Teams await first-rounders' signature moves
By Skip Wood, USA TODAY
Now that NFL training camps have begun to open, it's time for the annual round of "chicken." That's pretty much the way Atlanta Falcons general manager Rich McKay views this time of the year, when teams turn their attention to signing their first-round draft picks, all of whom have yet to sign on the dotted line.
"The players' agents are trying to represent their clients the best they can, and it's a very competitive field," McKay says. "So the combination of those two things makes them very nervous about going first. Everybody wants to go second, to see what's going on around them before they pull the trigger.
"But the deadline is usually the opening of the gates."
And because the "deadline" is the opening of training camp, this week should be quite busy.
In agreement is agent Ben Dogra. He represents four first-round choices, the highest of whom is running back Carnell Williams, taken fifth overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"Now's the time when the sense of urgency sets in for both parties," Dogra says. "But sometimes it's not easy to see where the marketplace is heading."
Complicating matters is the labor situation.
The union and the league are trying to work out a new collective bargaining agreement but the way things stand now, rookie contracts can't be longer than five years, as opposed to six last season and seven in 2003.
This makes for necessarily creative contracts, especially regarding bonus payments and their relation to salary caps.
"It's kind of like if you're going on a trip and you want to pack more clothes than you did last year but we're giving you a smaller suitcase," Dogra says. "So you may have to also use a duffel bag and maybe another hand bag. In other words, there are ways to get it done, but the structuring becomes more complicated."
Bears' Smith roaring to go: Nobody needed to remind Lovie Smith that his first season as the Chicago Bears' coach was a rough one — a 5-11 record proves it.
Saturday, players and coaches reported to training camp vowing to do better. The first practice was Sunday.
One notable absence was running back Cedric Benson, the fourth pick in the draft, who remains unsigned.
"When Cedric gets here, we'll start coaching him," Smith said. "We'll be pleased when it happens."
For now, Smith is not concerned about lengthy negotiations.
"Thomas Jones is our starting running back," Smith said. "We're moving ahead. The guys that we have here are the ones we'll start coaching right away. Cedric Benson will eventually be here, but right now, that is not one of my concerns. I know we have a good football team; I can't wait to see it all come together."
The Bears have a new offensive coordinator in former Illinois coach Ron Turner. They have a new defensive backs coach, as well as new coaches leading the offensive and defensive lines.
"I don't feel like I had a honeymoon at all," said Smith, referring to last season. "We tried to win last year, and we didn't. When we played bad, people let us know. When we played well, they did. I think they'll do the same this year."
Insurance: The Tennessee Titans care much more about protection than punctuality in negotiating a contract with their top draft pick, Adam "Pacman" Jones.
General manager Floyd Reese prides himself on getting his top draft picks under contract and on to the field for the first practice of training camp. His lone exception since the franchise relocated to Tennessee was defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth in 2002, a five-day holdout.
But with Jones' arrest on July 13 on a felony vandalism charge and two misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a nightclub fight, the Titans want to make sure the first defensive player taken in April's NFL draft is able to earn what they pay him.
"I don't think there's anybody in any business, certainly not in the football world, that wouldn't think we need to protect ourselves some way, somehow," Reese said.
"I think whether they will admit it or not, I think they have to understand that. And I think that will probably make it unique at the minimum, make it a little bit longer, maybe a little bit harder. But it's something we have to do."
Jones' agent, Michael Huyghue, did not return a message left by the Associated Press.
The Titans need the 5-10 cornerback from West Virginia to compete for one of their open starting jobs.
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