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Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the Rams and the agent for quarterback Marc Bulger will resume talks on Tuesday aimed at signing Bulger to an extension of a contract that expires after the 2007 season.

A couple of weeks ago, Bulger hinted at a possible holdout, but then backed away from such possibilities. However, that was before the Colts handed defensive end Dwight Freeney a six-year, $72 million deal with $30 million in guaranteed money. We think that Condon will now be looking to break the bank with Bulger, and serious action might be needed to make it happen.

But whether Bulger would stay away from camp remains to be seen. Condon allowed Peyton Manning to play out the final year of his rookie deal before landing a nine-figure contract; in Manning's case, however, his grossly inflated franchise tender was all the leverage Condon needed. This time around, the only leverage that Condon might have is to encourage Bulger to withhold his services.

We didn't get it done by midnight, but we've posted of the No. 6 overall player of the last 25 years as soon as we could.

On the day that federal authorities returned to Mike Vick's Surry County, Virginia property and exhumed the carcasses of seven more dogs, Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com characterized the events of the day as a "respite," given that ESPN.com also reported that Vick was unlikely to be indicted.

Here's what we had to say to that one: "What will he call the day that Vick does a perp walk? A brief detour through a meadow of daisies?"

And now that Commissioner Roger Goodell has taken the unprecedented step of instructing one of the NFL's short-list superstars to stay away from training camp, Len somehow sees the glass as half-full.

Says Len: "The NFL and the Atlanta Falcons, already lacerated by the indictment of one of the game's highest-profile players and likely to suffer even more severe hemorrhaging by the end of the week, got a Band-Aid Monday night when commissioner Roger Goodell ordered quarterback Michael Vick not to report to training camp."

A Band-Aid? Maybe we don't fully appreciate what the term "Band-Aid" means. Maybe a "Band-Aid" is actually something like a "kiss of death" or a "kick to the loins" or a "kind of bad thing."

Len, take off the rose-colored ladies' glasses, please. These events are bad. Very bad. The Commish didn't do the Falcons or Vick any favors on Monday. Instead, Goodell went to the extraordinary step of fashioning a remedy that the rules currently don't contemplate in order to give the league and the team more time to figure out what in the heck they're going to do.

And the move is, we firmly believe, a sign that talks aimed at brokering an agreed exodus from camp were at a hopeless impasse, and that the team simply didn't have the stones to make a decision of its own.

As to the latter proposition, the Commish provided cover for Arthur Blank's Hamlet routine by instructing the team not to discipline Vick until the NFL's review is completed -- even though the Falcons have the ability, if they so choose, to impose a suspension of up to four games for conduct detrimental to the team.

Whatever we call this thing, it's obvious to us that the NFL has imposed an involuntary leave of absence upon Vick. If Vick were to file a grievance over the move, the grievance would likely prevail, since Goodell has no authority to, in essence, impose discipline without imposing discipline. Absent some effort to tie this move expressly to a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy, the Gambling Policy, or some other NFL policy, the edict of the Commish is no different than the Titans' refusal to allow Steve McNair to participate in offseason drills in 2006.

If Vick insists on the filing of a grievance, the NFLPA might have no choice but to comply with his wishes. And the grievance likely would prevail.

So none of this is good. Goodell's move was, in our view, merely an effort to buy time, in the hopes that Vick's new lawyer, Billy Martin, will persuade Vick to accept a leave of absence, which without Vick's approval also cannot be forced upon him.

Don't get us wrong on this one. We're not criticizing the league's handling of the issue. It remains an inordinately complex question, and there is insufficient time for the league or the team to make a prudent decision, especially since Vick doesn't seem inclined to follow the prudent course of action. But there's no way that tonight's action can be characterized as positive; it is the latest unfortunate step in a most unfortunate story.

The situation also highlights a hole in the CBA that should be addressed, ASAFP. Put simply, the league and/or the teams need to have the ability to place a player facing criminal charges on a paid leave of absence, if in the judgment of the franchise the charges are expected to create an unwarranted distraction.

Regardless, we still think that a final decision from the league and the Falcons needs to be made sooner rather than later. Though Pasquarelli seems to believe that conclusive action cannot be taken absent a conviction, a guilty plea, or "indisputable" evidence of guilt, Goodell has the sole authority under Article XI of the CBA to determine whether a player's actions are detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional.

In making this decision, Goodell is not bound by standards that only apply to the question of whether the player goes to prison. Based on the available evidence, we think that Goodell is fully within his rights to conclude that the actions resulting in the removal of 54 live dogs, 17 dead dogs, and dog-fighting equipment and pharmaceuticals from property owned by Vick, along with the issuance of a federal indictment in which Vick is accused of conspiracy to engage in gambling, dog fighting, and the killing of dogs, is more than enough to justify a decision by Goodell that Vick should be severely punished.

It's also enough for the Falcons to conclude that Vick has already engaged in conduct detrimental to the team. Even if he ultimately is acquitted, Vick's actions and omissions have created a serious mess for the team.

Our guess is that efforts to persuade Vick to agree to a leave of absence will continue, and that if Vick continues to leave the league and the Falcons with no other option, the league and/or the Falcons will be forced to take action.

Or, you know, just continue to buy time.

A league source tells us that the Miami Dolphins and receiver Ted Ginn, the ninth overall pick in the draft, have reached an agreement on all major points and are merely wrangling on Monday night over escalator provisions.

A deal needs to get done soon, or owner Wayne Huizenga's "if you hold out, you don't play" edict could be put to the test.

Glazer reports that the move is seen as an opportunity for the league office to take more time to assess the facts of the accusations of dog fighting leveled at Vick. Glazer reports that the league could give Vick "an extensive punishment" for his ties to dog fighting, and that Vick could be forced to sit out the year.

Glazer's report comes on the heels of Fox 5 in Atlanta reporting that Vick will take a leave of absence. The entirety of the FOX 5 report was, "The NFL says that Michael Vick will be taking a leave of absence."

Pretty much everyone except Vick agrees that a leave of absence would be the best solution. It would allow Vick to devote his full attention to his legal defense, and it would allow the NFL and the Falcons to avoid having animal-rights activists picketing Falcons training camp. But apparently Vick disagreed, and now Glazer reports that Goodell has made the decision for him.

The AJC story has been repeated by television reporters who seem to misunderstand the report. Just because Poindexter won't seek an indictment tomorrow does not mean Vick won't eventually face state charges of animal cruelty, dog fighting or anything else. It just means that the indictment won't come tomorrow.

Poindexter said last week that he planned to use evidence gathered by federal investigators to bring an indictment against Vick, so a local prosecution would only come after federal authorities have shared their evidence with the local authorities.

As we've mentioned here before, Poindexter might be forced to wait until the federal prosecution is concluded before acting against Vick. So nothing definitive is likely to come out of Poindexter's office any time soon.

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reported on NFL Total Access tonight that the Indianapolis Colts are not completely convinced that left tackle Tarik Glenn will retire.

Per Schefter, Glenn will meet with Colts coach Tony Dungy and president Bill Polian, and that, as far as Dungy and Polian are concerned, Glenn could still be talked out of retirement.

Per Schefter, Polian and Dungy urged Glenn to take his time and make sure he's making the right decision for himself and his family.

It's not clear whether offering him a big raise could help convince Glenn that staying with the Colts is the right decision for himself and his family, but with the kind of money mediocre offensive linemen are making these days, and the kind of money the Colts paid Dwight Freeney, a big raise for Glenn doesn't seem out of the question.

FALCONS' JIMMY WILLIAMS CITED FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION by Michael David Smith

CBS 46 in Atlanta is reporting that Falcons defensive back Jimmy Williams was cited on June 2 on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge. But the TV station reports that "Williams disputed the report and said he is totally innocent."

Per the report, Williams was scheduled to make a court appearance last week, and his case has been continued to Dec. 3.

The station reports that Williams' agent, Ethan Lock, said he was aware of the citation, and that Falcons G.M. Rich McKay and coach Bobby Petrino have a copy of the police report and are discussing the matter.

Williams was the Falcons' second-round pick in 2006. He played 13 games last year, starting five. Like that other Falcon who has been in legal trouble recently, Williams is a product of Virginia Tech.

Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com reports that the San Diego Chargers have reached an agreement with draft pick Craig Davis, one of two LSU pass-catchers who were selected in the first round.

Davis was the 30th overall choice in the draft. He joins the No. 31 pick (Bears tight end Greg Olsen) and the No. 28 pick (49ers tackle Joe Staley) as guys who have signed at the bottom of the round. The other first-rounder under contract is Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, the 15th overall pick.

Coincidentally, Davis is represented by Joel Segal, who represents Mike Vick, whom Len has been subtly defending over the past several weeks.

Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com reports that Mike Vick has hired Billy Martin to represent the Falcons (for now) quarterback in connection with federal conspiracy charges relating to gambling and dog fighting.

We reported earlier in the day that Martin had been interviewed for the gig, along will Ted Wells, who represented Scooter Libby, the former Chief of Staff for Vice President Dick Cheney.

Martin's biggest challenge, as we see it, will be getting Vick to go along with Martin's advice on all matters, without question or debate. Vick needs to be willing to put his life in this guy's hands, or Vick's case will fail.

Of course, even if Vick complies with every recommendation from Martin, the case still might fail. But the chances of success will be greater if Vick lets Martin call the shots.

For now, we'll venture out onto a limb and predict that Martin won't be the lead counsel when this thing goes to trial. We simply can't see Vick fully appreciate the jeopardy he now faces unless and until he has fired or scared off one or two of his lawyers.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells us that an Atlanta television station will disclose in the 6:00 p.m. EDT newscast that another member of the Atlanta Falcons is in trouble with the law.

In an unrelated development, we predict that a middle-aged man with a bad moustache might soon be putting a pro sports team up for sale and re-focusing his efforts on selling light bulbs and sheet rock.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Steelers and safety Troy Polamalu have agreed on a contract extension that will keep Polamalu in Pittsburgh beyond 2007, which previously was the final year of his rookie deal.

Terms are not yet available. According to the team's official web site, the contract is a four-year extension, which means that he is signed through 2011. Bouchette reports that the deal makes Polamalu the highest-paid member of the Steelers defense and the highest-paid safety in the NFL.

Polamalu is widely respected for his frenetic, fearless approach to the game. We argued that he should have been used as a kick returner in Super Bowl XL, because we believe that he is one of the best broken-field runners in the history of the game, and definitely the most entertaining.

The only concern is his history of concussions. It was an issue coming out of USC, and he suffered another one in 2006.

Okay, this is the last Mike Vick story that we'll post, for at least an hour or two. In fact, we'd planned to call it quits for a while until spotting an item from Dan Benton of AOL's FanHouse in which he writes that Steve Wyche of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Monday on ESPN that the Falcons might cut Michael Vick this week.

As we've previously explained, a post-June 1 release of Vick would trigger a cap charge of $7.57 million in 2007 and $14.68 million in 2008. But by avoiding Vick's base salary of $6 million in 2007, the net effect of dumping him would be an extra cap hit of $1.57 million this year. Likewise, because the team wouldn't be on the hook for his $7.5 million base salary to be paid in 2008, the net difference is $7.18 million.

The cap hit does not represent any new money that the Falcons will be required to pay. Instead, it is the result of past bonus money being accelerated into the salary cap. In fact, because the Falcons already are carrying in 2007 a $7.57 million cap charge for the portion of Vick's $37 million in signing bonuses that applies to the current league year, the actual net result of cutting him would be additional cap room of $6 million, since the $7.57 million is on the books regardless of whether he's on the team or not.

With that said, we believe that a decision to release Vick is unlikely to come until after he commits a default, and after the team initiates an effort to recover bonus money previously paid to him. By our calculations, Vick is potentially on the hook for more than $28 million if he misses Thursday's training camp practice without written consent of the team to attend his arraignment. Likewise, the repayment obligation will be triggered if he is suspended by the team or the league.

By cutting him before he is in default, the Falcons would lose their ability to pursue the bonus money. Also, by cutting him after he is in default but before they secure a ruling that the money is owed, it's possible that the Falcons will have waived their claims.

And don't underestimate the potential backlash from the Vick supporters that will occur if it is perceived that the Falcons went too far in their reaction to the indictment.

The better approach, then, would be for the Falcons to merely suspend Vick for now, file a grievance against him to recover the bonus money, and sever ties with him after the 2007 season.

Of course, the best approach would be for Vick to agree to a leave of absence at a reduced salary, with the difference being pushed into 2008. But since he apparently still isn't able to identify what's good for him (and what isn't), it appears that a leave of absence won't happen.

It took us a few days to polish the thing off, but we finally are ready to unveil the 2007 PFT All-Turd defensive unit.

Later this week, we'll offer up some miscellaneous All-Turd awards, and we'll induct the second All-Turd Hall of Fame class on the day that the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame get their bronze busts in Canton.

One business day after protesting outside of the NFL's offices in New York, roughly 50 people showed up at Falcons headquarters in Flowery Branch, Georgia in a protest orchestrated by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"The Falcons can get rid of us right away if they suspend Michael Vick. And we hope they choose to do that," said Dan Shannon, assistant director of campaigns for PETA.

The Falcons are due to open training camp on Thursday. Vick, however, will be in Richmond for an arraignment and a bond hearing on federal conspiracy charges.

Falcons spokesman Reggie Roberts said that the team will have no comment about the protests.

An industry source tells us that Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is encountering difficulty in identifying big-name lawyers who are interested in representing him.

Also, there's a sense that Vick's "I'm never there" statement from April 27 already dooms the defense to failure. If, as it appears, the feds have compiled detailed evidence putting Vick on his Surry County property on multiple occasions during the five-plus years that it served as the headquarters for a dog-fighting operation, Vick's comment is strong circumstantial evidence that he knew darn well what was happening there.

Even if "never" really meant "rarely" (as the "real" media inexplicably has inferred), our guess is that the feds can prove that the truth is that he was there "often" or "frequently" or "all the damn time."

The source tells us that two of the lawyers who have been interviewed for the representation are Ted Wells, who represented Scooter Libby, and Billy Martin, who defended former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell on corruption charges, and who was defended other sports figures and celebrities.

Since the federal prosecutors handling the Vick case won't be conducting many (or any) Poindexter-style press briefings, the closest thing we'll ever get to the thought processes of the federal prosecutors in this case will be via the insights of a former federal prosecutor.

Attorney Marc Garber of The Garber Law Firm, with offices in Atlanta and Marietta, Georgia, worked for eight years as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey and Nevada. He agreed to provide on-the-record observations regarding the Vick case, based on Garber's experiences working up and trying federal criminal cases on behalf of the United States of America.

As an initial matter, Garber believes that the mere existence of an indictment is the product of extensive work by prosecutors to marshal evidence that puts Vick in the places where they allege that he was, doing the things he allegedly did. That evidence, Garber believes, goes beyond the four unnamed cooperating witnesses mentioned in the indictment.

John Clayton of ESPN.com reports that the Miami Dolphins have agreed to terms with quarterback John Beck, the team's second-round pick in the 2007 draft.

Beck, a former BYU quarterback, saw his stock rise significantly in the run-up to the draft. Some teams had him rated as the best overall quarterback. Others regard him as a good player whose studious-to-the-point-of-nerdy demeanor might not mesh well with the modern pro athlete.

Clayton reports that Beck signed "a three-year deal and an option." We're not sure what that means, frankly. It sounds like there's a provision that allows the Fins to pay Beck some additional money in exchange for picking up the fourth year of the deal. Under the CBA, the maximum duration of contracts for second-round picks is four years.

The distinction between three and four years is critical. After three years, a player is eligible for restricted free agency.

Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins are close to a deal with receiver Ted Ginn, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2007 draft.

The Dolphins' selection of Ginn came as a shocker, since everyone expected them to take the aforementioned (thanks, Tiki) Brady Quinn.

Owner Wayne Huizenga thumped his chest earlier in the year regarding the consequences of a training-camp holdout. Doing his best George Costanza impersonation, Huizenga said, "If you don't report, you're sitting out, baby. We're not playing you."

We were hoping that Huizenga would be forced to act on his words. If anything, the triple-dog (thanks, Ookie) dare has likely put the front office in a position of having to overpay Ginn in order to avoid Huizenga from the embarrassment of benching the guy that was drafted instead of Quinn.

King also reports that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reserves the right to tack additional penalties to the sanctions imposed by the team.

The Falcons' options in this regard are limited. They can cut him, pursuant to paragraph 11 of the Standard Player Contract. Or they can suspend him without pay for up to four games under the CBA.

So it's possible that the Falcons will suspend Vick for the first four games of the regular season, and then Goodell will later suspend Vick for the remaining 12 of the 2007 season. Given that the Vick prosecution is in the so-called "Rocket Docket," the case will most likely be resolved by the commencement of offseason workouts in 2008, and the team can make a decision about Vick's future after the trial.

The only flaw in this approach? Suspending Vick for the first four games of the 2007 regular season might not permit the team to tell him to stay away from training camp and the preseason. Players suspended by the league for the first four games of the season due to violations of the substance abuse policy or the steroids policy are permitted to participate in preseason preparations.

Of course, Vick could voluntarily agree to accept a banishment from camp and the preseason, but the fact that Arthur Blank spent Sunday in Montana pondering his options for disciplining Vick tells us that, as we'd heard, Vick has refused to agree to anything. And this means that Vick is likely to refuse to stay away from camp or from the preseason games.

Thus, if/when the Falcons suspend Vick, the stage will be set for a nasty T.O.-style grievance hearing, if Vick decides to fight the decision. (Before making any decisions in this regard, however, Vick should consider the fact that he'd likely have to testify at the ensuing arbitration, and that the feds would likely subpoena the transcript of any such testimony for use in the trial on the pending conspiracy charges.)

Regardless of how it turns out, it's increasingly clear to us that Vick can't be a part of the Falcons team while these charges are pending, and it's apparently becoming increasingly clear to Blank that something must be done. The possibility of pickets and increased security at training camp, and of constant boos raining down from the stands at home games, is beyond unacceptable.

If Vick isn't willing to realize that it's in everyone's best interests (including his) for Vick to not be around, then someone else will have to make that decision for him.

The stakes are nevertheless high. Ridiculously high. As we explained on Saturday, the Falcons would be able to attempt to recover more than $28 million in bonus money from Vick if he misses a single practice or game due to a suspension. That reality could force Vick to fight any effort to discipline that the Falcons try to impose, even if it means that he'll be creating evidence that could be used against him by prosecutors.

Bottom line -- this ugly situation is going to get uglier, primarily because Vick can't realize that it's in his best interests to work out a deal with the Falcons, and because no one around Vick has the juice to get him to listen.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen mentioned during a morning appearance on ESPN Radio that Mike Vick will be hiring his legal defense team on Monday.

It will be the biggest decision Vick makes in his life, since the outcome of the pending prosecution will shape the rest of it.

The problem is that Vick has by all appearances surrounded himself from sycophants (thanks, Tiki). In our estimation, Mike doesn't like people telling him things that he doesn't want to hear. Thus, he's got a tendency to end up associating with people who nod and smile at whatever Mike says that he wants to do, no matter how stupid they think it might be.

But when it's time to hire a lawyer who has the stuff to be effective in a federal courtroom wrangling with federal prosecutors, the client needs to be willing to say to the lawyer, "You're the doctor."

Some clients just can't do that. Based on what we know of Mike Vick, we think he's one of them.

You see, Mike needs a lawyer who isn't looking to make a name for himself or herself by representing Mike Vick, and thus who would be willing to kiss Mike's ass and do whatever Mike wants as long as the lawyer can get his or her name in the paper every time the case is mentioned. That's, in our view, a recipe for a conviction.

Instead, Mike needs a lawyer who is concerned only about doing everything he or she can to get Vick acquitted -- and Vick needs to be willing to put his full faith and trust in that lawyer. He needs someone who has extensive experience with and knowledge of the prosecutors handling the case, and with the judge who is presiding. If, for example, a former law clerk to Judge Hudson is now a criminal defense lawyer in the Richmond area, he or she should be part of the team. Likewise, if there is a local lawyer who has matched up well with the lead prosecutor in other cases, that's the person who should be squaring off with the prosecutor in this case.

The problem is that Vick has shown deeply flawed judgment over the years, and we have no reason to believe that he finally "gets it" now. Our guess is that he'll hire the persons who clamps their lips most tightly to Mike's butt, or that he'll hire the firm who quotes the lowest hourly rate.

After all, Mike probably thinks that his total bill for this effort should be only $10,000.

We sounded off on Saturday about the goofy remarks from ESPN's Emmitt Smith regarding the Mike Vick situation.

Said Emmitt: "He's the biggest fish in the whole doggone pond right now so they're putting the squeeze on him to get to everyone else. . . . Now, granted he might have been to a dogfight a time or two, maybe five times, maybe 20 times, may have bet some money, but he's not the one you're after. He's not the one you're after, he's just the one whose going to take the fall -- publicly."

Peter King of SI.com joins in our criticism of Emmitt. King writes: "Nice to see Emmitt knows so much about the federal government's case. Didn't anyone ever tell him, 'When there's an important issue out there, give an educated opinion if you have a good idea what you're talking about. If you're not sure what you're talking about, the only thing you can do by opening your mouth is look like you're 11 years old.'"

King also predicts a potential train wreck in Bristol: "I have a bad feeling about Smith's tenure at ESPN, and it hasn't even started. His comments on Vick are so idiotic and inappropriate that a few people at the Worldwide Leader have to be thinking, 'Uh-oh. What if we've gone and hired someone who's very famous but not very smart?'"

Browns center LeCharles Bentley, whose career was in serious jeopardy after tearing a patellar tendon on the first day of training camp and thereafter developing a staph infection after surgery, will undergo a physical in New York on Monday.

If he passes, he could be back on the field with the team when it heads to camp.

However, Bentley will still be required to pass a physical imposed by the team before getting clearance to play.

Regardless of how it all turns out, the fact that Bentley has a chance to return is nothing short of amazing. He has had multiple surgeries on the knee, and was considering a procedure in June that would have removed the previously infected replacement tendon, and installed another one. His availability, if he can return to form and remain healthy, could be a huge boost for a Browns team that is trying its best to turn things around.

We're hitting the home stretch in our list of the best 25 players of the past 25 years.

Meanwhile, we'll also be launching our team-by-team preseason previews on Monday, with each franchise ranked from No. 32 to No. 1.

Adverting Age reports that companies like Nike are using a broader mix of athletes to endorse their brands. The companies claim that the practice gives advertisements a broader and more diverse appeal.

Industry experts think that it's a sign that these corporations don't want to risk putting all of their eggs in a basket that also will end up carrying a cake with a file in it.

"When you hang a brand on one guy, you're taking a huge risk," Jason Cavnar, managing director at Sports Business Ventures, told Advertising Age.

The move began before the issue of off-field misconduct in the NFL hit the fan. For example, Nike's signature football commercial in 2006 was the impressive Briscoe High School spot, with an all-star cast that included Mike Vick, but also many other current and former NFL players. (We particularly like the part where Jimmy Johnson knocks Mike Vick's leg off of a chair and Vick gives him a "my dogs are gonna bite your ass" look.)

Nike says that Vick wasn't scheduled to star in any commercials this year. We wonder whether that decision was made before or after the 54 dogs were found on his Virginia property in late April.

A league source tells us that the Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to terms with linebacker Lawrence Timmons, the team's first-round pick in the 2007 draft.

All Pittsburgh rookies are now under contract, one day before the team is due to report to St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

The contract includes $8.053 million in guaranteed bonus payments, and have a five-year maximum total of $15 million. The deal includes a basic value of $12 million and incentive payments of up to $3 million.

The guaranteed payments are a combination of signing, option, roster, and one-time incentive payments based on playing time. The deal also includes the reporting/roster bonus concept in future years, which protects the team in the event that the player holds out or is suspended. Due to the Ashley Lelie ruling and the revised CBA, option bonus language is not subject to forfeiture; thus, teams are looking for alternative ways to ensure that the player will show up as the contract matures.

We're told that the total value represents a 19-percent increase in last year's deal signed by the player taken in the No. 15 overall spot in the draft, cornerback Tye Hill of the Rams.

Timmons is the third first-round draft pick to sign. The others are Bears tight end Greg Olsen and 49ers tackle Joe Staley.

An important point to keep in mind here is that, under the CBA, the maximum length of the deal could have have six years, but the Steelers agreed to only a five-year term. The Steelers are one of the few teams to not insist on players signing contracts of maximum permissible length. They routinely sign their low-round picks to three-year deals, even though more and more teams are insisting on the current cap of four years.

[UPDATE: Not that we really give a crap about this kind of stuff anymore (okay, maybe we do), but ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli also reports that Timmons has signed, in an item time-stamped at 5:52 p.m. EDT, one minute before our story was first posted. The only problem with that? As of 5:55 p.m. EDT, there was no hint of the Timmons story on the ESPN.com site.]

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced that they have signed defensive end Victor Abiamiri, a second-round selection in the 2007 draft.

He is the seventh Eagles rookie to sign. Still unsigned is quarterback Kevin Kolb, a second-round selection but the team's first pick in the draft.

In the wake of the decision to the Miami Dolphins to dump quarterback Daunte Culpepper on the eve of a hearing on the grievance that he filed against the team after he was prevented from participating in drills at a June minicamp, there's talk in league circles that the manner in which the organization squatted on the guy they no longer wanted could create a strong degree of mistrust between the players and the front office.

And that's bad news for a team that is still trying to recover from the unexpected departure of coach Nick Saban, and the installment of Randy Mueller as G.M. and Cam Cameron as head coach.

The thinking is that, once the Fins landed Trent Green, they should have allowed Culpepper to walk away. Instead, they wanted to try to get a draft pick for his services, presumably in order to offset the latest second-round pick wasted on a guy who didn't become the next Dan Marino. When they couldn't do so, they opted to sit on his rights, hoping (presumably) to shake something out of the tree once camps opened.

Possibly in an effort to undo the potential damage, coach Cam Cameron recently said that the delayed release of Culpepper was the result of a trade attempt that fell through. Bullcrap, we say. If that's the case, why hasn't Culpepper already signed with the team that would have had to send some consideration to Miami? Also, if the opportunity for a trade arose not long after the Fins acquired Green, why did it take so long for the process to reach an impasse?

And isn't it a strange coincidence that the Fins decided to bail on the trade effort the day before they were due to defend their decision to freeze him out of practice reps?

As it turns out, if they had waited one more day, they might have had another trade partner, in the NFC South.

We know that the Fins might not like the fact that we're suggesting that their head coach is speaking with forked tongue. But, you know, the franchise doesn't have a recent history of truth-tellers in that job.

After a reader tipped us off to the fact that former Colts and Cowboys kicker Mike Vanderjagt was patrolling the sidelines of a CFL game in Toronto, we called his Toronto-based agent, Gill Scott, to find out whether Peyton Manning's favorite liquored-up kicker might be contemplating a return to Canada.

On Friday, Scott said that there is no plan to attempt to sign Vanderjagt with a CFL team, and that the most accurate kicker in NFL history (except when playoff games are on the line) is focused on coming back to the "real" North American pro football league.

Scott told PFT that he and Vanderjagt are specifically watching a couple of situations in NFL cities, in the event that the any of the teams in question decide to punt the current kicker at the top of the depth chart. But Scott declined to identify the squads that are being eyeballed.

We think that Vanderjagt deserves another shot in the NFL. But we can't help but wonder whether he did or said something to prompt his sudden fall from grace last season in Dallas. And we're also curious about whether his former head coach, Bill Parcells, is bad-mouthing him to NFL scouts and insiders. The fact that Vanderjagt can't get a sniff at 37 when Morton Andersen still has a job on the fringes of 50 just doesn't make sense.

And we still don't rule out a return to Canada, if all else fails in the NFL. Our reader who saw him in Toronto asked him whether it meant he was returning to the league where he got his start, and Vanderjagt said, "You never know."

We've gotten a strong response to our new endeavor into Internet video, and thanks to the suggestions of two readers, we're going to call the thing "PFTV." Unless/until someone comes up with something better.

One thing we've noticed, however, is that you're a lot more likely to review the clips if we post them in the rumor mill. So what we'll do in the future is put all of them on their own page once they're posted, and we'll stagger them into the rumor mill over the next day or so.

For now, those, here are the other three segments from our first week that have yet to make it into this space:

We're scheduled to make some more of these on Tuesday. If we can the guy who holds the keys to the studio drunk again.

And if there are any topics you want us to address or questions that you have, let us know.

When you're out driving around that 1989 Pontiac Fiero on Sunday afternoon, be sure to find the local FOX Sports Radio in our listening area at 4:30 p.m. EDT for our weekly visit with Dan Moriarty and Denny Hocking.

[UPDATE: Several readers have informed us that the last year for production of the Fiero was 1988. We're not sure that that kind of knowledge is something to brag about.]

We like and respect the "real" journalism that occurs on ESPN's Outside the Lines, a long-term offering of a network that has allowed itself to be infested by adolescent offerings like the insufferable "Who's Now."

Nevertheless, we're disappointed by the questions (or, more accurately, lack thereof) that were posed to former NFL running back Dorsey Levens during a Sunday morning appearance on OTL.

Levens was on to discuss the dog-fighting controversy engulfing Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, and Levens offered up some opinions on the matter.

But why solicit opinions from Levens when he's one of the few guys in the NFL with first-hand knowledge of the pry bar in Vick's pocket for pit bulls?

As a reader pointed out to us earlier in the week, Levens once sold a dog to Vick. Levens also had knowledge of plans by Vick to open a kennel of his own.

PE.com: You are part-owner of a dog-training company called Premier K9. Talk about how you got started with that.

DL: "It was just a business opportunity. I had a dog that was just obnoxious. I couldn't stand the dog and my girlfriend at the time wouldn't let me get rid of it. Art Washington trained the dog to perfection in two weeks. He was simply incredible. He could do anything with dogs. I've seen him give demonstrations. We've built up a relationship over the course of a year. The opportunity came up where another kennel had closed and it was a smart business move. It was an easy investment."

DL: "Absolutely. I had two Rottweilers that were trained to perfection. But I had to give them up, it's a long story. But I have two dogs coming that will be born any day now. Once the season is over, I'll go back to Atlanta and pick them up."

DL: "Presa Canario. They're real big dogs. They're from the Canary Islands in Spain. That's where they originated from. They're really, really, big massive dogs. Think of a pit bull on steroids. I think Correll Buckhalter has two of them. The first time I saw it, I was like 'Nice-looking dog, now please put it away.' "

DL: "We don't do froo froo dogs. All we do is protection dogs. We will train and board them if you wanted, but our main business is breeding and training protection dogs -- German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Presa Canario, just big dogs that say 'stay out of my house.' "

DL: "I've put on a bite suit and have done bite work with the dogs. You agitate the dogs and have them come attack you. I was terrified the first time, but it was something I had to get out of my system. I started with a small pit bull and worked my way up."

DL: "As long as you protect your face, it's really not that bad. But Art is so good, he can have a dog sprint 20 yards to attack you. Then you can tell the dog to stop a yard before he gets to you and the dog will not touch you. He'll stop and come right back. But if he doesn't say that word to stop, the dog will jump all over you."

PE.com: Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons is another customer. Did you think of not training his dog so it would attack him?

DL: "No, no. It's all business. Mike is a big dog person. Actually, he wants to open up a kennel of his own and that is in the works."

The site for Levens' business is right here. At the top of the "Satisfied Celebs" page is a photo of (you guessed it) Mike Vick.

Another "Satisfied Celeb" is former NFL safety Ryan Stewart, an Atlanta radio host who was interviewed for the OTL piece. He was asked nothing about his own interest in large dogs with sharp teeth.

Unlike the now-defunct site for Vick's K-9 Kennels operation, which contains a specific statement that his dogs aren't meant for fighting, Levens' site contains no such disclaimer.

None of this means that Levens is a dog fighter. But, wow, Bob Ley would have had some ammunition for some interesting questions if someone in Bristol had known about Levens' connection to Vick.

And even though Levens wasn't asked any questions about whether during his dealings with Vick he ever got the impression that Mike was interested in these dogs for something other than securing his home, Levens could have chimed in and said, "I don't believe any of these charges. I breed and train dogs, and I've sold dogs to Mike Vick. I can tell you that he loves these animals and he'd never do anything like this. And if I ever thought he did, I'd kick his ass myself."

The fact that Levens didn't raise the issue makes us wonder whether he now has suspicions of his own about Vick's interest in dogs. And at a time when there is speculation that other current and former NFL players know about or are involved in the "sport," plenty of people will likely wonder whether Levens has been to the fights, or has helped train dogs specifically for that activity.

Brian Butterfield wants to play major league baseball and be an NFL scout. At the same time.

Though we don't agree with all of it, Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has penned a great piece regarding the Vick case.

Redskins LB Marcus Washington discloses that he was in Stage One of the substance-abuse program last year, and he thinks that the rigors of the increased testing ruined his season.

Though Titans coach Jeff Fisher doesn't like hokey slogans, we submit for his approval "Move On Or Move Out."

Giants RB Brandon Jacobs knew he was destined for the NFL: "I always knew I would get a stage like this. Everybody was always telling me that of all the football players in the country, 3% or something like that, make it. I always said, 'You can count me in that three, because I'm making it. I don't care how I got to do it, I'm going to get there.'"

We continue to hear that the wife of Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is pushing him aggressively to make 2007 his final season in the National Football League.

Gibbs emerged from retirement in 2004, after 12 years out of the game, to return to the team that he led to three Super Bowl wins after the 1982, 1987, and 1991 seasons. The team has been to the playoffs once since his return, defeating the Buccaneers in the 2005 wild-card round before falling to the Seahawks.

We're also told that owner Daniel Snyder is poised to turn up the behind-the-scenes heat aimed at securing former Steelers coach Bill Cowher to succeed Gibbs, if/when it begins to become apparent that Gibbs will call it quits after the 2007 season.

Gibbs, who'll be 67 in November, suffers from diabetes. Two years ago, a stent was inserted to clear blockage in an artery near his heart. Also, a young grandson of Joe and Pat Gibbs was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year.

We reported several weeks ago that Cowher has been privately discussing possible arrangements with several teams, and we've heard from two sources that Cowher has been in touch with the Redskins. The next day, the team issued a statement disputing our report.

Though Gibbs, a Hall of Famer, should be allowed to coach the team as long as he wants to, a decision to discreetly scope out a potential successor reflects good business sense by Snyder. Why wait until the feeding frenzy for Cowher's services begins in January when the basic groundwork for an eventual deal can be laid now? And if it becomes clear that the coach and the team won't be able to agree as to a big issue like salary or control, it's better for the team to know about it sooner rather than later, so that the candidate can be removed from the radar screen.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers show up for training camp on July 23, they'll have a new coach who'll apply a new approach to getting ready for the season.

Mike Tomlin, 35, the former Vikings defensive coordinator who had an immediate impact on a moribund unit in his only season with the team, is ready to put his thumbprint on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

At a time when many NFL observers justify pervasive contact in offseason workouts by pointing to the fact that training camps aren't nearly as strenuous as they used to be, Tomlin is rolling out 15 days of two-a-days. And he's making no apologies in advance for it. He likely won't be making any apologies during or after, either.

"I don't know too many active players that like training camp. They probably endure it. I did tell the group . . . that it is going to be extremely tough. I am not apologizing for that. I am going to put that challenge out there to them because in a lot of ways it represents the journey that we are going to face this year."

And just because a guy was at the top of the depth chart at the end of the 2006 season doesn't mean that he's guaranteed to be a starter.

"There are known position battles that everybody knows about, but there are also unknown position battles that are going to develop, because we are going to go into this thing with no preconceived notions," Tomlin said. "We are going to base our decisions on what we see in training camp."

The first year of a new coaching regime is the best time for a fresh look at the roster. As time goes by, every coach develops a comfort level with his roster, and an emotional attachment to his players. This makes it more likely for a starter who has a lackluster camp to still keep his job.

We have a feeling that Tomlin is going to be different. If the new NFL is a year-to-year proposition, then every season is a new opportunity for unproven players to rise, and for established veterans to falter, and for the coaching staff to draw up the depth chart based solely on merit.

That said, we're not sure that different is necessarily better. Can a football coach secure the long-term attention and affection of the locker room without a nucleus of guys who have the coach's back because they know that he has theirs?

But if the modern NFL really is a one-year-at-a-time affair, perhaps each season results in the development of a fresh nucleus, born in the weeks of offseason workouts that serve as the precursor to a training camp that encourages the best to prove it and, in so doing, to become even better.

"Whether people are looking for comfort or if they find comfort in whether or not their jobs are mentioned as one being up for grabs, I hope they don't," Tomlin said. "I hope they understand what we have been saying to them all along. We are going to base our judgments off of what they do and not what they have done or what their reputations are.

"No job is secure," he said. "This is not a security business and if they are looking for security, they need to find a new line of work."

Tomlin already proved his point by giving his stamp of approval to the surprising (on the surface) decision to cut linebacker Joey Porter. After watching film of Porter's performance in 2006, Tomlin was in agreement with the move.

The only potential flaw in Tomlin's approach is the reality of the salary cap. If/when, for example, safety Troy Polamalu secures a long-term deal with guaranteed money north of $10 million, can Tomlin truly put the Tasmanian Devil to No. 2 on the depth chart if he has a bad camp and/or preseason? Or what if a guy like Hines Ward gets benched and becomes a locker-room problem? Does Tomlin cut him without regard to potential cap consequences?

If Tomlin intends to use his 2007 mentality on a year-in, year-out basis, the front-office needs to adopt a Cardinals-style pay-as-you-go approach to the cap, using roster bonuses and other devices aimed at pushing the bulk of a player's "guaranteed" money into the first year of his deal, so that Tomlin and the team will have the flexibility to move on (and move out) if the player is eclipsed in year two or three of his deal by someone else at his position.

Regardless of how it all plays out, it will be compelling to watch. And, frankly, we don't think that it'll take another 15 years to win a Super Bowl under the new boss.

Newsday reports that the identity of the person who supposedly bought Mike Vick's Surry County, Virginia property not long after 54 dogs were removed from the yard behind the house is still unknown.

"You and about 10,000 other people want to know," said a person who answered the phone at the office of the Surry County Courthouse. "But I haven't seen a bill of sale yet."

Typically, property transfers are formalized via the filing of a deed in the local courthouse.

The home reportedly was sold for less than 50 percent of its assessed value in May. One neighbor claimed that the had a verbal contract to buy the house, but that the Vick camp declined to formalize the deal. At one point, there was a report that "heads will turn" when the purchaser is identified.

Newsday also echoes past (and, potentially, forgotten) reports that neighbors had previously complained about the noise emanating from the dogs that were kept on the property. "Everybody has been calling the sheriff," one local resident said. "It's been reported for years. It wasn't that hidden. The house sits right there by the road. You go by there and you know something's going on."

A source close to Colts left tackle Tarik Glenn tells us that the veteran lineman, who is 31 years old and only one season away from hitting the free-agent market, where so-so players are getting seven-year, $49 million deals, indeed plans to walk away from the game of football.

The source says that the decision has nothing to do with any desire by Glenn to pressure the team to give him more money, or to extend his contract.

"He wants to live in Indy and do this the right way," the source said, "evening inquiring and researching what he would have to pay back. He told [coach Tony] Dungy and [G.M. Bill] Polian and all was positive."

So is the retirement decision permanent? Says the source, "Players can change their minds at will but the delay here with a formal announcement has to do more with the Colts wanting him to delay. If a change occurs it is because he misses football or some other reason but there is no sign of that now and there is not a hidden agenda."

With all that said, an offer of a short-term raise or a long-term deal could, in our estimation, be something that makes Glenn miss football.

A league source tells us that Falcons owner Arthur Blank and G.M. Rick McKay are pushing for a paid leave of absence for embattled quarterback Mike Vick, but that Vick doesn't want to do it.

Though one of our readers pointed out that Vick would be inclined to resist a leave of absence if he fears that he'll be convicted, and thus would likely never play again thereafter, the source says that Vick believes that he'll be acquitted, and that he doesn't think he should step aside while the case is pending.

The source also says that Vick's handlers are afraid to be frank with him about the wisdom of taking a leave of absence, since they fear that if they tell Vick something other than that which he wants to hear, he'll fire them.

The Falcons, we're told, want to resolve Vick's status so that they can pursue free-agent quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Also, the source says that the team fears the loss of sponsorship dollars and the ire of folks who lease high-dollar suites at the Georgia Dome.

Under the CBA, the team cannot impose a paid leave on Vick against his will, due to revisions made in 2006 following the Terrell Owens situation, where the Eagles sent him home for the balance of the season with pay.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network recently reported that the Chiefs and running back Larry Johnson are on a collision course for a training camp holdout.

Frankly, we don't know which side is being more unreasonable. In light of the Dwight Freeney deal, which included $30 million guaranteed, we actually think that the Chiefs are the ones who are in the wrong here.

Though the team might not yet know whether L.J. is a truly great back who can get his yards even if the left side of line is composed of Oprah Winfrey, Rosie O'Donnell, and Rita Cosby, $14 million is awfully low in the present spending climate, even if it's consistent with veteran tailback deals from the past couple of years.

Still, Johnson needs to realize that running backs are now like Vice Presidents at a bank -- they get the fancy titles but they don't get the coin, primarily because there are so damn many of them.

As we've said before, beyond the short-list best-of-the-best tailbacks (like Jim Brown and Barry Sanders and Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith and, maybe, LaDainian Tomlinson), good running backs are plentiful, and fungible. If Johnson won't play, the Chiefs can find someone else who'll be almost as good, but for a lot less money.

The problem, as we see it, is that if the Chiefs won't pay Johnson what he wants, who will? Especially when another team will also have to bow to King Carl Peterson's typically unrealistic trade demands.

And even if Johnson stays away until Week Ten of the regular season, pays his $14,000-per-day in fines, gives up a chunk of his signing bonus money, and also becomes eligible for free agency in 2008, don't be surprised if the Chiefs slap him with the franchise tag.

Peterson proved that he's willing to put principle over practicality with the Trent Green affair. It could be that the offseason stare-down with the team's former starting quarterback was merely a warm up for the coming storm with Johnson.

We missed our Friday entry as a result of the day trip to Kennywood Park with Florio Jr., but we're still committed to getting this thing done.

Meanwhile, the USA Today list that inspired us to make our own is essentially completed. (No. 1 hasn't been revealed, but it's obviously going to be Joe Montana. Or Wade Wilson.)

The USA Today list contained only one receiver -- Jerry Rice at No. 2 -- and no tight ends. Meanwhile, five running backs and nine quarterbacks made the cut.

So who was catching all of those balls from the passers and/or keeping the strong safety off of the tailbacks' back sides?

Sorry, folks. Though plenty of you might disagree with some of the decisions made in our list of the Top 25, there's no way in hell that only one receiver deserves to be among the best 25 players since 1983.

In nearly three months, the only public statement from Michael Vick or any of his agents, lawyers, and other handlers has been Vick's "I never go there" routine from April 27.

Apart from that, there has been nothing. From Vick, from agent Joel Segal, from Vick's lawyers. From his brother Marcus, who suddenly knows the relief that LaToya Jackson felt once her brother Michael went cuckoo. Nothing. From anyone.

In fact, the only teammate who has said a word about Vick is Joe Horn, who really isn't a teammate at all because he just joined the team earlier this year.

Though Vick's silence can be explained by the fact that his lawyer(s) have told him not to speak, we can't help but wonder whether a truly innocent man, who breeds and sells dogs because he loves them so much, would be able to stay silent in the face of media reports and federal documents indicating that he shows his love for his pets by subjecting them to pain, disfigurement, and death.

Those who have cautioned against a "rush to judgment" regarding Vick have pointed to the lessons of the Duke lacrosse case. Though we think that the two cases are very different, there's one aspect of the Duke case that is worth mentioning.

In the Duke case, the three men who were ultimately found to be innocent weren't afraid to yell it from the rooftops.

Added Evans: "I passed that polygraph for the same reason I will be acquitted of all these charges. I have done nothing wrong and I have told the truth, I have told the truth from Day One . . . I have the truth behind me and it will not phase me."

In this case, no similar suggestion has been made, by Vick, or by anyone close to him. There has been no polygraph test (which is even more glaring given that at least one NFL team believes that it's appropriate to employ such tactics), and there has been no declaration of innocence.

Sure, Vick likely will stand up next week and utter the words "not guilty," but as everyone except Vinny Gambini realizes the options at an arraignment are to say "guilty" or "not guilty." Saying "not guilty" is hardly a heartfelt declaration of factual innocence.

Meanwhile, why in the hell isn't Segal saying anything on behalf of his star client?

Our belief is that Segal fears that his association with Vick will be used against him in the recruiting of future potential clients, and that rival agents will tell the players that Segal doesn't know how to keep his guys out of trouble. Though the damage in this regard has already been done, Segal won't make the situation any better by holding press conferences on Vick's lawn or appearing on SportsCenter via satellite.

Also, if Segal were to declare that Vick is a great guy and would never harm an animal, and then Vick is convicted, Segal's chances of getting any future clients would be seriously diminished.

As noted above, Mike Vick's silence in the wake of the current controversy doesn't do much to inspire a belief that he's being falsely accused of wrongdoing. And, as one of our many astute readers has pointed out to us, a Vick who knows in his heart that he is guilty is highly unlikely to voluntarily sit out for the 2007 season.

Why? Because if Vick did it and if he realizes that he's going down, the coming season will be his last chance to play NFL football. So why should he or would he agree to step aside?

Of course, it's possible that Vick's handlers will convince him to step aside even if he feels that 2007 will be his last chance to play pro ball. But, to date, Vick's handlers haven't been doing a very good job of giving Mike advice, or of getting him to heed it.

At a time when some folks believe that Mike Vick is being condemned too quickly by the public and the media in the wake of a federal indictment containing horrific details of dog fighting and torture, many of the folks who are convinced that Mike Vick deserves swift and serious punishment from his employer are condemning the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons too quickly for the failure to sideline Vick in the wake of the indictment.

We believe that Vick should be severely sanctioned by the NFL and the Falcons, but not because we believe that he is legally guilty of the federal conspiracy charges lodged against him. We think he should be suspended (if not banished) because we believe that Vick's decisions (regardless of the outcome of his trial) have done more damage to the NFL brand than all other players allegedly involved in criminal wrongdoing over the past few years combined, especially since the Vick indictment comes at a time of unprecedented media and fan scrutiny of off-field misconduct.

As we've said before (and likely will say again), whether Vick still should have a multi-million-dollar job is a separate question from whether he goes to jail. As to the latter, we're more than willing to wait for the jury's verdict. As to the former, we think that Vick already has forfeited his ability to play professional football at its highest level via, at a minimum, his reckless associations with persons who would use land he owns to engage in such despicable deeds.

But if we were the ones making the decision to seriously limit (and possibly to permanently end) a guy's sports career, we wouldn't make that decision in only four days. The league and the Falcons were surely shell-shocked after the indictment was handed up (or down, or whatever the right term is); under these circumstances this just isn't the kind of decision that can be made quickly and without sufficient information.

Was Pacman Jones suspended for a year less than a week after he allegedly went bonkos in that Vegas strip club? No. Was Chris Henry suspended for eight games days after the latest of his various misdeeds? No. These things take time, and it's unreasonable to expect the NFL and the Falcons to come to a prudent and proper conclusion so soon after the news broke that Vick is facing serious federal charges.

We're not saying that the folks who want to see Vick out of the game should remain silent until a decision is made. The public and media reaction is part of the information that the league and the Falcons will consider in coming to a final conclusion.

But let's not insist on a decision as to such a complex and delicate issue before the folks making the decision have had the chance to make a good one.

When ESPN decided to dump Michael Irvin from its NFL coverage, we were concerned that the Boys in Bristol had realized that it was more important to hire people who could intelligently analyze football-related issues and speak extemporaneously about them in an engaging, entertaining manner. And that, of course, would give us less things to criticize about ESPN's football coverage.

The hiring of Emmitt Smith suggests that ESPN continues to prefer name recognition to ability, if Smith's initial comments about the Mike Vick situation are an indication of the brain power that he'll apply to his new job.

On Saturday, Smith told the AP that he thinks the feds have targeted Vick to get him to give up information regarding other dog fighters.

"Now, granted he might have been to a dogfight a time or two, maybe five times, maybe 20 times, may have bet some money, but he's not the one you're after. He's not the one you're after, he's just the one whose going to take the fall -- publicly."

So who are they after, Emmitt? Every person who ever has attended a dog fight with Vick? Or is it that the feds plan to filet and fry the big fish first and then work their way down to the minnows?

As an initial matter, Smith's concession that Vick might have been to a dogfight or two suggests that Smith has not been following the story very closely, or that he doesn't understand any of the nuances of it. If, as Smith concedes, Vick knew about or was involving in dog fighting, then there's no way that he can claim ignorance of the 54 live dogs, the 17 dead ones, and the dog-fighting equipment that have been taken from his property in Virginia.

Also, if Smith's theory is accurate, it would represent a groundbreaking new approach to criminal prosecutions by the U.S. government. Instead of using the Sammy Gravanos of the world to bring down the John Gottis, the feds will now go after the top of the pyramid first, and then use him to take down all of the little guys.

It doesn't work that way, Emmitt. Because the feds can't prosecute every violation of federal law, they prefer to get the biggest bang for their buck. They do so by targeting the big names, if/when they have hard proof that can be used to bring the big names down. If they don't have the evidence, they work their way from the bottom up. Once they have the evidence to get the kingpin, they could care less about going from the top down.

In this case, the feds clearly believe that Vick is the kingpin of the dog fighting operation that allegedly was being maintained for more than five years in Surry County. Thus, the goal is to make an example out of Vick, so that the rest of us keep in mind that there are real consequences for failing to respect the rule of law.

Though there might be plenty of other dog fighters who won't be prosecuted, the goal of the feds isn't to round up those folks and put them into a system of overcrowded prisons. The objective is to scare as many of them as possible into changing their ways.

And that makes the stakes of the Vick case even higher. If the feds swing their big bat at him and miss, others who are breaking the law might be emboldened, not deterred.

Of course, we can't expect Emmitt to understand all of this, in part because he has spent the last 20-plus years playing football and dancing ballroom. As a result, we're looking forward to the well-informed, cogently-reasoned, and common-sensical analyses that he'll be offering up this year.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association both claim that the possibility of a leave of absence for Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is not on the table.

So, if Browne and Upshaw are telling the truth, where did ESPN.com get it's information that the only impediments to a leave of absence were the willingness of Falcons owner Arthur Blank to offer it, and Vick's willingness to accept?

One league source believes that the notion of a leave of absence has been floated to ESPN.com by Vick's agent, Joel Segal, who is regarded in league circles as a key provider of NFL information to Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com. Segal has been conspicuously silent regarding his star client (more on that to come), but that doesn't mean that Segal isn't working guys like Len on an off-the-record basis.

In our view, a leave of absence makes perfect sense. It allows the team and the league to get out of an increasingly hot kitchen, deferring any final decisions on Vick until the federal case in which he's involved makes it trek through the "Rocket Docket" of the Eastern District of Virginia. And it allows Vick to focus his attention on getting ready to stay out of a steel-and-cinder-block pocket from which he won't be able to roll out. There's no reason for the league, the team, and the union to not want to proceed in this fashion.

So it could be that the ESPN.com report is right on the money, and that the league and union are saying otherwise because Vick has made it clear that he's not interested in a leave of absence, even if it's his smartest option. Based on comments that were made during a Friday appearance on NFLN's Total Access by Falcons receiver Joe Horn (who seems to be doing a lot of speaking on behalf of a team for which he's never played a single down), we got the distinct impression that Vick wants to play, and that he doesn't understand why he shouldn't.

As explained below (two stories down), no leave of absence will fly without Vick's approval. So if Vick is making it known that he won't walk away willingly, the league and the union need to act like it was never even discussed.

The end result is that a sticky situation suddenly gets a lot trickier, and it's avoidable. Why doesn't Vick know what's good for him? Then again, we've got a feeling that the same mental acuity that prompted Vick to risk his multi-million-dollar career for his pocket-change hobby is still influencing his decision-making processes.

Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson, a Pro Bowler whose first seven-year, $49 million has become the terms and total of choice for many lesser players on both sides of the ball, reads this site.

How do we know? In an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Hutchinson had this to say regarding his reluctance to speak out: "I'm not going to be the guy to go to if you're looking for someone to run his mouth and be front page on profootballtalk.com or in the newspaper. There are plenty of guys in the league that will be happy to do that. . . . My job is to go out there, put my left hand down on the ground and play on Sunday."

Well, Steve, you might not be running your mouth, but you're on the front page of ProFootballTalk.com. Enjoy your stay, and come again soon.

The fact that we've been following this Mike Vick story from the moment they started pulling boxes of Nandrolene-laced Milk Bones out of the Vick property in Virginia has, in light of the fact that Vick was indicted, has been good for business.

Traffic is up, and requests for radio are at a high level for what was supposed to be the last slow week of the offseason.

So we need to pause for a moment and thank the folks who allowed us to pollute their airwaves this week, including old friends and new at stations and networks like Sporting News Radio, Sirius NFL Radio, WIP in Philly, 1530 the Homer in Cincinnati, WGR in Buffalo, WFNZ in Charlotte, Big Sports 590 in Omaha, The Terry Bowden & Brady Ackerman Show, WBAL in Baltimore, WJFK in D.C., Sports Radio 950 in Philly, and others.

With all that said, we'd prefer to not be covering this story at all. We'd prefer that Mike Vick would have had the wisdom and the foresight to avoid any and all illegal activities. We hope that all current and future NFL players will learn from this so that, in the future, we can focus on football.

Until that happens, however, we've got to talk about the Vick case and any other situation involving actual or alleged violations of the law.

In an era in which more and more players are receiving contracts with guaranteed payments in excess of $20 million, Mike Vick could eventually owe the Atlanta Falcons more than $20 million if/when he ever misses without team consent a practice or a game due to his pending legal problems, and the aftermath thereof.

Under the Vick contract, the team's ability to recover signing bonus money is tied to a "default" by Vick. A "default" arises if he fails to show up for any mandatory activity.

The fact that Vick will be in court on the first day of mandatory training camp practice means that, as of July 26, he will be in default. Unless the team gives permission to Vick to miss the session in writing.

We've examined the bonus/default language that the Falcons used in most if not all contracts before the 2006 revision to the CBA, and it's clear to us that Vick's failure to be at practice on July 26 will constitute a default, and that it will trigger the team's ability to recover a sum equal to the total bonus money paid multiplied by the number of regular-season games remaining under the contract, divided by the total regular-season games covered by the contract.

And that's exactly how it's spelled out in the pre-2006 Falcons contracts: "FORFEITED BONUS = TOTAL BONUS x REMAINING REGULAR SEASON GAMES OF CONTRACT/TOTAL REGULAR SEASON GAMES OF CONTRACT."

With that said, the determination of the "TOTAL BONUS" is subject to dispute. The $7.5 million signing bonus that Vick received is clearly part of the potential recovery. Another $29.5 million was paid in the form of two roster bonuses that were converted to guaranteed payments at the team's option.

As ESPN.com points out, option bonus money cannot be recovered, due to the Ashley Lelie ruling from earlier this year. However, we disagree with ESPN.com's suggestion that the Ashley Lelie decision also applies to roster bonuses. Based on our discussions with a source having knowledge of the Lelie case and the Vick contract, a prorated portion of the $29.5 million Vick received in the form of roster bonuses that were converted at the team's option to guaranteed payments can be pursued, the Lelie case notwithstanding.

So it appears that, in the Falcons' contract formula, the "TOTAL BONUS" will be $37.5 million. Because the contract was signed with two regular-season games remaining in the 2004 season and runs through 2013, the equation would be $37.5 million times 112 remaining regular-season games, divided by 146 total regular-season games covered by the deal.

That works out to $28.76 million that the Falcons could recover, if the Falcons so choose.

But there's a catch. In order to preserve their right to the money, the Falcons need to move quickly once Vick commits a default.

Under the CBA, teams must file non-injury grievances aimed at recovering bonus money within 45 after the event triggering the right to recover.

The practical question is whether the Falcons would have to file a grievance within 45 days after the first missed practice, or whether the team could wait until Vick misses a practice or a game due to a suspension, or due to a conviction.

The longer that the team waits to declare a default, the lower the potential recovery. With each passing regular-season game, the formula set forth above will yield a lower number.

And there's another angle that the Falcons should consider. Though common-sense suggests that a player can be in default on multiple occasions, the language of the contract will control the analysis of the situation. In this case, the language that the Falcons have utilized regarding bonus forfeitures speaks in terms of being "in" default, not of committing "a" default. So once the player is in default, the Falcons arguably are required to file a grievance within 45 days, or forever waive the fact that the player is in default, even if he later defaults via a suspension or incarceration.

Assuming that the Falcons aren't yet prepared to seek a refund of more than $28 million from Vick, the team's safest course would be to give Vick written consent to miss the July 26 practice, since this would preserve the team's ability to seek repayment later.

Similarly, a leave of absence for a year would defer any potential default. If, come 2008, Vick is unavailable to attend a mandatory event because he has been suspended or is in jail, the team could still recover up to $24.33 million in bonus money.

Whether the Falcons can recover the money and whether they choose to try are two different issues. But in light of reports that the management council spent much of Wednesday studying the deal, there's only one reason for doing it -- to determine how much money Vick might be forced to refund, if/when it ever gets to that point.

On Friday,our own MDS criticized ESPN for offering up both-sides-of-the-fence predictions from Chris Mortensen and Len Pasquarelli regarding the fate of Michael Vick. Mortensen said on Friday that Vick is likely to take a leave of absence. Pasquarelli said, if healthy, there's a good chance that Vick will play all of the 2007 season.

Later in the day, ESPN.com published an unusual item jointly authored by Mortensen and Pasquarelli, and it appears to be an effort to try to get the two guys on the same page.

The option has not yet been communicated to Vick, per the report. If it is, the team will want Vick to make a decision fairly quickly, presumably so that the Falcons could then pursue a replacement. We've previously reported that the Falcons are interested in free-agent Daunte Culpepper, but that the team is reluctant to pursue him with the Vick situation unsettled.

Vick's agreement to any such approach is critical. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement that controls the relationship between the league and the players union, a team is no longer permitted to tell a player to stay home with pay. After the Terrell Owens situation in late 2005, the NFLPA inserted language (which the NFL didn't notice at the time) preventing a situation in which a team can impose a paid leave of absence. So, unless Mike Vick is on board with it, the Falcons could be facing a grievance if the team tries to pay him not to work.

It's currently unclear whether any leave of absence would be paid or unpaid. Under the CBA, a team may only suspend a player without pay for up to four games for conduct detrimental to the team. Thus, the team would have no power to impose an unpaid leave of absence for the entire season.

Beyond that, whether and to what extent Vick is paid will be a topic for negotiation. The ESPN.com report states that the NFLPA is hoping that the Falcons will agree to pay to Vick his $6 million salary. From the perspective of the team and the league, it might be money well spent; the NFL and the Falcons easily could spend $6 million on security enhancements and other expenses arising from keeping Vick on the team for the season.

But the notion of Vick getting $6 million to not play football could prompt criticism of all involved parties from the media and from fans. Some (including, perhaps, us) might argue that the Falcons are essentially funding Vick's legal defense, and more.

The right thing to do, we believe, would be for Vick to voluntarily reduce his $6 million salary to the league minimum, and to then push the difference into his pay for 2008. One possibility would be to convert the $5 million-plus that he sacrifices now into a roster bonus that would be due on the first day of the 2008 league year. This would force the Falcons to either pay the money or sever ties with Vick by March 1 of next year.

And it would also defuse the perception that he is getting money for nothing while preparing to face federal conspiracy charges.

No one from the Colts would confirm the news, and the Star was unable to reach Glenn. His agent, Ralph Cindrich, said that any response on the matter would have to come from Glenn.

The Colts sent Glenn a strong message that he might not be part of the future when selecting Tony Ugoh in the 2007 draft, giving up their 2008 first-rounder in order to get in position to take him.

If Glenn plays this year, he'll be eligible to become a free agent in 2008, and he could be in position for a significant pay day. So why would he walk away now?

It could be that he's playing the retirement card as a way to force the Colts to sign him to an extension, and that he really doesn't intend to follow through with it. Or maybe he thinks that he can "retire" for the 2007 season and unretire come March. Why put $20 million or more in guaranteed money at risk in order to earn a $4.5 million salary for one more season in Indy? If he gets seriously injured this year, that big new contract will never come.

Then again, the Colts would still hold his rights, if he were to come out of retirement. Maybe, under that circumstance, they would accept a reasonable trade offer. Then again, if Glenn pisses off G.M. Bill Polian, "reasonable" might get thrown up against the wall in a tunnel at Giants Stadium.

If Glenn is in fact using retirement to squeeze the Colts, we think that the $72 million contract given eight days ago by the Colts to defensive end Dwight Freeney had a lot to do with it. Glenn sees Freeney up close all the time, and Glenn is in a good position to assess his own worth in comparison to Freeney, a quarterback-sacking specialist who had only 5.5 sacks in 2006, three of which came against a rookie who was filling in for the Bengals.

Since Glenn is the guy protecting the blind side of a star quarterback with all the mobility of a car with square wheels, it's reasonable to assume that Glenn perceives the Freeney deal to be a slap in the face and/or a kick to the nuts. Or both.

We've had mixed feelings over the years about comedian Jimmy Kimmel. He always has reminded us of the guy in school who would hang around the fringes of the cool crowd, fire off a smart-ass remark from time to time, and sometimes it would draw a few laughs.

We generally liked Kimmel's segments on FOX's NFL pregame show, although we now like Frank Caliendo's a lot more. (And not just because Frank's a closet member of PFT Planet.) In contrast, we hated Kimmel's halftime bits on one of the final seasons of MNF on ABC.

We don't watch his late-night show on ABC, primarily because we've watched portions of it from time to time and it just didn't do it for us. That said, we've seen on MSNBC from time to time the "unnecessary censorship" feature from Kimmel's show, where bleeps are used to create the impression that politicians and celebrities had dropped the "F" bomb or otherwise said something that they shouldn't have said on television. We like that. It's clever, and funny.

And we loved it when Kimmel visited the ESPN MNF booth last year and said to Joey Sunshine, "How's the leg?"

But we're compelled to address the Kimmel show this morning because, while surfing the dial last night, we saw a portion of the monologue in which Kimmel was playing portions of Senator Robert Byrd's anti-dog-fighting speech on the Senate floor from Thursday. Specifically, Kimmel would play a clip, and then allow his studio audience to nervously laugh at it. There were no jokes or witty observations or bleeping of words that weren't profane. Kimmel was merely playing the video, and letting his audience laugh openly at the physical infirmities of an 89-year-old man who has suffered for a long time from Parkinson's disease.

Look, we know that humor is subjective. And over the years we've posted plenty of things in a spirit of humor that folks didn't like. But what in the hell is funny about making fun of the very real consequences of advanced age? We should all be blessed to live for 89 years or longer, and we should all be blessed to be able to continue to do that which we love long after the normal age of retirement.

This isn't about politics or dog fighting or football (and, in that case, why in the hell are we even talking about it?). It's about basic decency and respect. Mike Vick allegedly doesn't have it for dogs. Jimmy Kimmel clearly doesn't have it for the elderly members of our society.

Doesn't he realizes that, God willing, he might actually be one of those people, sooner than he realizes?

When Jimmy turns 40 in November, maybe he'll begin to understand what we're talking about.

[UPDATE: We've been reminded that we have in the past made fun of Bills owner Ralph Wilson and Marv Levy based on their age. And we have. What really bothered us about the Kimmel thing was that Senator Byrd has Parkinson's and the laughter seemed to arise directly from the effects of the disease on his aging body. So maybe the title to this piece should have been "Jimmy Thinks Parkinson's Is Funny." And if/when we poke fun at Wilson or Levy in the future, we hope that someone will point out this item to us.]

There's talk in league circles that a contract between the Carolina Panthers and defensive end Julius Peppers is in the works, and that it could be wrapped up within the next couple of weeks.

Per one source, the numbers in the Peppers contract could eclipse, perhaps significantly, the six-year, $72 million contract signed by Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney.

Earlier this month, there were reports and that Panthers and Peppers had put their talks on hold pending the outcome of the Freeney discussions. Now that Freeney's deal is done, the Panthers would be wise to get Peppers signed before someone else sets the bar even higher.

So what will Peppers be worth, given that Freeney received $30 million in guaranteed money and an average of $12 million per year? Could Peppers be the first player to get $40 million in guaranteed money? We'd be surprised, but not shocked. Indeed, the Panthers might ultimately decide to go higher with the guarantee and, relatively speaking, lower with the total package. Thus, six years, $78 million with $40 million guaranteed seems plausible.

Meanwhile, any team dealing with other players who are poised to get paid might want to get their deals done before the Peppers numbers hit the fan.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells us that Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora will not hold out in 2007, but that Giants defensive end Michael Strahan is still a strong possibility to do so.

Per the source, Umenyiora's stand is likely to come in 2008, and his discontent traces directly to a contract extension that he signed in December 2005, and that he now regards to be grossly substandard.

Strahan's situation, per the source, is very different. Apparently, Strahan believes that retired G.M. Ernie Accorsi had promised to adjust a contract that pays the veteran only $4 million in 2007. Now that Accorsi is gone, the replacement regime isn't delivering.

We've received several uncorroborated reports from readers that Dick's Sporting Goods (which has yet to be purchased by the folks who own Pink Taco Restaurants) have pulled from its more than 250 stores any and all products bearing the name and likeness of Mike Vick.

If true, it's simply the latest step in the Imus-style momentum that has been building in the days since Vick was indicted on federal conspiracy charges.

I owe a huge favor to Michael David Smith, who took over this space all day on Friday, keeping his thumb on the carotid artery of the Vick affair and other matters, while I took Florio Jr. and a friend of his to Kennywood Park outside of Pittsburgh.

I'm pleased to report that no lunches were lost during the course of riding all sorts of rides that were a helluvalot easier for me to ride 20 years ago.

Check back all weekend for a bunch of updates, and the commencement of our annual preseason power rankings, with a team-by-team analysis.

Per The Smoking Gun, Vick was able to get in and out of the marshals office in the U.S. District Court in Richmond without anyone noticing him, and that's where U.S. Marshals photographed him, fingerprinted him, and formally served him with a criminal summons.

The report says that in addition to posing for mug shots, Vick had to have all of his tattoos photographed by a marshal.

A court filing today reported that the criminal summons in the case of United States of America v. Michael Vick was "served personally upon the Defendant" by Deputy U.S. Marshal S.R. Saylor. The summons tells Vick he is to appear before The Honorable Henry E. Hudson, United States District Judge, on July 26 at 4:00 p.m.

[UPDATE: The practical consequence of this report is that the "days without an arrest counter" can now be re-set, with July 19 as the new zero hour. For at least a day or two, unless someone else gets pinched.]

Hours after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals staged a protest outside National Football League offices in New York City, the NFL released a statement in which it said it agreed with what the protesters had to say.

"We agree with them that dog fighting is cruel, degrading and illegal," the statement read. "The alleged activities are very disturbing and we are extremely disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in this position."

If the NFL has already concluded that Vick has put himself in the position he's in -- and not that his family put him in this position, or that overzealous federal authorities put him in this position, or anything else that Vick's few remaining defenders have suggested -- then why does the league need to wait to decide whether to suspend him?

After Vick was indicted Tuesday, the NFL released a statement saying, in part, "Michael Vick's guilt has not yet been proven, and we believe that all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts." But the NFL has apparently already determined that it was Vick who put himself in the position he's now in, which means that whether he's ultimately convicted in a court of law or not, he has done something that has damaged his employer's reputation, and his employer would be justified in disciplining him as a result.

Meanwhile, ESPN's Kelly Naqi reports that after PETA announced it would protest at the Falcons' training camp, the NFL said it will have increased security there.

In a video on FoxSports.com, NFL reporter Jay Glazer recounts a discussion he had with Falcons quarterback Michael Vick when the two ran into each other in Las Vegas last week. According to Glazer, Vick blamed his family for the dog fighting investigation that led to Vick's indictment this week.

"He told me he was not going to get indicted, his family members, they are the ones really the target here," Glazer says of his conversation with Vick. "He said, 'I'm telling you, I'm not going to get indicted.'"

For Vick to say that his family was at fault indicates that he knew dog fighting was going on at the Virginia property. And the fact that the cousin who lived there, Davon Boddie, was not indicted is a good indication that Boddie has flipped on Vick and is one of the cooperating witnesses listed in the indictment.

As for Glazer, he says he tried to explain to Vick that when the government launches a massive criminal investigation, the owner of the property where the criminal activity occurred generally doesn't get off unscathed.

Glazer also reports that Vick told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in April that he had nothing to do with dog fighting. And Glazer says that if Vick is suspended, released, or placed on leave, his teammates won't necessarily be disappointed. Glazer says there's growing frustration within the team that Vick doesn't conduct himself in a professional manner, and that he hasn't been willing to do the necessary work to become the kind of player his teammates want him to be.

Say this for ESPN's coverage of the Michael Vick case: They've got every angle covered.

More than two hours after Chris Mortensen appeared on ESPN First Take to say that Vick was likely to take a leave of absence while he deals with federal conspiracy charges, Len Pasquarelli showed up on ESPNews to say that as long as he's healthy, there's a good chance that Vick will play all of 2007.

"I think there is an opportunity for Michael Vick, barring injury, to play through this entire season," Pasquarelli said. "Now, it's going to be a distraction, obviously, on the field and off the field, but I think he will have the opportunity to play this entire season."

Pasquarelli's appearance may have been taped before the Mortensen report aired, but it's hard to avoid the feeling that ESPN is airing every possible scenario and just hoping it turns out to get one of them right.

ESPN has done some excellent reporting on the Vick case. Kelly Naqi has been on top of the story from Day 1 [Editor's note: It was actually more like Day 30, but who's counting?], and legal analyst Lester Munson does outstanding work. But as for some of the Worldwide Leader's other reporters, you could get whiplash trying to follow their ever-changing "scoops."

We're hearing talk that the agents of two of the highest-profile players in this year's rookie class -- Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Browns quarterback Brady Quinn -- are expected to drag their heels in contract negotiations, waiting for the players chosen in the slots around Peterson and Quinn to get deals done, and then trying to beat those deals.

For the Vikings, who chose Peterson seventh overall, that means the former Oklahoma running back's agent, Ben Dogra, will likely wait and see what kind of deal sixth overall pick LaRon Landry gets from the Redskins and what kind of deal eighth overall pick Jamaal Anderson gets from the Falcons. Vikings coach Brad Childress this week emphasized the importance of getting Peterson into camp on time, echoing the same things coaches always say about rookies needing to learn the new system right away.

The Browns may have even more difficult negotiations ahead of them. Tom Condon, the agent for Quinn (chosen 22nd overall) will want to see what 21st pick Reggie Nelson gets from the Jaguars and what 23rd pick Dwayne Bowe gets from the Chiefs. And there has been talk that Condon will want the Browns to give Quinn a contract commensurate with the fact that almost everyone expected Quinn to go much higher than 22nd, and that the Browns see Quinn as their quarterback of the future.

Unfortunately for Condon and Quinn, neither the rookie salary pool nor the overall salary cap contains a "high expectations" exemption.

After Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was indicted this week, animal-rights groups began calling on Nike and other companies that have contracts with Vick to dump him. Nike initially said it would let Vick have his day in court, but quickly shifted gears and announced it would not release its new Vick shoe as scheduled.

Now, athletic apparel store Eastbay appears to be trying to dump its Vick merchandise as quickly as possible. Eastbay is slashing prices on all its Vick jerseys, with replica jerseys that had gone for $74.99 now selling for $29.99, premier jerseys that had gone for $99.99 now selling for $49.99, and authentic jerseys that had gone for $259.99 now selling for $119.99.

Eastbay doesn't explain anywhere on its site why the Vick jerseys are on sale, but it's not some type of general sale on Falcons jerseys; the prices of Warrick Dunn jerseys haven't dropped at all. Eastbay must figure there's going to be mounting pressure on companies to stop selling Vick merchandise altogether, and it would rather get rid of its Vick jerseys while they're still worth at least a few bucks.

Meanwhile, if you click on the Falcons jerseys tab at NFLShop.com, the most prominently displayed jersey is a No. 98 Jamaal Anderson jersey. The NFL still sells Vick jerseys, but the league now apparently considers Vick less marketable than a rookie defensive lineman.

Chris Mortensen reported on ESPN First Take this morning that there is an increased feeling in league circles that everyone would be better off if Falcons quarterback Michael Vick took a leave of absence, rather than play for the Falcons while he faces charges that he was involved in a dog fighting ring.

As we've previously noted, a leave of absence would allow Vick to focus on his legal defense, allow the Falcons to avoid the media circus of having Vick at training camp, and allow the league to get Vick out of its hair without having to take any official action under the Personal Conduct Policy.

Mortensen reported that there is a "fairly urgent collaborative effort that involves the NFL, the NFL Players Association and of course the Atlanta Falcons that Michael Vick could be urged to take a voluntary leave of absence."

A number of questions would have to be answered about whether a leave of absence is what Falcons owner Arthur Blank wants, whether Vick would accept such a move, and whether the union would raise any objections. But with training camp set to open in less than a week, all parties need to make a decision soon.

Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are protesting outside the National Football League offices on Park Avenue in New York City today, demanding that commissioner Roger Goodell suspend Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

PETA spokesman Dan Shannon talked to ESPN reporter Kelly Naqi, saying, "You can look at commissioner Goodell's history with players like Tank Johnson and Pacman Jones and see he hasn't shied away form handing down suspensions or penalties for guys who are just alleged to be involved in off-field activities. We think that the strength of the indictment against him, the 18 pages of charges that go into graphic detail, the four witnesses who are willing to take the stand against him, It all adds up to . . . a pretty damning case against him. We think that's enough for the NFL to go on."

When Naqi asked whether Vick should get a break because he's a first-time offender, Shannon noted that the indictment suggests Vick has been involved in multiple acts of dog fighting and cruelty to animals spanning several years, adding, "there's nothing first time about that."

Shannon also said PETA doesn't see today's protest as a one-time event, and that the organization will demonstrate outside Falcons training camp next week. If Falcons owner Arthur Blank wants to know how big a thorn in his side PETA could become, he should talk to someone in the fur industry. PETA could make the Falcons' training camp a very unpleasant place.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus is expected to travel to Pittsburgh soon to work on a deal for the Steelers' first-round draft pick, linebacker Lawrence Timmons, and an agent traveling to town is usually a sign that a deal is close.

This week Rosenhaus told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Things have progressed the way we would have liked. We've made a lot of headway, particularly the past week."

The Steelers chose Timmons with the 15th pick overall. Last year's 15th overall selection, cornerback Tye Hill, signed a five-year, $10.2 million contract with the Rams.

REAL MEDIA CONTINUE TO CONFLATE 'NEVER' WITH 'RARELY' by Michael David Smith

The only time Falcons quarterback Michael Vick spoke publicly about the evidence of dog fighting that has been found on his Virginia property, he said, "I'm never there."

But as we've mentioned before in this space, the folks in the "real" media have an odd habit of changing the word "never" to "rarely." And after Vick was indicted this week, there were abundant examples of newspapers, TV stations, wire services and other news outlets saying that Vick said he "rarely" visits the property.

Why do reporters persist in misreporting Vick's words? It's hard to understand how a statement as clear and simple as "I'm never there" can be misquoted so often, by so many members of the media.

In case the distinction isn't obvious, this matters because if even one credible witness says he saw Vick at the property -- or if any physical evidence can show Vick visited the property -- that would demonstrate that Vick lied when he said, "I'm never there."

By suggesting that Vick said he's "rarely" there, the real media give Vick cover that he doesn't deserve.

WOULD DAUNTE CULPEPPER WANT TO START IN MINNESOTA WEEK 1? by Michael David Smith

If it hadn't been for the Michael Vick indictment, the Miami Dolphins releasing quarterback Daunte Culpepper would have been this week's big NFL news.

But is there a chance that we could see a connection between Vick and Culpepper? Namely, could Culpepper be Vick's replacement as the Falcons' quarterback if either the team or the league tells Vick he's not welcome?

One thing to keep in mind: The Falcons visit the Minnesota Vikings, Culpepper's old team, in Week One. Culpepper left Minnesota with a bitter taste in his mouth, feeling that he wasn't appreciated for what he had accomplished in Minnesota, and he seems like the type of guy who would view the opportunity to start the season by proving himself in the Metrodome as a sign that joining the Falcons is the right move for him.

It's not clear whether the Falcons are interested in Culpepper. But given that signing with the Falcons would give him the opportunity to play his old team in his first game, Culpepper may be interested in the Falcons.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that authorities in Virginia will be pursuing charges against Falcons quarterback Mike Vick, possibly as soon as September.

The short-term impact of this report is that charges against Vick most likely won't emerge from a Surry County grand jury that convenes on July 24.

The reality that prosecutor Gerald Poindexter likely faces is that he simply doesn't have the evidence to proceed with an indictment, given that his investigation went essentially into limbo once the feds arrived on the scene unannounced in early June.

Poindexter's comments to the AJC indicate that he plans to rely on the evidence developed by federal investigators. However, as we suggested on Thursday, the feds might be reluctant to share anything with Poindexter, who has proven to be far too talkative -- and unpredictable to the point of erratic -- in his handling of the case to date.

Our guess is that the feds won't give anything to Poindexter absent strong assurances that he won't compromise their investigation and prosecution. Even then, we're not so sure they will trust him.

As a result, Poindexter might be forced to wait until the federal prosecution is concluded before acting against Vick.

"I've never been in so much stress in my life," Poindexter said. "I receive hate mail. People tell me they wish I was dead. They say, 'Why did you let him fight dogs or mistreat dogs out there?' Well, we didn't have any evidence they were fighting or mistreating dogs."

Um, hello? There was a treasure trove of circumstantial evidence that dog fighting was occurring and, but for Poindexter's refusal to act on a second search warrant, his investigators would have been the first ones to dig up the dead dogs.

Our biggest advice to Mr. Poindexter is this: QUIT TALKING. Nothing good will come from talking about the case. Do your investigation, present your evidence to the grand jury when it's ready, and proceed.

As explained in a recent item on MarketWatch.com, "The planned agreement . . . is expected to provide broad benefits to consumers, businesses, educators, the Federal government and public safety users by fostering quicker, broader and more efficient deployment of a mobile WiMAX broadband network than either company could accomplish on its own."

Said Sprint Nextel Chairman and CEO Gary Forsee: "This arrangement will result in stronger competition in the rapidly growing market for broadband services, and will provide consumers, national enterprises and other businesses, educators, and public safety agencies greater choice and faster access to a revolutionary mobile broadband technology. It will further our objective of delivering mobile WiMAX service across the country and help fulfill our vision of delivering mobility product and services across all our networks."

So what does all of this mean to you? (We know that's what you're thinking.) Well, mobile WiMAX is five times faster than today's wireless networks, and can be operated at lower cost. It will allow wireless users to download full-length movies and songs, conduct live video conferences from anywhere, and otherwise take advantage of the full power of the "wired" Internet.

And this technology won't only be available to laptops. It will be contained in cell phones and other electronic devices, too.

So it's a big deal, and we're pleased to know that the official telecommunications sponsor of ProFootballTalk.com is at the leading edge of putting this technology in place.

POSTED 10:18 p.m. EDT, July 19, 2007; LAST UPDATED 12:32 a.m. EDT, July 20, 2007

A league source tells us that Giants defensive end Michael Strahan is seriously considering refusing to report to training camp. In fact, we're hearing indications that the decision not to show up already has been made.

The move, if it happens, would not surprise anyone who has been paying attention to Strahan's situation. Earlier this year, there were strong rumors that he wanted more money, and that he might take a stand to get it. Though the talk died down, Strahan has said within the past month or so that he still is the "best at what I do."

So if he's the best, and the guy who is at least second best (in Strahan's mind) is getting paid $12 million per year, Strahan surely isn't happy about getting only $4 million.

Especially since he's trying to replenish the nest egg after his ex-wife ended up with most of his life savings.

So if Strahan stays away, the Giants can thank the Colts, since it was the six-year, $72 million deal given last Friday to defensive end Dwight Freeney that apparently has pushed Strahan over the top.

We haven't heard whether or not Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora is thinking about away from training camp, but the fact that Umenyiora not long ago hired agent Tony Agnone (who also represents Strahan) is at a minimum evidence that the teammates are of like mind.

In Umenyiora's case, a holdout would be stunning. He signed a new contract little more than eighteen months ago.

Still, it could be that Agnone believes that he has a better chance of getting money for either of them by keeping both of them away from camp.

We're finally working our way up the ladder to the very top of the top 25 NFL players of the top 25 years.

Amazingly, folks like these video podcast TV clip thingees that we shot today (one take each, but not by choice . . . we didn't know how to turn the damn cameras off) and posted to YouTube.

Based on the comments we received, however, a lot of the folks who said they liked the segment only watched the one that was posted in this space, regarding the Mike Vick situation.

There are four others, and they can all be seen right here. For those of you who don't like to click on links, here's a little something we did on Daunte Culpepper.

Ravens LB Ray Lewis owns a race car (it might have come in handy seven years or so ago in Buckhead).

Vikings CB Cedric Griffin's legal situation was resolved without a guilty plea or no contest plea, which would have exposed him to discipline under the Personal Conduct Policy.

We can't wait to see Leatherheads (not to be confused with the Norv Turner biopic, Leatherface).

The Pats signed LB Chad Brown, if for no reason than to make Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi feel younger.

Why does the replacement of Michael Irvin with Keyshawn Johnson remind us of the whole "dropping the house on the Wicked Witch of the East" thing?

Regardless of anyone's personal politics, Senator Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.) is an American institution. He is serving his ninth six-year term in the U.S. Senate. Sure, there was that whole Ku Klux Klan thing (and, by the way, they hate Italian-Catholics, too), but there's something to be said for a guy that smart and that talented dedicating his life to public service, especially since he could have made much, much more money in private industry.

And even though his body is failing a bit after 89 years, his mind is as sharp as ever.

We're mentioning Senator Byrd for the first time in this space because the current Mike Vick dog-fighting controversy prompted an animated and angry response from the Senior Senator from the State of West Virginia (and the other 49) on Thursday afternoon.

Shouting and pumping his fist, Byrd exclaimed: "Barbaric! Let that word resounding from hill to hill, and from mountain to mountain, and valley to valley across the broad land. Barbaric! Barbaric! May God help those poor souls who'd be so cruel. Barbaric! Hear me! Barbaric!"

A league source tells us that (as we surmised) the Bucs brought in quarterback Daunte Culpepper because coach Jon Gruden knows that, absent a very strong showing in 2007, Gruden will likely be bounced out of a job.

That attitude explains the team's aggressive approach to free agency, and the curious decision to sign troubled tight end Jerramy Stevens.

With that said, we think the Bucs will be improved in 2007, with or without Culpepper. Gruden has never had his back to the wall before, and as long as his head doesn't explode the pressure should be good for him and the team.

Okay, we realize that we're potentially walking into a Mort-type trap on this one, if in the end the charges mentioned below don't come to pass. But, if that happens, we'll acknowledge that our source was wrong, and thus that the report was wrong, too.

With that said, a source with knowledge of the situation tells us that the National Football League has been advised by authorities in Virginia that additional charges against Falcons quarterback Mike Vick are likely.

Per the source, the Virginia officials can't get beyond the allegation that Vick was involved in the killing of dogs that were not deemed willing or able to fight.

It's not clear whether Vick will be charged with dog fighting or with cruelty to animals, or both. The current federal indictment speaks only to the crime of conspiracy to violate federal laws relating to interstate gambling enterprises and interstate dog-fighting operations.

It's also not clear whether the information has come directly from Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter, or from other law-enforcement officials in Virginia.

[UPDATE: To be more clear, the NFL was advised of the likelihood of the state-level charges by the Falcons. It's unclear how the Falcons have become aware of this development.]

As we gradually make our entry into the 21st Century, we've somehow managed to finagle access to a "real" television production studio and a "real" television sports guy, and we have used those capabilities for our own evil purposes.

The end result is a new PFT feature. We're not quite sure what to call it, though. It's kind of a video podcast. It's kind of a television show, but it's broken into multiple parts, so that PFT readers can watch any, some, or all of them in five-minute (or thereabouts) increments.

Joining the Poobah in these endeavors is Joe Brocato, the Sports Director at WDTV-TV. Brocato let us sneak in the back door to the station, and he agreed to lend his talents to the otherwise untalented undertaking.

The first segment, regarding the man who allegedly abused man's best friend, appears below.

For now, this is kind of like a pilot project, and we're not sure that we're going to keep doing it. (If there are companies out there that would like to park a commercial at the front end of each segment, our decision in this regard will be much easier.)

Let us know what you think. If you like it, we possibly will produce five or six new segments once per week. If you hate it, we might just do it anyway.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to fine Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter three game checks for pleading no contest to battery against Bengals left tackle Levi Jones at a Las Vegas casino.

The incident occurred not long after Porter signed a contract with the Dolphins, which includes $20 million in guaranteed money.

At a base salary of $800,000, a fine of three game checks equals more than $141,000.

But the good news for the Dolphins and Porter is that no suspension will be imposed. Frankly, we think that the team lobbied the Commish aggressively to refrain from parking Porter, citing the fact that the Fins are giving up a home game this year in an effort to advance the league's European experiment.

In an open letter to Falcons fans (apparently, he has nothing to say to fans of the 31 other NFL franchises), owner Arthur Blank addresses the indictment of Mike Vick on federal conspiracy charges. Here's the text of the letter.

Though Blank's letter really doesn't say anything, we get the impression that it accurately reflects his current feelings on the matter, and that Blank really is torn and conflicted by the firestorm engulfing his franchise.

We still believe that the team should put Vick a paid leave of absence, allowing him to focus on defending against the pending charges.

[UPDATE: As several readers have pointed out, Blank's letter contains a typo -- "Pleased be assured." Though we can't throe stoens when it comez to typos, we tend to read the important stuff a bit more closely.]

WSB-TV reports that the Atlanta Falcons will make a statement on Thursday afternoon regarding embattled quarterback Mike Vick, who was indicted Tuesday on federal conspiracy charges relating to gambling and dog fighting.

On Tuesday night, the Falcons issued a statement that was (in our view) non-committal. We have suggested that Vick be placed on a paid leave of absence pending the resolution of the current charges.

After nearly 48 hours of hemming and hawing, one of the companies that pays Falcons quarterback Mike Vick a lot of money has taken action in response to Vick's indictment on federal conspiracy charges. The AP reports that Nike has decided to suspend the release of the latest product line named for Vick.

Retailers have been told that the Nike Air Zoom Vick V will not be distributed. Other Vick-related Nike products will remain in stores.

We've previously reported that Nike is expected not to abruptly dump Vick, but to eventually part ties with him in a move that will appear to be somewhat mutual.

Oh, and the story is already front-page news on the website owned and operated by the NFL.

Our pal Steve Duemig of 620 WDAE in Tampa reports that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have snuck quarterback Daunte Culpepper in for a visit.

On the surface, the move makes no sense, given that the Bucs currently have 17.4 quarterbacks on the roster. But, in light of the reality that coach Jon Gruden is on the hot seat and must win in 2007, any potential upgrade is welcome.

The question, however, is whether Culpepper can bring it like he did in Minnesota, at least in his good years in Minnesota. He wasn't healthy last year, and if his shredded knee is now fully unshredded, maybe there is reason for optimism.

In Oakland, Gruden turned a former Vikings quarterback into an MVP (Rich Gannon). Though most had assumed that Gruden's reclamation project in 2007 would be Jeff Garcia (whose fading career recovered nicely in 2006), it could be Culpepper who becomes the focal point of Gruden's quarterback tutelage.

Then again, maybe the Bucs are trying to make the Falcons nervous enough to pursue Culpepper, and thus to create even more of a distraction.

We're also hearing rumblings that the Lions might be interested in Culpepper. But given that Jon Kitna has vowed more than 10 wins and is hinting that he thinks he can throw 50 touchdown passes, why would Matt Millen want to interrupt a perfectly good case of delusion?

A league source tells us that the Atlanta Falcons are pondering the possibility of pursuing free-agent quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

The problem, however, is that the team does not want to create the perception that it believes that Vick's mental state, given the pending legal brouhaha, will not allow him to perform effectively in 2007.

For now, then, a final decision has not been made. As we see it, Culpepper likely will sign with someone else before the Falcons are in a position to make a move.

Also, the worst-case scenario for the Falcons would be to make a push for Culpepper, and then not get him, since it would in the same overall motion represent a concession that the franchise needs help at the position, and a failure to secure it. For that reason alone, the far safer course is to not even being the process of courting him.

As the Falcons fret about the future of quarterback Mike Vick, we can only wonder whether Mike Shanahan would, if in the same situation, strap Vick to the lie-detector machine.

In May, the Broncos coach admitted that he administered a polygraph test to receiver David Kircus, who supposedly raised the idea after being charged with beating the snot (and other fluids) out of a guy who was hosting a party that Kircus attended.

The Vick case demonstrates the problems that arise from employers using such devices to assist in investigations. The fact that the Broncos used it without consequence might make some fans believe that the Falcons should do the same thing. The fact that Vick hasn't raised the possibility of taking a lie-detector test might prompt some fans to conclude that Vick must be concerned about his ability to pass it.

And that's why the NFL should have publicly taken a brand-new belt to Coach Kevlar's backside. If/when the "real" media points out the contrasts between Kircus and Vick, the tide of public opinion could turn even more sharply against Vick.

If that happens, it would be wrong. Whether or not a person submits to or passes a lie-detector test is irrelevant to whether the person is legally guilty. But the NFL can thank Mike Shanahan for creating the false impression that such an approach is acceptable, especially where the person accused of wrongdoing insists on strapping himself to the machine.

A league source tells us that Saints coach Sean Payton is expected to run a tough and challenging training camp in 2007.

The overriding goal is to ensure that the team doesn't go soft after enjoying unprecedented success last season, making it to the NFC title game for the first time in franchise history.

It's a smart move, we believe. In the NFC, where the talent level is generally lower than in the AFC, there's not much of a difference between 10-6 and 6-10. For the franchises that have enjoyed some success, complacency could be fatal. The goal should be (and in New Orleans apparently is) to keep pushing forward.

Okay, so Mike is sorry. Sorry for what? That he did it? That he got caught? That he's being falsely accused?

As we see it, it's just another way for Len to try, in subtle fashion, to generate some sympathy for the star client of Joel Segal, who is widely regarded in the NFL journalism industry as one of Len's key sources of information.

We also suspect that Len has been posturing his reports to make the Falcons look good because someone in the building (possibly G.M. Rick McKay) spoon-feeds info to Pasquarelli.

Meanwhile, the more we think about this, the more we believe that doing nothing is not a realistic option for the league or the Falcons. This is not a run-of-the-mill marijuana possession case. Nor is it a he-said, she-said in which Vick's version of the events can be accepted until proven otherwise.

This is a situation in which 17 dead dogs, 54 live ones, and extensive dog fighting equipment and pharmaceuticals were removed from property OWNED BY Michael Vick. Though the Falcons and the NFL might not be privy to the full scope of the information (and, given that the team was under the false impression that Vick wouldn't be indicted, it might be prudent to get new sources), the indictment makes clear that Vick's "I'm never there" routine is and was a flat-out lie.

The only way that Vick's "I'm never there" line has any credence is if the four cooperating witnesses committed perjury before the grand jury, or if the feds are fabricating the allegations without regard to the fact that, at trial, they'll be publicly embarrassed when the truth comes out.

The feds simply don't operate that way. They wouldn't allege that Vick was directly involved (and, thus, at and on the property) if they weren't sure that they could prove it in open court.

So everyone -- media, fans, Falcons, NFL, everyone -- needs to lose the Duke lacrosse paralysis and apply some common sense. Whether or not he is acquitted, Vick has (through intentional misbehavior or otherwise) single-handedly done more damage to the NFL shield than any of the other players who have been arrested or suspended since at least Rae Carruth, and perhaps ever. Vick is the biggest name in the NFL to face criminal charges while still in the league, and these are some of the most heinous and despicable charges that anyone could face, short of rape or murder.

Here's another thing that is bothering us. If Vick were on the practice squad, would we even be having the discussion about what the league should do? Vick would be long gone and forgotten, like alleged Steelers pimp Richard Seigler and every other bottom-roster turd that was dumped at the first hint of trouble.

And what if any of us had just been indicted in federal court for conspiracy to maintain an interstate gambling enterprise and dog fighting operation, with allegations that 17 dog carcasses had been found on property we owned, and that we participated in killing eight of them? Would we be sitting cozy in our cubicles today?

Mike Vick is clearly getting the star treatment here from the NFL and the Falcons. And it's wrong. The irony is that, given his performances of late on the football field, he's really not a star anymore.

As we suggested on Wednesday, the federal conspiracy charges against Mike Vick could be the tip of the legal iceberg into which his NFL career (and liberty) have rammed.

"[W]e're very moved by the idea of animals being executed,” Poindexter said, which is a refernce to allegations in the federal indictment that Vick was involved in the killing of canines as recently as April 2007.

Meanwhile, there are some unfortunate racial tensions emerging in Surry County. John Seward, the chairman of the Surry County Board of Supervisors, told the Virginia-Pilot that he and "the few people I have talked with" believe Vick will never face charges in Surry County. Seward claims that Poindexter, who is African-American, has been reluctant in the past to prosecute black suspects.

"I don't know where Mr. Seward is coming from, and I am very disappointed in his remarks," Poindexter said.

Frankly, we believe that Poindexter had been dragging his feet because he knew that prosecuting Vick would require this 60-something part-time prosecutor to devote most if not all of his professional time and attention over a one-year period (or longer) to one case and one case only. And with an O.J.-style dream team descending on town and flooding Poindexter with motions and letters and faxes and e-mails, it would have been a very unpleasant experience for a lawyer who otherwise is at or approaching retirement age.

Now that Vick's resources will be consumed by the federal prosecution, Poindexter might think that a local prosecution will be easier to engineer and execute.

As a result, Vick could be indicted as soon as next week by a Surry County grand jury on charges of dog fighting and animal cruelty. To do so, however, Poindexter will need access to much of the federal evidence, since Poindexter refused to execute on a search warrant that would have unearthed the dead dogs, and thereafter seemingly pulled the plug on his investigation after the feds were on the case.

But if/when Poindexter asks the feds to cooperate, the answer he might get is "hell no." Poindexter has a bad habit of running his mouth to the press, as evidenced by the fact that he felt compelled to proclaim on Wednesday that Vick is "more than likely" to face charges in Surry County. If Poindexter gets access to the evidence, he can significantly undermine the federal prosecution by leaking some of it to the press.

Then again, the feds surely would like to see Vick prosecuted for cruelty to animals under Virginia law, if (as we can assume based on the plain language of the indictment) the feds believe that Vick participated in the killing of dogs deemed not "game" enough to fight. The feds have no jurisdiction over such matters, and Vick could be facing at least eight counts that carry a potential sentence of one to five years each.

Still, the feds might choose to freeze Poindexter out until after the conspiracy charges are resolved, forcing Poindexter to monitor the federal prosecution (and attend the trial) in order to evaluate the evidence that is available regarding the dead dogs, and how it is that they came to be in that condition.

Several readers have pointed out to us an important aspect to the entire Mike Vick investigation and prosecution.

If Vick was gambling, and winning, thousands of dollars, Vick likely wasn't declaring his dog fighting booty as income. And, thus, Vick would not have paid all of his applicable taxes. Which, in turn, would make him potentially responsible for tax evasion.

All money earned through any endeavor, legal or illegal, constitutes income. Several years ago, some NBA officials got in trouble for downgrading first-class airline tickets, pocketing the difference, and not reporting it as income.

Earlier this decade, former Vikings coach Mike "Meathead" Tice 'fessed up to scalping Super Bowl tickets. Though he never was prosecuted for tax evasion, it's our understanding that Tice was smart enough to make good with the IRS immediately.

For Vick, the mere act of making good with the IRS would constitute an admission to involvement in dog fighting. But failing to come clean and pay the tax man could only make the hole that he has dug for himself even deeper.

The whole Mike Vick thing caused us to miss our daily update to the list of the best 25 players of the last 25 years.

After posting last week the 2007 All-Turd Offense, we prepared the All-Turd Defense.

Okay, plenty of people want to read the "e-mails we like," and we've gotten plenty of them in the wake of the Mike Vick indictment.

So we're resurrecting the series and will make yet another attempt to update it more often than monthly.

The first installment focuses exclusively on the biggest NFL story in years. You know, the Joe Staley signing.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the league held a "round of high-level meetings" on Wednesday to discuss the Mike Vick situation, and the manner in which the matter should be handled. Schefter says that, for now, the plan is not to suspend Vick.

But Schefter points out that, given the volatile nature of the case, anything is possible.

Meanwhile, the league will continue to gather more evidence, in order to ensure that it doesn't react to the Vick situation in the same premature manner that Duke responded to the rape charges lodged against multiple lacrosse players in early 2006.

But we're already sick of hearing about comparisons between Duke and Vick. In the Duke case, the charges arose from a one-time incident and an inherent he-said, she-said, with ultimately no physical evidence to corroborate the allegations. In the present case, 17 dog carcasses were exhumed from Vick's property, and a federal grand jury found that there is enough evidence to prove that Vick was involved with the five-year operation headquartered on the land that he owns.

Thus, we're confident that, once the NFL and/or the Falcons fully understand the scope and the extent of the evidence against Mike Vick, action will be taken.

If the case of the United States of America v. Michael Vick goes to trial, Mike Vick can't be compelled to testify. Under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a person is not required to give evidence that might incriminate himself.

But the things that Vick has said outside of court can be used against him. (Before anyone floods our e-mail box with messages arguing that such comments would be hearsay, keep in mind that the hearsay rule doesn't apply to statements of a party to litigation that are used against that party.) The only thing that Vick has said publicly is that he never goes to the Surry County property where he allegedly participated in the killing of eight dogs in April 2007.

Privately, we know that he met with Commissioner Roger Goodell in late April, and presumably denied any involvement in the activities that were occurring at his property. Vick also likely has discussed the situation with owner Arthur Blank and other members of franchise management.

So, presumably, the feds will interview these folks to find out what they recall Vick saying and, if Vick said anything that can be easily contradicted with objective evidence, one or more of them could be called to testify at trial.

We're not suggesting that it definitely will happen. But it could happen. Especially since the universe of things that Vick has said on the topic is fairly limited.

A league source tells us that the bonus money paid to Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney will come in the form of $15 million now and $15 million in the middle of February.

Coincidentally, another league source tells us that the Colts very recently received $15 million as part of the league's new supplemental revenue sharing program.

The $15 million that comes due in February 2008 is, technically, an option bonus. We're told, however, that there is a non-exercise fee of $15 million. Thus, unless the Colts cut Freeney before the middle of February, he will get the full $30 million.

We've got more to say about the Freeney contract, especially as it relates to the concept of supplemental revenue sharing, and as it relates to the potential problems that will arise as more agents and players try to parlay Freeney's contract into better deals.

We'll admit that, over the years, we've taken a few shots at former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason. We're not sure why we picked Boomer to pick on. But we'll admit that, from time to time, we've thrown a few barbs his way.

Today, we have a new level of respect for Boomer because, despite the attitude toward him that we've from time to time displayed, Boomer gave us some unsolicited and unexpected praise (with a caveat or two) for our reporting and analysis of the Mike Vick situation.

It happened Wednesday on "Elliot in the Morning," a drive-time show broadcast on DC101 in Washington and 102.1 the X in Richmond. Here's what Boomer had to say:

"I usually don't like talking about this particular web site that you can go to, but this guy has been all over this Michael Vick dog fighting thing since it's inception, and I have to give him credit. Now, he has a web site that's called ProFootballTalk.com. It's a web site that is rumor mill . . . and he obviously has an agenda against certain people and I don't know why, I don't know the man personally.

"But in terms of covering the Michael Vick story, it's unbelievable how in depth he goes. And he's a lawyer by trade, so he looks at things from the legal aspect as well as he knows all of the NFL's rules and regulations when it comes to the Commissioner's power, especially with the new Personal Conduct Policy. He also understands the CBA. He understands the salary cap. And he does a very good job of explaining it.

"Now saying all of that, some of his stuff is downright mean, and it's also, it's not very good, but I will tell you ProFootballTalk.com has this thing wired, it's all over the place. And he's been on this thing since the beginning. He considers himself not real media because he deals in rumors, but in this case what he has written really puts a greater understanding as to the troubles that Michael Vick could be facing here."

Thank you, Boomer. Maybe if he gets the Dom Imus gig, we'll have to check it out. It can't be any worse than continuing to fry our brains by watching SportsCenter.

After thinking through all of the issues relating to Mike Vick's tenuous NFL career and his status with the team, we believe that Falcons owner Arthur Blank should place Vick on a paid leave of absence, immediately.

Technically, NFL teams aren't allowed to pay a player to stay away, thanks to the 2006 amendments to the CBA, which were aimed at preventing a team like the Eagles from sending home a player like Terrell Owens. (But if Vick were to fight the move with a non-injury grievance, then Blank should simply cut him.)

A paid leave of absence strikes, in our view, an acceptable balance between supporting Vick and taking action in the wake of the federal indictment. It also removes a huge distraction for the Falcons as they prepare to embark on the first season of the Bobby Petrino era.

From the NFL's perspective, a leave of absence gives Commissioner Roger Goodell a reprieve, allowing any action under the Personal Conduct Policy to be delayed until after the prosecution is concluded.

Then, after Blank puts Vick on a paid leave of absence, Blank should fire G.M. Rich McKay.

As we explained back in May, McKay has been keeping a low profile through this entire ordeal. Wisely. Though neither Blank nor McKay were with the organization when Vick was drafted, McKay was there when Vick got his $130 million contract with the $37 million signing bonus.

From a purely football standpoint, Blank never should have done it, and one of McKay's jobs is to protect the owner from making a stoopid decision. In this regard, McKay failed. Miserably.

McKay also approved trading quarterback Matt Schaub earlier this year, before the dog yard was uncovered in Surry County but after the water bottle incident that caused the eyebrows attached to all heads filled with a brain that "gets it" to rise. In hindsight, it was a bad, bad move.

As we see it, it's time for the owner to start holding folks accountable, and the process starts with Vick and ends with McKay.

As a practical matter, neither guy will be fired before the end of 2007. However, getting rid of them should be among Blank's first items for business in 2008.

We've heard plenty of folks suggest over the past 24 hours that the song "Who Let The Dogs Out?" will be a popular sound in every stadium outside of Atlanta that the Falcons visit this year.

But does anyone really think the league will allow this? Surely, a memo will be circulated to all teams advising them that the song should not be played at any stadium this year.

Disgruntled Steelers guard Alan Faneca says that he'll report for training camp, and he has reiterated that it will be his final training camp with the Steelers franchise.

"I'll be there. I don't think I'll have bells on, but I'll be there," Faneca told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"I'm going to go about my business and play football. Any distraction would be through the media and how they perceive me going about my business of playing football," Faneca added.

"It's about playing with the guys next to you and playing for a job as well. It's a true sense of playing for a job, it just happens to be somewhere else the following year."

In other words, Faneca wants to play well this year so that he can be paid well next year. And with the market for high-end players continuing to skyrocket, Faneca will surely reel in a large contract in March.

Still, we think that Faneca's chances of landing a big-money deal would be even greater if he could find a way to keep to himself his feelings of disgruntlement (we're not sure that's even be a word -- we might have to check with Tiki), he might find even more teams willing to pay him big money.

We really like ESPN's Chris Mortensen, but we really think that he needs to swallow his medicine regarding his recent "Mike Vick likely won't be indicted" report.

Though no one at ESPN will publicly acknowledge the erroneous July 6 declaration that Vick is not likely to be indicted, Peter King of SI, HBO, NBC (and, formerly, KFC) said Wednesday on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio that the first thing King thought of when he heard of the indictment was that Chris Mortensen probably isn't very happy.

After the spot with King ended, guest host Scott Van Pelt said that Mort had e-mailed the studio to point out that he didn't report that Vick wasn't likely to be indicted, but merely that the Falcons thought that Vick wasn't likely to be indicted.

Um, Chris, we love ya, but there's a time for mincing words and a time for gulping down some humble pie.

Here's the pertinent quote from the July 6 story: "Additionally, Vick is unlikely to be indicted in the dogfighting federal investigation, according to information gathered by the NFL and Atlanta Falcons, sources tell ESPN's Chris Mortensen. The authorities have told the Falcons and league that there has not been any evidence that can be tied to Vick with the alleged dogfighting ring, the sources said."

If Mort's excuse is regarded as legit, couldn't any report based on an unnamed source that turns out to be erroneous be blamed on the fact that the unnamed source was wrong?

And, in this case, Mort is wrong for not owning up to the error, especially since he ran with that story on the same day that the feds were digging up seven more carcasses on Vick's property in Virginia.

Falcons quarterback Mike Vick is scheduled to appear in Court on July 26, the same day on which his teammates will be practicing in preparation for the coming football season.

Practice starts at 3:00 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., Vick will be attending a bond hearing. At 4:00 p.m., he will be arraigned before Judge Henry Hudson.

Judge Hudson was appointed by President Bush in 2002. Prior to that, Judge Hudson worked as a prosecutor. Federal judges receive a lifetime appointment.

Contrary to Tuesday night's report from Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, Gary Myers of the New York Daily News reports that the Commish won't suspend Mike Vick until the legal process plays itself out.

Here's what Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle had to say about Mike Vick: "[Roger] Goodell wants us to believe his players are good role models. Don't buy it. They are football players, not role models. There are some wonderful men in the mix and a few criminals among them. But shouldn't you be more upset if your child's favorite middle school teacher was involved in dogfighting as opposed to his favorite NFL quarterback? Which one is the real role model? Then again . . . soon, in homes around the country, Michael Vick's stupidity could help make him an excellent role model. 'See son, that's what can happen to you when you're really stupid.'"

And Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: "Whether Vick is guilty or not, the Falcons now will be disrupted. Vick's life will be disrupted. You can't just fly in for hearings and play, the way Kobe Bryant did -- not in the NFL, where life on the field is more complicated and where owners and league executives are much less tolerant. Vick, plain and simple, is in a mess, the kind that will require a lot more than quarterback skills to get out of."

From Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "[H]ere he is today, the lead sports story from coast to coast not because he has taken the Falcons to the Super Bowl but because he has been indicted for, of all things, conspiring to fight one animal against another. Here he is, once the brightest light in the Atlanta sports firmament, now just another fallen star."

Says Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News: "The Falcons could take Goodell off the hook by giving Vick a leave of absence to deal with this issue. Vick has repeatedly denied any involvement or knowledge of the alleged dogfighting on his property. His focus should be clearing his name, not trying to win football games."

We like what Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union Tribune has to say about the bullet that the Bolts dodged by trading the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft to Atlanta: "The Chargers did good. Incredible. Impossible. Back then, they couldn't find their homes with a GPS. They couldn't cross the street without assistance from Boy Scouts. But hindsight has Ted Williams vision. They were right, and many of us were wrong."

Points out Bob Lipper of the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "This isn't Cruella de Vil. This isn't fiction or a Disney cartoon. This is real stuff, real animals, real flesh, real blood. And it reads like a horror story."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a summons in the Mike Vick prosecution could be issued as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Vick's first decision in the case will be whether to turn himself in voluntarily, or whether to force an arrest. Either way, he'll be booked, fingerprinted, and a mug shot will be taken.

And, next week, he reports for training camp. But we have a growing feeling that, when camp opens, he won't be there.

Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that defensive tackle Pat Williams, who is due to hit the free-agent market in March 2008, is below his target weight and in shape.

That's a far cry from a year ago, when Williams missed 13 practices because he reported above his predetermined weight of 337 pounds.

Williams rebounded from that ugly start to the year by making it to the Pro Bowl for the first time.

What's going on here? Has Pat lost his mojo for Ho-Ho's? As we see it, Williams realizes that a big payday is on the horizon, especially since he noted in April that "average players [are] getting paid big-time money." Williams has shown that he's anything but average, so he should be in line to get really big money, either in Minnesota or elsewhere.

So how much does he want? "I just want to get treated right," Williams said in April, according to Jensen. "I think I'm one of the top five defensive linemen in the league and the top nose tackle in the league."

With that said, Williams' age could be working against him. He'll turn 35 in October, and that might make a team unwilling to give him guaranteed money at or in excess of $20 million.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Steelers safety Troy Polamalu is close to signing a long-term deal to remain in Pittsburgh.

Polamalu is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and is scheduled to earn $1.088 million in salary this season.

Terms of the potential deal are not yet available, but it is expected that Polamalu will end up among the highest-paid members of the team.

As he should. With defensive end Dwight Freeney making $12 million per year and getting $30 million in guaranteed money, Polamalu is worth at least half of that.

Several readers and media types have raised with us a compelling question regarding the Mike Vick indictment.

Why wasn't Davon Boddie, Vick's cousin who lived on the property, named in the indictment?

Really, how could Boddie have been living at the property and not involved in the operation, especially since the house was built for the sole purpose of supporting the dog-fighting operation?

In June, Boddie told WAVY-TV that he had no knowledge of dog fighting on the property where he lived, and he suggested that the dogs removed from the land in April had been planted there by law enforcement officials.

The most obvious conclusion is that Boddie already has been flipped by prosecutors, and that Boddie is singing like a bird that wants a cracker (or whatever in the hell it is that birds eat).

Indeed, there are four "cooperating witnesses" who are named in the indictment, and who likely testified before the grand jury. They provided exhaustive details, like the names of the dogs and the specific purses for the fights.

Boddie could be one of them. If he is, we hope that he's in a safe house right now, far from the influence or reach of any of the four guys who were named in the indictment.

Another "cooperating witness" could be the woman whom Vick allegedly gave herpes in 2003. (We're kidding. We think.)

[Editor's note: We acknowledge that there will be plenty of Mike Vick stories on the Rumor Mill today, and possibly beyond, in light of Tuesday's unprecedented indictment of a prominent NFL quarterback on charges of conspiracy to engage in animal fighting and gambling. There are many angles and layers to this story, and we are committed to being the media outlet, "real" or otherwise, that stays on top of the case.]

One thing that has gotten lost in the shuffle during the initial reaction to the surprising news that Mike Vick has been indicted by a federal grand jury is that he has only been indicted for now on conspiracy charges.

Conspiracy is a separate and distinct crime. Vick can still be charged with the underlying crimes. Under the federal gambling statute mentioned in the conspiracy indictment, Vick's penalty is up to 20 years.

Then there is the federal RICO law, which was devised in part to assist in the dismantling of the Mafia. The RICO law directly targets ongoing gambling operations, and the facts set forth in the indictment could easily satisfy the requirements of a RICO claim. Under Title 18, Section 1963 of the U.S. Code, the penalty is up to 20 years in jail.

And don't forget about the possibility of a state-level prosecution. Though most observers assume that Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter has abandoned the investigation, the federal indictment could prompt Poindexter to explore animal cruelty charges, given the allegation that Vick participated in the killing of approximately eight dogs in April 2007. Alternatively, the Virginia Attorney General could feel compelled to act.

Under Virginia law, the intentional killing of an animal is a Class 6 felony, which carries a sentence of one to five years, per count. For killing eight dogs, that's a potential sentence of anywhere from eight to 40 years.

It could be that the feds opted to pursue conspiracy charges first because conspiracy charges were the easiest to prove to a grand jury. Next, the feds can turn to other potential charges, such as the underlying crimes mentioned in the current indictment or a RICO violation.

The bottom line, then, is that things could get worse -- much worse -- for Vick as time goes by.

Though some legal pundits (including yours truly) have suggested that the case of the U.S. versus Michael Vick a/k/a Ookie could drag on for a year or longer, the action is pending in the infamous East Coast "Rocket Docket" -- the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

As Lester Munson of ESPN.com points out in an excellent item that almost balances out the crappy column penned on Tuesday night by Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com, the Vick case could be buttoned up within four to six months.

If so, it's hard to imagine Vick playing football, or doing so effectively, in the 2007 season. We therefore wouldn't be surprised if the Falcons end up giving him a paid leave of absence while the matter is pending, which could balance the team's desire to continue to support Vick (and thus justify the investment it has made in him) with the need to create the impression that action is being taken to address this serious situation.

We can't focus today's entries entirely on Mike Vick. Not when there's a good Pacman Jones story to discuss.

At the bottom of an item in the Miami Herald, Barry Jackson reports that Pacman was turned away from the B.E.D. night club on Monday night because he was wearing short pants. (We wonder if he was wearing a "collard" shirt.)

As we continue to listen to the parade of sock puppets who are quick to point out that Falcons quarterback Mike Vick is not subject to a suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy because he is not a "repeat offender," something has occurred to us.

Doesn't the indictment of Mike Vick set forth a series of numerous offenses, necessarily making him something more than a one-time offender?

In most cases, an NFL player is arrested as a result of a discrete event. Driving drunk. Possessing marijuana. Punching a friend or loved one. Biting a friend, loved one, or an officer of the law.

In this case, Vick has been charged with a pattern of activity extending over a period of more than five years. He is formally accused of conspiring to maintain an illegal gambling enterprise and of conspiring to engage in dog fighting. The "overt acts" listed in the indictment constitute multiple and independent violations of the law.

So this isn't a situation where Mike had too much to drink and blew a 0.08 or higher. That's a "first offense." The charges against Vick reflect a blatant and ongoing series of illegal incidents that continued merely because he hadn't gotten caught.

In our view, the only difference between Vick and Pacman Jones is that Jones periodically was questioned by police and/or arrested. But both have engaged in an ongoing series of misbehavior, and it's easy to conclude that the things that Vick allegedly has done are, when considered together, worse than anything that Pacman ever allegedly did.

[Editor's note: Several readers have taken issue with our comparison of the allegations against Vick to Pacman's entire body of "work," since one of the allegations against Jones is that he incited someone to shoot someone else. Keep in mind that Jones' behavior occurred in the context of a fight, which naturally stirs passions and emotions. Vick's alleged dog-killing activities were accomplished in cold blood.]

At a time when some segments of the "real" media are focused on whether Commissioner Roger Goodell may suspend Falcons quarterback Mike Vick based merely on an indictment related to dog fighting, there could be a separate NFL policy that provides Goodell with an avenue to take action.

The league's gambling policy prohibits "[a]ssociating with gamblers or with gambling activities in a manner tending to bring discredit to the NFL." Vick is charged with conspiracy to utilize interstate commerce with intent to promote, manage, etc. a business enterprise involving gambling. Indeed, the indictment contains multiple references to gambling arising from the dog fights in which Vick was involved.

Under the league's gambling policy, a violation may result in "severe penalties," up to and including a suspension from the NFL for life.

So if Goodell wants to take swift and firm action against Vick, he is not required to wait for the pending charges to be resolved. He can conduct his own investigation into the situation, and he can choose to suspend Vick under the gambling policy, if Goodell deems it appropriate to do so.

Whether by suggesting that the Falcons prefer Joey Harrington to Matt Schaub because the former has more than 60 NFL starts and the latter has only two, or by characterizing the challenges now facing owner Arthur Blank as a "test of loyalty," ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli continues to come off as biased to the point of delusional in his handling of the Mike Vick case.

Gone and long forgotten is the ESPN.com scoop that Vick likely won't be indicted. There won't be a public excuse offered for the erroneous report because, frankly, a plausible one can't be conjured.

Put simply, ESPN.com (through the efforts of Len Pasquarelli) positioned itself to play both sides of the fence on this one, allowing the organization to claim that it was right all along if Vick was indicted, and that it was right along if he wasn't.

Len's July 17 piece ignores the "Vick likely won't be indicted" aspect of the ESPN reports, focusing only on Len's litany of "I told you so"'s.

Along the way, Len lauds Vick for his ability to focus on football during these trying times, and Len suggests that Vick is "battling not only for his career but also for his reputation."

Len? Where in the hell have you been? Vick's reputation is shot. He's the new O.J. Simpson. Vick is and will be quickly regarded as radioactive, by fans, sponsors, and even by some players who might decide that it's time to ignore the unspoken NFL player code of blindly support other players.

And Len's suggestion that Blank is facing a "test of loyalty" is laughable to us. Would it be disloyal (and thus, in Len's view, wrong) for Blank to cut the cord on Vick, given that Vick has compromised the image and marketability of the entire franchise? Or does Len speak in those terms only because he doesn't want his pal, Vick agent Joel Segal, to lose three percent of the remainder of Mike's megadeal?

Whatever the specific statement, Len's transparent ramblings peppered with Tiki-type terminology tells us that Len hasn't changed, and likely never will.

"Where [Vick] is in the most trouble is that he lied to the commissioner," a league source told Cole. "He told [Goodell] in April that he didn't know anything about this. The commissioner gave [Vick] every chance to come clean, be straight about what was going on. Instead, he just kept denying it."

Cole's report comes as a time when folks like ESPN's John Clayton are saying that Goodell "must" wait until the legal process runs its course until imposing discipline.

So who's right? In our view, the language of the revised Personal Conduct Policy does not require Goodell to wait. "Generally," as the policy reads, first-time offenders won't be suspended until there is a resolution. "Generally" applies, in our view, to the garden-variety DUIs and pot possession charges that litter the NFL police blotter.

"Generally" does not apply when a player is accused of killing multiple dogs in cold blood in the very same month that the player sat across from the Commissioner and told him that he knew nothing about the activities occurring on his property.

This is a rare and extreme situation, and it calls for a rare and extreme reaction. It's the biggest challenge of Roger Goodell's short tenure, and we're confident that, in the end, he'll get it right.

A source with contacts inside of shoe-manufacturing giant Nike tells us that the sponsorship of Mike Vick will be coming to an end, in light of his indictment on federal conspiracy charges.

Per the source, Nike won't move immediately to axe Vick, but that the company will pursue a mutual parting of the ways with the embattled Falcons quarterback.

The Humane Society pressed Nike several weeks ago to cut ties with Vick, but Nike refused.

With all of the hubbub regarding the Mike Vick indictment, we've received from a reader a creative Vick video.

The Atlanta Falcons have issued a statement regarding the Mike Vick indictment. On close inspection, it doesn't really say anything.

One of the strangest aspects of the Tuesday indictment of Falcons quarterback Mike Vick is that, in addition to "Ron Mexico," he also is known as "Ookie."

Apparently, it was given to him by his mother. And, apparently, he only lets close friends refer to him by that moniker.

"Man, if they called me Ookie it would really be on," Vick told ESPN.com's Page 2 several years ago. "I would really be upset, because nobody else can call me by my nickname but my mom. Unless I give you permission because you really know me, but none of the guys know me real good so they can't do it. But yeah, that would really get me going."

And, by the way, Falcons jerseys bearing the number 7 and name "Ookie" are available, for now, via NFL.com. We have a feeling that this won't be the case for much longer.

Here's what the NFL had to say regarding Tuesday's stunning developments in the Mike Vick case, with a federal indictment coming on the eve of the opening of training camps:

"We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him. We will continue to closely monitor developments in this case, and to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. The activities alleged are cruel, degrading and illegal. Michael Vick's guilt has not yet been proven, and we believe that all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts. The matter will be reviewed under the League's Personal Conduct Policy."

This statement suggests to us that the NFL plans (for now) to defer any decision regarding discipline of Mike Vick until the situation is fully resolved. And that could take a while. At the earliest, trial would be in 2008. The situation possibly could drag into 2009.

The league's Personal Conduct Policy doesn't require that the Commissioner wait until the situation is resolved before imposing discipline. Instead, the language of the policy says that discipline "generally" will be delayed until after the case is resolved, for a first offense. Despite his various warts, Vick has had no prior brushes with the law.

Whether the NFL will have the luxury to wait is a different issue. Pressure could mount quickly for the league to act, especially in light of allegations that Vick was personally involved in the killing of approximately eight dogs, as recently as in April 2007.

Of course, the Falcons could opt to terminate Vick's contract, by virtue of the language contained in paragraph 11 of the Standard Player Contract. Although such an action could (as ESPN's Chris Mortensen pointed out today in connection with the Pacman Jones situation) hamper the team's ability to recover any signing bonus money if/when Vick is suspended or incarcerated, the P.R. storm that the Falcons will be facing could force them to act, sooner rather than later.

The charges are, per ESPN.com (which not long ago declared Vick was unlikely to be indicted), "conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and to sponsor a dog in animal fighting venture."

Three others were indicted as well -- Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips and Tony Taylor. Phillips' name appeared as a contact person on Vick's K-9 Kennels web site.

The indictment is available on the web site of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A press release regarding the charges is available here.

There is only one count, for now -- conspiracy. In order to be guilty of conspiracy, the government doesn't have to prove that the defendants committed the underlying illegal acts, but only that they intended to do so, and that they accomplished one or more overt acts in order to reach their goals.

Under Title 18, Section 371 of the U.S. Code, the penalty for conspiracy is up to five years in prison. If, however, the underlying crime is a misdemeanor, the punishment for conspiracy may not exceed the maximum sentence for the misdemeanor offense.

The indictment alleges at paragraph 1 that Peace (a/k/a "P-Funk"), Phillips (a/k/a "Q"), Taylor (a/k/a "T"), and Vick (a/k/a "Ookie" -- we're not kidding) conspired to: (1) travel in interstate commerce and use the mail or any facility in interstate commerce to promote, manage, etc. a business enterprise involving gambling; (2) knowingly sponsor an animal moved in interstate commerce in an animal fighting venture; (3) knowingly transport a dog for the purposes of having the dog participate in an animal fighting venture.

The allegation regarding the use of interstate commerce to promote a business enterprise involving gambling is key. Under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 1952, which is titled "Interstate or foreign trade or travel in aid of racketeering enterprises," the maximum penalty is 20 years behind bars. At the time the events transpired, dog fighting was only a misdemeanor. Absent the gambling/racketeering angle, then, Vick would not be facing up to five years, but only the misdemeanor sentence for dog fighting.

Here are some highlights from the 18-page indictment. All of the following statements are based on allegations contained in the document.

The indictment identifies four "cooperating witnesses," without naming them. As we previously explained, the detail contained in the federal complaint filed earlier this month indicated that someone was spilling the beans as to the specifics of the operation. As it turns out, there are at least four such someones.

The conspiracy began in early 2001 and continued through April 25, 2007, the day on which Vick's Surry County, Virginia property was first searched by local authorities.

In May 2001, Taylor identified the property on Moonlight Road in Surry County as a suitable location for housing and training pit bull terriers for fighting. Thereafter, Vick and the others purchased approximately 26 dogs from locations inside and outside of Virginia.

The "Bad Newz Kennels" were established by Vick and the others in early 2002, and at one point the group obtained shirts and headbands representing their affiliation with "Bad Newz Kennels." The Vick property on Moonlight Road in Surry County thereafter became the location of the venture.

"Testing" of the dogs began in February 2002. One of the dogs did not fight very well. It was shot to death with a .22 caliber pistol.

Additional dogs that did not perform well in "testing" sessions were executed in the summer of 2002, with three shot and one electrocuted.

Fighting also began in 2002, with a trip to North Carolina. Vick's Surry County property hosted its first dog fight in late 2002.

In March 2003, Peace allegedly electrocuted a female pit bull that had lost a fight after consulting on the matter with Vick. Peace shot another losing dog that same month.

The most graphic misconduct allegedly occurred not long before the first search of the property. According to paragraph 83 of the indictment, Vick, Peace, and Phillips executed in April 2007 approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in "testing" sessions, by "hanging, drowning, and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."

In other words, in the same month in which Vick declared that he never goes to his Surry County property, and the same month in which he sat face-to-face with the Commissioner, Vick had (according to the indictment) participated in the killing of as many as eight dogs deemed unfit for fighting.

So what next? After digesting this information, the NFL and the Falcons will have some tough decisions to make. And we think that both organizations will soon be facing strenuous pressure from animal rights groups to take swift and decisive action against Mr. Vick.

The Miami Dolphins have announced that the team has terminated the contract of quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

Culpepper's grievance against the team was scheduled to be heard on July 18. We assume that the grievance will not proceed, given that the goal was to force the franchise to allow him to participate in team drills during training camp, which opens later this month.

The move ends Culpepper's rocky tenure with the Fins after only one season. Acquired in a trade for a second-round pick, Culpepper was ineffective in four starts, and ultimately was benched. He required further surgery on a knee that was shredded in November 2005, and did not return.

His fate in South Florida was sealed after the team landed Trent Green. But instead of merely cutting Culpepper loose, the Dolphins hoped to finagle a draft pick for his services. At a mandatory minicamp last month, the team refused to allow Culpepper to participate in team drills, since a serious injury would have put the team on the hook for his entire $5.5 million salary. The move prompted Culpepper's grievance.

We previously heard that the Dolphins were suspicious that Culpepper's "cut me don't trade me" stance was the result of tampering by one of the teams that could be interested in acquiring his services.

Some league insiders believe that Culpepper is destined to land in Jacksonville, where he'd have a good shot at becoming the starter in 2008. We've heard that he's interested in joining the Packers, too.

With Rams quarterback Marc Bulger recently hinting about a possible holdout, St. Louis coach Scott Linehan might be toying with the possibility of bringing Culpepper in with a one-year deal aimed at protecting the franchise against the worst-case scenario with Bulger, whose financial expectations surely have increased in the wake of the Dwight Freeney deal.

A question that is often posed to us regarding Titans cornerback Pacman Jones is this: "Why hasn't the team cut his ass?"

A good question, but the answer lies (we believe) in the fact that the Titans used the No. 6 overall pick in the 2005 draft on the troubled-but-talented product of West Virginia University. The thinking (we think) is that, if/when Jones ever is in a position where he is permitted to return to the NFL (i.e., after securing a dismissal or acquittal on felony charges in Georgia and Nevada and somehow staying out of trouble in the interim), there could be a trade market for Jones' services. (This assumes that he won't be reinstated until 2008, since his minimum suspension of ten games expires after the trade deadline.) Thus, the team could still get something of value in return for the otherwise wasted top-ten draft pick.

Alternatively, if the Titans merely cut him loose and he lands somewhere else and becomes the Pro Bowler that folks thought he could be, Tennessee will look stoopid for drafting him when there was enough evidence to suggest that they shouldn't, and even stoopider for letting him go when he was in the process of redeeming himself.

With that said, it is fairly obvious that Titans management doesn't really want him around. Coach Jeff Fisher made that clear last month, saying repeatedly that he and the team have "moved on" (and moved out) in response to matters like Jones' involvement in yet another strip club incident that culminated in fast-flying slugs of lead, and the pursuit of felony charges against him in Las Vegas.

But it now appears that the Titans might not have the luxury of waiting until 2008 to make a decision on Jones' future with the team. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that Jones might be allowed to participate in training camp before his suspension begins. So, in other words, the Titans might be forced to let him practice with the team and play in preseason games.

Jones' agent, Michael Huyghue, and NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw both told Mortensen that they believe that the decision by Jones to drop the appeal of the suspension was given in exchange for an opportunity by Pacman to participate in camp. (That nugget in and of itself serves only to bolster suspicions that the league office wanted Jones to drop the appeal in order to insulate from criticism the procedure that allows Commissioner Roger Goodell to impose the suspension, and to then have exclusive jurisdiction over the review of the determination.)

Citing an unnamed league source, however, Mort says that Goodell has not yet made a final decision. Per the source, Goodell will talk this week to the Titans about Jones' availability for camp.

And if the team has any say in the matter, the team's say should be, "Hell no." Why give reps to a guy who won't be there for a minimum of ten weeks -- especially when the guy has yet to truly demonstrate remorse, regret, or positive lifestyle change?

As Mortensen points out, the original ruling on the Jones suspension makes clear that he is not eligible to participate in training camp or preseason games. In contrast, the ruling applicable to Bengals receiver Chris Henry (who was suspended for eight games) specifically states that he may show up for camp and for the exhibition contests.

Our semi-educated guess is that the Titans will do everything in their power behind the scenes to ensure that they won't be required to deal with Jones until his suspension ends, at the earliest.

On the evening after news broke of defensive end Dwight Freeney's knee-wobbling six-year, $72 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts, we posted an item suggesting that Freeney's deal could prompt other defensive linemen to take a stand in the hopes of getting more money.

A league source with extensive experience negotiating player contracts thinks that the ramifications will go even beyond the defensive line.

"I don't think people understand the significance of the Freeney deal," the source said. "It's much more significant than the Peyton Manning deal a few years ago. What people are missing is the ungodly average per year of $12 million. Freeney's deal will have not only defensive linemen but quarterbacks all over the league wanting their deals redone. I haven't seen the deal yet but I'm guessing it's real money because he earns $37.7 million over the first three years versus $20 million for [Lions defensive tackle Cory] Redding. That is insane."

We tend to agree. Freeney had 5.5 sacks in 2006. Though it was only his first time beneath double digits, a guy who is worth $30 million in bonus money and $12 million per year should be expected to rack up solid numbers each year, and every year.

Besides, Freeney was seemingly content to play for $9.43 million in 2007; why not pay him the one-year tender and see if he can get back above 10 sacks before handing him that kind of a contract?

Our new pal Dave Ragone, a former Texans quarterback who now is a morning drive-time host on 1570 The Zone in Louisville, said on the air during a Tuesday morning spot, it's too easy to game-plan away from Freeney, or to run right at him. And it could be that every team except the Bengals figured that out last year, since Freeney got more sacks against Cincinnati (3.0) than he did in the other 15 regular-season games combined (2.5).

We think that, as more agents and NFL players break down those stats and compare them to Freeney's new numbers, the pressure to pay other players more money than they're currently making will increase.

As several readers have pointed out to us, three of the linemen who landed seven-year, $49 million contracts since the end of the 2006 season played college football at the University of Texas.

Three of them -- Leonard Davis of the Cowboys, Cory Redding of the Lions, and the guy who signed with the Bills whose name we had to look up yesterday. (Derrick Dockery.)

In an era where college coaches are doing everything they can to lure coveted high school players to campus, Longhorns coach Mack Brown now has the ultimate enticement.

"Play for me, and I just might make you one of the highest paid linemen in the NFL."

Oh, and Mack's Texas squad also has coughed up of late guys like Cedric Benson, Vince Young, and Michael Huff -- all of whom got lucrative rookie contracts and likely will be in line for big-time deals down the road a bit.

A couple of readers have pointed out to us that Dolphins receiver Chris Chambers was pulled over by the same North Carolina police department that arrested Panthers guard D'Anthony Batiste earlier this year.

Weapons charges against Batiste were dismissed by a judge who ruled that the decision to pull Batiste over for a window tinting violation was a pretext to search his car. Batiste alleges that he was pulled over for "driving while black."

In Chambers' case, the details initially were sketchy. A captain from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said that the reports aren't created for traffic violations, suggesting that there would be no contemporaneous record of the observations made when Chambers was stopped.

But, as the Palm Beach Post reports, there is a report. According to the report, Chambers was driving 74 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone; his eyes were watery and glassy; he emitted a strong odor of alcohol; and he could not recite the ABCs or count backward from a given number.

Per the report, Chambers refused to submit to a breath test on the scene, but later agreed to take a test at the jail. He blew a 0.06 percent, 0.02 percent below the legal limit.

Though we're not experts on DUI, we didn't think that a field sobriety test was verbal only. Shouldn't there have been some type of effort to stand on one foot and touch his nose? And, if the CMPD has cameras in their cruisers, wouldn't there have been objective, irrefutable evidence of whether Chambers appeared to be impaired?

Really, if Chambers was so messed up that he couldn't accomplish that which a two-year-old on a Lucky Charms high can perform with ease, would his BAC have been only 0.06 percent when he was tested? Though it's possible that his blood-alcohol concentration was decreasing at the time he was arrested, inability to recite the alphabet normally wouldn't kick in until the number is much higher than 0.08.

Then again, Chambers should merely be glad that he didn't blow a 0.08. Less than two weeks ago, the Charlotte Observer explained that the conviction rate of drivers who tested at or above 0.08 and who pleaded not guilty and fought the charges has increased significantly over the past few years, a development that occurred in response to past perceptions that Mecklenburg County was too soft on drunk driving.

A couple of readers have suggested that we launch in this space a protest skewing of the ongoing "Who's Now" debacle on ESPN's SportsCenter. We've got mixed feelings about doing this, since we don't want to draw any more attention to the worst . . . feature . . . ever on ESPN (except for those phony Steve Phillips press conferences) than the thing already is getting.

But the thing primarily is getting attention because it's so bad. So maybe we'll do it.

One possibility would be to begin voting consistently for the lower-rated seed in every bracket. The other possibility would be to pluck a Sanjaya from the field and rally around him/her.

Should we make an open call to arms in this regard, as a protest of the entire exercise? Let us know your thoughts, and let us know your preference as to whether we should pick a specific candidate to support, or whether we should urge readers to vote for the lower-seeded athlete in every remaining "game".

Colts coach Tony Dungy gave serious consideration to walking away from football after winning the Super Bowl. (We think, as a result, that folks need to be prepared for him to pull a Coach Chin after 2007.)

It's probably just a coincidence, but there's a paragraph in this article regarding the Lance Briggs situation that is eerily similar to text we posted on Monday.

With LaRon Landry as the Redskins' remaining unsigned rookie, we wonder whether they'll spend extra time negotiating the clause that requires him to wear a cup while playing paintball.

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