Can 'Boys stop Colts? Denver, S.D. fight for AFC West

On the plane returning from Houston, Dick Jauron turns to ace PR man Scott Berchtold, a fine little athlete in his day, and says, "Hey, can you play quarterback next week?"

Readers around America are still e-mailing with various stunned reactions to my ranking of Marc Bulger over Donovan McNabb in the current quarterback pantheon. My rejoinder: Watch this game.

This is the only place on the web you'll read of the Brian Billick-Britney Spears connection. As we taped the Inside the NFL show on HBO Wednesday, producer Brian Hyland, famous for his analytical gems, threw out this one about dearly departed offensive coordinator Jim Fassel: "Fassel's like K-Fed. As soon as the Ravens broke up with him, they got sexy again."

Bruce Gradkowski, from the looks of it, has responded to the Jeff Brohm-like butt-chewings of coach Jon Gruden by regressing as a quarterback. This game's a continuation of the trend.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a full-scale quarterback controversy in both of these Daunte Culpepper-less franchises. The Vikings long for the Culpepper days. The Dolphins long for the days before the Culpepper days, when Drew Brees showed up on their radar screens and quickly migrated to New Orleans.

If the Jets do to Rex Grossman this Sunday what they did to Tom Brady last Sunday, I guarantee you after the game Grossman will say: "I had no idea where those pass-rushers were coming from all day. I never could get a good read on them all day."

In the third quarter of this titanic tussle, my NBC boss, David Neal, taps me on the shoulder and says: "I want you to call Drew Brees after the game. Find out how he feels about playing better than Dan Marino ever played."

Can't figure out for the life of me why Herman Edwards chooses a day like this to reintroduce Trent Green to life in the NFL -- with a battered, makeshift offensive line and with tight-end security-blanket Tony Gonzalez out.

Mr. Jut-Jaw's last trip to the Dawg Pound, perhaps? He'll make it a sweet one. Willie Parker runs wild, gets pelted by Milk Bones.

Titans are a bunch of psychos. While their rookie quarterback learns the ropes, they'll struggle on offense for the rest of the year. I can't quite figure why they're so inconsistent on defense, though.

Tom Brady's first regular-season trip to Lambeau. Maybe his last too, seeing he'll be the Patriots quarterback until he retires and New England doesn't return to Green Bay until 2014 -- when Brady will be 37. Then again, Brett Favre's 37 right now, and he might have a few more rodeos left. (Now there's the kind of cutting analysis you can't find anywhere else.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

If I had any guts, any real intestinal fortitude, I'd pick the Niners. Because they've played exceedingly well on defense the last two weeks, and they deserve a reward by beating a good team. But even with the question of who quarterbacks the 'Hawks, Mike Holmgren has to be comfortable that even Seneca Wallace can face down a good pass-rusher and respond with an efficient day.

Peyton Manning's first trip to Texas Stadium. I trust the combo platter of Tony Romo's uber-confidence and the double hammer of Julius Jones and Marion Barber III. A great game in a fun environment.

I have swallowed the Philip Rivers Kool Aid. The whole batch. Even with LaDainian Tomlinson playing like the Michael Jordan of pro football, Rivers is the straw that stirs the drink. How about the Chargers advancing to 3-0 without Shawne Merriman?

I know no one wants to hear about injuries, but the Giants, desperate for pass-rush help, worked out Andy Robustelli the other day.