November 29, 1993
Originally published by The Daily Collegian (Fresno State)
Super Bowl preview, part one. It’s not too early to start thinking about what to do with those three hours on the best Sunday in the year. In this case, you might want to sleep this one out.
The Cowboys and Bills threaten to clutter up the tube next January, to the eternal chagrin of yours truly and the despair of executives who seek TV ratings, not to mention the gluttony of Las Vegas bettors.
It looks it’ll be Dallas and Buffalo in the Super Bowl again, but maybe a darkhorse might break through. That question will be made null and void by the weaknesses of so many contenders that will enter the playoff field in December and get sent out quickly.
This has been perhaps the strangest, most-parity filled NFL campaign on record. There isn’t a dominant team. One team might rise up one week only to get clobbered the next.
Too many teams have one or two good strengths, but lack the pieces in all phases--offense, defense, special teams, coaching--to claim a title. Only three teams can say they are the most balanced teams in the league with a definite Super Bowl chance. They are Dallas, Buffalo and San Francisco. They run the ball well. They pass the ball well. They have tough defenses. They’ve done that with regularity in recent years and continue to display themselves as the league’s best franchises.
And the most important factor is that Jimmy Johnson, Marv Levy, and George Seifert are able to keep their respective teams at the top despite persistent doubts.
In the AFC, Buffalo should lock up the title and go to their fourth Super Bowl in as many years. Why? Because nobody else is good enough to pose a serious threat.
In that case, the Bills (yawn) win by default.
Other contenders will be Miami, the N.Y. Jets, Houston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Kansas City, Denver and the L.A. Raiders.
Don Shula may have his coaching win record, but the Dolphins can kiss their chances goodbye without Dan Marino.
A talented journeyman you are, Steve DeBerg, but teams don’t just shove you aside for nothing.
The Jets, even with Boomer Esiason and a decent offense, remain a middle-of-the-pack team, good enough to make the playoffs but nothing more. The same is true for the Oilers, Steelers and Browns.
Houston, with its’ Run and Shoot, peaked about two years ago but hasn’t been the same since blowing a 35-3 lead to the Bills in last year’s playoffs. The Steelers think their Curtain is back, but haven’t been battle-tested like their predecessors. And in Cleveland, they want Bernie Kosar to come back.
How about Kansas City? They seem a lock because they have the most relentless, ballhawking defense in the game. But stop their old beaten up signalcallers, Montana and Krieg, and you stop K.C.
And now we ask ourselves: As unbelievably inept as the Bills have been in their Super strikeout, do we really want the Broncos to go again? Denver would be the last thing the Super Bowl needs.
The prisoner was being strapped in the chair when the governor called to give him a pardon. In that case, the Los Angeles Raiders should be lucky to be alive.
They’ve been winning--and losing--on last-moment drama that made their Oakland counterparts notorious.
The network crews love the Raiders for that reason. A Raider game is never over until it’s over. It’s because they can’t put people away and have a weak ground attack. But with a good D and a track medalist receiving corps, the Raiders have more speed than Jimmy Page ever took.
Dallas will probably break from the clutches of the NFC maze that includes the Giants, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
The Giants are back to the strength they used to be in the 80’s with old Phil Simms as spry as ever. With Simms’ resurgence, New York has been the league’s surprise team this year despite being thought too old to be a winning team any more. But another trend has come back: Dallas always beats the Giants handily, especially in Texas Stadium.
The Saints or the 49ers will be the last Cowboy step, although the nod goes to the 49ers. New Orleans’ history is against them as a team that breaks down in the clutch. Time to put on those paper bags, ’Aints.
The 49ers will win, because they are the 49ers. Besides Dallas and Buffalo, the Niners are among the top three teams in the league with offensive firepower and defensive muscle.
It looks like another Dallas-San Francisco matchup for the NFC title, again by default. That will probably be the real Super Bowl this season, sorry to say for the people who will pay a thousand bucks for tickets to Atlanta next January.
And in the other league? Buffalo will beat either the Raiders, Chiefs or Steelers to get their fourth straight AFC crown and consequently their fourth straight Super Bowl loss.
But in all seriousness, this would be perhaps the Bills’ best Super Bowl team. They’ve shown resolve and determination this year to make it back.
Some things never change, however. Cowboys, 52, Bills 17. Cowboys 53, Bills 18. Cowboys 51, Bills 16. Wake me up when it’s over.
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