NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

In the first days of Catholicism, when it was illegal to practice the new religion within the Roman Empire, devoted followers would meet in secret, hoping violent dictators wouldn't hear about their transgressions.

That's kind of what's happening in the NFL these days. The players (the devoted followers) are communicating with their leaders (coaches) to follow the orders of their savior (Drew Brees) hoping not to get caught by the violent, greedy, scum of the earth dictators (NFL owners).

The players and coaches have reportedly broken two lockout rules. One, as reported by, Mike Freeman of CBSSports, detailed their secret meetings. He wrote:

The workout ended and a small group of players from one NFL team left a practice field, drove to a nearby house of a teammate and went inside. Once there, one of the players put his phone, near the kitchen, on speaker.

A few rings and then a familiar voice answered. It was one of the offensive assistant coaches. "How did practice go?" the assistant asked and a relaxed, 20-minute conversation between coach and players ensued.

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Houston Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips put a bit more clarification on his defense and the players' roles in it.  Citing the rumor-like "3-4 from 4-3? over-analysis in Houston, Phillips told HoustonTexans.com that his defense really is a "5-2."

"We play five defensive linemen that can rush the passer and two inside 'backers who can tackle people. And we think Mario certainly fits in there."

In the 5-2, Mario will play on his feet but near the line at the Will (weakside) linebacker.  Head coach Gary Kubiak looks to taking reign ofhis "versatile" defense.  Phillips says Mario will be at the Texans' "premier position."

"We put (Williams) in the premier position.  You're rushing the passer more at Will, and so that's where we put him. We were looking in the draft for the best pass rusher. Well, we had him on our team, and so we just moved him to that position rather than going the other way around."

Kubiak also hopes to add former Texan in-season free agent, free agent defensive end Mark Anderson, this offseason.  Although the lineups are far from set, we can know that at linebacker, Mario Williams will rush at the Will.  DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing will man the middle of the field.  Connor Barwin and J.J. Watt will compete for the starting Sam linebacker position.  Kevin Bentley and Zach Diles are free agents. Darryl Sharpton, Xavier Adibi and Stanford Keglar provide depth.  Darryl Sharpton looks like a promising talent, and Adibi should put some work in before his free agency in 2012.  Stanford Keglar is an excellent special teams player and practice player for the offense.  I'm not sure which Texans' linebacker is expected to defend Dallas Clark.  Pollard's not on the team anymore to knock the other team around.

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Hines Ward is speaking out about the latest awful decision by running back Rashard Mendenhall, who got in hot water over tweets sent out following the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

While the running back has said he’s sorry for offending people by the tweets, it wasn’t enough to save his sponsorship with Champion, who dumped him.

"Everybody's entitled to their opinion," Ward said to ESPN. "But that wasn't a good opinion."

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Marc Bulger hasn't been a big winner during his NFL career, but that hasn't stopped insiders from saying he could be the answer for the Cardinals. NFL Network star Jamie Dukes thinks Bulger could be in a similar situation as when Kurt Warner joined Arizona in 2004.

"The team with the most glaring need, and is the most playoff ready, is the Cardinals," said Dukes. "The guy who I think best suits what they want to do is Bulger. He's a guy who can spin the ball and get the ball down the field. That's what they're looking for. Larry Fitzgerald wants a veteran guy who can come in there … and just try to catch lightning in a bottle, again, with an older quarterback."

Last season there were plenty of rumors that the Rams were a team hot on the trail of Randy Moss when the Vikings released him after just a few short weeks.

Despite there not even being a season to play for right now, the rumor mill of Moss possibly being a target for Sam Bradford have started up again.

Reports have stated that the Rams, Patriots and Jets are three possible places for Moss to end up in 2011 when they finally get the silly lockout settled.

The Rams could use a playmaker at the wide out spot, but let’s be real, Moss hasn’t exactly been making many plays as of late, being nothing more than a decoy for most of last season playing for three teams.

Then there’s the point that he’s a distraction off the field as well, and you never know, he could poison a locker room – a place that the Rams have done a good job protecting the past couple seasons.

For the Rams, it comes down to two things – is Moss worth the money, and is he worth the trouble. At the end of the day, it’s not all that hard to figure out the answer to both – no.

Lots of comments on the site about whether to bring back our old friend, Plaxico Burress. Burress is set to be released from jail this summer, and age 33 (34 when the season starts), he still may have a good year or two left in him.

The big question is, should the Giants look at him? Should the Giants sign him?

The Giants don't really need a receiver. You can argue that they need a bigger red zone target, but in terms of receivers, the Giants are set. Hakeem Nicks is quickly becoming one of the best receivers in football. As he gets a bit more experience under his belt, Nicks is poised to be a perennial Pro Bowler. He is, and will be, the number one receiver.

Steve Smith is pretty solid too. Assuming he re-signs, can he come back from his injury? If so, how effective will he be? Can he make an immediate impact on Day 1 or will he need to be eased back in? Big questions, and questions we don't know the answers to. Still, when he's healthy, there are not too many receivers who are better on third down. I think he's the perfect possession receiver.

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NFL Gridiron Gab Draft expert Abe Munch goes team by team into the 2011 NFL Draft, and breaks down all the picks as well as goes in-depth with Best Selection, Sleeper and a Final Grade. Today we take a look at the AFC East. Click the links below to see the breakdown of the Bills, Patriots, Dolphins and Jets.

Bills Gab Grades the Teams Picks in the 2011 Draft
Patriots Gab Grades the Teams Picks in the 2011 Draft
Dolphins Gab Grades the Teams Picks in the 2011 Draft
Jets Gab Grades the Teams Picks in the 2011 Draft

Since joining the the Saints as their #1 draft pick in 2006, Reggie Bush has managed to rush into the hearts of many in Who Dat Nation. I for one adore him and would love to see him stay with the team.

I think he has been a vital part of the team’s success and will continue to do so if he remains in New Orleans. But I must admit that I am troubled by some of his actions as of late.

Earlier today via Twitter, Bush challenged ESPN analyst, Skip Bayless, to a one-on-one full gear battle with contact. Granted, it came after Bayless went on one of his tireless, overly-opinionated rants that questioned the running back’s work ethic and NFL performance.

Now, I don’t know what I would do if someone publicly attacked my work ethic and my job performance. But I’m not a famous person, nor is my life constantly under scrutiny by millions of strangers (thank goodness).

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