TEN THINGS I THINK I THINK

1. I think we need to get one thing straight about the Owens contract. I keep hearing from supposed experts how the Eagles can't trade him because if they did the salary-cap hit would paralyze them. Not true in the least. When Owens signed with the Eagles in 2004, he got a $2.3-million signing bonus. That bonus is prorated over six years for cap purposes, which means that $383,333 counts toward the Eagles' cap each year he's on the team -- and which also means if he were to be released right now, the Eagles would be charged $383,333 against this year's cap and $1.53 million against the 2006 cap.

Those two numbers would total five-sixths of the total bonus. If the Eagles traded Owens, his charge against Philly's cap in 2005 would be $1.92 million and zero next year. The Eagles would have to take his entire remaining cap hit this year. Owens' cap number if he remains on the Eagles roster this season is $3.89 million. So if Owens is cut, Philadelphia would actually have a cap reduction of over $3 million for this year since it won't pay Owens. And if he's traded, the Eagles would have to pay $1.97 million less than they were scheduled to pay him in 2004. In other words, trading Owens or whacking him would be absolutely painless cap-wise to Philadelphia. Not that I think that's going to happen. I just wanted to explain it.

2. I think, from what I saw this weekend in person and on the highlights, the two most impressive players were New England quarterback Matt Cassel and Giants running back Brandon Jacobs. For the Pats, the notable thing isn't that Cassel, who never started a game in four seasons as a USC backup, led four scoring drives in his first professional outing. It's how he looked doing it. He started a little frenetic and he needs to protect the ball better. But the way he hung in there was very cool. One scout who'd been at Bengals-Pats Friday in Cincinnati told me in the Cleveland press box: "New England found another one. The kid's good." As for Jacobs, we now we know why the 6-foot-4, 256-pound stud transferred from Auburn -- where Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams limited his opportunity -- to Southern Illinois. The guy just had to play. In the Browns-Giants game on Saturday night, Jacobs rushed 12 times for 68 yards, most often getting at least two yards after initial contact. What a horse.

3. I think Jake Delhomme is going to do just fine without Muhsin Muhammad. He made some great throws Saturday night against a hard-charging Washington defense. I can't say the same for Muhammad. Without Rex Grossman -- the two had bonded so quickly in the offseason that Grossman invited Muhammad to his wedding -- I have no idea how productive Muhammad will be.

4. I think I really feel for Grossman. Two weeks ago we sat for a half-hour at Bears' camp and he talked about how excited he was to finally feel healthy and to have a shot to run Ron Turner's offense. He told me he'd brought a football on his honeymoon in Hawaii and threw it with his wife on the beach. (Don't everyone go "Awwww!" at once.) How sad, coming off the torn ACL that caused him to miss the last 13 games last year, that he suffered a freak broken ankle Friday night against the Rams.