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NFL dynasties disappeared; could Seahawks be one?

By WTOP Staff

HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer

The NFL does what it can via the draft, salary cap, free agency and, coming soon, expanded playoffs to engineer a sense of parity, making each team and each fan base believe it has a chance to win on any given Sunday — and to reach any season’s Super Bowl.

Those efforts might finally have brought about the death of dynasties: It’s been a decade since the New England Patriots won the 2003 and 2004 titles, the longest stretch without a repeat champion in nearly a half-century of Super Bowls.

“The days of the dominant teams may be gone forever,” said Ted Sundquist, a former general manager of the Denver Broncos and their director of college scouting when they won back-to-back Super Bowls in the late 1990s. “It’s hard. It’s beyond hard. There are different types of players now, different types of systems set up. The game’s changed.”

Sundquist is among those who thinks the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks could be equipped to buck the recent trend. Their roster was the fifth-youngest in the league last season, according to STATS. They have plenty of stars on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman; and GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll set the tone.

“From a leadership perspective, John and Pete are not the kind of guys who will lose their focus — and I think that will trickle down to the players,” Sundquist said. “What’s really working against Seattle is that they’re in a dadgum competitive division.”

Joe Theismann, the quarterback on Washington Redskins teams that won the Super Bowl after the 1982 season and lost in the championship game a year later, also thinks Seattle is in a strong position.

“They have a lot of things going for them. Their stars are young. They play in a very tough place to compete for other people,” Theismann said. “I would be extremely shocked to see what we’ve seen from other world champions. Baltimore, two years ago — so many guys retired, so many guys left, and now they’re retooling a little bit. That’s not happening in Seattle.”

The Seahawks’ fans certainly are holding onto last season, trotting out fake Lombardi Trophies to training camp practices. But Seahawks are not boasting about the franchise’s first championship or talking about the route to No. 2.

From the moment the preparation for this season began, they were concentrating on the facets of the game that helped them rule the league a year ago, primarily the sure-handed offense and opportunistic defense that allowed Seattle to lead the NFL in turnover differential.

“When we came back in, there was no talk about repeating,” receiver Doug Baldwin said. “It was (about) going back to the basics.”

The Seahawks opened the preseason Thursday night with a penalty-filled 21-16 loss in a Super Bowl rematch against the Denver Broncos.

The history of the Super Bowl has often been very much about prolonged success, from the Packers’ triumphs in the first two meetings between the champions of the AFL and NFL, to the repeats by the Dolphins, Steelers (twice), 49ers, Cowboys, Broncos and Patriots.

So what happened?

Teams are less deep nowadays. That makes health more important, because if a key player goes down, there tends to be a bigger drop-off. Keeping a roster intact is tougher, because players depart via free agency (Seattle lost receiver Golden Tate and defensive end Red Bryant, for example). Assistant coaches get hired away. Younger players might think they’re under-appreciated and demand more money (Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch initially held out). Older players might not have the same drive anymore.

The shorter offseason, Baldwin pointed out, means champs “don’t have as much time to recover” physically or mentally. The instant-celebrity world and heightened media attention create more distractions.

Schedules get tougher for a winner — another element in the NFL’s path toward parity — and, of course, everyone wants to try to beat the previous season’s best.

“There’s always the unknown. Injuries. Off-the-field and offseason situations. Contract holdouts. Kind of that ‘fog of war,’ I like to call it,” Sundquist said. “It’s like NASCAR: You can be flying along and all it takes is one cylinder to pop on you and you’re not running at full efficiency.”

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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

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Online:

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

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AP Sports Writer Tim Booth in Renton, Washington, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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