SUPER BOWL XXIII : CINCINNATI BENGALS vs. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS : 2 Guys Who Have Nose for Sniffing Out Ball Carriers

MIAMI —  The best nose tackle in pro football is the Cincinnati Bengals Tim Krumrie.

No, that’s not right.

The best nose tackle in pro football is the San Francisco 49ers Michael Carter.

No, that’s not right either.

The best nose tackles in pro football are Tim Krumrie and Michael Carter, Michael Carter and Tim Krumrie.

That will have to do for now. Or at least until today when Krumrie--the AFC Pro Bowl nose tackle--and Carter--the NFC Pro Bowl nose man--meet in Super Bowl XXIII at Joe Robbie Stadium.

“There’s been a lot of attention on it,” said Carter. “I’ve been asked to compare myself to Krumrie. People will have a chance to judge us on the same field.”

Maybe it is because Carter has tasted so much success--he has a Super Bowl XIX championship ring and a silver medal in the shot put from the 1984 Olympics--but the Niners nose is not as concerned with being considered the top player at his position as Krumrie.

Krumrie has had to bite and scratch and scramble to get where he is. It is part of his nature and partly due to the actions of others, who failed to include the size of his heart in calculating his ability.

It still rankles Krumrie that he was not selected until the 10th round in the 1983 NFL draft.

“I was mad and I’m still mad,” Krumrie said. “That’s something that still bothers me and I have to prove that I deserved to be drafted higher.”

Krumrie is a blood and guts player, a throwback to Butkus, Nitschke and Modzelewski. Cris Collinsworth of the Bengals likens him to Joe Bob in Pete Gent’s book, North Dallas Forty.

“That’s Timmy,” said Collinsworth. “Joe Bob. Opens a restaurant and puts a sign out front, ‘Eat here or I’ll kill you.’ ”

If the Bengals win today, Krumrie could be the next Jim Burt, the nose tackle for the New York Giants who celebrated bare-chested on the field after his team’s Super Bowl victory two years ago. That’s how pumped up Krumrie gets for big games.

Krumrie has played with two dislocated thumbs this year. A year ago he played with a sprained knee that would have put most players on injured reserve.

He’s one of those guys whose jersey won’t stay in. And his practice pants are always ripped. He’s not always pulling up his socks to make sure everything is picture-perfect. It’s football, an in-the-trench kind of football. Every team needs a few of those guys.

At a midweek Bengals practice, Krumrie (pronounced Krum-rye) got into a fight with teammate Brian Blados. It was one of those pass-blocking skirmishes that break out occasionally between linemen. And no one was surprised Krumrie was involved.

“It’s always Krumrie and somebody,” said Bengals Coach Sam Wyche.

“It’s just my nature,” said Krumrie.

Krumrie has a nose scarred like a railroad track and a cauliflowered left ear. He has led the team in tackles the last four years and he leads the team in blood lost, too.

His nose bleeds almost every game from the never-quite-healed scar tissue across its bridge. Sometimes, he’s bleeding before pre-game warmups are even over.

“He is such a dedicated trainer and practicer,” said Wyche. “The way he works is contagious on the team. He is one of our leaders.”

“They might have to carry me off,” Krumrie said of Super Bowl XXIII. “Everything I’ve got is going to be on the field.”

When he came to the Bengals from Wisconsin, Krumrie set about proving himself by trying to outplay No. 1 pick, center Dave Rimington.

“Tim is probably the reason I’m injured so much,” said Rimington before being released this year by the Bengals. “He’s a crazy man in practice. He never lets up. It makes me mad because I have to go hard all the time to try to keep up with him. He’s out there running around like a Tasmanian Devil.”

An alternate to the Pro Bowl last year, the 6-foot-2, 274-pound Krumrie was voted a starter this year. It is a position he aims to maintain with a vengeance. His motivation still seems to stem from the stigma of not being highly thought of by the pro scouts.

“That’s why I come to practice earlier than anybody else,” he said. “I feel I have to do extra to stay on top. I want to stay at the top. I like it at the top. It’s like King of the Mountain now.”

Carter--going to the Pro Bowl this year for the third time in the last four seasons -- was also somewhat misjudged coming out of Southern Methodist University. He was only drafted in the fifth round in 1984, but there were extenuating circumstances.

The primary one was his track career. He still holds the high school world record for the shot put at 81 feet, 3 1/2 inches, and put the shot and played football through college.

With the Olympics approaching the year he was eligible for the NFL draft, Carter was engaged in a tug-of-war between sports. Some wanted him to concentrate on track, others wanted him to prepare for a pro football career. He wanted to play both.

Carter wavered at one point and gave up football. It only lasted three days, but the word traveled fast: Michael Carter isn’t interested in playing football.

“That’s how the stories came up that I didn’t want to play football,” said Carter. “The track situation held me back in the draft.”

But Carter would not have missed the Olympic experience. His two trips to the Super Bowl cannot compare to the exhilaration of his participation and success in the Summer Games.

“The Olympics was much sweeter,” said Carter. “It’s an individual thing that you’ve spent your whole life waiting for the moment. You’re here in the Super Bowl with a lot of guys. The Olympics is a once in a lifetime experience.”

The only four-time NCAA indoor shot put champion (he won the outdoor title three times), Carter reported four weeks late to the 49ers due to the ’84 Games. San Francisco went on to beat Miami in the Super Bowl that season, with Carter making six tackles and two sacks in the NFC title game.

The following year the 6-2, 285-pound Carter became a starter and has anchored the center of the 49ers defense since. He had six sacks and nine pass deflections this season and is a force the Bengals feel they must reckon with.

“If we’re going to run the ball effectively, we’ve got to contain Michael Carter,” said Bengals center Bruce Kozerski, “and by containing him, I’m not saying driving him back 10 yards, because no one does that.”

Carter said he didn’t get the urge to go for the 1988 Olympics because, “Now I’m into football. It’s my career.”

The only time he picks up a shot is when he’s helping his local high school track team. There is a relationship, however, between how Carter plays nose tackle and the way he threw the shot.

“The only thing that carries over,” he said, “is being quick and explosive. You need that throwing the shot and you need that on the football field.”

Carter was able to reach a pinnacle in his two chosen sports through determination and hard work.

“If you believe in yourself,” he said, “everything comes to you in the end.”

Even recognition.