New Cowboys coach Wade Phillips has returned former first-round pick Bobby Carpenter to inside linebacker, his position at Ohio State. There is no question that the rookie Carpenter struggled as an outside pass rusher last season.

"It's tough because Bill (Parcells) doesn't always communicate everything really well," Carpenter said. "It was tough for me trying to get a feel for what was going on and what they expected out of me and what their goals were for me to be out on the field. They have done a good job this year of communicating what they want and what I need to do to get better."

Phillips said he moved Carpenter to inside linebacker in his 3-4 scheme because he's athletic and because he can run. Some believe the new defense is more flexible for a young player like Carpenter.

"Last year was a little difficult," Carpenter said. "But with this defense, it allows you to run and make more plays. It's not near the structure of how you have to play within the scheme. You get to let your athletic ability take over."

Super Bowl redux

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones only beat Indianapolis by a vote of 17-15 in last week's 2011 Super Bowl vote, and the tightness is a strong indicator of the divide between the big-market and small-market owners. Jones won because his new stadium will be able to have 30,000 more fans attend the championship game, whereas Indianapolis wowed many owners with a $25 million pot to alleviate any NFL expenses for the game.

There was a time, long, long ago when the Super Bowl went to the best city and venue. But when the late Pete Rozelle was commissioner, many cities began to include financial perks to the league to land the all-important game. I can remember writing in the mid-1980s the "selling of the Super Bowl" when Miami out-spent San Diego for the rights to XXIII, and Rozelle pulled me aside to explain the financial situation. The cities started by bidding a couple million dollars 20 years ago to now where Indy was prepared to spend $25 million simply to buy the NFL's most-prestigious event.

It shows how valuable the game is to any city. And, also, how valuable the Super Bowl is to the NFL.

Hester looks great

The experiment never worked at the U. of Miami, but Chicago's super return man, Devin Hester, looked like a natural at receiver in recent mini-camp work. The first two days of camp, he didn't drop a pass. He ran solid, crisp routes and, basically, had his teammates and coaches raving about him.

Give head coach Lovie Smith high marks for convincing Hester to junk cornerback for being a wide receiver.

"It was more exciting than I really thought it would be," Hester said. "Whenever a player gets his hands on the ball and knows what he can do with it, it's a lot of fun."

After the catch, Hester routinely made players miss. The new dimension should be great for Rex Grossman and also alleviate the frustration that Hester, who returned six kicks for touchdowns last season, will face when punters and kickers kick away from during the season. The Bears needed to find a way for Hester to get more touches.

On kickoffs, Hester will be paired with safety Danieal Manning, former college kickoff specialist, in hopes they can form a 1-2 punch. He will still wear No. 23 and be listed as a running back/receiver.

Reggie helps again

Saints running back Reggie Bush matched his original $50,000 to Holy Rosary High School last year, which helped keep the school for learning-challenged youth open. Bush presented the New Orleans' school with his second $50,000 gift last Friday. 

"After last year, they did such a great job, and what they do is so important," Bush said. "This is a school that needs to stay open." 

Holy Rosary serves the needs of students who face learning challenges in a typical classroom environment. The school offers hands-on learning and cross-curricula that is designed to provide students with alternative ways to learn mainstream subjects in a smaller classroom setting.

It was not surprising to me that Clinton Portis and Chris Samuels of the Washington Redskins said it was no big deal that Falcons quarterback Michael Vick might be involved in operating a dog fighting entertainment center on his Virginia home. (Vick has since sold the property.)

The first time I heard about killer dogs was in relationship to Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson and his backyard pit bulls. Besides guns, Johnson was also into dogs. Bears coach Lovie Smith talked Johnson into removing his dogs from his property.

Some NFL players like to live on the edge. Guns and fighting dogs. Those seem to be enticing outlets when there are no games to be played. To me, they are reckless pursuits that need to be checked at the NFL door. But fans must accept that there is a culture of violence among players that apparently has become acceptable.

In the past, players from the Packers, Cowboys and Raiders have been linked to dog fighting. This is why Portis defended Vick, sounding like it was no big-time crime to be involved with it.

All-Purpose Fullback

 When you think of the game's best fullbacks, guys like the Chargers' Lorenzo Neal, Seattle's Mack Strong and Tampa Bay's Mike Alstott are mentioned the most. All three are excellent blockers and solid short-yardage performers. A big season for any of them is 150 to 200 yards rushing.

The Rams are hoping that second-round pick Brian Leonard of Rutgers can join this elite, but aging, group this season. Rams coach Scott Linehan is formulating a plan that will have Leonard getting 15 to 20 snaps a game. Once a college tailback, Leonard is also pretty sharp. He's picking up the offense quickly and probably will be used as Steven Jackson's backup on occasion, too. He also caught 207 passes for 13 touchdowns at Rutgers.

Linehan plans to use Leonard as a lead blocker for Jackson, as a potential third-down back and a short-yardage runner.

Another Unhappy Eagle QB?

When the Eagles acquired linebacker Takeo Spikes from Buffalo for Darwin Walker, the best part of the trade was supposedly backup quarterback Kelly Holcomb. My friend Peter King of Sports Illustrated gushed over Holcomb's veteran qualities and abilities.

Well, Eagles coach Andy Reid must not think too much of Holcomb, who figures to be the odd man out in Philadelphia behind Donovan McNabb, A.J. Feeley and second-round pick Kevin Kolb. The only way Holcomb makes the roster is if Kolb goes on injured reserve with some mysterious injury. Reid isn't counting on Kolb playing this season.

"I didn't expect it," Holcomb said. `"But hey, that's the business. That's the game of football. You've got to compete. I've had to compete for everything I've gotten in this league. It's just another day for me."

Jags & Brady Quinn

There is no question that Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, who could be fighting for his job this season, would have preferred drafting Notre Dame's Brady Quinn last month. And based on Byron Leftwich's erratic throwing during recent mini-camps, the Jaguars could be in for a long season.

Del Rio has a solid team, but the quarterback position (and all those young receivers) has let down Jacksonville when it comes to making a playoff run. Last season, Del Rio wanted David Garrard to win the job outright, but he failed miserably down the stretch.

Even though Brett Favre refuses to speak to me anymore - apparently the backlash from some accurate reporting on his relationship with a former head coach and former offensive coordinator - I fully support his petulant reaction to the Packers' inability to trade for Randy Moss or any veteran receiving threat.

OK, Green Bay GM Ted Thompson didn't believe Moss, who is considered a dog by more than half of the league's personnel men, was worth $3-5 million this season and the potential aggravation he could cause when he doesn't get his own way. If you accept that assumption, then you believe that New England's Bill Belichick is dumber than Thompson.

We say Belichick can afford to take a risk on Moss because he has won three Super Bowls and also has a quality quarterback in Tom Brady, who wanted Moss, just like Favre did.

But the bottom line in Green Bay is that the Packers really don't trust Favre. In recent seasons, Favre has displayed a tendency to do his own thing on the field. He takes too may chances with the football. You can bet the Packers believed that with Moss around, he and Favre would do what they wanted to do on game days, and ignore what coach Mike McCarthy wanted on offense.

This is why Green Bay should simply cut its ties with Favre. He's mad and frustrated with the situation. He still believes he has the arm for the long ball, but the Packers don't really want to give him the weapons he desires. They are building for a future when Favre probably won't be around. In Green Bay, the best players right now are on defense.

It doesn't make any sense to have Favre, who remains one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC, and not give him any ammunition. Do you think the Bears would rather have Favre or Rex Grossman? How about the Lions? Do you think GM Matt Millen would swap Jon Kitna straight up for Favre?

Why have Favre on your roster if you're not going to surround him with some quality receivers? I mean, he has what, one or two more seasons left? And there is no dominant team in the NFC right now. The league's best teams are in the AFC.

Last season, Thompson took a bigger risk when he signed ex-Viking Koren Robinson, who was eventually suspended for an entire season. If he can take a chance on Robinson, who had a long history of alcohol abuse, why not take one with Moss?

Glad that Tuna is Gone

Now that former Dallas coach Bill Parcells has admitted that he didn't support the acquisition of Terrell Owens, Owens has gone on record to say he didn't learn a thing from Parcells last season. There was a lot of mistrust there.

But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones better be concerned about Owens saying how much more relaxed the players are now with Parcells gone.

Yes, the Dallas players blamed Parcells for a vanilla defensive strategy down the stretch last season, but they are the ones who surrendered an average of 33 points a game over the final four December games, including embarrassing defeats to Philadelphia and Detroit.

The players all say they like new head coach Wade Phillips. But this is the NFL, and winning a popularity contest in the locker room is never a good thing for a head coach.

Kiffin another Gruden?

There is no question that Raiders rookie head coach Lane Kiffin is attempting to have some control over personnel as well as his offensive game plans. To some Oakland insiders, his zest for personnel control reminds many of former coach Jon Gruden, who argued whenever he could with owner Al Davis over players.

With the firing of personnel assistant Michael Lombardi, Kiffin has no middleman in dealing with Davis. Right now, Kiffin is stretching himself pretty thin, attempting to do it all.

"It's easy for him now, though, because he hasn't messed up any third-down calls yet," said one team source. "Wait until the season starts."

There seems to be no question that Kiffin plans to start quarterback Josh McCown while allowing No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell to learn from the sidelines. With McCown, the Raiders obviously will have a lot of roll outs and bootlegs to suit his ability to avoid pressure and run. How long McCown will survive is another question.

Mike Williams, who was acquired with McCown in a draft-day trade with Detroit, has a hamstring tear and may not be ready for the start of training camp. The former first-round pick figures to be released if he can't perform in preseason games. Right now, there are no indications that he will, either.

The Weight of Simon

The Colts will never admit that defensive tackle Corey Simon's weight was the real reason they dumped him last season, refusing to pay him the remaining $1.9 million of his 2006 base salary of $2.5 million. The Colts have also lost their claim to recover an $8 million option bonus paid to Simon and will still have a hefty Simon number on their 2007 salary cap once the player is released.

GM Bill Polian has made a lot of great moves to help the Colts, but his $30 million contract to Simon ranks as one of his worst decisions.

Bengals & Thurman

The Cincinnati Bengals were the poster kids for NFL bad behavior last season and now there's word that coach Marvin Lewis is considering giving middle linebacker Odell Thurman another chance should the player be reinstated in 30 days after serving a year's suspension for failing to adhere to the league's drug-alcohol policy.

Granted, Thurman was the team's leading tackler two seasons ago and in America everyone seems to get a second chance. But you have to wonder if Lewis is making the right call in bringing him to training camp if he's reinstated. What kind of influence will Thurman be on Ahmad Brooks, another of Cincy's troubled linebackers?

One of the biggest issues with players like Thurman is that Lewis is thinking he'd rather have him on his roster than be playing against him.

Who Wants Ricky?

Ricky Williams hasn't been reinstated yet by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, but you can bet that he won't be playing for the Miami Dolphins this season. New head coach Cam Cameron doesn't want Williams, who turns 30 next week, on his team. Williams, who reportedly has flunked another marijuana test, has missed two of the last three NFL seasons.

But some team will take him. In his last two NFL games, he rushed for 172 yards against the Titans and then 108 yards against New England on Jan. 1, 2006. The Dolphins won both games.

Vikings coach Brad Childress passed on Brady Quinn or any other rookie quarterback for that matter and he sees no sense in pursuing receiver Keyshawn Johnson.
 
"I don't know if he's got anything left," Childress said of Keyshawn.

There is a chance that Childress could find out first hand when Minnesota plays the Packers this season. Green Bay has been trying to convince Keyshawn that Lambeau isn't such a bad place to play. The Raiders and the Tennessee Titans, who need a quality possession receiver for their young quarterbacks, are more attractive to Keyshawn.

However, based on his ESPN work during the draft, Keyshawn definitely has a future in television. He may opt for TV if doesn't receive a contract worth a lot more than the minimum salary.

Peppers next?

The theory in Charlotte a few months ago was that defensive end Julius Peppers would receive a new contract before Steve Smith did. But the Panthers just extended Smith, meaning that Peppers may have to wait or be prepared to get the franchise tag placed on him next season.

There is no question that the Panthers and Peppers have been waiting to see what Indianapolis pays Dwight Freeney. Depending on your point of view, they are the game's two best defensive ends and both set the tempo for their team's defensive line play.

The problem for Indianapolis is that quarterback Peyton Manning eats up so much of their salary-cap space. The Panthers could strike a deal with Peppers, but he really wants to see what Freeney gets. It's called keeping up with the Joneses.

Why would Lance show?

The Bears haven't been showing linebacker Lance Briggs the money, so why would the player show for the team's mandatory mini-camp in two weeks? Chicago didn't make any serious attempts to trade their second-best linebacker prior to the draft and Briggs has gone on record that he's prepared to withhold his services for as long as it takes. Although he could earn $7.2 million this season, Briggs wants a long-term contract with a guaranteed signing bonus.

To cover themselves in case Briggs pulls a no-show, GM Jerry Angelo drafted Stanford linebacker Michael Okwo in the third round, the same round he tabbed Briggs in 2003. "I like Okwo," Angelo said. "He is a very, very good player and, in fact, he reminded me a little bit of Lance."

Go ask Bill

With all the receiver upgrades, plus the signing of Adalius Thomas to an aging linebacking corps, the New England Patriots are considered the preseason favorites to win the AFC despite the fact that Indianapolis won the Super Bowl. To deal with Tom Brady's receivers, the Jets moved up in the first round to draft Pitt cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Jets coach Eric Mangini was asked if the road to the Super Bowl goes through New England.

"I think that the road anywhere starts with our next minicamp and then training camp." Mangini said. "Last year was last year and I don't think they were the ones that won it."

What about Randy Moss being a Patriot?

"I think that he is a good player," Mangini said. "They are a good team and why they do the things they do, the question is better for Bill (Belichick)."

Call him the Mortician

If he really worked at it, Bucs coach Jon Gruden probably could be a standup comedian instead of a football coach. Gruden was asked last week about offensive tackle Chris Denman, a seventh-round pick from Fresno State, and his nickname of "The Mortician."
 
"It's not because he buries people or kills anyone." Gruden said. "He's a very serious guy. I guess that's how most morticians are. A mortician I know is kind of a loose, happy guy, but this mortician is very serious and quiet - kind of a subdued guy. But I'm going to keep this nickname alive. I kind of like it."

What most football writers don't like about Randy Moss is that he has no time for them. His indifference toward them definitely influences their writing. Moss could care less about idle chit-chat in the locker room.

One of the problems in our society is that we generally don't accept people for who they are. Moss is definitely different and he has his own football standards. It doesn't mean we have to accept Moss' actions, like his penchant to be lazy off the line when he knows he's a decoy on a particular play. He's been pretty much a front-runner as a receiver; great when the team is winning; lackadaisical at times when it is losing.

To me, it's almost perfect that he will play in Boston, where the Red Sox employ talented Manny Ramirez, who smiles a lot more than Randy and also has a familiar quirk about taking a few days off. Last season, Manny pretty much ditched September, but the Fenway faithful still cheer him on.

While there is some dog in Moss, he usually worked hard and ran hard in the practices I have attended throughout his career. He wasn't like Michael Irvin, but he definitely gave a quality effort. He was even busting his butt last summer in Napa, where the Raiders hold training camp, despite the most disconcerting offensive practices I have ever witnessed in almost 30 years. There were literally five minutes at times between plays; it looked like junior high football.

You could see frustration on the players' faces. It was only August, but you could sense that the Raiders would be lucky to win a few games despite a pretty talented defense. The offense was a Tom Walsh mess and then head coach Art Shell was allowing it to happen. Plus, Moss knew that quarterback Aaron Brooks was the worst kind of leader.

Moss, who was generally hurt much of last season, basically threw up his arms, knowing he had better offensive training at Marshall in the late 1990s.

Does that condone his lack of effort? No, but it explains him a little.

To understand his thinking, consider this: If you had a choice between playing for a rookie head coach (Lane Kiffin) who wasn't even the owner's first choice or Bill Belichick, whom would you pick? If we polled every NFL player, the results would be above 90 percent for Belichick.

Hey, Kiffin might turn out to be pretty good. But Moss wants to win now. And I believe all he wants is some structure to his football existence.

Moss-Packers

Without question, Randy Moss preferred Tom Brady to Brett Favre and Belichick to Mike McCarthy. But if you were Packers GM Ted Thompson, and you really wanted Moss, plus you've known Oakland's asking price, why would you play hardball with the receiver? I mean, don't give him the same one-year salary deal he received in New England?

Better yet, Thompson should have given Moss a better deal than the one the Patriots were offering. That possibly would have tipped the scales in Green Bay's favor. The bottom line is that Thompson and the Packers really didn't want Moss, a receiver who has torched them for 14 of his 101 career receiving touchdowns.

Cleveland flashback

The Browns did very well in the draft when you consider they had Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn rated fourth overall on their draft board. They were able to pick him with the Cowboys' 22nd overall pick. Granted, they surrendered next year's first-round pick for Brady, but GM Phil Savage is hoping that it won't be as high as the Browns' pick was this year.

Cleveland doesn't get a free pass on Wisconsin left tackle Joe Thomas. Last year, Savage gave Atlanta tackle Kevin Shaffer a 6-year, $36 million contract to play left tackle. Thomas will eventually receive a contract more expensive than Shaffer's and now the Browns are trying to unload Shaffer. The Giants, who are desperate for a left tackle with the release of Luke Petitgout, wouldn't surrender a fourth-round pick for Shaffer.

So while Savage deserves credit for this year's draft, he deserves low marks for signing Shaffer to such a huge contract.

Turner off the market

I don't blame San Diego GM A.J. Smith for announcing he's keeping Michael Turner as LaDainian Tomlinson's backup. The Chargers need every quality player they have in order to compete with the Patriots and Colts this season.

But I do find a lot of fault with Tennessee and Green Bay. Neither team was willing to trade a second-round pick for Turner, who is better than any running back currently on either team's roster. Instead, the Titans may have wasted their second-round pick on Arizona running back Chris Henry, who started 10 games in college. Henry's stock soared in the draft because he was a workout warrior.

Call him a steal

Who is the only NFL tight end to catch two touchdowns in the playoffs last season? If you guessed Indy's Dallas Clark, you would be wrong.

Tampa Bay's new tight end, Jerramy Stevens, did. He scored twice in Seattle's wild-card victory over Dallas. Tony Gonzalez and Daniel Graham of the Patriots had one each.

Even though Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren highly recommended Stevens, the Panthers and Jets turned their noses up on him. Stevens is considered a bad guy even though he currently isn't in the NFL drug program. His problem is alcohol, not illegal drugs. Of course, he recently was arrested for a DUI, so his standing could change. The Bucs signed him for $600,000 and that could prove to be a bargain.