My 19th Favorite Year of Football: 2000

            Every once in a while, No Credentials will add to a countdown of most fun years of professional football. The farthest we’ll go back is 1995 (I was 10, and this was the first season that I officially hit “sports fanatic” status), which unfortunately means we leave out the Jimmy Johnson Cowboys’ teams. Here are the factors that have ultimately influenced my enjoyment of a particular season.

-         The quality of the elite teams

-         The performance of the Dallas Cowboys

-         The performance of the New England Patriots (even though they aren’t my team, I have spent my whole life in New England, which contributes to the enjoyment of the people around me)

-         Memorable games

-         The quality of the Super Bowl and that year’s playoffs
 

Without further ado, my least favorite year of football (so far), the year 2000.

AFC Playoff Teams

#1 13-3 Tennessee Titans (AFC Central Champions) – One of the forgotten great teams that didn’t win a Super Bowl, Tennessee only allowed 26 more points then the record setting Baltimore Ravens did in 2000. It should also be mentioned that they literally ran Eddie George into the ground, as he piled up 403 carries (and another 50 receptions) during the regular season. No wonder he never averaged over 4 yards per carry in the ‘00s.

#2 12-4 Oakland Raiders (AFC West Champions) – Beginning a three year run of Super Bowl contention, Rich Gannon proved to be the perfect quarterback to pilot Jon Gruden’s West Coast offense.

#3 11-5 Miami Dolphins (AFC East Champions) – On paper, it seems pretty ridiculous that a team led by Jay Fiedler could knock off Peyton Manning in the AFC East. It is easy to forget how dominant Jason Taylor was.

#4 12-4 Baltimore Ravens – I’m certain there aren’t a whole bunch of people that remember that Baltimore was second to Tennessee in the AFC Central during their first Super Bowl winning season. Tony Banks started the season at quarterback, but was a complete disaster. Trent Dilfer stepped in, became the ultimate “game manager”, and Baltimore never looked back.

#5 11-5 Denver Broncos – 2000 was such a bad year in THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, Brian Griese led the league in quarterback rating.

#6 10-6 Indianapolis Colts – Saddled with lofty preseason expectations, the young Colts struggled to secure a wildcard spot in Peyton Manning’s third season before losing in overtime at Miami in the first round of the playoffs.

NFC Playoff Teams

#1 12-4 New York Giants (NFC East Champions) – You could make a case that the 2000 Giants were the worst team to make the Super Bowl during the ‘00s.

#2 11-5 Minnesota Vikings (NFC Central Champions) – Led by the dynamic duo of Randy Moss and Cris Carter, Minnesota rocketed out to a 11-2 start before blowing the number one seed with three straight losses. That led to their infamous 41-0 shellacking at Giants Stadium in the NFC Championship game.

#3 10-6 New Orleans Saints (NFC West Champions) – The most surprising team of the 2000 season, unlikely starter Aaron Brooks led to the Saints to a shocking division title over the defending Super Bowl champion Rams, and even beat the Rams in the first round of the playoffs. This would prove to be the best Saints team of the Jim Haslett era.

#4 11-5 Philadelphia Eagles – Philadelphia famously drank pickle juice during the Week 1 thrashing of the Cowboys in Dallas, and rode that momentum to their first playoff berth under Andy Reid. Donovan McNabb led a home victory over the Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs, but they were unable to upset the Giants in round two.

#5 10-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Tampa was the popular Super Bowl pick in the NFC, but inconsistent quarterback play from Shaun King proved to be their undoing.

#6 10-6 St. Louis Rams – The lost year between their Super Bowl appearances, St. Louis was wildly inconsistent during their Super Bowl defense. Offensively they were the most explosive team in the league, but a leaky defense proved to be too much to overcome.

How My Cowboys Did – Let’s just say 2000 was rock bottom. We mentioned the Week 1 shellacking by the Eagles in their write-up, but what we left out was the end of Troy Aikman. Aikman was knocked unconscious after throwing five incomplete passes, and later in the year would have his career ended by a LaVar Arrington hit. Week 1 was even more disastrous when Joey Galloway, whom the Cowboys traded two first round picks for, tore his ACL. Things have been rough over the past few years of the Romo era, but 2000 will always be remembered as my least favorite Cowboys season. The only memorable thing from it was when the Cowboys "defended the star" when Terrell Owens posed on it after a touchdown.

 

 



How the Patriots Did – New England was dreadful in 2000, finishing last in the AFC East with a 5-11 record, but two important men were added to their franchise that would forever change the course of the next decade. The Patriots traded three draft picks (including their first round pick in 2000) to the Jets for the coaching services of Bill Belichick. Even more game changing, New England drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 draft.

MVP and Offensive Player of the Year – Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams

            In terms of per-game production, Faulk’s 2000 season was the most dominant of his NFL career. Despite missing two games, he put up 26 total touchdowns and nearly 2,200 yards of total offense.

 

Defensive Player of the Year – Ray Lewis, MLB, Baltimore Ravens

            The most polarizing figure in sports at the time, Lewis was the dominant player of the 2000-01 season in spite of dealing with a potential murder charge. His strip of Eddie George in the Divisional Round game at Tennessee was the signature play of the season.

Offensive Rookie of the Year – Mike Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos

            Anderson was the third no-name rookie to thrive in Mike Shanahan’s offense, rumbling for nearly 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns after both Terrell Davis and Olandis Gary went down to injury.

Defensive Rookie of the Year – Brian Urlacher, MLB, Chicago Bears

            Urlacher was a stiff the last couple of years he played, but when he came into the league he was a new wave, hyper athletic middle linebacker. Chicago can’t complain with the production they got out of their 2000 first round pick.

Memorable Games

Week 8, Dolphins @ Jets – Down 30-7, Vinny Testaverde throws four fourth quarter touchdown passes to push the Jets into overtime. New York booted a field goal in overtime to cap off the Monday Night Miracle.

 

2001 AFC Divisional Round, Ravens @ Titans – In what was essentially the championship game for the NFL (they were clearly the two best teams), Ray Lewis and company overpowered the Titans. Lewis made what in No Credentials’ opinion was the signature play of his career to seal the game.

 

You Won Your Fantasy League If You Started…

QB: Daunte Culpepper, Vikings = 350 Fantasy Points (Culpepper was a mid-round pick entering his first year as a starter, and in terms of number of championship teams he was on, was probably the fantasy MVP of 2000. Yours truly had the pleasure of winning a league with him that year)

RB: Marshall Faulk, Rams = 381 Fantasy Points
RB: Edgerrin James, Colts = 340 Fantasy Points
WR: Randy Moss, Vikings = 236 Fantasy Points
WR: Terrell Owens, 49ers = 226 Fantasy Points
WR: Marvin Harrison, Colts = 225 Fantasy Points
TE: Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs = 174 Fantasy Points
DEF: Baltimore Ravens (besides setting the league record for fewest points allowed, they generated 49 turnovers. Let me repeat that…49 TURNOVERS!)
K: Matt Stover, Ravens = 135 Fantasy Points

The What-If Teams

Tennessee Titans – The top team in terms of DVOA in 2000, Tennessee was an elite wide receiver short of being able to overcome the Ravens defense. This was the last great Eddie George season, and Steve McNair’s first year as a perenial MVP candidate.

Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars – Both of these clubs had the talent to make noise in the playoffs, but unfortunately they were trapped in the AFC Central with Baltimore and Tennessee. Jacksonville was particularly entertaining, with Jimmy Smith and Fred Taylor posting career seasons.

Minnesota Vikings – Minnesota didn’t dominate teams, but the stellar play of Randy Moss and Cris Carter pushed them to a 11-2 start. Daunte Culpepper looked like he would be one of the elite quarterbacks for the next decade, but unfortunately would only post two campaigns on par with 2000 for the rest of his career.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Looking back, it’s ridiculous that Shaun King was the quarterback of a team with such a loaded roster. Ultimately, Tony Dungy’s decision to stick with King for the 2000 season was the beginning of the end of his tenure in Tampa Bay.

Super Bowl XXXV

            The Giants had no chance against the dominant Ravens, and didn’t score an offensive touchdown. Besides two back-to-back kick return touchdowns, there isn’t anything particularly memorable that occurred in it.

Final Opinion

            You know 2000 was an off year of football when Trent Dilfer and Kerry Collins were the starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl. Normally weird years are impacted by star player injuries, but 2000 didn’t have that. The safest bet is to chalk up 2000 as an anomaly. We’ll definitely never see a season where a defense can dominate its way single-handedly to a title ever again.