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On Thursday, MDS pointed out that the Steelers have begun chipping away at a $25 million cap bulge by restructuring the contracts of linebackers LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons.

A league source has supplied the specifics to PFT.

As to Woodley, his 2012 cap number has dropped from $11.5 million to $4.94 million, creating $6.56 million in cap room.  The move results from the conversion of a combined base salary and roster bonus of $8.9 million into a $700,000 base salary and an $8.2 million signing bonus.

The simple restructuring pushes the extra $6.56 million into the final four years of the contract, at a rate of $1.64 million extra per year.

For Timmons, his cap number of $9.125 million drops to $3.985 million, creating $5.14 million in cap space.  The extra money comes from the conversion of $7.125 million in salary and roster bonus into a salary of $700,000 and a signing bonus of $6.425 million.  It results in an extra $1.285 million being charged under Timmons’ name in the final four years of his contract.

It’s unclear at this point what else the Steelers will do to get under the cap.  But they need to be there by the start of the league year on March 13.  With these two restructurings, the Steelers pushed $11.7 million in current cap space into future years.

AP

So why did the Raiders dump cornerback Stanford Routt today?

Per a source with knowledge of his contract, Routt’s $5 million base salary for 2012 would have become fully guaranteed if he had been on the roster five days after the start of the 2012 waiver period.

Though Routt loses the $5 million, he gets more than a fair crack at free agency, hitting the market more than a month before the official launch of the spending spree.

Thus, either way, tying guaranteed payments to presence on the roster early in the waiver period provides maximum protection.  Either the team keeps the player and incurs the full guarantee (as the Jets did with receiver Santonio Holmes) or the team cuts the cord and the player walks away free and clear.

In Routt’s case, he carries with him $10 million paid out in 2011, the first — and ultimately only — year of his contract.

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As expected, Patriots coach Bill Belichick planned to defend the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI by taking away what the Giants do best.  And that meant shutting down receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

So before what became the Giants’ game-winning drive, NFL Films microphones caught Belichick giving this directive to his team, via ESPNBoston.com:   “This is still a Cruz-and-Nicks game.  I know we’re right on them.  It’s tight, but those are still the guys.  Make them go to Manningham, make them go to [Bear] Pascoe.  Let’s make sure we get Cruz and Nicks.”

The Giants indeed went to Manningham, and Manningham made an uncanny catch of a perfect 38-yard throw from quarterback Eli Manning to spark the effort that allowed the Giants to win the game.

Though Manningham didn’t have huge numbers, reliance on him in one of the game’s biggest moments meshed with something former Colts coach Tony Dungy had been saying last week.  In the 2006 AFC title game, during which the Pats raced to a 21-3 lead, Belichick found a way to take away both Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.  The Colts then adjusted, targeting tight end Dallas Clark and taking advantage of opportunities in the running game.

And so with Belichick so determined to take away what the opposing offense does best and with opposing offenses now figuring it out, the chess match needs to move to the next level, with Belichick making the enemy think he’ll be taking away the top weapons and then pouncing on the guy to whom the ball will actually go.

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The man who believes he lost his job in Indianapolis for not having a better Plan B behind Peyton Manning thinks that Peyton will be someone’s Plan A again soon.

Former Colts Vice Chairman Bill Polian told ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption (via NFL.com) that Manning will return to football “at a high level.”

Polian contradicted reports that Peyton hasn’t been able to throw effectively.

“It’s marked [improvement] from where he was back in September,” Polian said regarding Peyton’s arm strength in December, when Polian last observed Manning.  “He threw it accurately, he threw it with a good, tight spiral, and he threw it with velocity.  Generally, he looked like a pretty confident quarterback out there.”

This meshes with recent comments from Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, who said last week that Peyton “definitely is not that far off.”

What’s definitely not that far off is the date by which the Colts will have to decide whether to pay Peyton another $28 million or cut him loose.

The Raiders continue to fill up Dennis Allen’s first coaching staff, with the addition of two new assistant coaches.

The team announced today that Johnny Holland (pictured) has been hired to serve as linebackers coach, and Keith Burns will hold the title of assistant special teams coach.

Burns has coached for 28 years at the college level, most recently as assistant coach/secondary at Mississippi.  Holland was out of coaching in 2011 after spending five years as linebackers coach with the Texans.

He previously worked for the Lions and Packers, with a three-year gap in his coaching resume from 2000 through 2003.  Holland played for the Packers through 1994 and worked as a defensive quality control assistant on the Super Bowl XXXI championship and Super Bowl XXXII runner-up Packers teams.

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The Bucs have been having a hard time hiring key assistants for new coach Greg Schiano’s staff.  They’ve finally landed one of the men Schiano coveted.

Peter King of SI.com reported last month that Schiano wanted to hire Butch Davis, either to be the team’s defensive coordinator or to be an assistant head coach.  Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com now reports that Schiano has hired Davis.

Per Marvez, Davis will be the team’s senior defensive assistant.

Davis was defensive line coach for the 1992 Cowboys and defensive coordinator for the 1993 edition of the team.  Both won the Super Bowl.

He thereafter spent six seasons as head coach at the University of Miami, before jumping to the Cleveland Browns.  Fired after four seasons in Cleveland, Davis resurfaced in Chapel Hill.  He was out of coaching in 2011.

In 1999 and 2000, Schiano worked for Davis at Miami, as the team’s defensive coordinator.

Last month, the Colts raided the Saskatchewan Roughriders for linebacker Jerrell Freeman.  The Colts have now swiped another CFL defender, this one from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The Colts have announced the addition of defensive end Justin Hickman, who spent three years in Hamilton.  He started all 18 games in 2011, notching 13.0 sacks and landing a nomination for Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

The Colts also re-signed defensive back Mike Newton, who was waived/injured by the Colts in August 2011.  Newton appeared in 12 games for the Colts in 2010, playing special teams and reserve defensive back.

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Halfway decent cornerbacks are usually difficult to find on the free agent market. 2011 could be an exception.

The release of Stanford Routt on Thursday adds to an already deep group. Routt isn’t a Pro Bowler, but he’s been a decent starter at times in his career. Those guys usually get paid.

Routt wouldn’t crack my top five-cornerbacks slated for the open market. Cortland Finnegan, Brent Grimes, Brandon Carr, Tracy Porter, and Carlos Rogers are all attractive options.

The first three names above are so attractive that they may get stuck with the franchise tag.  After those five names, guys like Routt, Terrell Thomas, Eric Wright, and Aaron Ross figure to attract significant interest.

Most of these players won’t be game-changers. But they are all reasonably young, can start games, and would ugprade plenty of rosters.

With the new television money on the horizon, plenty of players that aren’t household names will get big dollars.

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Well, here’s the first big surprising move of the offseason.

Oakland released cornerback Stanford Routt on Thursday, less than a year after the team gave him a “five-year, $54.5 million” contract. (It was originally a three-year, $31.5 million deal, then the team restructured the deal.)

Of course, Al Davis was the one who gave Routt that contract in 2011. G.M. Reggie McKenzie has since arrived and clearly doesn’t see Routt as a cornerback worth more than $10 million-per-season.

It’s a surprising move because it was reported last year that Routt’s $5 million 2012 base salary was guaranteed. It’s possible it was only guaranteed if Routt was on the roster past a certain date. (Once again, even “guaranteed” money isn’t always guaranteed.)

Routt started last season well and enjoyed a fine 2010 season, but he struggled badly down the stretch. He got picked on often despite having the tag as Oakland’s top cornerback.

As a 28-year-old with a lot of starting experience, Routt figures to attract plenty of free agent interest. For Routt, free agency starts Friday.

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MDS posted reaction the other day to one of the dumbest things written in the aftermath of the Patriots loss in Super Bowl XLVI. The post got a huge reaction. You guys mostly agreed with MDS.

Before it gets too late, I wanted to pass along links to three of the smartest things I’ve seen written about the Patriots loss.

Tom Curran of CSNNE.com dived deep into Tom Brady’s performance against the Giants. Curran compared the criticism on Brady after the game to New Year’s Eve: Amateur hour.

The difference between winning and losing a Super Bowl can be frustratingly small. Random. If Wes Welker holds on to that pass, we are probably talking about Brady carrying this Patriots team all year. Now he’s not the same old Tom Brady.

Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com tried to get the city of Boston to take a deep breath. The Patriots were narrowly beat by a better team. Sometimes that’s hard to accept.

Howard Bryant of ESPN.com wrote about our culture’s focus on negativity and the losing team in sports. It’s a great column and a great point. There has been more talk about Billy Cundiff, Lee Evans, Kyle Williams, and Wes Welker the last few weeks than the victorious teams.”

“Media and expectations have changed everything,” Charles Barkley told Bryant. “Everyone’s afraid of it because if you miss a shot, if you miss a play, that overshadows the whole series, your whole career. So guys just want a ring, but they don’t want to risk losing. If you don’t want to risk losing, you shouldn’t even be playing.”

This post won’t get the same reaction as the one where Brady was called “hideous” by an attention-seeking writer from Boston.com. But hopefully the pieces above better reflect some of the great writing done by Boston writers in the aftermath of another Super Bowl loss.

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Apparently, selling worthless shares of stock for $250 only gets an NFL franchise so far.

The Packers have announced that ticket prices will increase in 2012, with the bumps ranging from $3 to $5 per seat.

“For the Packers, ticket revenue continues be an important component of our ability to remain financially competitive with the other 31 NFL teams,” Packers CEO Mark Murphy said in a letter to season-ticket holders.  “Our goal each year is to be at the league average in terms of our ticket prices.  This increase maintains our position near the league average.”

Murphy needs to make no excuses.  The truth is that the Packers could jack the prices up even higher and still sell out Lambeau Field.  It’s basic economics.  Demand currently far outweighs the supply, which would allow the Packers to set an even higher price before exhausting a waiting list that stretches on for decades.

At a time when plenty of teams are struggling to sell out their stadiums, Packers fans have no qualms about doing whatever it takes to be part of the game day experience.  That’s the kind of passion that the NFL needs in every city, because it prompts fans to be willing to open their wallets for whatever it takes to feel like they’re part of a broader community experience.

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Victor Cruz has probably been asked to do his salsa routine 474 times since he won the Super Bowl. And he’s probably been glad to do it every time.

Cruz wouldn’t have been dancing, however, if he lost the game.

Florio had Cruz on PFT Live Thursday and asked about Rob Gronkowski’s post-game dance moves.

“I would have been in my room, watching TV, soaking in the moment,” Cruz said. “It’s not every day you make it to a Super Bowl, man. . . . Some guys play 15, 16 years in this league and don’t make it the Super Bowl. Or even the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl. . . . I probably wouldn’t have been partying too much after that.”

Cruz’s full interview, including his comments about deserving a pay raise, can be seen in the gigantic box right beneath this sentence. You can’t miss it.

AP

With the Steelers entering the offseason some $25 million over the 2012 salary cap, they have a lot of moves to make before the league year begins on March 13. Some of those moves will be releasing players, as they did on Wednesday with Bryant McFadden and Arnaz Battle. And some of those moves will be restructuring existing players’ contracts.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Steelers linebackers LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons became the first two players to restructure contracts, when each of them agreed to re-do the deals they signed just six months ago.

Not all of the specifics of the restructured contracts are available, but Bouchette reports that Woodley shaved about $6.6 million off his cap number without reducing his total pay by converting a roster bonus and most of his base salary to a signing bonus that will be prorated over the remaining years of the deal.

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger are also candidates to restructure their contracts to get the Steelers under the cap.

AP

The Giants started the 2011 season with a number of injury problems. They will start next season with at least two players missing at the tight end position.

Speaking to the New York media Thursday, G.M. Jerry Reese indicated that he expected tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum to start next season on the physically unable to perform list, according to Jorge Castillo of the Newark Star-Ledger. That would keep them out of the first six weeks of the season.

Ballard and Beckum both tore ACLs during the Super Bowl. The Giants figured to bolster their tight end position this offseason, and their injuries just makes the need more obvious.

Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora hasn’t been happy with his current contract, pretty much since the day he signed it.

And with $3.975 million due to be paid to Osi in the final year of his contract, teammate Jason Pierre-Paul thinks the team should take care of him.

“I think it’s very important,” Pierre-Paul told Mark Hale of the New York Post.  “Give him what he wants, man.”

Though Pierre-Paul would replace Umenyiora if Osi goes, Pierre-Paul thinks that it’s important to keep Umenyiora around.  “That’s a great guy and trust me, a guy like that on your team, he’s a playmaker,” Pierre-Paul said.  “Just us three defensive ends, we’ve got a couple more on the line, but I feel like we’re all on there together, it’s unstoppable.  Who’s going to stop us?  We’ve got the best defensive line in the country, and everybody sees that.  So bring him back.”

Curiously, Pierre-Paul has no similar concerns regarding his own deal.  “I don’t too much focus on that,” Pierre-Paul said.  “If it was up to me, I’ll play my whole contract out.  I just go out there and play football and I’m OK with it.  I got drafted last year, first round, 15th pick and I’m happy.  I’ll support my family, buy my family a house and then buy me a house and everything [will be] financially stable and all I’ve got to worry about now is football, just to play great football.’’

Of course, Pierre-Paul received a first-round contract in the final year of the first-round windfalls.  Osi, on the other hand, is finishing up a deal he signed after proving to be a solid player following his entry into the league as a second-round pick in 2003.