Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 2, 1993

Bound to happen in the NFL this season:

Joe Montana and Marcus Allen will lead the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl championship--not. This is 1993, not 1983. . . .

Houston Oiler Coach Jack Pardee will get a stiff neck from looking over his shoulder at defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. . . .

Missing training camp and the exhibition season won’t cramp the kick-return style of Rocket Ismail, who will break one during his Raider debut. . . .

Anaheim fans will hope that T.J. (Rubley) gets the same chance to start that J.T. (Snow) got. . . .

The Minnesota Vikings will be in contention for the NFC Central championship until Jim McMahon is injured. . . .

The ultimate compliment paid the San Diego Chargers will be that they are an NFC-style team. . . .

Barry Sanders, invigorated behind a rebuilt Detroit Lion offensive line, will be player of the year. . . .

AFC West standings: 1. San Diego; 2. Denver; 3. Kansas City; 4. Raiders; 5. Seattle. . . .

There will be no call for instant replay. . . .

The Raiders will play to sell-out crowds everywhere but at the Coliseum. . . .

Jerome Bettis, the new battering Ram, will have at least a handful of 100-yard games. . . .

Mike Ditka’s first season at NBC will be his last on his way back to the NFL coaching ranks. . . .

The Washington Redskins lose two games in a row and Jack Kent Cooke will be on the phone to Joe Gibbs. . . .

AFC Central standings:

1. Houston; 2. Pittsburgh;

3. Cleveland; 4. Cincinnati. . . .

Grudge match of the year will be Oct. 31 between Jerry Glanville’s Atlanta Falcons and Sam Wyche’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. . . .

Whoever decided to cut Pepper Johnson from the New York Giants won’t be worth his salt. . . .

Most exciting new kick returner in the NFC will be Kevin Williams of the Dallas Cowboys. . . .

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AFC East standings: 1. Miami; 2. Buffalo; 3. Indianapolis;

4. New England; 5. New York Jets. . . .

NFC Central and AFC East teams will complain about having a bye as early as the third week of the season. . . .

Steve Young won’t get enough credit for a San Francisco 49er victory. . . .

Wade Phillips will be as good-humored in Denver as his father, Bum, was in Houston and New Orleans. . . .

Junior Seau will be compared to a young Lawrence Taylor. . . .

Dennis Byrd will become one of the most popular analysts on CBS. . . .

The Green Bay Packers will prove that exhibition results are meaningless. . . .

Best little-known wide receiver will be Lawrence Dawsey of Tampa Bay. . . .

NFC West standings: 1. San Francisco; 2. Atlanta; 3. Rams;

4. New Orleans. . . .

Now that his TV diet commercials are long gone, Chuck Knox will look heavier, but healthier. . . .

The New Orleans Saints will slide from contenders to pretenders because of an anemic offense. . . .

Dan Reeves will blow up at New York writers. . . .

New York writers will blow up at Dan Reeves. . . .

Few fans outside Buffalo will root for the Bills to reach the Super Bowl again. . . .

Jimmy Johnson will be coach of the year. . . .

Jeff George will be unhappy. . . .

The best defensive lineman in the league, Cortez Kennedy, will play for a last-place team, the Seattle Seahawks. . . .

Charger General Manager Bobby Beathard will be executive of the year. . . .

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NFC Central standings:

1. Green Bay; 2. Detroit;

3. Minnesota; 4. Chicago;

5. Tampa Bay. . . .

Most politically correct name will be Lincoln Kennedy. . . .

A Deion Sanders kick return for a touchdown will be described as a “home run.” . . .

Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd of the Pittsburgh Steelers will have more sacks than any other linebacker duo. . . .

New England Patriot quarterback Drew Bledsoe will be rookie of the year. . . .

NFC East standings: 1. Dallas;

2. Washington; 3. New York;

4. Philadelphia; 5. Phoenix. . . .

Dallas will beat San Francisco for the NFC title, and San Diego will beat Miami for the AFC title. . . .

The Cowboys will beat the Chargers, 31-17, in Super Bowl XXVIII Jan. 30 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.