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Sports Watch

By Bill Kwon

Thursday, December 28, 2000

Preseason picks still
in NFL chase

IT'S sure nice to know money can't buy everything -- especially the Super Bowl. Just ask Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins.

He spent $100 million in salaries and bonuses only to wind up with a mediocre (8-8) team that failed to make the NFL playoffs.

Washington was the biggest disappointment of the season. New England, Jacksonville and Dallas weren't too far behind. But at least they didn't spend as much as the Redskins.

So it's playoff time in the NFL, starting this weekend.

It's wild-card weekend, but don't tell that to division winners -- Miami (AFC East) and New Orleans (NFC West) -- whose won-lost records weren't good enough to draw byes in their conferences.

Both are involved in deja vu battles with the runner-up teams in their divisions.

The Dolphins will meet the Indianapolis Colts, while the Saints will take on the St. Louis Rams. Home field advantage might not help the Dolphins or Saints. It didn't the last time they played.

But it's really wild-card time in Sunday's matchups -- Denver at Baltimore (AFC) and Tampa Bay at Philadelphia (NFC).

The four survivors will then advance to the divisional playoffs next weekend against the division winners with byes -- Tennessee and Oakland (AFC) and New York and Minnesota (NFC).

I'm glad to see that Tennessee and Tampa Bay -- my preseason picks to meet in Super Bowl XXXV -- are still alive, although barely for the Bucs.

With home field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Titans have the better shot of the two to get there.

With the NFL's best record at 13-3 (the three losses were by a combined total of seven points), Tennessee won't need a "Music City Miracle" to get there this time.

"There" is Tampa, Fla., site of the NFL championship game for the first time since Super Bowl XXV. That's the reason why I had picked the Buccaneers to go all the way.

It would make for the feel-good story of the year to see the home team winning its first Super Bowl in its hometown.

Especially for the Tampa Bay faithful, considering that it would be the Buccaneers' first trip to the Super Bowl since joining the NFL in 1976.

Forty-Niner fans might quibble that when San Francisco won Super Bowl XIX at Stanford, it was the first home team to do so. But asterisks don't count.

THE Rams, who stunned everyone to win last year's Super Bowl, barely made it to the playoffs and an opportunity to defend its championship.

It took a 54-yard field goal with two seconds left in the game by Chicago's Paul Edinger to do it in the Bears' 23-20 upset over Detroit.

Despite their lousy defense, don't be surprised if the Rams make it back to the Super Bowl again. This time, though, they'll have to go through the more difficult wild-card route.

I like the New York Giants, though, to win the NFC title.

They have the advantage of playing at home where the wind chill will definitely be a factor, since three domed teams and Tampa Bay are in the NFC playoff pack. The Buccaneers are 0-19 when playing in weather that's 40 degrees or colder.

The Giants have another thing going for them. Guess who won the Super Bowl the last time Tampa hosted?

The New York Giants, coached by Bill Parcells. They defeated the Buffalo Bills, 20-19, in Super Bowl XXV.

It was the game in which Scott Norwood missed a game-winning field goal. The Bills were never the same again, losing four Super Bowls in a row.