THE CHEESE STANDS ALONE--AGAIN

GREEN BAY, Wis. — There are new uniforms in Tampa, and new duds in Denver.

There are 11 teams starting fresh at the top, some coaches, such as Dick Vermeil, old enough to consider social security, and others, such as Steve Mariucci, young enough to require a learner’s permit.

Elvis Grbac, Brad Johnson and Heath Shuler are starting quarterbacks; Warren Moon, Boomer Esiason and Jim Everett are not.

Bill Parcells is back in New York, but with the Jets. Mike Ditka will be back in Chicago as the Saints’ coach. Houston has moved to Nashville but will play in Memphis.

So many changes in the NFL in 1997, and yet when it’s all over Jan. 25 in San Diego at Super Bowl XXXII, it probably will be the Cheeseheads hoisting the victory suds once again.

Sure, the Green Bay Packers, like every other team, have a new look after the losses of Desmond Howard, Keith Jackson, Sean Jones, Chris Jacke and Andre Rison. But upon closer inspection they have lost only one starter (Jones), and they are talking with good reason about becoming the first team since Miami in 1972 to go undefeated.

“Most definitely, that’s the talk around here,” safety LeRoy Butler said. “It’s a realistic goal--we’re pretty damn good.”

How good are they? They will open the regular season 14-point favorites on “Monday Night Football” to defeat their archrivals, the Chicago Bears. Another example of too much violence in the family hour.

“OK, we won the Super Bowl,” Butler said. “Now our next goal is to make history: Win the Super Bowl again and go undefeated if we can.”

Some Cheesehead has already looked this up: Since the NFL went to a 12-game schedule 50 years ago, only 13 teams have lost only one game.

“I’ve been looking for weaknesses,” Butler said, “but I can’t find any.”

Don’t choke on the Texas barbecue, but look again. The Packers play the Cowboys this season, and the Packers have lost eight in a row to the Cowboys, making it more likely that they will become the first team since the 1985 Bears to lose only one game all season.

“Green Bay is clearly the team to beat,” Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman said. “But I still like our chances and I still like San Francisco’s.”

The Cowboys lack the wallop they have had on defense in previous years, while the 49ers have been struggling to find the right group of bodyguards to keep Steve Young standing. Carolina and Jacksonville start without their regular quarterbacks and Denver always chokes.

The Packers, meanwhile, have been fine-tuning. The hoopla, however, that comes with winning a Super Bowl usually sabotages efforts to repeat, and this season eight Packers will have their own TV shows.

“It used to be tough for any football player to get a television show,” Steve Belkin, president of Sports Media Management, a Cleveland-based company that produces sports programming, said in a published report. “Now, it seems like you can get one if you’re the Packers’ water boy.”

Defensive end Reggie White, who will talk religion on the air, will also have his mug plastered on 50 million soup cans. The soup company will donate 50,000 cans to food banks for every White sack.

After playing the Bears, no one will go hungry.

Coach Mike Holmgren, who spent training camp acting like the Grinch who stole Christmas, has worked overtime trying to eliminate distractions. His agent said he rejected more than $1 million in endorsement and autograph opportunities in addition to canceling his own TV and radio shows.

“I’ve seen teams struggle to repeat as champions because coaches and players spend a lot of time on outside interests,” Holmgren said. “I have made a conscious effort to be tougher, to be more demanding, to remind everyone of the opportunity we have to do this again.”

All of that is important, of course, but ignore it and the Packers probably still run off with the title. But take away Brett Favre, who has started 77 consecutive games at quarterback, and the Packers are chasing Detroit and Minnesota.

The NFL in 1997 from worst to first:

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30. ATLANTA FALCONS

Coach Dan Reeves hit the quinella, and nearly had the trifecta. The Falcons have not only the worst starting quarterback in the league in Chris Chandler, but the worst backup in Billy Joe Tolliver. Had they not cut Tommy Maddox, they also would have the worst No. 3 quarterback.

Top newcomer: Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning--next year.

Biggest drawback: The team’s 53-man roster.

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29. BALTIMORE RAVENS

Quarterback Vinny Testaverde had a dream season and never looked so good and the Ravens won four games. What happens when he returns to form?

Top newcomer: Defensive tackle Tony Siragusa, and that ought to sell a lot of season tickets.

Biggest drawback: Bam Morris’ suspension for substance abuse.

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28. CHICAGO BEARS

The Bears made a decisive move and dealt a No. 1 pick (11th selection in the first round) to Seattle for quarterback Rick Mirer, and then Mirer couldn’t learn the offense. How tough can it be to hand the ball to Rashaan Salaam?

Top newcomer: Wide receiver Chris Penn, obtained in a trade with Kansas City at the last moment, although the Chiefs probably would have cut Penn anyway.

Biggest drawback: Wide receiver Curtis Conway will be out six to eight weeks because of a collarbone injury, and is the only player capable of scoring for the Bears.

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27. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

The Saints will run the ball, stay conservative, fly around on defense, keep the game within reach in the fourth quarter and then Coach Mike Ditka will yell “Boo” in an attempt to startle the opposition and steal a victory.

Top newcomer: Running back Troy Davis, so small (5 feet 7) no one can see him, which makes it tough to tackle him.

Biggest drawback: Ditka is back, but Buddy Ryan isn’t.

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26. ARIZONA CARDINALS

The Cardinals haven’t been to the playoffs in a non-strike year since 1975. Good news--the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement is nearing expiration and there’s always the possibility of a strike.

Top newcomer: Even when the Cardinals are right, they are wrong. The Cardinals took local hero Jake Plummer, who fired up fans but received two years’ probation after agreeing to a plea bargain when accused of groping four women in a local bar.

Biggest drawback: Loss of offensive coordinator Jim Fassel to the Giants, leaving quarterback Kent Graham to flounder.

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25. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

The Chargers have a new offensive philosophy lacking only the kind of players it requires to carry it out. Team lacks a starting running back, a No. 2 wide receiver and an offensive line to protect quarterback Stan Humphries, who some suspect will be pushed hard by Jim Everett. The people there spend entirely too much time in the sun.

Top newcomer: He might play only on third down, but running back/wide receiver Eric Metcalf looks like the Chargers’ only threat beyond wide receiver Tony Martin.

Biggest drawback: A stadium that must be sold out or the taxpayers of San Diego start coughing up more money.

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24. NEW YORK GIANTS

There are all kinds of great reports flying around Fassel and the team’s upgrade in personnel with running back Tiki Barber and wide receiver Ike Hilliard. Hello, Dave Brown is still the quarterback.

Top newcomer: Christian Peter, who is coming off alcohol problems and a penchant for beating up people.

Biggest drawback: Fassel’s faith in Brown.

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23. TENNESSEE OILERS

The Oilers were in a position to waltz into the playoffs last year, then they collapsed. They wore out their welcome in Houston, and now appear to be unwanted in Memphis while officials dig a hole for a new stadium in Nashville.

Top newcomer: The re-signing of left tackle Brad Hopkins, thereby giving the Oilers one of the top offensive lines--a boon for running back Eddie George.

Biggest drawback: The inexperience of quarterback Steve McNair, who had trouble beating out Chandler a year ago.

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22. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Some people are picking the Buccaneers to be one of the most improved teams in the league off their 5-2 finish down the stretch and the addition of running back Warrick Dunn and wide receiver Reidel Anthony. Some people are just plain crazy.

Top newcomer: The team’s new uniforms, thereby ridding the world of that ugly orange.

Biggest drawback: Quarterback Trent Dilfer’s insistence on throwing the ball to the other team.

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21. BUFFALO BILLS

The Bills are going from the no-huddle to an attack that will require No Doz to watch. New offensive assistant Dan Henning will use two tight ends to run the ball and keep it away from quarterback Todd Collins.

Top newcomer: Rookie running back Antowain Smith fits Henning’s attack better than Thurman Thomas, and he’s a nicer guy.

Biggest drawback: The Bills will have a solid defense, but unless they elect to remain on the field at all times, sooner or later Collins will be out there.

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20. NEW YORK JETS

How much difference will Bill Parcells make overnight? Jimmy Johnson had Dan Marino in Miami and did not inherit a team so bad that it had lost 28 of its last 32 games, and he finished .500. Can Parcells do the same out of the gate with Neil O’Donnell at quarterback?

Top newcomer: Parcells. He already has cut 27 players off last year’s team.

Biggest drawback: Parcells. He can be insufferable, and how many people remember that his Patriots were 5-11 two years ago with one of the game’s up-and-coming quarterbacks in Drew Bledsoe?

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19. MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Where have you heard this one before--if Robert Smith can stay healthy. . . . He can’t. That will leave Brad Johnson throwing bombs to Cris Carter and Jake Reed and Dennis Green out of a job at season’s end.

Top newcomer: Randall Cunningham has come out of retirement to look over Johnson’s shoulder.

Biggest drawback: The Vikings can beat the Packers in Minnesota (five consecutive years), but no one else.

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18. MIAMI DOLPHINS

A year from now Jimmy Johnson makes his move with one final fling for Dan Marino. This year, however, he continues to change diapers with 17 draft picks from the last two years gaining experience.

Top newcomer: Pass rusher Jason Taylor will be this year’s example why Johnson knows talent better than anyone else in the league.

Biggest drawback: A crumbling offensive line will not allow Johnson to run the ball, forcing Marino to play catch with tight end Troy Drayton.

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17. ST.LOUIS RAMS

The Rams have the best young talent in the league, and it’s all riding on the development of quarterback Tony Banks, who has been a chronic fumbler. At best, they remain ahead of the Saints and Falcons and behind the Panthers and 49ers.

Top newcomer: Coach Dick Vermeil says he won’t work as hard as he did in Philadelphia. So why hire him? He got the Eagles to the Super Bowl.

Biggest drawback: They remain the Rams, and running back Lawrence Phillips will be playing on a swollen knee.

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16. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

No team has distinguished itself in the AFC East, and the Colts appear feisty and competitive. But they still have an offensive line hellbent on getting quarterback Jim Harbaugh buried.

Top newcomer: Tackle Tarik Glenn. Without help up front, running back Marshall Faulk goes nowhere.

Biggest drawback: The Colts will contend with rumors throughout the season that they are headed for Cleveland, which could lead to mass defections.

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15. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Coach Ray Rhodes has told everyone the best quarterback on his roster is Bobby Hoying, so he’s starting Ty Detmer. Meanwhile, Ricky Watters wants the ball on every play and with Detmer at quarterback, Watters has a point.

Top newcomer: Center Steve Everitt. He is 6 feet 5, and if he stands up he’s going to get plunked in the back of the head by one of Detmer’s passes.

Biggest drawback: The Eagles have a history of wasting first-round draft picks--defensive end Jon Harris continues the tradition.

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14. WASHINGTON REDSKINS

The Redskins pulled away with a 7-1 record last year, then took a look in the mirror and realized they were frauds.

Top newcomer: Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan was hired from the Giants to bolster the league’s No. 28 defense. How good were the Giants?

Biggest drawback: The best offensive weapon the Redskins have is wide receiver Michael Westbrook, and they want him to undergo counseling after beating up a teammate.

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13. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

They had many off-season meetings, did a lot of soul searching and then the brain trust announced they will try to score some points this year. You can’t just be a coach or GM in this league, it takes a lot of training.

Top newcomer: A passing game, which will feature wide receivers Andre Rison and Brett Perriman, tight ends Ted Popson and Tony Gonzalez and quarterback Elvis Grbac.

Biggest drawback. Loss of defensive end Neil Smith, and if Grbac was so good, why did the 49ers let him get away?

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12. OAKLAND RAIDERS

If Jeff George got all ticked off at June Jones, how will he react to Al Davis’ sniping? George has been hired to fire up the vertical passing game, which will produce big plays and even more holding calls on the offensive line.

Top newcomer: Defensive lineman Darrell Russell gives the Raiders one of the best lines in the league.

Biggest drawback: The Raiders intend to use little Napoleon Kaufman as their 16-game battering ram. Anyone think Davis doesn’t know what he’s doing?

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11. PITTSBURGH STEELERS

The Steelers looked so impressive in the preseason, but at last check those games don’t count. Free agency has thinned the ranks, and quarterback Kordell Stewart will eventually be forced to throw the ball to win.

Top newcomer: Greg Lloyd. Lloyd sat out last season because of a knee injury, and compensates for the defection of Chad Brown to Seattle.

Biggest drawback: Running back Jerome Bettis, who runs best when motivated, has been given a four-year, $14.4-million contract.

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10. DETROIT LIONS

If the Lions could be in the playoff hunt with Wayne Fontes in control, imagine what they can do with a real coach calling the shots. Quarterback Scott Mitchell has lost weight, and gets an offensive coordinator as hungry as he is in Marc Trestman.

Top newcomer: Bobby Ross will demand results, and he won’t have to be reminded to give the ball to Barry Sanders.

Biggest drawback: The Lions will try to play this season without any defense.

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9. CINCINNATI BENGALS

If Ki-Jana Carter finally lives up to expectations, the Bengals can make the AFC Central one of the league’s better division races. Cincinnati went 7-2 under Coach Bruce Coslet last year and quarterback Jeff Blake was smoking at season’s end.

Top newcomer: Former Steeler defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who will employ the zone blitzes that have separated Pittsburgh and Carolina from the pack.

Biggest drawback: Because of the competition in the AFC Central, which will hurt a team’s overall record, the winner of the division probably will have to play on the road in the playoffs.

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8. CAROLINA PANTHERS

An injury to quarterback Kerry Collins and the loss of Kevin Greene give the Panthers their first severe case of adversity. Like San Francisco, Carolina will feast on the Saints, Falcons and Rams, but this is a playoff team that ranked No. 23 on offense a year ago.

Top newcomer: The signing of Renaldo Turnbull gives the Panthers a Greene-like replacement.

Biggest drawback: No one will take the Panthers lightly anymore.

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7. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

The Jaguars looked like the team to beat in the AFC until Mark Brunell suffered a knee injury. Brunell claims he will be back in no time and his backup, Rob Johnson, has looked great in the preseason. But what if Brunell doesn’t come right back?

Top newcomer: Offensive coordinator Chris Palmer replaces Kevin Gilbride, who had the Jaguars ranked No. 1 throwing the ball.

Biggest drawback: Johnson comes into the season with seven pass attempts in his NFL career.

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6. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

It’s not that the Seahawks are so good, but what a wonderful schedule to fatten their record. They play five doormats from a year ago in the Jets, Saints, Ravens, Falcons and Rams, and get two games against the Chargers.

Top newcomer: Owner Paul Allen brings an open checkbook, plans for a new stadium and a threat to Coach Dennis Erickson to win now or start typing that resume.

Biggest drawback: How long will John Friesz last at starting quarterback before Warren Moon gets the call?

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5. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

The Patriots don’t figure to have the edge they had under Parcells, but Pete Carroll still has Bledsoe and Curtis Martin, and how much can a guy screw up a Super Bowl team in one year?

Top newcomer: Carroll. Some teams that interviewed him for their head coaching position walked away unimpressed, labeling Carroll immature.

Biggest drawback: Carroll. He’s no Parcells.

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4. DALLAS COWBOYS

The Cowboys have so many question marks. Is Emmitt Smith a step slower? Is Michael Irvin trouble-free? Is Troy Aikman capable of winning without Jay Novacek? Is Barry Switzer armed and considered dangerous?

Top newcomer: Wide receiver Anthony Miller provides home-run threat, if he can play on a sore knee.

Biggest drawback: Dallas will have no pass rush, which means it will need Deion Sanders’ undivided attention to keep the opposition out of the end zone.

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3. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

This is just like one of those Disney movies where they let a kid out of the stands manage a baseball team, only this is a football story with Steve Mariucci living out a dream. The 49ers have so many good players it really doesn’t matter who is in control.

Top newcomer: Kevin Gogan. Quarterback Steve Young is a concussion away from possibly ending his career, and Gogan brings a tough-guy attitude to the offensive line that might save Young’s career.

Biggest drawback: The 49ers can’t beat Carolina.

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2. GREEN BAY PACKERS

The Packers have reduced the Big Three of Dallas, San Francisco and Green Bay to themselves, and could have the NFC Central wrapped up by the end of November. The Packers are clearly the best team in the NFL, and when they lose the Super Bowl it will go down as one of the great upsets in sports.

Top newcomer: Kicker Brett Conway. The Packers didn’t want to pay Chris Jacke big bucks--now let’s see if it comes back to haunt them.

Biggest drawback: At some point your neighbor is going to walk out of his house wearing a big hunk of cheese on his head.

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1. DENVER BRONCOS

This is all about redemption, giving John Elway a chance to return to San Diego in January and bury a nightmarish Super Bowl loss to Washington a decade ago and once and for all establish himself as one of the game’s great all-time quarterbacks. And who wants to make a no-brainer pick like Green Bay?

Top newcomer: Wide receiver Rod Smith steps into the starting lineup as Denver’s only deep threat.

Biggest drawback: Elway will try to play 16 games with a torn biceps muscle in his throwing arm.

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* GETTING RICH IN A HURRY: The Seattle Seahawks, who tried to become the L.A. Seahawks, feel better about their situation with owner Paul Allen. C9