INDIANAPOLIS – As NFL owners, coaches and players meet to talk about ways to change and improve the game, there are two people conspicuous in their absence.

And they are perhaps the two most important: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith. From a positive perspective, one league source said Goodell and Smith were trying to meet privately in Washington, D.C., to iron out their lingering differences.

Numerous NFL factions aren't too thrilled about Roger Goodell's absence from Indianapolis. (USA Today Sports)But the concern among some is that not having Goodell and Smith here is a problem when they are the two leaders in the best position to help push through any agreements that may ultimately happen.

"It's a fair point," New York Giants owner John Mara said.

As players such as Tennessee quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Pittsburgh quarterback Charlie Batch and Kansas City offensive lineman Eric Winston went over ideas with coaches such as Marvin Lewis and Mike Tomlin and owners such as Mara, there were plenty of interesting

As news spread over the weekend that USC quarterback Matt Barkley would not throw at the NFL scouting combine this week, two NFL personnel men had a similar, withering reaction. 

Matt Barkley talks on Radio Row during the week of Super Bowl XLVII."Here we go again, another L.A. movie star quarterback who needs his own day to throw," a veteran scout said, the sarcasm splashing from his mouth like a wave hitting a seawall.

"And you wonder why guys from Southern California [are bad]?" a veteran team executive said, referring as much to the region as to Barkley's alma mater. "Everything is like they have to draw attention to themselves."

When it was pointed out to the executive that Barkley supposedly hasn't been cleared to throw by doctors, the anger only seemed to grow, not subside.

"I'm telling you, it's always [something] with guys from down there… not just USC, the whole area. I don't know what it is."

[Also: Quarterback Matt Barkley won't throw at combine]

Whatever it is, the concern about quarterbacks who have come out of

Is the answer to the NFL's present trend of run-option quarterbacks a guy with almost no football past?

That is the daunting question revolving around BYU defensive lineman Ezekial "Ziggy" Ansah. In so many ways, Ansah is the latest version of Jason Pierre-Paul, a tall, fast and uber-athletic defensive end who didn't have much experience with the game. The difference is that Ansah not only has even less football experience than Pierre-Paul, but also Ansah has less experience with this country as a native of Ghana.

Ezekiel Ansah has the size and speed NFL teams crave. (Getty Images)"It is crazy, to go from where I was a year ago to how much people are paying attention to me," Ansah said in his slightly halting English that reverberates through his kettle-drum voice. Ansah is viewed much like Pierre-Paul in 2010, a mid-first-round pick (Pierre, from South Florida, went No. 15 overall to the New York Giants) with high upside and lots of risk.

To hear Senior Bowl executive director and former longtime NFL scout and executive Phil Savage talk

The debate about whether South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney should sit out next season, get $5 million in insurance or fight the NFL's draft rules all exposes one gigantic flaw in the system.

The NCAA continues to show little regard for athletes' earning power.

The maximum amount of insurance benefit that any player can get under the NCAA policy is $5 million, according to Chris Radford, an NCAA media relations official. "This insurance program is in place to protect against a career-ending injury, but should not be confused with a 'loss of value' policy, which the NCAA does not offer," Radford said. As first reported by FOXSports.com, Clowney is currently working on securing that much coverage.

Jadeveon Clowney emerged last season as one of college football's best players. (USA TODAY Sports)

To the credit of the NCAA, it has set up a program where a player can get a low-coast loan for the premium and pay it later. Typically, a $5 million policy will cost anywhere from $45,000 to $65,000, Salgado said. The premium is, like most insurance policies,

Michael Vick had options, but none better than the one provided by first-year Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly in his inventive offense.

"I feel like this is the perfect situation for me," Vick said after signing a restructured, one-year deal to quarterback the Eagles. "After talking with Chip and looking at the offense, I wanted to be here."

That, of course, is the simple way to look at this and Vick seemed to grasp that idea passionately. Michael Vick took about a $5.5 million paycut with his restructured deal with the Eagles. (USA Today Sports)

"Exactly, this is about making it work," Vick said. "Whatever I had to do, I wanted to make this work."

Vick didn't have to agree to a one-year, $10 million deal that reduced his salary by $5.5 million. There were teams out there that wanted him, such as Buffalo, Arizona and Cleveland. He could have gone to one of those places and probably milked at least two years as a starter.

By returning to Philadelphia, there are no guarantees. Even the team website announced the news under the headline that Vick was coming back to "compete" for

NEW ORLEANS –  Standing at a cocktail party at the annual NFL owners meeting in New York in 2011, Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti contemplated one burning question about his Ravens. Joe Flacco holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Ravens won the Super Bowl. (AP)

"I know I have a good quarterback, but do I have a great one?" Bisciotti said, referring to Joe Flacco.

On Sunday, Bisciotti sat in a steamy Ravens locker room next to his wife Renee, fully content as he smoked a victory cigar and took it all in – his team was Super Bowl champ after surviving for a 34-31 win over San Francisco at the Superdome.

"I got our answer," Bisciotti said. "He must have gone to the Eli Manning school of sneaking up on you."

Bisciotti laughed lightly at his bit of musing. But the truth is that the 6-foot-6 Flacco doesn't sneak up on many people. Sure, he and the Ravens pulled a trick out of their arsenal for a critical touchdown. But the play in question – a 56-yard toss to wide receiver Jacoby Jones – was straight out of the Book of Flacco, even if it wasn't part of

NEW ORLEANS – To say the Fabulous Harbaugh Brothers handle slights in different ways is like doing a compare and contrast between Pink Floyd and James Brown.

As Jim leads the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday against John's Baltimore Ravens, it's worth noting that when it comes to finding fuel in an insult, Jim has his brother beat by a mile.

The opening of the 1997 season may have come on Aug. 31, but Jim Harbaugh was beginning the September of his career. Still, there was a fair bit of angst left in his soul.

Jim (R) and John pose with their father Jack Harbaugh on Friday. (AP)It was a typically brutal South Florida summer day and Jim couldn't finish the Colts' opener against the Dolphins. By the fourth quarter, no amount of IVs could keep his body from painfully cramping up. Jim, who only the season before had led Indianapolis on an improbable run to the playoffs, had to pull himself from the game.

Captain Comeback couldn't do the job.

In my story for the Miami Herald the next day, the lead graph made reference to

NEW ORLEANS – The responsibility hit me as Dick LeBeau politely refused my request.

"I would really love to help you," LeBeau said as I showed him a list of the men eligible for induction this year to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "But I can't."

LeBeau said the experience of making the Hall as the Steelers defensive guru was simply too hard and too fulfilling to contemplate depriving from someone else. Understandable, but not helpful in my time of need.

Warren Sapp kisses the Lombardi Trophy after the Bucs beat the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. (AP)For the first time in my 22 years of covering the NFL, I get the honor of voting for the Hall of Fame. As luck would have it, I come in during a year where separating the candidates is akin to staring into the sun for hours on end. The longer you look, the more painful it gets.

[Related: Super Bowl XLVII: When and where to watch the big game]

Let me clearly state that this task is really important, but it doesn't make me important. I'm merely one of 46 fortunate voters who gets a chance to discuss some of the