| Editor’s note: Each Friday
during the NFL season, a Q&A with PFW contributing editor and personnel analyst Joel
Buchsbaum appears exclusively on the Pro Football Weekly Internet Edition.Q: What are the keys to the Jacksonville-Miami
game?
Buchsbaum: The keys are Miami’s ability to run the ball and preserve Dan Marino.
The more Marino gets hit early, and the more he’s got to throw early, the less
effective he’ll be late in the game.
Q: What are the keys to the Tampa Bay-Washington game?
Buchsbaum: The biggest keys are how well Washington’s offensive line holds up
without (injured OLT) Andy Heck against an excellent Bucs defensive front and whether the
Redskins are able to run the ball at all with Stephen Davis very iffy for the game.
Q: What are the keys to the St. Louis-Minnesota game?
Buchsbaum: St. Louis’ ability to keep its poise and to stay focused and under
control against a very loose Minnesota team with a lot of firepower and nothing to lose.
Q: What are the keys to the Indianapolis-Tennessee game?
Buchsbaum: Steve McNair. He will have to throw the ball well for Tennessee to stay with
Indianapolis in this game.
Q: What are your thoughts on the fact that Tennessee is usually so conservative in
its use of McNair?
Buchsbaum: At times when the Titans have opened things up for him, he has looked as
though he wasn’t ready for it. At other times he’s been absolutely brilliant. In
this situation where the Titans are the underdog, they have to open it up for him and give
him a chance. Because if they just concentrate on pounding Eddie George, Indy will play
eight in the box and stop him.
Q: Vikings RB Robert Smith had a huge game against the Cowboys. If he weren’t
so injury-prone, where would he rank among the NFL’s elite running backs?
Buchsbaum: He’d rank right up there with the best. He’s got great skill,
great speed and excellent pass-catching skills.
Q: Do you think the Dolphins utilized Dan Marino correctly in their playoff game
against Seattle?
Buchsbaum: Yes. I think that’s the way you have to use Marino now. Dan is not
going to win games by throwing 45 or 50 passes a game very often anymore.
Q: Larry Centers seems to have really come on since about the middle of the season.
How much has this helped the Redskins’ offense?
Buchsbaum: It has helped them to a degree, but basically it was a need thing where they
had some injuries at the position, and he also learned the offense better.
Q: Did the Redskins’ defense play really well in their wild-card game against
Detroit, or was the Lions’ offense just that bad the first three quarters of the
game?
Buchsbaum: The Redskins’ defense is playing well right now. The last two games of
the year, they played quite well. This is a defense with a lot of talent, and they finally
seem to have gotten it right. Tip your hat to (defensive coordinator) Mike Nolan, or to
Bill Arnsparger if he was calling the plays, because they did a very good job scheming to
stop Detroit in that game.
Q: Is Seattle close to stepping up in class, or does Mike Holmgren still have his
work cut out for him?
Buchsbaum: He still has a lot of work to do. On the offensive line, once you get past
the two kids on the left side — Walter Jones and Pete Kendall — they may need
three new players in there who are better than what they have right now. On defense they
are going to have trouble keeping Sam Adams (soon to be an unrestricted free agent), who
could be a very good defensive tackle. They need to come up with a scheme that fits their
personnel better than this year, when they really underachieved to a degree on defense.
And you don’t know who’s going to be at wide receiver because Joey Galloway
seems to be angling for a trade. |
