THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411070168
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
All the rest has been prelude.
Now comes The Game.
At last, the Dallas Cowboys play the San Francisco 49ers.
On the second Sunday of November, the NFL pulls from its programming bag the only don't-miss attraction of the regular season.
``It's the game I've been pointing to on the calendar since the day I signed,'' said 49ers linebacker Ken Norton Jr.
Last season, Norton helped the Cowboys beat the 49ers twice before jumping to the other side as a free agent. Now that ``they'' have become ``us,'' this game has come to represent for Norton ``a test to see if we're ready to go to the next level.''
The Cowboys are there, and they've got the strut to prove it.
Said Dexter Carter, who ran back a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the 49ers' 37-22 rout of the Washington Redskins on Sunday, ``The bottom line is home-field advantage (in the NFC playoffs). That's what we want.''
Perhaps wisely, Carter underplayed the true emotion behind this feud. The bottom line is ego and revenge. The Niners haven't forgotten how Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson guaranteed a Dallas victory before last season's NFC title game.
The 49ers didn't exactly rise to the challenge. They were pushed all over the field. Johnson took his hairdo to TV, but his boast guaranteed that the Niners would be ready next time.
``The mental edge,'' said 49ers safety Tim McDonald. ``We have to go out and take that away from them.''
Against the Redskins on Sunday, McDonald took away a Gus Frerotte pass and ran 73 yards for a touchdown.
Even with their minds fast-forwarding to the Cowboys, the 49ers were Gus-busters. With two interceptions and a lost fumble, Frerotte was the quarterback who fell to Earth.
Contributing to Frerotte's problems was the Redskins' offensive scheme, imported from Dallas by Norv Turner.
``This game was good for us,'' said Norton, ``because Dallas and the Redskins have similar offenses because of Norv Turner.''
The 49ers enjoyed the luxury of preparing for the Dallas offense without worrying about Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith or Michael Irvin.
Early in the fourth quarter, his team ahead, 37-6, Niners coach George Seifert stood on the sidelines, drinking from a plastic cup. At ease, he had the look of a man sipping a fine Chablis.
Next week, Seifert's beverage of choice may be Maalox.
``I guess you can never be good enough when you're going against a club such as Dallas,'' he said. ``I mean, they're the world champions the last couple of years and we haven't slowed them down yet.''
The specter of the Cowboys haunts the Niners.
Naturally, they deny it.
``Ronnie Lott used to say, `Play nameless, faceless teams, and that's how you win championships,' '' said quarterback Steve Young. ``I know who we're playing. But we don't want to get too high or too low. I'd like to keep the philosophy that there's plenty of good football ahead of us.''
The 49ers know they're good. They won't know how good until they play the Cowboys again.
``Last year,'' said McDonald, ``the Cowboys really believed they could win, and they played possessed.''
Make the Cowboys three-point favorites, then. On the strength of their confidence.
``Do we need to take back the mental edge?'' said Norton. ``I wouldn't say that. They're just the team to beat.''
The 49ers get another chance. And we get to watch. Lucky us. by CNB