July 31

	Mornhinweg

Marty Mornhinweg's shocking end of the Lions' Monday afternoon practice -- which saw the coach speeding off on his Harley to the dismay of his players -- was a message that he means business about changing business.

A staff member's cell phone that went off early in the workout -- all cell phones are banned from the practice field -- was the first unacceptable action. As problems mounted 30 minutes into practice, Mornhinweg abruptly ended it. An act? Hardly.

Mornhinweg knows the point that everyone misses about the West Coast scheme he's installing: More than anything, its success is about attention to detail. It's about how you practice, how you meet, how you eat, how you rest ... any detail that's out of whack is considered a threat to the team's success.

Dilfer considers sitting out season
Trent Dilfer's unemployment has evolved into an interesting strategy. Though he's still listening to teams, Dilfer and agent Mike Sullivan are inclined to sit out the season, figuring there are about nine franchises uncertain about their future at quarterback -- ranging from Arizona's Jake Plummer to Pittsburgh's Kordell Stewart.

If one or more of these franchises gives up on their quarterback by December, Dilfer will have the freedom to begin discussions, as opposed to having to wait until March 1 if he signs a one-year contract now to be somebody's backup.

Bucs shocked by Brooks' holdout
The holdout by All-Pro linebacker Derrick Brooks came as a shock to the Bucs, but Brooks believes he has sat long enough on a two-year promise to redo his contract. He especially took note that talks went silent last year after the Bucs spent $50 million on Keyshawn Johnson.

DT Young outshines Moss, Bledsoe in three-year value
A lot has been made about new contracts this offseason for Drew Bledsoe, Brett Favre and Randy Moss for an aggregate of $278 million. But real value is found in the first three years of a contract, and the winner is ... 49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young, who is guaranteed almost $27 million in his first three years, compared to $24 million for Bledsoe and Moss and $23.5 million for Favre.