<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>? Backward thinking in Arizona: One assistant who thought he was going to be a head coach this year is Arizona offensive line boss Russ Grimm. The former Pittsburgh aide joined Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona after coming close to landing the Steelers' head coach spot, and he might be as important as Whisenhunt to the Cardinals' fortunes in 2007. Grimm must revamp an Arizona offensive line that has long been a sore spot, and to do so means being able to quickly assimilate first-round pick Levi Brown into the starting lineup.The one hitch: Brown, who played left tackle his entire career with the Nittany Lions, is being moved to right tackle to protect the blind side of lefty quarterback Matt Leinart. The transition isn't easy. But Brown, who earned degrees in labor negotiations and psychology at Penn State, has a good attitude about the move."It's still football," Brown said this week. "You block the guy who's in front of you. I know that sounds too [rudimentary] to some people, but it's basically the truth."Brown's initiation to the right side starts in earnest this weekend when the Cardinals convene for a minicamp. The right side is "where you've got to find a way to keep from thinking that the world looks backwards to you," he noted.? Leftwich back in Jacksonville: Quarterback Byron Leftwich garnered a lot of attention this week when he reported for the start of the Jaguars' organized team activities sessions, the first time he has been back in Jacksonville since coach Jack Del Rio proclaimed him the starter for 2007. Entering the final year of his contract, Leftwich needs a big season, especially after injuries have thwarted his progress in each of the past two years. Interesting, though, is the chill that still seems to exist between quarterback and head coach. Leftwich is a very bright guy, more than perceptive enough to realize that Del Rio, despite his support, isn't really a true believer in the team's 2003 first-round pick. For now, though, Leftwich has accepted that and seems focused on getting ready for what many feel is a crossroads season in his career."When you look at the big picture here, and winning football games, it really doesn't matter," Leftwich said of his relationship with the coach. "It's just not relevant to what we're trying to do here. I don't call Jack and say, 'Meet me at the bar and we'll have a drink.' I don't do that because we're not that close. But at the same time, I respect him as a coach and I'm sure he respects me as a player."That said, Del Rio, who chose Leftwich over David Garrard for the No. 1 spot on the depth chart, acknowledged after the draft that he was tempted to recommend the team choose free-falling Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn in the draft. The bottom line is that Leftwich, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, hasn't been offered an extension and doesn't expect an offer. But someone will pay him big money next spring if he has a big season. Either the Jaguars will keep Leftwich (with an eventual extension or by using the franchise tag on him) or he'll become a free agent.? A bitter divorce: One of the worst-kept secrets in the league the past couple months was that Oakland lead personnel man Mike Lombardi was going to be fired following the draft. So when the veteran talent scout reported for work Wednesday morning, he couldn't have been too surprised to discover that his desk had been cleaned out. You can tell the Raiders really wanted to stick it to Lombardi, whose sour relationship with former coach Art Shell last season sealed his fate. (Question for owner Al Davis: How did that Shell thing work out?) Why? Because the team actually announced Lombardi's dismissal. Remember, this is an organization that probably wanted to keep its top overall pick in the draft a secret, except the rules insisted it let the rest of the league know it had chosen LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell.Because he had more foes than friends around the league, it's tough to divine where Lombardi will land, if anywhere. It's even more difficult, though, to figure what Oakland will do for a replacement. The Raiders have some terrific veteran scouts, grizzled guys who still understand the art of turning over every stone in the pursuit of talent, and that will serve them well. But they still need someone to direct the efforts. And, from what we hear, there aren't a lot of people beating on Davis' door to fill out the application for Lombardi's former gig. Some of the names that have been reported as candidates (by NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, along with a couple agent sources) and who have been contacted by Raiders officials, well, they aren't exactly inspiring. And how many really good talent evaluators want to work for Davis, an owner whose brilliance has waned a bit in recent years and who still wants to call all the personnel shots?It sure looks like Mark Jackson, the director of football operations and right-hand man to rookie coach Lane Kiffin, is going to benefit from Lombardi's departure in terms of extending his clout. But one has to wonder how familiar Jackson is with the NFL talent base, given his mostly college background at Southern Cal. Two things about Lombardi, who was with the Raiders for the past eight years (and who had made more than his share of enemies in the NFL before arriving in Oakland): He worked hard and he knows players. Essentially chained to the desk the past few years, the guy probably wore out a few video machines, but that was his nature anyway. And if you wanted to know something about the 53rd player on the roster of every team in the league, Lombardi was the man to call. There were times Lombardi was arrogant and brusque, and he fell in and out of friendships pretty easily (character traits that should have endeared him to Davis), but he had as much knowledge about players as just about any personnel man in the NFL. And when he walked out the door Wednesday, he still did. It might be hard to say the same thing about whoever replaces him.? Mr. Smith still in Cincinnati: Despite published reports that Cincinnati defensive end Justin Smith signed his one-year, $8.64 million qualifying offer as a franchise player this week because he feared that Bengals officials were planning to yank the deal, the team never even remotely considered rescinding the tender. Then again, the Bengals never tried very hard to sign Smith to a long-term deal, either. And they might not make much effort toward extending the one-year contract before the mid-July deadline for signing franchise players to long-term deals.A long-term contract would reduce Smith's salary-cap charge for the 2007 season, perhaps even dramatically, but there are questions within the Cincinnati organization about the real value of the six-year veteran. In fact, a lot of NFL observers were more than stunned when the Bengals exercised the franchise marker on Smith at the outset of the free-agency period. Cincinnati invested heavily in its other defensive end, Robert Geathers, signing the three-year veteran to a six-year, $33.7 million extension just after the 2006 season concluded. Geathers enjoyed a breakout year in '06, notching a career-high 10? sacks, and the consensus around the NFL is that his skill set is better suited to right end, where he could rush the quarterback from the weak side and not confront chip-blocking from tight ends and backs.Eventually, Geathers is going to move to the right side. Smith is probably going to move on, maybe as early as next year. A six-year veteran and the team's first-round pick in the 2001 draft, Smith has never quite lived up to his status as the fourth player chosen overall that year. His career high for sacks (8?) came in his rookie season, and since then he has only once rung up as many as eight sacks in a year.Smith, 27, is a solid two-way defender and had led Cincinnati linemen in tackles each of the past five seasons, a notable enough achievement. But most teams want their right end to be their primary pass-rusher, and they characteristically don't ante up the really big money for stopping the run. Which means that Smith is probably never going to land a monster deal from the Bengals.Still, there are more than a few teams that admire Smith's tenacity, and we know of two teams that were poised to pursue him ardently in free agency before the Bengals used the franchise tag to keep the former Missouri star off the market. Both those teams (and several more who might have an interest in Smith) still have in excess of $12 million remaining in available salary-cap funds. Which makes it even more erroneous to feel that Smith signed his one-year tender because he felt it would be rescinded and the Bengals would cast him into free agency at a time when there is little spending room left leaguewide. To the contrary, even factoring in the rookie allocation pool numbers, there is a ton of cap room left in the league. And if the unlikely had occurred, with Cincinnati removing the franchise designation from Smith, some team would have spent it on him.? The Fox and the Panthers:: Nice job by agent Derrick Fox in hammering out the three-year contract extension for Carolina star wide receiver Steve Smith this week. The deal, which essentially created a six-year, $43.9 million contract (after the extension), had been in the works for a few months. It's hard to land an extension when a player has so much time remaining on his current contract, but the Panthers' brass understands the value of the mighty-mite Smith, and Fox had an excellent feel for his client's market spot over the long term. Scheduled to earn $11.55 million in base salaries from 2007-09, Smith will instead bank $23.45 million in that period, thanks to the contract add-on, which includes an initial signing bonus of $9.3 million. For this season alone, Smith basically trebled his take, increasing his total compensation for 2007 from $3.15 million to $10.3 million. Next on the extension agenda for general manager Marty Hurney: defensive end Julius Peppers and offensive tackle Jordan Gross, both of whom the Panthers want to lock up for a long time.? Curse for VY already?: In what might be a devastating bit of news for Tennessee second-year quarterback Vince Young -- and for a Titans passing game that didn't do a lot in the offseason to bolster its playmaking capability -- veteran wide receiver David Givens revealed this week that he required a second surgery to repair the serious left-knee injury he suffered in 2006. Givens was the team's big free-agent acquisition a year ago, as the club spirited him from New England with a five-year, $24 million contract. But the five-year veteran suffered extensive damage to his knee in a Nov. 12 game, and the initial surgery wasn't sufficient enough to make things right in the joint. Givens underwent a second procedure six weeks ago and, while he no longer needs a cane to get around, he isn't sure when he'll return to the field.? Take a chance on me: Take even a cursory glance at "the remnants," the players left in the unrestricted free-agent market, and it isn't hard to gauge why most of them are still looking for work with the clock counting down toward training camp time. But one of the more puzzling situations, and more puzzled players over his lack of legitimate offers, is nine-year veteran safety Tony Parrish.A really good player for a long stretch -- a defender who was just a cut below Pro Bowl caliber, particularly in his first seven seasons in the league -- the 31-year-old Parrish thinks he still has some football left in him. And for a modest investment, basically a phone call and an airline ticket, some team might be prudent in trying to find out if Parrish is right. "From a physical standpoint," Parrish said earlier this week, "I feel great. The best I've been in a while. Peak condition. And mentally, well, I haven't yet gone into that retirement-type mode a lot of guys get into when the phone isn't ringing as much as you'd like. I'm staying in shape because, when the call comes, some team is going to get a guy really excited about getting back onto the field."After never missing a game in his first seven seasons with Chicago and San Francisco, the former second-round draft pick has made just 19 appearances the past two seasons. Victimized by leg, ankle and knee ailments, and by the arrival of Mike Nolan as the 49ers' head coach in 2005, Parrish simply hasn't played a lot lately. After signing with Dallas late last season when the 49ers cut him, Parrish got considerable playing time in the playoffs, but people around the league seem to have forgotten about him a bit because of his relative inactivity in 2005-06. And that's one of the most frustrating things for Parrish, who has registered nearly 700 tackles in his career and who has 30 interceptions and 45 passes defensed."I see this guy signing here and that guy signing there and say to myself, 'What's up with that?' I mean, I don't get it really," he said. "But I'm using it as motivation. The bottom line is, I'm a football player and I'm ready to play football again. I haven't hit the withdrawal point yet, where it starts to hurt, but it does make you wonder. But if I can get into the right situation, one where a team just lets me be me, then a lot of teams will be wondering why they didn't call me." In the three-season stretch from 2002-04, Parrish had 20 interceptions, including nine in 2003 -- the second most in the league in that time frame, behind the 21 thefts registered by Baltimore safety Ed Reed. With the series of nagging injuries, Parrish might not be the same guy he was three or four years ago, but he's still good enough to warrant a shot in someone's camp.? What would Lombardi say?: Green Bay ranked third in the league in rushing in 2003, dropped to 10th in 2004, and then really slumped, falling to No. 30 in 2005 and 23rd in 2006. And that was with Ahman Green on the roster. Green is departed, having signed with Houston as an unrestricted free agent, and one has to wonder where the Packers are going to find a viable running attack. None of the veterans on the current roster has ever carried even 100 times in a season. The presumptive starter, two-year veteran Vernand Morency, has only 142 rushes in the NFL. Although he's entering just his third season in the league, Morency is already 27, playing a position where 30 is regarded as entering one's dotage.The Packers almost certainly would have chosen California tailback Marshawn Lynch if he had lasted until their No. 16 slot in the first round of the draft (he went instead to Buffalo at No. 12, with Green Bay apparently not trying to move up to get him). With Lynch gone, the Packers selected Nebraska's Brandon Jackson in the second round. Jackson is the kind of one-cut runner the Packers want in their zone-blocking scheme, but he started only 11 games in three seasons with the Cornhuskers and never rushed for 1,000 yards in a campaign. So there's a question about just how viable a running game Green Bay will have to complement Brett Favre's passing.By the way, the selection of Jackson ended a streak of 42 straight draft picks by the Packers without taking a tailback. The streak dated to 2002, when Green Bay chose Najeh Davenport in the fourth round. Jackson is also the first back taken earlier than the third round since Favre became the team's starter.? Deja vu all over again: In 1991, then-Atlanta Falcons coach Jerry Glanville took a chance on a longtime college assistant, hiring (as his special teams coach) Southern California aide Bobby April, who had been trying to make the jump to the NFL level. The move turned out to be one of the best gambles Glanville ever made, as April quickly developed into one of the NFL's premier special-teams coordinators. Now, Glanville, hired in late February as head coach at Division I-AA Portland State, is going to see if lightning will strike twice. Glanville recently added April's 25-year-old son, Robert, to his staff. The younger April, who used to pal around with Glanville's son, Justin, at training camp in Suwanee, Ga., will coach the linebackers and also serve as the special teams coordinator. If the kid is even half as good as his father in teaching the kicking game, he'll someday be in the NFL.? Never hurts to look: It's a signing that might quickly prove to be more innocuous than intriguing, but when the Indianapolis Colts added free-agent tight end Mike Seidman this week, it was a gamble that made a lot of sense. The former UCLA standout was a third-round choice of Carolina in the 2003 draft, but injuries marred his Panthers' tenure and limited him to 40 games. Chosen as a guy who might give the Panthers a receiver with presence in the middle of the field, it turned out Seidman was a better blocker than catcher. That said, his hands are plenty good enough and, in Indianapolis, where offensive coordinator Tom Moore loves to use a lot of two-tight end formations, Seidman has an outside chance to resurrect is career.The Colts already have Dallas Clark, of course, at the position. All the marvelously diverse Clark did was come back from a late-season knee injury to lead the league in playoff receptions. And the coaches like Bryan Fletcher, who came up big for the Colts in the AFC Championship Game, too. But there is always room in the Indianapolis offense for another playmaker. And while that term is rarely applied to the injury-prone Seidman, his talent merits a look. He could be gone in a week or two. Or he could become a solid role player for the Colts if he can stay healthy.? The list: Although coach Romeo Crennel recently assured incumbent Kevin Shaffer that the starting left tackle job is still his to lose, the Cleveland Browns certainly selected Wisconsin star Joe Thomas with the third overall pick in the draft to stabilize a position that has been a longtime revolving door for the team. Since the Browns were resurrected as an expansion franchise in 1999, they have used 10 different starters at left tackle. Here's a list, along with the number of games each player started: Ross Verba, 35 starts; Roman Oben, 29; Shaffer, 16: L.J. Shelton, 16; Barry Stokes, 13; Lomas Brown, 10; Joaquin Gonzalez, three; Scott Rehberg, two; Chris Ruhman, two; Steve Zahursky, two.? Stat of the week: Denver coach Mike Shanahan has dumped his leading rusher after each of the past four seasons. Tatum Bell rushed for 1,025 yards last year, and he was traded to Detroit this spring in the deal that brought the Broncos cornerback Dre' Bly. Mike Anderson was released after posting 1,014 yards in 2005. In 2004, Reuben Droughns ran for 1,240 yards and was traded to Cleveland for defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban and defensive tackle Michael Myers. And in 2003, Clinton Portis was swapped to Washington for cornerback Champ Bailey after rushing for 1,591 yards.? Punts: Former Notre Dame tailback Darius Walker, one of the 11 underclass prospects in this year's class who went unselected, has signed a free-agent contract with Houston. The former Fighting Irish star isn't particularly big or fast, and he and his parents probably made a bad decision by not having him stay in South Bend for his senior year. But Walker is more elusive than his pedestrian stopwatch speed would indicate, and he has good hands. It's a long shot, definitely, but he might be able to fit in with the tailback-needy Texans as a third-down back. ... Pittsburgh added an interesting tailback this week when it signed six-year veteran and onetime 1,000-yard rusher Kevan Barlow. The former 49ers' starter, whose career has been in a tailspin the past three seasons, will vie with Najeh Davenport for the backup job behind starter Willie Parker. The Steelers lacked a true power-back complement to Parker last year after Jerome Bettis retired, and Barlow will get a shot at filling that void. There's no telling what he has left, given that he has averaged a paltry 3.2 yards per carry over the past three seasons after ringing up a 4.7-yard average in his first three years in the NFL. But for the veteran minimum salary, and a $40,000 signing bonus investment, he's worth the gamble. The one caveat: Barlow has been a habitual moaner throughout his career and that might not play well in the Pittsburgh locker room.Cincinnati, which last month added free-agent defensive tackle Michael Myers, is close to further bolstering the position. The Bengals are expected to sign unrestricted free agent Kenderick Allen, who was limited to just two appearances in Green Bay last season because of a foot injury. ... Claimed on waivers from Miami last week, defensive tackle Manny Wright, who was infamously moved to tears by then-Dolphins coach Nick Saban during a training camp practice in 2005, lasted in Buffalo for only six days. The Bills quietly waived the former USC tackle, who sat out all last season because of depression, at midweek. As physically gifted as Wright is, his career could be over because he can't control his weight and seems unmotivated on the field. ... Oakland defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who had a real bounce-back season in 2006, when he notched 10 sacks after getting only five in 2005, has shed 49 pounds in the offseason. Sapp has his weight down to an impressive 285 pounds after playing at 334 pounds a year ago. ... Washington backup quarterback Mark Brunell, coming off shoulder surgery this spring, won't throw at full velocity until training camp. ... Jets offensive guard Pete Kendall has stayed away from the team's offseason workouts to protest his contract situation. New York officials shopped the 11-year veteran in trade talks during the draft and could still deal him. Miami has some interest. The Jets are keeping tabs on 10-year veteran Joe Andruzzi, recently released by Cleveland, because he could be a replacement possibility if Kendall is traded.Minnesota coach Brad Childress hasn't said so publicly, but it's clear that the starting quarterback job is Tarvaris Jackson's to lose. That became clear when the Vikings passed on the sliding Brady Quinn in the first round of the draft and chose Oklahoma tailback Adrian Peterson instead. Jackson started only two games as a rookie in 2006 and logged just 81 pass attempts, but Childress seems content to hitch his star to the youngster. The fallback is former Jets backup Brooks Bollinger, a guy Childress likes more than most people do. One of the biggest surprises of the offseason was that, after releasing Brad Johnson, the Vikings never really tried to add to the quarterback depth chart. Despite persistent reports, the team never got involved in trying to add then-Atlanta backup Matt Schaub and Childress never showed any interest in David Carr when the Texans released him.? The last word: "They better quit watching The NFL Network all day and they better quit playing their video game, and get off the cell phone and the Blackberries and all that stuff, and get outside here on the nice, green grass. Find a place to run and run. And then run again, and run again."-- Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden, upset about the conditioning of his rookie class after observing the group at last week's minicamp.</div>
Brunell coming off surgery to be a backup for the rest of his career. He had a good 2005 season, not gonna lie, so I'm not really bitter about him. I like the guy. You can't fight age, he made a good attempt to though.
