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Pastimes : The Sports Lounge -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Augustus Gloop who wrote (18)	6/30/2001 3:50:19 PM
From: Augustus Gloop	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 234

A familiar Favre will get Pack back to top June 27, 2001 Print it Vinnie Iyer The Sporting News All this week at TSN's NFL Offseason Support Group, we have been taking a look at the teams in the NFC Central and their chances for the 2001 season. Now it's time to look at the NFC Central as a whole. . . . When I was examining this division, a few questions immediately came to mind. Do the Vikings have a defense? Do the Bucs have an offense? Do the Bears have a quarterback? Who's more fragile as a Lion, Charlie Batch or George Plimpton? But then I remembered what Ben Stiller asked as Ted Stroehmann in There's Something About Mary: "What about Brett Fah-vuh-u-ruh?" "What about Brett Favre?" I repeated to myself after correcting Stiller. "How about that running game with both Ahman Green and Dorsey Levens? How about that secondary led by all-world safeties Darren Sharper and LeRoy Butler? How does this team have the fewest questions heading into the season? Why shouldn't I pick them to win the division?" I'll tell you why I'm picking the Packers to win the division. First, with Favre, Green and Levens as the anchors, their offense should be quite productive. There are questions about their receiving corps, but Antonio Freeman has the talent to rebound from a lackluster season and rookie Robert Ferguson could turn into quite a weapon. The veteran offensive line plays well together. On defense, in addition to Sharper and Butler, there is good talent on the front four and among the linebackers. Special teams are solid, with Ryan Longwell doing the kicking. Yes, the Bucs have that defense, and the Vikings have that offense, but no NFC Central club has more promising intangibles than the Packers. Mike Sherman is an underrated coach. Favre is the most fearless quarterback in the league. You can't forget the advantage of the frozen tundra and how the Packers fare against their familiar foes in the division. In its hot stretch run a year ago, Green Bay defeated both the Bucs and Vikings in what were crucial games for both of those teams. The Packers' schedule is no cupcake, with the Giants, Ravens and Titans all on the slate, but where Green Bay will make its mark is in divisional play. It's nearly impossible to run the table with the Central's penchant for upsets among its rivalries. Finishing 6-2 in the division isn't a stretch (factoring in splits with Tampa Bay and Minnesota) -- and it will be necessary to win it. What Green Bay must avoid is padding itself with bad losses early in the season. It can't afford dropping one to the archrival Bears or to NFC foe Carolina for the third consecutive season. The Packers and Buccaneers both will finish 10-6, but Green Bay will get the crown by having a one-game edge in NFC Central play. The Bucs have Brad Johnson, but that doesn't necessarily mean instant improved offense. Their defense is a rock and it will punch their ticket to the postseason. But I can see only more struggles to put away teams if they can't finally establish what they plan on doing with Brad Johnson, Keyshawn Johnson, Jacquez Green, Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott. Unless the Bucs forget about his size and make Dunn the feature back, the results could be similar to last year. The Bucs should borrow a page from the 2000 Ravens if they want to go far in the playoffs as a wild-card team. It wasn't anointing former Buc Trent Dilfer the messiah that awakened Baltimore's dormant offense -- it was having Jamal Lewis established as a strong rusher. A running game running time off the clock, putting up points without turning the ball over is the perfect complement for a shutdown defense. Giving Dunn plenty of touches will be key for Tampa. The Vikings can't boast a decent defense, but Dennis Green got to the NFC title game and silenced the critics on the running/receiving of Robert Smith. It opened things up for Minnesota's more marquee offensive names and kept a suspect unit off the field. Rookie Michael Bennett has to fill the retired Smith's void well if the Vikings want to reach similar heights in 2001. It's unclear how Daunte Culpepper would respond to the pressure when teams start focusing more on him. Randy Moss and Cris Carter will keep the offense electric in the clutch, but an already-porous defense got even weaker in the offseason with key losses. That defense, in addition to playing in a tough division with a first-place schedule leads to playing just above .500. Both the Lions and Bears have better defenses -- especially the linebacking corps -- than the Vikings, but questions at quarterback, as they often do, will keep both clubs from achieving greatness. Detroit and Chicago won't be pushovers and will get their share of upsets, but they won't be able to string enough victories together to make noise in this top-heavy division. It may be early, but here is my projected order of finish for the NFC Central this season: 1. Packers (10-6) 2. Buccaneers (10-6) 3. Vikings (9-7) 4. Lions (6-10) 5. Bears (5-11)