| Authored by Martin Barna - 6th July, 2005 - 9:43 pm
 With training camps opening at the end of July and kickoff weekend just over two months away, avid football fans are already gearing up for what should be an electrifying 2005 NFL season.
However, for those less fervent than myself (Read: people with actual lives), keeping up with all of the free agency flip-flopping and mini-camp melodramas that flood the newswires during the summer months probably seems about as enticing as battling holiday beach traffic and a backseat full of screaming kids. With a painfully high influx of scoops about Terrell Owens’, Randy Moss’, and Jamal Lewis’ offseason exploits saturating the sports pages, many of the less prominent plotlines for the upcoming season have been largely overlooked. So before you completely tune out of offseason NFL news, here are five underappreciated storylines that you can look forward to following on Sundays come September.
1. Offensive Fireworks in the Wild Wild West
Over the last few years, the porous secondaries in Oakland, San Diego, and Kansas City have resulted in the AFC West’s emergence as a quarterback paradise. Last season, these three teams ranked 30th, 31st, and 32nd, respectively, in overall pass defense. Not surprisingly, the division also accounted for three of the conference’s top four passing attacks. With the exciting additions of Randy Moss in Oakland, and Freddie Mitchell in Kansas City, and the departures of several notable defensive backs, not even Ashley Ambrose can stop 2005 AFC West secondaries from pulling ahead of Amsterdam’s Red Light District and Senior Prom Night on the list of best places for guys trying to score.
2. Racing through the Record Book
Entering the 2005 season, Curtis Martin, 32, and Jerome Bettis, 33, are separated by less than eighty yards at fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list of all-time leading rushers. Although neither has a realistic shot at moving into third (both are around 2,000 yards behind former Lion great, Barry Sanders), there will undoubtedly be a friendly Sosa-McGwire-esque dynamic between the two veterans – particularly in the final few weeks of the regular season. And who knows? Maybe the Bus will put off retiring for another year if he finds himself in fourth place at the end of the season and knows that Martin is planning to return in 2006.
3. Saban’s Attempt to Make the Jump
As illustrated through Steve Spurrier’s tumultuous two-year stint in D.C., success at the collegiate level does not always translate to the professional ranks. But then again, Rashaan Salaam, Danny Wuerffel, and Blair Thomas all could have told you that. Former LSU coach, Nick Saban, faces the same uphill battle with the rebuilding Miami Dolphins in 2005. For every coach that has been able to make the jump (Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson combined for six Super Bowl rings in their post-collegiate years), there been just as many that wished they’d never tried (cough, Dennis Erickson). After leading the Tigers to a National Championship in 2003, how will this bayou boy fare with the likes of Senior Seau and A. “J.V.” Feeley leading his inaugural squad? Good luck, Nick. Gooooooood luck.
4. Reaping Rewards for Risky Selections?
As much attention is being paid to Alex Smith and the other top picks of the 2005 draft, it is San Francisco’s later selection, Frank Gore, who will be the more intriguing rookie to follow. Before suffering a devastating knee injury in his first year at the University of Miami, Gore, of course, was a highly-touted prospect with enormous NFL potential. Along with Detroit’s Mike Williams, Denver’s Maurice Clarett, and New Orleans’ Adrian McPherson, a number of famous (and infamous) collegians whose stocks descended 2005 draft board due to injury or indiscretion will get second chances in September. Will Mike Williams’ raw size and athleticism make him the top cat in a talented Lions receiving corps? Can Maurice Clarett respond to his critics and thrive in a Bronco system that has produced five different 1,000-yard rushers in the last seven years? Will embattled Arena League star, Adrian McPherson, be able to conquer his inner demons and prosper in “The City that Care Forgot”? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
5. NFC East Coaches on the Hot Seat
When Joe Gibbs, and Tom Coughlin joined Andy Reid and Bill Parcells last offseason, the NFC East was immediately pegged as one of the most competitive divisions in the league. After producing just six wins each in 2004, Gibbs, Coughlin, and Parcells enter this year’s training camp with a slightly heavier load to bear. Each was expected to recapture a struggling franchise’s former glory, and each was about a successful as Peyton Manning in a dance contest. With a series of late-season divisional match-ups, these celebrated coaches may find themselves battling each other to protect, not only their legacies, but also their jobs.
I don’t know about you, but my mouth is starting to water… |
