FanHouse Domonique Foxworth

Chad Ochocinco appears to have emerged from his funk, the one that consumed him for most of 2007 and part of last season, too. Now he's back to his affable, fun-loving ways, which should serve as a nice distraction when the Bengals begin their inevitable implosion.

That descent into mediocrity could start Sunday when Cincy faces Baltimore in a battle for first place in the AFC North. And in preparation for the get-together Mr. Ochocinco, as he's known to do, has commenced with the jibber jabber.

On a Wednesday conference call Chad told reporters what he had in store for the Ravens.

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle will be on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list for at least the opening six weeks of the 2009 NFL season. He'll also undergo his second surgery in under a year after a neck specialist indicated that another procedure could help Rolle get back onto the field.

Rolle missed six games last season and hasn't practiced with the team at all this fall. The Ravens released Rolle in March, then resigned him to a four-year deal in April, but he has spent most of his time since trying to heal up.

WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Coaches in New York and Detroit are pointing to Ravens training camp and Joe Flacco -- a towering 24-year-old who threw for 2,971 yards last year. "See?" they say. "You can win with a rookie quarterback." Flacco is (along with Atlanta's Matt Ryan) the inspiration for those who would pin their 2009 hopes on a Mark Sanchez or a Matthew Stafford. The former Delaware Blue Hen became an instant sensation last season in Baltimore. And while he's flattered to be held up as such a hopeful example, part of the reason he can be is that he doesn't count himself among the dazzled.

"I don't impress myself, ever," Flacco told FanHouse in an interview following the Ravens' Saturday afternoon practice. "We had a good year because we had a good team. I was happy to be a part of that, but that's the way I look at it."

To give you a sense of the different approaches the NFL and its players' union are taking to the coming collective bargaining negotiations, ponder these two facts: On Wednesday, union chief DeMaurice Smith took 20 players -- 17 active, three retired -- with him to Capitol Hill for a full day of meetings in an effort to rally congressional leaders to their side. The day before, when the players and owners met in Washington for their second negotiating session, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wasn't even there.

"I can't speak for anybody else, but you can draw your own conclusions," Baltimore Ravens cornerback and union executive committee member Domonique Foxworth told FanHouse in a Wednesday evening phone interview. "Obviously, we would prefer that the man who's in charge be there if it's a meeting where decisions could be made."

NFL owners and players met Tuesday in Washington for three hours for their second round of collective bargaining negotiations. Nothing was accomplished (the union was upset, actually, that commissioner Roger Goodell was not in attendance), and no date is set for the next round of negotiations. But just as he did the day after the first negotiating session, union chief DeMaurice Smith is heading Wednesday to Capitol Hill.

Smith will bring 17 active players from 15 different NFL teams, including Kansas City's Mike Vrabel, Tennessee's Kevin Mawae and Baltimore's Domonique Foxworth, plus three retired players with him for meetings with congressional leaders. The point of the meetings is to stay on the attack. As he first told FanHouse last month, Smith believes the owners are planning to lock out the players in 2011, and both sides are working against a March deadline after which the 2010 season would be played without a salary cap and a 2011 lockout would be more difficult to prevent. So Smith is remaining in contact with Congress because it can help him with two specific threats against the league.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet the...
Team with the most rushing attempts in the NFL last season. With a rookie quarterback and a newly installed ball-control offense, the Ravens ran the ball 592 times in 2008. The team's 11 wins and two playoff victories give proof that the system works. Confidence in second-year quarterback Joe Flacco will be greater in 2009, so you can expect this offense to continue to run the ball at every defense they meet; just maybe not 58% of the time.

The name of the game in Baltimore will still be defense, however, even without defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and linebacker Bart Scott, who both left town to join the New York Jets. New defensive coordinator Greg Mattison should have this unit among the top five defenses in football with an extremely tough and disciplined approach and key additions like Domonique Foxworth in the secondary.

The day after his first (and, so far, only) collective bargaining negotiating session with the NFL, new players union head DeMaurice Smith was on Capitol Hill, beginning to build congressional support for the prevention a lockout by NFL owners in 2011. This was back on June 4, and it didn't get a lot of attention at the time. But it's yet another indication that the CBA negotiations between players and owners could get very ugly.

Smith and Baltimore Ravens defensive back Domonique Foxworth attended the meetings with the House Judiciary Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee. Both described the sessions as "meet-and-greets" and declined to go into detail about what was discussed. But there are a couple of ways in which the union hopes Congress can factor into its strategy going forward.

Samari Rolle has been beating this drum for a few weeks now, and it finally sounds like he'll get his wish: the Ravens will release him on Monday, according to the Baltimore Sun.

"I anticipate it happening. I'm happy," Rolle told The Sun. "Everyone got what they wanted out of this. I wish the Ravens nothing but the best of luck."

The move will create $4.1 million in cap space for the Ravens, a team with plenty of defensive holes to fill; Chris McAlister, Bart Scott, and Jim Leonhard -- all starters at various points during the 2008 season -- are gone, and the team is especially thin in the secondary.

After watching Deltha O'Neal struggle to replace Asante Samuel in 2008, the New England Patriots have signed 12-year veteran Shawn Springs to a three-year contract in an effort to strengthen their secondary.

It was reported over the weekend that a deal was close, and it's now official as ESPN's John Clayton reports Springs will make $10 million over the next three seasons.

---

---

It was one of the biggest questions on the Ravens defense heading into the offseason, and now one of the cornerback spots has been filled.

Baltimore signed Domonique Foxworth to a four-year, $28 million contract that has $16.5 in guaranteed money.

Foxworth was on the field for the Falcons last season from Week Eight on, accumulating 38 tackles and one interception. The Ravens let Chris McAlister go this offseason and have two other free agents at the same position, so securing a prospect like Foxworth, even if the money seems a tad high, is a good decision for the ever-departing Baltimore defense.