Defensive D-Day

Art Rooney is a patient man. In the 42 years since he founded the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rooney has enjoyed only eleven seasons in which his team won more games than it lost. The Steelers have not earned a single N.F.L. championship. No other pro football team that has been around so long has produced so little. But for Rooney, now 73, success seems finally to have arrived. The Steelers are the new champions of the American Conference, and they are heading into Sunday's Super Bowl with an excellent chance to beat the Minnesota Vikings.

Pittsburgh's rendezvous with Minnesota was not exactly a surprise. The Steelers were undefeated in preseason play and, despite the fact that they took most of the fall to decide on their first-string quarterback, they entered the play-offs with a 10-3-1 record. Then, in the process of defeating Buffalo and Oakland to qualify for the Super Bowl, the Steelers really got their offense humming. Running Back Franco Harris remembered how to rumble through tacklers like a tank. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw recalled that he is, after all, No. 1 in Pittsburgh. During recent games, says Coach Chuck Noll, "Bradshaw has been masterful."

The Steelers' overpowering defense merits the same praise. Beginning six years ago with the drafting of Defensive Tackle "Mean" Joe Greene, Noll gradually put together the best defense in football. The Steelers' front four, the most ferocious in the league, flattened quarterbacks 52 times this season with their savage pass rush. The team's linebackers, led by bruising Jack Ham, are almost as intimidating. Against the powerful Raiders in the A.F.C. championship game, Pittsburgh yielded only 29 yds. in 21 running plays.

Impressive Horsepower. Pittsburgh will have to do every bit as well to contain scrambling Fran Tarkenton and the Vikings. In his 15th N.F.L. season, Tarkenton, 34, has lost little of his shifty speed and maneuverability. And this year, as last, he has impressive horsepower behind him, notably Running Backs Chuck Foreman and Dave Osborn. Foreman ran for 777 yds., caught 53 passes and scored 15 touchdowns (tops in the league) in helping the Vikings run up a 10-4 record. For the long bomb Minnesota has mercurial John Gilliam at wide receiver.

The Minnesota defense is equally menacing. With a veteran front line anchored by Tackle Alan Page and Defensive End Carl Eller, and a secondary that gave up only eight TD passes, the Vikings can be immovable. "We have the people to make it work," says Coach Bud Grant. "There are no tricks. Our pass rush depends on being a split second faster than the guys across the line."

The outcome of Sunday's game' will depend largely on how successfully Pittsburgh can contain Tarkenton. When the Vikings' wily quarterback starts leading pass rushers on a mad chase around the backfield, pass coverage often breaks down. Moreover, if Tarkenton can scramble enough to tire the Steelers' pass rushers, they could become vulnerable to the run. Minnesota also has the advantage of experience; this is their second consecutive Super Bowl and the third in the past six years. They are hungry for their first win.

But will Tarkenton get loose? Oddsmakers think not and rate the Steelers three-point favorites. Indeed, the score could end up 3-0 if both defenses play up to potential. An afternoon like that is not likely to satisfy the fans, but Art Rooney, for one, will not complain.

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