It’s a Perfect Time to Ponder

With 10 weeks to go before Super Bowl XL, here are 10 NFL questions to ponder:

Q: When should the 1972 Dolphins, football’s only “perfect” team, start sweating?

A: Christmas Eve sounds about right, if Indianapolis is still undefeated at that point. That’s when the Colts play at Seattle in their last significant hurdle of the regular season. (They finish at home against Arizona.) But they’ll also be tested in the coming weeks, with games against Pittsburgh and San Diego at home, and Jacksonville on the road. Of course, perfection also means running the table in the postseason. There’s a long way to go.

Q: Will Minnesota rise from the dead?

A: Not likely, although the Vikings have won three straight after a 2-5 start. They’re two games behind division leader Chicago with six to play, and they’re also two games behind in the wild-card race. The Vikings haven’t been able to establish the run this season, and now, for the second consecutive week, Coach Mike Tice is shuffling the offensive line by benching a longtime starter. That’s not a good sign.

On the positive side, four of Minnesota’s final six games are at home, whereas Chicago plays four of its final six on the road -- including a regular-season finale at the Vikings.

Q: What kinds of risk-takers are the Bears?

A: We’ll see, because they’re flirting with replacing quarterback Kyle Orton with Rex Grossman, who has almost recovered from the broken leg he suffered during an exhibition game. Although Orton hasn’t been stellar -- his 62.5 passer rating is 30th in the league -- he knows how to manage a game, and the Bears have won six straight with him at the helm. Changing midstream is always a risky proposition.

A conspicuous hole in Orton’s game is that he’s not very accurate on long passes. That’s one of Grossman’s strengths, and the Bear offense was essentially built for him. Grossman has started participating in seven-on-seven drills, and should be ready to return after Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay. As long as Orton keeps winning -- with the help of the NFL’s best defense -- the Bears will have a difficult decision to make.

Q: Could San Diego be the best team ever to miss the playoffs?

A: It’s very possible. Even though they have won three straight, the Chargers (6-4) are two games behind Denver in the division and probably will wind up jockeying with Jacksonville (7-3) for a wild-card berth. The Jaguars have a much easier path ahead. If you take the Colts out of the mix -- Jacksonville and San Diego will play them in the coming weeks -- the Jaguars’ other five opponents are 12-38; the Chargers’ five are 26-24.

Should San Diego miss the playoffs, this could be even stranger: LaDainian Tomlinson could still be the league most valuable player.

Q: Is this the year Cincinnati ends its playoff drought?

A: It all depends on whether the Bengals can stop the run, something they haven’t done too effectively so far. They’re heading into a stretch of three consecutive division games -- a showdown at Pittsburgh sandwiched by home games against Baltimore and Cleveland -- and all three of those teams are going to try to establish the run. Making matters worse for Cincinnati, its best run-stopping defensive tackle, Bryan Robinson, is questionable because of a sprained foot.

The Bengals (7-3) haven’t made the playoffs, or finished with a winning record, since they went 9-7 in 1990.

Q: Who had the most underrated off-season?

A: Denver. Sure, the Broncos made a couple of mistakes -- drafting a flop in Maurice Clarett and signing Jerry Rice just in time for him to retire -- but they also made some very smart moves that, at the time, looked less than inspired. In exchange for Reuben Droughns, who would have had to compete for the starting fullback job, they snapped up four Cleveland defensive linemen: Gerard Warren, Courtney Brown, Ebenezer Ekuban and Michael Myers, all labeled underachievers with the Browns. Each has started at times this season for the league’s No. 2 rushing defense.

Also, as a result of a trade with Washington, the Broncos will get the Redskins’ first-round pick in the 2006 draft. Even without a first-round selection last spring, Denver has gotten a lot of production out of its two rookie cornerbacks: Darrent Williams and Domonique Foxworth.

Q: Who had the most overrated off-season?

A: Oakland. After trading for Randy Moss and signing free agent LaMont Jordan, the Raiders were supposed to have one of the most potent offenses in the league. But they’re 28th in rushing, less than a yard better than in 2004 when they were last. As for Moss, he’s third in receiving yardage -- Washington’s Santana Moss, that is. Randy Moss is 16th, with fewer than half the catches of league-leading Steve Smith of Carolina.

Q: Fresh off a 27-25 scare from lowly San Francisco, should the Seahawks be sleepless in Seattle?

A: Not really. Even though they had no business letting the 49ers come so close to an upset, the Seahawks are looking very good as the postseason draws closer. They’re the only NFL team that has the opportunity to clinch a division title this weekend, with a victory over the New York Giants and a loss by St. Louis, which plays at Houston.

Shaun Alexander is running wild behind the best offensive line in football, and the Seahawk defense has gotten surprisingly solid play from a host of young players and understudies. Their linebacking trio, for instance, is composed of two rookies and a first-year starter.

Now the big question: Assuming the Seahawks get to the playoffs, can they collect their first postseason victory since 1984?

Q: Which coaches will be looking for jobs after this season?

A: Minnesota’s Tice, New Orleans’ Jim Haslett and Houston’s Dom Capers might want to start scanning the classifieds. There are also intriguing rumors about Detroit’s Steve Mariucci moving to Michigan State, and Herman Edwards switching NFL teams, from the New York Jets to Kansas City, although the Jet owner says that’s not happening.

Q: What continues to be the scourge of the NFL, the problem that won’t go away despite all the technical advances made in the broadcasting of the game, the thing that frustrates and angers millions of viewers every weekend?

A: Commercial. Kickoff. Commercial.