Other Reviews: Sporting News * Athlon

Lindy's is one of two major preseason magazines, along with Athlon, that offers specific conference editions. We reviewed the 224-page Atlantic Coast Conference edition. Unlike Athlon, Lindy's devotes a large portion of its publication to rankings and ratings. It also gives a detailed explanation for each, which makes for some interesting debate.

The annual published in Birmingham, Alabama also throws a decent spattering of stories and features to go along with the 23 pages of rankings and ratings.

No. 2 - Lindy's ACC Edition

1/2 of

Total pages: 183

Price: $6.99

D.M.D. Publications

Birmingham, AL 35216

Phone: 205-871-1182

Web site: www.lindyssports.com

Top 25

Florida State fans may not like Lindy's ranking since the Tribe is all the way down at No. 18. Outside of that it's tough to argue with the rest of the top 25. Their ranking of Oklahoma, Miami and Ohio State as the top three is the same trio we calculated in our combined poll, and only Maryland at No. 10 is a bit of a surprise. The Terps are the cool pick in the ACC, which probably assumes a win over FSU, but they have never been able to stop the 'Noles' offense. I have yet to hear a decent argument as to why this year will be any different, especially since the game is played in Tallahassee. Also, don't forget that Maryland is minus the ACC's top defender from 2002 E.J. Henderson.

You have to give Lindy's credit for is having a pretty good track record predicting the top 25. Over the past three years they finished No. 1 in prediction accuracy for preseason magazines according to preseason.stassen.com, and No. 2 overall out of 11. Over the past five years Lindy's comes in right behind Phil Steele at No. 2 in overall accuracy.

Content and Features

Even though Lindy's is heavy on rankings and ratings, they also throw in a good dose of stories and interesting notes. Dennis Dodd of CBS.Sportsline.com writes an interesting piece on the NFL's rule preventing underclassmen from entering the draft and how it could be challenged. However, the far better read, at least from and FSU fan's perspective, is the four-page story on how the Tampa Bay Bucs relied on talent from the Sunshine State to win the Super Bowl. Although Warren Sapp gets a little play, Florida State comes out the winner with several telling comments and quotes on Derrick Brooks, Brad Johnson, Greg Spires and Dexter Jackson. Finally, there is a one-page story written by Pensacola News Journal's Bill Vilona on how Chris Rix and the quarterback position could be key to FSU's success. That's pretty much a no-brainer and isn't news to anyone.

Some interesting notes include naming Chris Rix as one of five people on the "hot seat". Also, running back Greg Jones is listed as a possible "comeback player of the year".

The most interesting feature, but probably the most useless, is the prediction of the top 50 players to be taken in the 2004 NFL draft. Just for fun we checked last year's list to see how well Lindy's did. They hit on 15 of the 50, or 30-percent. Not only was the percentage nothing to shout about, when Lindy's missed, they missed badly. Here's a look at a few of the ones they missed on by a mile:

Dave Ragone - Projection: No. 2 overall - Actual: No. 88 (3rd round)

Chris Sims - Projection: No. 10 overall - Actual: No. 97 (3rd round)

Earnest Graham - Projection: No. 12 overall - Actual: Undrafted

Brett Williams - Projection: No. 13 overall - Actual: No. 113 (4th round)

Lee Suggs - Projection: No. 17 overall - Actual: No. 115 (4th round)

Ken Dorsey - Projection: No. 19 overall - Actual: No. 241 (7th round)

Jimmy Wilkerson - Projection: No. 22 overall - Actual: No. 189 (6th round)

Mario Haggan - Projection: No. 27 overall - Actual: No. 228 (7th round)

Trent Smith - Projection: No. 39 overall - Actual: No. 223 (7th round)

Ben Johnson - Projection: No. 42 overall - Actual: No. 216 (7th round)

Todd Wike - Projection: No. 46 overall - Actual: Undrafted

Rankings and Ratings

As is the case with most preseason magazines you won't find an FSU player on the first or second team All-American team.

Fortunately, a few players show up on some of the individual rankings list, but you won't find them on offense. That's not really a surprise considering that FSU lost most of its starting offensive linemen and wide receivers, Chris Rix had an up and down sophomore season and Greg Jones is is coming off a serious knee injury (Lindy's specifically noted that he was not rated due to injury).

Things are a little brighter on defense. Darnell Dockett comes in at No. 10 for defensive tackles and Kevin Emanuel cracks the top 20 for defensive ends at No. 17. At outside linebacker both Michael Boulware (No. 5) and Kendyll Pope (No. 12) make the list. Despite the entire secondary returning from 2002, not a single Seminole made the top 20 at either safety or cornerback. That happens when you finish second to last in the ACC in pass defense.

When it comes to unit rankings Lindy's made one pretty big blunder when it comes to FSU. Despite ranking both Darnell Dockett and Kevin Emanuel for individual honors, the 'Noles' defensive line is nowhere to be found in the top 10. With a healthy Dockett and Travis Johnson in the middle to go along with Emanuel, and players like former high school All-American Eric Moore and JUCO All-American Chauncey Davis (FSU's defensive MVP for the spring) coming off the ends, it's hard to imagine there are 10 defensive lines better.

In a bit of a surprise FSU's offensive backfield cracks the top 10 for the offense while the linebackers, at No. 6, are the sole representatives on defense.

ACC/Florida State section

Lindy's devotes 74 pages to the ACC compared to only 63 in Athlon. That includes the All-ACC team, conference picks, most important games, scouting future NFL talent, rating each unit within the conference, a review of the 2002 season, plus the individual team reports.

Interestingly, Lindy's names Michael Boulware as the defensive player of the year and Lorenzo Booker the newcomer of the year. But overall only four 'Noles are named to the All-ACC team, compared to seven for Maryland. In the unit rankings Lindy's tabs FSU's running backs, defensive line and linebackers tops in the conference.

Five pages are devoted to breaking down FSU's 2003 squad. There's nothing monumental in the preview but it does give a decent overview without any glaring errors. Outside of listing Kyler Hall as a free safety and Matt Henshaw as the starting tight end, the depth chart and roster are fairly accurate. There is also a nice little blurb about Lorenzo Booker and his potential impact this season.

Dot Com's Recommendation: If you are looking for a preseason publication that focuses on the Atlantic Coast Conference then Lindy's ACC edition is a good choice. It has a little bit of everything from stories, to features, to rankings and ratings.

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