TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/120390/1203260.000

Text File | 1992-08-28 | 5.7 KB | 124 lines

                                                                                SPORT, Page 102

The (Surprise!) Game of the Year


The 49ers and the Giants are the N.F.L. matchup to watch

By LEE GRIGGS/SAN FRANCISCO


    Memo to football fans: forget Super Bowl XXV in Tampa next
Jan. 27. The real National Football League game of the year will
be in San Francisco's Candlestick Park on Dec. 3, when the
defending Super Bowl-champion 49ers collide with the New York
Giants. When they met a year ago, the 49ers won 34-24;
expectations about the battle to come have been climbing
alongside the win-loss statistics of both teams, which have
achieved historic heights.

    After 10 games, the bicoastal rivals were the first two
N.F.L. teams in more than 50 years to have 10-0 records in the
same season, the last pair having been the Detroit Lions and the
Chicago Bears in 1934. The long spell between those streaks is
a measure of how evenly matched the N.F.L. has become in the
modern era of complex draft picks, free agentry and expansion.
But this year the Giants under coach Bill Parcells and the 49ers
under George Seifert sprinted away early from their closest
pursuers. By early November both had virtually clinched their
divisional championships. New York led the National Football
Conference East Division by three games, while the 49ers led the
N.F.C. West by five.

    At stake on Dec. 3 is the home-field advantage for a
possible rematch in the Jan. 20 N.F.C. championship. A Giants
victory would force the 49ers to play that game -- assuming
contenders like the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins do
not stage an upset -- in the sometimes frigid, windy confines
of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The winner goes on
to the Super Bowl and will be favored to beat the best the rival
American Football Conference can muster. Among the most likely
A.F.C. candidates are the Miami Dolphins, the Buffalo Bills and
the Los Angeles Raiders.

    The 49ers head into Candlestick with their eyes on
Threepeat, the name Niners fans have given to the team's goal:
an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl victory in January.
That victory would give them a record five Super Bowl wins in as
many tries and confirm the 49ers under quarterback Joe Montana
as perhaps the greatest football team of all time. But this year
the Niners are scrambling their way to the top. In half of their
games they have had to come from behind to win. The good news,
says inside linebacker Matt Millen, is that "this team never
panics. We know that if we play up to our potential, we'll find
a way to beat you."

    Mostly that solution boils down to Montana, 34, who leads
the N.F.C. in passing yards. He may be the best quarterback ever
to play the game. In 12 years he has led the 49ers to comeback
wins in the fourth quarter an amazing 25 times. Montana is the
acknowledged master of the two-minute drill to race the clock
to the end zone. In the Nov. 4 game against the Green Bay
Packers, with only 38 sec. remaining in the first half and his
team down 10-0, Montana took the 49ers 59 yds. in 27 sec. to
jump-start a 24-20 victory.

    With their ground offense faltering, the Niners are leaning
more than ever on their quarterback, who tossed 22 touchdown
passes in his first 10 games this season. "The key to our
offense," says Montana modestly, "is getting the ball off
quickly to our backs and wide receivers. We have to take what
they give us and look for an opening."

    The 49ers don't figure to get many openings from the
Giants, a hard-nosed, grind-it-out team that makes few mistakes.
While the 49ers stress improvisation and finesse, the Giants
play tough, physical football that builds on a rock-ribbed
defense. "So we're methodical," says All-Pro outside linebacker
Lawrence Taylor. "Who cares as long as we win?"

    The Giants also pack a big offensive punch. Veteran
quarterback Phil Simms, 35, is having the best year of his
11-year career, leading all quarterbacks, Montana included, in
pass efficiency (a calculation based on completions, yards
gained and numbers of touchdowns and interceptions). Simms
presides over a varied offense that sets up his passing game
with ball control on the ground. Defenders face bruising
off-tackle smashes by 12-year veteran running back Ottis
Anderson (who seeks to become the first N.F.L. player to gain
1,000 yds. in each of three decades) and sweeps and quick
openers by jackrabbit Dave Meggett, who can also turn short
passes into scampering long gainers. This year Simms has taken
fewer chances throwing into defensive coverage; at one point, he
had fired 150 passes without an interception.

    Can the Giants juggernaut crush quicksilver Montana? He is
still the best there is at escaping the pass rush until he can
spot and hit a teammate downfield. Often his target is All-Pro
wide receiver Jerry Rice, who led the league in mid-November in
touchdown catches (11 in 10 games). The Giants can counter with
the league's stingiest pass defense. Its members include
blitzing linebackers Taylor and Pepper Johnson, along with
cornerback Everson Walls from Dallas and safety Dave Duerson
from Chicago, both acquired this season to put extra heat on
receivers. Says Taylor: "We don't just beat you on the
scoreboard. We beat you physically."

    And maybe in the pocketbook. Betting action on Monday
night's game has been heavy, with the 49ers favored by four
points at Harrah's Reno SportsBook in Nevada. But, says a
SportsBook official, "that's just the San Francisco home-field
advantage talking. In a neutral stadium this would be a pick-'em
game." Just about perfect for the game of the year.