National Football League

The heat's already turned up for plenty in NFL

Published Sep. 27, 2011 5:06 p.m. ET

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The furnaces aren't even fired up yet and already several NFL coaches, players and teams are feeling the heat.

Chad Ochocinco still seems lost with his new team, the Patriots, even as Tom Brady piles up yards like no one ever has, and his old team, the Bengals, just played in front of the smallest crowd for a home opener in 30 years.

Kyle Orton has lost 19 of his last 25 starts and fans in Denver are wondering why coach John Fox isn't using Tim Tebow in goal-line situations like the one that cost them a win at Tennessee on Sunday.

Two quarterbacks feeling the hot breath of pass-rushers have been Michael Vick and Tony Romo. Vick's Super Bowl-or-bust Eagles are battered even if his right hand isn't broken. Romo has more to worry about than his fractured rib and punctured lung - Dallas' depleted receiving crops and a center who can't snap the ball with any accuracy.

The Vikings would be 3-0 if halftime scores mattered. They don't. And with a tendency of frittering away double-digit leads, they're 0-3.

So is Indianapolis, where Peyton Manning is out, Kerry Collins is hurt and Curtis Painter might be in, although coach Jim Caldwell hasn't said whether his third-string QB will get his first career start Sunday.

The winless Rams are drawing inspiration from the crosstown Cardinals' late-season charge for the NL wild card.

''They scratched, clawed, battled, fought injuries, some tough losses, and yet here they are, with everything in front and a chance to do what they wanted to do at the beginning of the season,'' Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. ''I do think there's a lesson for our team there.''

Joe Namath says the lesson Jets coach Rex Ryan should learn is to quit talking up his team so much, suggesting they're not as good as their talkative coach keeps telling them.

His mouth may be open all the time, but his job is safe.

The hottest seats are in Miami and Jacksonville.

The Dolphins' Tony Sparano might be the first coaching casualty of the season, if the Jaguars' Jack Del Rio or the Chiefs' Todd Haley aren't run out of town first.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross's public courtship of Jim Harbaugh in the offseason left Sparano on shaky ground and an 0-3 start with tough road games looming against the Chargers and Jets could sink him.

The Jaguars (1-2) have already switched quarterbacks, but a coaching change might not be far behind if Del Rio's offense stays so conservative. He'll have to get more aggressive and catch up to the league's prolific passing trend to keep pace with the high-scoring Saints next weekend.

Haley was hailed as the Chiefs' savior a year ago when he led them to a surprising playoff berth and ended the Chargers' four-year run as AFC West champs.

This year, his sour disposition isn't so easily dismissed with his team getting outscored 109-27. He's already lost three games and three stars with Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry and Tony Moeaki out with season-ending knee injuries.

Fox's job is secure, but he might wear out his welcome in Denver if he doesn't consider using Tebow at least in goal-line situations after the Broncos' inability to punch it in on four tries inside the 2 led to a loss at Tennessee on Sunday.

''I'm still figuring out this team,'' Fox said.

Here's what fans of both the Broncos and Tebow already know: the ''Tebow Package'' produced four touchdowns last year in goal-line situations like that one Sunday in Nashville.

Although Tebow was ill-prepared to compete for the starting job in training camp, Orton has fallen to 6-19 as Denver's starter after winning his first six games for them in 2009.

Two of his four turnovers so far have proved costly. Against Oakland in the opener, Orton had his tight end wide open racing into the end zone for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter only to drop the ball without so much as being hit.

On Sunday, he was intercepted inside of two minutes, sealing the Titans' 17-14 win.

Ochocinco was lambasted by former New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi for his tweet about being awe-struck by his team's offensive onslaught in the opener. Bruschi said on ESPN that Ochocinco should join the pass-catching party instead of being a bystander.

He still hasn't - he's sixth on his team with just five receptions even though Brady's 1,327 yards passing are the most in any three-week span in NFL history.

Despite Brady's prolific passing numbers, the Patriots are downcast this week after blowing a 21-point lead at Buffalo on Sunday. Their longtime bunching bag had lost 15 straight times to New England, but now it's the Bills who are atop the AFC East at 3-0.

They're the feel-good story of the season so far, along with the Lions, who are 3-0 for the first time since 1980.

Of course, the biggest winner this year might just be the biggest loser.

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is waiting in the wings, and the Dolphins, Colts, Chiefs, Vikings and Rams have the early inside track, although there are plenty of other teams that could wind up the worst of the worst.

This year, that really wouldn't be so bad.

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Connect with AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton at http://twitter.com/arniestapleton