Pro Football Talk

Giants TE Jeremy "Just Because I Look Stupid Doesn't Mean I'm Not" Shockey missed practice again on Friday, after reinjuring his knee on Monday night while running pre-game pass patterns without his brace.

Former Bears OT Blake Brockermeyer is suing team doctors for their handling of a shoulder injury he suffered during the 2001 season, raising once again the oddball loyalties of doctors who treat players at the behest of a franchise that wants them on the field.

Browns coach Butch Davis wouldn't commit to bringing back RB William Green immediately after his four-game suspension expires on Monday: "Unfortunately, since he's been gone, we've spent so much time focusing on what's going on here that we'll deal with that after this game is over with."

Eagles WR James Thrash is questionable for Sunday after injuring his thumb in practice on Friday.

The Raiders have failed to sell out the Black Hole for the 47th time in 70 games since they returned to Oakland.

Dolphins CB Jamar Fletcher suffered a broken arm against the Cowboys on Thursday, and could be out for the year.

The Redskins will break out the retro unis on Sunday, with the 60s-era spear logo replacing the profile of Chief Jay Strongbow on the players' helmets.

Add DE Trace Armstrong to the list of Oakland octogenarians who likely won't be back in 2004 -- and he definitely won't play again in 2003 after being placed on IR.

The deactivation of WR Keyshawn Johnson by the Bucs apparently has gotten the attention of teammate Warren Sapp: "You know, it used to be when you were a big player and you knew you had a spot on the team you always said, 'What are they going to do, cut me?' But, you can't say that no more."

Despite an initial projection that he would miss two games, Steelers C Jeff Hartings says he might play on Sunday despite a sprained MCL.

The Lions are 1-6 since 1995 in the game immediately after their Thanksgiving Day appearance.

The Jags will sport black-on-black unis when they square off against the Bucs on Sunday night.

A league source tells us that, despite a disappointing season in New York (which at times had the team teetering on implosion), coach Herm Edwards and G.M. Terry Bradway likely will return in 2004.

But there will be chances, per the source. Certain scouts and other front-office types probably won't be retained, and Edwards almost certainly will be instructed to usher in some new assistant coaches. Obviously, if either Bradway or Edwards balk at the coming moves, they might be faced with a tough choice -- stay and submit, or move on.

For Edwards, it ain't a bad result. After getting into a public piss-fest with owner Woody "My First Name is a Euphemism for the Same Thing as My Last Name" Johnson, we figured that Edwards would be long gone. The fact that the team generally has underachieved doesn't help, either.

But, for now, it looks like Edwards will return for a fourth year -- and that the only New York team looking for a new coach come January will be the Giants.

Word around the league is that the Oakland Raiders are poised to sever ties with a gaggle of geezers, including quarterback Rich Gannon, linebacker Bill Romanowski, safety Rod Woodson, and possibly receiver Jerry Rice.

The concern is that the Raiders already have held for far too long onto too many players who are long in the tooth. If, as all indications suggest, coach Bill Callahan will be supplanted next season, his successor will be far more likely to develop guys who'll be around for more than a year or so.

Tim Brown's name was omitted from the list, likely because he has been with the Raiders since his rookie season.

Word is that the market for receiver Keyshawn Johnson could be slim in 2004. Several personnel execs tell us that Meshawn "won't be missed," describing him as overrated and lacking good hands.

"This guys is a figment of the media," said one league insider. "Way too much hype."

Johnson remains under contract with Tampa. The Bucs have explained that they intend to trade or release him after the 2003 season.

Johnson already has been linked to the Jets, which are thin at receiver after the departure of Laveranues Coles. With Wayne Chrebet suffering from post-concussion syndrome, it's possible that he might not be back with the Jets in 2004.

Our guess is that a team like the Cardinals might be interested. After all, they're straining for ways to put asses on the aluminum, and a mediocre player with name recognition is far better than a mediocre player whom no one knows.

Shame on us for not noticing earlier this week that the Redskins had signed free-agent offensive lineman Kenyatta Jones.

Jones was arrested for assault in October, after throwing scalding water on his roommate, Mark Paul, leaving him with second-and-third-degree burns. The Patriots, who drafted Jones in 2001, abruptly released him.

So Vinny "Turd Collector" Cerrato reeled in Jones, who joins a roster including guys like Darrell "GHB and VHS" Russell, Laveranues "Discount Clothing" Coles, Bruce "I'm Not Selfish Now Shut Up and Let Me Get My Sack Record" Smith, and Byron "I Didn't Know Much About Him But He Was Available" Chamberlain.

Should it surprise us, then, that the Redskins already are being linked to Warren Sapp? Hell, they'll probably throw an offer together for Meshawn and/or Corey Dillon before next season starts.

Though talent moves the chains, character matters in the NFL. The Redskins don't get it -- unless they're planning to option out a reality series that could make Playmakers look like the Wiggles.

One final point on this transaction: We're a bit shocked that the Bucs, who also have shown an affinity for sniffing around problem children, weren't interested in Jones.

The NFL fined Vikings WR Randy Moss $5,000 for spiking the football at the feet of Lions DB Dre' Bly last Sunday; the Packers should fine QB Brett Favre $50,000 for throwing the ball straight at Bly's chest twice on Thanksgiving.

The Jags parted ways with LB Keith Mitchell, who missed most of the season due to injury.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan admits that signing DT Daryl Gardener was "a bad decision", and Shanny hinted that the team might try to recoup some of Gardener's signing bonus.

Jags coach Jack Del Rio says that QB Byron Leftwich will start on Sunday against the Bucs, after Del Rio publicly mused about benching his rookie first-rounder (hey, Jack -- why not just invite Byron to come over to your house to chop some wood?).

Giants coach Jim Fassell and KR Brian Mitchell continue to snipe at each other regarding Mitchell's belief that he's a scapegoat for problems on the special teams -- and Mitchell's decision to share his views with the media.

The Lions and retired RB Barry Sanders are mending fences -- even though his recently-released autobiography blames his decision to walk away in 1999 on the team's lack of commitment to winning.

The Panthers will clinch the NFC South if they beat the Eagles on Sunday, and if the Saints and Bucs lose.

Vikings defensive coordinator George O'Leary thinks the "D" is out of its slump (hey, George, you shouldn't base that observation on the team's performance against the Lions, for three reasons: (1) the Lions suck; (2) the Lions were the first team in five weeks not to use outside runs to expose the defense's weaknesses; and (3) the Lions suck).

A Rams official says that the chances of a trade of QB Kurt Warner are 80-20 against.

Newly-signed Saints RB Lamar Smith is working hard to get into football shape, given his recent arrival in the wake of Ki-Jana Carter's season-ending foot injury.

Bills CB Antoine Winfield expressed regret regarding critical comments made as to the team's offense, but he didn't retract them.

Redskins CB Champ Bailey says that his decision to return to the team in 2004 will be influenced by whether defensive coordinator George Edwards is retained, despite the unit's disappointing performance since dominating the Jets in Week One.

The Vikings have released RB Doug Chapman, a third-round draft choice in 2001 who never lived up to his potential in Minny.

Bears QB Chris Chandler will play on Sunday if healthy -- despite the surprisingly strong performance of Kordell Stewart, who got back onto the field after Chandler was hurt.

Redskins OT Chris Samuels has a sprained MCL; Ball Coach says that Samuels will be out one or two weeks.

From Broncos TE Shannon Sharpe, regarding DT Daryl Gardener's belief that the Broncos don't like him: "It's hard to say somebody doesn't like you when they give you $5 million. I wish a lot of people didn't like me. If you're going to give me $5 million, you can hate me."

We said it a few weeks ago, and we're standing by it now -- Falcons quarterback Mike Vick will not make his return from a broken leg until 2004.

League insiders believe that Vick simply doesn't want to play this year, and that he'll use every possible excuse to avoid doing so.

Last week, Vick suffered a setback when his foot was stepped on during a walk through. That alone might have been enough to secure for Vick the season pass that he has wanted for several weeks.

Given the loss of running back Warrick Dunn for the year with a torn ligament in his foot, we suspect that coach Dan Reeves and owner Arthur Blank will relent. Without Dunn in the backfield, defenses will be able to focus even more heavily on Vick -- and if anyone thinks that opposing coaches and players won't be trying to saddle Vick with a "setback" that lingers deep into the 2004 offseason, it's time to wake up and smell the THG.

A couple of weeks ago, we reported on rumors that the Steelers will attempt to move up in the draft in order to snare Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning.

We're now hearing that the Steelers are wary of drafting a quarterback in the first round. The general consensus is that a quarterback can't do much to help a team win in his rookie year. Because the Steelers have a lot of money tied up in veterans, the preference is to find a new quarterback who will help them get back to winning games sooner rather than later.

Possible candidates for the Pittsburgh gig include Kurt Warner, Gus Frerotte, and Brian Griese.

Warner almost definitely will be available, and he'll likely be released if the Rams can't work out a trade. The only potential roadblock would be if a team makes current starter Marc Bulger an offer that the Rams can't match, forcing them to let Bulger walk, and requiring them to keep Warner in town.

But with Bulger's recent struggles, which at times have put him in danger of getting benched, we doubt that a blockbuster Laveranues Coles-type offer sheet will be prepared for the impending restricted free agent. Barring an unexpected development (e.g., Bulger gets benched and Warner takes the Rams to the Super Bowl), we think that after the season Bulger stays and Kurt goes.

The Steelers flirted with Frerotte prior to the season, before resigning Charlie Batch. Frerotte, however, is under contract with Minnesota through 2004, so the only way the Steelers would be able to get him is through a trade.

Griese likely will hit the open market due to his contract, which requires the Dolphins to pay him a huge roster bonus in early 2004. Unless Miami extends his contract, he'll be available.

Speaking of the Dolphins, they might be in the hunt for Warner. Ditto the Browns, who could end up targeting the same guys as the Steelers in an effort to get someone who is better than either Tim Couch or Kelly Holcomb. (Is Ryan Leaf still out there somewhere?)

Back to the Steelers, our guess is that they'll take a hard look at acquiring a veteran. If they can get the guy they want at the right price, they'll pounce. If they can't upgrade prior to the draft, we wouldn't be surprised to see them make a move for Manning, especially if their final 2003 record leaves them in reasonable striking distance to the top of the draft.

Much of this also depends on whether Bill Cowher is still the coach in 2004. As we explained last week, changes in the team's power structure might be coming -- and we could envision Cowher getting miffed and walking away if he loses any control over personnel. Thus, if a new coach is hired in the offseason, the Steelers might be more willing to take on a "project" via the 2004 draft, since expectations will be a bit lower in the short term.

A league insider tells us that, when Lions CEO Matt Millen "resigns" following the 2003 season, coach Steve Mariucci will inherit significant authority over the team's personnel decisions.

The source compares the juice that Mooch will acquire is similar to the power that Steelers coach Bill Cowher has wielded since Tom Donahoe was run out of the 'Burgh.

Though the Lions will hire a G.M.-level personnel exec, the guy will be Ed McMahon to Mooch's Johnny Carson, spouting "you are correct, sir" whenever Steve sets his sights on a given player.

And in our view this is the device that will be used by franchises who remain willing to allow their coaches to shop for the groceries. Dual-hat coach/G.M.'s invite too much criticism if the team sputters. If, in contrast, the specific authority that the coach possesses is somewhat amorphous, it becomes harder for us media types to argue that the coach has too much on his plate.

A league insider predicts that, in the wake of the Giants' loss to the Bucs, there's a 60-40 chance that head coach Jim Fassel will be fired at the end of the season.

The only thing that surprises us is that the insider gave Fassel such a good chance of keeping his job.

As we see it, Fassel's ass is bluegrass, and G.M. Ernie Accorsi is the big dog that's poised to dump a steamy load on it.

Several potential scenarios have been circulating regarding Fassel's future. We've heard that he might be a candidate for the coming vacancy in Buffalo. Rumor also has it that he could be hired by Brian Billick as the Ravens offensive coordinator. There also have been scattered reports that Fassel will be a candidate for the head coaching job in Arizona, if the Cardinals dump Dave McGinnis.

Potential replacements for Fassel include Tom Coughlin and Nick Saban. Our guess is that Saban will price himself out of the job (again) and that Coughlin will get the gig.

But don't forget about the minority hiring guidelines. In the end, we wouldn't be shocked to see the Giants to give serious consideration to a guy like Denny Green, who likely could breathe life into the team's offense, which generally has been stagnant but for the late-season playoff push in 2002.

Rams coach Mike Martz says that quarterback Marc Bulger will retain the starting job, despite the fact that he's thrown four touchdowns and ten picks in the last four games.

"Marc Bulger is our quarterback," Martz said. "Yeah, but, yeah, but, yeah, but -- Marc Bulger is our quarterback.

"I have great confidence and I trust him and I think he's going to be just fine, so we're staying with Marc.

"If I vacillate with that quarterback, which I did recently, it's the wrong thing to do," Martz added. "What happens is, the trust I have in that quarterback, the rest of the players are looking at this, too.

"We like to think that what we have going here is built on trust, and I trust that he's going to fight his way out of it, and I just don't bail and throw the other guy in there."

It all sounds good to us, Mike. But under that reasoning, wouldn't Kurt Warner still be the starter?

Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio says that the team might bench quarterback Byron Leftwich in favor of backup David Garrard on November 30 at Tampa.

"We're not playing at a high level right now," Del Rio said. "I think Byron's got a bright future. But I think David Garrard is a promising young quarterback and we'll decide whether to give him a look. We've got to score more than three or 10 points."

Unless the Jags are hoping to showcase Garrard in preparation for an offseason trade, we think it's a mistake to sit Leftwich. Troy Aikman took every bump and bruise in 1989, as the Cowboys limped to a 1-15 record. The Jags aren't going anywhere in 2003, so why not use the rest of the season as an extended slate of exhibition games in preparation for 2004?

Major props to the NFL for replacing the team logos on the front page of NFL.com with designs from past years in connection with the "Thanksgiving Classics" theme.

Bucs DE Simeon Rice thinks the Bucs are losing because of post-Super Bowl complacency; DT Warren Sapp thinks they've just gotten too many bad breaks.

Bucs WR Keyshawn Johnson is already starting to peddle himself for next season by accepting blame for his role in getting bounced by the team.

49ers coach Dennis Erickson says he'll decide later in the week whether Tim Rattay or Jeff Garcia will start at quarterback in Baltimore.

Redskins QB Patrick "Throw Rug" Ramsey sustained a concussion on Sunday night against the Dolphins.

Meshawn isn't the only turd who's found his way onto the Fox payroll -- LB Bill Romanowski worked the Broncos-Bears game on Sunday.

Vikings RB Michael Bennett was feeling low on energy on Sunday, so he drank a cup of coffee at halftime -- and lost his beans a little bit later: "It started coming up on me on the sideline in the second half," Bennett said. "I couldn't keep it down."

Bengals WR Chad Johnson is humble (we think) about his recent breakout performances: "There's not anybody in the NFL that can cover me. It's not because I'm good. I'm just well-coached."

Back when the Broncos heaped a six-year, $33 million contract on free-agent defensive tackle Daryl Gardener (including a $5 million bonus), we were trumpeting the concern in league circles that Gardener is, was, and always will be a turd.

Our sources were of the opinion that Gardener had been a model citizen last year in Washington for one reason -- because he knew that doing so would help him get paid a lot of money in 2003.

And our sources predicted that, once Gardener got his next big contract, he'd revert to the form that got him run out of Miami.

We asked one of our sources for reaction to the latest development -- a one-game suspension of Gardener for conduct detrimental to the team.

"This guy has been a loser his entire career," said the source. "Another fine free agent signing by the Broncos over the past few years. Look at all of Pat Bowlen's money that has been wasted on bad people . . . .

"On top of it, [Gardener] isn't even a good player."

Gardener responded to the suspension on Friday, calling Shanahan "that little man up there" and suggesting that he was "set up" for a longer suspension or his release.

Under Gardener's logic, Shanahan suspended him for one game, hoping that Gardener would reaction, justifying further action.

Really, it's like a fish saying that he can see the barb of the hook sticking through the worm -- and then swallowing the whole damn thing anyway.

In the wake of Gardener's reaction, several of his teammates suspect that Shanahan will take further action.

Our guess is that Gardener will be dumped, and that the Broncos will find a way to get back some of their bonus money -- just as they did with past turds Eddie Kennison and Dale Carter.

And we likewise suspect that Mike Shanahan will catch no internal criticism for his misguided decision to add Gardener to the mix.

Vikings defensive coordinator George O'Leary said on Friday night that he has spoken informally with Central Florida University regarding the possibility of becoming the team's new head coach.

For now, the Vikings season is going nowhere -- thanks in large part to O'Leary's defense, which has gone from stingy to stinky over the past few weeks.

O'Leary denies that Athletic Director Steve Orsini and school president John Hitt were planning to meet with him this weekend in Minneapolis.

"I don't have time for all of that right now," O'Leary said. "If they come up here, that's up to them."

The head-coaching job at CFU opened up last week, when the team dumped former Steelers quarterback Mike Kruczek barely a week after announcing that they'll jump from the MAC to Conference USA.

Giants TE Jeremy "IR is for Fairies" Shockey returned to practice only 12 days after suffering a knee injury that was supposed to be a season-ender.

Redskins QB Patrick "Rag Doll" Ramsey practiced on Friday despite a bum foot, but he was hobbled and likely won't be able to play on Sunday.

That 2-8 record must be going to Wayne Weaver's head; the Jaguars owner had this to say recently about the team's Super Bowl outlook: "We've got it circled for next year. I won't predict it, but I've got it circled on my calendar. . . . One day we'll have a gaudy [Super Bowl] ring on our fingers."

Packers QB Brett Favre practiced with wet balls on Friday. (There was water on the pigskins, too.)

Random testing for THG since October 6 has resulted in zero positives, despite more than 1,000 tests (they must have tested the Gramatica brothers 500 times each).

Here's a shocker -- NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw, who's gone on the record to say that he's still a member of the Raiders family, persuaded the league to revoke its suspensions of the four Raiders who tested positive for THG based on samples re-tested after the new 'roid product was discovered.

We vaguely recall reporting a year or so ago that, despite all of the ridicule that Bengals president Mike Brown took when he fashioned the Carl Pickens loyalty clause, many folks around the league thought it was a good idea.

Teams have considered using the loyalty clause in contract negotiations. By at least bringing the clause to the table, the team might be able to extract a concession in another area.

We're now hearing that more teams could start incorporating the loyalty clause into player contracts, given the recent experiences of the Browns and Bucs with Kevin Johnson and Keyshawn Johnson, respectively.

The loyalty clause was challenged by the union, but ultimately upheld. It could give the team some leverage when the time comes to dump a malcontent.

And for guys like Meshawn, who clearly wanted out of Tampa, they might be willing to cough up some coin in order to get out the door. Absent a loyalty clause, however, the team simply has no basis for suggesting that any money should be forfeited.

As we suggested on Wednesday, the fact that the player gets to walk away without financial consequences could prompt some teams not to cut players who are becoming locker room distractions. The loyalty clause would give those teams a way to make the process less of a reward for pissing-and-moaning, by forcing the player to give up unpaid salary (or pay back some bonus money) in order to get his ticket out of town.

Per an agreement between the NFL and the CFL, Canadian football players who are entering their option years may workout with NFL teams as of December 1. Those same players may sign with NFL teams as of December 29.

The problem, however, is that the agreement between the NFL and the CFL expires on January 1, 2004. Thus, it seems very possible that, if the deal is not extended, NFL teams will have only two days to sign the players.

This potential glitch doesn't apply to CFL players whose contracts have expired. Though they must abide by the December 1 workout date and December 29 signing date, they'll be able to sign with NFL teams even if the agreement regarding option-year players isn't extended.

Stay tuned. If the deal doesn't get extended, some personnel execs might be signing "O Canada" in lieu of "Auld Lang Syne" come December 31.

When the Tampa Bay Bucs decided to get the attention of their beleaguered players by sending Keyshawn Johnson on a six-week paid vacation, some league insiders concluded that they exiled the wrong guy.

"At least [Johnson] didn't take plays off," said one personnel exec. "They should have told fat ass Sapp to make the NFL network job a full-time gig . . . now."

Sapp is slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2003 season, and conventional wisdom currently is that the Bucs will let Sapp walk, especially after the string of early-season distractions that the veteran lineman created.

There's also a possibility (albeit slim) that Sapp will get the Keyshawn treatment at some point later in the season. Really, if/when the team decides that they're not interested in bringing him back next year -- and if the local reaction to the dumping of Johnson is positive -- we wouldn't be shocked to see Sapp get sat at some point before late December.

And this could be a new trend for teams to control disgruntled vets. If the team can take the cap hit (like the Browns), a guy who's pissing-and-pouting can get dumped. If the cap room ain't there to support an outright release, he'll get "deactivated" for the rest of the season.

It's the flipside of the "cup of coffee" approach to calling up minor league baseball players in September. Once the team knows: (1) that the player won't be back the following year; and (2) that the team's goose is cooked in the current year, there's no reason to tolerate a chronic turd.

In our view, it's the only way for teams to seize back control in the post-free agency NFL, where players believe that their amortized signing bonuses make them bulletproof.

The other side of the coin, however, is that some players will conclude that they can get out from under their current deals merely by becoming malcontents. Keyshawn, for example, gets to keep his bonus money, gets to take the rest of the year off, and gets to go wherever he wants in 2004.

The ultimate balancing act, then, for any team faced with a locker room loudmouth is to ask itself whether the desire to get rid of the guy outweighs the satisfaction that he'll get if the team pulls the trigger.

We're hearing that the Pittsburgh Steelers could be changing the decision-making structure in the front office in the wake of unfilled expectations over the past two seasons.

The goal, we're told, is to shift some of the personnel authority away from coach Bill Cowher, who obtained a stronger-than-ever voice in the organization after Tom Donahoe was fired several years back. Under Cowher and director of football operations Kevin Colbert, the Steelers have extended contracts of several guys who have not played up to their pay (e.g., DeWayne Washington, Chad Scott). Also, the decision to let left tackle Wayne Gandy walk was, in hindsight, a mistake -- especially since the team gave nearly the same package that Gandy got from the Saints to unproven (and for most of the year unhealthy) tackle Marvel Smith.

To minimize Cowher's influence over personnel moves, team chairman Dan Rooney might be installing a committee approach to personnel decisions, including heavy input from scouts and other front-office types.

Word is that one of the relatively new faces to emerge from such an arrangement could be Dan Rooney, Jr., a scout for the team who operates primarily out of North Carolina. Dan, Jr. has been operating largely in the background as his father and brother, Art II, have been taking care of the administrative side of the business over the past several years.

We're not suggesting that Cowher's coaching gig is in jeopardy (regardless of whether it should be). But if he bristles at the changes that could be coming, he ultimately might have to make a Holmgrenesque decision in the 'Burgh -- stay with less juice, or go somewhere else.

If Redskins QB Patrick "Rag Doll" Ramsey can't play due to a previously concealed broken foot, the 'Skins will be stuck with Tim "I Didn't Think You Actually Wanted Me to Play" Hasselbeck at quarterback.

There's mounting speculation that Browns president Carmen Policy sold back his stake in the team so that he can make a run at the Commissioner's office when Paul Tagliabue steps down (but if Policy has any Youngstown-style skeletons in the trunk, he can fuggetabout climbing any higher in the NFL food chain).

With 50 percent of their starting defensive line arrested in the past week for DUI, we've finally figured out why the Vikings can't stop the run -- they're drunk of their asses.

49ers coach Dennis Erickson is leaning toward giving QB Tim Rattay the start in Green Bay.

In hindsight, we're surprised that Meshawn stuck around Tampa for as long as he did.

From the start, it was an unholy alliance. The Bucs were a team big on "D" and light on "O" when they swung a trade for the former No. 1 overall draft pick prior to the 2000 season, and Keyshawn was a self-styled superstar looking for the quickest path to the Super Bowl.

But Meshawn never really meshed with his Tampa teammates, and he never believed that he got his damn hands on the damn ball enough damn times.

Of course, Johnson likely wouldn't think he was touching the ball enough if he played center.

But we digress. Our point here is that the Shmuckaneers knew what they were getting into when they sent two first-rounders to the Jets and then signed Johnson to a big-money deal. Specifically, they knew they were getting a talented turd who'd provide an immediate upgrade over the likes of Bert Emanuel, Jacquez Green, Reidel Anthony, and the revolving door of underachievers that had worn orange/yellow and red/pewter since 1976.

It's not as if Keyshawn suddenly became a jerk once he got paid by the Bucs. He'd been a jerk from day one. But, for the Bucs, a well-skilled jerk was far better than an untalented choir boy.

In the end, both sides got what they wanted -- a Super Bowl. The irony, however, is that Keyshawn wasn't nearly as responsible for it as we all thought he'd be (or as he thinks he was).

Unlike the K. Johnson who was cut loose in Cleveland last week, this K. Johnson won't get a chance to land somewhere else. Though some already are praising G.M. Rich McKay for resisting the urge to cut Keyshawn in order to preserve trade value later, there are two major points that the McKay fans out there are overlooking.

First, the Bucs couldn't have absorbed the cap hit that would have resulted from dumping Johnson now, so keeping him on the payroll through 2003 was a no-brainer. Second, we doubt that anyone is going to offer much in the way of value for the right to absorb Keyshawn's contract come 2004.

We think the Bucs will be in about the same position that the Steelers found themselves earlier this year, when they were trying to peddle quarterback Kordell Stewart. No one wanted to take Kordell's $6.5 million salary, and no one wanted to give the Steelers anything for a guy whom they ultimately planned to cut.

And as the rest of the league learned through Tampa's experience, there's no point wanting Keyshawn on the team unless he wants to be there. The best situation, then, will be for Johnson to hit the open market after getting released by the Bucs, and then picking his next destination.

In the interim, Keyshawn has it pretty good. He'll get paid for the next six weeks, and he won't have to do anything -- except take pot shots at all those former Tampa teammates who supposedly can't carry his jock.

So don't praise McKay for taking a stand. Criticize him for signing Keyshawn in the first place.

The official separation will come after the season ends, if not sooner. Regardless, word around the league is that Giants coach Jim Fassel has lost his team.

We're hearing that the team considered his "you tryin' to get me fired?" rant in the wake of last week's loss to the Falcons as bizarre and self-absorbed. We're also hearing that team management isn't happy with Fassel's reaction to last weekend's loss, which also apparently included a promise by Fassel that he'd quit before allowing the players to run him out of town.

If/when Fassel goes, rumor has it that he'll resurface with fellow Super Bowl XXXV coach and good buddy Brian Billick, as the Ravens' new offensive coordinator.

The Redskins acknowledged on Monday that quarterback Patrick "Rag Doll" Ramsey has been playing with a broken bone in his right foot.

The foot started hurting Ramsey in training camp, and an X-ray revealed an old fracture.

"It never hurt me last season. It never hurt me in college," Ramsey said. "But at some point, I apparently fractured my foot.

"It's hard to push off my back foot. It's hard to turn my hips. It's hard to do a lot of things."

We figure that the league office will find this revelation to be interesting, given that the team previously hadn't disclosed that Ramsey's wheel is busted.

We stirred up plenty of agents a couple of months back when we posted our educated, informed speculation regarding the direction in which some of the top college prospects were leaning.

Here's a position-by-position look at where, based on information available to us, the top prospects might be leaning. We're not suggesting that final decisions have been made or that money (or rims) have changed hands. We're saying only that, as of right now, the top prospects likely are leaning toward the agents to whom their names are linked below.

4. Isaac Hilton, Hampton -- Ralph Cindrich or Octagon or Alvin Keels

2. Darnell Dockett, Florida State -- IMG
3. Vince Workfolk, Miami -- Drew Rosenhaus

1. DJ Williams, Miami -- Leigh Steinberg or Drew Rosenhaus or Octagon

As predicted in this space a few weeks back, the real Randy Moss is bubbling back to the surface as the losses mount for the Vikings; after getting only four catches for 25 yards in Sunday's loss to the Raiders, Moss said, "That's not my fault. That's the coaches' fault, to get me the ball."

Speaking of Viking coaches, it's good to see that Mike "Meathead" Tice is sporting some facial hair -- just like Mike "Meathead" Stivic.

That quartet of Raiders who tested positive for THG were among the 10 football players subpoenaed to testify in the ongoing grand jury probe regarding the manufacture and distribution of the substance.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher was reprimanded by the NFL for his recent comments regarding the intelligence of Jags DT Marcus Stroud; Fisher said he considered drafting Stroud but was "concerned about his [Wonderlic] score," which actually was a not-too-shabby 23 out of 50.

With Rams coach Mike Martz contemplating the possibility of yanking QB Marc Bulger, backup Kurt Warner said (per Martz), "Don't do it to the kid. Stick with Bulger. Ride it out. He'll get through it." (Translation -- trade value, up.)

Upon seeing the AP photo pasted below, Giants TE Jeremy Shockey declared, "I was right!"

We're okay with the city itself, and we like and admire the NFL's Steelers. It's the college we despise.

Don't get us wrong -- we've got a reason. Yours truly is a Mountaineer fan and alumnus. And we're often dubbed "hillbillies," "hicks," and "hoopies" by many of our collegiate neighbors to the north, many of whom don't realize that their own interpretation of the English language (e.g., "yuns") and sense of class and style make West Virginia look like the Upper West Side.

So, yeah, we were at the Backyard Brawl last night. And, yeah, yours truly got a kick out of the chant that his seven-year-old son developed midway through the first quarter.

With all that said, why has the media generally attached its collective lips to the buttocks of Panthers receiver Larry Fitzgerald?

It's as if Fitzgerald is the Chosen One, the player for whom all sportswriters have been waiting. A young, highly-talented, African-American athlete who keeps his mouth shut and doesn't seek out the spotlight. Hell, he shuns it.

But, wait. That guy already has made his mark on the NCAA and the NFL. His name is Barry Sanders, and he was everything that Fitzgerald is.

Sanders wasn't a good interview. Like Fitzgerald, he didn't want attention. Unlike Fitzgerald, Barry didn't want to talk about the fact that he didn't want attention.

The manner in which Sanders dealt with fame makes us wonder whether Fitzgerald's routine is contrived.

"What a great kid," folks like Jim Rome rave after a spot with Fitzgerald. But a guy who truly is walking the talk wouldn't be inclined to give an individual interview on a program like the Rome show, since in an indirect but very real way it takes away from the attention on his team -- even as Fitzgerald tells "Mr. Rome" that it's all about the team.

As we learned on Friday, it isn't all about the team. Fitzgerald is looking for an early path to the NFL. (Scroll down for more.) The New York Times broke the story on Friday and the Washington Post carried the ball a bit farther on Saturday.

And as the two most prominent newspapers in the country have locked onto this story, it's gotten no mention in the national media. None. Zero.

Check out ESPN.com -- there's no reference to it, either on the NFL page or the College Football page.

On Sunday morning, ESPN's SportsReporters threw more fuel on Fitzgerald's reluctant Heisman campaign -- without discussing the fact that his father is making plans for possible circumvention of the rule that otherwise would keep the true sophomore out of the NFL draft until 2005.

So why isn't the media at large picking up on the story? Probably because acknowledging the fact that there's a fine line between Larry Fitz and Mo Clarett constitutes an implicit concession by the media that they've been played.

The media also might be engaged in some wishful thinking on this one, hoping that the story will die by the time that the Chosen One hoists the Heisman next month.

Regardless of the reasons, the facts are the facts. As of Sunday morning, only the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Hartford Courant, and the Lexington Herald Leader have picked up on the story.

Check it out for yourselves. Google doesn't lie. There's no AP story on the issue. And a search of the terms "Fitzgerald" and "draft" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's website generates as of Sunday morning zero stories. (A search of "Larry" and "Fitzgerald" on the other hand churns up a whopping 265 results.)

The bottom line here is that if Fitzgerald has been manipulating the media, it's working. And the irony is that, as Fitzgerald was learning the finer points of football from Vikings full-time receivers and part-time miscreants Cris Carter and Randy Moss as a ball boy for the team, Larry might have been taking notes on the importance of not being a turd -- and he's working that angle as deftly as he twists his body in an effort to come up with the ball.

Fitzgerald might have something else in common with Moss. Both play like champs with the lead and/or when the game is close. But once the team falls behind by more than 10 (as the Panthers did last night), Fitzgerald and Moss both tend to disappear, despite their game-changing talents.

But you'll never hear the media mention these flaws in Fitzgerald's performance. They've found their anti-Clarett. Their Neo. And it's gonna take a lot before they admit that they might have gotten the wrong guy.

We've been getting a real kick out of the efforts of the shills at the Tampa Tribune to take the steam out of the in-house dogfight between coach Jon "I Want to Sign More Turds" Gruden and G.M. Rich "But I Don't" McKay; sorry, guys, but there's way too much smoke on this one not to make the discerning fan conclude that a fire is raging between them.

The New York Post compares a game of teams coached by Tony Dungy and Herm Edwards to a tennis match between the Williams sisters -- the key difference, however, is that the Williams sisters could kick the living sheet cake out of Tony and Herm.

Jeremy Shockey has a problem with gay football players, but he doesn't have a problem with shooting watch commercials that make him come off as one of them.

The Superdome will unveil on Sunday its new AstroPlay surface, which is pretty much the same thing as FieldTurf; the move leaves the Vikings and Colts as the only NFL teams playing on green cement at home.

The Chicago Sun-Times thinks that ESPN shouldn't give in to pressure from the NFL to poop-can "Playmakers"; yeah, and in a couple of years the Boys from Bristol can go back to showing tractor pulls and tiddly winks on Sunday nights from September to December.

The 49ers will retire S Ronnie Lott's jersey on Monday night; our only question is why in the hell did it take 13 years for them to formally putt Lott's number on the shelf?

One of our readers asked us a few weeks back if we thought the Raiders might draft Pitt receiver Larry Fitzgerald. In response, we explained that Fitzgerald won't be in the 2004 draft pool, since (like Maurice Clarett) he is a true sophomore.

Unlike Clarett, Fitzgerald apparently would apply for an exemption from the rule that prevents a player from entering the draft less than three years after graduating from high school. With Clarett's suit pending, however, there's simply no way that the NFL will be making an exception for anyone, since such a move surely would be used against them in Clarett's case.

"The way I've looked at it is, I don't worry about somebody else's rules; rules are made to be broken or amended," said Fitzgerald's father, Larry Fitzgerald Sr.

The Times report was published on Friday. Later in the day, NFL spokesman Vince Casey reiterated the rule, but declined to discuss Fitzgerald specifically.

Per the Washington Post, Fitzgerald might be able to finagle a way around the three-year requirement. It turns out that, midway through his senior year in high school, he transferred to Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania. He spent one-and-a-half years at Valley Forge before graduating in 2002.

But his original high school class in Minnesota graduated in 2001, which would make him eligible to make the jump now.

On Friday, Fitzgerald's father said he would request a diploma from his original high school, if necessary.

"If my son says he wants to do something," he said, "I'll fight for him to do it. . . . I haven't called anyone about the rule. I haven't worried about it. It's not going to change anything. Right now, he is there [at Pittsburgh] taking classes and catching passes."

It all started a month ago against the Broncos. After five teams had failed to move the ball up the middle of the Minnesota defense, Denver began to attack the edges, with success.

And even though the Vikings beat the Broncos that day, Minnesota has lost three in a row, due in large part to the team's inability to control sweeps, screens, and pitches.

This week, they know they'll face such an attack again, even with Raiders running back Charlie Garner out due to injury.

After all, the Raiders have rookie speedster Justin Fargas, who has the tools to continue to exploit the Vikings' weaknesses against the outside running game.

Former Lions RB Barry Sanders finally provides some reasons for his abrupt retirement in 1999, via his autobiography; among other things, Sanders had doubts about the team's commitment to winning.

The Giants are trying to figure out how whom they should cut so that another tight end can be added to the roster while Jeremy Shockey's knee heals.

The Buccaneers deny reports that the ongoing feud between G.M. Rich McKay and coach Jon Gruden recently hit the breaking point when McKay refused to pursue DT Darrell Russell.

Speaking of Russell, how much more money do you think he might have gotten from the playoff-contending Seahawks if he'd waited to sign a contract until after DT Norman Hand went down for the year with an injury?