Saints interim Head Coach Joe Vitt has talked up 2011 undrafted free agent Joseph Morgan after his performance in OTAs. Morgan was also a standout in practice last offseason, but spent his rookie year on IR. Now heading into his 2^nd season in the league, Morgan has a chance to make the roster and Vitt has compared him to Robert Meachem, who the Saints lost this offseason and need to replace.

Devery Henderson is penciled in as the starter opposite Marques Colston to replace Robert Meachem, but he could be pushed by 4^th round rookie Nick Toon. Adrian Arrington is another internal option and it looks like Morgan is another long shot candidate for that job, while Lance Moore is solidified in the slot. Morgan’s a name to monitor in the Preseason for fantasy football purposes, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up too much.

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Bobbie Williams turns 36 in September and, after December ankle surgery, his former team the Bengals added two new starters at guard this offseason, Kevin Zeitler and Travelle Wharton. He said earlier this week he was still only 85% and the Bengals did not offer him a contract after he worked out with them so it looked like he could be done. However, he is not done yet after signing a deal with the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals’ division rival.

Williams is obviously not guaranteed a starting job with the Ravens, but they might have be able to offer him the best chance at one. After losing Ben Grubbs this offseason, the Ravens do not have a proven starter at left guard. They used a 2^nd round pick on Kelechi Osemele and have converted 2011 3^rd round pick Jah Reid, formerly an offensive tackle, but Williams provides a veteran option at the position. I would still guess that Williams would be a backup at best, if he even makes the roster. Whether or he does or not will depend on how his ankle continues to heal.

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Ziggy Hood made several starts last year in place of the injured Aaron Smith and graded out as ProFootballFocus’ worst 3-4 defensive end. However, Hood was a 1^st round pick in 2009 and the Steelers still have a lot of hope for him as he is expected to take over full time for the now departed Smith in 2012.

In an effort to make good on his upside, Hood, who admits he was sluggish down the stretch last season, says he has lost 20 pounds of fat this offseason and added 18 pounds of muscle and has dropped his body fat percentage from 24% to 18%. Hood will have the first crack at the starting job, but could be pushed by 2011 1^st round pick Cameron Heyward if he continues to struggle. Now that he’s in shape, he could easily have a break out year in his 4^th year in the league.

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According to the Contra County Times, it is Denarius Moore and not Darrius Heyward-Bey who will be the Raiders’ #1 receiver next season. This might sound strange because Heyward-Bey led the team in receiving by a large margin last season (64/975/4 as opposed to 33/618/5). However, Moore was just a rookie and played just 13 games.

He also actually outgained Heyward-Bey down the stretch once Carson Palmer arrived. In 6 games with Carson Palmer, Moore caught 19 passes for 406 yards and 3 touchdowns. For reference, in those same 6 games, Heyward-Bey caught 25 passes for 398 yards and 2 touchdowns. Moore has been the talk of Raiders’ practice all offseason, earning high praise from the coaching staff, quarterback Carson Palmer, and members of the media alike. Heading into his 2^nd season and his 1^st with a full offseason of reps, Moore could easily outproduce Heyward-Bey this season.

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One day after the Patriots cut Chad Ochocinco, the Boston Globe is reporting that multiple sources tell them that Ochocinco didn’t have the “football IQ” to succeed with the Patriots. It’s been known for a while that Ochocinco had trouble learning the playbook, but this report goes in depth on how much he struggled. The Patriots would tell him to run a route one way and he’d run it a different way a minute later. He couldn’t tell the difference between zone and man coverage in recent OTAs.

Apparently, Ochocinco’s lack of “football IQ” dates back to his Cincinnati days. According to Bengals.com, Ochocinco would frequently free lance his routes, rather than learning the playbook. Carson Palmer and Bob Bratkowski, the offensive coordinator, let it slide a lot more than Belichick did because the Patriots’ offense relies so much on crisp routes, precision, and timing with Tom Brady. The Bengals’ report also said that Ochocinco relied on TJ Houshmanzadeh to tell him where to line up.

These reports do not help Ochocinco’s value on the open market and make it even more likely that he doesn’t get snatched up. With guys like Braylon Edwards, Plaxico Burress, and Terrell Owens, veteran receivers known for causing headaches, still on the open market, Ochocinco could have to wait a long, long time before the phone rings. Even if he gets signed, his chances of making a team are very slim unless he can learn the playbook in a short period of time, which seems unlikely after today’s reports. Perhaps Bratkowski, who is now the offensive coordinator in Jacksonville, will give him a shot.

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The Patriots released Chad Ochocinco today, but they should have no fear of the Jets signing him to steal secrets about their playbook. For one, Chad Ochocinco doesn’t actually know it, which is why he was cut. Two, the Jets have no interest in the veteran receiver despite being thin at the position with the mercurial Santonio Holmes, the rookie Stephen Hill, the injury prone Chaz Schilens, and the unproven Jeremy Kerley. This is according to ESPN New York.

Ochocinco will probably be picked up by a team, but he’s unlikely to make a 53 man roster, at least in my opinion. He could be greeted by the same problem on the open market that has caused players like Plaxico Burress, Terrell Owens, and Braylon Edwards to go unsigned. Bad teams don’t want to sign veteran receivers because they’re not going to compete anyway and they just want to get their young guys reps, while good teams don’t need any more receivers.

One possible landing place could be Dallas, based off nothing but speculation. They need a 3^rd receiver, they’re in contention, and Ochocinco is the type of big name they look to take a chance on. They’ve already been linked in Braylon Edwards earlier this offseason, but did not sign him. Other teams who have shown interest in veteran receivers are Houston and Cincinnati, though he’s probably worn out his welcome with the latter.

Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator is Bob Bratkowski, who was his offensive coordinator in Cincinnati and they need receiver help, but they fit in the category of bad team who wants to get their young players playing time. Miami has an incredibly thin receiving corps, but they also are in that bad team category.

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On the same day that the Patriots released Chad Ochocinco, ESPN Boston reported that Deion Branch is on “solid footing” with the Patriots, in terms of his roster spot. With Anthony Gonzalez and now Chad Ochocinco gone, things look a little clearer at wide receiver for the Patriots. Behind Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, and Jabar Gaffney, virtual locks to make the roster, Branch has Donte Stallworth, Julian Edelman, and Matt Slater to with compete for a roster spot.

Branch and Stallworth are the veteran receivers, while Edelman and Slater are younger players who can play on defense and special teams as well. At least one of each bunch will likely make the roster and it’s possible that 3 of those 4 could make the roster if the Patriots decide to carry 6 receivers. Given that, Branch has a very good chance to make the roster as the 4^th receiver. 7^th round rookie Jeremy Ebert will probably begin his career on the practice squad.

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A day after it was reported that the Saints and Drew Brees are about 2 million dollars per year apart on a long term deal and that Drew Brees wants 20.3 million per year, it is now being reported that the Saints have made another official offer to Brees. This comes on the same day that there was some buzz that a deal between the two sides was imminent ahead of next week’s mandatory minicamp and that one could be struck as soon as Friday, though multiple sources refuted that.

I don’t see a deal as imminent, but the fact that they made him another offer is a good sign. They know what he wants and they wouldn’t give him an official offer they didn’t think he would accept. The two sides are apart on yearly salary and guaranteed money, but this is a good step in the right direction for the two sides even if Brees rejects it. I still predict that the two sides will agree to a deal before Training Camp that makes Brees the highest paid player in the league (more than Peyton Manning’s 96 million over 5 years) with about half or more guaranteed. That will come just short of the 20.3 million Brees wants, but not too much short and both sides will likely have to budge on their stances anyway.

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What I already assumed, after the 49ers used a 2^nd round pick on LaMichael James and signed Brandon Jacobs in the offseason, was confirmed today by 49ers running back coach Tom Rathman. Rathman admitted that one running back would not carry the load for the 49ers this year, which makes sense because the 49ers have 4 running backs, Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, LaMichael James, and Brandon Jacobs, who are all capable of carrying the ball in different situations.

Gore is heading into his age 29 season with 1653 career carries and has only played all 16 games twice in his 7 year career. He’s highly unlikely to match the 282 carries he had last season, even if he does play all 16 games, which, based on history, is highly unlikely. Gore is one of the players I’ve slapped a “stay away” tag on for fantasy purposes this season, unless he falls really far in the draft. I’d let him be someone else’s problem, especially at his current average draft position in the 3^rd round.

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Santonio Holmes ended last season on a negative note and there was some talk that the Jets could cut him to avoid all of the headaches he causes after a down season in which he caught just 51 passes for 624 yards and 8 touchdowns. The Jets kept him and so far he had been rewarding them, standing out in practice, putting in a lot of work, saying all the right things, and putting in extra time to work on his chemistry with Mark Sanchez.

However, “good Santonio” was nowhere to be found today as “bad Santonio” reared his ugly head. Holmes had what was described by ESPN New York as a “meltdown” towards the end of practice today with the Jets. Holmes pulled himself out of practice because he felt he was being overworked, even though he only had 25 reps. Holmes hadn’t attended voluntary OTAs yet because he was otherwise occupied and apparently was not in shape enough to go through a full practice, which he told the coaching staff, and then blew up when they made him go through one anyway. This is obviously not a good sign.

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