Harris on the move again

DL Orien Harris is on the move again, having been acquired by Detroit from St. Louis in exchange for WR Ronald Curry, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has now been traded twice this offseason, with the Rams getting him from Cincinnati in May for FB Brian Leonard. Harris has bounced around the NFL since being drafted by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2006 draft. From training camp to practice squads is how it went for Harris for two seasons, until playing 14 games for the Bengals last year. Harris was made expendable by Cincinnati's signing of defensive tackle Tank Johnson.

For the Rams, there is opportunity with little depth behind starters Adam Carriker and Clifton Ryan, and this year's fourth-round pick, Darell Scott.

"It always feels good to be wanted," Harris said after he was acquired by the Rams.

Key Rookies at Big Disadvantage

One of the advantages of playing in the Pac-10 or the Big Ten is an increased opportunity at the national title because they don't play conference championship games that knock off contenders last in the season.

On the flip side, however, is that once players from many teams in those conferences reach the NFL, they start off behind the 8-ball. Because many Pac-10 and Big Ten schools are on the quarters system, their graduation dates aren't until June. And because rookies can't return to their teams until May 15 or following their school's spring semester concludes, many are missing out on key Organized Team Activities the next several weeks.

Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis preempted the issue, taking classes last summer to complete his requirements early, so he is on-hand at St. Louis' workouts. But Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is missing critical on-field time because Southern California doesn't finish up classes until next month. In the meantime, Kellen Clemens is taking the majority of the reps in minicamp.

Cincinnati, a member of the Big East, is another school that has classes into June. That's holding back defensive end Connor Barwin. The Texans are excited about his potential, but Barwin is a very raw prospect who needs all the practice time he can get if he wants to contribute in 2009. He won't be back on the field until the Bengals' June 15-17 minicamp.

In Kansas City, new coach Todd Haley has opened up competition across the board, and there are plenty of opportunities for young players to jump on. But when the Chiefs start their OTAs on May 18, fourth-round cornerback Donald Washington (Ohio State) and linebacker Corey Smith (Cincinnati) won't be there.

"That's a disadvantage for them," said Haley. "They'll have to work very hard to catch up."

As Haley looks at it, it's another obstacle for rookies who are already 28 workouts behind the veterans they are competing against.

"Just to give themselves an equal chance to compete they can't waste a day," said Haley. "When they go back to school they have to be working out and once they get here they have to have to put the pedal to the metal. If they don't, they are not going to have an equal chance to compete because they are already behind. It is an important situation to understand."

Hanging Chad

Brett Favre's arrival to New York means Chad Pennington's departure from the Jets. GM Mike Tannenbaum said Pennington will be the odd-man out, so where could the soft-armed and oft-injured veteran land?

He isn't likely to be brought in as anyone's immediate starter, especially not at this point in training camp. But there are several teams who could bring him in at least as quality backup:

Carolina: An insurance policy behind Jake Delhomme certainly wouldn't be a bad idea after the team flopped hard in Delhomme's absence in '07.

Dallas: The Cowboys have been tied to rumors with Tampa Bay's Chris Simms. They're concerned - or should be - with Brad Johnson turning 40 in September.

Detroit: Drew Stanton or Dan Orlovsky aren't enticing options should Jon Kitna go down.

Kansas City: Coach Herm Edwards had Pennington in New York, and Brodie Croyle could use a better push than Damon Huard can provide.

Miami: One of the few places Pennington could compete for the starting job. Veteran Josh McCown, second-year man John Beck and rookie Chad Henne haven't blown anyone's socks off.

Or, if we really want to throw another grenade on the drama, let's envision him swapping spots with Favre in Green Bay and looking over Aaron Rodgers' shoulder.

Think hard before coveting Favre

When Brett Favre was at home riding tractors in Hattiesburg, Miss., most people were more than willing to conveniently forget that his final pass in the NFL was an interception that essentially ended the Packers' dream season.

We wanted to focus on the 38-year-old finding the fountain of youth, and carrying -- sometime literally -- his teammates around Lambeau Field and to an improbable NFC Championship Game appearance.

Now that he has the "itch" to return, we're forced to debate whether it's a good idea.
And the debate shouldn't be a long one.

It won't be in Green Bay, so Favre will have to learn a new offense and get comfortable with new personnel in training camp.

We know he' not going to Chicago, Detroit or Minnesota. Carolina and Washington would be getting a bigger distraction than the possible upside is worth, considering Favre can't be considered a major upgrade over Jake Delhomme or Jason Campbell.
Kansas City, Miami and the Jets won't be contenders, so there's little point in shipping Favre off to any of those three.

It essentially boils down to Tampa Bay, where coach Jon Gruden has always had an affinity for older players and acquiring as many arms as possible. Favre fits both descriptions, and Gruden's version of the West Coast Offense should be among the easiest for Favre to pick up in a matter of weeks.

But that doesn't make it a good idea for the Bucs, who reached the playoffs last year with Jeff Garcia. Would Favre be much of an upgrade, if any?

Consider that Favre has thrown 100 interceptions over the past five years alone. Garcia threw just four all last season and has a 23-six TD-to-INT ratio the past two years.

For every highlight-reel touchdown, there are still far too many negative plays. The Bucs have a perfectly serviceable aging quarterback who doubles as a team leader. No need to bring the circus to town when the Bucs have an excellent chance to win one of the league's weakest divisions.

Giants' swift move could pay big dividends

With names like Shaun Alexander, Kevin Jones and Ron Dayne still dangling on the unemployment line, it still came as no surprise that general managers took immediate notice when Shane Olivea's four-game suspension was rescinded.

The former starting right tackle for the Chargers was generating interest from multiple teams after he was released Feb. 28. San Francisco was among the known suitors, but interest waned when Olivea was suspended June 20, meaning he would miss the first four games of the 2008 season.

When that decision was overturned Thursday, it only took the Giants a matter of hours to scoop him up with a one-year deal. Olivea lost his job in San Diego in large part because he tends to be streaky, but he does play with a nasty streak. And 26-year-old right tackles who have started 57 of 60 career regular-season games aren't easy to come by in July.

It was a no-brainer for the Giants, who had only inexperienced youngsters Guy Whimper and Adam Koets behind starters David Diehl and Kareem McKenzie. If Diehl or McKenzie went down, Whimper has only limited playing time in two seasons and Koets has yet to see regular-season action. Now the Giants have an outstanding insurance policy in Olivea, a former seventh-round pick who is in his prime.

Jobs of any kind are proving difficult for the trio of running backs to come by. Alexander clearly lost a step -- or two -- during his final two injury-plagued seasons in Seattle, and he and Dayne will have to accept backup roles if they're going to be in the league in 2008.
Jones has been diligently rehabbing from ACL surgery five months ago, and recently held a workout in front of representatives from Miami, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Detroit. He ran the shuttle and cones and caught some passes. If he can prove he is healthy enough to at least participate in non-contact drills by early August, he should end up in someone's camp early enough to compete for significant carries.

Olivea cleared -- and should be coveted

Shaun Alexander, Kevin Jones and Ron Dayne are still searching for work, but Shane Olivea's name will likely be mentioned more than all three combined in the offices of general managers leading up to training camp.

Olivea was cut by San Diego in February after losing his starting right tackle job to rookie Jeromey Clary in November. He was generating interest from San Francisco, among other teams, but didn't sign a deal and was then suspended on June 20 for violating the league's substance abuse program. That meant a team that signed Olivea would be without his services for the first four games of the regular season.

That suspension was rescinded Thursday, and Olivea will be coveted by several teams. He lost his job in San Diego in large part because he tends to be streaky, but Olivea does play with a nasty streak. And 26-year-old right tackles who have started 57 of 60 career regular-season games aren't easy to come by in July.

Expect Olivea to be scooped up quickly by a team looking for him to compete for a starting job.

Jobs of any kind are proving difficult for the trio of running backs to come by. Alexander clearly lost a step -- or two -- during his final two injury-plagued seasons in Seattle, and he and Dayne will have to accept backup roles if they're going to be in the league in 2008.

Jones has been diligently rehabbing from ACL surgery five months ago, and recently held a workout in front of representatives from Miami, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Detroit. He ran the shuttle and cones and caught some passes. If he can prove he is healthy enough to at least participate in non-contact drills by early August, he should end up in someone's camp early enough to compete for significant carries.

Lions & Giants NFC's paper tigers

A couple of NFC "contenders" got handed a heavy dose of reality Sunday.

The Lions and Giants, who entered Week 10 with 6-2 records, still have beaten a combined two teams that currently have winning records -- Detroit taking down Tampa Bay (5-4) and New York handling Washington (5-4).

Neither team's resume is particularly impressive, especially after Detroit was routed in Arizona and the Giants succumbed to Dallas for the second time this season. However, as the Cowboys and Packers continue to assert themselves as the only real class of the conference, the Lions and Giants exit the week still holding wild card spots.

The next litmus test comes when the Giants travel to Detroit next Sunday. But as two of only six NFC teams with winning records, even the loser at Ford Field has plenty of time to regroup for a playoff run.

"We know how good Detroit is," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin, "and we know that as the season gets shorter, all the games are tough. We have no excuses. We had our chances, our opportunities, and we just didn't play well enough to win. Not tonight. We were ineffective with the ball in the second half, we didn't get the quarterback pressure we wanted and it was a big game in our stadium and we couldn't control it."

There are a few quarterback situations worth keeping an eye on this week.

• Rex Grossman took over for injured Brian Griese and threw a game-winning touchdown for Chicago. Even if Griese's shoulder injury isn't serious, it will be interesting to see if coach Lovie Smith stick with Grossman.
• As the Ravens' season has unraveled, so has the play of Steve McNair. Coach Brian Billick declined to give him a strong vote of confidence, as he has in recent weeks. There's a good chance the Ravens make the switch to Kyle Boller this week.
• Getting knocked out of Sunday's lost to Denver was the only thing that kept the Chiefs' Damon Huard from being bench. Coach Herm Edwards is mulling starting Brodie Croyle in an attempt to spark his passing game averaging just 207.9 yards per game while throwing nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Johnson In Camp, Ready To Roll

WR Calvin Johnson, the No. 2 overall pick by the Lions, ended his eight-day holdout and reported to training camp Friday with a six-year contract in hand. Don't expect it to take much time for Johnson to get up to speed and make a major impact on the offense.

Granted, coordinator Mike Martz's scheme is probably the most difficult for receivers to master because of all the options they are presented with in routes. But Johnson was the most NFL-ready player in the draft, and Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey gushed about his work ethic and extremely high football IQ.

Johnson won't experience nearly the setback likely to be felt by OT Levi Brown, who signed with Arizona on Thursday night, or unsigned No. 1 overall pick QB JaMarcus Russell. It has been a damaging week for Russell, who watched the Raiders sign Daunte Culpepper. However, with Johnson under contract, expect negotiations to pick up now that both sides have a barometer.