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."

You have to wonder what Chris Simms is thinking. You can bet that his father, Phil Simms, isn’t too happy with head coach Jon Gruden after the Bucs gave Jeff Garcia the same contract ($7 million for two seasons) that Simms is playing for while also securing the rights to former Denver starter Jake Plummer.

Yes, Plummer has announced he plans to retire rather than play in Tampa Bay. But the Bucs and Broncos wrote a pretty interesting contract before the NFLPA got wind of what was happening. If Plummer reports this month to the Bucs, Denver receives a fourth-round pick. But if Plummer doesn’t report in March, the compensation is a seventh-rounder.

This is a very interesting trade language, and one designed to prevent Plummer from simply asking to be released from Denver and then signing with the Houston Texans, where his former offensive coordinator, Gary Kubiak, is the head coach. That is what Plummer wanted to do and exactly what the Broncos wanted to prevent.

Basically, the Bucs will own Plummer’s rights and if he doesn’t report, they will place him on the reserve list. If Plummer ever wants to play in the NFL again, he will have to deal with the Bucs, who could either activate him or trade him.

Believe it or not, the Bucs have enough salary-cap room to keep all three quarterbacks. They currently plan to do exactly that and see what happens before considering a trade later in the year.

For Simms, he now knows for sure that the Bucs like Garcia based on what he was paid and that maybe he shouldn’t have signed that extension late last season. I mean, Simms is hardly guaranteed anything now except for a lot of competition for the starting quarterback spot.

Quality of life influences Dielman

The Chargers kept guard Kris Dielman, who settled for a $6.5 million average after rejected a $7 million average from the Seattle Seahawks. Basically, Dielman decided he’d rather live and play in San Diego than in Seattle, and who can argue with that reasoning when the money was so close.

Still, what’s fascinating is that Seattle was going to pay Dielman more money than it was willing to pay All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson last season. Seattle completely misjudged how much room they would have this season and where the salary numbers for offensive linemen would be in 2007. It was horrible planning and cap management by the Seahawks and magnified by the club’s pursuit of Dielman.

Small market?

There are a few NFL teams wondering how can Bills owner Ralph Wilson continue to complain about his small-market stature and his desperate need for revenue sharing after his team pays two offensive linemen, Langston Walker and Derrick Dockery, a total of $70 million. Walker, who would have been paid the minimum by many NFL teams, received a $10 million signing bonus from the Bills.

Dockery is a very good run blocker, but Walker, a right tackle, was a full-time starter on an offensive line that allowed 72 quarterback sacks last season.

The Cleveland Browns gave former Bengals guard Eric Steinbach a better contract than what Hutchinson received last season, including $17 million guaranteed. It’s difficult to believe all these guards are as good or better than Hutch.

Serious upgrade

The Patriots have definitely improved their defense with the multi-talented ex-Baltimore linebacker Adalius Thomas. Thomas chose New England over San Francisco, believing the Pats have a better chance of reaching the Super Bowl than the 49ers. That makes sense.

The Patriots also signed Jacksonville tight end Kyle Brady, who they believe remains a top five blocker at his position. If they can pry Wes Welker away from the Dolphins, it will be a great acquisition. Welker is an excellent special teams player, but also has a chance to be a full-time receiver. There aren’t many tougher all-around players in the NFL than Welker.

When examining Chicago’s schedule it makes total sense that 12 victories is a slam dunk unless their mauling of proud Seattle was a fluke. And I doubt that. Granted, they can’t afford for Brian Urlacher to get injured, but they may even be able to win another eight games without Rex Grossman. Then again, they won’t advance far in the playoffs without Rex.

            John Madden said it best when he compared Grossman’s gambling style to that of Brett Favre’s. Grossman would rather go deep, risk the rewards of a big play rather than play it safe and dump it off for a measly five-yard gain. Grossman is all about going downtown.

            The defense can’t be compared to the ’85 Bears merely because this is a different era and the styles are totally different. This team overall does appear to be a little quicker, but the ’85 Bears also had better outside pass rushers and also a smart, tackling machine in Mike Singletary. The safeties loved to hit and both were playmakers. Buddy Ryan was a defensive genius and he had all the right pieces to wreck havoc with the finest offenses of that era.

            There is no question that Seattle, the reigning NFC champion, missed MVP Shaun Alexander and all-world guard Steve Hutchinson last Sunday. Seattle’s coaches will tell you that once they got into a passing game with the Bears, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck reverted to past mistakes and simply became unglued. It’s understandable, though, considering the tremendous inside pressure applied by Bears tackle Tommie Harris.

            “What we weren’t expecting is how good Grossman played and that No. 80 (receiver Bernard Berrian),” said a Seahawks coach.

            The Hutchinson story won’t die in the Northwest because the Seahawks really would rather pound the ball with Alexander (he may be back in two weeks) than evolve into a passing team. They really don’t want to live by the four-receiver formation. After this week’s bye, look for Deion Branch will be starting ahead of Nate Burleson.

            Back to the Bears, though, their schedule is simply too easy, considering the weakness of the NFC North and three more games against the NFC West. They simply need to survive one weird three-game road stretch in November when they visit the Meadowlands for consecutive games against the Giants and Jets followed by a visit to New England on Nov. 26.

            What the Bears have right now is potentially the tiebreaker for home-field advantage with the Seahawks because the good teams in the East and South figure to beat each other up.

Colts coach Tony Dungy was extremely upset with how the officiating crew in the Meadowlands last Sunday allowed the Jets to substitute in their no-huddle offense while preventing the Colts to do the same as Chad Pennington was permitted to rush his team to the line of scrimmage. The Colts were forced to use two timeouts in order to make their substitutions.

            Dungy was planning to unleash Peyton Manning and Co. with similar tactics this Sunday against the Titans merely to prove a point. Dungy has never broken “the spirit” of the no-huddle rule even though his offense is the NFL’s best equipped to operate such a style. The league sent out a directive on Thursday that offenses will be warned – like the Jets should have been – for preventing the defense to substitute if they substitute. An offensive team will be penalized 15 yards if they do it a second time.

            In San Diego, safety Terrence Kiel, who supposedly has financial problems, is back practicing and playing while free on a $160,000 bond after being arrested by federal drug agents for shipping codeine-laced cough syrup across state lines.

Yes, it should be a circus in Philadelphia on Sunday with fans paying ten to 20 times the face value of tickets in order to witness the return of Terrell Owens to the City of Brotherly Love. It could get funny or ugly depending on your sense of humor. There are reports that four Eagle fans plan to dress in white nurse outfits and pelt Owens with generic pills when he steps onto the field.

On Wednesday in the Dallas locker room, the media horde encircled Owens while four lockers away receiver Terry Glenn, their leading receiver, was basically ignored. That’s life with the Cowboys or any team that employs Owens.

Several Carolina players, including some of the coaches, felt that Saints linebacker Scott Fujita deliberately went after receiver Steve Smith’s legs last Sunday. Smith appeared to be sandwiched by two defenders with Fujita going low. Fujita, however, apologized to Smith immediately, saying he lost his balance and wasn’t trying to injure the star receiver. Smith apparently accepted the apology.

Jets quarterback Chad Pennington returns to Jacksonville this Sunday where he re-injured his surgically repaired right shoulder last season. Pennington hasn’t forgotten the hit by Jaguars defensive end Paul ####er. A photograph of ####er’s quarterback sack sits on Pennington’s desk at home.

Panthers center Justin Hartwig was shocked by the foot stomping act of the Titans’ Albert Haynesworth on Andre Gurode of the Cowboys, but he wasn’t a least bit surprised. Before signing this year with Carolina, Hartwig was a teammate of Haynesworth for four seasons and had his own run-in with the defensive tackle.

            “He's a guy that isn't in very good control of his emotions,” Hartwig said. “When he's getting beat he tends to lose control of his emotions and he gets irrational and he doesn't think straight.”

            In training camp one year, Hartwig was blocking Haynesworth in a pass-rush drill. Haynesworth bull-rushed Hartwig over and then with the center on his knees, Haynesworth reared back and kicked Hartwig in the chest.

“I tried to grab his foot when he kicked me,” Hartwig said. “I was going to dump him on his back, but when I tried to pick up his foot one of the other offensive linemen came in and cleared him out. So it was basically a brawl after that.”

        Panthers receiver Keyshawn Johnson said he never in his 11 seasons in the NFL had ever seen such an assault on another player. Keyshawn added that Haynesworth should have been suspended for the whole season. “I wouldn’t want him on my team,” Keyshawn said. “I’m not playing with a dude doing that on my team.”

            Hartwig said he steered clear of Haynesworth off the field. He said there were incidents in practices with Haynesworth every year, accusing him of punching teammates when they weren’t looking.

            “He’s just the kind of guy I stayed away from,” Hartwig said. “He just kind of loses his mind sometimes. That’s just him. I don’t put anything past the guy. He was reprimanded for things by the club in the past. A lot of it didn’t get out to the media.”

One of the worst teams I saw this summer was the New Orleans Saints. Personnel people around the league concurred with me.

Now, that the Saints are 3-0 and heading toward a showdown game with the Carolina Panthers this Sunday, there are two theories: 1.) preseason games definitely don't reveal a team's true identity or 2.) new head coach Sean Payton and his defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs have this team playing well above their heads.

Granted, the Saints played with enormous emotion Monday night in the franchise's return to the Superdome, but they also stuffed the potent Atlanta rushing game and Drew Brees directed a wide-open offense.

Payton has done a masterful job with Reggie Bush, who may not have huge numbers but truly scares defensive coordinators. The Falcons made an effort to account for Bush and in the process it opened up other areas on the field for Deuce McAlister and rookie receiver Marques Colston. In August, the Saints' offensive line looked like it had major holes, but that hasn't been the case with Payton's aggressive play-calling.

Give Payton another huge pat on the back for realizing early in training camp that Colston, a mere seventh-rounder from Hofstra, might be a big-time receiver. Payton's confidence in Colston (15 catches for 204 yards) allowed the Saints to trade away Donte Stallworth to the Eagles.

Anybody notice that Stallworth is injured again?

Some truth to Shockey

It had been written for a week or more that Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren was seriously considering a lot of four-wide receiver formations prior to the New York game because he had to get newcomer Deion Branch on the field. Holmgren even admitted to possibly using the formation at least 10 times a game.

Well, the New York Giants apparently can't read.

They looked totally unprepared to deal with the four-wide look on Sunday as Holmgren used it extensively, helping Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to a career day. Hasselbeck threw four of his five touchdown passes in the first half as Seattle built a 35-3 lead. In most cases, receivers were wide open. There wasn't a Giant within 10 yards of tight end Will Heller when he caught his fourth career touchdown.

The formation prevented the Giants' pass rushers from getting to Hasselbeck because with a receiver always open, Hasselbeck was getting rid of the ball before anyone got near him. It was a frustrating day for players like Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora.

Ponder these numbers

- Everything you hear out of Detroit is that the Lions finally have the right head coach in Rod Marinelli. And still the Lions are off to a 0-3 start and GM Matt Millen is now 21-62.

- Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger doesn't have a quarterback rating over 31.0 in his last three starts, which includes the Super Bowl. The "great" Hines Ward has nine catches for 99 yards. Where are the big plays?

- The Raiders are in their must-win mode this week. But just remember they lost to the Browns last season at home on three Phil Dawson field goals, 9-7.

- Minnesota's offense has gone 10 quarters now without a touchdown.

Good move

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy opted for a lot more shotgun formations last Sunday in order to give Brett Favre time to see downfield. With young offensive linemen learning a new zone-blocking system, it made a lot of sense and Favre delivered with three touchdown (402 in his career) passes. McCarthy figures to do more of the same because Green Bay will be in a lot of high-scoring games this season.

Wait a week on Leinart

Arizona coach Denny Green is leaning towards starting rookie Matt Leinart over Kurt Warner this Sunday in Atlanta. But wouldn't it be better, considering the Georgia Dome might be pretty hostile this weekend, to wait a week and allow Leinart to get his first start at home against the Kansas City Chiefs?

Of the rookie quarterbacks, Leinart was always considered the one most ready to play this season. Mentally, he knows the playbook. He possesses big-game poise, too. But there's nothing wrong in waiting because Green really doesn't want him to fail and there's really no sense in turning back to Warner once the coach makes the switch.

The NFL has been listening to the complaints, but no way is it going to fully support New England’s tampering charges against the New York Jets on the Deion Branch case. Even when the Pats had Branch virtually traded to Seattle, they were complaining last Friday that the Jets had tampered with Branch.

“When you allow a player to seek a trade and allow his agent to do the same, while working on a contract, how can you prove any blame on any team interested in that player,” a top NFL official told me on Saturday, when the tampering charges were revealed. “I just don’t know why they won’t let that go. It makes no sense and seems groundless to me.”

“It just sounds like sour grapes to me,” one GM told me Tuesday afternoon. “For some reason, they really thought no one would go after him for a lot of money.”

Rudderless Raiders

Raise your hand if you think Jerry Porter would have helped the Raiders’ offense Monday night? Raise your hand if you think nobody, even Joe Montana or Troy Aikman, could have salvaged that offense?

It’s too bad the Raiders didn’t trade Porter to New England and kept Doug Gabriel, who was liked by his Oakland teammates, particularly Randy Moss.

Punk'd?

It did seem like a punk thing to do, when Moss flipped the ball to Chargers placekicker Nate Kaeding, who was standing out-of-bounds. But it didn’t seem like a big-time taunting penalty until reading the rule books. A player isn’t allowed, at any time, to use a football as a prop when dealing with opponents or officials. Moss undoubtedly didn’t know that rule.

Out of character

The thing about Porter laughing at Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks being sacked on Monday night is that he has had a reputation as being not a team player for quite a long time. He had this reputation prior to his run-in with new head coach Art Shell.

Chief concerns

The Chicago Bears were interested in signing veteran receiver Rod Gardner. But guess what happened? Gardner got a better deal from the Kansas City Chiefs. The good news in Kansas City is that quarterback Trent Green is expected to be released from the hospital Tuesday after that ugly hit by Cincinnati’s Robert Gaethers on Sunday.

Sweet revenge

There is one big reason why Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson was extra excited about beating the Redskins in Washington – owner Daniel Snyder. He knew that Snyder thought he had a pop-gun throwing arm and wanted Jeff George as his quarterback. Johnson also knew what a rough time Snyder gave then head coach Norv Turner, who loved Johnson and supported him to the bitter end.

The right stuff

The Seattle Seahawks made the right move in trading next year’s first-round pick for New England receiver Deion Branch. Seattle’s window of opportunity is now to return to the Super Bowl, plus he gives quarterback Matt Hasselbeck a solid option underneath. The Seahawks would be really scary if they also had guard Steve Hutchinson, who opened some big holes for Chester Taylor on Monday night.

Seattle GM Tim Ruskell didn’t want to surrender his first-rounder, but when his team escaped Detroit with only a 9-6 win, he had no choice. I’m still not sure if it was the right move for New England, losing a talented player. But it really was the only thing the Patriots could do once they knew that Branch was serious about not reporting until the 10th week of the season. The negotiations got ugly and he never would have signed with them.

The thing about this trade is how many players get a chance to repeat as a Super Bowl MVP with another team? Branch took the honor in Jacksonville two years ago and he could end up leading the Seahawks into Miami this season.

When I first saw Miami coach Nick Saban attempt to toss the red challenge flag after TV replays appeared to show Pittsburgh tight end Heath Miller was out-of-bounds prior to scoring the game-winning touchdown, I thought he was concerned with style points. He looked tentative and unsure before tossing the flag on the field, nowhere near any official. Hence, no one saw the red flag.

"It looked to me like he wasn't or his coaches upstairs weren't totally sure that they should be challenging the call," Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio said Friday. "One time I must have thrown that thing 50 yards, right into the other team's huddle. That's what you have to do. Even when we had the buzzer system, I never used that. I always threw the flag and made sure the referee saw it. They allow you to leave the (sideline) box and run onto the field just to make sure."

That was basically what Mike Pereira, the league's head of officiating, said after Thursday night's botched instant replay challenge by Saban. The buzzer system went bye-bye two years ago.

Had the roles been reversed on Thursday night, everyone knows that Bill Cowher would have run onto the field and hit the referee with it.

It's impossible to say that the failed challenge cost Miami the game, but Saban's weak attempt helped every head coach in the league prepare for their next challenge. No one will make the same mistake this weekend when the remainder of the regular-season opens. The refs better duck.

Plenty of room

With the salary cap raised to $102 million this season, it was no surprise to see that most NFL teams have a lot of cap room heading into the season. In fact, 10 teams, lead by Jacksonville, have at least $8 million or more in salary-cap space. The Jaguars are $12.7 million under the cap.

New Orleans has $11 million, Arizona $10.5 million and Minnesota, Houston and New England each have $10.3 million. I guess that means that the Patriots could pay Deion Branch if they wanted to and still have plenty of room. It has to be worrisome to the NFL Players Association that teams like New England and Houston, two of the clubs worth more than $1 billion and both generating revenues among the top 10 in the league, would be keeping the cap money and not spending it.

The teams with the least amount of space are Miami ($550,452), Atlanta ($897,916) and Oakland ($1.127 million).

Turn, turn, turn

There has been a lot of turnover in the league the last couple of years. Green Bay is obviously rebuilding and retooling its roster. But the Philadelphia Eagles are considered a playoff contender, and they've had major turnover. Two years ago, the Eagles were in the Super Bowl. Well, since that game, the Eagles have only 22 of the 53 players who were in Jacksonville. They have only 13 of the 22 starters who played New England in that championship game.

Big savings

David Givens, who signed a big free-agent contract with the Tennessee Titans in the off-season, saved himself $20,000 this summer. How's that?

Well, Givens first offered Titans receiver Tyrone Calico $10,000 for his jersey No. 87. Calico said no, and Givens was forced to wear No. 89.

Later, Givens, who wore No. 87 in New England, offered Calico $20,000 for the number. Again, Calico said no.

But Givens will be wearing his customary No. 87 this Sunday against the New York Jets.

How's that? Givens got the number for free when Calico was cut by the Titans last weekend.

Good seats still available

We all know that the Minnesota Vikings have traded away their star power and it's starting to show at the ticket window. From the day they drafted Randy Moss, the Vikings have had 86 consecutive Metrodome sellouts. Well, the record is in danger this season.

The Vikings claim to have 1,000 tickets available for next Sunday's home opener against the Carolina Panthers. In fact, they have tickets available for all eight of their home games. To help sell those Carolina tickets, the Vikings have announced that Packer fans who want to purchase tickets to the Green Bay game in Minneapolis must also purchase Carolina tickets. How's that for ticket blackmail?

Minnesota's average ticket price is $71, the sixth-highest average in the league.

Whether Titans owner Bud Adams had some input on the use of rookie quarterback Vince Young, head coach Jeff Fisher is making a very smart move in making sure Young plays two or three series in the season opener against the New York Jets.

Young and new starter Billy Volek are two totally different quarterbacks. Volek prefers to take a deep drop because he is not that mobile. Young is a freakish talent who can throw on the run and if there’s nothing there, has the strength to possibly run for a first down. He has running back skills. Despite his odd release, Young is a very accurate passer and can pull the trigger quickly. He simply needs to be smarter about sliding and ducking defenders.

Deep down, Fisher knows that Young could be the difference between a winning or losing season in Tennessee. Volek is a five-win quarterback at best. But by playing Young, too, the rookie will be putting tremendous pressure on opposing defenses with the extra preparation time necessary to deal with two entirely different quarterbacks.

Tennessee, regardless of the running back, could have a decent running game. But if Fisher starts losing early, look for him to extend the use of Young until he becomes a starter this season. It makes sense.

If Fisher loses this season, there’s a chance Adams could fire him, which may not be a bad career move for the coach. He is a co-chairman of the NFL Competition Committee and respected league-wide as one of the game’s finest coaches. He will find work easily, and on his terms.

There could be two major openings.

San Diego’s Dean Spanos is unhappy with Marty Schottenheimer and could make a change regardless of how well the Chargers do this season. The other opening could be in Dallas. If the season goes poorly in Big D, Bill Parcells could elect to retire. It’s anybody’s guess what could happen there, considering Parcells reportedly has a good walking-away income - another year’s worth of pay - should he elect to retire. Fisher would be at the top of the list for Jerry Jones.

Not so fast, Raiders

Art Shell and the Oakland Raiders may be 2-0 in the preseason, but that undefeated record is a mirage. The Raiders continue to have trouble on offense. New quarterback Aaron Brooks hasn’t looked good in two consecutive starts, especially against the opposition’s first-team defenses.  

The Raiders have also been disappointed with the progress of second-year quarterback Andrew Walter in training camp. Against the Vikings, Walter connected on a beautifully thrown deep ball to Johnnie Morant, a player who has the ability to supplant Jerry Porter as a starter. If not that, Mora  

But after his great touchdown pass, Walter threw an awful interception and was greeted on the sideline by Shell’s glare. Right now, the Raiders can’t protect the immobile Walter, who may have more upside than Brooks.

Shell, one of the game’s all-time tackles, can’t be pleased with the play of Robert Gallery and Langston Walker, his two starting offensive tackles. It may be time to move Walker back to guard and guard Barry Sims back to tackle. And what’s with Gallery’s hair? If he was a great player it may be interesting, but right now he looks pretty silly with those long, curly locks.

Let's get physical

In my recent training camp column, I overlooked the very physical practices that rookie head coach Brad Childress has been operating in Mankato, Minn. this summer. Some of the veteran players have been upset with the edict to actually tackle and drop players in drills. Of course, this is the style Childress learned under Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“This is the most physical camp I’ve ever been associated with,” said prized cornerback Antoine Winfield, an eight-year veteran. “I’ve been tackling people to the ground. It’s a long season and I’m only 185 pounds. I can only take so many hits. I’m trying to last the entire season.”

To which Childress said: “I don’t know what Antoine Winfield has been through. But I know what it takes to win.”

I’ll say this about the Vikings. They looked good against the Raiders and the left side of their offensive line will do a lot of damage this season.

Running on empty

The Jets returned running back Lee Suggs to Cleveland when he failed his physical. But the Jets will still be looking, considering the potential retirement of Curtis Martin. There’s a good chance that the 49ers could consider trading Kevan Barlow, especially if they name Frank Gore as their starting tailback. Barlow would help the Jets. Another team that could be interested in Barlow is Denver. Coach Mike Shanahan really liked Barlow coming out of Pittsburgh.

Mascot mayhem

 Remember the story of the Titans’ mascot T-Rac running over Saints quarterback Adrian McPherson? Well, guess who owns McPherson’s rights in the Arena League? Well, none other than the Nashville Kats.

 Bet on Bruschi

 The word with the Patriots is that linebacker Tedy Bruschi will definitely play in the season opener against Buffalo. He will simply tape up the cast on his broken wrist. Bruschi broke the scaphoid, a peanut-sized bone under the thumb.

The rumor of this being Bill Cowher’s last season in Pittsburgh won’t go away and apparently it has nothing to do with Mike Holmgren, the coach he beat in Super Bowl 40, making over $7 million a season.

According to a close coaching friend of Cowher’s, the Steelers head coach was planning prior to last season to leave and retire to Raleigh, N.C.

“When we first talked about it, he wasn’t even thinking about winning the Super Bowl,” the source said. “Things weren’t looking that good for his team when we spoke about it. I think he just wants to watch his girls play basketball and take some family time and unwind.”

Cowher, who has another year on his Pittsburgh contract, could sit out a year or two, depending how he feels. Plus, he’s young enough to come back.

Question of protection

The biggest question mark for the Dallas Cowboys apparently remains the biggest unknown. Can the offensive line function, with all the juggling, and protect immobile quarterback Drew Bledsoe? If they can’t protect, Terrell Owens can forget whatever gaudy numbers he has in his head.

Flozell Adams, who is coming off a knee injury, is the team’s best lineman but he currently is favoring the leg and mentally worried about it. This caused Bill Parcells to shift Rob Petitti to left tackle and put Marc Colombo, a former No. 1 bust of the Chicago Bears, into Petitti’s vacated right tackle spot. The other bad news in this musical chairs scenario is that Jason Fabini, a good player when Parcells coached the New York Jets, has lost whatever magic he had and has been beaten repeatedly in training camp in one-on-one drills.

The other move has been to shift Andre Gurode into the center position, an expected move with the inconsistent play of Al Johnson, a Parcells’ favorite when he was drafted three years ago.

The Dallas offense had a good day Saturday against the defense overall, but Bledsoe’s first unit, minus T.O. of the sore hamstring, didn’t fare as well as Drew Henson’s unit. And we all know that the Cowboys aren’t counting on Henson to deliver them to the playoffs this season.

Childress on T.O.

Minnesota coach Brad Childress, the former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, doesn’t have fond memories of Terrell Owens. Childress had a few thoughts on T.O.’s recent three-day absence with a strained hamstring.

Childress pointed out that Owens remains bothered by a serious groin pull, first suffered with the 49ers, and that the way he pushes himself on the practice field that there will always be the chance on nagging injuries with someone like Owens.

Coaching carousel

A few updates: I ran into Jim Bates, the unemployed defensive coordinator, at Troy Aikman’s Hall of Fame party Saturday and he said he’s definitely going to return to coaching next season. Bates, who did a marvelous job with Green Bay’s young talent last season, was disappointed he couldn’t find a head-coach job. Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman said that new coordinator Bob Sanders has kept Bates’ system intact. “They have a lot of good young players and with A.J. Hawk the Packers should be better this season,” Bates said.

Ron Hill, who missed out on jobs with the St. Louis Rams and Houston Texans to be those teams’ top personnel man, has been hired by the Kansas City Chiefs as an area scout. Hill, who worked in Jacksonville and is responsible for drafting many of the current stars of the Atlanta Falcons, lost his job in Atlanta a year after Rich McKay became that team’s general manager. Hill said he will be an area scout, covering Texas and Oklahoma, and keep his home in Atlanta.

And hats off to Miami coach Nick Saban for allowing offensive assistant Jason Garrett to skip Saturday’s practice so he could attend Aikman’s induction.