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Buffalo Bills

For many rookies, opportunities for playing time will be limited if the lockout drags into the summer because they won't have time to learn what they need to know, writes Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News.

Safety Donte Whitner is leaving the door open for a return to Buffalo.

Miami Dolphins

Former Dolphins coach Don Shula feels for the current NFL coaches who are trapped in the labor dispute.

The Sun-Sentinel's Andrew Carter looks at some veteran quarterback options for the Dolphins, including Matt Leinart, Vince Young, Brady Quinn, Carson Palmer and Tarvaris Jackson.


New England Patriots

Although there were some questions about Ryan Mallett in the run up to the draft, none of them concerned his throwing ability.

Mallett's father said his son wants "payback" after the Dolphins traded up in the draft but did not take the Arkansas quarterback.


New York Jets

Rex Ryan explained his reasoning for turning the week leading up to the Jets' AFC divisional playoff game against the Patriots into a matchup between himself and Bill Belichick.

Seventh-rounder Greg McElroy joined Mark Sanchez's "Jets West" camp to work out with teammates.

The Buffalo Bills have denied an ESPN report they were one of three teams that have discussed trading for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Bills, New York Giants and Oakland Raiders have been interested enough to speak with the Cardinals about Leinart.

The Bills then published a story on the team website declaring "That report is erroneous ... The Bills have not had any discussions with the Cardinals in regards to Matt Leinart and aren't anticipating any in the future."

Schefter responded to the Bills' denial with additional information.

Two sources said the Bills had ongoing discussions this summer with the Cardinals regarding a trade for Leinart. Buffalo is unlikely to make a trade for Leinart because the Bills are uncomfortable about bringing aboard the quarterback's contract, which carries a $2.485 million base salary this season and balloons to $7.36 million next season.

By rebuffing the report, the Bills show their allegiance to Trent Edwards, who has restored some confidence with a pair of strong preseason performances.

But if the Bills seriously considered trading for Leinart at any point this summer, then it's an indication of how head coach Chan Gailey evaluated his quarterbacks throughout the offseason program and that Brian Brohm isn't the prospect many Bills fans had been hoping for.

Pro Football Weekly executive editor Dan Arkush, inspired by Dos Equis, assembled his list of the 10 most interesting men in the NFL.

Only one AFC East representative made the list, but he came in at No. 1.

1. Rex Ryan, Jets head coach: "Cable television and the National Football League have a new superstar in Ryan, an irreverent son of a gun if there ever was one, who continues to capture the fancy of pro football watchers far and wide," Arkush writes. "To me, Ryan is pro football's answer to major-league baseball's Ozzie Guillen, displaying a flair for grabbing the limelight with an equally brash demeanor well-suited for a major media market. He makes me laugh and wince at the same time, and he is never, ever boring."

2. Brett Favre, Vikings quarterback

3. Mike Singletary, 49ers head coach

4. Mike Martz, Bears offensive coordinator

5. Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner

6. Jim Irsay, Colts owner

7. Tony Romo, Cowboys quarterback

8. Matt Leinart, Cardinals quarterback

9. Al Davis, Raiders owner

10. Tim Tebow, Broncos quarterback

How does Tom Brady not make the list?

Who else do you think deserved to be included?

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

NEW YORK -- Former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez declined the NFL's invitation to join several players at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday, but he happened to be in the area Sunday. That's because the New York Jets flew him into town on a red-eye late last night and he attended a news conference at the team's practice facility this morning.

	AP Photo/Rich Schultz
	New Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez met with reporters in New York on Sunday.

Jets fans roared their approval as Sanchez made the rounds at Radio City. He met with reporters in the basement of the famous building and talked about how his former USC teammates celebrated the NFL draft Saturday during a heavily attended spring game at the Rose Bowl.

"They kept calling timeouts in the game when a USC player would get drafted," Sanchez said. "And coach [Pete] Carroll told me the crowd went nuts when they announced I was going to the Jets."

Of course, Carroll caused some controversy when he publicly questioned Sanchez's decision to leave school. But Sanchez said Carroll attended his draft party and indicated that all was well.

In the past few weeks, he has reached out to former USC quarterbacks Carson Palmer, Matt Cassel and Matt Leinart to talk about what to expect in the NFL. He said Palmer instructed him to be at the Jets' facility "24-7."

Sanchez said playing at USC has given him a head start on other quarterbacks because he's been "speaking the language" for several years. On Sunday, Sanchez was sporting a green tie in deference to the Jets. He said his aunt Arlene purchased the tie as his family rushed to the airport last night.

"Make sure you get that name because she'll like that," he joked.

One reporter interrupted the proceedings to ask Sanchez why his "locks were so touchable." Sanchez responded by saying he doesn't use any product and that he normally has a cap on. Hard-hitting stuff.

Sanchez said he'll spend this week in New York before returning home for a couple days.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

The difference between a winner and a loser rarely looks as blatant as it did Dec. 21 in Foxborough, Mass. The Arizona Cardinals had a better chance dodging the falling snow than they did disastrous plays against the New England Patriots.

The Cardinals certainly didn't look like a Super Bowl team that wintry afternoon. They looked like playoff frauds while the Patriots slapped them around 47-7.

With that, Arizona completed its enigmatic tour against the AFC East.

The NFC West and AFC East were cross-conference opponents this year, pitting one of the weakest divisions against one of the most competitive.

Twice Arizona looked like an elite club. Twice it looked like a team that didn't belong in the playoffs, let alone capable of a Super Bowl run.

Week 2 vs. Miami Dolphins, 31-10 W

What it meant for the Cardinals: An impressive showing, the Cardinals handed the AFC East champs their worst regular-season loss.

After a so-so performance in the season opener, Kurt Warner gave the NFL the first glimpse of what the Cardinals' offense could do. He completed 19 of 24 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin had six receptions apiece for 153 and 140 yards.

What it meant for the Dolphins: Such a thrashing and a 0-2 start had Dolfans dreading another year like their 1-15 campaign. But the loss jolted the Dolphins and, out of desperation for something to stunt a downward spiral, they introduced their Wildcat offense the next week at New England for a season-changing blowout victory.

Week 4 at New York Jets, 56-35 L

What it meant for the Cardinals: Although the final score made it look like the Cardinals' defense was abysmal, seven turnovers (three interceptions, four fumbles) set up the Jets like they were in a college-overtime format. The Jets recorded five sacks.

The only positive spin was their ability to battle back from a 34-0 halftime deficit to get within 13 points in the third quarter. The Cardinals slipped to 2-2 with the loss and, while Warner's 472-yard day was remarkable, looked nothing like NFC contenders.

A vicious hit by Jets safety Eric Smith broke Boldin's face and raised concerns of how the Cardinals' offense would cope without him. The Cardinals won twice without him to reinforce they were a team worth watching.

What it meant for the Jets: After a 1-2 start, the record-setting victory sent the Jets on a scalding stretch in which they won seven out of eight games to become a fashionable Super Bowl pick. Anybody wondering if Brett Favre had anything left to give had to be won over by his performance: 24-of-34 for 289 yards and a personal-best six touchdowns. Little did we know ...

Week 5 vs. Buffalo Bills, 41-17 W

What it meant for the Cardinals: They rebounded against a team that was gaining favor as an AFC contender. The Bills were 4-0, but the Cardinals smashed them apart to rise above .500 for good.

Warner continued to generate MVP buzz by completing 33 of 42 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Arizona's defense was brilliant with four takeaways and five sacks.

What it meant for the Bills: Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson crashed through the line and delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit that concussed Bills quarterback Trent Edwards. The collision might have altered Buffalo's course 180 degrees. After their bye, Edwards started the next game against the San Diego Chargers and was outstanding, but then he fell apart in a nauseating stretch of seven losses in eight games.

Week 16 at New England Patriots, 47-7 L

What it meant for the Cardinals: The defeat was meaningless in the sense Arizona already had locked up a first-round home playoff game, but the damage to their confidence was potentially ruinous. This was their low point of the season, and the playoffs were starting in two weeks. But it served as a wake-up call.

The Cardinals already had clinched the NFC West, and when they stepped off the bus at Gillette Stadium they saw miserable conditions -- a combination of cold, wind and freezing rain. Mentally, the Cardinals stayed on the bus.

Warner was 6-of-8 for 30 yards before giving way to Matt Leinart. The Cardinals rushed for 44 yards. They had the ball for a measly 21:25.

What it meant for the Patriots: Their fans still point at this game as an example of postseason injustice. The Patriots pulverized a playoff team but had to stay home in January. The Cardinals qualified with a 9-7 record because they won their division, while the Patriots became only the second 11-win team since the NFL-AFL merger not to get in.

Matt Cassel had another sensational game in his first career snow game. He completed 20 of 36 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

How fathomable would this scene have been four years ago? Four months ago?

Not very.

A reporter on Thursday asked Matt Cassel a valid question about what Matt Leinart's going through with the Arizona Cardinals.

Leinart	Cassel

"I think as a backup quarterback, as a competitor, anytime you want to be out there," Cassel said. "You want to be playing. So that part's very difficult."

Leinart won the Heisman Trophy in 2004. Cassel, until Week 2 of his fourth pro season, hadn't started a game since high school. He backed up Leinart and another Heisman winner, Carson Palmer, at Southern California.

Now Leinart is considered a flop and buried behind MVP candidate Kurt Warner. Palmer's stuck in Cincinnati and hurt again.

Yet, there was Cassel, starting quarterback for a first-place club, sympathizing with his buddy Leinart, who he will chat with -- but probably not play against -- Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

"When you're able to step back and learn from a guy like Kurt, because he's so good and because he's so established, you can learn a lot of things," Cassel said. "Then when Matt is ready to go and he steps in to take over that team, he'll be ready and probably more prepared than what he was."

	Cary Edmondson/US Presswire
	Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel has turned some heads with his performance this season filling in for Tom Brady.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

There might still be some Matt Cassel doubters out there.

Among NFL insiders, however, the New England Patriots quarterback is viewed with a high degree of respect. Their admiration of Cassel has only grown with the way he has carried himself the past 10 days.

"If you loved him before, you love him a little more today," ESPN analyst and former Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese said.

With a heavy heart, Cassel on Sunday threw a career-high four touchdown passes in a 49-26 road victory over the Oakland Raiders. Earlier last week, Cassel's father was found dead. The funeral wasn't held until Tuesday.

"You could see the pain in his eyes," former NFL executive Michael Lombardi said after watching behind-the-scenes NFL Films footage of the Patriots' week. "It's just very, very dramatic."

Sunday might be remembered as the signature performance of Cassel's breakout season.

Cassel briefly left the team and missed an important practice, but -- on the same field Brett Favre famously threw four touchdown passes the day his father died in 2003 -- he was sensational. Cassel would've finished with even more prolific numbers Sunday had the game not been so lopsided.

"To have the wherewithal or ability or gumption or whatever it takes to be able to pull off what he did was indeed special," Reese said. "There's a lot of us in the football world who think we're pretty tough, but when something like that comes along it brings you to your knees. For him to be able to pull it off was a special performance."

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

	John Cordes/Icon
	Playing behind Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, Matt Cassel never got a chance to start as a QB at USC.

Southern California coach Pete Carroll has been awaiting this game for what seems like an eternity.

No, we're not talking about USC-Ohio State.

"It's the matchup we've all waited for: Favre versus Cassel," Carroll joked with ESPN.com on his weekly conference call. "It's awesome, man."

For the first time in 3,217 days, Matt Cassel will start a game at quarterback. Not only must the New England Patriots backup replace a legend, he'll also have to face one. The Patriots visit the New York Jets in one of the most intriguing Week 2 matchups.

"He'll be ready for this thing," said Carroll, who coached Cassel at USC but never started him because of Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. "It doesn't matter who you play. It just happens to be against one of the great all-time quarterbacks, which is bringing all kinds of hype and buildup.

"He's fortunate to have this chance. He's got the chance to beat Brett Favre, which would be pretty cool."

Carroll doesn't subscribe to the popular theory the Patriots will tear sections out of their playbook to accommodate Cassel, a fourth-year pro who has thrown only 57 passes in mop-up duty.

"I'm sure that they won't have to limit what they're doing too much, but they will some," Carroll said. "It'll call for everybody around Matt to do really well, too.

"Whereas Tom Brady could bail them out and just be the phenomenal player that he was, everybody's going to have to play for them to maintain the level of success that they've had."

Carroll didn't recruit Cassel out of California's Chatsworth High, the last place he started at quarterback. The Patriots fired Carroll after the 1999 season and he didn't begin coaching USC until 2001.

By that time, Cassel already had redshirted a season and could tell snaps would be scarce at quarterback. So Cassel asked to be use as a receiver and on special teams. He actually started one game as an H-back.

"This is the first game he's going to start in a long time because he's had the misfortune of being behind Heisman Trophy winners and then in the NFL behind the best quarterback that maybe ever lived," Carroll said. "He's had to wait forever. This is a kid that never gave in to that, persevered through all of that and continues to believe in himself.

"This'll be a great chance for him. I hope he plays within himself and gives himself a chance to be a part of those players."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Cassel

There's probably no way Matt Cassel can know what misery Aaron Rodgers is going through today.

But Cassel probably would like to have the chance.

Cassel is entering his fourth season entrenched as Tom Brady's backup for the New England Patriots.

Like Rodgers, he was a member of the 2005 draft class and has been stuck behind an icon.

But Cassel never has gotten a whiff of a starting job. While Brett Favre seemingly abdicated his Green Bay Packers throne to Rodgers months ago, Brady remains and should be a constant for years to come.

I recently had the opportunity to discuss with Cassel how he approaches backing a legend, waiting for a chance that must feel like it's never going to come -- at least not with New England.

"You always have to be thinking about your opportunity," Cassel said. "You always have to be ready. I have big hopes and big dreams and aspirations to do great things in the NFL. I'd be lying if I said I was content to be a backup quarterback the rest of my career."

He was a project when the Patriots drafted him in the seventh round out of Southern California, where he held the clipboard for Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

Cassel has completed 22 of 39 passes for 253 yards through his first three NFL seasons, numbers that surpass his career stats at USC.

He was a late-round flyer, whereas the Packers tabbed Rodgers as Favre's heir with the 24th overall selection.

Yet they've been in the similar situations for the past three years -- and maybe four.

For now, though, Cassel bides his time. His role is what he makes of it, so he embraces Brady's presence and uses it as a developmental tool.

"I work really hard and I take great pride in what I do," Cassel said. "I feel like I'm trying to take that next step and become a star in the NFL.

"I come out with the intent of kicking [Brady's butt] every day. If I can go out there and try to outperform him on certain days, that means I'm getting better. Every day I get to compare myself to the best. That's a great thing for me because it pushes me to be the best I can possibly be."