Times NFL writer T.J. Simers poses-- and answers-- the burning questions on... GAME DAY

1) Question: How’s Cinderella doing in Tampa Bay?

Answer: The fairy tale is over. A year ago everyone fell in love with the Buccaneers, but now even their own fans are booing quarterback Trent Dilfer, and the players are upset about it.

“I guess that [Dilfer’s toughness] is a good thing because he can still go out and get the job done even with the most fickle fans in the NFL,” Tampa Bay defensive lineman Warren Sapp said. “Green Bay fans don’t boo Brett Favre when he throws three picks on ‘Monday Night Football.’ They don’t yell they want whoever’s on the bench.”

They also don’t have Trent Dilfer ruining their fairy tale.

2) Q: Is the Jets’ Bill Parcells as good a coach as everyone says he is?

A: He makes mistakes too. He didn’t think Hugh Douglas was much of a defensive lineman, and next to quarterbacks, teams prize pass rushers more than anything else. But Parcells gave Douglas to Philadelphia for second- and fifth-round draft picks, and now Philadelphia has nine sacks thanks to Douglas.

3) Q: What happens if the Raiders beat a really good team?

A: The Raiders defeated the Chargers, 7-6, and later Coach Jon Gruden was arrested on drunk-driving charges. Almost everyone involved with the Raiders believed Gruden would be cleared after blood test results became public because he just didn’t have enough time to drink that much.

Gruden’s blood-alcohol level was .10--over the California minimum of .08, suggesting he must have been really thirsty. Gruden was pulled over at 7:15 p.m.--take into consideration the game ended after 4, there were media interviews and no one drinks during those, and it was after 5 before he arrived at a nearby hotel for the team’s victory party.

You have to figure he needed directions to find the victory party, something the Raiders are not accustomed to, and then it took him 40 minutes to reach the spot where he was arrested.

4) Q: Who’s the hottest coaching candidate beyond Green Bay’s Mike Holmgren and former San Francisco coach George Seifert?

A: John Elway’s former backup, Gary Kubiak, the Broncos’ offensive coordinator.

Kubiak looks like the front-runner for the Cleveland Browns’ opening.

“Gary will be more careful,” said Denver Coach Mike Shanahan, still stinging from his brief miserable stint as the Raiders’ head coach. “People told me when I was 35 years old, ‘Hey, you’ve got to take this job. If you don’t, there might not be another job that ever comes along.’ The advice that I got was, in my opinion, poor advice.”

5) Q: Is there a worse starting quarterback in the league than the Raiders’ Donald Hollas?

A: No.