NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Panthers head coach Ron Rivera will be on hand for Cam Newton's pro day on Tuesday so let the rumors start flying. Rivera's attendance is not super significant given that the Panthers will have Newton visit their facility at some point, but because Rivera is attending Newton's pro day, he won't get to see Ryan Mallett's pro day. Auburn and Arkansas pro days are both slated for Tuesday.

Overlapping pro days are problematic because not only will scouts/coaches/front office execs not get to see both players (and thus compare both players), but they could also be tipping their hand to other teams. (If a team sends its GM, head coach and VP of college scouting to Newton's workout while having its offensive coordinator and regional scouts go to Mallett, which player would you say they're most interested in?) Peter King wrote about it in Monday Morning Quarterback. “Really drives me nuts,” one top college scout told me Sunday. Not that there aren’t going to be conflicts. But to see so many big schools loading up on such a small number of days.

Today, one major school (Tulsa) has its Pro Day; next Monday, there are two (Central Michigan, LSU). Thursday, 13 major schools have Pro Days. Who plans this stuff? I understand coaches and scouts want the weekend off…. And to get to Baton Rouge you’d have to travel on Sunday unless you were flying private. But for nobody to have noticed Mallett and Newton working out on the same day? Not good.”

Don't do a double take- You read that title correctly. Brian Westbrook, the Philadelphia hero wants to come back to the Eagles. Westbrook, who will be a free agent once the 2011 NFL season begins has made some notions that he would not mind being signed by the Eagles once again. During the weekend he showed serious interest in being reunited with the Eagles, "I would love to back in Philly, so we'll see how things go," said Westbrook to NBC 10 and Comcast Sportsnet.

Not only did Westbrook say that he would want to be back in Philadelphia, but he also said that he spoke with Reid on a frequent basis, "I talk to Coach Reid every week or so," said Westbrook. Meaning that Reid and Westbrook have kept in contact, which means that seeing Brian in an Eagles uniform once again might not be too unlikely. However, where exactly would Westbrook fit if he did come back?

No where. The Eagles have McCoy who will remain the starter no matter who is playing backup, and then Jerome Harrison who won't be losing his role as the player who fills in for McCoy when he is on the sideline. Then the Eagles have just tendered Eldra Buckley, which would lead to the belief that he is going to stay the third string running back taking two to three snaps a game.

Then there is the possibility that Westbrook could just go back onto the special teams side of the ball like he did earlier in his career. But the Eagles have DeSean Jackson returning punts, and Westbrook is too injury prone to be returing kicks, so special teams isn't even an option. With his concussion history, it would be questionable to even have him returning any punts or kicks at this point in his career.

It looks like Westbrook will have to look elsewhere for work, as there is no room in Philadelphia.

The Lions made a few moves on Thursday that offer a glimpse into their plans for the 2011 offseason whenever it begins.  As many fans know, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding free agency in 2011 because nobody knows what the rules will be until a new CBA is signed.  Free agency is broken into two categories, restricted free agents and unrestricted free agents.

Prior to the 2010 offseason, any player with less than four years experience was a restricted free agent.  Teams have two options with restricted free agents, offer them a tender or do not offer a tender and they become unrestricted free agents.  If a team tenders a RFA, the player can sign with another team, but the original team gets right of first refusal and draft pick compensation if they chose not to match the offer.  The 2010 offseason was a little different due to the expiration of the salary cap.  Players needed six years to qualify for unrestricted free agency rather than four.  This removed 200+ players from unrestricted free agency and made them restricted.

Unrestricted free agents can sign with whoever they want with no compensation back to the original team.  That's where the big money is in free agency because every team has a shot at the player and doesn't have to give anything up.

Since the CBA status is still up in the air, teams aren't sure if restricted free agency will go back to four years, stay at six or end up anywhere between three and six years.  With all the uncertainty teams are applying tenders to any player with an expiring contract that has less than six years service and the Lions are no exception.

Reportedly, the Lions have offered tenders to the following players:

LB Zack Follett, DE Cliff Avril, C/G Dylan Gandy, QB Drew Stanton, S John Wendling, CB Chris Houston, K Dave Rayner, DE Turk McBride, FB Jerome Felton and DT Andre Fluellen.

The Lions would only offer tenders to players they would like back on the team, because once the player signs a tender they have a contract for 2011.

The Lions didn't extend a tender to RB Kevin Smith which means he should be free to sign with any team as an UFA whenever the new league year begins.  There is a possibility that once a new CBA is signed, teams could have a second window to apply tenders so it's not a given that Smith is gone.  However, it's unlikely that the Lions would risk losing him by not offering a tender if he was a part of their plans going forward.

The Lions reportedly signed CB Nathan Vasher to a one year deal and Julian Peterson was cut as expected on Thursday as well.

Authorities say former Raiders defensive end Anthony Smith and two others have been charged with murder in the 2008 beating and shooting death of a 31-year-old man in northern Los Angeles County according to the Associated Press.

District attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons says a judge Friday postponed arraignment for the 43-year-old Smith and two other suspects until March 17.

Smith, 41-year-old Charles Eric Honest and 32-year-old Dewann Wesley White were charged last month with one count of murder in the killing of Maurilio Ponce in Lancaster. They were arrested this week and are being held on $1 million bail.

Smith was the Raiders’ No. 1 pick in the 1990 draft, No. 11 overall.

Lately I've completely lost interest in Chad Johnson Ochocinco and is endless shenanigans.

Gratuitous St. Patty's reference aside, I really did like the guy once upon a time.  I used to consider him a true superstar, and it was nice to have a personality on the team that seemed to transcend the sport.

That of course, was back when he still used to be able to, you know, produce.  Remember when Chad used to make those unbelievable catches?  When he used to tip-toe the last square millimeter of green turf on the sidelines?  How he could beat anyone deep?

Seems so long ago.  Since then he's gone on to change his last name and his agent, campaign to be traded, lose badly in the attempt, grovel for fan approval, dance with the stars, get married, and along the way, forget how to play.

His knucklehead act isn't so digestable anymore.  That's why we haven't addressed his future much until now, but today's PFT report on Chad incessant flirting with the Dolphins, Raiders, and Jets bares mentioning.

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From left to right: Bowers, Fairley and Peterson could all improve Bills’ defense

Ah, it's March, which signifies a few things.  Hopefully warmer weather is just off the horizion.  Likewise for the 2011 baseball season.  March Madness is about to begin and NFL mock drafts are running roughshod through any and all Internet databases these days.

No matter what the end result or when this nasty NFL labor dispute is resolved, there will be a 2011 NFL draft, or as I like to refer to the draft as football's version of Full Tilt Poker.  I'll be the first among us to admit I have a sick fascination with scouring the Internet for the latest mock drafts, and I don't even know why.  After all, it's March 6th.  It's a ridiculous notion that the pundits and experts know or even have the slightest inkling of what players teams are going to select.  Heck, it's equally nuts to predict what will happen even a week or a day before the draft.  But yet, we don't let that stop us from guessing and speculation.

So I say, let's not fight it; rather, let's embrace the idiocy and welcome intrigue and guesswork with open arms!  Who's with me?

Okay, in all seriousness the Buffalo Bills find themselves in an all-too-similar, near decade long position of needing to hit a proverbial "home run" with the No.3 overall pick in this year's draft.  The Bills were in the same position just one year ago, in need of a franchise quarterback prospect and makeovers on both the offensvie and defensive lines.  We know how the story ended.  Buffalo shocked virtually everyone and selected RB C.J. Spiller, further crowding their backfield that already had Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch.  Spiller had a disappointing rookie campaign and now the Bills find themselves right back in the top end of the draft after a four-win season in 2010.

So the questioning begin:  Have the Bills learned their lesson?  Will they stop neglecting the lines?  Will they fix the league's worst run defense?  Can they finally start drafting booms and stop collecting busts with their first round picks?

I wish I had an answer to any of the previously purposed questions.  Skim over the mock drafts at your own leisure and you're likely to find one of these names in the Bills' No.3 slot:  Daquan Bowers, Nick Fairley, Marcell Dareus, Patrick Peterson, Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Von Miller and A.J. Green.  It's hard for me to argue against any one of these picks because I think just about all of them could help the Bills either immediately or in 2012.

The biggest discrepancy surrounding Buffalo is what they should do versus what they will do.  And it seems as though the should and the will almost never coincide with the Bills' selection.  Spiller was a luxury pick and it made very little sense to not only draft another running back, but then it made even less sense when the Bills hung on to Lynch for almost half the season before trading him to Seattle and unclogging their crowded backfield.  Like many others,  I thought they should've taken either the best tackle on the board (Anthony Davis or Bryan Bulaga) or rolled the dice on Jimmy Clausen.

On the surface, the Bills' biggest need remains on the defensive side of the ball, particular their porous and downright awful run defense.  It's been horrid and neglected for nearly two seasons now.  Switching back and forth last season from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense didn't help matters.  Neither does the fact the Bills remain undersized at linebacker and don't have another threat opposite Kyle Williams.  Simply put:  the front seven lacks elite talent capable of getting to the quarterback and stopping the running game.

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Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post reports the Baltimore Ravens aren’t planning to lay off employees during a potential lockout.

After the season ended, team president Dick Cass said there is a possibility that coaches might have to take pay cuts if there’s a work stoppage. However, they would earn full salaries if no games are missed.

"We're not laying anybody off,” Cass said. “We made that decision a long time ago; we announced it to all of our employees. So, we are not laying off our employees. On the coaching side, we discussed this issue with the coaches a year ago now, entered into contracts for this upcoming season, the 2011 season, and we have provisions in the contract that in the event of a work stoppage, they might receive a pay reduction depending on how many games we play during the regular season. So, there might be initial… If there is initial pay reduction, they can earn it all back if we have a full season. That's how we're going to address it."

The Ravens aren’t raising ticket prices.

“We looked at it this year and decided it was not a good time to raise prices, so ticket prices are remaining the same,” Cass said. "We will send out invoices for season tickets in the next week or so, and we'll announce our plan in there on refunding money in the event any games are cancelled this year.

"One thing we are going to do is, we'll pay interest on money if we do have games cancelled. And we're not going to try to finance any work stoppage with the money we get from season ticket holders. We will hold that separate. That's our plan."

As if the Eagles offensive line could have been weaker, King Dunlap has now made things even worse. While he was visiting his home state, he ran his Cadillac Escalade onto a plaza which was hosting the Southeastern Women's Basketball Tournament. After charging his Escalade  into the plaza, he was charged with reckless driving and disorderly conduct. This is in direct violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Dunlap claimed that he was picking up his Father who was using a wheelchair, and was told by the police to move to the nearby street. Dunlap refused, and the police were there to arrest him and throw two nice charges on top of him. Whether or not he was actually picking up his Father is irrelevant, he violated the conduct policy with being arrested. Which leaves his career, which has been less than impressive, in jeopardy.

The Eagles offensive line was the weakest part of the team in 2010, and Dunlap was the weakest link. He was able to start several games throughout the season in relief of Jason Peters, and was given the task to cover Michael Vick's back. Teams knew that he was the easiest matchup on the line, and they would target him, which led to Vick taking some rattling hits from behind.

It is unknown what Dunlap's punishment will be, as the Rodger Goodell is preoccupied with CBA talks. Whether it is a one week suspension, or a season long suspension, it won't really effect the Eagles offense. Dunlap has consistently underperformed throughout his career, and is more of a liability than anything else. Philadelphia has to look towards the draft to improve the offensive line, and this is another  reason to just cut Dunlap from the team.

It seems like everyone is weighing in on the recent labor talks in the NFL – even the President.

"My working assumption, at a time when people are having to cut back and compromise and worry about making the mortgage and paying for their kids college education, is that the two parties should be able to work it out without the President of the United States intervening," Obama said. "I'm a big football fan, but I also think that for an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way."

So it appears at least for now that Washington has no plans to get involved. But the perception is clear that even the most powerful man in the world feels this dispute is between two sides that make tons of money.

Ravens Center Matt Birk disagrees with that assessment and said so in a recent interview with 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore.

"I don't agree with a lot of the things the President just said right there in that clip," Birk said. "The one thing I do agree with is that I think we can find a way to work it out. This isn't like some other situations in time in other sports where the owners are losing money, you know, and paychecks aren't cashing and teams are folding up. Owners are making money. Players are making money. So it would just be stupid if thing didn't get resolved at some point.

"Well, he talked about the NFL being $9 billion, which is correct, but he kind of said it a little bit sarcastic. I mean, the U.S. government brings in a couple trillion, don't you think they'd know how to balance the budget?" And 'millionaire players' isn't really correct. Most NFL players are not millionaires. They don't make millions of dollars, but that's okay. You know what, that kind of right there is the general feeling: Billions and millionaires and nobody really cares about their problems, 'Work it out.'"

Birk is considered by many to be one of the smartest players in not just football but sports. I mean he is a Harvard grad which stands for something. But his comments really made me wonder if the perception of millionaire players was accurate.

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