Jim Fassel

What we have here, as Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke once was compelled to say, is a failure to communicate. That was the charge leveled by kick returner Brian Mitchell of the New York Giants and defensive tackle Daryl Gardener of the Denver Broncos in the past 10 days against their respective coaches. It would be instructive for both players to remember that Newman's movie character was shot just as he spoke that famous line years ago. The NFL equivalent is to be fired, of course, and that is likely to happen in each case sooner or later.

Teams listed in predicted order of finishNFC EastNew YorkLast season: 10-5-1, first place; lost to Minnesota in wild-card game, 23-22.Coach: Jim Fassel (10-5-1), second season with Giants.Roll call: Kent Graham is back as backup quarterback after a three-year absence, replacing the departed Dave Brown. Gary Brown could become the power back in the running game. First-round pick Shaun Williams will help in the strong secondary.What works: The defense was marvelous in 1997 with a league-high 44 take-aways, including 27 interceptions.

EAST DIVISION Arizona Cardinals Last season: 3-13, fifth place. Coach: Dave McGinnis (1-8), second season with Cardinals. Strength of schedule: Tied for 13th. Starting QB (W-L): Jake Plummer (18-32). Best move: Starting over on a defensive line that finished 30th in rush defense. The Cardinals let DEs Simeon Rice and Andre Wadsworth become free agents, and will have four new starters up front. Weakest link: The Cardinals haven't exactly replaced Rice and Wadsworth. With the second pick in the draft, they went for OL Leonard Davis.

CollegeMichigan: Gave football coach Lloyd Carr (9-4 in first season) four-year contract worth at least $250,000.FootballCardinals: Named Jim Fassel offensive coordinator and Vic Rapp assistant coach.HockeyNHL: Suspended Panthers captain and C Brian Skrudland, pending a hearing tomorrow, for high-sticking Red Wings LW Viktor Kozlov on Thursday night.

Roch Around the Clock Roch Kubatko writes about the Jim Fassel firing and more. Go to baltimoresun.com/roch Those Fantasy Guys Dave Alexander, Sheil Kapadia and Childs Walker write about fantasy sports and hand out NFL Week 6 awards. Go to www.baltimoresun.com/fantasy David Steele's blog Read a blog by Sun columnist David Steele. Go to www.baltimoresun.com/steeleblog

Time: 1 p.m., Ch. 5 Line: Giants by 14. Ken Murray's outlook: The only thing that will keep this game close is coach Jim Fassel's play-calling. The Giants most likely will be content to run Ron Dayne (4.6 average carry) all game. QB Kerry Collins has been inconsistent in the early going. Redskins coach Marty Schottenheimer's big decision is whether to let QB Tony Banks attack the Giants' vulnerable secondary or try to pound with RB Stephen Davis. Schottenheimer's defense is in tatters already.

On the change in the Ravens' offense I think what Brian Billick has done is to mold the offense around Steve McNair's style of play vs. having McNair fit into Jim Fassel's offense. McNair has looked a lot better the past two weeks. There is still some room for improvement but, oddly enough, he looks to be throwing the ball with more authority. McNair is simply being asked to not lose the game. Anything he does above and beyond average is icing on the cake.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Three days after it appeared Pete Mitchell might be lost for the season, New York Giants coach Jim Fassel said yesterday that his tight end should miss only four weeks with a sprained left knee. "It was about as good news as we were going to get," Fassel said after Mitchell underwent arthroscopic surgery in Manhattan. The procedure showed no ligament tear. Mitchell, who was injured Saturday night, has a bone bruise and a stretched ligament. Doctors chose to do the exploratory surgery after deciding it would not extend Mitchell's absence appreciably.

Tonight's game Philadelphia (2-2) at N.Y. Giants (3-2) Time: 9 p.m., chs. 2, 7. Line: Giants by 3. Ken Murray's outlook: This has been a bad matchup for the Eagles of late. Giants coach Jim Fassel is 9-0 vs. Philadelphia, including a 20-10 divisional playoff win last season. Giants QB Kerry Collins hasn't thrown an interception in five career games against the Eagles. Contrast that to Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, who was held to a 46.7 completion percentage with two interceptions in three losses last season.