again after the “Snow Job” in New England. They’re keeping Barret Robbins, confident he can rebuild after going AWOL at the Super Bowl, and Rich Gannon will recover from his horrendous performance in that game. He’s weathered turbulence before.

19 Is Jeremy Shockey worth the PR nightmare? Definitely. The second-year Giant, whose foot is usually wedged squarely in his mouth, is up there with Tony Gonzalez as the best tight ends in the league. Linebackers and safeties are too slow to cover Shockey, and most cornerbacks are too small. He runs the 40 in 4.6 seconds, which is average to slow for a receiver but impressive for a player his size. He’s fearless over the middle. He hunts defenders to hit. Now, if he could just keep his mouth shut.

20 Can you give us a Super Bowl prediction?

Philadelphia 24, Tennessee 13.