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A new era in the NFL

The Falcons have faltered, the Broncos have bombed, the Jets have jack-knifed, the 'Niners have nose-dived and the Vikings have vanished.

That is it, the elite have gone elsewhere.

These five teams were supposed to be the bread-winners, the cream of the crop, to football what New England Clam Chowder is to the world of soup.

Instead, the NFL boasts former Arena League star Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams, ex- Canadian Football League icon Doug Flutie and the Buffalo Bills and former Super Bowl chump Neil O'Donnell and the Tennessee Titans.

And, by the way, who in the world is Stephen Davis and when did ex-Giant pro-bowler Joe Morris breed this machine?

The Bills and Titans are 4-1, the Chargers, Seahawks and Redskins are 3-1, the Bears are 3-2 and the Rams, amazingly, are 4-0.

But, on the flipside, the Jets, Falcons and Broncos are 1-4, the Vikings are 2-3 and the 'Niners are flying high with a 3-2 record.

Rick Mirer, Brian Griese, Jeff Garcia and Tony Graziani lead the four teams that made it to the conference championship games a year ago. That's a lot different than Vinny Testeverde, John Elway, Steve Young and Chris Chandler leading the team's out onto the gridiron.

Why has all this happened?

Well, injuries and rebuilding processes.

Each team, in every sport at some time must rebuild. They have to reload their old players with fresh young faces from the draft or free agency.

This is exactly what happened to the elite of the NFL.

Elway retired, so Griese is a young, fresh athlete with an inexperienced arm. Therefore, the Broncos were destined for trouble from the start. Adding to that, Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe, Rod Smith and John Mobley go down with injuries. How is Mike Shanahan supposed to win with such a depleted lineup?

The same holds true with Bill Parcells and the Jets. Testeverde, last year's answer to problems with the Jets, goes down in the first game. What now? The answer obviously isn't Rick Mirer, but a coach doesn't plan for these things. There just aren't that many good quarterbacks to go around.

Adding to Testeverde's injury, wide receiver Wayne Chrebet and tight end Keith Jackson were also hurt to start the season.

Chris Chandler of the Falcons falls to the fate of injury as well, and stepping in was an unproven, no-name in Tony Graziani. Adding insult to injury was the season-ending surgery that Jamal Anderson, last year's second leading rushing behind Davis of the Broncos, had to go through. Not to easy for Dan Reeves to deal with.

Now, onto the Vikings. They have everyone back, except Brian Billick, the former offensive coordinator who went onto greener pastures with the Baltimore Ravens. Ray Sherman hasn't quite figured out how to mold Chris Carter, Jake Reed and Randy Moss yet. Time will tell on the Vikings season. They certainly have the talent, but do they want it bad enough.

With all this said, what happens now?

Well, the Rams haven't played a formidable offensive opponent, so the verdict is still out on their defense. Their offense is obviously spectacular, but their defense may still be suspect.

The Seahawks have a great coach who has proven he can build a program in Mike Holmgren. No one had heard of Brett Favre before Holmgren got to him, but now he is a future Hall of Famer.

Saying the same about Jon Kitna is definitely pre-mature, but with Holmgren guiding him, and the possibility of Joey Galloway coming back shortly, no one can tell just how good he can be.

The times are a changin' in the NFL, so the fans are just going to have to live with it. The Super Bowl may pit the Jaguars and the Vikings as predicted by many, but don't be surprised if the Redskins or Rams play the Bills or Titans.

We're talkin' new teams that want to be in the elite, and boy is it exciting. I am sick of the Broncos anyway. How about you?