PRO FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

(C) 2005 SPORTSTICKER ENTERPRISES L.P.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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By John Pezzullo 
SportsTicker Pro Football Editor

BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) -- The Brett Favre era will
continue.  That doesn't mean another playoff chapter is on
the way. In  2004, Favre passed for 4,088 yards and 30
touchdowns and the Green Bay Packers captured another division
title.  But they didn't win a postseason game.

What are the expectations for 2005?  Well, without Favre, the
Packers would probably finish last in the NFC North,  With the
three-time Most Valuable Player, they may not be good enough to
make the playoffs unless Favre throws for more than 4,000 yards
and 30 touchdowns again.

Favre turns 36 in October and his offensive line is minus two
starters - Pro Bowler Marco Rivera and fellow guard Mike Wahle.
The capped-out Packers couldn't re-sign Rivera, who signed a $20
million contract with Dallas, and had to cut Wahle, who had an
exorbitant salary cap number and signed with Carolina for more
than $20 million.

Now an offensive line which had been considered by many to be
the best in the NFC is weak in the interior.  Ahman Green rushed
for 1,163 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, last season.
Can he rush for more without Rivera and Wahle?

But new general manager Ted Thompson needs to address a defense
that ranked 25th in the NFL and allowed 33 touchdown passes.  So
paying guards big money under the salary cap doesn't work.
Still, it would have been better for Favre and the offense if he
kept one.

The dilemma for Thompson is he can't rebuild as long as Favre is
the quarterback. But he can no longer hold on to expensive
veterans such as Wahle and safety Darren Sharper, who had a
salary cap figure of  $8.6 million in 2005.

Meanwhile, all of the teams in the NFC North have improved. Yes,
even the Minnesota Vikings.  If they end up signing veteran
receiver Plaxico Burress or drafting Braylon Edwards or Mike
Williams, then the loss of Randy Moss is somewhat lessened.
Daunte Culpepper still has receivers Nate Burleson, Marcus
Robinson and Kelly Campbell along with tight end Jermaine
Wiggins.

And the Vikings have dramatically improved on defense with the
additions of tackle Pat Williams and cornerback Fred Smoot.
Williams will pair with Pro Bowler Kevin Williams in the middle
and Smoot and Antoine Winfield provide the Vikings with an
imposing cornerback tandem.

The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears clearly will be better in
2005.  Kevin Jones rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a rookie
and receiver Charles Rogers is expected to return after missing
virtually all of last season with a broken collarbone.

The  Bears own the fourth pick in the draft and added receiver
Muhsin Muhammad and tackle Fred Miller to help quarterback Rex
Grossman, who played in just three games last season.

So where does that leave the Packers?  Without Favre, you could
bank on a last-place finish.  With Favre, maybe 8-8 is a
reasonable prediction. ...

WILLIAMS WORKOUT: You could see the smile on Jon Gruden's face
from a mile away after former Southern California receiver Mike
Williams held his personal workout for NFL coaches and scouts
this week.  A huge target at 6-5,  Williams ran the 40-yard dash
in times of 4.58 and 4.59 seconds, respectively.

Gruden pushed for the selection of receiver Michael Clayton by
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round last year and may
want to use the sixth pick in this draft on Williams, who sat
out last season after a court ruling rejected his entrance into
the NFL draft.

"Everybody likes this guy," the Bucs coach said of Williams.  "I
mean he has real stature, real size.  I thought Michael Clayton
was big, but this guy is real big."

The 6-4 Clayton caught 80 passes for 1,193 yards and seven
touchdowns as a rookie.  Williams also appears to be a perfect
fit in the West Coast offense. ...

QB DRAFT: Alex Smith of Utah and Aaron Rodgers of California
will be the top quarterbacks taken in the April draft.  San
Francisco, Miami and Cleveland own the first three picks,
respectively.

"Both quarterbacks are certainly talented enough to be top-five
picks," Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick said.

After Smith and Rogers, no quarterback is probably worthy of
being a first-round pick.  But most scouts agree that Jason
Campbell of Auburn, Adrian McPherson of Florida State and
Charlie Frye of Akron should be the next three quarterbacks that
get selected.  McPherson was kicked out of Florida State two
years ago for gambling. Last year, he played for the Indiana
Firebirds of the Arena Football League and was fourth overall in
quarterback rating. ...

QB IQ: Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick of Harvard scored a perfect
50 on the Wonderlic test administered at the Combine,  The only
other player to answer every question correctly was Pat
McInally, a punter for the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1970s.
Fitzpatrick is regarded by most scouts to be rated anywhere
between 7-10 among quarterback prospects. ...

QB SPEED: Quarterback Matt Jones of Arkansas ran a 4.4 in the 40
at the Combine.  If that's not amazing enough, Jones is 6-6 and
237 pounds.  Don't be surprised if an NFL team converts him to
tight end.
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