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Harry Cicma talks to Reggie Bush about his Super Bowl win and off season plans. (NBC Sports)

Harry Cicma talks to Reggie Bush about his Super Bowl win and off season plans. (NBC Sports)

As I started cleaning out my notebook from last week’s NFL owners meeting, I realized I forgot to thank New York Jets coach Rex Ryan for supporting my position on the controversial Defensive Player of the Year vote.



To review: I favored Green Bay cornerback Charles Woodson, the eventual winner, over Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis. At the time, we noted that Revis was a better cover man but that Woodson had stronger across-the-board impact. If there were a Cornerback of the Year award, Revis would have gotten my vote.



Ryan torched the voting process and demeaned Woodson’s victory in January. Asked to revisit his position last week, Ryan did nothing but strengthen our original take.



Here’s the full text of his response:



“I just think he’s a better corner. Woodson would be a better safety and a better linebacker, but he’s not a better corner than Darrelle Revis. Darrelle Revis’ year might have been as good as there’s ever been at the corner position. You start the list with Deion Sanders, and then it might jump to Darrelle Revis if he can continue to play the way he’s playing. He’s young, he can run and he can match up with any receiver in the league. I don’t know if you can say the same about Woodson if he was playing corner every snap. But for what Charles does, he’s absolutely phenomenal. He’s an impact player. His numbers speak for themselves.”



There is no shame in being a lesser cornerback than Ryan’s BFF. But Woodson was awfully, awfully good in that role last season while also proving dominant in other facets the Jets never even considered Revis for. Thanks, Rex, for clearing that up.

The Philadelphia Eagles just announced that restricted free-agent linebacker Omar Gaither has signed his one-year tender offer. Gaither, who missed all but five games of the ’09 season with a Lisfranc sprain, has started 34 games for the Eagles since being drafted in the fifth round in ’06.



The late Jim Johnson benched Gaither in favor of Akeem Jordan late in the ’08 season. When Jeremiah Trotter was released before the ’07 season, it was believed Gaither would be an upgrade at middle linebacker. But the young player has never looked comfortable as a starter. If he makes the team in 2010, he’ll need to be a valuable part of Bobby April’s special teams unit.



We’ll keep you posted on the players who haven’t signed their tenders. The versatile guard/center Nick Cole hasn’t signed his tender at this point. I think the Eagles would be wise to pay Cole a little money and lock him up for a few seasons, but it doesn’t look like it will happen before the April 15 deadline.

The Rams will have a hard time convincing me they’re interested in a second-round quarterback even if they run Colt McCoy through a private workout.



It’s not just that general manager Billy Devaney’s teams have never drafted a quarterback in the second, third or fourth rounds. Mostly it’s because the Rams can’t afford to invest a high choice in a quarterback without feeling strongly about getting a franchise player in return. Taking a quarterback they’re less sure about should not come at the expense of immediate needs.



“One thing that should be noted is the success rate of quarterbacks drafted in the second round is far worse than that of those drafted in the first round,” Rams executive vice president Kevin Demoff wrote during a March 4 chat. “The only second-round quarterback to make the Pro Bowl in recent memory was Drew Brees, and he would have been a first-rounder if there had been 32 teams in the NFL when he was drafted.”



Such a cold recitation of facts hardly came off as a smokescreen. As noted, Kordell Stewart (1995 draft) and Jake Plummer (1997) went to Pro Bowls as second-round choices, although neither enjoyed exceptional careers by elite quarterback standards.



“I believe at the end of the (2009 season), 18 of the 32 quarterbacks starting in the NFL were first-round picks, and the next most prolific round was undrafted,” Demoff wrote in the chat. “If you look at the playoffs last year, nearly all of the starting quarterbacks were first-rounders, with the exception of Brees, Brady and Warner, who all could be in the Hall of Fame. The percentages are much better in the first round, but with the reward comes great risk.”

PFT: Former Oklahoma State Dez Bryant’s Pro Day left him open to some criticism, and the wide receiver has heard enough.

Another team ahead of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL draft is showing significant interest in University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy.

McCoy

The St. Louis Rams, who hold the first pick in the second round (No. 33 overall), will hold a private workout for McCoy in Austin, TX, before the April 22 NFL draft.



St. Louis is the favorite to take Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford with the top overall pick. But the Rams are still turning over every rock and examining alternate plans in case they want to take another position, such as defensive tackle, in the first round.



That might open the door for St. Louis to take McCoy before the Browns, who hold the No. 38 overall pick at the top of the second round. Cleveland is impressed with McCoy’s accuracy and believes he could fit in an offense that has West Coast principles.



Both teams are in search of long-term solutions at quarterback and plan to find one in this year’s NFL draft.

When humane officers responded to a North Philadelphia row home in February, they found pit bulls chained to spikes driven into the ground in the backyard. They seized treadmills, steroids and “break sticks” used to separate fighting dogs at the jaws.

Evan Silva ranks the top 15 tight ends who will be available in this year’s NFL draft.