The wild-card team in all this Deion Branch trade talk could be the Washington Redskins because they always seem to pay more than anyone else. But the speculation is that Branch will discover very quickly that the Patriots' final offer to him was very fair and that most teams view him as a No. 2 receiver, not a No. 1.

Yes, Branch was the MVP of the Patriots' last Super Bowl championship but that's because voters are always looking to give the prize to someone other than a quarterback. Branch runs great routes and Tom Brady loves him, but his talent is undoubtedly of more value to the Patriots than it is with most teams.

 The Patriots deserve a first-round pick as compensation for Branch, whose biggest problem is that he is under contract for slightly over $1 million for this season. No team is going to simply wipe that contract off the books. It would be stupid to do otherwise.

Branch may be better than the best receivers in Philadelphia, Green Bay, Kansas City, Buffalo, Minnesota and the New York Jets. But he's not in the league with Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison.

He's a very good player and he's worth the $6 million average the Patriots have been offering him on an extension. What Branch can't do is moan and whine about his original contract. Yes, he out-performed the terms, but that happens a lot in the NFL. He signed it and he must move on.

How is that?

You would be amazed how many NFL general managers know Matt Millen's won-loss record in Detroit since he became the team's general manager.

"How in the hell does someone with a 21-59 record get named to the Competition Committee?" one GM asked me. "How does he keep his job and also get a new contract?"

Said a former member of the committee: "Matt is the wrong kind of person to be on that committee. I just can't figure out what they are doing, but I'm glad I'm not dealing with it anymore."

Millen replaced former Houston GM Charley Casserly, who is now working for CBS Sports. By the way, Casserly wasn't happy with his settlement pay from Texans owner Bob McNair after being fired.

QB controversy in Chicago

A scout who watched the Bears-Cardinals game on Friday night left with these two impressions: Arizona rookie quarterback Matt Leinart looked very comfortable and poised in the pocket and the Bears did a dumb thing by allowing backup Brian Griese to throw a pass on second-and-goal from the 2-yard line.

"A play like that is always going to work in a preseason game," the scout said. "All that does is fuel the fire for the quarterback controversy. Rex Grossman looked OK. He threw a couple really good balls and even his interception wasn't a bad throw. Antrel Rolle simply made a fine play."

After three preseason games, Griese has 148 quarterback rating to Grossman's measly 48. Griese has led the Bears to scores on five of his seven possessions. Meanwhile, Grossman has been a 50 percent passer with two interceptions and zero touchdowns. The fans who cheered his return during a win over Atlanta late last season are now booing Grossman.

What if?

Back in 1992, Rams president John Shaw interviewed Mike Holmgren to be the next coach of the Rams. Had Shaw been able to convince owner Georgia Frontiere to hire Holmgren, the Rams might still be in Los Angeles.

"I remember my interview going really well with John and Jay (Zygmunt)," Holmgren said recently. "But John told me that I was going to be a tough sell because Georgia wanted to hire Chuck Knox. I don't know if I could have prevented the Rams from moving, though."

Knox, who was looking for one last paycheck, had a 15-33 record in three seasons with the Rams. The crowds in Anaheim Stadium dipped into the low 40,000s and with the Knox experiment a disaster, the Rams fled to St. Louis and its big bonus relocation money.

In that same 1995 season, Holmgren led the Packers to the NFC Championship game where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. Holmgren, now head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, has coached in three Super Bowls.

Toughen up, Lions

New Detroit head coach Rod Marinelli has never liked the whining of his players and to toughen them up, he opted to fly over five hours on Friday morning to play in Oakland Friday night. The Lions, who were known for being soft under Steve Mariucci, were whipped by the unbeaten Raiders.

The good news for Oakland was quarterback Aaron Brooks, who had his best game of the preseason, throwing two touchdown passes to Randy Moss. In his first two games of the summer, Brooks completed only two passes total.