Their defense didn't look ready to play, their special teams had a punt and a field goal blocked. Their offense? Well, they still haven't figured out who's supposed to pick up the blitzing middle linebacker, Zach Thomas, who simply took young Brian Griese apart. Why couldn't they adjust? Beats me, but you just have to say they were out-coached.

I don't want to take anything away from the Dolphins. They were terrific in all phases of the game. But what's with Denver anyway?

Seven passes were thrown his way. He dropped one of the two incompletes, caught three short ones and drew two interference calls for a total of 76 yards. I didn't see him do one tough thing on the field.

I agree with Falcon cornerback Ray Buchanan, who had this to say after the game: "[The officials] babied him. They did the same thing last year. You turn around and look for the ball, but he's the one grabbing your shoulder pads and pulling on your shirt. When they throw up air balls like that, the officials' decisions tend to be poor. I'm 5'10", and he's 6'10" or whatever [6'4"], and they're calling it on the poodle. They're putting him in diapers."

Now everyone's saying the Jets' season is kaput. I'm not so sure. The score was 10-7, New England, when Testaverde got hurt. The Jets outscored the Patriots 21-20 thereafter. When the Steelers lost Terry Bradshaw in 1976, their defense pitched five shutouts in the next nine games. Not saying the Jets have that kind of talent, but they're tough and a lot more resilient than folks give them credit for being.

But can they do it with Rick Mirer running the show? Ah, that's where my argument tends to break down.

O.K., you play the hand that's dealt, and the Niners certainly won't be as bad as they looked in that 41-3 debacle, but they didn't do a good job fortifying themselves in the running back department, either. Charlie Garner is a true twinkle-toes who came up with some breathtaking moves against the Jags, but he's a little fellow who can't carry a running attack by himself. Lawrence Phillips is just another guy.

Even worse, the all-star trio of wideouts, Terrell Owens, J.J. Stokes and Jerry Rice, couldn't get any separation, and Steve Young was looking downfield at a spectrum of covered receivers. Then the rush got to him. Tough to operate in the rain, some people said, but it didn't seem to bother the Jaguars wideouts. Then again, they had the Niners cornerbacks to work against.

After slopping around for a half, the Jags finally got it together offensively. I had my eyes on All-Pro left tackle Tony Boselli, as I usually do when I watch a Jacksonville game. I don't know what's happened to him since his rookie year, but he seems to have lost his punch. Oh, he's still fairly effective in his own way ( Charles Haley trying to mount a pass rush against him was a joke), and he'll position himself correctly and all that, but he won't go after people like the Redskins' Tre Johnson or the Cowboys' Larry Allen do. Now there are a couple of bruisers. It's strange.

New York's quarterback, Kent Graham, hung in tough, though, while the Bucs' Trent Dilfer -- and I've defended him through the years when everyone was hollering for his blood -- fell apart and had to be replaced. It was sad.

Who jumped out at me? New York defensive tackle Christian Peter. Never saw him have a game like this. Maybe it was the guys he was playing against, and the Redskins' Johnson might bring him down to earth this Sunday, but, wow, what a day he had. Forget the tackles and assist numbers, the guy was constantly penetrating into the backfield, fouling up everything.

I know the Mike Ditka modus operandi well enough: Keep the emotional burners high because he's not gonna win it on personnel or strategy. But I was curious about George Seifert's return to combat. I saw one thing that depressed me.

Down 19-10 with seven minutes to play, his offense, needing two scores, showed no senshe of urgency. It was slow getting in and out of the huddle. It was time for a no-huddle, actually, anything that would bring it to life, but everything was la-di-da, ho hum, let's take our loss and get on the bus. Uh-uh, won't cut it, George.

One minor note on the biggest play of a very doggy game. I'm talking about the Saints' TD on Carolina's fumble on the opening kickoff. We know that nickel back Fred Weary made the hit that knocked the ball loose, and cornerback Tyrone Drakeford ran it in, but do you know who was the unsung hero on the play? Je'Rod Cherry, the Saints' sixth DB, who took down the whole wedge by himself, giving Weary a clear shot at the ballcarrier. Just thought you'd want to know.

I don't want to be too rough on the TV guys (there's plenty of time for that later in the season) but sometimes, in an effort to hype a game, they say the goofiest things. This from ESPN's Joe Theismann, talking about the Browns, in his pregame intro: "Defense is the strength of this football team. If the defense can make some plays, if the offense can score every time they get the ball, this team can be a lot more competitive. They've got a shot."

Score every time it gets the ball? No offense in history has ever gone through a game like that. Oh, maybe Georgia Tech against Cumberland in the 222-0 massacre, but in the NFL? Puh-leeze!

What will be my lasting memory of Cleveland-Pittsburgh? Browns coach Chris Palmer sang along with the national anthem, the Steelers' Billy Cowher did not. There's a message in there somewhere. I'm just not sure what it is.

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