NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

The lockout may still be on but that doesn't mean that Lamarr Woodley is keeping quiet. After appearing on the NFL Network he stated that Joe Flacco would never win a Super Bowl"in this lifetime" mainly because he has to go through the Steelers to get to win the AFC championship.

I'm never one to agree with a Steeler but Flacco is 2-6 lifetime against Pittsburgh including two playoff losses. It's one area that has to improve for him to take the "next step" in the leading Baltimore on a championship run. Woodley also has been a tough man to check in the past and has registered 7.5 sacks in 8 games against the Ravens. So while I don't appreciate the trash talk he's been able to back it up – for now. Weather he can keep that promise throughout his career is another story.

Just some more fuel to the fire as hopefully the two teams will open the season at M & T Bank on September 11th.

Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal reports NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith's contract is due to expire March 14 2012, according to the organization's annual report filed recently with the Department of Labor, meaning Smith could be up for re-election of the group not long after the labor strife between the league and players is settled.

The NFLPA paid Smith $1.53 million in the year ended Feb. 28, 2011, his first full year as head of the organization, the report filed late last month with the Labor Department revealed. The group's licensing arm, NFL Players, paid him $920,000, the annual report shows, for a total of $2.45 million. Like his predecessor, the late Gene Upshaw, Smith's pay is shared between the NFLPA and the for-profit licensing unit.

"His contract was obviously framed around these negotiations. He has to prove himself," said Bill Gould, former National Labor Relations Board chairman and a Stanford Law School professor. "This whole process is a big test for him."

38-year-old quarterback Kerry Collins isn’t ready to hang up his cleats just yet, and he’d like to continue his career with the Titans, Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean reports.

In his five seasons with the Titans, Collins is a 56.7% passer, throwing for 6,804 yards with 33 touchdowns and 29 interceptions, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl following the 2008 season.

The Titans used the eighth overall pick on University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker, who may not be ready to be an instant starter in the National Football League. 2010 sixth-round pick Rusty Smith is chomping at the bit for a starting opportunity, and the Titans have been linked to free agent Matthew Hasselbeck, who is familiar with general manager Mike Reinfeldt, who as an executive with the Seattle Seahawks, negotiated Hasselbeck’s six-year, $48 million contract that expired after the 2010 season.

The longer the lockout lingers, the more likely it is that Hasselbeck returns to the Seahawks. Collins thinks the same logic applies to him and the Titans.

“It is legitimate speculation to think the longer this thing goes, the more attractive I would be to them because of my familiarity with everything,” Collins said. “I know we have new coordinators, but I am sure a lot of terminology is going to be the same. On paper it makes sense to at least talk to me about coming back.”

3 Takes: Should the Ravens resign Chris Carr or Josh Wilson?

Optimally, it would be a bonus to sign both Chris Carr and Josh Wilson.  However, with the acquisition of rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith the team may focus their resources in other areas and realistically will only sign one of the two.

We pose the question to our Ravens Gab columnists: "Who should the Ravens resign, Carr or Wilson?"

Matt Jergensen:Player Analyst/Columnist

Many of the so-called experts have called out the Ravens secondary as one of the weak points. I think that some of that is overblown and instead I feel the blame should rest on a subpar pass rush. With the Ravens drafting Jimmy Smith, Domonique Foxworth returning from injury and Lardarius Webb most likely the nickel back Baltimore appears set.

I'd like to have both of them back as both are well-liked and solid players. If I had to guess it may come down to age (Wilson is 26, Carr 28) and who they can get more cheaply. So I'd go with Wilson.

Though after reading this rumor it may send both of them out the door.

Click HERE to read the rest

NFL player Brett Lockett admitted on CNN’s Showbiz Tonight by way of E!online.com that he has never met Kim Kardashian, the woman he has claimed he had a five-month “physical relationship” with while the E! star was involved with Kris Humphries, who is now her fiancé.

When she caught wind of the accusatory In Touch cover, Kim immediately denied even knowing who Lockett was and promised legal action against him and the magazine. Meanwhile, Khloé Kardashian Odom called Lockett plain “crazy.”

“I’ve said before that it was a physical relationship,” Lockett, a safety for the Patriots, said. “But when I mean ‘physical’ I say that meaning there was a physical aspect in the relationship, meaning that, I don’t really want to get into the details…”

And yet he does a bit, but that’s for him to worry about out.

When asked point blank if they’d ever met in person, he admitted, “No, we have not. She was very busy.” (Once again, something you don’t need to have a personal relationship with Kim to know.)

Lockett claims that they hooked up via phone after Kim’s friend Lauren London told Lockett’s brother that Kim wanted the athlete’s number.

“I thought he was playing,” Lockett said, adding that after he gave out his digits, he got a call from Kim 10 minutes later and that’s how the whole thing started.

Free agent Patriots running back Kevin Faulk is coming off a torn ACL, is unsigned for next season, and turned 35 years old last week. Faulk not only has no plans to retire, but he hopes to return for a 13th season in Foxborough.

“That word (retirement) is not in my vocabulary right now,” Faulk told Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald. “If it's possible, if (the Patriots) allow me to, I'd like to play another season.

“People are telling me they drafted two running backs, but hey, I've never questioned anything the Patriots have done. That's why they're who they are.”

Faulk ranks 5th in club history in rushing yards (3,550) and receptions (424). While running backs Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley were added to a backfield that already has Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, the Patriots typically carry five running backs in the regular season. If Faulk is healthy, the Patriots could value his veteran presence and ability on third downs enough to bring him back next season.

According to Peter King of Sports Illustrated, one impediment to a deal dating back to the owners’ March 11th offer to the players was the fact that ownership didn’t offer players any “backside” to the salary-capped years of 2011 through 2014, and players wouldn’t have been able to benefit from any major influx in income by owners, which wasn’t good enough for the rank-and-file, rightfully so.

King is now told owners likely will be willing to give players a percentage of the profits beyond what the owners project for those four seasons. This would become significant in 2014, when the league will reach new network TV deals with its partners, and the rights fees could go up monstrously.

Here’s the biggest reason: If the players got no piece of the new TV hike, how do you think they’d feel if headlines in the future trumpeted a $2-billion increase in the rights fees beginning in 2014 (that’s a guess on my part, but it might not be far off if the ratings continue to soar) and the owners could pocket the increase beyond the scheduled bump in the cap and expenses? Not good, which is why the owners have to put in a backside to the deal and now, apparently, will do so. The dinner Roger Goodell and De Smith had Wednesday night, alone? “Don’t underestimate it,” King is told. “A very good sign.”

One week after quitting the Ohio State Buckeyes, quarterback Terrelle Pryor has hired Drew Rosenhaus to be his representation, the Associated Press reports.

Pryor has notified the school that he has hired an agent, making him ineligible to return for his senior season. Pryor intends to enter the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft, which is usually conducted in mid-July.

During his three-year career with the Buckeyes, the 6-6, 233-pound Pryor has completed 62.2% of his pass attempts for 6,177 yards with 57 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. Pryor has added 2,164 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground.

There was talk that Miami may have interest in Pryor, but it’s unknown if they would want him as a QB or another position.

Legendary senior writer jclombardi presents fan poll for greatest Packers QB.