NFL Capsules - NFC: Agent, coach: Favre will play if ankle is healthy
MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — Brett Favre's flip-flopping is at full throttle, the surest sign yet that training camp is under way in Minnesota.
Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and Favre's agent, Bus Cook, said Wednesday that the veteran quarterback plans to return to the team if he is healthy. The 40-year-old Favre is still rehabbing his surgically repaired left ankle that he injured in the NFC title game loss at New Orleans.
"I know it's a decision that he wrestles with," Bevell said after a morning practice as Favre was throwing the ball around with high school students in Mississippi. "He's a great player. He's a great competitor. He mulls things over. He's an emotional guy. So he thinks things through long and hard and takes his time with his decision. So I'm not surprised that things started to come out. We just have to wait and see."
A day earlier, Favre texted some teammates and Vikings officials to say that his ankle was not healing like he had hoped and that he planned to retire. Favre denied sending any such messages and there was no explanation for the discrepancy.
Bevell, who became close friends with Favre during three years as his quarterbacks coach in Green Bay, said he has spoken to Favre recently, but not in the last 24 hours. He said it's been his understanding that if Favre's ankle heals, he will return to play for the Vikings this season.
"That's what I've been getting all along," Bevell said.
Cook told The Associated Press that Favre will visit his surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, next week for an evaluation.
"He's working out really hard and everything seems to indicate that if he is healthy and can contribute and play at the level that he has become accustomed to, he will play," Cook said.
The two-year, $25 million contract Favre signed last year calls for him to make $13 million this season. Cook said there have been no negotiations on any adjustments to the deal.
"If they want to reward him, nobody's going to walk away from that," Cook said. "But it's not a factor in his decision."
Outside Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss., Favre told reporters his decision is "not about the money." He also said he has been in touch with the team and "they know what's going on with me."
On Tuesday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Favre had contacted teammates and team officials to tell them his ankle was not healing well enough and that he wasn't going to return for a second season in Minnesota. Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe confirmed the report, saying Favre "told a couple guys on our team he's going to retire."
Shiancoe said Wednesday he still had not heard from Favre directly and declined further comment.
The drama is nothing new for the Vikings, who have been answering questions about Favre's intentions for three years. Favre told the Vikings just before training camp last year that he was staying retired, only to change his mind and join the team before its second preseason game.
An entire advertising campaign has been built around his indecision and his teammates have become accustomed to hourly changes in his status.
"It's been about three years now I've been getting asked the Brett Favre questions," said a grinning Tarvaris Jackson, who would take over as the starter if Favre does not return. "It's kind of part of my life now. I actually might miss it."
Favre has considered retiring every summer since 2002. The famous waffling helped prompt the Packers to trade him to the Jets in 2008. After a so-so season in New York, he announced his retirement in early 2009 for the second time, then wound up signing with the Vikings.
He had one of his best seasons last year, with career bests in completion percentage (68.4), quarterback rating (107.2) and fewest interceptions (7), while throwing for 33 TDs and 4,202 yards to lead the Vikings (12-4) to an NFC North title. Most people around the NFL figured he'll come back for another run at what would be a third Super Bowl appearance.
"He is an emotional guy. He does tell you how he's feeling. He is very honest," Bevell said. "That's what I love about him and that's what a lot of people love about him. Sometimes it serves him well, sometimes it doesn't."
Like the rest of the league, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he was taking a "wait and hear" approach to the latest twist in the Favre saga.
"Brett Favre is great for our game. And I think the passion he has for the game is extraordinary," he said. "I think we all love to see him play, but we want him to do what's best for him at the end of the day."
Same goes for Drew Brees, whose Saints play the Vikings in the NFL season opener on Sept. 9.
"Haven't we all seen it before?" Brees said. "I'm not going to believe it until he doesn't walk out of the tunnel on Sept. 9."
Goodell wants to 'wait and hear' on Favre
WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is taking a "wait and hear" approach to the latest twist in the Brett Favre saga.
Asked Wednesday during a visit to Baltimore Ravens training camp about the 40-year-old Minnesota Vikings quarterback's possible re-retirement, Goodell noted that Favre himself has not addressed his status publicly.
"We haven't heard from Brett, so we're all reacting to media reports," Goodell said. "So I think I'd wait and hear what Brett has to say."
Favre reportedly has told some teammates and Vikings officials his surgically repaired left ankle is not healing the way he would like it to and that he won't return to Minnesota this season. He has considered leaving the game every summer since 2002, and actually did announce his retirement twice already before returning to the NFL.
Favre is a three-time league MVP who won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers and holds most major NFL records for quarterbacks.
"Brett Favre is great for our game. And I think the passion he has for the game is extraordinary," Goodell said. "I think we all love to see him play, but we want him to do what's best for him at the end of the day."
Redskins coaches — from 'one extreme to the other'
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Redskins switched from a laid-back coach to a general-in-charge — and it was just what the team needed.
"You want somebody that's demanding and has the discipline and gets the respect of the players," one of the players said. "And I'm not so sure we had that here last year."
Must be talking about 2010, right? Jim Zorn to Mike Shanahan?
Nope, 2001. The player speaking was Jeff George, of all people, summing up the 180-degree switch from Norv Turner to Marty Schottenheimer.
When the Redskins make a coaching change, they really make a coaching change. Every move in 11 years under owner Dan Snyder has flipped the needle completely, alternating back and forth between the laissez-faire of Turner, Steve Spurrier and Zorn and the unquestioned totalitarianism of Schottenheimer, Joe Gibbs and Shanahan.
"One extreme to the other," said fullback Mike Sellers, who has spent nine of the past 12 seasons in Washington.
Each time a change was made, players said it was long overdue. Schottenheimer, it turns out, was eventually deemed to be too strict — so it was a much-needed breath of fresh air when he was fired after one 8-8 season and replaced by Spurrier.
"It's more laid-back," linebacker Kevin Mitchell said at Spurrier's first training camp. "Instead of somebody telling you what to do, it's more 'I'll leave it up to you.' It's up to you to get yourself in shape, and it's up to you to do all the other things, be on time. We're all adults now. It's your job, and you've got to take care of your job and your responsibilities."
And so on. And so on. Spurrier was such a class clown that players lost respect for him over two seasons of 12-20 football, so they welcomed the return of discipline under Gibbs. But Gibbs was so tense — and intense — during his 30-34 record over four seasons that players then welcomed the fly-by-wire Zorn.
"People aren't on pins and needles around him," center Casey Rabach said after Zorn was hired.
Now, of course, it's time to tee up Zorn, who was fired after a Spurrier-like 12-20 over two seasons. Shanahan is — you guessed it — just what the doctor ordered.
"I'm all about organization and structure," linebacker Brian Orakpo said earlier this year. "Last year was a mess."
Said Rabach: "He's not loosey-goosey like Zorn. He definitely has his script, where he has a plan laid out. There's no deviating from this plan. So yeah, it's fun. I like it."
So, once again, a coaching change has brought a renewed optimism to training camp. But, given the track record of the past decade, why should fans expect this change to be any different? When various Redskins were asked that question this week, they gave answers that could have been copied-and-pasted from the first camps under Schottenheimer and Gibbs.
"He'll put that hammer down on you if you don't act right, and I think that's what we needed around here," said six-time Pro Bowl tackle Chris Samuels, who retired last year and is working with the staff on a coaching internship.
For those wondering if the cycle will ever end, try looking at front office politics. Schottenheimer was given full authority over roster decisions and had a strong finish in his only season, but he was fired because Snyder wanted to regain some of that personnel control.
Gibbs, also a buck-stops-here Hall of Fame coach, had his struggles but managed to coax two playoff appearances out of the team before announcing his retirement.
By contrast, when Snyder and front office pal Vinny Cerrato were more hands-on, the team looked almost ridiculous. The combined records under the strict coaches is significantly better than those compiled during the laid-back regimes.
So now it's back to the firm hand. Shanahan has been given contractual control of personnel and isn't taking flak from anyone, even disgruntled lineman Albert Haynesworth. Cerrato has been ousted and replaced by general manager Bruce Allen. Snyder is letting his new hires run the show — at least for now.
"I think it's a whole change of atmosphere here," Rabach said. "It's not just a change of coach. With Bruce Allen coming in, Vinny out, Mr. Snyder being more hands-off and letting these guys do it, I think that's the biggest change."
But, having been through so many 180-degree turns, Rabach wasn't about to guarantee that this one will be a success.
"Who knows if this works?" he said with a shrug and a laugh. "You never know."
Notes: RT Jammal Brown did not practice Wednesday due to a mild hip muscle strain. Shanahan said Brown had an MRI but was fine and would return Thursday. Brown sat out last season with the New Orleans Saints because of a hip injury and sports hernia. ... WR Mike Furrey missed practice due to illness.
-- Joseph White
Lurie says Vick guilty of mistake in judgment
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said Michael Vick's mistake in judgment shouldn't be confused with any wrongdoing.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told Vick on Tuesday he will not face disciplinary action following a shooting at the quarterback's birthday party in late June.
Lurie spoke to reporters Wednesday for the first time since that incident. Questions about Vick dominated his annual state of the team address.
"Nothing he did was factually creating any wrongdoing," Lurie said. "He shouldn't have been there, but he was trying to appease some people from his old neighborhood and family."
The NFL and the Eagles looked into a shooting at a nightclub in Virginia Beach, Va., where Vick held his 30th birthday party on June 25. Police said no charges will be filed because of a lack of cooperation by witnesses and the victim, who Vick's attorney Larry Woodward identified as Quanis Phillips — a co-defendant in Vick's federal dogfighting case.
"If there was wrongdoing, there was no way we were to continue with Michael in his career," Lurie said. "There's no question on that. It was just waiting for the facts to come in."
Vick called his conversation with Goodell "great" and said he's relieved that he can now focus on football.
"I understand everything that I'm supposed to be doing and that I'm out here to do," Vick said.
When the Eagles signed Vick to a two-year contract last August after he finished an 18-month sentence in federal prison, he was told he has no margin for error. Vick was a model citizen off the field and in the locker room during his first season with the Eagles. He was popular among his teammates, who voted him winner of the Ed Block Courage Award.
"He's been a great teammate, he's been the single best player in the first year of employment by this organization in the community," Lurie said. "I have to deal with the facts. When Michael had his birthday party, which was a mistake for him to be at, there were four independent investigations. If any of those four investigations turned up any wrongdoing, there would've been no tolerance to that."
Vick is comfortable knowing all his actions will be scrutinized closely and that he can't afford any mistakes.
"It's not difficult living a zero-tolerance life," he said. "You've got guys walking around doing it every day. You've got the other 52 guys on the team doing the same thing, living a life that they are supposed to lead, enjoying themselves, and doing the right thing, and that's what it's all about. It's not hard to live a zero-tolerance life. You just put yourself in the right positions at all times and think through situations thoroughly."
Vick is trying to rejuvenate his career in Philadelphia after going to three Pro Bowls in six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He hasn't started since the final game of the 2006 season, but is an injury away from taking the snaps as the backup behind Kevin Kolb.
Donovan McNabb was traded to Washington in the offseason.
Vick was expected to play a major role in Philadelphia's offense last year, but he wasn't much of a factor. Vick completed 6 of 13 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown and ran for 95 yards and two scores, getting most of his action in a variation of the wildcat formation. He tossed a 76-yard TD pass in a 34-14 loss to Dallas in the playoffs.
"If you look at my life over the last year, I've been trying to do all of the right things, whether it's in the community or on the field, or with my family," Vick said. "And I think that's what it's all about. I'm having fun. I had the most fun in the last year than I've had in the last eight years I've been playing football. I'm just happy to be in the situation I'm in, I'm blessed, and I just have to keep moving forward."
-- Rob Maaddi
So far, nothing but praise between Cutler, Martz
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (AP) — So far, it's nothing but sweet talk.
Jay Cutler mentions an aura, the respect his new offensive coordinator commands when he walks into a room or steps on the field.
Mike Martz, meanwhile, can't stop heaping praise on his quarterback and simply laughs at the notion that they won't get along.
Whether they do could go a long way toward determining if the Chicago Bears get back to the playoffs after three straight misses and save coach Lovie Smith's and general manager Jerry Angelo's jobs. Coming off a 7-9 season, they're operating under a win-now mandate from above and made several big changes during the offseason.
The biggest, of course, was signing Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers, but they didn't leave the offense untouched.
They added running back Chester Taylor and overhauled the coaching staff on that side, with Martz's hiring as the headliner.
The move made sense on many levels but also raised a few questions like: Can Martz and Cutler coexist?
"I don't mean any disrespect, but if you knew how silly that was and how easy things are between he and I," said Martz, who as an NFL Network analyst last year criticized Cutler. "I thoroughly enjoy his company, just enjoy being around him outside the football part of it too. He's got a great sense of humor by the way. He's a little screwed up in his sense of humor like I am, so we kind of fit pretty good I think."
Cutler, meanwhile, said Martz commands instant respect.
"With the young group we have, like us offensively, I don't think there is any question he was going to get it," he said.
The architect of the "Greatest Show on Turf" in St. Louis, Martz was hardly a surprise choice to replace Ron Turner. After all, he's known for developing quarterbacks and he also happened to hire Smith as defensive coordinator when he was the Rams' head coach.
His history is well-documented. The story of Kurt Warner going from stocking grocery store shelves to thriving in Martz's offense while leading the Rams to a championship has been told and retold.
Warner threw for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns while starring alongside Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt on the 1999 team's title run, when Dick Vermeil was the head coach and Martz was the offensive coordinator. The Rams also produced the first of a record three straight 500-point seasons.
The Rams continued to win with Martz as the head coach, going 56-36 in 5½ seasons, but he became known for what many thought was arrogance. He also clashed with the front office before a messy exit.
Stints as offensive coordinator in Detroit and San Francisco didn't end well even though he coaxed a 4,000-yard season out of the Lions' Jon Kitna.
And on the NFL Network last year, Martz criticized Cutler's postgame demeanor following a season-opening loss at Green Bay. A visit with Cutler in Nashville after interviewing at Halas Hall went a long way toward easing any ill feelings.
Now, it's his job to get Cutler to cut down on the interceptions after throwing 26 last season — the most by a Bears quarterback since Sid Luckman's club record 31 in 1947 and the most in the NFL since Brett Favre's 29 for Green Bay in 2005.
"Mike's fun," Cutler said. "It's been fun getting to know him and being around him. He's 24/7 football. There is no getting around that. Every once in a while he has a few jokes, he has a few stories. It hasn't been a bad thing meeting with him a lot."
There are some adjustments to make, with the seven-step drops and throwing to spots, but each sees some of himself in the other. Martz also sees some of Warner in Cutler.
"He has that Kurt Warner awareness, if you will," Martz said. "He has such a keen sense of where everybody's at. He sees everything, can diagnose it without even thinking about it, which allows him to excel with what we do. We keep trying to challenge him with a lot of new things, just try to keep pressing the envelope. And then when we get into the season, then we'll come back and zero in each week. So we're trying to get as many different concepts in with Jay as we possible can."
He added Cutler has handled everything "remarkably well."
"He has always tried to do everything just the way we've asked him to do it, and then when things do break down, the really great ones have a sense of just finding a guy," Martz said. "He can do that. I think he's been pretty remarkable so far. He's everything that I had hoped that he would be absolutely."
-- Andrew Seligman
No. 2 pick Suh joins Lions with $68M deal done
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions waited four-plus days to get Ndamukong Suh on the field, then wasted no time putting him on their first-string defense in his first practice.
Suh took a flight from Nebraska to Michigan on Wednesday, signed his contract, passed a conditioning test and joined his teammates for drills on a muggy afternoon.
"I'm happy to finally be out here," he said. "I enjoyed it, knocking off the rust."
The No. 2 pick overall in the NFL draft was greeted by chants of "Suuuuhhhh!" from fans as he walked on the practice field and was the center of attention for the next two hours.
Suh didn't report to training camp Friday and missed seven practices.
"It was a tough time," he said. "Obviously, I wanted to be in camp on time as I said previously. Unfortunately, I wasn't, so I apologize for that.
"As we all know, it's a business."
Suh's five-year contract is worth $40 million guaranteed and as much as $68 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential.
Team president Tom Lewand said he's not concerned with how Suh's deal compares to the contract Matthew Stafford signed last year after Detroit drafted the quarterback No. 1 overall. Stafford's six-year contract has $41.7 million in guarantees with a maximum value of $78 million.
"The focus needs to be what they do for a living, not how much they make doing it," Lewand said.
Does Detroit coach Jim Schwartz expect Suh to make an immediate impact on the defensive line?
"Yeah," Schwartz said. "Did you see the contract? We expect big things from him."
Suh does, too.
"It would be a disappointment if I didn't have that expectation," he said. "I'm going to continue to hold myself to a high standard to want to be the best and to be part of a team and a group of players that turns this around."
The Lions are counting on the former Nebraska defensive tackle to bolster a defense that ranked among the league's all-time worst in points allowed the past two seasons while the team went 2-30.
"We're obviously working to get out of that slump," Suh said.
Schwartz said earlier in the week he was disappointed Suh missed some opportunities in training camp and later veteran center Dominic Raiola told reporters Suh should tell his agents to make a deal. Soon thereafter, both sides agreed to terms.
"That's all I wanted," Raiola said. "It was nothing personal toward him or anybody else. We drafted him high to help this team and I was anxious to get him in here."
Suh's absence was half as long as Calvin Johnson's in 2007, when the team had its longest holdout since Bryant Westbrook missed almost the first month of training camp in 1997.
Detroit is hoping Suh was worth the wait.
He was the first defensive player to win The Associated Press College Football Player of the Year award since its inception in 1998 and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. The 6-foot-4 Suh, whose weighed in at 305 pounds Wednesday, swept the Nagurski and Bednarik awards as national defensive player of the year last season and won the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy honoring college football's top linemen.
His breakout game was a 4½-sack performance against Texas in the Big 12 title game and he finished with 12 sacks.
He was the first defensive tackle to be drafted among the top two picks since Oakland took Darrell Russell in 1997.
Suh graduated from Nebraska with a degree in construction management from the College of Engineering, and he donated $2.6 million to the university last spring, including $600,000 to create an endowed engineering scholarship. The rest will pay for upgrades to Nebraska's strength-and-conditioning program for athletes.
His mother, Bernadette, is a schoolteacher from Jamaica who required her son to post a 3.0 grade-point average before he could play football. His father, Michael, was born in Cameroon and became a mechanical engineer after moving to Portland, Ore., where his large son was quite a sight on soccer fields.
"Ndamukong is an incredibly intelligent individual and he's also very mature," Lewand said. "I'm very impressed with him as an individual and obviously organizationally, we're impressed with him as a football player as well.
"We're excited to get him in here."
Suh said he was a little surprised to be practicing with the first-string defense right away, but intends to prove he deserves to be there.
"All I want to do now is come in here and work and make sure I can earn that starting job even though I'm out there with the 1s already," he said.
-- Larry Lage
Saints focus on limiting long runs from scrimmage
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The defense stuffed the running game in the New Orleans Saints' first live tackling drill of training camp. The next step is translating that success into the season.
Getting tougher against the run is one of the top priorities — if not the No. 1 priority — for New Orleans.
The Saints finished 21st in rushing defense on their way to winning the Super Bowl.
And the number of big plays they gave up were ugly. Counting the playoffs, they allowed four runs of 65 or more yards. They gave up runs of 20 or more yards in 11 games.
Baltimore, which had the NFL's No. 1 rushing defense, allowed one run of 30 yards or longer.
New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams scoffed at the suggestion he could live with the long runs as a byproduct of his aggressive scheme.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said incredulously. "I'm not correcting it? I'm not answering that."
He didn't have to, the answer has come in practice.
During the opening tackling drill, linebackers coach Joe Vitt screamed before almost every snap that the offensive players considered the defense soft against the run. He kept telling his guys to "look them in the eye."
The defense followed by locking the running game down, an infrequent occurrence last year.
"We looked at it real hard this offseason," defensive line coach Bill Johnson said. "Everybody had his fingerprints on (the run-stopping issues). It's not one position. It's that linebacker and that defensive line playing together, that linebacker and that secondary playing together and learning to fit off each other."
The problem may have been growing pains in Williams' new multiple scheme. If one player overran his gap, a gaping hole developed.
That's what happened on the first snap of the Saints divisional round playoff game against Arizona. On a counter, Cardinals' running back Tim Hightower ran past defensive end Bobby McCray, cut back as free safety Darren Sharper slipped and raced untouched for a 70-yard score.
The Saints limited the Cardinals to 31 yards on 14 carries the rest of the way.
"It was a junior high play and a misalignment," Johnson said. "They came back and ran that play maybe five or six more times and got nothing."
Johnson expects the defense to make far fewer mistakes in the second year of the system. The Saints also tweaked their personnel on the line, releasing end Charles Grant, signing end Alex Brown and versatile lineman Jimmy Wilkerson as free agents and trading up in the draft to get big LSU tackle Al Woods (6-4, 307) in the fourth round.
Brown has a reputation as a pass-rushing specialist, but his 48 tackles for the Chicago Bears last year (Wilkerson had 48 tackles for Tampa Bay as well) would have been the second-highest total on the Saints behind Pro Bowl end Will Smith's 49.
"You have to earn the right to rush the passer," Brown said. "That's what's stopping the run does."
The solution may be as simple as defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis staying healthy. He missed six games with a knee injury last season, and the run defense suffered without him.
In the first five games he sat out, the Saints surrendered an average of 149.6 rushing yards. Before he got hurt, they held six of eight opponents below 100 yards on the ground.
"We're already leaps and bounds ahead of where we were last year at this time," Ellis said. "I definitely plan on the long runs being a thing of the past. I need to stay healthy and help my teammates as much as possible."
Notes: Running back Pierre Thomas returned to practice in the afternoon sessions Wednesday after X-ray were negative on the left wrist he injured Tuesday. Following the morning practice, coach Sean Payton said Thomas would be back Friday. Said Thomas: "Coach Payton said it might be a couple of days. I told myself, no, it's going to be a couple of hours. I shook it off." ... The Saints plan to bring in running back Ladell Betts for a tryout Thursday. Betts, 31, was released by the Washington Redskins this spring after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament last season. ... Tight end Jeremy Shockey (sore left knee) missed his third consecutive day. ... Linebacker Scott Shanle missed his second consecutive day with a sprained left knee. ... Cornerback Tracy Porter sat out the second half of the morning practice and the entire afternoon workout with back spasms. ... Rookie first-round cornerback Patrick Robinson tweaked a hamstring in the morning practice and did not return. Payton said he did not consider the injury serious.
Ryan, Gonzalez embrace sweltering training camp
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and tight end Tony Gonzalez say despite their success together, there is room for improvement.
And for them, it starts with extra repetitions at practice.
"Yeah, no question," Ryan said Wednesday. "When you have crucial situations in games like we had last year, a number of times, you want something to fall back on, and training camp is a good time to get those reps in."
On fourth-and-goal in Week 15 last year at the New York Jets, Ryan and Gonzalez connected for a 6-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Without that touchdown, the Falcons' embarrassing streak of failing to have consecutive winning seasons in their 44-year history would've continued.
"That play we ran against the Jets was a play we ran the first day of camp," Gonzalez said. "It adds up. It does add up."
Despite sweltering conditions at the 2 1/2-hour session Wednesday, Atlanta did its first work of camp in goal-line, third-and-one and "backed-up" situations.
Players don't want to look too far ahead with training camp less than a week old. Many of them feel as if the Sept. 12 season opener against Pittsburgh is months away, so they want to avoid making mistakes that could irritate coaches and make everyone's job harder.
"We work on percentages in terms of how often we're going to (see) something, and you're going to get an average of three series downs in the red zone," head coach Mike Smith said. "We're probably going to get one third down-and-short, and when that arises we have a call in our back pocket we feel really good about."
When the Falcons acquired Gonzalez in an April 2009 trade with Kansas City, they knew were getting more than the NFL's career-leading statistical tight end.
They traded for a savvy veteran who could read coverages accurately, run-block effectively, chip defensive ends, outrun linebackers after a catch and prove too big for defensive backs to tackle.
Though Gonzalez is adamant the NFL should eliminate two-a-day practices to reduce wear and tear during training camp, the 34-year-old also sees some benefits in working hard and long.
"The playbook (consists of) about 200-250 plays, and you have to know all of them," he said. "You cannot mess up. Everybody has to be on the same page. If one guy messes up, the whole play is screwed up. The other side of the situation is you better be prepared, and that's why we're out here twice a day, I guess, for better or worse."
Ryan, 25, acknowledges that training camp doesn't come easily, but when he looks back to the 10-7 win over the Jets, who advanced to the AFC title game, he believes the team benefits.
"It takes time," said Ryan, the 2008 NFL offensive rookie of the year. "It takes years and years and years to play with somebody and know exactly what they're going to do and have that complete trust in them. I think we're making strides on that."
Notes: Smith said LCB Dunta Robinson (hamstring) will miss the scrimmage Friday night at nearby North Gwinnett High School. Robinson has been out since Sunday. ... Smith doesn't know if RB Jerious Norwood (hip) will be able to play. Norwood has been out since Monday. ... WR Harry Douglas fully participated in practice for the first time since suffering a knee injury that kept him the entire 2009 season. ... DT Peria Jerry, who missed 15 games with a knee injury, worked in 11-on-11 drills for the first time since camp opened last Friday.
-- George Henry
Panthers' Anderson happy to be starting somewhere
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — James Anderson raced through the line and helped level running back Josh Vaughan short of the goal line during Carolina's first full-contact scrimmage of training camp on Wednesday. Anderson jumped to his feet, flung his arms and yelled.
It was the type of play the Panthers need from Anderson, who has gone from a player on the cut line to starting strongside linebacker on a revamped, youthful defense.
"It's a great feeling to know that you have a spot where they're telling you to go play. Most times it's trying to earn a spot to get a jersey," Anderson said. "When you have come in as a guy who has an opportunity to be the starter it's a different kind of position. It's an honor to play there."
Not that the 26-year-old Anderson wouldn't mind staying where he finished last season. When Thomas Davis went down with a knee injury, Anderson started at weakside linebacker and collected 54 tackles over the final six games, the best stretch in his four years in Carolina.
But when Davis tore his anterior cruciate ligament for a second time in June, Anderson didn't return to that playmaking spot in Carolina's Cover-2 defense. Instead, the Panthers moved Jon Beason from middle linebacker to weakside, inserted Dan Connor in the middle and Anderson at strongside to replace Na'il Diggs, who was released.
"I didn't know what they were going to do," Anderson said. "I had an idea they may try to put me back over there because of the way I played last season. They will figure out what's the best combination for us to win games."
Coach John Fox hasn't ruled out making changes, but seems comfortable with the current configuration.
"Those guys are trained to play a lot of different positions, and James has even played in the middle for us," Fox said. "Right now, we're just trying to evaluate who our top three guys are and we'll continue that through camp."
But wouldn't Anderson want to play on the weakside, where he could roam free and use his speed to make plays instead of getting tied up with fullbacks and tight ends on the other side?
"I would prefer where coach Fox says James Anderson goes," Anderson said, smiling and in a diplomatic tone.
Really, Anderson can't do much complaining after an uneventful, and perhaps disappointing, start to his career. A third round pick from Virginia Tech in 2006, the 6-foot-2 Anderson played mostly special teams as a rookie, before getting two sacks in the season finale.
But Anderson's development was slow, and he was on the inactive list for the final six games in 2007 and for eight more a year later. It put his future in jeopardy until his strong end to last season.
The Panthers gave Anderson, a restricted free agent, a one-year, $1.176 million tender.
"It's definitely a good point for me in my career, especially this being the fifth year and to be the starter and be the guy," Anderson said. "It's a different feeling from being a rookie not knowing what to do."
Anderson is one of numerous players Carolina is depending on this season to have larger roles after the exodus of veteran starters in the offseason. Diggs was a steady, if unspectacular, player on a defense that steadily improved in 2009. Diggs finished with 46 tackles last season.
"The strongside is a slightly different beast," Anderson said. "You have to take on more blockers and be the guy who goes in there and does all the dirty work. On the weakside, you get to be the guy who makes all the plays. It's two different worlds."
But after spending much of his career watching, Anderson just wants a spot on the field.
"I think I have developed progressively every year," he said. "The more you play the more experience you get and the more you're able to recognize what people are trying to do to you."
-- Mike Cranston
Rams confident they made right investment
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Five days later, the St. Louis Rams had no regrets about the deal they gave No. 1 draft pick Sam Bradford that guarantees the quarterback $50 million.
They had several months to assess not only Bradford's surgically repaired shoulder, but his character, before making the six-year deal worth at least $78 million.
Before vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff hit the negotiating table with Bradford's agents, the Rams had seen the quarterback in rookie minicamp and in OTAs. They took note of his interactions off the field, too.
"You can't get fixated on the guarantee," Demoff said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We know what we have, he's got talent."
The 2008 Heisman Trophy winner appears completely recovered from shoulder surgery that cost him most of his final season at Oklahoma. From all accounts, he's a player the downtrodden franchise can rebuild around, and doesn't appear to have let riches go to his head.
Bradford took more than his share of good-natured ribs after the first practice. The next day he was used as the return man on the punt team session, although coaches told him to stay well away from the ball.
"Sam had a rough night, just so you all know," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "Just the razzing. But he survived."
After Wednesday's practice, Spagnuolo complimented Bradford for his fiery nature.
"I do like the fact that when he makes a mistake he's not very happy, and he shows it," Spagnuolo said. "He's got some feisty to him. I think that's good in a quarterback."
So far, so good.
The team has also spent a lot of money on the men up front who will be protecting Bradford, even if those on the flanks are young. One tackle, Jason Smith, the second overall pick last year, missed half of his rookie season with a concussion. The other likely starting tackle is rookie Rodger Saffold, the first pick of the second round.
For now, Bradford is a backup behind veteran A.J. Feeley, learning the rookie ropes.
"The more we put in, the more I have to think," Bradford said. "Not slower, but you just start thinking a lot more with everything that's coming at you.
"The more I'm out there, the more comfortable I become."
Just having him around gives an offense that was the NFL's puniest last year during a 1-15 season a lot more promise. Bradford welcomes scrutiny from the coaching staff.
"If someone messes up, including myself, I expect to get jumped and I expect the coaches to come at me and tell me what I did wrong," Bradford said. "I hope everyone else feels that way, too."
Years from now, if things haven't worked out, it won't be for lack of effort.
"There's no deal at the top of the draft that protects you if the guy's a failure," Demoff said. "I trust our decision-making process, I trust the kid.
"It's a headline-making deal, I get that. I hope we get what we paid for."
Bradford's deal represents a jump of nearly 20 percent from the $41.7 million last year's No. 1 pick, Matthew Stafford, got from the Lions while working for the same agents.
The Rams prefer to focus on the total deal, worth $13 million a season, and getting the most out of Bradford.
"If we'd gotten a flat deal along with Stafford and the guy busts out after three years, do you think we're any happier?" Demoff said. "I hope he leads us to five Super Bowls and makes $86 million. I would be ecstatic.
"You want all these players to max out, you can't worry about guarantees."
The contract, which is 32 pages long, was briefly bounced back to the Rams by the NFL because of what Demoff said was a typographical error. Unlike the contract negotiations that weren't finalized until the night before the first full-squad workout, the revised deal was quickly approved the same day.
Demoff said it was something like buying a car. A pretty expensive car.
"You walk in and they offer you sticker. End of the month, they might start $5,000 below sticker. Wouldn't it be great if both sides said, 'Hey, let's start at the end?' But both sides always think, 'I can do a little better than this.'
"These deals, they all happen in a rhythm."
-- R.B. Fallstrom
Breaston steps into Boldin's role with Arizona
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Steve Breaston came out of college with pro scouts believing he was a kick and punt returner, at best.
There were questions about his ability as a receiver, and he fell to the fifth round of the 2007 draft. After 132 receptions for more than 1,700 yards the last two seasons, nobody should be wondering about that anymore. Now Breaston comfortably steps into Anquan Boldin's old role as No. 2 receiver for the Arizona Cardinals.
He says there are no butterflies. After all, he often filled in when Boldin was injured, with 15 regular-season starts and four in the postseason the last two years.
"For me, it's all about having confidence," Breaston said. "I've shown that I have the potential and the ability to come in and perform that role. But the biggest thing is carrying it over to a 16-game season and the playoffs. The fact is I earned the respect of my teammates and my coaches. I know they've got confidence I'm going to go out there and do the job."
His role as a punt returner, something he loves, probably will be a casualty of his ability as a receiver. Coach Ken Whisenhunt is auditioning replacements because of Breaston's increased role in the offense.
"I think you have to," Whisenhunt said. "If he's going to get X-amount more snaps as an offensive player, which we anticipate, then you have to be careful about putting him out there to take those shots as a punt returner and a kick returner. ... It was difficult to tell Steve that because he takes a lot of pride in it and he didn't want to do that."
Breaston has been the Cardinals' punt returner since he was a rookie, when he returned one 73 yards for a touchdown in a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last year, he returned one 64 yards to set up the tying score in a win over Minnesota. LaRod Stephens-Howling replaced him as a kickoff returner a year ago and he is sad to lose the punt return job.
"You understand it," he said, "but it's a role that you've been doing a long time. But you've got to understand what the coaches are trying to do and what's good for the team."
His days as a punt returner probably aren't finished altogether. Whisenhunt said the team may turn to Breaston at times.
"The thing you have to be very clear about, which I was with him, is that 'There may be a time when we call on you to do that,'" Whisenhunt said. "You have to stay up to it because if we have a critical situation where we know the guy has to catch the ball, definitely Steve is the guy that we would put in there because of his track record."
With Boldin unhappy with his contract situations the last two years, Breaston knew this day was coming. So did Early Doucet, who stepped into Breaston's third-receiver role when Boldin was hurt late last year. Although they may not bowl over would-be tacklers the way Boldin did, the trio of Larry Fitzgerald, Breaston and Doucet still can make a lot of yards after catch, Breaston said.
"We make plays," he said. "Don't get me wrong. We lost a lot. Q was the leading receiver in franchise history. Whenever you lose a big part of the offense, it's' going to hurt a little bit. But when Q was here, we were preparing for this role."
Despite all his confidence, Breaston said he never forgets why he was drafted so late, that so many doubted his ability.
"I kind of feel that every day when I step on the field," he said. "I feel like someone is waiting for me to falter, so they could say 'I told you so.'"
Fitzgerald watched then-offensive coordinator Todd Haley and passing game coordinator Mike Miller work with the eager Breaston early in his career.
"They worked with him tirelessly to try to get him right, and you see it helped him develop into a great receiver," Fitzgerald said.
Breaston, who has been nursing a sore groin in camp, is sporting a sort of mini-dreadlocks look. He said he wasn't sure if he liked it and he may get it cut.
No, said Fitzgerald, the leader of what might be the No. 1 dreadlocks team in the NFL.
"It looks good on him," Fitzgerald said. "He looks distinguished. We're not going to let him cut it."
-- Bob Baum
Rookie Iupati making strides early in 49ers camp
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Just four days into training camp, Mike Iupati already has become one of the most prominent and talked about figures on the San Francisco 49ers' revamped offensive line.
That's sort of the way both Iupati and the 49ers had it planned when the team made him the No. 17 overall selection in the draft this spring. They just didn't expect it to happen this soon.
But now that the rookie is settling in at left guard and taking most of the snaps with San Francisco's first-team offense, coach Mike Singletary can't deny he's pleased with Iupati's progress.
"I'm liking what I'm seeing there," Singletary said Wednesday. "He's very mature, he's hungry and he wants to play. He wants to take advantage of every opportunity he gets."
Iupati is getting plenty of opportunities during the early stages of camp after the incumbent starter at left guard, David Baas, went down with a concussion Monday.
Iupati was drafted to challenge Baas for a starting role as the 49ers look to upgrade a unit that has been one of San Francisco's primary weaknesses in recent seasons.
Singletary already has stated that he expects Iupati and the team's other first-round pick, No. 11 overall selection Anthony Davis, to become starters at some point during their rookie seasons.
Iupati already is there, at least while Baas continues to sit out practice on a day-to-day basis. Could Iupati already be there to stay?
"I can't control that," Iupati said. "That's the big man's call. There's a lot of training camp to go and there are a lot of things I need to work on. But it's intense and it's physical out there, and I'm having fun. This is an early opportunity for me, and I just have to get better every day and keep on grinding."
Iupati's ability to grind in the trenches has been one of his most impressive qualities. The 331-pound mauler has displayed the power and strength that made him one of the top line prospects in the draft, smothering linebackers more than a few times during team drills.
That's exactly what the 49ers want but haven't been getting enough of in recent seasons.
"We were not good enough up front (last year)," Singletary said. "It's as simple as that."
Iupati and Davis were brought in to change that, and so far the results have been promising.
The 323-pound Davis is on a more gradual learning curve at right tackle, where he's expected to challenge incumbent Adam Snyder for the starting role. But Davis took most of the first-team snaps Wednesday with Snyder moving to right guard in place of regular starter Chilo Rachal.
Rachal collapsed during Tuesday afternoon's practice and was motionless on the turf before he was taken to the locker room on a cart suffering from what the team called dehydration. Rachal watched practice from the sidelines Wednesday and is listed as day to day.
Snyder has previous starting experience at guard, so Davis could see his first-team work increase if Snyder is needed there. But in the early going, Iupati is the rookie lineman who has created the biggest waves.
Tucked in between left tackle Joe Staley and center Eric Heitmann — the two most distinguished veterans along San Francisco's offensive line — Iupati already looks something like a natural.
"All I can say about Mike is he's going to be a great player, and he's already doing a really good job for us right now," Heitmann said. "Obviously, he has all the physical tools he needs to be successful at this level and he's got a great attitude. The more experience he gets, he's just going to keep getting better."
Carroll's evolution evidenced in rest for Seahawks
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Matt Hasselbeck and Lawyer Milloy have 34 seasons of NFL experience combined.
Yet they have never experienced a day off just five days into a training camp.
That's what new Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll gave his team on Wednesday. No practice. No meetings.
No, really.
They will get another day off on Monday. That's two full breaks over the first 10 days of camp.
Carroll is also resting veterans on a rotating basis each day.
No wonder Houshmandzadeh is smiling as though he's at a summer swim camp instead.
"This might be the best camp I've ever been a part of," Houshmandzadeh said. "You see the players' schedule. You have to work hard — but they are taking care of you."
Carroll gathered his players in the middle of the field after Tuesday's single practice, Seattle's sixth of the preseason. He told them to be smart, stay safe, get off your feet and report back for a check-in meeting on Wednesday night.
They told him, "Thanks!"
It's the Seahawks' first score of the season.
It's also an early example of how Carroll has changed his first go-around in the NFL, as coach of the New York Jets in 1994 and of New England from 1997-99.
"We'll take it, we accept that," said Hasselbeck, who also sees Carroll's gift as a test. "I think with that comes a huge responsibility as players. It's an opportunity to do the right thing or do the wrong thing. He asked us to get off of our feet and rest and that kind of thing. Hopefully we all take advantage of it. I know I'm going to."
It's only sounds like Camp Breeze. When they've been practicing, the Seahawks have been cracking each other since Day One. The first practice was in shoulder pads, something else most players hadn't seen. The second day, Seattle was in full pads slamming ball carriers to the turf.
Starting linebacker Aaron Curry was hitting teammates so hard during Saturday afternoon's second practice of camp that he hasn't been back on the field since because of a concussion.
It's more like Camp Preservation.
"Every single practice, every step we take out here is critically important that we max it out in every direction. The emphasis of how we practice and the intensity that we maintain also has to do with how we're prepared physically to do that," Carroll said. "There will be a rhythm to it that will get us through this process, hopefully, at a very high tempo. We don't know any other way to practice.
"The question is, 'How do you do this?'" Carroll said. "By managing it really well, that's part of it. We have a full plan on how to do that."
Carroll says this is the way he did it at Southern California while building a national champion and Pac-10 dynasty at USC, until he left the Trojans in January.
Milloy was with Carroll the last time he was in NFL. He said Carroll never did this in New England — but that it's an example of how the coach has learned how to treat pros this time.
"I think coming back into the league, he has the understanding that it's a long season and you have to go into the season fresh," Milloy said. "He understands that some of the guys who have been around understand the game, and that you don't have to evaluate them as much."
Milloy spent his first veterans' rest day this week holding a play card and instructing younger Seahawks defensive backs from the sideline throughout practice.
Not that he loved doing that.
"He was (griping) and moaning," Carroll said of the 14-year veteran with whom the coach says he had a "special relationship" in New England.
"We had to hide his shoulder pads today."
-- Gregg Bell
