Some questions and answers as NFL training camps open:
1. What’s going to happen with Michael Vick?

Apparently Roger Goodell saw the “genuine remorse” he was looking for from Vick when they met, so he reinstated him. I’m not expecting a long line of suitors, though, particularly this close to the start of the season. Few teams will be willing to deal with the media circus and public protests that Vick’s signing will attract. There’s also the fact that he hasn’t played in three seasons and wasn’t exactly knocking ’em dead in his final two seasons with the Falcons. But his unique athletic skills would make him an intriguing weapon in Wildcat packages. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones just might be desperate enough to sign him.
2. How bad will the protests be?
Remember when Brett Myers was charged with assault for slugging his wife on a Boston street corner a few years ago? Everybody said there was no way he could ever pitch for the Phillies again; that the fans would make his life a living hell. Then he won a couple of games and they gave him the key to the city. But dog lovers aren’t quite so forgiving to people who mistreat — or in Vick’s case, kill and torture — man’s best friend. My wife already knows what she’s putting on her protest sign if Vick ever shows his face at the Linc: “All dogs go to heaven. You’re going straight to hell, Mike.” So, there’s likely to be a fair amount of grief waiting for him, no matter how many times he asks forgiveness for his sins.
3. You seem to think the Vikings have a good chance of making it to the Super Bowl if they sign Brett Favre. Why?
Look, the Vikings already are a pretty good team without Favre. Got the best running back in the NFL. Got the No. 1-ranked run defense. Outplayed the Eagles in that wild-card game last year except for two plays. All they need is a quarterback good enough to keep the safety out of the box. Before Favre hurt his arm last year, he led the Jets to an 8-3 start, completing 70.7 percent of his passes and throwing 20 touchdowns. And that was in an offense that he had to learn on the run. In Minnesota, he’ll be back in the West Coast offense, with Adrian Peterson lining up directly behind him. It doesn’t get much better than that.
4. Will Terrell Owens find happiness in Buffalo?
He will find freezing temperatures and snow drifts there. But happiness? Not likely. The soon-to-be 36-year-old wide receiver is desperately trying to remain in the national consciousness with his god-awful reality show and his “Superstars” appearance. But unless he can convince ESPN to adopt him, he soon will disappear from sight, and it will drive him absolutely crazy. It shouldn’t take too long for him to start complaining that Bills quarterback Trent Edwards is favoring Lee Evans over him, or questioning the intelligence level of offensive coordinator Turk Schonert. The thing is, though, since it will be happening in Buffalo, no one will notice or give a damn.
5. Is Matt Cassel, who just inked a six-year, $63 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, the real deal or a one-year wonder?
Cassel played very well in place of injured Tom Brady in New England last season. Scott Pioli, the former Patriots personnel boss and current Chiefs general manager, clearly believes the kid can be a top-level NFL quarterback. Me? I’m not so sure. A year ago, there was some doubt whether Cassel would even make the Patriots’ roster. I don’t think Cassel is even the best quarterback on the Chiefs’ roster. I think Tyler Thigpen is. But Cassel’s new deal pretty much guarantees that he will open the season as the starting quarterback. We’ll see if he finishes it that way.
6. With Brady healthy again, will the Patriots win their fourth Super Bowl title in this decade?
Well, you certainly have to like their chances. They missed the playoffs last year for just the second time in nine years. Last time Bill Belichick sat out the postseason, he responded by winning two straight Super Bowls, although we’re still not sure how much help he had from the team videographer. If the Pats were able to average 25.6 points per game with Cassel at quarterback, they should be able to add six-seven points with Brady. But the real key for the Patriots will be their defense. They gave up more passing touchdowns than any team in the league last year and had just 31 sacks. They reloaded their secondary in the draft, using two of their first three picks on a cornerback (Darius Butler) and a safety (Patrick Chung). They also signed veteran cornerback Shawn Springs. How quickly the rookies will be able to contribute and how much gas the 34-year-old Springs has left in his tank still remains to be determined.
7. How popular will the Wildcat formation be this season?
I expect it to be very popular. More than a dozen teams, including the Eagles, used the Wildcat to some degree last season. The Dolphins led the way, using the Wildcat on 12 percent of their offensive plays. What you’re going to see this season is teams take the formation to the next level and throw more out of it. That’s a big reason the Dolphins took West Virginia quarterback Pat White in the second round of the draft. If the guy taking the direct snap is a threat to throw, it’s going to be difficult for opposing defenses to move a safety up close to the line because it will leave an outside receiver with one-on-one coverage. The downside of using a quarterback in the Wildcat is he’s going to take a beating.
8. When Cowboys owner Jerry Jones released Terrell Owens in March, he called it addition by subtraction. Said Owens’ departure would make Tony Romo and the rest of the team’s receivers better. Do you buy that?
I agree that Jones needed to send the perpetually disruptive Owens packing. But Romo had other issues besides T.O. He completed fewer than 54 percent of his passes in three of the Cowboys’ last four games, including their Week 17 collapse against the Eagles. He committed 21 turnovers last year, fumbling a disturbing 13 times. Keep him in the pocket and he’s not a particularly effective passer. Roy Williams, for whom Jones traded away first-, third- and sixth-round draft choices, caught just 19 passes in 10 games. He’ll probably catch a few more now that Owens is gone. But he has had just one 1,000-yard season in five years. And there are major questions about the talent level of the rest of the Cowboys’ wide-receiving corps.
9. How much better will the Bears be with Jay Cutler at quarterback rather than Kyle Orton?
If the Bears’ new left tackle, Orlando Pace, has anything left and can adequately protect Cutler’s blind side, a lot better, even with one of the league’s worst wide-receiving corps. But the Bears’ pass rush must get better as well. Twenty-eight sacks won’t cut it if the Bears expect to push the Vikings in the NFC North.
10. Can the Giants win the NFC East again?
Absolutely. The division will be a two-horse race between the Giants and Eagles. The Cowboys don’t have the staying power and the Redskins are, well, the Redskins. With the offseason additions of Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty and the return-to-health of Osi Umenyiora, the Giants have the best — and deepest — defensive line in the NFL. The good news for the Eagles is that they don’t face the Giants until Nov. 1, which will give their remade offensive line time to get acquainted with one another. Biggest question for the Giants is their wide-receiving corps. Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are gone. Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon and Mario Manningham don’t really scare anyone, which means the Giants really need early contributions from rookies Hakeem Nicks and 6-6 Ramses Barden.
11. Which coaches are on the hot seat heading into the season?
With Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden all expected to be available next January, owners are going to have a quick hook this season. Unless Jack Del Rio can get Jacksonville to the playoffs, which is unlikely, he’s almost certain to get canned. Marvin Lewis is running out of lives in Cincinnati. Redskins coach Jim Zorn could be looking at a transfer to one of Dan Snyder’s failing Six Flags properties if he doesn’t make the playoffs. The Cowboys’ Wade Phillips is as good as gone. The Vikings’ Brad Childress probably needs to go deep into the playoffs to keep his job. And the Raiders’ Tom Cable, well, when you work for Al Davis, you live life day-to-day.
12. What’s going on with the labor negotiations?
Nothing, really. Roger Goodell and new NFLPA director DeMaurice Smith have had a couple of cordial meetings. But this is going to last a while. If there isn’t a deal in place by next March, there will be no salary cap in 2010. But my sense is the owners aren’t as afraid of that possibility as they were in 2006. For starters, despite the union’s claims that if the cap goes away, the players never will consent to bringing it back, the owners know that’s bull. Given the choice between a cap and waiting six years for free agency, the players will take the cap. Also, no cap also means no floor. While some teams might let the dollars flow, many others would turn off the tap. Bottom line: There won’t be a lockout, but don’t look for a resolution until February 2011.
13. Who’s going to have a better second season — Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan?
The Falcons added Hall of Fame-bound tight end Tony Gonzalez to Ryan’s arsenal. Flacco’s top target — Derrick Mason — has announced he’s retiring. Advantage Ryan.
14. Jon Gruden will spend the ’09 season in ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” booth with Ron Jaworski and Mike Tirico. How do you think he’ll do and is this just a one-year thing?
I think Gruden is going to be terrific as an analyst, particularly paired with Jaws, whose only equal in the NFL analyst biz is FOX’ Troy Aikman. But this will be a short-term relationship. Gruden was born to coach and there’s zero doubt he’ll be back on an NFL sideline in 2010.