WP: Sideline View - NFL Picks From an Admitted Knucklehead

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Sideline View

NFL Picks From an Admitted Knucklehead

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901996.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901996_2.html

By Leonard Shapiro

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, September 9, 2005; 9:47 PM

Before we get to the predictions for the upcoming NFL season it's necessary to present the knucklehead of the summer award. The Knucklehead goes to the author of a recent column focusing on Daniel Snyder's ownership of the Washington Redskins.

That would be moi.

Several readers, including a Redskins public relations person, wrote to correct the error of my ways, pointing out that Snyder actually was the owner during the 1999 season. That rendered wrong a statement saying the team had not had a winning record or made the playoffs since Snyder became the Redskins owner on May 25, 1999.

Of course that '99 team -- mostly assembled by Charlie Casserly before Snyder fired him -- won the NFC East with a 10-6 record, beat Detroit in the wild card game and lost in the next round to Tampa Bay, 14-13.

So give Snyder credit for owning a team that has now gone 45-53 (counting playoff games) over his tenure instead of 34-46 and no playoff games in the last five years.

By the way, Snyder has also admitted to Casserly that he fired the wrong guy when he let him go at the end of the '99 season. Instead, Snyder kept Norv Turner around until late in the 2000 season before dumping him at a critical juncture late in the season when the Redskins were still alive for a wild card spot. Firing Turner ultimately sent the team into a total tailspin down the stretch and cost the team a postseason bid.

Clearly, the numbers were wrong in the offending column, though the premise that the franchise has floundered on the field under his direction at the top doesn't change one iota. That was the point of the piece, and adding '99 into the mix -- a year when he more than occasionally drove head coach Norv Turner and his staff batty -- doesn't change the fact that the franchise has been in total disarray the last five seasons.

One other fix: of course I know that Joe Gibbs retired after the 1992 season, not '91. I'll blame that on a slight slip of a finger on the keyboard, but I still have no qualms about accepting The Knucklehead. And after you read the following predictions, perhaps, dear reader, you'll want to pile on even more.

The order of finish in the NFC...

East: Philadelphia, N.Y. Giants, Dallas, Washington.

North: Minnesota, Green Bay, Detroit, and Chicago.

South: Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and New Orleans.

West: St. Louis, Seattle, Arizona, and San Francisco.

And in the AFC...

East: New England, N.Y. Jets, Buffalo, Miami.

North: Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.

South: Indianapolis, Tennessee, Houston, and Jacksonville.

West: San Diego, Denver, Kansas City, and Oakland.

Teams making the Wild Card:

NFC: Seattle and Carolina.

AFC: N.Y. Jets and Baltimore.

NFC Championship: Philadelphia vs. Atlanta.

AFC Championship: New England vs. Indianapolis.

Super Bowl: Philadelphia vs. Indianapolis.

Super Bowl champion: Philadelphia.

And the individual awards...

League MVP: Peyton Manning, Indianapolis quarterback.

Offensive MVP: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego running back.

Defensive MVP: Julius Peppers, Carolina defensive end.

Comeback Player: Kurt Warner, Arizona quarterback.

Coach of the Year: Tony Dungy, Indianapolis.

Offensive rookie: Cedric Benson, Chicago running back.

Defensive rookie: Shawne Merriman, San Diego linebacker.

Surprise of the Year: Tennessee.

Knucklehead of the Year: Terrell Owens, Philadelphia wide receiver.

You can reach Leonard Shapiro at Badgerlen@hotmail.com.

[Epistopheles]

****ing knucklehead.