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Who's Hot / Who's Not
WHO'S Hot
Feagles
Despite ferociouswinds at Giants Stadium, Jeff Feagles--who brought his family back from Arizonato (brrrr) New Jersey after the Giants got him to unretire thisoff-season--punted one ball to the Tampa Bay five-yard line, another to thefour and, in his record 295th straight game, ensured the Giants won the battleof field position, and the game.
Waynes
Reggie Wayne had atrio of touchdown grabs in the Colts win (page 52), while across the pond WayneRooney (right) netted a hat trick to keep Man U ahead of rival Chelsea atop thePremier League standings.
WildGoaltending
Minnesota's faststart (9--2) is about Manny (Fernandez) being Manny. The netminder has playedevery game and has been so doggedly effective (1.80 goals-against, .942 savepercentage) that coach Jacques Lemaire even gave him a rare day off practicelast week.
Pacman Jones
Twenty-two gamesinto an NFL career of great expectations, the Titans' aggressive cornerbacksnagged his first interception, then returned a punt for a touchdown in a winon Sunday.
WHO'S Not
Eagles
Buffeted byferocious winds in Philly--coach Andy Reid had dismissed the conditions beforethe game--the Eagles never got their big-play mojo going against Jacksonvilleand couldn't grind out yards in their third straight loss. They head into thecoldest part of the schedule with no known ability to, as back Brian Westbrook(above) puts it, "drive the ball down their throats."
Bowdens
Clemson coachTommy Bowden got conked on the head with a miniature bottle while his team gotcrushed by Virgina Tech. ("It wasn't a good night," he said.) Thingsare no better at Florida State for dad Bobby (page 70) and brother Jeff, who'velost four of six in the ACC.
PanthersGoaltenders
The tandem of AlexAuld and Ed Belfour (right) has been so-so on the ice (Florida's 5--6) andsmashing off it: After a night out, the pair was in a hotel lobby when Belfourspilled water and Auld slipped; he got stitches in his head and missed agame.
Pacman Jones
In what may becomea career of great expectorations, Jones got a misdemeanor citation forallegedly spitting on a woman in a nightclub; in August he was accused of samething during an incident that led to charges (court date in January) of publicdrunkenness.
SI PLAYERS NFL POLL
Which head coach has the best defensive mind?
Bill Belichick, Patriots 35%
Tony Dungy, Colts 15%
Lovie Smith, Bears 9%
Marvin Lewis, Bengals 8%
Which head coach has the best offensive mind?
Mike Shanahan, Broncos 23%
Mike Holmgren, Seahawks 16%
Jon Gruden, Buccaneers 13%
Tony Dungy, Colts 9%
FAST FACTS Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher was fifth in the"defensive" poll (6.7%); Philadelphia's Andy Reid was fifth in"offensive" (6.7%).... Belichick and Dungy both ranked in the top sixof both polls.... Shanahan, whose Broncos have allowed an AFC-low 11.1 pointsper game was 11th (1.4%) in the "defensive" poll.... Two coaches get novotes in either poll: Oakland's Art Shell and Buffalo's Dick Jauron.... SanDiego's Marty Schottenheimer, the NFL's active wins leader with 191, drew lessthan 1% of the vote for each question.
[Based on a survey of 361 NFL players] • For anexpanded version of the poll, go to SI.com/players.
PHOTO
JERALD PINKUS/WIREIMAGE.COM (FEAGLES)
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HUNTER MARTIN/WIREIMAGE.COM (WESTBROOK)
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DOUG BENC/GETTY IMAGES (BELFOUR)
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MARK HUMPHREY/AP (JONES)
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JIM ROGASH/WIREIMAGE.COM (SHANAHAN, BELICHICK)
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ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (ROONEY)
