Super Bowl Moves West to Honolulu : East and West Squads in Pro Bowl Loaded with 49ers and Dolphins

The National Football League, which reached its emotional peak last week when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX, concludes its six-month season today when NFC and AFC squads loaded with members of those teams meet in the Pro Bowl.

But the annual all-star game, to be televised nationally by ABC starting at 1 p.m. PST, figures as usual to be more a polite showcase for the NFL’s most talented athletes than high-powered football at its best, an exhibition between two groups of athletes who have spent more time this week socializing than practicing to destroy each other.

Many of the 82 players have their wives and children here, and most have spent at least half of each day touring together, participating in golf tournaments or attending receptions.

“I think the exciting thing is that it’s a game in the spirit of fun,” said Brian Holloway of the New England Patriots, who will start at right tackle for the AFC squad coached by Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll. “You get to meet players from other teams just like yourselves and meet them in a family atmosphere.”

There is one new development for this year’s Pro Bowl, which features 10 players from the 49ers and seven from the Dolphins, including quarterbacks Joe Montana and Dan Marino. That’s a switch from the 4-3 defense to the 3-4 that most of the NFL’s teams now use.

The rules also require that an outside linebacker must blitz on each play, which means that some of the NFL’s most devastating athletes will be aiming at Montana and Marino.

They include the league’s linebacker prototype, Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants, and such up-and-comers as Rickey Jackson of the New Orleans Saints, Andre Tippett of the New England Patriots and Mike Merriweather of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Among them, they had 57 sacks this season.

The 3-4 rule also makes alternating nose tackles of two of the NFC’s best defensive linemen, Chicago’s Dan Hampton and Dallas’ Randy White, both of whom normally are defensive tackles in a 4-3. Hampton, the starter, has been particularly annoyed by at nose tackle and has tried to switch positions with New Orleans’ defensive end, Bruce Clark.

“I’m basically a defensive end,” said Hampton, whose coach for the NFC all-stars is the Bears’ Mike Ditka.”It’s kind of a shame to be put in a position like this, where they can slant down on you. I’ve been through three knee operations.”

The main stars of today’s show, of course, will be Montana and Marino, replaying in a more sedate way their Super Bowl battle won by Montana.

Marino, the AFC starter who set season marks for touchdown passes with 48 and yardage with 5,084, will be throwing to his Miami teammates, the Marks Brothers, Duper and Clayton, along with Pittsburgh’s John Stallworth and Seattle’s Steve Largent. They may be going at times against the entire San Francisco secondary -- cornerbacks Ronnie Lott and Eric Wright and safeties Dwight Hicks and Carlton Williamson.

But the AFC’s running game may be hindered by the loss of the New York Jets’ Freeman McNeil, who was ruled out of the game by doctors because of ribs bruised during the regular season. Marcus Allen of the Los Angeles Raiders will be one back with Denver’s Sammy Winder moving into the starting lineup in place of McNeil.

San Francisco’s Montana, the MVP in the Super Bowl, will be at quarterback for the NFC, in a backfield with two record-breakers--all-time leading rusher Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears and Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams, who set a new single-season rushing mark with 2,105 yards.

Dave Krieg of Seattle is Marino’s backup; Neil Lomax of the St. Louis Cardinals is the NFC’s reserve quarterback.