GAME DAY : TODAY'S GAMES - Los Angeles Times

* Storyline: Potentially good stuff here for years to come with Bill Parcells and Jimmy Johnson matching wits. The Dolphins do not appear ready for prime-time play, but Johnson still has

them positioned for respectability. A Jet victory sets up a division showdown in New York next week against Parcells’ former team, the Patriots.

* Storyline: The Bears opened the season against the Packers with the announcement that Erik Kramer would start at quarterback. Chicago will try that trick again. The Packers are

considerably more nicked up than they were in the opener, and Chicago running back Raymont Harris ran for more than 100 yards against them then. He gained much of that at the end of the

game, however, with the outcome no longer in doubt.

* Storyline: The Falcons have had an extra week to prepare for the Saints and decide their strategy: Win, and drop out of the Peyton Manning sweepstakes, or lose, keep losing and potentially

save this franchise. Hey, when things are going bad, they go bad: Atlanta decides to win.

* Storyline: The Patriots are coming off an emotional downer and showed no inclination to stop Denver’s running game Monday night. The Bills, still pesky on defense, continue to get

production from Thurman Thomas, no doubt inspired by the emergence of Antowain Smith.

* Storyline: The Bengals are throwing helmets along the sideline, yelling at each other, arguing with the coach, and in one case ignoring him and calling for a fake punt deep in their own

territory. But if the Bengals have nothing but chaos going for them, the Oilers don’t even have that. They might get something out of Eddie George, but the worst secondary in the league will

be no match for an angry Jeff Blake and Carl Pickens.

* Storyline: The last time the Lions were in this situation, coming off an embarrassing loss and matched against a division powerhouse, they upset Green Bay. However, the embarrassing loss

they were coming off was to Tampa Bay, and when they beat the Packers, the Lions were at home.

* Storyline: Eagle Coach Ray Rhodes continues to be something special, willing his team to a victory last week. He will have to repeat that performance today if the Eagles are going to

remain a factor in the NFC East. This is an interconference clash, something some players have trouble getting fired up for, especially when they know they will be playing Dallas next week

at home. The Jaguars have been playing a daredevil game with fate, risking injury to quarterback Mark Brunell while he recovers from a knee injury. But so far they are winning, and

decisively.

* Storyline: Unless the Rams can get to Steve Young’s head in the first half, they will be working on their 15th consecutive loss to the 49ers. If they are serious about kick-starting the

season after a bye, they beat San Francisco, because it erases the very thing that sent them reeling this season. Sitting 1-0 and playing the 49ers with Jim Druckenmiller at quarterback in

St. Louis, the Rams gagged, and have floundered ever since.

* Storyline: Panther Coach Dom Capers has gone overnight from coach-of-the-year material to erratic field commander. Not only has his team played without discipline, but now Capers has

panicked, and will start Steve Beuerlein in place of troubled Kerry Collins. Not a good move, long-range, for this franchise. The Vikings quietly have positioned themselves to make a run at

the Buccaneers and Packers, so they cannot afford a slip here.

* Storyline: The Giants lose their spark plugs, wide receiver Ike Hilliard and Tiki Barber, and beat the Cowboys. Hard to explain. Just as difficult as the Cardinals, who somehow find a way

to turn prosperity into despair. The key for the Cardinal turnaround is not to allow the game to be close in the fourth quarter, keep kicker Kevin Butler chained to the bench and play

against the Giants as often as possible.

* Storyline: Looks like a slam-dunk, but two variables must be considered: 1. Which Kordell Stewart shows up, the erratic youngster still learning how to play quarterback or the game’s most

exciting one-man fantasy team in football? 2. How desperate are the Colts? Have they already quit, or is this a team still capable of uniting in anger and shocking the world?