"And so a new era begins. Carroll's first head coaching stint lasted just one forgettable season, 1994, with the Jets. For the past two years he was the defensive coordinator for the 49ers, an experience that seasoned him for his second go-around in a top job. Carroll is junking Parcells' read-and-react, two-deep zone defense to install a gambling, attacking style that will feature man-to-man coverage and five-man fronts. The underpinnings of this D will be Slade and McGinest,
with the latter playing the "elephant," a role out of the 49ers' system in which a pass rusher constantly moves around on the line of scrimmage, looking for a crevice through which to attack the quarterback."
From Sports Illustrated's NFL Preview, 1997.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/events/1997/nflpreview/AFCEAST/patriots.html
Ahh ... great times, eh?
[I think that this story is up there with Ron Borges' "the Patriots aren't going to win two Superbowls any time soon" in the Hall of Fame of sports reporters' bad predictions.
It includes the following gems:
"If you thought the sky had fallen on New England after Bill Parcells quit as Patriots coach in late January, think again. As linebacker Chris Slade demonstrated right after Parcells left town, the 1997 Patriots may be even more determined and more dangerous than the team that won last year's AFC championship. "
and
"In New England's enchanted run to the Super Bowl, the defense allowed just five touchdowns in the seven games preceding the meeting with Green Bay. All the key players are back, and they'll be joined by two new cornerbacks: free agent Steve Israel, who will play in nickel situations, and
Kansas State's Chris Canty, who showed immediately that he might be a steal when, on the first day of minicamp, he intercepted three passes." ]
