Bottoms up - Kickoff

WE HAVE ONLY ONE COMment regarding all of the rags-to-riches teams in the NFL this season: We would have been surprised if there hadn't been any surprises. You with us?

The way the NFL works nowadays, each season offers a chance for down-trodden teams to rise to the top. And several of those have-nots have seized that opportunity by the throat.

Here's a look:

CHICAGO BEARS

Widely picked to finish last in the NFC Central in 2001 after winning a total of 11 games in the previous two seasons, the Bears just might cap, re the division rifle. In fact, they're starting to look a lot like last season's Super Bowl-champion Baltimore Ravens. Chicago's defense is operating in much the same way Baltimore's did last season: Two behemoth tackles (Ted Washington and Keith Traylor) are occupying space and blockers and funneling the ball to a do-it-all middle linebacker (Brian Urlacher). And the rest of the defenders are flying around the field with abandon and making game-turning plays.

As for the offense, the running game is the thing. Rookie running back Anthony Thomas is every bit the player Jamal Lewis was for the Ravens as a first-year player in 2000. He's enabling the Bears to control the ball and dictate the tempo of games.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

Not to pat ourselves on the back, but we saw this one coming from a mile away. In our October 2001 issue, which got to subscribers in the preseason, we put quarterback Doug Flutie on the cover with the headline "Re-Charged."

After going 1-15 last season, the Chargers couldn't have done much worse in 2001. But we saw big things for this team, considering that general manager John Butler, offensive coordinator Norv Turner, Flutie, rookie running back LaDainian Tomlinson, cornerbacks Alex Molden and Ryan McNeil, defensive end Marcellus Wiley, and linebacker John Holecek came on board in the offseason. Fueled by all that new blood, San Diego has a chance to post one of the biggest one-season turn-arounds in NFL history.

CLEVELAND BROWNS

OK, the Browns still have some significant problems--they have no running game to speak of and they are short on playmakers at wide receiver--but as we outline in our feature story beginning on page 56, they have one of the most tenacious defenses in the league. The Browns aren't quite ready to make a postseason stand, but first-year coach Butch Davis has them traveling down the road to respectability.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Like the Browns, the Bengals aren't yet among the league's elite teams. But the very fact that they're winning with some consistency is a surprise. After all, the Bengals had been considered the worst all-around franchise in the NFL for about a decade. Thanks, however, to running back Corey Dillon and a defense that is getting more confident by the week, things are changing in Cincy.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

After going to the Super Bowl in 1995, the Steelers steadily declined, the victims of free-agent defection after free-agent defection. Somehow, though, they've regained they're footing this year. The Steelers don't have a passing game, but they do have an excellent defense and a rejuvenated Jerome Bettis running the ball. And so far, that has been enough.

Will these Cinderella teams make it through the stretch drive? Or will they wither, giving way to other surprise teams in the last part of the season? Considering that staying power is a, week-to-week deal in today's NFL, we're not even going to touch those questions.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group