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

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

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

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

Super Bowl redux

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

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

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

Hester looks great

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

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

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

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

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

Reggie helps again

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anybody notice that Stallworth is injured again?

Some truth to Shockey

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

Ponder these numbers

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

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

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

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

Good move

 

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

 

Wait a week on Leinart

 

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

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

One of the biggest headaches facing the New Orleans Saints right now is settling on a contract with first-round pick Reggie Bush.

Their biggest worry is whether or not Bush will actually receive more money than No. 1 pick Mario Williams. Remember, the NFL prides itself with a well-known slotting system for first-round draft picks, but a precedent was set last season when the Cleveland Browns paid receiver Braylon Edwards, the third overall choice, quite a bit more than Miami paid running back Ronnie Brown, who was drafted second.

Alex Smith, the first choice, received compensation that could end up paying him $56.1 million in San Francisco. Brown's package was worth about $29.4 million, but the Browns shocked the league by giving Edwards a deal worth $36 million. Any way you slice it, Bush will try to get top dollar.

With a state income tax in Louisiana, Bush has already lost thousands compared to what he would have earned playing in Houston because Texas has no income tax.

Where's Webster?

The Buccaneers seem resigned to losing director of player personnel Rushton Webster to the highest bidder. Early indications were that Webster would join friend Tim Ruskell with the Seattle Seahawks, but the St. Louis Rams also are after Webster to replace GM Charlie Armey. Webster obviously would have more power with the Rams than in Seattle.

The Vikings should have pursued Webster prior to giving their job to the now-fired Fran Foley.

The Saints derby

You always run into some NFL people at the Kentucky Derby and I bumped into Saints owner Tom Benson and his wife, ####le, on Millionaires Row at Churchill Downs. Being from the Los Angeles-area, I had to ask about all the rumors about the Saints eventually relocating to L.A. in the future.

"Do you have $1.2 billion?" Benson asked. He was smiling, but he wasn't joking about the price.

This is the problem the NFL has with Benson right now. Sure, they are committed to New Orleans for this season, but what if the Saints' fans don't return to sellout the Superdome? What is the future of the NFL in a city that right now doesn't have 200,000 citizens?

Benson's asking price will be too much for any Los Angeles owner wanting to buy the Saints and try to succeed financially in either the Coliseum or Anaheim. The league has had no success in getting Benson to lower his price tag.

Also, it appears that Wayne Weaver is serious about remaining in Jacksonville and few really believe that Ralph Wilson would leave Buffalo for Los Angeles. The Saints make the most sense.

Also, many owners really thought that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't dealing in NFL reality by asking for teams in both the Coliseum and Anaheim.

NFL insiders know that Gov. Schwarzenegger and other California politicians won't help them build the necessary stadiums. That's why the Raiders and Rams left the region 11 years ago. The state and city wouldn't help them, either.

Was it Paris' fault?

Arizona rookie quarterback Matt Leinart has been dating Paris Hilton for six weeks now and, believe me, that news scared a few teams, some thinking that the former USC star had gone too much Hollywood.

Leinart, however, was the choice of Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher and GM Floyd Reese. But Titans owner Bud Adams told his coach and personnel man to draft Texas quarterback Vince Young even though Leinart was rated higher on the final Tennessee draft board. Adams, who moved his team from Houston to Nashville in 1997, wanted Young, his hometown kid.

No football agent would ever admit this on the record, but wouldn't most players take less money to live in Houston over New Orleans? Think about it.

Yes, the Texans haven't won anything yet, but their organization is considered much sounder than the Saints, particularly from the ownership angle. Houston, from its stadium to its practice facility, is considered a first-class operation. Saints and first class ... well, that's a misnomer.

I mean what's the difference between earning $54 million over six years compared to earning $50 million over six years? We can all do the math, but what about the quality of life? Then there's home values and business opportunities and nightlife?

Reggie Bush is a walking endorsement and no one can deny that his off-the-field value wouldn't be greater in Houston, America's fourth largest city, compared to gritty New Orleans, a city desperately trying to recover from the worst national disaster in years. Even before Katrina, most Americans probably would choose to live in Houston over New Orleans. It's simply a fact of life.

Plenty of negotiating mistakes were made by Team Bush and the Texans in the pursuit of becoming the NFL's first overall draft choice. After dumping on local favorite, Texas quarterback Vince Young, the Texans' only rational approach was to tab Bush, whether he was signed or not. Houston owner Bob McNair didn't have to insist on his top pick being signed prior to being announced by Paul Tagliabue.

Neither the Texans nor Bush used much common sense in this matter.

A glorious opportunity was lost by both. The team and Bush's agents both made critical mistakes and misjudgments.

More Houston blunders

There is one thought circling the NFL that Texans coach Gary Kubiak's thinking is much like his mentor, Denver's Mike Shanahan. That Kubiak doesn't need a Clinton Portis or an Edgerrin James, basically a high-priced runner, to make his offense function at a high level and that's why Bush wasn't selected. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Just give me a Tatum Bell look-alike!

The other blunder is that Houston never tried to talk trade with New Orleans, Tennessee or even the Jets about any of them trading up to select Bush. This maneuver would have allowed Houston to collect some extra draft picks. Bush in the Big Apple would have been sexy, plus Curtis Martin turned 33 on Monday.

Had Houston done a trade, we're sure the Texans could have made sure that North Carolina State's Mario Williams was still available for them.

Playing hardball

Can you really blame the Tennessee Titans for not bending over backwards for Steve McNair and their old rivals, the Baltimore Ravens?

McNair has refused to rework his $9 million contract in order to play for the Titans this season. He wants out and has been demanding a trade to the Ravens.

The Titans are holding out for a fourth-round draft choice, which doesn't sound like very much for a NFL starting quarterback.

Consequently, the Titans plan on holding onto McNair simply to prevent him from joining the Ravens until July, when they will need his $24 million salary-cap allocation for this season to sign rookies like Vince Young. What the Titans are saying is that they'd rather sit on McNair and mess with the Ravens unless they get what they want.

Did Fisher get his man?

Speaking of the Titans, coach Jeff Fisher told his good friend Mike Shanahan that Vanderbilt's Jay Cutler really had no negatives about him. It almost sounds like Fisher's quarterback draft board read: 1. Matt Leinart, 2. Cutler and 3. Vince Young.

 This was a Bob McNair decision, choosing Mario Williams over Reggie Bush. The Houston Texans owner didn't want a contract stalemate to ruin the PR value of having the first pick in the draft. The last thing McNair wanted to do was to select Bush and then possibly deal with a training-camp holdout.

The Texans weren't getting anywhere with agent Joel Segal on a long-term contract for Bush and once they decided earlier in the week that they would be happy with either Williams, the North Carolina State defensive end, or Bush, they moved in the direction of the player more willing to negotiate a contract.

 The Texans were offering an 8 percent raise over what San Francisco's Alex Smith received last year as the first overall choice. That would be around $26 million in guaranteed money.

VIDEO: Mario Williams highlights

 

What would the Green Bay Packers do if USC quarterback Matt Leinart were available with the fifth overall choice? Well, we’ve put Maryland tight end Vernon Davis there, but Leinart would be difficult to ignore even with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers on the roster.

Why? Well, there was a strong rumor last year at this time that 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy preferred Alex Smith to Rodgers. Well, McCarthy is now the new Green Bay head coach and his backup quarterback is Rodgers. This is why Leinart would be compelling.

Why is Leinart falling?

Well, it seems that Tennessee GM Floyd Reese has the call with the third overall pick and he prefers Texas QB Vince Young to the USC quarterback, who is preferred by the coaching staff. Remember, owner Bud Adams lives in Houston, Young’s hometown. It will be pretty easy for Reese for convince Adams.

Of course, such a pick could force head coach Jeff Fisher to re-think his future in Tennessee. Adams owns options on his contract for 2007 at around $6 million a season. If Fisher doesn’t get Leinart, will he ask Adams for his freedom in 2007?

Leinart as next Namath?

The Jets are actually worried about Hollywood Matt Leinart turning into the off-the-field version of Joe Willie Namath. Old-time New Yorkers would think that’s ridiculous, considering Joe Willie was a lot of fun to watch, on and off the field.

Donald Trump likes Leinart. Then, again, that could be interpreted in Jets’ headquarters as the kiss of death.

Raiders looking at Young

If the Titans pass on Vince Young, everybody in the NFL believes that Raiders owner Al Davis will pick him with the seventh overall choice. The Raiders may need Texas safety Michael Huff, but Davis and head coach Art Shell are thinking long-term.

Lions like Sims

New Lions head coach Rod Marenelli wants a defensive demon and it appears that Florida State linebacker Ernie Sims could be the team's first-round pick. Sims is known for playing at 100 miles per hour and some teams believe he must gauge his speed or he could actually end up hurting himself in the pros.

Bunkley the Bill

The Buffalo Bills are seriously thinking of taking Florida State defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley with the eighth overall pick, meaning that monster nose tackle Haloti Ngata could be available to the Rams at No. 11. And some teams believe the Dolphins will take Tennessee safety Jason Allen with the 16th overall pick. Safety is a big need for Miami.

Walker on the wild side

If they can get a second-round pick, the Packers will trade unhappy receiver Javon Walker. It’s up to the Saints and Broncos to make the call. Green Bay has decided not to re-work Walker’s contract and the club believes its better to get him out of town.

What about Rodgers and Walker to New Orleans for receiver Donte Stallworth, a second-round pick and a third-round pick?

Bush's eye black

Reggie Bush has all these problems with that free house outside San Diego, but one thing is certain: he won’t be wearing his familiar 619 eye black in the NFL. He will be allowed to wear it during training camp and at practice, but the league doesn’t allow “personal messages” on the field on game days.

The worse thing about the one-year suspension for Ricky Williams is that he won’t be permitted to be around his Miami teammates for support nor will he be able to use the team’s facilities to prepare himself physically for the grind of being a 30-year-old running back in 2007. Miami coach Nick Saban was pleasantly surprised with how Williams fit in with his teammates last season and by November, Ricky was showing signs of returning to top form without the help of a quality offensive line.

The Dolphins still have a huge financial claim against him, plus Williams will soon have a fourth child to support. He needs a high-paying job. Football appears to be his only option, but the odds are truly against him because he’s going to have to train and push himself.

What about Woodson?

When the Packers, a 4-12 team a year ago, were awarded three prime-time games when the schedule was announced earlier in the month, it was apparent to everyone that the club had told the NFL office that Brett Favre would be playing in his 15th season. Favre officially told the team on Tuesday that he will be attending next week’s mini-camp, regardless of who they draft this weekend. Favre must need the $10 million he will earn because the Packers don’t figure to improve that much this season with or without ex-Raider Charles Woodson.

The Raiders thought Woodson would sign with Tampa Bay, but you have to wonder if Woodson, who is being asked to move from cornerback to safety by both clubs, has the fortitude to deal with Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Unlike his stay with the Raiders, Kiffin will push him and make him practice and point out his mistakes.

Bush's off-field issues

It may eventually be proven that USC’s Reggie Bush knew more about his mother’s living arrangements, courtesy of Michael Michaels and a minor San Diego sports agency trying to land the Heisman winner, but the bottom line is that the Houston Texans aren’t concerned and it won’t impact his draft status. If the Texans opt not to pay Bush, the New Orleans Saints will step in and draft him second overall. The NFL doesn’t care if Bush’s mother, brother and stepfather lived in a house rent-free for an entire year.

The Bush story is a bigger one for USC and college football.

And like someone told me yesterday, if the NCAA knew about everything illegal with big-time football programs, many of the Top Ten schools would have to forfeit every game and finish 0-11 every season.

Raiders’ QB situation

Why would Al Davis want to draft either Matt Leinart or Vince Young? OK, the answer may be that he knows they can never win with Aaron Brooks, Andrew Walter and Marques Tuiasosopo. However, don’t the Raiders need to start winning now? They were 4-12 last season and how can they improve on that record with a rookie quarterback? Finally, what does that say about spending a third-round pick on Walter last year and a second-round pick on Tui in 2001? Would you call those wasted picks?

L.A. story

After years of wishing for Pasadena or some other locale to step up, the NFL is leaning toward endorsing the Los Angeles Coliseum next week in Dallas as the future NFL site whenever L.A. gets a team or lands an expansion team. Anaheim makes sense, too. The league has been so frustrated with the Los Angeles situation and it’s inability to sway any politicians to their side for anything but the Coliseum.

Before he officially retires, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue would like to put the Los Angeles Coliseum and a possible new stadium in Anaheim on a fast-track to be the future home of a NFL franchise. Tagliabue announced today that prior to the owners’ next meeting, schedule for Denver in May, that both sites be prepared to present viable proposals to the 32-member franchise.

Although adding a 33rd franchise — an expansion team — probably would be more appealing to Los Angeles-area fans, it seems more likely that a relocated franchise will end up in Anaheim or Los Angeles. There continues to be speculation that the San Diego Chargers could move to Anaheim and that possibly the Jacksonville Jaguars to Los Angeles. Even though Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver voted for the new collective bargaining agreement, many in the league believe he definitely will lose money this season based on the $102 million salary cap. The Saints will remain in New Orleans for two more seasons, but who knows whether or not that hurricane-devastated city will be able to support an NFL team like it used to?

Hunt's happy

One of the happiest owners here today was Lamar Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs. Hunt, since his days in the AFL, has been asking for a Thanksgiving Day home game and the league announced that the Chiefs will host the Denver Broncos on the cable NFL Network at 8 p.m. ET, following the traditional games in Detroit and Dallas. Before the Chiefs merged with the NFL, they played on Thanksgiving in the American Football League. Since the merger, Hunt has argued that the Thanksgiving Day games should have been rotated among member clubs, a proposal that Detroit and Dallas has fought at every turn.

USC Pro Day will be a hit

After these meetings, most of the GMs and personnel directors will leave here for Los Angeles to attend USC’s Pro Day on Sunday. It will be the first time that first-round talent like Reggie Bush, LenDale White and Matt Leinart will run and throw for scouts during the draft process. None of them ran at the National Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month. Houston is still considering Bush as the draft’s first overall choice. Scouts are also curious to see whether or not USC TE Dominique Byrd competes in certain drills. White was also about 15 pounds overweight at Indy.

Keyshawn will fit in with Panthers

Keyshawn Johnson gives Carolina a bonafide threat opposite Steve Smith.

The Carolina Panthers actually believed that WR Keyshawn Johnson was going to end up on the FOX pregame show as a replacement for James Brown if they didn’t give him a $5 million signing bonus. Still, Keyshawn is the perfect No. 2 receiver to Steve Smith with maybe speedy Drew Carter as a No. 3. Keary Colbert wasn’t productive this past season for the Panthers and veteran Ricky Proehl seems to be the odd-man out.

More picks for champs

The Steelers won the Super Bowl and they were also big winners with three compensatory draft selections in next month’s draft. The Steelers picked up three extra draft choices for past free-agency losses. They received two extra picks at the both of the fourth round, Nos. 131 and 133 and also a fifth-round pick, No. 167. The New York Jets were the only team to be compensated with a third-round pick, No. 97 overall.

Cowboys reward Glenn

The Dallas Cowboys must have felt some bad vibes from veteran WR Terry Glenn after they signed Terrell Owens to a one-year, $10 million deal. (Three years, $25 million is the total T.O. package). The Cowboys gave Glenn a new extension on Monday, giving him $10 million over the next two seasons. Glenn was scheduled to earn $2 million this season and then be eligible for free-agency in 2007.