Because of traffic around Glendale and the constant security around the University of Phoenix Stadium, Terry Bradshaw was 10 minutes late for his sit down with MVP Tom Brady. But Brady didn’t mind and seemed to enjoy the down time before facing Tuesday’s 2,000-plus reporters and TV crews on Super Bowl media day.

Bradshaw gave Brady a cigar – Tom doesn’t smoke – to give to his father should the Patriots beat the New York Giants and win a fourth title. “I know your dad is probably the only one in your family who really likes me,” Bradshaw joked with Brady. “I know you would rather have Joe Montana here doing this interview than me.”

Brady said no, no while admitting that growing up in the San Francisco area he always idolized Montana while acknowledging that Bradshaw was the first quarterback to win four Super Bowls.

“I can’t (you) tell how much all of us have been thinking about being part of history,” Brady said. “We talked about it just the other day as a team. To always be remembered in the history of sports would be something special.”

On the FOX pre-game show, Brady’s interview should be something special because the New England quarterback spoke about his life on and off the field. He genuinely seemed excited about spending time and talking football with Bradshaw.

“I know everybody is making a big deal that they finally put some great receivers around me,” Brady said, “but people forget that I had Troy Brown, David Givens and Deion Branch in past Super Bowls. Deion was the MVP of our last one. You ought to know that a quarterback is only as good as the people around him.”

On that note, Brady did say that Randy Moss is the most-gifted receiver he has ever played with. “He’s the most graceful runner at the position I have ever seen,” Brady said. “But Randy is more than just physical ability. It’s what he knows and how he thinks out there. Randy has a lot of football knowledge and he knows how to break down defenses and what will actually work and not work. It’s the whole package that makes him so special.”  

To Patriots owner Bob Kraft, Fox Sports is sort of like a good-luck charm. Yes, his Patriots lost their first Super Bowl with Kraft as the majority owner on FOX, but the man understands that the Green Bay Packers were better on Jan. 26, 1997. Of course, Kraft hasn’t forgotten that former coach Bill Parcells made Troy Brown inactive for Super Bowl XXXI in favor of special teams player Hason Graham, who couldn’t tackle MVP Desmond Howard, who had a record 244 of punt-kick return yardage in that 35-21 loss.

“I can still see Troy crying on the sidelines about not playing that day,” Kraft said Tuesday when bumping into me and Terry Bradshaw.

But the Patriots run of three Super Bowls in six years started on FOX, when Bill Belichick’s team upset the mighty St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI on Adam Vinatieri’s 46-yard field goal as time expired. That win in New Orleans was almost five months after September 11.

The Patriots won again after the 2003 season, before winning again on FOX in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville.

The Patriots this Sunday will be going for their fourth Super Bowl in seven years.

“That’s one thing you will always have over us, should we win,” Kraft said to Bradshaw. “Your Steelers won four titles over six years. It’s been a great run, but it’s always great to see you guys when we’re at a Super Bowl.”

Like his mentor Mike Martz, Bills offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild is preparing J.P. Losman and his youthful receivers to go to the next level. This means that Buffalo has been working on five receiver sets this off-season, believing that the free-agent offensive line acquisitions will allow Losman the time to go deep and throw, throw, throw.

Such a strategy worked in the Jim Kelly era in wild-weather Orchard Park, but no one is convinced these Bills are up to the task. There is no doubt that Fairchild knows some offense and is a strong enough voice to play it safe, too.

The Bills are in one of the AFC’s toughest divisions, considering the Patriots, the newly-improved Jets and the always-reliable Dolphins. To compete for a playoff spot, Buffalo must improve on a red-zone offense that managed only 15 touchdowns on 35 visits last season. Losman showed improvement at the end of last season and must continue those strides this summer. It’s just hard to imagine #### Jauron coaching a pass-first offense.

Bears fixing Rex

Chicago’s coaching staff has been diligent in the off-season of constantly reminding quarterback Rex Grossman to quit throwing off his back foot and to remember to step into every one of his throws. It is Quarterback School 101. The Bears believe that most of Grossman’s 20 interceptions last season were the result of faulty mechanics and bad habits like throwing off his back foot.

Young quarterbacks like Grossman, who does have a strong arm, often believe that their arms can salvage any precarious situation. Well, that rarely happens unless you are a young John Elway.

What is odd about the Bears, though, is that they showed absolutely zilch confidence in highly-paid backup Brian Griese last season. They have a young team coming off a Super Bowl and shouldn’t management be focused on making sure the offense can score if Grossman doesn’t produce?

I mean, shouldn’t the Bears consider signing Daunte Culpepper? He knows the NFC North and he can throw. Wouldn’t Culpepper be a better option should Grossman misfire once again?

Zone blocking

The use of zone blocking along the offensive line has raised its head in Carolina under new coordinator Jeff Davidson. It seems like the futility of Carolina’s running game last season had as much to do with Dan Henning’s firing as offensive coordinator as Jake Delhomme’s subpar passing season. There were rumblings that owner Jerry Richardson had a hand in Henning’s dismissal, but it appears that coach John Fox believed he needed to make a dramatic change even though he had a lot of respect for Henning’s work. It’s just too bad that Fox didn’t take into consideration all the injuries on offense last season, too, before bailing on Henning.

There has been a lot of speculation about Fox’s future in Carolina and most of it hinges on the fact that ex-Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher is retired and living nearby. But Fox doesn’t appear to be entering a win-or-else season and if Cowher does return to the NFL sidelines his likely landing spot would be Cleveland where owner Randy Lerner has the money ($7-to-$10 million) to pay him. Plus, it would be a coup for Lerner and the Browns to hire Cowher and give him the keys to the franchise.

Moss beneficiary

A lot has been written lately about Randy Moss and his strong workouts with the New England Patriots and Tom Brady. There is no question that Moss should be a splendid weapon in the Patriots offense if he remains healthy. But what Moss and speedy receiver Donte Stallworth mean to Brady and Co. is pretty obvious.

If those two receivers can be effective deep, it will allow ex-Dolphin Wes Welker to operate in single coverage underneath and be in position to catch 100 passes this season.

Welker -- not Moss -- was the pivotal New England acquisition this off-season. Not only does Welker’s departure lessen Miami’s offense, but he gives Brady a sure-handed, feisty target to keep the chains moving. When the Patriots play teams like the Colts, time of possession will be as important as scoring. With Welker, the Patriots will move the chains.

And, finally, if Brady has a successful passing offense, you can bet that running back Laurence Maroney could have 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns. If defenses are forced to play the pass, Maroney should have plenty of opportunities to run.

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 ####-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.

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.

Tampa Bay should have a healthy quarterback competition this summer.

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 is the right time to draft a quarterback in the first round?

The correct answer is when you have a first-year head coach. For example, the Raiders should have taken a quarterback, say Matt Leinart, last year because it was Art Shell’s first season. They didn’t and Shell had no excuse to fall back on before being fired. And it’s definitely why they will take a quarterback this year, having hired Lane Kiffin, an offensive head coach. The two men can grow together. Most believe that Kiffin will tell owner Al Davis that of the draft’s top two quarterbacks, he prefers JaMarcus Russell to Brady Quinn.

This being said, what do the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Bucs do?

I say that both teams pass on Quinn because a rookie quarterback can’t help Romeo Crennel and Jon Gruden save their jobs next season. Both coaches reportedly are on the spot; they have to win to remain employed. For the Browns, GM Phil Savage’s career is probably tied to next season’s won-lost record, too.

Nobody knows for sure, but I say that if Oakland takes LSU’s Russell and Detroit sticks with Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas with the second overall choice, then Cleveland will take Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson and Gruden will select the top player on his draft board, Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson, who ran a 4.35 40-yard dash Sunday.

Saturday night, Gruden had his chance to pick Quinn’s brain and we know he did a ####-up job. And, yes, the Bucs need a quarterback. They are kidding themselves if they believe that Chris Simms or possibly acquiring someone like Jake Plummer or Jeff Garcia is going to have immediate positive results.

Internally, the Bucs don’t buy that Quinn is sliding down the draft board. But the bottom line in Tampa is that Gruden will make this draft call, and he probably will pass on taking a quarterback.

$10 million head coach

If I had to pick one, I’d say that New England’s Bill Belichick could become the NFL’s first $10 million head coach whenever he was free to leave the Patriots. Belichick is worth it as a coach, slash personnel director. With more and more marginal players earning $4-5 million a season because the salary cap is $109 million, it makes sense for an owner to pay the big number to a head coach who can properly manage that huge player-salary budget.

In fact, several general managers here said that the head coach’s salary should be factored into the salary cap.

“I know my coach can’t understand why so many second-team players, guys who don’t always contribute, are earning such bigger paychecks than any of his coaches,” one AFC general manager said. “A great coach is worth every penny to a franchise because he’s the one who develops the rookies into starters.”

Owners have been complaining about how much money the players are collecting, but what are really impacting their overall profit margin are the costs for the coaching staffs and personnel departments. Many teams have coaching/personnel staff budgets well beyond $10 million a season. The Redskins hit that magic number with only three of their coaches: Joe Gibbs, Al Saunders and Gregg Williams.

Right now, some teams may only spend $95 million of the $109 million cap. You can bet that some owners would love to place their head coach’s salary into that pie and save themselves a lot of money.

Consider the Chicago Bears. Deep down they know that head coach Lovie Smith is more valuable to the team than probably any player outside of Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. They have finally reached the $4 million level on a new deal for Smith, the game’s lowest-paid head coach at $1.45 million for 2007. They probably would place Smith with the game’s top dozen earners if they could count the salary toward the salary cap.

More than Hutch

It must be comical to head coach Mike Holmgren and his coaching staff that the Seahawks are preparing to pay Chargers guard Kris Dielman, an unrestricted free agent, more than the $6.5 million that Steve Hutchinson received last year to leave Seattle for Minnesota. Holmgren was so upset that his front office failed to place the franchise tag on Hutchinson a year ago, and ultimately losing him on a poison pill contract that Minnesota prepared for him, declaring that he had to be the team’s highest-paid offensive lineman. Seattle couldn’t match because left tackle Walter Jones was their highest-paid lineman.

But last season, with three different guards trying to fill the Hutchinson void, Seattle’s running game faltered and Jones had a subpar season. This is where Dielman, who may not be as good as Hutchinson on the field and in the locker room, fits into Seattle’s future.

Speaking of free-agency, Dielman, Bengals guard Eric Steinbach and Arizona tackle Leonard Davis could hit a gold-mine of riches when free agency signings begin next Friday, March 2. Davis reportedly may have a $12 signing bonus offer from some unnamed team. The Cleveland Browns may be competing with Seattle for Dielman and Steinbach.

Cozy relationship

When Ernie Accorsi was the general manager of the New York Giants, he had a very good working relationship with agent Drew Rosenhaus. After Saturday’s revelation by new GM Jerry Reese, whose promotion was supported by Accorsi, that he would be interested in trading for Bills running back Willis McGahee, the Rosenhaus connection was raised by several competing teams. McGahee, who wants a new contract from the Bills, is represented by Rosenhaus.

Reese said that he was unwilling to trade a first-day draft choice (rounds one through three) for McGahee, but that he would be willing to part with lower picks and possibly some players. MaGahee, who doesn’t like to work out in Buffalo in the off-season, has mentioned a holdout from training camp if he doesn’t receive a new deal. The Bills have been saying it would take a first-round pick to acquire McGahee.

Ugly brother

David Irons, the Auburn cornerback, attempted to be a standup comic today in the media room. His brother, Kenny, was Auburn’s stud running back this past season and the two brothers have a great chance at become the first such family tandem to be selected in the first round of a NFL draft. Their father, two uncles and two cousins have played in the NFL.

But in high school, Kenny was David’s blocking back.

“We called it ugly sweep right and ugly sweep left,” David said of his brother, referring to Kenny’s face. “I kept telling him to take his visor off so the defenders could see his face. I mean once he did, they got out of his way and I ran down the sidelines for an easy touchdown.”

David wasn’t finished. “You should have seen him yesterday in his chocolate suit or whatever he was wearing,” he said. “My brother looked like a big, fat cup of coffee.”

Moss available

The Raiders don’t know what to do with receiver Randy Moss, whose salary this season is slightly more than $9 million. New coach Lane Kiffin says that both Moss and Jerry Porter, who spent most of last season in Art Shell’s doghouse, will be in his starting lineup. Porter, who is in the last year of his contract, needs the Raiders while Moss has different ideas. The feeling is he wants the opportunity to play for a playoff team and not be a part of Oakland’s rebuilding.

What is unknown is what does Al Davis want for Moss? Would he settle for a third or fourth-round draft choice? If he would, the New England Patriots might be interested in Moss. The Pats need a veteran receiver and Belichick knows he can handle Moss. There’s been a lot of talk about the Packers for Moss, but it doesn’t look like a move that Green Bay GM Ted Thompson would be interested in making, no matter how much Brett Favre asks.

Eagles passing on Garcia

The Eagles keep telling their fans that they want last season’s surprise, Jeff Garcia, to return and be Donovan McNabb’s backup. But the team hasn’t offered Garcia a contract and the 37-year-old quarterback has been rejected by most teams. The Chicago Bears, who wasted $6 million on Brian Griese last season, aren’t interested in Garcia to challenge Rex Grossman. The Panthers don’t want him and neither do the Dolphins. Garcia may have a shot with the Bucs, but they are in no hurry to sign him.

Two things are known about the AFC playoff picture. The Indianapolis Colts are back and will receive a first-round bye. And, two, the Baltimore Ravens will be scoreboard watching this Sunday, praying that the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Diego Chargers. I’m also pretty sure that Mike Holmgren is hoping for that same result.

Otherwise, there are still a lot of unknowns in the AFC playoff picture.

Based on Monday night’s performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Colts appear to be a lock to win their final two games against Houston and Miami, thus securing one of the conference’s top two seeds and the first-round bye.

The Chargers currently hold the No. 1 seed but they must beat Seattle and Arizona to keep ahead of the pack.

The Ravens, who travel to Pittsburgh this Sunday before hosting pesky Buffalo, believe they can win those two games. If they do, and San Diego falters just once, Baltimore would earn a first-round bye. How’s that?

Well, should Baltimore and San Diego finish with the same record when the regular-season ends, the Ravens hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their 16-13 win over the Chargers in Week 4. The Colts hold the advantage over the Ravens, even though both are 11-3, based on a better record against common opponents. That’s why the Ravens were rooting for the Bengals on Monday. Baltimore has lost to two teams -- Cincinnati and Denver -- that Indianapolis beat.

Right now, New England (10-4) owns the fourth seed in the AFC, but the Patriots have two difficult road games during the holidays. They travel to Jacksonville, who remains alive for a wild-card spot, and then Nashville to face rookie Vince Young and a 7-7 Tennessee team.

If the Patriots beat Jacksonville, it should guarantee the winner of Sunday’s Cincinnati-Denver winner of a wild-card spot. If Denver wins, they would be 8-4 against conference foes, by far the best record among teams that have not secured a division title.

The other spot could go to the surprising New York Jets. The Jets travel to Miami and then host the Oakland Raiders. If they win out, I say they will get a wild-card spot. As physical and tough as Jacksonville is, the Jaguars simply can’t be counted on when it matters most. The Jaguars can beat the Patriots, but I wouldn’t bet on it. But it is something of a mini-playoff game, similar to the Bengals-Broncos’ matchup.

Pro Bowl thoughts

The first thing I noticed was that Giants quarterback Eli Manning wasn’t selected, but the three players (or draft selections) which were traded for him did. How remarkable is that? The Chargers ought to give GM A.J. Smith a raise.

Quarterback Philip Rivers, who wasn’t good enough for Giants GM Ernie Accorsi, made it in his first year as a starter (this is Eli’s third such starting season), as well as outside linebacker Shawne Merriman (despite missing four games for a steroid suspension) and kicker Nate Kaeding.

For the most part, I thought the majority of the selections were no-brainers. It’s difficult to judge interior linemen and interior defensive linemen. I do believe Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce deserved it over Seattle’s Lofa Tatupu. Even Minnesota’s E.J. Henderson is a much more physically-imposing linebacker than Tatupu.

You can’t argue with the NFC’s running backs, but I will anyway. Frank Gore definitely deserved it; he’s carried the 49ers this season. Nothing against Tiki Barber or Steven Jackson of the Rams, but Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook would have been on my team over those two. Westbrook has 1,756 yards from scrimmage; he’s a bigger playmaker to me.

Two players got the shaft in the AFC. Jets receiver Laveranues Coles has 87 receptions and a 12.2-yard average and he should have been one of the four receivers selected; in three or four games, Coles helped secure wins for the Jets. He was the NFL’s leading wide receiver (28 receptions) on third down plays.

Also, Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha has eight interceptions and his play is one reason why Oakland has been much improved on defense this season, ranking first against the pass and fourth overall. He’s definitely more deserving than Baltimore’s Chris McAlister.

The other receiver I liked was Seattle’s Darrell Jackson, who has more third-down catches than any of the four NFC starters. Doesn’t being clutch, plus carrying a 15.2-yard average and 10 touchdowns, count for anything?

The only other stunner is that overweight defensive tackle Kris Jenkins of the Panthers was selected as the third interior defensive linemen.

Suspension warranted

The Bears suspended defensive tackle Tank Johnson for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Johnson was arrested for the third time last Thursday and then a day after he apologized to the team and its fans, Johnson was out clubbing past 1:30 a.m. with his good friend Willie B. Posey, who ended up getting shot and killed. How many hangouts do you go dancing in where your night ends up with a buddy getting murdered?

You can call it bad luck or whatever, but Johnson hasn’t been hanging with the right people once he leaves Halas Hall. His teammates have been supporting him and the Bears seem willing to accept him long-range as long as he undergoes counseling.

Johnson can blame the automatic weapons found in his house on his dead friend, who lived with him, but there are too many instances in his life were he’s crossed the line going back to his college days at the U. of Washington.

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.

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder was in the news last week by coming to the financial aid (First and Goal LLC production company) of actor Tom Cruise, who was bounced by Paramount Studios. But the rest of the NFL also turned heads when Forbes magazine listed Snyder’s Redskins tops again with a value of $1.423 billion.

When Snyder bought the Redskins, beating out John Cooke, the late owner’s son, in 1999 for $800 million, the sports world took notice. There also was a huge gasp because few believed an NFL team was worth that much. A lot of people, including myself, thought Snyder had paid way too much.

But then no franchise works harder at marketing and selling tickets than the Redskins. Remember, Snyder was able to secure more than $200 million from FedEx for the naming rights of Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.

Snyder, who has forever done everything in a big way, is having the last laugh. Snyder has set the market for franchises and the value of head coaches. He paid Steve Spurrier $5 million a season when no one believed the old ball coach would ever leave Florida. He reportedly is paying Joe Gibbs close to $6 million to coach this season.

He signed Deion Sanders and Bruce Smith at the end of their primes. His coaching staff also has the league’s two highest-paid assistants in Gregg Williams and Al Saunders, at $2.6 and $2 million, respectively. By comparison, the Bears pay head coach Lovie Smith $1.2 million a year and he was NFL Coach of the Year last season.

Now, if Snyder can find a buyer for his Redskins, he can almost double his investment.

Forbes listed New England, Dallas, Houston and Philadelphia as the other franchises worth more than $1 billion.

Interest in Branch

The New England Patriots could be in trouble because it’s always difficult to predict what an arbitrator will rule. But Deion Branch’s agent was able to secure a long-term contract worth between $36 and $39 million from the New York Jets and there’s a good chance that Seattle would match that offer if asked to surrender only a second-round pick.

The Patriots have been asking for a first-rounder and more. Still, the team gave its word to Branch that they would consider a trade if he could beat the Patriots’ last contract offer. He did that by securing about $23 million in the first three years. The Pats’ final offer was basically $19 million over four.

There have been three recent trades of wide receivers. Two players were moved for third-round picks while Javon Walker, whose best single season is better than anything Branch ever did, was traded to Denver by the Packers for a second-round pick. The Walker trade could serve as a precedent for any Branch decision. Then again, how can an arbitrator force the Patriots to trade Branch, who is under contract and has been a holdout all summer?

The Seahawks are interested because top receiver Darrell Jackson (left knee) hasn’t practiced much this summer and the club doesn’t know how productive he will be this season.

Dallas' roster woes

Marc Colombo, a failed first-round pick, had too many injuries to survive in Chicago. But he will be the starting right tackle for the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday in Jacksonville after the club waived last year’s starter Rob Petitti. Ex-Jet Jason Fabini will be Colombo’s backup.

Because of the numbers’ headache on special teams, the Cowboys were forced to cut fourth rounder Skyler Green, who was drafted as a kick returner, and Terrence Copper, one of the team’s best special teams players last season. Dallas kept three kicker/punters. Compare that to Atlanta, who has Michael Koenen doing both the punting and field-goal kicking this season.

Helping the Herrions

It didn’t receive much national attention, but hats off to the San Francisco 49ers, from coach Mike Nolan to owner John York, for collecting the funds and dipping into their own wallets to build a home in Fort Worth for Janice Herrion, whose son Thomas died of a heart attack after playing a preseason game in Denver.

Thomas Herrion, an offensive lineman, had always wanted to buy his mother a house. The 49ers completed the dream and several 49er players visited the home during their preseason game in Dallas last month. The 49ers also raised enough money to pay for the property taxes and annual maintenance on the home while Mrs. Herrion lives there.

Down to two

A sign of the times?

Nine of the 32 teams kept only two quarterbacks on their active rosters. Why’s that?

“Because if you have to play with your third-stringer you’re in deep trouble,” said one NFC personnel man.

It’s the most valuable position in the league, but like I wrote recently there simply aren’t enough quality quarterbacks. The Chargers, for example, were one of the teams that kept only two, Philip Rivers and rookie Charlie Whitehurst, and neither has ever started a NFL game.

Heading into the regular-season, most scouts rate Denver’ Jay Cutler over Matt Leinart and Vince Young of the first rounders.

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.

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.

Bill Belichick doesn't speak much in the off-season, but even he wanted the NFL world to know that the New England Patriots would never consider trading a talented, rugged player like TE Daniel Graham for Denver receiver Ashley Lelie, who is a star only in his own mind. Yes, the Broncos want to dump Lelie, who had one touchdown reception last season. The Bears could use Lelie's speed to help open up their running game.

No place like home

It wasn't the hospital food, because Big Ben really isn't eating solids quite yet. No, Ben Roethlisberger simply wanted out of Pittsburgh's Mercy Hospital in order to rehabilitate at home with the help of his sister and stepmother. It makes sense. You don't have to pay for TV service at home, either, plus there's more privacy.

A Trojan horse

Although there has been a lot of public posturing by USC, the university will be happy to play in a refurbished Los Angeles Coliseum as long as their rental agreement is a fair one. The Trojans have been the main tenant ever since the Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995 and have played before sellout crowds during Coach Pete Carroll's national-championship run. Granted, as many as 20,000 fans will be displaced in a "new" Coliseum, but the university can use the VIP and luxury box seating. What the Trojans want, though, is to receive a percentage of those revenues, something the NFL may not want to totally share.

Let him go

Isn't it time for Bengals coach Marvin Lewis to simply release troubled receiver Chris Henry? The kid may have some talent, but now that he has been charged for buying alcohol for underage females, I think he's proven to be the worst of role models. Lewis needs to take a stand and prove to his players and fans that character does count for something.