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According to Baltimore Sun staff writer Brent Jones, a month after arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller pronounced his non-throwing arm solid and has resumed throwing with receiver Travis Taylor at the team's training facility."I'm 100 percent and doing every weightlifting exercise," Boller said.
Jones went on to advise readers the Boller-Taylor combination plans on getting together three times a week until training camp with the expectation that such extensive offseason work will pay off during the regular season.
For Boller, who recently purchased a home in the area, that means year-round residency in Maryland.
"When I talked to [head coach] Brian [Billick] and [general manager] Ozzie [Newsome] before the draft last year, that was one of the main things -- can a California kid come out to the East Coast and make a life out here during the offseason? That wasn't a problem," said Boller, who is healed from the minor operation. "I'm an East Coast guy now, I live out here, and I want to grow with these guys."
According to baltimoreravens.com staffer Adam H. Beasley, there is an understanding throughout the entire organization that this is a critical year in Boller’s development. He spends more time in offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh’s office, reviewing every snap from 2003, than any other player.
Additionally, the team added former Giants head coach Jim Fassel as a senior consultant. Fassel’s primary job is to expand the production of the passing game, which means enhancing the development of Boller.
Fassel has met with his apprentice since his hiring, and he is expected to start working with Boller next week.
Of course, having a starting quarterback in place and in the area at this time of year is rare for the Ravens, who have struggled through a series of flops at the position since Billick's arrival.
But Boller heads into 2004 as the unquestioned leader of the offense and with a resolve to improve the Ravens' passing attack, which finished last in the league (140.9 yards a game).
"Peyton Manning once said that he and [Marvin] Harrison live in Indianapolis year-round and throw," Boller said. "The connection those guys have is great, and a lot of it is timing, knowing each other, being on the same page. Having Travis here, hopefully we'll get that connection where I know everything he's doing inside and out."
Spending the offseason together puts the duo on the right track, according to Billick.
"One of the biggest difficulties we've had to overcome, and I'm not trying to make excuses for Travis but I think that's part of Travis not exploding on the scene, is the number of quarterbacks he has had to deal with," Billick said.
"The sooner he and Kyle can develop that nuance, then the better off it's going to be for them, and the better off it's going to be for us."
Fellow wideouts Javin Hunter, Ron Johnson and Randy Hymes have also been working with Boller. Despite all the criticism of the Ravens' receivers, Jones believes those three, plus Taylor, Frank Sanders and possible a first-day draft pick, appear to be the corps heading into training camp.
Jones added that trade talks with Cleveland Browns receiver Dennis Northcutt are at a standstill, and the chance of a deal consummating appear remote. The Browns seem unwilling to trade Northcutt to a division rival despite the Ravens offer of a fourth- and seventh-round pick, which is the most lucrative offer thus far for the disgruntled receiver.
With Northcutt likely out of the picture, barring a change of heart by the Browns or a draft-day deal, the impetus to elevate the Ravens' passing game falls on the shoulders of Boller and Taylor, a call both say they are ready to answer.
"This is going to be my fifth year, and this is the first time I've spent the offseason with the quarterback," Taylor said. "We've got a chance to make a connection. ..."
Meanwhile, in Cleveland. ... It appears Northcutt will try to follow Terrell Owens' lead.
Northcutt's agent, Jerome Stanley, told SportsLine.com insider Jay Glazer that his client has filed a grievance against the Browns, hoping to free him the way Owens was to sign with the team of his choice. Northcutt, not the NFL Players Association, filed the grievance.
"The grievance is to gain him free agency over their refusal to resolve this matter in good faith," Stanley explained. "They are just trying to ruin his career.
"We are filing a grievance against the Cleveland Browns. We would like them to declare Dennis a free agent. They negotiated with me for Dennis to be a free agent. The reason we didn't press it in the beginning is because we were trying to negotiate a settlement. We didn't press it until we saw it going downhill."
Glazer went on to remind readers that Stanley and Northcutt were put in a precarious position when they failed to void his deal by the appropriate date, meaning Northcutt was stuck with Cleveland instead of exploring free agency. As a result, such a grievance might be looked upon as a cover-up for their own mistake, as was initially the case with Owens.
"I'm not trying to cover up for my own mistake," said Stanley. "What is the cover up? Just because an old lady drops a wallet in the grocery store, should you take the money? No. What ever happened to doing right? Should they be justified in ruining his career over that?"
Stanley says that Cleveland would trade the receiver to the Ravens for a second-round pick but would only ask for a fifth-rounder from anybody else.
"The way they are treating him now is just mean-spirited," he said.
In case you missed it, Stanley told reporters last week: "Dennis Northcutt will never play for the Cleveland Browns again, under any circumstances. ... If they trade him to any team other than Baltimore, he will not report. ...''
Other Fantasy-specific news and notes of interest from around the NFL. ...
In New York. ... The Giants took their most tangible step yet Tuesday toward a possible trade up from No. 4 overall to No. 1 in the April 24 NFL draft when general manager Ernie Accorsi phoned Chargers GM A.J. Smith to gauge San Diego's thinking about such a deal.
According to New York Newsday staff writer Neil Best, both teams confirmed the discussion took place.
"I did call A.J.," Accorsi told Best. "But I also have spoken to another club in front of us and one club behind us." Accorsi would not identify either team but it is believed that the Giants spoke with the Cardinals, who have the third pick.
"They would like to move from four to one," Smith told the Associated Press before declining to go further than that. "Anything we discuss is football business between the two of us."
If the Giants make such a trade, Best reports it will be to select Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning, a move that would mean the end of Kerry Collins' tenure with the team after 2004. Newsday reported last month that the Giants were seriously considering a move up, but Tuesday apparently was the first time the GMs had substantive talks.
The teams are not believed to have had detailed negotiations over what the Chargers would demand, presumably a package of draft selections in addition to a sway in this year's first round. The Giants have indicated they will not pay an excessive price that would cripple them in later rounds of the draft.
The other players the Giants will consider if they stay at No. 4 are receiver Larry Fitzgerald, offensive tackle Robert Gallery and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
According to Associated Press sports writer Tom Canavan, the team's interest in acquiring the No.1 pick hasn't changed Collins' feelings about next season.
"I take pride in the way I play," said Collins, who led the Giants to a Super Bowl appearance in 2000, a year after the team revived his troubled career. "This organization has treated me well. I still have a lot of fight. Every time I go out there I am going to give it my best."
With Tom Coughlin replacing Fassel as head coach, Collins' future -- with or without Manning -- is uncertain with a year left on his contract.
Collins isn't mobile, a quality something Coughlin had in Jacksonville with Mark Brunell.
Canavan went on to suggest: "There is a chance Collins could be traded to San Diego as part of a package for the No. 1 pick," but Collins said he would demand a new contract if that happened.
"Obviously I would have to settle my contract before that would happen," he said after finishing a workout.
"No team is going to trade for me for one year with a $7 million salary and a high cap number, so I would say I would be pretty stingy on my part. It would have to be pretty good for me to say OK to that. ..."
And finally. ...
In Oakland. ... The Raiders signed free agent wide receiver Chris Cole to a contract Wednesday.
Cole has played 35 games over the past three seasons with the Denver Broncos as a returner and receiver. He has 12 career receptions for 164 yards and has averaged 23.7 yards on 89 kickoffs.
Last season, Cole caught three passes for 36 yards and returned 30 kickoffs for 714 yards. He was a third-round pick by Denver in 2000 out of Texas A&M.