01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon has a broken vertebra in his neck that will sideline him at least six weeks. Coach Norv Turner didn't believe Gannon was at risk for paralysis.

It's not as if quarterbacks never got hurt before. Not as if players at every position in football aren't very much aware they're playing an extremely dangerous game.

Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman will miss the rest of the season after rupturing a ligament in his right knee.

But, more than ever, players -- key players, important players -- seem to be going down at an alarming rate.

No longer are NFL games tests of talent. Instead, they have become wars of attrition. The weekly injury lists resemble casualty lists. It's not a question any more of which team has the best players, but which has the most healthy players.

Cleveland, which had six starters hurt in last week's loss to the Cowboys, including tight end Kellen Winslow, their No. 1 draft choice this year, and defensive end Courtney Brown, who was the first player taken overall in the 2000 draft, has lost linebacker Ben Taylor for the rest of the season after he tore a tendon in his chest in the Browns' loss to the Giants.

Steve Grogan knows what it's like to be hurt -- and to play hurt.

Football players don't come any tougher than Grogan, whose list of injuries during the 16 seasons he played for the New England Patriots from 1975-1990 included five knee surgeries -- "None serious," he said. "No reconstructions, thank goodness" -- a couple of separated shoulders; surgery to reattach a tendon to his right elbow; two broken legs -- one of which required screws to hold it together; and neck surgery in which he had a disc removed and two upper vertebrae fused together.

A broken collarbone has ruined another season for Detroit Lions wide receiver Charles Rogers. A first-round pick in 2003, Rogers played only five games before going out for the year with the same injury. He will undergo surgery and be placed on injured reserve.

"Part of the problem," said Grogan, when asked about the rash of season-ending injuries this early in the year, "particularly with quarterbacks, is that the ball is being put in the air so many times now.

"We used to throw the ball 20 times a game, max. Now, quarterbacks are throwing 40 times or more, regularly. Even with all the rules they have now to protect the quarterbacks, they're still being exposed to more risk of being hit and injured."

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox will miss six weeks with an injured throwing elbow. Quarterback Ken Dorsey made his first NFL start for the San Francisco 49ers after Tim Rattay was diagnosed with a separated right shoulder. Steve McNair has no serious injuries, but the NFL's co-MVP for 2003 was to spend last night in a hospital with a bruised sternum.

"Looking at the rules they have now for the protection of the quarterback," Grogan said with a chuckle, "I could have played another 16 seasons. You can't hit 'em in the head. You can't hit 'em if you have to take more than one step.

"But those rules haven't really worked because they also keep adding legislation that makes it easier to throw the ball, which means quarterbacks are going to be throwing more, which means they're going to be exposed more often. The best thing the league could do is legislate to make it easier to run the ball."

Philadelphia Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Sunday's 30-13 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Grogan was quarterback of the Patriots in 1978, when they set an NFL record by rushing for 3,165 yards. Grogan accounted for 539 of those yards, and ran for 5 touchdowns. "People always ask me," he said, "why I never slid when I ran. I slid one time, and the guy didn't pull off. He hit me under the chin and knocked me out. After that, I decided I'd rather go into a tackler head down, not belly up."

Tampa Bay running back Charlie Garner was carted off the field with a right knee injury in the second quarter. The Bucs also lost tight end Rickey Dudley with a broken thumb that will require surgery.

Few NFL teams these days have sufficient depth to be able to absorb many injuries without a significant dropoff in quality of play.

Tom Brady has yet to miss a start because of injury since taking over as QB in New England after Drew Bledsoe went down in the third game of the 2001 season.

But, if Brady were to be lost for an extended period, even the most optimistic Patriots fan would be hard-pressed to believe that the Pats could repeat as Super Bowl champs -- or perhaps even make the playoffs -- with Rohan Davey calling signals.

"With all the expansion that's taken place," Grogan said, "you've got guys playing now who wouldn't even have been backups years ago."

Chicago Bears safety Mike Brown will miss the rest of the seson after tearing his right Achilles tendon in a victory over Green Bay. Tennessee Titans guard Zach Pilfer might miss the rest of the season after rupturing his left biceps against Miami.

"I'm not sold on the fact that year-round conditioning keeps players healthier," Grogan said. "We'd get away from it for a while, then play our way into shape in training camp. These guys are abusing their bodies year-round. They never rest."

Players now are bigger and faster than ever, which results in more violent collisions.

Dolphins defensive tackle Larry Chester will miss the rest of the season because of a torn ligament in his right knee. Cowboys rookie running back Julius Jones broke his left shoulder and is expected to be out about two months.

"I remember sitting at my locker when I was coming back from my broken leg in '85," Grogan said, "and Tony Eason asking me: 'Why are you trying to come back so fast?'

"I told him: 'Because it's my job to play football, and because I love to play.'

"He asked me: 'Aren't you worried about how you'll feel when you're 40?'

"I said: 'If you think that way, you won't play hard enough to be successful.' "

That was why Grogan, even after his neck surgery, decided to keep playing.

"I felt great after the surgery," he said, "and the doctors told me there was no added risk. I knew my career was coming to an end, and I wanted it to last as long as possible.

"All of the guys I played with have aches and pains and things that bother us now. But most of us would go back out there tomorrow if somebody asked us to."

Bears' linebacker Brian Urlacher missed his first career game with a pulled hamstring, three other defensive starters were out, and backup strong safety Bobby Gray's game ended when he hurt his shoulder in the second quarter.

The Vikings' top two tight ends, Jim Kleinsasser and Jermaine Wiggins, were also out. Pro Bowl center Matt Birk sprained his left ankle in the second quarter, and the Vikings lost two starting linebackers to first-half injuries.

The injuries keep mounting. Will the NFL do anything about it? Can the NFL do anything about it?

"I don't think so," Grogan said. "They've made their bed, and that's the way it's gonna be."