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Chad Ochocinco is known to be different. When everyone goes right, Ochocinco usually goes far to the left.

That is why it's no surprise that Ochocinco showed his sincere and heartfelt support for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday. The New England Patriots receiver is one of the few players -- at least publicly -- who backs Goodell 100 percent after a rough year that included a lengthy lockout, increased fines, the bounty scandal and high-profile deaths that may be linked to football-related injuries.

The NFL is booming. But this is an unprecedented time of dissension between current and former players and the league office. The league is facing various lawsuits. Goodell also is tweaking the game -- some believe too much -- in the name of safety. Many players disagree with his methods or motives, or both.

Ochocinco addresses many of those issues in his letter to Goodell, whom Ochocinco refers to as a father figure.

"You are in one big [expletive] catch-22 and quite frankly, I am not sure there is any solution," Ochocinco wrote. "One thing I think can help is killing the NFL PR machine."

Goodell is stern, corporate and to the point. Ochocinco is boisterous and playful. Yet the two always got along, despite several fines Ochocinco has received over the years.

Do not expect many players to follow Ochocinco and write emotional letters in support of Goodell. Right or wrong, Ochocinco is on an island when it comes to player support of Goodell.

Perhaps the end of Ochocinco's letter was most pertinent for Patriots fans. According to Ochocinco, he will have a bounce-back year and plans to do a lot of touchdown celebrations in 2012. Ochocinco scored just one touchdown all last year.

In the wake of Junior Seau's suicide, the debate over football safety has reached a fever pitch. New England Patriots wideout Chad Ochocinco joined the fray Friday, pledging his support to Roger Goodell in a letter posted on his website and addressed to the NFL's commissioner.

"I know it has been a rough week, so I wanted to reach out. Players dying, players suing and on top of that my peers are just going off on you in the media," Ochocinco wrote in the letter posted on OCNNReport.com.

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ORCHARD PARK, NY -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is optimistic in the Bills' future in Western, New York.

Goodell, speaking to reporters before Sunday's Bills-Eagles game, said a big key is how the team handles Ralph Wilson Stadium, which has been home of the Bills since 1973.

"If we continue to keep this facility competitive with others, if we continue to support the team, I'm confident we will continue to be successful here in Western, New York," Goodell said.

Goodell made it clear that, at the very least, updates have to be made. Goodell pointed to the new Soldier Field as an example. Lambeau Field is another example of an old stadium that was renovated to remain competitive with the rest of the NFL.

Goodell also is confident the new collective bargaining agreement will keep small-market teams like Buffalo competitive.

"Yes, no question. I have every bit of confidence that small-market teams will continue to be successful," Goodell said. "Again, as long as we continue to have the proper stadiums and the proper fan support, that's what we have to do. We have the structure in place. Now, we have to continue to create the excitement and the passion in the communities."

James Harrison, the combustible Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, delivered a mushroom-cloud interview with Men's Journal.

Harrison blasted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a few other targets, including Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison and the surveillance-minded New England Patriots of a few years back.

"I should have another ring," James Harrison said. "We were the best team in football in 2004, but the Patriots, who we beat during the regular season, stole our signals and picked up 90 percent of our blitzes [in the AFC Championship Game]. They got busted for it later, but, hey, they're Goodell's boys, so he slapped 'em $500,000 and burned the tapes. Was he going to rescind their Super Bowls? Man, hell no!"

The Buffalo Bills are living in the moment.

Los Angeles developers are stalking an NFL team for relocation, their owner is 92 years old and reports about the latest labor negotiations indicate small-market teams could have a tougher time competing in the new NFL economy.

Bills chief executive officer Russ Brandon claimed they can't afford to worry about the long-term future of the franchise. He said Thursday afternoon "we focus on the here and now."

But it's rather evident by his words the Bills are simultaneously concerned with here and there, straddling the U.S.-Canadian border.

"Regionalization works," Brandon said, "and it will be a linchpin to everything that we do from a business standpoint moving forward."

A news conference to discuss Friday night's unveiling of the Bills new uniform inevitably turned toward this week's lockout talks and how the club could be impacted by the next collective bargaining agreement.

ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton has reported the latest proposal framework includes mechanisms that require teams to spend almost all the way to the salary cap in current player payroll. That would make it tougher for the Bills to maintain the profitability it's used to.

Under the previous CBA, teams could spend just under 90 percent to the ceiling in cap figures, which could include dead money being paid to players no longer on the roster.

"I think the response is we just focus here and we focus now on everything that we can control, and that's keeping this building full, keeping all of our business platforms full," Brandon said. "We're a volume business. We're a very affordable business, as you know here with our ticket prices, and that's what we focus on.

"My job and everyone's job in this organization is to focus on this organization and our fans and that’s really what we do on a day-in and day-out basis."

Brandon declined to discuss specifics of the latest CBA proposal, but it wasn't difficult to gather the Bills' viability depends on Canadian interests.

The Bills have been forced to get creative over the past dozen years or so. Brandon said their attempts to regionalize the club have paid off. They moved training camp to St. John Fisher College in the Rochester area in 2000.

The Bills sold off five regular-season and three preseason games to Toronto for $78 million, the annual series running from 2008 through 2012.

Both agreements are likely to continue. Brandon said the Bills' season-ticket base from Southern Ontario has grown 44 percent since they began playing games in Toronto.

"When you look at it from our standpoint we're always looking to do everything in our power to keep this team viable," Brandon said Thursday, "and as you've heard many times from me: regionalization, regionalization and regionalization.

"When you look at our region of totality it's a very large market, and we're looking to bring fans back to Ralph Wilson Stadium. It's been a very successful venture for us and we're going to continue that process moving forward."

Brandon's comments concurred with sentiments expressed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a conference call with Bills season-ticket holders last month.

"We certainly hope the Buffalo Bills continue to be in Western New York," said Goodell, a native of nearby Jamestown, N.Y. "As a Western New York guy, I know how important it is to that region and how passionate our fans are there.

"The effort we've been going through with the Buffalo Bills and I would call the business leaders in the surrounding areas is to regionalize the team and to draw from a broader area, including Southern Ontario and the Toronto area. I believe that'll be good for the Bills to be successful in Buffalo."

Bills fans ought to get used to sharing. It would be better than waving.

NFL labor analyst Andrew Brandt gives an overview of the latest lockout developments. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been among those expressing optimism over recent meetings between the league and the union. Brandt said "I don't think a deal is imminent," but he has been encouraged by the progress.

ESPN's Adam Schefter gives the latest buzz about what this week's meetings mean for the NFL lockout.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks about the impact the lockout has had on the fans.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's tour of season-ticket holders resumed Monday with Buffalo Bills fans.

The conference call started off poorly. Technical difficulties prevented the second question from being asked until about 15 minutes into the session. Monday's mammoth appellate court ruling that allowed the lockout to endure wasn't discussed. Goodell's answers were dominated by boilerplate spin.

Reporters were allowed to listen in but not participate in the call. Goodell deserves marks for remaining on the line to talk for 46 minutes, but I hung up from the call feeling like I hadn't learned a thing.

Many questions dealt with the Bills as a small-market franchise and wondered how the lockout and new collective bargaining agreement would impact revenue sharing. Predictably, Goodell replied by stating the league's plan would keep small-market teams competitive.

One fan asked if Goodell, a native of nearby Jamestown, N.Y., could ensure the Bills remain in the area. Goodell didn't make any guarantees and emphasized the need to continue playing games in Toronto, a sentiment Bills CEO Russ Brandon delivered March 28. Brandon said the Bills' Southern Ontario season-ticket base had grown 44 percent since the Bills began exporting their games to the Rogers Centre in 2008.

"We certainly hope the Buffalo Bills continue to be in Western New York," Goodell said. "As a Western New York guy, I know how important it is to that region and how passionate our fans are there.

"The effort we've been going through with the Buffalo Bills and I would call the business leaders in the surrounding areas is to regionalize the team and to draw from a broader area, including Southern Ontario and the Toronto area. I believe that'll be good for the Bills to be successful in Buffalo."

Another caller asked about the possibility of a new stadium. Goodell said he wasn't aware of any proposal to replace Ralph Wilson Stadium and used the opportunity to hammer home one of the league's main talking points about the importance of withholding a larger portion of revenues before sharing with the players.

"It's one of the things we're trying to address in the collective bargaining agreement to make sure the Buffalo Bills and small-market teams can be successful is 'How do we encourage those investments in the stadiums, which are more and more being made in part by the private sector, meaning primarily the teams and-or the business community and the fans?' We need to encourage that, but those costs continue to rise, and those need to be recognized in the system."

There wasn't much news to digest, but the Q&A sessions are meant for the fans, not the media.

The conference-call tour is a brilliant marketing move by the league. Even season-ticket holders who don't participate receive advance notice of the option to communicate directly with Goodell if they wanted to.

Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix recently said rare circumstances would be required to trade the club's third overall draft choice. He sounded fixed on making that pick, even though he has no idea how much it will cost him.

There's curiosity over what the New England Patriots will do with their abundance of draft assets. They have enough picks that they could trade up into the top 10. Yet they don't know how rich that territory will be.

We know the NFL draft will begin Thursday night. Unclear are the dollars it will take to sign those picks.

Rookie cost controls almost certainly will be part of the next collective bargaining agreement, but will that deal be hammered out before the 2011 season?

If not, then teams might operate under last year's rules. That would mean more outrageous guaranteed dollars to prospects who haven't snapped an NFL chinstrap. A league source calculated NFL teams have committed over $3.154 billion in guarantees to first-round draft choices since 2000.

The Associated Press reported the NFL's proposal for a rookie pay system -- made before the lockout -- included $300 million in diverted funds that instead would go to veteran contracts and player benefits and slow the rapid growth of guaranteed first-round money (up 233 percent since 2000).

The money would be saved by shrinking the already-in-place rookie salary pool system, where the league allocates a certain number of dollars to be spent based on the number of picks and their spots in the order.

Also in the reported proposal: first-round contracts would be capped at five years under the proposal. All other draft picks would be capped at four years. The player's maximum allowable salary would go down if he hadn't signed by training camp, a deterrent to holding out.

Buffalo News reporter Mark Gaughan recently estimated the Bills would save roughly $15 million on their No. 3 pick with rookie cost controls. That certainly would make another Aaron Maybinesque pick more digestible.

With all this in mind, let's examine how much guaranteed money AFC East clubs have spent on their first-round draft picks since 2000. Data provided from the aforementioned league source shows the Patriots have spent most efficiently, the New York Jets have spent the most total dollars and the Miami Dolphins have spent the most per player.

The Dolphins have drafted eight first-rounders since 2000 and spent an average of $12.043 million in guaranteed money. That figure ranks eighth among all NFL clubs, but those players averaged only 37 starts for Miami.

Only the Buffalo Bills averaged fewer starts from their first-rounders at 36.2, but the Bills rank 19th in average guaranteed dollars committed.

Left tackle Jake Long's mammoth contract inflates Miami's dollar figure. The top 2008 pick became the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history days before commissioner Roger Goodell said Long's name at Radio City Music Hall. Running back Ronnie Brown was rewarded with $19.5 million guaranteed as the second pick in 2005.

Those picks were successful, but the Dolphins also committed $13.865 million to receiver Ted Ginn, $9.016 million to cornerback Jason Allen and $7.133 million to defensive end Jared Odrick.

The Jets' massive guarantee total includes left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson ($29.6 million), quarterback Mark Sanchez ($28 million), outside whatever Vernon Gholston ($21 million), cornerback Darrelle Revis ($14.7 million) and defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson ($14.7 million).

There are a couple royal busts in there, but the Jets still have spent relatively well. Despite picking in roughly the same average first-round slot as the Dolphins and Bills since 2000, the Jets have averaged nearly 61 starts per player.

The Bills' big-ticket items have been running back C.J. Spiller ($18.9 million), left tackle Mike Williams ($14.4 million) and Maybin ($10.9 million).

Buffalo's first-round picks ranked 19th in the NFL when it came to average guaranteed dollars.

The Patriots have committed eight figures in guaranteed money to only two of their 10 first-round selections since 2000 because of their penchant to trade back. Their average first-rounder is taken 20.7th overall.

Inside linebacker Jerod Mayo ($13.8 million) and defensive end Richard Seymour ($11 million) are the Patriots' lone top-10 picks under Bill Belichick and look like basement bargains compared to other names mentioned above.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Miami Dolphins are believed to be one of at least five teams fined for impermissible coach-player contact during a dead period under the previous collective bargaining agreement.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revealed the sanctions at the end of his Tuesday afternoon news conference to conclude the NFL owners meeting at the Roosevelt Hotel.

Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne told reporters last month he had been meeting with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and quarterbacks coach Karl Dorrell to go over the playbook and strategies.

Under the CBA that just expired, supervised practice or skull sessions were forbidden from the end of the previous season until March 15. Clauses in the rule state "players are not permitted to participate in organized workouts, practices or meetings of any kind" and "players may not be directed or supervised by position coaches during this period."

The Palm Beach Post previously cited NFL spokesman Greg Aiello as saying the league would not pursue the violations. When asked at the news conference why the league wouldn't punish multiple teams who reportedly had broken the rules, Goodell said "five teams have already been contacted on those violations."

When asked for clarification on whether or not the teams would be fined, Goodell said "they have been."

Neither Goodell nor Aiello divulged which teams had been fined, but Goodell's remarks were in response to a question I asked him specifically about the Dolphins' situation. A Dolphins spokesman declined to comment.

NFL general counsel Jeff Pash told Palm Beach Post reporter Ben Volin afterward "The commissioner sort of rather strongly suggested that one team in South Florida might have crossed the line."

After the news conference, Aiello said the onus for a complaint would be on a player or the union before a fine would be levied.

Aiello didn't add specifics other to say the rules were put in place to protect the players from too many offseason obligations. Even with the CBA scheduled to expire March 15, the NFL expected teams to honor the agreement.

NEW ORLEANS -- I just checked into my hotel near the French Quarter and, as is my custom, pulled the drapes back to check out the view.

There on the awning roof below lay stray Mardi Gras beads. They were thrown at a time of giddy celebration. Now they're just shiny plastic not going anyplace soon.

Fitting, really.

NFL owners and coaches are gathering in New Orleans for their annual meetings while one of America's favorite diversions is in purgatory and the players scream "Show us your books!"

For the next few days, I'll report from the Big Easy, where the main topic will be the Big Tricky: the roiling labor standoff.

The league and its players have been sniping with e-mails, tweets and press releases over the past few days. The artists formerly known as the NFL Players Association gathered on Marco Island, Fla., for a few days and presented a unified front, calling NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's recent letter an attempt to divide the players and responding with a missive essentially calling Goodell a liar.

The next few days will be interesting, and I expect AFC East owners to be vocal. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson are used to the cameras and microphones. Kraft is on the league's labor committee.

NFL Players Association leaders Drew Brees, Mike Vrabel, Jeff Saturday, Brian Dawkins and Domonique Foxworth sat down with ESPN reporter George Smith to discuss the players' thoughts on labor negotiations, rookies attending the draft and an 18-game schedule.

Saturday called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's recent letter sent directly to players an "attempt to divide us as a group of men."

One of the NFL's most influential owners won't rule out the possibility a new collective bargaining agreement actually can be struck this week.

"We're doing everything we can to try to get a deal consummated, and I personally believe it's possible," New England Patriots owner Kraft said in a video posted by Comcast SportsNet New England.

"The good news is, it's always good to be talking when you have differences of opinion. It's the only way you have a chance. So we're talking, and I know from ownership's side that we feel there's a deal to be made, and we'd very much like to do it."

Kraft is a member of the NFL's labor committee, but he's in Israel as part of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's economic trade mission. Kraft is in regular contact with commissioner Roger Goodell and can return stateside by Friday.

"If necessary, I might have to leave early," Kraft said. "It's a high priority. I made a commitment here. So we're going to finish the important things we're doing here [in Israel], and then depending what's going on, we're in daily contact by phone. It's unfortunate. We're supposed to [have a labor agreement] settled by now. That's how we planned this trip. But when one makes a commitment, one has to live up to the commitment."

Brand-spanking new ESPN analyst Andrew Brandt gives his latest thoughts on the collective bargaining agreement extension. Brandt explains how public relations will play a part in the negotiating maneuvers to come.