By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Michael Vick is recovering more slowly than expected, and at 1-5, the Falcons wouldn't appear to have reason to rush their star quarterback's return.

Vick broke his fibula in the preseason against Baltimore. Initial projections were six weeks to heal and additional time to regain strength. Vick might play Nov. 2 against the Eagles; the Falcons are off the preceding week.

"I'm doing a lot of exercises, but the more I exercise, the more I get tired and weak," Vick said.

"I think maybe the best thing to do is just rest it, man, and let it get back to 100 percent on its own."

HAIRY DEAL: The NFL has ruled teams are permitted to tackle Dolphins tailback Ricky Williams by his dreadlocks without fear of penalization.

NFL officiating director Mike Pereira compared pulling Williams' hair to tugging on his jersey.

"If you're going to wear your locks out like that, you're the one that's at risk," he said.

Williams has said he has no plans to cut his dreadlocks, which he has worn since high school.

BEAR DOWN: Chicago's woes began with the failures of 1998-99 first-round draft choices Curtis Enis (tailback) and Cade McNown (quarterback). But they have continued with the slow development of 2001-02 No. 1 picks David Terrell (wide receiver) and Marc Colombo (offensive tackle).

WELCOME BACK: Riding a 5-0 record, Vikings coach Mike Tice made it clear Monday that the bye week sleep was over. He held a three-hour, full-pad practice with some tackling drills. Two fights broke out, and the offense and defense wrapped up the workout in a heated competition.

SOUND OF SILENCE: Sunday's announced crowd at Sun Devil Stadium for the Arizona-Baltimore game was 24,193. It was 96 degrees.

GULP: Three consecutive 5-11 seasons in Dallas have fans thirsty for a winner.

Former Cowboys defensive back Charlie Waters said he is dumbfounded by how even reasonable people think the Cowboys, at 4-1, are a playoff team already. Going overboard for the Cowboys around Dallas is like a bad habit that controls people.

"They don't have a social drink," Waters said. "They drink to get drunk."

BURNED: Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, who played for the Houston Oilers from 1974-80 and the Falcons from 82-87, wonders why any team punts directly to Kansas City's Dante Hall.

"If anybody punts to him, they deserve what they get," Johnson said. "Somebody just tests him, like, 'What's going on here?' Then they tell themselves, 'I see why.' It's like telling a child, 'Don't touch that stove. Don't touch that stove.' They just have to touch it."

BUFFALO-ED: Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson was not happy after the 30-3 loss to the Jets last Sunday, Buffalo's third loss in four games after starting 2-0. "We sleepwalked," he said. "We didn't have any emotion. We just haven't shown any enthusiasm, not today, not for the last three weeks."

NUMBERS GAME: The Chiefs have trailed three opponents (Pittsburgh, Denver and Green Bay) by double digits but have come back to win each time. . . . Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre has beaten every team in the NFL except two: He's 0-3 in starts against Kansas City and has never played the Texans.

PLAYOFF BOUND: Carolina and Minnesota (5-0) and Kansas City (6-0) look good for the playoffs. Since 1978, when the league expanded to 16 regular-season games, 31 of 33 teams that started 5-0 reached the postseason. The only two that failed were Washington (1978) and New Orleans (1993).

AFC NORTH: Steelers coach Bill Cowher, after watching his team fall to 2-4, told his players that a 10-game season remains and that they must look forward to the opportunity. . . . Marty Schottenheimer returns to Cleveland for the third time since he was fired/resigned as Browns coach after the 1988 season. In two trips as coach of the Chiefs, he was 0-1-1 against the team that gave him his coaching start. San Diego is Schottenheimer's fourth team, tying him with Bill Parcells as the only coaches in the modern era to be head coach with four teams.

Compiled from notes submitted by NFL beat writers.

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