FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-182          12/22/03

NFL STARS OF YESTERDAY & TODAY AGREE:  
NFL IS AT THE TOP OF ITS GAME; WINNING IS TOUGHER THAN EVER

If CHARLES DARWIN had seen each week of the NFL’s 84 seasons, he may have tossed his pencil in delight and cried, “Great gridiron evolution!”

With one week to go in the 2003 regular season, the level of excitement and quality of play has never been greater, according to NFL players and coaches past and present:

• “The overall quality of the athletes in the NFL today is far superior to what it was when I played,” says GENE WASHINGTON, the former NFL wide receiver who is now the NFL director of football operations
   
• “Don’t listen to that garbage about the game not being as good today,” says PHIL SIMMS, the Super Bowl XXI MVP quarterback who is now a CBS-TV analyst.  “There are more talented players across the board now than I’ve ever seen.  And the coaching and overall year-round training and preparation is so much better today.”
   
• “It has improved,” says Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Oakland Raiders head coach ART SHELL about the quality of play in the NFL compared to past years.  “The game is better now because technically the players are better.”
   
• ““Players today are further along than those of 20 or 30 years ago,” says Pro Football Hall of Fame coach BILL WALSH. 
  
  “Quarterbacks and offensive lineman, especially, are much, much further along than they were years ago when college football programs were all running the wishbone,” continues Walsh.  “Now, every school throws it as much as they run it.  Because of that, you also have far better defensive backs than you did in previous eras.  The game is more entertaining than it once was.”
   
• “I like the young quarterbacks,” says JIM BROWN, the former Cleveland Browns running back and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  “They’re accurate and stand in there.  You look at (New England’s) TOM BRADY and those types of guys – they are kind of like phenoms.
  
  “The linebackers today are exceptional because they weigh about 250 or 260 and they’re fast and can jump.  They’re great athletes.  I also think there are a lot of real fine running backs now and I’m so happy to say that.”
  
  Brown marvels aloud about today’s top NFL rushers, specifically Baltimore’s JAMAL LEWIS, Denver’s CLINTON PORTIS, Jacksonville’s FRED TAYLOR, LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON of San Diego, and Miami’s RICKY WILLIAMS.  “It’s really nice to see because they all have a different talent.”

NFL stars of today echo the sentiments of their predecessors and remark at how difficult it is to win an NFL game:

• BRETT FAVRE, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers:  “The quality of the game is at a very high level.  You don’t see too many dominant teams like you used to because every team has good players.  What you do see every week is great effort from the players and you do see awesome performances, both offensively and defensively. The games are exciting, often going down to the end.  I know fans love that.”
   
• SHANNON SHARPE, Tight End, Denver Broncos:  “It is extremely difficult to win in the NFL.  Talent and coaching are obvious factors on any team, but the biggest single factors for long-term success, week in and week out, are hard work and discipline.  Easy to say, but hard to do.  Hard work and discipline.”
   
• BRIAN URLACHER, Linebacker, Chicago Bears:  “Each game comes down to one or two plays and if you don’t make those plays, you’re not going to win.  It’s very, very close each week.”
   
• DWIGHT FREENEY, Defensive End, Indianapolis Colts:  “Everybody’s here for a reason.  There is no bad team.  It’s a matter of everybody playing a perfect game – or the closest thing to perfect.  Then you can win.  That’s the biggest difference from college to the pros.  What you call a bad team in college and what you call a bad team in the NFL – there’s a huge difference.  A bad team in the NFL is not bad.  They may have a bad record, but the team is not bad.”
   
• STEVE MC NAIR, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans:  “Obviously, it is very difficult to win in this league week in and week out.  Every team presents a different challenge on a weekly basis.”
   
• TRENT GREEN, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs:  “There's as much excitement in the league today as there's ever been.  The competitive balance of the league today is a positive for both players and fans.  Every week there are close games and every season there are new teams emerging as playoff contenders.  I know the fans in Kansas City are ready for the playoffs and I'm sure there's a similar level of anticipation across the rest of the NFL.”