Yahoo! Sports' NFL Analyst Jason Cole was on with Doug Russell and Mark Carman

TAMPA, Fla. – Head coach Greg Schiano sees a little bit of Ray Rice when Doug Martin runs. Others see a blend of some of the NFL's past greats like Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith. That's why it's surprising to hear that Martin gets lost fast when it comes to knowing the modern history of the game.

Martin, 23, is a bright, well-spoken man who appears to earnestly think about questions before answering. But his base of football knowledge is limited. He was asked if he ever watched Roger Craig when he started studying running backs in high school. Martin, who was raised in Stockton, Calif., had an uncomfortable smile on his face. Doug Martin expects to carry a heavy load his rookie season. (Getty Images)

"I don't know who that is," Martin said of the former San Francisco 49er who in 1985 became the first running back to gain both 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving in a season.

If Martin's career plays out to its potential, he likely will hear Craig's name come up in comparison.

With the 31st pick in the draft, Tampa Bay

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Tennessee running back Chris Johnson appears to be back to his old self, carrying the ball with the unique stop-and-start quickness that made him a 2,000-yard man in the 2009 season. But is he good enough to also carry a young quarterback? That became the question Monday after the Titans named second-year quarterback Jake Locker the starter for the regular season.

Will Chris Johnson revert back to CJ2K this season? His preseason would suggest it's possible. (Getty images)It was obvious that Locker, the team's first-round pick in 2011, had the inside track for the job against veteran Matt Hasselbeck. He didn't exactly do much to earn the starting job. On Friday night in Tampa against the Buccaneers, Locker completed just four of 11 passes, was intercepted once and finished with a quarterback rating of 7.0 in nearly an entire half of work (single digits is nearly impossible in the QB rating system).

In his first start of any kind in the NFL, Locker's accuracy and decision-making were erratic. His interception was a textbook mistake as he moved right and threw across his body to the left into

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ANDERSON, Ind. – Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck is already an expert at the side step, the intuitive skill that can help distinguish a statuesque target from a great pocket passer. Whereas men such as Chris Chandler and Dan McGwire were punished for their lack of pocket awareness, Dan Marino was a Hall of Famer with the subtle ability to move a foot or two at just the right moment.

Andrew Luck celebrates after throwing one of his two TD passes against the Rams. (AP)"He does it all the time to create space to throw," Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said of Luck. "Most guys feel pressure and they just run. He can move from guard to guard to create that little lane to throw it from. It's uncanny to see a rookie do it so well."

The other sidestepping skill Luck seems to possess is not getting caught up in comparisons. Few quarterbacks in the history of the NFL have faced the kind of two-pronged attack of compare and contrast that Luck is about to run up against. That's why Luck, who made his preseason debut Sunday by going 10 of 16 for 188

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ALBANY, N.Y. – Sitting in the air-conditioned comfort of his SUV after a hot, final practice before the New York Giants' exhibition opener on Friday, quarterback Eli Manning was a picture of content. With two Super Bowl rings in tow, Manning has more than justified the aggressive 2004 draft-day trade that ushered him from San Diego to New York.

Moreover, Manning has taken a huge step toward an even loftier plateau: He is now in the same sentence with his brother – Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning – in talent and accomplishments. In a survey of seven NFL personnel executives, all of them still rated Peyton as the better player, assuming he returns to full health after missing last season.Eli Manning shows that it's good to be king in the NFL and New York. (Reuters)

But as one executive put it: "Now, it's a discussion worth having. When you line up all the numbers, Peyton still looks a lot better. But we'd all take two Super Bowls in five years over all the numbers in the world. Peyton has one title. Eli has two and what he's done in those two

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ALBANY, N.Y. – It's hard to argue when seven NFL executives unanimously (and still strongly) disagree. Heck, it's hard to argue when Eli Manning agrees with them, saying openly that his brother Peyton is still the better quarterback of the two.

But somewhere in the back of my mind, I keep coming back to Eli as the superior quarterback.

Eli Manning hoists the second Lombardi Trophy he's helped the Giants claim. (AP)David Carr, Eli's backup with the New York Giants and a former No. 1 overall pick himself, understands the dilemma.

"Man, that's a hard question to answer," said Carr, who didn't automatically go with his teammate. Carr is a purist at heart, able to weigh the relative value of regular-season dominance against playoff greatness. "The things that Peyton has done over his career are incredible. The numbers, the wins, the whole package. He has won a title and was close another time.

"But two Super Bowls. That's pretty hard to argue with."

My stance is as much of an about-face as humanly possible. For years, Eli drove me nuts with

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The overall lesson of focus and determination while under attack was more important than any individual and team drills the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots ran Tuesday.

Saints safety Roman Harper greets Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Tuesday. (AP)Over the past five years, no two teams have ever experienced more scrutiny and criticism. New England went through an entire season of wrath in the aftermath of Spygate early in the 2007 campaign. Now, the bounty scandal of 2012 hangs around the Saints on a daily basis.

Fair or not, that's the reality of the situation. Moreover, is the criticism actually a touchstone, an emotional prod that each team can use from time to time to generate a little anger and additional focus?

"When I was here that season, the players, we would talk about it a lot to get us going," said Patriots wide receiver Donte' Stallworth, who was a backup on the 2007 New England team that went 16-0 in the regular season before losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. "Coach [Bill]

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CANTON, Ohio – New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is hearing voices these days. Actually, it's only one voice; Sean Payton is still stuck in his head.

"I hear him every day," Brees said of his suspended head coach. "He's not there, but I hear him."

Drew Brees pass the ball under pressure during the first quarter Sunday. (AP)As the Saints prepare for one of the most intriguing seasons in recent NFL memory – or as Brees succinctly said, "this is weird" – one of the critical issues facing the team is the void in leadership created by Payton's season-long suspension as a result of the bounty scandal. And Payton's interim replacement, Joe Vitt, will miss the season's first six games as part of the league punishments.

Payton's dynamic combination of intelligence and energy have been a critical element of the greatest run of success in Saints history, including the team's lone Super Bowl victory to cap the 2009 campaign. Now, the Saints must find a way to divvy up that role and it obviously starts with Brees.

Brees realizes that and has

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