NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Bengals owner Mike Brown reiterated to Albert Breer of the NFL Network that disgruntled veteran quarterback Carson Palmer’s trade request will not be granted this off-season.

“We don’t plan to trade Carson,” Brown said on Day One of the NFL Spring Meeting in Indianapolis. “He’s important to us. He’s a very fine player, and we do want him to come back. If he chooses not to, he’d retire. And we would go with (2011 second-round pick) Andy Dalton, the younger player we drafted, who’s a good prospect.

“Ideally, we’d have both of them. That’d be the best way to go forward. If we don’t have Carson, we’ll go with Andy.”

Palmer has four years and $53 million remaining on his current contract, which he signed in December of 2005. Palmer has battled elbow and knee injuries during his career, but is coming off his second consecutive 16-start season. Palmer completed 61.8% of his 586 pass attempts for 3,970 yards with 26 touchdowns last season, but with that came 20 interceptions, five of which were returned for touchdowns.

The 31-year old has been linked to several quarterback-needy teams this off-season, most commonly the Seahawks, where he has ties to former USC head coach Pete Carroll.

A gathering of about 30-40 players for the Buffalo Bills arrived at Sahlen's  Sports Park in Western New York where the Bills will begin a week of player organized workouts during the NFL lockout.

With injuries and precautions being the foremost important thing on their minds, the Bills decided against adding a football to the workouts.   Getting too aggressive or getting injured would jeopardize a player's season and their contracts.  Any player that suffers an injury while not under the direct supervision of the team could wind up being placed on the non-football injury list, which would result a player having to repay bonus money.

The Bills had a handful of key participants show up including quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, running back Fred Jackson, wide receiver Lee Evans, safety Jairus Byrd, linebacker Chris Kelsay and offensive lineman Demetrius Bell.   Two of Buffalo's draft picks, linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and safety Da'Norris Searcy arrived at the workout, but were held out of taking part in any drills or conditioning stints due to insurance purposes.

Workouts are expected to run from Monday through Friday.  In an offseason that has progressed anything but normal or routine for the players due to the lockout,  these workouts this week give the players a brief opportunity to experience the normalcy of reporting to camp, getting in workouts and being with teammates.

According to Ravens veteran WR Derrick Mason, things are not getting any better in the labor dispute.

As a matter a fact, things are getting worse. The two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver is concerned that the regular season won’t begin on time.

“I’m still hoping it gets worked out, but, more and more, things are getting worse,” Mason told the Carroll County Times. “It seems less and less likely that things are going to start on time. I’m trying to be optimistic, but the worse it gets.”

The litigation continues as the NFL and the players prepare for a June 3 hearing regarding the injunction temporarily lifting the lockout.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals seem likely to ultimately rule in favor of the owners to keep the lockout in place after recently ruling against the players, apparently tipping their hand at what’s to follow.

“You win one and then there’s an appeal, and then you appeal again,” Mason said. “That’s why I don’t expect anything to get done until July. When one side or another wins in court, then the other side just appeals it. It’s a long legal process.”

Meanwhile, Mason and several other Ravens are set to conduct three days of informal workouts Tuesday at Towson University.

The primary emphasis is on conditioning work rather than the competitive drills that are typically conducted at an organized team activity or minicamp.

“We’re going to work hard with conditioning and stuff, but we’re going to do it in a smart way,” Mason said. “We’re just strictly going to do conditioning and throw the football. What we’re going to do the next three days is get in some good conditioning and have a good time.

“It’s just like working out on your own. Trust me, I’m not going to put guys in a position where they will get hurt. I don’t want to get myself hurt. You’ve got to be smart and trust your body, no one-on-one stuff. We’ll do hard work, but smart work.”

The Chiefs have announced they are donating $35,000 to assist victims of the tornados that caused devastation in Joplin, Mo., and Reading, Kan.

They’re also helping to organize along with media outlets and the Salvation Army to hold a bottled water drive at Arrowhead Stadium. They’re accepting donations for Heart-to-Heart International.

Donations are being accepted in Lot C at Arrowhead Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The Chiefs Kingdom has been greatly affected by the tornadoes in Joplin and Reading,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the people affected by these disasters," Chiefs President Mark Donovan said. "We were informed that bottled water is the most pressing need at this point. Our hope is that our efforts will assist in meeting the immediate needs of those impacted. Our entire organization stands ready to help in the days and months ahead."

I was looking at the Giants schedule earlier, and the Giants really need to come out of the gate strong. Because after the bye, which is week 7, the Giants schedule is very tough. Home vs Miami (winnable). Here's the real tough part. At New England, at San Francisco. Home vs Philly.  At New Orleans, Home v Green Bay. At Dallas. Home vs Washington. At(ish) the Jets. Home vs Dallas.

If we're talking about slam dunk games on the back part of the 2011 season, it's only Miami and Washington. Even Miami could provide trouble (although, without a true quarterback, I doubt it). San Fran, I think, could be a sleeper. Before the bye, ideally, they need to go 5-1. Maybe 4-2. Because after the bye, you're looking at 4, 5 wins. Maybe 6 if they're lucky.

I think they'll beat Dallas once. They'll beat Washington. They'll beat Miami. They could beat all the other teams. I think they could beat the Jets. But at New England is tough. At San Fran is tough. Philly is always tough. At New Orleans, on Monday Night, is very tough. Green Bay is tough. They could beat Dallas twice. Depends on if the Cowboys bounce back after last year. We think of 10 wins of the playoffs. Didn't work last year, but it usually does. So, they need to go 5-1 on the front stretch. That allows them to go .500 and still make the playoffs. It will be tough.

That first stretch has some tough games. Particularly at Philly. St. Louis could provide some trouble. At Washington, on 9/11, that could be a tough game. But, 5-1 is certainly doable. Heck, 6-0 is doable, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Where Will Torrey Smith Make The Most Impact?

The Ravens second round selection Torrey Smith obviously adds speed to the wideout position. Smith is 6-1, 205 pounds and has 4.4 (forty) speed.  There are two areas that Smith should be able to make an instant impact with the team: One, as a deep threat receiver stretching the field and two, as a kick returner on special teams.

Stretching the Field

Smith is a legitimate deep threat and will have the ability to stretch defenses.  It's been noted by many analysts that he will have to improve upon his route running and he needs to be more consistent with catching with his hands. But, for the Ravens he's all about speed and stretching the defenses– the deep posts and downfield routes ('streak or 'go routes').

Opens Up The Underneath:The Ravens have been searching for speed at the receiver position for a few years now. Donte Stallworth added speed and yet, he wasn't used much in that capacity. Utilized properly Smith's speed alone could open up space for receivers running the underneath routes such as Anquan Boldin and Todd Heap.

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Despite growing support from Jets' fans in recent weeks that Gang Green would be an ideal choice to appear on HBO's Hard Knocks series again in 2011, it's not going to happen according to the NY Daily News.

The Tampa Buccaneers, Denver Broncos and most recently the Detroit Lions have declined invitations to be on the show, raising the question whether Rex Ryan's team would reconsider and appear on the show again.

However, a Jets' encore isn't in the cards. Although HBO hasn't reached out to Woody Johnson and Co. to appear on the show again, the Daily News has learned that the Jets aren't interested in having HBO cameras chronicle training camp again and wouldn’t accept an invitation if asked now in the wake of these rejections from other teams. Rex Ryan's popularity among players throughout the league soared thanks, in part, to the show last summer.

John McLain of the Houston Chronicle reports via twitter that the Texans will make free agent fullback Vonta Leach an offer after the lockout. The Texans must at least attempt to bring back Leach, who is one of the more popular players in the Texans’ locker room.

But we’ll know how serious the Texans are by the size of their offer. The 2010 first-team All-Pro lead blocker wants a big raise and isn’t convinced the Texans will give it to him. According to McClain, it’s going to be a very unpopular move with his teammates if they allow him to leave.

When free agency opens this off-season, the Jets will be interested in signing future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports.

Wide receivers Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards, two former first-round picks with off-field issues the Jets have acquired via trades the last two off-seasons, combined for 105 receptions, 1,650 yards and 13 touchdowns during the 2010 regular season. Both are free agents this off-season, with Edwards guaranteed to hit the unrestricted free agent market.

Edwards hopes to return to Gang Green, Jenny Vrentas of The Star-Ledger reported this weekend.

The Jets are unlikely to be able to afford both for the long-term, and extended a “First- and Third-Round” restricted free agent tender to Holmes prior to the lockout. Moss could be a short-term threat in the vertical passing game, as well as in the red zone.

Moss, 34, caught a career-low 28 passes for 393 yards with five touchdowns for the Patriots, Vikings, and Titans last season.