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Bucs QB
Shaun King
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On Jan. 14, 1996, the Indianapolis Colts found themselves in unfamiliar territory.
After years of mediocrity, the Colts were playing in the AFC championship game against the
Steelers.
Trailing by four, with just five seconds left in one team’s season, QB Jim
Harbaugh launched a Hail Mary pass in the general direction of WRs Floyd Turner and Aaron
Bailey.
As the crowd at Three Rivers Stadium stood, nervously awaiting the outcome of the play,
the ball was tipped and rolled across Bailey’s chest, down his arm and onto the
endzone turf.
No catch. No Super Bowl for the Colts.
That is the closest the Colts have come to a Super Bowl since losing to the Dolphins in
the AFC title game following the 1971 season. The year before that, the Colts won Super
Bowl V, the only Roman-numeraled game in which they’ve appeared.
Well, almost five years since Bailey’s near miss — if Pro Football
Weekly’s esteemed panel of football writers is on the money — the Colts are
headed back to the AFC championship game. And this time, they will walk away much happier.
Of the 37 panelists polled, 22 said the Colts will be the AFC champions of the 2000
season. Apparently, the voters were impressed with the Colts’ 1999 regular-season
record of 13-3 and their roster full of young talent.
As for the NFC, PFW’s panel says the conference will be represented by the
Buccaneers, who would become the first team to compete in a Super Bowl played in their
home stadium.
However, a boisterous home crowd won’t be enough to put Warren Sapp, Warrick Dunn
& Co. over the top. The Colts get the edge and are our pick to win the game. In the
vote for the Super Bowl XXXV winner, Indianapolis drew 14 tallies compared to Tampa
Bay’s seven.
The Colts boast one of the most explosive offenses in the league, thanks in large part
to QB Peyton Manning, RB Edgerrin James and WR Marvin Harrison. Those three, along with
their supporting cast, combined for the third-highest scoring offense in the NFL last
season.
Manning gets the nod as the most important member of the trio. Our panel predicts, by
an overwhelming majority, that he will be the league’s Offensive MVP.
On the flip side, defense is the Buccaneers’ strength. It allowed only 235 points
last season — an average of 14.7 points per game — which was third best in the
league. Leading the defensive charge is Sapp, who is pegged by the voters to win defensive
MVP honors.
The voting for Defensive MVP was fairly close, with Sapp receiving 15 votes compared to
runner-up Jevon Kearse’s 13. St. Louis DE Kevin Carter and Buccaneer LB Derrick
Brooks each received four votes, while Eagles S Brian Dawkins received one.
In the offensive voting, Manning was the overwhelming winner. He received 18-of-37
votes. His closest competitors were James and Titans RB Eddie George, each of whom
received four votes. Packers QB Brett Favre and Rams QB Kurt Warner each received two
votes, while seven other players got one vote apiece.
In the AFC race, the Titans drew a fair amount of support, finishing second in the
voting with 11 of the 37 votes. The Jaguars, Bills, Broncos and Seahawks each got one vote
as conference champion.
The NFC should be a little tighter, according to our panel. The Buccaneers edged the
Rams (10) by just seven votes. The free-spending Redskins garnered seven votes to win the
conference, while the Packers were picked by two and the Panthers one.
In the division races, only one team — Indianapolis — was the unanimous pick
to win its division. All 37 panelists say Indianapolis is king of the AFC East.
The Rams came very close to being the unanimous pick to win the NFC West, but one voter
said the Panthers would prevail.
The Redskins, who have been the talk of the offseason for all of their high-profile
transactions, were two votes away from being the unanimous pick to win the NFC East.
At the other end of the spectrum, no team was a unanimous choice to finish in the
basement of its division — although the 49ers came pretty close. San Francisco, in
the midst of a rebuilding process spurred by salary-cap issues, was forecast to finish in
fifth place by all but three voters.
On to 2000 predictions |
