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Even though championship weekend is filled with superstars such as Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick, these games are also for the little guys.

Patriots guard Stephen Neal never played football before coach Bill Belichick got a hold of him. He was a wrestler. Now, he's a rapidly improving lineman on a potential Super Bowl team. The Eagles continue to strike gold not only in the NFL draft, but with the non-drafted prospects. From starting guard Artis Hicks to speed receiver Greg Lewis to fullback Josh Parry and more, the Eagles have been successful in finding and developing unwanted players.

The story isn't that much different in Atlanta or in Pittsburgh. An underlying theme to the NFL's Final Four is the success stories from the scouting departments. The Steelers have found undrafted gems for decades. Panic filled the air during the preseason when right guard Kendall Simmons was lost for the season. No problem. Undrafted Keydrick Vincent stepped up and filled in so well that Simmons' loss was not even noticeable.

Remember, the Steelers were the franchise that made household names of unknowns such as Ernie "Fats" Holmes and Glen Edwards.

There is a lesson to be learned by the composition of these four teams. For one, the Dan Snyder method of remaking a team year in and year out isn't the right way to work. The Redskins owner is naturally impatient. He'll go anywhere and pay anything with the hopes of winning. Heck, he even pulled Joe Gibbs out of retirement to make a run at the playoffs.

Annually, the Redskins have a roster turnover of about 20-25 players in an attempt to find the right chemistry and talent to win. They've fallen short, and the expectation is that they will hit free agency hard again to find answers. What's lost in the transition is the development of the players who slip through the cracks and don't get drafted. The Eagles, for example, have stayed ahead of the Redskins because, in part, they've made a science out of developing undrafted jewels.

	Antonio Pierce Linebacker Washington Redskins Profile
	2004 SEASON STATISTICS Tot Ast Solo FF Sack Int 110 92 18 1 1 2

In 2001, the Redskins entered the season with 31 new players, and because they reached the salary-cap limit, they filled out the remainder of the roster with undrafted, minimum salary players. Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce was a member of the 2001 group. Marty Schottenheimer was the head coach, and Pierce kept making enough plays on special teams and during spot duty on defense that he earned more playing time.

Now Pierce, a starter this season, developed enough to become one of the main free agents on the market at his position. The Redskins will probably get a deal done to prevent him from leaving through free agency, but the Redskins need more players like Pierce. Should Gibbs stick around for a few years, more will get a chance to develop. Gibbs has the right kind of coaching staff to develop young prospects.

But more teams need to follow the examples of these Final Four teams, particularly the Eagles.

Their list of undrafted success stories peaked in 2003. The class includes receiver Lewis, defensive tackle Sam Rayburn, running back Reno Mahe, offensive lineman Alonzo Ephraim, cornerback Roderick Hood and safety Quintin Mikell. That is no accident. The Eagles planned for that, and they have already rewarded Lewis, Rayburn, Hicks and others with long-term contract extensions.

"I think we are very similar to a lot of teams in what we do in the late rounds and with undrafted free agents," said Tom Heckert, the Eagles vice president of player personnel. "We try to find one asset of a player whether it's speed, strength or size or quickness. We don't sign a lot of undrafted free agents, but we try to find things in those players that can help the team."

Lewis, for example, ran a 4.42 and is considered the Eagles fastest receiver. He's being slowly developed as a deep threat and a third receiver. Rayburn's asset was strength. He was strong at the point of attack against the run. Given the chance to play, Rayburn even showed flashes of a pass rush. Now, he's good enough to start. Hood has 4.4 speed and is valuable as a backup cornerback. Hick has been a solid starting guard.

"The thing that makes it all work is having a coach like Andy Reid who is willing to keep guys like these on the roster," Heckert said. "Andy is willing to keep an undrafted linebacker over a draft choice. He did it when he released Quinton Caver (a former first-day draft choice) a couple of years ago. He's let other draft choices go if he feels the undrafted player is better."

Other coaches and general managers tend to hold onto draft choices too long and end up hurting the team. Thanks to the salary cap and free agency, the draft choice better be starting by the middle of his second season or he might be doomed to the waiver wire. Some teams hold on to draft choices to build up the number of draftable players, making it appear that the team drafted well. When those players get on the field and don't play well is when the realization comes true they were bad choices.

	“	I think we are very similar to a lot of teams in what we do in the late rounds and with undrafted free agents. We try to find one asset of a player whether it's speed, strength or size or quickness. We don't sign a lot of undrafted free agents, but we try to find things in those players that can help the team.”
		—Tom Heckert, the Eagles vice president of player personnel

The Eagles don't care about admitting a mistake on a draft choice if they have a better undrafted player. Patriots coach Bill Belichick uses the same philosophy. Undrafted players litter his roster -- guards Neal and Joe Andruzzi, linebacker Larry Izzo, kicker Adam Vinatieri, cornerback Randall Gay and linebacker Matt Chatham.

Gay has been amazing. While he hasn't made Patriots fans forget Ty Law, Gay has done a remarkable job filling in for him. Gay played for Nick Saban at LSU but didn't project the athletic numbers that merited a draft choice. Saban's defensive system is the same one run by Belichick. Because they are good friends, Belichick had a good scouting report on Gay's smarts.

Once Gay signed and started to learn the system, he kept calling back to his friends at LSU telling them how easy it was to pick up Belichick's scheme. Heck, Gay had been playing it for three years. While older players struggled to learn, Gay stayed ahead of the curve and played the cornerback position for Belichick like a veteran.

Neal is another interesting example of developing an unknown talent.

"You are talking about a kid who never played football," Belichick said this week. "He worked out and showed he was a good athlete that could run, had good balance, explosion and athletic ability. But when I tell you he didn't know where the field was, he didn't know where the field was. He didn't know how to put his pads on. He didn't know where to line up. He didn't even know where to go in the huddle. When I say starting from scratch, we're starting from below scratch."

Now, Neal starts on an offensive line trying to get back to the Super Bowl. And where did the Patriots get Neal? You got it, from the Eagles practice squad after he was released by the Patriots in 2001. Belichick tried to make him a defensive player but that was a failure.

"Steve could only run a play that was drawn up on the card," Belichick said. "He couldn't take a play verbally and go out and execute it on the field. He just really couldn't put it all together at that point."

Patience by the Patriots coaches and hard work by Neal has made him a good starter. That's right, this year's NFL's Final Four is for the little guys as well as the big stars.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.