As the no contact between No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell’s agents and the Raiders continue, you have to ask how do these parties resolve the stalemate?

Well, the Raiders could cave and simply pay Russell what he wants, something that owner Al Davis seems reluctant to do.

Two, Russell could decide to simply sit out the season. Of course, he would be losing whatever present-day dollars he could collect from Oakland. There is also a full season of lost earning power. I mean, could he make up the dollars lost by staying home for an entire season? And how does he make those Oakland mortgage payments?

Finally, the two sides could work out a trade.

Whoops, that can’t happen now. The deadline passed on Aug. 10 when the agents and the Raiders weren’t even talking to one another.

Russell may not be traded until after the end of the 2007 league year (roughly March 1, 2008).  

Here are the league guidelines on what can happen next:

 

Russell may be traded between the first day of the 2008 league year and the 2008 college draft on April 26. In this case, the trading club must sign the player to a contract prior to trading him to the acquiring club (i.e. Drew Henson from Houston to Dallas).

 

If Russell is not signed by prior to the 2008 draft then he is eligible to be drafted in 2008 by any club other than the club that drafted him in 2007. However, the club acquiring another club’s draft pick after the player has initially been selected will not receive any additional rookie pool room to sign the player. Translation: there could be less money available to Russell and if not that, for the other the rookies this team would select. Regardless, it won’t be a pretty picture for someone.

 

Simms messed up

 

There is something wrong with Chris Simms, but the Bucs don’t necessarily believe it is all physical. Simms is not performing very well and many close to him have speculated that it relates to last season’s horrendous ruptured spleen when the then-starting quarterback almost died. Simms’ supporters don’t want to believe coach Jon Gruden and GM Bruce Allen on this situation, considering they are the ones who gave Jeff Garcia the same contract deal Simms received.

 

Yes, Gruden has moved on. Garcia is his starter while Luke McCown and Bruce Gradkowski battle for the backup position. Simms is a forgotten man in the rotation and he knows that Gruden has basically thrown up his arms.

 

Simms faces being released if he doesn’t start improving. If that happens, he’s talked about sitting out the season. Said one insider: “He’s probably thinking that because he fears that another team might cut him, too.”

 

Strahan returning?

 

After speaking with a couple of his defensive teammates at the Giants’ Albany training camp on Thursday, the general consensus is that they expect Michael Strahan to return to the team and play this season. Everyone understands how difficult the retirement decision is for Strahan, but they simply believe he’s too good right now to retire and that deep down he still wants to play. Timeline? Maybe next weekend. The Giants break camp prior to their third preseason game.

 

Don’t Forget Ravens

 

The buzz around the league is that don’t discount the Baltimore Ravens when discussing possible Super Bowl teams. The Ravens thoroughly out-played Philadelphia last Monday and the Eagles are again considered a favorite to win the NFC East.

 

“It’s difficult at time to judge these preseason games,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin told me. “Some teams plan basic stuff in these games in order to evaluate their own young players. Well, Baltimore’s basic defense is to blitz and they blitzed Philadelphia 37 times in that game. They’re good, though. But that’s how you get a lopsided game in preseason.”

 

Quinn should start

 

OK, I will accept the idiotic premise that Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson know whatever offense the Cleveland Browns are running at the moment, but shouldn’t this franchise have first-round pick Brady Quinn on the fast-track to a starting position? I mean, Quinn ranked in the top five of GM Phil Savage’s draft board and that’s why he made the trade with the Cowboys. Isn’t Quinn the future of this franchise? I know Coach Romeo Crennel wants to win and possibly keep his job, but the Browns need to get their future QB involved quickly.

Larry Johnson seems the closest to returning to work among the league's three major holdouts. Michael Strahan is still considering retirement from the Giants, although some suspect he may report once the team leaves its Albany training camp. And, basically, there is absolutely nothing new with No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell and the Raiders. With this long of a holdout, Russell may be looking at a red-shirt season at this point.

Johnson and the Chiefs have been making progress on a long-term contract that could include guarantees ranging between $15 and $19 million. Even if Johnson actually gets the higher number, he will still fall short of what LaDainian Tomlinson received ($21 million guaranteed and $60 million over eight years) received from the Chargers prior to the 2004 season.

But, then, LJ isn't as good as LT and many clubs don't view the running back position to be as valuable as quarterback, defensive end and cornerback. For example. the Colts will pay Dwight Freeney $30 million in guaranteed money between now and the 2008 season.

Kansas City holds the leverage edge against Johnson because he still has one season remaining on his contract and the club likes what it has seen from Michael Bennett and Louisville rookie Kolby Smith. And if Priest Holmes's dream of returning to the field becomes a reality, KC wouldn't be in terrible predicament without Johnson. I mean, the Chiefs have greater concerns regarding a winning and losing than simply who is at running back.

Umpire in backfield

This past weekend was the first time that league officials experimented with shifting the umpire from the defensive side, usually at the depth of a linebacker, to the offensive backfield. For any long-time football fan, seeing no official in the middle of the defensive action probably looked pretty weird.

The league will also try this experiment during the third weekend of preseason games with the umpire on one side and the referee on the other in the offensive backfield. The idea is to see if the umpire can still call holding penalties while also removing him from the center of the play where occasionally he had players knocking him over.

"I'm not sure I like it," Rams Coach Scott Linehan told me after Friday night's game in Minneapolis against the Vikings. "It looks like (the umpire) could get in the way of the quarterback when he's scrambling in the pocket."

Having the umpire in the offensive backfield may have also cost the Rams a third-quarter touchdown when rookie receiver Derek Stanley caught a deflected pass. Ryan Fitzpatrick's pass hit a downed Minnesota defender on the arm and then the ball bounced up to Stanley. The pass was rule incomplete on the field and the play whistled dead. However, referee Ed Hochuli properly reversed the call and gave Stanley a 19-yard reception. But had umpire Chad Brown been in his proper place he may seen the catch and never blown the play dead, leading to a 54-yard touchdown.

No love lost

Linebacker Donnie Edwards, who couldn't work out a contract with the Chargers, is back with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he became one of the game's best tacklers and playmakers.

Edwards is still fuming, though, about San Diego General Manager A.J. Smith.

"Football is a great team game, but this guy thought it was all about him," Edwards said. "I mean, doesn't he think Marty (Schottenheimer) was trying to win? I always thought that we were all in this together, trying to win a championship. The players, the coaches, the personnel people, everybody on a team. But not in San Diego. It's all about how (Smith) sees it. No one else seems to matter.

Edwards used a couple other words when referring to Smith, but we really can't use those references.

Green homesick

Even before he was booed by the hometown fans on Saturday, new Miami quarterback Trent Green was telling a few Kansas City teammates that he was missing his former surroundings. Imagine that! Does anybody really think that KC is a better place (it is a much better football town) than Miami and South Beach, one of the hippest locations on earth? Of course, the Chiefs probably are a much better football organization than Miami these days.

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.

Several teams have told me that they would be willing to part with a conditional fourth-round pick for Raiders receiver Randy Moss this weekend, but to make such a trade, Moss would definitely have to re-work his contract, which calls for almost $22 million in salaries over the next two seasons.

Oakland would ask for a second-round pick for Moss, but a fourth that could move up to a third-rounder in 2008 is out of the question at the moment. Raiders owner Al Davis doesn’t have much leverage with Moss, considering his lack of production last season and his apparent unwillingness to remain with the non-playoff contender.

It is the Moss situation, or lack of clarity on his predicament, that has draftniks thinking Davis will draft receiver Calvin Johnson over JaMarcus Russell with the first pick. Many believe Johnson is worth the big money that the first overall pick will collect while Moss isn’t.

Some also believe that Oakland could acquire a decent quarterback in the second round if they decided to pass on Russell.

“Drew Stanton has great feet, as good as Rich Gannon had when he was winning the MVP for the Raiders,” one personnel director said. “Now, Stanton (of Michigan State) needs to be coached on his delivery and such, but he’s a tough player and someone who will be drafted in the second round.”

Gone fishin’

Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas planned back in February to be fishing for Coho salmon with his father on draft day. Now, the NFL Network plans to have a crew near his boat on Lake Michigan, checking his reaction whenever he’s drafted.

Thomas has long been considered to be the draft’s best offensive tackle, but you have to wonder how good he is, considering he didn’t face that many great pass rushers in the Big Ten. Purdue’s Anthony Spencer and Michigan’s Lamaar Woodley are the conference's best defensive ends in this draft, and neither of them is expected to be selected higher than the third round.

Everyone said Robert Gallery of Iowa was a “can’t-miss” pro and we’ve all seen him struggle with the Raiders. Thomas is a safe pick because of his awesome strength, but there are no guarantees he’s the next Jonathan Ogden.

By the way, Thomas is not related to the professional bass fisherman of the same name.

The real odds

Jimmy Shapiro of Bodog.com sent me four pages of betting odds on the draft, which is becoming almost as popular as Super Bowl Sunday. There is no doubt that JaMarcus Russell is the favorite to be the first player selected. You have to bet $165 to win $100, which is pretty much a sure thing.

There’s been a lot of talk about the Lions trading out of the second overall position, but the oddsmakers say Detroit will keep the pick. Its even money that Randy Moss will be traded before the first week of the regular season, plus the bookies believe that Chicago will trade ($150 to win $100) linebacker Lance Briggs this weekend.

The odds say that Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith will be selected in the third or fourth round. If you think Smith will be taken in the first round, you can win $1,200 on a $100 bet. Bodog also listed Antonio Pittman of Ohio State as the running back favorite to be taken by the Buffalo Bills, and that the Dolphins probably will draft a quarterback in the second round.

Redskins changes

The rumor has been circulating for more than a month now that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder plans to hire a new personnel director to work with head coach Joe Gibbs after the draft. Bobby DePaul, Jerry Angelo’s right-hand man in Chicago, has been mentioned the most because he and Gibbs are friendly and could work together.

49ers’ defense

It appears that San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan will choose between Nebraska defensive end Adam Carriker, who is a better fit for a 3-4 defense, or Mississippi inside linebacker Patrick Willis. Both players figure to be still available when the 49ers are on the clock with the 11th overall pick.

Teams interested in Calvin

The teams most interested in selecting Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson appear to be Tampa Bay, Denver and Atlanta. It appears unlikely the Bucs will trade up from the fourth spot to acquire Johnson, but the Broncos and Falcons are considering making a move if Johnson isn’t taken by the Raiders. Johnson would be an unbelievable weapon with Denver quarterback Jay Cutler’s strong arm.

Ginn perfect for Packers

When Green Bay won its last Super Bowl, the MVP of the game was kick returner Desmond Howard. There is no question that Ohio State’s Ted Ginn, Jr. is the best returner in this draft, plus he could give Brett Favre a great deep threat. Ginn has a bad ankle right now, but he is expected to be 100 percent for training camp. Ginn is expected to be on the board when Green Bay picks 16th in the first round.

Lions and QBs

For past couple of months, Lions GM Matt Millen has sounded determined to trade out of the second overall spot, believing that his team needs multiple picks in this draft and next year to raise the level of talent in Detroit, and make the Lions competitive in the shaky NFC North.

However, the Lions seem to be one of the teams in need of a quality quarterback.

“I hope they do pass on Russell or Brady Quinn in this draft,” said one NFC general manager. “They are a lot easier to beat with Jon Kitna and Dan Orlovsky as their quarterbacks. It’s like Mike Martz has convinced Matt that they can win without a big-time quarterback.”

Trent Green makes the most sense for the Miami Dolphins, albeit the Chiefs’ 37-year-old quarterback will be a short-term fix at the position because of his age and injury history.

New head coach Cam Cameron basically has given up on Daunte Culpepper (could he be released?) for this season and he needs a veteran to run the offense for a season or two. The team’s inside joke is that Green may know Cameron’s offense better than the head coach does. That is why Green is so valuable to Miami. A fifth or sixth-round draft choice seems to be a fair price for Green.

One reason the Chiefs can’t ask for much more is because Miami knows that Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards wants to give Brodie Croyle every opportunity to win the starting job this season. If not, the Chiefs have dependable backup Damon Huard signed up for three more seasons.

Bolts asking too much?

The big dilemma for teams such as Tennessee and Buffalo, who have considered Chargers’ backup running back Michael Turner, is that they can’t get beyond the fact that Turner was a fifth-round draft choice in 2004. Consequently, how can Turner be worth a first- or second-round draft choice now?

Anybody who has seen Turner play in a limited role behind LaDainian Tomlinson knows that the 235-pounder has a tremendous burst besides physical inside power. As a full-time player, Turner may have more upside than Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, whose upright style has been criticized because it might lead to injuries on the NFL level.

The NFL is full of general managers who are afraid to pull the trigger on deals like this one for Turner because there isn’t a consensus on his worth. The NFL is a league of followers. There are a not enough GMs like former Packer boss Ron Wolf, who somehow knew that Brett Favre and Ahman Green, two players who did nothing for their original NFL teams, might possess the ability and guts to flourish given the chance to be starters in Green Bay.

No boost for Burgess

There is no question that Derrick Burgess, who has 27 sacks in his last two seasons with the Raiders, has been a very special player. There have been rumblings that Burgess wants a new contract. However, he should consider that despite an impressive playoff run with the Philadelphia Eagles at the end of the 2004 season, no team other than the Raiders made a big effort to sign him to a free-agent contract.

The Eagles thought Burgess was injury-prone and that’s why he started only 15 games in four seasons for them. The Raiders believe that they may have overpaid Burgess by as much as $3 million when they signed him in 2005. Is he a better player than Patrick Kerney, who got rich again in Seattle?

Yes. But the Raiders, who have Burgess under contract for two more seasons, don’t seem willing to tear up his contract and give him another big boost.

At Tuesday morning’s AFC coaches’ breakfast at the lush Arizona Biltmore, it was standing room only around 31-year-old Lane Kiffin’s table. The Raiders’ fifth different head coach since 2001 handled the nationwide reporters pretty well. He never got flustered, and even admitted that he snuck into the Raiders’ Alameda facility for his final interview with owner Al Davis “through a back door, so no one would see me. Kind of like the CIA.”

Kiffin said some interesting things. He believes that disgruntled Randy Moss will be a Raider this season and that he is building a good relationship with Jerry Porter, who spent last season in Art Shell’s doghouse. Kiffin said he was even coaching Porter on the practice field last week.

On Moss, Kiffin said that after watching film of how Moss played, or lack of it, last season, he saw “a very talented player who was not playing at the standard I would expect of a player of that stature. He looked to me like he was just a very frustrated player,” Kiffin said.

Sometimes, the youngest NFL head coach said, those are symptoms of a player who is simply highly competitive and totally frustrated by having two passes thrown his way in the course o####ame. Moss was frustrated because he knew he couldn’t help the Raiders win under those circumstances.

It was impossible to get an accurate read on whether Kiffin prefers LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell over Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson in the upcoming draft. He compared Russell to a quarterback in a video game. “He can make every throw, just like in the game,” Kiffin said. “But some of those throws, the ones 70 yards across the field, you may make two of them in the course of a season.”

Kiffin admitted that Russell is a quiet leader, very similar to Titans quarterback Vince Young. You can tell, he said, that Russell’s teammates simply gravitate to him and want to be around him. “I saw the same things prior to when we played Texas in the Rose Bowl,” said Kiffin, who used to be USC’s offensive coordinator. “You could sense how much the Texas players wanted to perform and play for Young.”

The intriguing aspect to Oakland owning the first choice in April’s college draft is that Johnson may be the best player in the draft.

“He seems perfect for the most part,” Kiffin said. “When a player is considered for the top spot in the draft, you want to find negatives about the guy. You know all the scouts like him and are saying great things about him. But with Johnson, you can’t find a bad thing about him. His character, his make-up, his commitment to working out, all his off-season work, and well, there are no holes in his game.”

Kiffin compared Johnson a little to former Heisman winner Reggie Bush. They are the kind of players, that if a teammate runs a better 40-yard time, they are ready to race that guy, challenge him.

Who knows if Kiffin can win in Oakland? Nobody has since Bill Callahan took the Raiders to the Super Bowl, where they were torched by former Raiders coach Jon Gruden and Tampa Bay in the big game. He said his father, veteran Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, told him what guarantees to seek from Davis, and that he was satisfied. He also admitted that some coaches advised him against taking the Raiders’ job.

“But my process happened so quickly, there wasn’t much time to really talk to a lot of people about what they thought I should do,” he said.

Who’s No. 1?

Kiffin said it was too early in the draft process to be saying who should be the first pick, but many league observers believe it will hard for Al Davis to pass on Calvin Johnson. “He’s the kind of can’t-miss player that Al has always coveted,” said a rival club president who knows Davis and also is drafting in the top five. “It’s going to be difficult for Al to take a quarterback when there are no flaws in Johnson. At 6-foot-5, Johnson is not only going to be bigger than all the cornerbacks he goes against, but faster than almost every one of them. He could be impossible to cover.”

“His vertical jump was 43 inches,” said Kiffin, who knows that Johnson will attack the football and use his 235 pounds to muscle the ball away from defenders.

Green and Miami

It may take some time, but the Chiefs believe that Miami will eventually make a trade to acquire veteran Kansas City quarterback Trent Green. Granted, Green may have only a year or two left on his body, but he’s a quarterback who knows Cam Cameron’s offensive inside out and the word out of Florida is that the new head coach doesn’t believe Daunte Culpepper will ever be of any use to the Dolphins.

“We keep hearing that Cam doesn’t like Culpepper,” said a rival GM. “You have to think that Cam will make a move because he has a solid defense and he has a chance to win now with Green.”

Such a trade could put Culpepper on the street. You can bet that the Raiders would have an interest in Culpepper. Oakland definitely has an interest in former Houston quarterback David Carr. “I think he can still play,” Kiffin said. “I was at Fresno State when (Carr) put me into early retirement as a quarterback there. I can remember Coach Tedford telling me I should start thinking about becoming an assistant coach.”

Drew goes on the offense

Drew Rosenhaus took a beating on his handling of Terrell Owens in Philadelphia. We all remember the press conference outside of T.O.’s house. “Next question” was the common reply from Rosenhaus that day.

Well, Rosenhaus was back in bravado action Monday at the NFL League Meeting, ushering Bears linebacker Lance Briggs among the media and the coaches and GMs in the hotel hallways here. He and Briggs are doing their best to free themselves from Chicago and are being very aggressive about it. You can surmise that Rosenhaus caught the Bears’ front office off-guard with a potential trade to the Washington Redskins for the sixth overall draft choice for his client.

Earlier in the day, Bears GM Jerry Angelo was prepared to offer Briggs a guarantee that the club wouldn’t place the franchise tag on him next year if he would simply agree to play for $7.2 million this season, the franchise number, and start attending the off-season workouts and mini-camps. But Rosenhaus didn’t want anything to do with such an offer.

In the past, teams like Seattle placed the franchise tag on offensive tackler Walter Jones for three straight years before working out a long-term contract. Last season, Buffalo guaranteed cornerback Nate Clements that they wouldn’t place the franchise tag on him this year and he received $20 million in guaranteed money earlier this month from the San Francisco 49ers.

The Redskins are obviously gearing up to win this season. The trade would be a good one for Chicago, considering Briggs was a third-round pick and he definitely doesn’t sound a bit interested in sticking around. The only downside to grabbing the sixth overall choice in the draft is that Chicago doesn’t like being that high in the round because they would have to pay out a $10 million signing bonus to a rookie. If the Bears do make the trade with Washington, they most likely would trade down from the sixth spot.

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.

The Chicago Bears’ fan convention is a month away, and head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo will arrive with new contracts.

Smith was given a four-year deal on Wednesday and Angelo received an extension through the 2013 season.

The Bears are an interesting team, in that both Smith and Angelo have publicly supported quarterback Rex Grossman while most fans are wishing they had a better choice at the position.

Behind the scenes, the Bears apparently are prepared to trade some of their best players, ones that were instrumental in winning the NFC championship. They are willing to unload linebacker Lance Briggs, who they believe they will be unable to sign to a long-term contract, running back Thomas Jones and defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who had only 6 ½ sacks last season, ranking third on the team.

Raiders update

The rumors persist that Michael Lombardi, the Raiders’ top personnel executive, won’t be back this season with the team. Sean Jones, the former player and scout, tried to supplant Lombardi with the Raiders during last season, suggesting several reforms with owner Al Davis, and his moves ended with him no longer being employed with the Raiders.

Outside of Davis, Lombardi is the only experienced personnel man in Oakland and the only one with extensive knowledge of the league and agent contacts. Although the rumors persist, what would Davis do if he did not renew Lombardi’s contract. I mean, if he wouldn’t promote Jones, who wanted the job, whom could he hire?

In reading responses to my blog on Sunday, the Raiders do know that Randy Moss can still play at a high level. They don’t want to trade him, but the feeling is that Moss would sleep-walk through another season in Oakland because he knows they won’t be able to win if they draft JaMarcus Russell and start a rebuilding process. What do you do with a player you’re paying $9 million to and he doesn’t want to run his routes?

Word is that the Packers might be willing to part with a fourth-round pick as long as Moss is also willing to restructure his contract. He is owed $11 million in 2008.

Miami worried

Did the Dolphins make a mistake in choosing Cam Cameron over Chan Gailey?

There is word that some in the organization are worried that they may have made the wrong decision. But owner Wayne Huizenga didn’t want to wait for Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who had a solid interview in Miami, or for the Chargers to fire Marty Schottenheimer.

Believe me, Schottenheimer would have been the perfect coach for the Dolphins right now. Instead, they have San Diego’s offensive coordinator.

Lions unloading

Detroit will trade cornerback Dre’ Bly and pass rusher James Hall, who had five sacks last season before ending up on injured-reserve. The Lions owe Hall a $500,000 bonus next month and they aren’t going to pay him. Bly wants out because he’s not a classic cover-two cornerback; he’s not interested in run-support tackling.

This is why the Titans will have difficulty trading troubled cornerback Pacman Jones. Pacman is a great kick returner, but he also hates to tackle. And with so many teams playing the Tampa Two scheme, you can scratch those teams off any potential trading list. Jones, though, if the league stiffens its off-field policy, could be facing a major suspension if the Las Vegas allegations are proven to be accurate.

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.

What is weird about the dismissal of Raiders head coach Art Shell – and believe me a lot of what the Raiders do is pretty unusual – is that owner Al Davis actually told subordinates before 10 p.m. EST that Shell may assume some other position within the organization.

Well, Davis can’t be thinking about throwing Shell into the personnel department where Michael Lombardi remains employed as a senior executive. There is no way that Shell and Lombardi are compatible, considering how Shell has virtually ignored Lombardi during the season and basically revealed to the media that Lombardi as a back-stabbing traitor to his position as head coach more than a month ago.

Unless I’m missing something, Davis has dumped Shell and his allegiance to former offensive coordinator Tom Walsh while retaining Lombardi. Why perpetuate the problem by keeping those two men together in the Oakland organization?

Shell doesn’t like Lombardi, the executive who tried to convince Davis to hire Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino more than a year ago, when this circus began. Lombardi like so many other club executives knew that turning back the clock to the early 1990s with Walsh and Shell wouldn’t make the Raiders winners. The combination proved to be a disaster, the 2-14 season a testament to exactly that.

Petrino, whose Louisville team won the Orange Bowl this week, will be a top candidate with the Atlanta Falcons. Who better than Petrino to fix quarterback Michael Vick, who definitely needs an offensive guru – someone very flexible with the pro game – to make himself a winner in pro football? Vick can help himself by staying later at the facility and studying a lot more film than he’s been willing to do thus far.

With the first choice in next April’s draft, Davis is looking at choosing between two juniors – LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell and Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson with the first overall choice. Davis was high last year on Texas quarterback Vince Young, who was named offensive rookie of the year earlier in the week after winning eight starts with the Tennesse Titans. Russell appears to have a better arm than Young and a better sense of the pro passing game, although he doesn’t possess Young’s running speed.

Faced with selecting one of these two potentially great offensive talents, Davis had no choice but to dump Shell. Davis had no confidence that Shell could find the offensive coaches to make such young talent successful. Shell, a Hall of Fame offensive tackle, couldn’t fix Oakland’s offensive line this season, either.