NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Former Giants head coach Jim Fassel told Sporting News Radio on Monday that he believes the Raiders will keep Tom Cable as coach. Fassel also told host Tim Montemayor that he hasn’t spoken to anyone with the Raiders other than his son John, who is Oakland’s special teams coordinator. Jim Fassel has been mentioned in media reports as a potential replacement if the Raiders were to fire Cable.

Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney sprained his right ankle late in the AFC championship game but is expected to play in the Super Bowl. Freeney was hurt on a pass rush with about 2 minutes left Sunday. Colts president Bill Polian told radio listeners Monday night Freeney should play against the Saints.

While this week was almost newsless as far as the Miami Dolphins go, this weekend brought in a whirlwind of tidbits of news that finally brought the Dolphins media to life.

One of the bigger headlines this weekend relates to the Mike Nolan signing of last week.

Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, current Denver Broncos defensive end, Elvis Dumervil is on the Dolphins radar because of Nolan.

The thing with this move is that Dumervil is a restricted free agent this year, and the Broncos will likely tender him, meaning the Dolphins would have to give up either a first round pick, or both a first and a third rounder, something the Dolphins do not like to do.

Let me start off by saying that in no way would I ever use our first rounder, the 12th overall pick, on Elvis Dumervil.

In my mind, he is almost a clone of Cameron Wake. Dumervil is terrible against the run, like Wake.

Instead of trying to force a trade to get Dumervil, why not let Nolan do what he does best, in developing pass rushers, and let him coach up Wake. Wake has the size, strength, athleticism, and skill, to make it big in this league, and it is only a matter of time and coaching before he finally bursts onto the scene.

There has also been talk around the Dolphins training facility that Joey Porter may be long gone by the start of training camp.

Ethan Skolnick from the South Sun-Sentinel is reporting that the Dolphins may be getting tired of Peezy’s act, and have been trying not to “tip the Joey boat” the past two years. In fact, Skolnick says that Porter repeatedly sent players back to the sidelines who went in to sub Joey out, he especially did this on 3rd downs.

If Porter were to be let go, he is due a $1.2 million roster bonus this year, this would clear the way for the Dolphins to bring back Jason Taylor for at least another year. It is unlikely that both Taylor and Porter come back again for one more year with each other, battling for the weakside spot. If Porter were to come back, Taylor would in no way come back for one more year of basically taking the back seat to Porter.

Starting strong safety Yeremiah Bell has been named as a Pro-Bowl starter in the place of Indianapolis Colts safety Antoine Bethea, who will be playing in the Super Bowl this year.

It is nice to see someone who works as hard as Bell does, finally get rewarded for all of the work and time that he has put in to this Dolphins squad, and helping them with the rebuilding process the past couple of years.

There are a few offseason moves that could happen very quickly.  Here are some things we will be watching for over the following weeks:

BRETT FAVRE

Obviously, the 2010 Vikings will be greatly defined by the decision that Brett Favre has ahead of him.  Favre is under contract through 2010, with $13 million awaiting him should he decide to return for another shot at it.

PAT WILLIAMS

Pat Williams promised to retire if the Vikings won the Super Bowl, but made no indication as to what he would do if their season ended early.  At 38, Pat Williams could make the very understandable decision to hang up his cleats once and for all.

RYAN LONGWELL

It hasn't been talked about much, but Ryan Longwell is another Viking that is old enough to be considering retirement after another disappointing end to a season.

E.J. HENDERSON

The Vikings defense missed Henderson greatly after he suffered a gruesome injury late in the year.  Questions as to if/when Henderson will be back into football shape immediately arose and his rehab will be a main storyline throughout the offseason.

LESLIE FRAZIER

With Tony Dungy endorsing his cause, Frazier could very well find himself a head coaching position this year leaving the Vikings searching for a new defensive coordinator.  While the Vikings elongated season seemingly hurt Frazier's chances of getting a gig, there are still a few spots where he could end up.  Keep an eye on Oakland's situation with Tom Cable.

ERIC BIENIEMY

The Vikings running backs coach has done a good job of teaching Adrian Peterson many things.  One thing he has been able to coach Peterson through has been his fumble problems.  I hate to say it, but don't be surprised if the Vikings part ways with Bieniemy in an effort to find a way to fix Peterson's problem that was the single biggest factor in their playoff loss.

The early line is in, and if all goes as they say, Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts will have another Super Bowl trophy under their belts. The Vegas line for Super Bowl XLIV opened with Indy as as a four-point favorite to beat New Orleans.

Oddsmaker Sean Van Patten of Las Vegas Sports Consultants said the firm gave that line after watching the Saints have to duke it out in OT with the Vikings in the NFC championship game Sunday night. Las Vegas Sports Consultants provides betting lines for roughly 90 percent of sports books in Nevada.

"The big factor here is that Indy has been there," Van Patten said. "The experience factor is such a huge thing when it comes to the Super Bowl."

Patten said oddsmakers like that Indianapolis has succeeded against two top NFL defenses in consecutive games. The top-seeded Colts beat the New York Jets 30-17 Sunday in the AFC championship.

Indianapolis was a 4 1/2 -point favorite in the Glantz-Culver line, with the over-under at 55 1/2 points.

Sports books gave Indianapolis 8-1 odds to win the Super Bowl at the start of the season, compared with 18-1 for New Orleans.

"I think the Saints are very fortunate to be in there," said Jay Kornegay, executive director of the race and sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton. "To get five turnovers at home and having to go to overtime to win it, I don't think they were playing that well."