Playboy's Pro Football Preview

The Fever Spots in pro football this year are Tampa. Florida, and Seattle, Washington, where frenetic efforts are being made to fashion viable football teams from a motley assemblage of castoffs and rookies. All winter, the scene in the headquarters of both new clubs was much the same: file cabinets and desks crowded into cramped temporary quarters, secretaries and ticket clerks tripping over telephone installers and furniture movers, corridors lined with job seekers and has-been players looking for another chance with a new team, all-night crash sessions of coaches and scouts.

It's been an 18-month marathon, with a million small and large decisions to be made, innumerable first-time details to be worked out---everything from uniform design to ticket distribution to scouting reports.

In both cities, the emotional high at club headquarters has been fueled by a public enthusiasm that is sometimes frightening. When the Seattle Seahawks announced a ten-dollar-per-head public kickoff luncheon last August (a full year before the on-field kickoff), 1700 people stampeded the restaurant. After nearly 10,000 job applications had flooded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a local newspaper columnist came to the rescue by publishing the news that all front-office job openings had been filled. The Seahawks put their season tickets on sale in July '75 (months before they had a coach, players or even a finished stadium). When sales were stopped less than a month later, 59,000 were gone. Of those, only 143 were lower-priced tickets.

The N.F.L. fathers, exercising refreshing wisdom in granting the expansion franchises, chose not only optimum locations but shrewd and solid owners, in an obvious effort to avoid the hot-shot promoters and ego-laden suddenly rich types who make up the bulk of would-be football impresarios. In Seattle, 72-year-old Elmer Nordstrom (of the superrich department-store family) is more interested in bringing pride and prestige to his city than in further stuffing his coffers, Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse, a real-estate mogul, is more interested in watching the cash flow than in nitpicking coaching decisions. Both owners have shown a refreshing willingness to avoid the limelight.

The two head coaches come from widely disparate backgrounds, though their careers crossed once before; eons ago, when Tampa's John McKay was an assistant coach at Oregon, he recruited Seattle's Jack Patera, then a high school tackle. Patera, a celebrated defensive line coach, is credited with fashioning Minnesota's Purple People Eaters and the Rams' Fearsome Foursome. McKay, a white-haired patriarch who ran the Southern California athletic department like a private fiefdom before deciding to conquer pro football, will expect (and probably get) the same adulation in Tampa that Vince Lombardi once enjoyed in Green Bay.

And here's the bad news: The talent pools from which Patera and McKay must construct functioning football machines in only two months of pre-season drills are shallow, indeed. Each club got a few dozen of the least wanted reserves from established teams, plus a lion's share of an unusually lean college draft. Each got a superb rookie defensive lineman (LeRoy Selmon in Tampa, and Steve Niehaus in Seattle), around whom to construct a hopefully respectable defense. The Seahawks will have two excellent linebackers (veteran Mike (continued on page 151) Pro Football Preview (continued from page 136) Curtis and draftee Sammy Green). The Buccaneers have the ingredients of a good passing attack (Steve Spurrier throwing to Barry Smith and Bob Moore). After that, the prospects are bleak. Both clubs will have weak offensive lines and---except, possibly, Jimmy DuBose in Tampa---there isn't a promising runner on either squad.

Most interesting---and possibly confusing---aspect of all is the curious scheduling arrangement. This year, Tampa will compete in the A.F.C. Western Division and Seattle will join the Western Division of the N.F.C. Each team will play one game against each of the 13 other clubs in their conference, plus one game with eacli other. In 1977, Tampa will move to the N.F.C. Central Division and Seattle will switch to the A. F.C. Central, each again playing round-robin schedules in their new conferences.

If all this seems curious and confusing, there are two explanations, one official and the other real. The announced purpose of these kaleidoscopic schedules is to give fans in the two expansion cities a chance to see their team in action against every other club in the league. The real reason is to spread the easy pickings among the established teams as evenly as possible.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the other franchises around the country.

As summer training camps convene around the country, Dallas begins preparations with more assets than any other team. The Cowboys have a good mix of excellent youngsters and seasoned vets, providing an over-all blend of enthusiasm and experience. The Pokes made the Super Bowl last year with 12 rookies, probably an unprecedented feat, so they should be stronger this year. Also, quarterback Roger Staubach---as recently noted by coach Tom Landry---seems to get better every year. However, there will be a few changes in the Dallas line-up. Randy White will start somewhere, probably at a linebacker position. The Pokes need depth at running back, which will likely be provided by one or more of three rookies, Jim Jensen, John Smith or David Williams (who was a quarterback at Colorado). Returning prodigal Duane Thomas could provide the answer, if he abandons his penchant for flaky behavior. Jensen, at 230 pounds, also looks good enough to fill the Cowboys' need for a king-sized runner. Landry is also high on rookie defensive back Aaron Kyle (one of Dallas' usual batch of "Who's he?" draft choices), who should become a starter this year.

The Washington Redskins (as usual) will be virtually unchanged, because (as usual) the draft pickings were slim and (as always) coach George Allen trusts wheezy experience more than callow youth. The only source of suspense as training camp opens is whether or not defensive end Verlon Biggs and receiver Roy Jefferson, both dry-docked with injuries last fall, can regain their starting berths from Dennis Johnson and Frank Grant. Calvin Hill, of onetime Dallas fame and more recently a refugee from the unlamented World Football League, seems a likely answer to the Redskins' obvious need for a bruising runner. Though newcomers to the Redskin squad are rare, Allen makes the most of his toolate-and-too-few draft choices. Last year, he used a remote choice to grab diminutive runner Mike Thomas, who became Rookie of the Year and virtually the entire Redskin ground attack.

The rest of the league is befuddled by the uncanny good luck that has put the St. Louis team into the play-offs two years in a row. "There's no way that bunch has the talent to make the play-offs," says the general manager of a rival team.

"Their defensive line operates on one lung and a prayer, and if anything happened to Terry Metcalf, their offense would collapse. But they always seem to luck out someway."

The Cardinals' luck isn't just the close calls that go their way on the field: it's also the remarkable absence of crucial injuries. The key to the latter phenomenon is flexibility coach Jim Curzi's unique training program, a stretching and limbering process that seems to make the Cardinal players nearly impervious to injury. Also, coach Don Coryell's assistants probably spend more time teaching fundamentals than any other coaching staff in the league, thus minimizing game mistakes. The need for help in the Cardinal defensive line could be fairly well filled by three newcomers, Mike Dawson (a rookie tackle from Arizona), Walt Patulski and Marvin Upshaw (veteran linemen acquired during the off season), and Willie Zapalac (hired from the University of Texas, where he was considered the best defensive-line coach in the country). If Zapalac can figure out a way to stimulate the usually lethargic Patulski, the Cardinals' defensive-line problems will be solved.

The New York Giants' dismal showing in '75 is simply explained: no offense. The solution is equally obvious: Get a big horse at fullback and some consistent blocking in the line. The signing of Larry Csonka seems to have taken care of the first need and an added year of maturity should bring more stability to a young offensive line that was in constant flux last fall. Another reason for hope is that this is coach Bill Arnsparger's third year with the Giants; it usually takes about that long for a coach to put together all the pieces of a winning team. Arnsparger has stayed with his young players through their mistakes, rather than trade them away in panic, as so many other coaches have done in similar situations. As a result, the divisive cliquishness of the early Seventies is gone. Quarterback Craig Morton, offensive lineman John Hicks and linebacker Pat Hughes have emerged as strong team leaders. Hughes, a brainy sort, is like a coach on the field. If Csonka's overpayment and undercontribution don't kindle crippling resentment among the players who do the blocking while he gets the money and the glory, the Giants will be a much better team this year. But don't bet any money on it.

New coach Dick Vermeil has two toppriority tasks in Philadelphia: He must rebuild team confidence that never recovered from losing last season's first two games to the inept Giants and Bears and he must find some way to bolster a pitiful defensive line. The latter job seems hopeless; the draft brought only two possible helps, Floridians Mike Smith and Greg Johnson, and defensive linemen are currently the scarcest commodity on the trade market. Fortunately, quarterback Roman Gabriel's knee seems fully healed, so he should recover his starting berth. Gabriel remains the Eagles' principal asset; he's the hardestworking player on the squad and, with linebacker Bill Bergey, serves as emotional leader and on-field ass kicker. Withal, it looks like a tough first year for Vermeil.

The Minnesota squad that takes the field this fall will be nearly identical to the one that played the final game last winter. Contrary to popular opinion, there is an occasional new face in the Viking line-up, but the changes come about so gradually that fans don't notice. The only threat to squad stability this year is the accumulating age of the defensive line (Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Alan Page Carry over 100 years among them). Still, one newcomer seems to have a shot at winning a starting berth: Huge (6'3", 240 pounds) running back Willie Spencer, who played for the World Football League in Memphis last year, could be the Vikings' first good big running back since Bill Brown's prime. Whatever develops in training camp, the Vikings' main strengths will be the same: Chuck Foreman's running and Francis Tarkenton's passing and thinking.

Look for Detroit to be the sleeper team of the league. Consider: The Lions sustained incredible injuries last fall (13 players went under the knife), the top two quarterbacks were lost in the sixth game, against Houston, and yet the Lions managed a 7-7 season. The medical disaster didn't become a psychological one, because coach Rick Forzano carried the team emotionally. Squad cohesiveness, born of weathering misfortune together, should be stronger than ever. All injuries seem to have healed, the likelihood of a recurrence is remote and the Lions' major talent need, a powerful runner, will be filled by the return of Steve Owens, who, after being out with injuries all of last year, looks as malevolent as ever. Add it all up and the Lions should give Minnesota a strong run for the division title.

For Chicago, the prospects aren't as bleak as in recent years, but any hopes for a winning season are still premature. General manager Jim Finks and coach Jack Pardee did a near miraculous job of reorganizing and refining the Bear squad last season, but many of the firststringers wouldn't even be reserves on many other squads. So it will take a few more clever drafts to fill the ranks before the Bears will be contenders for anything. At least two rookies, offensive lineman Dennis Lick and running back Brian Baschnagel (who could wind up playing almost anywhere), are good bets to become instant starters.

The outlook in Green Bay is grim. In '73 and '74, the Packers squandered six future first- and second-round draft choices on two quarterbacks (John Hadl and Jim Del Gaizo), who have since flunked out. The result is a severe shortage of personnel, with minimal help from the draft. Coach Bart Starr will again spend the preseason sifting through the castoffs from other training camps. New quarterback Lynn Dickey, obtained during the off season from Houston, gives the Packers their first deep passing threat since Starr was healthy in the late Sixties. Fortunately, Dickey will have four swift receivers, Steve Odom, Gerald Tinker, Ken Payne and Willard Harrell. The ground attack will be improved if rookie tackle Mark Koncar and guard Gale Gillingham (coming out of retirement) can help a limp offensive line and if fullback John Brockington gets moving. Brock was slowed by a heavy wallet last fall, but this is the final year of his contract, so presumably he will have incentive.

Los Angeles is again a shoo-in for the division championship. The Ram squad has no apparent weaknesses. The only discernible future problem is the advancing age of offensive linemen Charlie Cowan and Joe Scibelli. A couple of second-year prodigies, Dennis Harrah and Doug France, are waiting in the wings to replace them. The Rams are so talentladen, in fact, that the only rookie who seems certain to survive the final preseason cuts is defensive back Pat Thomas. One of the Rams' least obvious---but most important---assets is the fact that Carroll Rosenbloom has mastered the art of owning a football team. The organizational ambience he creates is invaluable, as is the quality of his personal relationships with his players. He spent last Christmas and New Year's Day prowling the side lines of the practice field in Long Beach while his team prepared for play-off games; he says he would have felt guilty about staying home with his family.

The performance gap between the Rams and other teams in their division won't be as big as last year's. Atlanta has the best chance of taking second place, because the Falcons are a year ahead of Sen Francisco and New Orleans in the rebuilding process, and the new Seattle franchise will have its hands full just fielding a functional team.

Atlanta needs to beef up both lines, as well as unlearn its skill at losing games in the last seconds---in '75, the Falcons lost five games in a total of three minutes and 33 seconds of final play. The return of defensive end Claude Humphrey, out all of last season with an injury, will stabilize the rush crew; and two rookie offensive linemen, Dave Scott and Walt Brett, will be of much help on the other side of the scrimmage line. Quarterback Steve Bartkowski, who had the most impressive debut since George Blanda broke in with the Bears during the last ice age, should continue to improve. For one thing, he'll have full use of receiver Alfred Jenkins, who didn't start until midseason of '75 but still led the team in receiving. Bart's performance undoubtedly will also be helped by the presence of two superb rookie runners, Bubba Bean and Sonny Collins.

San Francisco has a new head coach (Monte Clark), a new quarterback (Jim Plunkett), new offensive and defensive systems (still being designed) and a new training camp (at the University of Santa Clara). All of this could add up to an instant turnaround of the 49ers' field fortunes; but the odds are against it. Clark, a 39-year-old, 6'6", 260-pound bass-fiddle player, is the youngest, biggest and most musically gifted head coach in the N.F.L. A more pertinent attribute is his proven skill as an offensive-line coach (Don Shula credits him with building Miami's superb front wall with a crew of other teams' castoffs), because the 49er blocking crew was unwaveringly crappy last year. Despite a horde of good young running backs, the ground game was out to lunch all season. Best hope for solving that problem is quick maturity for three young line reserves, Keith Fahnhorst, Jeff Hart and Jean Barrett. Two other needs, depth in the secondary and receiving corps, seem to have been met with the drafting of defensive back Ed Lewis and wide receiver Steve Rivera. The main catalyst in San Francisco's changed fortunes, if any, could be new quarterback Plunkett. Both his personality and his craftsmanship are of the sort that could quickly weld a disjointed squad into a winner. Let's hope it happens; the North Beach flakes need a new kind of high.

If a head coach and a city were ever made for each other, they're Hank Stram and New Orleans. Stram, with his luminescent attire and gaudy personality, will add color even to the French Quarter. More important, he'll bring several tons of pizzazz to the Saints' offense, which last year consisted almost totally of two off-tackle runs, a pass and a punt. Incredibly, former coach John North allowed quarterback Archie Manning (one of the smartest field generals in the game) to call few offensive plays. Manning wasn't even allowed to use checkoff audibles. All that will change. Manning has the tools to be the best quarterback in the league and Stram is the premier quarterback coach of the country. Better yet, the Saints' draft was wonderfully productive (a somewhat astonishing development, since both the Saints and Kansas City, where Stram heretofore made all draft decisions, had the most miserable drafts in the country the past five years). At least four Saint rookies have all-pro potential and should be immediate offensive starters. Chuck Muncie, the most coveted runner to come out of college in a decade, could be another Jim Brown. Runner Tony Galbreath has only a little less class. Offensive tackle Bob Simmons is the best lineman ever to graduate from the University of Texas; and Tinker Owens would have been an all-Everything receiver if he had played anywhere but at Oklahoma, where they threw a pass once every other week. Before this season is out, Saints fans will think P. T. Barnum is the offensive coordinator. The defense, unhappily, is likely to be as mediocre as ever.

There's joy in Baltimore as the dog days of summer settle in. Since the Colts' '75 midseason turnaround, one of the most dramatic in anyone's memory, all of Clam City has been up for grabs. Player morale is sky-high, fans are ecstatic (nearly 100 percent of last year's season tickets had been renewed by April first), the local press corps has dropped its caustic sarcasm and---most amazing of all---Colts general manager Joe Thomas is openly accused of being a nice guy who had the good sense a couple of years ago to weed aging malcontents from the Baltimore squad, thus making room for promising youngsters. Thomas, unburdened with false modesty, admits that his past choices have been so wise that this year he went into the draft looking only for quality reserves. He got a couple of goodies, too, in defensive tackle Ken Novak and linebacker Ed Simonini. The Colts' major need is a bruising fullback. That order should be filled by either Roosevelt Leaks, whose three sore toes have healed, or Kim Jones, who has returned from the injured reserve list. If the other Jones, Bert, continues his remarkable maturation, Baltimore will have a good shot at the division, conference and Super Bowl championships.

Such a suggestion seems ludicrous to Miami partisans, who point out---correctly---that only a slew of injuries kept their team out of last fall's play-offs. Although all wounds are now healed, the Dolphins have other problems that aren't so obvious. Linebacker depth is much needed, a problem that may (or may not) have been solved by the Dolphins' two first-round draft choices, Larry Gordon and Kim Bokamper. Also, replacements must eventually be found for free safety Jake Scott and runner Mercury Morris, both of whom had personality conflicts with coach Don Shula last season. Scott is an unbridled individualist who retreats to a Colorado mountaintop each winter, eschewing Miami's balmy weather, and Shula doesn't mix well with free spirits. Morris, on the other hand, bitched long and loud about not playing enough during last fall's late-season title drive, much to his teammates' chagrin. Shula doesn't take to unenlightened self-interest, either. Scott will be almost impossible to adequately replace, but Benny Malone, if healthy, could be a better runner than Morris. All of this adds an element of flux and turmoil to a squad that has been remarkably stable the past few years. Contrary to popular opinion, however, the Dolphins are not hurting at fullback, despite the loss of Csonka. Don Nottingham, sharing the position with Norm Bulaich last fall, tied the team touchdown record (72 points), and he's probably the best blocking fullback in the league.

When the New York Jets' new coach Lou Holtz took a look at last season's game films, he was stunned by the sloppy play and mental errors. For the past few years, the Jets have been a cohesive team only when they're winning. When luck goes against them and they lose, bickering sets in and some players quit trying. Thus, last year's dismal showing. The Jets are in for a rude awakening in training camp. Holtz is a walking whirl-wind who will bring more energy, organization and professionalism to the team than New Yorkers have ever witnessed. He'll also do a lot of ass kicking. "The Jets will be no refuge for weak-willed players this year," Holtz told us. "The fair-weather types will weed themselves out---like in about two days. I won't put up with any off-the-field nonsense, either. Professional football players have an obligation to be the kind of people fans admire, to set good examples of public behavior." Thus, Glitter Gulch is likely to lose some of its gaudiest denizens. The Jets, however, need more than discipline. Such as over-all depth---a perennial problem. The linebacking, last year's major weakness, will likely be helped by Richard Wood's added maturity and the arrival of rookie Greg Buttle. The defenders' morale will also be helped by the rehiring of defensive coordinator Walt Michaels. If quarterback Joe Namath can avoid last season's many interceptions, the offense will also improve. Rookie Richard Todd will be groomed to be Namath's eventual replacement.

The Buffalo offense should be as awesome as it was in '75, when the Bills led the N.F.L. in rushing, scoring and total offense. The main goal of summer camp is to keep the defenders from also doing a repeat performance---they were 24th in total defense and dead last against the pass. A few of the worst offenders have been shipped out, but more dependable replacements still have to be found. That likelihood is slim, because the draft produced only two gem-quality defenders (back Mario Clark and lineman Ben Williams), plus one garden-variety linebacker (Dan Jilek). About four more of each kind might have made a difference. Unless coach Lou Saban trades off some offensive stars for fresh defenders (and it's a seller's market), every game will be a scoring spree. Last fall, the Bills managed to outscore their opponents eight of fourteen times, but this fall they may not be so lucky.

The emotional atmosphere in the New England offices has been rather grim during the off season. It's the inevitable result of dashed hopes, dissension and disenchantment. Squad morale has never fully recovered from the players' strike that caused the cancellation of last year's pre-season game against the Jets. It's still a fragmented squad and, with Jim Plunkett's departure for San Francisco, no obvious team leader is present to bring unity. Tight end Russ Francis, though only a second-year player, seems the likeliest candidate to fill the leadership void. The Patriots need help almost every-where. Fortunately, coach Chuck Fair-banks conducted another productive draft, picking off four superstuds at positions that most needed help: Mike Haynes will be the top rookie defensive back in the country and Tim Fox may be the second-best; Pete Brock is the best center to come out of college in years and Ike Forte is the breakaway runner they so badly need. A lot more beef is needed in both lines, though. The quarterbacking may not suffer as much from Plunkett's loss as most fans fear; Tom Owen showed flashes of brilliance in San Francisco, causing many observers to speculate that he might be the biggest find since Baltimore got John Unitas for the price of a phone call. If the Patriot blockers can give him adequate protection, Owen could be the happiest surprise of the season.

The Pittsburgh coaching staff, assembled in august session, was asked by a visitor to enumerate its personnel needs for the coming season. A short conference brought the answer: depth at offensive tackle. Which gives you an idea of how hard up the Steelers are for talent. The reason for this enviable situation is that coach Chuck Noll is a canny judge of college talent; he never wastes a high draft choice on a loser. This year's draft produced at least three nuggets: tight end Bennie Cunningham, center Ray Pinney and wide receiver Theopolis Bell. Noll's main problem will be finding a place for them on the Pittsburgh roster. The Steelers, after winning two Super Bowl championships in a row, now have that most important asset, the confidence of an established winner. Nothing short of disastrous luck will keep them from making the play-offs again.

Houston fans are still stunned by their team's turnaround from consecutive 1-13 seasons in '72 and '73. Last fall, the Oilers lost only four games, two each to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the teams that finished ahead of them in their division. Main reason for the improved showing was the arrival of both defensive tackle Curley Culp and head coach Bum Phillips. Culp solidified the defense and Phillips, with his country-and-western honest approach, has won the intense loyalty of a squad that is no longer fragmented by internal dissension. Credit also goes to center Carl Mauck, a blood-'n'-guts type whose arrival last season from San Diego converted a mediocre offensive line into a good one. Owner Bud Adams is rarely seen anymore, which also helps the team morale. It all adds up to the best situation in Houston in 15 years. The Oilers are a young team that will improve just by aging, so look for them to give Pittsburgh a run for the division title this fall.

The coaching change-over at Cincinnati, with Bill Johnson taking over from Paul Brown, seems to have been a smooth one. Johnson has been with the Bengals since 1968 and Brown will still serve as general manager. Still, Johnson inherits some problems; namely, a limp pass rush and a weak running game. The former will presumably be helped by the arrival of defensive lineman Coy Bacon from San Diego and the ground attack will be perked up by rookie runner Archie Griffin. The Bengals' main strengths, however, will remain the passing of Ken Anderson and an alert secondary headed by Ken Riley.

Although Cleveland got an invigorating transfusion of new blood from the draft, it isn't as desperately needed as last season's 3-11 record would seem to indicate. After losing nine straight games at the beginning of last season, the Browns won three of their last five. That momentum will likely carry over into this season, because all the many squad weaknesses seem to be healing themselves as the young players mature and grow more familiar with the new systems installed by coach Forrest Gregg last summer. One major need---a big running back---was filled with the drafting of Mike Pruitt, who will team with diminutive runner Greg Pruitt (no kin) to give the Browns a sizzling running attack (and cause havoc among Cleveland sports announcers). They'll undoubtedly be called Big P and Little P. The Browns' passing attack will be much improved, because Mike Phipps will be throwing to the best group of receivers in the Browns' history---Reggie Rucker and Oscar Roan have been joined by veteran Paul Warfield and rookie Dave Logan, the premier receiver of last year's college crop. The defense, bolstered by two off-season trades (linebacker Gerald Irons from Oakland and defensive back Ron Bolton from New England), could become one of the toughest in the league.

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Oakland, as usual, will be little changed. The Raiders' stability comes from the same course as their success: Managing general partner Al Davis and coach John Madden have a masterful knack for drafting players with modest collegiate reputations but much potential, then bringing them along slowly and methodically until they're among the best. A vivid case in point is linebacker Monte Johnson, who didn't start a game during his undergraduate years at Nebraska. The Raiders' only apparent needs are fresh reserves in the defensive line and linebacker corps. Both problems seem to have been solved with the drafting of defensive lineman Charles Philyaw and linebackers Rik Bonness (converted from center) and Herb McMath. Only a couple of fumbles kept the Raiders out of the Super Bowl last year. Look for them to make it---at last---in '76.

"This," a disgruntled Denver fan told us, "is the put-up-or-shut-up year." The John Ralston mystique, it seems, has worn thin in a city heretofore patiently tolerant of coaches who promise great things for next year. Ralston, a celebrated power-of-positive-thinking freak, got carried away last summer and promised Denver fans a trip to the Super Bowl. What he delivered was a 6-8 season and a crock of excuses. "At least our fans are pissed off instead of being apathetic like the people in San Diego," says a Denver newsman. "By May first, the Broncos had already sold out season tickets. Every one of those cats will be on Ralston's back. He'd better deliver a good team this year or they'll have to call out the 101st Airborne to get him out of the stadium alive." Ralston's problem is exacerbated by the retirement of quarterback Charley Johnson and runner Floyd Little (and possibly other disgruntled veterans before the season opens). Otis Armstrong's healed hamstring will solve the running problem and Steve Ramsey seems the likely replacement for Johnson. If Ramsey flunks out, soph Mike Franckowiak, a special-teams man last year, will be given a crash course in signal calling along with rookie Craig Penrose. The latter seems destined---after a couple of grooming years---to be Denver's future quarterback.

This time last year, San Diego looked like it was going to be the most improved team in the country. But the offense, which had been superb in '74, fell apart (injuries) and the defense, with five rookie starters, was inept (youthful mistakes). This year, the Chargers again look like they could be the surprise team of the country. Don Woods and rookie Joe Washington will be a breath-taking pair of runners, wide receiver Charlie Joiner (obtained from Cincinnati) will be the long-needed speedy receiver and new offensive coordinator Bill Walsh (formerly the quarterback coach in Cincinnati) will presumably teach his new charges that winning requires finesse as well as brawn. The Chargers' main weakness is the linebacking corps, where only Don Goode is dependable. The quarter-back position, where Dan Fouts and Jesse Freitas have exhibited only unrealized potential, will also have to solidify if the Chargers are to make much improvement over last year's 2-12 record. At least the schedule is easier this fall.

After Kansas City owner Lamar Hunt sacked coach Hank Stram and replaced him with Paul Wiggin a year ago, his next priority was to do something about the Chiefs' miserable draft record. For the past five years, the gleanings from the college crops had been pitiful, largely because Stram had insisted on managing the entire research-and-selection process all by himself---as if a head coach had that much time. During the past year, the Chiefs have joined the Blesto scouting combine and Hunt has hired player personnel director Les Miller, a cagey talent sleuth who helped assemble Miami's storehouse of bone and sinew. Miller did a superb job at the draft tables this past spring---at least five of his selections are good enough to win starting jobs by season's end. It couldn't have happened to a needier team. The Chiefs have grown long of tooth and slow of foot in recent seasons and last year's injury rash nearly wiped them out. The defensive platoon is especially critical, so rookie defensive tackles Cliff Frazier and Keith Simons will be groomed as starters during summer camp. Another newcomer, Gary Barbaro, will provide immediate help in the secondary. Better yet, the lean years have produced a new mental toughness in the squad and the players adore Wiggin. The Chiefs are still about three years away from a winning season, but at least---and at last---they're on their way.

And so how is it all going to turn out? Oakland and Dallas seem to me to have the best chances of going to the Super Bowl. A more certain---but equally problematical---prediction is offered by Dallas vice-president Gil Brandt: "I'll tell you who's going to make it to Pasadena next January---the two teams with the fewest injuries. The top ten or twelve teams in this league are so evenly matched that a couple of broken bones and pulled ligaments will probably be the deciding factors."

This Season's Winners

AFC Eastern Division: Baltimore Colts

AFC Central Division: Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC Western Division: Oakland Raiders

AFC Play-offs: Oakland Raiders

NFC Eastern Division: Dallas Cowboys

NFC Central Division: Minnesota Vikings

NFC Western Division: Los Angeles Rams

NFC Play-offs: Dallas Cowboys

Super Bowl: Dallas Cowboys

Eastern Division

National Football Conference

Dallas Cowboys.....10--4

Washington Redskins.....10--4

St. Louis Cardinals.....9--5

New York Giants.....6--8

Philadelphia Eagles.....6--8

Central Division

National Football Conference

Minnesota Vikings .....11--3

Detroit Lions.....9--5

Chicago Bears.....4--10

Green Bay Packers.....3--11

Western division

National Football Conference

Los Angeles Rams ..... 9--5

Atlanta Falcons ..... 7--7

San Francisco 49ers ..... 7--7

New Orleans Saints ..... 5--9

Seattle Seahawks ..... 2--12

Eastern Division

American Football Conference

Baltimore Colts ......... 9--5

Miami Dolphins ........ 9--5

New York Jets ......... 7--7

Buffalo Bills .......... 6--8

New England Patriots ......... 4--10

Central Division

American Football Conference

Pittsburgh Steelers..... 10--4

Houston Oilers ..... 9--5

Cincinnati Bengals ..... 8--6

Cleveland Browns ..... 6--8

Western Division

American Football Conference

Oakland Raiders..... 10--4

Denver Broncos..... 7--7

San Diego Chargers..... 7--7

Kansas City Chiefs..... 4--10

Tampa Bay Buccaneers..... 2--12