Time Is Running Short for Marino, Kelly, Elway : Pro football: A new season opens today and the talented quarterbacks try to secure a place in NFL history with a Super Bowl championship.

Thank you for the support group suggestion, a Bronco spokesman said, but Susan Lucci, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter McNeeley will not be part of Sunday night’s “Bud Grant Bowl” festivities in Mile High Stadium.

Denver’s John Elway and Buffalo’s Jim Kelly, the Bill Buckners of football, were the starting and losing pitchers in seven of the past nine Super Bowls. These quarterbacks did not get the job done, and now as they begin their 13th year in professional football matched against one another, time is running short to secure their appropriate places in NFL history.

Include Dan Marino, and the star-studded draft class of ‘83, has combined to lose eight Super Bowls.

“I don’t consider Kelly, Elway or Marino a loser,” said Dan Fouts, the only quarterback to have won induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame who didn’t play in either a league championship game or a Super Bowl. “Yeah, I was concerned it might keep me out, but I never thought playing in a Super Bowl was qualification for being in the Hall.

“I said in my induction speech I hoped this might change the way people look upon a career. A career should be viewed on what you do from Sunday to Sunday. Each year they give Super Bowl rings to a whole lot of people, including equipment guys. They give five to six Hall of Fame rings. Winning championships is why you play, but doesn’t the effort and performance of trying to get there stand for something?”

Tell that to Grant, who coached the Vikings to 11 NFC Central Division titles and four Super Bowl losses, only to have his name become synonymous with failure while being bypassed for eight years before gaining entrance to the Hall.

“The cliche is repeated so often--you lost four Super Bowls--that’s all people believe,” Grant said from his home in Minnesota. “Nowadays, though, teams gain more week-to-week exposure on TV. People on the East Coast and the West Coast never saw us until the playoffs. Now they can watch Kelly most any time and see what an outstanding player he is.”

Still, it might be time for Kelly, Elway and Marino to sit down and watch one of Fran Tarkenton’s infomercials on positive thinking. Tarkenton, the Minnesota quarterback who held almost all the passing records when he retired, waited three years for induction. Coincidentally, he lost three Super Bowls.

“I’m sure all three of us will probably go in,” Kelly said. “It’s up to the writers, but people can look at all three of our numbers and see what we’ve done in the past, and [the numbers] definitely merit it.”

Kelly, the United States Football League’s most valuable player before joining the NFL, has led Buffalo to an 83-49 record and has thrown for 201 touchdowns with 143 interceptions. Elway’s Broncos are 105-66-1, and he has thrown for 199 touchdowns with 177 interceptions. Marino’s Dolphins are 107-63 and he has thrown for 328 touchdowns with 185 interceptions.

Does Elway still have to win a Super Bowl? If Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field-goal attempt had not sailed wide in Super Bowl XXV, Kelly would have been a winner and there would be no argument. Does Marino actually get off easy, losing only one Super Bowl?

“All three will probably go into the Hall,” Fouts said. “But no matter what, it’s going to be a dark day when that class finally graduates. Just picture in your mind what you think of, when you think of these guys.”

Winners or losers?

ON TV

* MICKEY MOUSE GAME

San Francisco at New Orleans (Channel 11, 10 a.m.): Saint owner Tom Benson ridiculed the 49ers for signing Deion Sanders a year ago, calling it “Mickey Mouse.” Sanders returned an interception for 74 yards in a 24-13 victory over the Saints and during the final minute of the game at San Francisco, the M-I-C, K-E-Y theme song was played over the loudspeaker. The Saints are hardly in position for revenge. Quarterback Jim Everett has a 3-12 record against the 49ers and one phantom sack. The Saints were No. 26 against the pass last season and probably will be 28th against the pass after Week 1’s encounter with Steve Young and Jerry Rice.

Tidbit: The last time 49er running back Derek Loville started a game was in the 1990 opener for Seattle. He gained six yards in two carries.

* FIRST FIELD GOAL WINS

Minnesota at Chicago (Channel 11, 1 p.m.): Relevant fact--The last NFL game to end 0-0 was played Nov. 7, 1943, between the Giants and Lions. The Cincinnati Bengals’ touchdown production per play last season was the worst in the NFL. And which team was second worst? Wrong. Not Chicago, but Minnesota, and the Vikings went through the exhibition season with the first string failing to find the end zone. Lewis Tillman starts at running back for the Bears but will probably play two series and be replaced by the NFL’s youngest player, 20-year-old Rashaan Salaam, who fumbled twice in exhibition play.

Telling statistic: Viking Coach Dennis Green is 6-1 against the Bears.

* PSL DELIGHT

San Diego at Oakland (Channel 4, 1 p.m.): The Chargers’ season turned on last year’s opener at Denver when the ball slipped out of Elway’s hand and was grabbed by Junior Seau. The Chargers have won four in a row on the road against the Raiders. The loss of cornerback Darien Gordon should draw Jeff Hostetler’s attention to rookie Terrance Shaw. In Mike White’s debut as Raider coach, his safeties can stack the line to stop Natrone Means because the Chargers lack receivers who can catch.

History report: Al Davis, Tom Flores, John Madden, John Rauch, Art Shell and Mike Shanahan won their first games as Raider head coaches.

* BUD GRANT BOWL

Buffalo at Denver (TNT, 5 p.m.): Thurman Thomas needs one more 100-yard rushing game to catch O.J. Simpson, who set Buffalo’s record with 41. Elway is 66-21 in Mile High Stadium. Buffalo hasn’t played at Denver since 1977. Rookie Terrell Davis starts at running back for the Broncos.

Tough to break in: A No. 1 draft choice, guard Reuben Brown, is the first rookie to start for Marv Levy since Thomas in 1988.

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

Cleveland at New England: Vinny Testaverde outpitched Drew Bledsoe a year ago in a 20-13 AFC wild-card playoff victory. That gave Bill Belichick, former assistant to Bill Parcells in New York, a 2-1 edge over his former boss. Bledsoe completed more passes for more yards--400 of 691 for 4,555--than any other quarterback last season. The fight for the ball among Brown receivers Andre Rison, Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander will be interesting.

Better throw it: The Browns have played the Patriots 14 times and have never allowed a running back to gain 100 yards.

INTRIGUING--MAYBE

Tampa Bay at Philadelphia: Will Randall Cunningham grasp the Eagles’ new offense? Will Ricky Watters return to the Super Bowl? Will the Buccaneers lose at least 10 games for the 13th consecutive year?

Wacky game: Sam Wyche was 34 seconds away from coaching the Bengals to a Super Bowl victory over San Francisco.

Detroit at Pittsburgh: Barry Sanders and more Barry Sanders against Bam Morris and more Bam Morris. This could be the shortest game in NFL history. The Lions were 4-4 last season when quarterback Scott Mitchell went out because of a broken wrist. The Steelers were one play away from getting pounded in the Super Bowl instead of San Diego.

Wow: Wayne Fontes needs four more victories to become Detroit’s winningest coach.

FORGET IT

Kansas City at Seattle: Joe Montana is gone, and Marcus Allen has been pressed into action by the Chiefs only because Greg Hill is a disappointment. At Miami, Dennis Erickson’s athletes were criticized for excessive celebrations. No such concern in Seattle.

Old Man River: Allen is the only opposing player in Seahawk history to have 100-yard games both rushing and receiving.

Houston at Jacksonville: The Jaguars will have 73,000 fans doing card stunts to celebrate their first game. Will the offense, under Steve Beuerlein, be so well organized? Quarterback Chris Chandler left the Rams to join Houston. Ticket sales undoubtedly soared.

No. 31: It’s Jaguar wide receiver Ernest Givins’ birthday. He doesn’t figure to get his wish.

Cincinnati at Indianapolis: The Bengals are 2-10 in September under Coach David Shula. Dan Wilkinson and Steve Tovar will try to tackle Colt running back Marshall Faulk while wearing casts. Faulk has yet to run for 200 yards in a game.

Hard to believe: Cincinnati’s Jeff Blake led all NFL quarterbacks with eight plays for more than 50 yards.

St. Louis at Green Bay: Jessie Hester begins this game with a 78-game reception streak and fans in St. Louis are overwhelmed. Hester won’t start. Packer quarterback Brett Favre begins life without wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. Fortunately for Favre, it’s against the Rams, against whom he is 3-0.

Win one for . . .: Former Packer coach Vince Lombardi died 25 years ago today.

New York Jets at Miami: Dan Marino has passed for 55 touchdowns against New York. The Jets counter with Ryan Yarborough and Wayne Chrebet, who have combined for six catches in the NFL. Only nine starters survived new Jet Coach Rich Kotite’s purge. Dolphin receiver Irving Fryar has had five 100-yard games against the Jets.

Super Bowl push: The Dolphins have 19 former first-round draft picks.

Arizona at Washington: The Cardinals devoted 41 pages in their media guide to quarterback Dave Krieg. They don’t figure to score 41 points in the first month. Ditto for the Redskins. Heath Shuler, the lowest-rated quarterback in exhibition play, leads a Redskin offense that led the league in turnovers last season.

Buddy Ryan, take note: Shuler passed for more yards and touchdowns than any other NFC East quarterback over the final month of last season.

BUMMER

Carolina at Atlanta: Which takes longer, the national anthem or Jeff George to J.J. Birden for a Falcon touchdown? Carolina says, who needs Barry Foster when you have the likes of Bob Christian, Randy Baldwin and Howard Griffith?

Patience, please: Expansion Seattle won its first game in Week 6; expansion Tampa Bay lost 26 before winning.