Chargers' Rivers shocked labor situation has come to this point

Philip Rivers, the San Diego Chargers' resident Pro Bowl passer and straight shooter, has had enough of the NFL lockout.

In Rivers' mind both the players and owners have everything to lose in the current stalemate, and he believes he echoes the sentiments of a majority of his helmet-wearing brethren.

"I'm about to reach my limit, I'm going stir crazy," Rivers told cbssports.com recently. "I think it's just unfortunate we've come to this. The game is at an all-time high. I'm not talking about revenue. I'm talking about popularity. We're essentially putting all of that at risk. I don't mean just players. I mean owners, everyone. I didn't think we'd ever be here. I'm still shocked we're at this point.

"I grew up loving football as a game and I still do. The business side of it never appealed to me but I can't be a hypocrite. The business side has been beneficial to me, but I always hated this part of it. It's not me. I don’t think it's a lot of players. Most players just want to get back to football."

Rivers has been a fixture this offseason at the Chargers' informal player-run practices, which are a small consolation to the real thing.

"When I see Chargers fans, many of them ask me the same question," Rivers told the website. "They say, 'We're playing football this year, right?' I tell them I really don't know and I'm getting a little worried.

"The bottom line is that I don't know what's going to happen. Players don't know if we're playing this year. As players we want to know but we don't. There's very little of this we can control. So you sit tight, work out and hope for the best. But I think every player in the league feels the way I do. We're all frustrated."

Rivers deals with it by working out, spending time with his family and planning this Saturday's Philip Rivers 5K Walk and Fun Run, which benefits his Rivers of Hope Foundation. The foundation works with foster care and adoption programs in San Diego County.

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Allen understands contract situation facing Edwards, Vikings

Jared Allen believes Ray Edwards is "deserving of a contract" and that "you can't blame the guy for trying to get everything he's worth," but he's prepared for his fellow defensive end to leave the Minnesota Vikings.

"It's not my place to get involved," Allen, an three-time All-Pro, told The Star Tribune on Friday. "Management will do what it's got to do. Ray will do what he's got to do. I can say Ray's a good player. A vital part of the defensive line."

Edwards, who has 29.5 sacks for Minnesota in five seasons, has said if he isn't declared an unrestricted free agent for 2011, he won't play for the restricted free-agent tender of $2.8 million. He also has said he won't play for less than the three-year, $14 million-plus contract the Vikings gave his backup, Brian Robison.

Edwards has pursued a boxing career during the lockout and won his debut fight a week ago in Hinckley, Minn.

"Is Ray deserving of a big contract? I think he's deserving of a contract," Allen said. "So management will do what they feel is best for the team, and Ray will do what he feels is best for himself in his career. And then you go from there.

"That's just the business side of things. You got one shot to make as much money as you can to retire off of. You can't blame the guy for trying to get everything he's worth, especially if there's guys who are making more money for him."

Allen noted that he was in a similar situation as Edwards when he was in Kansas City, which traded him to Minnesota following the 2007 season -- when he led the NFL with 15.5 sacks and was an All-Pro -- rather than give him a big contract. The Vikings gave Allen a six-year, $73.26 million deal, and he has recorded 40 sacks in three seasons and was a first-team All-Pro in 2008 and 2009.

If he's playing opposite Robison next season, Allen is fine with it -- "Brian's obviously a good player ... a versatile guy who can play inside and out ... a heck of an athlete," he said -- but he thinks highly of Edwards, too.

"Ray has a presence on that field, so it makes it a little easier for me," Allen said. "If Ray doesn't show up, I'm sure I'll see a few more double-teams than I already see. ... But I also think that's one position we'll be OK at."

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Pats' Welker healthy, not worried about contract situation

Wes Welker provided one of the NFL's feel-good stories in 2010, making an early return from a serious knee injury for another productive season with the New England Patriots.

Wes Welker has 432 receptions in his four seasons with the Patriots, including 83 in 2010. (Robert E. Klein/Associated Press)

Welker is entering the final year of his contract, in which he'll receive $4.225 million in base and prorated salary, but the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver said money isn't on his mind as he prepares for his fifth season in Foxborough.

"I'm not really worried about it (a new contract) at all. Either way, before, after, during, it really doesn't matter," Welker told The Boston Globe on Saturday at his youth football clinic in Peabody, Mass. "I enjoy playing ball, so whenever it comes, it comes. Really, it's probably the last thing on my mind. I just want to go out play some winning football for my team and get out there and play."

Welker had reconstructive knee surgery in February 2010 after he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in the 2009 regular-season finale. He underwent rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder a month later. The surgeries led to a difficult offseason that focused more on rehabilitation and less on a standard training regimen.

Despite the serious nature of the injuries, Welker played in 15 regular-season games for the Patriots in 2010, finishing with 86 catches for 848 yards and seven touchdowns. He had seven catches for 57 yards in a playoff loss to the New York Jets.

Welker has done the bulk of his offseason training work at the Bommarito Performance Systems clinic in Florida. Many other NFL players -- including Matt Forte, Greg Olsen and Chad Ochocinco -- also are training there.

"I feel so much better. It's been great, really," Welker said. "Being able to train, I have confidence in everything and I feel good out there and the running, there's not achiness, there's none of that, it's just going out there and being able to do everything that I've been able to in the past and not have the aches and pains in the morning or anytime through it all. So it's been nice to see."

Many teams around the league have gotten together for players-only workouts during this unusual offseason, but the Patriots have been quiet in that department. Welker said he and quarterback Tom Brady "talk quite a bit," though setting up workouts has been a challenge.

"We're always trying to coordinate a schedule," Welker said. "He's really busy, I'm really busy, and it's kind of tough not being able to just go up to the Patriots' facility and really get together and do something, but we're working on our schedules to get together and make sure we do some work."

Welker didn't hide his frustration when talking about the lockout that has shut down the league since March.

"Being players and growing up and not having much, the fact that we're squabbling about money is kind of ridiculous to me," Welker said. "I came into this league ... I probably made more money than I thought I ever would in a lifetime, so everything from here is just icing on the cake. So hopefully we get something fair done and we can move on and get to where we can play some football."

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Scott sees Super Bowl-or-bust situation for confident Jets

Bart Scott believes the bravado-filled New York Jets need to win a Super Bowl or risk being considered "a joke."

The linebacker told ESPN that Jets players support coach Rex Ryan's latest "guarantee" that the team will win the Super Bowl, but they know they have lots to do to make it happen.

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"That's what we got when we hired him, and we love it," Scott said in an interview posted Friday on ESPN.com. "That's his personality. We back him 100 percent. Because I know if he's out there writing checks, I'm going to have to help him cash them, so I know I'd better have my butt ready ... because the target's going to be on our backs as well. We embrace it, we embrace the challenge.

"I think it's about time we get it done and see this thing through, because, after a while, people are going to start looking at it as a joke."

Scott also touched on other subjects, including:

» Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez: "I think it's time for him to take that next step ... to the upper echelon of quarterbacks in this league. ... He's had his ups, he's had his downs, but he's stayed positive through it. He's one of the hardest-working -- not quarterbacks, but hardest-working people I've ever seen. It's time for him to take the next step and really take control of this team and not so much have to hold onto the steering wheel but actually guide the car."

» Frustration with the NFL lockout: "I think we're bordering now on the verge of insanity. ... Fans don't want to hear about the lockout, they don't want to hear about people arguing over $9 billion. They want the bottom line, because at the end of the day, these guys are saving up throughout the entire year to come out and spend their hard-earned money to see football, and we're telling them they can spend their hard-earned money, but we're not playing until we figure it out.

"I listen to (New England Patriots owner Robert) Kraft, and I don't agree with the Patriots on a lot of things, but I agree with him that we're really on the verge of really irritating our fan base and damaging the fabric of the game."

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