SUPER BOWL XXI : DENVER vs. NEW YORK : NOTEBOOK : Parcells Eschews Spelling Test, by Gum

New York Giant Coach Bill Parcells, in his first press conference since arriving in Southern California for the Super Bowl, made quite an impression Monday evening at the team’s hotel in Costa Mesa.

“I’ve never seen anyone chew gum that hard,” said Dallas columnist Blackie Sherrod. “If I chewed gum like that, I’d bite myself about 20 times.”

Parcells had no trouble chewing gum and speaking at the same time.

“I’ve never seen a plethora of media like this,” he said.

“Can you spell plethora?” someone wanted to know.

“I don’t even know what it means,” Parcells said. “I just heard someone say it. I think it means a whole bunch.”

About linebacker Carl Banks, who has proven his ability in his third season as a pro, Parcells said: “We sent him to Joplin (Mo.), like they did Mickey Mantle, then brought him back up.”

About tight end Mark Bavaro’s reluctance to talk to reporters: “Mark and I had a half-hour chat on the bus ride over here. He talks--to people he likes.”

About Denver quarterback John Elway: “He’s got a quick release and a powerful arm. He’s not as quick as Joe Montana because they (the Broncos) throw down the field more. He probably does things Dan (Reeves) doesn’t like, but he gets the job done.”

About the possibility of the Giants being overconfident: “Our offense didn’t score a touchdown on them when we played (Nov. 23), and we beat them by only three points (19-16) by kicking a field goal with six seconds left. If you think the New York Giants are going to be overconfident, you’re crazy.”

But what about the Giants’ 49-3 playoff victory over San Francisco?

“That was just one of those games where everything went wrong for them and everything went right for us,” Parcells said.

Add Parcells: Parcells and Denver’s Reeves are good friends who chat on the phone about once a week. Last spring, they agreed to have their staffs meet in Denver to discuss and share scouting reports of opponents from the NFC East and the AFC West.

On the Giants’ schedule were San Diego and the Raiders, and on the Broncos schedule were Philadelphia and Washington. Those teams were not too keen on this chummy arrangement.

But Parcells explained the reasoning behind the move.

“We hadn’t played an AFC West team in three years,” he said, “and they hadn’t played an NFC East opponent in three years. There were new players in both divisions.

“So Dan and I talked about the possibility of getting our staffs together. We agreed to not to talk about each other. . . . I was particularly concerned about playing the Chargers and the Raiders in the second and third games.”

Heavy snows in Denver briefly delayed the Broncos’ departure Monday, but the weather did not keep thousands of fans away from the airport to wish their team well.

The Broncos arrived at Long Beach Airport at 3:10 p.m., and went straight to their hotel in Newport Beach.

They will work for the first time today. Also, a midnight curfew goes into effect today.

Linebacker Tom Jackson, in his 14th season with the Broncos, said he already likes this Super Bowl better than the one in January, 1978, when the Broncos lost to Dallas.

“There were roaches at our hotel in New Orleans, all over the place,” he said. “It was a real distraction.”

Asked to name the hotel, he did, then said: “Naw, you’d better not mention the name of the hotel.”

Add Jackson: About the Giant trio of Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor and Banks, he said: “They represent the epitome in linebacking.”

Former USC defensive back Dennis Smith, in his sixth season with the Broncos, has had an up-and-down year as the starting strong safety.

Asked his most vivid memory of the 19-16 regular-season loss to the Giants, he said: “Phil McConkey catching a long pass over me to set up the winning field goal.”

Smith also got beaten by Cleveland’s Brian Brennan in the AFC title game. Brennan caught a Bernie Kosar pass and scored on a 48-yard play with 4:43 left, giving the Browns a 20-13 lead.

“Kosar threw a prayer and it got answered,” Smith said. “There was nothing great about that play.”

Added Smith: “I’m taking the attitude this week that I’m going to have my best game. You’ll see, we’re going to win.”

Add Smith: Smith was a star at Santa Monica High School. He said his old high school and college buddies have been calling his mother in Santa Monica.

“I know what they want,” he said, smiling. “They want tickets. I just don’t call them back.”

Reeves, at his press conference Monday evening, said the Giants are better than they were when they beat the Broncos. “But we’re better now, too,” he said.

“We’ve played more games, we’ve won two playoff games. We have Steve Sewell, who did not play against the Giants, and we have a better punter now than we did then.”

The punter is Mark Horan, formerly of Cal State Long Beach. Horan was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in training camp.

According to an Associated Press report, Reeves can thank Parcells for Horan.

During one of their phone conversations in midseason, Reeves was telling Parcells about his punting problems. The Broncos had already been through two punters.

Parcells suggested taking a look at Horan.

So when Reeves brought in a group of punters, Horan was one of them. He was signed the next day. He averaged 41.1 yards on 21 kicks through the rest of the regular season. That’s almost two yards better than either of his predecessors, Jack Weil and Chris Norman.

Reeves, asked what goes through his mind when Elway runs, said: “It’s something that causes defenses problems, and I’m not going to discourage him.

“He has a feel when to do it. He improvises well and salvages lots of plays. But anytime your quarterback runs you catch your breath a little bit.”

Reeves said his main concern about Super Bowl Week is making sure things like tickets and plane reservations for the players’ family and friends are taken care of and out of the way.

“The press conferences don’t bother me,” he said. “Our players are good with the media and very cooperative.

“The NFL allots 1 hour 15 minutes each day for the media, and that’s fine. No problem there. Where a problem might arise is TV and radio stations requesting special interviews. I don’t want our players appearing on the 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11 o’clock news live back in Denver every night.”

Someone from the “Today” show asked Parcells if he could appear live early Friday morning. “Unequivocally, no,” he said.

Getting back to football, Reeves said one thing that impresses him about the Giants is the way they gravitate toward the ball.

“There’s always eight Giants around the ball,” he said, “whether it’s a completed pass, an interception or a fumble recovery.

“They are taught well to go to the football.

“Did you notice when (the 49ers’ Jerry) Rice fumbled against the Giants. He was about 45 yards downfield, but there were still eight Giants there to make the recovery.”

Times staff writers Mark Heisler and John Weyler contributed to this story.