Wednesday's NFL Blog

January 31, 2007 ... More Super Bowl coverage from Miami ... free agency concerns in San Diego and Baltimore ... insider perspectives on a pair of free agents in Green Bay and Pittsburgh ... Redskins players debate re-negotiating contracts ... and more in today's NFL Blog!

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Not done yet:  Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison rarely grants an interview, so when he made his appearance at Media Day in Miami, the press took full advantage of the opportunity. Harrison made it clear that even though he's wrapping up his 11th year in the league, he's not even thinking about retirement yet. "I’ve never had a thought that crossed my mind about when I am going to finish playing, but I definitely have a lot of years left in me to play and hopefully I can get what I came to play for.” Scout.com subscribers can read his answers to 20 questions in this transcript at our Colts site. And when you're done with that one, you can see what Peyton Manning said during his press conference.

Lesson learned:  Even though the Ravens were knocking on the door of another Super Bowl appearance this year, Aaron Wilson at our Baltimore site reports that the Ravens will draw from their past experience to avoid mortgaging their future as they did a few years ago. "That institutional knowledge is likely to affect multiple situations, including: whether to pay a $5 million option bonus that former Pro Bowl runner Jamal Lewis is due prior to the opening of free agency on March 2 or potentially assigning a $7 million franchise tag to Pro Bowl linebacker Adalius Thomas by a Feb. 22 league deadline," he says. Find out more about the Ravens' offseason strategy and who might be available for your favorite team to sign in this article.

Chargers OG Kris Dielman (Getty Images/Stephen Dunn)

Right to the core:  Michael Lombardo at our Chargers site reports that the team has three players who could hit free agency that he believes the team must find a way to re-sign. "The player whose extension is of the utmost priority is Kris Dielman. Only months away from unrestricted free agency, the Chargers would loath to lose a player of Dielman’s caliber," he says. "He is a powerful inline blocker who has gotten better with each passing season."  Scout.com subscribers can learn more about San Diego's free agency situation at our Chargers site.

Mock Draft:  Scott Eklund at our Seattle site takes his first crack at a two-round mock draft. Take a look at who he thinks your favorite team will take, and then post a link to it on your favorite team's message board to get some good discussion going!

Re-sign or release?  Todd Korth at our Packers site provides his thoughts on the future of defensive tackle Kenderick Allen, who missed most of this season with a foot injury.  "For his size, Allen, at times, shows amazing quickness. That’s an aspect that is difficult to find in big defensive tackles," Korth says. Scout.com subscribers can read more about the 6-foot-5, 328-pound lineman and whether or not he's likely to be available for your favorite team to check out.

Today's Birthday Bunch: Saints RB Jamaal Branch (26), Dolphins RB Patrick Cobbs (24), 49ers TE Vernon Davis (23), Falcons WR Brian Finneran (31), Vikings TE Jim Kleinsasser (30), Broncos DE Kenard Lang (32),  Rams FB Paul Smith (29), Texans DE Mario Williams (22), former Bills/Colts RB Roosevelt Leaks (54), former Colts/Packers/Chargers DL Blaise Winter (45).

Another slant...  Our Steelers' site has taken a slightly more harsh take on the "Re-sign or Release" feature stories at Scout.com with their "Keep or Kick to the Curb" article series. Today, Dale Lolley takes a look at what the team should do with unrestricted free agent safety Tyrone Carter. "At 5-8, 195 pounds, Carter lacks the ideal size you’d like to have in an NFL safety. But the 29-year-old Carter has shown that he doesn’t shy away from throwing his body around," he says. Find out if Carter is likely to be available for your favorite team to sign in this Scout.com feature at our Steelers site.

13 weeks away... Rich Passan at our Cleveland site points out that while the NFL Draft is 13 weeks away, the bowl games and all-star games are history, and as soon as the Super Bowl is over, all eyes and attention will shift to where all the new college talent will land for the 2007 season. "This is probably the only time of year when guys sit around and gossip frantically about how much some other dude weighs. It's kind of strange, actually, but it's the life we've chosen," he says. Check out his thoughts on this annual offseason process that's become a staple of the NFL fan's calendar year.

Redskins QB Mark Brunell (Getty Images/Chris McGrath)

The nickel package:  John Keim at our Redskins site discusses five top issues including contract re-negotiations, the Super Bowl, Norv Turner, Art Monk and the NFL Draft. While he points out a few players who will be willing to re-negotiate, he also says, "We've talked to some players who say they want to see smarter decisions before they hand the organization more cash to spend wildly." Scout.com can get the details in this feature.

Live from Miami:  John Crist from our Chicago site is in Miami covering the Super Bowl and picked up a bunch of interesting quotes from a variety of the Bears players at their hotel prior to them heading out for the practice session on Wednesday. Center Olin Kreutz made it clear that Chicago's offense will approach this game the same as any other. ""Our game plan is always the same. We're going to try to run the ball first," he said. Get the scoop from more than 20 Chicago players in this Scout.com subscribers feature.

Left in the dust:  It's one thing to have players who can capably catch the ball, but the ones who can get more yardage after the catch provide an added element of challenge to a defense. This weekend, two players will be competing in the Super Bowl who exceeded the 300-yard mark for the season in the yards-after-the-catch category -- and they're both on Indy's offense. Rookie RB Joseph Addai posted 305 of his 325 receiving yards after he caught the pass, while 301 yards of WR Marvin Harrison's 1,366 were earned after the catch.

Lurking, waiting...  At our Vikings site, Tim Yotter reports on Minnesota's search for a defensive coordinator to replace Mike Tomlin.  "Tomlin, the former secondary coach with Tampa Bay, installed the trendy Tampa-2 defense in his first season with the Vikings last year and had enough success with that defense that he was offered and accepted the head coaching job of the Pittsburgh Steelers," he says. "Ten days after Tomlin accepting that job, the Vikings still haven’t announced his replacement, leading to speculation that the team is waiting to interview a defensive position coach from one of the two Super Bowl participants, the Bears and Indianapolis Colts."  Find out who Yotter believes the Vikings may try to pilfer from the Colts -- and why -- in this Scout.com subscribers feature.

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