alternatehistory.com

Note: And we're back! Took a few much-needed days off to clear my head. I'm going to try and put out 2-3 updates a week from here on out instead of the one a day pace I was setting before. As always, thanks for reading and any comments are more than welcome!

2003 Regular Season

America’s Team was back in the limelight. They debuted their brand-new coaching staff Week 1 on Monday Night Football vs divisional rivals Philadelphia.

It is one thing to say in April and May “This may take a few years to work, but we're all ok with that.” It is another thing to get whipped on Monday Night Football. Jerry wasn’t happy at all about the start of the season, but Jon, to his credit, walked into the situation with eyes wide open. I remember a quick lunch we had during the preseason. Jon told me (off the record of course, but I’ve talked to him since then and he said I could use this conversation for this book) that it would take a “few years” to get Dallas back to competitive. The cupboard was that bare. “Covering the Rodeo: Jerry, Jon, and What Went Right (and Wrong) in Dallas” by Ed Werder, ESPN. Published 2013.

The Cowboys stumbled out of the gate under Quincy Carter, starting the season 1-5. Jerry Jones, never a patient man, was understandably unhappy. But he avoided any of his typical outbursts and grumbling to the media. Jerry said all the right things publicly. Privately, he threatened to fire Jon Gruden at least three times.

Dallas rebounded after that rough start. Quincy Carter found something of a groove and even when he missed two games in November rookie Chris Simms wasn’t a deer in the headlights. The Dallas offense started to gel under Gruden and his first-year offensive coordinator Jim Harbaugh. Dallas finished the season a very respectable 7-9 – not bad at all considering they were left for dead by Columbus Day.

Both New England and Tampa Bay picked up where they left off a year ago. The Patriots, under the leadership of budding superstar Ed Red, had a ferocious defense, and quarterback Tom Brady was starting to develop as well. They steamrolled through the AFC and finished the season 13-3, including a revenge win at home vs Oakland 31-14. The Bucs finished a very professional 11-5, snagging the NFC’s #2 seed.

Oakland, well…at least they won a Super Bowl right? Marc Trestman had big shoes to fill when Jon Gruden was traded to Dallas and while he didn’t fill those shoes, he at least held his own. In fairness to Trestman it was unlikely that Vince Lombardi in his prime could have dragged that Raiders team to the playoffs. Charles Rogers was the Raiders lone bright spot as the rookie from Michigan State had 1,170 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on top of the yardage. The Raiders were quite frankly lucky to finish 5-11.

The Rams rebounded in a big way. All the development Marc Bulger had in 2002 when he was thrown to the wolves after Kurt Warner’s injury paid off in a big way as he led the Rams offense. The “Greatest Show on Turf” was back in a big way under Bulger. It was sort of ironic that Warner originally got his shot with the Rams when Trent Green was hurt. Now it was Warner who was the one getting replaced after an injury by a young hotshot backup quarterback. Torry Holt was masterful as he lead the league in completions, yardage, and touchdowns.

Baltimore made up for trading away the pick that would become Ed Reed by developing rookie Troy Polamalu from USC into one of the league’s best safeties. He and Reed were different types of safeties – Reed was more of the pass-defending center fielder type who could also play wideouts tight in coverage, while Polamalu was a run-stuffer who was just at home in the box as he was laying hits over the middle. Both coaching staffs used their safeties in creative ways. Patriots coach Bill Belichick would sometimes have Reed play as a corner and have his corners play deep to confuse offensives, while Ravens coach Brian Billick's blitzes with Polamalu were a thing of beauty in their own regard. Both players were special in their own ways and both would be Pro Bowlers for years to come.

AFC Playoff Teams

1. New England Patriots
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Denver Broncos
5. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Miami Dolphins

NFC Playoff Teams

1. St. Louis Rams
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3. Green Bay Packers
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. San Francisco 49ers
6. Chicago Bears

MVP --> Peyton Manning, Colts
Offensive Player of the Year --> Torry Holt, Rams
Defensive Player of the Year --> Brian Urlacher, Bears
Coach of the Year --> Bill Belichick, Patriots
Offensive Rookie of the Year --> Charles Rogers, Raiders
Defensive Rookie of the Year --> Terrell Suggs, Steelers