ESPN NFL

ATLANTA – Since the Atlanta Falcons were the only NFC South team to get a win (a 23-17 victory against Tennessee) on Sunday, they’re the only team that will get a list of statistical superlatives Monday.

Here it is:

• Since coach Mike Smith arrived in 2008, the Falcons are 11-3 against AFC opponents.

• Since 2008, the Falcons are 23-6 in the Georgia Dome. Only New England and Baltimore have won more home games in that span. The Patriots and Ravens each have won 24 times.

• Atlanta’s 432 yards of total offense tied for the team’s second-best output of the season. The Falcons also had 432 yards against the Colts in Week 9.

• The defense held Tennessee’s Chris Johnson to just 12 yards on 13 carries. The Titans only had 41 net rushing yards. The Falcons haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 13 consecutive games, a streak that stretches back to last season. The Falcons are allowing 85.4 rushing yards per game this season.

• Tight end Tony Gonzalez continues to defy age. He caught his seventh touchdown pass of the season, which is a team high. Those seven touchdown catches are the most since Gonzalez had 10 in 2008, his final season in Kansas City. Gonzalez now has had at least seven touchdowns in seven seasons.

• Early in the second half, Gonzalez became the 13^th player in NFL history to pass the 13,000-yard receiving mark. He now has 13,024 career receiving yards. Gonzalez needs only 66 yards to pass Steve Largent to move into 12^th place on the all-time list. Gonzalez now has 14 seasons in which he has had at least 50 receptions. The only other player in NFL history to do that is Jerry Rice.

• Quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown at least one touchdown pass in eight straight games and has had at least one in 24 of his last 25 games.

• Ryan finished with a 110.9 NFL passer rating. Since his arrival in 2008, the Falcons are 19-0 when Ryan’s passer rating is at least 100.

• Ryan threw for 316 yards. That gives him back-to-back 300-yard games for the first time in his career. Ryan had a career-best 351 yards in last week’s loss to the Saints. Ryan has four 300-yard passing games this season. That ties Jeff George’s franchise record for a single season.

• The Falcons have won seven of their last eight games in the month of November. There's a lot to be said for piling up wins in November and December.

• Running back Michael Turner scored his eighth rushing touchdown of the season and has 47 since joining the team in 2008. Turner needs only two more rushing touchdowns to pass Gerald Riggs’ franchise record. Turner also has scored seven touchdowns in his last seven games.

• With his 24^th 100-yard rushing game, Turner tied Riggs’ franchise record. Turner has had five 100-yard games this season.

• Defensive end John Abraham recorded his fourth sack of the season. Abraham has 106.5 career sacks and has moved ahead of Trace Armstrong and into 18^th place on the NFL’s all-time list.

• After missing his first field-goal attempt since last season in last week’s loss to the Saints, Matt Bryant hit all three attempts Sunday. Bryant has made 18 of 19 attempts this season.

• The Falcons snapped a five-game losing streak against the Titans. Prior to Sunday, the Falcons hadn’t won against Tennessee since 1993.

While saying he doesn’t hold grudges, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers told the Tampa Bay media in a conference call Wednesday a pretty interesting story about how he was convinced the Bucs would draft him in 2005.

Rodgers, who has a reputation for looking for any perceived slight to provide motivation, even recalled the exact date former Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden led him to believe he was coming to the Bucs.

“Jon actually called me, when I was in New York, on Thursday, April 21st, and sounded like at the time they were going to take me with the fifth pick,'' Rodgers said.

Rodgers went on to recall how the Bucs went to great lengths to look at him in the draft process. They even brought in Jerry Rice to catch passes from him in a private workout.

Of course, we all know the Bucs didn’t draft Rodgers. He lasted until No. 24, when the Packers took him and let him sit while Brett Favre continued playing. Instead, the Bucs took running back Cadillac Williams.

That turned out to be a fateful decision for Gruden. Part of the reason he was fired after the 2008 season was that he never developed a quarterback for the long term. Revisionist history often is a little harsh, but this isn’t simply the story of the Bucs drafting the wrong guy. At first, it looked like the Bucs found the right guy.

Williams, who the Tampa Bay staff became enamored with when coaching him in the Senior Bowl, had an outstanding rookie season. But Williams later suffered two devastating knee injuries and never again was the same player.

Time for a look at the morning headlines from around the division.

Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez has a chance to move as high as No. 2 in career receptions Sunday. Gonzalez is currently No. 4 with 1,099 catches. Cris Carter (1,101) is No. 3 and Marvin Harrison (1,102) is No. 2. Jerry Rice is the all-time leader with 1,549 catches.

The Panthers will have another new starter at weak-side linebacker Sunday. Coach Ron Rivera said Jason Phillips will get the start in place of Jason Williams. Phillips appeared in nine games for Baltimore last season, but this will be his first career start.

Drew Brees has had a recent string of interceptions, including several that went off the hands of his receivers. But the New Orleans quarterback said he still trusts his receivers.

The Buccaneers might want to take a lesson from Carolina’s mistakes and kick away from Chicago return man Devin Hester on Sunday. Punter/kickoff specialist Michael Koenen has been booming the ball, but it might be wise to turn to directional kicking against Hester.

Let’s take a statistical look back at Atlanta’s 31-17 victory against Carolina with some help from ESPN Stats & Information and the Falcons’ media relations department.

• Atlanta’s Michael Turner usually is thought of as a between-the-tackles runner, but the numbers are showing that’s a myth. Against Carolina, Turner ran outside the tackles 13 times for 105 yards (8.1 yards per carry). Between the tackles, Turner ran 14 times for 34 yards (2.4 yards per carry). This is not a new trend. Turner entered the day averaging 5.6 yards per carry outside the tackles, while averaging 4.1 yards per rush between the tackles.

• The Falcons scored 30 or more points for the third time this season. They’re 3-0 in those games.

• Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez now is No. 4 in all-time receptions, but he could move up to No. 2 very quickly. Gonzalez has 1,099 catches. Cris Carter is No. 3 with 1,101 and Marvin Harrison is No. 2 with 1,102. Jerry Rice is the leader with 1,549 catches.

• For the 15^th time in his career, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime. The Falcons are now 22-3 in home games in which Ryan has played.

• Atlanta coach Mike Smith is now 15-3 in games after a loss.

• Kicker Matt Bryant has made 24 consecutive field goals, dating to last season. That’s the second-longest streak in franchise history. The record is held by Norm Johnson, who made 26 straight in 1992 and ’93.

• Ryan finished with a 101.1 NFL passer rating Sunday. That was the first time this season he’s topped the 100 mark. For his career, the Falcons are 17-0 when Ryan has a passer rating of 100 or better.

• The Falcons came up with three turnovers Sunday. They now have forced at least one turnover in 25 straight regular-season games. That’s the longest active streak in the league.

• Defensive end Ray Edwards, who was Atlanta’s top free-agent signing, got off to a slow start, but is coming on now. Edwards recorded one sack Sunday, marking the second straight game in which he’s had a sack.

When it comes to Tony Gonzalez the question isn’t if he’ll get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There’s no doubt the man with the best tight end statistics in just about every category that can be measured will be selected.

The question is, when will it happen?

Common sense would lead you to believe Gonzalez will retire from the Atlanta Falcons and, five years later, he’ll get in on the first ballot. But recent history tells us that common sense may not apply when it comes to putting tight ends in the Hall of Fame, especially on the first ballot. Tight end is a unique position, and voters obviously view it that way.

Take a look at this list of Hall of Famers, sorted by position. You’ll see that kickers are the only group with less representation than tight ends. There are more than double the amount of “contributors’’ than there are tight ends in the Hall of Fame. Same for coaches.

There are currently just seven tight ends in the Hall of Fame. That number will increase to eight later this summer when Shannon Sharpe is inducted. The mere mention of Sharpe’s name and Hall of Fame voting shows that it’s not a slam-dunk that Gonzalez will go in on the first ballot.

A few years back, Sharpe was in pretty much the same spot Gonzalez will be in. Sharpe retired in 2003 as the holder of virtually every all-time record for tight ends. He also had three Super Bowl rings.

When Sharpe was first eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2009, he was passed over. The same thing happened in 2010. There’s a school of thought that some Hall of Fame voters wanted to make Sharpe wait for a couple of years, simply because he was a tight end.

"When Shannon retired, he was the most prolific tight end in all the categories, and if that's not a Hall of Famer, then I'm trying to figure out what the definition of the Hall of Fame is," Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson said after Sharpe came up short in his second year of eligibility. "There hasn't been a tight end ever on the first ballot, but this was his second, so I was thinking and hoping that they would do the right thing.’’

I’ll make a case right now that the right thing to do with Gonzalez when the time comes is to put him in on the first ballot. Anything else would be flat-out wrong.

Gonzalez is simply the best tight end ever. Sharpe might have held that title for a while. But, within a few of years of Sharpe’s retirement, Gonzalez started breaking all of his records. The two aren’t even close in most statistical categories anymore. Gonzalez has 12,463 receiving yards. That’s almost 2,403 more than Sharpe. Gonzalez has 1,069 career receptions. That’s 254 more than Sharpe.

The gap is only going to get bigger. At 35, Gonzalez may not be what he was in his prime as he was back in 2004 with Kansas City when he set a single-season record for catches by a tight end with 102. But in an Atlanta offense that’s already good and could be even better with the addition of rookie Julio Jones, Gonzalez remains an important role player.

Let’s just say Gonzalez has another season something like last year, when he caught 70 passes for 656 yards and six touchdowns. Anything close to that, and he adds another layer of insulation between his records and what Sharpe did.

Anything close to last year and Gonzalez will have numbers that basically double what Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow did. With the San Diego Chargers back in the 1980s, Winslow revolutionized the tight end position. Tight ends used to be pretty much just blockers, but Winslow made catching passes part of the job description.

In other words, Winslow changed the game and the position. If you do that, you should be a Hall of Famer. Gonzalez has done that. He’s left Winslow and Sharpe far behind in the argument about the greatest tight end ever.

Gonzalez is the guy who opened the door for a generation of former basketball players to start becoming as important as wide receivers in many offenses. That brings us to another point about Gonzalez and why he should go in on the first ballot.

He’s a tight end, but he’s got numbers that are just as good as some Hall of Fame wide receivers. Gonzalez has more receiving yards than guys like Charlie Joiner, Don Maynard, Michael Irvin and Lance Alworth.

Yeah, those guys played in different generations when the league wasn’t as geared toward the passing game. But Gonzalez created a whole new generation of tight ends. Yeah, it sometimes takes too long even for wide receivers to get into the Hall of Fame. Guys like Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were placed on a waiting list for about two decades and there’s a backlog still sitting there.

But Gonzalez shouldn’t have to wait just because he’s a tight end. Gonzalez currently is No. 6 all-time with 1,069 receptions. The only guys ahead of him are Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter, Tim Brown and Terrell Owens.

If Gonzalez catches 34 more passes, he’ll move up to No. 2. He’ll be behind only Rice, which says a lot. When Rice was first eligible for the Hall of Fame, voters skipped over the usual ritual of making wide receivers wait. That’s because there was a universal agreement that Rice was the best wide receiver ever to play the game.

There's universal agreement Gonzalez is the best tight end ever to play the game, and he deserves the same treatment.

There’s one other argument that could be used against Gonzalez. He’s never played on a Super Bowl champion. He’s never even gone deep into the postseason. For the longest time, a lot of Hall of Fame voters seemed to think a Super Bowl ring was a requirement for selection.

That idea seems to have faded some in recent years. But there is one way Gonzalez can make sure that’s not an issue. He can go out and help the Falcons win a Super Bowl this season. Then, he could go out in a blaze of glory or he could even stick around and pad his résumé for another year or two.

But Gonzalez shouldn’t have to worry about adding much more to his résumé. He’s already done enough to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Not sure if he was on the team bus to the airport or sitting on a plane waiting for the long ride home from Seattle when he sent it, but I just got a text from Atlanta media relations whiz Frank Kleha that’s worth sharing with all.

Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez set a new NFL record Sunday against the Seahawks. Gonzalez now has 12 consecutive seasons with at least 60 catches.

You might have heard of the guy he shared the record with for a year. His name is Jerry Rice.

NEW ORLEANS -- When he finally gets to a Pro Bowl -- and that day is coming soon -- Marques Colston may arrive in Hawaii (or wherever the game is held) in the purest, most powerful way any wide receiver ever has.

“There’s no 'throw me the ball' from Marques,’’ New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees said Sunday after throwing two touchdown passes to Colston in a 31-13 victory against the St. Louis Rams.

That trait alone might set Colston apart from any wide receiver who has played the game. Talk to any quarterback who has played in the NFL, except for Brees, and they’ll tell you they never met a wide receiver who didn’t insist he was open on every play.

“The only time Marques talks is if he gets mad at himself, or coach [Sean Payton] asks him to break down the huddle,’’ defensive back Malcolm Jenkins said.

Yes, America, there really is one big-time wide receiver who genuinely lets his play do the talking. That is Colston, a fifth-year pro out of Hofstra, who moved within five yards of 5,000 receiving yards for his career Sunday.

Teammates, coaches and opponents will tell you Colston belongs in the Pro Bowl. They’ll also tell you Colston is one of the league’s top wide receivers. But Colston is not the kind of guy who is going to tell you how good he is.

In fact, when he walked into the interview room Sunday, Colston started ripping apart his game.

“From the second quarter on, I didn’t play well,’’ Colston said.

While it’s true both of Colston’s touchdowns came in the first quarter and he failed to come up with a couple of catchable balls later in the game, he did finish with five catches for 46 yards and the Saints had complete control of the game from the moment Colston pulled in his second touchdown.

Heck, even when the Saints were getting ready to play the Cincinnati Bengals in their previous game, the New Orleans media tried for two days to get Colston to talk. He avoided the locker room totally the first day. On the second day, he ran into a couple of reporters as he walked to the training room.

Very politely, he told them something like, “I know where you’re going and I respect that. But I’d rather stay out of that fray."

The fray Colston was referring to was the obvious story of the week -- Cincinnati’s attention-grabbing wide receivers Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens going up against a player who is the anti-Ochocinco and the anti-Owens.

As a general rule, the better a receiver is, the more he talks. Think Randy Moss, Steve Smith, Roddy White, Brandon Marshall, Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Irvin and Mark Duper as just a few examples. Players such as Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison were generally viewed as guys who didn’t seek out attention, but those who played with them and media members who covered them said each at least had a touch of the prima donna personality so common among receivers.

“Unfortunately, people want to listen to them,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said in a conference call with the New Orleans media a couple of weeks ago.

The question specifically was about Ochocinco and Owens, but Lewis could have been talking about virtually any receiver.

“They don’t have much substance to say very often, particularly when they leave here,’’ Lewis said. “They do have an audience for some reason.”

Wide receivers love audiences. When Smith and Johnson spent the 2007 season together with the Carolina Panthers, there was one certainty when the locker room doors opened after a game or practice -- Smith and Johnson would be sitting at their lockers waiting to talk to the media. On at least one occasion one of them privately chided a reporter for using more quotes from the other receiver.

There’s even a story about a very well-known wide receiver who got an idea when Ochocinco changed his last name from Johnson. This particular receiver went to the team’s public relations department and website workers and told them he wanted to be referred to by his nickname in team record books, media guides and on the team website. Only a very stern talk -- in other words, “You are not going to do that’’ -- from a powerful owner and a once-powerful coach prevented that fiasco.

There’s absolutely none of that with Colston. He usually avoids the locker room when the media is in there during the week. If he talks at all, he doesn’t say much.

If you watched Colston’s body language as he spoke in front of the cameras and recorders Sunday, you would have thought he was drawing triple coverage in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl. He wasn’t seeking attention. He was running from it, even squirming.

“It’s just me,’’ Colston said. “I’m comfortable being me.’’

It’s not just that way with the media. Colston is the same way with coaches and teammates.

“Marques doesn’t talk around us,’’ Jenkins said. “He’s a quiet guy. He just goes out and makes plays.’’

With Colston as the clear-cut No. 1 receiver, the rest of the receiver corps follows his lead. Lance Moore, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson might form the quietest group of receivers in the history of the NFL.

“We are a tight-knit group,’’ Colston said. “We all had humble beginnings.’’

Other than Meachem, none of those receivers were high draft picks. Colston was a seventh-round choice, but he came into the league and instantly became New Orleans’ best receiver. It hasn’t changed.

With the Saints at 10-3 and trying to defend last season’s Super Bowl title, Colston has been consistent. At the moment, he has 76 catches for 921 yards and seven touchdowns, including five touchdowns in the past four games.

Project Colston’s numbers for three more regular-season games and you’ve got Pro Bowl numbers. Colston would be the last guy to lobby for a Pro Bowl berth, so I’ll do it, and I’ll turn to Brees for some more weighty words.

“Usually, the guys who make the most noise get the most attention,’’ Brees said. "That might not be fair, but that's kind of just the way it is.''

But it’s time for that to change. It’s time to put Colston into the Pro Bowl because he is the one wide receiver who belongs there for all the right reasons.

Several times in the past, I’ve shared with you the positional personality profiles done by Dr. Arnold J. Mandell back in 1973 and specifically focused on his assessment of wide receivers.

With Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers fans mad that their teams never even pursued Brandon Marshall or Santonio Holmes, I think it’s time to look at Mandell’s work once more. For background purposes, Mandell did these profiles while working as a team psychiatrist for the San Diego Chargers and coach Harland Savard.

"The wide receiver is a very special human being," Mandell wrote. "He shares many features with actors and movie stars. He is narcissistic and vain and basically a loner."

Here are a couple more excerpts from the Mandell profiles on wide receivers:

"They love to be the center of attention. They need to be noticed. They have an imperviousness in that they don't seem to mind criticism about being like that. All players want the respect of fellow players. Showing off usually is not an admired characteristic by most players, but by wide receivers it is very admired."

"They are interested in looking pretty, being pretty. They are elegant, interpersonally isolated. Wide receivers don't group, they don't mob out. They are actors, uninflected about showing off, individualists, quite interested in their own welfare, their own appearance."

Think about it a bit. Mandell’s profiles on all the positions were pretty accurate, but I think he put it in the upper deck with wide receivers. Marshall, Holmes,Chad Ochocinco, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Steve Smith, Muhsin Muhammad, Keyshawn Johnson -– they all fit the profile. As a general rule, you can say the more a guy fits this profile, the better he is as a wide receiver. Of all the wide receivers I’ve ever covered, I’d say former Carolina player Keary Colbert came the furthest from fitting the profile. Colbert wasn’t full of himself and he wasn’t hyper-competitive. Those may be among the reasons he never fulfilled his potential.

Yeah, you can say that guys like Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison succeeded without fitting the profile. But that’s not really true. Rice and Harrison might not have been all that flamboyant, but people who played with them or coached them will tell you they had a controlled selfishness about them.

Receivers are a very rare breed. As the Panthers and the Bucs look at drafting receivers next week, I think personalities will play into it. Obviously, their focus is on talent, but they have to find the right kind of receiver to fit in nicely. Carolina needs a guy who can co-exist with Smith. Tampa Bay needs a guy whose ego can fit in a locker room with tight end Kellen Winslow.

It’s a balancing act. Almost every wide receiver comes with some sort of baggage. You’ve got to take all that into consideration and determine which one you really need on your team.

Reminds me of a story from long ago. My high school baseball coach, the late and great Paul Fearick, had a strange dislike for guys who were on the wrestling team. In his own way, Fearick viewed them the same way Mandell described wide receivers.

When Fearick saw a sophomore, who also happened to be on the wrestling team, goofing off in practice one day, he erupted.

“Schubert, I don’t need you,’’ Fearick screamed. “You wrestlers are all crazy. I had a wrestler last year. But the guy could hit and he could play the field. We needed him. You? We can do just as well without you.’’

Turned out Fearick was setting some ground rules. He needed Eric Schubert, who pitched a few big games for us after we had some injuries late in the year and he became Fearick’s ace the next two years. Fearick, although not really thrilled about it, was willing to endure some quirks to get what he needed.

When it comes to wide receivers, the Bucs and Panthers have to ask themselves which ones they really need and how much they’re willing to turn their heads to all the other things that come with any given receiver.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

Like a lot of people, I can't quite understand why Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme seems to have suddenly fallen apart. That's why I called Jeremy Green of Scouts Inc. for a breakdown on what's going on with Delhomme.

	Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
	Jake Delhomme threw four interceptions in the Panthers’ loss to the Eagles.

"I don't think this was all of the sudden like a lot of people think," Green said. "Look back to last year, even before the playoff game with Arizona. He had a couple of pretty bad games and that Oakland game really sticks out."

So even if Delhomme's slump isn't that sudden, why is it happening?

"This was always a guy that was a very good game manager," Green said. "He wasn't ever going to beat you with his physical skills, and now his physical skills are deteriorating. He's not even managing the game well now. It's like the game is going too fast for him. You can see he's not comfortable in the pocket and he's not making good decisions. He's struggling with his confidence."

Has Delhomme just "lost it?" Green said that might be the case.

"I think this translates almost to a speed receiver losing a step," Green said. "When that happens, it's over. Guys like Jerry Rice and Cris Carter could go on because they could beat you with things besides speed and some quarterbacks can go on as they get older because they can still do a lot of things well. Delhomme's a guy who has been at his best as a game manager. If he can't do that anymore, that's obviously a problem."

But Green said Carolina's best hope, at the moment, still is Delhomme. The Panthers just signed A.J. Feeley after backup Josh McCown was lost for the season with an injury, and Matt Moore is the only other quarterback on the roster.

"They have to get Feeley ready very quickly because he's the guy they'll have to turn to if Jake doesn't turn it around," Green said.”He probably has a better arm than Delhomme or Moore and he has some experience. But he's a West Coast offense guy and Carolina doesn't run that offense. Usually, when you take a West Coast guy out of that offense, it's a struggle."

Although Moore might be a fan favorite right now, Green said fans should be careful what they wish for.

"Matt Moore is a smart guy and he has spent some time in their offense," Green said. "But if you go back to what he did in college, you'll see that he has trouble with pressure and isn't a good decision maker. He might be able to come in and give them a good game or two, but he's not a long-term answer. He's a career No. 3 quarterback."

	ESPN.com Illustration
	Who's not in the Hall of Fame who should be? ESPN.com's panel makes the case for Dermontti Dawson, Cris Carter, Doug Flutie and Rickey Jackson in future classes.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will induct another class Saturday. It will not include Rickey Jackson, Dermontti Dawson, Cris Carter and Doug Flutie.

2009 Hall of Fame Induction Coverage Saturday in Canton, Ohio, six men will be hailed as the latest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Bruce Smith, Rod Woodson, Ralph Wilson, Randall McDaniel, and posthumous honorees Derrick Thomas and Bob Hayes form the Class of 2009. The ceremonies will air live, beginning at 7 p.m. ET, on ESPN and ESPNHD. Follow ESPN.com's coverage. • Our future HOF nominees: Story | Podcast • Chat: Hall of Fame inductee Rod Woodson • Chat: Hall of Famer Warren Moon • Wickersham: Wilson valued for impact • Scouts Inc.: Top 5 CBs in the NFL today • Walker: Is Rod Woodson the best CB ever? • Graham: Bruce Smith, Sackmaster • Blogs: More Hall of Fame coverage

But future classes should.

At least that's the argument our four-man panel (Jeremy Green, Matt Williamson -- each from Scouts Inc. -- Football Today producer Jay Soderberg and myself) makes in this edition of Double Coverage. In this series, we usually debate matters. But we're not going to debate this time. We each make our cases and we're going to make them passionately.

That's because each of us reacted strongly when we were asked to nominate a player who is not in the Hall of Fame but deserves to be. As the NFC South blogger, I instantly threw out Jackson's name because Saints fans have been hitting me with pleas for his case since I've taken this job. I know Green spent a large chunk of his life in Minnesota around Carter and he took all of about three seconds to nominate him.

Williamson was so eager to make his case for Dawson that he sent me his argument the day we were assigned this project two weeks ago. Soderberg owns up to the fact he's a Patriots fan, but claims that's not the only reason he thinks Flutie has been shorted.

Enough with the introduction.  Listen to the discussion by clicking here , and read the presentations below.

RICKEY JACKSON (by Pat Yasinskas)

I started off this project knowing Jackson was a darn good player. I got hit with statistics and passion when I asked Saints' fans for input. But I didn't want to rely just on my own recollections of Jackson's playing career, the numbers or folks who might be biased.

Peter Brouillet/NFL
Rickey Jackson piled up some impressive numbers: six Pro Bowl selections and 136 sacks.

I wanted to hear from someone up close why Jackson belongs in the Hall of Fame. That's why I turned to the trusted veteran eyes of Carolina Panthers assistant head coach Jim Skipper. He was a New Orleans assistant coach during Jackson's time with the Saints. He saw him in games, in practice and in the locker room.

"The City Champ belongs in the Hall of Fame, no doubt," Skipper said. "He was as good as anyone who's in there. ... He's the guy who made the Dome Patrol (which also featured linebackers Sam Mills,Pat Swilling and Vaughn Johnson) go and some people say they were the best group of linebackers ever. It all started with him. You want to talk about tough? Rickey was so tough, he once got into a car accident and broke his jaw. He still went out and played in that game."

How do you top that?

You don't. You just throw in the numbers -- six Pro Bowl selections and 136 sacks. You can point to the fact that New Orleans is a small market. But Jackson moved onto San Francisco near the end of his career and got a Super Bowl ring. The only thing he's missing is a spot in the Hall of Fame. It's long overdue.

DERMONTTI DAWSON (by Matt Williamson)

I fully understand that the position of center, and the offensive line in general, is not
a glamour position. Arguing for or against such players as potential Hall of Famers is a very difficult chore. But Dawson deserves enshrinement.

Dawson

A 10-year starter, Dawson followed Mike Webster, one of only six centers in the Hall of Fame, to establish a legacy at the position like none other in the history of the game. During that stretch, Dawson started 171 straight games, went to seven Pro Bowls, was All Pro six times and was selected to the 1990s All-Decade Team. He started 13 playoff games, three AFC Championships and Super Bowl XXX. In comparison, Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson played in just 114 games with five Pro Bowls and four All-Pro selections.

Dawson's statistics are surely impressive, but his scouting report is even more extraordinary. In protection, bull rushing him was nearly an impossible chore, as he pass-blocked with tremendous leverage and technique.  The ultra-quick upfield defensive tackles rarely beat Dawson. He routinely snapped the ball, pulled with his great athleticism and led an outside run with precision and grace. He also was able to quickly get into a defensive tackle who was lined up over the guard and neutralize that defender's charge while his teammate acted as a pulling guard. You just don't find centers who do that.

Dawson did it all as well as anyone who has ever played the position and he did it with consistency, longevity and class. It is a crime that he has yet to be inducted into the hallowed Hall of Fame.

CRIS CARTER (by Jeremy Green)

One of the biggest oversights in Hall of Fame voting history is former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Cris Carter.

	US Presswire
	Cris Carter is third on the all-time receptions list with 1,101 catches.

If there is ever a player who should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, it's Carter [who became eligible in 2008). He is arguably the second-best wide receiver to ever play the game behind only one man: Jerry Rice, who has yet to become eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot.

Despite not having blazing speed, Carter adapted into a big-time playmaker in Minnesota. He could play the X and Y positions. He was unbelievable in the slot in the Vikings' 3-deep wide receiver concept during the Dennis Green era [Editor's note: Dennis Green is Jeremy Green's father]. Carter is the second- best route-runner I've ever seen, ranking behind only Rice. I had the pleasure to watch both in numerous practice sessions and live games from both field and coaching box levels.

The numbers do not lie when it comes to Carter. He is third on the all-time receptions list with 1,101, trailing only Rice (1,549) and Marvin Harrison (1,102). Despite playing the majority of his career opposite another receiver who will be in the Hall of Fame in Randy Moss (13,201 career receiving yards), Carter currently ranks seventh on that all-time list with 13,899 yards. Carter is fourth on the all-time touchdown reception list, trailing only Rice (208), Terrell Owens (141) and Moss (136), with 131 receiving touchdowns.

The statistics were there for Carter to be a first-ballot HOF candidate. What I think is almost as important: Carter is a man who changed his life. After battling both alcohol and drug use in his early years with the Philadelphia Eagles and being released, the Vikings were one of the few teams willing to take a chance on him. They picked him up for a $100 waiver claim and Carter rewarded them by changing his life and blossoming. In my mind, he's second-best receiver to play the game.

DOUG FLUTIE (by Jay Soderberg)

We probably should start by saying that my bias for New England Patriots players is well documented, but that is not what has led me to the belief that Doug Flutie belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What has led me to this conclusion is the name of the shrine in Canton itself: PRO FOOTBALL Hall of Fame, and Doug Flutie was one of the greatest quarterbacks ever in the Canadian Football League.

Flutie

Flutie, who retired from the NFL in 2006, does not become eligible for Hall Of Fame consideration until 2011.  But he's got plenty of ammunition, in my opinion.

His career stats in Canada alone are worth noting: 61.4 completion percentage, 41,355 total passing yards, 270 passing touchdowns and only 155 picks in a pass-oriented league. He was the first quarterback to pass for more than 6,000 yards in a season; he did it twice and came close a third time. He won three Grey Cup championships, and was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player a record six times.

Flutie was never given a real chance to be a starter in the NFL, whether battling the issue of his height (he's listed as standing 5 feet, 10 inches), battling for a job as a backup (with Rob Johnson in Buffalo, Drew Brees in San Diego), or being labeled a "scab" for crossing the picket lines early in his NFL career with the Patriots. Combine the stats from all three professional leagues he played in (he played one year in the USFL for Donald Trump's New Jersey Generals) and his numbers -- 58,179 total passing yards, 369 passing touchdowns, 6,759 rushing yards and another 82 rushing touchdowns -- are definitely worthy of consideration. Don't forget his numerous, memorable fourth-quarter comebacks.

Just for kicks, let's add that he was the last player to drop-kick an extra point during an NFL game. 

Listen to the podcast for more on our nominees and join the discussion below.

Posted by ESPN.com staff

Atlanta Falcons

• Are the Falcons destined for the NFC title game this season?
• Does former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick deserve a second chance at playing in the NFL?
  

Carolina Panthers

• A lot has been said/written about the offseason acquisitions made by the Falcons. But the Panthers filled some holes, too.
• Long-snapper J.J. Jansen talks about his opportunity to land a roster spot.

New Orleans Saints

• Former Saints kicker Martin Gramatica is working at bringing affordable housing to the 9th and 7th wards and Gert Town.
• Saints fans are beaming with excitement, and dreaming of a playoff run in 2009.
  

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• The team's official Web site talks numbers, rankings and Ronde Barber.
• Receiver Michael Clayton shared what it was like to train in the offseason with some of the best in the game, including Jerry Rice.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

As the Terrell Owens saga takes another turn with his release by Dallas, I'm reminded of a fascinating psychological profile of wide receivers I stumbled across a few years ago.

The profile actually goes back way earlier than that, but it holds remarkably true. In 1973, Arnold J. Mandell worked as a team psychiatrist for the San Diego Chargers. Coach Harland Savard asked Mandell to come up with personality profiles for the different position groups.

Mandell took a unique approach. He collected handwriting samples from all the Chargers and the entire class of rookies around the league in 1973. He worked with a handwriting analyst and also observed players closely. Mandell came up with personality profiles for every position group and I can see some truths in every one of them.

But Mandell especially nailed it in his personality profile on wide receivers.

"The wide receiver is a very special human being," Mandell wrote. "He shares many features with actors and movie stars. He is narcissistic and vain and basically a loner."

Yeah, you never want to stereotype. But think about that a little bit. Every great wide receiver fits to some degree.

Owens, Chad Johnson, Randy Moss, Steve Smith, Joe Horn, Keyshawn Johnson? They've all got it. Think even further back to guys like Michael Irvin, Otis Taylor, Mark Clayton and Mark Duper. They had it, too. You can argue about guys like Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice. But talk to people who've been around them and they'll tell you they've got a touch of the wide receiver traits, but they're just better at hiding them. It's also part of what makes them great.

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

	Doug Benc/Getty Images
	Jon Gruden said "anything is possible" when asked if his offense could be picked up quickly.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Jon Gruden gave a very interesting response when asked how quickly someone could pick up his offense.

"In my experience in the league, I haven't had the good fortune to have -- other than [Rich] Gannon -- a guy play a very long period of time," Gruden said. "The guy played three consecutive years for me. Brad Johnson went two consecutive years for me. We got Tim Rattay ready to play and he won a game for us in Cleveland. We brought him in during the midseason. Anything is possible if you put your heart in it and if you put your soul into it and you can believe it can happen."

Gruden then went on to compare Brett Favre's situation to receiver Jerry Rice landing in Oakland.

"This is an unprecedented situation, at least in my opinion," Gruden said. "I was in Oakland when we got Jerry Rice. That was similar to this from the standpoint that he was probably the best receiver to ever play. He switched zip codes, but he didn't change houses. He changed colors. I used to spend more time talking about how Jerry feels in a silver hat.

Gruden's offense has been hailed as one of the league's most complicated. But it doesn't sound like that would scare Gruden away from Favre.

"Everybody says our offense is like Greek -- it's hard to figure out and hard to write," Gruden said. "Well, Bruce Gradkowski started as a rookie, OK? [Jeff] Garcia went in and went to the Pro Bowl in his first year. Brad Johnson went to a Pro Bowl and won a world title as a first-year quarterback. Cadillac [Williams] was the Rookie of the Year. Michael Clayton did good as a rookie. Arron Sears started as a rookie. I get tired [of hearing] how hard it is. It's demanding now, especially in training camp because we're trying to get our defense ready for a lot of things, too. We're not just running our offense. We're running the Cleveland Browns offense. We're running the Minnesota Vikings running attack so we get some familiarity with their schemes. Anything is possible, in my opinion, if you have a group of guys that are committed to getting it done."