New England Patriots defensive tackle Richard Seymour is considered the best in the NFL at his position by many NFL personnel men. But when it comes to his off days, Seymour has lofty goals for his life, such as competing for the title of World's Best Pancake Chef for his growing brood.

Cole: You have a bye this week, what are the big plans?

Seymour: Me and my family are headed to South Carolina for the weekend to see the state fair. I haven't been to the fair since I was in high school. We haven't had a bye at the right time of the year to get to it for a few years, so this is a really good opportunity to go with the kids. Me and my wife [Tanya] are going to have a good time. Eat some elephant ears, some corn dogs and some of those big, huge Fred Flintstone Turkey Legs.

Cole: Your wife likes the Fred Flintstone Turkey Legs, too? That's awesome.

Seymour: Oh yeah, she eats them, too.

Cole: How many kids do you have?

Seymour: Three. My oldest is a 4-year-old daughter. Then I have a

PHILADELPHIA – You have to wonder if Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, as he watched former teammate Donovan McNabb fire deep passes to guys with only a smidgen of his talent, might have wanted to revisit his decision to leave in the first place.

Owens' return was at best unspectacular and at worst frustrating during the Philadelphia Eagles' 38-24 victory. Unspectacular on two levels: He was both a non-factor in the game and largely a nonentity to the crowd.

In fact, Owens seemed almost oddly disappointed with the mild level of contempt he received from the Eagles fans.

"I don't know, for whatever reason, I just felt like it should have been worse," Owens said.

Sure, there were some T-shirts that said, "T.O. swallows … pills" and some interesting twists on the traditional pillbox hat. But there were no banners. When Owens went the entire first half without a reception, he turned into something of a non-issue. In fact, he was booed in hearty fashion only once, when he dropped

My latest installment of the mailbag features some spirited reaction to my take on:

• Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.

• Some weary reaction to San Diego Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer's play-calling.

• Residual thoughts on the investigation of former Southern California star and current New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.

• And and a smattering of other issues.

My comments, as usual, appear in italics.

HAYNESWORTH THOUGHTS ("Vengeful reaction?" Oct. 5, 2006)

Albert Haynesworth should have received a suspension for the rest of the year. It would have been a powerful statement from new commissioner Roger Goodell that criminal behavior will not be tolerated on the field, especially in front of a viewing audience. Instead, Goodell is soft on crime just like his predecessors. I hope the district attorney's office steps in and files charges against Haynesworth [charges will not be filed]. Your argument is silly and disregards the fact that these athletes are

Former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms sat down at a pre-game meeting at the team's hotel one Sunday morning when he was still playing. Nearby was teammate and future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who was carving out his career as one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the game.

And also as one of the NFL's most off-the-wall players.

"Hey Phil," Taylor called quietly to Simms. Simms looked over and Taylor flashed a silly grin. Then, from underneath a fur coat Taylor had draped over his shoulders, Taylor flashed his wrists.

They were in handcuffs.

"I just said, 'What the heck?'" Simms recalled.

Taylor had been cuffed the night before by a woman who went on to steal most of his belongings. It was one of the many crazy stories from Taylor's wild life, which also included drug abuse and a suspension from the league.

But what Taylor's career also included was two Super Bowl championships with the Giants. For all the insane things that he did

There has been plenty of hand-wringing and shouting over Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth's violent actions against Dallas Cowboys guard Andre Gurode this week, up to and including that Haynesworth should be sent to jail.

Late in Dallas' blowout win on Sunday, Haynesworth tore off Gurode's helmet and stomped on Gurode's face, twice. Gurode suffered seven cuts and required 30 stitches.

Perhaps the best take on the situation came from former NFL guard Kevin Gogan, a Pro Bowl player who helped win two Super Bowls in Dallas and had the honor (or is it dishonor?) of once being called the dirtiest player in the game.

Gogan gave a glimpse into what happens on the field and put the situation in some perspective in his weekly podcast on NBX.com.

"That was bad," Gogan said. "My quick take is that we saw the worst of what happened, but you have no idea what happened before that during the first 50 plays. There may have been some cheap shots before that. Obviously there was

Each Tuesday, Yahoo! Sports will talk to one of the NFL's top players to get a glimpse into what he likes to do on his one off day during the week. This week, Pro Bowl defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who helped the Chicago Bears trounce Seattle on Sunday night on the way to a 4-0 start and the No. 1 overall spot in Yahoo! Sports' ranking, talked about everything from his aching hamstring, his guilty TV pleasures and his plans to help bring football to Nigeria, where he grew up as part of a royal family before coming to the United States.

Cole: You have to be feeling good this week after such an impressive victory. Anything special planned today?

Ogunleye: Not this week. It's good when we win because we get Monday and Tuesday off. But my hamstring is aching so I made sure I got in today to have them take care of it. If I don't play well, I get in right away on Tuesday and look at the film and then hit the treadmill. If I played well, I'll come in and get a workout, then I'll look over

BALTIMORE – Sunday's showdown between the San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens was a perfect example of why the Ravens picked up quarterback Steve McNair before this season and why the Chargers might discard coach Marty Schottenheimer after it.

McNair, as he did last week and has so many times in a glorious 12-year career, engineered a last-minute drive for a 16-13 win in a contest that wasn't as surprising as it was exciting.

The Chargers threw their best shots at McNair and he didn't flinch. In fact, his body language basically said "bring it on" as he stared down three straight blitzes and then ran right at the Chargers' defense when it didn't blitz him.

Those four plays began a six-play, 60-yard march that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Todd Heap with 34 seconds remaining. McNair completed four of five passes for 43 yards and ran for 12 more on the winning drive.

The moment left an indelible impression on Heap, who flashed a grin of great pleasure when asked

First, please accept my apology for taking so long to do a mailbag column. I've been a little busy on the road and it has been hard to get into a routine.

Second, to all of you who like to use various four-letter words to denigrate me and my work, you might want to channel your anger in some other way. It really has no effect. In 25 years as a reporter, including 15 on the NFL, I've been yelled at by plenty of people in person. Electronic vitriol is just comical.

With that, here's a small sampling of your emails, including plenty of debate about Reggie Bush. I'll start with one from a reader who seemed to have the best take on the entire Bush issue. My comments appear in italics.

BUSH INVESTIGATION ("Cash and carry," Sept. 14, 2006)

I admire your hard investigative work on this story. I hope the facts of the case prove what everyone should know. This has been happening and will continue to happen until the NCAA realizes that what it allows and what is sometimes necessary don't always