In the wake of reports that receiver Terrell Owens and agent Drew Rosenahaus met with Broncos officials on Monday in Denver, we're told that the Broncos aren't happy that word of the meeting got out.

The team had hoped to keep Owens' visit under wraps.  The thinking in some league circles is that Coach Kevlar should've known what he was getting himself into by sniffing around Owens, since the fact that any team might be interesting in adding T.O. naturally will be used to coax other teams into the bidding.

It remains to be seen whether Owens ultimately lands in Denver.  But Coach K has shown a willingness to polish turds in the past, and the team's success in 2005 arguably gives him more leeway to collect more.  So with an otherwise solid team that could be one offensive playmaker away from making it back to the Super Bowl without a guy named "Elway" on the roster, don't be surprised to see prima donna pass-catchers T.O. and Randy Moss in the same division in 2006. 

Complicating matters is the fact that the Broncos will be $30 million over the salary cap in 2006.  A contract for Owens, then, will require the team to take even more money from its current players.

And there could be plenty of guys already on the team who have worked loyally for the franchise over the years and who aren't happy with the potential arrival of Owens.  Flirtation with T.O. could be seen as an implicit ratification by the Broncos of a player's effort to squeeze more money than he has bargained for by being a chronic turd.

The decision of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to pass on the Pro Bowl was due in part to the fact that he has a sports hernia, according to Mike Reiss of The Boston Globe.  Chris Mortensen of ESPN offered a similar report over the weekend.

The suspicion is that the injury occurred during the team's January 14 playoff loss to the Broncos.  Given the team's reputation for being vague, to say the least, regarding the health of players, it's possible that the symptoms manifested themselves earlier -- and that coach Bill Belichick opted not to trigger the same kind of three-ring circus that followed the Eagles and quarterback Donovan McNabb until he landed on IR.

If Brady is suffering from a sports hernia, surgery is the only way to fix it, and the sooner he gets it done, the better.  He'd be back to full strength well before the start of training camp, but with offseason workouts taking on more and more importance in recent years, he might miss the first few weeks if he waits much longer.

AGGIES AIN'T NO, UM, WIMPS

After several days of carping, Texas A&M has filed a lawsuit against the Seattle Seahawks to block the Super Bowl team from using the term "12th Man."

Our legal expertise doesn't extend to matters of this nature, but from what we've picked up over the years it sounds like a questionable claim to us.  (The wife actually did some trademark enforcement work for the Pittsburgh Penguins when plenty of folks were peddling unauthorized merchandise in the early 1990s, years before yours truly filed suit against the Pens for firing the late Ivan Hlinka and stiffing him on the balance of his contract.)  The notion of the "12th Man" has been part of football for years, long before A&M registered trademarks in 1990 and 1996.  In 1984, the 'Hawks retired the jersey No. 12 in honor of the fans.

We also vaguely recall that the holders of a trademark have specific obligations to protect it, lest they waive their right to do so.  A&M claims that it first contacted the Seahawks in 2004 regarding the alleged infringement -- but it's not as if the alleged infringement occurred for the first time in 2004.

Frankly, we think that the whole thing is a misguided grab at publicity on the part of Texas A&M, which has been relegated to the lengthening shadow of the Texas Longhorns and which is trying to nail down fresh letters of intent on February 1.  Some in the institution might think that filing a lawsuit against a Super Bowl team to protect the legacy and history of the football program will be the thing that prompts some of the high school kids the school is chasing to sign up.

Regardless of the motivation, we think the whole thing is a waste of everyone's time.  Including ours.  

TUESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

It sure sounds like the owners planned to put games on the NFL Network all along.

More than 20 Steelers wore a replica of the Bus's college jersey on travel days (of course, this means that roughly 30 didn't, but that wouldn't have made for a good headline).

Several key Seahawks were involved in a minor auto accident on Monday.

Al Michaels won't say that he's committed to honoring the full term of his contract with ESPN.

A reader has tipped us off to the fact that receiver Terrell Owens and agent Drew Rosenhaus were on a flight to Denver on Monday.  We've independently confirmed that, indeed, Owens and Rosenhaus are in the Mile High City on Monday night.

What they're doing there isn't precisely known, but it doesn't take a brain scientist to put two and two together.

Owens is under contract with the Eagles, but has received permission to shop himself via a trade.  Although Owens' current deal is essentially untradeable, since it requires payment to player of a total of $7.5 million in bonus money within days after the trading period opens, a sign-and-trade remains possible.

Even more likely is that Owens and Rosenhaus are using the opportunity to shop the Pro Bowl receiver in order to lay the foundation for a free agent contract.  Equipped with the ability to talk to other teams, Rosenhaus has a blank check to determine the highest bidder before the big money begins to flow on the first days of free agency.

And as we explained during a Saturday appearance on Fox Sports Radio with host Steve Duemig of WDAE in Tampa, the Broncos are the front runner, in our view, to reel in T.O., given that the team fell a step short of the Super Bowl.

And Coach Kevlar's turd-centric approach to free agency and the draft was vindicated, to an extent, by an AFC title game appearance in 2005.  So the fact that Owens has a reputation for boorish behavior means little or nothing to Mike Shanahan, who likely has concluded after this year's performance of his team that a playmaker with the abilities of T.O. can put the Broncos over the T.O.P.

HENRY IN VERY HOT WATER

Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com explains that the arrest of receiver Chris Henry on multiple weapons charges could expose him to a suspension, given that the arrest occurred while Henry already was in the league's substance abuse program by virtue of his December 2005 arrest for marijuana possession.

It could be the least of Henry's problems.

Redskins safety Sean Taylor faces similar charges in Florida, but his chances of an acquittal are significant.  It will be hard for a jury to find proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, given that the prosecution's evidence comes from guys who allegedly had stolen Taylor's ATV.  With the key witnesses at odds over the question of whether Taylor pointed a gun, the jury easily could throw up its collective hands and let Taylor walk.

In contrast, Henry was caught red-handed by . . . a cop.  Unless the defense can make the whole Mark Fuhrman thing stick, it's highly unlikely that the juror will disregard the officer's sworn account, which likely will be corroborated by members of the group at whom the gun allegedly was pointed -- or by some of the people who were with Henry.  Indeed, the official police report indicates that one of the members of Henry's group told police that "Henry had the firearm because they came to the [nearby] club last week and had problems."

Meanwhile, it turns out that the one fact we regarded as conclusive proof that the story was bogus when it was handed to us on Sunday morning turns out to be accurate.  In an e-mail, the tipster told us:  "Chris Henry arrested in Orlando for possession of a stolen handgun. He was about to point it at someone but was arrested at gunpoint before doing so.  He was wearing his Bengal jersey while doing so."

Wearing his Bengal jersey?  Riiiiiiiiight.

Um.  Take a gander at his mugshot, courtesy of WCPO:

Looks like a Bengals jersey to us.  So unless it was a Bob Trumpy throwback or something, our guess is that Chris was honoring himself on the same night that he likely ruined his career, and perhaps his life.

MONDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

The Bills announced that defensive coordinator Jerry Gray won't return, after it was announced that he has joined the Redskins.

Bill Belichick will participate in the Super Bowl pregame show (maybe he'll sit next to Tom Jackson -- and completely ignore him).

The 'Dinger is in Denver, but not as the O.C.

Chargers quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer is the new offensive coordinator of the Jets -- maybe Brian knows that Marty's time is running out.

Chris Palmer is the new quarterbacks coach in Dallas.

WPCO-TV in Cincinnati reports that Bengals receiver Chris Henry has been arrested in Orlando, Florida on "charges of possession of a concealed firearm, improper exhibition of a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm."

Per the report, Henry was with a group of people early Saturday morning, and Henry's group was arguing with another group.  A police offer stopped because a limo was blocking traffic, and the officer noticed that the argument might erupt into a fight.  As the officer told the groups to break it up, he saw Henry pull a gun and point it at the other group.  

(Editor's note:  The fact that Henry would pull a gun in the presence of a cop goes a long way toward explaining his single-digit Wonderlic score.)  

The officer told Henry to drop the gun, and Henry then threw it inside a nearby car.  Although Henry denied having the weapon, police recovered a 9 mm Luger from the vehicle.

The Bengals have issued no comment.  Dennis Janson of WCPO tells us that the team was not aware of the arrest before Janson informed the team of it on Monday afternoon.

Actually, we'd received a tip on Sunday afternoon regarding the arrest.  But when we were told that Henry was wearing his Bengals jersey at the time of the incident, we thought we were being set up with a phony story.

The fact that Henry decided to "improperly exhibit" a firearm in Florida means that, if convicted, he's staring at a multi-year mandatory sentence, due to Florida's stringent gun laws.  Apparently, Henry ignored our recent advice (scroll down for more) that anyone thinking about pointing a gun at someone in Florida should do it instead in Virginia, given the huge disparity between the worst-case scenarios that Redskins safety Sean Taylor and former Virginia Tech Marcus Vick are facing for virtually identical alleged crimes committed in Florida and Virginia, respectively.

And since the gun was pointed at a "group," it's possible that Henry eventually will face multiple counts of aggravated assault.  Last week, prosecutors in Florida added two additional counts of aggravated assault to the single count that Taylor had been facing, since Taylor allegedly pointed a gun in June 2005 at a total of three people.

Henry was arrested in December for marijuana possession.  A third-round draft pick in 2005 from West Virginia, he had developed into the team's No. 3 receiver behind starters Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.  Prior to his December arrest, Henry generally had been well behaved -- despite having a reputation for being a major turd during his time in Morgantown.

As always, however, turds eventually show their true colors.

A league insider has explained to us that the NFL's decision to telecast eight regular-season games per year on the league-owned NFL Network might directly result in a lot less money being available to pay the salaries of players in 2006 and 2007.

How so, you ask?  The current CBA funds the salary cap with so-called "Defined Gross Revenues."  A specific percentage (roughly 60 percent) of the Defined Gross Revenues funds the team-by-team spending limit.

The problem is that the current CBA, which runs through 2007, specifically includes revenue from television contracts in the calculation of DGR -- but it arguably does not encompass the profits and revenues realized by the NFL Network through the airing of regular season games.

Specifically, Article XXIV, Section 1(a)(i)(2) includes proceeds from the sale of broadcast rights within the definition of DGR.  However, Article XXIV, Section 1(a)(iii) seems to provide the NFL with an argument that the profits generated via the operation of the NFL Network are excluded from the DGR calculation, regardless of whether a portion of the profits comes from the fact that eight "real" games per year will now be shown on the station.

So by turning up its nose at the possibility of selling the package of eight late-season games to Comcast for $300 million to $400 million per year, the NFL possibly has blocked anywhere from $180 million to $240 million from being paid into the salary cap this year.  This equates to roughly $5.6 million to $7.5 million per team, and roughly $100,000 to $140,000 per player.     

Now, it's possible that the NFL will decide to include the NFL Network's profits derived from these games within the DGR formula, since no one contemplated the existence of an NFL-owned cable channel when the CBA was negotiated.  However, the argument in favor of the NFL keeping the money is that the NFLPA could have requested the insertion of language that would have been sufficiently broad to encompass such a development.

But if the NFL tries to turn the screws on this one and gets away with it, the storm cloud presently hovering over the many years of labor peace will get a lot darker -- and the likelihood of a work stoppage in 2008 could increase dramatically.  

There's a burgeoning rumor that Al Michaels is having second thoughts about his decision to make the move with Monday Night Football from ABC to ESPN.  He's currently scheduled to work with ESPN Sunday night holdover Joe Theismann on the Monday night broadcast, beginning in September.

On June 16, 2005, we wrote that Michaels previously had turned up his nose at the prospect of working for a "four-letter network."  Not too long thereafter, Michaels accepted the offer to stay with the franchise for which he has worked for 20 seasons.

But now the talk is that Michaels wants to join booth partner John Madden on NBC's new Sunday night package.  Michaels also might be influenced by the possibility that the Sunday night broadcast will become the bigger deal, since MNF has moved to cable.  But since pretty much everyone who watches sports on TV has access to ESPN (including, presumably, the folks with the Nielsen equipment), we think that Monday night won't lose much of its luster (unless ESPN continues to relentless overhype it).  

If Michaels bolts -- and if ESPN doesn't force him to honor his contract -- the Boys in Bristol could re-work the booth to include Theismann, Mike Tirico, and Tony Kornheiser.  Tirico (bad move) would handle the play-by-play, and Kornheiser (great move) would participate in the color commentary.  Kornheiser, by the way, was a finalist for the MNF spot filled by Dennis Miller several years back.

In our view, a move toward guys like Tirico and Kornheiser represents an implicit concession from the Boys in Bristol that the Sunday night lineup of Theismann, Mike Patrick, and Paul Maguire simply wasn't getting it done anymore.  The trio had been criticized by the media and fans for their excessive slobberings regarding the virtues of the guys who happen to be playing in the game that they were working.  In fact, we were amazed by the selection of Theismann for a spot on the Monday night telecast, and we believed that Michaels specifically wanted to work with someone who was incapable of showing him up.

And if Michaels gets out, we have a feeling that the network will be looking for an excuse to dump Theismann as well, opting instead for a completely fresh start. 

Our preference would be Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, and Kornheiser, if anyone cares.  (And usually no one does.)

The Lions have named Donnie Henderson defensive coordinator.

The Sehawks might prefer to spend the week on their swanky jet rather than in their ho-hum hotel rooms.

The Steelers waited 42 years for their first NFL title; defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has been waiting 47 years for one of his own.

We wonder what the Canton anti-Cowboys crowd will be saying when Troy Aikman gets into the Hall of Fame with relatively unimpressive passing stats. 

Former Bills defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, a one-time "B+" list candidate for head coaching jobs, is heading to Mount Olympus. 

Though it's hardly a scientific poll, readers in Wisconsin tell us that the general reaction on local talk radio to Lord Favre's most recent musings regarding retirement is that the Cheeseheads finally are beginning to accept the reality that Favre won't be back in 2006.

And some now want him to stay away, if he's doubting his desire to get the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

Said Favre:  "There's days I wake up and say, 'You know what? I can't retire.  Don't be stupid.  What will I do?'  There's other days, I go, 'What if it's crunch time, 2 minutes left, do you want the ball?'  I don't know if I do."

On top of everything else that has happened over the past year, the possible absence of a desire to play hard with the game on the line could be, in our view, the clincher.  True competitors tolerate offseason workouts and changes in the coaching staff and adjustments to the roster and the heat of training camp and the grind of the preseason so that they can get themselves in position to make a difference with a game that matters on the line.  If Favre isn't sure that he wants to embrace the biggest moments that his profession has to offer, then it's time to go before wading into months of far more mundane activities. 

Our item from Sunday regarding the possibility that USC quarterback Matt Leinart could slide on draft day prompted a flood of e-mails -- some positive, some negative, and (as usual) some profane.

And based on further information we've received from league insiders, the key teams to watch in this regard are the New Orleans Saints and the Tennessee Titans, who pick at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

As to the Titans, the thinking is that the presence of offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who was the offensive coordinator with the Trojans in Leinart's Heisman-winning season, virtually guarantees that the Titans will take him if he's available.

As some see it, Chow has his NFL gig in large part because of Leinart, which will prompt Chow to push very, very hard for Leinart to be added to the Titans with the third pick.  Throw in the fact that Titans coach Jeff Fisher is a former USC player himself, and it becomes harder not to take Leinart.

"Coaches will always take the player that they know the best," said one league insider.  "Chow has won a lot of games with [Leinart].  He hasn't won sh-t with [Vince] Young or [Jay] Cutler. . . .  [C]oaches always try [to] avoid the unknown."

As to the Saints, Leinart could be the guy at No.2 not because of what he can do on the field, but because of the value that he brings to the franchise if owner Tom Benson tries to sell the team to Los Angeles interests after the 2006 season.  Many league insiders believe that the Saints' return to New Orleans is indeed temporary, and that Benson will sell out for something close to $1 billion.  Although 23 other owners must approve any franchise move, the one-two punch of putting a team back in Los Angeles and getting Benson out of the Billionaire Boys Club could be sufficient to muster the votes.

The point here is that the Saints and the Titans have reasons for taking Leinart that are independent of the factors we set forth on Sunday that could cause him to slide.  And so if Leinart is still on the board after New Orleans and Tennessee make their selections, it will send a very negative message to the other 29 teams with picks in round one.

On a separate point, several of the e-mails we received argued that the same concerns that could make Leinart slide in 2006 would have knocked him out of the top spot in 2005.  Not so, in our opinion.  There's a pervasive belief in league circles that the top of the class in 2006 is a huge step above the top of the class in 2005.  It's essentially common knowledge around the league that, if Leinart had been in the mix, the 49ers would have taken him over Utah quarterback Alex Smith, despite anything that Leinart might or might not have done in the T-shirts and shorts phase of draft preparations.

So the consensus around the league is that Leinart would have been the first overall pick a year ago.  This year, the consensus is that he won't be.  The only thing that remains to be determined is how long he'll stay on the board, and how much money Leinart's desire to stay in "school" for one more year will cost him.      

LORD FAVRE SHOULD KEEP HIS THOUGHTS TO HIMSELF

We mean no disrespect to Packers quarterback Brett Favre.  But if someone is ever writing a book on how to properly walk away from a high-end career in professional sports, Favre should be consulted for the chapter on how not to do it.

The whole "will he or won't he?" thing has become an annual issue for several years now -- primarily because Brett himself began publicly musing about his future more than three years ago.  Our research reveals that the issue first came up in September 2002, when Favre opened up to Peter King of Sports Illustrated:  "I think about retirement a heck of a lot more than I used to. . . . I miss home.  I know it's nuts but Mike Sherman told us today that he was giving us Saturday and Sunday off this week, and the guys were all excited.  All I could think was, I wish I could be on my lawn mower back home."

Let's put this in perspective.  In September 2002, Favre was only 32.  No one had any reason to suspect that Favre's career could be winding down.  Quarterbacks can play at a high level past age 35.  In 2005, Minnesota's Brad Johnson looked great at 37.  

Since then, the story won't go away -- primarily since Favre won't quit talking about it.  We can't recall any other NFL star allowing himself to get sucked into an ongoing dialogue regarding the date, time, and place of his retirement, primarily because most past NFL stars have operated under the unwavering presumption that they will continue to play until they announce that it's time to leave.

Dan Marino, to our recollection, didn't toy with the media for a year or longer before he packed it in.  Ditto for Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, and Steve Young.

The only guy who allowed himself to be pulled into a discussion as to whether he'd be back for another go was John Elway, who pondered the possibility of going out on top after beating Favre's Packers in the Super Bowl eight years ago -- and who then said early in the offseason that he's coming back for another year.  And who then won another championship before riding off into the sunset.

For Favre, the tease continues.  Days after G.M. Ted Thompson and new coach Mike McCarthy went to Mississippi to kiss Favre's ring (and his tractor-riding ass), he tells ESPN's Chris Mortensen that, if a decision were required today, Favre wouldn't be back.

But since a decision isn't required today, why is Favre flapping his fangs about it?  What benefit is gained by floating the idea that he won't be back at a time weeks before a final decision is due?  Hell, why even give the interview so early in the offseason, when memories of a 4-12 record and his worst season as a starter are still raw and fresh?

We sure hope that Favre's agent, Bus Cook, didn't cajole Brett into granting the interview request from Mortensen in light of Mort's glowing article regarding Cook's next Favre, Jay Cutler of Vanderbilt.  We're not suggesting that Mort skewed his item in favor of Cutler in order to gain access to Favre, but we wouldn't be surprised to learn that Cook nudged Favre to sit down with Mortensen because Cook felt like he "owed one" to Mort.

Regardless of the motivation, we think that Favre's best bet is to say nothing at all about his plans until it's time to announce them.  And even though Brett doesn't come off as a guy who craves attention, it's hard not to conclude that lurking at the heart of this daytime drama is a healthy dose of good old-fashioned vanity.
   

The whispers are starting to be heard on the information superhighway that is the NFL rumor mill.  

Will USC quarterback Matt Leinart be this year's Aaron Rodgers?

In 2005, Rodgers was the latest over-hyped product of Cal quarterback guru Jeff Tedford.  In February, many had Rodgers pegged possibly to go as high as the No. 1 overall selection in the draft.  But the 49ers ultimately opted for Utah's Alex Smith in the one hole, leaving Rodgers on the board.

After the Dolphins and Browns passed on Rodgers at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, the pecking order moved to a cluster of teams with no clear needs at the quarterback position.

Bears?  Nope.  Bucs?  Ditto.  Titans?  No.  

And so on, through the Vikings, Cardinals, Redskins, Lions, Cowboys, Chargers.  Saints, Panthers, Chiefs, Texans, Bengals, Vikings, Rams.

Cowboys, Jaguars, Ravens, Raiders.

Then came the Packers at No. 24.  Despite immediate needs at plenty of positions other than quarterback, new G.M. Ted Thompson opted for insurance against the looming retirement of Lord Favre, who had waffled about returning in 2005 but who now might be back for 2006. 

This time around, the early talk is that Leinart could end up doing the round one slip 'n' slide.  And league insiders are pointing to several pieces of evidence that could, in the end, cause the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner to get the 2006 booby prize after finding himself getting a contract worth far less than the $50 million or so that he would have seen if he'd left USC when his stock was at its zenith.

First, the fact that Leinart didn't take on the challenge of the NFL after winning the ultimate team and individual honors in college makes some folks wonder whether he's got the raw desire to face the challenge of football at its highest possible level.  It's not as if he was only three years removed from high school after the 2004 season; he'd put in four full years of college and only took some bullpoopie ballroom dancing class last semester.  But he wanted to stick around for another year where things were easy, familiar, comfortable.         

Second, the burgeoning mess involving his agents, Leigh Steinberg and Chuck Price, and the various other hangers-on has some league insiders questioning Leinart's overall wisdom and judgment.  This guy will be expected to lead men on an NFL gridiron; meanwhile, he's being led around by folks who already are at odds (as we reported on Saturday) as to the question of whether Leinart would make a cameo appearance at the Senior Bowl.  The thinking is that Steinberg was added to the representation team because he brings a certain degree of credibility, but that Leinart and Price ultimately will nudge Steinberg into the background -- or out of the picture altogether.  Leinart's decision to place so much of his career in Price's hands suggests that Matt simply doesn't get it. 

Third, word is that Steinberg and Price plan to parade Leinart around at the Super Bowl this week.  Good for Leigh (who's still trying to recover from that ugly split with David Dunn) and good for Price (a virtual unknown who's trying to parlay his relationship with Leinart into a career as a big-shot agent).

But bad for Leinart, who should be working out hard right now, not peacocking his way through Motown.

As one league insider told us on Saturday, Leinart's main weakness is the T-shirt and shorts stuff into which scouts put so much focus this time of year.  With speed and arm strength as his liabilities, he should be doing everything his can to improve his numbers, not hobnobbing.

Fourth, Vanderbilt's Jay Cutler is rocketing up the board.  And Cutler is regarded as having the ideal temperament and heart for pro football.  Cutler made his mark on a college team without a collection of first-day draft picks on both sides of the ball.  Cutler eschewed offers to play safety at other schools because he knew he could be a successful quarterback.

As a result, Cutler is catching the attention of the guys who are amassing notebooks and laptops full of data that will be used in late April to decide who gets picked and when.  As ESPN's Chris Mortensen explained this week, Cutler might be the best quarterback prospect in the draft.  And the thinking in league circles is that Mort isn't merely throwing a bone to Cutler and agent Bus Cook; on this one, Mort's got his fist around the league's carotid artery.  Cutler is a brand new Ferrari on the fast track, and he very well could get picked before Leinart or Vince Young of Texas.

Fifth, Cutler's participation in the Senior Bowl has earned him bonus points.  Although Leinart's decision to stay away can be attributed to the perception that he has nothing to prove, former No. 1 overall picks such as Carson Palmer and David Carr made the trip to Mobile.

Bottom line -- Leinart should have played in the game.

Sixth, there's a real concern that Leinart won't be happy in a city other than Los Angeles, where he's become one of the biggest fish in an already huge pond.  So what'll he do in a smaller town where he's just getting started -- and where his team doesn't have the overall firepower to propel him to immediate local superstardom?

Seventh, no one knows whether Leinart has the ability to keep his focus on a team that isn't winning every week, since he's never had to continue to forge ahead after losing game upon game.  He came off as a somewhat of a spoiled 11-year-old during his on-field comments after losing the Rose Bowl; what kind of sound bites will he produce when his pro team is 1-8?

The biggest unknown for any incoming NFL player is the size and content of his heart.  And the issue isn't resolved until the guy is out there banging hats with established NFL competition.  Leinart has risen to the occasion in the past while in college, but there's just enough evidence to make scouts wonder whether Leinart will be able to make the adjustment from one of the best college programs in football history to a struggling NFL franchise without the supporting cast and coaching staff to allow him perform above his talent level.

So if the Saints take Cutler at No. 2 and the Titans take Young at No. 3, where will Leinart land?

Much of it depends on what teams with needs at the position can do during the first several weeks of free agency.  Assuming the Jets, Raiders, Lions, and Cardinals are comfortable with their situations at quarterback by late April, Leinart might slide to the Dolphins at No. 16.  And if Miami passes on Leinart, the kid could end up being on the board even longer than Rodgers was.

The Lions could be the best bet for Leinart, given new coach Rod Marinelli's ties to USC and his ability to motivate.  Plus, there's plenty of other talent on offense.

Even if he goes at No. 2, Leinart will lose plenty of money over what he would have earned a year ago.  If he ends up at No. 4 or lower, the financial difference could end up being staggering.

It's all the more reason, in our view, for Leinart to wake up, make good decisions, and get his butt into the gym and onto the track from now through draft day.  

McNAIR NOT ENAMORED WITH STAFF

A league source tells us that Texans owner Bob McNair isn't thrilled with the assistant coaches hired to date by Gary Kubiak, and that McNair is pushing for a "big name" to run the team's defense.

The problem is that one of the biggest names out there -- former Packers defensive coordinator Jim Bates -- would not be inclined to keep defensive backs coach Jon Hoke, whom McNair personally likes.

No effort has been made to contact the Dolphins for permission to interview co-defensive coordinator Richard Smith, apparently due to McNair's desire to install a heavy hitter.  But beyond Bates and former Vikings defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, there aren't many big names available on that side of the ball.

Kubiak meanwhile is trying to lure a guy with head coaching experience to his offensive staff.  Kubiak interviewed former Packers head coach Mike Sherman on Friday for the position of offensive line coach and assistant head coach. 

SUNDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

The "Kimo rule" could be coming.

Packers G.M. Ted Thompson and new coach Mike McCarthy had an audience with Lord Favre.

Rams RB Marshall Faulk hasn't decided whether he'll return for another season.

Chargers QB Drew Brees already is three weeks ahead of schedule on his rehab from shoulder surgery (we still see the transition tag in his future).

Former Bills offensive coordinator Tom Clements will coach the quarterbacks in Green Bay.

From the "Reasons Why You Can't Believe Anything NFL Coaches Say" file, Andy Reid of the Eagles recently announced (presumably with a straight face) that several teams are interested in trading for T.O.

Former Rams coach Mike Martz removed his name from consideration for the Raiders job (translation:  he was either told or he strongly suspected that he wasn't going to get an offer).

Martz will decide by Monday whether to become the offensive coordinator of the Lions (we're hoping he passes, since we promised a reader that we'd eat our computer if Martz stooped to accepting such a job this year).

Steelers LB Larry Foote suggests a "home only" schedule for Steelers RB Jerome Bettis in 2006.

We agree with Joe Starkey of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, who thinks that a Steelers win next week earns a spot in Canton for Coach Chin.

The Broncos should be able to cure their looming $30 million cap bulge without too much pain.

As expected, the 'Dinger is likely headed to Denver.

A key point omitted to date in the coverage of the NFL's decision to air eight regular-season games on its own official network is that the launch of the package will be part of a new tripleheader on Thanksgiving.

The New York Times reported Saturday that the NFL Network will air the Redskins at Cowboys on Thanksgiving.  Based on the language of the official press release (which one of our most loyal readers pointed out to us), the NFL Network's game will air at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.  This means that both CBS and FOX will have games earlier in the day.

So, obviously, that the long-standing monopoly of the Lions and Cowboys on Turkey Day home games will end in 2006, since a new team will host the late afternoon matchup.

Because both Detroit and Dallas are from the NFC, look for an AFC team to get in on the action.  The Chiefs have long carped about their inability to break into the Turkey Day rotation, so maybe they'll get the first shot at it.  Since it's a FOX game, the visitors must be an NFC team.

And our guess is that the NFL will use the second game of the tripleheader as a true rotation going forward, with other cities now getting a shot at hosting a game on Thanksgiving.  

The biggest loser in this regard is one of the NFL's prime broadcast partners.  ESPN, which pays starting this year $1.1 billion for the rights to Monday Night Football, plans to air Boston College at Miami on Thanksgiving night.  The ratings potential for that one, however, has just gone out the window with the news that one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports will be on the air at the same time.

Our guess is that the Boys in Bristol might take a look-see at moving that game a bit, perhaps to the night before the holiday.

The NFL Network is making its boldest move yet to force its way into every cable system in America.

According to The New York Times, the league's official television station will carry eight regular-season games in 2006, starting with the Redskins at the Cowboys.

On Thanksgiving.

Though the game will be simulcast on broadcast channels in Dallas and D.C., the rest of the country will need to get their NTV before November or the only way folks will be watching Cowboys wrestling with other grown men on Thanksgiving is if they pick up a DVD of Brokeback Mountain. 

There's evidence on the NFL grapevine that the relationship between Matt Leinart's agents already is showing signs of strain.  We're told that experienced agent Leigh Steinberg and agent wannabe Chuck Price got into a disagreement recently regarding whether their guy should make the trip to Mobile for Senior Bowl week.

Steinberg wanted Leinart to go to Mobile so that Leinart could begin talking to teams who might be drafting him.  Price, however, persuaded Leinart not to go, given that Leinart would face questions as to why he's not playing in the game.

Steinberg, we hear, wasn't happy with the final decision.

We're also told that Steinberg specifically was picked to handle Leinart because Steinberg was willing to mentor Price and to tolerate a relatively complex (and, some might say, goofy) overall structure surrounding Leinart.  Our guess is that, after Leinart's rookie contract negotiated, Steinberg very well could get the shoe.

From Steinberg's perspective, that might be the best outcome.  He'll still get his commission on the deal -- and he won't have to worry about being periodically undermined by a guy who doesn't know what he's doing.

DEATH OF THE CAP GUYS?

As the NFL and the NFLPA continue to re-enact the Cuban Missile Crisis at the CBA bargaining table, there's a group of guys around the league whose collars soon should begin to tighten.

The cap guys.

If the CBA isn't extended in 2006, the league will face an uncapped year in 2007, making the cap guys meaningless.  There's been rhetoric from the union that, once the cap is gone it's never coming back.  If so, an entire mini-industry of capologists might be forced to become, say, cosmetologists.

More immediately, the cap guys face a daunting challenge in 2006.  Signing boni can be spread out over only four years.  Incentives will hit the cap when earned.  The negotiation of free agency contracts and rookie deals, then, will be a nightmare -- and the reward for getting through it could be a one-way ticket out of the organization.     

CLEARING THE AIR ON TAYLOR CHARGES

We've heard from some of our readers that a legal analyst for one of the networks was on the radio somewhere on Friday trying to explain that the new charges against Redskins safety Sean Taylor are actually a good thing, since these new charges don't carry the mandatory prison term that the old charges carried.

Wrong.

The prosecutor merely took the single charge of aggravated assault via the pointing of a gun (which carries a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of 15) and added two other identical charges to it, since the gun was aimed (allegedly) at a total of three people.

If the charges run consecutively, and if Taylor is convicted on each of them, he'll spend at least nine years in prison.

As we wrote when this matter first surfaced last year, if Taylor misses any practices or games due to an unfortunate incarceration, he'll likely have to kick back several million dollars in bonus money to the Redskins.

Texas quarterback Vince Young will throw at the February scouting combine, but he won't run or lift weights.

His agent, Major Adams, says that Young will refrain from showing off his speed and strength because "teams already know he can run and do all that."

This implies, of course, that Young and Adams recognize that teams don't know whether "he can throw and do all that."

In our view, a guy either needs to do everything or nothing at the combine.  And for a guy like Young who is hoping to be the No. 1 overall pick, the more that he does, the better.

Then again, we don't expect Adams to be in a position to give Young the best possible advice, since Adams is navigating uncharted waters on this one.  Indeed, Adams apparently doesn't realize that quarterbacks don't participate in the 225-pound bench press exercise.    

Rumor has it that Bus Cook is advising Young on a behind-the-scenes basis, but if that's true we'd like to think that Cook would have told Young to show off his speed in Indy. 

Speed, after all, is a huge part of Young's game, and in order to create the kind of buzz that could propel him as high as possible on the board, he needs to show what he can do on the new FieldTurf at the RCA Dome.

GET YOUR SUPER BOWL FIX

Will the Bus win the Super Bowl in his home town?  Is this Shaun Alexander's last game with the Seahawks?  Who cares, let's talk about what really matters:  Who's going cover the point spread?!  Get your FREE expert Super Bowl picks plus daily NBA and College Basketball picks at Pick2Pick.com.

There's an interesting contrast between the criminal charges pending against Redskins safety Sean Taylor and former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick.

Both are accused of pointing a gun at three people.  Vick faces up to three years in prison on three misdemeanor counts.  Taylor now faces a mandatory prison term of three years for each of the three felony counts pending against him, with a maximum total prison stay of 46 years.

Same alleged conduct.  Dramatically dissimilar consequences.

The difference flows from the specific laws of the states in which the alleged crimes occurred.  In Virginia, no big deal.  In Florida, very big deal.

So the message to any Floridians out there who might be inclined from time to time to whip out a piece and point it at Moe, Larry, and Curly is that it might be a good idea to move to Virginia Beach, Norfolk, or Richmond before doing so.  Yeah, it's colder this time of year in the Commonwealth, but you'll enjoy up to 43 extra summers on the right side of razor wire and love, Brokeback style.    

Based on discussions with league insiders have knowledge of the application of the Rooney Rule, it appears that the San Diego Chargers could pull off a Marty-for-Wade swap if the team enters into an agreement to promote defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to the head coaching job before pulling the trigger on Marty Schottenheimer.

And since there's no deadline on the exception that permits a team to reach an agreement to elevate a current member of its staff, the Chargers could, in theory, strike a deal with Phillips and then walk down the hall and tell Marty to get the hell out.

Even if G.M. A.J. Smith plans to push the envelope in this regard, he would be wise to also interview Chargers receivers coach James Lofton, who sat for the Raiders and the Bills vacancy.  If the Chargers don't, the next move by the NFL could be the elimination of this exception to the Rooney Rule -- especially since there has been no net increase in minority hires in 2006.

With all that said, we're not reporting that the Chargers will dump Schottenheimer.  There is, however, a growing rumor in league circles that Smith will make his move after the Raiders hire a head coach.

GET YOUR SUPER BOWL FIX

Will the Bus win the Super Bowl in his home town?  Is this Shaun Alexander's last game with the Seahawks?  Who cares, let's talk about what really matters:  Who's going cover the point spread?!  Get your FREE expert Super Bowl picks plus daily NBA and College Basketball picks at Pick2Pick.com.

Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks has given four of his Super Bowl tickets to family members of one of the miners killed in the Sago, West Virginia mining tragedy earlier this month.

Starks was reluctant to speak out the matter, and he did not identify the family.  He decided to do it after receiving a letter from the family requesting autographed gear.

Players in the Super Bowl can purchase up to 15 tickets to the game.  All players have the ability to buy two seats.

Despite a relatively high degree of animosity between Pittsburghers and West Virginians on most matters, most West Virginia residents north of Charleston and west of the Eastern Panhandle faithfully support the Steelers.  And although yours truly often is accused of being a Steelers fan, yours truly once upon a time learned the hard way the consequences of openly rooting for the Steelers' Super Bowl opponent in a West Virginia town infested with fans of the black and gold. 

SUPER BOWL SCALPING STILL HAPPENING

Even as the NFL hopes to put the skeleton of the Meathead Super Bowl scalping incident in the closet next to Janet Jackson's right boob, we're hearing that there's still plenty of reselling of Super Bowl seats at a significant premium above face value.

Some teams have placed tight restrictions on the ability of personnel to get tickets, requiring them to personally retrieve the tickets in Detroit.  But there remains plenty of activity in connection with players lining up folks to buy the seats at a more-than-tidy profit.

We've heard that the going rate is $3,800 for two $500 seats in the "stuff the rag deep into the nostril and hold your head back" section.  

As usual, players will buy the tickets at face value, resell them at a big profit, and pocket the difference without declaring the gain as income.  And why should they worry?  By all appearances, the IRS didn't come sniffing around Mike Tice after he denied then admitted to chronic scalping.  If the feds aren't concerned about a guy who already has confessed to turning a profit that likely didn't show up on his 1040, why are they going to spend any time chasing guys who have yet to admit that they do it?     

FRIDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

Steelers running backs coach Dick Hoak is one of four full-time Steelers employees still looking for the one for the thumb. 

A squared plus B squared equals . . . F squared?  Fran Foley officially completes the (Bermuda) Triangle of Authority in Minnesota.

From the "Marcus Vick Finally Has Contributed Something Positive To Society&qu