Pro Football : In a Close Game, Only a Few Can Mean a Lot

SAN FRANCISCO â€”  In the 19th Super Bowl Sunday, the decisive contributions are likely to be made by, at most, six of the 98 athletes.

Three are quarterbacks and include starters Joe Montana of the 49ers and Dan Marino of the Dolphins. The other three, all coming off injuries, are players who have been particularly influential this season when their teams were involved in close games.

Mark Clayton, the high-scoring Miami wide receiver, subjected his shoulder to arthroscopic surgery after the American Conference title game against Pittsburgh two weeks ago.

A 175-pound wraith who stands only 5-9, Clayton couldn’t have played if the Super Bowl had been scheduled last Sunday. He didn’t practice until this week.

“I’m a fast healer,� he said two days ago. “It’s OK now.�

But the 49ers will be the judge of that--and truthfully, Clayton’s medical readiness can’t be assured until they’ve hit him once or twice. And they’ll be hitting him.

Some of them are thinking of little else, reasoning that Miami quarterback Dan Marino can’t be stopped if Clayton is flying around making big catches as usual.

It may be that Marino doesn’t need Clayton in the literal meaning of that term. He seems to fire unhesitatingly toward any target he thinks is coming open--any tight end, back or wide receiver.

But his smallest receiver is the best one he has. The 49ers will get a lift if they can knock Clayton out.

Ronnie Lott is still playing out of position as a San Francisco cornerback.

Though his talent is immense, Lott really doesn’t fit anywhere in a modern defense. He doesn’t play the long ball as well as a safety should, he’s too slow for a corner, and, at 6-0 and 199, he is too small for a linebacker.

Moreover, his imperfections have been compounded this season by many nagging injuries.

Still, Lott is probably the league’s most physical defensive back, the most feared and envied by other players, the most coveted by other teams.

For he usually makes up for his limitations by slamming people around.

The question for San Francisco, however, is whether this is the best defense against Miami, ample as it was for the Rams and Bears.

The 49ers were more than a match for most teams this season, but the fact is that, defensively, they don’t match up well with Miami. Their aggressiveness could only be an asset if they prove fast enough to use it.

Few people can hit a fly with a hammer.

“We’re going to keep them (Clayton and Miami wide receiver Mark Duper) in front of us,� Lott said, realizing he’s too slow to catch up if they run by. “And try to meet them at the ball.�

The game will no doubt be won or lost in those meetings.

Dwight Hicks, the 49ers’ free safety, is a better cornerback than Lott. And the club moved him to left corner earlier this season when Lott was hurt. But he didn’t like it.

“I’m a free safety,� Hicks said. “I’ve played safety all my life.�

Because of his attitude, San Francisco Coach Bill Walsh hesitates to switch him to Lott’s position except in emergencies.

Publicly, however, the coach listed an injury as his reason for leaving Hicks alone.

“They’ve both been hurt,� Walsh said. “We decided to start the most injured man inside (at safety).�

That’s Hicks who, asked about his sprained ankle, said: “It’s getting back to normal but it isn’t quite 100% yet.�

Asked about his speed, Hicks said he thinks Lott today is faster, which sounds ominous for San Francisco.

Against Clayton and Duper, the 49ers are obviously relying heavily on Lott, Hicks and the other young veterans in their famous secondary, right corner Eric Wright and strong safety Carlton Williamson.

Their coverage beat Cincinnati quarterback Ken Anderson in Super Bowl XVI, when all four should have won autos as the game’s most valuable players.

Ken Anderson? Marino is something else.

Don Strock of Miami will be one of the three most influential quarterbacks on the field Sunday, joining Marino and San Francisco’s Joe Montana.

An NFL backup for 11 years, Strock, barring injury, won’t be playing. But as usual he will be advising Marino between possessions. For he is the young quarterback’s private tutor and closest friend in pro football.

They play golf together, drink together and study together.

Strock is hard to miss. He is usually the most visible Dolphin on the sideline--a 6-5 thin man in a baseball cap and Miami warmup jacket standing near Coach Don Shula.

And, during timeout conversations with Marino, Strock’s input is second only to Shula’s.

“I don’t have to tell him a whole lot,� Strock said. “We talk about the false keys the defense is trying to give him, things like that.�

The things, indeed, that must seem indispensable to a quarterback who is only 23 with only two years in the league.

The Strock-Marino relationship is unique in football. Though it’s conceivable that Marino would be here if he’d never met Strock, he’s banking on the old quarterback to help him win one more.