Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 30, 1994 TAG: 9408300079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVE GOLDBERG ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Still, the underpinnings of NFC supremacy may be cracking under the strain of free agency, the salary cap and the internal problems of Dallas, which seeks to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
A look at the NFC shows just two teams seemingly capable of going all the way: Dallas and San Francisco. Even more striking is that each is one injury away from sinking into mediocrity.
``This could all go up in smoke, it could all go up in smoke with injuries before September,'' Carmen Policy, the 49ers' president, says of high expectations in San Francisco with the signings of Richard Dent, Rickey Jackson, Gary Plummer, Ken Norton and Bart Oates.
The 49ers hope that will be enough to bring them back to their rightful place atop the NFL after three losses in the last four NFC title games.
Dallas, meanwhile, has the core of the team that won two straight titles, but a thinner supporting cast.
More importantly, Jimmy Johnson, who pushed all right buttons for those two seasons, is in a TV studio awaiting a coaching vacancy after his breach with Jerry Jones. His replacement is Barry Switzer, out of football for five years and never a coach in the NFL.
Can anyone else win the conference? Green Bay, Minnesota and maybe even Atlanta have the best shots. The other winners in the NFC's decade - Chicago, New York and Washington - are rebuilding.
But the team that stays healthy will win - with the exception of Tampa Bay, which will be working on an even dozen seasons of double-digit losses. The salary cap has stripped everyone of depth: high-priced veterans are no longer acceptable if they don't start, and almost everyone's backups are untested $162,500 youngsters.
Still, it starts with Dallas and its three superstars: quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin.
``I'd be crazy to tinker with them,'' says Switzer, who has let Johnson's assistants do the coaching and has stuck to serving as chairman of the board. ``This is a team that's won two straight Super Bowls. Why fix what's not broken?''
There are holes, however. Norton's defection leaves one at middle linebacker, where Robert Jones, a No. 1 draft choice two years ago, tries again after having lost Johnson's confidence. The defection of Kevin Gogan (Raiders) and John Gesek (Washington) leave the offensive line thin, particularly with center Mark Stepnoski recovering from a knee injury.
Still, as long as Aikman, Smith and Irvin stay healthy, it's hard to see the Cowboys losing the East.
The Giants, who took Dallas into overtime of the final regular-season game last year, have lost $11 million worth of players from their 11-5 team. Moreover, they lost two cornerstones: linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who retired, and quarterback Phil Simms, perhaps the most publicized cap casualty.
So the quarterback will be a virtual rookie, Dave Brown, who has been outstanding in exhibitions but has thrown only 10 regular-season passes in two seasons. The Giants also lost three-fourths of the starting secondary.
If anyone can challenge, it may be Arizona, where the arrival of Buddy Ryan has doubled the season-ticket base for a team that won four of its past five under Joe Bugel to finish 7-9. Still, even the ever-optimistic Ryan acknowledges it may take a little time to put in his ``46'' defense.
``We're lucky we have only one division game early,'' he says.
The cornerstones of Ryan's rebuilding are two of his ex-Eagles: Seth Joyner and Clyde Simmons. But he also says he loves his offense, particularly running back Ron Moore, who gained 1,018 yards in 10 games last year after replacing the injured Garrison Hearst.
Philadelphia, 4-0 until Randall Cunningham got hurt and went 8-8 for the season, could surprise people if Cunningham rebounds. The offensive line is strong, for once, although the loss of leaders like Joyner and Simmons may hurt a defense led by one of the NFL's best cornerbacks, Eric Allen.
Washington (4-12 last year) rebuilds under Norv Turner, Johnson's offensive coordinator in Dallas. Heath Shuler, the No. 3 pick in the draft, may be thrown in at quarterback to learn the hard way.
Minnesota and Green Bay, both 9-7 last year, should top the Central, although Detroit, which won last year, finally has one quarterback instead of three after signing free agent Scott Mitchell. In this division, only quarterback Brett Favre in Green Bay remains in place.
The Packers have added Sean Jones and Steve McMichael to take the double-teaming pressure off Reggie White, their free-agent acquisition a year ago. They've also added Reggie Cobb to bolster the running game.
The Packers had been counting on wide receiver Curtis Duncan to help Robert Brooks take some of the double coverage off Sterling Sharpe, but Duncan was cut. Sharpe caught more than 100 passes for the second straight season last year but Favre threw a league-high 24 interceptions.
Minnesota solved its quarterback rotation by acquiring Warren Moon from Houston. But it still depends on defense - minus the often-moody pass rusher, Chris Doleman, who was shipped off to Atlanta.
The Lions will depend on Barry Sanders to run the ball and Mitchell to throw it. But they need more from Pat Swilling, a disappointment as a pass rusher last season.
``We know a lot of people don't think much of us, but we think a lot of ourselves,'' Lions coach Wayne Fontes said. ``A lot of people are picking us fourth in the division. No one thinks we're good enough. We think we're good enough.''
Chicago has transformed its offense by signing Erik Kramer to play quarterback and Lewis Tillman to run the ball after going 7-9 with the NFL's worst offense. But wide receivers have been dropping balls in training camp and the whole group will take a while to get used to each other.
In Tampa Bay, Sam Wyche faces the dilemma of trying to build with Trent Dilfer at quarterback or trying to win and save his job. Given the team's track record - five 5-11 seasons in the past seven - he may do neither.
San Francisco's problem last year was defense, the culprit in a ``dismal'' 10-6 season and the 38-21 loss to Dallas in the conference title game.
So Plummer, Norton and sixth-round pick Lee Woodall plug holes at linebacker, Dent and Jackson bolster the pass rush and Oates replaces the departed Guy McIntyre in the offensive line. But Steve Young is now the only experienced quarterback and must stay healthy to keep Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Ricky Watters and the rest of the skill players at full efficiency.
New Orleans started 5-0 and finished 8-8, coincidental with a decline in Wade Wilson's performance at quarterback.
So Jim Everett, who finally exhausted Chuck Knox's patience with the Rams, was brought in along with speedy Michael Haynes, who will give the Saints a deep threat they've never had. But under the salary cap, take means give and New Orleans gave away a lot on defense, particularly Jackson, their all-time sack leader.
Atlanta was 6-10, had the league's worst defense and tried to solve that by firing Jerry Glanville, promoting offensive coordinator June Jones to head coach. They traded for quarterback Jeff George and Doleman, and signed 38-year-old Clay Matthews to play linebacker, but are thinner at receiver with the departure of Haynes.
The Rams, 5-11 last year, had the rookie of the year in Jerome Bettis. But Everett had an awful year and the new quarterback is Chris Miller.
by CNB