NFL Jabber 5/12/07

SI's AFC Burning Questions asks if Tom Brady can keep all of the Pats new WR's happy. This is a good question and actually worthy of watching. The Patriots have been the equivalent of the Brady Bunch in recent years (no pun intended but it's there). Donte Stallworth has been in Joe Horn's shadow for years and was set to break out last year if it were not for injuries. Some would argue that he still did. He was the big WR addition for the team until Randy Moss came in. There surely has to be some feelings on this. He can either take it as motivation or it can be a distraction. The sure thing is we will find out what kind of team player Donte Stallworth is this year, we already know about Moss.

Despite everything from wearing a wedding dress, dumping his teammates for a last second retirement, to the drug problems, there are many people out there, myself included, that want to see Ricky Williams turn it around. If the reports are true that he failed a drug test, furthering his suspension, Ricky Williams is dead to me.

Alan Fanceca has had enough of his time with the Steelers.

"This will be my last year as a Pittsburgh Steeler," Faneca declared, his left hand shaking slightly to betray his emotion. "No, I don't want to be here," Faneca said flatly. "It's a matter of them being able to do what they can monetarily and come after me. That's the only reason I'm here, on that chance that they would."

Ed Hartwell is officially going to be taking up space on the Bengals roster as of yesterday.

Tony Dungy has been named to the Time Magazine's 100 Most influential People list.

"I'm flattered by this recognition because I don't necessarily see a football coach as being tremendously influential in the big scheme of things," the Indianapolis Colts coach said in a news release, noting that one of his sisters is a nurse, another is a doctor and his brother is a dentist. "While my sphere of influence may be larger, I think there's a very big difference between influence and importance. What my siblings do is incredibly important."

Robert Meachum feels he is "living a dream" in new Orleans.

"All you've got to do is go out there and trust that God is with you and work hard and have fun. Just come to camp, come in shape and try to learn everything as quick as possible," said Meachem, who said he'll be in his comfort zone once he's on the field. "Then it goes straight back to football. This is why they came and got you, because you're pretty good at football."

Sean Payton is excited to get it going as well...

"I think it's a natural tendency to see how that guy's doing. No different than when Reggie (Bush) was here a year ago," Payton said. "I think this guy's explosive. I'm anxious to see how he does in these drills.

"This is always a chance to get your first impressions of these guys, and I think everybody gets excited to see what you have and try to get the ball rolling."

tag: nfl, draft, football, sports, saints, colts, bengals, steelers, dolphins, patriots, tom brady, donte stallworth, randy moss, ricky williams, drug, alan fanceca, hartwell, tony dungy, time, robert meachum, sean payton