What about Bob? Glauber's NFL Blog

The answer is "no." At least for the moment.

A league source familiar with the Giants' situation tells me there are no plans to pursue Bears free agent linebacker Lance Briggs. This in spite of the fact the Giants now have a need at outside linebacker after the loss earlier today of Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor.

That the Giants are not interested in a big-ticket free agent linebacker isn't a surprise. After all, they were faced with a similar situation last year. They responded switching Mathias Kiwanuka from defensive end to strongside linebacker, and they signed Mitchell to a one-year deal at the veteran minimum to man the weakside spot.

They've already got Gerris Wilkinson penciled in as the tentative starter in Mitchell's spot mext season, and Kiwanuka returns from a leg injury next season. He was replaced by Torbor after suffering a broken fibula in a Week 11 game against the Lions.

It's a decent draft class for linebackers, so don't be surprised to see the Giants go that route. And there's also talk they'll take a look-see at Steelers free agent linebacker Clark Haggans, who is more than serviceable.

It's what the former Giants general manager would always tell you when a player said during a contract negotiation that it wasn't about the money.

"When they tell you it's not about the money," Young would say in his high-pitched voice, "it's about the money!"

Well, that's not the only thing that's all about the money. Check out Tom Rock's blog post about how quickly the Saints updated Jonathan Vilma's bio, how quickly his Jets' jersey has been reduced, and how quickly the Kris Jenkins' Jets jersey has become available.

Unbelievable.

We almost choked on our laptop last night when we heard that Giants free agent safety Gibril Wilson would get a deal between $6-$6.5 million per season with the Raiders. In fact, we didn't believe it, although we trusted our source and went with it in today's Newsday.

Well, it's true.

Wilson has accepted a six-year deal worth $39 million with the Raiders, according to multiple media reports. If we're doing the math correctly, that's $6.5 mil per year.

Oh ... my ... goodness.

No wonder the Giants had no intention of coming close to that offer.

See ya.

The Eagles have signed Patriots free agent cornerback Asante Samuel, giving them a shutdown corner and likely setting the stage for a trade of either Sheldon Brown or Lito Sheppard, the two incumbent starters. A league source confirms the Samuel deal was for six years and $57 million.

There's also a chance that the Eagles keep all three DBs and move Brown to safety.

Former Giants, Eagles and Saints linebacker Dhani Jones is now a Bengals linebacker.

He agreed to a three-year contract.

Cincy writers will now get to cover a very engaging fellow. Jones likes to play music, and he wears a distinctive bow tie.

Football-wise, he'll fit right in with the Bengals. They just bought themselves a very average player.

(UPDATE: HockeyBob correctly points out that Jones was already a Bengal before re-signing - although he's still decidedly average. HB points out that Jones was never with the Saints, but he actually was. He signed with them last year but was released. Next time I run into Jones, he has permission to tackle me in the open field.)

The Broncos have released receiver Javon Walker, who never really fit into the offense after being dealt from Green Bay and battling through knee issues.

Where will he end up? Don't be surprised to see the Eagles kick the tires.

Bill Parcells promised big changes in his first year as the Dolphins' personnel honcho, and he is certainly delivering on that vow.

He is going nuts on the first day of free agency.

A half hour into the signing period - at around 12:30 this morning - he signed 49ers guard Justin Smiley.

He has agreed to terms with Giants linebacker Reggie Torbor.

He has signed Titans free agent defensive tackle Randy Starks.

He has traded for Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Ferguson.

And now he has agreed to terms with Jaguars free agent wide receiver Ernest Wilford.

Oh, yeah, he's aggressively attempting to sign Cardinals free agent linebacker Calvin Pace.

(UPDATE: Parcells is at it again, signing Raiders free agent QB Josh McCown to a two-year deal. Parcells is signing players faster than Neil Best writes blog posts.)

... but it's not the blockbuster that's been talked about involving the first overall pick.

Tuna will acquire Cowboys nose tackle Jason Ferguson, whom he brought to Dallas from the Jets a few years back.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the 'Boys and Dolphins will trade sixth-round picks this season and Dallas gets Miami's sixth-round pick in 2009.

Still no word on whether Tuna and Jerry Jones will swing a deal that gives Dallas the No. 1 overall pick, which the Cowboys would presumably use to select running back Darren McFadden.

Click here for the latest free agency updates and NFL rumors

The last time Kawika Mitchell was in Buffalo, he was busy transforming the Giants' season with an interception return for touchdown that helped Big Blue's comeback victory over the Bills in Week 16 last season.

Today, he has joined the Bills as a free agent.

The Giants had held out some hope late last night that they could re-sign Mitchell, but once the free agent market opened, he was gone.

They're likely to officially say goodbye later today to safety Gibril Wilson and linebacker Reggie Torbor, who has reportedly agreed to terms with the Dolphins. Wilson is being targeted by Oakland.

Click here for the latest free agency updates and NFL rumors

The Browns had threatened to take a three-year offer off the table if restricted free agent QB Derek Anderson didn't sign it before midnight last night.

But even though negotiations lasted longer than that, he has agreed to a deal that will keep him in Cleveland through 2010. It's believed to be worth $24 million.

A source familiar with the negotiations said late last night that "anything is possible" with the Anderson negotiations. But in the end, Cleveland ponied up enough dough to keep Anderson in the fold and keep Brady Quinn on the bench.

Click here for the latest free agency updates and NFL rumors

My sense is that he is not, but that it won't stop teams from inquiring about his availability.

The Saints are reported to have inquired about Shockey, and I believe there's something to it. A league source was cryptic when I asked about any possible trade talks; his comment was "no deal." Not, "We didn't talk" or "They didn't call." Just "no deal." Even after I'd asked for clarification of what he meant by that phrase.

Not that a trade is imminent, but it is interesting nevertheless that the inquiry was made, especially after the Giants have so publicly and ardently made it clear that they want him on the team.

I don't think a team is willing to pay a high enough price (at least a second-rounder, if not a first-rounder) for a guy who is coming coming off a fractured fibula and ankle ligament damage. And the Giants would have to factor in a significant cap hit if they were to move him.

At the end of the day, I think Shockey stays.

Then again, this is the NFL, where you never say never.

Redskins backup QB Todd Collins re-signed with the Redskins today, but not before the Giants had some discussions about whether or not to pursue him.

Collins is one of the league's better backups, but a league source familiar with the Giants situation told me a few minutes ago that the team knew he'd be too expensive for their salary cap structure. Collins signed a reported three-year, $9 million extension to remain as Jason Campbell's backup in DC.

Neil Best noticed our prolific effort yesterday that resulted in a rare victory over him for blog props. We made it to 32 blog posts, which broke his record by one. He duly noted that accomplishment on his blog ... and then proceeded to post like a maniac.

It's 10:15 a.m., and he's already up to 11 posts. I hadn't written my first post yesterday until shortly before noon. So we suspect that he will set another record by the end of today. But at least we had a day to bask in the glow. And if Best does break the record today, he'll have to wait four years to celebrate the first anniversary. Feb. 29 doesn't come around again until 2012.

On to free agency.

It's not a done deal just yet, but the Patriots' Pro Bowl cornerback is in Philly right now speaking to the Eagles about a free agent deal. He's scheduled to discuss his situation with the media at 4:30 p.m.

You never say never with these things until there's a signature on a contract, so the Eagles are not saying one way or another whether Samuel will be on the team by the end of the day. Remember, they once had a free agent deal agreed upon with Saints center LeCharles Bentley, only to see him turn around and sign with the Browns.

The Jets, Saints and Browns have also expressed interest in Samuel.

Guess Bill Parcells isn't scared of staying up late to help his new team. The Dolphins' director of football operations struck quickly in free agency, signing 49ers free agent guard Justin Smiley to a $25 million deal. The contract was agreed upon at around 12:30 a.m. today, just minutes after the signing period began.

Wait a minute. How'd he negotiated a deal so quickly?!?!

Wink-wink.

Rams fans were shocked yesterday when legendary receiver Isaac Bruce was cut in a salary cap move. But it might not be long before Bruce hooks on with another team. And with a familiar coach.

Looks like the 49ers are interested. Especially now that Mike Martz, the former Rams head coach and creator of the Best Show on Turf in St. Louis, is offensive coordinator.

I know, I said I'd leave Neil Best alone for the rest of the day. But he did have an interesting blog item earlier on a unique marketing event to be held at Friday night's Harvard-Columbia basketball game and then at Saturday night's Quinnipiac-Wagner game. Fans entering the arenas will be given a free box of TicTacs.

I just thought it was cute. I very much enjoy Best's work. He motivates me as a blogger. I hope I can do half the things he's done in his career. If I'm not mistaken, I believe he once wrote 31 blog posts in a single day. Man, I don't think I'd have a brain left if I did that.

Ok, I'm outta here.

Enjoy American Idol.

Go David Archuleta.

Enjoy free agency.

Cheers.

The Glauber family indulges in large helpings of the American Idol singing competition, which resumes tonight at 8 p.m. when they will lop off another couple performers.

It's a solid group this year, and the feeling in this household is that the boys are far superior to the girls this time around. We are convinced that David Archuleta will win the competition.

We are also thankful that there isn't a contestant remotely as controversial - or downright mediocre - as Sanjaya was last year.

I realize this has nothing remotely to do with football, although Idol is on the Fox Network, which does broadcast NFL games.

But it's a blog, and there really are no rules here. If there were, then we wouldn't have written about locker room decorum at the health club urinal.

(Sorry, been a long day. Getting a little punchy.)

We spoke to the Midwest Glauber reporter - Bill, staff writer for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel - earlier today and asked if the story about the Packers mistakenly posting the Brett Favre retirement announcement on their website was a big deal.

"Are you kidding me?!" Bill bellowed into the phone. "It was huge!"

Bill theorizes that there are now three sports seasons his paper must now cover. The Brewers during baseball season. The Packers during football season. And Favre's annual will he/won't he retirement dance during the NFL off-season.

The Packers hope to find out by next week whether Brett returns.

Vikings coach Brad Childress has been a supporter of second-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, despite his struggles in the starter's role. But that could be about to change.

Kevin Seifert of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that the Vikings are in talks with the Texans about quarterback Sage Rosenfels. According to Seifert, the Vikings have offered a third-round pick for Matt Schaub's backup.

Rosenfels has done well in Schaub's absence, and would be a decent fit for Childress' West Coast offense. He'd at least give Jackson a run at the starter's job, and could very well unseat him with a solid preseason effort.

Having just posted that mock draft got me thinking.

I'll be posting one or 20 in the coming weeks, especially as the draft gets closer. And seeing as how our little impromptu contests have become a hit, we'll formulate some ideas about getting Glauber Nation into the act.

"Poppy" was the winner of our first annual Playoff Picks Contest, and we'll figure out a way to drum up some interest in a draft day contest. I'm thinking we go top 10 and leave it at that, lest BBiB!'s head explodes keeping track of all the entries.

Just food for thought. In the meantime, stay up on the draft and read Adam Abramson's blog to find out more about your favorite college players.

We've been fixated on the impending free agent market, which opens in a few hours. But don't forget about the draft in April, because that's when the real nitty-gritty of NFL personnel work comes into play.

With a paper thin free agent class not likely to last more than a week in the current climate of teams flush with salary cap money, here's a look at one of the dozens - no, make that hundreds ... or is it thousands - of mock drafts you're about to be inundated with over the coming weeks.

Essentially, there are none. At least none worth investing heavily in.

The only guy who would have made sense at any level was Rex Grossman of the Bears, who at least has a Super Bowl appearance on his resume. But Grossman re-upped with the Bears for one last attempt to retain his starting job.

The Bears also re-signed Kyle Orton, leaving them with the possibility of trading away veteran Brian Griese, who briefly replaced Grossman last year before suffering a shoulder injury.

The Bears will attempt to deal Griese before next Tuesday, when he has a $300,000 roster bonus due. Chances are they won't be able to find a trading partner, though, which means Griese will be available on the open market in a few days.

That's because the Cowboys have re-signed their veteran left tackle to a long-term contract extension.

Jerry Jones took a calculated gamble by placing the franchise tag on safety Ken Hamlin, which left him vulnerable to losing Adams in free agency.

But Jones played this one correctly, banking on the fact that Adams didn't want to go anywhere as a free agent. The owner was right; Adams agreed to a deal that will likely keep him in a Cowboys uniform the rest of hsi career.

Man, they're dropping like flies.

The Ravens have released veteran center Mike Flynn.

He's available because the Rams have just released the 35-year-old receiver.

Shock? Yes, to some degree. But the Rams had asked Bruce to take a pay reduction, and he refused.

In today's NFL, that doesn't cut it.

Gone.

Very strange story about Brett Favre earlier today.

Apparently, the team's website listed a page that announced Favre had retired. Within a few minutes, the page was taken down, but not before a bunch of people had noticed.

"There's nothing to it," Packers spokesman Jeff Blumb told The Associated Press. "People who handle our Web site had set up a dummy page in the event he was to retire. They were asked to take down that page."

A call by The AP to Favre's agent, Bus Cook, was not immediately returned. Cook told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Favre, in his annual rite of winter, had not made up his mind whether to return for his 18th season. The three-time MVP's decision one way or the other is not expected this week.

In a previous post, inspired by Hookslide's suggestion to come up with new phrases in addition to the "goes Kendall" idea inspired by DC Jets Fan in yet another previous post on Laveranues Coles, there were some breathtaking contributions to our impromptu glossary. Let's bring you up to date on a few:

Anonymous: To Coughlin - a verb - meaning to contract facial frostbite on national TV. "I heard the NHL was gonna have an outdoor game in Calgary in January but they were afraid the players would Coughlin, so they cancelled it."

Hookslide: To Strahan - to take advantage of one's spouse in a divorce proceeding. "Sorry man, I can't go on that golf trip, my ex-wife Strahanned me."

Several from Black N Gold: To Dolan - as in to grossly mismanage a franchise into oblivion (As in Dan Synder is Dolaning the Redskins)

To Eli - To show flashes of brilliance, only to disappear for extended periods of time. "Abramsons blog is great but he has a tendancy to Eli."

To T.O. - To summon up alligator tears at will. As in Rich Rodriguez, new head coach at Michigan T.O.'d on "Between the lines" when asked about his kids.

To Hookslide - To finish at the bottom of the standings.
As in "The Dolphins took a Hookslide in the 2007 season" (Take THAT, Hookslide!)

To BeliCheat - It's self explanatory.

Poppy: To Go Romo...to "snap" under pressure. As in...the Cowboys might never win a playoff game if Tony continues to "Go Romo". Or: "I'm sure Knick fans cant wait for Isiah Thomas to "Go Romo"

bigfroe: To Get Kenyand - "To get passed by someone while seeing the finish line when that competitor was way behind you less than 10 seconds ago. "I don't know what happened to the Patriots. Looks like they got Kenyand by the Giants." or "If What About Bob can Kenyan the rest of the blogs in this last week of February, I will walk over the Brooklyn Bridge in a Speedo next to Glaubs"

Big Ben is Back!: To Glauber: as in, to promise something under false pretenses like when BG promised to eat his notebook but instead gently chewed a piece of paper and then spit it out.

"Bush promised us no new taxes. Guess he Glaubered us."

To pull a Bonds by continually denying the obvious truth (works with Clemens too): "Clinton pulled a Bonds when asked about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky"

To Debbie Clemens: the act of showing off your newly acquired assets: "My next door neighbor is Debbie Clemens-ing the whole block with that new snowblower of his."

More Hookslide: "Bob was just asking for the results, but the reader 'went all BBiB' and turned it into an Excel spreadsheet."

La Monica: To go Bob Glauber: To completely jack other people's ideas and then write about them here.

Glauber: New definition for "go La Monica:" = to become extremely jealous:

"His girlfriend saw him talking with another woman, and she went La Monica."

NKR: "To go Mrs. Bob: to spend your days clicking “Watchdog” to mske sure that Glauber will not have to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge in a Speedo.

"I'll have the Glauber special - the egg white omelet."

To Crean - to actually meet your lookalike in person.

Brady Luck - even though you lose the big game, you still have Giselle to make you forget about it.

Ok, so he isn't a household name like Randy Moss. Or even Plaxico Burress, for that matter.

But I'll be very interested to see where Bears receiver Bernard Berrian winds up in free agency.

The Bears would love to re-sign him before the free agency period begins in a few hours. But with slim pickings on the open market, Berrian has decided he'll get more cash by shopping his services in the coming days.

I suspect there will be some suitor willing to match his asking price. Berrian is a terrific speed receiver, which is so hard to come by these days in the NFL. He's still young and is still subject to occasional drops. But what receiver isn't?

The Browns are hopeful of getting restricted free agent quarterback Derek Anderson signed to a three-year deal before the start of free agency at 12:01 a.m. Friday. But just as a precaution, they officially tendered him a one-year contract that would give Cleveland first- and third-round picks in the event Anderson is signed by another club.

That it has come to this is still one of the biggest stories of the 2007 season. Anderson started training camp buried on the depth chart, but showed enough to convince the Browns to trade starter Charlie Frye to the Seahawks after the first regular season game.

Anderson then went on to have a terrific year and got the Browns within a whisker of making the playoffs.

Just hours before the start of free agency, unheralded defensive end Tommy Kelly has struck it rich with the Raiders.

Kelly, an undrafted defender out of Mississippi state, has agreed to a seven-year, $50.5 million deal that includes more than $18 million in guaranteed money.

That's the good news. The bad news: He's still with the Raiders.

Kelly suffered tore his ACL last Oct. 28 and was out for the season, but is expected to be at full strength for the 2008 season.

I suffered a torn ACL nearly three years ago playing soccer.

I did not sign a seven-year, $50.5 million contract.

But I do play, thanks to a fancy, schmancy knee brace.

Former Lawrence High schoolboy star Shane Olivea, who looked as if he had a promising career with the Chargers, was released today.

Then again, so were several other Chargers players. And prominent players from other teams as well. Also whacked by San Diego: All Pro fullback Lorenzo Neal and safety Marlon McCree.

Just received an e-mail from the office U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer about a potential breakthrough in legislation aimed at cracking down on HGH.

It reads, in part:

The U.S. Senate today averted a standoff over legislation authored by U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) that would crack down on abuse of human growth hormone (HGH). The breakthrough came when two Senate Republicans who had been anonymously blocking the measure identified themselves to Schumer, saying they'd work to help pass the stalled measure by Monday.

The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Schumer and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), had been in limbo since last week due to secret holds placed on it by Senate Republicans who were able to keep their identities hidden under Senate rules. But after Schumer announced his intention this morning to take up the measure on the Senate floor, those anonymous Republicans approached Schumer and agreed to cooperate on passing the resolution by Monday.

Currently, HGH is not a controlled substance and simple possession of it is not a criminal offense. The Schumer-Grassley proposal (S.877) would amend the Controlled Substances Act to add HGH as a Schedule III substance, thus equating it with anabolic steroids in the eyes of the law. Under Schumer's proposal, if a person possesses HGH without a current, valid prescription, he or she could be imprisoned for up to three years, depending on the circumstances of the case.

...

It's pretty obvious this could have major implications for the NFL, which does not currently test for HGH, in part because the league contends there is no reliable test for it. The NFL Players Association agrees with this stance.

But if this legislation goes through, it pretty much makes it a slam dunk that the league will have to find some way to deal with the situation, since at least a portion of the players are believed to use HGH.

Stay tuned on this one.

The Eagles will be one of the more interesting teams to watch in free agency, because they have a number of holes to fill. They need a big-time receiver, although Randy Moss is the only one available, and he might be re-signed by New England any minute now.

There's talk of adding a big-time cornerback; Asante Samuel's name has been brought up.

And they can never have enough pass rushers.

But this much is certain, according to Eagles president Joe Banner: Free agency will be over in the blink of an eye. At least as far as the marquee names are concerned.

"My own opinion is, there's going to be a very, very short market this year,'' Banner said. "It's not to say there aren't any opportunities out there, but I think you're going to see the market accelerated . . . the second tier of free agency, where maybe that kicked in 2 weeks into free agency in the past, maybe you're going to see it kicking in 3 to 5 days into free agency this year.''

Hard to believe that David Carr was the first overall pick in the 2002 draft.

After being released by the Texans last off-season, he figured he'd resurrect his career in Carolina. Nope. Carr was so bad that 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde beat him out after being signed off the street.

Mercifully, the Panthers pulled the plug on the Carr era.

Too bad. Good kid. Hard worker. Just can't get it done on the field.

Then Jevon Kearse is your man. The Eagles have released Kearse, who appeared in just 16 games over the past two seasons.

They'd hoped to get a big impact from a player nicknamed "The Freak" because of his freakish athleticism. But Kearse never did pan out in Jim Johnson's defensive system.

Can't see a team giving him huge dollars in free agency, but I'm sure someone will offer an incentive-laden deal. If the Jets weren't so hell-bent on sticking with the 3-4 defense, I'd say they should give him a look-see.

The Packers' new president and CEO, Mark Murphy, believes Brett Favre will be back for the 2008 season. And Favre himself seemed to be leaning toward returning during the Packers' playoff run in January.

But until he makes a definitive announcement, we're not 100 percent certain whether Favre will be back or not. I say you have to leave a little wiggle room in the event he decides he's had enough.

To hear Murphy tell it, though, he seems confident No. 4 will be in uniform this fall. Let's hope so. We want to keep this man around for as long as possible.

For those of you hoping to relive some of the nostaligia of the Myron Cope era as the Steelers' radio voice, here's a nice piece in today's Pittsburgh Post Dispatch from veteran writer Gene Collier.

He captures the essence of the man beautifully.

Ok, this is going to do it for my Neil Best Obsession postings for the day.

But it appears he is getting desperate as the page views battle for February is in its final stages.

First of all, I've noticed that Best is posting like a maniac, which tells me he is indeed troubled by the fact that I am nipping at his heels in terms of page views. (NKR, Charlie Chilkoot, Black N Gold, Hookslide, BBiB!, get busy clicking!!)

Second, it took several days' worth of begging from a couple of his regular readers before he agreed to post a picture of former supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. And when he did post one, it was Tiegs on the cover of Time in a modest pose.

Dude, if you're gonna post, then post what your readers want to see!

Ok, I'm back to football and urinal etiquette for the rest of the day.