POSTED 8:16 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 9:31 p.m. EDT, April 18, 2006

SAINTS UNLIKELY TO PASS ON PICK

We've received several e-mails on Tuesday asking us whether the New Orleans Saints might try to save a few bucks by allowing their 15-minute allotment for using the No. 2 overall selection to expire.

The issue apparently is the result of rumors reported in this space that the Saints have been unable to trade down in the draft, prompting them to look at quarterback Matt Leinart with the pick.

This same question was raised a year ago, when there were 10 teams with picks in the top ten and no clear-cut top-ten talent.  This time around, there are multiple blue-chippers at the top of the draft -- meaning that a team with multiple areas of need such as the Saints could pass on their pick and slide back to a lower (and cheaper) spot.

But just as we learned a year ago from our discussions with league insiders, don't count on anyone intentionally blowing their window for selecting a pick.  It was one thing when the Vikings accidentally failed to get the card to the dais several years back while trying to work out a move down with the Ravens or Jaguars; if/when anyone intentionally sits tight in order to save some money, the team will surely face scrutiny from the powers-that-be.

So the message to any team still inclined to try to lower its draft position by passing is to make it look like an accident.  For the Saints, who typically foul things up when trying not to, we can't imagine the franchise being able to intentionally capture the same essence of incompetence that otherwise follows the organization around like Pig Pen's cloud of dirt.

RYAN SIMS, NOT A SCIENTOLOGIST

We received a rude introduction last week into the bizarre world of myspace.com, courtesy of the profile generated by Mike Grieco a/k/a DJ Dirty Sanchez.  Grieco stepped down as the lead prosecutor in the case against Redskins safety Sean Taylor after Taylor's lawyers moved to dismiss the charges based on the contents of Grieco's page.

And although it appears that other folks with NFL connections have dipped a big toe into the myspace universe, we've learned that a profile that supposedly belongs to Chiefs defensive tackle Ryan Sims is a fake.

As we initially noticed when reviewing the page, the profile says that Sims' hometown is Greenville, South Carolina.  According to the 2005 NFL Record & Fact Book, however, Sims hails from Spartanburg, a full 31 miles away.

The profile also says that Sims is a Scientologist, and it cites interests such as "sipping on mixed drinks while assaulting single mothers."

Botom line -- it's a fake. 

TUESDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

LB Warrick Holdman has re-signed with the Redskins.

Cards LB Gerald Hayes has signed his one-year RFA tender.

Cards DE Antonio Smith has signed his one-year exclusive rights tender.

Another look at the top three quarterbacks in the draft.

The Cowboys have signed S Marcus Coleman.

Former Rams S Chris Johnson has signed with the Chiefs.

DT Haloti Ngata has visited the Bills.

A.J. Hawk's brother, Ryan, is toiling in Arena 2.

As of Monday, the Texans had not engaged in any contract talks with RB Reggie Bush.

Here's very old news for anyone who visits this site -- Matt Leinart has replaced Leigh Steinberg with Tom Condon.

USC RB LenDale White visited with the Steelers on Tuesday.

Another day, another receiver added to the Lions' roster.

The Bucs and the Tampa Sports Authority are splitting the costs associated with ensuring that someone doesn't try to blow up the Ray Jay.

Former NFL S Kyries Hebert recently resolved charges that he allegedly held his wife's head under water in a bathtub while threatening to kill her during a dispute over a cell phone bill.

The Cowboys are considering trading up to get S Michael Huff.

The Dolphins are interested in DT Gary Walker.

Fran Foley will have the final say if the Triangle of Authority becomes a Clusterfudge of Indecision.

POSTED 8:24 a.m. EDT, April 18, 2006

INABILITY TO TRADE NO. 2 PICK FUELS SAINTS' LEINART INTEREST

Although our friend Peter King of Sports Illustrated threw us a bone on Monday with another mention in his MMQB column, we disagree with King's belief that reports of the Saints being legitimately interested in quarterback Matt Leinart are "absurd."

We continue to hear, from sources close to the action, that the Saints are taking a serious look at the 2004 Heisman winner.  Not in order to generate a trade market for the No. 2 overall pick -- but because they couldn't gin up interest in a trade and are now faced with the strong likelihood that they'll have to use the selection.

So then the question becomes whether the guy with for whom they initially had a fleur-de-lis in their pockets (N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams) deserves the kind of contract that the No. 2 overall pick receives.  Though the final decision hasn't been, and likely won't be, made until moments before the draft card is submitted on April 29, the Saints are giving Leinart a serious look-see.

For now, the Saints are doing their due diligence, bringing in Leinart for a visit.  Maybe they'll really like him after spending time with him.  Maybe they won't.  Either way, the visit will provide the Saints with additional information, which will help them decide what to do.

Meanwhile, the Saints don't have an obvious need at the quarterback position, since they signed Drew Brees early in free agency.  But we heard at the time the Saints were courting Brees that the former Chargers' starter preferred Miami to New Orleans because the Saints had floated to him the notion of giving him the job for 2006 while Leinart gets up to speed, and as the overall roster gets more acquainted with Malcolm in the Middle's offensive scheme.

The other thing to keep in mind here is the possibility that the Saints will move to Los Angeles at some time during the term of Leinart's rookie contract.  One of the big concerns (as our own Dante Aligheri pointed out during the most recent PFT PodCast) regarding the NFL's eventual return to Los Angeles is that people won't go to the games.  And if they don't go to the games, then no games will be televised in the nation's No. 2 television market during the time slot that the home games are being played. 

So what better way to ensure that the venue in which the L.A. franchise plays will be sold out than to have Leinart playing quarterback for the home team?

As a result, it's possible that the Saints' ultimate decision as to the No. 2 pick will have little to do with football strategery and a lot to do with business considerations.  Maybe, in the end, the league office will be even more supportive of a move if the league office thinks that the L.A. franchise will be able to put asses in the seats by virtue of Leinart's spot in the lineup.

As to the Brees contract, which pays him $10 million in 2006 with a $12 million option bonus due in March 2007, keep in mind the reality that every NFL team is required to spend 84 percent of the salary maximum in 2006 (i.e., $85.68 million) and 90 percent of the limit in 2007 (i.e., at least $98.1 million).  Brees' contract costs $3.6 million in first-year cap dollars and, if his option bonus isn't picked up, the deal counts for $6.4 million in dead money come 2007.

With all that said, if the team's decision to kick the tires of Leinart prompts someone to consider moving up to No. 2, the Saints will surely listen.  Why shouldn't they?  When it comes to the NFL draft, nothing is final until the pick is exercised -- or traded.

MATT GETS PUNK'D

On a different note regarding USC quarterback Matt Leinart, we're told that Leinart recently was "Punk'd" by Ashton Kutcher and his show of the same name on MTV.

Though the details are sketchy at this point, what we're hearing about the prank calls to mind the misadventures of actor Hugh Grant several years back.

Leinart agreed to permit the segment to be aired when MTV likewise agreed to wait until after the April 29 draft to air it.  We hear that the "Punk'ng" is scheduled to be shown on May 1.

But since the incident is phony, why would Leinart's people want MTV to wait to broadcast the thing?  In our view, Team Leinart realizes that there are concerns as to whether Matt has a sufficient passion for pro football -- and as to whether Leinart might decide to pull a Jim Brown after a couple of seasons playing with a supporting cast that can't dominate its way to a 16-0 record.

For the younger readers out there who might be confused by what seems to be a derogatory reference to a Hall of Fame running back, Brown walked away from the NFL at the peak of his career to become a movie star.

In Leinart's case, there's a fear that a decision to ditch football could come long before he rings up the kind of numbers that would secure him a spot in Canton.  

FOLEY CLAIMS "CLERICAL ERROR" IN RESUME

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Vikings director of player personnel Fran Foley acknowledges that his resume contains a misstatement regarding his playing career, and Foley claims that the inaccuracy comes from a clerical error that was never corrected.

The biography that the Vikings distributed when Foley was hired says that he played tackle at Framingham State College from 1980 to 1983.  However, a school spokeswoman told the Star Tribune that Foley's name appeared on the roster only in 1980 and 1981.

"I wasn't trying to pull a fast one," Foley said. "To be perfectly honest, I didn't know how [the biography] read."

As one league source told us on Tuesday morning, "Who doesn't read their own biography to check the facts?"

But Foley looked at the resume closely enough to ask the team to remove reference to the nickname of the Framingham State team -- the "Rams" -- in order to avoid creating the impression that he played for the then-Los Angeles Rams.  So why didn't he notice that the resume said that he played college ball for four full seasons when it fact he didn't?

"Obviously, I didn't get this job because of my career at Framingham State," he said.

We'll agree with you on that one, Fran.  But at some point in your career, that resume gave you an extra layer of "cred" by creating the erroneous impression that you have more experience playing college football than you really do. 

Truth be told, Foley played only two years of college football -- and that raises questions regarding whether his college career ended due to injury, incompetence, or an inability to follow the rules implemented by his head coach.  (He claims that he was injured in 1982.)

And if the mistake in his Minnesota resume was indeed the result of a "clerical error," we'd love to know when the clerical error occurred.  A league source tells us that the 2005 media guide issued by Foley's former team, the San Diego Chargers, says that "Foley graduated from Framingham State College in Massachusetts with a degree in English literature" and that "[h]e played offensive tackle for the Rams from 1980-83."

The source pointed out to us another example of potential puffery in Foley's bio.  Both versions (San Diego and Minnesota) claim that Foley was the defensive line coach at Colgate in 1984, the defensive ends coach at the Citadel in 1985, and the tight ends/specialists coach at Rutgers in 1986.  However, the standard progression for young coaches is to serve as a "Graduate Assistant" (i.e., position coach's lackey) for one or more years.

"Think about it," said the source.  "A guy graduates college after playing two years of football and becomes a full-time position coach at Colgate.  A year later he gets a full-time gig at the Citadel and then Rutgers and IN CHARGE of a position.

"Quite the meteoric rise, if you ask me."

It's not the first time the Vikings have been involved with men having clouds on their resumes.  In 2002, the Vikes hired George O'Leary after a discrepancy in his bio caused him to give up his gig as the head coach at Notre Dame.  In 2005, prospective owner Reggie Fowler acknowledged errors in a bio distributed by a P.R. firm.

In Foley's case, our guess is that the Vikings will do nothing, lest they look like buffoons for hiring him without properly checking out his background. 

Still, it's the kind of thing that might cause owner Zygi Wilf (who's big on things like, you know, telling the truth) to chew on some butts behind closed doors.

TUESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News thinks that, if the Jets draft a quarterback with the No. 4 overall selection, they'll take Jay Cutler.

The Jets' upcoming quarterback tour will include a visit with Oregon quarterback Kellen Clemens.

A 12-4 season wasn't good enough to persuade 6,000 Jaguars fans to renew their season tickets.

Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News has a great look at the tight ends in the draft.

Lions QB Joey Harrington might take a visit to the Broncos.

The Broncos hosted on Monday WR Chad Jackson and WR Sinorice Moss.

Bon Jovi will headline the Steelers World Championship Concert on July 23.

The trial for former Vikings RB Moe Williams on charges stemming from the Love Boat fiasco was scheduled to start on Tuesday.