The Inside Scoop
 

The Inside Scoop
The Buzz
From "The Original Whizzinator," Kellen Winslow Jr.'s bike tricks and Sean Taylor taking the law into his own hands, there will be no shortage of cautionary tales at this week's NFL Rookie Symposium in Palm Beach, Fla. ... Miami was the first team to host a free agent visit from safety Lance Schulters, who was recently released after he was unable to agree upon a restructured contract with the Titans. Schulters also has received interest from San Francisco, Detroit, Green Bay and Atlanta. ... Jaguars defensive line coach Ray Hamilton believes the Jaguars have the makings of one of the league's best front fours with the addition of former Denver defensive end Reggie Heyward . But Marcellus Wiley, a washout last year in Dallas, needs to produce close to his 13-sack form at San Diego in 2001. ... According to 49ers coach Mike Nolan, first overall draft choice Alex Smith received "46%" of minicamp repetitions in a rotation with Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey and Cody Pickett. If his deal is struck as expected before camp opens July 29, it's one more sign that Smith will be announced as the starter by San Francisco's second or third preseason game. Smith has already bought a house in the Bay Area. "He has grasped the offense well," Nolan says. "He's going to be everything we hoped." ... Nick Saban cut Dolphins safety Quintin Williams, one day after his arrest on DUI and drag racing charges after police clocked him at 111 mph. So much for young players learning from Winslow wrecking his 2005 season when he lost control of his high-speed bike, or the fact that Charlotte Hornets star Bobby Phills was killed drag racing in 2000. ... The state of Louisiana is running out of ways to pay its annual obligations to the Saints, which could cause the state to default on a 2001 agreement as early as next year and hasten the Saints' moving plans to Los Angeles.

—Jim Corbett and Alex Marvez

Marvin Lewis' heart skips a beat

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis got a scare when Pro Bowl receiver Chad Johnson called at 1 a.m. recently. "I was at a packed club on a Saturday night, and for some reason I was thinking about how to get open in a certain situation on the field," Johnson said. "I wanted to talk football so I called Hugh Jackson, my receivers coach first. When he didn't answer, I tried Marvin. Marvin was nervous something bad had happened to me the next morning."

Not only does Johnson need to get away from football for a couple of weeks, Bengals coaches need a vacation from him.

Fans in high places (not bad seats)

Giants running back Tiki Barber left June 27 on a trip to Israel. The trip arose from a restaurant encounter in March.

Barber and his wife, Ginny, were dining in New York when a large group of people entered. Barber paid little attention, but about 30 minutes later, a member of that group asked Barber to come with him because someone wanted to meet him.

When Barber wondered who, he was told it was Shimon Peres, former prime minister of Israel, who turns out to be a fan of the NFL and the Giants. They chatted, and before leaving, Barber said: "He (Peres) said he would love it if I visited his country. I told him that would be nice."

About a month later, Barber was contacted by representatives of Peres, and the trip was arranged. While in Israel, Barber will talk to children who compete at the Peres Center in soccer and basketball.

"It is part a vacation trip," Barber said, "but it is also educational, historic and if I can do some good, then it (will be) entirely worthwhile."

Packers dodge injury

As a change of pace during the Green Bay Packers' June minicamp, coach Mike Sherman brought the team inside to the gym at Lambeau Field.

The entire team, including coaches and staff, then engaged in an intense dodgeball tournament.

"It was a good event in regard to the chemistry of the team," Sherman said. "Everybody was having a good time."

The good news was that no one was injured.

"Obviously, you always worry about those things," Sherman said. "But we played paintball one year and I think (former safety) Darren Sharper fell out of a tree, so this was probably safer. We've done bowling and guys have hurt their backs and balls changed lanes so this might have been the safest exercise."

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RE: The Inside Scoop
 

So, is it the national media that really has no clue what's going on in New Orleans, or are we all tainted by our hopefulness that the Saints stay to see the writing on the wall? B/c it seems to me that the Saints aren't going anywhere, and the State could make payments to block a Saints move if push came to shove. Am I just too close or is this typical sensationalism by a person who doesn't know sh!t about the situation?