| The subject today is the most
watchable player for each NFL team. This is not a scientific poll. This is one
man’s opinion. Mine.
What makes the most watchable player on each team? I’ll define it this way: If you
were to assign me to cover a game and tell me I had to watch one player on every play that
his unit is on the field, it’s the player I would choose to focus my binoculars on.
It doesn’t have to be one specific type of player. Sometimes it is the best player
on a team. Sometimes it’s the most exciting player. Sometimes it’s a phenomenal
student of the game. Sometimes it’s a player on the verge of superstardom. Sometimes
it’s a key player coming off injury. Sometimes it’s just a personal favorite.
Here are my choices for each team if I were to see it play at the start of the upcoming
regular season.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills — DE Bruce Smith. He’s not quite as dominant
as he once was, but he’s still the best defensive end in football. Anytime an
all-time great is still the No. 1 player in the game at his position, you have to watch
him perform.
Indianapolis Colts — QB Peyton Manning. After last season,
Manning shows every sign of being on the path to greatness. Checking out whether he
continues to improve or struggles with a sophomore slump is an exciting story line.
Miami Dolphins — LB Zach Thomas. You were probably expecting Dan
Marino here. After all, Marino is an all-time great who used to fill the air with
footballs. The key phrase being "used to." With Jimmy Johnson so intent on
running the ball, Marino is not the must-see performer of old. Sure, he’ll still have
the occasional big game, but the game plan is for him not to have to lead an aerial
circus. Marino is still one of the four best quarterbacks in the game after Brett Favre,
Steve Young and Troy Aikman, but the idea now is for Marino to be more effective in the
context of a balanced offense than explosive out of necessity. Therefore, I’ll choose
to focus my binoculars on Thomas to watch how this 5-foot-11 linebacker can make so many
plays on instinct and heart. If you watch Thomas, you’ll watch how the game is meant
to be played.
New England Patriots — CB Ty Law. This guy doesn’t dazzle
you with Deion Sanders-like physical tools and prime-time excitement. Instead, Law has
always been a guy who excels because of the way he always seems to be in precisely the
right position to make a play. If you like to study the nuances of how a player performs
like a star, Law is the guy to watch.
New York Jets — WR Keyshawn Johnson. This guy brashly tells you
how great he is and then not only backs it up but threatens to exceed even his own
predictions. This is a guy who comes up big in big games. What more could you want to see
from a player?
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AFC Central
Baltimore Ravens — LB Ray Lewis. He makes plays all over the
field and is capable of making some big hits. It’s fun watching this guy move to the
ball.
Cincinnati Bengals — RB Corey Dillon. A personal favorite. I
covered the game in which he set the all-time NFL record for most rushing yards in a game
by a rookie a couple of years ago. He combines power with moves. As long as I have
memories of that record-breaking game in my head, Dillon is the must-see Bengal performer
in my book.
Cleveland Browns — LB Chris Spielman. Don’t tell me about
his lack of prototype size and speed. All I know is that his passion for the game has made
him a terrific player. He’s worth watching just to see how a throwback player plays
the game.
Jacksonville Jaguars — OT Tony Boselli. You’re thinking to
yourself, is he crazy putting the binoculars on an offensive lineman all game? Yeah, crazy
about watching the best offensive lineman in today’s game. I think that watching the
game’s most dominant offensive lineman do his job is definitely worth paying
attention to. You can watch Fred Taylor run if you want, but I’ll watch the guy who
is opening truck-sized holes for him.
Pittsburgh Steelers — QB Kordell Stewart. Yeah, I know he was a
huge disappointment last season, but the possibility of what he can still become makes him
very watchable. If he can get back to playing a "slash" style of football,
driving defenses crazy with his multidimensional run-pass threat, look out.
Tennessee Titans — C Bruce Matthews. Another personal favorite. I
love his competitive spirit. I love the way he continues to defy Father Time. I love the
way he can be so multidimensional by playing so many spots along the offensive line over
the years, which, when you think about it, makes him the "slash" of offensive
linemen. He is an offensive lineman’s offensive lineman. If you study his career, you
have to have immense respect for Matthews.
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AFC West
Denver Broncos — RB Terrell Davis. He’s currently the
NFL’s best player. There’s no way I could leave him off of this list. Watching
Davis on the cutback run is one of the most exciting plays in football today in my book.
Kansas City Chiefs — This is a tough team on which to find a most
watchable player. The offensive skill-position players are very vanilla. On defense, the
biggest names are DT Chester McGlockton and LB Derrick Thomas, but both run too
hot-and-cold for my tastes. Thus, I’ll turn to the strength of the team — the
offensive line. Along the offensive line, the player I’d set my sites on is OG Dave
Szott. Heading into last season, he was the best offensive guard in football. Then he got
hurt and missed almost all of last season. That makes Szott highly watchable on two
counts: (1) He’s very good; and (2) Can he return to the form he showed before he got
hurt?
Oakland Raiders — CB Charles Woodson. This young pro is on the
verge of becoming a superstar. Look for him to be a big-time playmaker in the NFL.
San Diego Chargers — LB Junior Seau. He’s a superstar who
plays with a passion for the game. You have to love his intensity and enthusiasm. Too bad
there aren’t more like him.
Seattle Seahawks — WR Joey Galloway. A game-breaker with blazing
speed is always highly watchable.
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NFC East
Arizona Cardinals — QB Jake Plummer. This young quarterback
provides plenty of optimism that there will be star performers from the next generation of
quarterbacks after Steve Young, Troy Aikman and Dan Marino retire someday. You have to
love watching a gunslinger like Plummer who can fearlessly pull games out of the fire in
crunch time. Just imagine how devastating he’ll be in the two-minute drill when he
becomes a wily veteran down the road.
Dallas Cowboys — CB Deion Sanders. If you don’t find Prime
Time to be thrillingly watchable, then it’s probably because you don’t like
football. Every time he touches the ball, you hold your breath in anticipation of what
he’ll do with it. Plus, the way he so completely shuts down opposing receivers is
impressive to see.
New York Giants — DE Michael Strahan. Reggie White has retired
and Bruce Smith can’t play forever. That raises the question of who the game’s
next great defensive end is. Strahan is one of a handful of players around the league who
is lining up to take a crack at the championship belt.
Philadelphia Eagles — Ugh. I have to find a watchable player on
this team? Donovan McNabb would easily get the call, but there’s no saying when
he’ll break into the starting lineup this coming season, so I can’t take the
easy way out and go with him. I guess I’ll go with Hugh Douglas, who can put serious
heat on the opposing quarterback.
Washington Redskins — CB Darrell Green. It’s a privilege to
watch a true pro at work. That Green is still playing so well at his age at a position
that is usually unforgiving to old-timers is amazing. The reason the position is so
unforgiving is that when an older player starts to lose a step, he’s had it against
the speedy receivers who make up the NFL. Green may be 39 years old, but he can still turn
on the jets and run with the kids.
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Chicago Bears — Ugh, take two. Like the Eagles, the Bears are
lacking in marquee, watchable players. I guess I’ll go with Curtis Enis on sheer
potential. If he can return from injury at the level expected of him when he was first
drafted, Enis can provide some excitement to an offense lacking in star quality.
Detroit Lions — RB Barry Sanders. His runs for two-yard losses
are more exciting than most other running backs’ best run of the day. Other than Gale
Sayers, I’m hard-pressed to think of a running back who has had the amazing moves of
Sanders.
Green Bay Packers — QB Brett Favre. If Terrell Davis isn’t
the best player in the NFL, then Favre is. What makes Favre so watchable is the fact that
he might try anything at any time on the field — and make it work.
Minnesota Vikings — WR Randy Moss. He’s the football version
of the home-run threat. He made going deep look so easy last season that it was scary. It
will be interesting to see if defenses catch up to him at all, or if he proves that he
really can be that much better than the opposition over the long haul.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers — DT Warren Sapp. When he’s in shape, I
love watching the way he can dominate when his high-revving motor is really running. Look
for him to have a monster season in 1999.
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NFC West
Atlanta Falcons — RB Jamal Anderson. Not only has he become one
of the best running backs in the NFL, but he has style and personality.
Carolina Panthers — Ugh, take three. As much as I hate to go with
one-dimensional players, I have to go with LB Kevin Greene in light of the Panthers’
roster full of vanilla players. Greene can still wreak havoc as a pass rusher.
New Orleans Saints — RB Ricky Williams. Easy choice. It will be
exciting to see what the man Mike Ditka mortgaged the future for can accomplish. Plus,
given the Saints’ sorry passing game, you know that Williams will get a shot to strut
his stuff every game. If nothing else, Williams is watchable just to see if he can survive
the massive workload he’ll get against defenses stacked to stop him. That and the
fact that he should be awfully good behind a very good offensive line.
St. Louis Rams — WR Isaac Bruce. If he’s healthy. Earlier in
his career, Bruce was drawing some rave reviews as potentially the next Jerry Rice. Now,
with all Bruce’s injury woes, a better comparison is Terry Glenn. If healthy, though,
Bruce should be something to see this season, especially now that Tony Banks is no longer
the starter. If Bruce isn’t healthy, RB Marshall Faulk gets the call as most
watchable Ram.
San Francisco 49ers — QB Steve Young. The job he has done
replacing all-world QB Joe Montana is one of the great stories in sports. Young is a
spectacular threat with his arm in the 49ers’ great aerial scheme. Plus, he can still
thrill you with his running ability when needed.
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