ESPN NFL

Early thoughts on the Texans scheduled to become unrestricted free agents come March 13, with thanks to Mac’s Football Blog, where you can find complete team-by-team lists that include exclusive rights and restricted free agents.

Running back Derrick Ward -- A third-stringer who has good experience and could be important if Arian Foster is lured away with an offer sheet as a restricted free agent.

Tight end Joel Dreessen -- Though largely underrated from the outside, he’s been a nice contributor and certainly has value for the Texans.

OG Mike Brisiel -- A solid starter they’d surely like to keep in order for their very good offensive line to remain intact.

C Chris Myers -- A very valuable cog in the machine and a great system fit, he may have been the best center in the NFL in 2011.

Wide receiver Bryant Johnson -- He was a non-factor as the team’s fourth receiver and they need to upgrade the spot.

Linebacker Tim Dobbins -- Played well when he got on the field, but may find better opportunity elsewhere.

Outside linebacker/defensive end Mario Williams -- If the Texans can’t lock him up before March 13, he will become the biggest prize of the free-agent class. It would be a huge accomplishment to find a way to re-sign him.

Cornerback Jason Allen -- He’s been a virtual “co-starter” with Kareem Jackson and has typically outplayed him. But based on this list, he’s not close to a priority.

Kicker Neil Rackers -- Rackers has been a steady guy for the Texans, who surely would like to keep him rather than shopping for a replacement.

Also UFAs:

• QB Jake Delhomme
• QB Jeff Garcia
• OG Kasey Studdard
• DT Tim Bulman
• S Dominique Barber
• P Matt Turk

» Divisional Final Word: Saints-49ers | Broncos-Patriots | Texans-Ravens | Giants-Packers

Three nuggets of knowledge about Sunday's Giants-Packers divisional round game:

Run, Giants, run: The Giants, who averaged a league-worst 89.2 rush yards per game in the regular season, ran for 172 in their wild-card round victory over the Atlanta Falcons. It was the first time this season that the Giants had rushed for more than 150 yards in a game. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Giants have won their past 14 games in which they have rushed for at least 150 yards. So although the Week 13 results and the Packers' league-worst pass defense (299.8 yards allowed per game) could tempt Eli Manning & Co. into a shootout, the Giants' best bet may be to try to wear down the Packers' run defense, which gave up just 111.8 yards per game on the ground.

Vulnerable down the field: ESPN Stats & Info also reports that the Giants gave up 24 passing touchdowns this year when using five or more defensive backs -- the most in the league while in such formations. Just more proof of why the Giants don't blitz and rely on their front four to pressure the quarterback. They need all the help they can get on the back end of the defense, and in a game like this against Aaron Rodgers and his array of weapons, that's more true than ever.

Good playoff omens: The Packers this year scored 560 points, which is the second-highest single-season total in NFL history. The only team that scored more was the 2007 Patriots, who of course went undefeated until losing in the Super Bowl to the Giants. Also, Manning has three career playoff road wins (all in that 2007-08 postseason, and not counting that Super Bowl victory on a neutral field). If he wins this game, he'll tie the record for the most career playoff road wins, which is shared by Roger Staubach, Jake Delhomme, Mark Sanchez, Joe Flacco and Len Dawson. Flacco's playing at home this weekend, and the rest of those guys are off. Though I guess Delhomme is the Texans' backup, so if T.J. Yates got hurt, Delhomme could technically pick up a fifth and make this note moot. Hey, we're covering all bases here.

HOUSTON -- The Texans sought to restore order and momentum in their season finale, while avoiding any more of the injury misfortune that’s beset them all season long.

Despite suffering a 23-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans at Reliant Stadium, the team seemed to achieve those goals and is now ready to turn to its first postseason. As the No. 3 seed, the Texans will host the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Nobody’s disappointed,” said receiver Andre Johnson, who estimated he played 15 snaps as he worked back from a hamstring injury. “Of course we wanted to win the game. We didn’t come out on top, but there is next week. Some teams don’t have next week. We have next week.”

“Those first couple drives, we kind of had that swagger back a little bit,” said quarterback T.J. Yates, who left the game with a bruise of his non-throwing shoulder in the first quarter. “Everybody was aggressive, flying around, very talkative on the sideline. It felt like we were back to normal out there.”

A postseason appearance is definitely not normal for the Texans. Houston has an NFL playoff game for the first time since 1993.

Here are some things we learned along the way on Week 17’s game between the division’s two best teams:

Texans fullback James Casey remains a weapon: He’s not your standard fullback. The converted tight end started the Texans' first five games, then missed a couple with a chest injury and never got back ahead of the more traditional Lawrence Vickers.

But Casey’s really more of a pass-catcher than a blocker by nature, and the Titans did poorly in figuring out how to stop him from getting free for seven receptions on seven targets for a team-high 91 yards.

Casey helped get the Texans in range for one of Neil Rackers’ field goals with a brilliant catch, keeping the ball in the air with a left-handed tip before diving to collect it.

“We were lining up in different formations with different personnel, and as a defense it’s kind of hard to understand exactly what we’re going to do,” Casey said. “Because we’re not just doing base things. We’re motioning all over the place. They don’t know if I’m fullback or tight end. It’s tough sometimes for them to set their blitzes or their coverage. Hopefully you can get guys out of spots, out of gaps in the run game and out of their zones in the pass game and try to take advantage of that.”

Next week, with Johnson playing full time and Owen Daniels and Arian Foster back in the lineup, odds are Casey qualifies as only the fourth- or fifth-best receiving option when he’s on the field.

“James has some crazy hands,” Johnson said. “He’s probably the guy I’ve seen make the most one-handed catches. His hands are very, very good, I think he has the best hands on this team. I don’t know who has the best in the league, but I think he’s right up there.”

The Texans are quite deep: Typically a team that scratches key starters like Foster, Daniels and cornerback Johnathan Joseph for a game that doesn’t have great meaning, is willing to yield some. Especially if it doesn’t jump out to a lead.

And the Texans have proven all season they have quality depth, as they’ve replaced defensive end Mario Williams, quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, punter Brett Hartmann and linebacker Daryl Sharpton, and played stretches without Johnson, safety Danieal Manning and guard Mike Brisiel.

Sunday as they rested some guys and pulled others early, they called on even more depth.

Beyond Casey, the Texans got solid contributions from a lot of role players like receiver Bryant Johnson, running back Derrick Ward and linebackers Tim Dobbins and Bryan Braman, along with quarterback Jake Delhomme.

“It says we have quality players all across this locker room,” Foster said. “We have guys that can play.”

Said Titans receiver Nate Washington: “This is a new Texans team that they take pride in. Even their backups come in there and they are playing hard. They’re going to make plays. We have to find a better way to close out those games.”

One piece of depth they were missing: a center behind Chris Myers who could make a quality shotgun snap in the clutch. The Texans could have won it with a 2-point conversion at the end, but guard Thomas Austin put the shotgun snap over Delhomme’s head at the end of the game. Kubiak said Austin had snapped enough that it shouldn’t have been an issue.

Kubiak understands a “meaningless” game: He’s never been a playoff head coach before, but he’s been part of a lot of good teams. That’s why he didn’t hesitate after Bryant Johnson’s 5-yard touchdown reception with 14 second left to keep his offense on the field for a 2-point try.

Even after Joel Dreessen’s false start, Kubiak stuck with it.

He wanted a win, sure, but he wanted overtime even less.

It was a smart call and the right call, even if Tennessee defensive end Derrick Morgan didn’t agree.

“I understand they want to get the game over with, but after they false started and they still went for 2, I was like, ‘Wow,’” he said. “That’s a slap in the face. But they botched the snap, so whatever.”

HOUSTON -- T.J. Yates and Gary Kubiak brought clarity to the quarterback’s health situation after the Titans’ 23-22 win over the Texans at Reliant Stadium Sunday.

Yates said he has no doubts he will be able to play next week in the franchise’s first playoff game and that he hoped to be a full-go from the start of the practice week.

“I feel good, I just dinged up the left shoulder a little bit, I fell on it on that first play,” said Yates, who’s right handed. “Everything was fine after that. We wanted to make sure that we didn’t do anything futher to it and we were just being safe.”

He said an X-ray showed everything was good.

The Texans made no official announcement on Yates during the game when it’s customary to share what body part is in question and the likelihood of a return. They did say he could have come back if he was needed. Yates said there was no plan prior to the game for him not to play all the way.

Jake Delhomme replaced him and finished the game, though if Delhomme had been knocked out Kubiak would have had to turn back to Yates. Third-string quarterback Jeff Garcia was a healthy inactive and the team’s emergency quarterback, tight end Owen Daniels, didn't dress either.

Starter Matt Schaub (Nov. 13) and Matt Leinart (Nov. 27) suffered season-ending injuries earlier this season.

In a halftime interview during the regular season finale, Kubiak said Yates was still being evaluated -- though Yates spent his time after returning from the locker room in a baseball cap, chatting with teammates and listening in to coaches. There was no continuing interaction with medical personnel.

I guess evaluation doesn’t have to be an active process.

“I have a hard time telling you exactly what happened,” Kubiak said. “He’s got a bruised shoulder at this moment. He’s being evaluated, will be evaluated this evening. We’ll get some pictures of it this evening and I’ll know more tomorrow. He could have gone back in the game. Obviously I didn’t want him to go back in the game. We’ll no better where we’re at tomorrow at this point.”

The Texans got an inaccurate read of Schaub’s injury at Tampa Bay on Nov. 13 and it’s apparently made them wary of assessing injuries to key people.

The team’s stance that a larger degree of real-time injury analysis is not possible is, of course, nonsense. It happens all around the league every Sunday. To suggest it can’t happen in Houston is insulting to the medical staff, the trainers and team sponsor, The Methodist Hospital System.

The bigger issue, obviously: Texans fans should be relieved that Yates said he's is in line to be fine.

HOUSTON -- A couple halftime thoughts from Reliant Stadium, where the Titans lead the Texans 13-10.

• The Titans smartly came out with something different, using shotgun with an empty backfield. They had great success with it early, but seemed to sag when it didn’t lead to a touchdown drive right out of the gate. An injury to receiver Damian Williams that’s knocked him from the game may force them to use it less than they’d like the rest of the way.
• Houston’s front is great. The Texans swarmed against a good pass-protecting offensive line and produced two Antonio Smith sacks of Matt Hasselbeck. The linemen and linebackers just come from a different spot on every play. I think that pass rush is going to key them in the playoffs.
• Jake Delhomme got away with a very bad throw late in the second quarter. Cornerback Jason McCourty would have probably gone for a touchdown if he didn’t flub the pass like a man who had casts on two broken hands.
• Receiver Donnie Avery benefitted from Williams’ injury and caught the Titans' touchdown on a smartly designed play. Tennessee bunched three receivers right, then had Hasselbeck throw to Avery against Jason Allen on the left from the 1-yard line. It was Avery's first catch of the year.
• The Texans should pound it with running backs Ben Tate and Derrick Ward in the second half. I think they can break the Titans' defense that way, and that the Titans could be frustrated they aren’t having an easier time considering Houston didn’t dress Arian Foster, Johnathan Joseph or Owen Daniels.
• I thought rules dictated teams announce in-game injuries. But the Texans have not said what prompted T.J. Yates’ trip to the locker room and exit from the game. And the Titans took a long, long time before finally revealing at the half that Williams has a rib injury and his return is questionable.

HOUSTON -- Quarterback T.J. Yates is back on the Texans’ sideline, but he’s wearing a baseball cap and was chatting with Matt Leinart as Jake Delhomme took the field for a second series for the Texans.

The Texans have not said what the injury is that briefly sent Yates to the locker room.

Houston's third quarterback, Jeff Garcia, is inactive. The Texans' emergency quarterback, tight end Owen Daniels, is also inactive.

Meanwhile the Titans are thinning out at receiver. Damian Williams is out and has been taken to the locker room. We don't know what that injury is yet, either.

Texans quarterback T.J. Yates left Sunday's game against Tennessee, heading to the locker room midway through the first quarter.

Yates was sacked by a Titans defender and appeared to land on his shoulder.

Veteran journeyman Jake Delhomme took over on Houston's next offensive possession.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Greetings from LP Field, where the Titans will try to slow the Saints today minus starting cornerback Jason McCourty.

McCourty’s recovering from a concussion suffered last week in the win over Buffalo.

Alterraun Verner has been part of the nickel package and will start. That’s not a huge drop off. But now undrafted rookie Chris Hawkins from LSU will come in as an outside corner in nickel.

If I’m the Saints I look to test Hawkins early and often.

New Orleans is without defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis. Tim Johnson will start in his place.

A note from the three other teams of the AFC South:

• Rookie Chris Prosinski is starting in place of Dwight Lowery at safety, with Lowery out.
• Chris Rucker and Jacob Lacey are the starting corners for the Colts, with Mike Pollak starting at left guard for the inured Joe Reitz.
• Jake Delhomme is active as the Texans backup quarterback behind T.J. Yates. Jeff Garcia is inactive.

The full list from Saints-Titans.

Titans:

• QB Rusty Smith
• CB Jason McCourty
• LB Barrett Ruud
• LB Patrick Bailey
• C Kevin Matthews
• T Byron Stingily
• DT Zach Clayton

Saints:

• CB Leigh Torrence
• RB Mark Ingram
• LB Jonathan Casillas
• T William Robinson
• WR Adrian Arrington
• DE Turk McBride
• DT Sedrick Ellis

Three teams placed waiver claims last week on former Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton. He was awarded to the Kansas City Chiefs, so it's at least fair to speculate that the Minnesota Vikings' reported decision Thursday to waive quarterback Donovan McNabb is based on a hope that he would be claimed as well in a time of high injury rates for quarterbacks around the league.

McNabb hasn't taken a snap since the Vikings benched him late in their Oct. 16 game at the Chicago Bears. Rookie Christian Ponder has started the past five games, and at 2-9, there is no competitive reason for the Vikings to maintain a veteran option at quarterback. If Ponder is injured, third-string quarterback Joe Webb could reprise his 2010 role and play out the proverbial string.

Speculation has immediately turned toward the two teams that missed on Orton -- the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys -- as well as the Houston Texans, who signed veteran Jake Delhomme off the street this week to serve as rookie T.J. Yates' backup.

I'm sure McNabb would love the Bears to claim him. He grew up in Chicago and starred at Mt. Carmel High School. It's not yet clear if the feeling is mutual. The Bears had a long and favorable history with Orton, and the only thing they know about McNabb is what the rest of us have seen over the past two years: A precipitous decline in play for a five-time Pro Bowler.

Perhaps McNabb would be an upgrade in an emergency over Josh McCown, whom the Bears signed after Orton was awarded to the Chiefs. But it's probably too ambitious to think McNabb can learn their offense and make an impact on their playoff push.

In reality, there isn't much to this move beyond the surprising news itself. McNabb wasn't going to get back on the field for the Vikings, wasn't going to re-sign next season and has already been paid the majority of his $5.05 million contract -- including this week's game check. If he were to end up in Chicago, his arrival would be a one-day story before the Bears returned to the primary question of their playoff push. It's up to starter Caleb Hanie, not McCown or rookie Nathan Enderle or McNabb or anyone else, to get it done.

Interesting story here about how Carolina receiver Steve Smith ranks the quarterbacks he has played with since coming into the league in 2001.

When you simply glance at the headline, you might think Smith is selling rookie Cam Newton short. Smith says Newton is No. 3 on his list.

But when you read Smith’s words and think about them, this one is not difficult to understand. Although all indications are that Newton and Smith have developed a very strong chemistry, Newton hasn’t been in the league for a full season.

He’s fared very well through the first 11 games. If Newton keeps doing what he’s been doing and Smith, who is under contract through 2012, stays healthy, the rankings could change. There already is no doubt Newton is the most physically talented quarterback the Panthers have had.

But Smith has a good memory, and that’s why he ranks Jake Delhomme at No. 1. I know a lot of Carolina fans were down on Delhomme as he left at the end of the 2009 season. But Delhomme had a nice overall career in Carolina and he had a strong bond with Smith.

The two were teammates from 2003 through 2009, and they shared a lot of big moments. But Smith’s pick at No. 2 is somewhat surprising, again on first glance.

Smith went with Vinny Testaverde. Although Testaverde was with the Panthers for a little more than half of the 2007 season, he was at a point in his career where he had a big impact on Smith.

When Delhomme went down with an elbow injury that season, backup David Carr didn’t work out. The Panthers lured Testaverde out of retirement and he quickly brought a strong presence and leadership skills to the locker room. At that point, Testaverde was more than willing to share the wisdom he had collected through the years.

Smith said he learned a lot from Testavrede, and still uses many of those lessons.

So, after you really think about it, it’s not all that surprising Smith ranked Newton third on his list. Smith was with Delhomme for a long time. Smith also benefitted greatly simply by being around Testaverde. Newton hasn’t been around long enough to have a lasting impact on Smith. At least not yet.

Plus, Smith is a pretty smart guy. Although he’s given Newton plenty of praise this season, it would be out of character and not a great idea for Smith to go ahead and put a rookie at No. 1.

Newton’s off to a very nice start, but there still is a lot of work to be done.

Suzy Kolber and Chris Mortensen discuss the Texans signing Jake Delhomme; Tim Hasselbeck and Damien Woody debate which New York NFL team will make the playoffs, and in Did You Hear That?, former Jacksonville top pick Tony Boselli comments on the firing of Jack Del Rio as Jaguars head coach.

Enough. No more talking in platitudes. No more general complaints based on reputation. And let's stop with the complaints about reputation. I'm tired of hearing people, whether they are in the media or otherwise, claim Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is a dirty player as a matter of course.

I want specifics.

I want rule citations.

I want context.

Several Atlanta Falcons players are the latest to make this charge, claiming Suh spoke disrespectfully toward injured quarterback Matt Ryan last Sunday at Ford Field. Suh has denied saying anything. Nevertheless, the episode has spawned another round of media/fan debates on whether, or the extent to which, Suh plays dirty.

In Tuesday's SportsNation chat, Dave of Phoenix suggested Suh "has brought all of this on himself" and "has made his reputation with his actions."

I'm not sure I agree. During the chat, my top-of-the-head response was recalling only one instance in Suh's career that I thought was dirty. And I define "dirty" as a blatant attempt outside the rules to injure an opponent.

That instance came in the 2010 preseason, a play that to me is largely responsible for this ongoing discussion. As you can see in this NFL.com video, Suh grabbed the face mask/helmet of Cleveland Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme and spun him violently and awkwardly to the ground. The NFL fined Suh $7,500 for the play. How Delhomme escaped injury on that play, I'll never know.

Beyond that, however, I'm not sure I could come up with enough examples to support a debate. Some of you might cite the 2010 regular-season game when Suh tackled Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber by his hair. Officials called him for a horse-collar tackle, a bad call based on NFL rules that consider the hair an extension of the body. (NFL.com video here.)

Others might note his unnecessary roughness penalty on Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in the 2011 preseason. (NFL.com video here.) The NFL fined him $20,000 for that play. I thought it was a violent hit and probably in violation of NFL rules. But dirty? Was he blatantly attempting to injure? Not to me.

There are two sides to every issue, of course. And that's where "Have at It" comes in. If you believe Suh is in fact a dirty player, I want examples in the comments section below. Links to video would help. Build your case instead of just making a general observation. As always, I'll publish a representative sample of your thoughts, along with my own take, by the end of the week. Have at It.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Been looking for post-lockout, smash-mouth NFL action?

Hope you didn’t come to Chiefs camp during the past three weeks.

Kansas City's training camp wasn’t the most excfiting place in the NFL. The Chiefs started very slowly, only going to pads last Sunday. The team’s starters did virtually nothing in a 25-0 loss to Tampa Bay last Friday night. Coach Todd Haley said he may take the same approach this Friday at Baltimore.

It’s a lockout-caused plan by Haley as the Chiefs take the big-picture approach and begin their AFC West title defense.

Haley was concerned about the length of the lockout and he didn’t want to rush his team into action because of the lost time. He wants this team to be fresh for the season. Other teams have crammed in as much physical play as possible. Haley, known for his physical camps in his first two years in Kansas City, is taking a much different approach.

At this point, he said, getting his team conditioned to make up for lost time is more important to him than practicing hard. Haley said he will concentrate on heavy football drills toward the end of the preseason to ensure the team stays as healthy as possible heading into the regular season.

The coach is taking some heat for taking the cautious approach. Many fans are concerned the Chiefs will not be ready when they open the regular season against visiting Buffalo on Sept. 11.

“I’m sticking to my convictions,” Haley said. “This is what is best for this team. I believe we will be ready for the season.”

The Chiefs picked up the intensity in practice this week, but they will not turn their starters loose until the third preseason game. There is even a chance the starters will play in the final preseason game, which routinely doesn’t happen around the league.

“This is the approach coach Haley wants us to take,” Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel. “We are fully behind him.”

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. Work with the quarterback: Cassel’s development is still the No.1 priority for this team and camp time is essential. There is no doubt Cassel progressed last season, but he fell off at the end of the season and now has to get used to working with new quarterback coach Jim Zorn after a one-year stint with Charlie Weis as a his offensive coordinator. Weis now has the same job at the University of Florida. Cassel and Zorn lost valuable time due to the lockout. However, they are said to have built a good relationship and gotten comfortable working together this summer.

2. Spread the ball around: The Chiefs are spending this camp getting their varied passing-game weapons in order. This can be a dangerous passing offense and this camp is being spent on how to best utilize it. Cassel has many directions to look. It starts with No.1 receiver Dwayne Bowe, but the Chiefs have given him help by drafting Jon Baldwin in the first round and signing slot receiver Steve Breaston, who played for Haley in Arizona and caught 77 passes in 2008 under Haley’s guidance. Add tight end Tony Moeaki and running back/receiver Dexter McCluster and there are a lot of options. Figuring out the best ways to utilize all of them is what camp is for.

3. Figuring what’s best for Charles: It has driven many Kansas City fans crazy that the Chiefs don’t give Jamaal Charles more carries. Thomas Jones had 245 rushing attempts last season while Charles had 230 carries. Jones fell off toward the end of the season, but Charles was spectacular. He had 1,467 rushing yards rushing, which was second in the league. The Chiefs want to increase Charles’ numbers but also want him to stay fresh and healthy, so don’t expect his workload to fly through the roof. To help both Charles and Jones, who will likely get 8-10 carries per game, the Chiefs signed former Baltimore fullback Le'Ron McClain, who runs the ball more than the average fullback. The Chiefs are working all three backs during this camp to figure out the most advantageous carry distribution.

ARE THEY GOING TO JARED?

The Chiefs’ camp got interesting last week when the team picked up former Baltimore left tackle Jared Gaither. Known as an above-average left tackle, Gaither missed all of last season with a back injury. The Raiders considered signing him early in camp, but they passed because of his back.

The Chiefs signed Gaither during camp and he is now practicing with the second team. If his back holds up, there is a strong chance Gaither could move into the starting lineup and send Branden Albert to right tackle. Albert, a first-round pick in 2008, has been a decent-but-not-great left tackle. The Chiefs have long considered making him a right tackle, where many scouts think he’d flourish. If he moves to right tackle, Albert would replace Barry Richardson. If the massive (6-foot-9, 340 pounds) Gaither is healthy and motivated, this could be a significant move for Kansas City.

CHIEFS MAY NEED TO BACK IT UP AT QB

The Chiefs are keeping a close eye on backup quarterbacks Tyler Palko and rookie Ricky Stanzi during camp. The two struggled in the preseason opener last week. If they continue to struggle, Kansas City could potentially consider bringing in a veteran backup such as Jake Delhomme to be the No. 2 quarterback. Still, Stanzi, a fifth-round pick from Iowa, should be a lock to make the team. Palko will have to increase his production to survive the final cuts.

OBSERVATION DECK

• The team loves the addition of nose tackle Kelly Gregg. He has been a leader and he has been working hard in camp. He has been a positive influence on young players, including draft pick Jerrell Powe.

• The Chiefs are working on increasing their turnover numbers on defense. They had the eighth-fewest takeaways in the NFL last season.

[+] Enlarge
Denny Medley/US PRESSWIREFirst-round draft pick Jon Baldwin, along with new acquisition Steve Breaston, are expected to make an impact this season.
• Baldwin was hampered by some minor issues. Camp observers said he struggled early in camp getting off the line of scrimmage, but the coaching staff is confident the No. 26 overall pick in the 2011 draft will catch up quickly. Baldwin had a reputation for being difficult in college, but the Chiefs haven’t seen any of indications of that and are more than satisfied with his attitude.

UPDATE: ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed that Baldwin is doubtful for the rest of training camp after a locker-room fight with Jones. Baldwin’s incident occurred after the Chiefs’ brass praised his attitude. This event has to be alarming for the team.

• Veteran backup Jerheme Urban has been running with the first team with Bowe as Baldwin and Breaston get acclimated. Don’t expect that to last. Baldwin and Breaston were brought in to play a lot of snaps.

• Haley has paired veterans with rookies to help the younger players through camp. The players room together, and Haley often matches up players from opposite sides of the ball to help team continuity.

• Veteran Andy Studebaker has been working with first team at outside linebacker opposite star pass rusher Tamba Hali. The Chiefs are going to use several players to pressure the quarterback, but Studebaker has a chance to have a key role while rookie Justin Houston learns the team’s system.

• McCluster has been working mostly out of the backfield as Haley suggested he would in May. Still, expect McCluster to line up at receiver some as well. The Chiefs are looking to create as many matchup problems as they can with McCluster, especially on third downs.

• Rookie DE Allen Bailey has a chance to contribute right away as a pass rusher. He has been working in that area diligently in camp.

• Rookie offensive lineman Rodney Hudson has been looking good. The second-round pick could play at guard and at center.

• The team also likes the progress of second-year guard Jon Asamoah, who has a chance to shine in the aftermath of the release of Brian Waters.

• Former San Diego inside linebacker Brandon Siler is making a push for major playing time. He is a solid talent who also helps on special teams.

• Linebacker Cameron Sheffield has played well. And he could be a contributor. He missed all of last season after suffering a neck injury in the preseason.

• One undrafted free agent to watch is Temple linebacker Amara Kamara. He has caught on to the defensive scheme very quickly.

• Cornerback Jalil Brown, a fourth-round pick out of Colorado, has been impressive and he has a chance to be contributor in some packages and on special teams.

You probably saw the hit Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh put on Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton last Friday. In the course of the takedown, Dalton's helmet came off and officials called a 15-yard penalty.

That's all we know for a fact at this moment. The NFL reviews all plays for possible postgame discipline, of course. Did Suh get fined? There has been no confirmation. I can, however, pass along what Suh posted on his official Twitter account at about noon ET:

If the NFL did in fact fine Suh $20,000 for the play, you can attribute it mostly to his third offense and not the severity of the hit. Last year, Suh blatantly ripped off the helmet of Cleveland Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme in a preseason game and was fined $7,500. Suh’s hit on Dalton was probably worth a penalty but wasn’t nearly as vicious as the Delhomme near-decapitation. (The NFL also fined Suh $15,000 for hit to the back of Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler last year.)

Fair or not, all defensive players should be aware that the NFL's emphasis on player safety will empower it to ring up huge fines on a weekly basis if it so chooses. I don't know what effect, if any, it will have on the game. But a few wallets are going to be a little lighter. More to come ...

We know the New Orleans Saints can play offense and there’s no doubt that will happen when the regular season comes along. But the Saints didn’t even need their offense in a 24-3 victory against the San Francisco 49ers in their preseason opener at the Superdome.

The defense and special teams gave the Saints a fast start as Drew Brees and most of the first-team offense didn’t even stay in long enough to get a first down.

New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams looked like he was prepared for a playoff game, not an exhibition. He blitzed like crazy and the first-team defense was all over San Francisco starting quarterback Alex Smith. Safety Roman Harper spent as much time in the backfield as any of San Francisco’s running backs. Heck, Williams was even calling run blitzes.

The Saints also got a big boost from undrafted rookie Joe Morgan, who returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown. People thought Darren Sproles would make everyone forget Reggie Bush, but Morgan might be making a case to stay on the roster to handle some returns.

Some other observations on the Saints.

• Brees left the game with about five minutes left in the first quarter and only completed one of four passes for six yards. Smart move by Sean Payton to get Brees out of there quickly. When you have a quarterback like that, you don’t need to take any chance of getting him hurt in a preseason game.
• Brees did throw one perfect deep pass, but Robert Meachem dropped it.
• Backup Chase Daniel took a big hit out of bounds soon after replacing Brees. He got up, holding his side. Made me wonder for a second if the Saints have a phone number for Jake Delhomme? He’s a Louisiana guy and, if he’s going to play again, the Saints would be a tempting option. But Daniel seemed to shake off the hit and completed 13 of 21 passes for 129 yards.
• The Saints didn’t even need the blitz all the time. With a bit of help from defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, Will Smith had a nice sack on Smith.
• Nice debut by rookie running back Mark Ingram. He had a 14-yard touchdown run at the end of the first half that brought back memories of Deuce McAllister.
• Linebacker Jonathan Casillas hasn’t been getting much work with the first-team defense. But he had a strong outing and that could earn him some work with the starters as camp goes on.
• Rookie cornerback Johnny Patrick went down near the end of the third quarter with what appeared to be a leg injury. It was unclear how serious the injury is, but the Saints already are thin at cornerback. Tracy Porter and Fabian Washington already have missed camp practices with injuries.