Quarterbacks are at the center of much of the attention

It’s only at the quarter pole, and already the NFL season is half-nuts.

At no position is that more apparent than quarterback, in which injuries, inconsistencies and inappropriate behavior have teams all over the league reeling. For every snap count, it seems, there’s a standing eight count.

Quarterback has always been a difficult position, but the job appears to be even tougher this season as the bruises — and in some cases boos — have left signal callers shell-shocked.

From the Kevin Kolb/Michael Vick juggling in Philadelphia, to the wild unpredictability in Arizona (where undrafted rookie Max Hall just knocked off the defending Super Bowl champions), to the return of Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, to the X-rated self-portraits allegedly texted by Brett Favre, this season only seems to get more bizarre.

Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers might have to sit out Sunday’s game against Miami because of a concussion. Chicago’s Jay Cutler is hoping to come back Sunday after sitting out Week 5 with a concussion, and having to watch backup Todd Collins picked off four times by Carolina before being replaced by third-stringer Caleb Hanie.

In fitting fashion for this oddball season, the Bears still beat the Panthers in a 23-6 blowout. Why? In large part because the day wasn’t any better for Carolina rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

“It’s no mystery that quarterback is one of the hardest positions to play …” Carolina Coach John Fox said Monday. “Nobody comes [and] rescues you. You’ve just got to get better.”

No one understands that better than San Francisco’s Alex Smith, who was booed with gusto at home Sunday night during the 49ers’ 27-24 loss to Philadelphia. Smith, the top pick in the 2005 draft, leads the league with nine passes for interceptions and his 0-5 team — a preseason favorite to win the NFC West — is already circling the drain.

It was a strange scene at Candlestick Park, as Smith and Coach Mike Singletary bickered on the sideline, and backup David Carr took a few steps onto the field as if he were entering the game before Smith was reinserted.

Singletary said Monday that he’s sticking with Smith for the moment and that his teammates needed to see that kind of fiery response from their quarterback.

Smith and Singletary met long after the loss, and afterward Smith said he had the feeling he was still the starter but didn’t know for sure until he got to team headquarters Monday.

“I was kind of unsure,” he said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen overnight, if the thoughts were going to change or what. I was prepared for anything this morning.”

Being on unstable ground is familiar to Smith. But even some of the league’s most reliable quarterbacks are struggling to find their way this season. Peyton Manning, the only four-time most valuable player, frequently looked frustrated on the Indianapolis bench during Sunday’s victory over Kansas City.

“We’re still trying to figure out what our identity is,” Manning said afterward.

In Cincinnati, Carson Palmer was intercepted three times in a loss to Tampa Bay.

At one point during the stunning loss at Arizona, New Orleans’ Drew Brees ripped off his helmet and slammed into a garbage can. He called the game “terrible.”

In Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger is returning after a four-game suspension and, because of injuries to the Browns, could wind up facing third-string rookie Colt McCoy.

Favre, meanwhile, is facing questions that could have more far-reaching implications. The Minnesota star is facing allegations he made inappropriate advances toward a female in-house television reporter when they were both employed by the New York Jets. He is also accused of sending inappropriate text messages to two team masseuses.

According to various reports, Favre tearfully spoke to his Vikings teammates the morning before Monday night’s game at the Jets, apologizing to them for creating a distraction.

The league is looking into the accusations and there’s a possibility that Favre could be facing some type of suspension if he is found to have violated the NFL’s personal-conduct policy.

“The first thing you want to do is find out the facts and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Monday when he stopped by the Bears facility. “We’re trying to find out all the facts around it and then once we determine those facts, then we determine what the next step is from there, if any.”

Just more quarterback drama in the strangest of seasons.

Etc.

NFL owners will convene in Chicago on Tuesday for their one-day fall meetings, an annual event. These are the last scheduled meetings before the collective bargaining agreement expires in March. (Additional meetings probably will be scheduled.) The primary focus will be updating the owners on labor negotiations.