WEEK 6 BREAKDOWN

BUFFALO AT HOUSTON

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

The line: Buffalo by 7.

Quick slant: David Carr, Drew Bledsoe feels your pain.

Plot: It is hoped Carr enjoyed his first NFL bye week, because the pounding on the Texans’ rookie quarterback resumes Sunday against the Bills. Houston has allowed 26 sacks in four games--on pace to equal the league record for most times sacked in a season, 104, set by Philadelphia in 1986 and endured by Ron Jaworski (until he was mercifully knocked out in Game 10), Randall Cunningham and Matt Cavanaugh. Buffalo’s Bledsoe has been there, absorbing such a beating in nine New England seasons that it cost him his job, and eventually sent him packing. Bledsoe is here to inform Carr: Things do get better.

Monday’s headline: “Baby, You Can Drive That Carr to the Repair Shop”

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CAROLINA AT DALLAS

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

The line: Dallas by 2.

Quick slant: Journeyman journeys back to Texas.

Plot: Rodney Peete has been to two conference finals, most recently with the 2000 Raiders, although he did not play in either. The first was with the 1994 Cowboys, Peete serving as Troy Aikman’s backup. Since then, Peete and the Cowboys have gone their separate ways--Peete winding up in Carolina, the Cowboys winding up with Quincy Carter. Who’s the better for it? Last we checked, Peete was losing at home to Arizona, 16-13, and Kid Carter was overthrowing a wide-open Antonio Bryant near the end zone to preserve a 21-17 loss to the Giants. Moral of the story: Change is not necessarily a good thing.

Monday’s headline: “Youth Is Served Up on a Platter”

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ATLANTA AT NEW YORK GIANTS

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

The line: Off.

Quick slant: Vick as in quick, though probably not this week.

Plot: Michael Vick throws with his left arm and runs with his legs, so why should a sprained right shoulder keep him out of Sunday’s game at the Meadowlands? Falcon fans demand an inquiry. Giant defensive end Michael Strahan, meanwhile, stopped just short of turning cartwheels at the news of Vick’s “doubtful” status: “Yeah, I prefer to run around and watch a guy beat me 20 yards to nothing. You could give me a 30-yard lead in the 40 and he’d still beat me. If he’s not going to play, it’s a definite hit for them.” If he’s not going to play, it’s Doug Johnson’s game to lose. Most likely, he will.

Monday’s headline: “As Reeves Watches Johnson, Fond Memories of Elway Come Flooding Back”

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BALTIMORE AT INDIANAPOLIS

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

The line: Indianapolis by 7.

Quick slant: Colts host Baltimore. It’s a ball of confusion.

Plot: Somewhere, Johnny U is sadly shaking his head. His old team, the Colts, plays host to the transplants from Cleveland and the team from his old town, Baltimore, has to travel to Indianapolis to play the Colts. This is an end-around and then some, not as simple as it was in the Lenny Moore days. But then, nothing in the NFL is anymore. Take the Ravens: They gutted their roster and now have the second-lowest payroll in the league, they rank 28th in offense, 21st in defense and have somehow scraped out a 2-2 record. And in today’s NFL, that’s enough for first place in the AFC North.

Monday’s headline: “Colts Do It to Baltimore Again, This Time in the Middle of the Day”

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NEW ORLEANS AT WASHINGTON

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

The line: New Orleans by 1.

Quick slant: This week’s episode of “Spurrier and the Coaches He Has Offended.”

Plot: Steve Spurrier was months removed from the NFL last January when he lobbed the first insult Jim Haslett’s way. Calling him “Hazelet,” Spurrier noted the Saints’ 0-4 season-ending slide and mused, “I saw a story where Jim Hazelet comes in [to work] at 4:30 in the morning. That’s not doing him any good.” Since then, the coaches have actually gutted out a breakfast together and Haslett reports that Spurrier is “a relatively nice guy.” But this is not breakfast, and Spurrier is bringing a rookie quarterback, Patrick Ramsey, to the table, and this is Hazelet’s payback, relatively speaking.

Monday’s headline: “Early Bird Catches Up With Spurrier”

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GREEN BAY AT NEW ENGLAND

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

TV: Channel 11.

The line: New England by 5.

Quick slant: Terry Glenn, MIA no more.

Plot: In New England, Glenn is considered the millstone that had to be shed before the Patriots could launch their Super Bowl climb. Suspended twice in 2001, Glenn appeared in only three games for the Patriots, did not play a down during the postseason and did not receive a Super Bowl ring. Traded to the Packers with a loud “good riddance,” Glenn is now catching passes--eight for 154 yards in Monday’s victory over the Bears--and praise from Brett Favre. Sunday, Glenn returns to Foxboro to catch a few more things, among them an earful.

Monday’s headline: “Glenn Catches Flak, Not Much Else in Packer Defeat”

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DETROIT AT MINNESOTA

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

The line: Minnesota by 4.

Quick slant: Lions, Vikings are back after open dates. Anybody miss them?

Plot: What to do about Randy Moss? Bench him? New Viking Coach Mike Tice is 0-4 and suspects he doesn’t have the time to take the chance. Suspend him? The league is mulling that option. Taking care not to further ostracize their troubled diva, the Vikings tried to make Moss feel like one of the guys and decided to take off every play last Sunday, every one of them. But that’s a temporary fix at best--NFL schedule limits all 32 teams to only one open date each--and so the Vikings will be back on the field Sunday, with only the 1-3 Lions separating them from a long, downward spiral.

Monday’s headline: “It’s Now or Never for Vikings. Never Wins Going Away.”

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PITTSBURGH AT CINCINNATI

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

The line: Pittsburgh by 6.

Quick slant: Steelers are back after unprecedented bye month.

Plot: So quarterback Tommy Maddox couldn’t save the Steelers from themselves in last week’s 32-29 loss to New Orleans. So Pittsburgh is 1-3 after the Saints scored on seven of their first eight possessions and is yielding an average of 26 points a game. For the Steelers, the season starts here--eight of their next 10 games are against Cincinnati (twice), Baltimore, Cleveland, Atlanta, Tennessee, Houston and Carolina. Only a game out of first place in the NFL’s worst division, the AFC North, the Steelers are far from out of it, which explains why Coach Bill Cowher is starting Maddox instead of Kordell Stewart.

Monday’s headline: “Steelers Wake Up 2-3, Tied for First Place”

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CLEVELAND AT TAMPA BAY

Kickoff: Sunday, 10 a.m.

TV: Channel 2.

The line: Off.

Quick slant: After three last-second defeats, Browns take care of business early.

Plot: Cleveland fans have had it with their team’s penchant for losing games on the last play, including last Sunday’s interception in the end zone against Baltimore. They are venting their frustrations on quarterback Tim Couch, erstwhile golden boy, booing him when he’s on the field and cheering when he’s hurt. Couch lashed back, noting how he’s “laid it on the line for this team and this city” and for the city “to turn on me and boo me in my home stadium is a joke.” Good thing Couch gets a trip this weekend. Too bad it had to be to Tampa.

Monday’s headline: “Couch Not Welcome Here, Either”

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OAKLAND AT ST. LOUIS

Kickoff: Sunday, 1:15 p.m.

TV: Channel 2.

The line: Oakland by 8.

Quick slant: L.A. Ex.

Plot: The Raiders and the Rams hold a traitorous reunion, celebrating the eighth anniversary of the Great Betrayal of Los Angeles. How times have changed: The Raiders are 4-0, averaging 40.5 points a game and running roughshod over the league. How times haven’t changed: The Rams are 0-5 amid accusations of quitting on the season and their coach, which is a straight lift from the Anaheim Rams’ 1990-94 playbook. Question: Is Ram quarterback Jamie Martin talking about his knee or his team when he says, “There’s a lot of discomfort. The flexion and the range of motion isn’t there.”

Monday’s headline: “Georgia Gets Her Just Desserts; Shame About Al, Though”

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JACKSONVILLE AT TENNESSEE

Kickoff: Sunday, 1:15 p.m.

The line: Jacksonville by 2.

Quick slant: With owners like Bud Adams, who needs a new job?

Plot: At 1-4, the Titans are off to their worst start since their move from Houston. Who’s to blame? Owner Bud Adams opts for Coach Jeff Fisher: “It looks like we’re getting out-coached.” Fisher assigns responsibility elsewhere: “Right now, we are not a good football team.” Fingers pointed, the Titans might want to pay notice to the team flying into town. The Jaguars are 3-1 and considered a big early season surprise, mainly by those who forgot how good a team the Jaguars once were when Fred Taylor, Jimmy Smith and Mark Brunell were in the lineup together. The Titans will soon remember.

Monday’s headline: “Titans One-Win Wonders, Same as Houston”

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KANSAS CITY AT SAN DIEGO

Kickoff: Sunday, 1:15 p.m.

The line: San Diego by 3.

Quick slant: Martyball comes full circle.

Plot: It was easier in the old days: Once a year, the Chiefs would come to San Diego and the stadium now called Qualcomm would reverberate with venom and vitriol, most of it directed at the staunch conservative in the red warmup jacket, Marty Schottenheimer, as he played for field goals. Now, Schottenheimer is not only a Charger but he’s 4-1 in his new attire--and the Chiefs come in flinging the football all over the yard. Brace yourself, San Diegans, this is going to be a wild one. Wilder than you want if defenders Junior Seau, Rodney Harrison and Marcellus Wiley aren’t recovered from leg injuries.

Monday’s headline: “Chiefs Welcome Marty to 21st Century, 4-2”

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MIAMI AT DENVER

Kickoff: Sunday, 5:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN.

The line: Denver by 3.

Quick slant: Griese against the Dolphins. What would Dad say?

Plot: The apple didn’t fall far from the tree--Brian Griese, son of Bob, has become a winning quarterback in the NFL. Or maybe it did--so far this season, young Griese was nearly benched in the season opener, injured by his dog and yelled at by the Bronco coaching staff. Yet Griese held it together in last week’s victory over the Chargers, passing for 316 yards and holding off Steve Beuerlein for another week. Next up: Miami, 4-1, same as Denver. Edges? Miami has Ricky Williams; Denver has not allowed a 100-yard rushing performance in 19 games. Also: Broncos are 165-54-1 at home.

Monday’s headline: “Shanahan: He’s 5-1, How Can I Bench Him?”

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SAN FRANCISCO AT SEATTLE

Kickoff: Monday, 6 p.m.

TV: Channel 7.

The line: San Francisco by 3.

Quick slant: Jeff Garcia versus Barry Bonds.

Plot: In its chardonnay-and-sourdough heart of hearts, is San Francisco a football or a baseball town? ABC is about to find out, with Game 5 of the National League championship series and 49ers-Seahawks scheduled to go head-to-head. Fans of the long ball will opt for Barry Bonds, because the 2002 49ers are not the aerial show of yesteryear, or even last year, relying now on defense and handoffs to Garrison Hearst. Still, there’s a chance the 49ers could outscore the Giants and Cardinals. Seattle’s defense is 28th in the NFL. Even the Vikings managed 23 points against it.

Tuesday’s headline: “In Case You Weren’t Paying Attention, 49ers Win Too”