Five Rise to Top, Take Teams Too

During the NFL’s 85th regular season, it sometimes seemed that any of the 32 teams could lose to any other -- with five exceptions. And that leaves a question: In a parity year, how did five clubs rise above the crowd?

The best answer is that five unique players pushed five good teams to the top -- NFC wide receiver Terrell Owens and AFC quarterbacks Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

In each instance, a sound, veteran coach was lost until he found the player who changed his life.

Thus at New England, it took Brady to make Bill Belichick a winner.

Similarly, Pittsburgh Coach Bill Cowher had built an all-around powerhouse that needed only Roethlisberger. At Indianapolis, Coach Tony Dungy is a defensive expert who lacked only Manning.

San Diego’s Marty Schottenheimer, a running coach until LaDainian Tomlinson was injured, became a passing coach after he finally saw what Brees could do.

Philadelphia’s coach, Andy Reid, knew he would finally be in a Super Bowl with Owens, whose recent injury kills the Eagles again.

Steelers First?

The big shift in pro football coaching began in 2002 when, in Super Bowl XXXVI, Kurt Warner of the Rams and new Patriot quarterback Brady showed Belichick what passing can accomplish.

Formerly a run-and-defend coach, Belichick has been a pass-offense enthusiast ever since, winning a second Super Bowl with Brady.

At San Diego, another conservative, Schottenheimer, temporarily lost his runner, Tomlinson, to an injury. Lacking a lot of options, he began depending on Brees, who in his first three seasons as a Charger had never impressed.

Schottenheimer, on the hot seat himself, had no real choice but to let Brees throw, and the rest is history -- though he hasn’t had as long as Belichick to prove his commitment to pass offense.

As the playoffs start, it isn’t a sure thing that either of the conventional coaches, Cowher or Dungy -- both blessed with gifted passers -- will outlast the three passing coaches, Belichick, Schottenheimer and Reid. The latter still has Donovan McNabb, if not Owens.

But the football world seems to be figuring Cowher and Roethlisberger first, just ahead of Belichick and Brady, with Dungy and Manning close.

Wrong Offense

The NFL’s one unreconstructed conservative, who could run away from everybody if he embraced pass offense, is Cowher. He has the league’s best players and worst offense and, after a weekend off, will face two of the NFL’s three best passing teams later this month.

Cowher has a passer who can match bullets with Brady, Brees, Manning and McNabb, though he’s still being held firmly under wraps. Roethlisberger, the undefeated rookie, has carried the Steelers to an all-time AFC-best 15-1 by completing many a good throw on must-pass downs.

Cowher, a passing coach in 2003, swore off passes after the Steelers finished 6-10 a year ago with many of the same players who are so hard to beat on Roethlisberger’s team.

“Passing didn’t work here, so we’ve gone back to what we do best,” Pittsburgh chief executive Dan Rooney said.

What Rooney and Cowher apparently don’t realize is that when they hit 6-10 last season, it wasn’t their pass offense that faltered. At the time, their quarterback was Tommy Maddox, who in his brief Pittsburgh career played better football than ever because Cowher was then a passing coach.

An Eagles’ Year

The Super Bowl game, pairing AFC and NFC champions in Jacksonville, Fla., on Feb. 6, is being challenged by those who insist that NFC teams are too weak.

Conference domination of Super Bowl games has proved to be cyclical, however.

Even in this season of NFC inferiority, no AFC team would have been a heavy favorite over the Philadelphia Eagles if they hadn’t lost Owens. He is a better receiver than anyone in the AFC and he made the whole Philadelphia team better.

The only question left: Can any NFC team beat the Eagles before the AFC beats them? Atlanta? Doubtful. Green Bay? Not likely. Seattle? No way. This is an Eagle year, in the NFC if not the NFL.

It’s Up to Big Ben

In a passing era that has usually produced passing champions since Bill Walsh and Joe Montana started it all at San Francisco in the 1980s, is Pittsburgh going to win it all with an old-fashioned run-and-defend team?

In Pittsburgh’s January weather -- usually bad -- the Steelers think they can succeed with their great offensive line, their sound defensive lineup, Jerome Bettis and perhaps Duce Staley to run the ball, and Roethlisberger throwing on third down.

The Steelers are counting more heavily on a rookie than any other playoff team ever has. They’re not only trying to win a 21st century Super Bowl with a 19th century rushing team, they’re trying to do it with a rookie quarterback. In every sense, these are the Roethlisberger playoffs.