Mark Curnutte

For one, the league now will open every season on a Thursday night at the home of the defending Super Bowl champion.

Instead of a rock concert, there will be a one-hour pregame special beginning at 8 p.m. from the site of the next Super Bowl that will have some musical component.

And the NFL now will have a brand or a theme for the Super Bowl or the season. This year, the theme is "building bridges" because of all the bridges in Jacksonville.

Said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue: "It's a theme that runs through a lot of what we do as a league, uniting people with the passion of our sport and bringing communities together."

STREAKING: New England ended the season with 15 consecutive victories. The two-season record, including postseason, is 18. It's a mark shared by the Bears in 1933-34 and 1941-42, the 1972-73 Dolphins, 1989-90 49ers and 1997-98 Broncos.

If the Patriots win their next four games, and Game 4 is against Miami, they'll have the record at 19.

The regular-season mark is 17 in a row by the 1933-34 Bears.

ROOKIE STARTER: Cornerback DeAngelo Hall, Atlanta's first-round pick, has started to work with the team's first string during the on-field coaching sessions.

Derek Ross is the starter at the other corner.

"He's working with the first group," Falcons coach Jim Mora said of Hall. "We saw a lot out of him (in the minicamp)."

NEW FACES: The Bears expect to have 12 new starters.

They are wide receiver Justin Gage (for Dez White), left guard Rex Tucker (for Steve Edwards), right guard Ruben Brown (for Chris Villarial), right tackle John Tait (for Aaron Gibson), quarterback Rex Grossman (for Kordell Stewart), running back Thomas Jones (for Anthony Thomas) fullback Bryan Johnson (for Stanley Pritchett), left defensive end Michael Haynes (for Phillip Daniels), left defensive tackle Tommie Harris (for Keith Traylor), weak-side linebacker Lance Briggs (for Warrick Holdman), strong-side linebacker Joe Odom (for Briggs) and left cornerback Charles Tillman (for R.W. McQuarters).

There could be a 13th, strong safety Bobby Gray (for Mike Green). That number is believed to be more than anybody else in the league.

AFC NORTH: The Ravens continue to have questions at quarterback, and this time it's the backup role.

The surgery for a torn labrum in Anthony Wright's right shoulder earlier this week yielded bad news for the team. Wright won't be able to throw for four months, taking him into October and forcing the team to sign a new No. 2 behind starter Kyle Boller.

After joining the Kerry Collins sweepstakes late and losing out to Oakland, the Ravens have identified Stewart (late of the Bears) as their insurance quarterback of choice - at least until June when they find out who else might be willing to come to Baltimore.

Leigh Steinberg, the agent for Stewart, said the 10-year veteran would be willing to serve as Boller's tutor.

Coach Brian Billick could not be faulted for his honesty, telling Steinberg that Wright would return as the No. 2 in October.

• In Cleveland, feeling the need to generate some positive news after the firing or resignation of much of the front office, the Browns re-signed wide receiver Dennis Northcutt. He returns with a three-year, $9 million deal.

Northcutt had become a problem for the Browns and coach Butch Davis since Northcutt's agent, Jerome Stanley, missed a Feb. 19 deadline to void his previous contract and file for free agency.

• And in Pittsburgh, Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress isn't the only starter in the final year of his contract - he's just the only one skipping their offseason workouts, both the voluntary and mandatory ones.

Linebackers Kendrell Bell and James Farrior, like Burress, could become unrestricted free agents next March. But unlike with Burress, the Steelers plan to open negotiations soon to try to extend their contracts before the season begins.

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Written from notes submitted by NFL beat writers.

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