Weekly NFL News and Notes Column

 

Spartan Devin Thomas is thrilled to be in Arizona with new QB Donovan McNabb for “HELL WEEK.” McNabb asked all of his WRs to head west to work with him prior to camp. This type of leadership from McNabb will be great for Devin and the Skins.

 

We have written for weeks about T.O. and if a team will take a chance on him. This is still the NFL so one has to think someone desperate and with an injury will in August. Still he comes out with ideas like people are picking on him and you have to laugh. This is a classic example of how people with enormous talent can get side swiped by that muscle (or lack thereof) between their ears.

 

The Lions want to sing the human SUHnami. Why haven’t they been more aggressive? It makes no sense. One long time NFL agent told me on Friday, “I don’t get the wait idea.” His reasoning is that Suh will want money like Stafford last year. With Gerald McCoy being taken at three behind him and playing the same position, he thinks Suh and his agents should wait for a Bradford deal above him to get done and a McCoy deal below him. He said, “The Lions could have probably got him for less had they tried to sign him early, but sometimes they think they are the Giants and wait. It makes no sense.”

 

The Baltimore Ravens have instituted a new autograph policy for training camp. You know those miserable and hot days when fans come out and cheer essentially when there is nothing worth cheering about? The new policy says only kids ages 6-15 can get them. Sounds reasonable, but it has gone over like a lead balloon in the Ravens Nation.

 

Scott Pioli has a lot of Bill Belichick in him. He is loyal to guys that he thinks work hard and don’t quit. Even if it sometimes doesn’t show right away, he feels like his mentor that work ethic pays off. Now the Chiefs believe that OT Branden Albert may pay off for that faith in 2010. Talk out of KC is that a light has come on for the young man this off-season. I can’t wait to watch him play.

 

Am I the only one who thinks Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and Pete Carroll’s apparent lack of concern for USC being punished for what happened on their watch is egregious? I can’t be, but watching them blow this thing off really grinds my gears. The NCAA isn’t a police agency so they can’t go and punish them, but there has to be something more that can be done. 

 

In Philly they never seemed to take to Donovan McNabb. People around that team are holding their collective breath with Kevin Kolb. Like Detroit, the backup QB is always the favorite guy. Will the fans let him make mistakes in his maturation process or will they get on him day one? It’s Philly, so they will probably get on him and now the question is can he handle it?

 

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will also have their eyes open wide watching Sam Bradford’s deal with the Rams. They all saw what Matt Stafford got and with Brady and Manning still in prime shape this could get real interesting. Don’t worry about Manning his deal will get done. If you are a Patriots fan, the deal with Brady could go on and get real nasty.

 

How popular is Brett Favre in the Twin Cities? A group of fans drove to Mississippi to watch him work out at a local high school. More amazing than that is the thought in the Twin Cities is that they expect Favre not just this year, but also one more.