Legwold: Early Sunday drive often goes long way

Published September 8, 2006 at midnight

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August is about what might happen in the NFL, about possibilities.

It's all good in August.

September, however, is about reality. Not about what you think, but rather what you do. September is, thankfully, about getting down to business.

The Steelers and the Dolphins teed up 2006 on Thursday night, but things really get cranked up Sunday, and here are some things to watch along the way.

Get going

For a league whose players are always talking about the long haul, the first steps seem to be some of the most important ones.

Especially in the AFC. Last season, the conference's six playoff teams were 5-1 on the season's opening week, with the only loss in that group being the Broncos' cave-in in Miami.

The AFC's nonplayoff teams were 3-7 in the opening week. In all, those six AFC postseason teams were 14-4 in September last year.

In 2004, the AFC's six playoff teams also were 5-1 in the opening week, with the nonplayoff teams going 3-7.

It wasn't quite as drastic in the NFC. The six NFC playoff teams were 3-3 in the opening week last year and 11-6 in September.

Seattle, which finished 13-3 and was the NFC representative in the Super Bowl, also lost its opener - in Jacksonville - last year.

So, two teams that won 13 games last year each lost the opener in Florida.

That's bad karma for Dallas and Baltimore this week, which open in Jacksonville and Tampa.

The countdown

Talk to scouts and personnel executives around the league, and one of the things that will most often come up is Terrell Owens.

Owens and either how glad they are he isn't in their locker room or exactly when he will drive Dallas coach Bill Parcells berserk.

Owens already has promised he will "make a statement" in Sunday's opener in Jacksonville, though in the minds of many, he already has made plenty of statements.

He spent much of training camp making Parcells look like he just finished 3 pounds of bad calamari because Owens didn't practice for much of the preseason because of a sore left hamstring.

However, if the Cowboys can keep Owens at least pointed in the right direction, he'll produce in their offense.

It's just that plenty of people in the league will keep an eye out for Parcells and Owens to go nose to nose on the sideline.

Running out of time

There has been a move among the league salary-cap specialists in recent seasons to take a hard look at the value of signing a running back closing in on 30 to a long-term contract.

It's why Edgerrin James now plays in Arizona and why the Broncos have sent their leading rusher on his way in each of the past three offseasons.

There also is the matter that six of the AFC's top 10 rushers played for teams that didn't make the playoffs in 2005, led by the Chiefs' Larry Johnson (1,750 yards).

Of the upper-echelon teams, Denver and Indianapolis are poised to use at least two backs in a rotation, and both will use a rookie in the mix - Mike Bell for the Broncos and Joseph Addai for the Colts.

Flag day

Look for the yellow flags flying near the linebackers this season. Offensive coordinators around the league are saying a tight end on a linebacker might be the best matchup for the guys with the ball.

And with rookie tight ends such as Vernon Davis (49ers), Tony Scheffler (Broncos) and Joe Klopfenstein (Rams) set to make an early impact because of their speed, some teams might have to use defensive backs to stop the big guys.

Davis, at more than 250 pounds, ran 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine. Scheffler was the second-fastest tight end timed in Indianapolis, in 4.54 seconds, and Klopfenstein ran 4.55 seconds in Boulder at his predraft workouts.

"You get somebody in there who can catch the ball, I think most teams are going to believe that's a matchup they can win," Broncos tight end Stephen Alexander said.

And with shorter pass drops by quarterbacks and more offenses looking to get the ball out, they all might just look to the middle of the field a little more.

New guys

There are 10 coaches in new jobs this year. Seven of them have never been NFL head coaches, two have previously been fired - Dick Jauron and Art Shell - and Herman Edwards simply left one job (Jets) for another (Chiefs).

That's almost a third of the league.

But of the 10 new coaches, it likely will be 35-year-old Eric Mangini who wonders at times what he has gotten himself into. With the Jets, he finds himself with a team in trouble with the salary cap, with a quarterback (Chad Pennington) coming off two right shoulder surgeries and his top running back (Curtis Martin) on the way to retirement because of right knee troubles.

Oh, and the Jets also traded their best pass rusher in John Abraham and have not had a coach since Joe Walton (1983 to 1989) last longer than five years.

Other than that, it should be a smooth ride.

Touchdown makers

Runners who have been the best at finding the end zone the past four seasons.

Player, team Rush TDs

Shaun Alexander, Seattle 73

*Priest Holmes, Kansas City 68

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego 62

Clinton Portis, Washington/Denver 45

**Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh 38*On Physically Unable To Perform List For First Six Weeks Of Season. **Has Retired.

TEAM-BY-TEAM CAPSULES

Week 1

AFC

BALTIMORE had some injuries as training camp drew to a close, especially on offense, but wide receiver Derrick Mason and running back Jamal Lewis said this week they both will be ready to play Sunday. Mason, a Steve McNair favorite, figures to have a huge year with McNair running the show.

BUFFALO will find out quickly about the progress of its retooled offensive front. The Bills will face New England Sunday with Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork pounding away in the middle of the field. Talk to scouts, though, and right tackle Jason Peters is the one they like to see.

CINCINNATI right tackle Willie Anderson, who signed a six-year extension last week, told the team not to back load the contract so they could continue to sign other free agents when he reaches his mid 30s.

CLEVELAND coach Romeo Crennel has spent much of the preseason trying to figure out who his center will be — it’s now former Eagle Hank Fraley — as well as gauging how much wide receiver Braylon Edwards can give the team less than a year after major knee surgery. Edwards will play Sunday and may even start opposite Joe Jurevicius.

DENVER is expected to be the most frustrating team in the league for the fantasy football types. No matter which Bell tolls at running back — Mike or Tatum, and Mike is the likely starter — they are expected, at least for now, to rotate, dividing the carries much like last season between Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson.

HOUSTON confirmed what many scouts believed before the draft — Wali Lundy can play. Lundy was a sixth-round pick by the Texans, but he will be Gary Kubiak’s first starter at running back. Lundy played 49 games at Virginia — a school record for an RB — and scored more career TDs (52) than Tiki Barber or Thomas Jones did there.

INDIANAPOLIS certainly likes former Titans. Despite the Titans 4-12 finish last season when final cuts were made this past weekend, the Colts still snapped up linebacker Rocky Boiman and defensive end Bo Schobel from Tennessee. Both played last season in a defense that finished 19th overall in ‘05.

JACKSONVILLE took a chance when it released Todd Yoder. The team often plays out of a two tight end set and yet now only has three on the roster. One of those, rookie Marcedes Lewis, has also missed significant practice time with an ankle sprain and only recently returned to the field.

KANSAS CITY guard Will Shields missed roughly three weeks of the preseason with a sprained ankle, but he is expected to be in the lineup Sunday against the Bengals after practicing this week. Shields has started 207 consecutive games.

MIAMI had to adjust on the fly this week. After preparing for some time that Ben Roethlisberger would be at quarterback for the Steelers. Sunday, the Dolphins had to adjust to the fact Charlie Batch would start Thursday night because Roethlisberger had appendectomy.

NEW ENGLAND has moved quickly to try and incorporate wide receiver Doug Gabriel into the offense. Gabriel, who has also been a kick returner in his career, gives the Patriots a deep threat they did not have with Deion Branch still in a holdout. Look for Tom Brady to involve Gabriel quickly.

NEW YORK looks as if it will lean on former Chiefs backup Derrick Blaylock initially at running back and will rotate in Kevan Barlow, who came in a trade late in training camp. The Jets are also intrigued by rookie Leon Washington — a 5-foot-9 back who scored TDs five different ways at Florida St. (rushing, receiving, kickoff return, punt return and fumble recovery).

OAKLAND coach Art Shell is in a tough spot with the trade of Gabriel, who he had used as the No. 2 receiver in the preseason. Shell has not been happy with Jerry Porter almost since he took the job. But Porter is now the best option at No. 2, especially since neither Alvis Whitted nor Ronald Curry has ever topped 700 yards in a season.

WHEN PITTSBURGH signed cornerback Ike Taylor to a five-year, $22.5 million contract extension in the days before their Thursday night opener, it meant the team will now have no starters set to become unrestricted free agents at season’s end. Right tackle Max Starks is scheduled to be the team’s only restricted free agent.

SAN DIEGO will start Shaun Phillips in Steve Foley’s weak-side linebacker spot Monday. Foley will miss the season after being shot several times by an off-duty police officer. Phillips missed some practice time last week with a case of what coach Marty Schottenheimer called strep throat.

TENNESSEE coach Jeff Fisher has played it coy with his quarterbacks since acquiring veteran Kerry Collins just before the preseason finale. But the Titans were talking internally about signing Collins internally as far back as the April draft. This was not a move made so Collins could ride the bench.

NFC

ARIZONA signed one of the more interesting projects to their practice squad. Quarterback Shane Boyd is a former Minnesota Twins draft pick — he pitched at the University of Kentucky — and he also played quarterback, running back and wide receiver for the Wildcats football team. He once scored TDs rushing, passing and receiving in same game.

ATLANTA has not gotten much return on its investment in linebacker Ed Hartwell because of injuries. Hartwell is not expected to play in the opener after having arthroscopic surgery on both knees in late August. He missed much of last season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury.

CAROLINA didn’t want to have to use a starter to return punts this season, but now may have to as wide receiver Steve Smith or cornerback Chris Gamble are still the team’s best options in the return game.

CHICAGO likes what its defense can do, but it will not be at full speed until defensive end Alex Brown returns to form after a dislocated right shoulder he suffered in the preseason. Brown isn’t expected to be 100 percent for the opener and was second on the team in sacks in ‘05 with six.

DALLAS quarterback Drew Bledsoe will have to deal with pressure right in his face Sunday. The Jaguars, because of Bledsoe’s limited mobility, figure to try and rattle Bledsoe right down the center of the field with John Henderson and Marcus Stroud. The Cowboys have been a bit unsettled at center as well wavering between Al Johnson and Andre Gurode.

DETROIT rookie offensive lineman Frank Davis, who grew up in Panama and started his career as a defensive tackle at South Florida, was a surprise keeper by the Lions after the final cuts. Davis was undrafted this past April.

GREEN BAY general manager Ted Thompson obviously believes in what he saw in the 2001 draft when he was a personnel executive with the Seattle Seahawks. Thompson brought in troubled wide receiver Koren Robinson, who still could be suspended for a year, for a visit this week. Robinson was the ninth pick overall by the Seahawks in the ‘01 draft.

MINNESOTA not only traded for Brooks Bollinger to be their backup quarterback, but several personnel executives in the league say that the Vikings quickly negotiated a two-year contract extension for Bollinger, who is now signed through the ‘08 season.

NEW ORLEANS coach Sean Payton is banking that he can improve the team’s defense by playing largely the same cast as last season. Especially up front where the team will lean heavily on defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith — both are former first-round picks.

NEW YORK rookie wide receiver Sinorice Moss, who missed almost all of the preseason with a thigh injury, has seen his opportunity to be one of the team’s top three wide receivers go by the wayside, at least for the moment. Tim Carter used Moss’ absence to grab the No. 3 spot.

PHILADELPHIA will likely go easy with running back Correll Buckhalter. Buckhalter, because of a host of injuries, has not played in a regular-season game since January of 2004 because of knee injuries. The Eagles will mix and match a bit at running back to start the season.

ST. LOUIS has given defensive coordinator Jim Haslett plenty of room to work. Head coach Scott Linehan, who cut his NFL teeth as an offensive assistant, has let the former New Orleans head coach work the defense to his liking. Haslett figures to be far more aggressive than the Rams were last season, especially with defensive tackle La’Roi Glover.

SAN FRANCISCO let Andre Carter and Julian Peterson go in free agency as Mike Nolan continues to try to find some balance for the teetering franchise. In their place, however, the 49ers don’t have a consistent pass rusher. That is a year after they traded John Engelberger to the Broncos for Willie Middlebrooks and then cut Middlebrooks several times.

SEATTLE, looking for a little more pop in the kick return game, signed former Giants returner Willie Ponder this week. Ponder led the league in 2004 with a 26.9 yards per return average. He averaged 25.9 yards per return last season.

TAMPA BAY will start rookie Davin Joseph at right guard. Joseph will be the only change up front for the Buccaneers. Joseph was a first-round pick this past April and Oklahoma coaches said he graded out the highest among the linemen in 2004 when the team also had Jammal Brown and Vince Carter in the lineup.

WASHINGTON coach Joe Gibbs went public this week with a rather odd plan for the Redskins’ backup quarterback spot. If Mark Brunell was injured in a game, Todd Collins would come in to replace him. If there was a week’s worth or practice before a game that Brunell could not play in, Jason Campbell would replace him.

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359

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