FanHouse Channing Crowder

Back in June, before we knew that Rex Ryan would fix what Eric Mangini broke or that the Dolphins would return to their pre-Tuna form, the long-distance gum-flapping between Ryan and Miami's Channing Crowder was just that. A summertime diversion between an unproven head coach and a chatty linebacker.

Now, four months later, the AFC East division rivals will finally face off, and Ryan sounds like he has gained some perspective. Crowder, however, is a different story.

"I think the thing with Channing Crowder, if I had to do one thing over, that would probably be it," Ryan said in a conference call earlier this week, "because clearly I was joking about the whole thing, which I had done before in the past in Baltimore with Chad Johnson [Ochocinco] and with some other guys."

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Look, the NFL offseason is freaking boring. I know, I know, if you're reading this, you're a die-hard and you can't get enough NFL news, even in June. But the fact is there's little-to-nothing going on this time of year. Which is why you've got to love Jets coach Rex Ryan and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder for spicing things up the way they have the past couple of days.

Ryan and Crowder have been hooked up in a little war of words for the past week. And their dispute, rooted in Ryan's tough talk about not being intimidated by anybody else in the AFC East and Crowder's hurt feelings on behalf of a division-champion team that he feels isn't being given enough credit for its 2008 accomplishment, continued today.

I didn't go to Jets minicamp to listen to Rex Ryan Tuesday. Decided to go Wednesday instead. But it looks like I missed all the fun. During his news conference, the Jets' trash-talking head coach fired back at Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder for comments Crowder made last week about him.

"I don't know this Channing Crowder," Ryan said, unprompted, in the middle of his opening remarks to the media. "But all I know is that he's all tatted up so I need to be nervous about him. He's right about one thing. I am a first-time head coach. But I've been around the game all my life. I'm no different now than I've ever been. It's just that more people are listening."

The Miami Dolphins prevented another of their key free agents from testing the market by signing linebacker Channing Crowder to a three-year contract extension on Wednesday.The move comes a week after the team re-signed starting offensive tackle Vernon Carey to a six-year deal.

According to Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald, Crowder is "jacked up" about staying in Miami, even though he was searching for a longer contract.

The Miami Dolphins opted not to use their franchise tag on offensive tackle Vernon Carey, and as it turns out, they didn't need to. The team has signed the 27-year-old offensive tackle to a multi-year contract extension, as reported by Edgar Thompson of the Palm Beach Post.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed at this point, but with Carey locked up long-term, the Dolphins will have a more-than-formidable duo on their offensive line with he and Jake Long, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

During an appearance at the NFL's scouting combine, Miami coach Tony Sparano revealed what we would all have found out soon enough: The Dolphins will not use the franchise-tag designation to secure any of their pending free agents.

The decision means that a couple of talented free agents will hit the market -- and, assuming that they do not re-sign with Miami, will leave the resurgent club with some major holes to fill. Amongst the group that had franchise-tag potential was linebacker Channing Crowder, whom the Dolphins basically forced out the door with a reportedly low extension offer.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer

When the New York Jets tossed Chad Pennington aside in favor of Brett Favre, the Miami Dolphins were happy to pick up the 32-year-old veteran and put him under center.

They were rewarded with a quarterback that finished second in the league's MVP voting, as the team completed one of the most improbable one-year turnarounds in NFL history, claiming the AFC East title one year after a forgettable 1-15 season.

Near the end of last week's Patriots-Dolphins tilt, and after the game had pretty much been decided, Miami's Channing Crowder and New England's Matt Light shared a moment. Specifically, Light tried to yank out Crowder's weave while Crowder did his best to get away.

Ultimately, both players were fined $15,000 because, as everybody knows, pulling hair is just as offensive as having your hair pulled. And even though Crowder and Channing were the only players taking part in the extracurriculars, we learn that the NFL has subsequently fined Joey Porter. No idea if he did anything wrong, but it's probably safe to assume that he was guilty of something. Actually, his gum-flapping incited the whole melee. From the Miami Herald (courtesy of MDS at PFT):

Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder both got ejected for this altercation, in which Light pulled Crowder's hair:

Now they've both been fined $15,000 -- but not suspended -- for their actions, Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting (via PFT).

Unless you were a Patriots fan or a self-loathing Dolphins supporter, you probably missed the live showing of Channing Crowder and Matt Light offering their interpretation of the Pacman-bodyguard hotel bathroom cat fight. You've no doubt seen the replay, although it's still not clear what precipitated the whole thing.

Thankfully, the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian has some answers, via Light's offensive line mate, Logan Mankins:

"He was doing a good job, drilling [Chowder] right in the head," Mankins said of Light, "so kudos to Matt." ...

[As to why the fight happened:] "Any time you have a team with the guy 55 (Joey Porter), he just won't shut up the entire game," Mankins said. "Then I think some of the other guys are starting to play the way he does."

Mankins also figures that Light won't face a suspension, just a fine. While whaling away on a dude not wearing a helmet might seem like an offense worth of a little time away from the game, as Mankins rightly points out, a precedent has been set. A few weeks ago, John Henderson actually tried to remove Andrew Whitworth's eyeballs and all it cost him was $15,000.