FanHouse TyLaw

I'm one of the 10 people in the world that has yet to make a purchase on eBay, mainly because I have no use for a potato chip that looks like Jesus (that's what people sell on eBay, right?). However, if I had an extra $50,000 burning a hole in pocket, I probably would have jumped at the chance to own a piece of NFL history, as a member of the Super Bowl XXXVI champion New England Patriots recently auctioned his ring on eBay. It received no bids.

According to USA Today's NFL blog, The Huddle, the ring belonged to a player who was on all three Super Bowl-winning Patriots teams.

Franchise tags and salary-cap concerns play a very important role in real-world wheelings and dealings, but what if the biggest-named free agents were matched with the teams that gave them the best chance to make a Super Bowl run? What would that list look like? Glad you asked.

Yes, this is a strictly fictional account, one that requires you to suspend reality for the next few minutes. But, hey, it's the NFL offseason, which means that there won't be any meaningful football for another seven months. What else do you have to do?

The NFL Network is employing all kinds of former (and current) NFL stars for their playoff coverage on Sunday mornings. Ty Law is one of those guys. And since he's had plenty of experience -- mainly as a Patriot -- beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh, they hauled him out to Heinz Field to talk about Chargers - Steelers.

First he handled a question on Ben Roethlisberger ("have to play a little bit longer" because he keeps plays alives) and then Law fielded questions about Philip Rivers. After insulting complimenting P-Riv by calling him "Brett Favre with less mobility," he discussed the Steelers fan base and how they might treat the San Diego quarterback.

Tatum Bell looked to be out of football for good after he was accused of common thievery earlier this year. Cut by the Lions just prior to the season, Bell wound up selling phones at the Aurora Mall while he contemplated his future.

And then luck intervened. And by "luck," I mean a "string of injuries the likes of which we've never seen." The Broncos, who originally drafted Bell in 2004, are down to rookie undrafted free agent Peyton Hillis and recently promoted practice-squadder P.J. Pope.

Not even Mike Shanahan's zone-blocking wizardry can do much with seventh- and eighth-teamers (though, to be fair, Hillis looked solid in part-time duty against the Browns). Hence the return of Bell. Unlike Daunte Culpepper, and possibly Ty Law, Bell's not likely to see the field against the Falcons on Sunday.

"He was the only one left," joked Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "Tatum has played well when he's played here. I think he's averaged around five yards . . . obviously we needed someone who is familiar with our system and terminology. I don't think he's in great football shape yet, but hopefully in a short time he will be."

Imagine that. Peddling phones is a tad more sedentary than running for your life as fat people chase you. Weird. Bell did have success in Denver -- he went for 921 yards in '05 and 1,025 more in '06 -- but he didn't do much in Detroit before they eventually released him. And let's be honest: getting dumped by the Lions can't do a lot for your confidence.

The Jets decision to sign Ty Law yesterday was met with many a raised eyebrow. Was it a petty attempt to play with the heads of the Patriots? Does he have anything left after a lackluster 2007 season in Kansas City? Is he aware that Tom Brady's hurt?

There was no questioning the message that the team was sending by not only signing Law, but putting him in position to play this week, however. The defensive backs, particularly the reserves, weren't getting the job done. One of them lost that job today when the Jets released Justin Miller to create room for Law on the roster.

For those who last saw Miller as a dynamic kick returner in the 2006 season, this move may be something of a surprise. It shouldn't be, though. No one's really seen Miller since the second game of the 2007 season when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. He's played one game this year, solely on kick coverage, and his return duties have been handled with more than aplomb by Leon Washington.

Because he's played so little, it's hard to know how much speed Miller lost post-knee injury. Even before the injury, though, he struggled with man coverage, and losing time to the mediocre Drew Coleman and Ahmad Carroll suggests he'd lost quite a bit.

The only remaining bit of intrigue is if the Patriots sign Miller to give them some scoop before Thursday's game. In the business, that's the ol' what's good for the goose is good for the gander move.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. Tatum Bell, released by the Lions prior to the season for being a better luggage thief than running back, now finds himself back in the league. And all it took was for the Broncos to lose 25 running backs to injured reserve.

Denver originally selected Bell in the second round of the 2004 draft, but traded him to the Lions last year in a deal that brought cornerback Dre' Bly to the Broncos. During the '07 season, Bell played in only five games and rushed for 182 yards, and then, after turning to a life of crime some eight months later, the team cut ties with him.

Desperate times and whatnot have forced the Broncos to re-sign Bell, and NFL.com's Adam Schefter reports that there's a pretty good chance he'll play this weekend against the Falcons. Apparently, Mike Shanahan has less confidence in a Peyton Hillis-featured running attack than I do.

Unlike Daunte Culpepper and Ty Law, two players recently signed after extended layoffs, Bell won't take long to get up to speed because this is his second tour with the Broncos. And more importantly, as Gretz points out, he's also "familiar with the locker room and, you know, where all the guys keep their luggage."

Amen to that. Now let's all pray for Travis Henry.

Hey, look at that: it's Ty Law, the Daunte Culpepper of the New York Jets. That's right, Law, the former Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback who also played for the Jets and Chiefs, has been out of football since January ... until today.

With the Battle for AFC East Supremacy on the schedule for this Thursday, the Jets have signed Law to take on those evil-doing New England Patriots. I can't imagine what sort of shape he's in; even if Law's been working out during the last 10 months, it's not like he was exactly in top form when he left the game.

After two demoralizing losses in five days, there's plenty of blame to go around the Browns locker room. And Jamal Lewis is doing his part to spread the word.

The Cleveland running back didn't address anyone by name, but I'm going to wager he was looking directly at cornerback Brandon McDonald when he made his comments to the media.

McDonald spent much of the last two weeks getting burned DeAngelo Hall-style, the only difference being that the Browns didn't promptly cut him after giving signing him to a $70 million contract. They'd probably like to, but he's currently their best option, which must give Crennel all sorts of nightmares.

Concerns about the secondary are nothing new; the team traded Leigh Bodden in the offseason, and while they got Shaun Rogers in return, the secondary was worse for it. Back in August I wrote that "the front office bolstered the defensive line, but unless the front seven can consistently stop the run and generate a pass rush, the secondary could be this unit's downfall."

The Miami Dolphins need some help in the secondary and think former Patriot Ty Law is the answer. The only problem is that Law may not be interested in them.

In the wake of a few signs of weakness from the Dolphins' secondary, including the need to manage cornerback Will Allen's knee injury, Miami has shown a preliminary interest in Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law, a source said Thursday.

However, in an interview with NFL.com on Thursday, Law, a free agent, sounded as if the would prefer to play for either Dallas or Green Bay if one of the teams was interested in him.

Dallas has an opening in their defensive backfield due to Pacman Jones' suspension and injuries to Terence Newman. Green Bay lost cornerback Al Harris for the season. Both likely would have a better shot at getting to the postseason -- or at least the Super Bowl -- than the Dolphins.

Miami just doesn't have the overall talent and are dealing with Will Allen's knee injury.

Law's experience is valuable. He has won three Super Bowl titles with the Patriots and been to five Pro Bowls. The question is how much does he have to give after sitting the first seven weeks of the season?

The Patriots signed a free agent cornerback today, but it wasn't the guy Rodney Harrison was asking for. According to Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe, the Patriots announced the signing of free agent Deltha O'Neal this morning just two days after he was released by the Bengals.

After veterans Fernando Bryant and Jason Webster failed to make the final 53-man roster, the Patriots were looking as if they were going to head into the regular season with only Ellis Hobbs, Lewis Sanders and a pair of rookies (11 career interceptions for the group) holding down the cornerback spots on the roster. Not exactly the deepest unit in the league.

O'Neal has played in a pair of Pro Bowls in his career, and was tied for the NFL lead in interceptions just three years ago (with Ty Law!) when he set a Bengals franchise record with ten picks during the 2005 season. Obviously, he has pretty good hands and can come away with his fair share of interceptions, but he's quite the gambler and never met a pump-fake he didn't like.