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FOR USE AS DESIRED YOUNG PLAYERS EXCEL AS 2003 KICKOFF APPROACHES Dust has settled on their draft caps from late April. Scrapes and dings now adorn their helmets. After earning accolades on autumn Saturdays, NFL rookies must now show that the “R” next to their name stands for “Ready” as NFL Kickoff 2003 approaches after one more week of preseason action. “It’s not easy being a rookie in the NFL,” says New England Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK. “It’s a tough life. It’s better than working, but it’s a tough life.” Last year, the Denver Broncos’ CLINTON PORTIS was tough enough to rush for 1,508 yards in his rookie season. The New York Giants’ offense clicked with JEREMY SHOCKEY, who led all NFL tight ends with 74 receptions on his way to a Pro Bowl appearance. Defensive end DWIGHT FREENEY pulled an Indianapolis Colts jersey over his shoulder pads and before long altered the outcome of games with 13.0 sacks, third best in the league. Those were among the rookie standouts of 2002. Here are 2003 rookies who have made a mark this summer and show high promise of continuing to do so as the season nears: TALENT ON THE LINE: The Carolina Panthers used their first two picks in the 2003 NFL Draft to help bolster their offensive line. The early returns? Mission accomplished. The Panthers selected 6-4, 300-pound tackle JORDAN GROSS in the first round from Utah and followed that choice with second-rounder BRUCE NELSON, a 6-5, 301-pound guard from Iowa. Gross is penciled in as the team’s starting right tackle while Nelson likely will see reserve duty at several positions along the offensive line. “Patience is something that seems out of place in football, but it’s really something you have to work on as a lineman,” says Gross. “The biggest thing I have learned is to be patient out there.” Panthers head coach JOHN FOX likes what he sees from his talented rookies, and from the rest of the club as Carolina seeks to finish the preseason with a perfect 4-0 record when they host Pittsburgh on Friday. “I have seen Jordan get better every day,” says Fox. “When you put a rookie offensive tackle on one of the better defensive ends in the NFL in (the Panthers’) JULIUS PEPPERS, they are going to grow up fast. They have had some battles, and each of them has won some. I have seen good progress with Jordan. As for Bruce Nelson, he has been outstanding for us. He is a very smart young player.” Nelson, Gross’ training camp roommate, has seen action at four of the five offensive line positions, displaying the versatility that will make him a valuable addition this year. “The more you can play, the more you can help the team,” says Nelson. “I have played all positions except right tackle, and it’s good to at least have a feel for different spots. This might give me a better chance to get in there and help the team.” OAKLAND TO HARNESS FARGAS: A thrill ride for its fans and a House of Horrors to opponents, the Oakland Raiders’ offense in 2002 was a Silver & Black yardage machine, ranked No. 1 in the NFL. Late in the third round of this year’s draft, Oakland added a new roller coaster to its park in running back JUSTIN FARGAS of USC. Fargas is the NFL’s top rusher entering the final week of preseason with 197 yards on 37 carries (a 5.3-yard average). The son of actor ANTONIO FARGAS, who starred as “Huggy Bear” on the hit TV show “Starsky & Hutch” (1975-79), has shown power, speed and receiving skills. With 2002 NFL MVP RICH GANNON, wide receivers JERRY RICE and TIM BROWN and dynamo running back CHARLIE GARNER, Fargas may add a few more cylinders to Oakland’s offensive engine. “I didn’t have any statistical goals going into the preseason,” says the 6-1, 219-pound Fargas, who posted a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. “I just tried to use camp to learn as much as I could, get some experience and take advantage of opportunities my coaches gave me.” Teammates have noticed Fargas’ explosiveness. “You have to get (into the secondary) faster with him in there because he usually makes his cuts and changes gears,” says second-year tackle LANGSTON WALKER. “He’s flying. He doesn’t do a whole lot of dancing around.” Among other Raiders rookies drawing praise are 6-6, 277-pound defensive end TYLER BRAYTON of Colorado and 6-5, 247-pound tight end TEYO JOHNSON of Stanford. Brayton has skills from the left and right end positions while Johnson, who was a wide receiver in college, has impressed coaches while being converted to tight end. “Those are young, promising players who obviously can uplift this team,” says the AFC Champions’ head coach, BILL CALLAHAN. BEARING UP WELL: The Chicago Bears have developed a tradition of great defenses as part of the team’s venerable history. In recent years, many of the Bears’ starting defensive players joined the team through the NFL Draft, including cornerback JERRY AZUMAH (fifth round, 1999), defensive end ALEX BROWN (fourth round, 2002), safety MIKE BROWN (second round, 2000), safety MIKE GREEN (seventh round, 2000), linebacker WARRICK HOLDMAN (fourth round, 1999) and Pro Bowl linebacker BRIAN URLACHER (first round, 2000). The Bears selected seven defensive players in 2003, headlined by former Penn State standout defensive end MICHAEL HAYNES. Haynes joins the Bears after a stellar senior season, earning Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading the conference with 15.0 sacks and seven forced fumbles. “Causing fumbles and creating turnovers is part of the reason the Bears drafted me,” says Haynes. “That is definitely something I pride myself on.” Linebacker LANCE BRIGGS, a third-round choice, also has been a force this preseason. Starting in place of the injured BRYAN KNIGHT, himself a fifth-round pick last season, against Denver on August 16, Briggs led the team with 10 tackles, recorded one sack and blocked a field goal. “We’ve said all along that this guy has a tremendous feel for the game and has the potential to be a playmaker,” says Bears head coach DICK JAURON. “There are a lot of positives with Lance on the field.” SAFETY FIRST: Indianapolis Colts head coach TONY DUNGY may have found the big-play safety that his “Cover 2” defense needs in second-round draft choice MIKE DOSS of Ohio State. The 5-10, 207-pounder from Canton, Ohio has progressed to the point where he is now working with the Colts’ No. 1 defense. “He’s a very instinctive player and he understands what we’re trying to do,” says Dungy. In the “Cover 2” defense, which Dungy learned as a Pittsburgh Steelers assistant (1981-88) under Pro Football Hall of Fame coach CHUCK NOLL, safeties play back in zone coverage, with each responsible for half of the field. The objective is to deny the big play and keep the ball in front of you. Perhaps the scheme’s most susceptible area is the deep middle, where safeties are tested if quarterbacks have time to survey vertical routes. Doss is picking up the scheme, which is more important than whether or not he is starting. “We don’t put a lot of value on who is starting right now,” says Doss, one of only seven Buckeyes to earn first-team All-America honors for three consecutive years. “When September gets here, we’ll see who’s going to start. I just want to show my teammates that they can trust me. I just want to come in and contribute and work hard.” Few coaches have turned defenses around like Dungy. In 1996, he inherited a Tampa Bay unit ranked No. 27, and in his first year, moved it up to No. 11. Last season, Dungy jump-started the Indianapolis’ defense, bringing it from No. 29 in 2001 to No. 8. In seven seasons as an NFL head coach, his defenses have never ranked lower than 11th. The Colts open the season in Cleveland, 60 miles north of Doss’ hometown. “TRU” TO HEART: To help bolster their defensive backfield, the Seattle Seahawks looked close to home this April, drafting Washington State cornerback MARCUS TRUFANT with their first-round pick, No. 11 overall. Second-round draft choice KEN HAMLIN, a safety from Arkansas, also came on board to strengthen Seattle’s ability to counter offenses in the pass-happy NFC West that features St. Louis’ KURT WARNER and San Francisco’s JEFF GARCIA. With the final action of preseason looming, Seahawks head coach MIKE HOLMGREN likes what he has seen from his two ascending rookies. “I think Marcus and Ken have a chance to be very good quickly because of their attitude and how they prepare for a game,” says Holmgren. “That’s saying nothing about their physical skills, which are pretty obvious.” Fans in the Pacific Northwest are infinitely familiar with Trufant, who started at cornerback for Washington State since early in his freshman season. Trufant, who attended Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington, did not allow a touchdown catch in his final two seasons. Said Seahawks wide receiver DARRELL JACKSON of Trufant, “Marcus just knows how to play the game – right now. He’s way ahead of the normal learning process.” Hamlin, one of the best defensive players ever at Arkansas, became the first player in school history to record 100 tackles in a season three times. “Ken is instinctive, he understands the game, he understands angles and he understands depths,” Holmgren says. “In our technical jargon as coaches, we say he’s a ‘football player.’” DAWG POUND WELCOMES IRISH SETTER, ER -- CENTER: Improving an offense ranked No. 23 requires muscle, smarts and grit. When the Cleveland Browns took Notre Dame center JEFF FAINE with the No. 21 overall selection this year, head coach BUTCH DAVIS claimed a player with all of the above. “He’s got all the things you want,” says Davis. “Toughness. Tenacity. Intelligence. And he’s a football junkie. It helps any rookie if he’s a guy who just really loves football.” The 6-3, 303-pounder has started all of Cleveland’s preseason games at center, making blocking calls and moving defenders. In the first half of the Browns’ past two preseason games with Faine over the ball, Cleveland has rushed for 92 yards on 20 attempts (a 4.6-yard average) and has allowed only 1.0 sack. Time to throw has helped starting quarterback KELLY HOLCOMB post a lofty 107.9 passer rating, third best in the AFC. Hall of Fame tackle ANTHONY MUNOZ visited a Browns minicamp in late May to work with the club’s offensive line. Faine made a favorable impression on the all-time great. “Some of the things he did as far as picking up stunts, his sets…you can just see his feel for the game,” says Munoz. “When you have a feel and knowledge of the defense, that’s impressive. It stands out right away…his balance, his positioning. Centers make everything happen and are the quarterback of your line group. You need a guy to be in control and know a lot.” In Cleveland’s second preseason game against Green Bay, Faine displayed his motor when helping spring running back WILLIAM GREEN on an 82-yard touchdown scamper after Green caught a swing pass from Holcomb. Faine delivered the play’s final block on Packers defensive end KABEER GBAJA-BIAMILA 25 yards downfield and was Green’s first teammate offering congratulations in the end zone, 82 yards from the line of scrimmage. “There’s really no better feeling, I think, in this world,” says Faine, “than driving a guy five yards downfield and putting him on his back and then getting up and doing it again.” # # # |