Deep Posts: More good news for the Vikings

--Now that Brett Favre(notes) has kinda/sorta announced that he is still thinking about playing (unless of course, he doesn't), and he might be motivated by an NFC Championship rematch against the New Orleans Saints (unless, of course, he isn't), there is still more good news for the Minnesota Vikings. The Minnesota Court of Appeals has rejected the NFL's petition to expedite the StarCaps case of defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams(notes), which virtually guarantees that the Williams Wall will be in uniform for the 2010 season.

The NFL was told that it has not demonstrated that the four-game suspensions for alleged use of the banned StarCaps diuretic should be given special priority, and the league really doesn't have a case here. Remember, this is the same NFL that knew the results of Brian Cushing's drug test in September, and let him play all season through the appeals process. If the Williamses are in need of a precedent (though it doesn't sound like they will be), they could start right there.

--Saints coach Sean Payton has some very interesting recollections of post-Super Bowl celebrations (at least, what he can remember of them) in his new book.

Basically, we were up all night. And why not? There was no next game to worry about. And God knows, we'd waited long enough for this. Four years since I'd gotten to New Orleans - 42 years, five months and 18 days since John Gilliam's opening run. As we toasted the team, the city and ourselves, we knew we still had some celebrating in front of us. No one seemed eager to call it an early night ...

... "Have you ever seen the movie, "The Hangover," where the guy is asking, "How did this lion (actually tiger) get here? Where did my tooth go? Isn't that Mike Tyson? That was (the Monday after the Super Bowl) for me."

In my mind, Payton's the NFL's best coach, and it sounds as if he's a pretty captivating storyteller, as well.

--Props to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio for breaking the story that Panthers receiver Steve Smith was actually playing in an adult flag football tournament when he broke his arm, and not in the camp-for-kids story that was floated by other sources for a while. In the aftermath, Smith explained that his love for the game was at the root of his taking a risk that will not keep him out of the picture through training camp.

"If you get out of your little shallow box, you would understand it's more than just money for me in this game," Smith told radio station WFNZ-AM. "This is what I grew up playing, and it was my offseason. Until freaking Father's Day, nothing had happened."

From now on, the 31-year-old Smith will be more restrained. "I'm going to sit in my bubble. That's what I'm going to do for the rest of my career. That would be better for everybody."

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Related: Brett Favre, , Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints

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NFL Lawyer: Vick not involved in shooting Giants rookie S Jones hurt in car crash Gailey still not naming Bills' No. 1 QB Favre: I'd love to beat Saints in opener WR Smith regrets flag football injury Ruling could clear 2 Vikings to play Ravens, CB Harris agree to 1-year deal Lawrence Taylor indicted on rape charges Haynesworth says he will be at camp Ravens agree to terms with QB Bulger More NFL News 11 Comments Post a Comment

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Deep Posts: Will Elvis leave the building?

Here are a few NFL items to mull over while realizing that yes, this is exactly what Rex Ryan throwing a baseball should look like...

-- Oh, great sweet hot flaming death. Having alienated and jettisoned every single one of their offensive playmakers from the pre-Josh McDaniels era, the Denver Broncos are now threatening to reduce Elvis Dumervil's(notes) $3.168 million restricted free agent tag to about $600,000 (10 percent more than what he made last year) if he doesn't sign the one-year tender by next Monday. Next: the inevitable McDaniels standoff, followed by the trade or release of the best pass rusher in the NFL. Then, McDaniels can get on with the business of trading Ryan Clady(notes) and the deed to Invesco Field for a third-round draft pick in 2014.

-- Other contract issues: The New Orleans Saints vs. running back Pierre Thomas; and the San Diego Chargers vs. receiver Vincent Jackson(notes) and left tackle Marcus McNeill(notes). Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, whose usual stance on player negotiations is just this side of McDaniels, went out and signed veteran tackle Tra Thomas to replace McNeil for whatever length of time McNeill might hold out. My buddy Gregg Rosenthal put the Pierre Thomas(notes) situation most succinctly:

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Deep Posts: The UFL draft, and the case for replay

In case you didn't notice (and you probably didn't), the UFL Draft took place yesterday. Among those players selected were veteran NFL tackle Shawn Andrews(notes), and a defensive end from Purdue by the name of "Cheeky Okeefer", who may be related to ex-Purdue defensive end Chike Okeafor(notes), who has played for the 49ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals. The first overall pick was DeWayne White(notes), who put up 27 sacks in seven NFL seasons. The expansion Omaha Nighthawks got all three players, leaving them in the catbird seat as the UFL's next dynasty (if any of these guys actually suit up). We're assuming the only reason LenDale White(notes) wasn't drafted was that he couldn't be bothered to register.

The origin of Mike Nolan's departure from his role as the Denver Broncos' defensive coordinator was a series of run blitzes he sent against the Colts in Week 13. Nolan, who engineered one of the biggest defensive turnarounds of the last two decades, learned what everyone else already knew - if you land on Josh McDaniels' hot list for any reason, you're going bowling elsewhere. Nolan's now in Miami, and has been replaced in Denver by the more obedient Don "Wink" Martindale. We can't make this stuff up.

Patriots receiver Wes Welker is way ahead of schedule in his rehab, having undergone ACL surgery just four months ago. He was on the field for New England's Wednesday OTAs, making cuts on the field and taking his knee brace off without a care afterward. It's welcome news for the fanbase of a team that seems to be drifting away from the idea of Tom Brady(notes) as an ongoing concern.

In a 1998 game between the Seahawks and Jets, the inability of Phil Luckett's crew to tell the difference between Vinny Testaverde's(notes) helmet and a football brought about the return of instant replay to the NFL. Should the Jim Joyce blown call that denied Armando Galarraga a perfect game be the same type of clarion call for Major League Baseball? Yahoo's own Jeff Passan thinks so, and I agree. Umps have less to watch on a play-by-play basis than football referees of any stripe, and if they're still blowing calls of that magnitude, something has to be done. And as Joe West has displayed, some of these guys need a lesson in humility -- though it's worth mentioning that Joyce himself has handled his mistake as responsibly as it is possible to do.

Related: LenDale White, Tom Brady, Denver Broncos

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NFL Peyton, Sanders healthy for mini-camp Big Ben thankful for 'second chance' Disgruntled Jets CB Revis skips practice Jets' Sanchez confident before minicamp Bills RB Lynch seen at team headquarters Ravens ink ex-Bengals K Graham for 1 yr. Steelers K Reed: NFL ordered evaluation Falcons' Ojinnaka suspended for opener Payton expects Shockey to play at camp Tribune Co. stations to air 6 games More NFL News 9 Comments Post a Comment

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Deep Posts: Man-coverage beaters, contract issues, and 49ers relocation?

Believe it or not, there's enough going on in pro football for a link dump on June 1! Here's what's happening around the interwebs...

In his always-intriguing "Inside the Playbook" series, Matt Bowen of the National Football Post details how to beat Cover-1 pressure coverage with the use of motion and formation. Cards head coach Ken Whisenhunt took a love for trips and bunch formations from his days as Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator, and few teams run more trips/bunch these days than the Cardinals. Will this change under a more run-heavy offense led by Matt Leinart(notes)? Stay tuned ... but it's worth mentioning that the Steelers have developed some neat run-blocking stuff out of bunch formations.

In Detroit, there's talk that Ndamukong Suh's contract situation could get a bit complex. The agents for Suh, the second player taken overall and the best player in the 2010 draft class, are playing hardball through the press - they're going to want offensive tackle money for the stud defensive tackle. Last season, that meant $33 million guaranteed for St. Louis' Jason Smith(notes), the second overall pick. The Lions have enjoyed two very solid drafts in a row, and Suh is a potential once-in-a-decade defensive playmaker. Here's betting that the Lions, whose head coach Jim Schwartz probably sees Suh as the Albert Haynesworth(notes)-style disruptor he had as Tennessee's defensive coordinator, get the deal done in time for training camp.

Speaking of contract issues, there's the impending free agency of Rams safety O.J. Atogwe. You may not have heard much about Atogwe because the Rams have been 100 different kinds of horrible over the last few years, but he's the team's best defensive player. What the Rams now have to decide is whether to offer Atogwe a maximum tender which would equate to 110 percent of his 2009 salary (that' about $7 million), sign him to a long-term deal, or cut him loose. Atogwe will turn 29 on June 23, and he's had a few injury red flags. But if the Rams want to pull their franchise out of the doldrums, they can't start losing their most gifted defensive players after several ill-advised defensive draft picks. If the Rams don't give Atogwe the high tender by midnight tonight, the low tender they already gave him will expire and he'll be a free agent. Team of interest here? The San Francisco 49ers. Atogwe is dating the daughter of Niners head coach Mike Singletary.

Could those 49ers be moving to Los Angeles if they don't get a new stadium in the Bay Area? Yes, another franchise is using Smog City, USA as a holdup threat to politicians and taxpayers. Matt Maiocco of csnbayarea.com says that it would never happen, but Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News says that the first step would be the York family insisting that a team sale would be inevitable without a new stadium. If that's the case, there's no specific obligation to sell the team to a local buyer, and that's where things could get interesting. Tim Leiweke, brother of Seahawks CEO Tod, is part of a group trying to put together a plan to build a privately-financed stadium near the Staples Center, which is owned by the Leiweke-run AEG. Of course, Leiweke is familiar with the dual concepts of relocation and getting what one wants - he helped broker the deal that brought Pete Carroll from USC to Seattle.

Related: Jason Smith, Albert Haynesworth, San Francisco 49ers

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