(2 of 2)
Real Difference. The offensive line is keeping Gabriel's britches even freer of grass stains than last year, when he was tackled, on an average, only twice a game. "Everybody has always talked about our defensive line. Well, they've played together for years. Now everybody up front on offense knows exactly what the others are doing. The same goes for my receivers. It makes a tremendous difference."
The real difference remains Gabriel himself. With four years, 38 victories, 75 TD passes and a number of club records behind him, Gabriel is in full command of his team. His plays no longer come in from the sidelines, and his teammates have become believers: "If the people playing with you don't have confidence in you—the guy who's trying to put points on the board—then you're not going to win games."
At 6 ft. 4 in. and 220 Ibs.—the son of a five-foot-five father and a mother only two inches taller—Roman Gabriel is tall enough to see over charging linemen and strong enough to fend for himself when he has to. "He plants his feet," says San Francisco Coach Dick Nolan, "and defies you to knock him down." He is also defying the rest of the N.F.L. to keep him out of the Super Bowl.