alternatehistory.com

2002 Regular Season

The one constant in the NFL is that there are no constants. In a league with a hard salary cap, a draft, and weighted scheduling, it is very hard to build a team that stays on top for more than a few seasons at a time. Even if a team does everything right, nails every draft pick and free agency signing and hires all the right coaches, injuries and other unforeseen things still rear their ugly head. Football is a physical sport and no one is immune.

So it was right off the bat. Week 1, the defending Super Bowl champs St. Louis Rams were in Denver to open the year vs the Broncos.

Warner back to pass…he’s under pressure. Down he goes! Trevor Pryce with the sack and Saint Louis will have to punt. Pat Summerall, Fox play-by-play announcer.

Warner’s not getting up Pat. Take a look at this replay…oh, his knee. John Madden, Fox color announcer.

You hate to see that John. Here comes the cart. Pat Summerall.

Here’s hoping Warner’s not out for a long time, but it doesn’t look good. John Madden.

The worst fears of Rams fans were quickly confirmed – a torn ACL would end Kurt Warner’s season before it ever really got going. The Rams would stay afloat under the play of backup Marc Bulger, but injuries to Marshall Faulk, Dre’ Bly and Tommy Polley meant the Rams finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs. Bulger was good but not good enough to overcome the injuries.

Elsewhere in the NFC the Buccaneers seemed to have new life on offense. Keyshawn Johnson and 2002 first round pick Javon Walker were a dangerous duo on the outside and the Bucs offense, which was fairly listless under former coach Tony Dungy, was more than capable of winning some games on its own. The fearsome Bucs defense from years past was still a force to be reckoned with. Tampa’s only problem was a lack of focus – they lost a few games they shouldn’t have and won a few games vs also-rans by closer scores than was expected. Still, they won the NFC South and punched a ticket to the postseason.

Speaking of Tony Dungy, he landed on his feet in Indianapolis. Peyton Manning had a very nice season behind Dungy’s quiet leadership. Throwing to weapons like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne helps any quarterback.

Ed Reed hit the ground running, and with him and Lawyer Milloy the Patriots secondary became the best in football. Tom Brady didn’t repeat his Pro Bowl performance from the year before, but was the proverbial “good enough to win with” quarterback as New England won the AFC East by a game over the Jets.

All eyes were on Oakland. The fact that owner Al Davis and head coach Jon Gruden could barely tolerate each other on a good day was the worst-kept secret in the NFL.

Al would come in and sit on a gameplan meeting on Saturdays that year. Jon and Marc Trestman would be installing the offense. We ran a modified West Coast Offense, and Al hated that. Al wanted vertical passing, not the “chickenshit” stuff that we ran. He’d sit in on the meetings and after a few plays were installed he’d just get up and storm out, muttering under his breath all the while. Jon would look at the door, smile a bit, and keep on with the meeting. And we’d win, so Al was happy. Everyone in the building knew the regular season was a warm-up for the playoffs anyway. “Know When to Walk Away,” by Rich Gannon.

The Raiders, despite (or perhaps because of?) the tension in the building finished a very respectable 11-5 and snagged the AFC’s #2 seed, one game behind Tennessee.

Yeah, we weren’t thrilled about getting the two instead of the one seed, but at the same time we weren’t losing any sleep over it. No one got hurt – bet St. Louis wishes they could say that! – and we were clicking on offense. I really enjoyed working with both Marc Trestman and especially Jim Harbaugh. Those two understood exactly what I could and couldn’t do and built me an offense that fit better than a custom suit. I wouldn’t have won the MVP that year without them. “Know When to Walk Away” by Rich Gannon.

AFC Playoff Teams

1. Tennessee Titans
2. Oakland Raiders
3. New England Patriots
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Indianapolis Colts
6. New York Jets

NFC Playoff Teams

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. San Francisco 49ers
5. New York Giants
6. Atlanta Falcons

MVP --> Rich Gannon, Raiders
Offensive Player of the Year --> Rich Gannon, Raiders
Defensive Player of the Year --> Brian Dawkins, Eagles
Coach of the Year --> Andy Reid, Eagles
Offensive Rookie of the Year --> Javon Walker, Buccaneers
Defensive Rookie of the Year --> Ed Reed, Patriots

Note: This is my last update for the year. I want to thank everyone for reading/commenting and wish everyone a safe and healthy New Year! See you all in 2019 for the 2002 Playoffs/Super Bowl!