Mark Curnutte

Several restaurants in the area already have named sandwiches after the rookie quarterback.

Brentwood Express is selling the "Ben Roethlis-burger," which comes with bacon, barbecue sauce, ranch dressing and cheddar and provolone cheeses.

Then there's Peppi's on the North Side, which sells the "Roethlisburger," a combination of beef, sausage, scrambled eggs and American cheese. It costs $7, matching his jersey number.

Roethlisberger has won his first four starts, tying Phil Simms for the second-longest streak to begin a career for a rookie.

Former Steelers quarterback Mike Kruczek, now Arizona's quarterbacks coach, has the record at six in 1976.

"I really didn't know enough about the game to be frightened," Kruczek said. "All I knew was that I was playing with a Super Bowl-championship team that wasn't playing up to their capabilities."

Kruczek liked Roethlisberger coming out of school and is pulling for him.

"He is better than I ever was or hoped to be," said Kruczek, who's also a fan of another hot quarterback, Minnesota's Daunte Culpepper, whom Kruczek coached at Central Florida.

DAUNTE'S INFERNO: In five games, Culpepper is 135-for-187 passing for 1,766 yards and 18 touchdowns, a record after five games, bettering Brett Favre's 16 in 1996. Culpepper's three games with five touchdown passes also is a record for a single season.

Here are his projected 16-game numbers and the records they would break:

• Touchdowns: 58.

Record: Dan Marino, 48, 1984.

• Passing yards: 5,651.

Record: Marino, 5,084, 1984.

• Completions: 432.

Record: 418, Rich Gannon, 2002.

• Most 300-yard games: 13.

Record: 10, Gannon, 2002.

• Completion percentage: 72.2.

Record: 70.6, Ken Anderson, 1982.

• Passer rating: 127.0.

Record: 112.8, Steve Young, 1994.

OLD AGE: Jerry Rice, age 42, was traded last week from Oakland to Seattle. His new wide receivers coach is Nolan Cromwell, 49, a former Rams safety who matched up against Rice for three seasons in the 1980s.

"I saw him enough, more than I wanted to see," Cromwell said.

BEARS DOWN: Adewale Ogunleye became the sixth Chicago defensive starter to go out with injury. The others: linebacker Brian Urlacher, tackle Alfonso Boone, safety Mike Brown and cornerbacks Jerry Azumah and Charles Tillman. Brown is out for the season; Tillman might be.

MISTAKES ON THE LAKE: The Bears passed on Culpepper in 1999 to draft Cade McNown. They also traded down in 2003, bypassing Byron Leftwich, to take Rex Grossman.

NUMBERS GAME: The Eagles are only the second team in the last 35 years to open the season with five double-digit wins in a row. The other was the 1999 St. Louis Rams, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

OPPORTUNITY: Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said he is ready to name Brian Griese his starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Griese, 29, was a starter in Denver from 1999-2002. He started five games for Miami last year. For his career, Griese has completed 62.2 percent of his passes for 13,056 yards, 79 touchdowns and 60 interceptions.

BROWNS: Their next four opponents have a combined 18-3 record: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and the Jets. Two weeks after playing the Jets, the Browns play the Patriots.

RAVENS: Reinforcements are back today, in wide receiver Travis Taylor and center Mike Flynn. Tight end Todd Heap, with a bad ankle sprain, is doubtful.

Mark Curnutte's NFL Power Rankings

Team	Last Week	Record	Comment
1. Patriots	1	5-0	12-0 vs. teams with winning records since 2003.
2. Eagles	2	5-0	Young cornerbacks playing well.
3. Colts	3	4-1	Can take control by beating Jags today.
4. Broncos	4	5-1	Veteran acquisitions playing well.
5. Falcons	6	5-1	Michael Vick starting to get West Coast offense.
6. Vikings	8	4-1	Poised to pull away in NFC North.
7. Seahawks	5	3-2	Still trying to achieve elite status.
8. Jets	9	5-0	Opponents are combined 5-18.
9. Steelers	10	5-1	Lose DT Hampton, CB Scott for season.
10. Jaguars	13	4-2	Have won four of five fourth-quarter decisions.
11. Rams	14	4-2	Still good, but not what they used to be.
12. Ravens	12	3-2	Playing without Jamal Lewis, 41 percent of offense.
13. Giants	15	4-1	Kurt Warner tightens grip on QB job.
14. Titans	7	2-4	Alone in basement of AFC South.
15. Panthers	11	1-4	Jake Delhomme remains starting QB.
16. Packers	19	2-4	Defense rises up with good effort at Detroit.
17. Lions	16	3-2	Green Bay loss brings them back to reality.
18. Browns	20	3-3	Real home-field edge at 3-0.
19. Cowboys	17	2-3	Outscored 45-9 in fourth quarter.
20. Saints	18	2-4	Coach Jim Haslett might be gone after season.
21. Raiders	21	2-4	Demoralized by 28-point loss to Denver.
22. Texans	24	3-3	.500 at latest point in any of three seasons.
23. Redskins	25	2-4	Old team needs bye-week rest.
24. Chargers	23	3-3	Trying to learn to beat good teams on road.
25. Chiefs	22	1-4	Face two more tough opponents this month.
26. Bills	28	1-4	Good-guy coach Mike Mularkey gets first NFL win.
27. Bengals	26	1-4	First Monday night game in 12 years.
28. Buccaneers	27	1-5	This team fell apart in a hurry.
29. Bears	29	1-4	QB Tim Couch might sign in Chicago.
30. Cardinals	30	1-4	Offense terribly inconsistent.
31. 49ers	31	1-5	Three losses by combined 13 points.
32. Dolphins	32	0-6	Worst start in franchise's 39 years.

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Written, in part, from notes provided by other NFL beat writers.

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