The Cardinals believe they took a big step in shoring up their defense on Friday by signing veteran free agent linebacker Joey Porter to a three year contract. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, yet.

Coach Whisenhunt believes that Porter’s signing will give the defense a new dynamic in 2010. Whisenhunt explained that “there is no question we were able to generate sacks last year but we were doing it with blitzing. [Porter] gives us a guy who can win one-on-one matchups and allows us to rush with four (players). That’s a component we were missing to a degree.”

Porter, who will turn 33 on Monday, is an 11-year veteran. While there has been speculation regarding whether Porter has anything left in the tank, there is no speculation regarding his sack production in recent years. The former Dolphin compiled 26.5 sacks in the past two seasons, including nine last season.

Whisenhunt also addressed the issue of whether Porter would be a dividing force in the locker room, a reputation that has followed Porter around the NFL. Whisenhunt stated that “other than the bulletin-board material that he’s notorious for doing once in a while, I’ve never been around a guy who has complained about Joey as a teammate. There’s a perception of Joey that I don’t buy into and our players won’t buy into.”

Porter’s only other visit this offseason was with the Washington Redskins. Things obviously didn’t work out as Porter signed with Arizona within 24 hours of the visit.

The Dolphins are reportedly hosting outside linebacker Rashad Jeanty down in Miami this week.

Jeanty is from Miami, and would provide some depth at the linebacker position, only weeks after the Dolphins released linebackers Akin Ayodele, and Joey Porter, and have yet to re-sign Jason Taylor.

Jeanty played on the weak side for the Cincinnati , where Porter played for us last year. While Cameron Wake is heavily expected to win that job for next year, the Dolphins are also rumored to be looking to fill the other linebacker spot by using one of their high draft picks, this move is looking to be like the Eric Green signing last year, purely competition, that may add some depth during the season.

Jeanty is a versatile player, who can play special teams, and play them well. The Dolphins lost one of their best special teams players in Nathan Jones this off-season when he signed on with the Denver Broncos, so Jeanty coming in and filling that void would be a double bonus for the Fins.

Tebow leadership is needed here in Cleveland and would be able to learn under newly acquired Quareterback Delhomme. Tebow in my opinion would be worth one of three third round picks. If Holmgren sees potential in Tebow I would put some faith in it.

After releasing running back Brian Westbrook, the Eagles lost not only a great player, but a great mentor. LeSean McCoy definitely has the potential to be a talented running back in this league, but he has to be shown the way. I think spending a year with Brian Westbrook was extremely helpful, and is reported that McCoy is still working out with Westbrook on occasion.

I am very happy to hear this as I think any extra work McCoy can get in with Westbrook is valuable. He has room to grow, and I think Westbrook can help him. It should be interesting to see if anyone will pursue Westbrook with all the injury risks that he has. If not, I wonder if he will just retire happily or try to get involved in something else.

Vikings execs were in Florida yesterday for Tim-Tebow-Fest Forida’s pro day.  While I think that there are a number of guys that worked out yesterday (i.e. Spikes, Hernandez) that are more likely to have Minnesota as a landing spot… people want to know about Tim Tebow.

I loathe writing this article because of the unrest it is sure to cause in the comments section, but at least combining the words “Tebow” and “Vikings” in one article should increase my traffic via Google.

So, here we go.

I think Tim Tebow is a phenomenal human being that will be a very successful NFL quarterback.  I would happily see the Vikings draft him at #30 overall.  If I were a head coach (which I’m not, so I know just as much/little as the next guy) I would love to have him on my team, in my locker room, on my sideline, and leading my starting offense.

Many folks out there, however, would tend to disagree… and that is fine.

All the talking heads, hack bloggers, videos of throwing motions, workout tape, quotes from unnamed sources and scouting reports can tell you everything you want to know about this kid except for one thing… how he’ll do at the next level.  Nobody truly knows that, and nobody will for about three to seven years.

Every draft pick in the history of draft picks is a risk… and of all the risks to take I think Tebow is one worth it in the first round.  At least I know that risk is going to work his ass off to be the best he can be for my football team… and I am not sure how many other first round picks can truly have that said about them this year.  Maybe five?  Ten?  Maybe none.

I am not sure what the Vikings interest level is.  One would have to assume that reuniting Tebow with college teammate Percy Harvin is just the type of storyline Zygi Wilf seems to crave.  Childress is an outspoken opponent of hiring quarterbacks with flawed mechanics, however, and may not feel Tebow has truly changed what was a horrid throwing motion.  What  would bringing in a left-handed quarterback do to the makeup of our offensive line… would anyone want to see Loadholt the one charged with protecting the quarterback’s blind side?

Questions like these, and thousands more, are what the Vikings are asking themselves each day between now and draft day.

We’ll soon know how the Vikings brass answered those questions.

It’s definitely too soon to answer the question posed by this article’s title, but below is a comparison of the two quarterbacks’ stats.

While there is no clear starter, two things are certain.  First, Leinart is the clear favorite going into summer camp.  Second, there will be an open competition because Ken Whisenhunt has consistently stated that Leinart must win his starting job.  This position battle will certainly be the main event this summer at camp.

So before all the speculation and opinions fly, just the facts, Ma’am.

2006

Leinart: 12 games played; 70.8 rating; 214/377; 56.8 % completion; 6.5 yards/completion; 2,547 yards; 11 TDs; 12 INTs

Anderson: 5 games played; 63.1 rating; 66/117; 56.4 % completion; 6.8 yards/completion; 793 yards; 5 TDs; 8 INTs

2007

Leinart: 5 games played; 61.9 rating; 60/112; 53.6 % completion; 5.8 yards/completion; 647 yards; 2 TDs; 4 INTs

Anderson: 16 games played; 82.5 rating; 298/527; 56.5 % completion; 7.2 yards/completion; 3,787; 29 TDs; 19 INTs

2008

Leinart: 4 games played; 80.2 rating; 15/29; 51.7 % completion; 9.1 yards/completion; 264 yards; 1 TD; 1 INT

Anderson: 10 games played; 66.5 rating; 142/283; 50.2 % completion; 5.7 yards/completion; 1,615 yards; 9 TDs; 8 INTs

2009

Leinart: 8 games played; 64.6 rating; 51/77; 66.2 % completion; 5.6 yards/completion; 435 yards; 0 TDs; 3 INTs

Anderson: 8 games played; 42.1 rating; 81/182; 44.5 % completion; 4.9 yards/completion; 888 yards; 3 TDs; 10 INT

Totals

Leinart: 29 games played; 70.8 rating; 340/595; 57.1 % completion; 6.5 yard/completion; 3,893 yards; 14 TDs; 20 INTs

Anderson: 39 games played; 69.7 rating; 587/1109; 52.9 % completion; 6.4 yards/completion; 7,083 yards; 46 TDs; 45 INTs

GM Scot McCloughan is considering stepping down, sources say. McCloughan and team given three hours to respond to what I’ve learned.

It’s an interesting turn of events, as yesterday Matt Barrows of the Sac Bee had the following about the GM from his agent and the fact he would not be stepping down:

“Scot McCloughan is not resigning as general manger of the San Francisco 49ers,” Peter Schaffer said in a brief telephone conversation. Schaffer said he had spoken to McCloughan five minutes earlier.

So I guess it depends on what source is true and what is going to happen. If McCloughan does walk away, it ends a short time at the spot, as he took over the role on January 2nd, 2008, after serving as the team’s Vice President of Player Personnel since February of 2005.

Oakland Raider RB Justin Fargas is in town visiting with Saints officials. No official contract has been agreed upon.

Fargas, an 8 year pro with the Raiders, has had his role diminished over the last couple of seasons due to the emergence of Darren McFadden. His best season of his career came in 2007, where he rushed for over 1000 yards and 4 TDs.

The Saints have until next Tuesday to match the Eagles contract offer for Mike Bell. Is this a sign of things to come?

The Eagles just announced the release of two-time Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews, who hasn’t played since the second game of the 2008 season because of back injuries.

Andrews, the Eagles’ 2004 first-round draft choice, has been optimistic about resuming his career, but that will have to happen somewhere else now.

In a statement released by the team, Eagles coach Andy Reid said he appreciated Andrews’ efforts but “we have, however, decided to move in another direction.”

The move brings a little more definition to a cloudy Eagles offensive line picture, as starting center Jamaal Jackson rehabs an ACL tear. The team recently reworked the contract of Andrews’ brother, guard/tackle Stacy Andrews, ensuring that he will be in the picture this season.

When Andrews was able to play, he was a very good player that did a good job for the Eagles, as was shown by his selection to a pair of Pro Bowls. The injuries though were simply too much for the Eagles to wait on for Andrews, and cut their losses on Wednesday with his release.

Both media outlets report that the Seahawks will fall 20 spots in the second round of this year’s N.F.L. Draft, as the Chargers and the Seahawks swapped their second-round selections as a part of the deal.  Seattle also agreed to give up a third-round pick in next year’s Draft.

The outlets went on to report that Seattle and Whitehurst came to terms on a two-year deal worth what is expected to be $5 million per season.

Whitehurst, a restricted free agent this year, has never thrown a pass in a regular-season game in the N.F.L.