|
|
Sport Sections |
|
|
| | |||
| Thursday, November 2 By John Clayton ESPN.com | |||
Editor's note: ESPN senior NFL writer John Clayton reflects on the first half of the 2000 regular season and looks ahead to its second half.
Five Things To Reflect 1. Dennis Green is a genius. Instead of adding defensive end Jevon Kearse to last year's defense, he drafted the quarterback of the future, Daunte Culpepper and then wisely gave him the chance to start. If Green isn't the first half coach of the year, he might be the executive of the year for that one decision.
 2. Jeff Fisher's meticulous coaching gives the Titans the edge to return to the Super Bowl. He's eliminated the team's past demons. He's undefeated in divisional play, a problem for the team three years ago. He's made Steve McNair a better quarterback by bringing in a passing offense that allows McNair to make quicker decisions.
 3. The Jaguars gambled wrong that Hardy Nickerson was the missing link to their Super Bowl run. They needed to add speed to the defense instead of brains. Also, Tom Coughlin's decision not to offer more than $440,000 to re-sign Ben Coleman left the offensive line thin and vulnerable to injury problems.
 4. The Bears will have to wait until next year to see the benefits of the $50 million of contracts given to supplement a young defense. Offensively, they better learn how to run the ball because they became too one-dimensional trying to win games by passing the ball. The Bears were perhaps the biggest disappointment in football.
 5. General manager Randy Mueller and first-year coach Jim Haslett proved that a team can be completely revamped. They replaced 30 players from last year's roster and built what might be the league's best defensive line by importing Darren Howard and Norman Hand to work with La'Roi Glover and Joe Johnson.
Five Things To Look Forward 1. The Rams will cut perhaps 10 points off their points allowed during the second half, partly because of Bud Carson's schemes and partly because of the competition down the stretch. The Rams face five teams with winning records in their final eight, but the Vikings are the only team in that group with a potent offense.
2. The Jaguars will win at least four of their final seven and maybe get to 8-8 if they can beat the Titans at home. While that won't get them into the playoffs, it will eliminate any job concerns for Tom Coughlin, the best expansion coach of all time. After the season, he will hire an offensive coordinator to be a buffer between him and Mark Brunell.
 3. The schedule will enable to the Ravens to make a run at a wild-card spot and gain some confidence on offense. The question is whether the quarterback making the charge is Trent Dilfer or Tony Banks. The 22-34 record of the Raven's final eight opponents should be enticing to any quarterback.
 4. The road to the AFC East still runs through Indianapolis. The Colts have home games against their three top challengers to the division title -- the Jets, Bills and Dolphins. Defensively, the Colts aren't great, but their top play-makers, particularly, Chad Bratzke, have an edge playing on the RCA Dome turf.
 5. The Chargers will win three games and avoid getting the draft's first pick. That right will go to Cleveland for a third consecutive year because Tim Couch's season-ending injury paralyzes them at QB. If Ryan Leaf keeps refusing to play, the Chargers will try to make his life miserable by telling him that he will be back next season.
John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE
ESPN.com's NFL Midseason Report | ||
