Dolphins, Raiders Escape Land of Mediocrity : Trends: Shula enjoys 200th win, but being alone in first place really makes his day.

Who are those funny teams atop the AFC East and West?

Did anyone say the Raiders and the Dolphins, who disappeared in the mid-80s and whose most recent address was “Somewhere in Mediocrity”?

OK, so it’s early, but Miami’s 30-7 rout of Buffalo may have symbolized a rebirth of a team that was one of the NFL’s most dominant between 1972 and 1985. It put the Dolphins in first place alone for the first time in five years and marked the first time in 33 games that Buffalo was out of the AFC East lead.

It also marked Don Shula’s 200th win with the Dolphins, making him only the fourth coach in history to win 200 games with one team. George Halas (Chicago), Tom Landry (Dallas) and Curly Lambeau (Green Bay) are the others.

“That tells you I’m old,” said Shula, more concerned with the present than the past. “I realize 200 will be important some day, but right now what I feel good about is this team is 2-0.”

The Raiders, who finally know where they will play this year, also sense a turnaround from the 8-8 cycle of the past four seasons.

“You see the determination in our eyes,” says defensive tackle Bob Golic. “A year ago, you’d look around and see blank stares.”

There are six 2-0 teams after two weeks of the NFL season, three of them the preseason favorites in their divisions (49ers, Bengals and Giants). Then there are the Raiders and Dolphins, and, after a shorter absence, the Bears, whose defense (13 points allowed in two games) seems to be back.

SPEEDUP: So you think the first week’s games were quick?

Sunday’s games averaged 2 hours, 53 minutes--11 minutes less than the previous week. Only three games went longer than three hours, led by the 3:08 of the Houston-Pittsburgh game.

The quickest was the Rams’ 35-14 victory over Tampa Bay, which took 2:38.

The yearly average, going into Monday night’s game, was between 2:58 and 2:59, compared with 3:11 last year. The three-hour-plus Chiefs-Broncos game Monday will push this year’s figure higher, but the games are still significantly shorter in 1990.

ROOKIES: Because of the juniors who came out early, the 1990 draft was a good one. And the second week was a good one for rookies, particularly a couple of unsung ones who stood out in Phoenix’s 23-21 upset of Philadelphia.

One is Johnny Johnson, the Cards’ seventh-round pick from San Jose State, who carried 22 times for 82 yards and had a 22-yard touchdown run. The other is Ricky Proehl, the third-rounder from Wake Forest who had four catches for 72 yards while the rest of the team combined for just 44 yards in receptions.

Some others:

*Mark Carrier (Bears, Round 1): Six tackles and an interception in the 31-13 victory over Green Bay.

*Blair Thomas (Jets, Round 1): Six carries for 46 yards and a 55-yard pass reception in the 24-21 victory over Cleveland.

*Alexander Wright (Cowboys, No. 2): A 90-yard kickoff return for the Cowboys’ only touchdown in the 28-7 loss to the Giants.

*Steve Broussard (Falcons, No. 1): 88 yards in 19 carries for Atlanta in its 21-14 loss to Detroit.

*Junior Seau (San Diego, No. 1): Five tackles (to go with seven last week) in a 21-16 loss to Cincinnati, while James Francis (Bengals, No. 1) had four tackles.

TOUCHDOWN, ANYONE? In two games, New Orleans has yet to score a touchdown under the quarterback who is becoming known as “the unfortunate John Fourcade.” Tommy Kramer did no better. The unsigned Bobby Hebert, meanwhile, remains in limbo.

“Do I miss Hebert? Hell no,” Coach Jim Mora said after Sunday’s game.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has yet to score a touchdown on offense as Bubby Brister and his friends try to absorb offensive coordinator Joe Walton’s new scheme. The Steelers’ two TDs in the 20-9 victory over Houston Sunday night came on an interception by David Johnson and a punt return by Rod Woodson.

HOME FIELD WHAT? For what it’s worth, home teams were 5-8 Sunday.