Plenty of Spirit in St. Louis

The Vikings and the Buccaneers will be interested to learn that this game has been billed as a preview of the NFC final. So will the Cardinals and the Panthers, who beat the Redskins and the Rams two Sundays ago.

Nevertheless, a story line is a story line, and as it is with all these NFC final previews, this one figures to be decided by intangibles.

Show-Them state: Mike Martz was the Redskins’ quarterback coach and Trent Green a Redskin third-stringer in 1997. Since then, much has changed, as Martz and Green would like to remind the Redskins and a prime-time national audience. Edge: Rams.

Likability of owners: The Redskins’ Daniel Snyder is an arrogant, haughty, bullying rich kid, but he never cynically ran a one-time NFL power into the ground to drive the home fans away and show the other owners how attendance had fallen in order to finagle a sweetheart deal with St. Louis. Edge: Redskins.

General vibe: Snyder would like to fire his coach, and his coach knows it. The St. Louis media would like to hug the Rams, and the Rams know it. Edge: Rams.

You make the call.

The line: St. Louis by 5.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VINNY

New York Jets (6-4) at Miami (8-2), 1:15 p.m.: Vinny Testaverde turned 37 Monday, and what did the Jet quarterback get? A bunch of pointed questions about the Jets’ three-game losing streak and Testaverde’s league-high 15 interceptions and what exactly was the real problem with the Jets. “Let’s say I did know,” Testaverde told the New York press corps. “Why would I tell you?” Then they all put on funny hats and sang songs and ate cake and played Pin the Tail on the Testaverde. The line: Miami by 3 1/2.

BUFFALO BILL WARY OF CHIEFS’ AMBUSH

Buffalo (6-4) at Kansas City (5-5), 10 a.m.: Less than thrilled by being reinstalled as the Bills’ starting quarterback, Rob Johnson fears he is being set up for a fall. After watching Doug Flutie pad his won-lost record against Chicago and New England, Johnson is immediately tossed into the grinder: road games at Kansas City and Tampa Bay. “I don’t know if this quarterback controversy is going to end,” Johnson says, fearing the worst. “We’ve got two tough games here on the road. We’ll see what happens, you never know.” Standing on the Bills’ bench, Flutie’s already looking over his shoulder. The line: Kansas City by 2 1/2.

COMMITMENT TO TURBULENCE

Oakland (8-2) at New Orleans (7-3), 10 a.m., Channel 2: A never-ending barrel of laughs, those Raiders. When their team flight from Denver began with the pilot hurtling down the runway and then slamming on the brakes, defensive end Regan Upshaw and linebacker Travian Smith tried to comfort white-knuckled teammates by yelling, “Mayday! Mayday! We’re going down!” Oh, that Raider humor. “I don’t think some of the guys appreciated it,” Upshaw noted. “We stopped because there probably would have been too many people to fight.” The line: Oakland by 3.

HE HOPES TO GIVE 120%

Indianapolis (7-3) at Green Bay (4-6), 10 a.m.: Knocked out of Sunday’s game because of a sprained foot, Packer quarterback Brett Favre said his chances of starting against the Colts are “70-50.” Whatever that means, the Packers are hopeful Favre will be able to extend two personal streaks: 135 consecutive games started, a record for NFL quarterbacks, and 24-0 in games played in weather 34 degrees or colder, a record kept only in Green Bay by people with too many frozen brain cells. The line: no line.

COMING UP ON HBO: ‘SIRAGUSA RAW, UNCENSORED’

Dallas (4-6) at Baltimore (7-4), 1:15 p.m., Channel 11: Raven defensive tackle Tony Siragusa had them rolling in the aisles this week at a promotional gig for the NFL Players Assn.’s annual Super Bowl party. Siragusa told reporters in Tampa that Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp would need to escort Buccaneer teammates to the party the night of the Super Bowl because he was going to be too busy celebrating the Ravens’ victory over Tampa Bay. Siragusa also said, “I think we’re on a roll now.” And, “We feel if we can score 14 or 17 points, we can be unstoppable.” I tell ya, he had a million of ‘em. The line: Baltimore by 7.

SO GOOD OF HIM TO CLEAR THAT UP

Detroit (6-4) at New York Giants (7-3), 10 a.m.: Barry Sanders, the J.D. Salinger of the NFL, emerged from seclusion this week with his own web site, where he informed anxious fans: “People still want to know if I will ever play football again, so let me clear it up for you. No, I won’t play in 2000, and I don’t ever see myself playing again. . . . Would I play if Detroit traded me? Probably not.” Fans responded by setting up their own web site to discuss “What Did Barry Mean by ‘Probably?’ ” The line: Giants by 5.

SAME THING APPLIES TO HIS ALMA MATER

Jacksonville (3-7) at Pittsburgh (5-5), 5:30 p.m., ESPN: Also searching for clues are disgruntled Jaguar fans, wondering why their supposedly Super Bowl-bound team is 3-7 heading into Week 12. Look no further than Jaguar offensive tackle Tony Boselli, who says: “We’re not very good. We’re not playing very good. That’s what not-very-good teams do.” As Lombardi used to say, it really is a simple game. The line: Pittsburgh by 3.

DENNIS MILLER WOULD CALL IT A PYRRHIC VICTORY

San Diego (0-10) at Denver (6-4), 1 p.m.: Brian Griese might have clinched a spot on the All-Madden team by shooting up his separated shoulder at halftime and gutting out a 27-24 victory over the Raiders, but might have cost his team a playoff berth in the process. Griese’s injury is serious enough that the Broncos might have to play their final six regular-season games without the AFC’s top-rated passer. “Yeah, you beat us,” Raider defensive tackle Darrell Russell said, “but now look at you. . . . Yeah, [Griese] played hard. Yeah, he played strong. But he had no business in that game.” The line: Denver by 9 1/2.

ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE EASY WAY OUT

Arizona (3-7) at Philadelphia (7-4), 10 a.m.: A bad snap by Trey Junkin on Sunday against Minnesota turned kicker Cary Blanchard and holder Scott Player into the Keystone Kardinals--soon to be featured on “NFL Follies 2000: the Video.” Sorry about that, Junkin told the guys. “That field goal, that was all on me,” he said. “I told the coaches coming off the field that if I were them, I’d cut me.” The line: Philadelphia by 7.

LAKERS ALSO WEAR PURPLE AND GOLD

Carolina (4-6) at Minnesota (8-2), 10 a.m., Channel 11: First they put Atlanta and New Orleans in the NFC West. Then they added Carolina. Now, the NFL owners, none of them geography majors in college, are talking about moving Minnesota to the NFC West when the league realigns in 2002. Why? Because they fear Viking owner Red McCombs is a Twin Cities short-timer and could up and move the team at any time to Los Angeles. Hey, it happened once before with the Lakers. Those NFL owners, they know their history. The line: Minnesota by 9 1/2.

WHO DISSED THE BUCS? THE BUTLER DID IT

Tampa Bay (6-4) at Chicago (2-8), 10 a.m.: The Buccaneers have won three in a row, soon to be four, and are bidding to become the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Won’t happen, says Green Bay safety LeRoy Butler. “Tampa Bay is not a Super Bowl team,” Butler said. “Super Bowl teams are the Oaklands and the Minnesotas. You’ve got to understand, I’ve been around this league for a long, long time. [The Buccaneers] are tough. They are physical. But they are not a Super Bowl team.” By way of response, Buccaneer officials issued the following statement: “Takes one to know one.” The line: Tampa Bay by 7 1/2.

KANELL WOULD IF HE COULD, BUT HE CAN’T SO HE WON’T

Atlanta (3-8) at San Francisco (3-8), 1:15 p.m.: Two weeks after yielding 12 points against Carolina and squeezing out a one-point victory, the Falcons yielded 13 points to Detroit and lost by a field goal. For the moment, Falcon defenders are biting their tongues. Alluding to the offense, safety Ronnie Bradford said: “Sometimes you might think, ‘Come on, fellas, give us just a little help,’ but I don’t think there’s anything you can say.” Unless it’s, “Hey, we just found a way to clone Steve Bartkowski.” The line: San Francisco by 5 1/2.

ALL BROWNS ARE DELUSIONAL. OTHERWISE, THEY’D NEVER SUIT UP

Cleveland (3-8) at Tennessee (8-2), 10 a.m.: Who was Brown President Carmen Policy talking about when he said: “This guy’s a nut. He makes this stuff up. . . . He’s not only grossly mistaken, he may be slightly delusional.” Al Davis? Surprisingly, no. Brown Coach Chris Palmer, who ranked quarterback Spergon Wynn’s arm strength among the top 10% in the league? Uh-uh. Correct answer: Brown tackle Orlando Brown, who has accused the team’s doctors of not informing him as to the seriousness of his eye injury. The line: Tennessee by 16.

MEANING NO ONE WILL TUNE IN

Cincinnati (2-8) at New England (2-8), 10 a.m.: If American football conducted business the way European football--a.k.a. soccer--does, the Bengals and the Patriots would be fighting Sunday to keep from getting relegated to the CFL. Which might make this game worth watching. As it stands, only fans of Scott Mitchell need bother. The line: New England by 7.

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GAME OF THE WEEK

Washington (6-4) at St. Louis (8-2)

Monday, 6 p.m., Channel 7