You have to tip your hat to the Tennessee Titans. They are being very creative with their delaying tactics before allowing quarterback Steve McNair to leave town and play for the rival Baltimore Ravens. Having lost the arbitration hearing over McNair's demand to be on the Tennessee practice field, the club now wants him to pass a physical – he failed the '05 season ender with a torn pectoral muscle – before allowing him to work out with the team.
McNair may or may not take the physical. I mean, how much does he want to play for the Titans? Bus Cook, his agent, already has a better contract offer on the table from the Ravens. The Titans can't afford him, plus owner Bud Adams would like to see his first-round pick, Texas quarterback Vince Young, starting a few games this season.
Now, the coaches may not want to play Young – remember, Jeff Fisher took a long wait-and-see approach with McNair – but these are different times in Tennessee.
Get motivated
Hey, either Patriots coach Bill Belichick will light a fire under disappointing defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan, who seemingly doesn't understand that he must be in super physical condition to play in the NFL, or he will be unemployed come September. Sullivan, the Saints' first-round pick in 2003, was swapped for New England receiver Bethel Johnson, who couldn't stay on the field enough.
If Sullivan can end up being half the player Richard Seymour is, the Patriots might really have something. But Sullivan has to work much harder than he did in New Orleans, where he was always on former head coach Jim Haslett's ---- list. Sullivan has the athletic ability, but he's never displayed a willingness to sacrifice, mentally or physically, to be the best he can possibly be.
Speaking of the Pats, they still have a good chance of landing former star Ty Law. However, the Arizona Cardinals could end up offering the former Pro Bowl cornerback a better one-year salary like he received from the Jets last season.
Billy not silly
Maybe we weren't clear with our recent column on the Minnesota Vikings. There is no way that someone like Billy Kuharich, who really wants to be a general manager again, would leave a top-notch organization like the Kansas City Chiefs for a similar pro personnel role in Minnesota. Kuharich has more influence and more stability in KC than he ever would have had in Minnesota. Remember, Rick Spielman wasn't all that excited about missing out on the Vikings' job when he was interviewed the first time around. But when you don't have a NFL job, it was easier for Rick to say yes the second time around.
Backup plan
The best thing about Mark Brunell being on the shelf with a broken finger, is that second-year quarterback Jason Campbell has gotten more work in with the veterans. Campbell has been a regular this entire off-season with the Redskins, and several veterans said he has looked awesome in workouts throwing the football. The only knock on Campbell is that he may not know the offense as well as Brunell, who will be 36 this season. You can count on Campbell, who failed to take a snap as a rookie, to get some playing time this season.
New quarterback Daunte Culpepper appears to be ahead on his rehabilitation and could be ready for the start of training camp. Maybe he won't be ready to get hit, but Culpepper should be ready to participate in most drills. He looks super. That's the word.
Where's Air?
There is a very good chance that the Titans will lose the hearing regarding quarterback Steve McNair's status, thus forcing them to make a decision. A decision on the hearing is due by June 1. Either they will allow him to return to their practice facility (and cross their fingers regarding him getting hurt, thus being liable for his huge contract) or cut him loose. If McNair wins, the Titans most likely will trade him to Baltimore. He already has a deal done with the Ravens.
Rushton to glory
Ruston Webster, Tampa Bay's director of player personnel, apparently is headed to Seattle to join former Bucs' buddy Tim Ruskell, who is the general manager. Webster was the leading candidate to replace Charlie Armey with the Rams, but the Rams apparently weren't willing to give Webster control of personnel. If he's going to be No. 2, he'd rather work with Ruskell. Besides, the money is always better with billionaire Paul Allen.
Not so fast
We have written about Arizona rookie quarterback Matt Leinart and his Hollywood friends, from Paris Hilton to Nick Lachey. We can't help that some NFL teams interpreted Leinart's association with the stars as "going Hollywood." However, some national writers have incorrectly mentioned that Leinart should have opted out of USC after his junior season, the year he won the Heisman Trophy. The opinion is that he would have been the first overall choice, ahead of Utah's Alex Smith. What everyone is forgetting is that Leinart needed surgery on his throwing elbow and he never would have been ready for any NFL mini-camps last season. With all that doubt, Leinart likely wouldn't have been the first choice and he made the correct decision in returning to USC. It is this elbow injury that caused some teams to claim that Leinart didn't have the strongest arm anymore.
Run with me
Eagles coach Andy Reid is telling everyone that he plans to run the football more this season. Of course, there are plenty of skeptics when Reid says such things. He has always loved throwing the football despite the fact that Philadelphia plays so many games in cold weather. Two years ago, Reid called 61 percent pass plays and that pass-run percentage increased to 64.4 percent last season. Reid will never have a balanced offense because he doesn't have the big back necessary to run such an offense.
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.
John Czarnecki, a former sportswriter with over 20 years experience covering the NFL, has been the editorial consultant for the Emmy Award-winning FOX NFL Sunday since its 1994 inception. Prior, he provided exclusive information to CBS Sports' The NFL Today program from 1991 to 1993, holding a similar position.
Prior to joining CBS Sports, Czarnecki was a pro football writer for The National Sports Daily (1989-91), The Dallas Morning News (1989), and The Los Angeles Herald-Examin er. An archive of work can be found here.
