Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!looking!clarinews From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MIKE RABUN, UPI Sports Writer) Newsgroups: clari.sports.football Subject: Pro Files Keywords: football, men's professional Message-ID: Date: 15 Jan 90 18:39:27 GMT Lines: 76 Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com ACategory: sports Slugword: fbn-files Priority: regular Format: regular ANPA: Wc: 823; Id: s1595; Sel: ns--s; Adate: 1-15-135pes Codes: ysfprxx. We have now begun the longest two weeks in all of sport. Pass the headache remedy, extra strength. ``Hello, operator. Is it possible to leave a wake up call, please? Good. Let's say 4 p.m., local time on Sunday, Jan. 28. ``You're right, operator. It will be very hard to snooze until then. But, you never know unless you try.'' The National Football League, in all its wisdom, decrees that 14 days must pass between the time the Super Bowl teams are selected and the time those two teams meet. Lots of things to do, the NFL says. Arrangements to make, vehicles to rent, parties to cater. These things take time. After all, the league has only had about four years to plan for another New Orleans Super Bowl. Oh, well, on the assumption a two-week nap is out of the question, perhaps we can pass the time by putting our heads together in an attempt to come up with some logical reasons why the Denver Broncos are going to be the ones left standing at the close of business. And it's going to take every bit of two weeks to find one. What category do you choose? Running backs? Denver got wonderful mileage this year from rookie Bobby Humphrey and he was an integral part of the Broncos' game plan in the AFC title game. Humphrey, however, exited early with two broken ribs. And even if he should recover to the point he can play in the Super Bowl, there is little reason to believe that anyone in the NFL -- at least for one, big game -- would exchange Humphrey for San Francisco's Roger Craig. Wide receivers? Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson and Michael Young are clearly dangerous. They all made big catches for the Broncos in their 37-21 win over the Browns. But, seriously now, would you rather have them or the combination of Jerry Rice-John Taylor? Defense? The Broncos are better than they were. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips put plenty of spunk into the Broncos unit that gave up a combined 81 points in two straight Super Bowls. Denver gave up fewer points than any team in the NFL during the regular season. But San Francisco's defense -- the 49ers forgotten side of the ball -- has allowed 16 points in two playoff games. Experience? Not even close. For the 49ers, big games come about with the regularity of trips to the gas station. Almost half of the current Denver team did not take part in the Broncos' last Super Bowl trip -- even though that was just two years ago. And at quarterback? At that position, the Broncos have a fiercely competitive, super athlete who can do amazing things when he gets rolling. Just because John Elway is being chased by two large men and is about to step out of bounds on the dead run does not mean he can't heave a sidearm throw 40 yards downfield for a touchdown to someone who has only a half step on the cornerback. But even in this area, where the Broncos have one of the most gifted players ever to play the position, Denver comes out second best. John Elway vs. Joe Montana. A great matchup. It will be the subject of poetry during the next few weeks. Minstrals will compose ballads. Once they reach New Orleans, their every step will be chronicled and when they conduct formal news conferences it may be standing room only. And when it comes time to play, how can you choose anyone other than Montana? And how can you choose any team other than the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV? It is a popular enterprise in sport to compare things. Coaches are always asked to compare this player and that player and this team and that team. So if you want to compare the 49ers with something, the suggestion here is that you compare them with the Soviet Union's national hockey team. A personal observation is that the Soviet hockey team always looks like six robots on ice. Every man seems to be in the exact perfect position at every moment of the game. If the puck goes here, each player reacts one way. If it goes there, they react another way. And if the opposition makes one bobble along the way, it is an almost automatic goal. That's the way it is with the 49ers -- or at least this version of them. Their offense is robotic. If the defense does this, the 49ers do that. And vice versa. Each time the 49ers have the ball and do not score, it is an upset. The Broncos will be game. They will put up a spirited fight. And there is no law that says Denver will certainly lose. Common sense, however, says they will.