Farewell to A Great Season
by Sean Lahman
For most teams, the last week of the NFL season is anti-climactic. Twenty-seven of the NFL?s 32 teams entered the weekend knowing whether they were going to the playoffs for not. Of the five teams with something to play for, two won to clinch a playoff berth, two suffered inglorious losses to knock themselves out of the postseason picture, and the last clinched a playoff spot four hours before they took the field.
There is no rest for the weary. On the Monday after the NFL?s regular season ends, twelve teams are already deeply involved in preparing for their playoff games. The twenty teams who missed the post-season must make coaching decisions immediately, who to keep and who to pursue for vacancies. Before we bid farewell to the 2003 season, we ought to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights of a spectacular year of football.
The effects of parity have never been more evident than this season. Only four of the teams that made the playoffs last year are returning. The wight new teams is an NFL record. This also marks the first time that four NFC teams make the playoffs a year after finishing with a losing record. This should provide hope for the teams whose 2003 season was disappointing. Four teams ? the Rams, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Patriots improved their win totals by five games, and the Bengals improved by 6 wins over their record a year ago.
The end of the regular season may also mean bidding farewell to some of the greatest players in NFL history. Defensive end Bruce Smith has already announced his retirement. In his final season, he became the all-time sack leader and leaves the game with an even 200. Smith was a cornerstone of the great Buffalo Bills teams of the early 1990s, and will be remembered as one of the great pass rushers who ever played.
Sunday may have also marked the end of the road for two of the greatest players in NFL history. Emmitt Smith became the all-time leader in rushing yards a year ago, but ignored friends and critics who told him it was time to call it quits. Rather than going out in a blaze of glory, he has suffered through an injury-riddled season with one of the NFL?s worst teams. Smith scored just two touchdowns for the Arizona Cardinals, rushing for a little more than 250 yards as an afterthought on a 3-13 team. "You can look pretty bad moving from one team to another at the end of your career, and it's too bad when players do that," Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh said. "He's (Smith) been one of the greatest players in the history of the game. But I don't think he's going to be able to play very much anymore. He doesn't need me to tell him that."
It has been a frustrating season in Oakland, too, and while nobody would tell Jerry Rice that he can?t play at this level anymore, a lot of people have been saying that he?d be better off hanging them up now than embarrassing himself the way that Smith has by trying to hang around too long. There is nothing left for Rice to accomplish. He has won four Super Bowls and holds both the single season and career records for receiving yards and touchdown receptions. Rice is so far ahead in those career marks that it seems unlikely anyone will ever catch them, barring some dramatic changes to the way the game is played. With coaching changes and a purging of veteran players expected in Oakland, it seems likely that Rice will heed the call and head into retirement with the grace that his career personified.
* * *
Baltimore?s Jamal Lewis fell just short of setting a new mark for rushing yards in a season, and Dante Hall couldn?t return another kick for a touchdown after tying the NFL record with four in his first four games. Two other big records did fall on Sunday. Priest Holmes one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of Kansas City?s win over the Bears was his 26th rushing touchdown of the year. That broke the single-season record of 25, set in 1995. Holmes scored again on a 2-yard run in the third quarter, surpassing Marshall Faulk?s record for total touchdowns.
The Colts Mike Vanderjagt, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, had a big game when his team needed a win. After trailing 17-3 to the Texans at the end of three quarters, Indianapolis rallied back to tie the game. With no time left on the clock, Vanderjagt hit a 42-yarder to give his team the win and the division title. It was 41st consecutive field goal without a miss, breaking Gary Anderson?s mark of 40 set in 1998. A year after feuding publicly with quarterback Peyton Manning, Vanderjagt has earned redemption and the first Pro Bowl invitation of his career.
* * *
It has been a painfully disappointing season for the Giants. They entered the 2003 season with a reasonable belief that they were a Super Bowl contender, but after giving away two games early in the season, they stumbled to a 2-4 start and ended up losing their final eight games. Many thought this might be the best offense in franchise history, but the Giants scored thirteen points or less in ten of their final thirteen games, and it turned out to be their worst season in 20 years.
The debacle cost head coach Jim Fassel his job, and it?s unfortunate that a coach who has accomplished as much as he has would meet such a humbling end. When he took over the reins of this team in 1997, he was inheriting a team that had gone 5-11 and 6-10 in the previous two seasons under Dan Reeves. Despite suffering some key injuries, Fassel took the Giants from last place to first place and was named Coach of the Year. A year later, Fassel?s team won five of its last six games (including an upset of the 13-0 Denver Broncos) but got knocked out of the playoffs on the final day of the season. Until this year, the Giants were always competitive under Fassel, never finishing worse than 7-9.
The high point of course was the 2000 season. After an embarrassing loss to the Detroit Lions in mid-November, he expressed his faith in his players (and challenged them) by guaranteeing that his team would make the playoffs. The Giants won their final five games and won the NFC Championship with a dominating 41-0 win over Minnesota. That season and that guarantee will be the thing that fans remember about Fassel. When the pain of the 2003 season fades, Fassel will be recognized as one of the great coaches in Giants history. His 58 regular season wins ranks third in franchise history, behind only Hall of Famer Steve Owen (153) and Bill Parcells (77).
Fassel never matched Parcell?s success, but that?s a tremendously unfair yardstick by which to measure a coach. He?ll be pursued by every NFL team and major college looking for someone who can come in and make a difference right away. The Giants won?t be this bad forever, and whoever replaces him isn?t likely to suffer another 4-12 season. It won?t tale long, though, for the folks in New York to wonder why they ever let Jim Fassel get away.
by Sean Lahman
For most teams, the last week of the NFL season is anti-climactic. Twenty-seven of the NFL?s 32 teams entered the weekend knowing whether they were going to the playoffs for not. Of the five teams with something to play for, two won to clinch a playoff berth, two suffered inglorious losses to knock themselves out of the postseason picture, and the last clinched a playoff spot four hours before they took the field.
There is no rest for the weary. On the Monday after the NFL?s regular season ends, twelve teams are already deeply involved in preparing for their playoff games. The twenty teams who missed the post-season must make coaching decisions immediately, who to keep and who to pursue for vacancies. Before we bid farewell to the 2003 season, we ought to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights of a spectacular year of football.
The effects of parity have never been more evident than this season. Only four of the teams that made the playoffs last year are returning. The wight new teams is an NFL record. This also marks the first time that four NFC teams make the playoffs a year after finishing with a losing record. This should provide hope for the teams whose 2003 season was disappointing. Four teams ? the Rams, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Patriots improved their win totals by five games, and the Bengals improved by 6 wins over their record a year ago.
The end of the regular season may also mean bidding farewell to some of the greatest players in NFL history. Defensive end Bruce Smith has already announced his retirement. In his final season, he became the all-time sack leader and leaves the game with an even 200. Smith was a cornerstone of the great Buffalo Bills teams of the early 1990s, and will be remembered as one of the great pass rushers who ever played.
Sunday may have also marked the end of the road for two of the greatest players in NFL history. Emmitt Smith became the all-time leader in rushing yards a year ago, but ignored friends and critics who told him it was time to call it quits. Rather than going out in a blaze of glory, he has suffered through an injury-riddled season with one of the NFL?s worst teams. Smith scored just two touchdowns for the Arizona Cardinals, rushing for a little more than 250 yards as an afterthought on a 3-13 team. "You can look pretty bad moving from one team to another at the end of your career, and it's too bad when players do that," Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh said. "He's (Smith) been one of the greatest players in the history of the game. But I don't think he's going to be able to play very much anymore. He doesn't need me to tell him that."
It has been a frustrating season in Oakland, too, and while nobody would tell Jerry Rice that he can?t play at this level anymore, a lot of people have been saying that he?d be better off hanging them up now than embarrassing himself the way that Smith has by trying to hang around too long. There is nothing left for Rice to accomplish. He has won four Super Bowls and holds both the single season and career records for receiving yards and touchdown receptions. Rice is so far ahead in those career marks that it seems unlikely anyone will ever catch them, barring some dramatic changes to the way the game is played. With coaching changes and a purging of veteran players expected in Oakland, it seems likely that Rice will heed the call and head into retirement with the grace that his career personified.
* * *
Baltimore?s Jamal Lewis fell just short of setting a new mark for rushing yards in a season, and Dante Hall couldn?t return another kick for a touchdown after tying the NFL record with four in his first four games. Two other big records did fall on Sunday. Priest Holmes one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of Kansas City?s win over the Bears was his 26th rushing touchdown of the year. That broke the single-season record of 25, set in 1995. Holmes scored again on a 2-yard run in the third quarter, surpassing Marshall Faulk?s record for total touchdowns.
The Colts Mike Vanderjagt, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, had a big game when his team needed a win. After trailing 17-3 to the Texans at the end of three quarters, Indianapolis rallied back to tie the game. With no time left on the clock, Vanderjagt hit a 42-yarder to give his team the win and the division title. It was 41st consecutive field goal without a miss, breaking Gary Anderson?s mark of 40 set in 1998. A year after feuding publicly with quarterback Peyton Manning, Vanderjagt has earned redemption and the first Pro Bowl invitation of his career.
* * *
It has been a painfully disappointing season for the Giants. They entered the 2003 season with a reasonable belief that they were a Super Bowl contender, but after giving away two games early in the season, they stumbled to a 2-4 start and ended up losing their final eight games. Many thought this might be the best offense in franchise history, but the Giants scored thirteen points or less in ten of their final thirteen games, and it turned out to be their worst season in 20 years.
The debacle cost head coach Jim Fassel his job, and it?s unfortunate that a coach who has accomplished as much as he has would meet such a humbling end. When he took over the reins of this team in 1997, he was inheriting a team that had gone 5-11 and 6-10 in the previous two seasons under Dan Reeves. Despite suffering some key injuries, Fassel took the Giants from last place to first place and was named Coach of the Year. A year later, Fassel?s team won five of its last six games (including an upset of the 13-0 Denver Broncos) but got knocked out of the playoffs on the final day of the season. Until this year, the Giants were always competitive under Fassel, never finishing worse than 7-9.
The high point of course was the 2000 season. After an embarrassing loss to the Detroit Lions in mid-November, he expressed his faith in his players (and challenged them) by guaranteeing that his team would make the playoffs. The Giants won their final five games and won the NFC Championship with a dominating 41-0 win over Minnesota. That season and that guarantee will be the thing that fans remember about Fassel. When the pain of the 2003 season fades, Fassel will be recognized as one of the great coaches in Giants history. His 58 regular season wins ranks third in franchise history, behind only Hall of Famer Steve Owen (153) and Bill Parcells (77).
Fassel never matched Parcell?s success, but that?s a tremendously unfair yardstick by which to measure a coach. He?ll be pursued by every NFL team and major college looking for someone who can come in and make a difference right away. The Giants won?t be this bad forever, and whoever replaces him isn?t likely to suffer another 4-12 season. It won?t tale long, though, for the folks in New York to wonder why they ever let Jim Fassel get away.
