News & Info/Headlines

Another Sunday, another Fantasy Notebook. ... All right boys and girls, we have officially entered the semi-quiet time between the end of spring/summer OTAs and mini-camps and the start of training camps.

Assuming everybody not already in trouble can avoid getting into any, the only ongoing news stories of interest focus on the usual suspects: Brett Favre and perhaps Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress and Donte' Stallworth. The latter three are currently getting consideration from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell regarding disciplinary matters.

Favre is expected to officially join the Minnesota Vikings at some point. Soon.

In the meantime, work on this year's FSP Fantasy magazines continues. The Pro Forecast is in the can; we're finishing the FF CheatSheets mag this weekend; the FF DraftBook and FootballDiehards magazines are due in about 10 days.

Meaning I'll be a bit busy.

That being the case, there will be no Fantasy Notebook next Sunday. The plan is to return the following weekend (magazines willing). So, I'll ask everybody to send me some positive vibes. ... Oh yeah. And I'll remind you to hit our secure online order page to ensure timely delivery of your publication of choice (and to take advantage of our special FootballDiehards.com Stimulus Plan).

(Worth noting; the News & Views section of the site will continue to roll on as usual.)

So. ... With all that out of the way, let's take a look at some Fantasy tidbits of interest, eh?

We'll get the ball rolling this week in New Orleans, where the team's situation at tailback is one of this year's most compelling Fantasy questions: Pierre Thomas or Reggie Bush?

Although the team's decision not to add depth at the position (at least to date) through either April's NFL Draft or free agency recently led Bush to suggest the Saints are saying it's time for him to become the main guy.

"They're looking for me to be the guy back there," Bush said.

Thomas led the Saints last year with 625 yards and nine touchdowns. Bush had 404 yards and two scores. That doesn't change Bush's outlook.

"By the moves that they're making, it definitely speaks volumes to me as to what I need to prepare myself for," Bush said.

And preparing he has been.

Bush had been only a part-time visitor at best to the team's voluntary workout program in previous seasons. This year, his attendance and participation has been close to the 100-percent range.

In fact, Bush has been working so hard that some of his teammates have remarked that he should perhaps save some of it for the season.

Bush's optimism notwithstanding, there's plenty of reason to believe the coaching staff is less interested in seeing him handle the featured role. Indeed, it seems all but certain he won't.

New Orleans Times-Picayune staffer Jeff Duncan recently advised readers: "I fully expect Thomas to be the lead back in the offense, but Bush will continue to get his share of touches."

But we don't have to take Duncan's word for it.

Drew Brees recently appeared on New Orleans radio station WWL and said, "I think that Pierre is our No. 1 back and can do that job. I feel like Reggie can be able to step in and do a great job. ... But certainly I think Pierre Thomas is the total package."

Of course, as Duncan suggests, we could be dealing with a matter of semantics here.

If Thomas is the No. 1 back, then Bush is No. 1A. It seems safe to assume Thomas will get more traditional carries and Bush will get more catches, but in the end both players to total a similar number of touches.

Duncan used last year's Atlanta game in Week 14 as an example (because it was the one game that both Thomas and Bush played together at full speed down the stretch). Here's how their lines looked: Thomas: 16 carries, 102 yards; 1 reception, 7 yards; Bush: 10 carries, 80 yards; 3 receptions, 26 yards. Total touches/yards: Thomas 17-109; Bush 13-106.

Duncan expects a similar ratio this fall.

Fantasy owners have to hope that's the case -- especially when it comes to Bush.

Why? Because those numbers would be indicative of the coaching staff letting Bush be Bush.

And that means what?

As CBSSports.com insider Pete Prisco recently reminded readers, he dubbed Bush the NFL's most-overrated player last year, pointing to his paltry rushing numbers in his first two seasons as why he hadn't lived up to being the second player taken in the 2006 draft.

Prisco now realizes he was wrong; the reality is Bush's rushing numbers might never be that great.

But that's OK.

Why?

Because, Prisco suggests, Bush is "the perfect evolutionary running back for the current NFL."

"To some degree that's a fair statement," head coach Sean Payton said of Prisco's assessment. "Teams are playing with multiple halfbacks now and multiple personnel groupings. This guy is fast and he has good football instincts. He's explosive. He's a threat any time he touches the ball."

At a time when more teams are using more spread formations, pushing away from the old, tired thinking of pounding backs into the line of scrimmage 25 times or more a game, Prisco points out that Bush has what all offensive teams crave -- speed and versatility.

Per Prisco: "Years ago, they might have labeled him a specialist. Now, he's simply dangerous. ..."

So, as Duncan explained, the Saints must carefully calibrate the ideal mix of carries, catches and returns for Bush each year to maximize his effectiveness. While it's important for the Saints to remain unpredictable and keep defenses honest by running Bush several times a game they also can't afford to wear him down or have him injured every season.

And health is the key.

As Prisco explained it: "As a pure running back, Bush is a D student. As a versatile threat, he's a B player. And if he can stay healthy, that can possibly work into an A.

"The Saints throw it to score. And Bush is the perfect back in that system. He's not a 25-carry bulldozer. Nor does Payton need one. Not in his aggressive pass offense triggered by Brees."

"He's never going to be a guy like Ottis Anderson or Deuce McAllister," Payton said of Bush. "He's a different kind of player."

In fact, Payton had another way to define him. He borrowed from a phrase former Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden used to describe Bush in a recent conversation with Payton.

"This guy is a son of a gun to defend," he said. ...

Getting back to Thomas, there's another question: Can he handle a bigger role this fall?

As reported in a previous Notebook, he has added some weight this offseason. However, Thomas told Duncan last week that he would play at whatever weight the coaches wanted him at this season.

Payton said he's like Thomas to play around 217-218 pounds so I expect him to drop the extra five pounds he's gained. He said he has no problem losing weight and could do that in a week's time with no problem.

Payton said he has no problem with Thomas gaining strength but is leery when he gains bulk, which can sometimes rob a back of his burst and elusiveness. ...

I guess it all comes down to this: Thomas and Bush need each other to be healthy to maximize their individual potential. If neither man is forced into that "bulldozer role," both could be considered solid Fantasy RB2s.

Worth noting. ... A quick look at MockDraftCentral.com's current ADP data -- with Thomas the 17th ranked running back and Bush at 20 -- lends further credence to that belief. ...

Also in New Orleans. ... According to all involved, Marques Colston, coming of an injury-marred, 47-catch, 760-yard, 5-touchdown 2008 campaign is as eager to rebound as the Saints are for him to get back on track.

But, as Times-Picayune staffer John DeShazier reminded readers last week, if the 2008 season proved anything, it was that beyond Brees you'd be pressed to name an offensive player that the Saints absolutely have to have on the field.

The offense piled up the numbers at a franchise-record pace, even with its short-yardage hiccups, while Colston missed five games with a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery.

And even after he returned, he never really was the guy who tore through defenses his first two seasons; Colston had 16 drops last season. The totals were even more disappointing given Colston's rise from obscurity (the No. 252 overall pick in the 2006 draft, the fourth-from-last player drafted) to stardom (168 receptions in his first two seasons, an NFL record, for 2,240 yards and 19 touchdowns).

Needless to say, that rise caught the attention of Fantasy owners many of whom invested heavily in him on draft day last year.

The good news (for Colston fans)?

Despite the ginormous totals the Saints posted last year, nobody in New Orleans believes the offense isn't better with a healthy, confident Colston.

"I think he's a guy who's somewhat of a get-in-a-rhythm kind of guy and can be very successful," Brees said. "Unfortunately last year, he had a great preseason and then that first game (he got injured). And then he's out five or six weeks. It takes a little while to get back in the swing of things, because everybody else around you on the team and the teams that you're playing, they're in a rhythm.

"So when you come back it takes you a little while, seems like everybody is kind of far ahead of you at that point and you need to catch up. So I think that having him back healthy and confident again is great for us as an offense."

According to Times-Picayune beat writer Mike Triplett, Colston underwent a microfracture surgical procedure on his left knee in January to repair a small hole he had worn in his kneecap.

In the wake of that surgery, Colston figures he's as healthy right now as he's ever been at this time of year since joining the Saints. "I feel great," he said. "It's probably the first offseason that I've gone away (from organized team activities) feeling 100 percent."

And if you don't believe Colston's assessment, I'll once again suggest listening to Brees.

"He's better," Brees said. "This offseason, he has come off a different injury (the knee) than what he had during the season. But I think by the time training camp rolls around -- I know what his commitments are this summer and the way he's going to be training, the way he's going to be getting ready for camp I'm as confident as ever that he's going to come back and be great."

For what it's worth, if the knee isn't an issue Triplett expects Colston to get back to being Brees' favorite target, catching about 90 balls for over 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns. ...

In Tampa Bay. ... According to St. Petersburg Times staff writer Stephen F. Holder, teammates on both sides of the ball are already beginning to understand what Kellen Winslow could mean for the Bucs' offense.

Asked this past week if he ever finds himself admiring the ability of newly acquired tight end, Luke McCown was unable to conceal his enthusiasm.

"Absolutely! He made a catch two weeks ago where I threw a back-shoulder throw on a fade (route)," McCown explained. "I threw it short because it was good coverage, and (Winslow) reaches back with one hand and makes the grab. It was unbelievable."

For another version of the story, Holder asked the man who had the best vantage point: Safety Sabby Piscitelli, the defender on the play.

"I was like, 'He caught that?'" Piscitelli recalled. "I went back to the film room and, as competitive as I am, I was mad for six hours after that. But I went back to the film, and there was really nothing else I could have done. … A catch like that, you just have to go back and say, 'That was a heck of a catch.' "

So, you want to know how Winslow is fitting in with his new team? Teammates will tell you he seems right at home after his trade in late February.

According to Holder, the only disagreement is whether he's more receiver than tight end or vice versa. Really, the answer is whatever the Bucs want it to be.

But on this there is total agreement: Winslow will be used extensively.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski told Holder he believes in widespread use of his tight ends, and, being a former tight ends coach with the Packers and Falcons, he is intimately familiar with the position.

"I've been very, very fortunate with the guys that I've had," Jagodzinski said. "I had Bubba Franks as a rookie (in Green Bay). I had Alge Crumpler (in Atlanta), who was as good a tight end as I've been around. Now Jerramy [Stevens] and Kellen.

"I use those guys a lot. Quite a bit."

Holder went on to suggest that while the Bucs are reluctant to admit it publicly, there's no hiding the fact their receiving corps is thin and inexperienced. Enter Winslow, who the Bucs believe can help fill that gap by essentially functioning as a third receiver.

"We have Kellen playing everything," wideout Michael Clayton said. "He's playing tight end, he's out wide. … His routes are amazing, man. He's basically a receiver. He knows everything about coverages. He's an intelligent guy and knows a lot about the game.

"You can see why he's so special."

Clayton is one of just three receivers on the roster to start more than 10 games in his career. The others are franchise player Antonio Bryant and Kelly Campbell. Campbell's last NFL action came in 2004.

But those worried about Winslow's ability to pick up the slack can turn back to Piscitelli.

"He's a big receiver. Don't let him fool you," Piscitelli said. "But it's a good (test) for me. When he splits out wide like that, if I see that in a game, it's not going to be harder than that. I'll tell you that right now."

Hey, if there were any questions about the Bucs' plans for Winslow, team officials answered them by agreeing to sign Winslow to a six-year, $36 million contract that includes $20.1 million in guarantees.

As Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio suggested at the time, that's a lot of money for a guy with a knee held together by "duct tape and bubble gum. ..."

In Detroit. ... During his rookie season, Kevin Smith knew what he's known all along -- that he's good enough to play at a high level in the NFL. But according to MLive.com beat writer Tom Kowalski, that initial campaign also revealed to Smith a long list of things he didn't know.

His success this season will be determined by how much he's learned and absorbed from those experiences.

Kowalski went on to note a lot of things are going to be changing for Smith this season.

First, he needs to be a more complete receiver out of the backfield, something the coaches are working with him during the off-season. Kowalski also believes Smith must get better with his inside explosion and get better with his downhill running.

Kowalski went on to explain that Smith has been used to a zone-blocking scheme through most of his career -- the Lions did it almost exclusively last season. While the new coaching staff will keep some of those plays, they're going to try to come off the ball with more power and less finesse.

In isolation plays, for instance, Kowalski notes that Smith has to "hit the gap at 100 mph, not duck and weave and hesitate until he finds an opening or cutback lane." He struggled with that earlier in the off-season workouts, but Kowalski reports the second-year man gotten better.

Still, he has to turn it up a few notches.

Smith played very well as a rookie, especially when you consider his team was usually behind and he rarely got an opportunity to get into any kind of a flow. But Kowalski notes that the incoming coaching staff is stressing the youngster hasn't "arrived."

The most promising aspect?

The more he got the ball last year, the better he ran. Smith went from averaging 8.8 carries for 38.1 yards over the first half of the season to averaging 21.1 carries for 83.8 yards over the second half of the season as he and the offensive line found a rhythm running the ball.

He finished the season just 24 yards shy of becoming the fourth 1,000-yard rookie rusher of 2008.

So I agree with Kowalski's contention that Smith can handle being the workhorse of a team and he should get that opportunity this season -- especially if the team's defense improves under new head coach Jim Schwartz.

Not playing from behind on a nearly-constant basis would go a long way towards sealing Smiths' ability to perform at Fantasy RB2 level. ...

In Washington. ... Clinton Portis wasted little time in denying a piece by PFT's Florio that suggested the star halfback demonstrated disrespect to head coach Jim Zorn during off-season workouts.

"How this story came about, I have no idea," Portis told David Elfin of the Washington Times. "There's nothing going on. There's no beef between me and coach Zorn. We're on good terms at this present moment. There's no problem."

Portis admitted that there was a past "flareup" with Zorn, but that it happened "a long time ago."

Portis also told Elfin that Florio was trying to make trouble where none exists.

"I don't know why people have that in their mind," Portis said. "Me and coach [Joe] Gibbs had a great relationship. We talked more than me and coach Zorn do, but lately me and Coach Zorn been talking, trying to get on the same page. Things been going good. He understand me and I understand him."

Jason Campbell also told Elfin that he hasn't seen a clash between coach and star.

"The first I heard of it was when I got a text message [about the report] this past week," Campbell said. "I didn't know there was a rift. Last season they had their communication issues, but as far as the offseason, things been going pretty good."

Sure. ... But as Florio suggested in a subsequent rebuttal, the players and the team have an even greater incentive to keep any Portis-Zorn problems from offseason workouts under wraps if, as it appears, the player and the coach are mending fences.

It's also possible, Florio summed up, "that Portis now understands if Zorn goes after the 2009 season, Portis might not be too far behind him. ..."

Meanwhile, Ladell Betts has drawn praise from coaches after his work in off-season sessions.

Said offensive coordinator Sherman Smith of players that have stood out: "The guy that's been standing out to me is Ladell Betts. To me, he's stepped his game up. He's preparing like he's a starter. He's taken a leadership role, which I'm not saying he wasn't a leader before, but I just think he's a very good player. He's jumped out to me."

In 2006, with Portis struggling with injuries, Betts stepped into the starting spot and rushed for 1,154 yards on 245 carries, proving he was both capable and worthy of handling a more demanding role for the Redskins.

So Washington Post staffer Paul Tenorio suggest this week there may very well be more room for Betts to make an impact this season. At the very least, Tenorio believes Betts will get more carries as the team looks to lessen the strain on Portis and keep the workhorse healthy.

That was the plan last season before Betts's injuries kept him from factoring in heavily, so don't be surprised if he is much more involved in 2009. ...

In Dallas. ... Roy Williams refuted SI.com insider Peter King's report advising the world that Williams was never on a consistent weight program until this offseason.

In last week's Monday Morning QB column, King wrote: "The most amazing thing I've heard in the past month, and I've confirmed it with someone close to Williams, is that the Dallas receiver was never on a consistent weightlifting program in his life before this offseason, when he got after it at Valley Ranch.

"'I'm serious,' this acquaintance of Williams told me. 'Roy never lifted before. Now that he has, and now that he's serious about making himself a great football player, especially with [Terrell Owens] gone, I think he's really going to have a good year."'

King added: "I think the most worrisome thing about that previous note is what it says about what in tarnation the Lions have been doing for the past decade. No weight program that receivers had to live by during the season, and out of season? That is downright ridiculous. ..."

"That's trying to find something to make something negative out of me once again," Williams, who has been hit by a barrage of criticism since being traded from Detroit to the Cowboys, told Dallas Morning News staffer Todd MacMahon. "I started lifting weights in the seventh grade."

Williams, a 6-3, 220-pound physical specimen, said he took lifting seriously throughout his high school career. He added that he continued to work hard in the weight room at Texas under the guidance of Jeff "Mad Dog" Madden, one of the country's most famous strength coaches.

"I lifted with Mad Dog in college all four years and continued to get stronger," Williams said. "It showed with my body."

Through a Longhorns spokesman, Madden told MacMahon that Williams went from 190 to 215 pounds during his time at Texas while increasing his max bench press from 205 to 345 and his vertical leap from 31.5 to 39.5 inches.

"Roy worked extremely hard and made great progress in his strength and conditioning," Madden said. "He got stronger every year, but he made his greatest progress the spring and summer before his senior year, gaining 13 pounds of lean muscle mass during that time. While doing that, he not only maintained his speed but got faster, running a 4.39 40."

According to Williams, his current weight program isn't much different than what he did during his four offseasons in Detroit. Williams told MacMahon he stopped lifting weights during the season after dealing with various nicks, pulls and strains his first two years in the NFL.

"The year I didn't lift during the season, I made it to the Pro Bowl," he said.

Williams said he wasn't sure whether he'd continue his weight program once the season starts. However, he pointed out that he was a regular in the Cowboys' weight room several weeks before most of his teammates began working out at the team facility this winter.

Williams, who is trying to slim down to his Pro Bowl weight of 212 pounds, declined to discuss specifics about his weight program.

"I don't have to tell people what I do," he said. "It's what I do."

Meanwhile, asked what he's doing to get close to Tony Romo this offseason, Williams told reporters: "Just catch the ball when he throws it to me, any way I can. And buddy him up -- bring him some food, let him borrow some money if he needs some, just be his best friend.

"I've just got to continue to be his best friend. Put my arm around him and hug him, tell him that his girlfriend looks good, and we'll go from there."

Given some of the flack that Jessica Simpson has taken in recent weeks, that might not be a bad idea. ...

And finally this week, from our "Divorce Court" file. ... Chris Johnson told reporters this week that he is branching out on his own, leaving fellow Titans running back LenDale White to find his own nickname.

Johnson, in fact, has already found another one for himself -- "Every Coach's Dream."

"Smash and Dash have had a divorce -- that's official," Johnson said after Tuesday's mini-camp practice.

According to Nashville Tennessean staffer Jim Wyatt, there have been no indications of a falling out between Smash (White) and Dash (Johnson), who became good friends last season as Johnson raced to 1,228 rushing yards and White barreled his way to 15 touchdowns for the 13-3 Titans.

But Johnson was adamant. "I have to be my own guy, so no more Smash and Dash, that was last year," he explained. "Every Coach's Dream, that's me. Because they say every team has its own identity. I feel for me, I can't be noticed as a group any more. I am my own guy."

White is resisting the divorce -- after all, the nickname resulted in national attention and T-shirt sales.

"You know how when you have a little brother and he gets beat up his whole life and then you grow up and are bigger than him and he can't beat you up any more? I think that is what he is going through right now," Johnson said. "LenDale is having a hard time handling it all."

Meanwhile, head coach Jeff Fisher was skeptical when told about Johnson's new, self-proclaimed nickname.

"Every Coach's Dream?" Fisher said with a smile Wednesday. "Maybe with a few exceptions -- playing the bongos … and getting hurt in the playoff game."

Fisher went on to suggest the two men were likely to come up with something else before all is said and done. In fact, the coach went so far as to offer the duo a substitute name: "Dumb and Dumber."

That's it for this week's Notebook. Remember: I'll check in again two weeks from now. ... In the meantime, keep an eye on the News & Views section of this site for late-breaking news and other tidbits of interest. Watch the Headline News section for more in-depth reviews of current events -- including the Fantasy Notebook.