NGPF’s Short Slants, just in time for the weekend…..

– Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron has come out and said that the Dolphins had a trade partner for quarterback Daunte Culpepper.  Apparently the situation dragged out before disintegrating into dust.

While the obvious trade partner Cameron is referring to would be the Jacksonville Jaguars, we figured that the Jags were waiting for Culpepper to be released before bringing him in for a workout. If they were the Dolphins’ trade partner, though, Culpepper might already be in Jacksonville, signed, sealed, and delivered.

Wrapping up today’s major stories…

–  Nike has decided to pull the plug on a new shoe line named after Michael Vick.  Another Vick related product being nixed by the athletic apparel giant…the Nike Rape Stand 7000.  Sorry, kids.

–  One of the more interesting stories of the day not involving federal charges, was Daunte Culpepper’s first visit with a NFL team.  That team?  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  No, really. 

We don’t think there’s any chance of this actually going down, but considering that Culpepper played at Central Florida and Jon Gruden’s affinity for quarterbacks, it does kind of make sense to at least touch base. 

– Can the Lions get Calvin Johnson into camp on time? If not, Jon Kitna might only throw for 40 touchdowns this year.

– The Vikings are dropping subtle hints about acquiring a veteran quarterback. We’re going to go ahead and drop subtle hints that the Vikings’ passing game will be horrendous.

– The Boston Globe lays out the Patriots’ options at cornerback. Maybe Bill Belichick should call up Deion Sanders.

– Football player Will Smith may soon be as rich as movie star Will Smith. The timing of Dwight Freeney’s mega deal couldn’t have come at a worse time for New Orleans.

– Dolphins’ wideout Chris Chambers was pulled over for speeding, reckless driving, and, oh, a DUI early Saturday morning. It caught us off guard. We had no idea that guy even drank.

– The Dallas Morning News poses ten questions about the prospects of the Cowboys returning to the playoffs and winning.

– David Pollack won’t be playing football this year and will attempt a comeback in 2008 with the Bengals

– The Star-Telegram points out that there’s no need for a Larry Johnson trade involving the Cowboys: Arkansas super-back Darren McFadden is right around the corner.

The St. Louis Rams were dealt a huge blow today with the NFL announcing that cornerback Fakhir Brown will be sitting out the first four games of the 2007 season.  Last year, in his first season as a Ram, Brown was responsible for tying the team lead in interceptions and starting 14 games at corner.  Fakhir was also responsible for television commentators everywhere nearly blurting out a four letter word.

Vick Linked To Whale Sharks, Manatee Murder?

The ongoing saga in the Michael Vick dog fighting case took a frightening turn on Monday with investigators moving the operation to Atlanta and the world famous Georgia Aquarium.

After further testing, the latest whale shark autopsy has provided new information regarding the deaths of the massive, gentle sharks. While an FBI spokesperson wouldn’t officially go on record regarding the specifics of what they discovered when working with the aquarium’s medical staff, he did offer the revelation that Michael Vick could in fact be linked to these deaths, along with countless other less-publicized cases relating to recent mysterious sea life atrocities.

Marc Bulger Extension?

ESPN’s John Clayton is reporting that the St. Louis Rams and quarterback Marc Bulger are finally progressing in their contract talks.

In our (humble) opinion, what took so long?

Bulger’s story seems to be similar to the situation that played out in the early 90’s in San Francisco. Playing in the shadow of Joe Montana, it looked as if Steve Young could do no right, and even while winning games and putting up big numbers, there was no clutch postseason victories. There wasn’t a Super Bowl victory.