SPOTLIGHT / A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL : WELCOME TO THE SHOW

The revolving coaches’ door stopped turning after nine teams named a new person to head their team. So how did they do? Were they changes for the better?

Five of the new guys won and four lost. Added to the opening week were two new coach vs. new coach matchups, meaning that at least two coaches were guaranteed to be one game closer to being fired.

Five of the new coaches have been touched for the very first time, the other four have been head coaches before but are new to the team they are coaching--an NFL version of recycling.

In the premier new vs. new game, Dennis Green of Minnesota beat Mike Holmgren and Green Bay, 23-20. At one time, they were both coaches for Bill Walsh when he was with San Francisco.

In the other new vs. kind-of-new matchup, David (son of Don) Shula and Cincinnati beat Tom Flores and Seattle, 21-3. Flores coached the Raiders to two Super Bowls.

Bill Cowher, the first-time boss at Pittsburgh, won his first game by beating Houston, 29-24. Retreads Ted Marchibroda at Indianapolis and Sam Wyche at Tampa Bay also won. Tampa Bay has traditionally won on days that Indianapolis has won. For example, the Colts’ only win last season came on Nov. 10, the same day the Buccaneers took the second of their three victories.

Bobby Ross and San Diego lost their first game to Kansas City. And Chuck Knox and the Rams were big-time losers to Buffalo.

As for old coaches that will soon be replaced by new coaches (i.e. Ray Handley, Joe Bugel, Larry Smith--oops, that’s college), we’ll save that for another day.

THE SHOW/PART II

Sunday was also the regular season debut of those that entered the NFL through the college draft. Let’s take a look at how the top 10 picks fared:

1. Steve Emtman, DL, Indianapolis: He was a little slow but got three tackles, one assist and one sack.

2. Quentin Coryatt, LB, Indianapolis: A terrific start with seven tackles, one assist and two sacks.

3. Sean Gilbert, DL, Rams: The personable one had four tackles on a day the Rams can’t be happy with much.

4. Desmond Howard, WR, Washington: The Redskins play Dallas tonight.

5. Terrell Buckley, DB, Green Bay: His summer-long holdout kept him out of the opener.

6. David Klingler, QB, Cincinnati: His team played but he didn’t.

7. Troy Vincent, DB, Miami: His debut was delayed when the Dolphin-Patriot game was rescheduled.

8. Bob Whitfield, OL, Atlanta: He’s a lineman, who can tell how he did?

9. Tommy Vardell, RB, Cleveland: A fair start with nine rushes for 26 yards and three catches for 36 yards.

10. Ray Roberts, OL, Seattle: See comment for No. 8.

AS TIME GOES BY

The NFL thinks that its games run too long. It wants them to be finished in less than three hours so that television is happy. And everyone knows that if television is happy, so is the NFL.

In order to meet that goal the instant replay rule was done away with, at least for a year. So, did things speed up?

Only two of the 12 games ran less than three hours--Cleveland-Indianapolis in 2:48 and the San Francisco-New York Giant game in 2:58. The longest game was between Minnesota and Green Bay, as it rambled to 3:34.

By the way, the Rams were perfect in something on Sunday. Their game with Buffalo was over in exactly three hours. Good job, guys.

THE PIZZAMAN NEVER LIES

There was a degree of mystery over who would start at quarterback for the New York Giants on Sunday. Jeff Hostetler is the top quarterback on the depth chart, but he has had problems with his back during the exhibition season.

But things quietly came into focus on Friday during a weekly ritual in which pizza is ordered for the players and the starting quarterback pays for it. Everyone was watching to see who was going to pay when Phil Simms reached into his pocket and brought out the cash.

Simms was indeed the starter against San Francisco. He completed 20 of 37 passes for 223 yards, but the Giants lost, 31-14.

In retrospect, Coach Ray Handley didn’t need to announce his starter because everyone knows the pizzaman never lies.

DEION’S DAY

Deion Sanders, the star outfielder/defensive back for the Atlanta Braves/Falcons, was playing baseball Sunday because Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville doesn’t want the neon one on his team unless he’s there full time.

The Braves are willing to let Sanders play football except for a Sunday during the playoffs, and, wishfully, during the World Series.

So how did Sanders spend his day? He was used as a pinch-runner for the Braves in the eighth inning. He didn’t score.

And did the Falcon secondary miss him? Jet quarterback Browning Nagle burned the Falcon secondary by completing 21 of 27 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons held on for a 20-17 win.

But still, one might conclude Deion was missed.

THEY’LL BE BACK

Two quarterbacks left the field not of their own accord in the first week of the regular season. Steve Young, filling in for the injured Joe Montana, went down with a slight concussion in San Francisco’s game against the Giants.

And, Phoenix quarterback Timm Rosenbach left the field on a stretcher after being sacked by Tampa Bay’s Santana Dotson in the third quarter of their game. X-rays of his back showed no injury and he should return.

Young actually took two big hits. Giants tackle Eric Dorsey nailed him with a head-on shot on the 49ers’ fifth play from scrimmage and Lawrence Taylor ended his day with a sack late in the quarter.

Rosenbach missed the entire 1991 season after undergoing major knee surgery but returned this summer to have an outstanding exhibition season, leading Phoenix to a 3-1 record.

THE NFL IN 15 SECONDS

If you don’t have but a few a seconds and want to know why games were won and lost, clear your mind and keep reading.

Chicago’s Jim Harbaugh connects with Tom Waddle for a six-yard touchdown pass with one second remaining to beat Detroit. . . . Chip Banks had four of Indianapolis’ 11 sacks as it beats Cleveland. . . . Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas scored four touchdowns and James Lofton became the all-time leader in receiving yards as the Rams perished. . . . San Francisco’s Tom Rathman caught three touchdown passes as the Giants lost. . . . Kevin Ross returned an interception 99 yards and rookie Dale Carter had 46-yard punt return for a touchdown as Kansas City beats San Diego. . . . Cincinnati’s Ray Bentley ran 75 yards and Fernandus Vinson 22 yards for touchdowns with fumbles as Cincinnati defeats Seattle. . . . Tampa Bay holds Phoenix to 181 yards, forces three turnovers. . . . Atlanta’s Chris Miller and Michael Haynes combine for two first-quarter touchdowns as the Jets lose. . . . Terry Allen’s 45-yard run set up Fuad Reveiz’s 25-yard field goal in overtime as Minnesota beats Green Bay. . . . Philadelphia’s Herschel Walker ran for 114 yards and a touchdown as Philadelphia beat New Orleans. . . . Pittsburgh intercepted five of Warren Moon’s passes as Houston lost. . . . John Elway led Denver to the winning touchdown with 55 seconds to play as the Raiders lost.

Whew! OK, it was 20 seconds.

TONIGHT’S GAME: WASHINGTON AT DALLAS

Site: Texas Stadium, Irving, Tex.

Time: 6 p.m.

TV: Channels 7, 3, 10, 42.

The Washington Redskins know what they have to do in tonight’s opener against the Dallas Cowboys. The question the Redskins must answer is just how do they stop Emmitt Smith?

Smith, the NFL’s leading rusher, had two big games against Washington last year. In another Monday night game, Smith rushed 11 times for 112 yards, including a 75-yard scoring run and a scoring pass.

The second time they played, Smith ran for 132 yards in 34 carries, including a 32 yard touchdown run.

“I’m not sure what it is about the Redskins but I seem to have special games against them,” Smith said. “It’s not like I try harder against them or anything. They are a big rival. I just like doing well against them.”

Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs said Smith has been a puzzle his team can’t solve.

“We’ve taken our best shots against him and still haven’t done a good job,” Gibbs said. “Emmitt just seems to shoot off tackle and we can’t get him down. He’s a big concern of ours. Every time we’ve played him he’s had a big say so in the game. He’s a big part of our troubles with Dallas.”

Washington will face a well-rested Smith. He carried the ball only 21 times in five exhibition games for a 5.7 average. Smith didn’t play in the Cowboys’ final exhibition game against Chicago.

Smith’s achievements have done little to quiet the criticism tossed at the Cowboys’ offensive line. There has been a shuffle in the lineup going into the Washington game. Nate Newton has moved to left guard with Erik Williams at right tackle.

“They can’t be the sorriest line in the NFL if I’m the leading rusher,” Smith said. “I’ll probably carry the ball 30 times in this game. I expect to get the hell beat out of me. “