Oakland will make some noise. They've got guys who make plays on both sides of the ball. I would buy stock in a guy like coach Jon Gruden, who's always looking for a way to get it done. Another very dangerous team, the Broncos, are lurking. With quarter-back Brian Griese healthy, I think coach Mike Shanahan's got something up his sleeve. I think Indy's Peyton Manning is the NFL's best quarterback and it's only a matter of time before he finds a way to get his team there.

AW: So, your finalists are?
JR: Baltimore and Tampa.

AW: Five of the last six Super Bowl finalists had losing records the season before - is that parity or mediocrity?
JR: It's both. The bad teams are a little bit better. Good teams are worse. And any of them can lose to or beat any of the others on any given Sunday. I just think because teams don't have the depth that they used to, and they can't keep their stars, that ensures there won't be any dynasties. Frankly, I liked it better when there were four good teams and 27 bad ones. Now we have no great teams, 30 average teams, and one bad team, the Bengals.
     
AW: What's the key to winning the Super Bowl?
JR: If you're the Rams and you've got some guys who can play defense, yes, I guess you can afford to get into a shootout. But I think that although the players have changed - they're bigger, faster, and stronger - the basic premise of the game has not. For me, I don't care what anyone says, defense wins championships.

AW: Which team that tanked last year could step up this season?
JR: Definitely watch Seattle, who were 6-10 last year. I guarantee they're going to make an impact because they've got a new quarterback in Matt Hasselbeck, running back Ricky Watters is focused, and they also acquired veteran impact guys like John Randle and Levon Kirkland. San Diego's another team to watch. People can say what they want, but that was the greatest 1-15 football team ever. Now they got my man, quarterback Doug Flutie, who knows how to win.