As always, the ratings are based solely on the scout's personal evaluations through the 1996 regular season and do not reflect perceived changes in players during the exhibition season. Scouting is an inexact business in which it isn't unusual for two seasoned personnel men to sit in the same darkened film room and argue whether the player on the screen can play or not. Our scout, however, might be as credible and meticulous as any in the league. Once our scout sees enough of a player in regular-season games he assigns him a blue, red, purple, green or yellow color code. Blues are truly special players.
Reds are outstanding players.
Purples are starters with whom you can win. Greens are adequate players. Yellows are fringe starters or backups. The objective for all teams is to collect the highest number of blue-chip players because they are the ones that decide the outcome of most NFL games. For the purpose of comparison, the definition of a blue-chip player includes the blue, red and purple categories.