Playboy's 2007 NFL Preview

ZEROlflE IN ON THE HUMAN DRAMA THAT WILL E THIS NFL SEASON ONE TO REMEMBER

the NFL's marquee players have had spend their off-season mulling over missed opportunities. For an inordinate number of them, last year was not about end-zone dances and counting money. It was about failure, about disappointing the fans. Sure. Peyton Manning won a ring at last, but in the end the season seemed to be about what was lost, not what was won. Which means 2007 will be all about redemption. And that, football fans, is exciting. A closer look....

Over his first two seasons, Ben Roethlisberger averaged 8.9 yards a pass, better than Montana, Marino or Elway in their first two. Then he discovered motorcycles and hit the skids. No amount of Listermint can rid him of the bitter taste of 2006. This year Roethlisberger no longer has the

supporting cast he once had, and coach Bill Cowher is gone. Fans will look to their franchise QB to steer the team back into contention. Who is the real Big Ben? We're about to find out.

Some 350 miles away, in New York, Eli Manning enters his fourth year. How accustomed we've become to watching the onetime number-one pick walk off the field with his eyes on his cleats, shoulders drooped. Now his most dependable weapon. Tiki Barber, has taken his act to the Today show, and the fans have run out of patience. This maybe Eli's last chance. In our crystal ball, we see an unemployment line in which Manning the Younger will be standing next to his old pal, coach Tom Coughlin. Spare some change?

And what about Brett Favre? The future Hall of Famer turns 38 this season as he

tries for one last moment in the sun.

he prove that the 47 interception threw in the past two years were um exception and not the rule? (Yes.) Will it be enough to get the Packers into the' playoffs? (No.) Will Jake Delhomme rebound from his worst year as the Panthers' QB? (Yes.) What about last year's winner of the out-of-nowhere award, Tony Romo? Great start. Thrilling. Then he botched the hold on a probable playoff-game-winning field goal in Seattle. We'll bet that still smarts. Okay, Romo, show us what you got. Donovan McNabb? Randy Moss? Terrell Owens? They've all got question marks painted on their helmets.

Finally, there's Reggie Bush. In the euphoria over the Saints' best season ever, fans overlooked that Bush wasn't the second coming of Jim Brown in his rookie year (just 565 yards rushing, with a 3.6-yard average). New Orleans is ready for the Bush administration. Is Reggie ready? This we can say: If Bush blossoms as a soph, we could see the Saints go marching into Arizona for Super Bowl XLII come February. -Allen Borro

AMERICAN

FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

NEW ENGLAND

NATIONAL

FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

PHILADELPHIA

BALTIMORE

CHICAGO

INDIANAPOLIS I,."i-I.«i..:i» NEW ORLEANS

SAN DIEGO *!3TOT SAN FRANCISCO

CINCINNATI, DENVER ST. LOUIS, DALLAS 1

NEW ENGLAND NEW ORLEANS 1

* SUPER BOWL * NEW ENGLAND OVER NEW ORLEANS

WHO'S UP

BALTIMORE The Ravens

won their only Super Bowl, in 2001, with defense and a rushing attack. That great defense remains, and the running game will dominate again with the arrival of Willis McGohee from Buffalo. The Achilles' heel: Can Steve McNair stay healthy?

CAROLINA A healthy Steve Smith and an emerging DeAngelo Wil­liams out of the backfield give Jake Del-homme two surefire targets. Count on him to rebound from his worst season as the Panthers' QB.

CINCINNATI How far con an elite passer (Corson Palmer), runner (Rudi Johnson) and two receivers (Chad John­son and T.J. Houshmandzadeh) take an NFL team? If you're the Bengols, it hinges on the league's 30th-ranked defense, first-round droft pick Leon Holl at corner-back should instantly moke a difference.

DALLAS The Cowboys' season rides on Tony Romo's shoulders. In his first five NFL starts in 2006, Romo threw 10 TD posses and two intercep­tions. In his lost five starts, he threw six TDs and eight interceptions. Who shows up in 2007—good Tony or bad? We'll put our money on good Tony.

DENVER When Mike Shanahan has o running back who can compete for the NFL rushing title, the Broncos are a Super Bowl contender. He's got his man in Travis Henry, ond QB Joke Plummer's no longer there to screw things up. Look for Jay Cutler to hove a banner year in his first full season under center.

DETROIT Mike Martz crofted one of the NFL's top passing attacks in his first season as offensive coordinator for the Lions. To that, Detroit adds col­lege ball's finest receiver, Calvin Johnson from Georgia Tech. With underrated QB Jon Kitno at the helm, the Lions should have o 400-point offense for the first time since the Barry Sanders era.

GREEN BAY The Packers won their final four games in 2006 to finish 8-8 with the NFL's youngest starting lineup. That experience will pay off this yeor. Brett Favre

will end his career in style.

JACKSONVILLE1*

Coach Jack Del Rio, dis­pleased with a .500 record lost season, hired six new assistant coaches. That's a

lot of brainpower. With a healthy Byron Leftwich, the passing gome will be firing on oil cylinders. A speedy linebacking corps anchors the defense.

NEW ENGLAND Asking lorn Brady to win o Super Bowl with receiv­ers nomed Reche Coldwell, Troy Brown and

Chad Jackson was like asking Jeff Gordon to win the Daytona 500 in a Volkswagen. So the Pots added size (Randy Moss), speed (Donte Stallworth) and playmoking ability (WesWelker). On defense, All-Pro linebacker Adolius Thomas arrives from the Ravens.

NEW ORLEANS

The Saints were the feel-good

story of 2006 with their triumphont return to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The NFL's best offense is back with ploymokers Drew Brees, Reggie Bush (pictured bottom), Deuce McAllister and Marques Colston, plus first-round pick Rob­ert Meochem, another wideout weapon.

NEW YORK JETS Mony pundits had the Jets at the bottom of the AFC East in 2006, but New York proved them wrong by gaining o wild­card spot. Running back Thomas Jones from the Bears was the key off-season acquisition. His bruising style will take pressure off Chad Pennington's arm.

PHILADELPHIA The Eagles have the best QB (Donovan McNabb) and coach (Andy Reid) in the NFC East. The team added underrated receiver Kevin Curtis from the Rams, along with All-Pro linebacker Tokeo Spikes from Buffalo. Toss an easy schedule into this mix and you've got a heady cocktail come playoff time.

ST. LOUIS Steven Jackson is the most complete running back in the NFC. So the Rams can tun the football. But their problem has been stopping the run, which is where first-round draft pick Adam Corriker fits in. He's a 300-pound roadblock at defensive tackle.

SANDIECO New coach Norv Turner brings offensive wizardry to the table. The Chargers were the NFL's top regular-season team in 2006, as Philip Rivers engineered 14 wins in his first year as storting Q3. Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Ben Roethlisberger all took teams to Super Bowls in their second season as starters.

SAN FRANCISCO * Norv Turner left the 49eis a going-oway present after his one-year stint as offensive coordinator: accelerating the development of QB Alex Smith and half­back Frank Gore. The Niners also have serious rookie talent, nomely linebacker Patrick Willis. This will finally be SF's turnaround year.

SEATTLE Last year Seattle won the NFC West despite injuries to QB Matt Hosselbeck and RB Shaun Alexander. Both are healthy again, ond so ore Seattle's Super Bowl aspi­rations. -Rick Gosselin

WHO'S DOWN

ARIZONA We picked the Cardinals to make the playoffs as a Cinderella team the post two years. What the hell wefe we thinking? With o rookie head coach (Ken Whisenhunt), Arizona's fourth coach since 2000, the Cords are entering what will be their ninth season without a playoff berth.

ATLANTA New head coach Bobby Petrino becomes the lotest to attempt the leop from college to the pros. But he enters a maelstrom created by quar­terback Michael Vick's off-field issues, which will make his first yeor a forgettable one.

BUFFALO No team was hit harder during the off-seoson than the Bills, who said good-bye to their leading rusher (Willis McGahee), leading tackier (London Fletcher) and veteran Pro Bowl defenders Tokeo Spikes and Nate Cle­ments. And this from a 7-9 squad.

CHICAGO We don't see Rex Grossmon (pictured top) os the man who con lead this team to the top for o second straight season. The Beors will win their weak division—barely.

CLEVELAND The Browns need rookie quarterback Brody Quinn on the field this fall. But even Otto Graham would struggle behind this offensive line. First-round pick Joe Thomas, an offensive tackle, should be able to plug a leak, but it

won't be enough to save this sinking ship.

HOUSTON The offense may improve with new QB Matt Schoub, who'd backed up Michael Vick in Atlanta since 2004. But it won't motter in o division that houses Super Bowl champ Indianapolis and two playoff contenders,

Jacksonville and Tennessee.

INDIANAPOLIS

Seven players who started a combined 84 gomes in 2006 are gone from the Super Bowl chomp's roster, including Pro Bowl linebacker Cato June and both starting corner-backs. Don't gel us wrong: Man­ning and friends will still contend for the AFC title.

KANSAS CITY The Chiefs

hove fielded one of the oldest storting lineups in the NFL this decode ond hove zero ployoff victories to show for it. So coach Herman Edwards is embarking on a youth movement. Look out for those Chiefs in 2010.

MIAMI The Dolphins hove o new cooch (Com Com-

eron) and a new quarter­back (Trent Green). Said QB is 37 years old, and many starting defenders are also over the hill. We don't feel the magic in Miami.

MINNESOTA The Vikings added supeftolenled running back Adrian Peterson (the team's top draft pick), but with a new and inexperienced quarterback in Tarvaris Jackson, he won't be enough. This squad will need (another) rebuilding year.

NEW YORK GIANTS

Coach Tom Coughlin's job security is ±

in the shaky hands of quarterback Eli Manning. With Tiki Barber gone, the Giants moy be without hope.

OAKLAND The youngest head cooch in the NFL (Lane Kiffin, 32) plus rhe

youngest franchise quarterback (JaMorcus Russell, 22) equals a steep learning curve.

PITTSBURGH For the first time in 15 seasons Bill Cowher won't be pacing the Pittsburgh sideline, (owher won eight division titles and a Super Bowl as head Steeler. His handsome mug will surely be missed.

TAMPA BAY Coach Jon Gru-

den is on the hot seot. Hired for his offen­sive expertise, he has fielded punchless offenses for three seasons. He's looking for a spark from o 37-year-old quarterback (Jeff Garcia). Good luck.

TENNESSEE The Titans were playoff contenders in 2006 with NFL Rookie of the Year Vince Young under center. But his top rusher (Trovis Henry) and two top receivers (Drew Bennett and Bobby Wode) are gone. Tennessee also lost its best defender, cornerbock Pocmon Jones, who was suspended for the season following troubles with Johnny Law.

WASHINGTON A 21-27 record for Joe Gibbs's second stint as cooch of the Redskins may couse the Pro Football Holl of Fame to reconsidei his bust in Canton. -K.G.

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"MY GREAT CONCERN IS NOT WHETHER YOU HAVE FAILED," ABRAHAM LINCOLN ONCE SAID, "BUT WHETHER YOU ARE CONTENT WITH YOUR FAILURE." THAT WAS EASY FOR LINCOLN TO SAY. HE WON WHEN IT COUNTED. A HANDFUL