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New offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard, promoted when Mike McCarthy left to go to the 49ers, has streamlined the playbook, with fewer plays and less verbiage. As Aldridge noted, it's part of head coach Jim Haslett's plans to scale things down on both sides of the football next season -- and keep the speculation that rose to a crescendo about his future last season at bay.

While Haslett's plan to reduce the offense has been misinterpreted as "dumbing down" the attack, nothing could be further from the truth. There'll be a reduction in terminology, less shifting and motion and fewer progressions for Brooks on pass plays.

Play calls that sometimes consisted of 15 words will be shorter. The voluminous amount of plays will be pruned to a more player-friendly number. At this point in time, Brooks is wearing a wristband with the play list printed on it.

Sheppard radios in a play number to Brooks, and the signal caller reads off the play in the huddle. That gets the offense to the line of scrimmage faster. The Saints have been working with the wristband for a little more than a week but have not yet decided if they will use it during the season.

Meanwhile, team officials hope the new attack will cut down on the negative plays -- penalties, sacks and turnovers -- that have hounded Brooks and the offense in recent seasons because players will be thinking less and reacting more.

As Aldridge suggested, it's not that Brooks' 2004 numbers were horrible: 3,810 yards passing, a 57 percent completion rate, 21 touchdowns and a 79.5 passer rating. But team officials are convinced his numbers could be much better.

"We're doing things more that fit him as a quarterback," new quarterbacks coach Turk Schonert told Aldridge. "We want Aaron to be Aaron Brooks, not anybody else."

That means more play action and more movement for Brooks, who was asked to do more pocket passing in McCarthy's system.

Another part of the overall plan is putting the ball back into the hands of Deuce McAllister, hoping he'll return to his 1,600-yard form of two years ago. The star halfback is all for the simplification plan.

"When a team is thinking too much and it needs to get out and play, then you've got to do something different," McAllister said.

But a scaled back scheme and McAllister aren't the only answers.

Fourth-year receiver Donte' Stallworth needs to be more consistent opposite Pro Bowler Joe Horn. And Schonert thinks veteran tight end Ernie Conwell can help Brooks as a pressure release. The Saints plan on protecting Brooks better as well.

With the new offense, team officials believe Brooks can make more plays on the move, with fewer seven-step drops. They think he can still be accurate and that he can create problems for defenses with his feet.

The changes should also make it easier for him to find receivers and make plays.

So far, Haslett seems quite pleased with the progress being made in off-season workouts. "They've been awesome this year," Haslett said of his players. "The attitude and work ethic is the best it's been since I've been here."

According to New Orleans Times-Picayune staff writer Mike Triplett, the Saints have been in practice mode for four weeks, going through 13 days of voluntary coaching sessions. Everyone on the team participated, except for starting right cornerback Fakhir Brown, who held out in hopes of a better contract.

All 13 coaching sessions were used for installation of the entire playbook on offense.

Sheppard said everyone has been adjusting well, and for the past month, coaches have raved about the offense's rhythm and attitude.

"From our standpoint as coaches, these guys have busted their tails," said Sheppard, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach after last season. "I mean, it's been an unusual 13 days from an effort standpoint, focus, all those things you'd hope those players would be. These guys have had a great 13 days."

Triplett added that when asked to name one player who has stood out to him, Sheppard chose McAllister.

"Just watching Deuce hit the hole has been pretty good," Sheppard said. "He's playing at a faster pace, I think."

In a couple of related notes. ... Times-Picayune beat man Jeff Duncan reports that McAllister hopes to have contract negotiations completed before training camp opens July 29. If not, the two-time Pro Bowler plans to cut the negotiations off until after the regular season.

McAllister is entering the final year of the four-year contract he signed as a rookie in 2001. He is scheduled to earn a base salary of $2.3 million this season.

Saints officials are negotiating with McAllister's agent, Ben Dogra, on a long-term contract extension. In the past couple of weeks, the sides have exchanged proposals on seven- and eight-year deals.

"We'll get it done," McAllister said. "My main focus is on the season right now. I'll leave the contract up to my agent."

Also according to Duncan, tight end Boo Williams said he feels "most definitely" that his job is in jeopardy this year after a disappointing 2004 season, in which he started only eight games, catching 33 passes for two touchdowns.

"I understand certain things are business matters," said Williams, who is scheduled to receive $850,000 this year. "But I have no say in what the coaches do. All I can control is what I do. I'm just trying to do the same things I've been doing and not worry about that stuff."

When asked if Williams is "in the doghouse," Haslett said no.

But the coach did say there is "some competition there at the tight end spot" with Conwell, Shad Meier, Zach Hilton, Mike Banks and Lamont Hall, among others.

"You know we can't keep them all. We can decide to keep three or four, but somebody's going, and that's just business," said Haslett, who admitted Williams' production dropped off last year after his 2003 season, in which he had 41 catches and five touchdowns.

In an exclusive interview that will appear in the 2005 Fantasy Football DraftBook (which will soon be available on newsstands around the nation -- as well as this web site), McAllister singled out Hilton as a player to watch this season. ...

Other Fantasy-specific news and notes of interest from around the league. ...

In Indianapolis. ... Any chance Peyton Manning would suffer from complacency after delivering the greatest season by a quarterback in NFL history vanished during an early-morning March film session with offensive coordinator Tom Moore and quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell.

According to Indianapolis Star News staff writer Mike Chappell, the tape, one of more than a dozen "cut-ups" designed to review Manning's 2004 season and lay the groundwork for '05, consisted not of his league-record 49 touchdowns, but of the missed opportunities.

"We counted 17 legitimate misses," Manning told Chappell. "You say we threw a lot of touchdowns, but we should have thrown even more."

But should he have tossed 66?

"Let's be realistic," Moore said. "You're always going to leave some (touchdowns) on the field. But why can't we be better? We've got to be better."

But as Chappell suggested, history indicates encores after huge quarterbacking seasons aren't easy. After establishing Manning's target number with 48 touchdowns in 1984, Miami's Dan Marino had 30 the next season.

No quarterback has posted consecutive 40-touchdown seasons, but Moore isn't betting against Manning.

Fifty? Maybe more?

"Why not?" Moore asked. "Nobody had 49 until last year. ..."

Also in Indianapolis. ... Edgerrin James promised ESPN.com that he would not miss any playing time this season. Whether he shows up to camp on time or not, James isn't missing any playing time.

"I honor my contract. The season hasn't even started yet. I never said I wasn't going to play. I'm going to play, regardless," James said recently, adding that he didn't expect a new contract. ...

In Detroit. ... Head coach Steve Mariucci had Charles Rogers change out of his red jersey early this week, allowing him to participate in the last three days of mini-camp wearing blue, like the rest of the players on offense.

Rogers has been wearing a red jersey in all mini-camp practices as a signal to defensive players that the third-year receiver was off-limits to all contact while recovering from a broken right collarbone.

As Detroit News staff writer Mike O'Hara explained, players do not wear pads and there is no hitting in mini-camps. Red jerseys are a signal to take extra caution in defending players returning from an injury.

It's an important step for Rogers, who has said often he hoped he would be cleared to wear blue.

"I think he shoved it in the laundry just now," Mariucci said Monday after the players has left the practice field. "I hope not to see it again. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully, he'll finish this camp without it."

Rogers' first two seasons ended early because of a broken right collarbone. He was injured during practice after the fifth game his rookie season. In 2004, he was hurt on the third play of the opener.

As O'Hara suggested, if only for psychological reasons, Rogers will benefit from being out of the red jersey. He won't have to start training camp in July wondering about his collarbone.

"It's probably in his best interests to get rid of it, so he feels like everybody else in the last part of this practice before we go to training camp," Mariucci said. "We've talked about it. It's not just the physical part of his recovery that matters. It's the mental."

In a related note. ... The Sporting News reported on Monday that new receivers coach Fred Graves has already gotten the attention of his players.

He's done so by throwing bricks at them. Literally.

Graves uses the brick approach to help his players concentrate. Roy Williams said the gimmick works; dropping a brick on your foot or letting it slip through your hands and hit your stomach has more repercussions than simply dropping a ball.

The Lions had 54 dropped passes last year but most of those came from players who are no longer on the roster. ...

In Seattle. ... As Tacoma News Tribune staffer Dave Boling put it Tuesday: "On the first day it became reasonable to stop mentioning blood-alcohol level in stories about the Seahawks receiving corps, the team was left to scramble to fill another vacancy created by a mini-camp no-show."

As the team opened their eight-day June mini-camp, aligned at the starting wide receiver positions were Jerome Pathon and Joe Jurevicius.

Two guys they picked up in the off-season.

Koren Robinson was released and Darrell Jackson was a no-show.

According to Seattle Times beat man Jose' Miguel Romero, Jackson is not in camp because he says the team has not honored what seems to be a financial promise made by former team president Bob Whitsitt. Both sides are calling it a matter of principle but are trying to resolve the issue.

After talking to Jackson, head coach Mike Holmgren said Monday he remains hopeful that Jackson will report before this voluntary mini-camp ends June 16, but that doesn't seem likely.

One of Jackson's agents, Brian Mooney, said the receiver will arrive for training camp on time next month, ready to work. The agent also said Jackson will honor any public-appearance clauses that are written into the six-year, $25 million contract Jackson signed last offseason.

Matt Hasselbeck wondered aloud when asked what it was like not having offensive starters in camp.

"I guess I really just don't understand where someone could be coming from when they don't want to be here," Hasselbeck said. "It's not that hard. It's actually fun. ... I wouldn't say frustration. I just totally have no idea of that mentality.

"It escapes me completely, but hey, it's OK, we're still a team, and you have to do the best you can. ..."

In Jacksonville. ... The Jaguars scoffed at a report by NFL Network insider Adam Schefter, who claimed that they had discussed a trade with Seattle for Shaun Alexander but had balked at the Seahawks' demand for a third-round pick. "It's a bunch of nonsense," Jaguars pro personnel director Charlie Bailey said. "Where do these things get started?"

Sorry Charlie. ... It's kind of difficult to dismiss "nonsense" like this out of hand when it's generated by the media network run by your own league. ...

In Carolina. ... Rock Hill Herald beat man Darin Gantt advised readers on Tuesday that despite missing last season with his third major knee injury, receiver Drew Carter was able to out-run teammate Steve Smith for bragging rights when the team tested players in the 40-yard dash.

Carter said he was clocked in 4.34 seconds, slightly faster than Smith.

"Number one," Carter said, adding: "I was giving Steve a little stuff, because he's had the crown for the last three or four years."

And some bragging was probably in order.

After all, Carter tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on June 2, 2004, the third such injury since his days at Ohio State. He tore the same ligament in 2001 and 2003. Despite the repeated stress on the ligament, he's consistently returned to speed.

But according to Carter, the ACL "isn't what makes speed. It's your hamstrings, your quads, your glutes and just the natural ability. If you're strong, that just goes with it.

"It's not about getting your speed back as much as it is getting healthy."

Given the Panthers' overall lack of experience at the position -- beyond Smith and fellow starter Keary Colbert, the only experienced pass-catcher on the roster is Ricky Proehl -- Carter will certainly get a chance to compete this preseason.

According to Gantt, the team could add another receiver this summer, particularly if Washington releases former first-round pick Rod Gardner. But the organization thinks enough of Carter they have yet to sign or show any interesting in any of the growing list of available veterans.

"I think they've put faith in me," he said. "But I've got to prove myself every day. I'm out here fighting. That's what I plan on doing and hopefully the coaches see that. ..."

In Philadelphia. ... Agent Drew Rosenhaus put the odds at 50-50 last night that Terrell Owens would join his teammates at training camp Aug. 1, when veterans are expected to report.

"I'm saying this based on the fact that I have confidence in the Philadelphia Eagles organization that they are going to work with me in a capacity that will be satisfactory," Rosenhaus said during an interview with Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser on ESPN's "Pardon The Interruption."

Rosenhaus' qualifier: "If they don't, then I wouldn't be very optimistic about him being there."

But according to Inquirer beat man Bob Brookover, team president Joe Banner neither blinked nor budged on the team's stance in response to Rosenhaus' comments.

"There's nothing for us to really do," Banner said. "There's nothing to figure out. You can write about this as often as you want, but in the end, Terrell Owens has to decide whether he wants to play or he doesn't want to play. Either way, we're going to be a very good team that we believe is capable of achieving our goals. We'd rather have him honor his contract and be here, but that's up to him."

The Eagles have refused to discuss the matter with Rosenhaus, who replaced David Joseph as Owens' agent in early April and visited Philadelphia for a brief meeting with Banner.

Also according to Brookover, after an abbreviated Thursday workout -- the final session of an eight-day voluntary mini-camp, head coach Andy Reid fielded questions in the team auditorium and the main focus, once again, was on his absent wide receiver.

Eight of the 20 questions asked by reporters were either directly or indirectly related to Owens' ongoing contract controversy. Nothing changed between the first workout and the final one.

"It's pretty simple," Reid said. "Either [Owens] is going to show up or he is not going to show up. He is going to play or he is not going to play. I said this before: Would we like to have T.O.? Sure. Can we plug someone else in there and still win Super Bowls? Yeah, absolutely."

Reid's next answer was the most interesting. The coach was asked if he thought the cast of receivers who did attend this off-season camp were good enough to get the Eagles to where they want to go.

"I do," he said.

Reid isn't alone in that belief.

"Of course I think with T.O. here we're a better offense," running back Brian Westbrook said. "But I also feel without him here, we feel like we're good enough to get things done. We feel like we've done it without T.O. before."

Donovan McNabb has made similar statements.

Brookover went on to suggest that it's a feeling based on fact.

Owens, sidelined with a leg injury, wasn't around when the Eagles scored 27 points in each of their playoff victories over Minnesota and Atlanta. They averaged 360 yards of offense in those two games.

In other words, without their top receiver against two playoff teams last season, their offensive numbers were almost identical to what they were with Owens on the field. The team averaged 26 points per game and 366 yards per game in 15 games with Owens.

In the meantime, the Eagles don't have to worry about the T.O. controversy. The coaching staff and the players have 51 days until they reconvene as a full squad for the start of training camp.

They don't expect anything to change on the T.O. front between now and then.

"Well, they know where we stand and what we expect, so there is not much to say there," Reid said. ...

In Houston. ... According to observers, David Carr and wide receiver Andre Johnson continue to develop a strong chemistry that could prove to be a lethal combination.

"There's a body language," offensive coordinator Chris Palmer told the team's website. "It's like going into a bar and the girl across the bar looks at you and it's just unspoken."

While that may not be the best analogy ever, the Sports Xchange reports that so far during off-season coaching sessions, Carr has clearly made a habit of looking for Johnson, a Pro Bowler in only his second season, in different situations. They are the same situations Johnson would have gone mostly overlooked in the past.

Johnson finished with a team record 79 receptions for 1,142 yards and six touchdowns last season. Carr had his best season with 3,531 yards and a 61.2 percent completion rate. ...

In a related note. ... In an article published May 30, TSN advised readers that fellow wideout Jabar Gaffney has been limited in his off-season work because of shoulder surgery.

The Texans hope he will be at full strength by the start of training camp. ...

In Minnesota. ... FOXSports.com reports that coaches are breaking in rookie receiver Troy Williamson slowly during spring developmental camps. With veterans Nate Burleson, Marcus Robinson, Kelly Campbell and Ryan Hoag (this reports, like many local reports failed to even mention former Raven Travis Taylor) getting plenty of reps, Williamson has been working individually with receivers coach Wes Chandler to improve his route running and hand positioning.

Offensive coordinator Steve Loney hopes that if all goes well, Williamson will be swimming "in the deep end" by training camp. The team's veteran standing at the position should give Williamson plenty of time to develop during his rookie season. ...

In Tampa Bay. ... Training camp is seven weeks away, but competition for the kicking job already has begun between veteran Matt Bryant and newcomer Todd France. According to St. Petersburg Times staff writer Joanne Korth, the two are looking to make early impressions during voluntary practices, which continue this week, and during mandatory mini-camp scheduled for June 21-23.

Last season, Martin Gramatica made just 10 of 19 field goals before the Bucs released him.

Bryant kicked for the Giants in 2002 and 2003 and in four games last season for the Colts and Dolphins. He has made 40 of 50 field goals, including 9 of 12 from 40 yards or more.

"I've been there and done that," Bryant said. "I've made the kicks in overtime. I've made the kicks to go to the playoffs. If I just go out there and do my thing, it will be all right."

France, a second-year pro from Toledo, is fresh off an impressive season in NFL Europe, during which he made 24 of 34 field goals and all 17 extra points for Hamburg.

"I believe I can win the job, and if I didn't believe that, then I shouldn't be here," France said. "Obviously, Matt should think the same thing, too."

And finally. ... According to SportsLine.com insider Pete Prisco, former first-round pick Akili Smith was hoping a stint playing in NFL Europe would jump-start his career as a quarterback.

It can't help that he was benched.

Smith, who was allocated to the overseas league by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lost his job to Kevin Eakin, who was allocated by the Jets.