POSTED 10:08 p.m. EDT, April 9, 2006

SCHUMER PLANS TO CARRY THE FLAG FOR LOW-REVENUE TEAMS

New York senator Charles Schumer says the he plans to lobby NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue regarding the plight of the Buffalo Bills and the league's low-revenue teams, according to the Associated Press.

Schumer also plans to work with other U.S. senators from areas hosting low-revenue teams to arrange a meeting with NFL executives in an effort to get the league to re-think its new revenue sharing plan.

"The bottom line is very simple," Schumer said.  "The smaller teams in the league, because of the new contract, are going to have a very tough time of making it.  I hope the NFL hasn't lost its way.  I hope it sticks with the original model where smaller market teams can compete, can win Super Bowls and stay financially viable."

It's now becoming increasingly apparent to us that Bills owner Ralph Wilson is hoping to influence the impending process of determining the specific qualifiers for supplemental revenue sharing.  As we reported last week, Tagliabue soon will be appointing a committee to identify the threshold requirements for the low-earning teams to receive a piece of the pie bigger than the revenue that currently is shared by all 32 franchises.  With those factors not yet decided, Wilson's recent P.R. offensive is aimed, we believe, at getting the best deal possible for the small market teams.

But Wilson's strategy could be decidedly short-sighted.  Even if his current ploy prevails, the league and the union could be back at the bargaining table as soon as late 2008, with the new CBA expiring after the 2009 season.  And if the large-market teams believe that Wilson and the other small-market teams used political forces to skew the qualifiers in their favor, the fight over revenue sharing will be even nastier the next time around.

Combined with the fact that the NFL generally got the short end of the non-economic terms in the new CBA and the fact that there will be a new Commish for the next round of contract talks, the work stoppage that everyone feared in 2008 could still happen as early as 2010, with an uncapped year coming in 2009.

POSTED 1:42 p.m. EDT, April 9, 2006

FAVRE NEARLY RETIRED?

ESPN's Ed Werder reports that Packers quarterback Brett Favre nearly retired recently due to concerns that the organization is pressuring him to make a decision regarding his status.

And, as we noticed last night regarding Werder's story that the NFLPA is filing a grievance as to the Titans' refusal to permit quarterback Steve McNair to participate in offseason workouts, ESPN.com has made no reference to the "Favre almost quit" story, apparently because Werder isn't a regular contributor to the media conglomerate's Internet wing.

Regardless of whether Werder's report is accurate (and the story definitely conflicts with everything we've heard from our own sources), our guess is that Werder information came directly from Favre's agent, Bus Cook.  It likely was Cook who told Werder about the McNair grievance, since Cook also represents the current (but likely not future) quarterback of the Titans.

If that's the case, our guess is that Cook trumped this one up in order to throw some of the blame onto the team for Favre's current indecisiveness.  Cook is smart enough to know that Saturday's bait-and-switch routine reflected poorly on Favre. 

So it's not far-fetched, in our view, to think that Cook whipped up a phony story all in the name of damage control.

WE'VE FINALLY FIGURED OUT FAVRE'S GAME

We're finally staring to realize why Lord Favre is whining about the Packers' failure to sign free agents.  

In our view, it's all part an effort to set Favre up to receive zero blame if the Packers suck in 2006 -- and all of the credit if they turn it around.  Although many NFL observers are quick to presume that the Packers won't be any good this year, eight of their 12 losses in 2005 came by seven points or less.  The team also had extensive injury issues, with guys like Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport and Javon Walker missing extensive amounts of time.

So that's why, in our view, Favre continues to bash the moves that the front office hasn't made.  In his final NFL season, Favre wants to be either the hero or not the goat.

Why else would Favre continue to diss the lack of offseason moves, but not retire?  He says he wants the team to make an acquisition that has the same impact as Reggie White's arrival did in 1993.  But yet Favre knows that the bulk of the free agents have already been signed by other teams, and that nothing the team does in the draft will have much of an impact this year.

Still, Favre continued to chirp about the issue while waiting to tee off on the 10th hole of his celebrity golf tournament.

"So what's going on up there?" Favre said. "What are they doing?  Have they signed anybody?"

He knows damn well what's going on.  And he wants to be certain before he says he's coming back that G.M. Ted Thompson will take the rap if the team ends up 4-12, or worse, in 2006.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

Davlid Climer of the Nashville Tennessean is trying to throw water on the notion that the Titans are poised to draft QB Vince Young.

USC QB Matt Leinart could cash in if he lands in New York.

Here's a thorough look at the enigma named Vince Young.

The Fins tried to move up in the draft to get a quarterback before trading for QB Daunte Culpepper.

Browns G.M. Phil Savage questions whether RB Reggie Bush will survive as an every-down back in the NFL.

RB Ricky William's appeal of his most recent positive substance abuse result will occur on Monday.

Asked if he was happy that QB Mike McMahon was available in free agency, Vikings coach Brad Childress said:  "I don't know if I deal in happy that much."

Former Virginia LB Ahman Brooks likely will apply for the supplemental draft.

Meet Mike Tomlin, future NFL head coach.

Finally, a Wisconsin writers sticks it a little to Lord Favre.

The Fins are still chasing LB LaVar Arrington, but the hang up is money.

Miami is still talking to the Lions about a trade for QB Joey Harrington.

Vikings DE Kenechi Udeze is well ahead of schedule in his recovery from microfracture surgery in his knee.

The Vikings have offered a second-round pick for Falcons QB Matt Schaub, but the Falcons want a first-rounder.

POSTED 7:37 a.m. EDT, April 9, 2006

CASSERLY TO GET DUMPED AFTER THE DRAFT

A league source tells us that the Houston Texans plan to fire G.M. Charley Casserly after the 2006 draft.  Casserly has been the franchise's only general manager, joining the team more than two years before the Texans every played a game.

The plans to part ways with Casserly, we hear, are common knowledge within the upper reaches of the organization.

The move isn't all that surprising.  Owner Bob McNair brought in former Broncos, Giants, and Falcons coach Dan Reeves as a consultant late in the 2005 season, and charged Reeves with the task of, among other things, evaluating the team's roster.  Since that's usually the G.M.'s function, it wasn't a good sign for Casserly's long-term job security.

And it's not unusual for a team to hold on to a football executive through the April draft in lieu of firing him at the end of the season.  Casserly, in January, was privy to much of the team's free agency and draft strategies.  He could have landed with another team and coughed up all sorts of sensitive information.

Casserly has spent nearly 30 years in the NFL, including 23 with the Redskins.  He reportedly is under consideration for a position in the league office.  His contract with the Texans runs through June 2007.