July 29, 2012; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill (84) makes a catch during training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-US PRESSWIRE

Jets @ Bengals, 7:30 pm – How will the Sanchez/Tebow drama unfold and is there a controversy? Their respective play tonight should begin to quell the “Tebow for starter” crowd unless Sanchez performs horribly and Tebow shows things he has yet to show. Ever. Also of interest is Jets’ rookie Stephen Hill. He’s a Megatron-like physical specimen, from the same college (Georgia Tech) as Calvin Johnson, but comes into the NFL very raw. Look for Jets OC Tony Sparano to try at least one deep ball to him, probably on a second-and-short or something in order to gain as favorable a matchup in the defensive play calling as possible. On the Bengals’ side, the “punk’d” WR Mohammed Sanu starts his attempt at becoming QB Andy Dalton’s #2 option at WR…after A.J. Green.

Browns @ Lions, 7:30 pm – Probably this is Brandon Weeden’s weakest opponent of the preseason…at least as far as their secondary goes. Louis Delmas is out indefinitely and the Lions have very little talent at corner. With the injury to Trent Richardson, look for the Browns to check out their “other new toy” more in the passing game while Richardson’s fellow RBs get a good look as coaches scramble in worry over Richardson’s return timeline. The Lions’ concerns lie more with their aforementioned pass coverage so look for ANYONE that might stand out there. They are in dire need now of playmakers.

Giants @ Jaguars, 7:30 pm – All eyes should be on 2nd-yr QB Blaine Gabbert of the Jags. He was dead last in just about every NFL passing category last season and looked completely lost most of the time. The result? The Jags signed Miami Dolphin cast-off QB Chad Henne. I think if Henne outplays Gabbert in the preseason, it’ll be very, very difficult for Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Mike Mularkey to start Gabbert. This is by far the biggest issue of any position battle on their squad and Gabbert really needs to start showing some street magic that he has yet to offer in his short career. We need to watch how the Giants’ run defense holds up the middle as they’ve done some retooling of their surprisingly soft, gushy middle from last season. Now, we start seeing if it holds. We know they can bring the heat on the QB as well as anyone.

August 3, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson (83) catches the ball as defensive back Anthony Gaitor (26) attempts to defend during training camp at One Buc Place. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Cardinals @ Chiefs, 8:00 pm – John Skelton is going to wind up being the starter in Arizona whether it’s due to better play than Kevin Kolb or because Kolb stubs his toe, falls down and breaks his collarbone walking through the tunnel before the game. Kolb needs to wear the red practice jersey every time he steps on the field, but I’m sure there are rules about that…(wink). The biggest thing will be how far along is rookie WR Michael Floyd, and will he deliver enough to help take some double-teams off of All-World WR Larry Fitzgerald? The Chiefs’ questions at this point are more sober…with a number of skill position players coming off IR from last season, this should help evaluate their recovery progress. If I had one player to watch with the Chiefs, it would be how Dontari Poe plays. He was the talk of the Combine earlier this year, but underachieved at a small college. He is probably going to wind up the poster child in the “tape vs. upside” discussion for his 2012 performance, fairly or unfairly.

May 24, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe (92) and offensive lineman Rodney Hudson (61) scrimmage during organized team activities at the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Vikings @ 49ers, 9:00 pm – Boy, if there ever was a game of the “haves” vs. the “have-nots,” this matchup is the one. The Vikings are entering the second season of their rebuilding phase and currently do so without their big star, Adrian Peterson. Even if Peterson were unquestionably 100% recovered from his ACL tear from week 17 last season, he wouldn’t be playing much in any of the preseason games in the first place, so that’s not the issue some think it is. The Vikings need to evaluate the progress of second-year QB Christian Ponder and how well #4 overall pick and Carolina Panthers’ center Ryan Kalil’s brother Mike is picking up the nuances of playing the left tackle. They also have similar issues that the Lions do in the secondary, so someone needs to step up and this is the time to start. The Niners’ main concern is evaluating all the new bodies they picked up at WR after having a massive 3 yards passing to the WR corps in their NFC Championship Game loss to the Giants last season. However, keep in mind the quality of the Vikings’ secondary while you do. RB Frank Gore may have peaked his career by now and they’re looking to see who can take a share of carries and the load off the guy.

Jason Taylor

Suddenly, Taylor dropped the bomb on everybody – he isn’t going to be reporting to training camp in Miami.  He wants to be traded.  When he did, the tenor of the messages being posted on these forums changed dramatically.  Now fans were asking completely different questions.  Would you want to trade for Jason Taylor?  What is wrong with this guy?

I want to be perfectly clear as a fan – I don’t want the Carolina Panthers to trade a first, second, sixth or seventh round draft pick for Jason Taylor.  I don’t want them to send the Miami Dolphins a pack of Double Bubble or a couple of Tootsie Rolls for this guy either.

How can this all start with an overrated dancing competition and end like this?  Has Jason Taylor gotten the acting bug after sitting down with Denzel Washington?  Maybe he’s completely let L.A. go to his bald head.

Let’s not forget that poor little Jason Taylor also is just upset with losing so much.  He’s just not interested in showing up to play for a team that isn’t in the running for the Super Bowl.  He’s sounding like that fat, paste-eating kid from down the block who always got upset when he couldn’t always be the cop but had to be the robber and would yell, “I’m taking my toys and going home!”

I cannot for the life of me understand this kind of behavior.  He’s set to make $16.5 million over the next two seasons and he can’t come to camp.  How many employers do you know who would put up with crap like that from their employees?

I’m glad to see that there’s a coach who won’t.  “I know that Jason is not going to be at any OTAs,” Tony Sparano, Dolphins’ head coach, said of the organized team activities. “I know that Jason will not be at any minicamps. I know that right now Jason is not going to be at training camp.

“That’s what we know. Jason is a player under contract with the Miami Dolphins. He knows that. Both parties are well aware of the information. That’s all I’m going to say about it….I’m not going to talk about another thing about Jason.”

Tony Sparano Saprano, indeed!

This is all leading to a lot of speculation from the media and a whole lot of screaming and kicking by fans.  In every NFL city, outside of Miami, fans are yelling, “Make an offer!  He would be a great addition to our team!”

What is it exactly that makes anybody think that this ego maniac would be a great addition to any team outside of a Hollywood talent agency?  Really?  He wants to act.  He doesn’t want to play football.  How many movie studios are there in Charlotte?  Go ahead.  Count.  I’ll wait.

None.  That’s how many there are.

Unless Taylor is playing in Los Angeles, he isn’t going to be happy.  Oh, but wait!  There isn’t a team in L.A.!  San Diego?  Too far south, I guess.  Oakland?  Too far north which also rules out San Francisco.

It’s his attitude that has started this whole stupid little fiasco.  Check what this guy had to say in his blog on ESPN. 

“I know what the reaction’s going to be: Oh, he’s the leader of that team, and he needs to be there.  But, see, there’re different types of leadership in sports. There’re guys that can talk all the time, and try to lead by saying: ‘Oh, this is what we need to do, let’s go, rah, rah rah.’ They’re rah-rah guys.

“And then they’re guys, like me, who lead by example. And people are saying now, ‘Your example should be being there working out with the team.’ Well, at the end of the day, I will show up and I will do anything I need to do, and I will be the best football player I can be.”

You lead by example do you, JT?  Really?  What kind of message would you be sending to the young players on a team now?  I don’t think I want you on my team so you can infest their minds with this kind of stupidity.

I forgot!  You want to act!  Okay, go for it.  Just don’t come do your acting anywhere near my Panthers because you’re bad at it.  Acting like you want to play football when we already know that you would rather be in Hollywood doesn’t qualify you as a football player.  In fact, it doesn’t qualify you as an actor either.

This offseason just vote “NO” to Jason Taylor!