In 1999, NFL fans saw a ghost. Not literally, of course, but anyone who cared about football was left in a state of bewilderment once it was all done. Three of the final four of the previous season left reeling? A Rams-Titans Super Bowl? The NFL as we knew it was turned upside down.
So naturally, entering 2000 we kept the lights on. Everyone was on the lookout for their sleeper pick, a "Rams of 2000" team that would shock the football world and come from nowhere to win it all, or at least rise to prominence. But in just about every scary story, when you're looking for a ghost it doesn't come. This season is no exception.
The Chicago Bears, the trendiest of those sleepers coming in, have one win in eight games. The Baltimore Ravens, their AFC counterpart, have not scored a touchdown in October. And fans have been left with, shock of shocks, a season that has gone pretty much according to form. Of course there are teams that have played over their heads and others that have been colossal busts. But this year, those teams can be counted on one hand.
But with fans actually able to make sense of what has gone on, that doesn't make it any less interesting. With that in mind, below are some honors and dubious distinctions earned in the first half of 2000:
Best Team: Tennessee Titans
Yes, it's easy to give this distinction to the Minnesota Vikings, the only unbeaten team left in the league, but they've had too many near-misses and too easy a schedule to be in the top spot. Instead, the Titans have proven themselves the best team in football, reeling off six straight wins after a Week One loss in Buffalo.
The defending AFC Champions have proven themselves the most balanced team in the league, with a hard-hitting defense that complements an efficient offense led by running back Eddie George and rising star Steve McNair at quarterback. After last week's easy win over the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee has the Central in the bag and is in good shape for a return to the Super Bowl.
Worst Team: San Diego Chargers
The Cincinnati Bengals had this spot locked up before winning a game in which they completed all of two passes last week. The Chicago Bears have looked almost as bad at times, but have a road win under their belt. So, by default, this dishonor goes to San Diego.
The only winless club left in the NFL, the 0-7 Chargers have lost the defensive prowess that made them dangerous in recent years, stuck at 27th in the league. And the offense, which looked promising in the preseason thanks to a seemingly reborn Ryan Leaf, has struggled. Making matters worse is that Leaf declared himself out of Sunday's game a week and a half early, without the team's knowledge, and then this week talked on a cell phone for a half hour while reporters waited to talk to him. Some things will never change.
Jekyll and Hyde Team: Denver Broncos
The only thing in recent years that has been harder to figure than the 2000 Broncos is Demetrius Underwood. The team has looked unstoppable in handing the Oakland Raiders their only loss, on the road in Week Three, gone toe-to-toe on national television with the St. Louis Rams, yet has lost at home to the 2-6 New England Patriots, and on Sunday suffered the ultimately indignity, losing to the Bengals.
While Brian Griese has emerged as a top-flight quarterback, and the team has generally owned a statistical advantage over its opponents in every category, Denver seems prone to lapses, as was the case on Sunday, and looks like a talented team without the type of focus that made it a champion in 1997 and '98.
Most Valuable Player: Marshall Faulk, St. Louis Rams.
Faulk has given the Rams the all-important second dimension and made the team's unstoppable offense go, just as he did last year. The Rams will be just fine without Kurt Warner for the next month, thanks to Faulk. Coming in a close second is Charlie Garner of the San Francisco 49ers, who has gone almost unnoticed in piling up 1166 yards from scrimmage, just 16 fewer than Faulk's 1182. If the Niners had the type of players around Garner that the Rams put around Faulk, their roles could be reversed.
Least Valuable Player: Keyshawn Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If this was some other type of business, the Bucs would be requesting a refund on their big-ticket purchase this off-season. Keyshawn, who was supposed to turn around the Bucs' offense and make his team a Super Bowl threat, has instead looked nothing like the star he was in New York. Johnson has dropped passes, missed blocks, and upset Tampa Bay's chemistry. His numbers are a paltry 32 receptions, 373 yards, and one touchdown. But even more disturbing is the Bucs' record: 3-4 and four full games out of first place in the NFC Central, a division that they were considered a preseason lock to win.
Coach of the Year: Dennis Green, Minnesota Vikings.
Green stuck to his guns and went with inexperienced Daunte Culpepper at quarterback. As has been the case more often than not in his tenure in Minnesota, he was right. The Vikes are 7-0 and a few wins away from becoming a threat to take home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
Team to Watch: New Orleans Saints
Quick, name two players on this defense. If you couldn't, you're in the vast majority of fans who don't know anything about the top ranked unit in the NFL. Defensive tackle La'Roi Glover has amassed 11 sacks already and with a fairly soft schedule ahead, the Saints have suddenly become a threat to go to the playoffs for the first time since 1991. If so, they'll be carried by Glover and ten other names that don't inspire much feeling, like Joe Johnson, Sammy Knight, and Keith Mitchell. They may become much more familiar come this winter.
Look out above for: Miami Dolphins
Blowing a 23-point fourth quarter lead to the Jets on Monday night may have started an annual rite of fall - a Dolphins collapse from near the top of the AFC East to mediocrity. The defense, so good until allowing four TDs in the final stanza on Monday, may struggle to regain its form after a performance that brought back memories of the 62-7 embarrassment suffered at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs last year. Although two of the next three games are very winnable, the Dolphins face every division opponent once and the Colts twice, in addition to a face off with Tampa, whose pirate ship should be righted by December. If Dave Wannstedt's squad is no longer stopping people, Jay Fiedler cannot carry it. And if that's the case, this could be the worst collapse in Miami since, well, since the last one.
