Has Cowboys S Roy Williams suffered a horse-collar tackle of the heart?

That’s what the Cowboys are trying to find out.

Meet Cowboys WR Daniel Polk, an undrafted free agent.

Giants rookie S Kenny Phillips will wear Sean Taylor’s number.  (But he doesn’t want to buy the other defensive backs an expensive dinner. . . .  In other words, he prefers Wendy’s to Mendy’s.)

For Giants rookie LB Jonathan Goff, the Soup Nazi might be a break from his mother.

Eagles DE Darren Howard has accepted his unexpected supporting role.

Falcons QB Matt Ryan is wearing a knee brace, for precautionary reasons.

After being held out of an April minicamp, Falcons RB Michael Turner was able to participate this time around.

Falcons LB Keith Brooking has been moved back to the outside, after three years in the middle.

Is Bucs G.M. Bruce Allen, who has been presumed to be second fiddle to Jon Gruden, gathering more juice?

Former Cardinals DB Dyshod Carter has been charged with cocaine trafficking.

New-old Rams QB Trent Green sees similarities between the 2008 Rams and the 1999 edition of the team.  (And that only proves to us that Green has taken one too many blows to the brain box.)

The Cardinals will add CB Aeneas Williams to the Ring of Honor.  (Does that term really apply to this franchise?)

There’s been a Michael Bush sighting.

Titans DE Jevon Kearse might need a holder for the boulder on his shoulder.  (Teammate LenDale White, in contrast, might need an over the shoulder bolder holder.)

Rams DE Leonard Little says that he almost killed himself after killing Susan Gutweiler while driving drunk.

With Ravens TE Quinn Sypniewski lost for the season, the door is opened for those who’d like to back up Todd Heap.

Browns offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski thinks that the team’s offense can get even better.

Though agent Jim Steiner recently said that he intended to talk to the Bengals last week about the possible contract for running back Shaun Alexander, Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that no talks have occurred.

“Nothing yet,” Steiner told Curnutte on Friday.

Curnutte also says that the addition of Alexander is unlikely, given the presence of Rudi Johnson, Chris Perry, Kenny Watson, and DeDe Dorsey on the roster. 

In our view, the Bengals would seriously sniff around Alexander only if they were planning to displace Johnson.  But Curnutte writes that the Bengals plan to keep Johnson as the featured back.

So why then did the Bengals bring in Alexander?  Maybe they were hoping to light a little bit of an offseason fire under Johnson. 

Or maybe they wanted a national story about the team that didn’t include the names “Chad Johnson” or “Chris Henry.”

Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride has spoken with tight end Jeremy Shockey about his status with the team.  And while Gilbride has shared some of the details regarding the discussion, Gilbride wouldn’t answer the $64,000 question.

Does Shockey want to stay in New York?

As to the prospect of a return by the 2002 first-round draft pick, Gilbride said, “It’s so nebulous right now, you just have no idea.  Right now he’s on our team.  We’re planning on him being there.  He’ll be one of the guys that we’ll look to feature and one of the guys that we’ll look to depend on.  Hopefully he’ll be here in good spirits and ready to do the things that we know he’s capable of doing.  But who knows?  It’s certainly beyond my hands.”

Shockey is believed to want both a trade and a new contract.  There have been rumors and reports that he’s unhappy with the fact that the team ripped through the playoffs and won the Super Bowl without him, and that he’s bothered by talk that the team is better without him.

The Saints pursued him before the draft, and presumably still want him.

Whether a trade happens likely depends on Shockey’s disposition and demeanor when he reports for a mandatory minicamp on June 11.

If he reports for it.  Though Shockey hasn’t hinted at a holdout, it wouldn’t surprise us if it happens.

Rams running back Steven Jackson, whose 1,528-yard season in 2006 was undermined by an injury-shortened 2007, is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2008.

And he’s hoping to get paid big money to continue his NFL career thereafter.

“I think I’ve been a good person on and off the field,” Jackson said, “so I expect to be rewarded.”

But as the Seahawks (with Shaun Alexander), the Cardinals (with Edgerrin James), and the Chiefs (with Larry Johnson) have learned, tailbacks shouldn’t be paid based on past performance.  If the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately?” league, running backs should be regarded as its “what will you do for me today, and tomorrow?” commodities.

The cumulative bumps and grinds and bruises and sprains add up quickly for the guys who carry the pig into a mass of human beings who could swallow a whole hog.  And the mere fact that a guy has achieved long-term financial security might make him less inclined to continue to thrust himself into the fray with the same reckless abandon he displayed before he got paid.

So the Rams will need to ask themselves not whether Jackson should be rewarded for his past actions, but whether he’s likely to continue to do in the future that which he has done in the past.

In making that assessment, they’ll need to put his performance in 2008 into proper perspective.   “Well, we all know what happens in a contract year:  you ball out,” Jackson said, laughing.  “So, I expect to.”

But what will happen in 2009, 2010, and/or 2011?  That’s what the Rams need to figure out before they write a huge check to Jackson. 

Here’s a look at the Houston Texans’ minicamp, in One-Liner fashion. . . .

Meet Antwuan Molden.

Coach Gary Kubiak is gushing about DE Mario Williams:  “That light went on for Mario somewhere last year about Week 7 or 8.  Everybody saw it, and if you watch practice right now you see him at another level.  I think the sky’s the limit for him.  I don’t want to sit here and say too much; I just love the way he works.  I love the way he handles himself.  Football is very important to Mario, and he’s working his way toward a big, big year.”

Said Kubiak about the first NFL minicamp for rookie RB Steve Slaton:  “[I]t’s been a rude awakening for him these last few days.”

Will Ephraim Salaam hold off Duane Brown at left tackle?  (It’s not looking good.)

Regardless of whether Salaam thinks he’ll win the job, he wasn’t talking about it on Friday.

Salaam finally open-sesame’d on Sunday about his adjustment to being one the second string:  “It took me a couple days, but I am a competitor, and this is what I do.  This is my job.  This is what I do for a living, and I’ve been starting in this league for a long time.”

After getting enough of a first-hand look at DE Mario Williams, Brown might opt for the bench.

The Texans will start four defensive backs drafted in the fourth-round or later.

OL Charles Spencer continues to work his way back from a 2006 injury.

RG Fred Weary won’t be healthy until training camp.

The Texans are committed to improving their running game.

There were plenty of quotes from Day Two.

And from Day One.

So does Kyle Shanahan now have Jenna Bush’s initials tattooed on his leg, too?

Falcons linebacker Michael Boley, who recently was arrested on charges of assault, is blaming no one but himself for the distraction that his (alleged) actions has caused.

Boley has apologized for “the incident that happened last weekend,” but he hasn’t specifically admitted to any wrongdoing.  He was arrested for assaulting his wife.

The fourth-year player signed a restricted free agent tender, putting him under contract for 2008 and in line for unrestricted free agency in 2009.

Coach Mike Smith, who knows a thing or two about players getting pinched from his time in Jacksonville, has addressed the situation with Boley.  “I have spoken to Michael,” Smith said.  “I’d like to keep that conversation private.  I just want everybody to know that I am disappointed.  We know that we’re disappointed that Michael was in the situation.  Anytime we see our guy’s name in the paper in the Metro section in a negative light, it’s not good.”

Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo pronounced himself disappointed in running back Cedric Benson for his arrest last weekend for boating while intoxicated, even as he said the team plans to stick with Benson.

“The thing that I am most disappointed in is the fact that he put himself in a position to be the victim,” Angelo said Saturday night, per the Daily Herald.

But that doesn’t make much sense:  If Angelo thinks Benson is telling the truth, and he was just a law-abiding citizen enjoying an evening on his boat when the police dragged him away and pepper-sprayed him, how is that putting himself in a position to be the victim?  And if Angelo thinks Benson isn’t telling the truth, then he shouldn’t view Benson as “the victim” at all.

Regardless of the outcome of the legal case surrounding the boating incident, there has been talk that the Bears could cut Benson because he’s coming off a season in which he averaged just 3.4 yards a carry.  Angelo says that won’t happen.

“There’s no plans to cut him,” he said.  “I’m a little surprised it’s an everyday story, but unfortunately it is and he’s having to deal with it.  I’m not anticipating any reason why he wouldn’t be [in training camp].  We’ll just let the courts decide what the facts are and we’ll go from there.”

Benson will enter training camp ahead of rookie Matt Forte’ and last year’s backups, Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe, on the depth chart.

With respect to the Spygate story, we’ve been accused at times of being apologists for the New England Patriots and at other times for having a bias against them.  And that tells us that our effort to be fair and balanced on this issue is generally working.

One media publication that isn’t, in my own personal assessment, behaving in a fair and/or balanced manner is the former employer of Jayson Blair, the newspaper of record, the repository for all the news that’s fit to print.

The New York Times.

In its May 11 edition, the Times has published what we regard as, quite simply, a one-sided hatchet job that ignores the basic reality that pro football teams break the rules all the time, if doing so will (or might) result in some type of actual (or perceived) benefit in the quest to score more points that the opponents on a per-game basis.

The gist of the article is that most of the changes to the league’s rules since Bill Belichick’s arrival as head coach in 2000 have been driven by complaints made about the practices of the Patriots.

The article cites only one unnamed league executive in support of the assertion.  (That said, an unnamed Jaguars exec is cited in support of the claim that the Jags filed a complaint against the Patriots in 2006 due to the failure of the coach-to-quarterback radio system.)  “They were the only team, really,” the unnamed executive said.  “Clearly, they were the team mentioned far more than anybody else.”

The “executive” in question presumably is a member of the league’s competition committee, since the item focuses on the efforts of the league’s rule-making body to make tweaks, supposedly in order to thwart (or, as in the case of Spygate, nail) the franchise that won three Super Bowls in four seasons and nearly captured a fourth to cap what would have been a 19-0 season.

But teams have been cheating, or at least trying to cheat, for years.  We posted back in February this 1967 article from Sport magazine, which talks about the cloak-and-dagger realities of the modern (at the time) NFL.  Also, in the wake of Spygate I, former Cowboys and Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson was candid about the fact that he was taught how to videotape defensive coaching signals when he arrived in the NFL in the late 1980s.

And don’t get us started (again) on tampering.  In this regard, the Pats have been victimized as much as anyone, with their effort to squeeze Lawyer Milloy into a lower deal reportedly undermined by improper communications between Milloy’s camp and the Redskins.  Ditto for receiver Deion Branch, with whom the Pats were convinced the Jets had tampered in 2006.

But it was the 49ers, not the Patriots, who were made to be the example of a practice so embarrassingly widespread that the league considered earlier this year the possibility of simply allowing tampering in the week or so before free agency opens.

Make no mistake about it — rules violations like tampering create as much, if not more, of a benefit than videotaping defensive coaching signals.  By engaging in impermissible negotiations with the agent of a player who is under contract with another team, the team that tampers has an opportunity to make the other team worse and to make itself better, if the player ultimately moves to the new team, once he’s officially on the market.  Even if the player stays put, the act of tampering potentially fractures the relationship between the player and the team.

But the Times makes no mention of tampering or any other rules violations that other teams are or might be committing.  Instead, the focus is squarely on the Patriots.

The Patriots recognize what the Times is doing, and to his credit team spokesman Stacey James is willing to call it what it is.  “We believe that this inquiry is patently biased and that a truly objective report would investigate all instances of these complaints, not exclusively those against the Patriots,” James wrote in an e-mail to the Times.

If the Times has an agenda against the Pats on this story, the reason for it is unclear.  The New York Times Company also owns the Boston Globe, which has become the favored newspaper of Patriots fans in the wake of the February 2 item from the Herald that accused the hometown team of videotaping the Rams’ walk-through prior to Super Bowl XXXVI.

But, then again, Matt Walsh and his lawyer, Michael Levy, have given the Times plenty of information about the whole Spygate II situation, and perhaps the Times has developed (intentionally or otherwise) a pro-Walsh, anti-Pats approach in the hopes of keeping the Walsh-Levy pipeline open, especially with Walsh scheduled to sit down with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in two days.

Regardless of the reason, we think that the story shows at best a fundamental misunderstanding of the NFL, and at worst an outright bias against the New England Patriots.

We’ve done some digging today on the report that Matt Walsh’s video collection includes at least one instance of the Pats stealing “offensive signals,” from the Miami Dolphins.

And we’ve learned that there’s no such thing as “offensive signals.”  At least there aren’t “offensive signals” in the same sense that there are (or, given the coming use of radio receivers for defensive players, were) “defensive signals.”  On defense, the coaches signal in the play to the players on the field.  On offense, the play is called into the quarterback via the radio in his helmet.

Presumably, the tape created by Walsh shows the hand signals made by offensive coaches to alert the players on the field, and on the sidelines, to the personnel groupings that would be used, such as two running backs, one tight end, and two wideouts, or two tight ends, one running back, and two receivers.

Here’s how one source explained the process to us:  “A play ends and the offensive coaching staff yells out on the sideline and simultaneously puts up a hand signal.  Let’s say they want ‘regular’ personnel, which is two backs, two receivers and one tight end.  The signal would be something like putting one finger in the air.  The coach holds it up, but generally so do the players that are running on the field.  The whole world sees it.”

And one group of folks who see it are the advance scouts from other teams who are attending the game for the purposes of, among other things, figuring out the number of fingers that are put in the air for each type of offensive grouping.  It’s a simple process, and it’s a code that doesn’t require much effort to crack.

That’s in sharp contrast to the signals used by defensive coaches to call in defensive plays, which entails a level of intricacy that would require Rain Man-style abilities to decipher on the fly.

With all that said, it’s not presently known whether the ”offensive signals” on the Walsh tapes are the hand signs used to indicate personnel groupings.  But we can’t imagine what else they would be.

And before anyone else sends in e-mails (or posts comments) suggesting that the signals were taped during one of the occasions when the coach-to-quarterback system was on the fritz, most (if not all) teams don’t use hand signals when that occurs.  Instead, they either shuttle in players with the information, or the quarterback walks closer to the sideline and the coaches yell out the number that corresponds with the play on the quarterback’s wristband.

So there’s really nothing to it.  And, as others have pointed out, the rule that the Pats broke relates to taping generally, not to the taping of offensive or defensive signals.  Thus, the presence of one tape with “offensive signals” doesn’t constitute the kind of new evidence that will land the team or coach Bill Belichick in a fresh vat of boiling water.

We know that plenty of folks who don’t like the Patriots and/or media figures who want to see a compelling story fill the slow months because now and July hope that some previously undisclosed proof of cheating will emerge.  If it does, it most likely won’t come from the Walsh tape with the “offensive signals.” 

Here’s a look at the Rams’ minicamp, in One-Liner style. 

Maybe Al Saunders should play receiver for the Rams.

T Rob Pettiti suffered a ruptured Achilles’ tendon during the offseason program. 

DT Adam Carriker is back at it after surgery several months ago to repair his shoulder.

C Dustin Fry was excused from the minicamp because he is getting married.

WR Keenan Burton is wearing Jeff Wilkins’ old number (14), but Burton doesn’t plan on trying to fill Wilkins’ shoes; “I might be able to throw 50 [yards], but I don’t know if I can kick 50 yards,” Burton said.

The rain has followed K Josh Brown from Seattle to St. Louis.

DE Chris Long was relieved to learn that practice doesn’t feel like a job.

With Long’s No. 91 from college being worn by Leonard Little, Long will don No. 72.

With the departure of Isaac Bruce, WR Drew Bennett is ready to become the No. 2 wideout.

It was reported last month that Rams cornerback Fakhir Brown avoided a one-year suspension under the league’s substance abuse policy.  Brown declined comment at the time.

But he’s talking now.  At a minicamp that opened on Friday, Brown told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the suspension almost was imposed as a result of a diluted urine sample, which counts as a positive.

“That’s what it was — a ‘dilute,’” Brown said.  “If we’re getting tested right before practice, I’m quite sure it’s going to be a dilute, because that’s all I do is drink water and Gatorade before practice.  [But] I had to take the test right then.”

Brown still thinks that some type of penalty might be imposed.  It’s unclear what that would be, since the policy seems to contemplate a one-year suspension for any violation occurring within two years after a four-game suspension.  Brown was suspended for the first four games of the 2007 campaign.

It’s the second one-year suspension that has been overturned by the league in less than a year; in 2007, Broncos running back Travis Henry managed to avoid a one-year hiatus, even after he surely angered the league by filing a lawsuit aimed at blocking the suspension.

As receiver Koren Robinson hits the open market after a stint with the Packers, which followed a one-year suspension, he’ll now have something else to explain to any teams that might be interested in him.

Robinson’s brother, Tariq, has been arrested for trafficking in ecstasy.  (Not the emotion, the drug.)  The potential problem as it relates to Koren is that Tariq lives with Koren.

The good news is that investigators say there’s no evidence that Koren was involved.  Still, that extra question mark could be enough to scare some teams away.

We’ve previously reported that the Chiefs and Raiders have shown mild interest in Robinson, a top-ten draft pick in 2001.

New Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has said he plans to be tough on his players during off-season workouts and minicamps, and at the team’s practice today, the players were tough on each other.

Don Markus of the Baltimore Sun reports that there was a “knockdown drag-out midfield brawl” that started when offensive tackle Oniel Cousins and defensive tackle Amon Gordon “started flailing at each other at the end of a running play.”

The Associated Press reports that “nearly all 85 players got involved in a squabble” that started with Cousins and Gordon throwing punches at each other after running back Allen Patrick was tackled.  Per the AP, it took almost two minutes to break things up.

And that wasn’t the end of it:  defensive backs Corey Ivy and Frank Walker later came to blows during a blocking drill, the AP reports.

This isn’t the first time the Ravens have gotten physical with each other; tight end Quinn Sypniewski suffered a season-ending knee injury when he collided with linebacker Antwan Barnes in what was supposed to be a non-contact practice last month.

Said Harbaugh after today’s fights, “Guys are competing, so tempers flare a little bit.”

New England Patriots defensive back Willie Andrews has been ordered by a judge to perform community service and complete a substance abuse treatment program in connection with his arrest two days after the Super Bowl, the Boston Globe reports.

Andrews was accused of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute after police caught him with three bags of marijuana and no means to smoke it, plus $6,800 in cash.  The Globe reports that a judge ordered Andrews’s case continued without a finding for a year, and that if Andrews complies with the community service, drug treatment and other conditions, the charges will be dropped.

Andrews will perform his community service by speaking to student-athletes about the dangers of drugs.  He will also have to pay a $1,000 fine and complete an NFL substance abuse treatment program or, if he gets cut and is no longer in the NFL,  submit to drug testing through the probation office.

A second-year player who has played 15 games in each of the last two years for the Patriots, Andrews spent time in jail in 2002 for a probation violation.

As talk heats up around the NFL that the New England Patriots could face additional sanctions for taping opponents’ offensive signals, two offensive players on the team that was taped are downplaying the significance of those signals.

“I’ve never really thought signals from an offensive sideline would be that big of a deal,” said Rob Konrad, the starting fullback on the 2001 Miami Dolphins.

Former Patriots employee Matt Walsh reportedly gave the league office a tape of the 2001 Dolphins’ offensive signals, prompting speculation that taping offensive signals could be viewed as a separate offense from taping defensive signals, which the Patriots were caught doing during their Week 1 game against the Jets last year.

“Most offenses, from a logistical standpoint, are called through the quarterback’s helmet.  So there really wouldn’t be a way to pick up signals.  Most of the hand signals from the sideline would be what personnel to use, like two tight ends, a fullback, three wide receivers,” Konrad tells Tim Graham of the Palm Beach Post.

How big an advantage is knowing what personnel package the opposing offense was going to use before that personnel took the field?  Says Konrad, “The only advantage anyone would gain from those signals is five seconds’ more time to be able to call a particular defense.”

But while Konrad says he doesn’t think the advantage gained by the Patriots is a big one, he still isn’t happy about it, telling the paper, “I’m just disappointed at the individuals who were involved because it tarnished the game a little bit.”

Added Oronde Gadsden, another player on that 2001 Dolphins offense, “Obviously they had an unfair advantage, but the better team won that day.”

Here’s a look at the developments at this weekend’s Falcons minicamp, in One-Liner style.

QB Matt Ryan will have to work his way up the depth chart; he’s currently behind Chris Redman and Joey Harrington and rotating reps with D.J. Shockley.

Coach Mike Smith tells the rookies, “I want them to have the mind-set that they’re going to come in here and compete to play from day one.”

Ryan likes to wear a brace on the knee of his plant leg as a precaution against injury.

The pre-minicamp ritual for each player included a photo shoot and dental and vision exams.

CB Brent Grimes showed off impressive man coverage ball skills.

The coaches want to get a look at the progress of injured players Todd Weiner, Trey Lewis and Brian Finneran.

Rookie WR Henry Douglas could be used in Mike Mularkey’s offense as a Wes Welker-type slot receiver. 

Rookie RB Thomas Brown, a sixth-round pick from Georgia, will compete for a spot behind Michael Turner and Jerrious Norwood.

Here’s a look at the developments at this weekend’s Raiders minicamp, in One-Liner style.

WR Chaz Schilens says he’s committed to football, but if he doesn’t make the Raiders’ roster he has opportunities to play baseball.

Coach Lane Kiffin says of RB Darren McFadden, “It’s so easy for him to run really fast.  He’s running by people and it doesn’t look like it’s really hard to do.”

Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has shaved his long hair.

Said Kiffin of rookie mistakes in minicamp practice, “So many of these times, you see guys going the wrong way, run into each other, balls on the ground.”

Kiffin also says at minicamps, undrafted rookies often look better than drafted players:  “You’re going to have some guy in a drill, who is a free agent, and he’s going to look better than some guy you drafted in the third or fourth round.”

QB Sam Keller was brought in for a workout.

S Tyvon Branch is hoping to earn a roster spot as a kick returner.

Says DE Trevor Scott of getting drafted, “Even though it was a late round, I wasn’t even expecting late round.  I was expecting free agency.”

K Andrew Larson of Cal spent almost all of his time Friday alone with a member of the coaches’ support staff.

WR Jonathan Holland, who spent 2007 on injured reserve, was held out of practice by the training staff.

Here’s a look at the developments at this weekend’s Giants minicamp, in One-Liner style.

Says rookie WR Mario Manningham of his off-field problems, “We’re not out here talking about that stuff.  We’re out here to play football.  So I’m not really worried about that.”

DE Michael Strahan worked out at the team’s facilities Thursday and talked to coach Tom Coughlin but didn’t tell him whether he plans to retire.

Coughlin said Manningham “showed some flashes” during practice.

Coughlin plans to sit down with all the rookies to explain his expectations.

Rookie QB Andre Woodson knows he can’t compete for a starting job but hopes to learn from the veterans.

Manningham and Woodson both suffered minor injuries at Saturday morning’s practice.

Rookie S Kenny Phillips is wearing No. 21, which was last worn by Tiki Barber; Phillips is wearing it to honor Sean Taylor.

TE Eric Butler and G Camell Stewart failed their physicals and their contracts were terminated.

Says rookie CB Terrell Thomas, “I know they have some great corners, but why wouldn’t I want to come in here and start?  That’s what they drafted me for.”

FB Matt Bernstein was working with the discus throwers as an assistant high school track and field coach when the Giants called to offer him a minicamp tryout.

More and more media outlets are locking onto the report that the New England Patriots’ habit of videotaping defensive coaching signals also included at least one instance of videotaping of offensive coaching signals.

Bob Glauber of Newsday is the most recent writer to “confirm” this practice, pointing to a game between the Pats and the Dolphins from 2001. 

But what of the reality that offensive coaching signals became unnecessary once the quarterbacks were equipped with radio receivers in their helmets?  Why isn’t the media addressing this fairly significant distinction between NFL offenses and NFL defenses?

We’re not saying that the tapes Walsh turned over don’t include evidence of the taping of offensive coaching signals.  But given that there was (and is) no reason for teams to use offensive coaching signals, there is (and was) no reason to believe that a tape of offensive coaching signals exists.  And our point is that someone in the media should at least mention the fact that, on the surface, the notion that offensive signals were videotaped seems odd, given the use of the radio receivers.

But maybe there are folks in the press who are disappointed by the fact that, like Al Capone’s vault 22 years ago, the videotapes turned over by Matt Walsh don’t contain anything good — like, for example, images of the Rams’ walk-through practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI.  And maybe those same folks hope to fill that void by rushing to judgment on something that technically is beyond the scope of the activities for which the Pats previously have been punished.

So maybe that’s why some reporters aren’t letting concepts like, you know, reality and common sense get in the way on this one.

A reader has forwarded to us a link from a February 5 radio broadcast, during which John Tomase of the Boston Herald talked about his February 2 story asserting that the Patriots videotaped the Rams’ walk-through practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI.

By way of background, it previously was presumed that former Pats video employee Matt Walsh was the source for the Herald item.  Recently, however, Walsh’s lawyer denied that Walsh was the source.

The discussion begins at 12:20 of the segment, and Tomase clearly links his day-before-the-Super-Bowl story to the New York Times article from Friday, February 1, which contained the first public quotes from Matt Walsh. 

Said Tomase:  “I woke up on Friday, that story wasn’t even on my radar screen. . . .  [The] New York Times and ESPN seem[ed] like they’re close to something that we heard, so we have to start digging.  And when you find something, it’s gotta go in the paper.”

Tomase also said that he first heard about the Super Bowl XXXVI cheating allegation in September 2007, after Spygate.  But, for whatever reason, he didn’t have enough to justify reporting it before February 1.

But, then, Walsh finally emerges from the shadows of a volcano via the Times on February 1, and Mike Fish of ESPN.com follows up later that day with an article that shows Fish was hunting Walsh as well. 

And so Tomase is able to develop enough evidence in one day to warrant publishing a story that he’d known about for so long that it had dropped off his “radar screen”?  (Presumably, Tomase chased this story to a successful conclusion while otherwise in Arizona covering the Super Bowl.)

In our view, this is further proof that Walsh was the source, and that (as we believe) the Herald  previously had declined to go with the story without Walsh speaking on the record.  Once Walsh seemed to be close to going on the record with the Times and/or ESPN.com, the Herald likely became inclined to drop the requirement (if there was such a requirement) that Walsh be on the record before they’d publish.

Regardless, something happened between Friday morning and Saturday morning — and it was something that allowed Tomase to overcome more than four months of futility.  If the source wasn’t Walsh, who in the hell was it?

Attention all men who must purchase a Mother’s Day card for one or more of the women in their lives:  Taco Bill has you covered.

All you need is some card stock and a color printer, and you’ll be able to make your own Mother’s Day cards, featuring a special message from Bears running back Cedric Benson.

It’s right here.

The Baltimore Ravens are one of the teams convened for a Mother’s Day weekend minicamp — an event that once drew the ire of Plaxico Burress.  Here’s a look at the early developments, in One-Liner style.

On Friday, QB Joe Flacco connected on a long pass to WR Mark Clayton, who beat rookie S Tom Zbikowski.

WR Derrick Mason is already loco for Flacco:  “The one pass he threw to Mark, I think it was 50 yards down the field in the air, and he put it on target.  The way he commanded the huddle, I think that speaks volumes about him.  He’s a big guy, he can throw the ball and he can put it on target.” 

CB Samari Rolle compared Flacco to Carson Palmer.

Has LB Ray Lewis said anything to Flacco?  “He was just joking around with me, saying that he was going to get a pick off me eventually,” Flacco said.  (There are worse things Lewis could do.  Allegedly.)

Third-round draft pick Oniel Cousins saw action at left tackle.

The Ravens worked out with a football that had a big rubber band attached to it.

LT Jonathan Ogden didn’t show up for the mandatory minicamp, and there’s no timetable on any decision as to whether he’ll retire.

TE Quinn Sypniewski is out for the year after tearing a knee ligament earlier in the offseason.

Jason Brown played right guard and Ben Grubbs played left guard, a flip-flop from last season.

The team practiced on Friday in the rain — under Brian Billick, they’d stay inside when the weather was inclement.  (Says Emmitt, “I thought they practiced in Baltimore.”)

Says Flacco on leaving Pitt after coach Dave Wannstedt opted to go with Tyler Palko:  “I do know that you’ll definitely never see me sporting a mustache.”

On March 1, Denver Broncos defensive tackle Marcus Thomas was arrested for possession of a controlled substance.  On May 9, Thomas was cleared of any charges.

“He just wants it to go away,” agent Richard Burnoski said.  “He was embarrassed by this.”

“The people that supported him, the Broncos and coach Mike Shanahan, his family and a lot of the fans on the message boards, he thanks them,” Burnoski said.  “It’s good to be proven right.”

There’s no word on whether Shanahan’s report came after Thomas passed a polygraph test. 

Though the Ravens and linebacker Ray Lewis are miles apart in their effort to reach a new deal that would replace a contract that expires after the 2008 season, Lewis says that the lack of an agreement won’t affect his performance.

“That stuff is irrelevant for what we’re trying to do right now,” Lewis said, according to the Carroll County Times.  “The bottom line is whatever we’re trying to do as a team, that’s the focus.  If we keep that team concept there, then that team concept stays there.

“If you start talking about individual, that means nothing.  Everybody knows this is a business and everything will take care of itself.  I’m just excited to be back playing football again.

“I see myself getting ready for the next practice, and I see myself getting ready for the season.  Like I said, once you start to get on that side of things, you lose your passion about why you play this game.”

The Ravens currently are gathered for a mandatory minicamp, in which Lewis is fully participating.

Lewis has played for the franchise since 1996, their first year as the Baltimore Ravens.  If a new agreement isn’t reached by next March, Lewis will become an unrestricted free agent, for the first time in his career.

On Friday, word came that former Lions receiver Charles Rogers — the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 draft — is likely to sign with Montreal of the CFL.  And now there’s an update on Mike Williams, the No. 10 selection in 2005, who also was drafted by the Lions.

Williams is a member of the Titans, and he knows that he’s down to his last chance in the NFL.  He blames his struggles on the fact that he missed the entire 2004 season after jumping into the NFL draft after Maurice Clarett successfully sued the league for early entry — and then being S.O.L. after an appeals court reverse the ruling.  Because Williams had hired an agent, the NCAA wouldn’t let him return to USC.

“I think what I lost the most wasn’t anything football related; it was the structure,” Williams told Terry McCormick of the Nashville City Paper.  “Being a part of a routine and having a regimen and having a set schedule of being here for how long and being there for how long.  That was my main thing that I struggled with for awhile.  I struggled with it.

“I got better about it at the end of my first year, but the second year I got right back into [being late].  It was the structure.  That was the main thing that hurt me, just the structure and waking up and commitment.  What do they call it?  Being a pro.  Having a year off from that, that was the main thing that hurt me.” 

Another thing that hurt Williams was his appetite.  He has looked more like a tight end than a receiver during his three years of bouncing from the Lions to the Raiders and finally to the Titans.  At 270 pounds when he came to Tennessee, coach Jeff Fisher told him that if he didn’t get in shape he’d be out the door. 

Williams says that he has lost more than 30 pounds, and that he’s about ten away from his playing weight at USC.  He thinks that his progress might have been a factor in the team’s decision not to select a wideout early in the draft.  (The Titans picked Lavelle Hawkins of Cal in the fourth round.)

“I couldn’t control the draft.  I didn’t know if they would take a receiver at No. 1.  I just had to control what I could control and that was me coming back in shape and that would let them know that, ‘Hey, we might not have to draft one [early].’  I’m not saying that the way I came back made their decision not to draft one, and I’m not saying it did.  But it didn’t matter if they drafted one or not, I’m going to compete regardless.”

More importantly, he’s showing up on time.  He’s even coming in early.

And that’s fitting, given that it’s getting late for him to show that he can play at the NFL level.

There’s an interesting item on SportingNews.com, written by someone whose name you might recognize, regarding the ongoing problem of player misconduct in the NFL.  Since a beefed-up Personal Conduct Policy isn’t stopping players from getting arrested on a somewhat regular basis, the league needs to be prepared to impose real penalties on the teams that continue to provide these players an endless supply of second chances.

The only way to get the attention of the teams is to take away draft picks, and the best way to do that is to create a formula that applies equally to each and every team.

The article sets forth the proposed approach, and you can read it right here. 

The Green Bay Packers have announced the release of receiver Koren Robinson.

So now the question becomes whether any other NFL team is interested.  The Bears have a definite need, and the Eagles — who run the same offense as the Packers and the Seahawks, with whom Robinson spent the first few years of his career — are always looking to add more bodies.

Robinson was the ninth overall pick in the 2001 draft.  Problems with alcohol plagued his career, and the Seahawks finally cut him loose.  He qualified for the Pro Bowl as a kick returner in 2005 with the Vikings, but a relapse (which resulted in a high-speed chase on rural roads in Minnesota) resulted in Robinson’s termination from the team during the 2006 preseason.

Another possibility is the Bengals, who need receivers and who don’t seem to care about a guy’s rap sheet.  The Jags also are might be interested, given that assistant coach Mike Tice was the head coach in Minnesota when Robinson made it to Honolulu.

Other possibilities (in our estimation) include the Buccaneers, the Broncos, the Raiders, and, yes, the Cowboys.

There was good news for users of mobile devices this week when Sprint and Clearwire resurrected their plan to build a nationwide WiMax network.

WiMax is, in essence, a bigger version of Wi-Fi, and could blanket an entire city with its signal.  It will allow for faster Internet uploading and downloading in wireless devices.

Other partners in the project are Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House Networks.  But the majority owner of endeavor will be Sprint — further proof that Sprint is doing all it can to enhance the tools available for folks who use mobile phones and similar gadgets (i.e., just about everyone).

Sprint, by the way, is the official telecommunications partner of ProFootballTalk.  You can support PFT by supporting Sprint — clicking the ads on this page will get you started.

A league source tells us that the Green Bay Packers are planning to release receiver Koren Robinson.  The move could come as soon as today.

Per the source, the Packers hope to go younger at the position.  They recently added Jordy Nelson in the 2008 draft, and the roster already features young players like Greg Jennings and James Jones.

Per the source, the team initially gave Robinson an opportunity to line up a trade, but other teams apparently have opted to wait for him to be cut.

Robinson is signed through 2008, at a base salary of $730,000. 

Receiver Charles Rogers, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 draft, is reportedly close to a deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.

“I would say there’s about an 80-20 chance of him being at training camp, coming in and competing for a job,” Montreal G.M. Jim Popp (unfortunate typo narrowly averted) said Thursday.

“It’s not completed yet, but he can come in as a CFL rookie and we’ll make an assessment of him, where he’s at in his career and his life.”

Receiver David Boston, a one-time top-ten NFL draft pick, recently signed with the Toronto Argonauts.  (A prior version of this article had him playing with the Alouettes, too.  Sorry for the blunder.)

Rogers was cut by the Lions in 2006.  A grievance is still pending between the Lions and Rogers regarding millions of dollars in bonus money that the Lions claim they’re entitled to recover based on a four-game suspension imposed on Rogers for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

Other former NFL first-rounders whose careers brought them to Canada include Akili Smith, Lawrence Phillips, and Ricky Williams.

The Cowboys’ coaching staff will carefully scrutinize second-year WR Isaiah Stanback as they try to determine whether he’s ready to contribute tot he offense.

Dolphins QB Chad Henne says he was forced to run a lap as punishment in practice for the first time since “back in high school for cussing.”

Titans RB LenDale White says his new teammate Chris Johnson reminds him of his old teammate, Reggie Bush, which apparently means Johnson will be a disappointment in the NFL.

Saints coach Sean Payton wants his undrafted rookies to know they have a shot at making the team.

Giants rookie S Kenny Phillips sounds humble about his role on the team: “I’m going to come in, listen to the veteran players and learn from the coaches and just try to get my feet wet.”

Another Giants rookie is an undrafted punter/kicker from Army.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh says of trading a fourth-round pick for CB Fabian Washington, “To get a corner of his caliber in the fourth round of the draft — a corner that talented – they just weren’t available at that point.”

The college coach of Ravens QB Joe Flacco has nothing but good things to say about him.

Lions coach Rod Marinelli thinks a good off-season was the reason his team got off to a 6-2 start last year. (So what caused them to go 1-7 the rest of the way?)

Lions RB Tatum Bell is described as “a little overweight.”

The Browns will likely have a camp battle between Andra Davis and Leon Williams for one starting inside linebacker job, with the other going to D’Qwell Jackson.

Says Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall of being robbed at gunpoint, “It wasn’t too bad. I’m safe. I was just hoping he wouldn’t pull the trigger. I was just trying to cooperate so he wouldn’t.”

Says Packers rookie QB Brian Brohm of missing out on playing with Brett Favre, “It would be cool, just growing up, huge fan, to be able to hang out with a Hall of Fame quarterback would have been pretty awesome. But you know if he doesn’t retire, then maybe I don’t get drafted.”

Texans DT Travis Johnson will skip the upcoming minicamp because he’s getting married.

Says Texans assistant Alex Gibbs of getting back into coaching after a year of retirement, “I promised my wife I would try, and I tried, [but] there is no way I could do that.”

The Falcons are making four of their five minicamp practices open to the public.

Tony Dungy’s autobiography was required reading for every  student at a high school in Tampa.

The Chiefs were caught unprepared at kicker when free agent Josh Brown turned down their contract offer.

Even though he’s not a rookie, Raiders RB Michael Bush, who spent all of 2007 recovering from a broken leg, will participate in the Raiders’ rookie minicamp.

The Chargers may have a flurry of contract negotiations coming up.

The Rams are trying to convert a college linebacker into an NFL tight end.

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren has lost 25 pounds.

We concluded a couple of years ago that sports and politics don’t mix.  People follow sports to get away from the crap that otherwise frustrates them, and thus it’s very risky (in our view) for anyone connected to the sports world to take a front-and-center position in support of (or in opposition to) any candidate for office.

But it happens.  And it happened on Thursday, when Steelers chairman Dan Rooney made the short drive to Wheeling, West Virginia (yours truly’s hometown . . . as if anyone gives a crap) and stumped for Barack Obama.

“He has integrity and is motivated to bringing young people into the process,” Rooney said of Obama, according to the Wheeling Intelligencer, a newspaper that I used to fling in the general direction of the front porches of 64 homes every morning in the late ’70s. 

“You get a chance once in every 50 years to elect someone with the leadership of Barack Obama,” Rooney said.

Though it’s the first time Rooney ever has endorsed a candidate for office (other than his son, Jim), it might have been prudent to pass.  Rooney’s Steelers are a mainstay in Pittsburgh, which is a key city in a state that Obama wasn’t able to claim in last month’s Democratic primary. 

We doubt that this will affect the Steelers’ standing in the hearts of the team’s fans, but it’s the kind of thing that could get the strongly pro-Clinton and pro-McCain crowd fired up, possibly to the point that its becomes a factor in their football allegiances.

And Rooney’s decision to take his support for Obama on the road to West Virginia is specifically questionable, since Obama’s chances of beating Clinton here next week or carry West Virginia in the fall are slim (unless Hillary is Obama’s running mate).

 Anyway, do sports and politics mix?  Or is it best to separate the two?  Let’s hear what you think, PFT Planet.