NFL dreamin': Offseason thoughts

By Michael Beshara Sports Central Columnist

Every spring, the NFL plays a cruel joke on its fans. Just when I'm starting to get into the baseball season, and the favorites for the Kentucky Derby are starting to emerge, the NFL holds its draft and my thoughts immediately turn to football.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of baseball and horse racing, but football is my first, and greatest, love. And after watching two weeks of Mel Kiper breaking down highlights, I am ready for some pigskin.

Sadly, we are still about four months away from the first meaningful kick-off, but that has not stopped my mind from racing as I consider what is in store for the 2004 season. A few thoughts that keep popping into my head include:

* Can the New England Patriots repeat and officially become a "dynasty?" Pete Rozelle dreamt of a day when parity would reign and, for a few years, it looked like that day had come. Suddenly, however, a defensive coordinator who had been an outright bust as a head coach and a quarterback drafted in the seventh-round got together and won two Super Bowls in three years.

If the Patriots win again this year, and they are among the top three money favorites in Vegas, they would have to be considered a dynasty. To win three titles in the "salary cap" era with essentially the same core of players and the same system was something thought impossible a few years ago. Now, with Corey Dillon, New England is on the verge of doing it.

* Can the Philadelphia Eagles finally get over the last hurdle? Losing three-straight conference title games anywhere would put a team on the hot seat. Losing three-straight conference title games in Philadelphia puts a team on the electric chair. Add in the fact that Eagles management finally went out and got Donovan McNabb a weapon in Terrell Owens and expectations are sky-high in the City of Brotherly Love.

Of course, while high-profile signings like Owens and Jevon Kearse look great in the newspaper, it is the personnel losses suffered in the defensive backfield that could ultimately decide how the Eagles' season goes. If the Eagles' defense is not as dominant as it has been over the last three years, the addition of T.O. won't mean a thing, and McNabb will spend another year answering some very tough questions.

* Was Eli Manning worth the price the Giants paid to acquire him? In a word, no. In the current climate of the NFL, there is no such thing as a franchise quarterback. Teams no longer draft a John Elway or a Dan Marino and turn them loose for 12-15 years, slinging their way to big wins and championships. The best quarterbacks in the league today are the quarterbacks that protect the ball, keep their offense in manageable situations, and convert in the red zone. The Tom Bradys and Steve McNairs of the world are tough, smart players, but they are not franchise quarterbacks in the mold of a Joe Montana or Troy Aikman.

Regardless of how well Eli plays, the Giants will never know how good he is because, in Tom Coughlin's offense, they will never really turn him loose. And that, in and of itself, makes the price the Giants paid for Manning too expensive.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.