POSTED 11:57 p.m. EDT, April 17, 2006

TAGS MEETING WITH SCHUMER, RUSSERT

Our friends at WGR 550 in Buffalo report that NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue will meet on Thursday with U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and NBC political commentator Tim Russert, a rabid Bills fan.

The meeting obviously is in response to recent public attacks by Bills owner Ralph Wilson on the NFL's new CBA and revenue sharing plan, which Wilson fears (or so he claims) could ultimately require the team he has owned for 46 years to move out of Western New York.

Look, we can understand Tags' decision to meet with Schumer.  But why does Russert get a seat at the table?  He's a political news guy who happens to like football.  Why not bring in Chris Berman, a Bills lover who actually makes his living covering, you know, sports?

On the surface, Tagliabue's decision to meet with Schumer and Russert creates the appearance that Wilson's misguided pissing and moaning was effective.  Looking at this a little more deeply, however, it provides the Commish with an opportunity to throw some water on the notion that the Bills are getting the shaft as part of a supplemental revenue sharing plan that still has not been fully defined.

The truth is that the qualifying factors for supplemental revenue sharing have not been defined.  Wilson, in our view, is merely attempting to influence the process in a manner that favors the low-revenue teams.

The one thing of which we're certain is that the ultimate selection of qualifying factors of supplemental revenue sharing could set the stage for another big ugly labor mess as early as 2009, if the NFLPA or the league opt to exercise their right to opt out of the new CBA two years early.

HAKIM TELLS CARDS TO STICK IT UP THEIR AZ

We're told that receiver Az-Zahir Hakim has broken off talks with the Cardinals after the team reduced its offer to the one-year veteran minimum.

Hakim has been linked closely to the Cardinals for more than a week.  The thinking is that his former quarterback in St. Louis, Kurt Warner, has lobbied the team to sign him.

Hakim, we hear, will now look to the Bears and the Lions as possible destinations for 2006.

MONDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

S Andre Lott signed a two-year deal with the Chargers.

The 49ers signed LB T.J. Slaughter on Monday -- it's his fifth team in five seasons. 

The Titans deny any wrongdoing in connection with their decision to kick QB Steve McNair out of the team facility.  (Has anyone accused of wrongdoing ever admitted it in their initial response to the charges?)

Now that Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander has gotten paid healthily, he's looking to change the perception by many that he's, well, an asshole.

The 49ers have hired former Browns exec Lal Heneghan as executive V.P. of football operations.

The Bills have cut CB Kevin Thomas.

POSTED 5:04 p.m. EDT, April 17, 2006

LENDALE LANDING IN BOTTOM THIRD OF ROUND ONE?

A league source with a key role in the draft process for one of the 32 NFL teams tells us that, based on research conducted in the three days since work broke of USC running back LenDale White's torn hamstring, the source believes that White likely will be drafted in the bottom third of round one.

"I'm not saying it's a lock," the source said, expressing to us that the odds of White being gone before the Houston Texans launch round two are "better than even."

That's very good news for White, whose "moderate" tear in the groin region (all male readers may insert a cringe and/or a  shudder here) could have caused him to fall out of the first round entirely.  Coupled with concerns regarding his willingness to hit the weight room, which were manifested via his pathetic 15 reps in the 225-pound bench press, White had more red flags than a Soviet military parade.

The teams considered to be hot for his services include the Broncos (who pick at No. 15 and No. 22), the Panthers (No. 27), and the Steelers (No. 32).  The Colts could also be interested in White, since they are looking for someone/anyone to replace Edgerrin James.

White is regarded as the only power back in the 2006 draft with a consensus round-one grade.  

POSTED 3:53 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 4:48 p.m. EDT, April 17, 2006

SAINTS SHOPPING STALLWORTH

A league source tells us that the New Orleans Saints currently are shopping former first-round receiver Donte' Stallworth.

Stallworth was the thirteenth overall selection in the 2002 draft.  He is under contract through 2007, with base salaries of $1.92 million and $545,000 in the final seasons of his rookie deal.  We're told, however, that he has met the trigger for voiding the final year of the deal, making him a free agent after the 2006 season.

The former Tennessee star quietly had his best season in 2005, with 70 catches for 945 yards and seven touchdowns.  But he has still fallen far short of the pre-draft hype that surrounded him four years ago.

With Stallworth signed through 2006 only, anyone who trades for him will also need to sign him to an extension.  Otherwise, the draft pick or player who is sacrificed will result in a one-year rental of Stallworth.

If the Saints move Stallworth, they'll have a significant hole to fill in the starting lineup.  Chris Horn has been signed in the offseason, but the team surely would have to go back to the free-agent pool (possibly in search of some post-June 1 cuts) or draft a guy who can make the kind of impact right out of the gates that most folks expected of Stallworth's NFL career.

POSTED 9:07 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 10:10 a.m. EDT, April 17, 2006

SMITH SAYS KEY IS NO MOOSE

Panthers receiver Steve Smith hasn't exactly rolled out the welcome wagon for receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who signed last month with Carolina after being cut by the Cowboys.

During an  April 7 celebrity golf tournament hosted by former N.C. State stars Torry and Terrence Holt, Smith told the Raleigh News & Observer that Keyshawn is no replacement for Muhsin Muhammad, who was dumped by the Panthers in 2005.

Asked if Johnson will help the Panthers' offense, Smith said:  "I don't know.  Everybody wants me to speculate.  I can't speculate.  The natural thing to say is 'yeah he's going to help us', but time will tell.

"Nobody plays like Moose," Smith added.  "Nobody ever will play like Moose to me."

Smith, in our view, can expect a response -- public or private -- from Johnson, who has shown a tendency to fly off the handle from time to time.  So has Smith, who several years ago suckered punch a teammate in the film room.

And it could be that Smith is in the process of developing into yet another NFL pass-catching diva, who might feel threatened by the arrival of a guy who once upon a time was far bigger than Smith has yet become.  Though Smith is younger and, in our view, better than Johnson, Keyshawn could ring up superior numbers in 2006, since Smith will continue to be blanketed by opposing defenses -- making it easier for Johnson to get free.

At the same tournament, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb complained that receiver Terrell Owens still won't talk to him. 

"We've seen each other at different occasions but never spoke.  I'm going to speak.  That's just me, I'm going to speak to whomever.  You don't have to like me, just respect what I do.  I respect what you do," McNabb said.

Boo-freakin'-hoo.  Move on, Donovan.  For your sake.  For everyone's sake.

McNabb also said that Owens public antics last season sucked the life out of the Eagles. 

"You've got [other] guys [in the NFL] who are somewhat cancerous, but they don't come out publically [sic] . . .  it can rip a team apart," McNabb said.

Okay, good point.  But move on.  You're starting to sound like your former offensive coordinator.

The connection between McNabb's and Smith's words, as we see it, is that Smith shouldn't have said anything publicly regarding Johnson, if Smith wasn't going to say anything positive.  The Panthers made it to the NFC title game in 2005 without Muhammad, and Johnson can only help the cause in 2006.

But if Johnson and Smith are feuding, it could impede the team's progress toward the broader goal of delivering a Lombardi to Charlotte.

WEIGHT PROGRAMS NOT UNIFORM

One of the common themes we've heard since the onset of the NFL's offseason conditioning programs is that there's no uniformity among NFL teams regarding the approach to lifting weights.

Some teams use free weights, and some use machines.

The thinking in some circles is that the teams that use free weights tend to be tougher and stronger than the machine-trained players.

And some of the teams that use machines have little or no free-weight equipment.  We've heard that, in one machine-focused facility, there's only one weight bench and no squat rack.

Perhaps one of the prime examples of this phenomenon in 2006 will be the Packers.  Our old friend Chris Havel reports that the Packers have spent $200,000 on free weights and other equipment in the hopes of getting the guys stronger.

Green Bay's new strength and conditioning coach, Rock Gullickson, told Havel that the increased possibility of injury while using free weights is worth it, given the rewards that plates and dumbbells generate.  Coach Mike McCarthy believes that teams who train with free weights are less likely to suffer injuries in practice and in games.

Though Havel's article regarding the new training regimen omits reference to He Who Shall No Longer Be Named, we think that the team's commitment to free weights should be regarded by He Who as a positive sign for 2006 and beyond.  This is a team that lost eight games in 2005 by seven points or less.  So if the guys can stay healthy and get stronger, that 4-12 mark can get a lot better in 2006 even without adding guys like LaVar Arrington.

READ THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL (OR, EVEN BETTER, BUY IT)

Readers constantly ask us how a guy with no journalistic training and no prior connection to the NFL has ended up with the biggest independent pro football site on the web.  Our standard response is that, like all true Hulkamaniacs, we ate our vitamins and said our prayers.

But from a more practical standpoint, yours truly got into this business as a way to possibly generate a market for Quarterback of the Future, a football story that involves two contemporary college athletes who play for the 1960 Pittsburgh Steelers.

So after yours truly landed with NFLtalk.com in 2000, QBF was launched with much fanfare on the site in March 2001.

And within a month, NFLtalk.com and its various affiliated sites went dark, with ESPN.com purchasing the web addresses in the hopes of directing the traffic to its Insider service.

In lieu of spending any real time or money marketing QBF, yours truly ended up working for ESPN.com for six months before launching PFT.  QBF became an afterthought as we built up the web site.

But now that PFT has expanded to more than 55 million hits and more than 430,000 unique visitors in March 2006, we thought that it might be a good time to dust off QBF for the throng of recent arrivals to the site who might be looking for something to read once the NFL offseason slows down a bit in May and June.

Other possible uses for the $19.95 item include bookshelf space-taker-upper, beer can coaster, and wasp-and-other-flying-insect killer. 

Worst-case scenario, it provides 373 sheets of emergency toilet tissue, at 5.3 cents a square.

Click here to give the thing a look-see.  If you like the site, we think you'll like the book, too.

And if you, like us, tend to run a little light in the Charmin department from time to time, those 373 pages will come in handy too, even if they are a little scratchy.

MONDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

D'Brickashaw Ferguson should send a ham or a fruit basket or $100,000 to the J.V. coach who talked him out of giving up football while in high school.

In a separate item, Brick says he modeled his game after former NFL OL Lomas Brown.

Steve Serby of the New York Post urges the Jets to pass on a passer at No. 4.

Though he admits to have a stick up his butt in 2005, Colts RB Dominic Rhodes says he's ready to roll as the potential starting tailback in 2o06.

The New York Times has a great look at the hype surrounding the draft process.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones apparently would pounce on Vince Young, if Jones had the chance.

The Cowboys previously tried to add S Corey Chavous and S Chris Crocker, which could make it even more likely that they'll target CB/S Jason Allen in round one.

What the Bucs will do in round one is anybody's guess.

Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union looks at what the owners are looking for in a Commissioner.

Good news!  The Rams offensive line is set.  (Bad news . . . the Rams' offensive line is set.)

The Broncos could trade up to get TE Vernon Davis.