BACKUP PLANS

A year ago, we thought Kurt Warner was misspelled.

We thought the New York Jets had a chance to reach the Super Bowl with Vinny Testaverde.

We thought Terrell Davis and Jamal Anderson would be the NFL’s leading rushers.

We thought wrong.

The question shouldn’t be, “Are you ready for some football?”

It should be “Are you ready for some MRIs?”

That’s not to say the season will be a dud--Trent Green’s knee injury gave rise to Warner’s transcendent season for the St. Louis Rams, one of the great stories of this or any other NFL season.

The point is, who’s ready?

Who can withstand a major injury--most important at quarterback?

In the age of parity and the salary cap, backup quarterback isn’t always a priority--and that’s one of the biggest gambles in sports.

All but eight teams turned to a second quarterback at some point last season, either because of injury of performance.

The only quarterbacks to start every game and play at a very high level were Warner--himself an obscure backup before Green’s injury--Steve Beuerlein, Peyton Manning, Brad Johnson, Rich Gannon and Elvis Grbac.

Green Bay’s Brett Favre also started every game--but did it with a sore thumb, and wasn’t himself. New England’s Drew Bledsoe started every game too--though some Patriot fans wish he hadn’t.

The other 23 teams all made at least one change.

So let’s take a look: Which are some of the teams that could be in trouble should their starter get injured or falter?

* Indianapolis--This is how the whole thing could crumble: Manning’s backup is Kelly Holcomb. Point made.

* Jacksonville--Brunell has a history of injuries, the line is a shambles--and the backups are Jonathan Quinn and Jamie Martin.

* Carolina--Behind Beuerlein-- coming off five surgical procedures at 35--it’s either Jeff Lewis or Dameyune Craig.

* Baltimore--Tony Banks’ backup, Trent Dilfer, isn’t playing as well as rookie Chris Redman.

* Detroit--Backup Mike Tomczak broke his leg, so behind Charlie Batch--still trying to recover from a broken bone in his knee in time for the first game--it’s Stoney Case.

* Kansas City--After Grbac, choose between Warren Moon, who turns 44 in November, and Todd Collins.

* Cleveland--Oh, heck, what’s the point?

Which are some of the teams in the best shape?

* Washington--Jeff George, owner Daniel Snyder’s quarterback-in-waiting, had the NFL’s third-best passer rating last season at Minnesota before the Vikings let him sign with Washington, content to go with Daunte Culpepper. One problem-- a quarterback controversy might loom.

* St. Louis--It’s obvious: The Rams’ backup is Green, the player good enough to start before his injury opened the door for Warner.

* Buffalo--Doug Flutie is recovering from a groin injury, but should be waiting if Rob Johnson gets hurt again.

* N.Y. Jets--It took a while to get past Rick Mirer to Ray Lucas after Testaverde’s Achilles’ tendon injury in the first game, but Lucas was solid down the stretch and the Jets are set.

* Tennessee--Neil O’Donnell was 4-1 as the starter when Steve McNair was injured.

* Denver--Gus Frerotte, solid at Detroit last season, is Brian Griese’s backup.

* Pittsburgh--Kent Graham, but he might end up the starter, not Kordell Stewart’s backup.

* Dallas--On name alone, you can’t go wrong with Randall Cunningham.

Throw in the teams that have competition at quarterback to start with--Miami, San Francisco, San Diego--and figure they’d be all right with the alternative.

HEY, ‘ROOK’

It’s the year of the first-year coach--but so far, no sightings of a coach getting the mummify-the- rookie-in-tape treatment.

Who are the coaches with 0-0 NFL records?

* Dave Campo, Dallas

* Al Groh, N.Y. Jets

* Jim Haslett, New Orleans

* Mike Martz, St. Louis

* Mike Sherman, Green Bay

With the departures of Bill Parcells and Mike Ditka, the only active coaches with 100 NFL victories are Atlanta’s Dan Reeves, Carolina’s George Seifert and Indianapolis’ Jim Mora. (Seattle’s Mike Holmgren needs seven to reach 100.)

COME ON BACK

Two high-profile busts of recent drafts--Ryan Leaf and Ricky Williams--appear poised for comebacks, but withhold judgment: Leaf was good in the preseason as a rookie and lost the job during the season.

GAMES WITH BACK STORY

These aren’t necessarily the best games of the season--though some of them qualify--but they are games with a little extra juice because of what happened in the past.

* Tennessee at Buffalo, Sept. 3: Bills still smarting over what Titans call “Music City Miracle,” the controversial lateral that beat the Bills in the AFC wild-card game.

* Atlanta at Denver, Sept. 10: It’s the Knee Bowl: Jamal Anderson and Terrell Davis see who has come back strongest from the knee surgeries that knocked them out last season. Also: Reeves, the Falcon coach and former Bronco coach, returns to Denver.

* New England at N.Y. Jets, Sept. 11: Bill Belichick returns to New York after shunning the Jets for the Patriots. It’s not only the team he has to worry about, it’s the tabloids.

* Dallas at Washington, Sept. 18: Always intense--but this time the Redskins have Deion Sanders.

* New York Jets at Tampa Bay, Sept. 24: Same theme: Keyshawn Johnson vs. the Jets.

* Oakland at San Francisco, Oct. 8: Don’t think the Raiders won’t relish this role reversal.

* Baltimore at Washington, Oct. 15: Just a little neighborhood rumble.

* Oakland at Kansas City, Oct. 15: Last time Chiefs played Raiders, they blew a 17-0 lead and a trip to the playoffs.

* Jacksonville at Tennessee, Oct. 16: It was 0-3 or 3-0 last season, depending on your perspective, and if the Jaguars lose again, it’s really going to get in their heads.

* St. Louis at Tampa Bay, Dec. 18: Warner-to-Ricky Proehl in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown with 4:44 left gave the Rams the NFC title, 11-6, over Tampa Bay in January.

FILLING THEIR CLEATS

Some of the NFL’s best are gone or changed addresses. Here’s what their former teams plan to do:

Deion Sanders--With Kevin Smith expected to retire because of back problems, Kareem Larrimore--a fourth-round pick from West Texas A&M--is; expected to start at one cornerback for the Cowboys, with fellow rookie Mario Edwards from Florida State among those trying to take the job.

Bruce Smith--In Buffalo, Marcellus Wiley is coming off back surgery and is expected to take over for Smith at defensive end.

Steve Young--Jeff Garcia gets the first nod at quarterback for the 49ers, but rookie Tim Rattay from Louisiana Tech eventually might pass Rick Mirer for No. 2.

Dan Marino--Damon Huard had the stage to himself when Jay Fiedler was injured but didn’t throw a touchdown pass for Miami in the first three preseason games, so Fiedler’s still in the mix.

Derrick Thomas--It will take more than one person--and no one will fill the leadership void in Kansas City left by the death of Thomas--but the pass-rushing job falls to linebacker Donnie Edwards.

SCHEDULE STRENGTH

Buffalo has the NFL’s most difficult schedule, with an opponents’ 1999 winning percentage of .586, nine games against teams with winning records and eight games against playoff teams.

The top three in schedule strength: Buffalo, Miami, Indianapolis.

The bottom three: Oakland, St. Louis--nice break, fellas--and Philadelphia, with an opponents’ winning percentage of .426, only three games against winning teams and five against playoff teams.

MORTAL LOCK

Number of NFL players who will be charged with murder: Zero. Give or take one or two.

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1999 Passing Leaders

NFC

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Att Com Yds TD Int Warner, St.L 499 325 4353 41 13 Beuerlein, Car. 571 343 4436 36 15 George, Min. 329 191 2816 23 12 B. Johnson, Was. 519 316 4005 24 13 Batch, Det. 270 151 1957 13 7 Frerotte, Det. 288 175 2117 9 7 Chandler, Atl. 307 174 2339 16 11 Aikman, Dal. 442 263 2964 17 12 Matthews, Chi. 275 167 1645 10 6 Garcia, S.F. 375 225 2544 11 11

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AFC

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Att Com Yds TD Int Manning, Ind. 533 331 4135 26 15 Gannon, Oak. 515 304 3840 24 14 Lucas, NY-J 272 161 1678 14 6 Brunell, Jac. 441 259 3060 14 9 Grbac, K.C. 499 294 3389 22 15 Banks, Bal. 320 169 2136 17 8 McNair, Ten. 331 187 2179 12 8 Kitna, Sea. 495 270 3346 23 16 Blake, Cin. 389 215 2670 16 12 Tomczak, Pit. 258 139 1625 12 8

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