Jake Plummer might have stayed healthy if his offensive line had not undergone so many changes.

Yes, there have been some good storylines: The Rams and Kurt Warner. The Barry Sanders-less Detroit Lions. The emergence of Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison in Indianapolis. Mike Holmgren's returning triumph over the Packers.

But, sorry, I'm having trouble celebrating the 1999 season as it stands now. I don't care what anybody says, this has not been pretty football. It has even been bad football.

In fact, if I were the NFL commissioner like Paul Tagliabue, or an owner like Jerry Jones, or an NFL Players executive director like Gene Upshaw, I'd be pretty concerned about the state of the league. I might even be worried.

Tagliabue himself recently has been asked to address the season-that-isn't, and his response carried along this line: When you have retirements of great players like John Elway, Barry Sanders and Reggie White, throw in injuries to great players like Terrell Davis, Jamal Anderson and Steve Young, then the season takes a little dip.

Tagliabue's observation rings with some truth, but it would be foolish for the NFL to stick its head in the sand just because attendance is on a record pace, and TV ratings remain solid.

The economics of the game, practically and emotionally, are taking its toll on the NFL. And the league keeps expanding. You do understand that expansion is about economics, regardless of a diluted product, don't you?

Without getting too in-depth, the salary cap has produced a bastardized free-agent system that has made a prophet of people like former New York Giants general manager George Young, who once testified on the witness stand that the game would suffer for the very reasons it suffers now.

Most everyone who is critical of the game simply point to the lack of quality quarterbacks to go around. But it's not that simple.

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Quarterbacks can develop and thrive in a stable environment. They need the same offensive linemen blocking for them year-in, year-out. They need the same receivers. They need the same offensive coordinators. They need the same head coaches.

There is very little stability in the game, however.

I have no doubt that Steve Young would still be playing today if the 49ers were a stable team. They're not stable because Bill Walsh either overreacted to the salary-cap problem, or he had to react when he dumped the likes of Kevin Gogan, Marc Edwards and Terry Kirby, just to name a few. Young does not even have the hope of being protected, which is why Walsh and coach Steve Mariucci will never allow him to step on the field again this year.

Jake Plummer was an exciting, young quarterback going into his third season. But the Cardinals re-loaded an already shaky offensive line, said good bye to a savvy veteran like Larry Centers and couldn't sign wide receiver Rob Moore until the season opener. Plummer played poorly and got hurt in an unstable environment.

The salary cap has forced player movement. Just as George Young once said, you get the haves and have-nots with this system. There is hardly a middle class in the NFL. When you have injuries, or retirements, like this league has, you need depth. You need players who have been developed in the same system.

But systems change all the time these days. That's because you have owners who want champions every two years, or they want new coaches. When a head coach is fired, somebody's offensive or defensive coordinator is promoted. It's a cycle that is natural, but one that has been accelerated at far too fast a pace in the NFL.

Think about this: Bobby Ross almost got fired after last year's 5-11 record with the Lions. Dick Vermeil was close to being shoved out the door with the Rams. I heard people wonder whether Jim Mora was really the right choice for the Colts. Pete Carroll in New England and Jeff Fisher in Tennessee were facing make-or-break seasons. Those coaches all have 6-2 record at this halfway point.

Norv Turner's team is 5-3 at the break -- putting the Redskins on pace for a 10-win season. But he's in trouble. A week ago, people were speculating about Tony Dungy's future with the Bucs. Same with Chan Gailey and the Cowboys. People in Green Bay are calling for Ray Rhodes' head after only eight games and a .500 record.

I still can't believe what Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson did to his franchise. He had one of the best executives in football in Bill Polian, and let him walk for all the wrong reasons. He then fired Dom Capers as coach, just two years after Capers took his team to the NFL title game. You can trace almost every problem the Panthers have to Richardson's impatience at a moment that demanded wisdom.

You know why Richardson overreacted? He felt obligated to satisfy disgruntled fans, who had helped bring him an expansion team through the wizardy of permanent seat licenses that built his beautiful stadium.

So, yes, you and I share the blame here, too. The fans, the media. Talk-show radio. All that stuff.

This is the generation of instant everything. Cell phones, faxes, internet, pagers ... we usually expect results now. Patience and perseverance is no longer a virtue in society. It's almost extinct.

It's not Armaggedon in the NFL. Not yet. But when this season is over, Tagliabue and the powers that be -- and I include the NFLPA's Upshaw -- should roll up their sleeves and make an honest assessment of where this league is at, and where it is headed.