Tirico talks about MNF change, won’t comment on why it was made

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In a rare appearance of an ESPN personality on The Dan Patrick Show, Mike Tirico talked about this week’s surprising “prodemotion” (our word, not Tirico’s) of Ron Jaworski from the Monday Night Football booth.

Tirico initially created the impression that he has no knowledge as to why the change was made.  “I don’t know the management specifics of the how and the why,” Tirico said.

But Dan later pressed Tirico on the mechanics of how Tirico was informed of the move from three to two in the booth, and specifically whether Tirico asked the obvious question:  “Why?”

“I did say ‘Why?,’ and honestly I’m not going to share that with everybody because that’s not everybody’s business, and the answer I got I believe,” Tirico said.

Interesting.

Tirico also conceded that criticism of Jon Gruden’s incessant praise of players, coaches, and teams was “legitimate” a couple of years ago, but Tirico believes Gruden has adjusted.  We (or at least I) continue to believe that the powers-that-be are hoping to coax “Chucky” out of Gruden; if Gruden ever becomes on Monday night the guy that he is the other 6.85 days of the week, he’ll be the next John Madden.

The only plausible explanation for the move to two remains that management wants to give Gruden the spotlight in the hopes that he becomes, to borrow one of his terms, “that guy.”  Even if there was a genuine belief that Jaworski could serve the network better by appearing on multiple other platforms, there had to be someone else on the payroll who could have stepped in and maintained the three-man approach.

So someone decided that it should be Gruden and Tirico, and no one else.  And the deeper goal seems to be ensure that Gruden will eventually choose to never return to coaching, even though Tirico said he believes Gruden eventually will.

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There doesn’t seem to be much nostalgia for the days of Tebowmania among Broncos wide receivers.

We’ve already heard Demaryius Thomas talk about his happiness about the change in quarterbacks from Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning and now Eric Decker is weighing in with similar sentiments. He doesn’t make it about himself quite as much as Thomas did, but Decker left very little uncertainty about his thoughts during an interview with 102.3 The Ticket in Denver.

“Tebowmania. Yeah, obviously he’s earned the right to have conversations about him,” Decker said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “I guess at the same time, to be honest with you it is nice just to kind of focus back on football, and we talk football and there’s not — there’s still a lot of excitement here with the football. I mean, he is a great teammate. I respect him greatly. But again, like you were saying, a lot of the focus right now is on football, is really talking about how we’re gonna form this team to win some ball games next year.”

It’s a strange football world when signing one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time as a free agent qualifies as keeping off-field noise to a minimum.

Decker didn’t have a terrible season with Tebow in 2011. It is hard to imagine his own numbers won’t go up if Manning is fully recovered after neck surgery, though, so you can understand why Decker might prefer life in Denver now that Manning is the quarterback.

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A pair of trouble-making second-year players for the Lions are on the field this morning at Organized Team Activities.

Lions receiver Titus Young, who was told to stay home from OTAs after sucker punching teammate Louis Delmas, is back at work. And so is defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who was arrested over the weekend for drunk driving and attempting to elude the police.

Young released a statement through the team, acknowledging that he screwed up.

“My recent actions have not always been up to the standards the Lions expect or the standards that I expect from myself. I am truly sorry for those times when I didn’t meet those standards,” Young said. “My absence from the practice facility and the OTAs last week was necessary for both myself and the team. The time away from the team afforded me the opportunity to reflect and come to the realization that by putting those incidents behind me I will be able to focus on becoming the best teammate and player that I can be.”

Fairley has not spoken publicly since his arrest. Lions coach Jim Schwartz is expected to address the media today.

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We hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend, including some time with your family, some time eating some hamburgers and/or the pink missile-shaped packages of ground-up pig or cow parts that can’t otherwise be sold (but that are nevertheless delicious), and most importantly some time reflecting on the millions of young men and women who gave their lives for us at a time those lives barely had begun.

We hope that most of you weren’t working.  And for those of you who weren’t working, we know that you need a refresher on the things you may have missed while not checking PFT on your non-work time.

So here’s a quick look at the best of the three-day weekend, in the event that you find it too taxing to press the “previous” button at the bottom of the page.

If Drew Brees decides to sit out all of 2012, the Saints won’t be able to use the exclusive version of the franchise tag — and the compensation would drop to a first-round and third-round pick.

If the trade deadline had been later in 2011, would the Colts have replaced sucking for Luck with snortin’ for Orton?

The Cam Newton/Alex Smith debate should boil down to one question:  Which guy would you rather have on your team right now?

Some fans in Indy have decided to watch the games at home as the Colts rebuild.

The Jags plan to “resize” Everbank Field, whatever that means.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin likes to win at all costs, unless the cost includes paying a bounty.

The 2012 Bears’ offense may look a lot like the Vikings’ offense from 2002 through 2005.  (Is that good news or bad news?)

Dolphins LB Karlos Dansby is delusional.

Lions DT Nick Fairly likes to drive fast.  And drunk.  Allegedly.

How ’bout them 132 Cowboys fans?

The Bears are concerned about Matt Forte’s knee.

But Forte thinks they shouldn’t be.

And his agent is pissed about it.

Jets coach Rex Ryan has gone from wanting to kick Tony Sparano’s ass to kissing it.

With a net worth of nearly $4 million, we should all hope to be as bankrupt as Jamal Lewis.

Here comes the Judge.

Jeff Garcia finally has something in common with Terrell Owens — they want back in and no one wants them.

I’ll bet the farm that New Jersey fails in its effort to adopt betting on NFL games.

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The Vikings went into the offseason knowing that they needed more pieces on offense to help Christian Ponder in 2012.

They signed tight end John Carlson as a free agent in hopes of giving Ponder a reliable option and drafted Matt Kalil to help keep Ponder upright long enough to deliver passes. They also drafted a pair of Arkansas wide receivers — Greg Childs and Jarius Wright — to flesh out a thin position group. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave sounds most excited about wide receiver Jerome Simpson, signed as a free agent after playing out his contract with the Bengals.

“We need somebody with juice like that playing the split end,” Musgrave said, via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “I’m really looking forward to Jerome and our quarterback starting to jell together. We need to be able to count on somebody from our split end position winning consistently versus man coverage. With the way I think we can run the football, defenses are going to try to take away the run. And we want to make them pay for that through the air.”

Simpson had 50 catches for 725 yards last season, numbers that would have made him a solid number two to Percy Harvin last season. Simpson’s ability to get deep and make plays after the catch make him a perfect fit for what the Vikings need.

The only drawback is the three-game suspension Simpson has to serve at the start of the season. That makes it all the more important for Simpson and Ponder to jell together as much as possible over the summer so that they aren’t starting from square one once Simpson is able to get on the field.

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Although Packers receiver Donald Driver is 37 years old and appears to be slowing down, he doesn’t sound like he has any doubt that he’ll be playing in Green Bay this season.

Driver said on ESPN Radio that he believes he has another year or two with the Packers, and then he’ll retire.

“I’ll be in Green Bay. I’m not going anywhere,” Driver said, via ESPNMilwaukee.com. “I’ve always said I want to retire as a Packer, I think the organization knows that, so we’re going to come together. We’re going to make a decision. One, two more years, and then I’ll put my cleats on the shelf and sit back in Dallas and relax. It’s family.”

Driver’s current contract calls for him to get a $1.5 million roster bonus on the first day of training camp and a $2.6 million salary that, because he’s a vested veteran, would be guaranteed if he’s on the roster for Week One, and he’s just not worth that kind of money anymore. But Driver’s agent, Jordan Woy, has said they’re in touch about restructuring the deal, and Driver doesn’t sound like a man who’s going to balk at taking a pay cut.

So Driver is likely to remain in Green Bay. Even though, at this point, he’s no better than their fifth-best receiver.

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The Steelers spent the early part of this offseason clearing some veteran players off the roster.

Wide receiver Hines Ward, defensive end Aaron Smith and defensive lineman Chris Hoke have all decided to retire after being cut loose. And, although he said he intended to keep playing when he was released by the Steelers, linebacker James Farrior appears to be heading in that direction as well.

In an interview with KDKA in Pittsburgh, via CBSSports.com, Farrior’s agent Ralph Cindrich said that Farrior hasn’t made a final decision on that front. Cindrich said that he has had discussions with the Steelers about a retirement press conference, although he is holding out hope that a “championship opportunity” presents itself.

That seems like a long shot. Farrior is 37 and coming off a poor year with the Steelers, two things that don’t make him particularly appealing to teams looking for an upgrade at linebacker.

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Bills coach Chan Gailey will be looking for how the team’s rookies fit in as OTAs get underway.

Rookie RB Lamar Miller will have ample chances to impress the Dolphins.

Former Patriots T Matt Light received the Pop Warner Humanitarian Award.

Jets coach Rex Ryan breaks down some of the ways he’ll be more hands-on this season.

Ravens T Michael Oher took in a NASCAR race over the weekend.

Bengals DT Geno Atkins is an excellent example of a three-technique tackle.

Studying for his Bar Mitzvah contributed to Browns rookie T Mitchell Schwartz’s late start in football.

Steelers owner Dan Rooney’s run as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland could be coming to an end.

The Texans continue their OTAs on Monday.

WR Donnie Avery is looking for a rebound season with the Colts.

Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert is under pressure heading into this season.

The Titans offense has become much friendlier to wide receivers.

Trading CB Cassius Vaughn was possible because of increased Broncos depth at cornerback.

Said Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel of RB/WR Dexter McCluster, “Probably what that will do is open it up for us to be able to use him however and whenever. We need him at whatever position. He’s taken to it really well. He’s been enthusiastic about it, so that is working out pretty well for us.”

The Raiders don’t rank that high at tight end in the AFC West.

After sticking with the Chargers for another year, coach Norv Turner should be feeling the pressure to win.

Cowboys CB Brandon Carr isn’t being overlooked anymore.

The Sporting News calls Giants coach Tom Coughlin the best in the business.

Eagles DE Trent Cole said it took almost the entire year for him to feel comfortable playing under defensive line coach Jim Washburn.

Extending places on the all-time Redskins team to coaches and front office personnel.

How much longer will Bears LB Brian Urlacher be around?

Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News thinks the Lions need to send a message in the wake of DT Nick Fairley’s arrest.

Packers T Marshall Newhouse has made a rapid rise from backup to starter.

The anti-Vikings stadium forces have been fairly silent.

The Falcons are looking to Jonathan Massaquoi for a boost to their pass rush.

A look at what the Panthers have at wide receiver.

Said Saints T Jermon Bushrod, “Honestly we really have no choice but to come together and to keep our eyes on the prize. I get asked ‘How are you guys going to do this year’ three, four, maybe ten times a day depending on where I am and I tell them the same thing. We can only go up. We take the situation for what it is, come together, fight a little harder, prepare a little more and at the end of the day, let’s try to do something unheard of.”

Buccaneers TE Luke Stocker is prepared to step into the spot vacated by Kellen Winslow.

Current and former Cardinals were thinking about Memorial Day on Monday.

Rams LS Travis Tripucka is trying to keep family tradition going.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com is making an early prediction that the 49ers will win the Super Bowl.

There are young linebackers around him, but Leroy Hill seems secure with the Seahawks.

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After six seasons of playing at best a secondary role on offense, receiver Nate Washington produced his best season ever in 2011.  And he wants to keep getting better.

“There’s still a lot of things I can do better, and I want to it to pay off for this year,” Washington told John Glennon of the Tennessean.  “I can always talk about the success of last year.  But you can also be that guy who had one blow-up year and then you’re right back down there — that this is the guy we know.  I just want to be the guy that’s consistent.”

Washington caught 74 passes for 1,023 yards last season, with extra opportunities undoubtedly fueled by the September ACL tear suffered by Kenny Britt.  The new coaching staff, including receivers coach Dave Ragone, apparently helped Washington get the most out of his abilities in his seventh NFL campaign.

“He probably got more opportunities, and that was a part of it,” G.M. Ruston Webster said.  “I think Dave’s coaching style helped, too, because he hit it off with Nate, and Nate responded.  And I don’t think you can underestimate Matt Hasselbeck’s part in that.

“But you have to give Nate a lot of credit because he really stepped up.  We really needed him to do that.  We had to have him and he did it.  He played hurt.  He did the whole thing.”

Still, giving Nate credit has its limits.  This year, Britt is expected back.  And the Titans used the 20th overall pick on receiver Kendall Wright, who if he performs like the 20th overall pick is expected to perform will eventually bounce Washington to the bench.

Washington nevertheless welcomes the addition of Wright.  “I think this is going to be a pretty explosive offense,” Washington said.  “Not that we weren’t in the past, but Kendall and a couple of guys here will definitely give us some different things that we can do, some versatility.”

Still, Washington has no specific demands regarding the number of times he sees the ball.  “I’m not going in with any expectations,” Washington said.  “Like I said before last year, whenever my number is called, I just want to be there to answer the door.  In any type of situation we get in, I want to be the guy that’s accountable and a guy that’s picking other guys up — whether it’s physically or mentally.”

If running back Chris Johnson can return to form and if Britt can return to health, the Titans could indeed be explosive on offense, making them the ultimate competition for the Houston Texans, who took the AFC South last year based largely on their newly-suffocating defense.

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Former Patriots and Saints defensive back Randall Gay turned 30 this month, and although there was once a time when he figured he’d still be playing in the NFL at this age, he says the symptoms of concussions make a return to the game impossible.

Gay went on injured reserve with his last concussion in 2010 and didn’t play at all in 2011, and he told the Boston Herald there’s no way he’d be able to play now.

“I can’t play anymore. I wish I could, but I’m still having symptoms from concussions,” Gay said. “I wanted to try again, but I can’t really do anything. Hard, physical activities, I get headaches and nauseous and dizzy and stuff. I’d still like a chance in the NFL, but it’s not worth it.”

Gay, who played for the Patriots from 2004 to 2007 and the Saints from 2008 to 2009, said he doesn’t know how many concussions he has suffered and didn’t know much about concussions during his playing days.

“It’s scary because you don’t know enough about it,” Gay said. “When you play football, it’s the effect of everybody just wants to deal with it. All right, my ankle hurts? I can deal with it. My arm hurts? But I can deal with it. It’s not hurting enough where I can’t play. Then you’ve got the headaches, the concussion thing. I’ve got a headache, but I can deal with it. That’s the mindset that you go through your whole life with. But then it gets to the point where you don’t know enough about head injuries to just say I can deal with it. You might be able to deal with it today, but you don’t know what tomorrow holds. That’s the scary thing about it. That’s the decision you don’t want to make. I love the game of football, and I feel like I can deal with the headaches or just being nauseous. Just being a little dizzy, I can deal with it, but you just never know what it’s going to bring later.”

For Gay, what the concussions brought was an early end to his football career, and a tough time in retirement.

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Ravens running back Ray Rice remains unsigned as the team’s franchise player, but coach John Harbaugh says there’s no doubt in his mind that Rice will be capable of contributing as soon as he shows up.

Harbaugh said on NFL Total Access that he’s not worried at all about Rice being prepared to play.

“It’s the business of football,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t worry about Ray Rice.”

The business of football means that Rice wants a long-term contract that pays him in the range of what the highest-paid running backs in football make, but all indications are that the Ravens are not willing to pay Rice anything like the contracts that Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson got last year. Rice probably won’t get the contract he wants and will likely end up signing the one-year franchise tender for a guaranteed base salary of $7.7 million in 2012.

Even if Rice doesn’t sign until after training camp, however, Harbaugh thinks he’ll be the same old Ray Rice in time for Week One.

“Ray will be ready to go when the season starts, he’ll be in shape and he’ll be Ray Rice,” Harbaugh said. “He’s one of the hardest-working guys, and I have complete trust in Ray.”

It doesn’t come out until August, so you can strike it from the early phases of your summer reading list.  But few football books figure to be more entertaining than Sapp Attack, the first written offering from former NFL lineman Warren Sapp.

Gary Shelton of the Tampa Bay Times recently previewed the 314-page effort, in which Sapp apparently perfectly captures his essence:  “[H]e is loud, and he is profane, and he is stepping on a different set of toes every time you turn a page,” Shelton writes.  “You may like it, you may hate it, and you may stay up late laughing about it.”

Sapp shares his views on his coaches and teammates, telling it like he sees it.  Sapp says he chose to play college football at Miami over Florida State in part because coach Bobby Bowden referred to one of his other players as a “fat ass.”  Sapp says that his first NFL coach, Sam Wyche, tried to motivate “by making snide comments, by belittling people.”  Sapp says that “Tony Dungy put the damn cake in the oven, and then Jon Gruden came in and put the icing on it.”

Sapp’s views on the men he played with include outing former Bucs defensive tackle Brad Culpepper for cheating.  Sapp claims that Culpepper, now a lawyer and one of the many former players suing the NFL for concussions, used silicone to make it harder to be held.  “Now that [Culpepper] also is retired, I’ll confess for him that he was one of the people who did that,” Sapp writes.  “He practically bathed in silicone before a game.  Trust me, if he had ever tried to hug his wife before a game, she would have slipped right out of his arms and gone straight up in the air.”

Um, does that make Sapp a snitch?

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the book is that the cover art features an image of Sapp wearing the Super Bowl ring that, according to his bankruptcy filing, he lost several years ago.  Though it’s quite likely that the picture was digitally altered, it’s a detail that Sapp will surely have to explain at some point to one of Sapp’s colleagues in the judiciary.

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As a rookie, Dexter McCluster eventually found a home with the Chiefs as a slot receiver.  Last season, the team moved him to running back.  During offseason workouts, he’s back at receiver.

He soon could be back at running back.

Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star writes that the Chiefs are struggling to find value from McCluster, a second-round pick in 2010.  “We feel like he knows how to play running back, and we can put him over at running back at any point in time, but we felt like he needed the work at wide receiver,” coach Romeo Crennel recently said, via Teicher.  “So we gave him the work at wide receiver.  If we need him at running back then we’ll put him at running back.  Probably what that will do is open it up for us to be able to use him however and whenever we need him at whatever position.  He’s taken to it really well.  He’s been enthusiastic about it, so that is working out pretty well for us.”

McCluster described himself simply as an “Offensive Weapon” two years ago, and that appears to be how the team plans to use him.

The best bet for the Chiefs, given the arrival of former Browns offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as the new offensive coordinator in Kansas City, could be to use McCluster like the Browns used Josh Cribbs under Daboll — as a return specialist, a receiver, a running back, and Wildcat quarterback.

McCluster generated 844 yards from scrimmage in 2011, up from 280 in 2010.

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Running back Justin Forsett isn’t the only veteran free-agent who’ll get a chance to catch the attention of the Houston Texans on Wednesday.  Veteran free-agent wideout Mike Sims-Walker will work out on Wednesday for the defending AFC South champions, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Sims-Walker played four games with the Rams last year before being released and returning to Jacksonville last season.  After two games back with the Jaguars, a knee injury landed him on injured reserve.

In 2009, Sims-Walker made a big splash with 63 catches for 869 receiving yards and seven touchdowns for the Jaguars.  The next season, his production dropped by 20 catches and more than 300 yards, but he added another seven touchdowns.

The Jaguars let him leave via free agency in 2011, opting not to apply a restricted free agency tender.

The Texans have needs at the position given the decision to cut Jacoby Jones and the recent knee injury sustained by Andre Johnson, which is expected to knock him out for the balance of offseason workouts.

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Though it’s Memorial Day and not Thanksgiving (Metta World Peace set me straight on that), we’re thankful for the Cowboys and their cornucopia of cornerbacks.  From whether the Cowboys will trade cornerback Mike Jenkins to when they will trade him if they ever decide to do so to whether they’ll slide one of their corners to safety in order to keep as many of them on the field as possible, the Dallas defensive backs have helped us fill up the page on what otherwise would have been a slow news day.

On that last point, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes that Orlando Scandrick has scant interest (actually none, but I was having a Chris Berman moment and couldn’t resist using “scant” after “Scandrick”) in playing safety.

“Not happening,” Scandrick said.  “Brodney Pool, Gerald Sensabaugh and Barry Church are our safeties. Orlando Scandrick, Morris Claiborne, Brandon Carr and Mike Jenkins are our corners.”

We can’t imagine Scandrick refusing to play safety if being a safety gets him on the field and being a cornerback leaves him on the bench.  For now, he professes ignorance as to the specific strategies that will be employed.

“I have no idea what they have planned,” Scandrick said.  “I feel like the best players are going to play regardless of your contract, draft status or who you are.”

Given the various types and forms of coverages, Scandrick can play like a safety while still telling himself that he’s a corner.  In Cover Three and Cover Four, corners typically join the safeties in patrolling the deep zones.  In pure man coverage, it doesn’t really matter whether a guy is a corner or a safety.  For Scandrick, as long as he’s not covering a deep zone in Cover One or Cover Two or otherwise providing help over the top for Carr or Claiborne or Jenkins, Scandrick plausibly can continue to regard himself as playing cornerback.

Even if he technically isn’t.

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I rarely address a subject that one of the other PFT writers has handled.  But sometimes I just can’t keep quiet.

MDS pointed out earlier today the item from Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback regarding former Colts Vice Chairman Bill Polian’s belief that the proposed extension in 2012 of the trade deadline from Week Six to Week Eight would have helped the Colts improve on their final record of 2-14, given that Polian would have shipped a third-round pick to the Broncos for deposed starter Kyle Orton.

Apart from the simple fact (as MDS noted) that Polian could have had Orton for nothing by simply making a waiver claim for Orton after he was cut in November, the idea that the Colts would have given up such a high pick in the hopes of getting a few more wins — and in turn not having the ability to land their next franchise quarterback — by picking up a guy whose contract was set to expire makes no sense.

At all.

Polian has been surprisingly good and informative during his time on the air with ESPN.  He comes off as far more likeable than the experiences of plenty of agents and reporters would otherwise suggest, and personally he has become one of the few voices on the network to which I will stop whatever I’m doing and listen.  But I don’t want to hear that Polian would have given up a third-round pick for Kyle Orton in the hopes of salvaging a lost season that has helped secure the team’s future.

If Polian is telling the truth, it makes owner Jim Irsay’s decision to move on much more understandable.