Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Before Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron claimed to have learned something about the Jets schemes from the wonderful HBO series “Hard Knocks,” I wondered exactly what some clever coach could glean from the footage.

HBO showed some of New York's play-calling, and some of the formations that went with it. The coaches shared their private thoughts about some of the players in those remote camera office scenes. You could hear the cadences and audibles of QB Mark Sanchez in the middle of game action.

I couldn’t decipher anything from it, but I wondered if a coach who actually does this for a living could.

"What are you going to learn?" Ryan asked in today’s New York Daily News. "You guys saw it. What did you get out of it?"

Me? I didn’t get anything out of it. A fellow coach? Maybe something that could help his team gain a small advantage.

From the story:

Cameron originally told Baltimore reporters, "There was probably a lot revealed in that strategically, the way I viewed it . . . There was a lot of stuff in there strategically."

Cameron would not go so far as to say how useful the information would be. "I'm not going to say that yet," Cameron said.

Perhaps there is something minor that somebody could learn, but keep this in mind: the Jets had the final say on what’s shown on Hard Knocks and what’s not shown. If the organization really felt like it was giving something away, you can bet that it would never have allowed HBO to put it on for the whole world to see.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

- Good news for the Rams: QB A.J. Feeley is feeling healthy. Oh wait, that doesn’t matter. He’s not going to start any way. Not with Sam Bradford feeling good. "I've said all along, it was going to be his job — it was just a matter of when." Feeley told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. "It was kind of predicated on when he was ready. And he's ready.”

- Cowboys LG Kyle Kosier and RT Marc Colombo continue not to practice in Dallas. It’s becoming less and less likely that they’ll play the team’s season opener against Washington.

- Another offensive line story, this one out of Jets headquarters. Matt Slauson has beat out second-round pick Vladimir Ducasse for the starting left guard spot heading into Monday night’s game vs. the Ravens. I’m sure Slauson will be welcomed warmly by Baltimore’s defensive linemen, namely Kelly Gregg and Haloti Ngata.

- Roger Goodell recently said he wants a new labor deal to be done in March. NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith countered that by saying he wants a new agreement signed by November. NFL.com has the full story.

- Good lord, Tony Dungy just won’t let go of this Rex-Ryan-curses-too-much storyline. Enough already, man.

- When Keith Bulluck signed with the Giants in the offseason, it was thought he would replace Jonathan Goff at the middle linebacker spot. But Goff had a good training camp, and now, New York is rewarding him by making him the starter (and moving Bulluck to the outside). Goff seems honored.

- Speaking of the Giants, things are not going well between RB Brandon Jacobs, who just lost his starting spot to Ahmad Bradshaw, and the front office. In effect, Bradshaw says, Jacobs is feuding with team management. Jacobs, though, says everything is cool between him and Bradshaw – who, it should be noted, has started just one time in his four-year career.

- Ask around the Bengals locker room, and in some players’ eyes, there’s no question. They’d rather have Carson Palmer at quarterback than anybody else in the league. Of course, what would you expect them to say? That they’d rather have Tom Brady leading their team? Of course not.

-Panthers linebacker Thomas Jones hasn’t given up on playing this season, despite suffering his second ACL tear within a seven-month period. Jones said he’s on course to be back by mid-season.

-Even when Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti called on his quarterback to be even better this year, that hardly fazed Joe Flacco. Why is that? Maybe, the nickname the Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston has bestowed upon him can give you an idea: Joe Cool.

- Champ Bailey and the Broncos are talking about a four-year contract extension.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Based on the parties involved, it was pretty obvious that the Jets-Ravens tilt on Monday Night Football would get fairly heated. However, you'd think they'd at least wait until the day of the game to start running their mouths at each other, right?

Not so much. Technically, I suppose Antonio Cromartie started it this week when he referred to the Jets as the "Miami Heat of football," as that particular remark is what got Ray Lewis really riled up for Thursday's media session.

“The bottom line is, we’re talking about the Jets like we’re talking about the Saints," Lewis said according to the Ravens' official blog . "That’s the defending Super Bowl champs. Until they play tonight, that’s the only people that can be dethroned. Drew Brees, not Mark Sanchez and the Jets. All this, ‘We’re the Miami Heat of football.’ If ya’ll are the Miami Heat, we’ve got to be the Lakers, because we’re looking for multiple rings."

And that was just the beginning.

“The game ain’t played through tongues. The game is played when you buckle up your chin straps,” said Lewis. ”All this pressure he wants to put on his team, I hope they can cash the check that he’s writing."

Lewis also got cheesed about Ryan saying that he "tapped out" while calling defensive plays and then closed by pointing out that "Monday night ... when the ref blows his whistle, I don't give a damn what Rex say, or what nobody else say, it's all about however you want to get it, let's get it."

So, yeah, the next obvious step is someone on the other side stepping up to counter his comments. I believe that's how these things work, anyway. So, um, how about you LaDainian Tomlinson?

"I'm gonna cash any check written [or] said," Tomlinson said according to Jenny Vrentas on Twitter . "We’re gonna cash it. That's just the part of being confident in what we’re doing."

Although LaDainian shouldn't be feeling that worried -- Rex Ryan, according to Manish Mehta , knows that he has to cash his own checks.

"I got a lot of respect for Ray," Ryan said. "It doesn’t matter what he says in a negative light. I still respect him. But we are going to try to smash him, I can tell you that much."

Something tells me everyone involved is going to tell us that much -- and much more -- by the time we get to Monday night.

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Posted by Andy Benoit

Our final review of Hard Knocks is somewhat abbreviated because, let’s face it, with the regular season kicking off tonight, the excitement over a training camp/preseason show – even a show as tremendous as this – calms down considerably. This in mind, HBO and NFL Films should consider starting and ending the show a week earlier next year.

The late ending shouldn’t take away from the fact that the fifth and final episode was absolutely phenomenal – particularly in the last 10 minutes. We got an inside look at some of the Darrelle Revis contract negotiations. Granted, it wasn’t quite the full inside look (cameras showed Rex Ryan and Woody Johnson planning their trip to go so see Revis in Florida, but they didn’t follow them past the airport), but it was a much deeper inside look than anyone would have guessed.

The best scene was when a group of Jets staff members, including Ryan, GM Mike Tannenbaum and public relations director Bruce Speight, were sitting around a speaker phone negotiating with Revis’ agent. Frustrated when Revis’ agent reiterated the same point for what we’ll assume was the umpteenth time, Ryan stood up and said, “You know what, I’ve been going at this thing for the last several days. I’m gonna go coach this team, get them ready for Baltimore. So I’m done. You know the way the owner feels. I can’t believe we can’t get a damn deal done. It’s a f****** joke.” As he stormed out of the room, Ryan shouted back to the phone, “Three years left on a f****** contract! Watch Monday night! See what the f*** happens!”

Tannenbaum ended the call and eventually broke the ensuing heavy silence by saying, “What’s the negotiation playbook say to do now?”

Of course, minutes later (minutes later in the show, that is), Revis showed up at practice and made his Hard Knocks debut. The series ended with the star cornerback breaking down the team’s huddle.

A few other things that stood out from Episode 5:

--Fullback Jason Davis is dripping with arrogance. He’s a good player, but he wasn’t good enough to make the final roster.

--Special teams coach Paul Westhoff got his wish: David Clowney was let go. Tannenbaum told Clowney he never won Westhoff over.

--Mark Sanchez got to call plays during the second half of the final preseason game. Sanchez was elated when the Jets reached the end zone on the first series (he even taunted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer).

--There isn’t a person in the world who isn’t rooting for running back Chauncey Washington to make it in the NFL. He’s not there yet, but the entire Jets organization respects everything about him.

--The ultimate underdog, Danny Woodhead, a diminutive undrafted free agent, made the team, thanks in part to Santonio Holmes’ suspension.

If HBO and NFL Films are planning Hard Knocks 2011 (if there is football in 2011), here’s an official vote for another year with Ryan’s Jets.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Givin Em the Business recognizes all the people that annoyed us from the week that was in football. Feel free to provide nominations either in the comments or by yelling at us on Twitter (@CBSSportsNFL) .

Rank	Who	Why
1	Albert Haynesworth	If Haynesworth's offseason performance were judged on the same merits that we judge actual play on the actual football field, he would absolutely justify his $100 million salary. Instead, he's simply the most obnoxious figure in the NFL since we last left real football. Think about: he gets paid 9 (NINE!) figures and yet he still whined about the fact that he had to change positions in a new defense, he still couldn't pass a physical that every other TV reporter in the D.C. area could and he even tried to pretend like he was sick of the 'B.S.' and just wanted to play football. To top it all off: he's still  on the trading block.
2	Brett Favre	Were we to do a retroactive "Givin' 'Em the Business" column for the past five or so offseasons, Favre would probably rank No. 1 every time. He managed to lock the entire world in for a full day of rehashing "Favre's Greatest Hits" even when he didn't retire, he made us watch helicopter cams follow an SUV down the highway O.J. Simpson style, and he forced several of his teammates to travel from Minnesota to Mississippi just to get a commitment from him. In fact, it's a testament to just how horrible Haynesworth has been that Favre, even though he forced us to suffer yet another wishy-washy media nightmare this season, somehow didn't win this "award."
3	Darrelle Revis	Somehow, someway, Revis managed to eclipse all the crap that the Jets have produced during the offseason (and it's a lot) en route to holding out up until the very last minute for a deal that wasn't really what he wanted. Look, I get that as a young superstar someone would want to get paid now and not worry about injury derailing a serious boatload of cash from being delivered to his house, but you signed a contract when you became a working professional/adult. Deal with it like you were one.
4	T.Ocho	Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco have complained recently that they don't get fair treatment from the media, because they're vilified even though they've done nothing wrong. That's actually a very salient point, but that doesn't excuse the two of them having three reality television shows between them. The Versus one, which will debut in October, actually might end up being awesome, but at that point in time, we'll have seen enough insanity flowing out Cincinnati that it's all but certain the whole "zany wideout" thing will be played out. And if the Bengals are actually winning, it'll only get worse. On the bright side, we're less than a week away from one of them getting fined for a hysterical touchdown celebration.
5	Looming Lockout	Really, this should be first overall: remember that we're discussing a large group of really rich men fighting with a smaller group of even richer men about who will be getting more richer in the future. All of this comes directly from the pocket of the fan, and if the lockout happens (as it certainly appears it will), the only people that will be really  harmed are fans. And that's fairly criminal. The only good news is that it seems pretty likely (at least I think so) that this could end like Revis' deal where we see a last-minute cave. Unfortunately, that will probably mean no preseason.
6	Tony Dungy	Yup, that's right. I'm gonna be the guy ripping Tony Dungy, who just happens to seem like one of the nicest human beings on the planet. My beef? Him sticking his nose where it doesn't necessarily belong. Look, it's swell that he's an "ambassador" for the league and everything, but that doesn't mean that every single one of his beliefs are correct. For instance, if Rex Ryan wants to tell his players to get a &#%$%$ snack on their $%$^ing time away from the field, in my opinion he can sure as $%^@ do so.
7	Tim Tebow	My reaction to Tebow is quite similar to my reaction to the preseason: "I don't hate it, but, MAN, does it get old quickly." Tebow was all we talked about this offseason in terms of rookies, even though he pretty clearly won't be the "guy" in Denver for some time. I'm actually optimistic that he'll eventually be good, but that doesn't mean I want to sit in the stands in Jacksonville on Sunday amid a ton of people wearing Gator jerseys while they (as Andy pointed out) wonder when Tebow will get in the dang game!
8	Matt Leinart	Honestly, Leinart's situation is more humorous than anything else. Imagine being really bad at your job (and overpaid, to boot) and then imagine walking into your boss' office and demanding that you -- yes, you of the awful performance thus far in multiple years on the job -- get a promotion. Your boss would laugh in your face and probably fire you. Oh, wait. That's what the Cardinals did with Leinart.
9	The Jets	Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Jets are kind of on here twice. I wasn't going to include them as a team (mainly because "Hard Knocks" has been so freaking awesome) until Antonio Cromartie decided the Jets were the "Miami Heat of football." And Mark Sanchez (who's like totally my podcast BFF) decided to add that they're building a "dream team." Come on, people. Look, their coach is brash, angry, loud and hysterical. And he inspires confidence. That's swell. But this team shouldn't have even made the playoffs last year! DO NOT CROWN THEM. THEY WILL BE WHO WE DID NOT REALIZE THAT THEY WOULD BE. Or something.
10	Vincent Jackson	And by extension, "holdouts in general," although that kind of got covered in Revis' section. Basically, this is annoying because I'm a Philip Rivers fan and there's nothing more annoying than seeing him possibly lose a huge window to make a run at a title because the CBA got blown up, Jackson lost some time in free agency, the Chargers decided to play hardball, and then even maybe/possibly refuse to trade him. It's impossible to find one side where you can say "alright, this is absolutely so-and-so's fault" because both sides have a reasonable case to be made, but seeing every single contract and holdout and discussion of anything football-related circle back to the fact that it might be gone in a year makes me want to pull a Spewell on someone. On the bright side, it's here now!

Posted by Will Brinson

If you weren't expecting the Jets to be less obnoxious the night of the "Hard Knocks" finale or slightly humbled as the season gets closer, well, you were wrong. You were also stupid -- as soon as they got Darrelle Revis back, it was obvious they were only going to get cockier.

But Antonio Cromartie has taken it to a new level, unless I'm somehow badly misconstruing the quote he dropped on Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News .

"We're the Miami Heat of football," cornerback Cromartie said.

Cro wasn't the only one smack-talking, either. (Note that we'll examine his statement below.)

"Some people may think if we took a step closer and just got there, that'd be enough," tight end Dustin Keller said. "But it's not at all. This team is basically Super Bowl or bust."

That's not TOO insane. Everyone should be "Super Bowl or bust" before the year in the NFL.

Mark Sanchez' decision to say "We're building a dream team," could be considered a little cooky though.

Okay, so you've heard the other crazy talk, but re: Cro and the Heat, is it a) ridiculous, b) incorrect, c) foolish or d) all of the above?

I'll go with "d" and here's why: for the Jets to be the "Miami Heat of football," they would need a top-three player in the NFL at three-fifths of the 22 positions on the field. Darrelle Revis gives them that at one position. Bart Scott perhaps. Santonio Holmes is a hell of a slot receiver, no question about it. Nick Mangold is an excellent center. Etc, etc.

 Look, I get that they're 1) chock full of big names, 2) riddled with tons of veterans chasing a ring, 3) one of the few favorites to win the championship even though people are really skeptical and 4) universally hated, but all of those things don't combine to overcome the fact that in comparison to the Heat, the Jets lack a significant amount of elite talent to really make a valid comparison.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Rex Ryan has caught hell from everyone -- it feels like, anyway -- for his language on "Hard Knocks." His mother, Tony Dungy ... only his players (including Mark Sanchez who we recently interviewed, in case you missed it) seem to understand.

Dungy even wanted to get NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to weigh in on the issue. Well, via USA Today's The Huddle, he did just that on Mike & Mike this morning.

"Obviously at times you're going to get language that's not appropriate for all ages," Goodell said. "And it's something that I guess we're not proud of. But it is a reality of what happens in those camps. And that's why that show is so popular."

In other words: thanks, Tony Dungy, for making me discuss this. Since, you know, clearly Rex Ryan's language is way more important of a topic than the lockout or rookie wages or anything else important to the NFL.

That's not to dog Dungy all that much, but Goodell's point is dead-on -- swearing is a reality of the NFL. It's going to happen, even if cameras are hanging around, filming players and coaches.

And, frankly, I'm pretty certain Dungy's in the minority -- I'd be willing to be that the vast number of people who watch "Hard Knocks" prefer the reality of the training camp situations being shown, even if it involves lots of four-letter words. He also has the freedom to wait until the next morning and watch the edited AM version of the show, if his ears burn too much from Ryan's f-bomb prowess.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Yesterday, the New York Jets chose to cut veteran fullback and team leader Tony Richardson.

Today, they have re-signed him .

The news shouldn't be that surprising, since the Jets clearly wanted to keep Richardson all along. In fact, it was believed/understood that following his late cut, the Jets would seek to re-ink him with less guaranteed money on the line.

Two factors played into the release of Richardson -- money, and the emergence of "Hard Knocks" star John Conner (a.k.a. "The Terminator) who's the biggest mancrush Rex Ryan's ever had.

But Conner's inexperience and the need for leaders in the Jets' slightly wild and plenty young locker room is precisely why Richardson is back.

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