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POSTED 9:26 p.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

BROWNS' BODDEN IS BUSTED

As we prepare for the official start of the 2007 regular season, we suppose it's fitting to finish up the last day of the non-football season by resetting the "days with an arrest" counter to zero. 

And, thanks to Browns cornerback Leigh Bodden, we can do so.

Bodden was busted at Cleveland Hopkins Airport on Wednesday night, according to FOX 8.  He reportedly parked his car in a restricted area, where (per a source) he was picking up his girlfriend and her two kids.  Police told him to move the vehicle.  Bodden got mouthy, and was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

The Browns open the season on Sunday at home against the Steelers.

The added bonus of the resetting of the meter is that we've again averted a return to double digits.

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POSTED 7:53 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 9:16 p.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

WRESTLER'S BRAIN SHOWED CONCUSSION DAMAGE?

After pro wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife, his son, and himself, Benoit's father asked researchers at West Virginia University and the Sports Legacy Institute to study his son's brain.

And they found that Benoit's brain showed evidence of extensive damage.

On Wednesday morning, Dr. Julian Bailes, the chair of neurosurgery at WVU, showed slides of Benoit's brain tissue on ABC's Good Morning America.

"These are dead brain cells," Dr. Bailes said.  "It was extensive, throughout Chris's brain.  It was striking and maybe shocking in the extent."

Dr. Bailes explained that Benoit's brain was "very abnormal, something you should never see in a 40-year old."

More importantly, Dr. Bailes said that the observations were similar to those made when studying the brains of NFL players who committed suicide.

The obvious culprit is concussions, and we've previously interviewed Dr. Bailes regarding his theories regarding the impact of egg scrambling on long-term health.  But we also think that the potential impact of steroids also should be considered, especially since Benoit's "sport" involves what many believe to be extensive use of such performance-enhancing drugs.

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PITZER'S PLAY 'EM AND BENCH 'EM IS UP

Our newest addition, fantasy guru Matt Pitzer, has offered up his advice regarding some players to start and some players to sit for Week One of the 2007 regular season.

Click here for Pitzer's Play 'Em and Bench 'Em.

And stay tuned for Pitzer's Fantasy Ten-Pack after the Week One action, during which he'll offer up some observations from the week that was in the NFL.

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WEDNESDAY INJURY REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

The first newfangled midweek injury report was released on Wednesday.  The report includes information on injured players who missed practice, who had limited participation in practice, and who had full participation.

And, for all teams except the two (the Colts and Saints) who play on Thursday night, the report doesn't contain the whole probable/questionable/doubtful formula.  Thing.  So it's hard to tell at this point who's injured and nevertheless fully participating in practice.

Here are some of the highlights.

Falcons safety Chris Crocker did not practice on Wednesday due to a knee injury, which could mean that Jimmy Williams will start in his place.

Vikings safety Mike Doss missed practice on Wednesday due to a calf injury, and linebacker E.J. Henderson missed practice on Wednesday with an illness.  Receivers Bobby Wade and Robert Ferguson had limited participation in Wednesday practice with ankle injuries.

Rams receiver Drew Bennett missed practiced on Wednesday with a thigh injury.  Torry Holt, who recently said his knee is at 70 or 80 percent, was not mentioned in the report.

Bears tight end Greg Olsen missed practice on Wednesday with a knee injury.

Lions running back Kevin Jones (foot) and defensive tackle Shaun Rogers (knee) had limited participation in practice on Wednesday.

Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter fully participated in practice on Wednesday despite a knee injury, as did defensive tackle Keith Traylor, who has an ankle injury.

Redskins running back Clinton Portis has full participation in practice on Wednesday notwithstanding knee tendonitis. 

Pats quarterback Tom Brady fully participated in practice on Wednesday despite a shoulder problem that has landed him on the "probable" list for pretty much every injury report of his career.  Randy Moss was not mentioned on the report, which implies that his hamstring injury is healed.

Jets quarterback Chad Pennington fully participated in practice on Wednesday despite a pelvis injury.

Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse had limited participation in practice on Wednesday based on a shoulder injury; his knee was not mentioned.

Packers running backs Brandon Jackson (concussion), Vernand Morency (knee), and Ryan Grant (hamstring) all had limited participation in practice on Wednesday.  Packers receiver Donald Driver also has limited participation due to a foot injury.

Several Browns had limited participation in practice on Wednesday, including LB Andra Davis, CB Gary Baxter, DE Orpheus Roye, OT Kevin Shaffer, and G Eric Steinbach.

Bucs defensive end Patrick Chukwurah is out with a knee injury.  Tight end Jerramy Stevens didn't practice on Wednesday due to a "player decision"; receiver Joey Galloway had limited participation on Wednesday due to a "team decision."

Jagus defensive end Reggie Hayward missed practice on Wednesday due to the lingering effects of his 2006 Achilles' tendon injury; defensive tackle John Henderson was limited in practice with a shoulder injury.

Giants receiver Plaxico Burress fully participated in practice on Wednesday with a back injury.

Cowboys receiver Terry Glenn fully participated on Wednesday with a knee thing.

Bengals defensive end Frostee Rucker, who is slated to be suspended for Week One, is nevertheless out with a hamstring injury.  Receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh missed practice on Wednesday with a knee injury, and cornerback Johnathan Joseph missed practice on Wednesday with a foot injury.

Several West Coast teams had not submitted their reports, because they had not yet practiced.

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POSTED 7:06 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 7:20 p.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

RUSSELL, RAIDERS CLOSE?

USA Today reports that the Oakland Raiders and quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, may be close to a deal.

Russell's uncle and "adviser," Ray Russell told the national daily that the Raiders "realize they have dropped the ball, and they started negotiating in good faith."

He added:  "They've done more talking in the last week and a half than the previous three months.  It's almost done.  It's just a damn shame it's taken this long."

But we're hearing indications that the two sides might not be as close as advertised.  And it makes us wonder whether the sudden appearance of progress has anything to do with the fact that recruiter Melvin Bratton has now officially joined Eddie DeBartolo's agency.  Since Bratton was instrumental in delivering Russell to the firm of Lock, Metz & Malinovic, Russell could choose to follow Bratton if Russell decides that LMM simply can't get the deal done.

Bratton wisely is saying that Russell won't leave, since the folks at LMM would most definitely cry foul if Russell were to bolt for Bratton and DeBartolo in the near future.  Last year, Zeke Sandhu allegedly tried (unsuccessfully) to take 49ers tight end Vernon Davis to Joby Branion of Athletes First, and this resulted in disciplinary actions being pursued against Sandhu and Branion.

Said Bratton, according to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal:  "I want the Raiders to know and you to put on record:  [Russell] is not wavering.  He is in a battle right now with the Raiders and he is not going to up and change [agents]."

Fine.  Great.  But you can bet that the folks at LLM are sweating right now, and that they feel compelled to keep Russell from getting too antsy as the regular season approaches.

So that would explain why Russell and his uncle think that the two sides are close to a deal -- even if they're not. 

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REPORTS ARE IN SYNC -- IT'S McCOWN

The reports of ESPN and NFLN are now unanimous -- Josh McCown will be the Raiders' starting quarterback on Sunday.

Apparently, reports earlier in the day on ESPN Radio and ESPNews came from an item in the San Francisco Chronicle suggesting that Daunte Culpepper would be the starter based on his body language after a meeting between Culpepper, McCown, and coach Lane Kiffin.

Adam Schefter of NFLN reported that McCown would be the guy.  Michael Smith of ESPN.com says that the Raiders are "leaning toward" McCown.

So round one of the battle between ESPN and NFLN is a draw, apparently.

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WEEK ONE PODCAST IS UP

We've posted for your listening pleasure the Week One fantasy podcast.  Gregg Rosenthal ofRotoworld.com joins Mike Florio for a 21-minute discussion of various issues relevant to fantasy football.

We'll be doing a fantasy podcast for each week of the season.  And, to the chagrin of Mike in Thailand's cat, we're thinking about tracking down Dante for a non-fantasy podcast or two.

This week's offering is right here.

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POSTED 5:00 p.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

BRUNELL FALLS TO NO. 3

The Washington Post reports that the game-day backup to Redskins starting quarterback Jason Campbell will be Todd Collins.  The decision reportedly was based on Collins' performance during the preseason. 

And this means that veteran Mark Brunell is now No. 3 on the depth chart.

So the next question is whether the 'Skins are willing to pay $1.5 million in base salary to a third quarterback, especially when a lot of teams don't even have one.

We think the answer is no, and that if a trade isn't worked out soon for Brunell he'll be dumped before the start of the season, at which time his pay essentially becomes guaranteed.   

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POSTED 4:40 p.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

NFLN VS. ESPN ON RAIDERS SCOOP

There's an interesting battle brewing in the universe of football media, at least as it relates to the identity of the starting quarterback for Sunday's season opener between the Raiders and the Lions.

ESPN reports that Daunte Culpepper will get the nod.  Adam Schefter of NFLN reports that it will be Josh McCown.

We'll know which one was right on Sunday at or about 4:15 p.m. EDT.

And we're not letting anyone weasel out of an error by saying that they were only reporting that their source thought that the the guy who didn't get the start was going to get the start.  There's only one point to be awarded in this game -- if Culpepper starts, the point goes to ESPN.  If it's McCown, the point goes to NFLN.

Meanwhile, the Raiders are the real winners here, since the conflict in the reports prevents the Lions' defense from focusing on preparing for one specific guy.

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POSTED 4:30 p.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

T.O. "CLARIFIES" QUARTERBACK REMARKS

Before Wednesday morning, no one had had much to say about Terrell Owens' decision to identify two NFL quarterbacks that he'd like to have on the team, neither of whom were named "Tony" or "Romo."

On Wednesday morning, we posted a little something about the latest T.O. faux pas (merci, Monsieur Tiki).  Coincidentally (or not), Owens was finally asked about the situation on Wednesday.

And, of course, he didn't say what was said that he said.

Instead, T.O. claims that he was told by the interviewer that he couldn't include Tony Romo in Owens' answer to the question in question.     

We're not sure we buy it.  The question, as posed by Patrick McLeod of Panama City, was this:  "If you could choose any quarterback in the NFL to be the No. 1 in Dallas, who would it be and why?"  There was no "other than Tony Romo" limitation.

The initial answer was this:  "Man, that's a tricky question.  I don't want to cause trouble."  And this recognition of the dilemma that arose implies that Owens was not asked to exclude Romo from his answer.

Granted, there is an ellipsis after the "I don't want to cause trouble" line.  Perhaps the ". . ." was intended to exclude that the person writing down the answer said "other than your current quarterback" in order to keep T.O. talking.  But if that was the case, wouldn't the interviewer have included the modification to the question in the final product?

Though we're sure that plenty of writers take unfair liberties, it's far too easy for the subjects of these stories to point a thumb at the person whose fingers hammered out the article.  In Owens' case, it shouldn't be surprising.  As one reader observed earlier in the day, "In today's world, where you can be misquoted in your own autobiography, inflammatory remarks must have video evidence."  

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POSTED 1:11 p.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

TIKI TAKES ON THE DAILY NEWS

On Tuesday morning, the New York Daily News reported that Tiki Barber in his new book blames Giants coach Tom Coughlin for Tiki's premature retirement from the game.

So Tiki, on Tuesday night's Barber Shop on Sirius NFL Radio, denied that his book blames Coughlin for his retirement.

In audio that we've obtained of the show, Barber calls the Daily News report "blatantly false."

"Of course he played into the factors a little bit," Barber said, "but I did not leave because of Tom Coughlin."

POSTED 12:34 p.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

HUYGHUE HEADING TO UFL?

We're hearing preliminary chatter than agent and former NFL exec Michael Huyghue is possibly in line to become the first Commissioner of the UFL, a new football league that aspires to hit the field as soon as 2008.

Huyghue worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars before becoming an agent.  His most high-profile client has been suspended Titans cornerback Pacman Jones, to whom Huyghue's advice has been questionable at best (in our opinion).  But that didn't stop NFL Network from recently hiring Huyghue to work as a Legal Analyst in connection with the Mike Vick prosecution.

The UFL intends to competing with the NFL without competing for big-name, high-priced players.  The new league currently plans to play on Friday nights in the fall, when the NFL can't televise games without jeopardizing an anitrust exemption.

Though this is merely an uncorroborated rumor for now, we've got a feeling that there might be something to it.  It strikes us as one of those things that is too out of the ordinary to be made up.  Stay tuned for more. 

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WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS by Michael David Smith

Cowboys RB Julius Jones knows that with his contract set to expire, "it's not just another year."

Tony Romo expects the Giants to blitz him on Sunday.

At least one person believes Eli Manning can be the leader the Giants need; that person is his father.

DE Michael Strahan describes his absence from the Giants' training camp as "a break, not a holdout."  (So who was Ross and who was Rachel?)  

Eagles S J.R. Reed may be the only NFL player ever to miss time because of "a freak fence-jumping accident."

Aussie football player turned Eagles P Sav Rocca says of learning he made the team, "I reckon I had two beers since I found out about it and now I'm back to work."

Redskins G Pete Kendall is making himself at home in Washington.

Reporters are having a hard time keeping track of the Redskins' new players.

Bears LB Brian Urlacher says the 2007 version of the Chicago defense will be better than the 2006 unit.

Bears WR Mike Hass is the only person who isn't surprised he made the roster.

Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz says he's never been around anyone with the leadership ability of QB Jon Kitna. 

But not everyone is buying the hype coming out of Detroit.

As a search committee looks for the Packers' next CEO, chairman Bob Harlan says it needs to be someone who knows the 31 other owners and understands the collective-bargaining and revenue-sharing agreements.  (Unfortunately, Roger Goodell already has a job.)

K Mason Crosby is being counted on to turn around the Packers' special teams.

ESPN's Ron Jaworski likes the potential of Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson.

Falcons QB D.J. Shockley had successful surgery on his injured knee.

The Falcons' coaches say they're confident that WR Adam Jennings can handle the return job vacated by the recently traded Allen Rossum.

S Marquand Manuel had a crazy 48 hours after being cut by the Packers Saturday and signed by the Panthers Monday.

QB Matt Moore was all set to join the Cowboys' practice squad before the Panthers called and offered him a spot on the 53-man roster.

TE Mark Campbell is the only player listed on the Saints' injury report.

Saints QB Drew Brees says the offense is "much more comfortable" than it was a year ago.

The other Barber brother isn't doing any ripping of teammates or coaches.

Bucs coach Jon Gruden says he thinks QB Jeff Garcia will play well in the shotgun.

Only three 2007 draft choices are on the Cardinals' 53-man roster.

Rams receivers Drew Bennett and Marques Hagans both played quarterback in college, and they may have to do so again if Marc Bulger and Gus Frerotte both get hurt in the same game.

The Rams elected nine players as team captains.  (Why not just make a list of the players who aren't captains?)

The 49ers open on Monday night, and coach Mike Nolan likes the extra time to prepare.

DE Bryant Young is entering his 14th season in San Francisco but he says, "I'm approaching this season like it's my first season."

Seattle will consider bringing in QB Tim Hasselbeck to back up his brother, Matt.

Seahawks LT Walter Jones says his surgically repaired shoulder is feeling fine.

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POSTED 11:08 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:25 a.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

RESENTMENT OF PATS INFLUENCING RUMORS?

We've noticed a trend as the 2007 season approaches.  It appears to us that plenty of league insiders are resenting the fact  that the media has already crowned the asses of the New England Patriots.

We say that because there really has been a lot of chatter of late about the Pats, who enter the 2007 season as most peoples' favorites to win it all.  As one source explained it, the media has built the Patriots into the best team ever assembled.

So maybe good, old-fashioned human nature has taken root in some league circles, causing folks to focus on anything negative that they can find -- and possibly prompting them to make some stuff up, if need be. 

Perhaps that's the explanation for rumors that receiver Randy Moss was possibly going to be cut, or that defensive end Richard Seymour might not play at all this year.

"I would say that things are not as smooth as people expected in Foxboro," another source observed over the weekend, as we detected a hint of glee in the e-mail containing said observation.

Some of it is legitimate -- the Rodney Harrison suspension, the scramble for a punter after the Todd Saurberun contract gaffe, the Moss hamstring injury and his reputation for being moody and selfish, and the definite absence of Seymour for at least six weeks.  But it could be that the rumor mill is exaggerating the negative when it comes to New England, since folks who work for one of the other 31 teams would like nothing more than to see the Patriots fail.

None of this changes the fact that there were rumors that Moss would possibly cut, or that there are rumors that Seymour might not play at all this year.  But we think it's important to consider the factors that could be fueling the scuttlebutt.  With all ears anxious to hear something that might make it harder for the pre-determined winners of Super Bowl XLII to fulfill their destiny, any rumors that emerge must be considered with that reality in mind.

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PFT PLANET CAN NOW COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER

We've been touting in this space over the past several days the $100,000 Fantasy Challenge, presented by Rotoworld.com and NBCSports.com.  You know the drill by now -- it's free to play, and the winner gets $100,000. 

We explained on Tuesday that it's possible to create a group of contestants for the purposes of competing among family, friends, and/or coworkers.  For those of you who have no family, friends, and/or coworkers, and/or those of you who are too lazy to set up a group of your own, we've created a special PFT group.

It's easy to join.  Once you register for the $100,000 Fantasy Challenge at this link (did we mention it's presented by Rotoworld.com and NBCSports.com?), click this link.  To join the ProFootballTalk group, enter group number 573 and the password (which is "seinfeld").

Yours truly has already joined the group, so why not try to kick my butt all over the place?  (It's really not that hard to do.  Just ask my wife.)

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POSTED 9:04 a.m. EDT, September 5, 2007

THE T.O. INTERVIEW NO ONE NOTICED

On Saturday, a couple of readers forwarded a link to a new T.O. interview, which appeared to have some interesting quotes in it.  But it was a busy day at PFT headquarters, what with the looming roster cuts and the trip to Morgantown for the first West Virginia game of the year.  So we never got to it.  And we assumed that we'd chime in on the subject once the issue caught the attention of the national media.

But then something strange happened.  No one really paid any attention to it.

Sure, there were a few stray blog entries addressing the subject.  But it was only a small fraction of the kind of attention that Owens would have received a year ago, when every visit he made to the men's room was worthy of national news.

And the new interview of Owens, a short piece in Time during which he responds to ten questions from readers, isn't the kind of "boxers or briefs" fluff that contains nothing of any significance.  Sure, there's some crap in the Q&A, such as one reader who asked T.O. to identify his favorite television show.  (We never pegged Owens as an America's Top Model guy.  That's the kind of admission that might cause someone to conclude that a guy "looks like a rat and smells like a rat" . . . not that there's anything wrong with looking like, smelling like, or being a rat.) 

Amazingly, T.O. uses the session to mend fences with former Eagles teammate Donovan McNabb, and simultaneously to spark a potential controversy with his current signal-caller, Tony Romo.

Says T.O. regarding the 2005 spat with McNabb:  "I do regret some of the things that happened.  Donovan is a great guy.  Honestly, I do miss being around him.  I learned some things from Donovan.  It was a bad situation, and if there were a way I could go back and handle some things differently, I definitely would."

Wow.  Contrition.  Humility.  Maturity.  Maybe T.O. has changed.

Maybe not.

Owens also was asked this question:  "If you could choose any quarterback in the NFL to be the No. 1 in Dallas, who would it be and why?"

At that moment, the alarms should have been screaming in Owens' head.  After all, it was less than two years ago that Owens pulled the pin on the last grenade that sparked his final exile from Philly by merely agreeing with the assessment of then-ESPN analyst Michael Irvin that the Eagles would have been undefeated if Brett Favre, and not McNabb, were the team's quarterback. 

"That's a good assessment, I would agree with that, just with what [Favre] brings to the table," Owens said at the time.

"A number of commentators will say he's a warrior, he's played with injuries.  I feel like him being knowledgeable about the quarterback position, I feel like we'd probably be in a better situation."

So, nearly two years later, Owens gets a similar query.  But instead of saying "next question," Owens opted to offer up an answer. 

"Man, that's a tricky question," he said.  "I don't want to cause trouble." 

And that's the point at which Owens should have ended it.  However, impulse control isn't one of his strengths, and so he continued.  (To our immense delight.)

"O.K., I would say Peyton Manning, then Donovan McNabb," Owens said.  "Peyton has history on his side, with his dad being a quarterback, and you can't say enough about how studious he is in the film room."

How is this any different from what Owens said about Favre in 2005?  If anything, Owens went farther this time around, since he wasn't specifically asked to agree with something someone else had already said.  Instead, he was given a blank canvass; he could have picked anyone.  He should have picked the starting quarterback on his current team.

And the "real" media (of which we reluctantly are becoming a member) should be running with this one, hard.  Where's the camera in Tony Romo's face, asking for a reaction?  How about the opportunity for Owens to clarify, which likely will cause him to say even more stuff that will drive the wedge deeper?

Last time around, ESPN beat the issue into the ground, likely because the Irvin quote that sparked the controversy was made on ESPN, and because the Owens' statement was likewise made in an ESPN interview.  This time around, ESPN can't claim credit for starting the scrum, and thus is apparently less likely to jump into the fray.

But surely there are others out there who can push this story along.  For some reason, they haven't done it yet.  We'll be watching to see if they ever do.   

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POSTED 10:41 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 11:59 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2007

STRAHAN MIFFED AT REDUCED FINE

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that Giants defensive end Michael Strahan was unhappy with the extent to which the team reduced more than $500,000 in daily fines for his non-holdout holdout from training camp.

Per Schefter, the Giants agreed to reduce the fines to $200,000 -- which likely is $200,000 more than Strahan wanted to pay.

It's still unknown whether the Giants will try to recoup a portion of Strahan's signing bonus due to his absence from camp.  Our guess is that the $200,000 payment settles the issue.

Schefter also reports that Strahan is expected to see spot duty in the Giants' regular-season opener against the Cowboys.

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SPORTING NEWS ADDS A NEW HACK

Several readers have asked us whether a report on The Big Lead that yours truly will be writing for SportingNews.com is true.

It is.

With the hiring of Shawn Schrager, former Executive Producer and co-creator of AOL's Sports Bloggers Live, Sporting News intends to re-energize and to expand its web presence.  (Despite this goal, they asked me to submit content on a regular basis.)

So, coming very soon, I'll be penning two columns per week for the online branch of one of the oldest and most respected sports publications in the world.  And, with any luck, some of them might actually be used.

So I've filled up the official PFT briefcase with crackers, and I'll be reporting for duty later this week. 

We'll let you know when the first column is posted.  If, of course, they choose to post it. 

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WEEK ONE LIVE BLOG SCHEDULE

Somehow, our Live Blogs of last year's games became a popular addition to the PFT  experience.  So they'll be back again in 2007 -- and we're getting started with three of them on Week One.

On Thursday night, we'll blog the Saints-Colts game.  Then, we'll be tracking the MNF double-dip from start to finish.

After that, we might be ready to call it quits until the postseason.  But, for now, the plan is to do at least one Live Blog per week.

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NO. 3 IS UP

We're almost there.  We've posted team No. 3 on our list of preseason power rankings.

The full list is right here.

Coming Wednesday?  No. 2, and maybe No. 1.

---

TUESDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

Pats WR Reche Caldwell was a victim of numbers in New England.

Denzel Washington's son will get another stint on the Rams' practice squad.

The Saints visited with former Redskins DE Renaldo Wynn on Monday.

The Giants looked at three kickers and four long-snappers on Monday.

Jets RB Thomas Jones returned to practice on Monday.

Former Raiders S Eric Frampton thinks that QB Daunte Culpepper will get the start, and that the Raiders like to throw the fade to WR Mike Williams.

For the player formerly known as the Freak, a number less than 100 is the new 100.

The Steelers' four captains include three linebackers.

Chargers RB Michael Turner is likely to be listed as questionable for Week One.

The 49ers' weekly captains will come from a pool of eight players.

Can QB Jeff Garcia get it done for the Bucs?

Ryan Folwer will start at middle linebacker for the Titans.

Redskins coach Joe Gibbs isn't talking about who the backup quarterback will be in Week One.

Vikings WR Bobby Wade says that he'll play on Sunday despite a bum ankle.

The Vikes need to sell 3,500 more tickets or Sunday's game will be blacked out locally.

Newcomer Allen Rossum might return punts and kicks for the Steelers on Sunday.

The Browns have signed long-snapper Ryan Pontbriand to a four-year extension.

WR Sidney Rice might be a pleasant surprise for the Vikings.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today covers the coverage of the coming NFL games.

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POSTED 10:15 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2007

JETS PICKING PAST PATS' BRAINS?

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the New York Jets have been huddling with recently former members of the New England Patriots, apparently in an effort to get some inside information as the two teams prepare to meet in Week One of the 2007 season.

Schefter reports that the Jets met on Tuesday with receiver Reche Caldwell, whom the Pats cut on Monday.  Also on Tuesday, the Jets signed to the practice squad former Pats guard/center Mike Elgin, a seventh-round pick who was released by New England.  And last week the Jets met with cornerback Artrell Hawkins, another guy who was cut not long ago by the Patriots.

Though all three men have extensive knowledge of the Pats' personnel and playbook, none are privy to the Week One game plan, which would tend to be slightly more important.

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POSTED 9:57 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2007

RUMORS FLY THAT SEYMOUR WILL MISS THE SEASON

A league source tells us that there are rumors on the NFL grapevine that Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour will miss the entire 2007 season.

Per the source, the talk is that offseason surgery on Seymour's left knee resulted in some significant complications.

Seymour is on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and by rule must stay there for at least six weeks of the regular season.

The procedure was described as arthroscopic, which is minimally invasive in nature.  The type of complication currently is unknown.

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POSTED 3:22 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2007

HUMANE SOCIETY HAS NOTES FROM VICK'S NOTES-LESS SPEECH?

Plenty of the sock puppets out there found the August 27 apology offered up by Mike Vick to be convincing because it was delivered without notes.  As if liars never speak extemporaneously.

Well, anyone who believes that Vick performed well because he performed without written cues might need to rethink their position on this one.

The Humane Society claims that Vick used notes, because it claims that it has them (hat tip to MDS).  Because Vick apparently left the notes behind at the podium after he spoke.  Oh, and the Humane Society is selling the notes on eBay.

Several PFT readers wrote last week to express their belief that Vick had notes of some kind.  Then again, several others thought that he was getting Cyrano-style assistance via an earpiece.

We didn't care all that much about it.  He said what he said.  We're not sure that what he said would have been that much different if he'd been reading from a script. 

Besides, we've got a feeling that folks who are inclined to believe that Vick's apology was genuine and/or credible simply because he didn't have notes will respond to this development by saying that the notes he had weren't very detailed.

The bigger issue here, as we see it, is why did Vick leave the notes behind?  Surely, the goal was to create the appearance that he was talking without a net, so that folks would conclude that he was speaking "from the heart" and therefore "telling the truth." 

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POSTED 12:45 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 1:42 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2007

DID HARRISON SUSPENSION CAUSE PATS TO YIELD ON SAMUEL?

We usually pride ourselves on being able to connect the dots when it comes to NFL stories that have no apparent linkage on the surface.  We also pride ourselves in being willing to pilfer the ideas of others who have connected the dots in situations where we've yet to do so.

We've "borrowed" the present concept from a cousin who was at a family reunion on Sunday, and who is a Boston native and thus a raging fan of any of the sports teams headquartered there.

The idea is this:  Last week, when the Patriots unexpectedly included into cornerback Asante Samuel's one-year, $7.79 million contract provisions allowing him to escape the use of the franchise tag in 2008, did the team make this concession because it knew that safety Rodney Harrison was going to be suspended -- and that Samuel's people soon would know, too?

The answer, we think, is "Hell, yes."

It makes a lot of sense.  The Pats, already shorthanded with Samuel holding out, knew that Harrison would miss the first four weeks of the regular season.  Samuel, if he had known, would have had the leverage to move the triggers that will exempt him from the use of the franchise tag in 2008 even lower.     

"Rodney's situation came up last week," coach Bill Belichick said on Monday. 

Once the situation "came up," the team acted quickly (we believe) to get Samuel signed -- before Samuel would realize the problem that the team now faced.

The placement of Richard Seymour on the PUP list for the start of the season, which necessarily makes him unavailable for the first six weeks of it, also might have been a factor in the team's decision to give Samuel a chance to become an unrestricted free agent in 2008.  Even though Seymour is a defensive linemen, the fact that he won't be available to put heat on opposing quarterbacks will put more pressure on the secondary, since there likely will be more time for receivers to get open. 

So to anyone who thinks that the Pats merely went soft in dealing with Samuel, the truth likely is that the team recognized that it soon would be in a bind, and worked out a fair deal before the definition of "fair" changed.

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PFT INVADES NYC

On Thursday morning, yours truly will be making his first (and likely last) visit to the airwaves in New York City, with Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton of WFAN.

The spot is scheduled to start at 9:05 a.m. EDT, and the citizens of PFT Planet can listen in right here.

Other spots for the week, including our first visit with Joe Rose on WQAM, our weekly chat with the guys at FOX Sports Radio, and a bunch of other stuff, can be found right here.

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TUESDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

Broncos RB Mike Bell isn't happy with his permanent move to fullback.

Broncos WR Javon Walker says it's "reasonable" to think he'll gain between 1,500 and 1,600 yards receiving this year.  (And we think it's always "unreasonable" to talk about things like that.)

Whoopi Goldberg's debut on The View featured some excuse-making for Mike Vick.

Lions RB Kevin Jones returned to practice on Monday for the first time since injuring his foot last year.

The Lions will have five captains, who'll wear the hockey-style "C" on their jerseys.  (Maybe they should make assistant coach Joe Cullen a captain, too, as encouragement for him to actually wear a jersey -- along with the rest of his clothes.)

Despite having a strong training camp, Packers TE Bubba Franks is No. 2 behind Donald Lee.

Jarrett Bush apparently will be the nickel corner in Green Bay.

New Texans S Michael Boulware is getting a crash course in the Houston defense.

After years of getting toasted by WR Reggie Wayne in practice, Saints (and former Colts) CB Jason David will have a chance on Thursday night to get his butt burned when it matters.

Jags RB Fred Taylor is upset that QB Byron Leftwich is gone.

Jags coach Jack Del Rio refused to address speculation (such as that which we had on this here site) that the release of Leftwich means that Del Rio won a power struggle with V.P. of player personnel James Harris.

The Jags will wear white jerseys for their home opener on Sunday; many of the seats there will be wearing no fans.  

The Chiefs worked out six kickers on Monday, including John Carney, Josh Huston, Shane Andrus, Nick Novak, Kevin Lovell, and Conner Hughes.

Dolphins LB Joey Porter (knee) could play in the regular-season opener.

Pats coach Bill Belichick addressed the allegations of Vikings coach Brad Childress regarding the whole "don't claim my released player and I won't claims yours" thing, without issuing a denial.

Vikings DT Fred Evans knows that he's down to his last chance.

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POSTED 10:29 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 11:50 a.m. EDT, September 4, 2007

BUSTER TELLS BIRDS TO GET BENT

The Arizona Cardinals raised eyebrows when they released linebacker Buster Davis, a third-round pick in the 2007 draft, prior to the Saturday deadline for reducing rosters to 53 players.

Davis wasn't claimed on waivers, and thus became eligible to sign with any team's active roster or practice squad.

The Cardinals offered him a chance to join the team's practice squad -- and Davis rejected it.

"I'm disappointed he didn't want to come in and prove himself," Cardinals exec Rod Graves told the Arizona Republic, "but the fact that he didn't I think is indicative of the way he performed throughout training camp and the preseason."

It "says something else about the player," Graves added.  "I certainly thought Buster was the kind of guy who would carry a chip on his shoulder and accept that challenge and want to prove that the decision to release him was a mistake."

The article in the Republic doesn't mentioned whether Davis declined the offer because he plans to sign with another team's practice squad.  If Davis didn't have something else lined up when he told the Cardinals to shove it up their beaks, then he either doesn't want to play football or he's just plain dumm.

UPDATE:  There are reports that Davis is on the Lions' practice squad.  As of this posting, his name is not among the eight players currently listed on the team's official web site.

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TUESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

We don't know how many shoes L.T.'s new Nike commercial will sell, but it definitely has gotten the Bears' defense motivated to purchase at least one pair for insertion into Tomlinson's rear end on Sunday.

Bengals LT Levi Jones has apologized for going bonkos regarding concerns as to his role on the team.  (Maybe they should hang pictures of Joey Porter in the locker room to keep him under control.)

Falcons S Jimmy Williams will start the opener if Chris Crocker (knee) can't go.

The Falcons have cut LB Jordan Beck, a third-round draft choice in 2005.

Brady Quinn is pining for Ken Dorsey.

Mike Vaderjagt's ability to put 32 of 32 kicks from 55 yards out over a soccer crossbar isn't enough to get teams to forget about his inability to realize that kickers should never say a word.  Ever.

The Ravens don't know whether LT Jonathan Ogden (toe) will be able to play on Monday night.

Ravens QB Troy Smith has changed his jersey from No. 11 to No. 10, which is a fairly accurate description of his progression on the depth chart.

Ryan Neill is the Bills' new long snapper.

The Panthers signed S Marquand Manuel and CB Dante Wesley on Monday -- to the chagrin of WR Chris Horn and S Curtis DeLoatch.

The knee injury suffered by Bears TE Greg Olsen isn't serious, but his availability for Sunday isn't known.

The Bengals are replacing their jailbirds with Ivy Leaguers.

Browns CB Gary Baxter could be moving to safety.

Cowboys S Roy Williams wasn't happy with the team's decision to cut CB Aaron Glenn.

Texans CB Dunta Robinson was robbed in his home at gunpoint.

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POSTED 9:41 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 10:05 a.m. EDT, September 4, 2007

TIKI KEEPS CHIRPING

Let's see . . . Tiki Barber officially debuts this week on NBC's Football Night in America (and/or Any Other Country that Will Fork Over Sufficient Cash, Gold, or Negotiable Instruments).  He has a book coming out regarding his NFL experiences.  The book is sure to contain some gratuitously controversial passages. 

So why not "leak" some of them this week to build buzz for both projects?

Thus, it should be viewed as no coincidence that the New York Daily News has "obtained" excerpts of the book.  (And we love how the word "obtained" implies that affirmative steps were taken by the Daily News to sleuth out the vital passages, other than merely opening the e-mail attachment or pulling sheets of paper off of the fax machine.)

In the book, titled Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond (which is somewhat similar to the title we had expected -- Tiki:  My Me My I Me I Me My), Barber continues his verbal assault on coach Tom Coughlin.

Most surprisingly, Tiki seems to imply that he might have changed his mind about retiring if Coughlin had been fired after the 2006 season:  "If Tom Coughlin had not remained as head coach of the Giants," Tiki writes, "I might still be in a Giants uniform."

Barber also says that "[Coughlin] robbed me of what had been one of the most important things I had in my life, which was the joy I felt playing football.  I had lost that.  He had taken it away."

What a load of crap.

When Barber opted to let the world know during the middle of a football season that he would be quitting the game, he said nothing about losing his passion for playing football.  Instead, it was all about Tiki's grander plan, and his desire to get out of the game before he suffered long-term injuries from which he could not fully recover.

"Sometimes you just feel a calling greater than the NFL," Barber told USA Today last year.  "I'm crossing over to world events, entertainment, sports because that's what I'm interested in.  That's what I see myself doing, delving deeper, being provocative."

Barber also said in that same interview that his retirement was "a quality of life decision."

"Earl Campbell is 51 and can't walk," Barber explained.  "Twenty years from now, I don't want to be that way."

Indeed, when Barber acknowledged his retirement for the first time, he made it clear that his plan had been in the works since long before Tom Coughlin became the head coach of the team.

"I've been talking about retirement for years now, and it has nothing to do with being physical or money or Hall of Fame," Barber said.  "It's all about my desires, and for me to change them would compromise my integrity and would compromise who I am as a person and what I've always stood for."

(Tiki, you can't compromise your integrity if you have none.)

We've never been big fans of Coughlin, to whom we refer from time to time as the Soup Nazi.  But it's unfair for Barber to change his reasons for retiring now, all in the name of justifying his intense dislike for the man. 

It's also wrong, in our view, for Tiki to bite the hand that taught him how to keep his hands on the football.  In the four years before Coughlin arrived, Tiki averaged nearly nine fumbles per season.  In three entire seasons under Coughlin, Tiki had a grand total of nine fumbles.

Barber also churned up more than 2,000 yards rushing and receiving in each of those three seasons, the only three seasons of his career in which he reached such levels.

If Barber were are smart as he thinks he is, maybe he would recognize the connection between Coughlin's methods and the results.  But since Coughlin apparently didn't see fit to affix his lips to Toki's tookis, Barber has opted to be selective -- and disingenuous (thanks, Tiki) -- in his memories of the man who made him into a far better player than he ever had been.

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GET $100,000 FOR DOING ALMOST NOTHING

Rotoworld.com and NBCSports.com are looking for the best fantasy football player in the country.  And they want to pay him or her a bunch of free money.

You can sign up for the Rotoworld.com and NBCSports.com $100,000 Fantasy Challenge right here.

The best part is it's free.

You also can create your own mini-league, so you can track your success (or absence thereof) against friends (if you have any), family (if they'll acknowledge you), and/or co-workers (until you get fired for playing fantasy football on the clock).

So sign up right now, since the season starts in two days.

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POSTED 8:55 a.m. EDT, September 4, 2007

RAVENS SNIFFING AROUND LEFTWICH

The Baltimore Sun reports that the Ravens are one of the teams that have engaged in talks with the agent for quarterback Byron Leftwich.

G.M. Ozzie Newsome told the Sun that he has had "a couple of small conversations" with Tom Condon regarding Leftwich, whom the Jaguars cut on Saturday.

Leftwich would give the Ravens something that they don't presently have -- a backup to Steve McNair who could become the starter after McNair calls it quits.  Kyle Boller currently is No. 2 behind McNair, but Boller was a bust when the No. 1 job was his.  Also, Boller is in the final year of his rookie contract, and likely would like to look elsewhere for a chance to play come 2008.

The only problem with bringing in Leftwich is that the Ravens would have to either carry four quarterbacks on the roster, or cut Boller or rookie Troy Smith.  Ideally, the Ravens would add Leftwich, cut Smith, and then sign him to the practice squad.  But if another team were to claim Smith on waivers, the fifth-round pick would be lost.

The other option would be to cut Boller, but that would leave the team at risk of McNair suffering an injury before Leftwich is ready to run the offense.

The Ravens wanted to select Leftwich in the first round of the 2003 draft, and apparently were talking to the Vikings about a trade from No. 10 to No. 7 in order to get him.  But when the 15-minute allotment of time expired for the Vikings, the Jags submitted the card with Leftwich's name on it.  (In hindsight, it wasn't a bad move for the Ravens, since they landed Terrell Suggs with the tenth pick.)

It could be that Leftwich isn't signed by anyone until after the Week One games, for a few reasons.  First, bringing in a backup quarterback of Leftwich's pedigree is a pretty big move, and it requires more focus than most franchises are able to give as the first real game of the year approaches.  Also, Condon has a reputation for trying to get his quarterbacks overpaid, which could further slow the process.  Finally, the rule that makes the salaries of vested veterans guaranteed if they are on the opening-day roster and later released could prompt interested teams to try to reduce their financial risk by waiting.

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POSTED 8:44 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 10:15 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

STRAHAN SHOWS UP

Giants defensive end Michael Strahan showed up on Monday at approximately 4:00 p.m.  He met with coach Tom Coughlin and G.M. Jerry Reese, and took a physical.  Strahan left after 45 minutes or so.

Though Strahan has racked up more than $500,000 in fines, it's our understanding that much of it was forgiven by the team.

Strahan is expected to practice with the Giants on Tuesday.  The team makes its regular-season debut on Sunday night against the Cowboys.

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RICE GETS $3 MILLION

A league source tells us that defensive end Simeon Rice will receive a base salary of $3 million under his one-year deal with the Broncos.

The source said that the contract also includes some high escalators.

Rice was cut by the Buccaneers on the first day of training camp.

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NO. 5 IS UP

Two down, one to go. 

We're making up for the entries into the PFT Preseason Power Rankings that we missed on Saturday and Sunday, and with the posting of No. 5 we are eventually caught up.

The full list is right here.

And as long as we can get No. 4 up by midnight, we'll remain caught up.

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NO. 4, TOO

We made it.  No. 6, No. 5, and No. 4 are all up, getting us off of the delinquent list.

The full list is right here.

Coming Tuesday will be No. 3.  Followed by No. 2 on Wednesday.  No. 1 (which will be obvious once No. 2 is named) might be formally unveiled on Wednesday.

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POSTED 8:17 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

RICE JOINS BRONCOS

The Denver Broncos had secured the services of defensive end Simeon Rice, signing the veteran to a one-year deal.

Rice was cut by the Buccaneers on the first day of training camp.  He visited the Giants soon thereafter, since the Giants were looking (at the time) for someone to replace Michael Strahan.

Rice also drew interest from the Titans and the Rams.

The Broncos made the most sense, since they had the biggest need at the position.  But, as a reader pointed out to us, the fact that the Broncos play at a high elevation could be a problem.  Per a July 26, 1997 item from the New York Times, Rice became ill during 1997 training camp in Flagstaff, while he was a member of the Arizona Cardinals.

Our guess is that Rice signed a contract carrying a low salary and either incentives or a per-game roster bonus, which will protect the team in the event they decide to release him.  Because he is a vested veteran, he will be entitled to receive his entire base salary, if he is on the opening-week roster and thereafter is released.

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POSTED 5:47 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

STRAHAN RETURN DELAYED BY PAPERWORK?

A league source tells us that Giants defensive end Michael Strahan is in town and ready to report to the team, but that delays in relation to paperwork to be submitted in connection with his return has prevented him from joining the field.

Per the source, the NFL and the NFLPA must give their respective blessings to the arrangement reached by Strahan and the Giants; presumably, he will return and his fines will be forgiven.

It's unknown whether the agreement also includes a provision pursuant to which the Giants won't try to recover the 2007 proration of Strahan's signing bonus.  But we presume that it does, since that debt would be much greater than the total of his per-day fines for failing to report.

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 POSTED 3:36 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 3:45 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

SAVAGE SETTING CRENNEL UP FOR BLAME?

We're firm believers in the notion that a team's head coach and G.M. should have equal accountability.  This keeps both of them on the same page and working together toward winning games, and staying employed. 

But the standard approach is that the G.M. usually gets to hire two bad coaches before getting fired (with the exception of Matt Millen).  Possibly because it's unclear whether Browns coach Romeo Crennel and G.M. Phil Savage are both on the hot seat as the 2007 season approaches, Savage is doing his best (as we see it) to publicize the notion that he's done his job in building the team, and that any failures in performance are due to a failure of coaching.

In fact, Savage has suggested that his team might have the same sort of talent as the Chicago Bears, whose last "real" game bore Roman numerals.

"You can go down the list and there are some comparisons on both sides of the coin," Savage said,  according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  "They were a Super Bowl team and we're perceived to be at the bottom of the barrel in the NFL, but I'm not sure there's that much difference.  The league is very competitive because of all sorts of things like injuries and confidence.

"When we played Denver, in my mind, the only difference was that they've had a winning tradition for a long time," Savage added.  "They know they're going to win.  The Browns are coming at it from a different perspective.  We're coming from inside of a hole and we're trying to get out.

"We have a solid core group of 35 players.  We have a legitimate NFL roster.  It gives us a chance to compete and potentially win a lot of games, not only this year but next year and the year after.  I feel good about where we are -- about the final 53 [players]." 

On  the surface, we agree with Savage.  But whether a team is successful isn't gauged by whether the roster is "legitimate."  Legitimacy is determined by wins and losses.

Besides, the salary cap and free agency allow every NFL roster to be "legitimate" -- and those high first-round picks that the Browns usually have don't hurt. 

So it looks to us as if Savage is setting up Crennel to take the fall and, in so doing, practicing the "please don't fire me, too" speech that he might be making in a few months to owner Randy Lerner.

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WE CAN NO LONGER LISTEN TO OR WATCH LOU HOLTZ

So we're working on the site this afternoon and we're watching ESPN.  After NFL Live, Bristol offers up College Football Live.  And we've concluded that we can no longer watch ESPN (or any of the other ESPN networks) whenever Lou Holtz is on the air.

We just can't take the whole "sufferin' succotash" routine anymore.  For the same reasons that Emmitt Smith is unfit to be a broadcaster, Holtz is unfit, too.  The overactive salivary glands are a distraction (at a minimum) for the viewer, and if anything Holtz is getting worse as he gets older.

To make matters worse, Holtz's mug goes from being Granny Clampett humorous to Cryptkeeper horrifying when broadcast in HD.

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POSTED 3:19 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

BUCS SIGN TROTTER

Our friends at PewterReport.com report that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter to a one-year contract.

Trotter was unexpectedly released by the Eagles to cap his second tenure wit the team.  He drew little interest beyond Tampa, and will bring his non-Cover 2 skills to a Cover 2 defense.

It really is a bad fit, in our view.  Trotter doesn't have the speed to cover the deep zones that will be his assignment in the Cover 2 defense.  So unless he's used only in clear running situations, he'll be a potential liability in the team's base defense.

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POSTED 3:05 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

STRAHAN STILL A NO-SHOW

A league source tells us that Giants defensive end Michael Strahan did not report to the team on Monday, despite widespread reports that he would.

It remains to be seen whether Strahan shows up later in the week.

We still think that Strahan is trying to get the team to decide that it doesn't want him back before coming back, in the hopes that he'll be traded or released.  Stay tuned.

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POSTED 2:17 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 2:59 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

FRYE, FOR NOW, IN CLEVELAND

The Cleveland Browns have named Charlie Frye as the starting quarterback for the Week One game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Whether Frye holds the job depends on what he does with it.

He held off Derek Anderson, who likely will be No. 2 for now.  Whether Anderson or rookie Brady Quinn would be the next option remains to be seen.

The Browns have six games before their bye week -- facing the Steelers, Bengals, Raiders, Ravens, Patriots, and Dolphins.  If the Browns are 2-4 or worse at that point, and if a change hasn't already been made, we think that the Quinn era will begin on October 28, at St. Louis.

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WEEK ONE QUARTERBACK RANKINGS ARE UP

We've posted our list, one through 32, of the ranking of the quarterbacks for fantasy purposes in Week One of the regular season.

The ranking is relevant for this week only, since it's based in large part on the opponent.

Still to come -- running backs, receivers, tight ends, defenses.  All by Thursday.  Oy.

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POSTED 1:07 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

CALDWELL CUT BY PATS

The New England Patriots have released receiver Reche Caldwell, according to Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe. 

Caldwell started in 14 regular-season games for the Pats in 2006.  He had the most receptions on the team with 61, and the most receiving yards with 760.  He tied with Troy Brown for the most receiving touchdowns, with four. 

The move leaves the Pats with five receivers on the roster, and should help to quiet rumors that Randy Moss is in danger of being dumped or traded.

An industry source told us earlier in the day of rumors that the Pats had been putting out the word that any of their receivers, with the exception of Wes Welker, were available via trade.

We assume that Caldwell was surprised by the news.  But, then again, it would be hard to distinguish such an expression from his normal, non-surprised demeanor.

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NO. 6 IS UP

As promised (not when we promised to do one per day but when we promised to get caught up), we've posted the No. 6 team on our preseason power rankings.

The full list is right here.

Coming later on Monday -- No. 5 and No. 4.

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POSTED 12:47 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

MOSES WASN'T CUT BY MISTAKE

Despite from Internet rumors and reports that the Raiders accidentally released defensive end Quentin Moses, the team's third-round pick in the 2007 draft, an industry source tells us that the cutting of the rookie was not the result of a mistake.

Moses received a $610,000 signing bonus when he signed with the Raiders, and will keep that money as he heads to the Cardinals, who claimed him on waivers.  For the Cardinals, it made their decision to dump third-rounder Buster Davis (who also received a $610,000 signing bonus) a wash.

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POSTED 12:31 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

MAKING THE CUT TO 53 NO REASON TO EXHALE

For players who made it to 6:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday without an invitation to visit to the coach's office, the time for sweating was far from over.

There were at least 30 players who were picked up via waivers on Sunday, which means that 30 more players must either be cleared off of 32 NFL rosters.

There could be more movement as the week unfolds.  If/when defensive Simeon Rice signs with the Broncos or the Rams, that move will displace a player from Rice's new team.  Once that player hits the market, he could be enticing to another team, which would then have to clear out a guy in order to make space for him.  And so on.

Then, after the Week One games, vested veterans can be signed without being potentially owed their full base salaries if they are later cut.  That twist in the rules could result in more players being signed, which only means that more will be dumped.

As a practical matter, this churning of the bottom of the rosters will continue over the balance of the season, with players routinely being signed, cut, waived, etc.  Rarely will those guys in the last few spots ever make a difference on game day -- especially since eight players on the active roster don't dress on Sunday.  Still, there will be opportunities to develop their skills during practice, and possibly to get into uniform once or twice in an effort to generate some film that might lead to more chances with the player's current team, or with his next one.

It's the least glamorous aspect of life in the NFL, and the first hint of the cold, hard reality of a looming life after football for guys who were stars at the NCAA level.    

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POSTED 11:40 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 12:15 p.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

CHILDRESS ASKING FOR TROUBLE

Regardless of his motivation for sharing with the media a conversation that he claims to have had with Pats coach Bill Belichick regarding maneuverings at the bottom of their respective rosters, the early reaction from league insiders regarding the harsh comments from Vikings coach Brad Childress regarding Belichick is that Childress made an enormous blunder.

Said one source:  "Why, in God's name, is Brad Childress talking about Bill Belichick to the press?  Is [Childress] a complete and senseless moron?  He basically insults one of the most powerful coaches in the league by calling him out as dishonest.  He's an idiot coach."

We tend to agree.  As a reader astutely observed, the coaching industry at the NFL level is fueled by relationships.  When a coach is fired and begins to look for other work, he relies on those relationships.  So why would any head coach gratuitously alienate a current head coach who has plenty of friends?

Indeed, if Childress is accurate in his belief that Belichick was trying to leverage the Vikings into not claiming tight end Garrett Mills on waivers, who's to say that Belichick won't eventually try to leverage some other team into not giving a job to Childress when/if/when he's fired by the Vikings?

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UPDATE ON PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS

After plowing through the first 26 team-by-team preseason previews/power rankings without missing a day, we blew it.

On Saturday and on Sunday, we simply didn't have the time to get them done.

But fear not -- we'll post No. 6, No. 5, and No. 4 on Monday.

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POSTED 11:32 a.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

JETS CREATING BULLETIN BOARD MATERIAL . . . FOR THE JETS?

Pausing between bites of pepperoni rolls and swigs of Diet Pepsi while tailgating prior to the West Virginia game on Saturday to check on the e-mails that had flowed into the PFT "in" box, we found a flurry of messages from folks who were pointing out to us a Saturday item from Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News.

Cimini, who as a member of the New York media necessarily regards himself as a cut above everyone else in the business, including the national guys, inexplicably misread a statement from Peter King's ranking of the top 500 players in the league.

Or was it a mistake?  (More on that later.)

King, in ranking Jets safety Kerry Rhodes as the 29th best player in the NFL and Bills tackle Jason Peters as the 39th, justified his decision by saying:  "I wouldn't move them down even if Bill Belichick called and said, "Neither of those guys could make my team."

Somehow, Cimini saw the hypothetical quote that was attributed to Belichick, without noticing the words that make the quote clearly hypothetical.

Wrote Cimini for an item that was published on September 1:

"The Jets' season opener against the Patriots still is eight days away, but the first salvo already has been fired. It's from an unlikely source:  Bill Belichick, who usually is careful about not providing bulletin-board fodder to the opponent.

"Belichick takes aim at safety Kerry Rhodes, ripping one of the Jets' best players in the current issue of Sports Illustrated. In a story that ranks the top 500 players in the NFL, Belichick offers his take on the rankings of Rhodes (29th) and Bills tackle Jason Peters (39th).

"'Neither of those guys could make my team,' Belichick told the magazine."

The incorrect story lingered into Saturday afternoon, even though the Daily News surely had been flooded with calls and e-mails from readers regarding the obvious error.  Eventually, Cimini added an item to his online blog regarding his grievous gaffe:

"Now it's time for a mea culpa.  I made a mistake in today's paper, misinterpreting a passage in the current issue of Sports Illustrated that mentions S Kerry Rhodes and Patriots coach Bill Belichick.  I attributed a quote to Belichick that he did not say; it was used by the writer as a hypothetical quote.

"I like Belichick.  I've known him for 10 years and I certainly never would knowingly print an erroneous quote just to make a person look bad.  It was a misinterpretation.  I pride myself on accuracy and, this time, I goofed.  I have apologized to all parties, and I will apologize to Rhodes the next time I see him.

"What can I say? Today, I deserve to be on waivers."

We agree that Cimini deserves to be on waivers, but not because of his error.  We believe that Cimini knew damn well what the article said, and that he intentionally chose to use the mistaken quote as a way to stir up Rhodes and the rest of the team prior to a Week One grudge match with Belichick's team.

Consider this passage from Cimini's original item:  "Rhodes burst out laughing when the quote was read to him in the Jets' locker room after Thursday night's preseason finale in Philadelphia.  He laughed so loud that a couple of teammates, dressing nearby, turned around to check out the fuss."

So Cimini misread the hard-to-misread sentence from King's item, in our view, at least four times:  once when he first read it, twice when he read it again because he couldn't believe his eyes the first time, a third time when he read it to Rhodes on Thursday night, and a fourth time when he sat down to write his Saturday article.

Further supporting our belief that Cimini knew damn well what he was doing if that the Jets don't seem to be interested in allowing the record to be set straight with Rhodes.  Writes King in his MMQB item, "I think I'm not surprised I haven't heard back from the Jets yet on the story.  I called the Jets on Saturday and said I'd like to speak with Rhodes to tell him Belichick never said what was reported.  As of this morning, I haven't gotten a call back.  I don't expect one either.  Why would they allow Rhodes to call me back?  Why lessen his motivation, stoked even higher by what he thinks is Belichick's colossal dis, by letting him hear the truth?  Coaches -- Belichick, Eric Mangini, even high school coaches -- love to motivate their players any way possible, even when they know that something they're using either isn't true or probably isn't true."

Taking it all a step farther, we're tempted to conclude that the Jets put Cimini up to it in the first place.  Sure, it would violate multiple principles of journalism if Cimini were to allow the subject of his reporting to persuade him to intentionally make a blatant error in order to provide some external motivation for the team.  But so what?  If Cimini were to go along with something like this, he would become the beat writer of choice for the coaching staff and the front office (if he doesn't already hold that title).

Finally, we love the timing of Cimini's vow to "apologize to Rhodes the next time I see him."  Cimini's beat is the New York Jets; surely, he knows how to reach Rhodes before "the next time [he] see[s] him." 

Then again, Cimini likely won't see Rhodes until after the Week One game between the Jets and the Patriots. 

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POSTED 10:22 a.m. EDT, September 3, 2007

CHILDRESS SAYS BELICHICK TRIED TO GET VIKES NOT TO CLAIM CUT PLAYER

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Pats coach Bill Belichick tried to persuade Vikings coach Brad Childress not to make a waiver claim on tight end Garrett Mills, who had been released by the Patriots on Saturday.  The Pats wanted to be able to sign Mills to the practice squad o