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Packers QB
Brett Favre
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I am taking it upon myself to demote QB Peyton Manning, WR Randy Moss, DE Jevon Kearse
and CB Champ Bailey.
No, I’m not benching them. You’ll still find them in their teams’
starting lineups. What I am doing is taking them down a peg. Heading into the season,
Manning, Moss, Kearse and Bailey were No. 1 at their positions in the NFL in my eyes. Six
weeks into this season, they have been surpassed on my list.
Give up the championship belt. Pass along the crown. My new No. 1s are QB Brett Favre,
WR Terrell Owens, DE Michael Strahan and CB Charles Woodson. Here’s why.
Brett Favre
That was then: From 1994 to ’98, what everyone talked about was
the fact that Favre averaged an astonishing 35.2 TD passes a season. During the 1999 and
2000 seasons, when Favre averaged 21.0 TD passes a season, what everyone talked about was
his vast assortment of injuries and what a tough guy he was to play through them.
"He goes out and puts 100 percent on the field even when he’s 50
percent," Packers WR Bill Schroeder said.
This is now: As I write this, I am looking at an old clip about Favre
from August 2000 with the headline "Favre’s falloff." You can toss that
headline in the garbage can now.
While Manning is struggling through a rash of interceptions, Favre is back to his old
self. He’s piling up TD passes, wins and is once again the best quarterback in the
game.
The offensive balance provided by RB Ahman Green has helped, but that’s not why
Favre is the game’s best quarterback once again.
"Two words. He’s healthy," said an NFL insider last week.
"It’s that simple."
Michael Strahan
That was then: During the first half of the 2000 season, Strahan was
battling some injuries and was in what he recently described as a "bit of a mental
and physical rut."
During the latter part of the regular season and throughout the postseason, Strahan was
simply phenomenal. He jacked up the energy level and was unstoppable. What was it that got
him out of his rut? He had his eyes opened by not a coach but his wife.
"My wife telling me that I’m not old and I can do it," Strahan said.
Strahan’s fast finish to the season moved him close to the top of his profession
in my mind, but it just wasn’t enough to surpass Kearse. After all, I wondered, which
Strahan would we see in 2001? The slow starter of the first half of 2000, or the hard
charger that we saw afterward?
This is now: Against Strahan, offensive linemen are providing all the
resistance of a building against a wrecking ball. Strahan already had a whopping 8½ sacks
heading into last Monday’s game against the Eagles.
After Strahan had tormented him to the tune of four sacks in Week Five, Rams QB Kurt
Warner said, "Too much Strahan. Way too much Strahan."
Four days before that game, Strahan said, "I feel energetic. I feel like I’m
20 again."
As well as he’s playing, 20 may be the number of sacks Strahan posts this season.
Terrell Owens
That was then: After both of his touchdowns in the 49ers’ 41-24
victory over the Cowboys last season, Owens sprinted to midfield and celebrated on the
Cowboys’ star logo. It set off a firestorm of controversy.
To most everyone who saw this boorish display, Owens came across as the poster child
for all that is wrong with immature superstars in the world of sports.
Heading into this season, I put Moss ahead of Owens on my WR list. Even though Owens
went on to have a monster year last season, his attitude concerned me. True, Moss
isn’t exactly the king of maturity and hard work, but he was the more explosive
performer of the two.
This is now: Both Moss and Owens have faced tremendous challenges this
season. Moss no longer has RB Robert Smith and OTs Todd Steussie and Korey Stringer on his
side. Owens no longer has WR Jerry Rice and RB Charlie Garner to help his cause.
Given the immaturity that Owens and Moss had displayed in the past, you had to wonder
how each would handle the challenge. Owens has dealt with it brilliantly. Moss, by his
lofty standards, has struggled. Owens has six TD catches. Moss has one.
In retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised at how well Owens has answered a
difficult challenge. Think back to January 1999, and the NFC wild-card game between the
49ers and Packers. Owens had played miserably, having fumbled once and dropped four passes
as the game neared its pulsating finish. Then, with three seconds left and defenders all
around him, Owens made a never-to-be-forgotten 25-yard TD catch to give his squad a 30-27
win.
"I had already thought, ‘How was I going to live with myself, knowing that I
let this team down?’ " Owens said. "But I visualize big plays all the time,
and this was a vision that finally came true. I knew I had to make something happen for
this team."
Owens has done that significantly more than Moss this year.
Charles Woodson
That was then: Heading into the 1999 season, the hot question was
whether Woodson would play both ways and add offense to his CB duties.
"Maybe he won’t be playing wide receiver," Raiders head coach Jon Gruden
said. "Maybe he’ll be throwing, playing quarterback. Or maybe he’ll kick
field goals."
First things first. Woodson hadn’t yet cracked the top five in the NFL at his CB
position. He needed to take care of his bread-and-butter duties first.
This is now: Woodson entered this season as the No. 2 cornerback in
the game in my mind, narrowly trailing Bailey.
He doesn’t trail Bailey anymore. The Redskins’ defensive scheme is the wrong
fit for Bailey this year. Meanwhile, Woodson seems more focused than he’s ever been.
More focused on the work it takes to be great. More focused on being a leader. Now the
focus is on Woodson as the best cornerback in football. Let someone else play on offense.
No point messing with perfectly great results. |
