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About Griffin daily news. (Griffin, Ga.) 1924-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1977)
Page 14 — Griffin Daily News Thursday, September 15,1977 Pre-season favorites in NFC Cowboys, Rams, Bears picked By BRUCE LOWITT AP Sports Writer There was a time when fig uring out the division winners in the National Football league’s National Conference was as easy as one, two, three. One was a runaway by the Minnesota Vikings in the Cen tral Division. Two was a tussle between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers in the West. Three was a down-to-the-wire dogfight among the Dallas Cow boys, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Redskins in the East. Now the numbers are thor oughly jumbled. The East, once the hardest division to figure, now looks like a near-runaway for the Cowboys, already a strong pick to win not only the division but the NFC title — and maybe even Super Bowl XII. The Cards still have the ex plosiveness to make things in teresting and not enough de Southeastern Seer 'Bama pegged to nail Huskers, Bulldogs, War Eagles get nod By ED SHEARER AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) - Bear Bryant talks a lot each season about schedule luck. He has none this week. Alabama, which opened its season with an impressive 34-13 victory over Mississippi last week, invades one of the na tion’s strongest football confer ences Saturday when the Crim son Tide tangles with the Ne braska Comhuskers. No one relishes a visit to Lin coln, Neb., where a red-coated mob is seldom beaten. The odds against Nebraska losing three straight home games must be incredible. But, that’s what could happen if the Tide wins. Alabama hasn’t glistened with glory in most of its recent meetings with the perennial powers of college football. Last week’s results didn’t help the Tide. Nebraska was a 19-10 upset victim at the hands of lightly regarded Washington State. The Huskers also lost their final 1976 home game to Oklahoma. It’s not a situation the Bear appreciates. He’d rather have the Comhuskers coming off one of those 50-0 slaughters. Either way, the results would be sim iliar, so make it... Alabama 27- 17. The Southeastern Seer pegged 13 winners in 14 games last week, a percentage of .929. The only setback was Califor nia’s destruction of Johnny Ma jors’ homecoming at Ten nessee. Elsewhere around the South this week: Mississippi vs. Notre Dame at Jackson—Another exceptional intersectional test for the SEC. Some have touted the Irish as one of the top teams in the nation. Most have touted the The Wizard of Oz raises Tide hopes By HOYT HARWELL Associated Press Writer TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP)— Ozzie Newsome, termed by Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant the best athlete on an Alabama football squad since Joe Nam ath left in 1964, likes company, especially when catching passes. He took in three for 93 yards in Alabama’s 34-13 opening vic tory over Mississippi at Bir mingham Saturday night and, after looking at the film, Bryant termed two of them “great and incredible.” Bryant said Newsome and Marty Lyons, a defensive tackle, were the only Crimson Tiders who graded near-per fect. It didn’t take a film to show that Newsome, “The Wizard of Oz,” had made the two near impossible catches. They were witnessed by more than 74,000 fans. One, for 28 yards, was on the sideline with an Ole Miss de- sense to stay with Dallas — but enough of what it takes to out run Washington. Philadelphia and the New York Giants, re vamped in a few key spots, have only slender chances to reach the long-sought goal of a .500 season. In the West, the Rams not only look like sure champions but may be the only team in the division to finish over .500. Los Angeles is a powerhouse with or without the ball. The San Francisco 49ers, who looked so promising and so spirited for a while a year ago, may find it tough trying to put it all together for another new coach. This time, they’ll be closer to also-ran New Orleans and Atlanta. Minnesota, which has ruled the Central Division for so long, is getting a bit crumbly around the edges and looks ripe for a tumble. The Vikings still will be tough in the clutch — but look for the Chicago Bears to get hot around midseason and make a Rebels as one of the weakest in the SEC. The Irish will be heavily favored, but watch for a strong Rebel showing. Notre Dame 14-10. Southern Mississippi at Au burn—The War Eagles survived the opener behind the kicking of Cuban refugee Jorge Portela. They simply will thrive on the Golden Eagles’ defense, having little use for Portela’s side winding talents. Auburn 28-7. Florida at Rice—Gators open their 1977 season with an easy victory, but won’t have long to celebrate. Mississippi State is next. Florida 35-7. Clemson at Georgia—The ACC team is supposed to be im proved this year, and indicated so last week in holding mighty Maryland to a seven-point deci sion. Dogs not overly impres sive against Oregon, but this is a milestone for Vince Dooley. Victory No. 100. Georgia 28-10. Kentucky at Baylor—Curd’s Cats took some severe injuries in the victory over North Caro lina. This would be tough enough at full strength. Baylor 10-3. Louisiana State at Indiana— Bayou Bengals are anxious to turn their program around. A football visit to Hoosierland is a lot easier than a basketball vis it. LSU 35-7. Boston College at Ten nessee—The first game jitters are over. Vols settle down, please their fans and hand Johnny Majors his first victory at his alma mater. Tennessee 28-3. Vanderbilt at Wake Forest— The Commodores have matured. They scared Oklahoma last year and took a nosedive. They scared Oklahoma last week, but don’t expect another collapse. Vanderbilt 17-14. Florida State at Kansas fender right on him. On the oth er, for 41 yards, Newsome out jumped two men, grabbed the ball and held it as they tried to wrestle it away. “Concentration is the key to catching those kinds,” the 6- foot-3, 210-pound senior said. “You can always concentrate better when people are around you. I’d rather have those kinds. It’s easy to drop them when they’re right in your hands and you’re all alone.” Despite that, Newsome was all alone when he caught his other pass, a 24-yarder. So what’s a defensive back to do, stay close and help News ome’s concentration or play loose and hope he drops it? “Nobody in the country can stop people like Ozzie one-on one," said Jeff Rutledge, Tide quarterback who connected on seven of eight passes for 215 yards against the Rebels. Wherever he plays, Newsome draws a crowd, which is fine for a man who doesn’t like to be lonesome. run to the top. Detroit, as usual, will be re spectable. The only thing keep ing Green Bay out of the base ment is Tampa Bay. Here’s how the NFC stand ings figure to look after 14 weeks of regular-season play: EAST DIVISION Dallas Cowboys St. Louis Cardinals Washington Redskins Philadelphia Eagles New York Giants WEST DIVISION Los Angeles Rams San Francisco 49ers New Orleans Saints Atlanta Falcons CENTRAL DlVl&ON Chicago Bears Minnesota Vikings Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Tampa Bay Buccaneers There was only one position State—Bobby Bowden has the Seminoles on the right track. Florida State 28-7. Miami, Fla., at Georgia Tech—The Hurricanes, special ists at playing the tough ones close, slowled Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyes last week, losing 10-0. Tech followed its routine, dropping the opener for the seventh straight year. Jack ets should win this battle of Southern independents. Georgia Tech 21-17. Cincinnati at Louisville—Car dinals are much better this year, but still not ready for a team like the Bearcats. Cincin nati 24-10. I USED CAR SPECIALS I I WE FINANCE OUR OWN I 1976 BUICK Electro Cpe. Loaded with extras. $400.00 down Cash or Trade 1 1974 BUICK Century Cpe. Pretty Blue Bucket Seats $300.00 down Cash or Trade 1973 CHEV r Monte Carlo j White-Blk. Top New Tires $300.00 down Cash or Trade ♦ WITH APPROVED CREDIT I 50 OTHERS TO CHOOSE FROM I I WE LIKE TO SAY "YES WE CAN" I I SIGMAN BUICK & TOYOTA OF GRIFFIN I I GRIFFIN. GA. I 1 PHONES 228-0090 — 228-2700 1301 ■ 1303 WEST TAYLOR ST. H where Dallas was weak last year, the experts said. The Cowboys needed a powerhouse, breakaway runner, they said. With him, they predicted, it would be Super Team time. Enter Tony Dorsett. The Heisman Trophy winner from national collegiate cham pion Pitt, locked in battle with Preston Pearson for a starting job, adds immeasurable ground strength to a Dallas offense al ready deadly through the air via Roger Staubach’s passing to Drew Pearson, Billy Joe DuPree and, this year, rookie Tony Hill from Stanford. And if anyone questioned the Cowboys’ defense, those fears were dispelled by their eight sack shutout job last week against Pittsburgh. St. Louis still will be known as the Cardiac Cardinals, com pliments of their Jim Hart-Ter ry Metcalf lightning offense and their porous defense. Victories like last year’s 30-28 over Los Angeles and 30-24 against Utah State at, State—Lloyd Patterson keeps throwing and the Tigers keep winning. Memphis State 27-17. Northeast Louisiana at Tul sa—The Hurricane is tough to handle at home. Tulsa 35-6. Arkansas State at North western Louisiana—The De mons return to the friendly con fines of their refurbished sta dium, but can’t match muscles with the Indians. Arkansas State 28-24. Stanford at Tulane—The West Coast team gave 12th-ranked Colorado a scare last week. Tu lane is still rebuilding. Stanford 17-10. 1975 BUICK Convertible Pretty White Like New $350.00 down Cash or Trade 1974 BUICK Regal 4 Door Has All Options Dark Blue $300.00 down Cash or Trade 1973 CHEV Vega Cpe. 4 Speed New Tires $300.00 down Cash or Trade Seattle again will be typical. Coach George Allen’s Red skins, who beat Dallas in the final regular-season game of 1976 and won the NFC wild card playoff berth, keep getting older. And this may be the year they finally stumble over the hill, what with a defense being sliced up by injuries as well as age and the offense directed by Billy Kilmer sputtering at best. The Eagles are pinning their hopes on former Los Angeles quarterback Ron Jaworski to lead them to respectability. They took a big step in that di rection simply by winning dur ing the preseason, something they failed to do a year ago. The Giants are searching for a quarterback and a steady run ning game to match a steadily improving defense. It appears what they do find won’t be enough to get them near .500. Whether young Pat Haden or old Joe Namath is calling the signals, the Rams will be fear some, considering that Law 'VMM • * £| mm m Dallas Cowboys’ Aaron Kyle is airborne as he breaks up a pass from Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw to intended receiver Frank Lewis (43). The Cowboys romped over Pittsburgh during exhibition season and are picked to be at the top of the NFC East at the end of regular season play. 1975 OLDS Regency Cpe. Burgandy Low Mileage $350.00 down < Cash or Trade j 1974 CHEV Caprice Wagon 3Seats-Brown Real Nice $300.00 down Cash or Trade 1973 DODGE Coronet Wagon AirCond. Y-8 Automatic Low Miles $300.00 down Cash or Trade rence McCutcheon and John Cappelletti on the ground and Harold Jackson and Ron Jessie on the end of the aerials are only the first line of attack. That offense doesn’t have to score much to win, not with Jack Youngblood, Fred Dryer & Co. slamming the door. Last season, Monte Clark had the 49ers hopping before a sec ond-half letdown dropped them out of title contention. Now San Francisco — with Jim Plunkett still trying to prove his worth — has to try to gear up under new Coach Ken Meyer. He was brought in by general manager Joe Thomas, the franchise builder who canned Clark. If Archie Manning really is healthy after last year’s debili tating shoulder injury, if Chuck Muncie and Tony Galbreath really bloom as running backs and if Hank Stram really can work another miracle or two, the Saints will shake up a few teams. The same probably can’t be said for Leeman Bennett, 1975 PONTIAC LeMans Cpe. Pretty Blue One Owner $350.00 down Cash or Trade I 1973 AUDI Automatic AirCond. Beige Color $300.00 down ' Cash or Trade 1972 CHEV Impala 4 Door V-8 Automatic Fact Air GoodCond. $300.00 down Cash or Trade making his head coaching debut with the Falcons, despite a maturing but injury prone Steve Bartkowski and potential running star Haskel Stanback. The Vikings are perhaps best known not as the perennial Central Division champions but as the perennial Super Bowl losers. They may not get the chance to tack on a fifth cham pionship-game loss (or maybe even a first win) this time. The defense is starting to show a few cracks. Fran Tar kenton shows no sign of slowing down just yet — but maybe this time his propensity for losing the big ones won’t wait until post-season time. Wide receiver Sammy White and all-purpose back Chuck Foreman, the latter coming off a divisive contract squabble, are still bright stars— but the supporting cast leaves some questions as to staying power. And a schedule much tougher than the emerging Bears could do them in. Chicago will be banking on 1974 BUICK Century Luxus 2 Dr. Cpe. Pretty Black $300.00 down Cash or Trade 1973 BUICK I Estate Wagon 3 Seats Real Nice $300.00 down Cash or Trade ||j| 1973 CHEV. ! Impala Cpe. Fact. Air Low Mileage Pretty Blue $300.00 down Cash or Trade Mike Phipps or Bob Avellini to! provide quarterback leadership! that has been missing for sev-j eral years. If Phipps, obtained' in a trade with Cleveland, shows! he was worth waiting for, and if! Walter Payton gains 1,000 yards again, the Midway could have its Monsters back. The Lions have made a career of hovering around the break even mark every season. Even though they’ve got proven talent on both units, they never I seem to put together more than j one or two good games in a stretch. Green Bay went big for de fense in the draft, but it will take at least a year or two to develop it. However, at least the Packers have something to develop. Tampa Bay, with the exception of potential running back stars Anthony Davis and Ricky Bell, look every bit as good as last year’s edition, when the Buccaneers were 0-14.' SPORTS ★★★★★★★★' Braves recall 8 e 6 players ATLANTA (AP) - The At-, lanta Braves have recalled six 6 players, including catcher Dale ‘ Murphy, from their Richmond r farm team in the International League. A club spokesman said the 1 National League club recalled 6 Murphy, infielder Rob Belloir' and pitcher Joey McLaughlin ? Saturday. In addition, Atlanta 1 bought the contracts of pitchers Larry Bradford and Mickey Mahler and outfielder Larry Whisenton. Pitcher Frank LaCorte also was recalled but the right-hand er will not report to the club due to an arm injury.
