No, you are not experiencing déjà vu.
It is not 1995, despite what you see in the Baltimore Ravens' defensive backfield.
With the NFL's regular season finally upon us after a prolonged summer build-up, there are plenty of old faces in new places.
But none are garnering more attention than Deion Sanders, arguably the greatest cornerback ever to play American football, who is making a comeback after spending the last three seasons in the broadcast booth.
There was no bigger personality in the sport than "Neon Deion" during his 13 seasons with Atlanta, San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, and you can be sure Deion will not have lost any of his swagger.
Whether he has lost any of his legendary speed and cover ability is another question.
Sanders insists he is back for one reason - he wants to add another Super Bowl winners' ring to his sizeable jewelry collection - and the Ravens, a great team before his comeback, could be greater with him.
Baltimore already has three of the best players at their position in the league in offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, linebacker Ray Lewis and running back Jamal Lewis.
If the Ravens can get a substantial contribution from Sanders and an upgrade in the play of second-year quarterback Kyle Boller, the AFC Championship trophy will find a home in Baltimore come January.
The Philadelphia Eagles did the Ravens one better with the acquisition of not one but two impact players in the off-season.
Wide receiver Terrell Owens came from San Francisco and defensive end Jevon Kearse arrived from Tennessee to give the Eagles added class on both sides of the ball.
Wide receiver Owens has gone to the Philadelphia Eagles
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Owens rightfully earned a reputation as the loudest complainer in the league and Kearse endured injury problems in 2002 and 2003.
It should be no mystery, then, that the Eagles' success depends on keeping Kearse healthy and Owens happy in 2004.
Philadelphia has come within a game of the Super Bowl in each of the last three seasons only to suffer crushing losses in the NFC Championship game.
With their new men providing an injection of confidence and enthusiasm, the Eagles will get over the hump and finally earn a trip to the Super Bowl that has been too long in the making.
Besides seeing some of the NFL's biggest stars in new uniforms this season, there is going to be another change that will have a major impact on the sport in 2004.
The NFL has ordered its referees to strictly enforce the rule that forbids defensive players from making contact with receivers more than five yards from the line of scrummage.
If the referees actually do enforce the rule as it is written (the league has talked tough in the off-season before only to do nothing when the games begin), passing numbers and scoring could increase exponentially.
The rule crackdown could be a huge help to an air-it-out offensive side like Indianapolis or St Louis and have a negative effect on teams that like to play extremely physical defence.
Which team is most likely to suffer under the new rules?
Look no further than the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, whose manhandling of the Indianapolis receivers in last season's AFC Championship game was the biggest reason for the initiative.
There are more glaring reasons why the Patriots will not retain their crown, most notably their suspect offensive line, but the rule crackdown certainly will not help.
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