Gary Zimmerman

Welcoming the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008

CANTONCALLINGCANTONCALLINGWelcoming the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008

Andre TippettEmmitt ThomasArt MonkDarrell GreenFred Dean

THE 2008 NFL SEASON BEGINS IN EARNEST AS TRAINING CAMPS HEAT UP AROUND THE COUNTRY

THE 2008 NFL SEASON BEGINS IN EARNEST AS TRAINING CAMPS HEAT UP AROUND THE COUNTRY

Vikings DE Jared Allen

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FANTASYBUZZHow does Manning’sinjury impact his draftstatus this August?

FANTASYBUZZHow does Manning’sinjury impact his draftstatus this August?

URGENT NEWS — DELIVER IMMEDIATELY ll VOL. XXIII, NO. 6 l AUGUST 2008CA

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CAUGHT IN A BIND:

NFL can ill afford to lose Rooney family as ownersere is a very simple fact. Since theNational Football League and the Ameri-can Football League merged in 1966, no

franchise has been more stable or more suc-cessful than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Only theCowboys and 49ers can match Pittsburgh’sfive Super Bowl championships; no team hasdeveloped anywhere near as many Hall ofFame players; and the organization has hadonly four head coaches since the merger —Bill Austin, Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher andMike Tomlin, with Noll and Cowher coach-ing the team from 1969 through 2006.Among clubs competing since 1966, theBroncos, Dolphins and Cowboys are tied forsecond-least coaching turnover, each havingemployed seven head coaches. During thetenures of Noll and Cowher, Miami had five,and Dallas and Denver six.

It should surprise no one, then, that theSteelers have also had only one owner andone boss since 1967. Dan Rooney, the oldestof Art Rooney Sr.’s five sons, has been theboss, and he and his brothers have been theprincipal owners, with each owning 16 per-cent of the team. The other 20 percent isowned by the McGinley family, whose patri-arch Barney was a friend and confidant ofRooney Sr.

That is just one of the reasons that therecent revelations of the struggles going onwithin the Rooney family, and for majoritycontrol of the Steelers, trouble me — andshould trouble not just Steelers fans but allNFL fans — so deeply.

Along with the McCaskey/Halas family,the Maras and the Bidwills, the Rooneys areall that’s left of the pioneering families thatfounded and nurtured the NFL in the ’20sand ’30s and are still represented in the gametoday. And of those groups it was Art RooneySr. who most often had the adjective

“beloved” attached to his name. The mancouldn’t build a winner to save his soul, butas a patron saint, he was exactly what thegame needed.

The old man’s failures as an NFL executiveprompted him to put oldest son Dan in chargeat the time of the merger, and the rest, as theysay, is history. But history is about yesterday,whereas today’s world of big-time sports —in particular, the NFL — is about what haveyou done for me lately.

There is an NFL rule, targeted mainly atavoiding corporate ownership, that requiresthe principal owner of a club to own at least30 percent of the team. Dan Rooney, alongwith his brothers Art Jr., Timothy, Patrick andJohn, each owns 16 percent. Another NFLrule prohibits any NFL ownership group frombeing connected to gambling in any way, andthe Rooney family fortune comes from thehorse racing industry, including several suc-cessful tracks the younger brothers continueto operate, which now also include slotmachines and video poker. The Rooneys havebeen protected from these rules until now,having been grandfathered in, but the additionof the non-horse-related gambling activitieshas made the other owners uncomfortable.

But that is not the main reason for theRooneys’ troubles. All five brothers are nowin their 70s, and each of their 16 percentinterests in the Steelers is valued at approxi-mately $160 million. They have 30 livingchildren among them and dozens more grand-children. Should one or more of the Rooneybrothers die, the inheritance tax on their inter-est in the team could be as high as 45 per-cent, a tab their heirs will be hard-pressed tomeet. While Dan Rooney wants very much toretain majority control of the team andacquire at least the additional 14 percent heneeds to do so under today’s league rules, it’s

time for the other brothers to get out. WhileRooney and his son, Art II, work feverishly tofind an answer that meets everyone’s require-ments, the putt just keeps getting longer andtrickier because the club is not allowed tocarry more than $150 million in debt due toanother league rule, and that’s hardly enoughcash to satisfy all four of his brothers’ needs.

And now, to the part of this saga that dis-turbs me the most, other than the fact thatDan Rooney is one of the kindest, mostrespectful and brilliant NFL executives I’veever met and I absolutely hate the fact hemay not be able to keep control of the Steel-ers in the end. As the National FootballLeague approaches by far the greatest chal-lenge it has faced in its long and storied his-tory — the need to put a new Collective Bar-gaining Agreement in place prior to allowing2010 to become an “uncapped season” —there is no single NFL owner more accom-plished or respected on league issues, and inparticular on labor issues, on either side ofthe table than Dan Rooney.

While it is unlikely that any new ownerwould be foolish enough to force DanRooney out (multibillionaire Stanley Druck-enmiller, who is rumored to be the favorite toacquire the team, has already said he’d wantRooney to continue to run it), when you’renot the boss anymore, the simple truth is youno longer swing the weight you once did. Inmany respects Dan Rooney is our last link tothe “sacrifice for the greater good” mentalitythat he, Halas, Paul Brown, Lamar Hunt, theMaras, Pete Rozelle and others used to makethe NFL what it is today.

Keep an eye on this story, folks, becausenot only do Steelers fans desperately hopeDan Rooney will maintain ownership of theirfavorite club, the rest of us NFL fans needhim even more.

HUB ARKUSH PUBLISHER/EDITOR

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ALSO:

Giants, Patriots... revisited

They were the last twoteams left standing in the2007 season. We pokearound each club to see if they have what it takesto return as conferencechamps in ’08.

The NFL’s pathto immortality

Once your bronze bust is unveiled in Canton,you are destined to forever be remembered as an NFL great.We profile the Pro FootballHall of Fame class of 2008.

Fantasy footballGet the latest and thegreatest news, scoops and rumors in this issue’s edition of the Fantasy Buzz.

Training-campreportsAs the 2008 NFL season officially gets under way with the opening oftraining camps, we take a tour aroundthe league to bring you each team’s juiciest story line, biggest questionsand most important battle to watch.

The Way We Hear It ..........................Pg. 2Training-camp sites, reporting dates ..Pg. 8Power rankings ..................................Pg. 9Fantasy football draft board ............Pg. 24ArenaBowl preview ..........................Pg. 25Canadian Football League ..............Pg. 26Audibles ............................................Pg. 28NFL preseason schedule ................Pg. 29First-rounders’ signing chart;

NFL transactions ........................Pg. 30PFW Slant with Dan Arkush ............Pg. 31

Matt Sohn; Jerry Magee ..................Pg. 20Barry Jackson; Bob Carroll..............Pg. 21

NEXT ISSUEGet a leg up on the competition as you pre-

pare for this summer’s draft by reading our spe-ical fantasy football insert, which will featureIDP player rankings, Ask the Fantasy Doctor, amock draft and much, much more.

In thisedition of

Volume XXIIINo. 6

DEPARTMENTS

COLUMNISTS88COVER STORY

KEITH RANDOLPH

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Publisher/Editor Hub Arkush

General manager Mike Waters

Editor-in-chief Keith Schleiden

Art director Bob Peters

Managing editor Mike Holbrook

Executive editors Dan ArkushNeil Warner

Senior editors Nolan NawrockiEric EdholmMike Wilkening

Associate editors Matt SohnDan ParrMichael Blunda

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AD SALES OFFICE: 1-847-940-1100

COLUMNISTSRon Borges, Jim Campbell, Bob Carroll,

Glenn Dickey, Barry Jackson,

Jerry Magee, Bill Wallace

AFC REPORTERSBaltimore Ravens Jamison Hensley

Buffalo Bills Chuck Pollock

Cincinnati Bengals Mark Curnutte

Cleveland Browns Tony Grossi

Denver Broncos Frank Schwab

Houston Texans Megan Manfull

Indianapolis Colts Tom James

Jacksonville Jaguars Vito Stellino

Kansas City Chiefs Rick Dean

Miami Dolphins Harvey Fialkov

New England Patriots John Tomase

New York Jets Andrew Gross

Oakland Raiders Michael Wagaman

Pittsburgh Steelers Jim Wexell

San Diego Chargers Jay Posner

Tennessee Titans Jim Wyatt

NFC REPORTERSArizona Cardinals Kent Somers

Atlanta Falcons Steve Wyche

Carolina Panthers Charles Chandler

Chicago Bears Bob LeGere

Dallas Cowboys Mickey Spagnola

Detroit Lions Nicholas J. Cotsonika

Green Bay Packers Bob McGinn

Minnesota Vikings Sean Jensen

New Orleans Saints Mike Triplett

New York Giants Paul Schwartz

Philadelphia Eagles Dave Weinberg

St. Louis Rams Jim Thomas

San Francisco 49ers Kevin Lynch

Seattle Seahawks Dave Boling

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Katherine Smith

Washington Redskins John Keim

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSTom Danyluk, Matt Duffy, Art Edelstein,

Pat Fitzmaurice, Court E. Mann, Rick Matsumoto

STATISTICIANSRick Arkush, Daryl Arkush

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CREATORS & FOUNDERSArthur Arkush, Robert Drazkowski

and Joel Buchsbaum

Tom Brady Eli Manning

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Sparano won’tbe overextendinghis authority in Miami

New Dolphins coach TonySparano has a definitive plan forthe way his team will be run andorganized. But that doesn’t meanhe’s going to be stepping on thetoes of his assistants when itcomes to the X’s and O’s. Accord-ing to a source close to the club,

Sparano isn’t going to bemeddling in either theoffensive play-calling ofcoordinator Dan Henningor the defensive play-callingof coordinator Paul

Pasqualoni. The defense, in fact,will be almost co-coordinated byassistant head coach/secondaryTodd Bowles, whom some see asthe defensive coordinator-in-wait-ing. The one area where Sparanowill be asserting a good deal of hisauthority is on the offensive line.While trying to oversee but notinterfere with the operation of theentire team, the former OL coachhas admitted that he naturallygravitates toward the big guys inthe trenches.

BUFFALO BILLSDespite the fact that Bills WR

Lee Evans’ contract is up after theseason and OLT Jason Peterswas a no-show in the team’s off-season program, we hear that aholdout from either one in trainingcamp is unlikely. Although Evans

and the team would like tofinalize a long-term deal,we hear that it’s perhapseven more important for theteam to do somethingquickly, as Evans realizes

he’ll be paid handsomely by some-body — be it the Bills or anotherteam — if he somehow reachesthe open market in 2009. But theBills won’t allow that to happen, asa deal will be struck, even if itdoesn’t happen until during, oreven after, the upcoming season.Peters, whose deal is up after

2010, realizes that he has noleverage in his bid for a new deal,and there’s talk around Buffalo thathis push for a new contract isbeing orchestrated by his agent,Vincent Taylor. Peters is a team-first, quiet guy who is not the typeto be raising a stink about his deal,especially three years before it’sdue to expire.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTSUnlike the case in 2007, the

Patriots are counting on membersof their rookie class tomake an immediate impacton the field. Specifically,they’re harboring highexpectations for first-roundILB Jerod Mayo, second-

round CB Terrence Wheatley and

fourth-round CB JonathanWilhite. All are expected to com-pete for serious playing time, andlikely a starting job, from Day One.This comes as a complete reversalfrom what the Pats had anticipatedfrom their previous rookie class.With such a veteran and talentedroster already in place, the ’07

draftees faced long odds ofbecoming valued members of theclub. The fact that just one of theirnine draftees from a year ago,first-round DB Brandon Meri-weather, is still on the team isonly a mild surprise.

NEW YORK JETSMost of the talk about the out-

look for the Jets’ defensive linebegins (and ends) with new NTKris Jenkins, acquired via trade

from Carolina. Yet the word we’rehearing out of New York is that his

backup, Sione Pouha, willplay a more significant rolethan many figured. Pouhacame on strong in the sec-ond half of 2007, and at 6-3, 325 pounds, he has the

size to hold up as a two-gappingnose tackle. Part of the problem forJenkins, who’s immensely talented

● Expect Cowboys DL coach ToddGrantham to make Marcus Spearsone of his pet projects this summerand fall. The team has yet to get fullreturn on its big investment in Spears,a 2005 first-round draft choice whohas started for three seasons but has-n’t shown consistency or fire in hisplay. Grantham is considered a good

motivator and coach who might beable to make a difference in Spears’progression.

● It’s looking more and more as ifGiants WR David Tyree, the SuperBowl hero who had knee surgery inMarch, will be a strong candidate forthe physically-unable-to-perform list,which either could limit his chances of

getting on the field or even makingthe club altogether. The Giants’ WRsituation is very crowded now with theemergence of Steve Smith and thedrafting of Mario Manningham.

● It’s not terribly sexy, but the Red-skins should have a very good battleat punter. They drafted DurantBrooks in Round Five, the first punter

the team has drafted in 15 years, andthey think his strong leg could givehim the edge over Derrick Frost.Special-teams coordinator DannySmith, however, requires his puntersto be good directional and poochpunters, too, so Brooks will have to

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Tensionmounts Favre’s growing rift with Packersthreatens to shred team fabric

Looking for clues to what will unfold in the lat-est chapter of “Favregate”?

Considering that not even the main characterin this multilayered potboiler, which has domi-nated the pro football scene for the last month,really seems to know exactly what he wants to dofrom one day to the next, league insiders havebeen challenged to the max in their quest tounearth any pertinent insights on Brett Favre’simmediate future.

The Packers, meanwhile, have made theirstance much clearer, increasing the likelihood that Favrewon’t be returning to the team he quarterbacked somasterfully for 16 seasons, with the recent filing of a tam-pering charge against the division-rival Vikings, whichonly figures to intensify the “irreconcilable differences”that, according to more than one observer close to thescene, currently exist between Favre and Packers GMTed Thompson.

While stressing the possibility that anything could hap-pen in what has been at times a very strange and unpre-dictable saga, the prevailing feeling among PFW’ssources is that the most feasible solution to an increas-ingly messy situation is for Thompson and Favre to some-how agree to a trade with a mutually acceptable partner.

There is precedent for this scenario: Thompson’sdecision in 2005 to unload disgruntled WR Javon Walk-er to the Broncos.

But actually finding a mutually acceptable partnercould be very rough indeed.

“Thompson has made it pretty clear that every teamon the 2008 schedule should be ruled out, includingTampa Bay (a widely rumored landing spot),” one teaminsider told PFW. “And he also appears to be ruling outany teams that are contenders.

“There just aren’t a lot of choices left.”Foremost in Thompson’s mind when he traded Walker

a few years back was the fear of a potentially canceroussituation that would have developed had Walkerremained with the team.

The way we hear it, that same fear now threatens tobecome a reality the longer the Favre situation remainsup in the air.

“There is the real risk of irreparable damage,” theinsider said. “And we’re talking about what has been areally tight group. Last year (head coach Mike)McCarthy made some unprecedented demands, start-ing the offseason program earlier than ever, and therewas greater than 90 percent attendance.

“It’s hard to say if that kind of bunker mentality couldcontinue.”

The national media’s overwhelming sentiment seems

to be that the Packers would be better off with Favrereturning under center instead of his longtime heirapparent, Aaron Rodgers, who league insiders agreehas handled himself with the utmost class in the lastmonth, his ill-advised remark in a recent well-publicizedSports Illustrated interview notwithstanding.

But the way we keep hearing it, a lot more Packerscould be in Rodgers’ corner than one might think.

Said one daily team observer: “Right after Favreannounced his retirement in March, every player on theteam either spoke directly to Rodgers or sent him a text(message) to let him know they were behind him, and itwas very genuine.

“A lot of the younger players, especially, would prob-ably prefer to move on under Rodgers.”

As for Packers nation, Favre’s well-documented flip-flopping really seems to be creating conflicting emotionslike never before.

On the one hand, there will always be the adulationthat was on display at the Packers Hall of Fame inductionceremony the night of July 19, Favre’s first public appear-ance in Green Bay since his July 3 disclosure that he wasseriously thinking about ending his retirement.

Deftly avoiding any references to his situation with thePackers — he sat two tables away from Thompson, whowas sitting with McCarthy and former Packers GM RonWolf — Favre was treated warmly by the crowd and atone point received a standing ovation for winning the2007 MillerCoors MVP award.

But on the other hand, there are many longtime localloyalists who appear to have had their fill of his obvious-ly conflicted mind games.

“The negative e-mails that keep growing daily don’tlie,” said one local media member. “There’s always beennothing but unconditional love for him, through the boutswith Vicodin … the alcoholism … the 29-interceptionseason. For the first time, people are bringing back upold Favre quotes, calling him a traitor.

“And that isn’t likely to change any time soon.”

— DAN ARKUSH

Changing face: Brett Favre’s fan base is increasingly conflicted

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Don’t fret: Bills OLT Jason Peters isexpected to show up at training camp

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but inconsistent, is that he hasoften been out of shape and couldget worn down, and Pouha’s pres-ence will allow Jenkins requisiterest. However, the hope is thatincentives written in Jenkins’ con-tract for keeping his weight downwill serve as enough motivation tokeep him from ballooning.

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Ravens could havetheir work cut out forthem next offseason

The Ravens’ inability to reach along-term contract with OLB-DETerrell Suggs, the recipient of theteam’s franchise tag, means theycannot sign him to a new contractuntil after the season. Whetherthey will be able to do so is anoth-er issue altogether. Suggs is oneof three high-profile Ravens

defenders whose contractsexpire at season’s end.ILBs Ray Lewis and BartScott will also be in needof new deals, and gettingall three players back in the

fold will take a considerable finan-cial commitment by the Ravens.Suggs, who is only 25 and a legiti-mate pass-rush threat in a leaguewhere such talents are hard tocome by, would likely draw themost demand — and commandthe highest price — on the openmarket. The Ravens have theoption of giving Suggs the fran-chise tag once again next year, butit’s more likely that both sideswould try to strike a long-term,salary-cap-friendly deal that wouldgive Suggs a hefty up-front bonusthat could be prorated over the lifeof the contract.

CINCINNATI BENGALSWith RB Rudi Johnson return-

ing to full strength after having

fought a hamstring injury last sea-son and Chris Perry back in thefold after missing the ’07 campaignwith an ankle injury, the Bengalshave the makings of a deep, tal-ented backfield. And they will also

have reason to put the ballin the air a little less thisseason, the way we hear it.Among AFC teams, onlypass-happy New Englandthrew more than Cincinnati

did last season. The Bengals canstill air it out when necessary, butmore of an emphasis on theground game is expected. You canexpect the backs to be active inthe passing game, too, especiallyPerry and Kenny Watson, both ofwhom catch the ball exceptionallywell.

CLEVELAND BROWNSWith WR Joe Jurevicius a

strong candidate to begin the sea-son on the physically-unable-to-perform list, and with the CB depthin need of bolstering, we hear theBrowns are expected to be work-

ing the phones throughouttraining camp, looking tostrike a deal. A sourceclose to the club notes theteam’s preference would beto make a player-for-player

trade; the Browns dealt away apair of 2009 draft picks (RoundsThree and Five) in April. Corner-back is the more pressing positionof need at the moment. TheBrowns would like to find a veteranwho can come off the bench andcover receivers on the outsidewhen opponents employ sets withthree or more wide receivers.

PITTSBURGH STEELERSSteelers observers will be keep-

ing an eye on the number of repsthat second-year ILB LawrenceTimmons will be getting with thefirst-team defense in trainingcamp. It has been widely assumedthat Timmons will likely push LarryFoote out of the starting lineup,but as a source close to the club

show touch.● In the Cardinals’ minicamps and

OTAs leading up to training camp,team sources tell us QB MattLeinart’s arm strength appeared tobe very close to what it was before hesuffered his 2007 season-ending frac-tured collarbone. But they also saidLeinart, the designated starter head-ing into ’08, didn’t look nearly assharp as backup QB Kurt Warner,who seemed to be right on themoney with every pass he threw.Daily team observers maintain thatWarner’s passing has improved sig-nificantly since he decided to dongloves to improve his grip on the balllast year. “Every pass is a tight spiral,”one team insider said. “The flutterballs he used to throw are gone.”

● Niners team insiders tell us RBThomas Clayton — the team’ssixth-round draft pick last year, whospent the entire 2007 season on thepractice squad after leading the teamin rushing during the exhibition sea-son — displayed very impressivequickness in this year’s OTAs andminicamps.

● We hear the rift that surfacedbetween Niners WR Ashley Lelieand perfectionist WR coach JerrySullivan last season over Lelie’s far-from-perfect route-running hascooled down, with Lelie reportedlymuch more in sync with Sullivan sofar this offseason.

● Our Seahawks sources will beanxious to see if newly acquired RBJulius Jones picks up where he leftoff in the final minicamp as far as hit-ting holes quickly. So far, we’re told,Jones has made a very positiveimpression.

● With no progress toward a con-tract extension expected for C MattBirk, who can hit free agency in2009, the Vikings are likely to takelong looks at young OLs Dan Mozesand John Sullivan as possiblereplacements. The Vikings typicallyare aggressive in re-signing theircore players well in advance, so thelack of concrete progress on a dealfor Birk is quite telling.

● Bears insiders tell us third-rounddraft pick Marcus Harrison, who isbeing widely projected as the team’sfourth defensive tackle, at times dis-played the type of speed in the team’sminicamps that had some expertssuggesting he was a first-round-cal-iber performer.

● How much did the addition of RBKevin Jones actually cost the Bears?Not much at all, we hear, with oursources informing us he signed aone-year deal worth just over$600,000, with no incentives.

● We hear Packers QB AaronRodgers really likes to throw the ballto third-year WR Ruvell Martin,who could turn out to be a veryintriguing sleeper this coming sea-son.

● Our Packers sources tell us thecoaching staff is pleased with the waysecond-year DT Daniel Muir hasimproved his counter moves afteropposing offensive linemen get theirhands on him.

● Don’t pencil Stephen Petermaninto the Lions’ starting ORG spot justyet. Though Peterman ended last sea-son starting there and played fairlywell, he will get competition from

Manny Ramirez and Frank Davis.● Bucs defensive coordinator

Monte Kiffin has been known tomake his voice heard when one of hisdefenders is in the midst of a contractdispute, and he may get involved onbehalf of DE Greg White, the way wehear it. White has been jockeying fora long-term contract throughout theoffseason, but the Bucs have offeredhim only a one-year deal. Whitedoesn’t have much leverage, sincehe’s an exclusive-rights free agent,meaning he can play for Tampa or notplay at all this season. Kiffin is highlyrespected within the organization anddoes have some leverage, but it’s stillvery unlikely that the longtime coachcan get GM Bruce Allen, a toughnegotiator, to back down and riskoverpaying for White, who led theteam in sacks last season after com-ing over from the Arena FootballLeague.

● We hear Falcons rookie RBThomas Brown, a sixth-round pick,could become the team’s kickoffreturner if RB Jerious Norwood ispulled from the special-teams unit. Aclose observer of the team likenedBrown to Giants RB Ahmad Brad-shaw, a seventh-round pick in ’07who had a 151-yard game against theBills and a strong postseason for thedefending Super Bowl champs.

● Although there’s no new develop-ment in the Philadelphia gunfire inci-dent that Colts WR Marvin Harri-son is allegedly connected with, thatdoesn’t mean the issue is dead.Rather, the Philadelphia police arebeing eerily quiet on the matter, notwilling to divulge hardly any informa-tion.

● Ideally, Jaguars coach Jack DelRio would like to stage an open com-petition for the starting SS jobbetween converted CB BrianWilliams, Jamaal Fudge and Ger-ald Sensabaugh. In reality, the lattertwo have little chance of beating outWilliams. The reason? Money.Williams signed a six-year, $32 mil-lion deal in 2006, and a team insidertells us Del Rio will be reluctant tohave that highly paid a player comeoff the bench, despite his inexperi-ence at the position.

● The Texans aren’t expected tohave any competition for P MattTurk and PK Kris Brown in trainingcamp, so keeping their legs fresh willbe a priority. A source close to theclub expects the team to use kickingmachines to limit the wear and tearon Turk and Brown.

● A source close to the Titans notesthat reserve DE Jacob Ford had astrong offseason after missing hisrookie campaign because of anAchilles injury and will be in the mixfor a reserve role at right end.

● The way we hear it, Titans fourth-year CB Eric King will push nickelback Vincent Fuller for his job intraining camp. Fuller scored a pair oftouchdowns last season and comesoff a good season, but King has had aproductive offseason.

● The Bills raised some eyebrowsrecently when they gave DT KyleWilliams a three-year, $14.5 millioncontract extension. After Buffalo hadfortified the position with Pro Bowl-caliber Marcus Stroud andSpencer Johnson earlier in the off-season, the prevailing thought wasthat the position was in good enough

shape as it was, and that the moneycould’ve been spent on a greater pri-ority, such as an extension for OLTJason Peters or WR Lee Evans. Asone team insider put it, “Kyle’s a high-character, maximum-effort guy, buttake him away from this team, andyou wouldn’t see much of a differ-ence.”

● Patriots WR Kelley Washingtonis itching to prove he’s more than justa special-teams ace. The way we hearit, it’s doubtful he’ll be afforded thatopportunity.Washington is likely to bethe fifth wideout in the Pats’ WR peck-ing order, and his contributions likelywill be confined to the kicking gameonce again.

● The Steelers are expected to giveWR Santonio Holmes a look as apunt returner, the way we hear it.Rookie RB Rashard Mendenhalland veteran Mewelde Moore willbe in the mix to return kickoffs, withsecond-year RB Gary Russellanother potential option if the Steelerswant to employ a bigger returner theway they occasionally did with thedeparted Najeh Davenport. Pitts-burgh will have a new look at thosepositions after releasing RS AllenRossum in the offseason.

● The way we hear it, Ravens rook-ie LB Tavares Gooden could play amajor role on special teams in his firstseason as he learns the defense.Gooden has exceptional speed forthe position, and he could be an asseton kick and punt coverage. In thelong term, Gooden will compete for astarting spot at inside linebacker;both of Baltimore’s starters (RayLewis and Bart Scott) are expectedto enter free agency after the season.

● Word from Pittsburgh is that theSteelers have been pleased with thedevelopment of reserve DE RyanMcBean, who played in only onegame as a rookie and missed springworkouts with a foot injury. If he canreturn to health, there’s hope he canprovide capable help off the bench inhis second NFL season.

● One of the most interesting rosterdecisions the Browns will have tomake, the way we hear it, is whetherto keep three tight ends and two full-backs or four tight ends and just onefullback, starter Lawrence Vickers.

● If the Raiders hire veteran assis-tant coach Paul Hackett as an offen-sive consultant, as Al Davis is report-edly considering, it might be the mostcritical move of their offseason,according to sources in Oakland.Hackett is widely regarded as one ofthe best developers of quarterbacksaround, and he might work wonderswith JaMarcus Russell, who beginshis first season as the Raiders’ starter.

● Although underachieving DTDewayne Robertson failed a physi-cal earlier this offseason, whichstopped him from being traded to theBengals, we hear the Broncos, wholater acquired him in a swap with theJets, don’t seem too worried about thebone-on-bone condition in his knee.Sources say head coach MikeShanahan is well aware of the fragileknee and will likely lighten Robert-son’s training-camp workload to helphim stay fresh for the season. Robert-son’s ability to stay on the field will beimportant to Denver’s defense thisyear — the interior of its defensive linestruggled last season, and the Broncosranked 30th in run defense.

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A Raven forever more? Terrell Suggs’ long-term future remains uncertain

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notes, Foote got most of the snapswith the first-team base defense inthe summer. Timmons, the Steel-

ers’ first-round pick in 2007,is all but assured of havingan expanded role in pass-ing situations this season,but it’s no sure thing thathe’ll take the bulk of the

snaps in the base “D.” Timmonshas better speed than Foote, butthe latter has a reputation as astrong run stuffer — and has a sig-nificant edge in experience. Inshort, don’t be surprised if there’sroom for both players to have keyroles in the defense.

A F C l S O U T H

Jaguars extend Spicerto help DE corps, rookiecontract negotiations

By granting DE Paul Spicer atwo-year contract extension, theJaguars sent out a notice thatthey’re not yet ready to have rook-ies Derrick Harvey and QuentinGroves take over as the leadingmen on the outside. Despite therookies’ immense potential, Spicer

remains the most provencommodity at the position,especially considering that2007 starter Reggie Hay-ward faces an uphill battleto come back from an

Achilles injury and top ’07 reserveBobby McCray is now earning hiskeep in New Orleans. Spicer’sextension also gives them a bitmore leverage — or insurance,depending on your perspective —in dealing with the potential of alengthy holdout by Harvey, whichone team insider says is a strongpossibility. The Jaguars are partic-ularly frugal when it comes to big-money contracts, and Harveyknows how much he’s worth to theclub after the Jags traded up tograb him at the eighth slot in thedraft.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTSThe news that Peyton Manning

is expected to be sidelined 4-6weeks after undergoing surgery toremove an infected bursa sac inhis knee will have a significanteffect on the Colts’ training-campstructure. Throughout his career,

Manning has taken almostall the reps in camp and inpractices, contrary to thepractice followed by mostteams, which give backupquarterbacks many practice

repetitions. Now, Jim Sorgi, whohas been little more than a prac-tice dummy throughout his four-year career, will be thrust undercenter and asked to take the lion’sshare of snaps, though untestedJosh Betts and undrafted rookieAdam Tafralis will also get someopportunities. However, if Manningtakes longer than expected torecover, the team would likely takea look at a veteran quarterbackwho’s still available on the openmarket. According to a sourceclose to the club, Manning wouldhave to be expected to miss atleast 3-4 games before the Coltswould sign an outsider.

HOUSTON TEXANSThe way we hear it, second-year

WR Jacoby Jones has his workcut out for him when it comes toearning more playing time on

offense. Jones had an electrifyingfirst training camp with the Texanslast year but could not sustain thatprogress in the regular season,

catching only 15 passes for149 yards in 14 games. Asit stands, Jones couldstruggle to be more thanthe club’s No. 4 receiverbehind starters Andre

Johnson and Kevin Walter andhighly paid No. 3 receiver AndréDavis. A source close to the clubsays Jones hasn’t matured quiteas quickly as the team had hoped.That said, Jones has flashedimpressive talent in his brief NFLcareer, and he could develop intoa game-breaker on special teamsin the interim as his all-aroundgame develops.

TENNESSEE TITANSJevon Kearse has not posted

double-digit sacks since 2001,which was also the last time heplayed a 16-game season. Sowhat Kearse, who will be 32 as ofWeek One, can still bring to theTitans’ defense is a matter ofdebate. Nevertheless, he will get

first run at the starting DLEjob, one shared by AntwanOdom and Travis LaBoy aseason ago. That tandemcombined for 14 sacks aseason ago, but both play-

ers left via free agency. Kearse,back for a second stint in Ten-nessee after a disappointing four-year stay in Philadelphia, will bespelled by rookie William Hayes,a fourth-round pick out of Win-ston-Salem (N.C.) State. TheTitans’ hope is that Kearse canrecapture his old form and thatthe leap from college to the proswon’t be too much for Hayes, 23.The way we hear it, second-round pick Jason Jones is alsoexpected to get a handful ofsnaps at left end, but the plan isfor Kearse and Hayes to get mostof the work outside.

A F C l W E S T

The Chargers: Movingto a city near you?

The Chargers are one of theleague’s best franchises, but thatalone might not be enough to keepthem in San Diego past this sea-son. Their current home, Qual-comm Stadium, is quickly becom-

ing one of the NFL’s mostobsolete facilities, and theclub has an option to getout of its deal there in Janu-ary. The city has balked atfunding a new stadium,

which could cost more than $1 bil-lion, and has severely limited thelocations at which a new fieldcould be built. In fact, Mark Fabi-ani, head of new stadium issuesfor the team, recently told the SanDiego Union-Tribune that they aredown to one possible site for anew park — bayfront property innearby Chula Vista. A lot wouldhave to happen before groundcould be broken at this location,though, and nothing is on the hori-zon. Leaving San Diego wouldcost owner Alex Spanos roughly$56 million — the debt owed to thecity from Qualcomm’s expansion

— but the benefits of a new facilitycould recoup that money. Fabianisaid the Chargers need toincrease revenue if they hope tore-sign their top talent, and that amove might be the only way toaccomplish that. Rumored destina-tions include Los Angeles, SanAntonio and Las Vegas.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFSThe Chiefs weren’t good in

many areas last season, but onecategory in which they excelledwas sacks per pass play. Theirdefense ranked third in the leaguein that stat, trailing only SuperBowl participants New Englandand the Giants. Finishing that highagain isn’t likely, however, after theteam traded away 2007 NFL sackleader Jared Allen, whose depar-ture leaves K.C. with a gaping holein its pass rush. The Chiefs added

a huge force in DT GlennDorsey, but he alone canonly do so much damage.DRE Tamba Hali hasproven very capable of get-ting to the QB and should

anchor one side of the line, but theother side is seriously lacking asack specialist, with AlfonsoBoone slated to start there afterhaving moved from tackle. The waywe hear it, though, Kansas Cityreally likes what it has seen in sev-enth-round pick Brian Johnston.The defensive end has alreadydrawn comparisons to Allen, and agood training camp could meanimmediate playing time for the

rookie. The team is also bankingon second-year D-line hybrid TurkMcBride to take a big leap forwardand contribute. Finally, look for theChiefs to incorporate more blitzinglinebackers into their game plan,especially with the active DerrickJohnson.

OAKLAND RAIDERSSources in Oakland say don’t

be surprised if Raiders CB Nnam-di Asomugha holds out from thefirst couple of weeks of trainingcamp to express disappointmentwith his contract situation. TheRaiders failed to work out a long-term extension for their star cor-

ner prior to the July 15deadline for franchise play-ers to sign contracts longerthan one year. The partiescannot resume negotia-tions until after the season,

and Asomugha has yet to sign histender of just under $10 million.Word is Asomugha, widelyregarded as one of the best mancorners in the league, hasreceived no assurances that hewon’t be tagged again next off-season, much to his dismay. Wehear Asomugha might haveagreed to play for the league mini-mum base salary this season, hadhe been given a long-term dealwith a lucrative bonus, just so hecould have some security in thefuture. There is a sense in Oak-land that the Raiders dropped theball on this one and that Aso-mugha will be looking for a way

out of town after the season.

DENVER BRONCOSThe Broncos will be living dan-

gerously on special teams thisseason with an inexperienced tan-dem handling the punting and kick-ing duties. Matt Prater, who hasplayed in four career games and is1-for-4 on field-goal attempts, willbe the team’s kicker. The punting

battle is between SamPaulescu, who is thefavorite to win the job eventhough he has played in justone NFL game, andundrafted rookie Brett

Kern. Their lack of experience isstriking, but the Broncos haveresisted the urge to add a veteranwho could compete for a job, andsources say they seem to have alot of faith that Prater and Paules-cu won’t become majorheadaches. Prater missed the lastfew sessions of offseason work-outs with a sore groin, but he toldsources that he made every field-goal kick during the live portions ofpractice while he was healthy. Wehear the groin problem shouldn’tlinger into training camp.

N F C l E A S T

Giants will take closelook at other QBsbehind Manning

Eli Manning’s job as startingquarterback is secure following the

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Proven commodity: DE Paul Spiceris still a leading man for the Jaguars

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6 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

By PAUL SCHWARTZFIVE REASONS WHY THE GIANTS

WILL MAKE IT BACK TO THE SUPER BOWL:1. Feel the rush: Michael Strahan is retired, but he didn’t

take the entire pass rush with him. Not by a long shot. Thetwo most prolific sack artists from last season (Osi Umenyio-ra, who had 13, and Justin Tuck, who had 10) return and formperhaps the best DE tandem in the league. Also back frominjury is Mathias Kiwanuka, a linebacker in name but a passrusher by nature. The Giants led the NFL with 53 sacks and,thanks to a combination of personnel and defensive coordi-nator Steve Spagnuolo’s fertile imagination, have the goodsto come close to doing it again.

2. Believe in Eli: Take a look at the playoff run and youwill see the Giants directed by a quarterback who has every-thing it takes to be a star. Poise. Arm. Smarts. Toughness. EliManning’s development may have taken longer than manyGiants fans wanted, but he certainly arrived with a resound-ing flourish, and he outplayed Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo, BrettFavre and finally Tom Brady en route to taking home theMVP award in Super Bowl XLII. Manning’s work ethic andlow-key demeanor make it unlikely that the success will goto his head. In fact, it is more likely that the championshipwill empower him and inject the confidence he needs to takehis game up another notch.

3. Tom Terrific: Tom Coughlin is an acquired taste — andthe Giants have come back for seconds. No one ever reallyquestioned Coughlin’s coaching acumen; it was his personal-ity that caused players to chafe under his command. At therequest — or demand — of ownership, he lightened histouch, and the results last season were spectacular. Thereward was a new four-year contract extension this offseason,providing Coughlin with security and completely blowing

By MATT SOHNFIVE REASONS WHY THE PATRIOTS

WILL MAKE IT BACK TO THE SUPER BOWL:1. Dandy Randy: Hyperbole is often used to drive home

points, but in the case of Randy Moss, it’s tough to overexag-gerate how critical it was for the Patriots to cough up the cashto keep him in Foxborough. Among the most gifted widereceivers to ever play the game, combining Moss with precisionpasser Tom Brady takes this offense from good to outstanding.The attention he commands from the defense also opens thingsup for Wes Welker and Jabar Gaffney to pile up numbers under-neath.

2. Bolstered ’backing corps: As good as their veteran line-backers were a season ago, they tended to wear down late ingames due to their age and the poor depth behind them. Entertouted rookie Jerod Mayo and free-agent pickup Victor Hobson,and concern of that occurring again is significantly lessened.Both will play major roles on the inside, with Mayo sporting anability to rush the passer that coach Bill Belichick hasn’t had inan inside linebacker since coming to New England. With morebodies come fresher legs for Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel andAdalius Thomas to run on late in contests.

3. Hungrier than ever: Crushing losses, such as the one thePatriots suffered in the Super Bowl, have crippling effects onmost teams’ momentum. The Patriots aren’t most teams. Justflip the calendar back a year as evidence. After blowing an 18-point lead in a gut-wrenching loss to the Colts in the 2006 AFCChampionship game, the Pats were inspired to rid themselves ofthe bitterness. A perfect regular season and a litany of brokenrecords later, mission accomplished. But when the Giants’improbable victory shattered their ultimate goal, the fire wasonly stoked for ’08.

4. Phony Maroney no longer: As evidenced by the tear heended his 2007 campaign on — gashing four of the Pats’ last sixopponents for at least 100 yards rushing — New England’s topdraftee of ’06 is poised to progress from talented role player toaccomplished star. Those final games served notice that whenunburdened by injuries, Maroney has the skill package to dothings at the RB position not seen in New England since CurtisMartin’s heyday. Now viewed as a legitimate threat out of thebackfield, defenses will be unable to sell out against the pass.

5. Schedule heaven: Considering that the NFL prides itself onfostering competitive balance, it’s almost comical to think that ateam as loaded as the Patriots could be presented with the league’seasiest schedule, based on their opponents’ win-loss records from2007. The opening four-game stretch is particularly fortuitous.

The Giants have thetalent to get back to theSuper Bowl, and themonkey is off Eli Manning,but questions remain

The Patriots are hoping the return of a record-breaking offense and some fresh blood at linebacker will offset other defensive concerns

It has been nearly six months since SuperBowl Sunday, a day that changed the powerstructure in the NFL dramatically. Or did it? Despite theGiants’ big win that day, you’re more likely to find peoplebacking the Patriots to win it all than the defending champs.

We’re here to examine both sides, offering five reasons apiece toexplain what each Super Bowl XLII team must do to get back tothe title game — and what might prevent them from repeating asconference champs.

Key ingredient:Rookie JerodMayo couldbolster anaging LB

group

HARRY SCULL, JR. (MAYO) / SCOTT WALLEM-PROCASE (MANNING)

AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 7

The Chiefs, Jets, Dolphins and 49ers went a collective 14-50 aseason ago, meaning the Patriots will be able to kick-start theirjourney back to the Super Bowl immediately. And as Sir IsaacNewton taught us, objects in motion tend to stay in motion.

FIVE REASONS WHY THE PATRIOTS WON’T MAKE IT BACK:

1. Complacent Brady: Has Tom Brady lost his fire? It seemsincredulous to even suggest so much, but the simple reality isthat Brady spent the offseason partaking in a host of moreleisurely activities than he’s accustomed to. The winner of theteam’s offseason conditioning program every previous year he’sbeen with the Patriots, Brady went jet-setting around the worldwith supermodel girlfriend Gisele Bündchen in 2008, showingup at venues such as European fashion shows, and missed someof the club’s offseason workouts. If Brady’s legendary workethic is what propelled him to the top, then going on easy streetmay bring him down.

2. Leaky pass “D”: A pass defense doesn’t get better, or eventread water, by seeing its star cornerback bolt for the big dollars.With Asante Samuel now earning his paycheck in Eagles green,a serious void is left in the Pats’ secondary. And it’s not exactlylike incumbent starter Ellis Hobbs is mistaken for Elmer’s glue.New England reeled in such ho-hum veterans as FernandoBryant and Jason Webster, but it’s a serious stretch to think anycombination of guys will offset the loss of Samuel, one of theleague’s top cover men. Rookies Terrence Wheatley andJonathan Wilhite may have long-term potential, but it’s never agood thing to be reliant on rookies.

3. Right side all wrong: A pillar of stability throughout the2007 season, the offensive line was abused by the quickness ofthe Giants’ front four in the Super Bowl, and that began a stringof events which now has some questioning its potency, espe-

cially at right guard and right tackle. Duringthe Super Bowl, ORG Stephen Neal leftwith a knee injury, and his health contin-ues to be an issue heading into camp. Theunit’s season-long weak link, ORT NickKaczur, dabbled inside at guard duringOTAs, but if he’s moved inside, thatwould create a void at tackle.

4. Seeing less Seymour: Just a coupleseasons ago, DRE Richard Seymour wasviewed as one of the dominating defensivelinemen in the league and a possible futureinductee into the Hall of Fame. But a kneeinjury that earned him a spot on the physical-ly-unable-to-perform list to start last seasonrendered him a shell of his former self, andthere’s reason to be concerned whether he’llregain his form. If he can’t be a pass-rushing forceoff the edge, Belichick will be forced to blitz morethan he’d like to generate pressure.

5. Living dangerously: Admittedly, Belichick hascomplete control over this one, but if the Pats choose torun up the score again, they’ll be subjecting their star play-ers to the possibility of injury. The Pats were incredibly for-tunate to avoid any major injuries in 2007, with a mid-sea-son foot ailment suffered by solid but unspectacular OLBRosevelt Colvin the only significant medical hardship theyincurred. It’s doubtful they’ll be so lucky again, especially ifthey keep Brady firing passes when leading by 25 points inthe fourth quarter.

PFW associate editor Matt Sohn can be reached atmsohn@pfwmedia.com.

away the negative speculation that often has marked his timein New York.

4. The young guns: Seemingly out of nowhere, this rosteris loaded with young talent about to burst through. The RBstable has bruising Brandon Jacobs and elusive Ahmad Brad-shaw. WR Steve Smith made huge strides during the playoffrun. CB Aaron Ross, as a rookie, offered evidence that hemight be a future star, and Corey Webster appears to haveturned the corner on his career. Tuck is a stud on the defen-sive line, and TE Kevin Boss should be a solid pass catcherfor years to come. The Giants rated Kenny Phillips out ofMiami (Fla.) as the top safety in the entire draft and expecthim to make a quick impact. The upside for all these playersis immense.

5. Internal fortitude: You think it’s easy to become thefirst team in NFL history to win 10 consecutive games in oneseason as a visiting team? Only two previous teams (1985Patriots and 2005 Steelers) ever crashed the Super Bowl partyafter winning three road playoff games. The role of theunderdog forced to play in hostile environments is a duty theGiants relish, making this a battle-tested club that is mental-ly, as well as physically, tough. Players thrived upon hearingthey weren’t good enough, and guess what? The Giants, asdefending Super Bowl champions, should not be lacking formotivation, as they aren’t even favored this season to wintheir own division.

FIVE REASONS WHY THE GIANTS WON’T MAKE IT BACK:

1. Repeat offenders: The Patriots (2003 and ’04 seasons)and Broncos (1997 and ’98 seasons) have done it, but suc-cessfully defending a Super Bowl title is extremely difficultand usually reserved for teams that fit into the “dynasty”class. The Giants hardly dominated during the ’07 season andwere never viewed as a team with overwhelming talent. TheSuper Bowl hangover presents real and present danger andafter such an incredibly emotional and inspirational playoffrun and Super Bowl upset, some sort of letdown is almost aforgone conclusion.

2. Stray no more: You don’t replace a Michael Strahan.Not after he spent 15 years playing for the same team, puttingtogether a Hall of Fame career, breaking franchise sackrecords and establishing himself as one of the best two-waydefensive ends of his generation. In addition to his fearsomepass rushing and superb work in stopping the run, Strahanwas the unquestioned team leader in many regards. His pres-ence on the field and in the locker room, especially with hisyounger teammates, cannot be duplicated. Justin Tuck is awonderful replacement as the starting left end, but Strahan isone of a kind and his retirement leaves a void.

3. Defensive absenteeism: In addition to the loss of Stra-

han, gone via free agency from the defense — the unit thatcarried the Giants to their upset of the Patriots in Super BowlXLII — are FS Gibril Wilson and LB Kawika Mitchell. Donot underestimate the importance of both players. The Giantsare banking on the development of Gerris Wilkinson to offsetthe loss of Mitchell, but that’s hardly a sure thing, and thebackup plan — veteran newcomer Danny Clark — is notoverly inspiring. The coaching staff hopes first-round pickKenny Phillips can emerge quicklyenough to replace the very steadyWilson, but entrusting a rookie toroam the back end of the defenseoften turns into a high-wire act. IfPhillips isn’t ready, second-year SMichael Johnson will be forced ontothe field as a starter.

4. The Manning factor: Call it sacri-lege to suggest that Eli Manning isnot the real deal; his work in theplayoffs and in the Super Bowlwas indeed bordering on thespectacular. Does thatmean he finally hasarrived? This is aquarterback whoduring the regu-lar season barelycompleted 56percent of hispasses, fired 20interceptions and hada passer rating (73.9)that put him in the lowerechelon of the league amongstarters. Those stats are not indict-ing, but they also do not indicate great-ness, at least not yet.

5. Shock value: The disgruntlement of TEJeremy Shockey was merely the loudest warningof unrest following the traditional post-SuperBowl money grab. Players lined up to request —or demand — pay raises, and the results leave theGiants richer but not hungrier. Shockey, at oddswith the front office and perhaps with his ownmental demons, could become a real distrac-tion, especially if he drops a few passes andstarts hearing jeers from fans he once ownedbut who now are skeptical of his worth andloyalty to the team.

Paul Schwartz covers the Giants for theNew York Post.

Dr. Eli and Mr. Manning:Which QB will we see — the regular-season

or the postseasonversion?

8 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

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Buffalo BillsKey veteran additions: CB William

James, DT Spencer Johnson, OLB KawikaMitchell, DT Marcus Stroud.

Key veteran departures: TE MichaelGaines, WR Peerless Price, RB AnthonyThomas, DT Larry Tripplett, CB JasonWebster, LB Coy Wire.

Juiciest story line: New offensive coordi-nator Turk Schonert wants to implement anup-tempo offense to keep defenses off-bal-ance and bring a sense of purpose to whatwas an unimaginative unit last season. Thekey word there is that he “wants” to do that.Second-year QB Trent Edwards is wisebeyond his years, but how quickly he picksup the nuances of the system will determinehow practical the scheme can be.

Burning questions: Will WR Lee Evansand OT Jason Peters get contract exten-sions in time, or will we see two high-pro-file holdouts? … How quickly can theteam regroup after numerous players spentthe offseason making headlines for all the

wrong reasons? … Does rookie WR JamesHardy have the goods to step immediatelyinto a starting role (which the team des-perately needs)? … Will coveted newcom-er Marcus Stroud be a dominant force atdefensive tackle, or will he struggle withthe injuries and inconsistencies thatplagued his star-crossed tenure in Jack-sonville?

Battle to watch: There are big questionmarks over who will get starting nods atfree safety and cornerback. There are greatexpectations for heralded rookie CBLeodis McKelvin, who has the skill todevelop into a top-flight talent. Convertedreceiver George Wilson and Ko Simpson,who spent 2007 on injured reserve, are theuninspiring combatants in the FS mix. Asimproved as the front seven is, the fortifi-cations could all be for naught if the sec-ondary doesn’t tighten up.

Fearless prediction: Disgruntled backupQB J.P. Losman will make a few incredi-ble plays that will give the coaches pauseas to whether they made the right decisionin handing the keys of the offense over toEdwards. Then he’ll throw a boneheaded

interception, and they’ll be re-reminded ofwhy they demoted him.

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Miami DolphinsKey veteran additions: LB Akin Ayo-

dele, TE Anthony Fasano, DT Jason Fer-guson, QB Josh McCown, OG Justin Smi-ley, DT Randy Starks, LB Reggie Torbor,WR Ernest Wilford.

Key veteran departures: RB LorenzoBooker, WR Marty Booker, RB JesseChatman, QB Trent Green, OG Rex Had-not, QB Cleo Lemon, OG Chris Liwiens-ki, OT L.J. Shelton, LB Donnie Spragan,DE Jason Taylor, LB Zach Thomas, NTKeith Traylor.

Juiciest story line: The team’s fan basewas buzzing with excitement when BillParcells was introduced as executive V.P.of football operations, and justifiably so.

Almost peerless in NFL annals in revers-ing the fortunes of moribund clubs, Par-cells was viewed as a savior who wouldrestore the luster to a proud franchise.Only one problem: At all his previousstops, Parcells served as the coach, and inMiami he’s merely a front-office execu-tive. Or is he? Parcells insists that coachTony Sparano and GM Jeff Ireland haveultimate control when it comes to on-fieldstrategy and player personnel, but itremains to be seen whether he can resistthe urge to interject his two cents on par-ticular situations. If and when he does, atwhat point does it start undermining theauthority of the those he appointed?

Burning questions: How will TonySparano make the adjustment from posi-tion coach to head coach? … How muchwill Ronnie Brown participate, given thathe’s only nine months removed from his

Summerjobs

acation is over and it’s back to work. For coaches and play-ers, two-a-days mean long, hot and exhausting work. For therest of us, it just means our favorite sport is back in action.

And even though that action doesn’t count toward thestandings, it doesn’t mean it’s not important. Rookies andfree agents who have changed teams will be suiting up forthe first time in earnest with their new clubs. Battles will be

waged and won or lost. Coaches will start to feel the heat of expecta-tions for the upcoming season.

So we’ll go leaguewide and tell you where and when to look for thehottest stories around the NFL and what teams should be concernedand which should be in good shape heading into training camp. In thefirst of a two-part series, Pro Football Weekly goes inside every NFLtraining camp to pose the questions you have about the competition,as well as providing some answers.

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VStarting over: Bill Belichick’s biggest job is to eliminate lingering effects from the Super Bowl loss

AFC TRAINING CAMPSAFC TEAM SITE LOCATION ROOKIES VETERANSBALTIMORE McDaniel College Westminster, Md. July 21 July 23BUFFALO St. John Fisher College Pittsford, N.Y. July 24 July 24CINCINNATI Georgetown College Georgetown, Ky. July 27 July 27CLEVELAND Browns Training Facility Berea, Ohio July 22 July 22DENVER Broncos Headquarters at Dove Valley Englewood, Colo. July 24 July 24HOUSTON Texans Practice Facility Houston July 25 July 25INDIANAPOLIS Rose-Hulman Institute Terre Haute, Ind. July 24 July 24JACKSONVILLE Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, Fla. July 25 July 25KANSAS CITY Univ. of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, Wis. July 24 July 24MIAMI Nova Southeastern Univ. training center Davie, Fla. July 25 July 25NEW ENGLAND Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Mass. July 21 July 23N.Y. JETS Hofstra University Hempstead, N.Y. July 16 July 23OAKLAND Napa Valley Marriott Napa, Calif. July 24 July 24PITTSBURGH Saint Vincent College Latrobe, Pa. July 27 July 27SAN DIEGO Chargers Park San Diego July 20 July 24TENNESSEE Baptist Sports Park Nashville, Tenn. July 25 July 25

NFC TRAINING CAMPSAFC TEAM SITE LOCATION ROOKIES VETERANSARIZONA Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, Ariz. July 23 July 23ATLANTA Falcons Training Facility Flowery Branch, Ga. July 25 July 25CAROLINA Wofford College Spartanburg, S.C. July 25 July 25CHICAGO Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais, Ill. July 22 July 22DALLAS Oxnard Marriott Oxnard, Calif. July 24 July 24DETROIT Lions Training Facility Allen Park, Mich. July 23 July 23GREEN BAY St. Norbert College/Lambeau Field Green Bay, Wis. July 27 July 27MINNESOTA Minnesota State University Mankato, Minn. July 24 July 24NEW ORLEANS Millsaps College Jackson, Miss. July 23 July 23N.Y. GIANTS University at Albany Albany, N.Y. July 24 July 24PHILADELPHIA Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pa. July 21 July 24ST. LOUIS Concordia University Mequon, Wis. July 24 July 24SAN FRANCISCO 49ers Complex Santa Clara, Calif. July 24 July 24SEATTLE Seahawks Kirkland Headquarters Kirkland, Wash. July 22 July 24TAMPA BAY Disney Wide World of Sports Lake Buena Vista, Fla. July 25 July 25WASHINGTON Redskins Park Ashburn, Va. July 19 July 19

A F C E A S T

Summerjobs TEAMS, PLAYERS

SET TO HIT TRAINING CAMP

ACL tear? … Are they fully committed togoing to the 3-4 defense, or are they goingto keep some of the 4-3 scheme?

Battle to watch: It’s anyone’s guess as towho gets the nod at quarterback. The teamnabbed John Beck in the second round in2007 to presumably be their quarterbackof the future, but that pick was made bythe ousted regime. Josh McCown is moreexperienced, has a better track record andprobably gives Miami the better chance towin now, but he suffered a cut on the indexfinger of his throwing hand that requiredstitches this summer, which could set himback. There’s also second-round rookieChad Henne, who faces an uphill chal-lenge in getting the Week One nod but cer-tainly will be in the thick of things.

Fearless prediction: Ricky Williams,refocused on football after being left fordead by many, will remind everyone whyhe once led the league in rushing. Lighterand quicker than he had been in years,he’ll enable Brown to make a gradualreturn to the lineup.

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New England PatriotsKey veteran additions: CB Fernando

Bryant, LB Victor Hobson, CB Jason Web-ster, SS Tank Williams.

Key veteran departures: TE Kyle Brady,OLB Rosevelt Colvin, CB Randall Gay,CB Asante Samuel, WR Donté Stallworth,DB Eugene Wilson.

Juiciest story line: Will the Patriots’ cus-tomary focus and fire still be there? It’s alegitimate question after their gut-wrench-ing Super Bowl loss. Already, we’ve seenTom Brady skip voluntary workouts infavor of touring around the world with hisgirlfriend, which surprised many, consid-ering his unrivaled work ethic. The playersare saying they’re hungrier than ever, butwords are cheap. We want to see how itactually plays out.

Burning questions: Will Junior Seaucome back for one more season and onemore chance to earn a ring? … Will ORTNick Kaczur, entangled in his involvementas a DEA informant, relinquish his job toRyan O’Callaghan? … Who will win theCB job vacated by Asante Samuel? … Willrookie Kevin O’Connell supplant MattCassel as Brady’s backup? … Can injury-cursed WR Chad Jackson stay healthy andfinally showcase his talent? … How quick-ly will rookie Jerod Mayo pick up thenuances of playing linebacker in BillBelichick’s complex defense?

Battle to watch: There’s open competi-tion at not only Samuel’s CB spot, but onthe other side as well, as Ellis Hobbs did-n’t exactly shine a season ago. The Patriotsreeled in a host of new bodies to fortify theposition, but no stars. Rookies TerrenceWheatley and Jonathan Wilhite will befirmly in the mix, as will veteran newcom-ers Fernando Bryant and Jason Webster.The wild card is S Brandon Meriweather,who dabbled at corner last season andmight be the best athlete of the bunch.

Fearless prediction: Belichick, decidingthat a jolt of youthful energy will helprevitalize the team, opts against offeringSeau, who’s not under contract, a newdeal. Instead, he inserts Mayo into thestarting lineup, utilizing a trial-by-firemethod he seldom employs.

▼

New York JetsKey veteran additions: RB Jesse Chat-

man, OG Alan Faneca, TE Bubba Franks,NT Kris Jenkins, OLB Calvin Pace, FBTony Richardson, OT Damien Woody.

Key veteran departures: OT AnthonyClement, S Erik Coleman, LB Victor Hob-

son, WR Justin McCareins, NT DewayneRobertson, TE Sean Ryan, LB JonathanVilma.

Juiciest story line: It’s rare that an offen-sive line poses such intrigue, but this O-line has a chance to be really special … oran utter disaster. Four former first-rounders comprise the starting unit:holdovers OLT D’Brickashaw Fergusonand C Nick Mangold, and newcomersOLG Alan Faneca and ORT DamienWoody. However, Ferguson and Mangoldhave yet to live up to their lofty billing,and the Jets forked over a king’s ransomfor the other two, despite the fact thatFaneca’s on the downside of his career andWoody has played all of five career gamesat tackle.

Burning questions: Can new NT KrisJenkins keep his weight down and hismotor up? … Will the Jets allow ultra-ath-letic but raw rookie OLB Vernon Gholstonto compete for a starting job immediately?… Will disgruntled TE Chris Baker andmanagement reach an amicable resolu-tion? … Will Leon Washington emerge asmore than just a change-of-pace runningback? … Will athletically gifted CB JustinMiller prove healthy enough to warrant astarting job?

Battle to watch: The battle betweenChad Pennington and Kellen Clemens forthe QB job will be analyzed, scrutinizedand dissected by the coaches, fans andmedia. It’s a true toss-up entering camp,with each offering something different.The more polished Pennington would bethe safer choice and would help the Jetswin the turnover battle, while Clemens’superior arm strength would open up moreof the playbook.

Fearless prediction: Coach Eric Mangi-ni tires of Thomas Jones plodding forwardfor two-yard gains and names Washingtonthe starting back. Due to the new role,Mangini takes Washington off the punt-and kickoff-return teams, despite the factthat Washington was among the leagueleaders in return yardage in 2007.

A F C N O R T H▼

Baltimore RavensKey veteran additions: LB Brendon

Ayanbadejo, CB Frank Walker.Key veteran departures: QB Steve

McNair, OT Jonathan Ogden.Juiciest story line: Will the Ravens,

known for their strong veteran leadership,buy into head coach John Harbaugh’s sys-tem? The early returns suggest Harbaughhas been received positively, but willthings change during what promises to bea tougher, more physically taxing trainingcamp than the ones predecessor Brian Bil-lick oversaw? The Ravens cannot endurewidespread dissension and hope to com-pete in the AFC North.

Burning questions: Will LB Ray Lewissign a contact extension with the Ravensor play out the final year of his contractand hit free agency? … Will owner SteveBisciotti, a Lewis fan, make the venerablelinebacker an offer he can’t refuse, onethat gives him one last payday and allowshim to retire a Raven? … Can FabianWashington take CB Samari Rolle’s start-ing spot? … Is Jared Gaither ready toreplace Jonathan Ogden at left tackle? …Who wins the battle for the QB job: KyleBoller, Joe Flacco or Troy Smith?

Battle to watch: It’s at quarterback,where Boller, Flacco and Smith will get ashot at the job, but it’s believed that thecompetition likely will come down toFlacco and Smith. Flacco, the Ravens’

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RANK / TEAM SB ODDS THE SKINNY

1 NEW ENGLANDPATRIOTS 3-1 Fewer signs of Super Bowl hangover than troubled

Giants.

2 DALLASCOWBOYS 11-2 Zach Thomas addition could make a good defense

great.

3 SAN DIEGOCHARGERS 11-2 No team can boast its depth, even with veteran

losses.

4 INDIANAPOLISCOLTS 13-2 Peyton Manning’s injury, questions about Marvin

Harrison have some fans freaked.

5 NEW YORKGIANTS 12-1 Albany is guaranteed to be hot, and Jeremy Shock-

ey is likely to be fanning the flames.

6 JACKSONVILLEJAGUARS 8-1 David Garrard gets the chance to show he’s among

the elite quarterbacks now.

7 GREEN BAYPACKERS 10-1 What is going through the other players’ minds over

the Brett Favre saga?

8 CLEVELANDBROWNS 15-1 Don’t laugh: Return of 22 starters has some fans

thinking about Tampa in February.

9 PITTSBURGHSTEELERS 10-1 Big Ben is great, but you still have to wonder if the

offensive line can protect him.

10 MINNESOTAVIKINGS 10-1 Brad Childress has thrown his support behind

Tarvaris Jackson ... so far.

11 SEATTLESEAHAWKS 12-1 Will Mike Holmgren coach as if he has nothing to

lose in his swan-song season?

12 PHILADELPHIAEAGLES 15-1 Don’t bet against Andy Reid a season after the

Eagles miss the playoffs.

13 NEW ORLEANSSAINTS 18-1 Did the team do enough to fill the holes on that

defense?

14 CAROLINAPANTHERS 35-1 Underrated offseason moves could make them an

NFC dark horse.

15 TENNESSEETITANS 45-1 Mike Heimerdinger’s success will be judged on how

well he works with Vince Young.

16 ARIZONACARDINALS 45-1 Matt Leinart says he needs to grow up, but he also

must fend off Kurt Warner.

17 HOUSTONTEXANS 40-1 Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans headline what could

be an improved defense.

18 WASHINGTONREDSKINS 28-1 Players are responding well to less-tense atmos-

phere under Jim Zorn.

19 TAMPA BAYBUCCANEERS 24-1 If you have six quarterbacks, you might as well

have none.

20 BUFFALOBILLS 50-1 Paul Posluszny could be a nice upgrade on what

should be a plucky defense.

21 NEW YORKJETS 20-1 Free-agent acquisitions make them talented but

also raise stakes.

22 CINCINNATIBENGALS 40-1 When it comes down to it, Chad Johnson will play.

The defense is another matter.

23 DENVERBRONCOS 25-1 The team’s asking a lot of rookie Ryan Clady to

anchor the left side, keep Jay Cutler healthy.

24 BALTIMORERAVENS 30-1 Observers, coaches are raving about potential of

rookies Joe Flacco, Ray Rice.

25 ST. LOUISRAMS 50-1 Steven Jackson starts his run for free-agent money

this season.

26 CHICAGOBEARS 15-1 It might be an open competition, but Kyle Orton has

a very good shot to win the QB job.

27 OAKLANDRAIDERS 35-1 Overspending aside, this is a better team than the

one that lost 10 of the past 12 games.

28 SAN FRANCISCO49ERS 50-1 Moving Justin Smith around doesn’t instill confi-

dence in his signing.

29 DETROITLIONS 60-1 There will be a lot of pressure on Calvin Johnson to

make a big step forward.

30 MIAMIDOLPHINS 50-1 Ricky Williams says he thinks the team will win “at

least nine games.”

31 KANSAS CITYCHIEFS 80-1 Draft haul was nice, but quarterback, O-line are still

in rough shape.

32 ATLANTAFALCONS 125-1 The youth auxiliary team might struggle out of the

gate.

POWER RANKINGSPRESEASONPOWER RANKINGS

*

For our UPDATED POWER RANKINGSTHROUGHOUT THE SEASON log on to:

** — Odds to win SB XLIII as of July 18, courtesy of MGM Mirage

(Continued on Page 10)

10 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

first-round pick, has the strongest arm, butSmith has an experience edge, and he hasshown consistent improvement in the twoseasons he has been with the Ravens. Thewild card is Boller, who has 42 careerstarts but has to cut down on his mistakesto have a chance.

Fearless prediction: The Ravens were16th in rushing in 2007, but the pieces arein place for a run at the top 10 in this cat-egory in ’08. New C Jason Brown could bean excellent fit as the fulcrum of the line,and OLG Ben Grubbs has Pro Bowl poten-tial. The Ravens have an above-averagestarting running back in Willis McGaheeand improved their backfield depth withthe selection of Rutgers’ Ray Rice inRound Two of the ’08 draft. Rice will spellMcGahee and could force his way into animportant role in his first NFL season.

▼

Cincinnati BengalsKey veteran additions: LB Darryl Black-

stock, DE Antwan Odom, TE Ben Utecht.Key veteran departures: WR Chris

Henry, LB Landon Johnson.Juiciest story line: What will be Chad

Johnson’s mood throughout trainingcamp? Will he sulk, or will he bury thehatchet with the Bengals? The Bengalsneed him to be at his best to entertain anyplayoff hopes, and any drama whatsoeverhas to be too much from Cincinnati’s per-spective, considering how he spent the off-season demanding a trade. The Bengalsrefused to move him, and like the rest ofus, they have to wonder how he’ll reactwith the regular season in plain sight.

Burning questions: Can RB Rudi John-son bounce back from a forgettable 2007season? … If not, do the Bengals turn toChris Perry or Kenny Watson? … Will theBengals be able to re-sign WR T.J. Housh-mandzadeh, who will be a free agent atseason’s end? … Will DE Antwan Odombe an adequate replacement — or anupgrade — over the departed JustinSmith? … Can new defensive coordinatorMike Zimmer fix a defense that has beenleaky for far too long?

Battle to watch: Rashad Jeanty andAhmad Brooks will compete to start atstrong-side linebacker. Brooks may bemore talented than Jeanty, but he missedmost of last season with a groin injury.Jeanty has more NFL starting experiencethan Brooks and has made the most of hisopportunities since coming over from theCanadian Football League. The loser ofthis competition figures to see plenty ofplaying time in “sub” packages.

Fearless prediction: The Bengals willfield one of the league’s youngest secon-daries. CB Johnathan Joseph is entering histhird NFL season, but he could be the mostexperienced defensive back Cincinnati putsin the starting lineup. CB Leon Hall and FSMarvin White, both second-year players,are expected to start, and second-year SSChinedum Ndukwe will push Dexter Jack-son for a starting job. The Bengals arebanking on talent outweighing a lack ofexperience in the back end of the defense.

▼

Cleveland BrownsKey veteran additions: CB Terry Cousin,

DL Shaun Rogers, WR Donté Stallworth,DL Corey Williams.

Key veteran departures: C LeCharlesBentley, CB Leigh Bodden, DE OrpheusRoye, LB Chaun Thompson.

Juiciest story line: How will the Brownshandle high expectations? They aren’tsneaking up on anyone this season, not

after winning 10 games in 2007. On paper,this team is even better than last year’s edi-tion, and there won’t be the distraction ofa QB competition as there was last sum-mer. The Browns are deep at most posi-tions and should boast an improveddefense. It’s easy to make a case for themas the AFC North favorites. But can theylive up to the hype?

Burning questions: Can the secondary— which appears to be the weak link ofthe defense — hold its own? … Will all ofthe knee surgeries TE Kellen Winslow hasendured finally catch up to him? … WillD-linemen Shaun Rogers and CoreyWilliams fit seamlessly into the defense?… Will WR Joe Jurevicius be ready for thestart of the season after undergoing foursurgeries to combat a knee injury and asubsequent staph infection? … Will WRBraylon Edwards drop fewer passes thisseason, correcting one of the few weak-nesses in his game?

Battle to watch: Second-year CB Bran-don McDonald will try to hold off TerryCousin for a starting job. McDonald was arevelation as a rookie, defending 10 passesand making two interceptions after garner-ing a role in the Browns’ “sub” packages.However, he doesn’t turn 23 until lateAugust, and much more is expected fromhim this season. Cousin is tough and savvyand will bolster the Browns’ depth at thevery least.

Fearless prediction: The Browns’ LBcorps will be the primary beneficiary ofthe beefed-up defensive line. OLB Kame-

rion Wimbley is a rising star, and ILBD’Qwell Jackson has quietly racked up 90tackles or more in his first two NFL cam-paigns. The Browns’ other inside lineback-ers, Andra Davis and Leon Williams, arestrong scheme fits who will be all the moreeffective if allowed to run free and hit.

▼

Pittsburgh SteelersKey veteran additions: LB Keyaron Fox,

C Justin Hartwig, RB Mewelde Moore.Key veteran departures: OG Alan

Faneca, LB Clark Haggans, RS AllenRossum, TE Jerame Tuman.

Juiciest story line: Can the Steelers’offensive line thrive without Faneca, itsbest player in the trenches for much of thisdecade? Chris Kemoeatu gets the firstcrack to start at left guard. No one isexpecting him to be the second coming ofFaneca, but if he struggles, the line willunquestionably be compromised. TheSteelers had problems in pass protectioneven with Faneca in the mix last season, sothere’s little question why this is the mostscrutinized position group entering train-ing camp.

Burning questions: Is Santonio Holmesready to become the Steelers’ go-to receiv-er, or will Hines Ward hold that distinctionfor another season? … How many toucheswill rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall getper game? … Can a defensive line that’sgetting up in age and lacking in depth holdup for an entire season? … Will SS TroyPolamalu return to form after a disappoint-

ing, injury-plagued 2007 campaign?Battle to watch: Justin Hartwig and Sean

Mahan will compete to start at center, withthe loser likely serving as a backup centerand guard. Hartwig is coming off a disap-pointing two-year stint in Carolina, but ifhe replicates his best form from his timewith the Titans from 2002-05, he’ll betough to beat. Mahan did not fare wellagainst stronger interior linemen in hisfirst season with the Steelers.

Fearless prediction: LaMarr Woodleyand James Harrison will team to give theSteelers an OLB tandem as productive asthe duo of Joey Porter and Clark Haggans.Woodley came on strong at the end of hisrookie season. He’ll take the LOLB posi-tion vacated by Haggans, who signed withArizona. Harrison, who replaced Porterlast season, made the Pro Bowl in his firstcampaign as a starter. Getting a strongrush from the outside linebackers is key tothe success of any 3-4 defense, and theSteelers are likely to get just that fromWoodley and Harrison.

A F C S O U T H▼

Houston TexansKey veteran additions: RB Chris Brown,

LB Rosevelt Colvin, S Nick Ferguson, CChris Myers, CB Jacques Reeves, LBChaun Thompson.

Key veteran departures: LB CharlieAnderson. LB Shawn Barber, LB DannyClark, C Mike Flanagan, S Von Hutchins,

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Lightning rod: Coming off ankle surgery and following a trade demand, Chad Johnson will be closely watched in a crucial training camp for the Bengals

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KR Jerome Mathis, TE Jeb Putzier.Juiciest story line: No one is saying QB

Matt Schaub’s starting job is in jeopardy.But even the most ardent Schaub support-er would acknowledge that the pressure ison the ex-Falcons passer after backupSage Rosenfels performed well in hisabsence last season. A poor training campand preseason from Schaub would meanthe pesky “QB controversy” whisperswould only grow louder. But if Schaubplays like he did early last season, whenHouston got off to a quick start, such talkwill die down.

Burning questions: Can RB AhmanGreen hold up for 16 games? If not, who’snext in line to replace him: Chris Brown,Steve Slaton or Chris Taylor? … Will WRAndre Johnson show any ill effects fromoffseason knee surgery? … Is MarioWilliams going to be even better than hewas last season? That’s how it appeared inoffseason workouts, but will it carry over?… Can ex-Cowboys CB Jacques Reeveshold down a starting spot while DuntaRobinson recovers from a knee injury?

Battle to watch: First-round pick DuaneBrown is favored to beat out veteranEphraim Salaam at left tackle, but will hebe able to win the job? The Texans seeBrown as the long-term solution at thisimportant position, but he’ll have to be aquick learner to secure the job. Salaam isan experienced, serviceable starter but notquite as good a fit in the Texans’ zoneblocking scheme as the athletic Brown.

Fearless prediction: The Texans willlikely need a key contribution from one oftheir younger backs, Taylor or Slaton, atsome point. Both Green and Brown have ahistory of injuries, and depending uponeither for a full season is a tough proposi-tion to take. Look for Slaton, a third-roundpick out of West Virginia, to earn immedi-ate playing time as a change-of-pace back.The coaching staff also likes Taylor, whomissed last season with a knee injury.

▼

Indianapolis ColtsKey veteran additions: RB Dominic

Rhodes.Key veteran departures: LB Rocky

Boiman, DT Dan Klecko, DT AnthonyMcFarland, OLB Rob Morris, OG JakeScott, TE Ben Utecht.

Juiciest story line: With all the stars dot-ting the Colts’ roster, it stands to reasonthat all eyes will be focused on … JimSorgi? It sounds almost comical, but with

Peyton Manning sitting out training campwhile recuperating from knee surgery,Sorgi, a career backup, will be taking thefirst-team reps. Not only has Sorgi neverbeen a No. 1 quarterback, he rarely hadbeen granted meaningful practice reps.

Burning questions: Will head-coach-in-waiting Jim Caldwell assume a moreactive role? … How many fans will comeout to watch with Manning, DwightFreeney and Bob Sanders all sitting out?… Will Marvin Harrison prove he’s overhis knee problems? … Who will emerge asthe bookend tight end to Dallas Clark? …How much will Dominic Rhodes eat intoJoseph Addai’s reps at running back?

Battle to watch: With SLB TyjuanHagler out while nursing a pectoral tear,the LB corps could be a mix-and-matchaffair considering there’s not another goodoption to plug in on the strong side. Rook-ie MLB Philip Wheeler could gain somereps outside, but coach Tony Dungy willbe hesitant to have a rookie learn morethan one position. Second-year OLB ClintSession has great athletic ability, but he’sbetter-suited to operate in space.

Fearless prediction: The Colts becomewary that Manning’s knee will keep himout longer than expected, and they coaxKelly Holcomb out of retirement to betheir interim starter. Holcomb started hiscareer in Indianapolis and has a good feelfor the offense, so he’d be a logical choiceto come in and contribute immediately.

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Jacksonville JaguarsKey veteran additions: CB Drayton Flo-

rence, QB Cleo Lemon, WR Jerry Porter,WR Troy Williamson.

Key veteran departures: QB QuinnGray, CB Aaron Glenn, SS SammyKnight, DE Bobby McCray, OG ChrisNaeole, DT Marcus Stroud, WR ErnestWilford.

Juiciest story line: Might Jacksonville,known for its deliberate, methodical run-ning game, actually start opening up theoffense and winging it downfield?Although it’s doubtful the Jaguars aregoing to go “Fun & Gun” on us overnight,they should be adding more vertical ele-ments to their offense. In his second sea-son as coordinator, Dirk Koetter is lookingfor the offense to resemble the high-flyingunits he directed at Boise State and Ari-zona State, and with a more experiencedDavid Garrard under center and a beefed-up WR corps with the addition of Jerry

Porter, he has the tools to do so. Burning questions: Is Rob Meier capa-

ble of filling the DT void left by MarcusStroud’s relocation to Buffalo? … Howwill Porter’s hamstring injury, expected tosideline him for all of the preseason,impact his involvement in the offense? …Can Troy Williamson resurrect his disasterof a career? … Can Brian Williams make aseamless transition from cornerback tosafety? … Will OG Maurice Williams jus-tify the massive contract he signed? …Will undersized but ultra-quick rookie DEQuentin Groves be able to hold up againstbigger offensive tackles in the runninggame? … Will ageless RB Fred Taylorcontinue to defy Mother Nature?

Battle to watch: The coaches like third-year pro Clint Ingram at weak-side line-backer, as he’s a reliable, sure tackler theycan count on. Problem is, they love theplaymaking skills of second-year proJustin Durant, but he’s a bit of a loose can-non both on and off the field. It’s the clas-sic case of the sure thing vs. the wild thing,the risk vs. the reward. Regardless of whowins the starting nod, each should earnsignificant playing time.

Fearless prediction: Reggie Williamswill prove capable of handling No. 1receiver duties while Porter’s sidelined,and Williamson will be so bad he won’teven make the final roster. However, theteam will find its deep-threat wideout insecond-year pro John Broussard, whoteased with his potential by hauling in a47-yard touchdown in his first pro game in2007 but didn’t do much of anything elsethe rest of the season.

▼

Tennessee TitansKey veteran additions: CB-RS Chris

Carr, TE Alge Crumpler, DE JevonKearse, WR Justin McCareins, OG JakeScott.

Key veteran departures: OG Jacob Bell,CB Chris Brown, WR David Givens, TEBen Hartsock, DE Travis LaBoy, DEAntwan Odom, OG Benji Olson, DTRandy Starks, TE Ben Troupe.

Juiciest story line: Keep an eye on QBVince Young’s development in MikeHeimerdinger’s offense. Heimerdinger,whose work with Steve McNair helpedtransform the Titans’ offense earlier thisdecade, has returned to Tennessee with thecharge of helping Young reach his poten-tial. Young isn’t a textbook-quality passer,but he’s more mobile than McNair, and

he’s a strong leader. Rapid improvementcould be around the corner if he takes toHeimerdinger’s attack.

Burning questions: Will DT AlbertHaynesworth play as well as he did lastseason, or will he revert to the inconsistentperformer he was earlier in his career? …Does DE Jevon Kearse have anything left?If not, who steps up to provide a pass-rushthreat opposite Kyle Vanden Bosch? …How much work will rookie RB ChrisJohnson get? Will RB Chris Henry havemuch, if any, of a role in the offense? …Will the lack of a No. 1 wide receiver ham-string the offense?

Battle to watch: WR Justin McCareinswill compete with Roydell Williams for astarting spot. McCareins is comfortable inHeimerdinger’s offense and helped him-self with his play in the offseason.Williams missed offseason workouts as herecovered from a broken right ankle, andhe is going to have to quickly get up tospeed to have a chance to beat outMcCareins. The loser of the McCareins-Williams battle will be in the mix for areserve role, and the competition for those

AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 11

V.Y.: QB Vince Young is learning a new offense

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Fearless prediction: If Kearse has some-thing left, defensive coordinator coach JimSchwartz will get it out of him. Also, whilesome have lamented the losses of AntwanOdom and Travis LaBoy in free agency,the Titans still have as good a right side ofthe defensive line as any in the game withHaynesworth and Vanden Bosch. In short,don’t be surprised if the Titans approachthe 40 sacks they posted last season.

A F C W E S T▼

Denver BroncosKey veteran additions: SLB Boss Bailey,

WR Keary Colbert, WR Darrell Jackson,MLB Niko Koutouvides, S MarlonMcCree, WR Samie Parker, RB MichaelPittman, DT Dewayne Robertson, C CaseyWiegmann.

Key veteran departures: PK Jason Elam,S Nick Ferguson, LB Ian Gold, RB TravisHenry, C Chris Myers, WR Javon Walker.

Juiciest story line: Jay Cutler seemed toembrace more of a leadership role in theoffseason, and it will be interesting to seeif he takes a more authoritative approachin training camp. He called out WR Bran-don Marshall after Marshall severelyinjured his arm while wrestling with hisbrother in March. Marshall, who will standtrial for drunken driving on Sept. 16, needsto show some maturity, and Cutler seems abit fed up with his talented but troubled

teammate. The interaction between thosetwo will be worth keeping a close eye on.

Burning questions: Who will becomethe team’s starting running back? … WillMarshall stay out of trouble, and can heavoid any setbacks following his seriousarm injury? … Who will win the opencompetition to become the No. 2 receiver?… How will rookie OLT Ryan Clady farein his adjustment to the NFL? … Is NikoKoutouvides the answer at middle line-backer? … Can the Broncos get by whilerelying on an inexperienced kicker andpunter? … Will this be a breakthrough sea-son for Cutler?

Battle to watch: There already wasgoing to be a competition for the No. 1 RBspot in Denver, but the June release ofTravis Henry blew the battle wide open.Selvin Young, Michael Pittman and rookieRyan Torain each has a shot to rise to thetop spot on the depth chart. Young andPittman have an edge based on their expe-rience, but head coach Mike Shanahan hasnever shied away from playing youngbacks and he is said to think very highly ofTorain, a fifth-round pick out of ArizonaState. Shanahan has said that he doesn’tthink Young, who led the club in rushinglast season with 729 yards, is built to with-stand the wear and tear that comes with20-25 carries per game.

Fearless prediction: Rookie WR EddieRoyal makes an immediate impact on spe-cial teams, bringing a new level of excite-ment to the Broncos’ return game, whichhas been sorely lacking in recent years. Hereturns a kick for a touchdown in the first

preseason game, and the Devin Hestercomparisons begin, although they areextremely premature.

▼

Kansas City ChiefsKey veteran additions: OT Anthony

Alabi, WR Devard Darling, FB OliverHoyte, DE Trevor Johnson, KR B.J. Sams,OLB Demorrio Williams.

Key veteran departures: TE Jason Dunn,FB Boomer Grigsby, WR Eddie Kennison,CB Benny Sapp, OT Kyle Turley, OG JohnWelbourn, C Casey Wiegmann, DE JimmyWilkerson, FB-TE Kris Wilson.

Juiciest story line: Just as it is with mostteams, the spotlight in Kansas City will bebrightest on QB Brodie Croyle, but willthe Chiefs give him the weapons and pro-tection to have a fighting chance? Croylewill be surrounded by a makeshift O-lineand a suspect receiving corps — not exact-ly the recipe for success. The QB might bewritten off if he fails this season, butthere’s a good possibility it won’t be com-pletely his fault.

Burning questions: Is RB Larry Johnsonfully recovered from his broken foot? …Do the Chiefs have enough viable passcatchers? … Is Croyle ready to lead anNFL franchise? … How will the defensereplace departed DE Jared Allen? … Willthe team have a legitimate placekicker byWeek One? … Is success possible with somany rookies in the starting lineup? …Could this be GM Carl Peterson’s last go-around in K.C.?

Battle to watch: The Chiefs’ tightest bat-tle will be the three-way dance for the No.2 WR spot. No true favorite exists amongnewcomer Devard Darling, third-yearwideout Jeff Webb and rookie WillFranklin. Darling is talented but has just20 career catches, Webb showed flasheslast season while playing with Croyle, andFranklin has enticing tools but no experi-ence. Whoever emerges from this contestmust prove to be at least a serviceable tar-get to take pressure off WR DwayneBowe.

Fearless prediction: Undrafted rookieConnor Barth will be the Chiefs’ WeekOne placekicker. Barth, a North Carolinaproduct, has a powerful, accurate leg andholds Tar Heel records in made field goals(54) and consecutive field goals converted(19). He currently has only journeymanNick Novak, who isn’t much in the way ofcompetition, to beat out for the job.

▼

Oakland RaidersKey veteran additions: WR Drew Carter,

DE Kalimba Edwards, CB DeAngelo Hall,OT Kwame Harris, DT William Joseph,DE Greg Spires, QB Marques Tuiasosopo,C John Wade, WR Javon Walker, S GibrilWilson.

Key veteran departures: DE Tyler Bray-ton, CB Chris Carr, SLB Chris Clemons,QB Josh McCown, WR Jerry Porter, RBDominic Rhodes, DT Warren Sapp, S Stu-art Schweigert, CB Fabian Washington.

Juiciest story line: A major concernheading into training camp is whether QBJaMarcus Russell will have much of areceiving corps to throw to. Reports indi-cate that WR Javon Walker suffered a frac-tured orbital bone when he was beaten andleft on a Las Vegas side street in June. Ifthat’s true, it’s hard to believe Walker willbe at full strength when camp opens. Thefront-runner for the No. 2 slot, RonaldCurry, is coming off foot surgery andmight be slowed early on. Aside fromDrew Carter, who had a strong round ofOTAs, no other receiver has more than ayear of experience. The Raiders aren’t

making it easy on Russell in his first yearas a starter, and a weak receiving corpscould emerge as a major problem.

Burning questions: Is Russell preparedto be a full-time starter? … Is Walker com-pletely healed? … What role will rookieRB Darren McFadden play in the team’soffense? … Will the Raiders find any will-ing trade partner for RB LaMont Jordan?… Who will be the starter at center? …Has DT Tommy Kelly completed his rehabfrom a torn ACL, and can he live up to amind-boggling seven-year, $50.5 millioncontract? … Who will be the starting rightdefensive end? … Will CB Nnamdi Aso-mugha show up at camp on time after theteam failed to sign him to a long-term dealbefore the league’s July 15 deadline forinking franchise players?

Battle to watch: A sound offensive linemay be an even bigger help to Russell, butthe situation at center still is unsettled.John Wade, Chris Morris and Jake Groveare in the running to become the squad’sNo. 1 snapper. Grove, however, who mighthave the most upside of the three, has beenlimited by a knee injury. Morris might bethe least talented of the trio, but he has agood sense of Oakland’s blocking schemesand is able to execute them with precision.Wade, in his 11th NFL season, is a solid,intelligent leader, which head coach LaneKiffin might be attracted to since hisoffense is so young.

Fearless prediction: Despite persistentrumors that Kiffin might be replaced ashead coach before the season, he survivestraining camp, and owner Al Davis makesa commitment to stick with Kiffin for theseason. A major distraction is eliminated,and the Raiders are able to focus on foot-ball matters rather than front-office squab-bles … for at least a few months.

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San Diego ChargersKey veteran additions: WR-RS Mark

Jones, C-OG Jeremy Newberry, OT L.J.Shelton, LB Derek Smith.

Key veteran departures: CB DraytonFlorence, S Marlon McCree, FB LorenzoNeal, OT Shane Olivea, RB Michael Turn-er.

Juiciest story line: With expectations sohigh, the recovery of the Chargers’ injuredoffensive stars will be watched closely. RBLaDainian Tomlinson’s knee is expectedto be fine, and the All-Pro likely will playwith a chip on his shoulder after manyquestioned his toughness following Janu-ary’s playoff loss to the Patriots. QB PhilipRivers (torn ACL) also should be ready togo, but the same can’t be said for star TEAntonio Gates, whose toe injury maylinger into the regular season.

Burning questions: When will Gates andC Nick Hardwick (foot) return to health?… Have the Chargers sufficiently replacedRB Michael Turner? … Will Rivers takethe next step toward developing into anelite QB? … Will the team’s weakness atinside linebacker be exposed? … Can thedefense possibly match its 48 takeawaysfrom ’07? … Is this the year San Diegofinally lives up to its potential and getsback to the Super Bowl?

Battle to watch: The Chargers will havevery few position battles during trainingcamp, but one spot that will be up forgrabs is the nickel corner. First-roundrookie Antoine Cason will square offagainst second-year man Paul Oliver to seewho’ll be the third cornerback on passingdowns. Both players are extremely talent-ed but will need time to learn the system.

Fearless prediction: Anthony Waterswill emerge as a force at inside linebacker.The ’07 third-rounder from Clemson has

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impressed in offseason workouts and hasthe coaches singing his praise. WithStephen Cooper suspended for the firstfour games and little else at ILB, Watersshould have numerous opportunities toprove himself early in the season and earnan increased role.

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Dallas CowboysKey veteran additions: CB-RS Adam

“Pacman” Jones, LB Zach Thomas.Key veteran departures: LB Akin Ayo-

dele, S Keith Davis, TE Anthony Fasano,NT Jason Ferguson, RB Julius Jones, CBJacques Reeves.

Juiciest story line: With aspirations sit-ting at no less than a Super Bowl, the clockmight be ticking for head coach WadePhillips. Some have speculated that thiscould be his last season if he doesn’t winthe big game, even if the team wins 13 reg-ular-season games. Assistant headcoach/offensive coordinator Jason Garrett,who is paid more than some head coaches,turned down some other head-coachingoffers this offseason and has all but beennamed as Phillips’ successor — wheneverthat might be.

Burning questions: Once he’s fully rein-stated by the league, how will Adam Jonesfit in with his new teammates? … Is therea receiver who can step up if Terrell Owensgoes down? … Will Zach Thomas turn agood defense into a great one? … Is RoyWilliams on the same page as the coachingstaff and his teammates? … Can MarionBarber stand up to more carries with hisbruising running style? … How much willthe two first-round picks, Felix Jones andMike Jenkins, contribute as rookies?

Battle to watch: Some believe this battleis over before it has started, but everyonewants to know if Jones will start ahead ofAnthony Henry, last year’s starting rightcornerback who led the team in intercep-tions with six. Based on upside, Jones isthe better player, but he hasn’t taken asnap of significance since December2006.

Fearless prediction: Thomas takes overa role as one of the defensive leaders fromthe outset in camp, despite much of thisstarting unit having played more than oneseason together in Dallas. His work ethic,commitment to film study and rareinstincts will be one of the stories of the

early going.

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New York GiantsKey veteran additions: QB David Carr,

LB Danny Clark, S Sammy Knight, DERenaldo Wynn.

Key veteran departures: DT WilliamJoseph, LB Kawika Mitchell, DE MichaelStrahan, LB Reggie Torbor, S Gibril Wil-son, DT Manny Wright.

Juiciest story line: The Jeremy Shockeysaga will rage on when Shockey and theGiants report to camp on July 24. Hereportedly is unhappy with his role on theteam and got into a verbal fight with GMJerry Reese, the man who might have triedto trade Shockey in the offseason. Thisstory could dominate the first week ofcamp, but if it’s not resolved quickly andproperly, it could linger into the season.

Burning questions: Will the team makePlaxico Burress, a potential holdout candi-date, a happy man with a new deal? …Forget Michael Strahan’s football talentsfor a minute — who will replace his per-sonality and leadership in the lockerroom? … Is Eli Manning ready to turn thecorner now that he has a Super Bowl ring?… Can Steve Spagnuolo weave somemore magic with a lot of defensiveturnover? … Is either candidate to start atweak-side linebacker — Gerris Wilkinsonor Danny Clark — any good?

Battle to watch: There could be as manyas four new starters on defense, but theposition people should watch most closelyis safety. Gibril Wilson signed for $39 mil-lion in Oakland, and the team respondedby drafting Kenny Phillips in Round One.If Phillips doesn’t start, Michael Johnsonmight have to be pushed into the lineup.Although James Butler is expected to earnthe other safety job, he must become amore sure tackler and show better range.

Fearless prediction: The fans are onEli’s side — for now. But unless he helpsthe team win more at home, with three ofthe first four games at Giants Stadium,those same fans could turn. The Giantshave lost their last four at home datingback to last season.

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Philadelphia EaglesKey veteran additions: LB Rocky

Boiman, RB Lorenzo Booker, DE ChrisClemons, DT Dan Klecko, FB Luke Law-ton, CB Asante Samuel, TE Kris Wilson.

Key veteran departures: CB WilliamJames, DE Jevon Kearse, FB ThomasTapeh, LB Takeo Spikes.

Juiciest story line: There is a feelingaround Philadelphia that the team is gearingup for one more run at the Super Bowlbefore the veteran core is broken up.Rumors of Donovan McNabb and AndyReid not having the same relationship any-more have led some to believe that KevinKolb’s number could be called soon ifMcNabb can’t lead the team back to theNFL title game. Reid shut McNabb down inthe final minicamp with a sore shoulder, soMcNabb’s health will be monitored closely.

Burning questions: Is this McNabb’sfinal season in Philly? … What aboutBrian Dawkins? … Will the big-moneydefensive signings live up to their majorbilling? … Can Lorenzo Booker con-tribute enough to the offense to take someheat off Brian Westbrook? … Will theyoung linebackers jell? … Can Lito Shep-pard stay happy as a nickel back? … Willthe receivers and TE L.J. Smith step up togive McNabb some playmakers again?

Battle to watch: He might not be happy,but Sheppard could unseat RCB SheldonBrown with a good camp. Brown opens asthe starter and is the more physical of thetwo players, but Sheppard has better ballskills and footwork, provided he can stayhealthy — and content.

Fearless prediction: Don’t be surprisedif Samuel isn’t the lockdown corner every-one expects him to be right away. Heplayed his best ball in New England incover-2, a defense that Jim Johnsondoesn’t use nearly as much as many of hiscolleagues around the league do.

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Washington RedskinsKey veteran additions: DE Erasmus

James, FS Stuart Schweigert, DE Jason

Taylor.Key veteran departures: QB Mark

Brunell, WR Reche Caldwell, WR Bran-don Lloyd, CB David Macklin.

Juiciest story line: This camp might notbe quite as juicy, even with a head-coach-ing change, but the story could end upbeing the quarterbacks. Jason Campbell isthe starter for now, but consistency is anissue and he’s learning his seventh offensein eight seasons going back to Auburn.Todd Collins’ late-season magic won’t beforgotten soon, and if Campbell strugglesand Collins flourishes in training campand the preseason, Jim Zorn might have atough choice to make.

Burning questions: How will ex-Dol-phins DE Jason Taylor fit into the Red-skins’ defense? After Phillip Daniels waslost for the season on the first day of train-ing camp to a knee injury, the Skins tradedfor Taylor, who will be asked to switch toleft end after playing on the right side inMiami. … How will the offensive playersadapt to a new system? … Will Zorn andSherman Smith, neither of whom hascalled plays before, be able to run thisgroup efficiently? … Can Greg Blachekeep the defense playing at a playoff levelwith Gregg Williams gone? … Will therebe a quality pass rush? … How much timewill young WRs Devin Thomas and Mal-colm Kelly get? … Can the offensive linereturn to being the group it once was? …When will starting CB Carlos Rogersreturn from a knee injury?

Battle to watch: The battle at strongsafety should be an interesting one, withholdover Reed Doughty battling newcom-er Stuart Schweigert. Doughty is toughand can play in the box, but Schweigert isa smart, heady center fielder, and if thecoaches choose to put Landry closer to theline of scrimmage, Schweigert could bethe choice.

Fearless prediction: Collins will be afactor at some point, either by having astrong preseason or by Campbell strug-gling with his consistency. It could be thekind of move that completely changes the

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Sticky spot: Jeremy Shockey had a tumultuous offseason, damaging his relationship with the Giants

New game: Adam Jones has ditched “Pacman,”but can he revive his sticky coverage skills?

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Chicago BearsKey veteran additions: WR Marty Book-

er, RB Kevin Jones, WR Brandon Lloyd.Key veteran departures: S Adam

Archuleta, LB Brendon Ayanbadejo, RBCedric Benson, WR Bernard Berrian, OGRuben Brown, QB Brian Griese, OT FredMiller, WR Muhsin Muhammad, DT Dar-win Walker.

Juiciest story line: It won’t be as juicy asthe scintillating “Subway Series” storyline the Windy City’s major-league base-ball teams are in the process of serving up,but the wide-open battle for the startingQB job between Rex Grossman and KyleOrton still will generate its share of head-lines.

Burning questions: Who will end upunder center: Grossman, the former first-round draft pick whose “Good Rex, BadRex” swings in performance make Dr.Jekyll look like an Ordinary Joe, or Orton,the less-heralded former fourth-rounddraft pick who has been a lot more consis-tent than his challenger, albeit far fromspectacular, when given an opportunity tostart? … Can rookies OLT Chris Williamsand RB Matt Forté make instant impactsas starters? … Can the Bears’ offensiveline rebound after taking a major stepbackward in ’07? … Can return specialistextraordinaire Devin Hester develop intothe dangerous No. 1 receiver the Bearsthink he can become? … With the benefitof much healthier personnel heading intothe ’08 season, can Bob Babich’s disap-pointing defense make the same kind ofdramatic rebound the O-line needs tomake?

Battles to watch: In addition to the titil-lating QB tango, it will be worth keeping aclose eye on the brewing battle to replaceRuben Brown at left guard. Seventh-yearjourneyman Terrence Metcalf wouldappear to have the upper hand heading intocamp, but he could get a stiff challenge

from versatile John St. Clair, who playedthe final three games at left guard last sea-son, and possibly second-year player JoshBeekman, who primarily has been backingup C Olin Kreutz so far this offseason.

Fearless prediction: Hester, who cur-rently figures as the No. 3 receiver, makesmajor strides and earns a starting role byno later than midseason.

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Detroit LionsKey veteran additions: CB Leigh

Bodden, DT Chuck Darby, TE MichaelGaines, CB Brian Kelly, S Kalvin Pearson,S Dwight Smith.

Key veteran departures: LB BossBailey, CB Fernando Bryant, RB T.J.Duckett, DE Kalimba Edwards, RB KevinJones, S Kenoy Kennedy, LB TeddyLehman, DT Shaun Rogers, OT-OGDamien Woody.

Juiciest story line: It could be a relative-ly quiet camp as the season approachesand expectations again are low in Detroit.But the biggest move of the offseason —dealing Shaun Rogers — raises the biggestissue: Can the defensive line, or moreaptly the front seven, raise its game with-out its biggest and most talented player?Four of the seven spots up front could fea-ture new starters.

Burning questions: Will the offensiveline respond to a more physical brand ofball? … Can the backs on the roster carrythe load in the running game? … Will theremade secondary be worth the invest-ment? … Can Jon Kitna mesh his stylewith new offensive coordinator Jim Collet-to? … Can rookie Jordon Dizon win theMLB job? … Are there quality options atboth returner spots? … Will rookie CalebCampbell get to play football or will hehave to serve in the Army?

Battle to watch: The RB battle is the onewith the most riding on it, but it could endup being a committee approach. TatumBell, despite being benched for most oflast season, is the starter for now, and hehad success in a zone running scheme withthe Broncos. Rookie Kevin Smith will bein play early, and he has familiarity withthe zone schemes from college. And it’s

the same system Brian Calhoun ran in col-lege. But can these guys get the job done?That remains to be seen.

Fearless prediction: By the time campbreaks, the team’s top five draft picks —Gosder Cherilus, Dizon, Smith, AndreFluellen and Cliff Avril — will be playingkey roles, if not starting, then working in arotation. Kenneth Moore and Jerome Fel-ton, the two fifth-rounders, also could findroles on special teams.

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Green Bay PackersKey veteran addition: LB Brandon

Chillar.Key veteran departures: TE Bubba

Franks, CB Frank Walker, DT CoreyWilliams.

Juiciest story line: It’s the hottest storyin the NFL: Brett Favre’s return — ormaybe not — to Green Bay, where thePackers seem intent on holding himhostage in the hope he changes his mindagain and retires once and for all.

Burning questions: Is it actually possibleFavre will be a $12 million backup to for-mer first-round draft pick Aaron Rodgers,or is it more likely GM Ted Thompson willtry hard to work a trade if Favre decides tocome back to the team? … Will Rodgersprove worthy of the Packers’ faith in hisability to take over under center and avoidthe injuries that have earmarked his procareer up to now? … Will RB Ryan Grant,who came out of nowhere last season, signa long-term deal that will enable him toreport to camp? … Will a shaky situationat defensive tackle due to injuries becomeeven shakier in the wake of the felony drugcharges facing Johnny Jolly? … Will thePackers’ defense feature more blitzes fromits back seven? … Will a consistent, qual-ity No. 3 corner emerge behind agingstarters Charles Woodson and Al Harris?

Battles to watch: Obviously, Rodgersvs. Favre couldn’t be more compelling,provided Favre returns. But the Packershave a few other real humdingers atstrong-side linebacker, where newcomer

Brandon Chillar is expected to give incum-bent Brady Poppinga a real run for hismoney; at free safety, where incumbentNick Collins could have a hard time hold-ing off promising second-year playerAaron Rouse; and at both guard spots,where ’07 starters Jason Spitz (right side)and Daryn Colledge (left side) will bechallenged by another promising sopho-more in Allen Barbre, as well as athleticbut injury-prone Junius Coston.

Fearless prediction: Thompson happilytrades Favre, and rookie QB Brian Brohmends up starting at least two games inplace of an injured Rodgers.

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Minnesota VikingsKey veteran additions: DE Jared Allen,

WR Bernard Berrian, S Michael Boul-ware, QB Gus Frerotte, S MadieuWilliams, DT Ellis Wyms.

Key veteran departures: QB Kelly Hol-comb, DE Erasmus James, DT SpencerJohnson, RB Mewelde Moore, FB TonyRichardson, S Dwight Smith, LB Dontar-rious Thomas, WR Troy Williamson.

Juiciest story line: Sure, Jared Allencould provide a huge difference for thisteam, but for the Vikings to reach theSuper Bowl, QB Tarvaris Jackson mustplay well. His 8-4 record as a starter beliessome painful growth moments last season,but the coaching staff believes in hisupside and sees some Donovan McNabbin him. Jackson has the tools to be good,but his consistency, his work under pres-sure and his confidence all will be closelywatched and highly scrutinized.

Burning questions: Will Allen help turnaround a sluggish pass rush and poor passdefense? … Has Adrian Peterson madeenough strides in pass protection tobecome a complete back? … Can BernardBerrian and perhaps Aundrae Allison pro-vide the deep threats that Jackson needs?… Will Cedric Griffin step up as a solidcorner opposite Antoine Winfield? … Willthe return game be productive?

Battle to watch: All signs point to RayEdwards starting at left end, so there arenot a lot of starting jobs open. An interest-ing one to watch will be the nickel CBspot, where Charles Gordon, MarcusMcCauley and Bennie Sapp figure to slugit out. McCauley might be better-knownby fans, but Gordon had some momentsdown the stretch and might be the mostcomfortable playing in the slot.

Fearless prediction: Jackson willemerge from camp as the unquestionedstarter and will earn praise and respectfrom teammates and coaches alike, even ifhe’s prone to the occasional youthful mis-take.

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Atlanta FalconsKey veteran additions: S Erik Coleman,

PK Jason Elam, TE Ben Hartsock, CB-SVon Hutchins, DT Kindal Moorehead, CAlex Stepanovich, RB Michael Turner.

Key veteran departures: DT Rod Cole-man, S Chris Crocker, TE Alge Crumpler,RB Warrick Dunn, OT Wayne Gandy, CBDeAngelo Hall, QB Byron Leftwich, CBLewis Sanders, LB Demorrio Williams,FS Jimmy Williams.

Juiciest story line: After going throughone of the most devastating seasons of anyprofessional sports team in recent memo-ry, the Falcons, led by rookie QB MattRyan, open their rebuilding period.Sources have raved about head coachMike Smith’s ability to affect the culture in

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Atlanta and make positive changes after anextremely trying year in which BobbyPetrino quit 13 games into his tenure as theteam’s coach. No sensible observer isexpecting the new attitude to lead to animmediate jump in terms of wins and loss-es, but there is probably no other team inthe league that has undergone such drasticchanges in this short a period of time.

Burning questions: How does MikeSmith conduct his first training camp everas a head coach? … Will Ryan, the No. 3overall draft pick, become the starter atquarterback from Day One? … Will dis-gruntled WR Joe Horn be traded orreleased before Week One? … How doesRB Michael Turner fare in his first campas a full-time starter? … Can WR RoddyWhite pick up where he left off followinga breakout season? … Who will win thebattle to fill the vacancy left by CB DeAn-gelo Hall? … Can rookie OLT Sam Bakerovercome some doubters and become asound protector of the quarterback’s blindside?

Battle to watch: Practice-squad stapleHarvey Dahl looks to unseat longtimestarter Kynan Forney as the team’s No. 1right guard. In one of the biggest surpris-es of Atlanta’s offseason, Dahl hasemerged as a favorite of the new coachingstaff. He has a nasty demeanor, which thenew regime loves, and it’s hoping he’ll setthe tone for the rest of the O-linemen. For-ney, a three-time Pro Bowler, hasn’tadjusted well to the post-Michael Vick eraand is in danger of becoming a backup forthe first time since his rookie year.

Fearless prediction: Ryan struggles toassert himself as the new face of the fran-chise, despite management’s hope that heinstantly would become a leader. He fal-ters at times in preseason games but showssteady improvement and is named thestarter over Chris Redman before thesquad breaks camp.

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Carolina PanthersKey veteran additions: DE Tyler Bray-

ton, OG Milford Brown, CB Ricardo Col-clough, WR D.J. Hackett, FS TerrenceHolt, LB Landon Johnson, WR MuhsinMuhammad, DT Ian Scott, RB LaBrandonToefield, DT Darwin Walker.

Key veteran departures: QB David Carr,WR Drew Carter, WR Keary Colbert, RBDeShaun Foster, C Justin Hartwig, DTKris Jenkins, MLB Dan Morgan, DE MikeRucker, OG Mike Wahle.

Juiciest story line: As Julius Peppersenters his contract year, the Panthers arefacing a potentially franchise-changingdecision of whether to offer a lucrativecontract extension to him and get a dealdone before the season, or let him beginthe campaign without a new agreement.Sources have said negotiations betweenPeppers and the Panthers are ongoing, buthe could be eyeing a new contract thatpays him the kind of money given to WillSmith or Jared Allen, meaning a six-yeardeal in the $75 million range with close to$30 million guaranteed. Is Carolina will-ing to offer that for a defensive end com-ing off a dreadful 21⁄2-sack season?

Burning questions: Can Jake Del-homme’s body, his surgically repairedelbow in particular, hold up? … WillJonathan Stewart erase any doubts that heshould handle the load over DeAngeloWilliams? … Is Peppers able to reboundfrom perhaps his worst season as a pro? …Will a beefed-up offensive line be able todo a better job of protecting Delhommeand clear lanes for Stewart and Williams asCarolina tries to re-establish a power run-ning game? … Will head coach John Fox

show any signs of urgency as he facesanother season on the hot seat if the teamgets off to a slow start?

Battle to watch: Tyler Brayton is thefavorite to win the starting DRE job, but hewill field competition from Charles John-son and Stanley McClover. The Pantherswere unable to get much production lastseason out of the spot vacated by the now-retired Mike Rucker, and Peppers coulduse some pass-rushing help from the otherside. Carolina likes Brayton’s ability tomove inside and get pressure up the mid-dle, so they could turn to Johnson,McClover or rookie Hilee Taylor as athird-down specialist.

Fearless prediction: DeAngelo Williamscontinues to look like the team’s bestoption at running back, as he did for mostof last season, but he is forced to remain ina supporting, change-of-pace role behindrookie Jonathan Stewart.

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New Orleans SaintsKey veteran additions: QB Mark

Brunell, CB Randall Gay, CB AaronGlenn, C-OG Matt Lehr, DE BobbyMcCray, MLB Jonathan Vilma.

Key veteran departures: C Jeff Faine,PK Olindo Mare, LB Brian Simmons.

Juiciest story line: The Saints focusedtheir offseason on improving a woefuldefense that ranked 26th overall and 30thagainst the pass last season. MLB JonathanVilma is the centerpiece to the rebuildingplan, and all eyes will be on him as heattempts to return from knee surgery.Training camp will be his first time partic-ipating in full-contact drills since he wentdown with the knee injury in Week Sevenlast season. If he suffers any setbacks, theSaints’ hopes for a quick turnaround on“D” will be dashed. However, if he returnsto the Pro Bowl form he displayed early inhis career, New Orleans quickly couldascend to the top of the NFC South.

Burning questions: Can RB DeuceMcAllister return to form after tearing anACL and undergoing microfracture

surgery on his knee? … Who will emergeas a starting cornerback alongside MikeMcKenzie? … Will Robert Meachem beatout Devery Henderson for the No. 3receiver spot? … Will rookie DT SedrickEllis miss any part of training campbecause of a contract holdout? … Whowill win the battle to become the team’skicker? … Can Vilma be the differencemaker in the linebacking corps that theSaints desperately need?

Battle to watch: Two of the bigger dis-appointments on offense from last season— Henderson and Meachem — will battleto become the Saints’ No. 3 receiver. Hen-derson is the Saints’ best deep optionbecause of his blazing speed, but he strug-gled with drops last season and saw hisrole decrease in the offense. If Meachem,who spent his rookie season on the side-line in what amounted to a redshirt year, isable to show a better understanding of theoffense and do a better job with funda-mentals than Henderson, he could capturethe No. 3 WR job.

Fearless prediction: The Saints’ poroussecondary doesn’t show much improve-ment despite the additions of Randall Gayand rookie Tracy Porter, and it’s hinderedby the absence of No. 1 CB Mike McKen-zie, who is unable to start training camp ontime as he recovers from a torn ACL hesuffered late last season.

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Tampa Bay BuccaneersKey veteran additions: WR Antonio

Bryant, DE Marques Douglas, RB WarrickDunn, C Jeff Faine, QB Brian Griese, TEBen Troupe, CB-S Eugene Wilson.

Key veteran departures: QB BruceGradkowski, CB Brian Kelly, C-OG MattLehr, S Kalvin Pearson, DE Greg Spires,C John Wade.

Juiciest story line: Jeff Garcia and theBucs have bickered throughout the offsea-

son as the two sides negotiated over a con-tract extension for the 38-year-old. Garciais asking for more than Tampa Bay is will-ing to give up, and he has hinted that hemay hold out if he doesn’t get what heconsiders to be fair compensation. Garciahas his skeptics, who believe he’ll report tocamp on time regardless of his contract sit-uation. It would be a major setback to theteam’s preparation if he were to miss a sig-nificant amount of time, but GM BruceAllen is a tough negotiator and he’sunlikely to give in. Garcia and the Bucslooked like a perfect match as he helpedthem go from worst to first in the NFCSouth last season, but much of the love hasbeen lost over the past few months.

Burning questions: Will Garcia holdout? … Will RB Cadillac Williams beready to participate, or will he have toopen the season on the PUP list as he con-tinues to rehab from a torn patellar tendonin his knee? … Can anyone challenge IkeHilliard for the No. 2 receiver spot? …Will Luke Petitgout beat out Donald Pennto re-take his old job as the team’s startingleft tackle? … How will first-round pickAqib Talib fare in his first NFL trainingcamp? … Will QB Chris Simms be tradedbefore camp starts?

Battle to watch: The Bucs enter campwith a question mark at one of the mostimportant spots on the field, left tackle.Penn and Petitgout, who is coming off atorn ACL he suffered in Week Four lastseason, will battle to become Garcia’sblind-side protector. Penn, who hadbounced around practice squads prior tolast season, started 12 games in ’07 andwas a pleasant surprise as a serviceablefill-in, although he struggled a bit late inthe season.

Fearless prediction: The Bucs’ situationat quarterback clears up in a hurry as ChrisSimms is dealt to the Bears for a condi-tional sixth-round draft pick just daysbefore training camp and Garcia shows up

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Arizona CardinalsKey veteran additions: LB Clark Hag-

gans, P Dirk Johnson, OLB-DE TravisLaBoy.

Key veteran departures: OLB DarrylBlackstock, DL Chris Cooper, FS TerrenceHolt, WR Bryant Johnson, OLB CalvinPace, OT Oliver Ross, OG Keydrick Vincent.

Juiciest story line: All eyes once againwill be riveted on third-year QB MattLeinart, who became an unwilling Internetcelebrity early in the offseason when pho-tos of him partying in a hot tub and doingbeer bongs with a coed rekindled concernsabout his commitment to his craft.

Burning questions: With veteran backupKurt Warner peering over his surgicallyrepaired throwing shoulder, will Leinartstay healthy and blossom into a consistentstarting force under center? … Can the tal-ented but uneven right side of the O-line(OT Levi Brown and OG Deuce Lutui)also be more consistent? … Can formerfirst-round pick Antrel Rolle make a suc-cessful conversion from cornerback to freesafety? … Can Gabe Watson and/or AlanBranch turn it up a notch at nose tackleand enable DL Darnell Dockett to makemore impact plays?

Battles to watch: Aside from the QBduel between Leinart, the anointed starterheading into camp, and Warner, the battleat left outside linebacker between ChikeOkeafor and free-agent addition ClarkHaggans should be especially fun to watch.Okeafor was widely considered the team’stop defender in the second half of the 2006season, and he figures to be champing atthe bit after missing the entire ’07 seasondue to a torn biceps tendon. But Haggans,an ex-Steeler, is a seasoned 3-4 veteranwho figures to command his fair share ofplaying time, whether he starts or not.

Fearless prediction: Leinart has thebreakout season the Cardinals have beenhoping for the past two seasons and earns

a well-deserved Pro Bowl invite.

▼

St. Louis RamsKey veteran additions: TE Anthony

Becht, OG Jacob Bell, PK Josh Brown,WR Reche Caldwell, QB Trent Green, CBDavid Macklin.

Key veteran departures: OG MilfordBrown, WR Isaac Bruce, OLB BrandonChillar, QB Gus Frerotte, C Andy McCol-lum, TE Aaron Walker.

Juiciest story line: There’s no denyingthe short rope head coach Scott Linehanwill be clinging to entering camp afterone of the most forgettable and painfulseasons in franchise history. A secondstraight poor start to the season couldsend him packing before the ’08 cam-paign’s halfway point.

Burning questions: Will new coordina-tor Al Saunders’ revamped offense beworthy of all the positive buzz it hasreceived so far this offseason? … WhichMarc Bulger will we see — the quarter-back who had a career year in ’06 thatearned him a hefty new contract, or thequarterback who was so disappointing andtentative in ’07? … Will undisputed offen-sive centerpiece Steven Jackson receivehis own hefty new contract before the startof the regular season? … Will rookie WRsDonnie Avery and Keenan Burton pick upthe slack created by veteran Isaac Bruce’sdeparture? … Will first-round DE ChrisLong be ready for prime time from theget-go? … Can two key vets on oppositesides of the ball — OLT Orlando Pace andDLE Leonard Little — successfullybounce back from serious season-endinginjuries?

Battle to watch: An open competition atcenter figures to be the center of attentionin camp, with undersized incumbent BrettRomberg trying to hold off Richie Incog-nito and Mark Setterstrom, both of whomcould end up back at their natural guardspots. Incognito offers the most physicalpresence of the three challengers.

Fearless prediction: Little, who turns 34in October, shows that he still has plenty of

gas left in the tank with a double-digit sackcampaign.

▼

San Francisco 49ersKey veteran additions: WR Isaac Bruce,

RB DeShaun Foster, WR Bryant Johnson,QB J.T. O’Sullivan, CB-RS Allen Rossum,DE Justin Smith, LB Dontarrious Thomas.

Key veteran departures: QB Trent Dil-fer, DE Marques Douglas, OT KwameHarris, RB Maurice Hicks, WR DarrellJackson, OG Justin Smiley, LB DerekSmith.

Juiciest story line: By all accounts, for-mer first-round draft pick Alex Smithcouldn’t be more excited about new coor-dinator Mike Martz’s new offense. Theparty line suggests that Smith, whose tenserelationship last season with head coachMike Nolan supposedly has been patchedup, will enter camp in a dead heat withShaun Hill and J.T. O’Sullivan for thestarting QB job, but daily team observershave a hard time believing Smith won’t beMartz’s first choice in a system similar tothe one in which he thrived under UrbanMeyer at Utah.

Burning questions: Can Smith live up tohis first-round potential in his fourth sea-son and help Nolan remain gainfullyemployed? … Can Bryant Johnson beatout fellow newcomer Isaac Bruce for theNo. 1 receiver job? … Can 2007 first-round pick Joe Staley make a successfulconversion from right to left tackle in hissecond season? … Will Jonas Jenningshold up both physically and mentally atright tackle? … Will expensive free-agentaddition Justin Smith become the consis-tent pass-rushing force the team has beenlacking for years? … Can ILB PatrickWillis possibly be as magnificent as hewas in his rookie season?

Battle to watch: Assuming the supposedbattle for the starting QB job is the smoke-screen most team insiders suspect, themost interesting battle could be for thestarting ILB spot alongside Willis. A hostof challengers include savvy veteran JeffUlbrich, the underappreciated BrandonMoore, free-agent addition DontarriousThomas and a very intriguing long shot —

seventh-round draft pick Larry Grant.Fearless prediction: Alex Smith blos-

soms under Martz’s direction and throwstwice as many touchdowns as intercep-tions.

▼

Seattle SeahawksKey veteran additions: DE Chris Coop-

er, RB T.J. Duckett, RB Julius Jones, LBD.D. Lewis, PK Olindo Mare, TE JebPutzier, OG Mike Wahle.

Key veteran departures: LB Kevin Bent-ley, PK Josh Brown, DT Chuck Darby,WR D.J. Hackett, LB Niko Koutouvides,DT Ellis Wyms.

Juiciest story line: In an effort to makehead coach Mike Holmgren’s “last hurrah”leave a lasting impression, the Seahawkshave concentrated heavily this offseason onupgrading their declining ground game. Saygoodbye to the Shaun Alexander era andhello to an intriguing, new RB-by-committeeapproach, as well as a very highly regardednew O-line coach in Mike Solari.

Burning questions: Can free-agent addi-tions Julius Jones, T.J. Duckett and MikeWahle deliver the same kind of dramaticupgrade to the team’s running game as theone that ’07 free-agent additions Patrick Ker-ney, Deon Grant and Brian Russell deliveredto the team’s defense last season? … CanSolari do what his predecessor, BillLaveroni, was unable to do and get young O-linemen Chris Spencer and Rob Sims to playup to their considerable potential? … Can ahost of young receivers pick up the slack cre-ated by the departure of D.J. Hackett andDeion Branch’s six-month rehab stretch aftertearing up his knee in the playoff loss atGreen Bay? … Will the run defense, whichgot gashed big-time by the Packers in theplayoffs, be more consistent? … Can rookiesLawrence Jackson and Red Bryant and ahealthy Marcus Tubbs further fortify the D-line?

Battle to watch: It’s not very sexy, but thebattle between veteran free-agent additionOlindo Mare and seventh-round rookieBrandon Coutu for the starting PK job previ-ously held down by the strong-legged JoshBrown should be watched very closely on ateam with all kinds of special-teams issues.

Fearless prediction: Julius Jones gains1,000 yards rushing, and the team’s yards-per-carry average improves by at least half ayard.

(Continued from Page 15)

Over his shoulder: Arizona’s Matt Leinart mustanswer maturity questions and battle Kurt Warner

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18 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

2008Pro Football Hall of Fame

CLASSOF2008

On Saturday, Aug. 2, the 2008 class will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.The six-member class will bring the total number of pro football heroes enshrined in the Hall of Fame to 247.

FRED

DEAND E F E N S I V E E N DSAN DIEGO CHARGERS ■ 1975-1981SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS ■ 1981-1985

THE FACTS: Native of Arca-dia, La., stayed close to homeand played his collegiate foot-ball at Louisiana Tech, wherehe was an All-Southland Con-ference linebacker. ... Draftedin the second round of the1975 NFL draft by the Charg-ers and was immediatelymoved to the defensive line. ...His impressive combination ofspeed, quickness and strengthallowed him to become one ofthe most feared pass rushersin the NFL. ... Dean had a ter-rific rookie season in 1975,compiling 93 tackles, sevensacks and four fumble recover-ies. ... From 1978-1980, hetotaled 35 sacks while helpinglead the Chargers to back-to-back AFC Western Divisionchampionships in 1979 and1980. ... Traded to the 49ersearly in the 1981 season. ...Had two sacks in his 49ersdebut after having only twodays of practice with his newteam and was an integral partin the 49ers’ first Super Bowltitle, contributing 12 sacks injust 11 games. ... In 1983,Dean had one of the best sea-sons ever by a defensive line-man with 171⁄2 sacks. ... Healso set a then-NFL recordwith six sacks in one game in ashutout win against the NewOrleans Saints in 1983. ...Unofficial career sack totalapproaches 100, but sackswere not an official statisticuntil 1982. ... Played for fivedivision winners, in three NFCchampionship games and wontwo Super Bowls (XVI andXIX). ... Earned all-conferencehonors four times — twice withthe Chargers and twice withthe 49ers. ... Named to fourPro Bowls (1980-82, 1984)and was named an All-Protwice (1980-81).

DARRELL

GREENC O R N E R B A C KWASHINGTON REDSKINS ■ 1983-2002

THE FACTS: Born in Hous-ton, he became a football andtrack and field star at TexasA&I University (now TexasA&M-Kingsville), where he setnumerous conference recordsin track and gained fame asone of the fastest men in theworld. ... Drafted in the firstround of the 1983 NFL draft bythe Redskins, who wanted toutilize his speed as a returnerin addition to playing corner-back. ... Enjoyed immediatesuccess, returning a punt for a61-yard touchdown the firsttime he touched the football inhis NFL career. ... He startedall 16 games in his rookie sea-son, finishing with 109 tackles(a team-leading 79 solostops), and was runner-up forthe Associated Press NFLRookie of the Year Award. ...One of the premier corner-backs in the league, Greenintercepted a pass in a record19 straight seasons (1983-2001). ... Intercepted 54 pass-es in his career for 621 yardswith six touchdowns. ... Addi-tional two interceptionsreturned for touchdowns in thepostseason. ... Holds the Red-skins team record with a 78-yard fumble recovery for atouchdown against the Colts in1993. ... Played in four NFCChampionship games andthree Super Bowls, with twowins coming in Super BowlXXII and XXVI. ... In the 1987NFC Championship game, hejarred the ball loose from Min-nesota receiver Darrin Nelsonon a pivotal fourth-down passplay that helped propel theteam into Super Bowl XXII,which it eventually won. ...Named to seven Pro Bowlsand named All-Pro four times(1986-1987, 1990-1991). ...Also a member of the NFL’sAll-Decade Team of the 1990s.

ART

MONKW I D E R E C E I V E RWASHINGTON REDSKINS ■ 1980-1993NEW YORK JETS ■ 1994PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ■ 1995

THE FACTS: The native ofWhite Plains, N.Y., stayed in-state and attended Syracuse.... First-round pick by theRedskins, who wanted to uti-lize his big body as a posses-sion receiver that didn’t fearcrossing the middle of thefield for a reception, in 1980.... At 6-3, 210 pounds duringhis playing days, considereda prototype for today’s biggerand stronger receivers. ...Had a very successful rookieseason, catching a Redskins’rookie record 58 passes. ... In1984, Monk had his finestseason as a pro, catching106 passes for 1,372 yardsand seven touchdowns,which helped earn him hisfirst Pro Bowl selection. ...Had more than 1,000 yardsreceiving and 70 receptionsthe next two seasons. ... Inte-gral part of the dominantRedskins teams during the’80s that won three SuperBowls (XVII, XXII and XXVI)and had only three losingseasons. ... Nine times duringhis 16-season career he hadmore than 50 receptions andfive times gained more than1,000 yards receiving. ... Setother then-NFL records of183 straight games with areception and 940 careerpass receptions. ... Hall ofFame head coach Joe Gibbscalled Monk the strongestoutside receiver he’d evercoached and noted his effec-tiveness in catching balls inthe middle of the field. ...Gibbs said, “He’s big, he’sstrong, he’s intelligent, hehas everything.” ... NamedAll-Pro and All-NFC choice in1984 and 1985 and selectedto play in three Pro Bowls(1984-86).

EMMITT

THOMASC O R N E R B A C KKANSAS CITY CHIEFS ■ 1966-1978

THE FACTS: Born June 3,1943, in Angleton, Texas. ...Standout football player atBishop College in Dallas, hewent undrafted and signed withthe Chiefs as a free agent. ...Had 58 interceptions in hiscareer, an all-time Chiefsrecord. ... Returned those 58interceptions for 937 yards andfive touchdowns. ... When heretired, he was ranked fifth all-time in interceptions and is stillfourth best among true corner-backs. ... Intercepted a passevery year except his rookieseason and led the AmericanFootball League in intercep-tions with nine in 1969. ... Oneof the best cornerbacks of hisgeneration and added a sec-ond interception title in 1974with a career-high 12, only twoshort of the NFL record. ... Inhis terrific 1974 season, two ofhis interceptions were returnedfor touchdowns. ... His first, a38-yard score, help seal anopening day victory against theJets and the second was a 73-yard touchdown in the finalgame of the season againstMinnesota. ... Was a key cog inthe Chiefs’ defenses thathelped win AFL titles in 1966and 1969. ... Had an intercep-tion in each of the Chiefs’ play-off games during the 1969postseason, including two inthe AFL title game against theRaiders and one in the SuperBowl IV win against theVikings. ... Led the Chiefs ininterceptions five times. ... Wasa first- or second-team All-AFL/AFC player five times andfirst- or-second team All-NFLplayer three times. ... Alsoselected to five Pro Bowls. ...Following his illustrious playingcareer, he became a collegecoach and eventually an assis-tant coach in the NFL. ... Wasnamed the Falcons’ interimhead coach in December 2007and remains the assistant headcoach and secondary coach.

ANDRE

TIPPETTL I N E B A C K E RNEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ■ 1982-1993

THE FACTS: Native ofBirmingham, Ala., he attend-ed Ellsworth Junior College inIowa before attending theUniversity of Iowa. ... Draftedby New England in the sec-ond round of the 1982 NFLdraft. ... His rookie seasonwas spent mostly on specialteams during the strike-short-ened season in 1982. ...Became a starter at line-backer during the 1983 sea-son and had a terrific sopho-more year by posting a team-leading 81⁄2 sacks. ... In 1984he had one of the best indi-vidual seasons by a line-backer in NFL history with181⁄2 sacks, a Patriots’ teamrecord, earning a berth to hisfirst Pro Bowl. ... Helped leadthe Patriots to the Super Bowlfor the first time in their histo-ry in 1985 by contributing 161⁄2sacks (second in the NFL),three forced fumbles andthree fumble recoveries. ...Rewarded for his terrific 1985season by being named tothe Pro Bowl, named an All-Pro and capturing the AFCDefensive Player of the Yearaward. ... Injuries derailed his1986, 1988 and 1989 (missedthe entire year) seasons, buthe still managed to play extra-ordinarily when on the field,posting 121⁄2 sacks in 1987,which was second in the NFL.... Made five consecutive ProBowls from 1985-1989. ...Upon retiring, held Patriotsteam records with 100 careersacks, 181⁄2 sacks in a seasonand 17 opponent fumblerecoveries. ... A five-time All-AFC selection, he was namedto the NFL’s All-Decade Teamof the 1980s. ... After playinghis entire career with thePatriots, remains with theteam today as executivedirector of community affairs.

GARY

ZIMMERMANO F F E N S I V E TA C K L EMINNESOTA VIKINGS ■ 1986-1992DENVER BRONCOS ■ 1993-1997

THE FACTS: Born Dec. 13,1961, in Fullerton, Calif. ...Was a standout offensivelineman at the University ofOregon. ... Drafted with thethird overall pick in the 1984NFL Supplemental Draft bythe Giants. ... His signingrights were then traded to theVikings for two second-roundpicks in the 1986 draft. ... Alsodrafted by the Los AngelesExpress of the United StatesFootball League and spenttwo seasons with the Expressbefore reporting to theVikings in 1986. ... In Min-nesota, Zimmerman pavedthe way to help the Vikingslead the conference in rush-ing in 1991 and the confer-ence in passing in 1986 and1988. ... Traded to the Bron-cos prior to a preseasongame in 1993. ... Anchoringthe line in Denver, he helpedthem lead the conference intotal yards in 1995 and leadthe NFL in 1996 and 1997. ...Proving he could pass blockas well as run block, Broncos’quarterbacks led their confer-ence in passing in 1993 and1996 while the team led theNFL in rushing in 1996. ... Hewas voted to play in sevenPro Bowls and was namedeither first- or second-teamAll-Pro eight times. ... Notedfor his incredible desire andwillingness to play throughpain and injury, he started169 consecutive games. ...His streak ended in 1996when shoulder surgery forcedhim to miss the last twogames of the season. ... Hewas voted to the NFL’s All-Decade Team in 1980s andthe 1990s despite just playingin four seasons during the’80s. His toughness hasearned the admiration of bothteammates and opponents.

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AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 19

By JOHN KEIM

The celebration started in Febru-ary — tears flowing here;standing ovations there — andhasn’t stopped. One minuteDarrell Green and Art Monkturn serious, bestowing thank-yous to whatever crowd they

face; the next they opt for laughter, rehash-ing stories and, perhaps, embellishing themjust a tad. Not that anyone minds.

And the next minute they’re cashing in ontheir new status, raising money for theirrespective charities.

But, if you’ll notice, they’re doing it oneway: together.

They became linked as Redskins, startingin the early 1980s, and their lives arced insimilar fashion, men of faith doing charitablework while being devoted to their families.They also symbolized an era. Monk, as hislast name would suggest, preferred silencewhile setting records. Green was the littleunderdog, a mix of extraordinary talent andresolve. He provided some flash for a teamthat showcased more grit.

So it was fitting that Green and Monk willbe inducted into the Pro Football Hall ofFame the same year, shining a light on theRedskins’ greatest stretch. Until now, theonly members voted to the Hall of Famefrom those teams, which won three SuperBowls in 10 seasons, were head coach JoeGibbs and RB John Riggins.

It’s very possible that Green, in his firstyear of eligibility, and Monk, in his eighth,will be the last players from those teams toreach Canton. Another member who workedwith both, former Redskins secondary coachEmmitt Thomas, will be inducted Aug. 2 aswell.

“The championships and records speak for(themselves),” said Charley Casserly, anassistant GM at the start of the Redskins’1980s run and the boss by the end of it. “Thesingle most important person during thatperiod was (Gibbs), and he was already in.The Redskins were a series of great teamswith a lot of very, very good players. TheHall of Fame is not an exact science. Win-ning championships, there’s no questionabout the validity of that.

“(But) it’s a great moment for the fran-

chise. Both are very deserving of the honor.”“That era, I took such great pride in being

a part of that,” Gibbs said. “You hope we’llhave others who will be honored.”

Regardless, Green and Monk are happy toshare the honor. They’ve parlayed it into anopportunity to raise money, appearing at aseries of events together where they havebeen joined by former teammates. Theydubbed the road to Canton the “Route 281Tour,” a hybrid of their uniform numbers (28and 81) to help their charities — the DarrellGreen Youth Life Foundation and Monk’sGood Samaritan Foundation.

And both players shared another idea:They’ll be presented by their sons, JaredGreen and James Monk.

“My son is my best friend,” said Green,who also has three daughters. “We talk everyday of his life, even in college. It was a no-brainer. Anyone who knows me knew that itwould be him.”

“It’s going to be fantastic to have (James),”Monk said. “He’s excited about me makingthe Hall of Fame, but he’s even more excitedto participate. It’s very special to have myown flesh and blood stand up and speak onmy behalf. It’s going to be a great moment.”

They’ll also be joined by the current Red-skins, who play Indianapolis the followingday, in the Hall of Fame game. And at least afew ex-Redskins likely will be in attendance— Casserly and Gibbs will be there. Manyothers were invited to join, but it was uncer-tain in mid-July who would attend. The Red-skins donated $200,000 to fund celebrationsin Canton for Green and Monk, as well asbenefiting their respective charities.

Green befriended owner Dan Snyder fromthe start. Snyder was with Green when hereceived news of Canton, screaming as loud ashe could. He patted Green on the back whenthe former cornerback spoke with his sister,who prompted tears by recalling their parents.

Monk opted not to be in Arizona for theannouncement. But he did attend a party inhis honor later that night in Washington,where he received a standing ovation uponentering.

“I have never seen two people who havebeen loved so much,” said former teammate,ex-Redskins WR Gary Clark. “It comes fromhow they played and what they did and do inthe community. There were a lot of guys

who played extremely hard — by their side— but never achieved the kind of respectthey deserve, because of the way they livedtheir life and the way that they played thegame.

“They are a tribute to the Redskins legacy.”In the past year, Redskins fans endured

tragedy (the death of Sean Taylor) and, on amuch lower level, heartbreak (playoff lossand Gibbs’ departure). They also sat throughan extended coaching search punctuated bythe surprise hiring of Jim Zorn. The future ofthe franchise in terms of success is uncertain.The past is not.

Green and Monk represent what the fran-chise meant.

So former players and current employeesgathered in February for a press-conference-turned-love-fest. Green took fun swipes atthose in attendance, from ex-Redskins endDexter Manley to Hall of Famer and Red-skins broadcaster, Sam Huff.

“Sam Huff came close to causing me notto be a Hall of Famer,” Green said. “He triedto teach me how to tackle. When I went outthe way he said, I broke my arm.”

And this:“I remember when I came in, Dexter said,

‘You all drafted this little guy?’ ” Green said.“I say to my man Dexter, because he’s myhomeboy, ‘How do you like me now?’ ”

Even the normally reticent Monk took histurn. He recalled when he discovered justhow much the fans appreciated him.

“I remember one moment against the St.Louis Cardinals. I was running a ‘go’ patterndown the right sideline and had my defend-ers beat by five yards ... as usual ... just beinghonest,” he said as former teammates inattendance laughed. “Joe (Theismann) threw

me a great pass. It was a beautiful arc passright into my hands and I dropped it. Itwould have been a touchdown, a 60-yardscore. I just collapsed to the ground. Layingthere for two seconds, it seemed like forever,there was dead silence in the stadium. WhenI stood up to go back to the huddle with myhead down, they began to applaud. That justdid something to me.”

Both players reached this pinnacle withdifferent obstacles, but by working the sameway. The 5-foot-8 Green heard about his sizehis whole life. No corner in NFL historyplayed longer or appeared in more games.

“It goes back to my dad who said, ‘Boy,you could really play that ball,’ ” Green said.“His voice eventually prevailed. Early on (asa kid), I was struggling to stand up out thereand face guys on a daily basis; I was a littleguy and I was scared.”

Monk started off in high school as a line-man before ending as a running back, thesame spot he played at Syracuse as a fresh-man. Eventually, coaches moved him to hisnatural position at receiver. When his play-ing career ended, no receiver had caughtmore passes.

For both players, their induction doesmore than punctuate their career. It’s servedas a springboard to better things, just as theyviewed their intertwined careers.

“It’s a responsibility,” Monk said. “It’s notjust a title anymore. It’s meant a lot to us.Playing a game was just something we loveto do. So when I think of what (the Hall ofFame) really means, it’s more than a title.It’s humbling.”

John Keim covers the Redskins for TheWashington Examiner.

CommonbondCommonbondREDSKINS TEAMMATES DARRELL GREEN AND ART MONK ARE GOING INTO THE HALL OF FAME TOGETHER, BUT THEYARE NOT JUST LIVING IN THE PAST

PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME (MONK) / HARRY SCULL, JR. (GREEN)

LOSING ITS LUSTER:

Golden age of the deep touchdown pass is long goneouchdown passes aren’t as much fun as they used to be.

When someone says those magic words “touchdownpass,” what do you think of? I’ll bet in your mind yousee a perfect spiral gracefully arcing far downfield to

be snagged at the 5-yard line by a glue-fingered receiver whoromps merrily into the endzone. You definitely don’t imaginea tiny toss you might throw a little kid who’s just learning tocatch.

In 1948 as a little kid, I fell in love with pro football by lis-tening to Cleveland Browns games on the radio. Televisionwas a newfangled invention meant for families with moremoney to waste on frills than mine. I had to reconstruct thegame action in my mind from occasional photos in monthlymagazines and Monday-morning newspapers, but mostlyfrom the radio. The announcers must have been goodbecause, by the end of the season, I was certain I knew every-thing there was to know about how football should be played.

For instance, I knew that the quickest way to get from oneend of the field to the other was to have Otto Graham throwa pass to Mac Speedie or Dante Lavelli.

And I knew when my team moved inside the enemy’s 10-yard line, the ball should be handed to Marion Motley orEdgar “Special Delivery” Jones and a touchdown wouldensue. I also knew in that situation, the worst thing to do wasrisk a pass. My team should never get that close and thenblow it with an interception.

So naturally, I was absolutely staggered on those very rareoccasions when Graham would actually culminate a drivewith a four- or five-yard touchdown pass. Coach Paul Brownsent in all the plays from the sideline via messenger guards. Idecided he must be an undisciplined risk-taker who some-times wildly threw caution to the wind.

My No-Pass Lesson was well learned. Twenty-five yearslater, my loyalty had migrated to Pittsburgh where ChuckNoll reigned. The television set in my living room was anecessity in tracing four Super Bowl journeys. One thinghadn’t changed. When the Steelers got in close and TerryBradshaw faked a handoff and then lofted a little pass, my

stomach turned over. I inevitably screamed, “Ter-reee!”Despite my plaintive wail, that boneheaded play almost

always seemed to bring a touchdown to the Steelers. For thatmatter, our opponents often scored when they pulled it on us.I comforted myself by deciding it was the surprise elementthat made it effective. Oddly, it seemed to be happeningmuch more often than when I was a kid.

Today, of course, passing from inside the 10-yard line is stan-dard procedure. How can the play everyone in the stadiumexpects be a surprise? A team can reach the 4-yard line and thenthrow three short incompletions before it gives up and kicks afield goal. I don’t scream at the screen anymore. I yawn.

I’ve seen the little flip touchdown too often. Been there,done that. What used to be an exciting surprise has become arepetitious dissemblance. I’d trade my Terrible Towel for agood old-fashioned plunge up the middle by a fullback.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those purists whowants to bring back the old days of high-cut shoes and lowscores. Generally, I believe today’s games are more fun towatch than those of 50 years ago. But I also think those sillylittle touchdown passes are a pox. They inflate statistics andreduce suspense.

A coach could no doubt prove that the little lobs are effec-tive, but nobody watches football to check its effectiveness;they watch it to get excitement. I know those little tosses fortouchdowns take skill. And there is an inevitable flash when-ever your team scores no matter how. A short touchdownpass ranks higher than a chip-shot field goal on the thrillscale. But the difference is that viewing a tiny-toss touch-down is like monitoring surgery; a long bomb is like watch-ing a sword fight.

I did a little research. From 1950-54, the average touch-down pass in the NFL was 28.7 yards. Out of 1,043 touch-down passes thrown from 1950-54, 205 were for fewer than10 yards — almost 20 percent.

In those five years, my hero Otto Graham threw 73 touch-down passes; only eight were for less than 10 yards — about11 percent. Norm Van Brocklin threw nine shorties out of 77

touchdown passes for 11.7 percent. With 15 short TDs,Bobby Layne had a 16.5 percentage for 91 TDs. Oddly, Y.A.Tittle, whose reputation was as a great long passer, threw 20of his 56 touchdown passes — 35.7 percent — for fewerthan 10 yards. A statistician friend says Tittle’s sample wastoo small to prove anything and I shouldn’t mention it. Still,I might never get another chance to tattle on Tittle’s total.

I wanted to check five recent years for comparison, but I’mnot a math major. When I have to add long strings of num-bers, my mind wanders (“Hmmm … plus six, plus four …hey, plus-fours are golfing trousers, hmm, plus — uh?”). ThenI have to start over. I was afraid I couldn’t finish by Christ-mas, so I settled for three seasons — 2002, ’04, and ’06.

There were 2,074 touchdown passes in my modern three-year sample, compared to only 1,043 for the five 1950s years.Although a lot of that difference is because the NFL had only12 teams playing 12-game schedules in the 1950s, I had ahunch that some of the glut is because there are more shorttouchdown passes now. Today, touchdown passes average 19.3yards — almost 10 fewer yards per pass than in the 1950s.

In the three modern years I looked at, Peyton Manningtossed 107 touchdowns with 39.3 percent less than 10 yards.Brett Favre threw 41.3 percent of his touchdown passesunder 10 yards; Tom Brady threw 51.3 percent. Of the 2,074 touchdown passes in our three recent years, 835— a whopping 40.3 — percent were shorties. The likelihoodof a touchdown pass being shorter than the trek from yourbreakfast table to your kitchen sink has more than doubled inthe years I’ve been following pro football.

That’s not going to change. The short touchdown passmight have become as common as walkers at the old folkshome, but those silly NFL coaches are more intent on win-ning games than on having an entertaining team. As long asthey keep scoring touchdowns with those itty-bitty passes,the coaches will keep calling for them.

They never listen to me.

Bob Carroll is a football historian who has written severalbooks about pro football and helped edit “Total Football.”

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20 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

DRAINING CAMP:

Preseason practices provide little benefit to NFL veteransraining camps are a concept that hasrun its course. Away with them, I say.

Once, they represented a beginning.Fat men would show up in them. They

were glorious creatures. For them, the pre-season was a period in which they wouldwork a winter’s worth of beer out of theirbones, reshaping themselves while prepar-ing for the trials to come.

Now, rather than a start, the camps consti-tute a continuation of drills that beganweeks ago. There are no fat men, or pre-cious few. Most players are finely condi-tioned when the procedures get under way.The preseason is for sharpening, and for fit-ting rookies into a team’s scheme. It is notin any way as meaningful as it was in anoth-er time.

Further, it is too long. Teams do notrequire four exhibition appearances to readythemselves for the games that count. Twowould be sufficient. Nevertheless, clubs stillcharge regular-season prices for what arenothing more than practices. Read: Rip-off.

More franchises ought to approach thepreseason as former Vikings coach BudGrant did. Grant kept the nip-ups as brief ashe could. He preferred being out in field andstream to being in a training camp. UnderGrant, the Vikings would not gather theirathletes together until their peers were wellinto their procedures. Grant could do this;he had veteran squads, and he did not loadthem with candidates not apt to be around

when the real racing began. One year, the Vikes were parties to the

Hall of Fame affair in Canton only about aweek after putting on pads for the first time.They won, too, if I recall correctly, which Ibelieve I do.

“The reason training camps start whenthey do is because coaches can’t wait tostart coaching,” Bud would say. He couldnot be counted among those coaches. Bullyfor him.

This idea of taking grown men and coop-ing them up for an extended period awayfrom their families is dehumanizing. Proper-ly, many clubs are getting away from it,with more and more franchises conductingtheir exercises either in their own facilitiesor in ones nearby. The day and age whencamps would be in the cornlands of Hiram,Ohio, and Rensselaer, Ind., is past. Someteams continue to venture into the hinter-lands, but every summer they become fewer,for which players should be thankful.

One other thing has to be appealing to theathletes. Two-a-days, those ordeals whenthey are required to practice twice daily, aregoing to be less frequent. Teams no longerare going to have the guys to engage in suchtortures, not when they cannot exclude play-ers from NFL Europe. The player limit fortraining camps has become a hard 80, whichis going to limit the number of practicesappreciably, one can suspect.

Please do not infer that I consider what

happens in July and August of no conse-quence. Training camps, I long havethought, are about rookies. We know whatveterans can do; let’s find out about thenewgrounders.

While we’re doing it, we have the BrettFavre situation to fix on. I don’t know whatis going to occur here, but I know this:Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, is mistaken whenhe says the next move is the Green Bayclub’s. The next move is Favre’s. Unless heshows up in Green Bay, the Packers can justsit there and proceed with their plans toinvest their offense in Aaron Rodgers.

Only if Favre swallows his pride and pre-sents himself in Green Bay are the Packersapt to trade him. Even then, I am being told,dealing him would not be easy. It’s thatreported $25 million he is due in the finaltwo years of his contract. That’s a bunch fora fellow who is, after all, 38.

As Favre has, John Unitas had played 17years when the Chargers acquired him priorto the 1973 season. Unitas had been hardused. He had knees that bent both ways, asone of Harland Svare’s coaching lieutenantsput it. Unitas could do little for the SouthernCalifornia club. He no longer was aroundwhen the team concluded its season. Favreis more fit than Unitas was, but 38 is 38.

About those rookies. I observed themwhen they came to the La Costa Resort andSpa in Carlsbad for the NFL’s rookie sym-posium. A fine group of young men, I’m

sure. On the afternoon I looked in on thesehearties, they were working with a gaggle ofyoungsters from Camp Pendleton familieswho had been invited to a clinic. Playersdrafted by the Colts would work with onegroup, players drafted by the Saints withanother, and so on. The clinic’s format rep-resented an opportunity to assess eachteam’s choices from the standpoints of sizeand maturity.

The group that most impressed me hadthe Bears’ logo on their visors. The Bearshad a bountiful draft, naming 12 collegians,and their choices run to size, which is agood thing. There also did not appear to beany callow youths in this group.

To me, Darren McFadden, the Arkansasrunning back whom the Raiders selected inthe first round despite some red flags relat-ing to his conduct, appeared one of the mostjoyous fellows on the grounds. I expectedLSU DT Glenn Dorsey, the first selection ofthe Chiefs, to be bigger. Jake Long is apleasant fellow, but the offensive tacklefrom Michigan who has been madeimmensely wealthy by the Dolphins seemedto me to be very young.

Just observations. The validity of them isto be tested during the training regimen. It isgood for something.

Jerry Magee has covered pro football forthe San Diego Union-Tribune since 1961and for PFW since its inception in 1967.

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AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 21

THE MORE THE MERRIER:

Fox doesn’t think Strahan will be a fifth wheel on the setox’s hiring of Michael Strahan shouldadd spark and a more contemporaryfeel to its pregame show, which hasmissed likeable James Brown since he

moved to CBS two years ago. But one con-cern exists: These guys interrupted eachother when it was a four-man set. So howwill they behave with a fifth person?

Terry Bradshaw holds the key. If he stopsacting like the class clown and engages Stra-han in serious analysis instead of insidejokes, this combination could work. Strahan’swhimsical diaries for Fox last year were gen-erally underwhelming, but Fox executiveswere convinced he was the right fit.

In fact, Fox honchos said this was the firsttime they seriously considering adding afifth person on the main set. “He has the per-sonality we felt fit with our guys,” FoxSports president Ed Goren said of Strahan.

Ex-Giants RB Tiki Barber criticized EliManning when Barber joined NBC last year,but Strahan said he has no agenda against hisformer team. “My situation is different (thanBarber’s),” he said.

And in general, “I don’t worry about giv-ing my opinion,” Strahan said. “Half thepeople don’t like me anyway.” It’s a goodthing Strahan doesn’t seem worried aboutthat. The best analysts — Cris Collinsworth,for instance — criticize without fear ofrepercussions.

CBS already went to a five-man set lastyear when it hired Bill Cowher, and thatworked out about as well as anyone could

have expected. Cowher, though, could returnto coaching in 2009.

MARINO WON’T GO ‘INSIDE’CBS made the right call by hiring host

James Brown, Cris Collinsworth and PhilSimms to serve as commentators on “Insidethe NFL” when it moves from HBO toShowtime this season.

CBS is producing the program for Show-time and retained only Collinsworth fromthe HBO cast. Bob Costas, who does otherwork for HBO (a Showtime rival), and CrisCarter, who took a job at ESPN, weren’trealistic options. Dan Marino would havewelcomed the job but was passed over. Hewill keep his job in CBS’ studio, however.

“We wanted to have some connection tothe HBO show (with Collinsworth),” CBSSports president Sean McManus said. “Wewanted to have some CBS presence, but wedidn’t want it to be a CBS show in its entire-ty. Dan has a really important role with CBSSports. It was more of a numbers game. Itwasn’t so much we didn’t want Dan on theshow. I think Dan understands that.”

“Inside the NFL” will add a fourth com-mentator — either a permanent analyst, ana-lysts on a rotation basis or current players onbye weeks. Fox’s Howie Long also hasreceived consideration.

■ NFL Network hired Giants radioannouncer Bob Papa as Bryant Gumbel’sreplacement on play-by-play of eightNovember/December games. Papa, who also

announces boxing for HBO, will team withthe ubiquitous Collinsworth.

There were certainly bigger names avail-able — NBC’s Tom Hammond and CBS’Dick Enberg among them — but NFL Net-work preferred a young voice whose careeris on the ascent. At least that was the strate-gy after NBC’s Al Michaels turned down thejob.

Tough break for Hammond, who previous-ly worked with Collinsworth on NBC andfilled in for Gumbel on a game last season.

■ NFL Network is developing severalseries that will air this fall. “Starting 11” willbe a weekly countdown show highlighting 11points of the interest for the coming week’sgames. “Sounds of the Game” will featureaudio clips from players miked during gamesand classic sound bites from NFL Films’archives. “America’s Game” will return Sept.3 with an episode on the Giants.

■ Though NFL Network president SteveBornstein has been adamant that he won’tallow his network to be placed on a sportstier, it’s clear the NFL must do something toget the channel in more households. (Morethan 60 percent of the country doesn’t getNFL Network.) Comcast already has placedNFL Network on a tier in two million homes— without NFL Network’s approval — andthe matter will go to arbitration.

That’s why it would be prudent for theNFL to continue speaking with ESPN abouta joint relationship. The Wall Street Journalhas reported discussions of merging NFL

Network with ESPN Classic, which is in farmore homes. Or the NFL could place morepressure on cable operators such as Time-Warner to add the channel on a basic serviceby carrying 17 regular-season games, notjust eight. Whatever the approach, the NFLclearly needs to change its strategy.

■ Only Don Imus knows if he was tellingthe truth when he said his latest on-airremarks about race were misunderstood. Butin giving his explanation/damage control, itwas transparently disingenuous — vergingon laughable — for Imus to refer to sus-pended Cowboys CB Adam Jones as a“lovely kid,” considering Imus obviouslyknew nothing about him.

Imus, if you missed it, asked Jones’“color” during a discussion of his run-inswith the law — and, when told he is black,Imus said, “There you go. Now we know.”WABC-radio management did not disciplineImus, who insists he was calling attention tothe unfair treatment of blacks. Jones was dis-mayed by the remarks and said he wouldpray for Imus.

■ Why did Brett Favre give his publicizedmid-July interview to Fox News and notESPN? Favre assuredly knew he would havea sympathetic interviewer in Greta Van Sus-teren, a Packers fan and shareholder. AndFavre’s wife, Deana, pitched the interviewby e-mailing Van Susteren.

Barry Jackson covers sports broadcastingfor the Miami Herald.

BARRY JACKSON RADIO-TV

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PARALYSIS BY ANALYSIS:

QB battles should be decided with immediacy in mindife’s not easy for quarterbacks entangled in training-camp competitions. It’s a worrisome, nerve-wrackingand tense month and a half when those competing forthe starting gig don’t just have to worry about

their own performance — they have to be con-cerned about what their competitor is doing aswell. Short-hop a pass in a 7-on-7 drill, andhe’ll feel like it’s a forgone conclusion he’ll beplanted on the pine in Week One. Throw aninterception on a misread and he’ll feel asthough he’ll be lucky to sniff playing time forthe duration of the season.

But for as much pressure as the quar-terbacks embroiled in the throes of aheated competition for starting honorsfeel, just as much of a burden, if notmore of one, is placed on the shoul-ders of the those who are ultimatelymaking the decision on who wins theQB derby — the head coaches.

For many coaches in the league,making the right call on the quarter-back is not just the difference betweenforging into January and taking anearly vacation, it can be the differencebetween job security and scouring theclassifieds at the end of the season. Atthe defining position on the field, thecoach’s QB anointment can be the mostcritical decision he’ll make until April’sdraft.

Entering training camps in 2008, ahost of teams has finding its quarterback as priorityNo. 1 on its to-do list. By my estimation, six teams— the Dolphins, Jets, Ravens, Bears, Falcons and49ers — will stage an honest QB battle incamp, and you can bump that number up to

eight depending on how the Brett Favre soap opera in GreenBay unfolds and whether the Jeff Garcia contract conundrumin Tampa Bay persists in gridlock.

But while the coaches on each of these squads share thesimilarity of having to make a critical call before kickoff

in their opening game, there are fundamental differ-ences in the decision-making process each coach goesthrough. Some coaches, such as John Harbaugh inBaltimore and Mike Smith in Atlanta, may decideit’s best to keep his promising first-round pick (Joe

Flacco and Matt Ryan) on the bench for at least a fewweeks — if not the bulk of the season — for fear

of stunting his development if thrown to thewolves too quickly.

Others, such as Mike Nolan in San Fran-cisco, may feel he’s not ready to give upon a one-time elite prospect (AlexSmith), thinking that just maybe thisyear will finally be the year when talenttranslates into production. This isequivalent to the notion that higher-salaried passers deserve the benefit of

the doubt.Still others, such as Jon Gruden

in Tampa Bay, may decide thathe’s not willing to put up withthe contract bickering of theplayer who’s clearly the mostqualified (Jeff Garcia), andinstead go with a less-estab-lished gunslinger to avoidsetting a precedent.

However, in light ofevery possible reason that acoach may opt for one

passer over the other, thequarterback most prepared to

help his team win right now should trump all else. The real-ity is that there’s so much uncertainty in the NFL from oneweek to the next, as well as one season to the next, thatforecasting the future success of the club at the expense ofthe present is a luxury coaches in the NFL today cannotafford.

This isn’t to suggest that rookies should be barred frombeing a legitimate opening week option. Sometimes, he maybe the best option. Anyone who saw Kyle Boller or JoeyHarrington trudge through the motions of yet another disap-pointing season in ’07 knows that the situation can’t get allthat worse for their clubs at the position. And because bothFlacco and Ryan signed their deals prior to camp, the twotouted rookies should be well-versed enough in the playbookto at least adequately navigate the playbook, unlike the situa-tion last year in Oakland where JaMarcus Russell’s lengthyholdout all but prevented him from consideration until late inthe season.

Although every coach preaches the “one game at a time”mantra, in actuality, they often make their QB decisions froma more macro perspective. They’ll think back to how theyviewed the quarterback’s college tape during the draft evalu-ation process. They’ll envision the ridicule from fans and themedia if they give up on a guy who was once considered thefuture franchise quarterback. They’ll think about subjecting ayoung quarterback to the physical and mental rigors of theNFL too soon. Essentially, they’ll overanalyze the issue tothe point that one quarterback will have to obliterate hiscompetition in camp in order to render the peripheral factorsmoot.

When it comes to choosing a quarterback, the NFLshouldn’t be about “what have you done for me lately?” Nei-ther should it be “what will you do for me tomorrow?” Itought to be “what will you do for me now?”

PFW associate editor Matt Sohn can be reached via e-mailat msohn@pfwmedia.com.

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With training camps fastapproaching and the2008 season justaround the corner, thePFW staff has been

hard at work collecting thehottest fantasy-related rumorsand player news from aroundthe NFL.

A F C l E A S T

New Bills offensive coordinatorTurk Schonert appears intent onfeaturing RB Marshawn Lynchmore often in the passing game. Inhis rookie season of 2007, Lynchcaught only 18 balls, as the coach-es wanted him to concentrate moreon his blocking than his receiving.It wouldn’t be much of a surprise atall if Lynch doubles his receptiontotal in ’08. … Even with a deepcast of tight ends, the Dolphins areexpecting new WR Ernest Wilford

to become their go-to guy in thered zone. A well-built 6-4, 218pounds, Wilford has sticky handsand can outmuscle many defensivebacks in jump-ball situations. …For as much raw talent as he pos-sesses, and for as dominant anoffense as he plays on, it may bedifficult for Patriots TE Ben Watsonto put up impressive numbers. Hisinability to stay healthy is cause forparticular concern, but so is TomBrady’s tendency to locate hiswideouts more often than his tightends, especially near the goal line.… If you’re looking for a sleeperdefense, look no further than theJets’, which improved significantlydown the ’07 stretch and brought ina host of newcomers capable ofracking up the sacks. The problem,however, is that it will be awfullydifficult to justify playing thedefense early. After a Week Onematchup with the Dolphins, theJets play the high-powered offens-es of New England, San Diego,Arizona and Cincinnati in their nextfour games.

A F C l N O R T HIf you’re looking to “handcuff”

Bengals RB Rudi Johnson, veter-an Kenny Watson should be atopyour list. Watson rushed for acareer-high 763 yards and seventouchdowns last season. He alsocaught 52 passes, also a career-best. The return of Chris Perry tothe Bengals’ lineup could affectWatson’s workload somewhat, butPerry hasn’t been able to stayhealthy in four prior NFL seasons.Monitor his progress in trainingcamp before changing your draft-board. For now, he is a candidateto be plucked off the waiver wireand nothing more. … The way wehear it, the competition for theBrowns’ No. 3 receiver job maycome down to Travis Wilson andjourneyman Kevin Kasper.Joshua Cribbs is also in the mix,but his value on special teams —and his rawness as a receiver —are factors that work against him.Wilson, a third-round pick of theBrowns two seasons ago, had a

strong offseason, as did Kasper,who has played for Denver, Seat-tle, Arizona, New England andDetroit. … Steelers veteran NateWashington is expected to holdoff rookie Limas Sweed for the No.3 WR job. Washington caught fiveTD passes last season. However,Sweed is the better pick in keeperleagues, and he might be worth aflier in big leagues with more rosterspots than average. … With theexception of established veteransWR Derrick Mason and TE ToddHeap, it may be best to take await-and-see approach with Balti-more’s pass catchers until you geta sense of how they are taking toCam Cameron’s offense.

A F C l S O U T HThe news that Peyton Man-

ning will miss extended timerecovering from knee surgeryshould eliminate all thoughts thathe should be taken ahead of TomBrady. It’s not a given that he’llbe back for the season opener,and missing the preseason workwith his receivers could mean thatit will take some time for Manning

to be hitting on all cylinders. …With the Jaguars expecting toimplement more of a verticalpassing game, the biggest benefi-ciary could be TE MarcedesLewis. The former first-round pickis at his best when running freedown the field, as he has the ath-leticism to make things happen inspace, but lacks the strength tomuscle out yards after contact intraffic. … Keep an eye on theprogress of Titans WR BirenEaly, who impressed in offseasonworkouts and has a strongchance at winning the No. 3receiver job, especially if RoydellWilliams (ankle) is slow to returnto action. If Ealy keeps playingwell, the pressure on the otherTitans receivers trying to grab aroster spot is dialed up that muchmore. … If waiting to select akicker until the final round, youcould do worse than the Texans’Kris Brown, who quietly hit 25-of-29 field goals last year and hit all40 extra-point attempts. The Tex-

ans’ offense can be potent, andBrown has one of the league’sstrongest legs.

A F C l W E S TWith word that new Chiefs offen-

sive coordinator Chan Gaileyplans to use a lot of two-TE setsthis season, rookie Brad Cottamcould wind up on your fantasyradar. A third-round pick out of Ten-nessee, Cottam will be deployedmainly as blocker, but don’t be sur-prised if he starts catching passesas defenses focus on Tony Gonza-lez. It’s worth keeping an eye onthe 6-foot-7 Cottam during presea-son action. … The Chargers’offense lost a key piece this offsea-son when free-agent RB MichaelTurner bolted for Atlanta. Left with-out a true No. 2 RB, San Diegotraded up on draft day to grabJacob Hester in the third round,and now Hester appears in line tobe LaDainian Tomlinson’s newbackup. A viable ballcarrier while atLSU, Hester would have huge fan-tasy value if injury hits L.T. He’sdefinitely someone to target late inyour draft. … Broncos WR Bran-

F A N T A S Y F O O T B A L L The Buzz

FANTASY

BUZZBBUUZZZZB y D A N A R K U S H ● E R I C E D H O L M ● M I K E W I L K E N I N G

M A T T S O H N ● D A N P A R R ● M I C H A E L B L U N D A

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PFW TAKES A LOOK AT FANTASY NEWS AND NOTESFROM AROUND THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Dual threat: Marshawn Lynch shouldbe a frequent target for the Bills in ’08

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Wounded Colt: Peyton Manningcould be a question mark for Week One

AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 23

don Marshall rocketed up draftboards after a breakout 2007 sea-son in which he had 102 recep-tions and 1,325 yards (both thefifth-best marks in the league). Butthe buzz on Marshall is fading ashe approaches a Sept. 16 courtdate in which he will face DUIcharges. If Marshall is found guilty,there is speculation that he will besuspended, perhaps for a signifi-cant amount of time, since he hascompiled a long list of arrests andcitations over the past few years. Ifhe’s on the field, he’s a fantasystud, but there appears to be muchrisk involved with the selection ofMarshall. … The Raiders’ ZachMiller is beginning to look like avery good option for fantasy own-ers in search of a sleeper at tightend. Miller had a solid rookieseason in ’07, grabbing 44catches for 444 yardsand three touchdowns,but he should have aneven bigger role in theoffense this year. Oak-land’s receiving corpsis very thin behindJavon Walker, RonaldCurry and Drew Carter, andboth Walker (knee, fracturedorbital) and Curry (foot) havepotential health problems. Millercould become QB JaMarcus Rus-sell’s favorite target in the passinggame, since Russell may not havemany good options at receiver andwill likely look to the bulky 6-5,255-pound tight end to bail him outwhen under pressure.

N F C l E A S TExpect the Redskins to use RB

Ladell Betts far more than they didlast year. Head coach Jim Zornlikely will have to rely on his rush-ing game early in the season untilthe passing game gets wings, buthe also doesn’t want to wear downClinton Portis, who led the NFL incarries and looked overworked attimes a year ago. Betts, meanwhile,was a forgotten man with only 114touches in 2007. Those numbersshould increase. ... Cowboys RBMarion Barber hasn’t been a truefeatured back since high school.But we hear he is more than up tothe challenge of increasing hisworkload, despite a punishing run-ning style that some fear will leadto injuries. Remember, the Cow-boys drafted not only Felix Jonesto back up Barber and take carriesbut also Tashard Choice, who hasimpressed Cowboys coaches. Bar-ber should be fine with more work.... With all 11 starters returning inNew York, the Giants are expectedto have a lot of offensive continuity.But insiders feel WR Steve Smithwill be featured more in the offensethan he even was in the playoffs,when he was the Giants’ third-lead-ing receiver. ... Eagles QBDonovan McNabb’s shoulder is aconcern for the Eagles, who shuthim down during the end of thefinal veterans’ minicamp. Butreports out of Arizona, where Mc-Nabb trains away from the team,are that he is throwing and doing

well heading into camp.

N F C l N O R T HIt didn’t take long for Bears insid-

ers to start wondering whethernewly acquired Kevin Jones, whoscored a career-high eight touch-downs for the Lions last seasonbefore tearing his ACL in lateDecember, will get a legitimateshot at challengingrookie Matt Forté forthe team’s starting RBjob. The way we hearit, the Bears couldstrongly consider atwo-back system fea-turing Forté and Jones if Jones isfully healthy. But team sourcescautioned that the ex-Lion’s physi-

cal condition remains a huge “if.”Although Jones says he is

well ahead of schedule inhis recovery from aninjury that was sup-posed to take a year tocompletely heal, wehear it will probably be

well into training camp,if even then, before he’s

really ready to start struttinghis stuff. Jones’ injury problems

in each of the last three seasonscould be a red flag worth noting. …Don’t be shocked if Packers WRJames Jones, who displayed afew sparkling fantasy flashes lastseason, becomes more of a fanta-sy factor this season and shares alot more of the TD load with fellowWR Greg Jennings and TE Don-ald Lee, who combined for 18 TDsin ’07. Daily team observers tell usJones has had an excellent offsea-son up to now and is keepingsharp by working out in Californiawith QB Aaron Rodgers andPackers rookie WR Brett Swain. ...Tatum Bell will open Lions campas the starting running back, andhe had his moments in Denver run-ning in a similar zone scheme. Butwe hear the Lions’ coaches believewhat the Broncos’ coaches did:that Bell has to be put on a “pitchcount,” or his productivity drops offprecipitously. It might not be longbefore rookie Kevin Smith, aworkhorse in college running bothinside and outside zones, takesover. ... Vikings WR Sidney Ricequietly has had a nice offseason inthe coaches’ eyes and is expectedto step up as the starting spilt end.Don’t be surprised if he doubleshis rookie totals of 31 receptionsand four TDs.

N F C l S O U T HWith word of Colts QB Peyton

Manning’s surgery, the fantasystock of Saints QB Drew Breesshould be rising. Manning isexpected to be out through most ofthe preseason while he recoversfrom surgery to correct an infectedbursa sac in his left knee, but withany complications, that time will beextended, perhaps significantly.For fantasy owners looking for anelite quarterback, Brees may moveup a few spots on the draft boardand could warrant first-round con-sideration. Brees threw for nearly400 more yards than Manning last

season and only three fewertouchdowns and is as healthy ashe’s been in years. … PanthersWR Steve Smith’s receivingyards, average yards per catchand touchdowns have declined ineach of the past two seasons aftera monster 2005 campaign in whichhe racked up 1,563 yards and 12touchdowns. His production hasbeen hindered by injuries to QBJake Delhomme and a relativelyunimaginative, conservativeoffense. Smith, however, could beready to get back to his ’05 levels.He will be aided by the return ofDelhomme, who is back fromTommy John surgery and report-edly looked as good as ever inminicamp, and also by an upgrad-ed offensive line and receivingcorps, which should be bolsteredby the additions of D.J. Hackettand Muhsin Muhammad. Therewill be less pressure on Smith todo it all this year, and that in turncould lead to a resurgent seasonfor him and Carolina. … There wassome concern about RB EarnestGraham holding out of trainingcamp over a contract dispute withthe Bucs, but fantasy owners fearnot — he agreed to a contractextension on June 29. That said,Graham is still far from a house-hold name, and though he postedimpressive numbers in 10 startslast season, he may be availablesurprisingly late in drafts. Grahamscored 10 touchdowns while grab-bing a stunning 49 catches for 324yards last season and averaged4.0 yards per carry during 10games as Tampa’s starter. Thosenumbers vaulted him into the top20 for fantasy backs, and he couldbe a major bargain if he falls to thefourth or fifth round of drafts, whichis a good possibility since heremains relatively unknown. … Thebuzz around Falcons RB JeriousNorwood has been building

throughout the offseason as thenew regime in Atlanta looks todefine his role in the offense. Wordis head coach Mike Smith andoffensive coordinator Mike Mula-rkey are set on getting the explo-sively fast Norwood more involvedin the passing game in an effort toget him out into open space wherehe can create. Norwood became afantasy sleeper after he showedsome big-play ability as a rookie,but those who drafted him lastyear were disappointed when hisnumbers didn’t make an anticipat-ed jump. He remains a fantasyoption with a lot of upside, but heprobably belongs no higher than aNo. 3 or No. 4 back, especially withMichael Turner on board as theFalcons’ clear No. 1 option out ofthe backfield.

N F C l W E S TThe buzz is positive regarding

the health of the two Rams playerswho are again expected to be theteam’s most coveted in fantasy cir-cles this coming season — RBSteven Jackson and WR TorryHolt. Jackson created a bit of a stirwhen he suffered a slight groininjury and twisted an ankle duringoffseason workouts, but the Rams’offensive centerpiece recently toldteam insiders that he expects tobe 100 percent healthy by the startof training camp. As for Holt, wehear his chronically tender rightknee feels much better than it dida year ago at this time. We alsohear that, although Holt continuesto have misgivings over the depar-ture of his longtime partner-in-crime Isaac Bruce, who quicklysigned up with the division-rivalNiners after getting released, hehas also been invigorated by newRams offensive coordinator AlSaunders’ inventive playbook. …While Bruce is widely considered

the Niners’ No. 1 receiver headinginto training camp, our Bay Areasources tell us the team wouldn’tmind at all if the younger, stronger,more explosive Bryant Johnsonis filling the team’s No. 1 WR roleby the end of camp. We hearhopes are high that Johnson, whonever fulfilled his first-round expec-tations in Arizona stuck behindLarry Fitzgerald and AnquanBoldin, will blossom in a startingrole under the coach that draftedhim, Jerry Sullivan. … The word inthe desert is that the Cardinals areplanning on another significantworkload for featured RB EdgerrinJames in the neighborhood of 20-25 carries per game. Ideally,James will regularly be in a posi-tion to be the team’s workhorselate in games, with the offensepulling out to comfortable leads.The likelihood that James’ num-bers will be similar to his 2007 out-put of seven TDs and 1,222 yardsrushing is strong, although fifth-round RB Tim Hightower is con-sidered “an intriguing X-factor” byteam insiders heading into trainingcamp. We hear James appeared tobe in excellent shape in the OTAsthat he attended. … Get ready tosee a lot more of Seahawks sec-ond-round rookie TE John Carl-son, who has been very limited upto now due mainly to a nagginghamstring injury. Encouraged byCarlson’s work ethic and desire tofully absorb the team’s playbookeven while sidelined — we hear hewas one of the first players toarrive and one of the last playersto leave on a regular basis duringthe team’s minicamps and OTAs— the consensus is that the Sea-hawks are ready to make theNotre Dame product their startingtight end, although both WillHeller and newcomer Jeb Putzierare expected to get their share oftouches (especially Putzier).

F A N T A S Y F O O T B A L L The Buzz

Featuredback: Mar-ion Barberis no longersharing thespotlight

JAMES D. SMITH

24 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

QuarterbacksRK. PLAYER / TEAM BYE1. Tom Brady / Patriots 42. Peyton Manning / Colts 43. Tony Romo / Cowboys 104. Drew Brees / Saints 95. Carson Palmer / Bengals 86. Derek Anderson / Browns 57. Ben Roethlisberger / Steelers 68. Donovan McNabb / Eagles 79. Matt Hasselbeck / Seahawks 4

10. Jay Cutler / Broncos 811. Marc Bulger / Rams 512. Eli Manning / Giants 413. David Garrard / Jaguars 714. Jake Delhomme / Panthers 915. Matt Schaub / Texans 816. Jason Campbell / Redskins 1017. Philip Rivers / Chargers 918. Aaron Rodgers / Packers 819. Jon Kitna / Lions 420. Jeff Garcia / Buccaneers 1021. Brett Favre / Packers 822. Vince Young / Titans 623. Matt Leinart / Cardinals 724. JaMarcus Russell / Raiders 525. Trent Edwards / Bills 626. Kurt Warner / Cardinals 727. Tarvaris Jackson / Vikings 828. Rex Grossman / Bears 829. Brodie Croyle / Chiefs 630. Kyle Boller / Ravens 1031. Alex Smith / 49ers 932. Kellen Clemens / Jets 533. Josh McCown / Dolphins 434. Matt Ryan / Falcons 735. Shaun Hill / 49ers 936. Chad Pennington / Jets 537. Chris Redman / Falcons 738. Joe Flacco / Ravens 1039. Kyle Orton / Bears 840. Sage Rosenfels / Texans 841. Billy Volek / Chargers 942. Damon Huard / Chiefs 643. Gus Frerotte / Vikings 844. J.P. Losman / Bills 645. Cleo Lemon / Jaguars 746. John Beck / Dolphins 447. Kerry Collins / Titans 648. Joey Harrington / Falcons 749. Brady Quinn / Browns 550. Kevin Kolb / Eagles 751. Trent Green / Rams 552. Todd Collins / Redskins 1053. Seneca Wallace / Seahawks 454. Chad Henne / Dolphins 455. Matt Moore / Panthers 956. Charlie Batch / Steelers 657. Brian Griese / Buccaneers 1058. Tyler Thigpen / Chiefs 659. Brad Johnson / Cowboys 1060. Patrick Ramsey / Broncos 8

Running backsRK. PLAYER / TEAM BYE

1. LaDainian Tomlinson / Chargers 92. Brian Westbrook / Eagles 73. Adrian Peterson / Vikings 84. Steven Jackson / Rams 55. Joseph Addai / Colts 46. Clinton Portis / Redskins 107. Frank Gore / 49ers 98. Marshawn Lynch / Bills 69. Larry Johnson / Chiefs 6

10. Ryan Grant / Packers 811. Willis McGahee / Ravens 1012. Marion Barber / Cowboys 1013. Maurice Jones-Drew / Jaguars 714. Jamal Lewis / Browns 515. Laurence Maroney / Patriots 416. Julius Jones / Seahawks 417. Earnest Graham / Buccaneers 1018. Brandon Jacobs / Giants 4

19. Rudi Johnson / Bengals 820. Edgerrin James / Cardinals 721. LenDale White / Titans 622. Reggie Bush / Saints 923. Willie Parker / Steelers 624. Thomas Jones / Jets 525. Michael Turner / Falcons 726. Darren McFadden / Raiders 527. Ronnie Brown / Dolphins 428. Jonathan Stewart / Panthers 929. Fred Taylor / Jaguars 730. Chester Taylor / Vikings 831. Selvin Young / Broncos 832. Ahman Green / Texans 833. DeAngelo Williams / Panthers 934. Matt Forté / Bears 835. Deuce McAllister / Saints 936. Kevin Smith / Lions 437. Rashard Mendenhall / Steelers 638. Justin Fargas / Raiders 539. Jerious Norwood / Falcons 740. Tatum Bell / Lions 441. Felix Jones / Cowboys 1042. Leon Washington / Jets 543. Ahmad Bradshaw / Giants 444. Chris Johnson / Titans 645. Chris Brown / Texans 846. Warrick Dunn / Buccaneers 1047. Ricky Williams / Dolphins 448. DeShaun Foster / 49ers 949. Dominic Rhodes / Colts 450. Kevin Jones / Bears 851. Kevin Faulk / Patriots 452. Sammy Morris / Patriots 453. Ryan Torain / Broncos 854. T.J. Duckett / Seahawks 455. Fred Jackson / Bills 656. Ray Rice / Ravens 1057. Ladell Betts / Redskins 1058. Brandon Jackson / Packers 859. Jason Wright / Browns 560. Shaun Alexander / free agent61. Steve Slaton / Texans 862. Jacob Hester / Chargers 963. Aaron Stecker / Saints 964. Maurice Morris / Seahawks 465. Lorenzo Booker / Eagles 766. Darren Sproles / Chargers 967. DeShawn Wynn / Packers 868. Cadillac Williams / Buccaneers 1069. Derrick Ward / Giants 470. J.J. Arrington / Cardinals 771. Brian Leonard / Rams 572. Mike Hart / Colts 473. Kenny Watson / Bengals 874. Correll Buckhalter / Eagles 775. Kolby Smith / Chiefs 676. Tashard Choice / Cowboys 1077. Jamaal Charles / Chiefs 678. Michael Bush / Raiders 579. Cedric Benson / free agent80. Adrian Peterson / Bears 881. Mewelde Moore / Steelers 682. Jesse Chatman / Jets 583. Chris Henry / Titans 684. Pierre Thomas / Saints 985. Chris Perry / Bengals 886. Greg Jones / Jaguars 787. Travis Henry / free agent 88. Kenton Keith / Colts 489. Tony Hunt / Eagles 790. Chris Taylor / Texans 8

Wide receiversRK. PLAYER / TEAM BYE

1. Randy Moss / Patriots 42. Terrell Owens / Cowboys 103. Braylon Edwards / Browns 54. Larry Fitzgerald / Cardinals 75. Reggie Wayne / Colts 46. Andre Johnson / Texans 87. Marques Colston / Saints 98. Steve Smith / Panthers 9

9. T.J. Houshmandzadeh / Bengals 810. Chad Johnson / Bengals 811. Torry Holt / Rams 512. Plaxico Burress / Giants 413. Wes Welker / Patriots 414. Anquan Boldin / Cardinals 715. Brandon Marshall / Broncos 816. Roy Williams / Lions 417. Greg Jennings / Packers 818. Marvin Harrison / Colts 419. Santonio Holmes / Steelers 620. Hines Ward / Steelers 621. Dwayne Bowe / Chiefs 622. Calvin Johnson / Lions 423. Bernard Berrian / Vikings 824. Chris Chambers / Chargers 925. Lee Evans / Bills 626. Joey Galloway / Buccaneers 1027. Roddy White / Falcons 728. Laveranues Coles / Jets 529. Santana Moss / Redskins 1030. Donald Driver / Packers 831. Jerricho Cotchery / Jets 532. Bobby Engram / Seahawks 433. Donté Stallworth / Browns 534. Kevin Curtis / Eagles 735. Javon Walker / Raiders 536. Patrick Crayton / Cowboys 1037. Nate Burleson / Seahawks 438. Anthony Gonzalez / Colts 439. Jerry Porter / Jaguars 740. Sidney Rice / Vikings 841. Ronald Curry / Raiders 542. James Hardy / Bills 643. Bryant Johnson / 49ers 944. Derrick Mason / Ravens 1045. Marty Booker / Bears 846. Isaac Bruce / 49ers 947. Mark Clayton / Ravens 1048. Justin Gage / Titans 649. Vincent Jackson / Chargers 950. Reggie Brown / Eagles 751. Jabar Gaffney / Patriots 452. Laurent Robinson / Falcons 753. Drew Bennett / Rams 554. DeSean Jackson / Eagles 755. Reggie Williams / Jaguars 756. Ted Ginn Jr. / Dolphins 457. Kevin Walter / Texans 858. Deion Branch / Seahawks 459. Amani Toomer / Giants 460. Muhsin Muhammad / Panthers 961. Ernest Wilford / Dolphins 462. D.J. Hackett / Panthers 963. Devin Thomas / Redskins 1064. Darrell Jackson / Broncos 865. Donnie Avery / Rams 566. Limas Sweed / Steelers 667. Earl Bennett / Bears 868. Antwaan Randle El / Redskins 1069. Steve Smith / Giants 470. André Davis / Texans 871. Shaun McDonald / Lions 472. Bobby Wade / Vikings 873. Brandon Stokley / Broncos 874. Jerome Simpson / Bengals 875. Robert Meachem / Saints 976. Roscoe Parrish / Bills 677. Devin Hester / Bears 878. Michael Jenkins / Falcons 779. Drew Carter / Raiders 580. Dennis Northcutt / Jaguars 781. James Jones / Packers 882. Arnaz Battle / 49ers 983. David Patten / Saints 984. Buster Davis / Chargers 985. Nate Washington / Steelers 686. Mike Furrey / Lions 487. Brandon Lloyd / Bears 888. Joe Jurevicius / Browns 589. Ike Hilliard / Buccaneers 10

90. Derek Hagan / Dolphins 491. Justin McCareins / Titans 692. Keary Colbert / Broncos 893. Reche Caldwell / Rams 594. Troy Williamson / Jaguars 795. Roydell Williams / Titans 696. Brad Smith / Jets 597. Matt Jones / Jaguars 798. Jeff Webb / Chiefs 699. Robert Ferguson / Vikings 8100. Terry Glenn / Cowboys 10101. Demetrius Williams / Ravens 10102. Ben Obomanu / Seahawks 4103. Jerheme Urban / Cardinals 7104. Maurice Stovall / Buccaneers 10105. Sam Hurd / Cowboys 10106. Joe Horn / Falcons 7107. Jacoby Jones / Texans 8108. Devery Henderson / Saints 9109. Steve Breaston / Cardinals 7110. Jason Avant / Eagles 7

Tight endsRK. PLAYER / TEAM BYE

1. Jason Witten / Cowboys 102. Antonio Gates / Chargers 93. Kellen Winslow / Browns 54. Tony Gonzalez / Chiefs 65. Chris Cooley / Redskins 106. Dallas Clark / Colts 47. Todd Heap / Ravens 108. Heath Miller / Steelers 69. Vernon Davis / 49ers 9

10. Owen Daniels / Texans 811. Tony Scheffler / Broncos 812. Jeremy Shockey / Giants 413. Alge Crumpler / Titans 614. Donald Lee / Packers 815. Greg Olsen / Bears 816. L.J. Smith / Eagles 717. Ben Watson / Patriots 418. Zach Miller / Raiders 519. Ben Utecht / Bengals 820. Randy McMichael / Rams 521. Leonard Pope / Cardinals 722. Dustin Keller / Jets 523. Desmond Clark / Bears 824. Marcedes Lewis / Jaguars 725. Alex Smith / Buccaneers 1026. John Carlson / Seahawks 427. Anthony Fasano / Dolphins 428. Robert Royal / Bills 629. Kevin Boss / Giants 430. Visanthe Shiancoe / Vikings 831. Chris Baker / Jets 532. David Martin / Dolphins 433. Jeff King / Panthers 934. Eric Johnson / Saints 935. Marcus Pollard / Patriots 436. Brent Celek / Eagles 737. Bo Scaife / Titans 638. Dante Rosario / Panthers 939. Ben Troupe / Buccaneers 1040. Kris Wilson / Eagles 741. Ben Hartsock / Falcons 742. Billy Miller / Saints 943. Jermichael Finley / Packers 844. Matt Spaeth / Steelers 645. Fred Davis / Redskins 10

PlacekickersRK. PLAYER / TEAM BYE

1. Stephen Gostkowski / Patriots 42. Nick Folk / Cowboys 103. Josh Brown / Rams 54. Phil Dawson / Browns 55. Shayne Graham / Bengals 86. Adam Vinatieri / Colts 47. Nate Kaeding / Chargers 98. Rob Bironas / Titans 69. Mason Crosby / Packers 8

10. Neil Rackers / Cardinals 7

11. Kris Brown / Texans 812. David Akers / Eagles 713. Josh Scobee / Jaguars 714. John Kasay / Panthers 915. Shaun Suisham / Redskins 1016. Olindo Mare / Seahawks 417. Jason Hanson / Lions 418. Jeff Reed / Steelers 619. Jason Elam / Falcons 720. Matt Bryant / Buccaneers 1021. Martin Gramatica / Saints 922. Ryan Longwell / Vikings 823. Robbie Gould / Bears 824. Mike Nugent / Jets 525. Matt Stover / Ravens 1026. Lawrence Tynes / Giants 427. Sebastian Janikowski / Raiders 528. Joe Nedney / 49ers 929. Rian Lindell / Bills 630. Jay Feely / Dolphins 431. Matt Prater / Broncos 832. Chiefs placekicker 6

Defenses/special teamsRK. PLAYER / TEAM BYE

1. Minnesota Vikings 82. San Diego Chargers 93. New York Giants 44. Dallas Cowboys 105. Chicago Bears 86. Jacksonville Jaguars 77. Pittsburgh Steelers 68. New England Patriots 49. Seattle Seahawks 4

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1011. Baltimore Ravens 1012. Green Bay Packers 813. Philadelphia Eagles 714. Buffalo Bills 615. Oakland Raiders 516. Indianapolis Colts 417. Tennessee Titans 618. Washington Redskins 1019. Houston Texans 820. New York Jets 521. San Francisco 49ers 922. Cleveland Browns 523. Denver Broncos 824. Arizona Cardinals 725. Carolina Panthers 926. Miami Dolphins 427. Detroit Lions 428. Kansas City Chiefs 629. St. Louis Rams 530. New Orleans Saints 931. Cincinnati Bengals 832. Atlanta Falcons 7

Top 100 overallRK. PLAYER / TEAM

1. RB LaDainian Tomlinson / Chargers2. RB Brian Westbrook / Eagles3. RB Adrian Peterson / Vikings4. RB Steven Jackson / Rams5. QB Tom Brady / Patriots6. RB Joseph Addai / Colts7. RB Clinton Portis / Redskins8. RB Frank Gore / 49ers9. RB Marshawn Lynch / Bills

10. RB Larry Johnson / Chiefs11. WR Randy Moss / Patriots12. QB Peyton Manning / Colts13. RB Ryan Grant / Packers14. RB Willis McGahee / Ravens15. WR Terrell Owens / Cowboys16. RB Marion Barber / Cowboys17. WR Braylon Edwards / Browns18. WR Larry Fitzgerald / Cardinals19. WR Reggie Wayne / Colts20. RB Maurice Jones-Drew / Jaguars21. WR Andre Johnson / Texans

22. QB Tony Romo / Cowboys23. RB Jamal Lewis / Browns24. WR Marques Colston / Saints25. WR Steve Smith / Panthers26. WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh / Bengals27. RB Laurence Maroney / Patriots28. WR Chad Johnson / Bengals29. QB Drew Brees / Saints30. RB Julius Jones / Seahawks31. RB Earnest Graham / Buccaneers32. RB Brandon Jacobs / Giants33. WR Torry Holt / Rams34. QB Carson Palmer / Bengals35. RB Rudi Johnson / Bengals36. WR Plaxico Burress / Giants37. WR Wes Welker / Patriots38. WR Anquan Boldin / Cardinals39. WR Brandon Marshall / Broncos40. QB Derek Anderson / Browns41. RB Edgerrin James / Cardinals42. TE Jason Witten / Cowboys43. RB LenDale White / Titans44. RB Reggie Bush / Saints45. QB Ben Roethlisberger / Steelers46. WR Roy Williams / Lions47. RB Willie Parker / Steelers48. RB Thomas Jones / Jets49. RB Michael Turner / Falcons50. WR Greg Jennings / Packers51. TE Antonio Gates / Chargers52. RB Darren McFadden / Raiders53. TE Kellen Winslow / Browns54. WR Marvin Harrison / Colts55. WR Santonio Holmes / Steelers56. WR Hines Ward / Steelers57. RB Ronnie Brown / Dolphins58. QB Donovan McNabb / Eagles59. RB Jonathan Stewart / Panthers60. TE Tony Gonzalez / Chiefs61. QB Matt Hasselbeck / Seahawks62. WR Dwayne Bowe / Chiefs63. TE Chris Cooley / Redskins64. QB Jay Cutler / Broncos65. WR Calvin Johnson / Lions66. RB Fred Taylor / Jaguars67. TE Dallas Clark / Colts68. QB Marc Bulger / Rams69. WR Bernard Berrian / Vikings70. WR Chris Chambers / Chargers71. WR Lee Evans / Bills72. WR Joey Galloway / Buccaneers73. WR Roddy White / Falcons74. QB Eli Manning / Giants75. WR Laveranues Coles / Jets76. WR Santana Moss / Redskins77. WR Donald Driver / Packers78. WR Jerricho Cotchery / Jets79. RB Chester Taylor / Vikings80. WR Bobby Engram / Seahawks81. WR Donté Stallworth / Browns82. RB Selvin Young / Broncos83. RB Ahman Green / Texans84. TE Todd Heap / Ravens85. RB DeAngelo Williams / Panthers86. WR Kevin Curtis / Eagles87. RB Matt Forté / Bears88. WR Javon Walker / Raiders89. RB Deuce McAllister / Saints90. RB Kevin Smith / Lions91. QB David Garrard / Jaguars92. WR Patrick Crayton / Cowboys93. DST Vikings94. WR Nate Burleson / Seahawks95. QB Jake Delhomme / Panthers96. RB Rashard Mendenhall / Steelers97. WR Anthony Gonzalez / Colts98. TE Heath Miller / Steelers99. RB Justin Fargas / Raiders100. TE Vernon Davis / 49ers

Based on a standard performance system (six points for TD runs/catches, four points for TD passes and yardage bonuses). As of July 20.

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F A N T A S Y F O O T B A L L 2008 draft board

AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 25

By MARK ANDERSONThe teams are remarkably similar, coming

off nearly identical dominant performancesin their respective conference championshipgames — and they already played an ArenaFootball League classic during the regularseason.

Finally, the AFL’s premier game will fea-ture two teams that truly deserve to be in theArenaBowl.

The Philadelphia Soul was the league’sstrongest team during the regular season,going 13-3. Philadelphia, mak-ing its first ArenaBowl appear-ance, faces a San Jose Saber-Cats team in the July 27 cham-pionship in New Orleans that isthe AFL’s model franchise.

“It should be a hell of a foot-ball game,” Soul coach Bret Munsey said. “Ifeel for the first time in a few years, these arethe two best teams.”

The Chicago Rush might argue different-ly, but the Grand Rapids Rampage knockedout the No. 1 seed in the American Confer-ence in the divisional round. Still, it’s diffi-cult to argue against the defending AFLchampion SaberCats, who went 11-5 in theregular season, deserving a spot in theArenaBowl.

It’s not like last year when San Jose beat aColumbus Destroyers club that went 7-9 inthe regular season. Or in 2006, when Chica-go also finished 7-9 before rolling throughthe postseason to defeat the Orlando Preda-tors for the AFL title.

The last time the ArenaBowl hosted amarquee matchup was in ’05, when the JohnElway-co-owned Colorado Crush (10-6 inthe regular season) defeated the Doug Plank-

coached Georgia Force (11-5) with a 20-yard field goal on the final play.

Parity has made it difficult to guarantee achampionship game between the league’sbest teams, which makes what the SaberCatsare trying to accomplish even more remark-able.

Orlando, in 1999, was the last championto simply appear in the ArenaBowl the fol-lowing season. San Jose, which has wonthree championships in six years, is trying tobecome the first club since the Tampa BayStorm in 1996 to repeat.

“You have to look at thewhole thing here,” SaberCatscoach Darren Arbet said. “Wehave a system with the Saber-cats, and our ownership does atremendous job allowing us todo what we do.”

Now, though, Philadelphia has the chanceto do the SaberCats one better.

Soul QB Matt D’Orazio has been in thisposition. He was behind center when theRush pulled off that improbable ArenaBowlvictory two years ago. Back surgery endedhis days in Chicago, but D’Orazio didn’t justplay like his old self when given the chancein Philadelphia — he probably performedeven better.

He led the Arena league with a 131.3 rat-ing, completing an AFL-best 72.4 percent ofhis passes for 3,331 yards with an astound-ing touchdown-to-interception ratio of 72-to-4.

“He’s got an air of confidence about him,”Munsey said. “He brings that to the huddle,and some of the young guys see that.”

D’Orazio certainly didn’t panic when theSoul found itself trailing 33-7 on April 12 atSan Jose. He led Philadelphia back for a

stunning 58-57 statement-making victory toestablish the Soul as a top contender.

“When you can come back in a game likethat all the way across the country and beata great team, a great organization, it was aspecial time in the locker room,” Munseysaid. “But we’ve been on the other side. Welost a game in Georgia that was similar tothat. It’s part of the game, part of arena foot-ball. It’s never over until the horn blows. Weknow it’s a different team. It’s a differentgame.”

D’Orazio agreed.“After that, deep down I was hoping we

wouldn’t have to play those guys againknowing how good they are and feeling likewe got away with one,” D’Orazio said. “Atthe same time, we knew we’d have to facethe best, and they are the best.”

That April game highlighted how little dif-ference there is between these clubs. Theirrespective conference championships madethat point even clearer.

Both teams routed their opponents —Philadelphia beat the Cleveland Gladiators70-35, and San Jose defeated Grand Rapids81-55.

Both teams received superb play fromtheir quarterbacks — each threw eighttouchdown passes.

And both teams relied on outstandingdefenses — each made seven stops. Soul DBEddie Moten intercepted two passes, includ-ing one in the endzone on the final play. TheSaberCats’ Omarr Smith had three of SanJose’s five interceptions, with JasonGeathers picking off the final one for agame-ending touchdown.

Each coach agreed the team that makesthe fewest turnovers would win, so a keyplay by Moten or Smith could make the dif-

ference. Don’t discount Soul DB MikeBrown, either.

Brown, who returned a kickoff for atouchdown against Cleveland, missed fivegames with an injured hamstring, and allthree of the Soul’s losses occurred duringthat time.

“He brings energy,” Munsey said. “Theguy goes 100 mph. He bangs around anddoes everything he can. He’s a fan favorite, acoach’s favorite, a teammate’s favorite. Ilove to have him out there. If we can have alot of Mike Browns, I’d love that.”

San Jose doesn’t lack for key players,either, and would receive a major boost ifWR James Roe returns from a sprained leftknee.

“Talk about guys who are selfless,” SanJose QB Mark Grieb said. “He might havefive touchdowns one game and two catchesthe next, and you wouldn’t hear him com-plain. He’s a huge part of what we do on thefield, and to have him in the lineup would bebig.”

Of course, the SaberCats probably canhandle just about anything thrown their way.That’s what championship teams do. Theylearn to adjust, to do whatever is necessaryto win.

That’s why they’re working on a dynasty.“The bottom line is they have the right

organization, coaches, owners and players,”Munsey said “They do it right and take careof their people. That’s what we’re striving todo, to find ways to win championships. Theydefinitely have a nice model for how to dothat.”

Mark Anderson covers football for the LasVegas Review-Journal and is the executivedirector of the AFL Writers Association.

Sabercats vs. Soul a fitting finish

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26 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

By RICK MATSUMOTOThe first time Willie Middlebrooks found

himself rushing back onto the field after theToronto Argonauts’ offense had been forcedto punt following two ineffective plays, hisreaction was, “Oh, OK.”

The Argos’ defense similarly held theWinnipeg Blue Bombers’ offense to twoplays and a punt, and Middlebrooksreturned to the sideline for a rest. But threeplays later, he found himself back on thefield. He recalled shrugging andonce again saying, “Alright.”

But when it happened a third con-secutive time, he was bewildered.

“I was like, what’s going on?”said the cornerback, who is among anumber of one-time NFL players makingtheir CFL debuts this season. “It was likerapid fire. There was no time to rest.”

Welcome to three-down football.Saskatchewan Roughriders general man-

ager Eric Tillman said the biggest adjust-ment he’s found for players who have grownup with the four downs of the U.S. game ishaving to adjust to the faster tempo of theCanadian game.

“Given the smaller rosters, the size of thefield, the 20-second (play) clock, the factsome starters have to play on special teams,in all, adds up to a faster pace,” he said. “Thatmeans the important factor is conditioning.

“Guys who have played a multi-numberof years in the NFL are dying in the thirdquarter up here. They’re not used to thetempo. This game is not one of size, butrather athleticism and conditioning.”

Middlebrooks, who was the 24th overall

pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2001draft, got off to an auspicious CFL startwhen he earned Defensive Player of theWeek honors in Week One after makingnine tackles and intercepting a pass inToronto’s victory vs. the Blue Bombers.

Aside from the quick pace of the Canadi-an game, Middlebrooks found out thatbecause of the smaller, 42-man game roster,he had to be prepared to play a positionother than cornerback if an injury occurred.

“In the NFL, you just pay attention toyour spot and what you have to dothere,” he said. “Here you almosthave to know what everybody doesbecause if someone goes down, youmay not have ever played that spotand you may have to go in there for

a few plays or even a quarter.”The biggest “name” ex-NFL player to

come to the CFL this season was former ProBowl WR David Boston, who also signedwith the Argos. However, he played in justone game — the season opener, when hecaught two passes for 16 yards — beforeundergoing surgery to correct a stress frac-ture in his right foot, which had plagued himsince his arrival at training camp in June.He’ll possibly be out for the season.

The Argos have three other players withsignificant NFL experience, including WRBethel Johnson, who won two Super Bowlswith the New England Patriots, mainly as akick returner; ex-Oakland Raiders WR John-nie Morant; and ex-Carolina Panthers andSan Francisco 49ers RB Jamal Robertson.Johnson, like Middlebrooks, missed Toron-to’s second and third games with injuries.Morant made his first start in Game Three

and caught a touchdown pass, while Robert-son has seen limited playing time in the pasttwo games after starting in the season open-er and scoring a pair of touchdowns.

Argos general manager Adam Rita saidex-NFL players come to the CFL for manyreasons. Some have been cut adrift becauseof off-field indiscretions. Others never fullysecured a starter’s position, and as theyapproached the NFL’s veteran player’ssalary rate and became eligible for a pen-sion, were replaced by younger, less costlyplayers.

“But in the end most come up herebecause they want to keep playing football,”said Rita. “Like David Boston; he’d play forfree. He didn’t worry about the contract.”

Rita said the inability of some players tofunction outside what he calls “the NFL cul-ture” can lead to a former NFL player’s fail-ure in the Canadian game.

“In the NFL they have a coach for everyposition,” he said. “Here you have to relymore on your own knowledge. You alsohave to have greater self-discipline. You’renot supervised both on and off the field.”

Edmonton Eskimos WR Kelly Campbellhas been the most successful of the ex-NFLers making their CFL debut this season.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder, who spentfive years south of the border with theMiami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings,turned in an electrifying performance in theEskimos’ second game of the season andfirst victory when he hauled in eight passesfor 158 yards and two TDs against the Cal-gary Stampeders.

The Eskimos are hopeful that Campbellwill cause opposing defenses to pay more

attention to him in the future, thus prevent-ing them from constantly putting doubledefenders on the team’s star receiver, JasonTucker.

While Campbell was attracting accolades,another former NFLer, RB Damien Ander-son, appears to have lost his starting runningback spot to rookie A.J. Harris.

In Calgary, former Chiefs DT Eddie Free-man is getting a new start with the Stam-peders. Also looking for a much-neededrebirth is Montreal Alouettes backup QBAdrian McPherson, who is temporarily thebackup behind veteran starter AnthonyCalvillo while regular second-stringer Mar-cus Brady is injured. McPherson’s promis-ing career at Florida State ended when hewas implicated in a forged check incidentand also faced allegations that he gambledon sports. McPherson pled no contest totheft and gambling charges in July 2003. In2005, he was drafted by the New OrleansSaints and made it just a single season withthe club.

McPherson’s not the only athlete whomade a mistake and is getting a secondchance in the CFL.

Former Oklahoma State star WR AdariusBowman was tabbed as a sure-fire 2008NFL draft pick. However, two marijuanaarrests — one less than a month before thedraft — played a role in him going undraft-ed, and he signed with the SaskatchewanRoughriders.

He’s promised to make good with his sec-ond chance, and he’s off to a good start,catching 11 passes for 160 yards and atouchdown as the Riders got off to a 4-0start for the first time since 1970.

Ex-NFL players making their mark in CFL

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The Handicapping Inner Circle also provides the picks ofthe three “experts” on the PFW television show — Hall ofFamer Dan Hampton, former Chicago Bears WR TomWaddle and PFW publisher/editor Hub Arkush. They pickevery game except those played on Thursdays, and you’llalso get their locks of the week.

You’ll want to keep track of which editor or TV experthas a hot hand. Last season one of our editors was 25games above .500 against the spread and went 184-83straight up.

For those who participate in office pools each week, the Inner Circle’s confi-dence pool picks by each editor is a valuable tool that is posted each Thursdaythrough the end of the regular season. Each editor ranks the games based on the

degree of confidence he has that a given team will itsgame.

Through Aug. 31, we’re offering an early-bird specialprice of $69.95 for a full season of the HandicappingInner Circle, including the playoffs. That’s less than $4per week. Beginning Sept. 1, the price will rise to$89.95.

To join the Handicapping Inner Circle or get moreinformation, go to ProFootballWeekly.com and click onthe PFW Inner Circle channel for details.

Stay informed.

CHECK OUT

AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 27

Giants’ Super Bowl win. But whatabout the other QB spots? Follow-ing the release of JaredLorenzen, the team has four QBson the roster: The other three areDavid Carr, who arrived from Car-olina via Houston; AnthonyWright, last year’s backup downthe stretch; and Andre’ Woodson,

this year’s sixth-round pick.Carr gained a reputation asa 9-to-5 guy who perhapsdidn’t put in as much workas he needed to, and hestruggled in his one season

with the Panthers. But he rejoinsGiants QB coach Chris Palmer,who coached Carr during his firstNFL season in Houston, and couldwin the job with his overall experi-ence. Wright has done little wrongsince joining the Giants, and hehas limited starting experience inthe league, but the Giants mightwant to upgrade. Woodson, itwould appear, will be the thirdquarterback. Though some felt hewould be drafted higher than thesixth round, his mechanics needtightening, and he must adapt to adifferent style of offense than whathe ran at Kentucky.

DALLAS COWBOYSWhen the Raiders signed former

Giants FS Gibril Wilson to a six-year, $39 million deal back inMarch, the Cowboys knew whatthey were up against when it cameto keeping their own free-agentsafety, Ken Hamlin. The teamdecided that the wise move was tofranchise Hamlin first and then

take care of would-be free-agent OLT Flozell Adams,along with getting keyextensions for CB TerenceNewman, WR TerrellOwens and RB Marion

Barber. On Tuesday, Hamlin gotwhat he was looking for — anextension that nearly mirrored Wil-son’s deal (though Hamlin, itappears, accepted slightly less inguaranteed money: $15 million,including a $9 million signingbonus, to Wilson’s $16 million).The Cowboys’ next orders of busi-ness include finishing off the sign-ings of draft picks, along with con-sidering an extension for DE ChrisCanty, the next-most logical playerthe team would like to lock up.Canty, who signed his restrictedfree-agent tender this offseason,might be on the verge of a break-out season and a big payday.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLESQuintin Mikell finished last sea-

son as the starter at strong safety,replacing an injured Sean Consi-dine, and he played admirablywell. Mikell was a regular in theEagles’ sub-packages, but he

played with good staminaand handled most of hisduties fairly well. Considinehad been the starter beforethat, but he wore down atthe end of the 2006 sea-

son, dropping below 200 poundsand raising concerns about hisability to last a full season and playphysically enough. Now Mikellenters camp as the de factostarter, but Considine should havea chance to win back the job. Itmight not be the most compelling

battle to watch in camp, becausethe two could rotate snaps relative-ly easily. But Considine will have toshow that he can be more consis-tent and not just make an occa-sional big play, which he did oftenearly in the ’06 season beforewearing down. Mikell’s lack of sizealso raises the question as towhether he can hold up long term,but his play did not level off — itactually got better as the seasonwore on.

WASHINGTON REDSKINSAs it stands now, coming off a

knee injury and entering a crowd-ed DE situation, Erasmus James— the failed former first-round pickof the Vikings who was traded toWashington for a conditional sev-enth-round draft pick — is far fromguaranteed a roster spot. Theteam hopes that James, coming

off ACL surgery last sea-son, can be in shape tocontribute at some pointthis preseason. The cau-tiously optimistic hope isthat he can be ready to play

in the final two preseason games,which would give him a chance toshow he can contribute and makethe roster. But with projectedstarters Jason Taylor (acquired ina trade after Phillip Daniels waslost for the season with a tornACL, suffered on the first day oftraining camp) and Andre Carter,plus backups Chris Wilson andDemetric Evans, two players

whom last year’s coaching staffliked, James must be impressiveand hope that the team will keepfive defensive ends on the 53-manroster, which is not far-fetched.One thing that could help Jamesrediscover his college effective-ness is a return to the weight heplayed at with Wisconsin (wherecurrent Redskins DL coach JohnPalermo worked with him). He wasin the 255- to 260-pound rangethere but bulked up to 275 poundsor more with the Vikings, and newRedskins defensive coordinatorGreg Blache is a proponent ofhaving James drop the weight, asopposed to former coordinatorGregg Williams, who liked hisends to be bigger.

N F C l N O R T H

No news is good newsin the cases ofPackers’ Jolly, Grant

A noteworthy byproduct of thecontinuing Brett Favre saga ishow completely it has been over-shadowing other potentially seri-

ous team issues — mostnotably the felony drug-pos-session charges recentlylevied against DT JohnnyJolly and the uncertaincontract status of RB Ryan

Grant, a possible no-show in train-ing came if he doesn’t, at theleast, sign a one-year, $370,000tender offer as an exclusive-rights

free agent. “Wish I could help you,”a frustrated team observer toldPFW regarding the tight lid thePackers’ organization has put onmedia relations as of late. “It’s allBrett, all the time right now.” Teamsources have thought for sometime now that a long-term deal forGrant could involve some prettydelicate negotiations, consideringthat his emergence at the pro levelis primarily based on only onehalf-season in a starting role. Thatsaid, although it could go rightdown to the wire, the smart moneyis on Grant securing a new dealbefore camp opens. Meanwhile,the suddenly uncertain status ofJolly — who could face up to 20years in prison and a $10,000 fine,if convicted, for possession ofcodeine syrup — makes an interi-or defensive line already decimat-ed by a host of injuries (includingJolly’s shoulder) an even biggercause for concern.

DETROIT LIONSThe new design of the Lions’

offense should have the TE posi-tion contributing more than it didlast season, when it was an after-

thought in the passinggame (a league-low 19receptions by true tightends) and little-used in runblocking because the Lionschose to throw so often.

The return of Dan Campbellshould be a big boost. He’s a first-class run blocker, and though he’s

coming off elbow surgery, he’sexpected to be ready to go at thestart of camp. Free-agent additionMichael Gaines arrives with a rep-utation as a good blocker, but hehas spoken often about his abilityto catch the ball and should get achance to do so in a scheme thatwill involve more passing routesthan former coordinator MikeMartz chose to utilize. CaseyFitzSimmons and Sean McHughare more H-back types (theyplayed fullback in Martz’s offensebut are considered tight endsnow), and neither is an outstand-ing blocker, but they can catch theball. Also in the mix is JohnOwens, but the team is not likelyto keep more than four at this posi-tion.

CHICAGO BEARSThe way we hear it, neither Rex

Grossman nor Kyle Orton didanything in the Bears’ minicampsand OTAs to gain any kind of edgein their battle for the starting QBjob this coming season. “There arepeople in both camps,” a veteranteam insider told PFW. “Grossmanmight have looked a little betterphysically, but nobody really knowshow things are going to pan out.”Bears offensive coordinator RonTurner recently told the team’sWeb site that the Bears plan tocontinue the same kind of rotatingevaluation process they used inthe team’s offseason practice ses-

sions up to now, withGrossman and Orton takingturns on a daily basisdirecting the first-team unitonce training camp opens.Turner also made a point of

acknowledging Grossman’simproved focus — "He’s beenlocked in, really keyed in,” Turnersaid — as well as Orton’simproved accuracy, touch andcomfort zone. Meanwhile, rumorspersist that a third challengermight enter the mix before too long— disgruntled Buccaneers QBChris Simms, who has asked forhis release by Tampa Bay. We hearit’s unlikely the Bears could consid-er a trade for Simms but that theymight be one of the first teams inline if Simms is given his outrightrelease. Bears GM Jerry Angelo,the former director of player per-sonnel in Tampa, has had hisshare of dealings with his old teamin recent times. In addition to trad-ing QB Brian Griese to TampaBay for a draft pick earlier this off-season, Angelo also pulled off atrade with the Bucs during thedraft to obtain fourth-round SCraig Steltz.

MINNESOTA VIKINGSOLT Bryant McKinnie’s hearing

for a criminal case, in which hefaces four separate charges related

to a fight outside a Miaminightclub, was continuedback in June and is sched-uled for a court date ofSept. 24 — three days afterthe Vikings face the Pan-

thers in Minnesota during WeekThree of the season. The team isaware of the situation and knows

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Take your pick: Bears QBs RexGrossman and Kyle Orton are consideredon totally equal footing heading into camp

28 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

that McKinnie, should he be foundguilty, could face punishment bythe league. In fact, McKinniealready has met with commissionerRoger Goodell on the matter, so apunishment for violation of theNFL’s personal conduct policycould come down swiftly in thiscase, especially because McKinniewould be a repeat offender if foundguilty. In that case, the Vikingswould be left to replace one of theirbetter run blockers, and there is nonatural replacement on the rosterwho possesses McKinnie’s massor talent. Artis Hicks is a jack-of-all-trades who has played left tack-

le sparingly before (in Philadelphia,when Brad Childress was theEagles’ offensive coordinator) andcould play there in a pinch. Butdon’t be surprised if either MarcusJohnson or Chase Johnson getsa chance there. Marcus Johnsonhas more experience and hasshown improvement, but don’t ruleout the massive Chase Johnson(6-8, 331 pounds) possibly being astrong option.

N F C l S O U T H

Small strides couldbolster game ofFalcons DE Anderson

After a disappointing rookie sea-son, Falcons DE Jamaal Andersonis determined to get better in Year

Two and has put a lot of work intoimproving this offseason, the waywe hear it. Anderson, the eighthoverall pick in the 2007 draft, wasunable to get a sack last season,but the coaching staff remainedpatient with him and he started all

16 games. Sources saysome of Anderson’s prob-lems stem from being a longstrider, which makes it easyfor blockers to knock him offhis course. He’ll need to do

a better job of taking short, choppysteps and has to use his handsmore to gain leverage, as well.Close observers of his in Atlantasay he wants to be good and has asolid foundation of teachers in headcoach Mike Smith and DL coachRay Hamilton, who served in thesame position with the Jaguars forthe past five years while Smithworked as Jacksonville’s defensivecoordinator.

CAROLINA PANTHERSMuch of the attention this off-

season has gone to the Panthers’retooling of their receiving corpsand running game, but a capabletrio of tight ends could make up

one of the more improvedpositions for Carolina’soffense in 2008, the way wehear it. The team hasn’t hadmuch of a threat at theposition since Wesley

Walls left after the ’02 season, butlast year Jeff King became thefirst Panthers tight end to surpass40 catches and 400 receivingyards since Walls did it in ’01. TE

Dante Rosario was added to themix as a rookie last season andshowed some eye-opening flashesin limited duty, grabbing six recep-tions for 108 yards and two touch-downs. Rookie TE Gary Barnidge,a fifth-round pick, signed his con-tract in mid-July, and some scoutsbelieve he could be an instant-impact player, particularly in thered zone, because of his greathands and 6-foot-5 frame. There isno standout in the group, but theygive the team some depth, andtheir talents should allow offensivecoordinator Jeff Davidson to getcreative with how he utilizes themin the passing game.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTSSaints TE Eric Johnson is a

strong candidate for a bounce-backyear after a disappointing debutseason in New Orleans, the waywe hear it. Sources say he’s boundto be better this time after scufflingthrough ’07 while battling a case ofthe drops, which went against thereputation he had built during thesix previous seasons with the

49ers. Word is Johnsonlooked more comfortable inthe Saints’ offense duringOTAs and is working oncarving out a more definedrole in the passing game.

The Saints clearly think he hasmore to offer than what he showedlast season, since they re-signedhim to a one-year deal in March.Nevertheless, Johnson will sharesnaps with Billy Miller and MarkCampbell, who missed all of ’07with a back injury. Campbell’sreturn could relieve Johnson ofsome pressure — he’s the team’sbest run-blocking tight end and willlikely allow Johnson to focus more

on his pass-catching duties.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERSAlthough the Bucs have given

unceremonious dismissals to a fewof their all-time greats, such asJohn Lynch and Simeon Rice, inrecent years, we hear they’regoing to let WLB Derrick Brooks,

a 14th-year veteran, go outon his own terms. His play-ing time has been trimmeda bit, as he’s replaced onpassing downs, and SLBCato June is viewed as his

heir apparent on the weak side. YetBrooks, who missed the Pro Bowlfor the first time in 11 years lastseason, won’t get a surprise pinkslip in training camp, as Rice did ayear ago. Brooks still is able tomake an impact on the field, andhe’s a valuable resource for MLBBarrett Ruud when it comes tounderstanding defensive coordina-tor Monte Kiffin’s Tampa-2scheme. Brooks has two yearsremaining on his contract, butthere is a sense from sources inTampa that he may be eyeingretirement after this season.

N F C l W E S T

Sale rumors regardingRams aren’t expectedto go away soon

Contrary to a report in theSportsBusiness Journal citingunidentified sources, Rams ownerChip Rosenbloom told the St.Louis Post-Dispatch early lastweek that he wasn’t actively seek-ing prospective buyers for theteam. Rosenbloom did confirm thatthe Rams have hired a Baltimore-based firm (Moag & Co.) that spe-

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The following quotes are from NFLscouts, coaches and front-office person-nel, speaking on condition of anonymity.

● “The misinformation out thereabout the rookie salary cap is out ofcontrol. You hear all about how muchthe rookies make, but outside of the topfour or five rookie contracts, most rook-ie deals are cap-friendly. That’s why noone wants a top-five pick anymore, butthe owners do not want the rookiestructure to go away. No one talks aboutDevin Hester and Marques Colstonand all the rookies that have outplayedtheir contracts that are stuck makingthe minimum. Anyone who looks at thenumbers will see it clearly — just lookat where the money goes. Only 3.7 per-cent of the salary cap is going to rook-ies. The owner’s problem is a distribu-tion issue. It’s not a rookie issue.”

● “The Bucs have changed theirphilosophy. They have gone from oneof the oldest teams in the league to oneof the youngest. They are going to have$70 million to spend next year. A lot ofthat has to do with the way (Bucs GM)Bruce Allen handles the cap. Heknows how to play the game.”

● “All the action is in Green Bayright now. There is not much of any-thing happening elsewhere. I don’tthink it was handled well by Ted(Thompson) and (Mike) McCarthyinitially, and I think it’s been handledpoorly by Brett (Favre). But Ted willfigure it out and live with the decisionhe makes and move on. That’s all hecan do. He’s excellent at what he does.

He will persevere. He’s as good asthere is in the business.”

● “Every pre-draft meeting in GreenBay for the last five years has startedwith one question — ‘Is Brett (Favre)coming back?’ It’s ridiculous that it’sstill an issue. (Favre) has been toyingwith the organization. How do you planto move forward when your quarter-back situation is up in the air. That’swhy Aaron Rodgers was drafted. If itwere my decision, I would trade(Favre). I would get what I can for him.Then it’s over. It’s definitive. I wouldwant it known that the Packers haveofficially moved on.”

● “Aaron Rodgers had a lot ofaudacity to tell fans, ‘Get on board orshut the hell up.’ He has not won agame in the NFL! You want to talk aboutan ironic situation to be in. (Mike)McCarthy was the lead proponent ofdrafting (Alex) Smith over (Aaron)Rodgers when he was in San Francis-co (as the offensive coordinator). Nowhe’s in Green Bay, going into the sea-son with Rodgers being the guy.McCarthy did not like Rodgers’ per-sonality at all, did not think he was aleader. He thought he was too ‘intohimself.’ I think that’s why Favre neverwarmed up to him and has never likedhim — because of those qualities.”

● ”You’d be surprised how manycoaches hate their own personnelguys. They want to tell their guys toshove it so they look good. So they willcall around — talk to their buddiesaround the league. They can’t commu-nicate with their own people. You

wouldn’t believe how many calls I getfrom coaches and scouts wanting toknow what I think. That’s the way theleague works. And the beauty of it is —do you think I’m going to be honest allthe time?”

● “When you look at coaches on therise, you still have to think the youngkid (Josh McDaniel) in New Englandis going to get a lot of interest. Yourroots mean a lot in this league, and foras much as the Patriots may have comeunder attack last season, there hasbeen no one better than BillBelichick when it comes to trainingand developing coaches.”

● “Marshawn Lynch is a study incontradictions. He has a great sense ofhumor, and he can be very kind andconsiderate, but he is a byproduct ofhis upbringing, and Oakland is tough,tough.”

● “Thomas Jones will be 30 inAugust. He’s not over the hill — notwith the way he takes care of his body.He’s a good football player. If you goback and look at the trade the Jetsmade, they look like geniuses. Thatwas a no-brainer. There was a lot of talkabout the Jets taking Darren McFad-den in the draft, but after the Raiderstook him, they didn’t even come backaround and take a running back. Whatdoes that tell you? They are happy withwhat they have. With the way theyinvested in their offensive line, ThomasJones could have a breakout year.”

● “I think (Mike) Ditka might havebeen right when he traded his draft forRicky Williams. They were turning it

around. He was a helluva football play-er. I think people are going to bepleasantly surprised with him this year.If he is half as good as he was when hewas at his best, he’ll still be better thana lot of starters. I think he’d start for uswith the way I’ve heard he’s looked.”

● “The 49ers have the talent defen-sively to be competitive, but theiroffense needs to step up. The offensiveline has a lot of question marks rightnow. And I see a very average group ofreceivers, especially from a playmak-ing standpoint. Frank Gore can rushfor 130 yards on 25 carries, but he’s notspecial and he’s injury-prone. Thereare too many questions on offense.”

● “Everyone who has helped buildthe media machine against (Bill)Belichick being a cheater — all theguys slinging the arrows in his backare the very same guys who are outtampering in free agency and talkingto other teams about contracts — andthey are all doing it. It’s collusion — it’sa big problem in the league. The com-missioner sits up in his ivory tower, try-ing to pretend all 32 teams are operat-ing on an equal playing field. The real-ity is, teams have been ignoring rulesfor so long that the rulebook does notmean a whole lot, not in a competitiveleague like we are in. I wish it were notthat way because we try to operatewithin the rules, but it’s not easy to sur-vive when the rest of the league isoperating one way and you are playingby the rules. That’s the predicamenteveryone is in.”

● “There has been very little

movement in front offices, and evenwhen there is, everyone has theirown short lists. I wouldn’t hire anyoneI haven’t worked with or don’t know.That’s just me. ...What surprised meis that the Saints, who are known forbeing notoriously cheap, actuallyfired some guys still under contract.The owner there rarely has done that.I think they are starting to listen to thehead coach more, as they should.The coaches were the ones responsi-ble for overhauling that roster. SeanPayton is in line for a big contract,especially if they get it going againthis year after solidifying the middleof their defense (through the draft).That was a big problem for them lastyear.”

● “I cannot believe the NFL will nottry to step in on behalf of the bestownership group in the league atsome point and keep the Rooneyfamily in control. The NFL does notwant to lose that, at least they should-n’t. What’s tough is that they are theones that pushed it, that tried to getgambling out of the family — and itwas the right move. It’s a delicate bal-ance (the NFL has) to strike, but theRooneys are too important to the NFLto lose. They are the model for every-one else to follow — it’s so stable.They are very consistent. I just visit-ed with the team, and old man (Dan)Rooney is looking old, but they saidhe comes in every day and is veryactive. The people in the organizationlove him. He treats everyone great.They love him.”

A U D I B L E S

Working hard: Falcons DE JamaalAnderson is determined to make strides

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AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 29

cializes in sports investments,which prompted the SportsBusi-ness report, but added that thefirm was brought on board tospecifically monitor the numeroussale inquiries that continue to clut-

ter team president JohnShaw’s desk on a regularbasis. Will Rosenbloom’slatest public comment on asale rumor that has beenquietly simmering since the

league owners meetings this pastApril put an end to the speculationthat new ownership could material-ize down the road? The way wehear it, that’s not likely to be thecase, with Rosenbloom himselfleaving the door open in hisexchange with the Post-Dispatch.“If the right person at the right timewith the right price came, I sup-pose that you might sell yourhouse, right?” Rosenbloom said. “Ifwe get a phone call today fromsomebody who says the rightthings, we would listen. And that’s

why Moag is there.” Team insidersmaintain that, although Rosen-bloom has said all the right thingssince gaining control of the teamfollowing the Jan. 18 death of hismother, Georgia Frontiere, poten-tially massive estate taxes, cou-pled with an increasingly delicatestadium issue, could possibly trig-ger an ownership change downthe road, with Rosenbloom return-ing full time to a less-taxing life asa prosperous Los Angeles-basedfilm producer.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKSWhen head coach Mike Holm-

gren caused more than a fewobservers’ eyebrows to rise nearthe end of the team’s final mini-camp with a comment that thestarting CB job opposite ProBowler Marcus Trufant was “up forgrabs,” there was instant specula-tion that the previously anonymousKevin Hobbs could become aserious challenger to incumbent

Kelly Jennings. Originally signedby Seattle as an undrafted freeagent in 2006, only to be releasedafter training camp, Hobbs was re-signed last May and ended up

splitting time between theactive roster and the prac-tice squad. In this year’sminicamps and OTAs, how-ever, he was singled out asthe team’s most improved

defender. Said one longtime teaminsider: “He really looked good andmade a lot of plays. I don’t see himbeating out Jennings, but I defi-nitely see him possibly grabbingthe ‘dime’ role from Josh Wilson,whose best plays have come fromhaving to use his athleticism torecover from all the plays he keepsmissing.”

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERSWe hear the winds of change

may be blowing briskly in the Nin-ers’ defensive backfield, with bothRCB Walt Harris and FS Mark

Roman facing increasingly seriouschallenges for the starting jobsthey held down last season withmixed success. After a careercampaign two years ago, Harris,who will turn 34 in August, reallystarted to show his age last sea-son and is expected to be lookingover his shoulder frequently intraining camp at a host of chal-

lengers, led by third-rounddraft pick Reggie Smith.“They (the Niners) wouldn’tmind a more physical pres-ence at the CB spot oppo-site Nate Clements who

can stone a guy at the line ofscrimmage, with Clements continu-ing to play mostly man coverage,”a team insider told PFW. “Smith isan ex-safety, and if he can displayenough quickness, he couldbecome the starter, although mymoney is still on Harris stayingconscientious enough to hang onto the job.” The insider was lesscertain about Roman’s ability toremain a starter, however, withsecond-year pro Dashon Goldsonemerging as arguably the mostimpressive defender in the team’sminicamps and OTAs. “He madebig hit after big hit, with a lot ofinterceptions,” the insider said ofGoldson. “And he’s got the kind ofinstincts that could make him astar player.”

ARIZONA CARDINALSEven after locking up star WR

Larry Fitzgerald with a four-year,$40 million deal earlier this off-season and putting long-termcontract talks on the back burnerwith ILB Karlos Dansby — whowill settle for an $8.065 millionone-year tender this season afterfailing to agree to a deal beforethe recent deadline for “franchise”players — Cardinals GM RodGraves still has very a full plateto deal with on the contract front.In varying degrees, three players— WR Anquan Boldin, DL Dar-nell Dockett and DE AntonioSmith — have publicly voiced dis-pleasure over their contract situa-tions since the end of the 2007

season. But there’s anotherlower-profile player on thecontract front who teaminsiders believe couldrapidly become a muchmore high-profile concern

— star S Adrian Wilson, whosecurrent contract is set to expireafter the 2009 season. Althoughteam insiders tell us the Cardinalsknow what they’ve got in Wilsonand feel confident he will be readyto go full tilt in Week One, there isa feeling in the desert that Wilsoncould have been a bit moreinvolved in the team’s minicampsand OTAs after a heel injury put ahalt to his 2007 campaign with amonth remaining in the season.“Make no mistake, Adrian defi-nitely wants to be paid, and youcould make a strong case that heshould now be first in line for anew contract,” a longtime teaminsider told PFW. “That said, he’salways been a good soldier, andit’s not in his personality to be adisruptive force in the lockerroom.” However, with Boldin’scontract situation now widelyconsidered Graves’ most urgenthurdle, the Cardinals had betterrealize that nobody will be watch-ing how they handle that situationany more closely than Wilson.

2008 NFL PRESEASONSCHEDULEAll times Eastern

Pro Football Hall of Fame Game(at Canton, Ohio)SUNDAY, AUG. 3

Indianapolis vs. Washington, 8 p.m.

Week OneTHURSDAY, AUG. 7

N.Y. Giants at Detroit, 7 p.m.N.Y. Jets at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.Baltimore at New England, 7:30 p.m.Kansas City at Chicago, 8 p.m.New Orleans at Arizona, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUG. 8San Francisco at Oakland, 7 p.m.Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.Seattle at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUG. 9Buffalo at Washington, 7 p.m.Indianapolis at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.Tampa Bay at Miami, 7:30 p.m.Atlanta at Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m.Denver at Houston, 8 p.m.St. Louis at Tennessee, 8 p.m.Dallas at San Diego, 10 p.m.

MONDAY, AUG. 11Cincinnati at Green Bay, 8 p.m.

Week TwoTHURSDAY, AUG. 14

Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo, at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.Carolina at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUG. 15Oakland at Tennessee, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUG. 16Washington at N.Y. Jets, 7 p.m.Indianapolis at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.Miami at Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m.Minnesota at Baltimore, 7:30 p.m.Arizona at Kansas City, 8 p.m.Houston at New Orleans, 8 p.m.San Diego at St. Louis, 8 p.m.Dallas at Denver, 9 p.m.Chicago at Seattle, 9 p.m.Green Bay at San Francisco, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY, AUG. 17Detroit at Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m.New England at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m.

MONDAY, AUG. 18Cleveland at N.Y. Giants., 8 p.m.

Week ThreeTHURSDAY, AUG. 21

San Francisco at Chicago, 8 p.m.FRIDAY, AUG. 22

Tennessee at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.Philadelphia at New England, 7:30 p.m.Houston at Dallas, 8 p.m.Green Bay at Denver, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUG. 23Cleveland at Detroit, 4 p.m.N.Y. Giants at N.Y. Jets, 7 p.m.Washington at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.Kansas City at Miami, 7:30 p.m.Jacksonville at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.New Orleans at Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m.Baltimore at St. Louis, 8 p.m.Pittsburgh at Minnesota, 8 p.m.Arizona at Oakland, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY, AUG. 24Buffalo at Indianapolis, 8 p.m.

MONDAY, AUG. 25Seattle at San Diego, 8 p.m.

Week FourTHURSDAY, AUG. 28

Detroit at Buffalo, 6:30 p.m.N.Y. Jets at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m.Jacksonville at Washington, 7 p.m.Cincinnati at Indianapolis, 7 p.m.New England at N.Y. Giants, 7 p.m.Atlanta at Baltimore, 7:30 p.m.Chicago at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.Minnesota at Dallas, 8 p.m.Tampa Bay at Houston, 8 p.m.Miami at New Orleans, 8 p.m.St. Louis at Kansas City, 8 p.m.Tennessee at Green Bay. 8 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUG. 29San Diego at San Francisco, 10 p.m.Denver at Arizona, 10 p.m.Oakland at Seattle, 10 p.m.

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Cardinals’ contract concerns: Adrian Wilson (left) and Karlos Dansby would prefer more lucrative long-term deals

30 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com AUGUST 2008

(As reported, June 30-July 20)

AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCEBALTIMORE — July 18: Draft choice signed: WR Mar-

cus Smith (4/106). Placed on waivers: TEs Scott Kuhn(injured/knee), Quinn Sypniewski (injured/knee); LB MikeSmith (injury settlement/shoulder).

BUFFALO — July 1: Draft choice signed: OT DemetriusBell (7/219). Placed on waivers: FB Mike Viti. July 8: Draftchoice signed: WR Steve Johnson (7/224).

CINCINNATI — July 7: Placed on waivers: DT TitusAdams, DT Michael Marquardt; CB Jerrid Gaines. July 15:Draft choice signed: DT Jason Shirley (5/145). July 17: Draftchoices signed: TE Matt Sherry (6/207); DE Angelo Craig(7/244).

DENVER — July 9: Draft choices signed: RB RyanTorain (5/139); DT Carlton Powell (5/148); LB Spencer Larsen(6/183). July 16: Draft choice signed: FB Peyton Hillis(7/227).

HOUSTON — July 16: Draft choice signed: LB XavierAdibi (4/118).

JACKSONVILLE — July 14: Draft choice signed: LBThomas Williams. July 17: Draft choice signed: CB TraeWilliams (5/159).

KANSAS CITY — July 15: Draft choice signed: WRKevin Robinson (6/182). Placed on waivers: QB DavidGreene; OG Chris McDuffie. July 16: Draft choice signed:DE Brian Johnston (7/210). July 17: Contract terminated: SGreg Wesley. July 18: Draft choice signed: S DaJuan Mor-gan (3/82).

MIAMI — July 14: Draft choice signed: DE Kendall Lang-

ford.NEW ENGLAND — June 30: Draft choice signed: LB Bo

Ruud (6/197). July 1: Placed on waivers: DB Willie Andrews.July 17: Draft choice signed: CB Jonathan Wilhite (4/129).

N.Y. JETS — July 7: Placed on waivers: WR-KR AshlanDavis; CB Kenny Patton; RB Justin Valentine. July 16: Draftchoice signed: CB Dwight Lowery (4/113). July 17: Draftchoice signed: QB Erik Ainge (5/162). Roster addition: CKyle DeVan (released by Redskins 7/10). July 18: Draftchoice signed: TE Dustin Keller (1/30). Placed on waivers:CB Jonathan Zenon.

OAKLAND — July 16: Draft choice signed: DB TyvonBranch (4/100). Placed on waivers: FB Tony Jackson. July17: Draft choice signed: WR Chaz Schilens (7/226). Placedon waivers: OT Jonathan Palmer.

PITTSBURGH — July 2: Placed on waivers: QB JaredZabransky. July 7: Draft choice signed: OT Tony Hills(4/130). July 9: Draft choice signed: LB Bruce Davis (3/88).July 14: Draft choices signed: QB Dennis Dixon (5/156); SRyan Mundy (6/194). July 15: Draft choice signed: LB MikeHumpal (6/188).

SAN DIEGO — June 30: Draft choices signed: RB Mar-cus Thomas (5/166); OT Corey Clark (7/234).

TENNESSEE — July 17: Draft choices signed: WRLavelle Hawkins (4/126); LB Stanford Keglar (4/134). Placedon waivers: CB Shirdonya Mitchell; TE Leonard Stephens.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCEARIZONA — July 9: Draft choice signed: OG Brandon

Keith (7/225). July 10: Draft choice signed: LB Chris Har-

rington (6/185). July 16: Draft choice signed: WR EarlyDoucet (3/81).

ATLANTA — July 15: Draft choice signed: LB RobertJames (5/138). July 18: Placed on waivers: WR Tony Gon-zalez.

CAROLINA — July 9: Placed on waivers: QB TaylorTharp; P Dan Zeidman. July 10: Draft choice signed: DTNick Hayden (6/181). July 15: Draft choice signed: TE GaryBarnidge (5/141). Placed on waivers: FB Breyone Evans; CBCortney Grixby; WR Damon Morton. July 16: Draft choicesigned: OG Mackenzy Bernadeau (7/250). Placed onwaivers: DE Anthony Harris. July 17: Draft choices signed:LB Dan Connor (3/74); DE Hilee Taylor (7/221).

CHICAGO — July 1: Draft choice signed: DT MarcusHarrison (3/90). July 7: Draft choices signed: WR Earl Ben-nett (3/70); CB Zackary Bowman (5/142). July 8: Draft choicesigned: RB Matt Forte (2/44). July 15: Roster addition: RBKevin Jones (released failed physical by Lions 3/13).

DALLAS — July 15: Franchise FA re-signed: S KenHamlin.

DETROIT — July 14: Draft choice signed: DE Cliff Avril.MINNESOTA — June 30: Placed on waivers: S Marcus

Griffin; CB Travis Key. July 2: Placed on waivers: QB KyleWright.

NEW ORLEANS — July 1: Roster additions: C RobHunt (released by Chiefs 9/2; New Orleans-Arena Football’08); OG Isaiah Ross (New Orleans-Arena Football ’08).Placed on waivers: DT Marquay Love; OT Carnell Stewart.July 15: Draft choice signed: DT DeMario Pressley (5/144).Placed on waivers: WR Titus Ryan. July 18: Placed onwaivers: DE Jeremy Geathers; QB Travis Lulay; CB Anwar

Phillips.N.Y. GIANTS — July 15: Draft choice signed: WR Mario

Manningham (3/95).PHILADELPHIA — July 2: Draft choice signed: DE

Bryan Smith (3/80).ST. LOUIS — July 16: Draft choice signed: WR Keenan

Burton (4/128).SAN FRANCISCO — July 1: Placed on waivers: OG

John Booker; LB Shaun Richardson. July 7: Assigned onwaivers: QB Kyle Wright from Vikings. July 8: Placed onwaivers: QB Drew Olson. July 11: Draft choice signed: LBLarry Grant (7/214). July 15: Placed on waivers: DE MelvinOliver. July 16: Draft choice signed: OG Chilo Rachal (2/39).July 17: Draft choice contract disapproved: OG ChiloRachal (2/39).

SEATTLE — July 16: Draft choice signed: FB OwenSchmitt (5/163). July 18: Draft choice signed: DT RedBryant (4/121). Placed on waivers: RB Dan Curran.

TAMPA BAY — July 15: ERFA re-signed: OT DonaldPenn.

WASHINGTON — July 9: Placed on waivers: DE TommyDavis; C Kyle DeVan; QB Sam Hollenbach. July 14: Draftchoices signed: WR Malcolm Kelly (2/51); QB Colt Brennan(6/186). Placed on waivers: DE Dorian Smith. July 15: Draftchoices signed: OT Chad Rinehart (3/96); P Durant Brooks(6/168). July 17: Placed on waivers: TE Pete Schmitt. July18: Draft choice signed: WR Devin Thomas (2/34).

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FIRST-ROUND RUNDOWNTo more accurately reflect the actual value of first-round rookie contracts, Pro Football Weekly revamped the way in which it presents that information last season. As shown in the table below for 2007 first-round picks, the four new categories (left to right) indi-

cate: (1) contract length in years; (2) actual guaranteed money after options; (3) total five-year value based upon achieving minimum playing-time thresholds; and (4) maximum contract value — if all incentives are met. The five-year value is considered a more real-istic total-earning figure, given that many incentives will not be met and a rookie contract will likely be ripped up and redone prior to the final year of the deal. PFW’s ’08 signing list will include more detailed contract breakdowns beginning in the next issue.

1. QB JaMARCUS RUSSELL / Oak. Sept. 11 6 $32.0 mil. $54.5 mil. $68.0 mil.2. WR CALVIN JOHNSON / Det. Aug. 3 6 $27.2 mil. $36.9 mil. $64.0 mil.3. OT JOE THOMAS / Cle. July 26 5 $23.0 mil. $33.5 mil. $42.5 mil.4. DE GAINES ADAMS /T.B. July 26 5 $19.3 mil. $26.0 mil. $45.0 mil.5. OT LEVI BROWN / Ari. Aug. 2 6 $22.9 mil. $22.9 mil. $62.0 mil.6. FS LaRON LANDRY /Was. July 30 5 $17.5 mil. $22.0 mil. $41.5 mil.7. RB ADRIAN PETERSON / Min. July 29 5 $17.0 mil. $22.5 mil. $40.5 mil.8. DE JAMAAL ANDERSON / Atl. July 25 5 $15.4 mil. $19.2 mil. $30.9 mil.9. WR TED GINN JR. / Mia. July 27 5 $14.1 mil. $17.5 mil. $21.8 mil.

10. DT AMOBI OKOYE / Hou. July 27 5 $12.8 mil. $15.4 mil. $17.6 mil.11. LB PATRICK WILLIS / S.F. July 29 5 $12.0 mil. $14.4 mil. $16.7 mil.12. RB MARSHAWN LYNCH / Buf. July 26 5 $10.3 mil. $13.3 mil. $18.9 mil.13. DT-DE ADAM CARRIKER / St.L. July 27 5 $9.3 mil. $12.8 mil. $14.3 mil.14. CB DARRELLE REVIS / NYJ Aug. 15 6 $14.0 mil. $21.0 mil. $36.0 mil.15. OLB LAWRENCE TIMMONS / Pit. July 22 5 $8.3 mil. $11.9 mil. $15.0 mil.16. DT JUSTIN HARRELL / G.B. July 27 5 $8.1 mil. $11.8 mil. $14.5 mil.17. DE JARVIS MOSS / Den. July 28 5 $8.1 mil. $11.5 mil. $15.0 mil.18. CB LEON HALL / Cin. July 28 5 $8.2 mil. $11.0 mil. $13.6 mil.19. S MICHAEL GRIFFIN /Ten. July 27 5 $8.2 mil. $10.5 mil. $13.3 mil.20. CB AARON ROSS / NYG July 27 5 $8.0 mil. $10.0 mil. $13.5 mil.21. FS REGGIE NELSON / Jax. July 27 5 $7.2 mil. $9.8 mil. $13.4 mil.22. QB BRADY QUINN / Cle. Aug. 7 5 $7.8 mil. $9.3 mil. $30.0 mil.23. WR DWAYNE BOWE / K.C. Aug. 5 5 $6.5 mil. $9.0 mil. $11.8 mil.24. CB-FS BRANDON MERIWEATHER / N.E. July 28 5 $6.3 mil. $8.8 mil. $11.5 mil.25. LB JON BEASON / Car. Aug. 5 5 $6.3 mil. $8.3 mil. $11.4 mil.26. OLB ANTHONY SPENCER / Dal. July 26 5 $6.4 mil. $9.0 mil. $9.0 mil.27. WR ROBERT MEACHEM / N.O. July 24 5 $5.7 mil. $8.2 mil. $11.3 mil.28. OT JOE STALEY / S.F. July 16 5 $5.5 mil. $7.9 mil. $10.7 mil.29. OG BEN GRUBBS / Bal. July 27 5 $5.5 mil. $7.9 mil. $10.6 mil.30. WR CRAIG DAVIS / S.D. July 23 5 $5.4 mil. $7.8 mil. $11.1 mil.31. TE GREG OLSEN / Chi. July 3 5 $5.4 mil. $7.8 mil. $10.7 mil.32. WR ANTHONY GONZALEZ / Ind. July 26 5 $5.4 mil. $7.5 mil. $10.3 mil.

DATE REAL GUARANTEED 5-YEAR MAX VALUEPK POS/PLAYER/TEAM SIGNED YEARS AFTER OPTIONS VALUE W/ INCENTIVES

2007 FIRST-ROUNDUnofficial through Sunday, July 20

PK. TEAM PLAYER DATE SIGNED — TERMS1. Dolphins OT JAKE LONG April 21 — 5 yrs., up to $57.75 mil. ($30 mil. guaranteed)2. Rams DE CHRIS LONG July 20 — 6 yrs., terms undisclosed3. Falcons QB MATT RYAN May 20 — 6 yrs., up to $72 mil. ($34.75 mil. guaranteed)4. Raiders RB DARREN MCFADDEN June 6 — 6 yrs., up to $60 mil. ($26 mil. guaranteed)5. Chiefs DT GLENN DORSEY6. Jets DE VERNON GHOLSTON7. Saints DT SEDRICK ELLIS8. Jaguars DE DERRICK HARVEY9. Bengals OLB KEITH RIVERS

10. Patriots ILB JEROD MAYO11. Bills CB LEODIS MCKELVIN12. Broncos OT RYAN CLADY13. Panthers RB JONATHAN STEWART14. Bears OT CHRIS WILLIAMS15. Chiefs OG BRANDEN ALBERT16. Cardinals CB DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE17. Lions OT GOSDER CHERILUS18. Ravens QB JOE FLACCO July 16 — 5 yrs., up to $30 mil. ($8.75 mil. guaranteed)19. Panthers OT JEFF OTAH20. Buccaneers CB AQIB TALIB21. Falcons OT SAM BAKER22. Cowboys RB FELIX JONES23. Steelers RB RASHARD MENDENHALL24. Titans RB CHRIS JOHNSON25. Cowboys CB MIKE JENKINS26. Texans OT DUANE BROWN27. Chargers CB ANTOINE CASON28. Seahawks DE LAWRENCE JACKSON29. 49ers DT KENTWAN BALMER30. Jets TE DUSTIN KELLER July 18 — 5 yrs., up to $8.5 million (about $6 mil. guaranteed)

Patriots (pick forfeited)31. Giants SS KENNY PHILLIPS

2008 FIRST-ROUND

AUGUST 2008 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY ■ http://www.profootballweekly.com 31

THE

SLAN

TBULLPEN BREAKDOWN:

Warner No. 1 in PFW’s 2008 backup QB rankingsI’m sure you’re all aware by now that Peyton Man-

ning, whose 160 consecutive regular-season starts repre-sent the longest streak among active quarterbacks(unless, of course, “you know who” ever gets around toofficially unretiring), is on the shelf for up to six weeksafter undergoing minor surgery on his left knee.

Although the Colts appear confident Manning will beback to full strength before the opening gun sounds forthe season, the prospect, however faint, of backup JimSorgi being forced to line up under center is a scarythought very much worth considering in a sport so large-ly dictated by the dreaded injury bug.

Enter PFW’s exclusive 2008 backup QB ratings, anadmittedly ambitious undertaking laden with intriguingX-factors that attempts to rank the league’s projected No.1 relief pitchers, from best to worst.

Please note that players classified as “ideal backupfits” based on recent performance (i.e., Sage Rosenfels,Todd Collins) are as likely to get a high ranking as play-ers who are widely considered by pro scouts to havemore pure starter’s potential, both this coming seasonand beyond.

Comments on each player (see accompanying chart forrankings) follow:

Kurt Warner / Cardinals — A year older, but comingoff best season since league MVP campaign in 2001,throwing the second-most TD passes in franchise historyin only 11 starts last season. If Matt Leinart falters,offense shouldn’t miss a beat.

Chad Pennington / Jets — Previously a very solidstarter with top-notch field vision and intelligence.Depleted arm strength could make him best-suited for abackup role. A locker room leader who still commandsrespect. Appears tailor-made to take the reins if need be.

Sage Rosenfels / Texans — Made strong case forstarting role last season, throwing six more TD passesthan Matt Schaub in two fewer games. Gets rid of ballquickly and hits receivers in stride. A cross betweenpotential starter and the backup he’s always been.

Todd Collins / Redskins — Made his presence feltand opened a lot of eyes replacing Jason Campbell latelast season. Good smarts, touch and release make him anexcellent insurance policy, but it remains to be seen howhe’ll react to new system under Jim Zorn.

Brian Griese / Buccaneers — A proven commodity inJon Gruden’s system, some evaluators think he’ll bestarting by year’s end. Luke McCown, who could be atop backup on a lot of teams, and Josh Johnson provideplentiful depth.

Rex Grossman / Bears — Being short and slow-foot-ed is a terrible combo, and his inconsistency is well doc-umented. But fact he took team to Super Bowl deserveshigh ranking.

J.P. Losman / Bills — Based on physical tools, hecould be at the top of the list. Has stronger arm and betterspeed than Trent Edwards. Leadership skills and intangi-bles leave a lot to be desired, but there’s no denying histalent.

Seneca Wallace / Seahawks — Was 2-2 as starter inplace of injured Matt Hasselbeck in 2006. An intriguingNo. 2 option with excellent athleticism. Throws the ballmuch better than people give him credit for. No. 3 Char-lie Frye (19 pro starts) adds excellent extra insurance.

Billy Volek / Chargers — Proved his mettle convinc-ingly replacing Philip Rivers in playoff win over Indy.Has never shown he could be “the guy,” but is extremelywell-suited for backup duty.

Matt Cassel / Patriots — Very underestimated. Patsdrafted Kevin O'Connell highly because they don’t thinkthey’ll be able to keep Cassel in free agency next year.Has everything except experience. Could be NFL startera la Matt Schaub in another year.

Trent Green / Rams — Concussion issues keep himfrom getting higher ranking. Said to now have clean bill ofhealth, but … A natural leader who will push Marc Bulger.Knows Al Saunders’ system like the back of his hand.

Shaun Hill / 49ers — Ideal backup who can getthrough a game but won’t win a game for you. Had com-pletion percentage near .700 and 5-1 TD-interceptionratio in last three games in ’07.

Matt Moore / Panthers — Carolina feels very stronglyabout him; they believe he’s almost like a Tony Romo in

training. Has an elastic arm and a lot of moxie. Didn’tget any favors from O-line last season.

Kerry Collins / Titans — Has stronger arm thanVince Young and is better-equipped for vertical passinggame. Slow feet get him in trouble, but as long as he hasprotection, can still do some damage.

Kyle Boller / Ravens — Has first-round tools but mar-ginal accuracy and decision-making skills. For whateverreason, just hasn’t figured it out yet at pro level. No. 3QB Troy Smith could be intriguing wild card.

Cleo Lemon / Jaguars — Ex-Dolphin is considered anupgrade over Quinn Gray. Led Miami to only win lastyear. Still developing and has a chance. Just needs tokeep seeing live bullets.

Brady Quinn / Browns — Might deserve higher rank-ing, even though still green. The one shot he had lastyear, he drove the team right down the field. More talent-ed than Derek Anderson. All he needs is opportunity.

Matt Ryan / Falcons — Would think Falcons wantChris Redman to begin the season under center and letnew face of franchise develop less rapidly. Less-pres-sured backup role could serve No. 3 overall pick well,but will not be a backup for long.

Brian Brohm / Packers — Has really impressedcoaches with his accuracy and consistency heading intotraining camp, in addition to how well he has taken totricky playbook. Has real upside.

Kevin Kolb / Eagles — McNabb’s heir apparent stillneeds more time to groom, having come from Houston’s“Fun n’ Gun” system in the college ranks. A.J. Feeleystill could figure prominently in mix.

John Beck / Dolphins — Smart guy but still a pupwith limited overall tools.

Gus Frerotte / Vikings — So-so as Rams’ backup last

season, especially in five-interception, four-sack fiascovs. Baltimore. Could get challenge from Brooks Bollingerand rookie John David Booty.

Damon Huard / Chiefs — Declining rapidly but hashad his moments in relief role before.

Charlie Batch / Steelers — Well-versed in system butdribbled down leg last year in limited opportunity.

Brad Johnson / Cowboys — Turns 40 in September.Arm strength fading fast. No wonder Chris Simmsrumors still resonate in “Big D.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick / Bengals — Fizzled quickly in St.Louis, but Harvard grad has ideal intelligence and stillhas upside.

David Carr / Giants — Talk about fading fast. Onlyreason Carr is with Giants is because of Chris Palmer.Carolina couldn’t get rid of him quickly enough. Can’ttake a hit and panics under pressure. Could be chal-lenged to even make final roster.

Patrick Ramsey / Broncos — Also panics under pres-sure. Has never seized opportunities when he’s had them,and has yet to see much game time in Denver under MikeShanahan.

Jim Sorgi / Colts — A system QB who’s always beenjust another guy. Manning’s injury should enable Sorgito get more work in training camp, but Colts are up acreek if he ends up having to start.

Andrew Walter / Raiders — Fire-baller with limitedability. Has not shown he could be the guy. MarquesTuiasosopo, who has returned to Oakland after stint withJets, could ace Walter out.

Dan Orlovsky / Lions — Considered a safer optionthan Drew Stanton, Orlovsky is ordinary at best.

Mark Brunell / Saints — New Orleans is no countryfor old man who has lost his arm strength and mobility.

DAN ARKUSH EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Forks in the roadWhen assessing PFW’s 2008 backup QB rankings,

please take into account the very real possibility of replace-ment parts on the following 11 teams:

ARIZONA — If designated starter Matt Leinart is slow out ofthe gate again this season, Kurt Warner could very quicklyregain the starting role.

N.Y. JETS — Third-year pro Kellen Clemens is considered tohave only a slight edge over incumbent Chad Penningtonheading into camp.

CHICAGO — PFW’s projection of Kyle Orton as the starterover Rex Grossman is based on a gut hunch as much asanything, with the Bears having declared a dead heat enter-ing training camp.

BUFFALO — Projected starter Trent Edwards has his shareof admirers, but the more naturally talented J.P. Losmancould see early playing time if Edwards falters.

SAN FRANCISCO — Even though PFW suspects differently,the Niners keep insisting Alex Smith, Shaun Hill and evenJ.T. O’Sullivan will be involved in a wide-open competition forthe starting role.

BALTIMORE — It would hardly be a shock if the Ravenseventually decide to ease first-rounder Joe Flacco into thepicture and let Kyle Boller start the season under center.

ATLANTA — Banking on Chris Redman to start the seasonis risky business, with first-rounder Matt Ryan and Joey Har-rington also making their presences felt.

GREEN BAY — Suffice it to say Brett Favre has created afluid situation with no easy answers.

PHILADELPHIA — Despite the fact he threw seven intercep-tions in the two games Donovan McNabb missed last sea-son, veteran A.J. Feeley could still beat out Kevin Kolb as thebackup after all is said and done.

MIAMI — Erstwhile journeyman Josh McCown, who almostcut his index finger off in a recent chainsaw accident, ratesonly slight edge over John Beck. Chad Henne waits in wings.

DETROIT — There are many in league circles who believeDrew Stanton, who lost most of his rookie season to a kneeinjury, was drafted too high to be the No. 3 guy behind theforgettable Dan Orlovsky.

— DAN ARKUSH

RANKING THE RELIEVERSEXP. ’07 GP/GS

1. KURT WARNER / CARDINALS 11 14/11 2. CHAD PENNINGTON / JETS 9 9/8 3. SAGE ROSENFELS / TEXANS 8 9/5 4. TODD COLLINS / REDSKINS 13 4/3 5. BRIAN GRIESE / BUCCANEERS 11 7/66. REX GROSSMAN / BEARS 6 8/7 7. J.P. LOSMAN / BILLS 5 8/78. SENECA WALLACE / SEAHAWKS 6 9/0 9. BILLY VOLEK / CHARGERS 9 5/0

10. MATT CASSEL / PATRIOTS 4 6/011. TRENT GREEN / RAMS 15 5/5 12. SHAUN HILL / NINERS 7 3/2 13. MATT MOORE / PANTHERS 2 9/314. KERRY COLLINS / TITANS 14 6/1 15. KYLE BOLLER / RAVENS 6 12/8 16. CLEO LEMON / JAGUARS 5 9/7 17. BRADY QUINN / BROWNS 2 1/0 18. MATT RYAN / FALCONS R 0/019. BRIAN BROHM / PACKERS R 0/0 20. KEVIN KOLB / EAGLES 2 1/0 21. JOHN BECK / DOLPHINS 2 5/4 22. GUS FREROTTE / VIKINGS 15 8/3 23. DAMON HUARD / CHIEFS 12 11/10 24. CHARLIE BATCH / STEELERS 11 7/125. BRAD JOHNSON / COWBOYS 17 16/026. RYAN FITZPATRICK / BENGALS 4 1/0 27. DAVID CARR / GIANTS 7 6/428. PATRICK RAMSEY / BRONCOS 7 2/0 29. JIM SORGI / COLTS 5 4/0 30. ANDREW WALTER / RAIDERS 4 1/0 31. DAN ORLOVSKY / LIONS 4 0/032. MARK BRUNELL / SAINTS 16 0/0

— DAN ARKUSH

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