PRO FOOTBALL ’94 / SEASON PREVIEWS : Class of the AFC Resides in L.A. : Overview: Everybody else is trying to catch up to Al Davis and the Raiders.

Oh, but it has been a difficult summer for the AFC brethren.

Forced to hold a longtime enemy up to the light, they have examined him with trembling hands.

They have marveled at his timelessness, chuckled at his peculiarities, become quietly outraged at his efficiency.

Unable to look anymore without screaming, they have carefully put him down. Wiped their forehead. Swallowed hard.

And they have said it:

Al Davis was right.

They have said it even though they would no sooner admit that they hate their coach, love their stadium lease or have made a first-round mistake.

Al Davis was right.

They have said it not with words, but things far more lasting, such as roster shakeups, free-agent signings and draft choices.

That’s the only way to explain the foolishness that has occurred in Denver.

The furiousness in Pittsburgh.

The defensive shakeup in Miami.

The fear in Buffalo.

The panic in San Diego.

The public hand-wringing everywhere else.

With the Raiders representing everybody’s clear favorite to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years, everybody in the conference wants to look just like them.

After years of scorning him, the AFC inhabitants really do want to be like Al.

It’s a frightening thought, really.

Members of an entire professional football conference walking around in shiny black shoes and white socks, and slicked hair.

Hundreds of men from every part of the country speaking in southern accents.

But, of course, appearance is not what they are imitating.

Football philosophy is.

Turning their backs on the previously popular short passing game, conference powerhouses are adopting offenses that can be described in two words: Go deep.

Where complicated pass rushes and zone coverages were once the rage, a more primitive directive is popping up in AFC playbooks: Kill the quarterback.

For 31 years, Al Davis has subscribed to those beliefs. But lately, as his team has gone 2-5 in playoff games since its last Super Bowl victory in January 1984, nobody has paid him much attention.

Until now, what with it being hard to miss a bomb from Jeff Hostetler to Tim Brown. Or a sack by Anthony Smith. Or Terry McDaniel climbing into the face mask of Jerry Rice.

Teams have noticed, and been put on notice. And one by one, they have taken steps to either imitate the Raiders or, at the very least, slow them down.

Can this be done in the next six months? No idea. But isn’t this a lot more fun to discuss than whether the Bills can go to a fifth consecutive Super Bowl?

A rundown of those with the best chance to outdo the Raiders at their own game:

FOSTERING AN ATTITUDE

Circle Nov. 27 on your calendar.

Then put a big red slash through it.

This is the day the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Coliseum.

This is the one Raider game you don’t want to miss but shouldn’t be caught dead attending. A good day to find a bar with an NFL satellite contract.

The last time the Steelers came to town, in 1990, the violence was so bad that somebody was carried from the game in a coma. Not a player, a fan .

This year, it could get even bloodier. And we’re not even talking about the end zone seats.

The Steelers knew they had to get faster, so they dumped most of their terrible wide receivers and made Colorado’s Charles Johnson their first-round draft choice. Johnson caught a couple of passes in traffic during the team’s first workout and has been a starter ever since. With good progress from former third-round pick Andre Hastings on the other side, the Steelers now believe they can sprint with anyone.

They could already punch and kick with anyone. Linebackers Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene are plain mean. Cornerback Rod Woodson is the game’s best when Deion Sanders is on a baseball field.

Anthony Smith and Chester McGlockton won’t easily run past the likes of tackles John Jackson and Leon Searcy, or the game’s best center, Demontti Dawson. Then there is the one thing the Steelers have that the Raiders don’t. His name is Barry Foster, and don’t think Al Davis wasn’t dying to acquire him this spring.

“You’ve got to take a deep breath and get ready to jump back on the roller coaster again,” Steeler Coach Bill Cowher said. “Everybody has stepped it up.”

THEY NEED MORE THAN MARINO

Miami Dolphin fans have spent the summer wondering about the return of quarterback Dan Marino from an Achilles’ tendon injury that sidelined him most of last season.

They should have been worrying more about a guy named Troy.

The Dolphin season collapsed last season not after Marino departed in the fifth game, but after cornerback Troy Vincent left on Dec. 13.

The Dolphins didn’t win a game after Vincent tore knee ligaments against the Steelers with three games remaining. He recently returned to the lineup in the Dolphins’ fourth exhibition game and hopes to be ready to start the season in a revamped defensive backfield with new safeties Gene Atkins from the New Orleans Saints and Michael Stewart from the Rams.

But for the Dolphins to compete with the Raiders--they play in Miami on Oct. 16--that defense may need one more man. His identity can be discerned by looking at the “Prime Time Bucket” hanging from a locker room bulletin board.

The Dolphin players so desperately want to sign free agent Deion Sanders, they are taking up a collection to help his salary fit under the cap.

THE LESS, THE BETTER

The Buffalo Bills shouldn’t feel that they have to catch the Raiders after defeating them in the AFC semifinals.

But they did win by only six points. And they were trailing until the final 12 minutes. And the Raiders shot themselves in the foot, once again, with many silly penalties.

The Raiders would win that game if it were played today, particularly in warm weather, which is what they’ll play in this January.

Yes, they will lose home-field advantage during the regular season because the AFC East is no longer easy street.

Because of salary-cap restrictions, their best attempt at keeping up with the rest of the conference this summer was to move Andre Reed from the slot to true wide receiver.

The advantages of his quickness are far outweighed by the disadvantages of losing key players to the salary cap, including Pro Bowl offensive lineman Howard Ballard and Pro Bowl cornerback Nate Odomes.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PSYCH JOB

We know now why the Denver Broncos did so much to improve their offense, acquiring receivers Anthony Miller and Mike Pritchard and running back Leonard Russell.

Because with the horrible defense they have assembled, they are going to require 50 points to beat the Raiders.

The Broncos acquired cornerbacks Ben Smith and Ray Crockett, but everywhere else, there are holes. While spending this summer sparring with the Raiders over Tim Brown, the Broncos should have been tracking down then-retired Scott Davis or soon-to-be-moved Greg Townsend.

ALL CHARGED UP

Their offensive line was finally starting to block people. Their starting quarterback was sound for the first time in more than a year. Their defense was inspired again.

This summer, the San Diego Chargers thought they needed one more part to start the season with a finished product.

But $850,000 later, they realized that part was not wide receiver Vance Johnson.

Johnson, slowed by age and a broken ankle, was paid $425,000 per exhibition season catch. He has been the Chargers’ only recent mistake.

With Marion Butts gone, running back Natrone Means will become a superstar. Quarterback Stan Humphries has inexperienced targets in Shawn Jefferson, Mark Seay and Tony Martin but has shown he can work veteran magic.

In the AFC, there will be no other serious contenders.

OK, maybe Houston, but then, Haywood Jeffires has jokingly referred to Oiler quarterback Cody Carlson as a “mama’s boy.”

And don’t start talking about the Kansas City Chiefs. At least not until it’s certain how many games Joe Montana will play and how well Marcus Allen will feel.

The Cincinnati Bengals have no chance at anything but last place, yet they will capture the national stage at least once, in the conference’s most serious regular-season game. It will be played in Cincinnati on Oct. 2, when Don Shula’s Dolphins play son Dave’s Bengals.

It will be the first time in major professional sports history that a father and son will compete against each other as head coaches.

Don has 327 career victories, the all-time high. Dave has eight.

But Dave could have bigger numbers when it comes to the support of the family.

“We had a good time talking about it this summer,” Dave Shula told reporters. “We spent a few days on vacation with everybody but one of my sisters. We were each lobbying in our own way to see which side people lined up on. I think I’ve got everybody but my dad’s new wife.

“Unfortunately, they don’t line up and play.”

That must mean none of them have any size or speed. Otherwise somebody in the AFC would have signed them. Bet your white socks on it.