Two-week buffer is better for everyone—and the game

Some folks like having two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. All the more time to savor the build-up and anticipate the game. For others, it's too much. They'd rather proceed directly to the Super Bowl, as the Bucs and Raiders did a year ago, and eliminate some of the hype.

I had it both ways as a player, first with the open week, then without it. From a player's perspective, that extra week is a godsend.

The time leading up to the Super Bowl is nuts no matter how you slice it. It starts with requests from family and friends, primarily for tickets and hotel rooms. The phone always seems to be ringing. Then there are the media demands. You've probably read about one of these command performances--the media cattle call on the field the Tuesday before the game. What a madhouse.

There also is a mountain of requests from TV and radio networks and stations, magazines, newspapers--seemingly anyone with a camera, notepad or tape recorder--for "just a few minutes of your time." I appreciated the interest, but if I had given "just a few minutes" to everyone who asked, I never would've had time to open my playbook.

With the open week, the situation was manageable. I would handle the media requests and family obligations the week before we left Dallas. Meanwhile, we would have a light week of practice and start studying our opponent. I loved that week.

When all that gets squeezed into a single week, it's chaos. A day after winning the conference title, you're at the site of the Super Bowl and you're being pulled every which way. You have to say no more often than you'd like, which isn't fair to the fans. And you do everything you can to focus on football--which, if I'm not mistaken, is the reason you're there. It must be that way to produce the best possible team performance.

Thank goodness we're back to the two-week format. It's better for the players, it's better for the coaches, it's better for the fans. And that means it's better for the game.

The Troy Aikman Show airs at 5 p.m. ET every Thursday through the Super Bowl on Sporting News Radio. Listen online at http://radio.sportingnews.com.

Scouts' views

Observations and opinions from two NFL pro scouts, one from each conference:

Steve Smith has become a more polished route runner. He's always made big plays, but I think he has a better understanding of what the Panthers do philosophically. The biggest key in his emergence was the continued growth of their running game. Everybody was putting that extra guy up in the box to try to stop Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster, which opened up throwing lanes and created a lot of quick-rhythm throws to Smith. If you noticed, a lot of his biggest plays came off of quick slant routes.... If the Chargers can shore up some of their needs in the free-agent market, I see them getting rid of that No. 1 draft pick. The No. 1 pick usually misses most of training camp, and then you've got to pay him all that money. What they can do with that pick is parlay it in a trade for several players or several draft picks. That's the fast track to winning--to parlay it into veteran players.... If their salary cap will allow it, the Rams should keep both Marc Bulger and Kurt Warner. Everybody says they're not sure if Bulger is ready or not, but the guy won a lot of games for them this year. And you've still got a league MVP in Warner. If you don't have to get rid of either one, why do it? It only takes one play to knock a guy out. Then what happens to The Greatest Show on Turf? ... If you haven't studied Brandon Stokley, you'd look at him and think he's just another guy. But people who don't know him underestimate him. He's faster than everybody gives him credit for, and he can catch the ball. The kid is tough. He's got courage.... For the most part, the defensive guys the Falcons had last year were 4-3 types of players, so they were dealing with a lot of guys who were playing out of position in their 3-4. Some of those guys couldn't do it over the course of 16 games. That's one reason you saw so many injuries with those guys. Whichever way they go, 4-3 or 3-4, they've got to get people who are suited for it.... I was never convinced about Vonnie Holliday. I think he's a little overrated. He'll have one game where he's outstanding, and then that's it for the year.... E.J. Henderson will give the Vikings an infusion of youth at middle linebacker. He's younger and quicker than Greg Biekert, smart and instinctive, and he's physical at the point of attack. By playing some and getting indoctrinated as a rookie this year, he got a good feel for what he's going to be in for going into training camp.... You're going to see everybody want to be like Indianapolis after this year. They're going to try and do the same things the Colts do, like use more play-action and play at a faster pace on offense. But other teams are going to forget that they don't have the guy under center to do that.

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