European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 2, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 32 the stars and stripes sports thursday december 2,1993 in All nil races wide open teams in by Barry Wilner a football writer so you want a dominant team. Look to the Aba or baseball. In the nil As new York jets quarterback Boomer Esiason says a parity is Here like it or  i Don t think there s a team that strikes fear in anybody right now a Esia son said. A it s wide  Here How wide open Only three acc teams a Cincinnati new England and Indianapolis a Are out of playoff Contention. In the. Pfc it s Phoenix Washington the los Angeles rams and 1 r Tampa Bay. That leaves 21 teams with a shot at analysis postseason play. With no Clear favorite a although san for grab that role. Final month will be a major Factor in de although san Francisco appears ready to Rab that role a the schedule for the Ter mining who advances in january. In fact the schedule already has been a significant contributor to the standings. Its All in the  example the 49ers had the Nii for tune of playing the Browns in week 2, when Cleveland was healthy and in the midst of a hot Start. The liners also faced new Orleans two weeks later when the saints were healthy and in the midst of an even hotter Start. Since an oct. 17 loss at Dallas the 49ers 83 have been unstoppable out scoring opponents 190-69 in five games. Of course those opponents were the cardinals bucs and rams twice All 38, and the saints who now Are slumping. A a lot of teams had started to count us out a Jerry Rice said. A they Felt like of the 49ers, they re getting old. They be been dominant a Long time. Now it s time for another team to Rise to the occasion a i feel like we have to go out and make a statement that hey we re still Here. We re still competitors and we re going to hold onto that for a Long Long  a the pfc s other 8-3 team the new York giants has played Only four teams who currently have winning records. They lost to three of them and beat the other Chicago in the opener. The giants also had the fortunate timing to play Philadelphia after the eagles had lost Randall Cunningham Fred Barnett Byron Evans and several other key players. Philadelphia beat Green Bay and the jets when it was healthy but lost twice to the giants and once each to the bears cowboys cardinals and dolphins during a six game slide. A we re not getting very much respect a giants receiver Mark Jackson said. A but what in be realized Over the eight years i be been playing is just win a what our goal is at the beginning of the season is just to get to the playoffs and you need wins to get   if the giants win at Miami sunday  get All the respect they can handle. Joe Montana s timing  be better for Kansas City a if he can stay in the lineup for the stretch drive and the playoffs. With Montana at quarterback Kansas City 8-3 rates As an acc favorite. Montana already has missed 26 quarters with various injuries. He returned sunday and the chiefs easily beat the Buffalo Bills. Chiefs players prefer not to talk about the offence functioning better with Montana in charge. Y a perhaps subconsciously some of us play harder a Marcus Allen said. A a that a no Knock against Dave Krieg. Its just that Joe knows the offence much  another revitalized acc team is Houston which started 1-4 and was split by units the defense bickering with the offence and critics calling for coach Jack Pardeep a dismissal. With the exception of a stunning Home loss to the rams a hey Dallas lost to Atlanta and Pittsburgh Alsto lost to the rams a the oilers were beaten by the saints and Bills and lost a one Point game at san Diego. The schedule offered Relief in the form of a stretch against the patriots bengals and sea Hawks. Then the oilers went to Cleveland where the Browns were in turmoil after Bemie Kosar s release. And suddenly they were atop the acc Central after a Home Victory Over Pittsburgh sunday. A people tried to discredit our winning Streak saying it was against bad teams a Warren Moon said. A but this game against the Steeles gives us a Little More respect. The people can see that we re a True contender  by Dave Goldberg a football writer de West 32 years old and a 10-year nil Veteran looked like the Guy who put the word a a grizzled in the phrase a grizzled veteran.1 he had just played an entire game at tight end for the Green Bay packers and he still was panting. A Over 60 plays a he moaned. A i Hadnot done that for a Long time. Indeed no tight end in the nil really plays tight end the Way the position is defined. Because there Are no real fight ends left in the nil now. Where Are they a a a they re outside linebackers a Dick Steinberg now the new York jets general manager said a few years ago. A that a where everyone puts their Best athletes  a a they re in the Aba a said Raymond Berry the former patriots coach thinking obviously of Charles Barkley in a football uniform although perhaps an even belter prototype might be Antho West by Mason the 6-foot-7,250-Pound new York Knick. But in the nil if you want to see the True tight end took at the highlight film nil films trots out now and again of Mark Bavaro of the giants carrying five 49ers on his Back for 25 Yards Ora monday in 1986. Just for the records Bavaro is still with us courageously subjecting his battered Knees to the artificial turf in Philadelphia. His hands have been Good enough to catch 28 passes from the likes of Bubby Brister and Ken of Brien this year but his Knees done to have the blocking Power they had nor the Power to carry anyone on Nis Back. Commentary in other words he a a much slower Jay Novack. Back to de West. A starter for the packers from 1987 through 1991, he a just a Little Short at 6-foot-l to be a prototype tight end. But he was serviceable and when Jackie Harris was injured two weeks ago he was forced into the starting lineup and on nov. 21 helped provide Green Bay something it Hadnot had since 1978 a running game. Part of the reason the packers gained 153 Yards on the ground that Day their second Best total of the season was that West was Able to Seal off the inside better than Harris who s a better pass Catcher but. Not the auxiliary offensive lineman a tight end is supposed to be. That a the problem with tight ends these Days a there Are four types. 1, the pass catching Type a Keith Jackson of the dolphins Harris Novacek Brent Jones of the 49ers Johnny Mitchell of the jets Steve Jordan of the Vikings Rodney Holman of the Lions and Ethan Horton of the raiders. 2, the surrogate offensive lineman a Howard Cross of the giants Ron Middleton of the redskins Walter Beeves of the cardinals Jonathan Hayes of the chiefs and when he plays de West. The prototype Here was Washington s Don Warren the honorary hog who started for the redskins in four super bowls and caught 245 passes in 14 seasons. A contrast Harris has eagles Mark Bavaro was a True tight end As a giant nearly half that total 110, in four years. 3, Eric Green the 285-Pound steel Erst tight end who a a Little of both but has never quite become the tight end of the �?T90s, in part because of drug problems in part because of nagging injuries. 4, Butch Rolle. Butch Rol Between 1987 and 1991, Butch Rolle caught 11 passes for the Buffalo Bills. They were Good for 26 Yards and 10 touchdowns a a i  so somewhere i can play More a Rolle said during the 1992 playoffs. He promptly took himself to Phoenix where he does no to play much More. But in a year and a half he has caught 20 passes for 119 Yards. Of course he Hasni to scored. A Tjeng As note above there Are no prototype tight ends anymore r r Parcells says he s not thinking of no. 1 Foxboro mass. A the new England patriots have slipped into a tie with the Cincinnati bengals for the a Fly a worst record at 1-10, and the teams meet Pec. 12 in what could be a Battle for the top draft Choice. But patriots coach Bill Parcells is not yet thinking about the possibility of a second straight no. 1 draft pick. A it s too Early for that a said Parcells adding that his top priority after the season will be to evaluate nil free agents. Parcells has seen several top College players on television this season and has decided on some he will avoid. A i m aware of where some of them Are Quot he said. A a in be eliminated some Guys who have gotten some  but a careful examination of possible draft picks will not come until january at the earliest he said. When san Diego states Marshall Faulk was mentioned monday As a possible patriots pick Parcells said he did not yet have enough information to comment on the running  a Quick and elusive runner could complement Power runner Leonard Russell in the new England Backfield. A the Pool of players available to you at that position is far greater than the Pool of players at some other positions Quot Parcells said. You Don t want to be taking yet player with the first or second pick of the draft who a a change up runner you it want to take a feature  the patriots have had the top pick ii the draft four times. In 1971, they selected quarterback Jim Plunkett. De Tensive end Kenneth Sims was the firs pick in the 1982 draft and wide receive Irving iyar was the top Choice in 1984, Drew Bledsoe was selected no. L ii this years draft by the patriots