The NFL Players Association is quite irritated with agent Angelo Wright for agreeing to an incentive in defensive tackle Pat Williams' contract that allows the Minnesota Vikings to use $13.2 million in salary cap space this season.

However, the union may not be able to do much about it.

"What you don't want is all that money taken out of the pool for other players who might get contract extensions during the season," a union source said Friday. "Now, if it was December and the Vikings had already done a bunch of other deals, that's fine. That allows them to carry over the money to next year."

Carrying over money to next season, which can be done regardless of when the extension was signed, is a method teams use to conserve unused salary cap space. In other words, if Williams fails to meet the criteria of what's been deemed a bogus "likely to be earned" incentive in his contract, Minnesota will get an additional $13.2 million in cap space above the scheduled $116 million cap for the

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Hall of Fame center Jim Langer couldn't help but laugh when asked about the videotape cheating scandal involving the New England Patriots.

"That's like the week before we played Washington in the Super Bowl," Langer said, recalling a moment from the Miami Dolphins' undefeated season in 1972. "We were chasing the

Jacksonville, Fla. – After spending his college career in the shadow of Heisman Trophy winner and former USC star Reggie Bush, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew has started to establish himself as a force in the NFL after being a second-round pick from UCLA. He scored 16 touchdowns and had a combined 1,377 yards rushing and receiving as a rookie. He has become a darling of the fantasy football world, including being part of a humorous commercial that ran much of the preseason.

In between his busy schedule, Jones-Drew talked about his off-day routine:

Cole: So, what's your off day like?

Jones-Drew: I just try to do what everybody else does. If something is messed up around the house, I wait 'til Tuesday to fix it. Other than that, I get in The Lab and play the video games?

Cole: The Lab?

Jones-Drew: That's what you call it, The Lab. Like being a chemist or like a researcher or a scientist. He gets in his lab and researches his stuff, checks out his hypothesis and

OAKLAND, Calif. – Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson pulled on a baggy red t-shirt to match his black sweat pants and his classic Michael Jordan high tops. The front of the t-shirt featured a list Air Jordan's many career accomplishments.

Asked about which version of Jordan kicks he was wearing, Johnson smiled and replied, "1985, the year I was born."

Perhaps, some day 22 years in the future, some young man will idolize Johnson and his achievements. Moreover, many of the Oakland Raiders fans who came early and left earlier might have been wondering if a 36-21 season-opening loss to the Lions might have been different had their franchise taken the talented Johnson at No. 1 overall instead of holdout quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

The game Sunday was something of a study in team building as the teams with the top two picks from the NFL draft in April clashed. Not that a four-catch, 70-yard, one-touchdown performance is anything worth projecting such greatness just yet. But in

Two sources close to Ricky Williams said the erstwhile Miami Dolphins running back is expected to apply for reinstatement to the NFL in October.

"Ricky has worked diligently to get himself ready to return as soon as possible," said one source close to Williams. "Nothing is ever set in stone with him, but I think it's pretty safe to assume he'll be back."

Or at least attempt to return. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to face a tough decision over whether to allow Williams to return this season. Williams, having served a one-year suspension in 2006 for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, tested positive for marijuana in April and is not allowed to reapply for reinstatement until next month.

Williams has missed two of the past three seasons because of problems with marijuana. He retired abruptly before the 2004 season after failing two tests that offseason. He returned to the Dolphins in 2005 after missing the first four games and had a productive season as a backup

NFL Players Association attorney Richard Berthelsen said Friday an arbitration hearing will take place Oct. 4 in Philadelphia as the Atlanta Falcons seek to recoup money from quarterback Michael Vick. The Falcons requested that the hearing be expedited in their effort to recover at least $20 million in bonus money paid to Vick, who was suspended indefinitely last month after pleading guilty to federal dogfighting and gambling charges.

The case will be heard by special master Stephen Burbank, who ruled in a similar case involving former Denver Broncos wide receiver Ashley Lelie last November. Burbank, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania law school, is expected to make his decision within a week after the hearing. The Falcons are then expected to cut Vick, according to sources.

Vick was paid $37 million in bonus money as part of a 10-year, $130 million contract extension he signed in 2004. Of that, $7.5 million was in signing bonus. The remaining $29.5 million was in roster

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor beams a playful smile when asked why the AFC is so much better than the NFC.

"This is the real Black and Blue, baby," Taylor said, making fun of the nickname of the old NFC Central division. "Yeah, the NFC has some teams over there that are pretty good, but they can't play with the teams (in) the AFC."

Taylor may be talkin' some noise, but the stats back him up, big time.

The AFC has won eight of the past 10 Super Bowls. Even more, the AFC's best have dominated interconference foes the past three years while the NFC's best aren't even mediocre.

Since the start of 2004, AFC playoff teams are a combined 62-10 in regular season games against NFC opponents. By contrast, NFC playoff teams during

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – This is the way Jack Del Rio's career ended.

As a player, that is. But in the aftermath of Del Rio's decision to let go of quarterback Byron Leftwich, you can't help but wonder if making a tough decision over who should play a critical position might also hasten Del Rio's departure as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach.

It shouldn't. In fact, Del Rio should be praised in some respect for remaining open-minded about the prospect of sticking with Leftwich. Truth be told, the two didn't get along and Del Rio could have used that as excuse enough to jettison the former first-round pick in the offseason. Instead, Del Rio gave Leftwich another chance to prove himself, only to see Leftwich continue to muddle along without any real development.

Of course, most fans nor most of the media will see it that way.

Somewhat similarly, when Del Rio still roamed the field in 1996 as a middle linebacker and heady quarterback of the defense, he signed with the Miami Dolphins. The