NFL experiencing exciting changes as dynasties falter
By FRANK KENNEDY
Assistant Sports Editor
The most notable trend in the National Football
league in recent years has been a slow but sure
metamorphosis from a league of a few dynasties to a
league of distinct balance. There are rarely any
clear-cut Super Bowl caliber clubs, and only a hand
ful of teams that can say they've had a really bad
season.
Consider the last three Super Bowls and the NFC
entrant each year: Philadelphia, San Francisco and
Washington. Here were three teams that, in the pre
vious few seasons, had little to show for themselves
and were not expected to do all that well. Mean
while, such dynasties as the Pittsburgh Steelers and
the Minnesota Vikings have faded away.
From the most logical championship matchup of
San Diego and Dallas, to a very possible surprise
matchup like Green Bay and the New York Jets, the
NFL should have its most exciting season ever as
more than half the league is in the running for the
top spot.
AFC EAST
If ever there was a two-team race, this would have
to be the one. Defending AFC champ Miami should
muscle the explosive New York Jets right down to
the final day.
The Jets have suffered from a series of pre-season
injuries to some reliable starters, but quarterback
Richard Todd and receiver Wesley Walker are look
ing mighty good in an offense that will rival every
one, including pass-happy Air Coryell. On defense,
Mark Gastineau, as enthusiastic as ever, will lead
the Sack Exchange again, and they did coach Joe
Walton proud in forcing numerous San Diego
mistakes during a victory Sunday. The key: Staying
healthy.
For Don Shula's crew, the question is that ever
bizarre quarterback situation. Will David Woodley
hold his No. 1 spoti and will Don Strock be satisfied
as runner-up or even number three now that the
Dolphins have Pitt QB Dan Marino?
Miami's downfall could be in the offense, no
matter who is at quarterback. The Dolphins have be
come something of a methodical, ground-oriented
team, and don't put too many points on the board.
Their success will depend on how productive they
can be against the mighty defensive squads of the
Jets, and the Steelers.
The rest of the division will be a battle for last
place. In opening day action, the Buffalo Bills
proved that their offense is going nowhere as they
were shutout by Miami. Perhaps Joe Cribbs doesn't
have his heart in the game since he'll be going home
to Birmingham to play for the USFL next spring.
Frank Kush finally won a game at Baltimore Sun
day, but don't get too excited. They beat the other
East cellar-dweller, New England.
AFC CENTRAL
Brian Sipe and the Cleveland Browns are banking
on catching the AFC off-guard this year. Their
opener saw them fall to Minnesota, but the offense
certainly looked better than at any time last year,
with Sipe getting the ball on target. The Cincinnati
Bengals, meanwhile, are missing by a mile every
target they aim for. They have lost running back
Pete Johnson to a drug suspension, Cris Collins
worth is defecting after the season is over, and so far
they have displayed no real desire to cross the goal
line. The team that made it to the Super Bowl two
years ago went 0-4 in the pre-season and lost 20-10
to the Raiders on Sunday. And don't count on the
defense to save them, because this is a unit which
gave up over 120 points in its final three regular sea
son games last year, and little hope is in sight. The
good news for the Bengals is that they will not be as
bad as the Houston Oilers, potentially the worst
team in the league (even worse than Baltimore). Earl
Campbell seems to be back in form, but even his ex
ploits won't salvage the hapless Oilers.
AFC WEST
Like the East, this should also be a two-team race
as the teams with the inside track for the Super Bowl
battle it out. The Los Angeles Raiders, their Al
Davis-home stadium controversy out of the way, are
loaded under Tom Flores.
Rookie of the Year Marcus Allen is off and run
ning again, scoring three touchdowns against the
Bengals on Sunday. Jim Plunkett appears to be find
ing his throwing arm again, and that will help to
complement a rugged defensive line led by the likes
of veterans Lyle Alzado, Archie Reese and Ted
Hendricks. And it will be that defense which will
give the Raiders the nod over San Diego, the pass
happy outfit that, alas, still gives up 30-40 points per
game. The Jets' Richard Todd ripped through the
Charger secondary in scoring in 41 points Sunday.
That was the downfall for the Chargers in the AFC
title game, giving up 34 points to Miami. Even a re
cruit like Billy Ray Smith out of Arkansas will not
make things hunky-dorry for Don Coryell.
The rest of the division is a free-for-all. Denver is
banking (to the tune of $5 million) on John Elway at
quarterback. Elway's first game against Pittsburgh
was a flop, but the veteran Steve Deberg didn't do
much better. This week, the Broncos face lowly Bal
timore and Elway is again scheduled to start. Mean
while, the defense remains as impressive as Denver
fans are accustomed to. Kansas City has the poten
tial to break away, but will sorely miss the late Joe
Delaney, the 1981 Rookie of the Year. Former Dal
las assistant John Mackovic will have three quarter
backs to choose from: veterans Steve Fuller and Bill
Kenney, and rookie Todd Blackledge. Chuck Knox
has taken over at Seattle and is hoping to add some
diversity to an offense that has been using mostly a
. passing attack before this year.
NFC EAST
over the Washington Redskins Monday, 31-23. It
was the second half effort that showed why the
Cowboys are favored to take this division.
The Redskins have two things going against them
this year. The World Champions are falling down
right and left with injuries, and Tony Peters is gone
for good due to a drug conviction. Moreover, no
one has made back-to-back Super Bowl trips in five
years. No one. Yet, if John Riggins, Joe Theismann
and Company can stay healthy (and get some help
from the younger talent) the Redskins will fight for
the East right down to the final week. But it will be a
struggle, because the NFC has equalled, if not sur
passed, the AFC as the NFL's best conference.
Meanwhile, the New York Giants are trying for their
second playoff appearance in three years, but a
stalemated offense may make that tough. Lawrence
Taylor leads a defensive outfit that rivals anyone in
the NFC, and that will help develop a solid chal
lenge for a wildcard berth. Meanwhile, Neil Lomax
for the St. Louis Cardinals and Ron Jaworski for
the Philadelphia Eagles will be at the helm of solid
teams that have the potential to win nine or ten
games, and will have to rely on winning the close
games to make the difference between finishing as
high as second or as low as fifth.
NFC CENTRAL
There's no need to call this the black-and-blue
division anymore. For one thing, the Green Bay
Packers, thanks to the Lynn Dickey to James Lof
tonJohn Jefferson connection, stands a good
chance at winning the league championship. Second
ly the Tampa Bay Buccanners don't wear blue or
black.
The Pack is back. Make no mistake about that.
Bart Starr has his men fine-tuned, and only a few
suspect areas along the defensive line are question
marks. This was quite evident in a 41-38 win over
lowly Houston in the opener. Earl Campbell ran
roughshod over the Packer defense, and Starr will
have to work on that to sustain supremacy in the
Central. Next up is the Minnesota Vikings, as Bud
Grant tries to revive the dynasty of old. That won't
happen this year, but Tommy Kramer through the
air and Ted Brown on the ground will make for
some long afternoons for the opposition. Also
threatening are Detroit and Tampa Bay. The Lions
will still operate behind the force of Billy Sims and
an improved defensive wall for coach Monte Clark.
However, there are still many gaps which must be
filled. The Bucs, meanwhile, are a mystery as they
went 4-0 in preseason but were shutout 11-0 in the
opener. QB Doug Williams begins his final season
for the Bucs, who would love to host the Super
Bowl but probably won't come close. Finally, there
are the Chicago Bears, an offense-minded corps
with Jim McMahon tossing and Walter Payton run
ning. Some insiders say this is the year for the Bears,
but five games (four in preseason) have not shown
any evidence of that.
NFC WEST
This is it, folks. It took them 15 years, and this
year they will do it at last. The team: New Orleans.
The 15-year-goal: A winning record. And, not only
will the Saints break that barrier, but the mediocrity
of the rest of this division will allow them to be
called West Champions. If anyone is the 1983 dark
horse, the Saints are it. Coach Bum Phillips has his
troops thinking right, especially back George
Rogers, who rushed for 206 yards as the Saints beat
the Cardinals 28-17 Sunday. Ken Stabler was solid
at quarterback last year, and now that he has a de
cent offensive line before him, things should only
get better.
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Rams looked solid
enough through the pre-season and in the 16-6
opener against the Giants to warrant some praise,
but not a lot. After all, this is still a young team,
with much of the rushing weight falling on rookie
Eric Dickerson, out of SMU. Vince Ferragamo will
call the signals for coach John Robinson, but the
key will be whether or not the Ram Defense can
avoid blowing big leads like it has done the last two
years. That awesome offense of the San Francisco
49ers has given way to a trouble-plagued defensive
secondary, while problems in Atlanta have grown
steadily for Falcon coach Dan Henning. The mas
sive defense that led Atlanta to a 12-4 record just
three years ago has now all but faded away.
However, the numbers are not all that bad and if
Henning can get a break here and there, plus win
ning the close games, a winning season may not be
out of the question.
THE PICKS
AFC EAST
New York Jets 12-4
Miami Dolphins 11-5
Buffalo Bills 6-10
New England Patriots 5-11
Baltimore Colts 5-11
AFC CENTRAL
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6
Cleveland Browns 8-8
Cincinnati Bengals 7-9
Houston Oilers 4-12
AFC WEST
Los Angeles Raiders 11-5
San Diego Chargers 1 0-6
Denver Broncos 8-8
Kansas City Chiefs 7-9
Seattle Seahawks 6-10
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys 1 1 -5
Washington Redskins 10-6
New York Giants 8-8
St. Louis Cardinals 8-8
Philadelphia Eagles 8-8
NFC CENTRAL
Green Bay Packers 1 1-5
Minnesota Vikings 9-7
Detroit Lions 8-8
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-9
Chicago Bears 7-9
NFC WEST
New Orleans Saints 9-7
Los Angeles Rams 8-8
San Francisco 49ers 7-9
Atlanta Falcons 7-9
THE PLAYOFFS
AFC: San Diego def. Miami in wildcard game;
N.Y. Jets def. San Diego; L.A. Raiders def. Pitts
burgh; L.A. Raiders def. New York Jets for confer
ence championship.
NFC: Washington def. Minnesota in wildcard
game; Green Bay def. Washington; Dallas def. New
Orleans; Dallas def. Green Bay for conference
championship.
SUPER BOWL: L.A. Raider vs. Dallas Cowboys.
This used to be the best division in football. Re
member those rugged Pittsburgh-Houston slug
fests? How about the Cincy-Cleveland donny
brooks? How much have things changed? Well, it's
quite possible that only one of these four teams will
win more games than it loses: Pittsburgh.
The Steelers had some offensive problems against
Denver on Sunday, turning the ball over seven
times. But the Steelers are rebuilding, and look to
have a defense that may someday rival the Steel
Curtain of the mid-seventies. When the injuries have
healed and the offense, most especially Franco Har
ris, can get on track, the Steelers should have a cake
walk here. Harris needs 1,469 yards to become the
all-time NFL rushing leader.
There can be no doubt that this is the best division
in all of football. So good is this group that all five
teams here may finish at or above .500. Year in and
year out, the number one team (at least on paper) is
Dallas. Once again, the Cowboys are primed for a
Super Bowl chase, having lost the NFC title game
three years running. Playing in the shadow of recent
drug allegations about four Cowboys, Tom Lan
dry's troops will have to get away from the blase at
titude they seem to take as playoffs near. Landry
has buckled down on folks like Butch Johnson, who
does jigs in the end zone after touchdowns. No more
showboating, said Landry.
It was, perhaps, that new discipline that cata
pulted the Cowboys to a dramatic comeback win
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