NFC PREVIEW

They will be partying in Big D and on South Street and from the French Quarter to Motor City to Buddy’s prickly desert. But once again, the only NFC landmark that matters is a patch of land along a chilly bay. If you want to jump over the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl, you best be nimble. And Some kind of quick.

WEST

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

LAST YEAR: 13-3, Super Bowl champions

THIS YEAR: 13-3, Advance to Super Bowl

LOOKING GOOD: Everyone but running back Ricky Watters returns to what was one of the greatest offenses in NFL history. And fullback William Floyd is good enough to change his role and fill Watters’ shoes. Everyone but Deion Sanders -- at least for now -- returns to the league’s eighth-ranked defense.

DON’T LOOK: If cornerback Sanders signs with the Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers will be forced to start former Ram Marquez Pope at cornerback. While it’s not a good idea to start a former Ram anywhere , Pope is a safety unsuited for the cover position.

IT FIGURES: The 49ers training camp was recently visited by a film crew from “Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous.”

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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

LAST YEAR: 7-9

THIS YEAR: 10-6, advance to first round of playoffs.

LOOKING GOOD: For once, those partyers in the French Quarter will be locals. The Saints have more offensive skill than anybody but the 49ers and a defense led by free agent cornerback Eric Allen.

Jim Everett -- solid again -- will be throwing to speedsters Michael Haynes, Quinn Early and Torrance Small. And the Saints have changed their slow 3-4 defense to a quicker 4-3 attack that will make them surly again.

DON’T LOOK: How could they have let kicker Morten Andersen walk? And to rival Atlanta?

IT FIGURES: During an exhibition game against the Seattle Seahawks, new Saints kicker Chip Lohmiller hooked a 27-yard field goal attempt so far left, it even missed the end zone retaining net.

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ATLANTA FALCONS

LAST YEAR: 7-9

THIS YEAR: 9-7

LOOKING GOOD: Quarterback Jeff George now understands the NFL’s last run-and-shoot offense. And even with Andre Rison gone, he has the weapons to make that knowledge dangerous.

Last year, receiver Terance Mathis became a star in that system. This year the same will happen to either Bert Emanuel or J.J. Birden. Eric Metcalf has been added from the Celveland Browns to catch passes and kicks and run like the dickens.

DON’T LOOK: It is a statistic commonly known among Atlantans as the number of days until the start of the 1996 Olympics. Four times last year, the Falcons blew a lead in the last two minutes.

So what did management do? They added linebacker Darryl Talley from Buffalo, hired punter Dan Stryzinski from Tampa Bay and drafted safety Devin Bush from Florida State. You decide.

IT FIGURES: There is a reason the Falcons were fighting so hard to keep their season opener against Carolina from being moved out of the storm-damaged Georgia Dome. They feel they could lose that game on the road, and begin the season 0-3 after ensuing games at San Francisco and New Orleans.

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ST. LOUIS RAMS

LAST YEAR: 4-12

THIS YEAR: 8-8

LOOKING GOOD: If quarterback Chris Miller can stay on the field, and running back Jerome Bettis can stay in a good mood, and rookie Kevin Carter is half the defensive end he showed this summer, a four-game improvement is not impossible.

Isaac Bruce, the second-year wide receiver, is looking like hottest young star in St. Louis since Brett Hull. And despite the enormous girth that accompanied new $10 million guard Dwayne White to camp, he will lead Bettis out of his sophomore slump.

DON’T LOOK: New Coach Rich Brooks may be a tad intense and inexperienced -- he hasn’t been on an NFL staff in 20 years. And after finishing 27th out of 28 teams in takeaways last year, the Rams actually signed a cornerback from the defense-poor Minnesota Vikings. Anthony Parker is not the answer.

IT FIGURES: The Cardinals left St. Louis because they were unhappy with Busch Stadium. The Rams first three home games will be played in -- you guessed it -- Busch Stadium. Their new domed facility probably won’t open until last October.

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CAROLINA PANTHERS

LAST YEAR: Didn’t exist

THIS YEAR: Will wish they didn’t exist after going 1-15.

LOOKING GOOD: Kerry Collins could be the starting quarterback by November after Frank Reich decides he is sick of spending every day in a huddle with Barry Foster. John Kasay could be one of the league’s best kickers -- not to mention most overworked. Corneback Tyrone Poole has already been voted to a couple of all-rookie teams.

DON’T LOOK: They will the usual problems of an expansion team, plus this: No expansion team has ever had to play one of the best teams in football history -- the San Francisco 49ers -- twice.

And no expansion team has ever had to play its home games in a different state -- the Panthers will play two hours from home at Clemson (S.C.) Stadium until their downtown Charlotte facility is open next season.

A bad team. Empty seats. And the worst traffic jams in the NFL.

IT FIGURES: The most heralded Carolina acquisition in the expansion draft was second-round pick Harry Boatswain, a guard who had contributed to the defending champ 49ers. Three weeks before the start of the season, Boatswain was cut.

CENTRAL

DETROIT LIONS

LAST YEAR: 9-7, advanced to first round of NFC playoffs.

THIS YEAR: 10-6, advance to NFC semifinals.

LOOKING GOOD: If you believe Scott Mitchell is no longer afraid to be a great quarterback, then you believe the Lions will go far.

After breaking his wrist midway through last season, Mitchell watched and listened as replacement Dave Krieg used a simplified offense to pick apart defenses. This year it is the same offense, and a new Mitchell.

He has Barry Sanders behind him. Herman Moore and ready-to-shine Johnny Morton at his flanks. And a new, fiercer 4-3 defense with free agent tackle Henry Thomas.

DON’T LOOK: Can Wayne Fontes coach a team to the next level? Lions fans already fear they know the answer.

IT FIGURES: John Teerlinck, the animated architect of the Lions new defense, recently challenged the entire Cincinnati Bengals team to a fight on the field. “We’ll fight you right here,” he yelled at the Bengals. “We’ll fight you in the tunnel . . . we’ll fight you at the buses.”

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GREEN BAY PACKERS

LAST YEAR: 9-7, advanced to NFC semifinals

THIS YEAR: 9-7

LOOKING GOOD: At the end of last season, Brett Favre was better than any quarterback who last name was not Young. Even without Sterling Sharpe, Favre will throw it up about 600 times and complete about 30 for touchdowns and won’t the decent likes of Robert Brooks and Mark Ingram be thrilled?

The most interest development here does not involve the loss of Sharpe, but the addition of feature running back to the job description of Edgar Bennett. Sounds good to us.

DON’T LOOK: While tight end Keith Jackson continues to claim that he will retire before he plays in Green Bay -- where he was traded from Miami during the off-season -- a guy named Mark Chmura takes Jackson’s place. Chmura is no Jackson. He is no Jackie Harris. He is not even Ed West.

Without a great tight end, the Packers cannot have a great offense.

IT FIGURES: After Favre was nearly decapitated by an illegal hit from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Greg Lloyd in an exhibition game, Favre nonetheless felt bad that Lloyd was fined $12,000. “If he was on our team and he did that, I’d have been over there high-fiving him,” Favre said.

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TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

LAST YEAR: 6-10

THIS YEAR: 8-8

LOOKING GOOD: With the league’s second easiest schedule and the reincarnation of Emmitt Smith -- the kid’s name is Errict Rhett, don’t forget it -- the Buccaneers are back. Maybe not back to the division title they won in 1981, but they will lose fewer than 10 games for the first time since then.

Quarterback Trent Dilfer is a Brett Favre-type who will take several years to mature, but he will at least be exciting with the likes of receivers Alvin Harper and Horace Copeland on the other end. And don’t think the division opponents aren’t suddenly worried new coordinator Rusty Tillman’s defense, which features top draft picks Warren Sapp (tackle), Derrick Brooks (linebacker) and all-world Hardy Nickerson (linebacker).

DON’T LOOK: Jimmy Johnson is still not the head coach here. Sam Wyche still is.

IT FIGURES: Two weeks before what is supposed to be the biggest season of his life, Errict Rhett returned to the training camp locker room to discover that during an earlier robbery, somebody swiped his lucky shoulder pads.

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CHICAGO BEARS

LAST YEAR: 9-7, advanced to NFC semifinals

THIS YEAR: 8-8

LOOKING GOOD: With games against the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Oilers and both expansion teams, it will be hard for the Bears to finish below .500.

If Erik Kramer plays even decently at quarterback, he has finally been given the tools to succeed in new wide receiver Michael Timpson, reborn receiver Curtis Conway, and rookie running back Rashaan Salaam.

And if you missed Ray Guy, don’t miss rookie punter Todd Sauerbrun.

DON’T LOOK: Examined player by player, the team just isn’t that good. The offensive line has no stars, the defensive line is too slow, the linebackers are too small, and the defensive backs are not athletic.

Many of their wins are due to Dave Wannstedt’s magic. An awful big load for one coach.

IT FIGURES: Conway, the former USC star who needed to grow up, did not miss one practice during training camp for the first time in his three-year career.

*

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

LAST YEAR: 10-6, advanced to first round of NFC playoffs

THIS YEAR: 6-10

LOOKING GOOD: Receiver Cris Carter moved into the rarefied air occupied by only Jerry Rice last season with an NFL-record 122 catches. With no solid running backs, expect quarterback Warren Moon to be throwing to Carter at least that much, with Jake Reed and Qadry Ismail getting rich off the leftovers.

DON’T LOOK: The team is distracted by the off-field troubles of Moon and Coach Dennis Green, both of whom could leave town at the end of the season.

IT FIGURES: After spending two years complaining that he wasn’t getting enough carries, Robert Smith finally has his chance with the release of Terry Allen. So what happens? Smith misses training camp in a contract dispute.

EAST

DALLAS COWBOYS

LAST YEAR: 12-4, advanced to NFC finals

THIS YEAR: 11-5, advance to NFL semifinals

LOOKING GOOD: This is Barry Switzer’s team now, as the coach illustrated this summer during on-field screaming sessions. This also may be Michael Irvin’s team, the wide receiver has shown up in the best shape of his professional career while vowing to return to the Super Bowl.

DON’T LOOK: Slowly, the Cowboys are dissolving from the inside out. Free agency is dominating them the way no other team could. The Cowboys replaced center Mark Stepnoski, a team leader, with Ray Donaldson, a decent veteran who is just happy to be here.

They replaced Alvin Harper, a big-play receiver, with undersized Kevin Williams and butterfingered Cory Fleming. They couldn’t replace departed defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat, while they need to replace diminishing cornerback Larry Brown.

Deion? Deion, is that you?

IT FIGURES: Tackle Erik Williams, whose return from last year’s car accident is crucial, screamed at -- and nearly slugged -- onery Charles Haley in his first workout in pads. Sound ready to you?

*

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LAST YEAR: 7-9

THIS YEAR: 9-7, advance to NFC finals

LOOKING GOOD: If Randall Cunningham continues to run the new “West Coast” as smartly as he did in training camp, this team is good enough to sneak up on the powers.

Cunningham, who still needs to figure out this business of the “touch pass,” has as many weapons as new plays. Ricky Watters is a running back with a point to prove. Kevin Turner is a fullback who behaves like Tom Rathman, while Fred Barnett and Calvin Williams remain the most athletic receiver tandem in football.

DON’T LOOK: Coach Ray Rhodes is a defensive specialist, but it seems likely the league’s fourth ranked defense will get worse. Mike Mamula, their top draft pick, is looking like nothing more than another undersized defensive end. And the replacement for departed cornerback Eric Allen, for now, is an unknown third-year player named Derrick Frazier.

IT FIGURES: After complaining about lack of work throughout his 49ers career, Watters is promised that he’ll finally be a 20-25 carry running back. Then what happens? Charlie Garner has a great preseason -- 41 carries for 243 yards, an astounding 5.9 yard per carry -- and Watters will be whining again.

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ARIZONA CARDINALS

LAST YEAR: 8-8

THIS YEAR: 9-7, advance to first round of NFC playoffs.

LOOKING GOOD: Eric Swann is the best defensive tackle in football. Period. Check out the improvement of Michael Bankston on his left side. Solid Seth Joyner and Eric Hill return at linebacker, joining a vicious cornerback-safety dueo of Aneas Williams and Lorenzo Lynch. The formerly third-ranked defense will become the league’s best.

Now, if only this totally renovated offense works. Dave Krieg is a tough quarterback, Rob Moore is still a gifted wide receiver, and the line now has an anchor in former UCLA and Pittsburgh Steelers star Duval Love.

DON’T LOOK: The hype is that running back Garrison Hearst is ready totake his rightful place alongside Barry Sanders as a game-breaking runner.zDon’t believezthe hype. He has not yet proven he can run out of anything other than I-formation -- which is not used in Arizona -- and he is injury prone.

IT FIGURES: The Cardinals starting right tackle will be a guy named Larry Tharpe, who will be paid $1 million even though he did not play a down last year for the Detroit Lions. Coach Buddy Ryan loves him. We are sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the Tharpe’s agent is Buddy’s son Jim.

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NEW YORK GIANTS

LAST YEAR: 9-7

THIS YEAR: 8-8

LOOKING GOOD: Scouts say quarterback Dave Brown is on the verge of stardom. So, they say, is receiver Thomas Lewis, who should become Brown’s favorite target by Halloween.

Don’t throw dirt on running back Rodney Hampton just yet, and newcomer Herschel Walker will just make everyone on what was the league’s worst offense better.

DON’T LOOK: The traditionally strong linebackers have been weakened with training camp struggles by Corey Miller. And do you really think a secondary can improve by adding Vencie Glenn, the safety from the Minnesota Vikings’ 21st ranked defense? Their diminished defense could die in this difficult division.

IT FIGURES: Running back Tyrone Wheatley held out of camp in a rookie salary dispute ... then showed up and promptly pulled a muscle that could delay the start of his season. Will they never learn?

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WASHINGTON REDSKINS

LAST YEAR: 3-13

THIS YEAR: 3-13

LOOKING GOOD: Receiver Michael Westbrook is big and strong enough to be a rookie of the year candidate the minute he steps on the field. The question, of course, is . . . will Heath Shuler be able to getzhim the ball.

DON’T LOOK: The defense, which ranked 26th last year, is loaded with overpaid or troubled stars. James Washington and Stanely Richard are two new defensive backs. Rod Stephens and Marvcus Patton are new linebackers, and Marc Boutte is a new tackle. Just another team that will learn it can’t buy happiness or .500.

IT FIGURES: In his first 8 1/2 quarters during this important preseason, Shuler lost two fumbles, threw four interceptions . . . and produced no touchdowns.