The Matt Cassel & Mike Vrabel trade Saturday from the Pats to the Chiefs has one city jumping for joy & another wondering "what just happened"?  There's also a pretty good QB in Denver who found out the Broncos tried unsuccessfully to trade him to Tampa & now he's hoppin' mad at new head coach, Josh McDaniels, Cassel's offensive coordinator with the Patriots in '09. Wait, it gets stranger.  According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Tampa Bay called the Pats minutes after the Cassel to K.C. deal was done to offer a 1st & a 3rd draft pick for Cassel who they were then going to trade to Denver for Jay Cutler. There was never any rumor of Denver wanting to trade Cutler & now McDaniels either must trade him or do some serious making up, because a Pro Bowl QB & his head coach must be on the same page if they're going anywhere next year. Many Patriot fans as well as most of the media have voiced there displeasure with Cassel/Vrabel for only a 2nd round draft pick. The pair represented $17+ million against the salary cap & Belichick was hamstrung because of it. He had no room to move in free agency & he had a backup QB making almost double of starter Tom Brady. Now Belichick has money to spend & 4 draft picks from #21 to #58. I've heard speculation, that makes some sense, Panther DE Julius Peppers can be had for the right price & now the Pats have the cash to pay him & a couple of high picks to trade for him..........I was disheartened to read Jason Whitlock's comments in yesterday's Kansas City Star where he intimated Mike Vrabel will now become GM Scott Pioli's locker room snitch. I have enjoyed most of Jason's columns for 15 years but I thought this was way out of line. He prints second-hand information about the Brian Waters/Todd Haley dust up & then cracks on Vrabel like that. C'mon Jason, you're much better than that........ESPN.COM has reported late Sunday that Bronco WR, Brandon Marshall, has been arrested yet again. This time for disorderly conduct. He was originally going to be suspended for two games last season for his 3rd arrest & after appealing it, NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, reduced it to one game. This time he may be looking at a minimum of four games. Friday the Broncos announced they had agreed to terms with RB's Correll Buckhalter & J.J. Arrington. Then on Saturday the deal with Arrington fell through, but the day was salvaged when they signed Pro Bowl safety, Brian Dawkins.......Kellen Winslow packed up his giant ego & 11 touchdowns in 5 years & headed to Tampa for a 2nd round pick & a 5th in 2010. His 219 catches over his 5-year stint with the Browns & his inability to stay on the field have been a major disappointment.......The New York Giants, stung by injuries to their defensive line in '08, have signed DE Chris Canty & DT Rocky Bernard, both productive starters who should bolster the Giant defense.......The Dallas Cowboys continue to confound me. Here's a team that is certainly top-5 talent wise, yet the one thing I think they lack, team leadership, they refuse to pursue. Worse, they hold onto Terrell Owens, a known cancer & let him continue to undermine everyone but owner Jerry Jones. Ray Lewis is walking around without a job & the Cowboys continue to flounder because they don't have that one guy who commands enough respect to raise the level of his teammates play. Plus, he can still hit you so hard your kids will be born dizzy.........Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree, rated a top-5 pick on everyone's draftboard, has decided to have surgery to repair the stress fracture in his left foot. The kid was between a rock and a hard place, should he run hurt or have surgery & hurt his draft status because he couldn't run or work out for scouts? I think he made the right choice. Here's hoping Wednesday's surgery goes well & he has a speedy recovery. He's a real decent young man & a tremendous receiver.