Ten Things I Think I Think

Butch Davis had a knack for ignoring the paid advice of scouts and security personnel throughout his Browns reign (2001-04). AP

MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

1. I think if the 90s had O.J. as a sports star falling from grace, this decade has Vick.

2. I think it's all well and good for me to suggest teams hire FBI or Secret Service agents to look into the backgrounds of players. But as one friend with very good knowledge of the Browns tells me, if the coach and front office don't listen to the gumshoe making the recommendation, why have the guy in the building?

When the Browns did their background checks before the 2001 and 2002 drafts, the security staff -- led by Lew Merletti, who prior to joining the Browns was Bill Clinton's top Secret Service aide -- unveiled troubling information on Gerard Warren (in '01) and William Green (in '02). The security staff expressed serious reservations about each player, based on some bad decisions in their respective personal lives. And yet, Cleveland picked them in the first round anyway. In Warren's case, the Browns chose him over Richard Seymour, even though the scouts in the building recommended Seymour over Warren.

Moral of the story: When the talent level is close, always go with the better role model. And listen to some of the best investigators in the world when they tell you to be careful with a player.

3. I think the one great thing about August football games is this: Jacoby Jones, wide receiver, Lane College. The third-round pick of the Texans, a second-day draft prospect on many teams' boards, has morphed into an excellent complement to Andre Johnson and could be the receiver Houston has sought to deflect some of the attention from Johnson.

At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, and with average speed (4.48) for a split receiver, Jones has shown excellent hands in camp. The game's not too big for him. In three preseason outings, he has eight catches, one for a touchdown, and two more touchdowns in the return game.

Says Johnson: "He's awesome. Once he learns the ins and outs, the sky is the limit for him." And this from Jones: "I don't want to wake up. It's the kind of thing you have dreams of as a little boy, watching yourself playing on TV, and you're really doing it."

4. I think I'm not sure I buy Donovan McNabb's outrage over the waiving of Jeremiah Trotter. It seems a little convenient to me. For starters, McNabb has never been close to Trotter, who aligned himself with Terrell Owens during Owens' ill-fated tenure with Philadelphia. But more important, McNabb has always been viewed by some corners of the locker room as too much of a company man, so by publicly questioning Trotter's release, McNabb can say to his locker room: I'm beholden to no one here, and I call 'em as I see 'em.

In the end, Trotter had lost some speed, and the Eagles, who have been borderline ruthless with some personnel decisions in the Andy Reid Era, decided it was better to give Trotter a chance to find a job out there before the final cutdown -- because the team knew he wasn't a part of its future. From his Trotter outburst, McNabb also seems to be saying to Reid: I'm not going to be your blindly loyal guy anymore.

I don't care how many niceties come out of the mouths of either McNabb or Reid. Their relationship was affected by the drafting of Kevin Kolb in the second round on draft day. McNabb sent a message that he didn't appreciate that, and I think you'll see him become more distant from Reid as time goes by.

5. I think these were the most impressive players I saw over the weekend:

a. Cleveland linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, who tormented Jay Cutler a couple of times. Jackson hits like a pickup truck. He's an underrated player.

b. Jets backup quarterback Kellen Clemens, who's playing like he's going to challenge for the starting job by Halloween -- and I'm serious about that.

c. Tom Brady. Surprise!

d. David Tyree. The Giants' backup wideout and special-teams player probably saved his roster spot by downing a punt at the 1.

e. Vince Wilfork, the New England defensive tackle, who blocked one field goal try against Carolina and collapsed the line on another Patriots' block.

f. Eagles defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley, who was a waste of a roster spot last year in Philly, after being a mid-first-round pick. Now he's playing like the interior space-eater he was drafted to be. Embarrassed by his poor play and his weight last year, Bunkley reported in shape this year and is playing like a house possessed.

g. Matt Schaub. Saw only highlights of Texans-Cowboys, but I noticed one thing about Schaub: a presence that was sorely lacking at the quarterback position in Houston the last couple of years. Nothing against David Carr, but Schaub looks like he had a command of that team borne out of demonstrated ability.

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