It’s Central, From Black and Blue to Lively Play

Who remembers when the NFC Central was pro football’s black-and-blue division? But nothing is forever. The Central is now the NFC’s liveliest division with four exceptional passers, many gifted runners, and three teams with 8-3 records.

In all, four former black-and-blue, grind-it-out Central dullards can now play clever offensive football.

Green Bay (8-3) and Minnesota (8-3) are led by quarterbacks who attack effectively in the West Coast offense, Brett Favre and Brad Johnson. The other 8-3 team, Tampa Bay, which lines up improving Trent Dilfer at quarterback, is more conventional offensively while carrying a big-play capability. And Detroit (5-6) is an NFL leader in big-play personnel.

Even though the Lions today seem far behind the others, no NFL rival has a more threatening pass-run balance than theirs with quarterback Scott Mitchell, receivers Johnnie Morton and Herman Moore, and running back Barry Sanders.

That combination routed Minnesota last week, 38-15, in a rare national TV appearance. The networks don’t believe in the Lions. But I have never seen Mitchell when he didn’t appear to be all the quarterback any team needs. It’s possible that in his time at Detroit, he has simply been held back by conventional coaching, first from Wayne Fontes, now Bobby Ross.

There was a change, however, last week.

“We were too conservative earlier [this season],” Mitchell said. “[Against the Vikings], we did a good job of taking what they gave us.”

Thus, when the Viking defense met the Sanders threat with an eight-man line, Mitchell completed 21 of 29 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. When the Vikings strengthened their pass defense, Sanders and Tommy Vardell ran 24 times for 153 yards and three touchdowns.

That’s the way San Francisco, Dallas and Green Bay have done it in winning the last five Super Bowls. Could Detroit be next?

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Lethal weapon: In the years since the draw replaced the off-tackle smash and Green Bay sweep as football’s best running play, there have been runners to compare with the Detroit veteran, Sanders, on the draw.

At 5-feet-8 and 203 pounds, Sanders isn’t right for power runs, or even end runs. He was made for the open field, the territory just beyond the line of scrimmage, where, as the case demands, he can dart where there’s an opening. And it’s the draw that is most likely to put him there.

There are several kinds of draw plays, which are all fake passes designed to beat the pass rush when defenses expect a throw.

And they were made for Sanders. He is most devastating when playing in a pass offense that can worry the other side a little.

Last week, the Lions showed three things that worried the Minnesota pass defense a lot: a genuine, modern pass offense, a good passer, and Sanders.

Seldom hit squarely, Sanders will hold all the records before he’s through, Jim Brown’s, Walter Payton’s, everyone’s. He would have most of them now if he could have spent his NFL years in a pass offense.

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The ability to pass the ball with accuracy led to all those remarkable NFL games last week. In Indianapolis, the focus was, as usual, on the man who kicked for the winning points, Cary Blanchard. But the man who won it, 41-38, was an Indianapolis quarterback, Paul Justin, who blasted Green Bay defenses for 340 passing yards and sustained the decisive comeback drive for 72 yards.

Repeatedly, in a season of close pro games, the easy part has been the last kick. The hard part is throwing and catching amid swarms of angry opponents. Almost every field goal try looks the same. Almost every successful run or pass is an adventure. This time, Justin triumphed.

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Top 10? A man with a fax machine agrees that five of the NFL’s top 10 coaches are Mike Shanahan of Denver (9-2), Tom Coughlin of Jacksonville (8-3), Bill Cowher of Pittsburgh (8-3), Jimmy Johnson of Miami (7-4) and Bill Parcells of the New York Jets (7-4).

Then he notes: “The NFC wins all the Super Bowls. They must have some coaches over there.”

Yeah, a few. But Steve Mariucci of San Francisco (10-1) hasn’t done it long enough to qualify.

The NFC Central has three candidates--Mike Holmgren of Green Bay, Dennis Green of Minnesota and Tony Dungy of Tampa Bay (all 8-3)--but even Holmgren has had a rough year.

This season, the champion will be not necessarily the best coach but the one who survives. In history’s first wide-open Super Bowl race, think of five teams as co-favorites: Green Bay, San Francisco, Denver and the Jacksonville- Pittsburgh winner.

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Power runner: Jerry Jones of Dallas is possibly the most powerful NFL owner. Among those who know that are the game officials who saw Jones running out onto the field last Sunday to shout at them.

All the logic is on the side of the Washington coach who protested, Norv Turner. If Jones doesn’t know his place, the NFL should explain it to him, verbally, monetarily, or both.