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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.

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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.

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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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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.

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.

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Last year, Victor Cruz earned $450,000.  In return, the Giants received a franchise record for receiving yardage, with 1,536 yards.

Next year, Cruz is due to make $490,000.  He believes he should get more.

Appearing on a special non-live edition of PFT Live, Cruz talked about winning the Vizio Top Value Performer Award, which goes to the NFL player who does the most for the least money.  I told Victor that, several weeks ago, finalist Matt Forte said he’d prefer not to be nominated for the award, because it means he’s underpaid.  So I asked Victor if he thinks he’s underpaid.

“I think I was paid, you know, relative to where I came in this year and, you know, I came in as a free agent so that’s the salary I was on, so I don’t feel like I was underpaid,” Cruz said.  “I mean, I feel like after my performance this year, you know, I feel like I deserve to be paid more money at this point.  But that’s something I’ll let my agents and those people take care of and I’ll just go out there and play the game.”

He’s right.  And he has every right to speak his mind.  Undrafted and strapped in 2010 with a three-year deal that pays minimum base salaries, he has now earned much more than that.

That doesn’t mean he’s destined to become a diva.  I’ve interviewed him multiple times now, and Cruz seems like a kid who genuinely appreciates what has happened, understands how he got here, and won’t forget where he came from.  But the Giants need to reward him for what he’s done, and for what they’ll undoubtedly be expecting him to do — especially if the team lets Mario Manningham leave via free agency.

The full Cruz interview will be showing up soon in the right rail, by clicking the PFT Live box.  The interview also will be posted on iTunes.

AP

A year ago, when Willie Roaf was voted down by the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, it set off a round of controversy about the process of electing new Hall of Famers. This year Roaf got in, but controversy remains. And Roaf has an idea about how to fix things.

Roaf said in an interview with ESPN 101 in St. Louis that he thinks some fresh blood is needed on the 44-member selection committee, and he thinks the way to go about doing that is to limit the amount of time that voters can remain on the committee.

“I just think that looking on the outside looking in one step would be maybe a change up sometimes in the voters,” Roaf said. “If the committee switched up on the guys every five years or whatever I think some players would like to see some changes in who is doing the selection process every year because most of the time I think it’s the same voters that come in and do all the voting. Outside looking in I would like to see a little more change up on who votes.”

Roaf noted that it has been tough for receivers Cris Carter, Tim Brown and Andre Reed, who seem to have canceled out, and he wonders whether the Hall of Fame’s regional approach of having one voter representing each NFL team’s home market has led the voters to divide into factions supporting the candidates from their own areas.

“I know these guys are involved in every city but if you have the same guys, I think that’s some of the reason of what’s happening with the receivers,” Roaf said. “They’re splitting up the vote or something is happening. One of those guys hopefully gets in next year because those are some great receivers.”

Roaf made clear that he’s honored to have been chosen, and he also took pains to say that when he was passed over last year, he was passed over for other deserving candidates. But his point remains: It certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing for the Hall of Fame to get some fresh perspectives from some new voters.

AP

Mike Tomlin wasn’t expected to speak Thursday as the Steelers introduced offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Perhaps sensitive to the perception in Pittsburgh that Tomlin didn’t want to hire Haley, the Steelers head coach wound up talking after all.

“Needless to say, we’re extremely excited” about hiring Haley, Tomlin said.

Tomlin didn’t take questions or say a lot more about the direction of the offense.

“We find pleasure in being something of a mystery,” he said.

Haley took over from there and talked about his Pittsburgh roots and excitement about getting the job. He says he’s never “been a system” guy and will mold his offense to the talent of his players. Haley has evidence to back it up: He went from running a very pass-heavy offense in Arizona to a run-heavy offense in Kansas City.

Haley wouldn’t say if there would be an emphasis on running, just on winning. He’s a huge fan of Heath Miller.

Asked about his reputation for being hard to work with, Haley said he learned from his father former Steelers director of player personnel Dick Haley to avoid reading all media. (Which usually means a coach reads a lot of what’s written.) But the younger Haley didn’t deny that he coaches with an edge.

“We’re not into sensitivity,” Haley said.

Haley said he spoke with Tomlin about the job multiple times in various locations around the country. Haley hasn’t yet spoken to Ben Roethlisberger yet, and acknowledged that the transition to an offense isn’t always easy.

“There’s an uncomfortable aspect to newness. But that’s not always a bad thing. It will be a great thing in this case,” Haley said.

AP

Seattle hasn’t been mentioned a lot as a possible landing spot for Peyton Manning, but it probably should be.

They have a quality defense, salary cap room, a first class facility, and an owner that isn’t afraid to spend. (Or stay out of the way.)

They have a quarterback need, but they are flexible enough to wait for Manning to get healthy if that’s what it takes. The Cardinals can’t necessarily wait because they have to pay Kevin Kolb in March.  The Dolphins or Redskins may not want to wait for fear of missing out on other options.

Brock Huard of ESPN 710 penned an open letter to Manning explaining why Seattle would be such a perfect fit. A lot of it makes sense. A day later, Dave Boling of the Tacoma News Tribune wrote a column saying the Seahawks should push for Manning.

The biggest fly in the ointment here is the offensive talent in Seattle. The offensive line is young and inconsistent at best in pass protection. The receiver group is jumbled and relies too much on Sidney Rice being healthy.

Then again, other likely Manning suitors like the Redskins and Dolphins have their share of offensive issues. Seattle sounds like a realistic candidate to be in the mix.

If nothing else, Pete Carroll has shown he is not afraid to be aggressive.

AP

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported after the regular season that Mike Tomlin wanted to retain offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

The Steelers and Tomlin never denied these reports. Two weeks later, the Steelers forced Arians to “retire.” Arians quickly found work with the Colts.

There is a strongly held belief in Pittsburgh that the Rooney family forced Tomlin to get rid of Arians. There is also some belief the Steelers forced Tomlin to hire Todd Haley as offensive coordinator instead of an in-house candidate.

Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette raises this question in a column for Thursday’s paper. PFT’s Mike Florio also heard chatter at the Super Bowl that Tomlin didn’t want to hire Haley.

The Steelers won’t ever confirm this. Tomlin will attend Haley’s press conference Thursday, but the head coach won’t speak. By the time Tomlin does speak, he’ll know just what to say to turn Haley’s hire into a non-story.

Cook notes that Tomlin’s contract runs out after the 2012 season with an option for 2013, and wonders if Tomlin might want to move on to another job because of meddlesome owners. Tomlin looks weak in all this; head coaches are supposed to have control of their staff. (Especially Super Bowl-winning head coaches.)

The Rooneys are held up as some of the best owners in team sports, but we’d criticize the Cowboys or Dolphins ownership if they pulled a similar stunt with their coaching staff.

The difference is that the Rooneys have usually displayed great instincts with their decisions. (Like hiring Tomlin instead of an in-house candidate.) Perhaps hiring Haley will be the best thing for the Steelers, even if Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger don’t like the idea right now.

“It’s going to be definitely different for us,” Roethlisberger told Cook. “The powers that be make decisions and we live with it and go with it. We’ll just have to see where we go from here.”

AP

When the Browns hired former Vikings coach Brad Childress to serve as offensive coordinator in Cleveland, Minnesota fans everywhere said, possibly in unison, “You can have him.”

But Browns president Mike Holmgren is indeed happy to have Childress.

“Brad’s an outstanding coach, and I’ve known him a long time,” Holmgren told Vic Carucci of Cleveland Browns Daily, on ESPN 850.  “When I first met him, we had just arrived in Green Bay and Brad was on the staff at the University of Wisconsin, with Barry Alvarez, and then he had been friends with [Eagles coach] Andy Reid, who worked for me, and so we knew some people and so we became pretty close.  So that’s — what? — 20 years ago.  Our connection over the years because he worked for Andy in Philadelphia and Andy and I are very close, and so we kept in contact.  And then I thought he did a really great job in Minnesota in an unusual set of circumstances near the end there with some of the things that happened.  But he came very close to going to the Super Bowl.  He’s an excellent football coach, a very, very bright guy, knows how to coach quarterbacks.  He’s a tough guy, he demands a lot and I think it was a great hire for Pat [Shurmur].”

And still Vikings fans everywhere are saying, possibly in unison, “You can have him.”

The “unusual set of circumstances near the end there with some of the things that happened” were largely created by Childress, based on his handling of Brett Favre and the inexplicable decision to fire Randy Moss without giving ownership advance notice.  And while Childress indeed came “very close” to the Super Bowl, one of the reasons he didn’t get there came from an inexcusable 12-men-in-the-huddle penalty that pushed the Vikings five yards farther away from a potential game-winning field goal on the final drive in regulation of the 2009 NFC title game.

Of course, with the reconstituted Browns playing only one playoff game in 13 seasons, the denizens of the Dawg Pound likely would love to lose a close conference championship game again, like they did way back in 1986.  And 1987.

Then again, maybe it’s better not to make the playoffs at all.

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One of the biggest questions for the New England Patriots arises from the status of the man who committed one of the biggest drops in NFL history.  (Even though I still say it wasn’t all his fault.)

Receiver Wes Welker will become a free agent on March 13, unless the Patriots sign him to a new deal.

Appearing on Armando Salguero’s radio show in South Florida, Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe said that the Patriots will (not might, but will) use the franchise tag on Welker.

“He’s going to be tagged, that I know for pretty much certain,” Bedard said, via Salguero’s blog at the Miami Herald.  “If they don’t, he’s going to sign with the Jets and they’re going to have to try and cover him twice a year, or the Dolphins . . . .  They want him back.  I don’t see why things would change now, but the way it stood before the Super Bowl, they’re going to tag him.”

Welker joining the Dolphins would be stunning, given that the Dolphins traded Welker to the Patriots five years ago while he was a restricted free agent.

Bedard also believes things will turn contentious, with Welker holding out as long as possible, showing up in the middle of the season, signing the franchise tender, and playing out the string of remaining games.

That would be a surprise; quarterback Tom Brady surely will want Welker with the team, and Welker likely will want to atone for his Super Bowl blunder.  (Even though I still say it wasn’t all his fault.)

Regardless, drama could be descending on the Pats over the next few weeks — and it could last deep into the 2012 season.