MMQB Mailbag (cont.)

Peter King's Mailbag

Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition.

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• YOU'RE TAKING THIS A LITTLE BIT TOO FAR, NATHAN. From Nathan, of Atlanta: "Could Hue Jackson's correspondence with Michael Vick constitute some sort of tampering? Technically, isn't Michael Vick still an employee of the Atlanta Falcons? I find it very odd that a coach from another team would send tips and reminders to a player who, while in prison, is still under contract to another team.''

How do you know, first of all, that Jackson, who was a Falcons employee for the first two months of Vick's incarceration, sent him letters after he was a Ravens' employee? That's the first thing I thought of when I read your e-mail. But my overwhelming reaction is: Who cares when he wrote it? I think it's great that he wrote it, whenever it was. Are you telling me that you think it's some sort of violation of NFL rules for a former coach of Michael Vick's to write him a letter that says, "Michael, stay positive. Stay strong. And remember the things we worked on at camp last year. Remember your footwork. Remember ...'' You honestly can sit there and say you feel this is tampering? Wow.

• MY FAULT. From Rohit Kambli, of Pittsburgh, Pa.: "Have you stopped drinking coffee? Whatever happened with the Coffeenerdness section in MMQB?''

It will be back. The last two weeks I've sat there at my laptop and said, "Hmmmm. Got a coffee thought this week?" And I just didn't have one in my head. Will think a little harder this weekend.

• HE WANTS THE JAGS TO GO GET JASON TAYLOR. From Blake Bullard, of Oklahoma City: "If you're Jacksonville, a team obviously going for it all this year (with the trading up and drafting of two good rookie defensive ends), wouldn't you seriously consider a second-rounder for Taylor so he could mentor the young ends for a year, as Michael Strahan did with the Giants?''

If I were a contender, I'd trade a low second-rounder (or a second-round pick I believe that will come low in the round) for Taylor ... but I would want to have one conversation with him before the trade, and try to convince him to play longer than one year. If he'd only give me one year, I'd have to think long and hard about whether it was worth it. I'd probably still do it, because Taylor's the kind of guy who could be the difference-maker in a January game.

• LET'S MAKE A DEAL. From John Hillmann, of Cedar, Iowa: "I'll make a deal with you: If you can include a story similar to the excellent Kampman piece in your column every week, I promise to stop rolling my eyes and groaning every time you waste print on Pacman/Spygate/T.O./Jason Taylor/Chad Johnson/etc. Too many players' antics are motivated by getting exposure and their name in print. If writers like you could focus more on the players that deserve recognition and attention, it might help prevent the NFL from turning into the NBA. Deal?''

Probably not. Like it or not, the NFL is made up of some guys you're just not going to like, guys doing stuff you detest. If they do things that materially affect teams -- like Terrell Owens' suspension with the Eagles three years ago, like Pacman's year-long suspension last year -- we can't sit here and not cover them. And though I'd be a fan of ignoring lots of the blather of people like Chad Johnson (which I do), I can't ignore him missing the kind of offseason work sessions with Carson Palmer that affect the chemistry and performance of a playoff contender. Good thought, though.

• HE SHOULD HAVE AN EXCELLENT CHANCE. From Shane Broesder, of Helena, Mont.: "What kind of a chance do you give [Kyle] Orton to win the QB battle in Chicago? Granted he had a good running attack and excellent defense, but Orton was a good game manager in his previous starting role in Chicago. He is not nearly as flashy and doesn't have a big arm like Rex [Grossman], but he didn't lose you any games. With all the intangibles, I think Orton would be better than Rex, especially with a couple years to progress since we last saw him. If he wins the job, I see the Bears winning more than if Rex starts. However does he have enough flash to win the job in the first place? Regardless of who starts, do you foresee a short leash and quick change if the starter struggles early?"

If the Bears are smart, Orton will have a very good chance. I'm not saying that Grossman's NFL career is over, nor do I believe he can't be an effective NFL player. But I think we've seen enough of Grossman to know that for whatever reason when the lights come on and the heat is hot he's not a very good player. We don't know that yet about Orton. In his limited opportunity as a starter we just didn't get to know enough about him to establish an opinion based on a body of work. The Bears need to give both guys a real opportunity in camp and not just a token "open competition" farce that some teams put on when they say that they're opening up a job.

• WHO KNOWS WHAT MAKES YOUNG GIRLS TICK? From Roger Armstrong, of Fairbanks, Alaska: "I coach 12-year-old girls softball. How do you get them to stop daydreaming out in centerfield? I have five girls I rotate in the outfield and four of them are daydreamers. During practice yesterday I asked one girl to stop chasing butterflies, her reply was. 'It isn't a butterfly, it is a dragonfly.' ''

The only advice I could give you, as someone who tries to combine serious softball with a lot of fun, is that I tell them when they're out in the field or at bat, they have to be 100 percent softball. If they're not, or if they don't hustle, or if they're daydreaming, they can sit next to me on the bench. But you know, Roger, there's a great difference between 9- and 10-year-olds and older girls, at least from what I've found. The young kids are exceedingly coachable.

• LIFE IS GOOD. From Sage Tweedie-Yates, of Denver: "How do you find time for everything? You travel, do TV, research articles, coach softball, watch TV shows, and in your 'off-time' write well-thought-out articles for one of the biggest magazines around. Not to mention it sounds like you spend a fair amount of time with your family. I am 27 and am supposed to still have limitless energy, but after my fulltime job, taking care of the house, the wife, and my puppy, I can still barely find time to do simple things like the laundry and grocery shopping. In addition, at the end of the day I am exhausted! What is your secret and do you ever have time for Peter King?''

Sage, come on. I'm blushing. I don't know. I just try to do lots of things that are fun to me, and do them with enthusiasm. If a person can't enjoy doing the jobs I have, and doing the family and recreational stuff I do in my leisure time, then there's something wrong.

• MY BAD. From James Harter, of San Pedro, Calif.: "Your scenario sounds great for the Jason Taylor trade to the Chargers. Only problem, didn't the Chargers trade away their second-round draft in 2009 for the rights to draft Jacob Hester in the third round this year?''

You are spot on, and I am wrong. Thanks for so many of you who pointed it out.