Veterans Chase Milestones

NFL training camps will sit idle for another month and news is relatively slow as teams ready for another season. The lack of activity from the end of mini-camps to the opening of training camp traditionally makes the early days of summer a time for fans, players, and coaches to look ahead. In the spirit of this calm before the storm, which will soon to be brought on by the opening of training camps across the country, About Football recognizes a handful of veteran players who could firmly entrench their statistics among the all-time league leaders and their careers among the legends of the game.

Of course, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith will continue to add to their gaudy totals and pad their records every time they touch the football, but there are some other interesting situations that bear watching. Marshall Faulk saw his touchdown totals drop from 26 and 21 in 2000 and 2001 to 10 and 11 in each of the last two seasons, so the St. Louis Rams running back needs a bit of a bounce-back season, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could record the 14 touchdowns needed to equal Marcus Allen at No. 3 on the all-time touchdown list.

Should Jerome Bettis manage to avoid significant injury, he should easily collect the 386 yards he needs to catch Dallas Cowboys legend Tony Dorsett. And if he should happen to show that he still has some life in those legs, he could become the NFL's fourth-overall all-time leading rusher. Entering the season, Bettis needs 906 yards to ascend to the spot just above the nearly-mortal Eric Dickerson and just below the supernatural trio of Smith, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders. The problem is, he is no longer the Steelers first option at running back, so a 900-yard season could be a big stretch.

Bettis isn't likely to ever challenge any of the big-three, so it should be interesting to see if he can park his bus just behind the immortals.

Also keep an eye on the New York Jets Curtis Martin, who stands to make a big jump into the top ten if he can put together another solid year. Another 1,000-yard performance will put him right up there with Dorsett. Marshall Faulk also has the opportunity to crack the top-ten if he can put together a 1,100-yard season.

At quarterback, Brett Favre is poised to leapfrog Warren Moon and John Elway into the No. 2 slot for completions. He will most likely also overtake Fran Tarkenton to move into fourth place overall in passing yards. Number three is also far from safe, sitting about 3,600 yards ahead of Favre. An average Brett Favre season should be more than enough to eclipse Moon.

Vinny Testeverde, a guy that a lot of fans wouldn't consider among the greatest signal-callers to strap on a helmet, is also set to make some noise should he see significant playing time with the Dallas Cowboys. Should Bill Parcells elect to give the veteran a stretch of games as the starter, Testeverde could surpass Joe Montana in completions. Should he see extensive time as the starter, he could slip by Dan Fouts in passing yards and touchdown passes. Sonny Jurgensen, Dave Kreig, and even Montana could also be within his sites when it comes to TD tosses.

Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe is sitting just 136 completions behind Testeverde and could also surpass Fouts and Montana.

Tim Brown could finish his Hall-of-Fame career second only to Jerry Rice if he can snag 34 receptions this year. And at 99, he sits just one touchdown reception behind Steve Largent.

On the defensive side of things, Rod Woodson would need a monster year to get the 10 interceptions he needs to match Paul Krause's NFL-best 81 or the eight it would take to equal Emlen Tunnell's 79. And in the sack department, Michael Strahan could move into the top 10 with another typical season.