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Life is looking up for Tom Cable.



After a tumultuous first full season as the Oakland Raiders’ head coach both on and off the field, Cable has a clean slate headed into the 2010 season. The NFL announced Wednesday that Cable will not be disciplined for alleged physical assaults.

Cable

Cable was accused of breaking assistant coach Randy Hanson’s jaw and teeth in a training camp fight. The Napa County district attorney did not file charges. Hanson is suing both Cable and the Raiders civilly.



Cable admitted slapping his first wife more than 20 years ago but that did not warrant punishment because it happened before he joined the NFL. Cable also was accused of attacking a former girlfriend last year but no charges were filed.



The league’s decision has been expected since Cable was cleared in the criminal case. But it has to be a load off of Cable’s mind. Other than the civil case, Cable can concentrate fully on football. And, while no formal decision has been made, Cable is expected to return as Oakland’s coach in 2010.



At the end of last season, it looked like Cable was on his way out after compiling a 9-19 overall record. Oakland went 5-11 under Cable last season. Now, he has a second chance to heed his own advice. He has often stressed that Oakland needs stability and no distractions as it tries to have a winning season for the first time since 2002.



The Hanson saga was an issue for several months. Now, it is over in the eyes of the league.

When Jack Del Rio indicated, accurately, that David Garrard isn’t an elite quarterback, it got plenty of attention, including in this post.



Last week when he said “he’s my quarterback,” it didn’t get the same volume.



It should have here, so I apologize to you, to Garrard and to JDR for not finding and getting to it more promptly and hope we can do a better late than never.



Friday on “The Pete Prisco Show” in Jacksonville, Del Rio spoke again about Garrard.



And asked if Garrard was certain to be under center for the opening snaps of 2010, this was the answer:

“We’ll always keep our option open in terms of being able to add talent. I think the likelihood of somebody coming in here that’s better than David Garrard and take a snap from center this year, I think that’s unlikely to happen. You just have to look at available players, and the likelihood of one of those players… I don’t think that Sean Payton is going to do a player-for-player swap.



“I think you have to be realistic about how you’re able to upgrade positions in this league. David is a good player and we’re very fortunate that we have him. There are teams that don’t have a quarterback as good as David Garrard, I’ll tell you that right now. And I’m going to support the guy we have.”

A few more pertinent snippets:



“I think he’s a good player, I think we can win with him, I think we have to be really good around him. I think that there are few elite quarterbacks in the league like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and some of those guys that are able to carry their teams and we don’t ask David to do that and I don’t think it would be fair to ask David to do that.”



JDR also said “I think he’s a good, solid player” not a “great” one. “I hope he becomes that, It would be great for me, it would be great for us as a football team. …I think we have other more pressing issues.”



Here’s part one of the interview. Move up to roughly the 5:20 mark to get started.



Here’s part two.



If Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen is somehow available at No. 10 or 11 when the Jaguars draft, I think they’d have to take him if they like him. If not I still think they’d be wise to draft a quarterback to begin to develop as an alternative.



Because while they can win with Garrard, it’s going to be hard for them to be great around him. The more direct route to postseason success is to find one of those elite quarterbacks and the Jags’ collective head should be on a swivel to find someone who has more potential to become one than Garrard does.



For a column on the Jaguars’ offensive line you’ll see Thursday, I spoke with left guard Vince Manuwai and also had a chance to ask him about Garrard.



He was a bit roundabout, but basically said the $60 million contract Garrard got after the Jaguars went two rounds into the playoffs in 2007 changed expectations.



“I know the money that they pay him now people want a quarterback who sits in the pocket and is a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning,” Manuwai said. “So David never had to live up to those expectations, but now it’s getting tougher because of the money that’s involved, I guess.”



“People want 3,500 yards passing, 4,000 yards passing, you know? Or over 20 touchdown passes. It’s definitely tough on Dave trying to do what he wants to do but also trying to make people happy.”



That’s why, no matter how much deposed personnel chief James “Shack” Harris and Del Rio thought Garrard was the guy, overshooting on the contract actually served no one football-wise.

Green Bay nose tackle Ryan Pickett won’t be a free agent when the market opens next week. That’s the upshot of Wednesday’s announcement that the team has placed its franchise tag on him. At this point, any other conclusion would be premature.



If nothing more happens, Pickett will play the 2010 season under a one-year contract worth $7.003 million. It’s fully guaranteed the moment he signs it.



That’s an awfully high number for someone who is essentially a part-time player, not to mention one who plays the same position as the Packers’ 2009 first-round draft choice. But as we discussed Tuesday, the Packers have several options here.

• They could continue negotiating with Pickett on a long-term contract extension, ostensibly at a lower annual salary but with the promise of additional guaranteed money over time.
• They could trade his rights, as they did with defensive tackle Corey Williams in 2008, in essence using the tag to guarantee a return on his eventual departure.
• They could rescind the tag if they don’t like where negotiations are going and don’t want to pay him $7.003 million in 2010. The Packers would have to make that decision before Pickett signs the offer, however.

There are some merits to keeping Pickett on the roster. In a statement Wednesday, general manager Ted Thompson said Pickett “has been a good teammate and productive player for us on the field and also a good representative of the Packers in the community.” Pickett also provides some insurance in the event that defensive lineman Johnny Jolly is suspended in connection with an upcoming trial for felony drug possession.



And frankly, using the franchise tag in an uncapped environment carries less risk than it used to. With a salary cap, the entire franchise figure counted toward that season’s cap with no ability to pro-rate. In an uncapped scenario, there is no penalty for paying a part-time nose tackle a premium salary as long as ownership — or, in this case, team president/CEO Mark Murphy — is willing to pay out the cash.



Where the Pickett situation ultimately goes is uncertain, but it will be no surprise if it keeps going on for a while.

INDIANAPOLIS — A fellow can’t go out for a Buffalo chicken sandwich and watch the U.S. Olympic hockey team without AFC East developments unfolding.



That’s right. I came all the way to Indianapolis to eat something drenched in Buffalo sauce and to watch a hockey game.



While I was taking a break from my NFL scouting combine research Wednesday afternoon, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters the club is “very close” to re-signing nose tackle Vince Wilfork, responded to Randy Moss‘ recent comments that 2010 will be his last with the Patriots and said there’s no rush to give quarterback Tom Brady an extension.



“We have a budget we’ve set for next year,” Kraft said in an item dispatched from Boston Herald reporter Karen Guregian. “Our first priority is with Vince. I think we’ve had some positive discussions. We’re very close. I hope we can conclude it soon.”



Kraft also provided his take on Moss’ quotes from over the weekend in which he said he doesn’t expect the Patriots to extend his contract when it expires after the upcoming campaign.



“I didn’t interpret what he said as anti-Patriot,” Kraft said in a blog from the Boston Globe’s Albert Breer. “He’s a smart business man too. He’s getting himself positioned.”



Kraft did, however, disagree with Moss’ declaration “the Patriots don’t really pay” well.



“In any of the family businesses we’re in, we don’t go out and just try to spend money and always be the highest spender,” Kraft said. “We want to win. If you look collectively at an aggregate basis, we spend to be competitive, but also anyone in your readership that has run a business knows that just spending wildly doesn’t mean you’re doing the right thing. You want to spend wisely and you want to spend with the right people.”

Mike Florio breaks down Tim Tebow and where he could wind up landing in the NFL Draft. (NBC Sports)

The New England Patriots are mourning the loss of a fan favorite.



Fullback and special-teams ace Mosi Tatupu died Tuesday in Attleboro, Mass. He was 54.



Tatupu, a gritty eighth-round draft choice in 1978, played 13 seasons with the Patriots. He was the lead blocker for Craig James when the Patriots went to their first Super Bowl and was selected to the Pro Bowl for 1986.



Tatupu had his own cheering section called “Mosi’s Mooses” in Sullivan Stadium. He was named to the Patriots’ 50th anniversary team.



He briefly played for the St. Louis Rams before retiring in 1991. He coached his son, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu, at King Philip Regional High in Wrentham, Mass.



The Patriots have released statements from the organization and some of Tatupu’s teammates.



Patriots owner Robert Kraft

“I know that I share a heavy heart today with Patriots fans everywhere who have learned of Mosi Tatupu’s passing. I was shocked by the news this morning. My sons and I loved to watch Mosi. He was one of our favorite players for more than a decade. I don’t think you could watch a Patriots game in the ’80s without becoming a fan of his. He was a dominant special-teams player and a punishing rusher who loved the Patriots as much as the fans did. He gave everything that he had on every play. … He was an iconic player and will be remembered for all of his contributions as a Patriot, both on and off the field.”

Former Patriots receiver Stanley Morgan

“There was only one Mosi. I first met Mosi the year after I came to the Patriots, when he got here in 1978, and it was love at first sight, I guess you could say. He got along great with everybody. He had that air about him that you were comfortable around him all the time, and nobody was a stranger around him. People were attracted to that.”

Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett

“You probably couldn’t ask for a better teammate than Mosi. It was the way he approached the game. He worked hard. He practiced hard. He had a way about him. He always had an upbeat attitude. He was happy all the time and just pleasant to be around. He had a special connection with the fans and his teammates. Everybody loved him.”

Former Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan

“As a teammate, he was one of the best. He was one of those guys that made life fun, whether it was in the locker room or on the practice fields. He had a smile that radiated. The fans appreciated him because he was a lunch-pail kind of guy and did whatever was asked of him, whether it was on special teams, on the goal line, in blocking or catching situations. I think Patriots fans really appreciated that.”

Former Patriots center Pete Brock

“The thing about Mosi was that he did everything. He wasn’t the glamour guy out in front, getting all the carries. He just played football and he played hard. A lot of people remember the ‘Snow Plow Game’ and, of course, John Smith’s kick won it. But it was Mosi, who ran for more than 100 yards that day, that really won that game.

“It’s really a shock, and it’s so much tougher because we played before the era of free agency. So you really got to know everybody. We were a community. We raised our children together. Because of that it’s just like losing a family member.”

Rams GM Billy Devaney confirmed he is under the impression that Texas QB Colt McCoy (shoulder) will throw at the Combine.

Rams GM Billy Devaney confirmed he is under the impression that Texas QB Colt McCoy (shoulder) will throw at the Combine.