National Football League

A RUNNING TEAM WILL WIN IN THE EAST

In a conference dominated by the ground game, Cleveland, Philadelphia and New York, deep in strong, elusive backs, have the top teams of the other four, the most likely contender to succeed is Pittsburgh. The Steelers have a powerful refurbished defense and, of course, the indefatigable Bobby Layne at quarterback

DALLAS COWBOYS
Tom Landry, the capable young coach of the Dallas Cowboys, has the principal ingredients of pro football success—quarterbacks. Unfortunately, he lacks too much of the rest of the recipe. In their second year of competition, the Cowboys will be better but still a long way from good. The strongest point in the Dallas attack is its passing game. Here Don Meredith and the experienced Eddie LeBaron provide the Dallas team with truly excellent arms. Meredith, in fact, is regarded by such experts as Norman Van Brocklin as good enough to become one of pro football's best quarterbacks, and in preseason exhibition games he has looked the part. The small LeBaron offers maturity and quality at quarterback, and the Cowboy targets—Bill Howton, Jim Doran and a surprisingly improved Frank Clarke—are of professional caliber. The Dallas running attack, at the moment, lacks any breakaway threat. While L. G. Dupre at halfback looks better than he has for three years, he is primarily a short-yardage ball carrier. Second-year back Don Perkins has speed and should help out. The fullback post may be a little stronger with the recent acquisition of Merrill Douglas from the Chicago Bears and rookie Amos Marsh, but it must still be counted a weak spot. Landry has done well with the Dallas defense, but here again it takes time to gather the talent needed for a first-flight combination. A liberal sprinkling of rookies (defensive end, linebacker and in the secondary) insures too-frequent mental lapses, and mental lapses cost touchdowns in the NFL, especially on defense.

CLEVELAND BROWNS
Last season PAUL BROWN completed a major overhaul of the most successful football team in pro history. Eleven players were in their first or second year with the Browns; all of them are back now, united in one of the typically cohesive units that make up the Brown offense and defense. Milt Plum, the most accurate passer in the league judging by statistics, is reaching a pro quarterback's majority; this is his fifth season and it takes about that long for a signal-caller to reach championship quality. Plum may be hampered a bit by an offensive line that leaks linebackers or ends on occasion, but he handled the same problem last year with reasonable dexterity and should do so again. The improvement of Len Dawson, Cleveland's second quarterback, makes the Browns stronger than ever in passing offense. The receivers—Ray Renfro, Gern Nagler, Leon Clarke and Rich Kreitling—are superb, yet rookie Bobby Crespino is bound to squeeze out one of these old hands. To carry the ball Cleveland has the most versatile and most powerful pair of running backs in football—Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell. Brown, who has led the league in rushing every year since he came up, is just reaching his peak at 25 and now that the quarterbacks are throwing to him more often, he is a fearsome sight for a defensive back to behold. Mitchell has some of the best moves in the business, plus speed. The Cleveland defense boasts as good a set of linebackers as you'll find; the secondary defense, in its second year together, is certain to be improved.

NEW YORK GIANTS
Allie Sherman, the new head coach of the New York Giants, is a bright and ingenious innovator with a real knack for offensive football. In putting together his first Giant team, he also proved he is something of a sensation as a trader. The retirement of Frank Gifford at the end of last season and the trade of Mel Triplett to the Vikings stripped the Giants of two of their finest offensive weapons. Sherman not only repaired the damage by making what must be regarded as the best trades in recent years; he strengthened the Giants, who now have their greatest offensive potential since Gifford and Kyle Rote were rookies. The Giant attack is powered by two very good quarterbacks in Charlie Conerly, who goes on forever, and Y. A. Tittle, obtained from San Francisco. More than that, Conerly and Tittle will be throwing to the best set of Giant receivers in the memory of man—Del Shofner (from the Rams), Joe Walton (from the Redskins) and Rote. They also will have the advantage of handing off to an improved set of running backs—Bob Gaiters (first draft choice), Joe Morrison and Alex Webster. Sherman has experimented with special defenses, but after a bad opening game against the Cardinals may return to the old ways—a temptation that is enhanced by the presence of Erich Barnes in the secondary. Sam Huff, Tom Scott and Cliff Livingston are still the linebackers, and the front line is Jim Katcavage, Andy Robustelli, Rosey Grier and Dick Modzelewski, which is line enough for anybody.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
When Norman Van Brocklin retired at the end of the 1960 season, most football people predicted that the Eagles, world champions in 1960, would fall back to fourth or fifth place this year. But the running game of the title team was gimpy. It is well now. New Coach NICK SKORICH'S defense is a year wiser and, oddly, the Eagles may be stronger at quarterback. Sonny Jurgensen, Van Brocklin's replacement, has shown conclusively that he responds admirably to pressure. Jurgensen runs the team with the same sure confidence that marked Van Brocklin and he throws nearly as well as the master. And if anything happens to Jurgensen, the Eagles have King Hill, picked up in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. Hill, who had seven abscessed teeth removed at training camp, learned to pass while running to his left. As of now, he is a more than capable replacement for Jurgensen. But the key to the Eagle attack is the superb running of players like Ted Dean, Billy Barnes, Tim Brown, Clarence Peaks and Theron Sapp. With the possible exception of Green Bay and Cleveland, no other team can boast such powerful running as these five will provide. There is also, of course, that elusive back Tommy McDonald, the most dangerous long-pass catcher in the business. To go with this offensive power, the Eagles have a defense predicated upon the linebacking of Chuck Bednarik and a quartet of aged-in-action backs, led by Don (The Blade) Burroughs and Tommy Brookshier. They have been around the league a long time—and they are the best.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Had it not been for two preseason injuries, the Cardinals would have been among the favorites for the Eastern championship. But John David Crow, their incomparable halfback, broke his ankle and will miss the first six or seven league games. Sam Etcheverry, the transplanted Canadian who was to lead the team out of the passing doldrums, in early practice developed a passing shoulder so sore he could not comb his hair. Etcheverry, fortunately, was ready for the opening of league play, but he missed a month of work in training camp and it was work he needed (though not too badly) to accustom himself again to the American style of play after nine years in Canada. Unhappily for the Cardinals, their first five games are against the best teams in the East—the Eagles, Giants and Browns. Now that Etcheverry has come around, Coach POP IVY will send a strong pass offense against these clubs. Sonny Randle should be among the better ends in the league and Billy Stacy and Bobby Joe Conrad are good flanker backs. But the loss of Crow will be felt here, too, for Crow was not only one of the top two or three runners in pro football, he rated almost as high as a pass receiver. The loss of big Ken Panfil at offensive tackle means that the pass-protection blocking may break down, especially with a rookie slated for play at offensive guard. The Cardinals' defense against rushing plays was the best in the league in 1960, and should be almost as good this year. The pass defense, only fair before, is still questionable. As passing insurance, the Cardinals acquired Ralph Guglielmi from the Redskins just before league play started.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The Pittsburgh Steelers have what may be the best defense against running in the league. Add to that an offense directed by old, bold and barefaced Bobby Layne and you come up with what may also be the surprise team in the Eastern Division. The addition of Big Daddy Lipscomb (from the Colts) and Lou Michaels (from the Rams) to Coach BUDDY PARKER'S defensive line probably gives the Steelers the best four front men in football. It is so strong, in fact, that Ernie Stautner, the onetime all-pro tackle, is a reserve, as is another fine veteran, George Tarasovic. The Steelers have one superb linebacker in John Reger and two potentially fine ones in Myron Pottios and Mike Henry. Their secondary defense, weak on the wings in 1960 due to poor tackling and indecisive pass defense, looks much better this season with the addition of Jack Simpson and Bill Butler. The safety positions are in the hands of two quick, certain defenders—Bill Daniels and Dean Derby. On the attack, Layne, who throws a wobbly, unlovely but generally completed pass, is one of the two most resourceful quarterbacks in football. His receivers (Buddy Dial, Preston Carpenter and Red Mack) are only a notch, if at all, below the league's best, and his runners (John Henry Johnson and Tom Tracy) are powerful and fleet. Johnson played only six games last year but gained 621 yards. His return to good health should rest the hard-working Tracy and improve his effectiveness. Guard Charlie Bradshaw and End Steve Meilinger may strengthen the offensive line.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS
For at least one more year, the Washington Redskins will have the palest huddle and the darkest future in the National Football League. With a new coach (BILL McPEAK), a new stadium and almost a new team, the Redskins still have a long way to go before they move out of their accustomed habitat—the cellar. There are signs that they may be growing stronger; their No. 1 draft choice, Norman Snead of Wake Forest, was generally conceded among pros to be the best prospect in the college ranks last season. It will take him time to attain eminence as a pro, if he ever does, but after a few games he should give the Redskins more competent quarterbacking than they have had during recent years. Ralph Guglielmi, who performed well in spots for the Redskins last year, was traded to the Cardinals for George Izo, who is expected to back up Snead. But neither Snead nor Izo will have an opportunity to demonstrate his fitness unless the Redskins come up with a few more competent offensive linemen. Defensively, McPeak can depend on a rugged line, built around Tackle Bob Toneff. However, the Redskin linebackers were something less than sensational last season and there is no reason to believe that they will be improved. At times during 1960, the defensive secondary performed nobly, considering the problems it faced. If the linebackers advance at all, the backs, with some of the pressure off them, will look appreciably better.

IN THE WEST, IT'S GREEN BAY—MAYBE