Wednesday, October 6 Pats standing on top By Mark Cannizzaro Special to ESPN.com

One by one, most of the AFC's elite teams have fallen from favored status in this unpredictable '99 season.

	Drew Bledsoe has thrown six TD passes and only one interception during the Patriots' 4-0 start.

And each time when we're seeking a new supposed powerhouse, the New England Patriots are like the eager student sitting in the back of the classroom with his hand raised, only to be overlooked as if invisible.

The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Broncos have been knocked down repeatedly, falling to 0-4 and losing MVP Terrell Davis for the rest of the season.

The Jets, who finished as the AFC runner-up to Denver last season, lost quarterback Vinny Testaverde less than an hour into the season and then promptly lost their first three games.

Jacksonville, which emerged as the supposed team to beat in the AFC, has looked human. First, the Jags failed to beat Tennessee at home, and then they struggled through a 17-3 victory over the offensively challenged Steelers last Sunday. And so, even at 3-1, the Jaguars are seemingly tarnished.

With the Jags struggling, many experts tabbed Miami as the AFC's best team. That lasted until Monday night, when the Bills stifled the Dolphins at Pro Player Stadium and left Miami coach Jimmy Johnson firing shots at future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.

All the while, the Patriots have kept winning. In fact, entering Week 5, the Patriots are the only 4-0 team in the NFL, the only undefeated team in the AFC and one of just three undefeated teams in the entire league.

Which prompts two questions:

First, are the Patriots, who have been perennial quick starters under coach Pete Carroll, for real?

And second, are they worthy of being considered among the AFC's elite?

The answers are yes and yes.

Though things can change rapidly in this league -- as evidenced by the respective early collapses of the Broncos and Jets -- the Patriots can control the AFC East if they stay healthy.

Their offense, led by the AFC's leading passer Drew Bledsoe, is a potential powerhouse with a talented corps of receivers led by Terry Glenn, who's finally emerging as a consistent star. Running back Terry Allen has become one of the terrific acquisitions by any team this season, and New England should have explosive rookie Kevin Faulk returning soon from injury.

On defense, Willie McGinest and Chris Slade have stayed free of injuries so far, and the secondary, led by Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law, has been sound.

The Patriots face a decent test this Sunday with a game in Kansas City against the improved -- but not elite -- Chiefs. A victory in Kansas City and a 5-0 record would probably finally garner the Patriots some respect.

Still, the skeptics descended upon New England this week because the Patriots defeated the expansion Browns by "only" 12 points.

"It was not pretty, but we'll take 4-0," Bledsoe said.

"If you're looking for style points, you're not going to get them here," Patriots left tackle Bruce Armstrong added. "If you're looking for the fact that we got out of (Cleveland) with a win and we're 4-0, that's what it is. And I'll take that. Because once you look at the film, it's over, and then it's time to move on to Kansas City."

After the trip to K.C., the Pats have a home game against the Dolphins. That AFC East matchup will be as telling as any game New England plays in the first half of the season. By the way, the Pats are 5-1 against the Dolphins in their past six meetings, including a 4-1 record under Carroll.

"I'm pleased we're 4-0," Carroll said. "For our team, we're in a good, strong position right now. The Jets got back on track beating Denver, so they're in it. Indianapolis was off this week, but they're as hot as a pistol. We're 4-0, and we need to build on that.

"We knew coming in this was going to be a dogfight, and that's just what it is."

The critics also will claim New England hasn't played an elite opponent yet.

The Pats' first win came over the Jets, but not until after Testaverde was lost for the season with his ruptured Achilles tendon. Even then, New England barely beat New York, despite the fact the Jets had punter Tom Tupa at quarterback for two quarters after Testaverde went down.

In the Patriots' second win, they overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the Colts at home. Then, they beat the punchless Giants at home before going to Cleveland and stealing the poor Browns' lunchbag.

That's why Sunday's game in Kansas City, followed by the Miami game and then a home contest against Denver, will provide a true barometer on the Patriots.

But the way the AFC East is going, the Patriots' fast start has left them in a great position. Should they go 8-4 the rest of the way, they'll probably win the division.

Man of Troy
Check out this eye-opening statement by Bledsoe on unheralded Pats receiver Troy Brown, who caught four passes for 59 yards at Cleveland last Sunday:

"Troy Brown is the best offensive football player I've ever seen. I hope I play with him my entire career," the New England quarterback said.

	Dan Marino Quarterback Miami Dolphins Profile
	1999 SEASON STATISTICS COMP ATT YDS TD INT RAT 58 102 687 4 4 74.3

Dolphins in dangerous waters
Following the Dolphins' frustrating 23-18 loss to the Bills on Monday night, Johnson might have made his biggest mistake as a head coach when he publicly blamed the loss on Marino.

"Dan's got to make some better decisions," Johnson said the day after the loss. "When he's getting banged around, he made some poor decisions."

When asked about the decisions Marino is expected to make, Johnson said, "We're going down an avenue I don't want to go down."

Johnson's contention was that Marino often threw to the wrong receiver, hurried some passes and held onto the ball too long on a costly fumble. The result was three turnovers, one third-down conversion in 14 chances and a loss that dropped Miami to 2-1.

Johnson said Marino was at fault on all three turnovers.

Marino was testy after the game when asked about his performance, saying, "What do you want to know about it? If you lose it's bad, and if you win it's good. That's how I assess it."

Johnson implied that Marino's poor mobility has been hampering the offense, saying, "We can go maximum protection with Dan and only have three receivers, like we did with Denver, but people figure that out pretty soon and start doubling your receivers, so you've got no place to throw. You put five receivers out, and he's going to get hit. If he gets hit, his play drops down significantly."

Marino remains Miami's only answer at quarterback, and with he and Johnson having had their disagreements in the past, Johnson is wading in dangerous waters by calling Marino out like this.

This isn't to say that Marino must be pampered, but there were certainly other factors that led to the Dolphins' demise Monday, such as poor protection by the line. To simply call out Marino as the only culprit was a knee-jerk response by Johnson that one would expect from fans on talk radio.

These cats just don't get it
How much longer can Bruce Coslet continue to keep his job? More importantly, can't something be done about Mike Brown's pathetic running of the Cincinnati Bengals' franchise?

The Bengals' blowout loss to the St. Louis Rams last Sunday gave them the distinction of becoming the first NFL team to reach 100 losses in the decade. The Bengals, off to an 0-4 start for the fourth time this decade, enter this week's game against Cleveland (which could be an early test to see who'll have the No. 1 draft pick in 2000) with a 48-100 record in the '90s.

Though the Bengals will start No. 2 overall pick Akili Smith at quarterback against the Browns and No. 1 pick Tim Couch on Sunday, don't look for any miraculous turnaround. The only thing that'll turn this sorry franchise around is a wholesale housecleaning -- and we're not talking about in the locker room.

Huge shoes to fill
Sunday marks the beginning of the rest of the season without Davis for the staggering Broncos. The '98 NFL MVP, who was lost for the season when he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee against the Jets last week, will be replaced by Derek Loville, who was shaken when his friend went down.

As Davis was helped off the field Sunday, he told Loville to "hold down the fort" and "put in some work."

"We are really close," Loville said. "I love Terrell. I'm not afraid to say that's my man. When he hurts, I hurt."

Loville, who rushed for 783 yards and caught 87 passes as the 49ers' starting running back in 1995, likely will share Davis' workload with John Avery, whom Denver acquired from Miami.

Defense fits the Bills
Before Miami broke through with a fourth-quarter touchdown, set up by a 93-yard kickoff return by Brock Marion, the Buffalo Bills (3-1) had not allowed a touchdown in 12 consecutive quarters, dating back to the third quarter of their season-opening loss to the Colts.

The Bills, after losing 31-14 to the Colts, beat the Jets 17-3, then beat the Eagles 26-0 and were shutting down the Dolphins until Marino connected with O.J. McDuffie on a nine-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

"Our defense played outstanding," Bills coach Wade Phillips said. "Everyone talks about Miami's defense, but ours is awfully good. It's a shame we had to give up a touchdown."

Speaking of Phillips, after being reminded that Jimmy Johnson had stomped on a box of Flutie Flakes after a victory last season, Phillips told reporters he was excited about beating the Dolphins, but he didn't dance and stomp on a can of hair spray after Monday's win.

	Keyshawn Johnson Wide Receiver New York Jets Profile
	1999 SEASON STATISTICS REC YDS YDS/R TD LNG FUM 22 366 16.6 2 65 0

He's the Key
Jets receiver Keyshawn Johnson put his name on the NFL map as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1996 and for his brash book, which called for the Jets to "Give Me the Damn Ball!"

With the Jets struggling without Testaverde, Johnson has been calling for the ball more lately in an effort to put the team on his back.

"If I lobby for the ball, my coaches and teammates know I'm only trying to get it going, because when I get going, they get going -- whether it's me making a catch or me getting a big block or me kicking the (expletive) out of (Broncos linebacker) Bill Romanowski," Johnson said. "Our players get energized by those things.

"My message in calling for the ball is not, 'If the Jets get me the ball 30 times we're going to win every game.' That's not the case. I just need to get it here and there, with opportunities to do things within our offense. I want to be a receiver who's pretty much like a quarterback, the guy who's in control of everything that's going on."

Johnson believes he can dominate a game, and there's little reason not to believe him.

Through four games, Johnson's receiving numbers are actually better this season than they were a year ago, when he finished with a career-high 83 receptions for 1,131 yards and 10 TDs.

In his first four games last year, Johnson had 20 catches for 256 yards and four TDs. Through four games this season, Johnson has 22 receptions for 366 yards and has two TDs.

Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post writes a weekly AFC notebook for ESPN.com that appears each Thursday.