Damage caused by Hurricane Ike forced the NFL and Houston Texans to postpone their game against the Baltimore Ravens -- already rescheduled from today to tomorrow night -- to Nov. 9.

The storm tore chunks off Reliant Stadium's retractable roof and the damage couldn't be fixed in time to host the game, said Shea Guinn, the president and general manager of Reliant Park.

"There are parts of the roof that are completely gone," Guinn said yesterday.

The new date also affects the Cincinnati Bengals' schedule.

Houston was originally scheduled to play the Bengals Nov. 9. Now, those teams will play on Oct. 26 and Cincinnati will take its bye week Nov. 9, when the Texans now play the Ravens.

Baltimore had an open date Nov. 9 on its original schedule.

Last week, the eyes of the NFL world were on the quarterback on the other sideline. This week, they're on Matt Cassel as he steps into Tom Brady's Hall of Fame shoes as starting quarterback for New England against the New York Jets and their new quarterback, Brett Favre.

Here is a thumbnail scouting report on Cassel, courtesy of Jets coach Eric Mangini.

Cassel is "disciplined," said Mangini, who added, "He's got a strong arm. He can make plays with his feet."

FYI: Cassel's last start was for Chatsworth (Calif.) High School in 1999. He sat behind Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC, and was in his fourth year of being Brady's understudy before fate intervened in the form of Bernard Pollard's hit on Brady last Sunday.

Bill and Sharon White told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this week that at least 100 drivers ignored their broken-down Mercury along one of the busier Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex streets before someone stopped late Sunday. Sharon White said a well-dressed man walked up and offered a hand. Lo and behold, it was Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, just back from Cleveland where the Cowboys had defeated the Browns, 28-10. Bill White was happy, but at the same time panicked. "Don't tell me how you guys did," he said he told Romo. "I'm going home to watch it."

If the Falcons win this week, Matt Ryan will join John Elway (1983) and Ryan Leaf (1998) as the only rookie quarterbacks since 1970 to lead their teams to 2-0 starts. Also, the Falcons could become the first Super Bowl era team to win their season opener with a rookie starting quarterback and a rookie head coach.

The Packers went 13-3 and made it to the NFC championship game last season despite having the league's youngest team (average age 25.74 years). This year, they're even younger -- 25.57. ... Matt Forte, who ran for 123 yards vs. the Colts last week, was the first rookie running back to start a Chicago opener since Walter Payton in 1975.