Responsible journalists usually handle these types of stories with caution, as you don’t want to rush to print a story about someone being dead when they aren’t. But, OTR wants no part of responsible journalism, so we’ll pass along what TMZ is reporting.

According to TMZ, former San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots LB Junior Seau was found dead in his California home today, the result of gun shot wounds.

It wouldn’t be crazy to think it was a suicide. Remember, back in 2010 Seau drove his SUV off of a cliff and claimed he wasn’t trying to kill himself, but that he fell asleep at the wheel.

Seau was 43-years old and left behind an ex-wife and three children. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: From TMZ – 11:33 AM PDT — Law enforcement sources tell us … Seau died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.

Brandon Lloyd has said all offseason that he wants to play with Josh McDaniels. He had most of his success playing in McDaniels system, which started back with the Denver Broncos.

McDaniels is now the offensive coordinator with New England Patriots, a position that he held several years ago. And Lloyd made no bones about the fact that he would take less money to play for McDaniels.

And he wasn’t kidding.

The Patriots signed Lloyd to a three-year, $12 million contract, according to Jason La Canfora on Twitter.

“Brandon Lloyd’s deal with Pats is 3yrs/$12M #freeagency,” La Canfora tweets.

That’s less than guys like Laurent Robinson, Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal have gotten. You could argue that Lloyd is better than all three of them…combined.

Okay, not combined, but he’s still a better player than those guys, depending on what skill set a team is looking for.

Lloyd should provide a nice outside target for Tom Brady, who hasn’t had a good wide receiver since Randy Moss was actually productive.

The Baltimore Ravens lost the AFC Championship game on Sunday in heartbreaking fashion to the New England Patriots. Down by just three points, Lee Evans dropped a game-winning TD pass and then kicker Billy Cundiff blew a 32-yard field goal.

So, one could imagine that guys like Terrell Suggs might not be in the best of moods. On Monday, T-Sizzle went on ESPN to be interviewed by Skip Bayless about the game. They were talking about the end of the game and the confusion when Anquan Boldin fumbled the ball forward and out of bounds.

Bayless tried to insinuate that Suggs was saying that the hometown Pats were messing with the down and distance on the scoreboard. Suggs insisted he wasn’t…and then called him a douchebag.

Hahahaha….check it out:

I know, I know. You’re sick of hearing about Tim f’ing Tebow. So are we. But, this isn’t about him loving Jesus or not supporting gay people.

It’s actually about his toughness. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tebow was seriously banged up last week in the Denver Broncos loss to the New England Patriots.

An NFL source tells Schefter that Tebow “tore cartilage on his first rib where it attaches to his sternum, bruised his lung and had fluid buildup in his pleural cavity.”

Yikes!

No one can say the kid isn’t tough. Supposedly, he wouldn’t have been able to play in the AFC Championship game had the Broncos won. Thank god that didn’t come close to happening!

Tebow, who had trouble sleeping over the weekend due to the pain (why do I think he doesn’t believe in booze or pain killers?), apparently won’t have his offseason regimen affected by the injuries. He should be back throwing those ultra-tight ducks in no time.

But seriously, this could be a concern for Tebow and the Broncos. The way he plays the game, it’s entirely possible that it will take a toll on his body as the years go by.

The Denver Broncos came out strong on Sunday against the New England Patriots and even had a lead for a little bit. It didn’t last all that long, however, as Tom Brady decided to show Tim Tebow how real quarterbacks play.

A bigger concern for the Broncos was that Willis McGahee pulled up lame with a hamstring issue on the second series for the Broncos. He was pretty much out the whole second half, but head coach John Fox said it’s not a big deal.

He actually said that McGahee’s absence was due more to the way the game was going and had less to do with his injury.

“We were kind of doing something different,” said Fox, “playing catch-up.”

This probably means that he should be fine for the Week 16 matchup with the Buffalo Bills. Unless Fox is lying.

Have you seen this yet? Yep, this is what the 2011 season has come down to for the Philadelphia Eagles. Even little kids know they blow.

Thanks to Anthony for passing this along.

This little kid is balling over the thrashing that the New England Patriots gave to his Eagles last Sunday. We think there were probably even some adults in the Delaware Valley behaving like this and rightly so.

But, this kid doesn’t take his frustrations out on his worthless team. Nope, he blames the guy who ruined the Eagles last week: Tom Brady.

Watch as this kid melts down as Brady carves up the Eagles defense.

After watching Monday night’s ground gashing by the Chicago Bears, one would think that the Philadelphia Eagles would jump at the chance to add one of the best defensive tackles in the last decade. Sure enough, one came loose yesterday when the New England Patriots released Albert Haynesworth.

But, Haynesworth was cut for a reason, he’s dogging it on just about every play. And according to Eagles beat writer Geoff Mosher, the team isn’t interested.

“BTW-Told also that #Eagles won’t try to sign Haynesworth if he passes through waivers, per team source,” Mosher tweets.

The Eagles could desperately use a force in the middle of their defense. Cullen Jenkins has not been the force that he was to open the season. He’s still a very nice player, but if you could plug in Haynesworth from 2007 into the mix, that would change things dramatically.

Problem is, that guy is most likely long gone and the Eagles know it. Hell, Stevie Wonder knows it. Haynesworth has enough money and doesn’t care to try anymore.

File this under “somewhat shocking.” The New England Patriots win a lot of games because of their offense. Their defensive is just horrific, so one would assume that they can’t afford to be losing players. But, after cutting Leigh Bodden a week ago, they have let go of another veteran player.

Albert Haynesworth.

“BREAKING: The Patriots have released DT Albert Haynesworth, I’m reporting. Wow,” Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald tweets.

Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe said Monday night that Haynesworth turned in three of the worst plays every by a defensive tackle. He got “ragdolled easy,” got pancaked and then fell to the ground on an easy shove against the New York Giants Sunday. This led to a sideline confrontation with defensive line coach Pepper Johnson.

Could the Eagles be interested? Would he play hard for Jim Washburn, his old coach from Tennessee? It’s possible.

Albert clearly has enough money at this point. He’s playing…why? He has a ton of talent but he’s clearly just gutless at this point. Oh and throw in the fact that he’s a royal pain off the field too.

New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman was always referred to as another Wes Welker, but who wasn’t nearly as good as Wes Welker. For one thing, as far as we know, Welker doesn’t grope women in clubs who don’t want to be groped.

According to police reports, Edelman does.

Edelman was arrested last night on charges of indecent assault. Apparently, he groped a woman in a club on the dance floor below her waist. A man who was with the woman saw it, and didn’t care for it.

“He saw the victim’s face change into an expression of shock,’’ police said in the report.

He then confronted Edelman and the three were kicked out of the club.

This can’t be a good thing for Edelman, who has already seen his role on the team diminished big time. He didn’t even dress for the Steelers game. Can’t imagine Belichick will be thrilled about this.

To say that the New England Patriots’ Chad Ochocinco experiment hasn’t worked out is an understatement. I guess you could at least say that while he hasn’t done anything on the field, at least he hasn’t destroyed the locker room.

According to the Boston Globe, Chad still needs to be told where to line up before plays because he doesn’t know the offense. The team gave up a fifth-round pick in 2012 and a 2013 sixth rounder to the Cincinnati Bengals. He got a $4.5 million signing bonus and his $1 million salary is guaranteed this year because he was on the Week 1 roster.

But, the fact remains that he’s been with the team for 10 weeks, doesn’t know the offense yet and has nine catches for 136 yards all season. That would be a good game, but it’s for the whole year.

There were also reports that the Patriots were interested in Broncos WR Brandon Lloyd, who was just shipped to the St. Louis Rams on Monday. If they would have added Lloyd, you think they’d keep a high-priced fifth receiver? Neither do we.

The fact is that Ochocinco might not make it through the bye week. He was targeted just once in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys and the pass was incomplete. Brady threw it to where Ocho was supposed to be, but wasn’t. He was on the field for all of just seven snaps. Even when they throw it to him and he’s where he is supposed to be, he tends to drop the ball. And he doesn’t play special teams, so…

Yeah, we don’t think Ochocinco makes it through the whole season with the Patriots. He’s getting close to Randy “no one will even take a flier” Moss territory.

There weren’t many shocks on Saturday’s cutdown day for the NFL. Ok, maybe Tommie Harris getting let go wasn’t exactly expected. But, there wasn’t anything crazy. However, the New England Patriots cutting Brandon Meriweather certainly caused us to raise an eyebrow.

Meriweather made another Pro Bowl last season, but it was obvious the Patriots were getting sick of him. Maybe it was the off-the-field shooting stuff that they didn’t like (even though he was deemed a peacemaker in that incident). But, for whatever reason, the Patriots tried to trade him and they couldn’t, so they cut him.

And consider the Chicago Bears luckier for it. They signed the 27-year old safety to a one-year contract, with financial terms not disclosed.

This means that they don’t have to rely on second-year man Major Wright. It also means that Chris Harris can stay at his more natural position at strong safety. We’ve never thought of Meriweather as an unmitigated stud, but he’s clearly a nice addition to the Chicago secondary.

After weighing the offers and his options, Randy Moss has decided to retire. He was most likely getting low-ball, prove-it, one-year contract offers and he opted not to go all T.O. on it.

His agent, Joel Segal, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that that was the case.

”After weighing his options and contemplating offers, he’s decided to retire,” Segal said.

Now, that is, until someone either has a couple wideouts go down with injuries or realize (like Washington) that their WR corps stinks. If someone bumps up the offer a bit, we’re pretty sure he’ll be unretired pretty quickly.

Moss is 34-years old and last played with the Tennessee Titans. He’s also played with the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders during his career. He finishes with 14,858 career receiving yards and 153 touchdowns.

The New England Patriots aren’t afraid to make trades. That much we know. Earlier, they picked up Albert Haynesworth in a low-risk trade with the Washington Redskins. Apparently, they weren’t done gathering problem children.

They sent a couple of late-round picks to the Principle Champion Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for loquacious WR Chad Ochocinco. Ocho was due $6 million this year in salary, but instead restructured his contract to have a three-year deal with the Pats.

A big reason the Pats got choked out by the New York Jets last year was because they had no one on the outside who could make plays. Their offense was based on TE’s Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. That’s all well and good, they are nice players, but at some point you need someone other than Deion Branch on the outside.

While Ochocinco can’t stretch the field like he used to, he can still run nasty routes, make great catches and give Tom Brady a bigger target.

Kyle Eckel is currently a fullback for the Denver Broncos. He was an undrafted rookie free agent who signed with the New England Patriots coming out of Navy. He later played with the Eagles in 2009 and also played with the Dolphins. He was born and raised in Philly and like most Philly sports fans, he has some strong opinions. However, it wasn’t a strong opinion that put him in the hot seat for starting a rumor involving Jon Gruden taking over as the Eagles head coach this coming up season — if we have one. OTR Sports catches up with the never-lacking-in-strong-opinions fullback now.

OTR: What did you post on Facebook that started the Jon Gruden replacing Andy Reid rumor, which blew up the sports world and the city of Philadelphia?

Kyle Eckel: “I’ve been asked this a bunch and the exact phrasing I couldn’t supply. But, it was basically something like, ‘inside word, Gruden is in town shacked up at a hotel. I don’t think he’s here for a position on the Flyers.’”

OTR: You have since removed that post and have issued a statement on your Facebook page. Who is taking responsibility for the fiasco and why?

KE: “I removed it because people were taking it so seriously. My Facebook news feed is… a Facebook news feed. Not the Wall Street Journal. It’s not affiliated with any local media. And it certainly isn’t affiliated with the Eagles. I hope people don’t think since playing for the Eagles three years ago I’m now a spokesman for the team. To be honest, I can see the reason for confusion with fans of the team and my Facebook friends. And for that I apologize. My friends and I were watching the Super Bowl at a local restaurant and a rumor buzzed around the place. I shared the rumor, which being in my situation, was a poor decision. Soon after the comment began erupting I jumped on Facebook again and posted that it was just a rumor. But the local media took off and it was too late. For those actual media outlets that used my Facebook as some breaking news source, it was laughable.”

OTR: What do you think are the journalistic ramifications of social networks such as Facebook?

KE: “The journalistic ramifications are huge…if you’re a journalist. If you’re not than social networking sites should be treated as such. Social networking sites.”

OTR: According to a poll on Philly.com, 67% of 1000 fans are in favor of Gruden over Reid this season — not to mention the overwhelming outcry from fans on the local sports radio. Do you think the fans’ feelings are warranted?

KE: “People are entitled to their opinions and everyone likes taking polls at the click of a mouse. Are the fans warranted? I don’t know.”

OTR: After playing with the Patriots, the Dolphins, the Birds and the Saints where do you rank the Eagles organization? Where do you rank Andy Reid as a head coach?

KE: “I wouldn’t rank Andy Reid just as I wouldn’t rank Bill Belichick or any coach I’ve played for. I’ve been fortunate to play for some of the games greatest in college and the NFL and each have their own unique styles to succeed. And they’ve all succeeded.”

OTR: What are your thoughts on new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo making the jump from being the O-line coordinator? What’s your thoughts on his ability to read defenses, dissect them and teach it?

KE: “Juan is a great coach. He’s a motivator and fans will love his energy on the sidelines. Juan taught me a lot during my time with the Eagles and every single day after practice he’d be the last coach on the field with his players going over some extra work on fundamentals and schemes. I don’t doubt Juan’s knowledge of football. In fact, I’m confident in it. I hope his tenure as D-cord is a success like it was as being the offensive line coach.”

OTR: As a Philly native you are a huge Flyers fan. What are your thoughts on this year’s run to the Cup? (Personally, I’m picking the Flyers and Sharks in the Cup this year if San Jose can get past the Wings. I’d love to see Shelley (not that he’d play much in the playoffs) and Bouche go up against their former team. Do you think Bouche is up for it? And do you think there is a role for guys like Jody Shelley and Daniel Carcillo (AKA Dennis Rodman on ice) in the playoffs?)?

KE: “I love the Flyers and for a long time during my childhood the Flyers were #1 to me in this town. I think their chemistry and puck movement make them a good pick for Stanley Cup Champs but goaltending might be the only problem. I worry about a rookie in net and Boucher who in my opinion is a good goalie but a big question remains. Can he be that guy who gets hot during the playoffs and I just don’t know. I really wanted the Flyers to pick up Niemi in the offseason since he’s proven but it didn’t happen. I’m not sure we’ll see much of Shelley in the playoffs but if we’re in a lead and things are getting tough then I can see Carcillo making an appearance.”

Last week, an attorney in Florida claimed that New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather pulled the trigger of a gun at a party. The problem? It grazed one person and hit another in the head. That’s no good.

But then, a member or two of Meriweather’s family (why would they lie?) said that while Meriweather was at the party, he was not the one who fired the gun. So that’s that, right?

Not exactly. Now, Dino Costa of Sirius Mad Dog Radio cites an “impeccable source” who says that Meriweather was indeed the one who fired the gun. Costa also said that there is now talk that the two victims aren’t exactly alive.

That’s umm….kind of a big deal.

Florio of PFT makes a good point to that part of it. The attorney who originally claimed that Meriweather did it, said at the time that the victims told him they think it was Meriweather. So, unless they were in the hospital and didn’t pull through, we’d have to think that these victims are still amongst the living.

Stay tuned on this one. Let’s see if the Patriots take a safety high up in the draft.

In a Chicago Bears position analysis, the Chicago Tribune passes along an interesting nugget regarding tight end Greg Olsen. There initially was a lot of concern about Olsen when they brought in Mike Martz as the offensive coordinator. Martz likes his tight ends to block, and doesn’t feature them in his schemes. Olsen doesn’t block very well and is very good at catching the ball.

Apparently, the Bears were considered about Olsen’s role in Martz’s offense as well. According to the Tribune, the Bears thought they had a deal in place with the New England Patriots leading up to the 2010 draft. The deal would have sent the Bears a second-round pick, which is a pretty decent haul.

Photo Caption: Olsen needed to be reminded several times that right after an NFC Championship game is not the time to do his Angry Church Lady dance.

However, the Patriots ended up drafting Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Thus, no need for Olsen. Olsen still caught 41 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns this season, so it’s not like he was a total misfit in the new system. You also have to throw in the fact that the Bears passing game is pretty much a joke.

During his career, former Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots WR Terry Glenn was no stranger to injuries. Now, after his career is over, he seems to be no stranger to getting arrested.

Glenn was arrested recently for driving under the influence and was also hit with two counts of marijuana possession.

This is shocking news to OTR because we never realized he was a possession receiver.

He was also arrested earlier this month for auto theft when an rental agency claimed he rented a truck and didn’t return it. According to reports, Glenn has been arrested four times in the last nine years.

He was released from Denton County jail on $3,511 bond today.

It’s safe to say that the Packers will be playing with heavy hearts this weekend after hearing this devastating news.

There were rumors from a local Boston radio station earlier this week that New England Patriots quarterback (wait for iiiiiiiiit) Tom Brady had a busted foot. That was supposedly part of the reason for his struggles. But, since there weren’t any beat writers saying anything about it, most were skeptical.

But, now the Boston Globe reports that Brady will undergo surgery on his right foot Thursday, which has had a stress fracture lingering for some time.

Photo Caption: Look at this photo and think of slow, heavy-handed, morose, single-note acoustic guitar melodies playing in the distance.

According to the Globe, there is a chance that he could push back the surgery to Monday, but that is a slim chance.

This probably means that Brady will be listed as probable on the Pro Bowl injury report.

I should preface this with the fact that I don’t really hate the New England Patriots. Yes, it’s annoying that their fans can be so mouthy and they act like they are still sports victims when it comes to championships.

The Celtics just won it all a couple years ago. The Red Sox won in 2004 and 2007. The Patriots won it all in 2001, 2003, 2004 and made it to the Super Bowl again in 2007. Please, fans in other cities would smoke a homeless guy’s pole in return for that amount of championships over the course of a decade (or any amount of time for that matter).

So when I read a bunch of Boston fans pissing and moaning about their loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, it irritated me. You think you are supposed to win championships every year? What is this sense of entitlement in Boston where their fans think that it’s always all about them? Knock it off and enjoy the fact that you have one of the best – if not the best – head coach/QB combinations of all time.

Photo Caption: “Oh my gawd! 16! And! Oh! We’ll nevah lose anothah game again! Evahhhh! I love ow-ah team! Thank gawd we ont Jets fans! They ah losah had ons!”

I live in Philadelphia. We have ONE championship since the Sixers won it in 1983, so don’t tell us or anyone else about your misery. It’s like listening to rich people bitch about how expensive an $8 sandwich is. Shut the fuck up! You have plenty of money. You’ll live without that $8. No one wants to hear it.

So here is the answer to the question: Who is going to the Super Bowl this year?

Any time someone dies, it’s a bad thing. Well….in general. If I could slice the throat of Osama bin Laden, I think that would be okay with most people. But, you know what I mean.

I just struggle to see the death of 46-year old New York Jets fan Raymond Larsen as a real tragedy. A tragedy is when a child gets brain cancer. Or if someone is driving home from work and they get destroyed by a drunk driver who ran a red light. You weren’t doing anything wrong and something shitty happened.

I just can’t get too worked up that this Staten Island guy got all excited after the Jets win over the New England Patriots, and decided to sled down his steep driveway in a Mark Sanchez jersey. The ride sent him into the street and oncoming traffic. Not surprisingly, he was run over by a 61-year old woman and killed. I don’t know whether he was drunk or not, but I know when I get drunk I don’t get the desire to sled down into moving traffic.

I feel badly for his family and those that will miss him. But…seriously? At what point did you think this was a good idea? It’s like when Siegfried or Roy or whichever one it was, got mauled by a tiger. Yeah? Really? You were playing with tigers! You aren’t supposed to play with tigers for a reason!

Just like you aren’t supposed to – at the grown age of 46 – slide down a steep incline into moving traffic. Maybe I’m being callous, but that’s flat-out stupid.

You can say whatever you want about the New York Jets, but they aren’t boring. Rex Ryan made a reference to Tom Brady’s finger pointing after touchdowns (he likes to point to the other team’s sideline. At least the Jets anyway) earlier this week saying it was just “Brady being Brady.”

Well, cornerback Antonio Cromartie took it to a different level. He clearly does not have a Tom Brady Fathead on his bedroom wall.

“We see that a lot. He does it a lot,” Cromartie said, when asked about the finger pointing. “That’s the kind of guy he is. We really don’t give a damn, to tell you the truth.”

And just what kind of person would Tom Brady be exactly?

“An asshole,” he said. “Fuck him.”

Sweet! This almost guarantees that Cromartie will get lit up by a mediocre Patriots receiver this week.

This is a brilliant stunt. Reebok teamed up with Modell’s and had New England Patriots diminutive sensation Danny Woodhead go hang out in Modell’s for an hour or so.

They dressed him up like a regular employee with a nametag that said “Dan.” Because, that’s his name. His mission? To sell Danny Woodhead jerseys. It’s actually pretty funny, as well as a brilliant PR stunt (PFT and Deadspin were two places that picked it up. Probably a ton of other major media outlets too. Hell, OTR is running it!)

We wished mooah hadcah New Englandahs came in and statted to rant about the Pats. Some things we didn’t heyah while Woodhead was in tha stah, but wished we would have:

-”I’ll buy a Wes Welkah jehsey cause he’s white and fast. But wouldn’t go neyah that traitah Richud Seymah’s shet!”

-”I hed Derrick Behgess is back playin’ with tha Eagles now. You heyah that? He’s wethless!”

-”I got a really bonah ovah this Woodhead kid right now. He’s wicked smat and wicked white! I’ll take fah of his shets and make shah yah wrap ‘em fah me too! My only payah of scissahs in the apatment don’t wek. Can’t have enough jehsey’s of non colleds, ya know?!”

-”I just sawra license plate in the packin’ lawt that said “Owah Cah.”

So anyway, check this out.

This isn’t good for the New England Patriots. As it is, their defense isn’t very good and they can’t afford to lose any players.

But, it looks like they will. According to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, linebacker Brandon Spikes has been suspended four games for use of performance-enhancing drugs.

“Patriots LB Brandon Spikes has been suspended, I’m told. It’s a four-game suspension. He hopes to return for the playoffs…,” Rapoport tweets.

Rapoport goes on to say that Spikes won’t even appeal the suspension.

“Nothing has been made public about Brandon Spikes’ 4-game suspension. I assume a release will come soon. He will NOT appeal,” he later tweeted.

This is pretty much all we know at this point. Check back to someone else’s website for more!

Baltimore Ravens LB Terrell Suggs had a conference call with Pittsburgh reports recently and he had some great quotes. We want to hang out with this guy. T-Sizzle said that the NFL favors the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, while not caring too much about anyone else.

“The league has their favorites,” Suggs said. “One being in Indy and one being with that other team up north. Besides those two, everybody is fair game. Some quarterbacks are getting the calls right away. Some quarterbacks they don’t care.

“Like I always said, Carson Palmer got hit in his knee in 2005 but there was no rule made. Then Tom Brady got hit in his knee and all of a sudden there is a rule and possible suspensions, excessive fines — it’s just getting ridiculous.”

Not exactly true. They did change a rule so you couldn’t hit a QB at or below the knee.

He was then asked about Ed Reed. “When you’ve got a guy like that, he’s like American Express,” Suggs replied. “He’s everywhere you want to be.”

When asked about his improved play this year, he said “I quit doing cocaine.”

Then there was this gem. Perhaps our favorite of all of them. He was asked about the fight between Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan. “Maybe [if] I throw some punches at a quarterback with a bad hairdo, I’d get thrown out of the league,” he said.

T-Sizzle is great.

The Indianapolis Colts have shocked the fantasy football world by downgrading to of their running backs to “out” on Sunday. That’s right, Joseph Addai and Mike Hart (not Mike Hunt) will not play against the New England Patriots.

They also announced that LB Clint Session (elbow), Gary Brackett (toe) and DB Justin Tryon (foot) are out for the game as well.

Donald Brown and Javarris James will handle the running duties for the Colts on Sunday. We are still waiting to hear on the status of Austin Collie. He could have a monster week if he plays because the New England secondary only has Devin McCourty (and someone has to get on Reggie Wayne). And with no pass rush, Collie could run free all day.

The New England Patriots don’t seem to be wasting any (any more at least) time getting their left guard Logan Mankins back in the lineup. A league source tells Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe that the team will have Mankins active for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.

“League source says the #Patriots will activate Logan Mankins for tomorrow’s game – Terrence Wheatley released to make room on the roster,” she tweets.

Mankins was one of the players who held out all year because they couldn’t get a new contract. Because we are in the last year of this CBA, players with five years of service were relegated to restricted free agent status.

Basically, the Patriots could sit there and do nothing if Mankins didn’t sign his tender, which he didn’t. But if he held out all year, he’d lose the year of accrued service and be right back to square one next season.

Former NFL and USC football great Junior Seau was arrested early this morning in San Diego.

The incident allegedly occurred against his live-in girlfriend, but there is no word on her condition. Seau was booked into the Vista Detention Facility and released around 3:20 AM.

Photo Caption: The Junior Seau Foundation aims to “educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention efforts.” But once you turn 18, all bets are off?

Seau was the fifth overall pick of the 1990 draft and played 13 years with the San Diego Chargers. He later played with the Dolphins and Patriots. He is a nine-time All-Pro and 12-time Pro Bowl selection as well as a member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

Seau announced his retirement (for the second time) in early 2010.

Seattle Seahawks (+6.5) over Chicago Bears

Two teams have never controlled their own destiny this early in a season more than the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks. If either team wins out, they will win their respective divisions, which makes this Week Six match-up OTR’s Featured Game Of The Week. Unfortunately, for the Seahawks, Sunday’s game won’t be featuring Todd Collins, who completed six passes to his own team and four passes to the Carolina Panthers last week. His performance most resembled Damon Wayans’ 2006 stand-up routine Still Standing, entertaining and humorous. There was one play where Collins actually threw an incomplete hand-off, also known as a fumble, but I like my wording better.  Let me explain. Instead of gently laying the ball in the stomach of his running back, Collins flinged the ball to his gut with a weird front-handed wrist toss. There was no need for him to do that. However, nobody can question his toughness and fortitude. He was still standing at the end of the game with a win and 32 more passing yards added to his career totals. Bears fans can’t wait to see Jay Cutler back.  Chicago Bears 24 Seattle Seahwaks 20

Baltimore Ravens (+2.5) over New England Patriots

What happens when two teams square off on the same field they battled nine months before in the 2009 Wild Card playoff round?  It becomes, OTR’s Featured Game Of The Week.  However, two key components from last years 33-14 beat down will not be suiting up, Randy Moss and Ed Reed.  Randy Moss (five catches for 48 yards on Jan. 10th) was traded to the Minnesota Vikings less than two weeks ago and Ed Reed (four tackles and one interception on Jan. 10th) is still on the PUP list recovering from off-season hip surgery.  So, let’s turn our focus on their replacements, Baltimore safety Tom Zbikowski and New England wide receiver Brandon Tate.  Actually, let’s not.  Let’s discuss what’s going to happen in the game.  Tom Brady will get pummeled by never-ending blitz packages.  They will come from the right.  They will come from the left.  And some will actually come through the middle.  Who is New England’s threat anymore?  BenJarvus?  Aaron Hernandez?  Little Julian Edelman?  The Pied Piper of Hamelin?  Jack Bauer?  I’ll give you Wes Welker, but Baltimore will keep him in check.  Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but I just don’t see the weapons that can pick apart this Ravens defense.  Furthermore, the Ravens are not as sloppy as the Miami Dolphins, so you won’t see punt blocks, kick returns for touchdowns or any other special teams disasters.  It’s quite possible we might see a repeat of January’s playoff game.  Baltimore Ravens 33 New England Patriots 14

Pittsburgh Steelers (-14) over Cleveland Browns

In this super-exciting, lopsided rivalry, two quarterbacks will be getting their first start of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger is coming off his four-game suspension for doing steroids and smoking endless amounts of pot.  And rookie Colt McCoy will be under center for the Browns after the dramatic deaths of Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace.  You know the phrase ‘Any given Sunday’?  Well, the phrase doesn’t have anything to do with this game, which just so happens to be OTR’s Featured Game Of The Week.  Cleveland has zero shot to win this game, or to even cover.  There’s a better chance that the Philadelphia 76ers will play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals this season.  There’s a better chance that Lindsey Lohan will stop snorting Red Bull and coke up her nose.  There’s a better chance that I won’t watch anymore episodes of River Monsters.  All I want to know is what’s on the end of his line and I’ll watch one full hour to see.  I’m hooked, no pun intended.  I’m lying.  That pun was most certainly intended.  I had ‘addicted’ but changed it to hooked.  There’s a better chance that the…..alright, we get the picture.  Cleveland is getting smoked like Santonio Holmes’ bong.  Pittsburgh Steelers 31 Cleveland Browns 10

Oakland Raiders (+7) over San Francisco 49ers

What?  The 49ers have proved week after week that they stink worse than a dirty hippie on a curry diet.  So, Vegas makes them a seven point favorite?  Granted, they are playing the Raiders, but a seven point favorite?  What this line tells me is that as bad as the 49ers are, the Raiders are that much worse, but I’m not buying it.  Did 49ers owner Jed York’s speech about them winning the division inspire the gambling nation?  Has everyone been taking the Niners, pushing the spread to minus seven?  Or are the Raiders this bad?  I’m confused with this game.  I also feel bad for the state of California.  All three of their NFL football teams stink.  They are a combined 4-11.  That’s how short Snookie from the Jersey Shore is…4’11”.  And that’s how tall Alex Smith plays at quarterback…4’11”.  You know what?  Oakland isn’t this bad.  This line is an insult to the Raiders and their fans.  And they will take their frustrations out on the miserable 0-5 49ers in OTR’s Featured Game Of The Week.  Alex Smith can kiss his starting job away.  Oakland Raiders 27 San Francisco 49ers 13

Season Record (5-3)

Odds based on Saturday’s NFL lines on Vegasinsider, MGM Mirage.

There was a report from CBS’ Charlie Casserly on Sunday that before Randy Moss was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, he had a heated altercation with QB Tom Brady. Supposedly, Brady told him to cut his beard and Moss told him to cut his hair because he looked like a girl.

Well, according to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, the incident never occurred. When asked about it, he said “that’s news to me.”

“Who’s been wrong more than Charley Casserly since he left the Redskins? His percentage is like a meteorologist,” Belichick said.

“He has no relationship to this team,” he said. “I’d say less than zero. Based on what? He’s never at a practice, never at a game.”

Peter King of SI.com also disputes the notion that there was a fight. Two high-level sources told him that “someone is lying to CBS.”

This is one of my favorites. We don’t know who this guy is or how he pulled this off. But it’s hysterical.

This is from his days in Oakland, but we think it still resonates, especially since the Patriots just “sent him away” to the Minnesota Vikings. We actually like this version better than the original “Mandy.”

Is there any way we can get Barry Manilow to really perform this at a show? Does he still do shows? If he does, can he play this? Please?