IN THE BLAME GAME, IT'S COACHES WHO TAKE THE HITS.

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL 

When Rod Marinelli, the no-nonsense former military man, was hired to coach the Detroit Lions, his task was to bring some respectability to a franchise that had been longing for it since -- and how's this for a barometer? -- the days of Wayne Fontes.

It's clear already that this may take a while. Two weeks into the season, and the Lions continue to look like F-Troop.

Mike Martz was brought in to goose the offense, but has barely avoided a pair of goose eggs. The defense, after thwarting Seattle, reverted to form in a 34-7 drubbing in Chicago on Sunday, a game that receiver Roy Williams guaranteed the Lions would win.

If that weren't enough, he'd also suggested the Lions might score 40 against what last year was the league's best defense.

So, it looks as if along with blocking and tackling, Marinelli will also be spending precious practice time educating the Lions on another valuable skill: the art of removing one's foot from his mouth.

If there's plenty of work to be done with the troops, at least Marinelli knows the credo of the commanding officer: the buck stops here.

``It's my fault -- 100 percent,'' Marinelli said after Sunday's loss. ``I failed this week. I'll take the bullet right in the head.''

That's an unfortunate bit of hyperbole from someone who served as an infantryman in Vietnam. It's also not a suggestion to be made idly in Detroit.

Nevertheless, Marinelli's point was admirable.

Players win and lose games, but often enough the coaches put them in position to succeed or fail.

On Sunday, Marinelli had plenty of mea culpa company.

John Fox stepped in front of the bus after Carolina, dominating the Vikings and holding a 13-6 lead in the fourth quarter, tried to execute an across-the-field lateral on a punt return. That the player called upon to throw the ball is named Chris Gamble should have been the first clue that this wasn't a good idea.

Gamble's gambit bounced off the turf, away from its target, Richard Marshall, and into the hands of the Vikings, who moments later showed just how to execute a trick play, with kicker Ryan Longwell throwing a touchdown pass on a fake field goal.

The Vikings then won the game in overtime, 16-13.

``Nothing on this team happens without me OK-ing it and I OK'd it,'' Fox said of the punt ploy. OK?

Like Carolina, Miami was also pegged as a Super Bowl contender and instead sits at 0-2.

``Let's not point the finger at any area,'' Dolphins coach Nick Saban warned after losing at home to Buffalo, 16-6. ``It all starts with me.''

On that point, he's correct. It was Saban who abruptly pulled out of negotiations with Drew Brees last winter and signed Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper, who has been sacked 10 times and thrown three interceptions, was so dreadful Sunday that Dolphin fans were chanting for Joey Harrington.

As for Brees, he's led the Saints to a pair of road wins, rallying them from a 13-point deficit at Green Bay.

The Eagles also appeared on their way to a 2-0 start.

That they aren't left coach Andy Reid apologizing afterward, taking the blame for conservative play-calling as a 17-point fourth-quarter lead devolved into a 30-24 overtime loss to the Giants.

Of course, halfback Brian Westbrook lost a fourth-quarter fumble, safety Michael Lewis couldn't recover a fumble that ended up being a Giants' touchdown and defensive end Trent Cole's personal foul gave Jay Feely a shot at kicking a manageable 35-yard field goal that tied the score on the final play of regulation.

Yet, Reid said: ``This loss is my responsibility. I was too conservative.''

In Philadelphia, he didn't get any argument. He also didn't get too much grief, which is what happens when you've been to four of the last five NFC title games.

In other places, the soldiers haven't all fallen in line. Some Raiders are tired of watching the floundering offense, which hasn't scored a touchdown in two games, while receiver Jerry Porter sits in street clothes, the victim of a spat with coach Art Shell and owner Al Davis.

``Whatever coach and Jerry Porter got going on, they got to squash that,'' safety Jarrod Cooper said. ``I don't care what it is. This is a business. All this personal ... we need to get rid of that. We need Jerry Porter on the football field.''

Added Warren Sapp: ``Ray Charles can see that he can play.''

It's also a little touchy in Detroit, where former USC star Mike Williams hasn't been activated the past two weeks. While Marinelli is preaching discipline and hard work -- something Williams has never been accused of -- he bristled at being singled out.

``Every new beginning needs a poster boy for why the other way didn't work,'' Williams told the Detroit Free-Press. ``So I respect that that's what I've been labeled, the poster boy for the new regime and what's wrong in Detroit. It's chicken-(bleep), but you keep working.

``As frustrating as it is, and whether it is fair or unfair, there is no room in this game for pissing and moaning.''

On that, Marinelli would agree.

Just buckle the chin strap and give an honest effort.

It is one thing to apologize for the way you've played. It's another to say you're sorry.

Elsewhere around the league in Week 2:

That the Falcons are leading the NFL in rushing isn't surprising. They've done it the past two seasons. But they've rolled up 558 yards on the ground the past two weeks against Carolina and Tampa Bay, which ranked fourth and sixth in the league against the run a year ago.

Terrell Owens is expected to be out two to four weeks after surgery Monday to have a plate screwed into his broken right finger. The Cowboys have a bye this week, then play at Tennessee. Here's guessing T.O. is ready the next week, when the Cowboys play at Philadelphia.

Raiders play-by-play man Greg Papa, after a third fumbled snap by Raiders quarterbacks in the first half against Baltimore: ``What is going on out there?'' It's a question that will be asked often in Oakland this season.

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