PRO FOOTBALL ’95 : Answering the Deion Question, Other Concerns : NFC preview: Sanders is probably pivotal for the Cowboys or 49ers, but the rest of the conference has little chance, no matter what.

The annual tussle for supremacy in pro football’s best conference does not begin this weekend, or when San Francisco visits Dallas on Nov. 12, or when the NFC playoffs start in January.

It began seven months ago. In a hotel lobby. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Jesse Sapolu, the 49er guard, was milling around his Hawaiian resort during Pro Bowl week when he felt a warm breath behind him.

Suddenly, a fat hand reached up and grabbed his Super Bowl championship cap.

A large man stepped in front of Sapolu, threw the cap to the ground and began angrily stomping on it.

“You got one on us this year,” the man screamed at Sapolu. “But don’t expect it to be automatic.”

It was Cowboy defensive end Charles Haley.

And this was war.

“Already, he was establishing turf,” Sapolu said, still shaking his head in disbelief. “I just looked at him and said nothing.”

Sapolu knows they will meet twice more this season.

Once on Nov. 12. And again in the NFC championship game.

It is that clear to everyone in San Francisco, everyone in Dallas and everyone in between.

For the fourth consecutive season in the NFC, there are but two teams, and one story.

The 49ers and the Cowboys are the teams. The story is one of inspiration, insolence and grown men doing childish things that are liable to get their heads knocked off.

“This must be a lot of fun to watch from the outside,” Sapolu said. “But for us in the middle of it. . . .”

Troy Aikman, the Cowboys’ quarterback, says he doesn’t know any other date on his schedule but Nov. 12.

Dana Stubblefield, 49er defensive lineman, said it has gotten so eerie that looking at Dallas is “like looking in a mirror. You know the best team is going to be us or them.”

Bill Walsh, former 49er coach and now a league consultant, said it is so predictable, it is almost not any fun.

“Gosh, I’m really hoping some other teams can come up and make it competitive this year. . . . That would really be nice,” he said.

But he knows his prayers are in vain.

“Right now, it is so clear cut that Dallas and San Francisco are so much better than anybody else,” he said.

Not that there aren’t still questions that must be answered about the 1995 season and the new, 15-team NFC.

Fifteen questions, in fact. What a coincidence.

1. So who is better this time, the 49ers or the Cowboys?

This question can be answered only with another question.

Who gets Deion Sanders?

If Sanders, a free-agent defensive back, returns to the 49ers, they will win the Super Bowl.

“With Deion, we are complete,” Stubblefield said.

And don’t the Cowboys know it. Their recent bidding for him--at least $4 million a year plus all the time at wide receiver he can handle--has become so outrageous that it leads many to one conclusion.

“I can see the Cowboys going to these extreme levels just to keep Deion from coming back here,” said Carmen Policy, 49er vice president.

Not a bad strategy. Because Deion will not win it for the Cowboys, who still would need career years from their Big Three--Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin--to unseat the 49ers.

Since the departure of Coach Jimmy Johnson, America’s Team has had some of America’s worst drafts and lost some of America’s best free agents. They have no fourth-quarter depth and can afford no injuries.

The 49ers, meanwhile, lose running back Ricky Watters and simply plug in talented William Floyd. Receiver John Taylor showing signs of age? Just draft J.J. Stokes.

2. Can any team sneak up on the Cowboys and 49ers?

As if Randall Cunningham could ever sneak up on anybody. But he is quickly adapting to the Philadelphia Eagles’ new “West Coast” offense under Coach Ray Rhodes. Cunningham has Watters carrying the ball, Fred Barnett and Calvin Williams catching it, and his team visits the Cowboys only six days before Dallas plays host to the 49ers.

3. Who is the NFC’s best player nobody has heard of?

Kevin Turner, Eagle fullback. Last season in New England it seemed as if he never missed a blitz or a third-down pass. This year it will be his task to rescue Cunningham. In doing so, he’ll become as popular in Philly as Lenny Dykstra.

4. What about the great NFC Central? Will it send three teams to the playoffs again?

It should not send any.

The Detroit Lions are solid, but, until all-world tackle Lomas Brown ends his holdout, they are without roots.

The Chicago Bears are without a quarterback. The Green Bay Packers are without a wide receiver. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are without a coach, and the Minnesota Vikings are without enough good lawyers.

5. Can you tell us a story about one of the St. Louis Rams doing something really dumb? For old-time’s sake?

Robert Young, the Ram defensive end and sack leader last season, was standing at the bottom of the stairs this summer during a pool party at his home in Jackson, Miss.

Suddenly, one of his buddies came tumbling down. One of his 7-foot, 400-pound buddies.

Young stopped Reggie Prince’s fall, but suffered a torn pectoral muscle and didn’t play a down in exhibition games.

6. Hee-hee, so the Rams are going to be worse than last season’s 4-12?

Hardly. They will win eight games, perhaps nine if quarterback Chris Miller gives the ball to Mark Rypien before Miller’s brain is mush.

7. Who will be the NFC’s most interesting team?

If you are looking for a novelty, try Tampa Bay. Quarterback Trent Dilfer will either complete a 60-yard touchdown pass or throw to the guy holding the yard marker. Running back Errict Rhett will rush for 150 yards or 15. Alvin Harper will make a big catch or disappear.

All of them are led by soon-to-be-fired Coach Sam Wyche, who ran a fake punt late in a 20-7 exhibition victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, then ripped Steeler Coach Bill Cowher for complaining about it.

8. Who will be the NFC’s most boring team?

The Arizona Cardinals needed Dave Krieg the way Phoenix needs another strip mall. The only fun part of watching Buddy Ryan’s team will be the weekly contest to determine which of his coaches are wearing the clothes that make them look the fattest.

9. Who will be the NFC’s most surprising team?

The New Orleans Saints, who, for the first time since Tom Dempsey, have an offense that can score from beyond midfield. Quarterback Jim Everett has a running back (Mario Bates), blocking back (Ray Zellars), tight end (Irv Smith), three speedy wide receivers and one of the best offensive lines in the league.

All that, and a chance to spoil the Rams’ first game in St. Louis on Sept. 10.

10. Who will be the NFC’s most disappointing team?

In a matter of weeks, the New York Giants have gone from predicted contenders to curd. Top draft pick Tyrone Wheatley showed up late and was injured, both veteran receivers are hurt and half of the offensive line is out.

11. How bad will it be for the fans of the expansion Carolina Panthers?

Put it this way: On a recent postgame bus trip from rural Clemson (S.C.) Stadium to the nearest airport--a drive of less than an hour--the Denver Bronco players were stuck in traffic so long that they were able to watch all 2 hours 22 minutes of “Forrest Gump.”

12. Who will have a breakthrough season?

Thanks to the new rules, this is the season a bunch of young receivers grow up.

Watch Johnnie Morton of the Detroit Lions, who made more news last year hanging out with rap stars than in end zones.

Watch Curtis Conway of the Chicago Bears, who has removed himself from Coach Dave Wannstedt’s dungeon by not missing one training camp workout.

Watch Thomas Lewis of the New York Giants. He is certain to get increased opportunities, considering he is their only receiver who can currently walk.

13. Who will be the biggest disappointment?

The arrow is clearly pointed toward quarterback Heath Shuler of the Washington Redskins, the third overall pick in the 1994 draft.

Nice kid. Not so brainy.

Unlike last year, when his 59.6 quarterback rating was the NFC’s worst for quarterbacks with at least 224 attempts, at least he is working hard. But during exhibitions, he was as trustworthy as those guys who work in those white buildings down the street from RFK Stadium.

14. Where will be the best and worst places for NFC fans this season?

The best place will be in Dallas on Nov. 12 when the 49ers come to town.

The worst place will be in Washington on Christmas Eve, where watching the Panthers and Redskins at 4 p.m. local time would make Santa suicidal.

15. So who gets Deion?

If he stays in San Francisco and the 49ers win it again, so what?

If he goes to Dallas and the Cowboys win, he will be forever known as The Man Who Made The Difference. And he knows it.

Look for him in a Dallas uniform in time for their Oct. 8 home game against the Green Bay Packers.

By the end of the season, he will have caught a touchdown pass, returned an interception for a touchdown and engaged in a fistfight with Emmitt Smith.

His old buddies on the 49ers will get him tickets to the Super Bowl.