UNSUNG LOSERS : NFL Camps May Be More Notable for What’s Missing Instead of What’s There

What do Dr. Manuel Lopez and Stan Trupo have in common with most of the rookie free agents reporting to NFL training camps this weekend?

They know what it’s like to be cut.

Lopez, the mayor of Oxnard, and Trupo, his counterpart in Berea, Ohio, won’t see the names of their cities in datelines around the country because the NFL teams that used their cities as summer training bases have gone to greener pastures.

Lopez expressed indifference when the Oakland Raiders finally cut the NFL’s ties to Southern California by moving their training camp to Napa, after 11 summers in Oxnard.

“They would have one day at the high school when everybody could see them and get autographs,” Lopez said. “Then they would go behind the fence and practice and you wouldn’t see them again.

“I know they were here to do a job, to get their work done. But if you couldn’t see them, you couldn’t say they were ‘my’ team or ‘our’ team.”

They didn’t eat in Oxnard’s restaurants, didn’t drink in the bars and didn’t participate in civic functions.

“When they came here, we were pretty enthusiastic,” said Lopez, who was a city councilman then. “We thought they would get involved, would go on the board of the Boys and Girls Club, do things like that. But they never did any of that.”

Some of them did play on the golf course. Kicker Jeff Jaeger was a regular. Others?

“Last year, our security man heard a disturbance late one night,” said Otto Kinney, who runs the River Ridge Golf Club, adjacent to the Radisson Hotel, which was the Raider headquarters.

“He went out to take a look, and there were four Raiders who had stolen one of the hotel’s utility carts and were playing with night-glow golf balls.

“He approached them and asked their name. ‘Jim Otto,’ said one. ‘George Blanda,’ said another. So he told them it could be dangerous out there at night and filled out his report.”

Kinney still has a report that says Messrs. Otto and Blanda and two others were playing nighttime golf at River Ridge.

And Oxnard has two fenced football fields on its hands.

Trupo was saddened to see the Cleveland Browns leave Berea and fly off to Westminster, Md., as the Baltimore Ravens.

“We would get 1,000, sometimes, out to practice before Bill Belichick [since fired] took over as coach,” Trupo said. “Parents would go out with little kids and take a picnic.

“The restaurants are already feeling the loss.”

So is Berea, a city of only 20,000 that got $600,000 a year in income tax from the Browns, 8% of its budget.

It is left with five football fields and 35 years of memories, mostly pleasant.

“They took part in the community,” Trupo said. “They got involved, went to schools and civic functions, were involved in charity. I guess they were different than that fellow [Al] Davis. We’ll miss that.”

But it would seem they won’t be missing pro football for long. Berea already has a contract with the NFL that says the next team in Cleveland--promised for 1999--will train and practice in Berea.

This summer, though, Oxnard won’t have the Raiders and Berea won’t have the Browns. And here is what NFL teams won’t have:

AFC

Baltimore Ravens--Receiver Andre Rison, who was the first to support owner Art Modell in his move from Cleveland and the first to try to help the team establish itself in Baltimore by throwing a party to have fans meet the players. He was cut last week, so the Ravens won’t have his salary. You can get 47 receptions for much less than $2 million a year.

Buffalo Bills--Cornelius Bennett, perhaps the best pass coverage linebacker in the NFL, who will be doing his covering for Atlanta. The Bills will have run-stopping specialist Bryce Paup and a schedule playing into his hands, with games against power backs from Dallas, Cincinnati, Seattle, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants.

Cincinnati Bengals--Much help for a defense that was last in the AFC, and blew a 31-13 third-quarter lead against Pittsburgh, giving up 36 unanswered points. But they will have running back Ki-Jana Carter, who sat out last season, to take some of the pressure off quarterback Jeff Blake.

Denver Broncos--A pass rush--again. The Broncos have given quarterbacks so much time to pick on veteran cornerbacks Lionel Washington and Ray Crockett, that they went all last season without an interception, extending their streak of games without a cornerback theft to 20.

Houston Oilers--Fans for the first of their two lame-duck seasons while a stadium is being built for them in Nashville. Said former running back now broadcaster Spencer Tillman, “If someone divorced you, would you sleep with them?”

Indianapolis Colts--Ted Marchibroda as coach after he led them within one tipped pass of the Super Bowl. Back, however, is quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who ran one good season into a $4-million contract.

Jacksonville Jaguars--Flair. The Jaguars have quarterback Mark Brunell, no long-ball threat; no big-play receivers, the biggest offensive line outside of Nebraska and big backs Natrone Means and James Stewart, called “Little Man” at 221 pounds.

Kansas City Chiefs--Excuses. The Chiefs are the only NFL team to have made it into the playoffs in every season of the ‘90s, but are 5-9 once there. They are still the best team in the AFC. How long is it going to take?

Miami Dolphins--Don Shula to kick around. The fans, Miami talk radio and the owner wanted Jimmy Johnson as coach and got him, ignoring history’s lessons. Vince Lombardi couldn’t do it. Hank Stram couldn’t do it. Bill Parcells and Dan Reeves haven’t done it. Actually, Shula is the only one of the nine coaches who have taken a team to the Super Bowl and left for another team to have gone back to the championship game. And the Dolphins also won’t have 290- or 300-pound tight end Eric Green, who missed 39 practices last season and apparently spent most of that time in pizza parlors and ice cream shops. Johnson released him last week, apparently sending a message. “Some people you send all kinds of messages and they have ear wax,” Johnson says. “Some you send little messages and they can hear.”

New England Patriots--Enough money to sign free-agent help after giving quarterback Drew Bledsoe a seven-year, $42-million contract last year. And top draft choice Terry Glenn probably won’t have a driver’s license for a while after getting into a wreck in Columbus, Ohio, and being charged with driving without a permit.

New York Jets--A running game. Five NFL backs rushed for more yards than the Jets’ 1,279 as a team last season, and top back Adrian Murrell was 22nd in the league with 795 yards. Quarterback Neil O’Donnell is going to need help.

Oakland Raiders--Backbone. Even Coach Mike White said his team “was not physical” down the stretch last season when the Raiders lost their last six games. And if quarterback Jeff Hostetler can’t avoid injury, the Raiders won’t win enough games to get into the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers--Quarterback O’Donnell and offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt, both now Jets. You think the Steelers are going to win 12 games with Mike Tomczak, who threw 111 times last season, but only once for a touchdown and nine times for interceptions?

San Diego Chargers--Leslie O’Neal, who had one-third of their sacks last season, and receivers Mark Seay and Shawn Jefferson and third-down back Ronnie Harmon, who combined for 156 catches.

Seattle Seahawks--Anaheim Stadium or the Rose Bowl or wherever they were going to play in Southern California. They also won’t have Paul Allen to buy them from Ken Behring unless Seattle builds a new stadium. And Behring won’t have some of his money if he loses the sexual harassment suit being heard against him in Northern California.

NFC

Arizona Cardinals--Buddy Ryan as coach, which is addition by subtraction. They also won’t have an incumbent starting quarterback--again. Boomer Esiason is the seventh Arizona starter in as many seasons.

Atlanta Falcons--Predictability. Jeff George can count on Terrance Mathis, Eric Metcalf, Bert Emanuel and Craig Heyward, each of whom accounted for more than 1,000 yards last season, the first time a team has had four 1,000-yard producers in NFL history.

Carolina Panthers--To ride to Clemson, S.C., for home games, now that they have their new stadium in Charlotte, N.C. In their first season, they beat San Francisco for their fourth consecutive victory, then went “home” to Clemson and played before their smallest crowd of the year.

Chicago Bears--Tranquillity, now that they have signed linebacker Bryan Cox, he of the 150 yards in penalties and challenges to Shula in Miami last season. Coach Dave Wannstedt had better get earplugs.

Dallas Cowboys--Wide receiver Michael Irvin. Well, they might, if he can beat a drug-possession rap and decide he really wants to play in Dallas, where the term lineup is taking on a new connotation.

Detroit Lions--Patience. Coach Wayne Fontes holds the team record for victories. But he’s only five away from the record for losses and has been told that he has to get Detroit past the first round of the playoffs or find another job. Another 3-6 start like last year’s and he won’t have a job.

Green Bay Packers--A win in Dallas on Nov. 18. The Packers are 0-6 in the last three seasons against the Cowboys, three of those losses having been in first-round playoff games and all six of them at Texas Stadium. And quirky NFL scheduling has done it again.

Minnesota Vikings--Veteran company for defensive tackle John Randall, who probably will line up with two rookies and a second-year man up front. They also won’t have youth at quarterback, because Warren Moon turns 40 in November.

New Orleans Saints--Probably Coach Jim Mora after this season. The dean of NFL coaches, with 10 seasons with the Saints, and the only coach ever to get them in the playoffs, Mora won’t get past 11 seasons if he doesn’t take them there again.

New York Giants--Much rest in training camp. Coach Dan Reeves has promised that extra conditioning will make sure the Giants don’t wilt in the fourth quarter, as they did four times last season. He has also promised more work on a two-minute drill that was one for 11 in fourth quarters last season.

Philadelphia Eagles--Comfort for quarterback Rodney Peete, who beat out Randall Cunningham for the job last season and was so convincing to Coach Ray Rhodes that he brought in Green Bay backup Ty Detmer to compete for the starting job.

St. Louis Rams--Top draft choice Lawrence Phillips, unless he can beat a drunk-driving rap in South El Monte and stay out of a Lincoln (Neb.) jail for violating his probation.

San Francisco 49ers--Cornerback Eric Davis, who used a season that earned him a Pro Bowl berth to get a lucrative free-agent contract with the Carolina Panthers. They also won’t have receiver John Taylor, who stuck around long enough to get J.J. Stokes used to the NFL and then retired as he had played, with class.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers--Coach Sam Wyche. And they won’t miss him. Replacement Tony Dungy has been on everybody’s short list of replacements for head coaches for a decade and still had to wait for Johnson and Steve Spurrier to turn down the job to get it. And he won’t have a quarterback who can win unless Trent Dilfer can play better than his four-touchdown, 18-interception season that earned him the lowest rating in the NFL and still prompted him to argue with Wyche when he was benched.

Washington Redskins--A quarterback. Is Heath Shuler ever going to learn to play this game?

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Training Camps

Training camp reporting dates for NFL teams for the 1996 season, with team, reporting site and rookie and veteran reporting dates:

AFC

* BALTIMORE RAVENS--Western Maryland College, Westminster, Md., Tuesday, Friday.

* BUFFALO BILLS--Fredonia State U., Fredonia, N.Y., both Thursday.

* CINCINNATI BENGALS--Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio, Monday, Friday.

* DENVER BRONCOS--Northern Colorado U., Greeley, Colo., both Friday.

* HOUSTON OILERS--Trinity U., San Antonio, both Friday.

* INDIANAPOLIS COLTS--Anderson U., Anderson, Ind., July 5, Monday.

* JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS--Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, both Thursday.

* KANSAS CITY CHIEFS--Wisconsin River Falls, both July 25.

* MIAMI DOLPHINS--Nova U., Davie, Fla., Monday, Friday.

* NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS--Bryant College, Smithfield, R.I., both Thursday.

* NEW YORK JETS--Hofstra U., Hempstead, N.Y., July 13, Friday.

* OAKLAND RAIDERS--Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Napa, July 12, Wednesday.

* PITTSBURGH STEELERS--St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa., Monday, Thursday.

* SAN DIEGO CHARGERS--UC San Diego, La Jolla, July 12, Today.

* SEATTLE SEAHAWKS--Seahawks Headquarters, Kirkland, Wash., Tuesday, Friday.

NFC

* ARIZONA CARDINALS--Northern Arizona U., Flagstaff, both Thursday.

* ATLANTA FALCONS--Falcons Headquarters, Suwanee, Ga., today, Thursday.

* CAROLINA PANTHERS--Wofford College, Spartanburg, S.C., both Thursday.

* CHICAGO BEARS--Wisconsin Platteville, both Thursday.

* DALLAS COWBOYS--St. Edward’s U., Austin, Texas, both Wednesday.

* DETROIT LIONS--Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Mich., Monday, Friday.

* GREEN BAY PACKERS--St. Norbert College, West DePere, Wis., Monday, Thursday.

* MINNESOTA VIKINGS--Mankato State U., Mankato, Minn., both July 21.

* NEW ORLEANS SAINTS--Wisconsin La Crosse, both Monday.

* NEW YORK GIANTS--U. of Albany, Albany, N.Y., both Thursday.

* PHILADELPHIA EAGLES--Lehigh U., Bethlehem, Pa., Wednesday, Saturday.

* ST. LOUIS RAMS--Western Illinois U., Macomb, Ill., today, Friday.

* SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS--Sierra C.C., Rocklin, Calif., Wednesday, Saturday.

* TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS--University of Tampa, both July 21.

* WASHINGTON REDSKINS--Frostburg State U., Frostburg, Md., Tuesday, Wednesday.