Michael Strahan got to go out as a champion, but where does he fit in the pantheon of all-time greats at his position?

Strahan ended his 15-year career Monday by announcing his retirement after leading the New York Giants to a victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in February. He retires with 141½ career sacks, well below the likes of Bruce Smith (200) and Reggie White (198) on the all-time list.

But there's at least one former counterpart who believes Strahan measures up with Smith and White.

"He's certainly in the discussion of the top three or four of the modern era," said former defensive end Trace Armstrong, who played with the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders.

Armstrong has studied all the greats. He started his career playing alongside Richard Dent and spent his twilight teaching Jason Taylor the fine art of getting a sack. Armstrong has marveled at the pure athleticism of Smith and the brute strength of White. To him, Strahan is the ideal

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – There's a justifiably selfish place in linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka's soul that wants defensive end Michael Strahan to come back for one more year with the New York Giants.

It's that place that remembers being in the locker room after Super Bowl XLII in Arizona in February, celebrating the victory over the New England Patriots, yet feeling like an outsider.

It's that place that loved lining up as a defensive tackle alongside Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora – a latter-day version of football's Four Horsemen – on passing downs. For Kiwanuka, the idea of having Strahan brings on an almost Pavlovian response. Kiwanuka's eyes open a little wider and the tone of his voice gets just a little more excited.

"Dangerous," Kiwanuka said, adding a sly grin to his response. "When all four of us are out there lined up to rush and the offense is in a position where it has to throw the ball, something big should happen."

Even without Kiwanuka, who broke his left leg Nov.

PHILADELPHIA Beyond running back Brian Westbrook and wide receiver Kevin Curtis, Donovan McNabb's offensive threats struck very little fear in defenses last year. The Philadelphia Eagles are counting on rookie receiver DeSean Jackson to make things more difficult for the opposition in 2008.

Jackson, one of Philadelphia's two second-round picks in April's NFL draft, has the kind of speed that wows. Jackson, generously listed at 6-feet, 178 pounds, has the speed to run through defenses.

He also has the type of speed that can make an opposing team think twice about just chasing McNabb with the pass rush. Last year, McNabb was sacked 44 times, second-highest total in his career behind the 45 takedowns in 2000.

Ultimately, if the Eagles are going to become a contender again, they need to keep McNabb upright.

Some of the problem last year had to do with McNabb still recovering from a knee injury in 2006. Some of it had to do with scheme. The Eagles just weren't that quick last season.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Quarterback Joe Flacco should have either been completing his college course load or working out with his fellow Baltimore Ravens this week. Instead, the first-round pick did neither, sitting at home in Cherry Hill, N.J., because of an agreement between the NFL and the NCAA.

Flacco, three courses short of getting his accounting degree from the University of Delaware, missed the Ravens' OTA (organized team activity) Wednesday because he was allowed to work out only once until his school completed classes since he had not graduated. Flacco, who left school to prepare for the NFL draft, attended Baltimore's mandatory mini-camp May 9-11 and is not permitted to rejoin the team until after Friday, Delaware's final day of classes.

In the interim, the Ravens have faxed Flacco copies of the plays they are installing in practice and have had assistant coach Hue Jackson talk to him an hour or so on the phone.

"It helps you learn a little bit, I guess. But nothing takes the

IRVING, Texas – Amid the clutter of linebacker Zach Thomas' locker is a stack of three notebooks, the type with a couple of hundred sheets of college-ruled paper. The pages are filled with Thomas' small, neat notes and diagrams about the Dallas Cowboys defensive scheme he is furiously trying to learn.

"That's not all of them," Thomas said with a self-deprecating grin, opening a shoulder bag filled with three more. A couple of them are leftovers from his 12 years with the Miami Dolphins. Even so, in less than three full months with the Cowboys, Thomas has four notebooks filled with information.

To say Thomas is a football junkie is like saying Sid Vicious and Bradley Nowell had a couple of issues with heroin. Thomas' brain scans register in Xs and Os, not a contiguous line.

At the same time, Thomas doesn't want to put too much emphasis on his football smarts.

"Don't get all caught up in that," Thomas said. "When you say that, everybody starts thinking I'm some overachiever and all that,

ATLANTA – If the NFL wants to change the personal conduct of its players, it should bring every rookie to the room where the Atlanta Falcons held a news conference to announce the signing of quarterback Matt Ryan.

And then it should take them to visit former Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan. The contrast is stark.

Most people look at Ryan's six-year, $72 million contract, which includes a rookie record $34.75 million guaranteed, as an example of an NFL salary system gone haywire. A guy who has never played a down in the NFL is now its third-highest player, trailing only Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The Falcons never wanted this rebuilding project. They were forced into it when Vick took team owner Arthur Blank's money and adoration for granted, and the franchise is overpaying to start anew.

Ryan's signing was announced at Blank's grandiose office building in the tony Buckhead section of

When Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga hired Bill Parcells to run his football team, the expectation was that the team would become big, tough and disciplined.

Nobody was expecting stupid.

That's what the Miami fan base got Wednesday when coach Tony Sparano, Parcells' selection for the job, essentially called out Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor. Sparano escalated the growing feud between the team and Taylor by essentially calling out Taylor for not being part of offseason workouts and saying that Taylor wouldn't be with the team in training camp.

"This is my reaction with the Jason Taylor situation," Sparano said. "I'm going to answer this question one time. I'm not going to answer another question about the Jason Taylor situation after I answer this. Here is what I know. I'm glad we know this and we've gotten the information. That's important.

"I know that Jason is not going to be at any (offseason workouts), know that Jason is not going to be at any minicamps, and I know that,

ATLANTA – Owners don't want to pay the players. Players don't want to take less money. Fans don't want to pay more money to either side, period.

While the three most important factions in the business of the NFL tend to be at odds, one thing they can all agree on may eventually lead to a solution to long-term labor problems.

They all hate the exhibition season. By shortening that part of the schedule and lengthening the regular season, the NFL is considering a solution to its upcoming negotiations with the NFL Players Association over an extension of the collective bargaining agreement.

The CBA and the related economics of the game reared their ugly mug Tuesday morning, when the 32 owners voted unanimously to opt out of the agreement. The decision leaves only three years remaining on the CBA, including the final uncapped 2010 season.

What goes with the opt out is the potential for a lockout of the players in 2011 and all sorts of difficult rules regarding free agency (players must wait